Thoughts from UGA fan

[GreyWolf1129]

Well...you gotta put the dumpster fire out before you can get in there and haul out all the burnt trash.

The Florida game will tell us if the fire's out, or still smoldering.

Go Vols.

 

[norriscraftbasser]

Like was said, we MAY have a good starting 22, but it drops off after that (other than maybe RB and WR).
Knew it would be a rough season and it will be. It will take the whole season to be able to tell if we are actually developing into a team, or just maintaining the mess.

Did you add one too many 2s?

 

[njvols]

Just beat up on our cupcakes. Beat Vandy KY and Missouri. And for me personally, beat either Florida or South Carolina. That would make for a very impressive year 1 for me.

This...AND post better effort against UGA and Bama than we did LY.

 

[Volfan2012]

I don't know how good W Va is only time will tell as the season unfolds. We did play with them for a half so that is a positive I guess. They may be terrible and go 7 and 5 but usually when you have an offense like theirs you'll succeed. I thought we should've done more against their defense very conservative play calling sometime. I would've like to see more passes and several more down the field from our offense. I realize we had some protection problems in parts of the game.
Overall I don't think were terrible except that we play in the SEC where almost everybody is excellent. I think Pruitt will get the job done it may not be until year three but I can see us at least being a competitive team in the SEC as he gets players that haven't been influenced by another college coach and learn his system from the beginning.

 

[TJ1985]

Dawg, I agree with everything you said, especially this, "There’s not a coach in this country that could have taken UT’s players and beat WV last Sat."

Sadly, we have to give this new staff time, time that we're tired of giving.

With that being said, I hope yall lose every game this season.

 

[Shakinthefat]

Just beat up on our cupcakes. Beat Vandy KY and Missouri. And for me personally, beat either Florida or South Carolina. That would make for a very impressive year 1 for me.

Vandy and Missouri have QB’s that will pick our DB’s apart. UK will be the only win of the 3 “cupcakes” that is a win, unless UK’s RB has a Heisman game.

 

[njvols]

Vandy and Missouri have QB’s that will pick our DB’s apart. UK will be the only win of the 3 “cupcakes” that is a win, unless UK’s RB has a Heisman game.

Today they do. This is where we'll find out what Pruitt and staff can do developmentally as the season moves along.

 

[BeardedVol]

What’s the consensus on Pruitt? I’ve heard positives and negatives. Kirby had a rough first year and he had depth. UT has a decent starting 22, but not much after that.

JG showed up. Showed a lot more poise this game, in spite of the thin O-line. A couple of your RBs were tough. Jordan wants to play tackle football.

D looks porous. Pruitt just doesn’t have his kind of players on the field to execute. Having to throw those young kids in vs an explosive O like WV’s is a tough position to be in.

This is probably going to be a very trying season for the VolNation. But you have to give Pruitt some time to learn the job and implement his system. There’s not a coach in this country that could have taken UT’s players and beat WV last Sat.

Come back in 2 years.

 

[JonGrudensAgent]

The consensus is some think Pruitt can do no wrong, some think he sucks, some are in wait and see mode.

Or did I miss the meaning of the word consensus?

The roster is not perfect by any stretch but the debut was beyond atrocious.

Staying in a game with a 3rd tier Big 12 team shouldn't have been too tall an order. That team is basically Grier and a couple wide receivers with a bunch of other guys that barely finished over .500 last season.

 

[ConantheVolbarian]

What’s the consensus on Pruitt? I’ve heard positives and negatives. Kirby had a rough first year and he had depth. UT has a decent starting 22, but not much after that.

JG showed up. Showed a lot more poise this game, in spite of the thin O-line. A couple of your RBs were tough. Jordan wants to play tackle football.

D looks porous. Pruitt just doesn’t have his kind of players on the field to execute. Having to throw those young kids in vs an explosive O like WV’s is a tough position to be in.

This is probably going to be a very trying season for the VolNation. But you have to give Pruitt some time to learn the job and implement his system. There’s not a coach in this country that could have taken UT’s players and beat WV last Sat.

I am a fan of Pruitt already. He showed balls by going for it on 4th down after the offense got stuffed three plays in a row. Then his staff made good adjustments after the start of the game went about as badly as it could have. Then he stood at the podium after the game and said that he needed to get better as a coach. He also said his staff needed to get better as well. Pruitt is a man.

