Too early for me

[orange+white=heaven]

Not enough substance out there for me to bother with VolNotes today. Sorry.


I do want to weigh in before the Golden Eagles arrive though.[side note.. Golden Bears/Golden Eagles. Omen?]

I've not really written much this week. Partly loss hangover, partly uncertainty. Are we a bad team? Are we a poorly prepared team? Was it just a bad game? I now think some small measure of each is the proper answer.

There are positives out there to take stock of.

Ainge is in good form. No huddle is not far from real productivity. The cementing element is a legit deep ball threat and the new guys will find their way into the lineup to make that happen.

Defensive backfield has talent. This group will, I think, improve quickly. Bright future here.

Linebackers, a supposed strength, now have much to prove.
A lot of character and talent resides in that group, I believe they will answer the challenge to their manhood.

Running back is perplexing. They don't look like they are producing, yet they are. More carries, plus Coker, and this aspect can yet be an asset.

The 800 pound gorilla in the room is defensive line. The simple truth is the Volunteers are precariously thin here. This is the albatross that will be around our necks all season. There is simply no way to fix thin. At least that is what my barber says.

Long and short here. I'm not ready to put a lid on this season so soon. I want to see the Florida and Georgia games.

I won't belittle those who've already seen enough. I simply want to see more.

Now let's go play well tomorrow..

Go Vols!!!

 

[GAVol]

I'm in the same boat as you. The result against Cal was very disappointing, but I'm not sure it necessarily means that we are a bad football team.

 

[Jewbaccah]

Amen :clapping:

 

[BRAD]

I'll give that an amen Brother!!!!

 

[rexvol]

I wasnt shocked by the Cal loss, but it did hurt. I expected us to win, but I wasnt shocked that we lost. I was shocked at the ease with which Cal ran around us. I have been used to Tennessee having a great deal of team speed and I thought we looked very slow in comparison Sat night. I was shocked that we couldnt punch it in from the goal line against a Cal defense that didnt impress me. I was shocked that we didnt see more of the new wr's, but I shouldnt have been. Phil wont play those guys unless we up or down by 3 touchdowns. If O'Neal is as fast as they say he is, at least try more than one weak deep ball.

 

[jakez4ut]

all good and fair points...and good perspective...i think.

i guess we all just have to once again resign ourselves we're still in a "wait and see" mode. the good, or bad news depending on how you want to look at it, is we won't have to wait very long......tomorrow defending CUSA champs with a good RB and 8 days away from a trip to the Swamp. we'll find out soon enough huh?

 

[GAVol]

...and before anybody calls me a homer, the reason I say this is because I think the only people that are really shocked by Saturday's result are Tennessee fans. I think the rest of the country views Cal as a formidable enough opponent - especially at their place - that it's not making them write off Tennessee football automatically. But I agree with you Rex, there were some things that happened Saturday that are cause for concern.

 

[jakez4ut]

...and before anybody calls me a homer, the reason I say this is because I think the only people that are really shocked by Saturday's result are Tennessee fans. I think the rest of the country views Cal as a formidable enough opponent - especially at their place - that it's not making them write off Tennessee football automatically. But I agree with you Rex, there were some things that happened Saturday that are cause for concern.

as was evidenced by the fact that the only person i heard in the media pick TN to win was Bob Kesling. virtually everone outside the Southeast picked Cal.

and i have to remind myself that before the season started, i said 9-3 with a loss @ FL and two more from the group of Cal, SC, GA, and Bama....

so as far as i'm concerned, we are still right on track i guess. but like you said, i'm also like Rex....the BIG difference in speed in some of the places we saw it wasn't something i was expecting. And at the end of the day, Cal was more physical too....which i definitely didn't expect.

 

[orangeblooded_2]

...and before anybody calls me a homer, the reason I say this is because I think the only people that are really shocked by Saturday's result are Tennessee fans. I think the rest of the country views Cal as a formidable enough opponent - especially at their place - that it's not making them write off Tennessee football automatically. But I agree with you Rex, there were some things that happened Saturday that are cause for concern.

Nothing wrong with being called a HOMER...Im a homer and damn proud of it.

As far as the No Huddle...It paid off huge benefits that got hidden behind the scoreboard. I seen CAL have to use 2 Timeouts because UT got it close to the goalline and CAL didnt have their goalline defense in...problem is it was such a slugfest, nobody really paid attention. The No Huddle is a great offensive weapon...maybe not reflective by the stats, but in a close game, its going to be great knowing an opposing team has used all of their TOs in the 4th quarter trying to defend it.

 

[coffeevol]

I am worried about USM, good football team

 

[jakez4ut]

Nothing wrong with being called a HOMER...Im a homer and damn proud of it.

As far as the No Huddle...It paid off huge benefits that got hidden behind the scoreboard. I seen CAL have to use 2 Timeouts because UT got it close to the goalline and CAL didnt have their goalline defense in...problem is it was such a slugfest, nobody really paid attention. The No Huddle is a great offensive weapon...maybe not reflective by the stats, but in a close game, its going to be great knowing an opposing team has used all of their TOs in the 4th quarter trying to defend it.

i know what you're saying and agree with you about the TO's and substitutions etc....but........

 

[NationofVols]

The 800 pound gorilla in the room is defensive line. The simple truth is the Volunteers are precariously thin here. This is the albatross that will be around our necks all season. There is simply no way to fix thin. At least that is what my barber says.

:lolabove: Mine says the same thing. haha

Although Nioxin works well from what I hear. Going through the "experiment" myself right now.

