jakez4ut
Patience... It's what's for dinner
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2005
- Messages
- 72,588
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- 133,376
Hello all, what's new?
oh yeah, we lost to a team that we hadn't lost to since before my youngest brother was born.
i guess you really can't win them all....
for you veteran posters, you know that i haven't been on in a while, and for the new ones....like you care!
but i felt it necessary after reading some articles and getting a very breif, and general, temperature check around here, that some rational be levied on the nation...
1st...this team was not that good to begin with. the defense was shaky at best, had no depth. we have a converted full back playing line backer, converted WR playing DB, and i think at one point a converted OL playing on the DL. the offense was a 3 headed monster...Rogers, Bray and Hunter. this team could not run the ball and RB depth was average at best, no offense Tauren Poole.
2nd...injuries mattered on this team. w/out the quailty depth needed to compete, and relying on a bunch of freshman does not translate in to success on the field. the offense became even worse than one dimensional w/out Bray and Hunter.
3rd...the schedule...even in our prime that schedule was daunting. playing Bama and LSU back to back with Georgia and USC as bookends and Arkansas for dessert was almost cruel and unusual punishment. Throw in the annual loss to Florida and we get what we get.
4th..expectations...what were they really before the season started? mine were 6-6...obviously didn't expect to lose to Kentucky, but by the end, i can't say i'm surprised. still disappointing. but no one in their right mind had us doing anything significant, 7-5 was probalby the celing for this team.
by now you've all had these reasons force fed to you, so i won't go on any more about them other than to say, they were real, not contrived, timely excuses to explain away a terrible season.
as for what to do now and where to go from here....i will say this, the KY game was the first time in Dooley's 2 years where i thought he was un prepared and didn't have the team ready. he got out coached, no doubt.
but it's year two of the biggest re build job this program has had to go thru since what, 1977? this program is in bad shape right now (and that is not Dooley's fault, we should all keep that in mind, he's been given lemons and is being asked to make Champagne...now) and Dooley was right about one thing, we've hit bottom and there's no ignoring that a lot has to happen and change for this program to get back to where we want it.
so, in the end, i still say Dooley should get his 4-5 years. the next two recruiting classes are huge, and by the time these Freshmen and Sophomores become Jrs and Srs....we should expect to see vast improvement.
if not, i don't have any doubt that Dooley's life expectancy as the head coach here will shorten. and he probably knows that too.
look at this way, at least it's over! Go Vols.
eace2:
oh yeah, we lost to a team that we hadn't lost to since before my youngest brother was born.
i guess you really can't win them all....
for you veteran posters, you know that i haven't been on in a while, and for the new ones....like you care!
but i felt it necessary after reading some articles and getting a very breif, and general, temperature check around here, that some rational be levied on the nation...
1st...this team was not that good to begin with. the defense was shaky at best, had no depth. we have a converted full back playing line backer, converted WR playing DB, and i think at one point a converted OL playing on the DL. the offense was a 3 headed monster...Rogers, Bray and Hunter. this team could not run the ball and RB depth was average at best, no offense Tauren Poole.
2nd...injuries mattered on this team. w/out the quailty depth needed to compete, and relying on a bunch of freshman does not translate in to success on the field. the offense became even worse than one dimensional w/out Bray and Hunter.
3rd...the schedule...even in our prime that schedule was daunting. playing Bama and LSU back to back with Georgia and USC as bookends and Arkansas for dessert was almost cruel and unusual punishment. Throw in the annual loss to Florida and we get what we get.
4th..expectations...what were they really before the season started? mine were 6-6...obviously didn't expect to lose to Kentucky, but by the end, i can't say i'm surprised. still disappointing. but no one in their right mind had us doing anything significant, 7-5 was probalby the celing for this team.
by now you've all had these reasons force fed to you, so i won't go on any more about them other than to say, they were real, not contrived, timely excuses to explain away a terrible season.
as for what to do now and where to go from here....i will say this, the KY game was the first time in Dooley's 2 years where i thought he was un prepared and didn't have the team ready. he got out coached, no doubt.
but it's year two of the biggest re build job this program has had to go thru since what, 1977? this program is in bad shape right now (and that is not Dooley's fault, we should all keep that in mind, he's been given lemons and is being asked to make Champagne...now) and Dooley was right about one thing, we've hit bottom and there's no ignoring that a lot has to happen and change for this program to get back to where we want it.
so, in the end, i still say Dooley should get his 4-5 years. the next two recruiting classes are huge, and by the time these Freshmen and Sophomores become Jrs and Srs....we should expect to see vast improvement.
if not, i don't have any doubt that Dooley's life expectancy as the head coach here will shorten. and he probably knows that too.
look at this way, at least it's over! Go Vols.
eace2:
