Rucker: Reality-check yourself after Vols' rough opener

#152
#152
When you have Will Overstreet and Brian Randolph flat out saying we don't have talent with the exception of very few positions.....well, you know you have a problem. I did not want to believe, based on where some of these classes and players ranked in recruiting, that we were so devoid of talent. Apparently we are. Here's hoping Pruitt is a recruiting juggernaut going forward.
 
#153
#153
VFL-82-JP said:
Yeah, putting a score guess in the weekly pick'em thread is no indicator, though.

Me, for instance: I will never (EVER) put a score that doesn't have the Vols winning. Even the week we play Bama. Never have guessed against us, and never will.

That doesn't mean I think we're gonna win versus Bama. It only means I can't bring myself to write a loss down.

I figure that's part of human nature, and applies to more folks than just me.

The most common guess in Volador's poll was 7-5, and the second most common guess was 6-6. Together, those two positions accounted for about 66% (roughly two-thirds) of everyone who joined in.

How Many Wins This Fall?

That helps prove the point I and some others have been making here. It wasn't all irrational "9-3 or bust" and "Atlanta here we come" on these boards in the run-up to yesterday. It was mostly a pretty balanced crowd.

Thanks for reminding me of that poll. It helps a lot.


p.s. one nit to pick from your post: the 8-win crowd was about 20%, not 26%. The 6-6 crowd was significantly more.
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That's an interesting approach, on the score-pickem. So you will always pick a score with the vols winning even when you believe they won't? To each his own I guess, but I don't understand the utility of that. It's kind of like clicking your heels together and saying "I want to go home...." In my mind, the only way this debacle gets turned around is for players, coaches and fans to be realistic. No offense meant.
 
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#154
#154
VinylVols said:
The difference between a 4-3 defense and a 3-4 is really big. It goes from having every player needing to do a bunch of different things pretty well, to a defense where almost every player has to do a few things amazingly. In 4-3, corners probably have more help in coverage, but they'll also be expected to help in the run. In 3-4, corners are there to lock down their opponents with little help and you need at least some pressure from your front 3 alone. 3-4 is more of a role playing defense. I'd say we have a solid front 3 as far as filling the lanes and stopping runs, but besides a play or two, we have no one on the line who can put pressure on the qb.

Dooley switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 one season and it went on to be one of our worst defenses. Doesn't mean 3-4 can't work. It just takes a while and you definitely need the right players. Having one or 2 weak spots in a 3-4 is worse than a few weak spots in the 4-3. But once we get players who can play the 3-4, it's the better defense in football currently, at least in my opinion.
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Not the Xs or the Os.....
 
#155
#155
Got to say JG and the running backs did a fine job yesterday, likely need to give some credit to the Oline as they did open some holes after the initial massacre.
 
#156
#156
McDad said:
I dont know if CJP is more Smart or more like the others who were busts.
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Nobody knows but I’m not gonna make a quick judgement after one game. I can though make an assessment of the team and we are far from competing for a sec championship. The last thing this program needs is people spreading negativity and I know that’s hard for us fans because we’ve been waiting for so long. It is what it is and Pruitt owned up for the loss which is something Butch Jones would never say and I know that is so cliché but if we improve week by week then that’s all we can ask for.
 
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#157
#157
McDad said:
I dont know if CJP is more Smart or more like the others who were busts.
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I agree. But Richt left a smorgasbord of talent. Butch left average players at best. Surely you can put your glass of piss and vinegar down and see that. Butch was a train wreck in multiple ways and we saw his glaring weakness in coaching and recruiting yesterday. Pruitt is working with way less than Smart.
 
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#158
#158
KeyVol14 said:
Nobody knows but I’m not gonna make a quick judgement after one game. I can though make an assessment of the team and we are far from competing for a sec championship. The last thing this program needs is people spreading negativity and I know that’s hard for us fans because we’ve been waiting for so long. It is what it is and Pruitt owned up for the loss which is something Butch Jones would never say and I know that is so cliché but if we improve week by week then that’s all we can ask for.
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I dont see my opinions as inherently negative (to be fair, you may not be saying I am). I see my opinions as based on some things CJP said pre season and the 1st game as a stand alone event.
I'm certainly not crowning him the next Neyland because he speaks with a southern accent and likes cornbread.
 