 

[VolinArizona]

I feel like we were outplayed and outcoached by a team that shouldn't have outplayed and outcoached us. Still, with the ?s at Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, we can still win the division and get to the always fun SECCG.

 

[jakez4ut]

I feel like we were outplayed and outcoached by a team that shouldn't have outplayed and outcoached us. Still, with the ?s at Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, we can still win the division and get to the always fun SECCG.

there would be some irony to that if it were to happen.....LSU would be the one coming in likely with the NT aspirations, and we are the undermanned, "cinderella", for lack of a better word....would be nice to see the tables turn the way they did for LSU in 01...

if that were to happen anyway.......:whistling:

 

[rexvol]

...and before anybody calls me a homer, the reason I say this is because I think the only people that are really shocked by Saturday's result are Tennessee fans. I think the rest of the country views Cal as a formidable enough opponent - especially at their place - that it's not making them write off Tennessee football automatically. But I agree with you Rex, there were some things that happened Saturday that are cause for concern.

can you remember the last time that you saw a Tennessee team completely outclassed in speed and Jake said it, they were far more physical than we were. I find that especially disheartening since all we heard out of Phil was how physical we were going to be. The sad fact is that Cal didnt just run around us, they ran over us, and they ran through us.

 

[jakez4ut]

can you remember the last time that you saw a Tennessee team completely outclassed in speed and Jake said it, they were far more physical than we were. I find that especially disheartening since all we heard out of Phil was how physical we were going to be. The sad fact is that Cal didnt just run around us, they ran over us, and they ran through us.

i wouldn't go that far. when i said more physical, when they hit us, they really arrived in a bad mood. several times helmets were knocked off, the hit on Ainge and the O line pushing our D line around is what got me.

the majority of the offense though, was running around and gashing....they didn't "pound" us with a running game, they kept us off balance with the way they mixed up the run and pass....

anyway.........

 

[TennesseeT]

I don't really understand why a lot of people on here think that the reason our team lost was because lack of defensive speed. I think we all watched the same game, I actually watched it twice. As I said before we were just a few plays away from changing the outcome of that game. Regardless what I saw consistently was guys flying by the Cal receivers and backs. This suggest that it was more an issue of overpusuit and not being in control of themselves and their adrenaline. I think that had a lot to do with first game jitters and also the turf. I say it all works out and they play a lot better defensively here on out. If the DL can step up and a big play WR emerges I think the Vols are in Atl come December.

 

[orangeblooded_2]

i wouldn't go that far. when i said more physical, when they hit us, they really arrived in a bad mood. several times helmets were knocked off, the hit on Ainge and the O line pushing our D line around is what got me.

the majority of the offense though, was running around and gashing....they didn't "pound" us with a running game, they kept us off balance with the way they mixed up the run and pass....
anyway.........

Somebody posted a youtube link to that hit on Ainge and after seeing it, I realize it was a LB blitz from the left side, where the LB lined up with the slot receiver....he must have covered 20 yards because he didnt start the move to the QB until the play started....just a great play by CAL.

 

[jakez4ut]

Somebody posted a youtube link to that hit on Ainge and after seeing it, I realize it was a LB blitz from the left side, where the LB lined up with the slot receiver....he must have covered 20 yards because he didnt start the move to the QB until the play started....just a great play by CAL.

yes it was. and what was more amazing to me what that no one...NO ONE...picked up the mis match....a LB on a WR....and he never even looked his way. never checked out of a play etc...that was frustrating to see from a SR qb and a so called Offensive coordinator that is "outhinking" himself................i'm stopping, not going to do this again today...sorry.

 

[orangeblooded_2]

yes it was. and what was more amazing to me what that no one...NO ONE...picked up the mis match....a LB on a WR....and he never even looked his way. never checked out of a play etc...that was frustrating to see from a SR qb and a so called Offensive coordinator that is "outhinking" himself................i'm stopping, not going to do this again today...sorry.

I didnt see who UT had in the slot...it may have been a TE which would make sense...but if it were a WR, then YES, Ainge needs his butt kicked for not seeing it.

 

[rexvol]

i wouldn't go that far. when i said more physical, when they hit us, they really arrived in a bad mood. several times helmets were knocked off, the hit on Ainge and the O line pushing our D line around is what got me.

the majority of the offense though, was running around and gashing....they didn't "pound" us with a running game, they kept us off balance with the way they mixed up the run and pass....

anyway.........

watch their last possession when Forsett and Best were just killing us, when the game got close they took the physicality to the next level and we folded.

 

[GAVol]

watch their last possession when Forsett and Best were just killing us, when the game got close they took the physicality to the next level and we folded.

That to me was the most thing about the whole game. Cal's last 2 drives looked a lot like Penn State in the Outback Bowl.

I can take getting beaten by dynamic athletes, but it really looked like they were just tougher than we were, and that's hard to swallow.

 

[vader]

I'm in the same boat as you. The result against Cal was very disappointing, but I'm not sure it necessarily means that we are a bad football team.

I feel the same way. :crossfingers:

 

[jakez4ut]

watch their last possession when Forsett and Best were just killing us, when the game got close they took the physicality to the next level and we folded.

that's why i did say "the majority of the offense".....

 

[rexvol]

That to me was the most thing about the whole game. Cal's last 2 drives looked a lot like Penn State in the Outback Bowl.

I can take getting beaten by dynamic athletes, but it really looked like they were just tougher than we were, and that's hard to swallow.

thanks for the memories, there goes my breakfast, you know I worked with a therapist for monthes to supress those.