Something feels off

#27
#27
Tman44 said:
There was something definitely wrong with the team Saturday night. There are rumors about a Banks/Hooker altercation. As far as we all know it is speculation at this point. Looking at things we do know, I can see where some potential problems may be. To begin with, we all know about our lack of depth. At some point, true fatigue will set in. That would certainly be "something is off, not the same team." Hendon did not look good at all before the injury. This brings up another possibility. Has Hendon been playing with an issue in that knee? Was he off because he had a problem? He did not have contact when the ACL went, so was it a step that was "the straw that broke the camel's back?" If so, perhaps it was a truly bad week of practice? We all agree the Vols weren't the team we've seen all year. Moving forward will be difficult. We are about to see what Milton is capable of with a full week of practice as the starter. Most importantly, we are going to see how these young men and the coaching staff respond to abject embarrassment. The Vandy game could very well be a defining moment for Coach Heupel. I hope we are able to look back at the SCAR game as an anomaly.
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I have torn both ACLs, and had both repaired. When you tear an ACL, you can often carry on as if not injured, particularly if you learn how to protect the knee by not subjecting it to too many sudden twists. Its possible Hooker had a partial tear and then it just went completely last night.

He looked a bit gimpy at one point vs bama and I think he even went into the tent a bit, maybe. Anyway, given the way his knee went, without contact, it almost certainly was based on a season's worth of wear and tear. ACLs are funny. Hurt like hell for the first couple minutes and then just an ache after that. Can fool you into thinking you are okay.
 
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#28
#28
volfanhill said:
We didn't get beat by UGA the way SC beat us
He knew his starting QB was done for the year
He knew our playoff chances were over
He knew we were just massively embarrassed and whopped on National TV

Plenty of reasons to "sound different" then after the UGA L
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You don’t think something was off last night?? Sorry but his press conference seemed totally different. You are not going to convince me that something isn’t going on behind the scenes.
 
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#29
#29
BigOrangeTrain said:
You don’t think something was off last night?? Sorry but his press conference seemed totally different. You are not going to convince me that something isn’t going on behind the scenes.
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I think a ton was off last night. But I am not reading into anything from his press conference. Totally different situation then after UGA. And I have to assume he heavly suspected Hooker was done for the year. That's going to wreck any coach
 
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#30
#30
BelieveTheHeup93 said:
There’s a difference in a coach being fraudulent and us not actually turning the corner as much as we originally thought. Even after the Georgia game it felt like 2024 would be the year we really had a shot at winning it all. After last night though it feels like that momentum has hit a brick wall and it may never happen
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Completely disagree. It will happen. We already have turned a huge corner.
 
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#31
#31
volfanhill said:
I think a ton was off last night. But I am not reading into anything from his press conference. Totally different situation then after UGA. And I have to assume he knew Hooker was done for the year. That's going to wreck any coach
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Maybe you are right. Who knows?
 
#32
#32
BanditVol said:
I have torn both ACLs, and had both repaired. When you tear an ACL, you can often carry on as if not injured, particularly if you learn how to protect the knee by not subjecting it to too many sudden twists. Its possible Hooker had a partial tear and then it just went completely last night.

He looked a bit gimpy at one point vs bama and I think he even went into the tent a bit, maybe. Anyway, given the way his knee went, without contact, it almost certainly was based on a season's worth of wear and tear. ACLs are funny. Hurt like hell for the first couple minutes and then just an ache after that. Can fool you into thinking you are okay.
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Thank you for the information. When you have a partial tear, are you aware of it? In your opinion would that cause a player to be "off" in the way Hooker was?
 
#33
#33
Allvols1996 said:
Not trying to discount SC, but how much can you improve in a week? They didn’t even manage a single offensive TD the week prior and have been anemic all year. Then they score TDs on their first 5 possessions. Plus their defense solves the Heupel machine in a snap. Not buying it.
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Their offense, yes what you wrote. Giving up 38 points with us wasting opportunities for 21 more is not solving our offense.
 
#35
#35
BelieveTheHeup93 said:
There’s a difference in a coach being fraudulent and us not actually turning the corner as much as we originally thought. Even after the Georgia game it felt like 2024 would be the year we really had a shot at winning it all. After last night though it feels like that momentum has hit a brick wall and it may never happen
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Never is a long time.
 
