The Vols will be better than expected if (-----).

[KBVol]

Actually, KB, to a good SunBelt team. The best SunBelt team, in fact.

Still a SunBelt team. Your point stands. Just gotta give the Mountaineers credit for being the class of their conference.

No JP, being a SunBelt team in and of itself connotes that you're a "bad" team that has absolutely no business staying on the field with the prohibitive favorite to win the the SECe. They're fine for a SunBelt team, but what happened to them two weeks later vs Miami, a 45-10 loss, is about what should've happened to them in Neyland.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

No JP, being a SunBelt team in and of itself connotes that you're a "bad" team that has absolutely no business staying on the field with the prohibitive favorite to win the the SECe. They're fine for a SunBelt team, but what happened to them two weeks later vs Miami, a 45-10 loss, is about what should've happened to them in Neyland.

Ok, this is turning into a discussion of the English language rather than football, but you could've said "to a bad team" and been more or less right (compared to Power 5) ... or "to a SunBelt team" and been right (with all that implies). But to say "to a bad SunBelt team," putting the two together, that's just wrong. They were the BEST SunBelt team in 2016. Period.

I'm not saying this to defend the Vols' dismal performance. Saying it purely to give the Mountaineers credit for what they accomplished in 2016. They were their conference champs.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

But these "eat crow" threads tend to only go 1 way. Such as, how many Vols fans ate crow after last season?

Oh, no they don't, Boca. I've eaten crow on these forums more than once for being too optimistic about our chances.

The crow eating definitely goes both ways.

 

[Boca Vol]

I'll go ahead and say I'm eating crow either way this year also. I ended up voting the second option but after much deliberation. Either way, I have zero room to smack talk after the outcome.
But I'm perfectly ok standing by my word. No bs excuses like : I know what I said about if he beats UF but a different loss means I get to take it back.

This is one of the biggest issues on here....Hell, plenty of teams beat UF these day...it's not that big of a deal EXCEPT to UT fans.

I feel the same about winning the East...someone has to. It doesn't mean you're a good team. See UF the last 2 years.

 

[Iam4utalways]

It doesnt matter on Vandy, if you lost to a team last season, you cant consider then a gimme game the following season. Especially considering that we are likely not as good a team as last season, even though we all hope we are.

Your prediction of EO may very well be correct, we will have to see. But LSU is a different animal than his time at Ole Miss, and you still cant argue that talent wise they are still better than us.

Saban team lost the NC on a last season play, with a freshman QB and was beaten by the team with the best QB in the country. Get real dude. Stop trying to convince yourself he is slipping. Besides, he can slip off the NC level and still be light years ahead of Tennessee right now.

I doesn't matter about Vandy, they beat us last year.

I could be right about EO, but coaching won't matter it's LSU.

I could be right about bama, but it doesn't matter it's bama.

 

[chargervol]

This is one of the biggest issues on here....Hell, plenty of teams beat UF these day...it's not that big of a deal EXCEPT to UT fans.

I agree but I never made them out as some superior opponent. Never said if Butch led us to victory, I would (blank or blank). My point was, if I had said that, I would have stuck to my word instead of finding escape clauses.
Both the eating of crow and the excuses not to, are alive and well in both groups. Far from a one way as you previously suggested.

 

[Boca Vol]

Oh, no they don't, Boca. I've eaten crow on these forums more than once for being too optimistic about our chances.

The crow eating definitely goes both ways.

Then it falls on deaf ears.

Hell, you could have a "Eating Crow Roll Call" after the:
Texas A&M
Bama
USC
Vandy

Games last season and it would have been crickets.

Bottom line: Eating Crow is stupid. You have an opinion and it's OK. Whether you're right or wrong, life goes on.

 

[Boca Vol]

I agree but I never made them out as some superior opponent. Never said if Butch led us to victory, I would (blank or blank). My point was, if I had said that, I would have stuck to my word instead of finding escape clauses.
Both the eating of crow and the excuses not to, are alive and well in both groups. Far from a one way as you previously suggested.

No, they only get called out when _____picked ______to beat UT....Never when they pick UT to beat_____ but they didn't.

How many "Crow Eating" threads were there after losses last season?

The rest of your post I agree with.

 

[chargervol]

Then it falls on deaf ears.

Hell, you could have a "Eating Crow Roll Call" after the:
Texas A&M
Bama
USC
Vandy

Games last season and it would have been crickets.

Bottom line: Eating Crow is stupid. You have an opinion and it's OK. Whether you're right or wrong, life goes on.

I mostly agree.
Unfortunately, we have posters that state opinions as fact and basically call others stupid if they don't agree.
Nothing wrong with those people taking a nice slice of humility. On either side.

 

[Boca Vol]

I mostly agree.
Unfortunately, we have posters that state opinions as fact and basically call others stupid if they don't agree.
Nothing wrong with those people taking a nice slice of humility. On either side.