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#159
#159
MAUSERWERKE said:
That's an interesting approach, on the score-pickem. So you will always pick a score with the vols winning even when you believe they won't? To each his own I guess, but I don't understand the utility of that. It's kind of like clicking your heels together and saying "I want to go home...." In my mind, the only way this debacle gets turned around is for players, coaches and fans to be realistic. No offense meant.
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That's okay.

I think the program turning itself around will happen regardless of my on-line forum prognostications. :)

And yep, I'll never make a prediction that the Vols lose a game. I don't do it in the bowl pools my family runs each holiday season, and I'll never do it here on VN.com in Freak's competitions.

Why do I do it, then in weeks where I can't predict a score I think will actually happen? Because I could still potentially win. For instance, if I predict Vols will win 27-24, and we lose 27-28, I'm only 4 points off. Maybe that was the best guess...who knows? Heh.

This can't be such a unique thing, can it? I would've bet there were plenty of Vols fans here who do something similar....
 
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#160
#160
revjayp said:
I agree. But Richt left a smorgasbord of talent. Butch left average players at best. Surely you can put your glass of piss and vinegar down and see that. Butch was a train wreck in multiple ways and we saw his glaring weakness in coaching and recruiting yesterday. Pruitt is working with way less than Smart.
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Hold up. I'm not comparing him to Smart. Someone threw out the coach comps. Ftr, I believe it to be far more likely CJP is more Mcelwain than Smart.
 
#161
#161
McDad said:
Hold up. I'm not comparing him to Smart. Someone threw out the coach comps. Ftr, I believe it to be far more likely CJP is more Mcelwain than Smart.
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What makes you make that comparison. Not being a jerk. Seriously would like to hear your rationale. 👍🏼
 
#163
#163
revjayp said:
What makes you make that comparison. Not being a jerk. Seriously would like to hear your rationale. 👍🏼
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Simply the results of the coordinators who come off the Saban tree. Smart has success. Muschamp in a way has too. Who else has transitioned to a successful HC?
 
#164
#164
McDad said:
I dont see my opinions as inherently negative (to be fair, you may not be saying I am). I see my opinions as based on some things CJP said pre season and the 1st game as a stand alone event.
I'm certainly not crowning him the next Neyland because he speaks with a southern accent and likes cornbread.
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It sure paints a negative outlook man.
 
#165
#165
KeyVol14 said:
It sure paints a negative outlook man.
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I've pointed out bright spots in other threads. If it seems like a negative outlook to say CJP must earn my trust and yesterday did nothing to earn anything, so be it.
 
#166
#166
McDad said:
Hold up. I'm not comparing him to Smart. Someone threw out the coach comps. Ftr, I believe it to be far more likely CJP is more Mcelwain than Smart.
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I just don’t know how you can make that assumption as of yet that’s all I’m getting at
 
#168
#168
UF is our championship this year and best team we have a legit shot against. Win that one and I don’t much care about the rest of the season.

I’m sorry, but I’m simply not tuning into GA and Bama games this year. I’ll give a cursory listen on the radio while doing yard work or running errands, but I’m not sitting down to watch that drubbing.
 
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#169
#169
After going 0-8 in SEC play last year, I’d consider 2 wins a verdict on Jones’ ineptitude. That’s where I think this team was last year, and will tell me that Pruitt isn’t another lousy game coach.
 
#172
#172
It seems we live in a society today were people are constantly offended and being disappointed is a way of life. Few live in reality and most want what they want NOW! If I’m so crushed at the loss that I resort to whining and crying and fretting and making silly predictions about our future then I deserve to be miserable. And I shouldn’t mind that the adults in the room laugh and make fun of me....Or...maybe I could use this situation to mature and develop patience instead of wallowing in a cesspool of narcissistic slobber. JMO.
 
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#173
#173
BigBadVol said:
After one game and the idiots on here have come to the conclusion CJP isn’t the guy. Narcissistic as they come.
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Sorry BigBad didn’t see you use NARCISSISTIC in your post as well. But it’s the perfect word to describe this silliness....
 
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#174
#174
McDad said:
Hold up. I'm not comparing him to Smart. Someone threw out the coach comps. Ftr, I believe it to be far more likely CJP is more Mcelwain than Smart.
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And I think you tend to be more like a piss poor fan boy than a bleeding orange one. Can’t take your sh it. You should just go pull for Bama so you can be happy.
 
#175
#175
McDad said:
Simply the results of the coordinators who come off the Saban tree. Smart has success. Muschamp in a way has too. Who else has transitioned to a successful HC?
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Both defensive guys the other offense. You lose another point.
 
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