#38
#38
BelieveTheHeup93 said:
First off, this entire calendar year has been special for this program. Landing Nico in the fall along with all of the other big time recruits along with beating Florida, Bama, and routing LSU in Death Valley regardless of it being a noon game had me along with 99% of college football fans and analysts thinking we were poised to become a national powerhouse again sooner rather than later. I have been a huge fan of Heupel and almost the entire staff since the Pitt game last season. I even think the Georgia game was a little closer than the score indicated. They hit on some big plays and we missed on a few we normally hit. Georgia is definitely the better team, but it seemed like we beat ourselves a lot. This team hasn’t responded well since then though. Particularly our defense. Even against Missouri we looked bad at times. We put it together eventually though. What happened last night was and still is mind boggling to me. Have the players stopped buying in since the loss to Georgia? Our defense has been mediocre all season, but not bad enough to get torched like that. I know there have been rumors circulating since last night, and they very well could be speculation. Something just doesn’t sit well with me though. I can completely understand coming out flat to open the game. The energy was never there on the defensive side of the ball though, and I knew from South Carolina’s second offensive possession last night that we would lose the game. Something just jumped out on the screen that gave me that feeling.

Which brings me to the question of how something last night could happen when so much was on the line. Being unprepared and a lack of talent doesn’t explain the performance we had last night. We just didn’t seem to care, and I don’t see how that could happen after the season we’ve had. What’s so scary about everything is we’re going into Vandy this weekend with a new QB coming off a heartbreaking loss with Vandy on top of the world and smelling blood. It sounds crazy, but Saturday could be the most important game of the season for us. Anything less than a decisive win will likely lead to every bit of momentum and the culture that this staff has built within this program to come crashing down, and if that bleeds over into next season we could have a serious problem. Am I wrong in thinking we could be entering next season in a worse position than we entered this season despite 3 massive wins that seemed like they were the rockets that this program needed strapped to it to send it to the stratosphere? I really hope that’s not the case, but there are a lot of 2016 feelings right now. I’m not saying Heupel is fraudulent by any means, but the Florida, Bama, and LSU wins feel like a little like fools gold right now
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It happened because it's a damned Tennessee thing. You just know the kick to the jewels is coming and will hurt like hell. You just don't know when but it is coming. I've had over 60 years of crushed nuts so I can just see it coming a bit better these days. Got a lot of scar tissue so the pain isn't quite as bad. We're like charlie brown trying to kick that football. Suckers that we are, we fall for it every time. Life of the Vol fan.
 
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#39
#39
Orange_Vol1321 said:
Something definitely off. If Banks wasn't there for whatever locker room stuff, it looked like the defense mailed it in, in protest.
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Does it really matter why the titanic hit the iceberg? It's still at the bottom of the ocean.
 
#41
#41
LittleVol said:
It's not "one" thing.

It's a few things that need to clear up over time
- better defensive coaching
- better veteran leaders on defense
- better culture of what NIL is for the team

With Milton at QB, I expect us to see probably 3 different QBs play the next games....
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Not without more injuries.

Our depth chart consists of Milton, Moore and Shuler. And with respect, Moore and Shuler aren't in the same universe as Milton.
 
#42
#42
BigOrangeTrain said:
You don’t think something was off last night?? Sorry but his press conference seemed totally different. You are not going to convince me that something isn’t going on behind the scenes.
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He just got embarrassed by SC. How exactly did you expect him to act in the press conference?
 
#43
#43
I've been thinking over a theory, and I guess this is as good a place to discuss it as any.

Over the years, we have blamed the coaches and the players, but when you drill it down, our AD had a lot to do with our success or lack thereof. I think most are thrilled with our current AD, and all sports have had a major uptick since he got here - until recently. Is is possible that he has met with all the players, and what he has said (about NIL) has not set well with the players? All of a sudden, football and both basketball teams are on their heels. Sometimes, it's not the Jimmies and Joes, or the x's and o's. Sometimes it is the environment around them, or something unrelated to the game.

Just a thought.
 
#44
#44
BelieveTheHeup93 said:
First off, this entire calendar year has been special for this program. Landing Nico in the fall along with all of the other big time recruits along with beating Florida, Bama, and routing LSU in Death Valley regardless of it being a noon game had me along with 99% of college football fans and analysts thinking we were poised to become a national powerhouse again sooner rather than later. I have been a huge fan of Heupel and almost the entire staff since the Pitt game last season. I even think the Georgia game was a little closer than the score indicated. They hit on some big plays and we missed on a few we normally hit. Georgia is definitely the better team, but it seemed like we beat ourselves a lot. This team hasn’t responded well since then though. Particularly our defense. Even against Missouri we looked bad at times. We put it together eventually though. What happened last night was and still is mind boggling to me. Have the players stopped buying in since the loss to Georgia? Our defense has been mediocre all season, but not bad enough to get torched like that. I know there have been rumors circulating since last night, and they very well could be speculation. Something just doesn’t sit well with me though. I can completely understand coming out flat to open the game. The energy was never there on the defensive side of the ball though, and I knew from South Carolina’s second offensive possession last night that we would lose the game. Something just jumped out on the screen that gave me that feeling.