Agree! :good!:

The games are played on the field, not on a keyboard.

 

[Iam4utalways]

No, they only get called out when _____picked ______to beat UT....Never when they pick UT to beat_____ but they didn't.

How many "Crow Eating" threads were there after losses last season?

The rest of your post I agree with.

So after a loss, I have to eat crow too.

 

[tennrich1]

Stay healthy for the most part

And the corners and safeties improve - look for the ball and make plays.

Not worried about the offense at all

This is where I am mostly...THE NUMBER ONE KEY IS STAYING HEALTHY...Especially on the defensive front....We just can not absorb the injuries to the level we experienced last season and be better....Also the secondary MUST play with intelligence and skill...man coverage has to be better...I do feel our offense will be ok...and IF we stay reasonably healthy there too then we should develop as the season goes along....

 

[chargervol]

This thread has really grown, and I want to go ahead and state my beliefs now for future reference. (But someone help me remember

Until last year, Butch gave me reason to believe we would get there the old fashioned way, steady and noses to the grindstone. He made me optimistic.

Last year I predicted 10 wins (regular season) and said my confidence would be shaken with less than 9. Well, it was.
Now, I'm debating between option 2 and 3. I picked 2 because it contained the word "possible". Not because I feel it's likely. But, my opinion has and is that a decent defense and we are most likely at 10 wins last yr. So I'm retaining some hope with that belief.
However, I need to be impressed by something this year. Negas are correct that we need to be reloading, not rebuilding in yr 5.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

I picked 2 because it contained the word "possible". Not because I feel it's likely. But, my opinion has and is that a decent defense and we are most likely at 10 wins last yr. So I'm retaining some hope with that belief.

However, I need to be impressed by something this year. Negas are correct that we need to be reloading, not rebuilding in yr 5.

Your words are either on the mark, or pretty darn close to it, for the majority of VolNation*, Charger. I think you have, more or less, the prevailing viewpoint.





* Based on the poll thread's results so far.

 

[gunner]

Guice scares me... but for the most part, you're right. They were not that good last year and we have them at home - plus the "O" factor. Who knows how that will work?

Agreed, he's good and is cause for concern for UT. But, they have Coach O and that's a plenty of cause for concern for LSU fans.

 

[jbr82]

Lol, its gonna be funny if Butch pulls it together this year and surprises everybody. The " eat crow" threads will crash the place and the excuse wagon will have a new driver and crew. Oh lawdz.

I'll take that crow. But CBJ has to prove it for many to believe

 

[VFL-82-JP]

I'll take that crow. But CBJ has to prove it for many to believe

Hoping he does. As are most here, I know.

 

[CAVPUT]

Hell freezes over? Every year it's the same thing. Fans get hyped and overly optimistic. Everyone expects double digit wins and a spot in the SEC championship game. This bunch with the schedule at hand is a 6-7 win team. Nashville for a bowl game sounds about right.

 

[KINGSVOL]

Fill in the blank, Vols will be better than expected if ____ and when the season starts!

 

[BowlBrother85]

Hell freezes over? Every year it's the same thing. Fans get hyped and overly optimistic. Everyone expects double digit wins and a spot in the SEC championship game. This bunch with the schedule at hand is a 6-7 win team. Nashville for a bowl game sounds about right.

Can I get a HELL YEAH?!?! :rock:

 

[volfannbama]

I doesn't matter about Vandy, they beat us last year.

I could be right about EO, but coaching won't matter it's LSU.

I could be right about bama, but it doesn't matter it's bama.

Uhm...ok

 

[Darth_Shiveman]

He is 3-1 vs USC and beat their 11-2 team in 2013. That's overselling it just a bit. We will beat them at home this year... and Vandy too. Our defensive struggles with injuries are well documented here.

...and LSU will be a close game - could go either way just like Georgia. I doubt we either win both or lose both.

Butch is 3-1 vs USCe but he's 0-3 vs Muschamp

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Butch is 3-1 vs USCe but he's 0-3 vs Muschamp

Yeah, that's worrying. Sometimes one coach just gets inside another coach's decision cycle. I truly hope that's not what's happening with these two. There are few other coaches I would hate to continue losing to more than Muschamp. Worst kind of smart ass.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Again, they had more first downs and more yards in the second half of the game than the first and without several 50/50 things all going in our favor, we lose the first game of the season at home to a bad SunBelt team.

I guess we'll need to take away your hero Fulmer's Natty because he was two plays away from 2 losses in 1998.

 

[Behr]

Hell freezes over? Every year it's the same thing. Fans get hyped and overly optimistic. Everyone expects double digit wins and a spot in the SEC championship game. This bunch with the schedule at hand is a 6-7 win team. Nashville for a bowl game sounds about right.

Why does it bother people so much that other people get excited and optimistic? Lol, its friggin football. The world ain't ending. I can't wait for season. I hope we win the fawkin Super Bowl.