Rucker: Reality-check yourself after Vols' rough opener

#3
#3
Will be ignored by many. I have a problem with comparing year 1 head coach records. CJP is a cornbread lovin' southerner, he's had incredible talent at previous jobs, but he neither looked like our answer nor did he look like the defensive specialist we were sold.
 
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#5
#5
Best, most accurate part of the article in my opinion is this, it’s spot on....

“But that changes nothing about the fact that this was a 4-8 football team last season. If those players were so good, they wouldn’t have gone 4-8. I know that’s tough to hear. But you need to hear it. A better-coached Tennessee team wouldn’t have gone 4-8 last season, but if that roster was really good, no coach would have turned it into a 4-8 team.”
 
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#8
#8
McDad said:
Will be ignored by many. I have a problem with comparing year 1 head coach records. CJP is a cornbread lovin' southerner, he's had incredible talent at previous jobs, but he neither looked like our answer nor did he look like the defensive specialist we were sold.
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Sheesh, its 1 game. We were playing 3 true freshman in the secondary against NFL receivers and a Heisman finalist QB.
 
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#9
#9
K-town Vol Fan said:
Sheesh, its 1 game. We were playing 3 true freshman in the secondary against NFL receivers and a Heisman finalist QB.
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Did CJP and staff not know who they were playing against? CJP apparently sold Fulmer by talking about line play in the interview; was that our strength? Fact is we have a coordinator turned HC without the elite talent he's accustom to fielding.
 
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#11
#11
FLVOL_79 said:
Most of the board did.
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I haven't seen that.

I've seen a board full of folks who mostly recognized that we have to rebuild, and this is the first year of it. Folks who mostly acknowledged that anything from 3-9 to 9-3 is in the realm of the possible.

Sure, there were a couple of folks who thought we could challenge for a trip to Atlanta in December (or even more), but they really were a small minority. Far more than that said in recent weeks that 6-6 or 7-5 is about all we can expect this season.

And I say that readily admitting that I let the excitement of the buildup to Game 1 nudge me away from 7-5 toward 8-4 (I'm back down now, heh). That's a natural part of being a fan before the first game is played, I think. But even then, I'm on the optimistic side of the crowd.

I think most folks here have been pretty realistic about what's possible this year.
 
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#12
#12
VFL-82-JP said:
I haven't seen that.

I've seen a board full of folks who mostly recognized that we have to rebuild, and this is the first year of it. Folks who mostly acknowledged that anything form 3-9 to 9-3 are in the realm of the possible.

Sure, there were a couple of folks who thought we could challenge for a trip to Atlanta in December (or even more), but they really were a small minority. Far more than that said in recent weeks that 6-6 or 7-5 is about all we can expect this season.

And I say that readily admitting that I let the excitement of the buildup to Game 1 nudge me away from 7-5 toward 8-4 (I'm back down now, heh). That's a natural part of being a fan before the first game is played, I think. But even then, I'm on the optimistic side of the crowd.

I think most folks here have been pretty realistic about what's possible this year.
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7-5 is realistic?
 
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#16
#16
McDad said:
7-5 is realistic?
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Yep, I still think so.

I think Bama, UGa, and Auburn would be miraculous. So set them aside.

I think FL and USCe will be uphill battles, but we might win one of the two.

I think Mizzou, Vandy and Kentucky are well within our capability, but we might lose one of the three.

And then there are the three cupcakes.

So that puts us in the 6-6 to 7-5 range, depending on how we do against peer or near-peer competition.

This season ain't over, brother.
 
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#17
#17
Brave Volunteer said:
Did anybody here honestly think this team could be 'great' as Rucker put it? I sure didn't talk to any Vol fans who thought that.
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The only people really talking about how much better this team would be were some players and those saying Pruitt told big boosters we would handle WVU.
 
#19
#19
VFL-82-JP said:
Yep, I still think so.

I think Bama, UGa, and Auburn would be miraculous. So set them aside.

I think FL and USCe will be uphill battles, but we might win one of the two.

I think Mizzou, Vandy and Kentucky are well within our capability, but we might lose one of the three.

And then there are the three cupcakes.

So that puts us in the 6-6 to 7-5 range, depending on how we do against peer or near-peer competition.

This season ain't over, brother.
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I got 4-8. Win cupcakes and split UK / vandy. We will know what we have after game 1. We got A LOT of improvements to make.
 
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#20
#20
Rucker nailed it with that article. He is 100% correct and it would do everyone some good to pay attention. Last year was the worst Vol football team in history, you cant expect a miracle this year.
If CJP is a good coach they will improve as the season goes on and thats what we should be watching for. Then we do like Saban said near the end of his first year when asked after a loss what he was going to do to fix things. He replied "recruit better ball players" and walked off the field.

That folks, is the only solution to our troubles.
 
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#23
#23
I think we all bought in to what now seems to be a fantasy that Jones was really a great recruiter. I think the fact is he wasn't good at anything and hard for me to realize how many of these players gained 4 star status as rated by 247 and Rivals. A few of these highly touted players coming out of high school are total no shows game after game. I know it is hard to be patient with all that has come before but Pruitt at least seems to be a far better in game coach and the hope is when he gets his players in here we'll begin to win big games and become a feared opponent. This season were relegated to the bottom of the league and I guess the hope is to steal an SEC game or two along with the non conference games left.
 
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#24
#24
McDad said:
Will be ignored by many. I have a problem with comparing year 1 head coach records. CJP is a cornbread lovin' southerner, he's had incredible talent at previous jobs, but he neither looked like our answer nor did he look like the defensive specialist we were sold.
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Opens review of the article will be overlooked by many...... Closes review by basically over looking the entire article. Wow the intelligence.
 
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