Which brings me to the question of how something last night could happen when so much was on the line. Being unprepared and a lack of talent doesn’t explain the performance we had last night. We just didn’t seem to care, and I don’t see how that could happen after the season we’ve had. What’s so scary about everything is we’re going into Vandy this weekend with a new QB coming off a heartbreaking loss with Vandy on top of the world and smelling blood. It sounds crazy, but Saturday could be the most important game of the season for us. Anything less than a decisive win will likely lead to every bit of momentum and the culture that this staff has built within this program to come crashing down, and if that bleeds over into next season we could have a serious problem. Am I wrong in thinking we could be entering next season in a worse position than we entered this season despite 3 massive wins that seemed like they were the rockets that this program needed strapped to it to send it to the stratosphere? I really hope that’s not the case, but there are a lot of 2016 feelings right now. I’m not saying Heupel is fraudulent by any means, but the Florida, Bama, and LSU wins feel like a little like fools gold right now
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A lot of Tennessee fans are way over complicating things, just like this post. Look, Tennessee lost to South Carolina because South Carolina played a near perfect game. Everything came together for them. Spencer Rattler had a career night. That was one of the best performances I have seen from a Quarterback in a while. South Carolina, playing the way they did, I believe would have beaten any team in the SEC. And if they continue to play this good, Clemson might be in trouble next week.

Anyway, what I am trying to say is, there is no mystery here. South Carolina out played Tennessee, and they had their best over all performance in years. Any team could have been the victim, but unfortunately, it was Tennessee this time.
 
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#45
#45
mindemon said:
A lot of Tennessee fans are way over complicating things, just like this post. Look, Tennessee lost to South Carolina because South Carolina played a near perfect game. Everything came together for them. Spencer Rattler had a career night. That was one of the best performances I have seen from a Quarterback in a while. South Carolina, playing the way they did, I believe would have beaten any team in the SEC. And if they continue to play this good, Clemson might be in trouble next week.

Anyway, what I am trying to say is, there is no mystery here. South Carolina out played Tennessee, and they had their best over all performance in years. Any team could have been the victim, but unfortunately, it was Tennessee this time.
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The question is WHY SC had their perfect game vs us. The entire discussion is that J Banks is at the center of a locker room rift that demoralized and divided the entire team so basically we were a no show. He’s our D QB and he didn’t make the trip so you be the judge.

Not showing up vs SC is different than our beat down vs GA. And yes this absolutely matters.

So the logical extension is we either heal this rift or we’re gonna see same this week vs a suddenly motivated Vandy which actually has something on the line to play for.

Stay tuned to see which TN team shows up this week. You can’t make this stuff up.
 
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#47
#47
Yeah i guess not having Banks was a bigger deal than most thought. I think one of the biggest things i see is they need to get a tougher mindset when they're on the road. Seem to let the crowd get to them and they play half a step slower. You need a defense on the road in the SEC or at least a serviceable one. That right now is the biggest question mark for me in wondering if the Heupel deal is going to work out long term. He's got to fix it or it won't end well.
 
#49
#49
BelieveTheHeup93 said:
There’s a difference in a coach being fraudulent and us not actually turning the corner as much as we originally thought. Even after the Georgia game it felt like 2024 would be the year we really had a shot at winning it all. After last night though it feels like that momentum has hit a brick wall and it may never happen
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I don't think so. Even Poot recovered from GSU to go on an 8 game win streak though the end of 2019 and start of 2020. This is far from the end.

Longer term, if we don't figure out how to have a good D with this offense, there could be trouble, but I think we can recover quickly from this embarassment
 
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#50
#50
Woke said:
The question is WHY SC had their perfect game vs us. The entire discussion is that J Banks is at the center of a locker room rift that demoralized and divided the entire team so basically we were a no show. He’s our D QB and he didn’t make the trip so you be the judge.

Not showing up vs SC is different than our beat down vs GA. And yes this absolutely matters.

So the logical extension is we either heal this rift or we’re gonna see same this week vs a suddenly motivated Vandy which actually has something on the line to play for.

Stay tuned to see which TN team shows up this week. You can’t make this stuff up.
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I know right.. we need counselors there stat! 😂 I really think this is a better explanation than they all suddenly became non competitive and non talented and the coaches forgot how to coach lol
 
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