 

[CardsNVols]

I might be in a very small minority, but I came away from Saturday's game encouraged. Yes, we got our asses thoroughly handed to us by a Big 12 team, but I saw some things I really liked. IMO JG showed he is the guy beyond the shadow of a doubt, we have guys who run the ball hard, and our offensive playcalling was noticeably better and more creative than in recent years, which is especially important given our immense struggles on the O-line. The defense was flat out humbled, but what am I supposed to say? We started three true freshmen in the secondary against a 5th year senior QB and likely heisman candidate. Our front 7 struggled, but in the first half, the few times they were able to get penetration, there was notable disruption, and it forced Grier into some errant behavior. In the second half, Grier did a much better job of taking what the defense was giving him, and ultimately looked like a 5th year senior going against secondary that was playing high school football this time last year.

But the thing that actually impressed me was the team's composure. There were some glaring execution issues in the 2nd half, but the team never stopped playing hard, and they didn't hang their heads. Perhaps the biggest impression upon me from this game took place as the time was expiring in the 4th quarter and the camera panned to Guarantano, who was walking down the sideline giving fist bumps and reassuring his teammates. That is the mark of leadership, and something from which this team will greatly benefit over the course of the season.

I do not expect this to be a great or even good year, but I do expect this team to actually finish the season a much better team than the one that took the field Saturday, and that is honestly all I am asking for right now.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

CJP is facing a learning curve.

I mean, he has to coach his players through their learning curves. Sure. But he faces his own learning curve, as well.

And it doesn't have anything to do with football. It's about leadership.

Jeremy has never in his life, probably, had to coach a group of kids who lack self-confidence and an innate knowledge that they can win on the biggest stages. He coached at high-performing high schools, then at three strong university programs before arriving in Knoxville. Most of his adult life, he has been part of a program where everyone--from the head coach to the youngest bench warmer--expected to win against most teams they faced.

Now Jeremy has to figure out how it works when HE must be the source of confidence and assurance. He has never been the central star in that particular solar system. It's new to him.

And it takes different leadership skills.

I wish him the best, and hope he breaks the code quickly. Our success depends on this.

Go Vols!

 

[feathersax]

Kirby had a team that went 10-3 the year before he got there. Pruitt has a team that went 4-8. You are right on your assumption that it takes time to learn to be a head football coach.

Anyone on VolNation who thinks that Pruitt is a miracle worker and believed this team would look like BAMA is a fool. It's gonna take time, which does in fact irritate me (to no end) because I'm tired of the "re-build" that keeps happening. Facts are that Butch was a used-car salesman and put the Vols in a hole. I believe that Pruitt is the guy to dig them out.

Wish I could. LIKE THIS post multiple times.

 

[MaTaLa]

I am a fan of Pruitt already. He showed balls by going for it on 4th down after the offense got stuffed three plays in a row. Then his staff made good adjustments after the start of the game went about as badly as it could have. Then he stood at the podium after the game and said that he needed to get better as a coach. He also said his staff needed to get better as well. Pruitt is a man.

Second half adjustments didn't look so good and, tbh, he's a breath of fresh air compared to Butch but he's not doing anything over and above what I'd expect from a big school hire. I think it'll take time for him to find his Head Coaching style and feel secure in that. We'll see if he can get it do soon enough.

 

[BigBadVol]

What’s the consensus on Pruitt? I’ve heard positives and negatives. Kirby had a rough first year and he had depth. UT has a decent starting 22, but not much after that.

JG showed up. Showed a lot more poise this game, in spite of the thin O-line. A couple of your RBs were tough. Jordan wants to play tackle football.

D looks porous. Pruitt just doesn’t have his kind of players on the field to execute. Having to throw those young kids in vs an explosive O like WV’s is a tough position to be in.

This is probably going to be a very trying season for the VolNation. But you have to give Pruitt some time to learn the job and implement his system. There’s not a coach in this country that could have taken UT’s players and beat WV last Sat.

Well said and classy. Rare for a Dawg. Just kidding, well maybe not. We want to get to GA's and AL's level but we need 2 or 3 more recruiting classes under CJP to get to that level. Most recognize this but some are immature and it shows in their vitriol toward the staff already.

 

[fossilfiction]

I don't know if there's a single person on this board who thought we would look like Bama this year.

@Orange defense thought we would be there. Just saying, there was one.

 

[KBVol]

What’s the consensus on Pruitt? I’ve heard positives and negatives. Kirby had a rough first year and he had depth. UT has a decent starting 22, but not much after that.

JG showed up. Showed a lot more poise this game, in spite of the thin O-line. A couple of your RBs were tough. Jordan wants to play tackle football.

D looks porous. Pruitt just doesn’t have his kind of players on the field to execute. Having to throw those young kids in vs an explosive O like WV’s is a tough position to be in.

This is probably going to be a very trying season for the VolNation. But you have to give Pruitt some time to learn the job and implement his system. There’s not a coach in this country that could have taken UT’s players and beat WV last Sat.

Who the eff asked you? Go pound sand and enjoy winning the east until Tennessee starts kicking your arse all over the place year after year again here in a couple years.

 

[FLVOL_79]

Pruitt took over the worst team in 121 years of Tennessee football history. Getting more than 4 wins will be a miracle with this talent.

 

[KBVol]

Come back in 2 years.

Yep. And until then he can go kick rocks with that condescending BS.

 

[njvols]

I am a fan of Pruitt already. He showed balls by going for it on 4th down after the offense got stuffed three plays in a row. Then his staff made good adjustments after the start of the game went about as badly as it could have. Then he stood at the podium after the game and said that he needed to get better as a coach. He also said his staff needed to get better as well. Pruitt is a man.

Doesn't really count for much right now, but I get the feeling that Pruitt just likes to coach, and tells it like he see's it. Not that other coaches don't like to coach, but get the feeling for some others, like Mullen, it's about being "high profile" or trying to impress someone how good of a coach they are. I don't think Pruitt really cares what anyone thinks...which is good, especially with this tough year coming.

If he can start winning, we're gonna jump over alot of our fellow SEC folks in pecking order pretty fast...just not this year. Time for those assistant coaches, who we think pretty highly of to get busy coaching them up.

 

[Volsfaninva917]

What’s the consensus on Pruitt? I’ve heard positives and negatives. Kirby had a rough first year and he had depth. UT has a decent starting 22, but not much after that.

JG showed up. Showed a lot more poise this game, in spite of the thin O-line. A couple of your RBs were tough. Jordan wants to play tackle football.

D looks porous. Pruitt just doesn’t have his kind of players on the field to execute. Having to throw those young kids in vs an explosive O like WV’s is a tough position to be in.

This is probably going to be a very trying season for the VolNation. But you have to give Pruitt some time to learn the job and implement his system. There’s not a coach in this country that could have taken UT’s players and beat WV last Sat.

It's not fair to judge him until after year 2, unless of course he has a major let down against a lowly opponent.

 

[46yrvol]

We're not a team trying to go from terrible to great(can't happen). We're a team trying to go from terrible to mediocre and, if successful, then to great.

 

[OldandStillaVol]

CJP is facing a learning curve.

I mean, he has to coach his players through their learning curves. Sure. But he faces his own learning curve, as well.

And it doesn't have anything to do with football. It's about leadership.

Jeremy has never in his life, probably, had to coach a group of kids who lack self-confidence and an innate knowledge that they can win on the biggest stages. He coached at high-performing high schools, then at three strong university programs before arriving in Knoxville. Most of his adult life, he has been part of a program where everyone--from the head coach to the youngest bench warmer--expected to win against most teams they faced.

Now Jeremy has to figure out how it works when HE must be the source of confidence and assurance. He has never been the central star in that particular solar system. It's new to him.

And it takes different leadership skills.

I wish him the best, and hope he breaks the code quickly. Our success depends on this.

Go Vols!

That’s a good observation. I do think he at least has the knowledge of what it will take to win in the SEC. Never thought any of our previous 3 coaches had that.

 

[Weezer]

I'm impressed. I had no idea Dawg fans could think.

 

[Johnnyreb#VFL]

Vandy and Missouri have QB’s that will pick our DB’s apart. UK will be the only win of the 3 “cupcakes” that is a win, unless UK’s RB has a Heisman game.

You misunderstood. The 3 cupcakes I was referring to were UTEP ETSU and Charlotte. Nothing about Vandy Ky or Mizz is cupcake anymore.