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By DAVID CLIMER THE TENNESSEAN September 12, 2009
KNOXVILLE In his first nine months on the job, Lane Kiffin came off as (choose your description) brash, brazen, confident or cocky.
Maybe all of the above.
After Tennessees season-opening blowout of Western Kentucky last weekend, Kiffin turned a bit smug.
Consider this, then, his official introduction to the current state of Vol Ball. On a number of given Saturdays this fall, the unofficial post-game meal will be Humble Pie.
Humility was served on this day at Neyland Stadium. After the Vols were throttled 19-15 by UCLA, a second-tier Pac-10 football team, Kiffin looked and sounded like someone who now understands that the rebuilding of this program is going to require patience and resilience.
Kiffin acknowledged he didnt do a very good job of handling things with quarterback Jonathan Crompton. He said it was my fault for putting players like wideout Gerald Jones on the field in key situations despite a lack of practice time due to injury.
Kiffin needs to save some of that humility for later. The Vols play at Florida next Saturday. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
From what we saw out of Tennessee on Saturday, this is a team capable of putting up only token resistance at The Swamp. The Vols offense committed four turnovers and managed just 208 yards and one touchdown against UCLA.
Kiffin, who oversees the offense and calls the plays, termed the offensive performance embarrassing.
Meanwhile, I dont know if youve heard about this or not, but Florida has made Sept. 19 an orange-letter day on its calendar. Shortly after his arrival at UT, Kiffin began taking verbal jabs at Gators Coach Urban Meyer. Some of Kiffins more colorful comments have been plastered all over the Gators practice facility.
After winning its first two games by a combined 118-9, top-ranked Florida appears ready to flex its muscles. Tennessee? Well, lets just say the Vols better be in survival mode.
Id say theyll probably be ready for us, said UT defensive tackle Dan Williams.
The UCLA game was a painful reminder that Tennessee is very much a work in progress. The opening rout of Western Kentucky was an illusion. The meltdown against the Bruins was a reality check.
(2 of 2)
Weve got a long way to go, said freshman wide receiver Marsalis Teague, who was held without a reception after catching six balls against Western Kentucky. Weve got to learn from this and move on.
Much work remains. The change of coaching staffs may have given a number of players fresh starts, but there still are some bad habits lingering from the 5-7 performance of last season.
Kiffin said he noticed some grousing and finger-pointing when he entered the locker room after the UCLA game. He intervened. Clearly, Kiffin understands that he must change the culture of this program.
Thats Coach Kiffins job, said Vols linebacker Nick Reveiz. Hes going to point that out and correct our mistakes. I think we came together as a team.
Repairing the Vols collective psyche is one thing. Fixing UTs on-field problems is another.
Lets face it: Tennessee is not going to beat teams of substance with this kind of quarterbacking from Jonathan Crompton. His numbers 13-of-26 passing for just 93 yards, with three interceptions were comparable to some of the low points of last season.
The interceptions came on three consecutive series. On the first, he overthrew an open receiver. On the second, he locked in on a receiver and failed to see the cornerback jumping the route. On the third, he threw late and off-target.
In short, Crompton reverted to last years form. And thats not good for the Vols.
Asked if his struggles reminded him of 08, Crompton said: I dont think about last year.
It remains to be seen if Crompton can pull himself out of this. If he cant, how long does Kiffin go with him?
As things turned sour against UCLA, Kiffin said he never considered benching Crompton in favor of junior Nick Stephens, who started six games last season.
But if things dont get better, all bets are off.
And this just in: Its not going to get better against Florida.
Weve got a long way to go, said freshman wide receiver Marsalis Teague, who was held without a reception after catching six balls against Western Kentucky. Weve got to learn from this and move on.
Much work remains. The change of coaching staffs may have given a number of players fresh starts, but there still are some bad habits lingering from the 5-7 performance of last season.
Kiffin said he noticed some grousing and finger-pointing when he entered the locker room after the UCLA game. He intervened. Clearly, Kiffin understands that he must change the culture of this program.
Thats Coach Kiffins job, said Vols linebacker Nick Reveiz. Hes going to point that out and correct our mistakes. I think we came together as a team.
Repairing the Vols collective psyche is one thing. Fixing UTs on-field problems is another.
Lets face it: Tennessee is not going to beat teams of substance with this kind of quarterbacking from Jonathan Crompton. His numbers 13-of-26 passing for just 93 yards, with three interceptions were comparable to some of the low points of last season.
The interceptions came on three consecutive series. On the first, he overthrew an open receiver. On the second, he locked in on a receiver and failed to see the cornerback jumping the route. On the third, he threw late and off-target.
In short, Crompton reverted to last years form. And thats not good for the Vols.
Asked if his struggles reminded him of 08, Crompton said: I dont think about last year.
It remains to be seen if Crompton can pull himself out of this. If he cant, how long does Kiffin go with him?
As things turned sour against UCLA, Kiffin said he never considered benching Crompton in favor of junior Nick Stephens, who started six games last season.
But if things dont get better, all bets are off.
And this just in: Its not going to get better against Florida
KNOXVILLE In his first nine months on the job, Lane Kiffin came off as (choose your description) brash, brazen, confident or cocky.
Maybe all of the above.
After Tennessees season-opening blowout of Western Kentucky last weekend, Kiffin turned a bit smug.
Consider this, then, his official introduction to the current state of Vol Ball. On a number of given Saturdays this fall, the unofficial post-game meal will be Humble Pie.
Humility was served on this day at Neyland Stadium. After the Vols were throttled 19-15 by UCLA, a second-tier Pac-10 football team, Kiffin looked and sounded like someone who now understands that the rebuilding of this program is going to require patience and resilience.
Kiffin acknowledged he didnt do a very good job of handling things with quarterback Jonathan Crompton. He said it was my fault for putting players like wideout Gerald Jones on the field in key situations despite a lack of practice time due to injury.
Kiffin needs to save some of that humility for later. The Vols play at Florida next Saturday. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
From what we saw out of Tennessee on Saturday, this is a team capable of putting up only token resistance at The Swamp. The Vols offense committed four turnovers and managed just 208 yards and one touchdown against UCLA.
Kiffin, who oversees the offense and calls the plays, termed the offensive performance embarrassing.
Meanwhile, I dont know if youve heard about this or not, but Florida has made Sept. 19 an orange-letter day on its calendar. Shortly after his arrival at UT, Kiffin began taking verbal jabs at Gators Coach Urban Meyer. Some of Kiffins more colorful comments have been plastered all over the Gators practice facility.
After winning its first two games by a combined 118-9, top-ranked Florida appears ready to flex its muscles. Tennessee? Well, lets just say the Vols better be in survival mode.
Id say theyll probably be ready for us, said UT defensive tackle Dan Williams.
The UCLA game was a painful reminder that Tennessee is very much a work in progress. The opening rout of Western Kentucky was an illusion. The meltdown against the Bruins was a reality check.
(2 of 2)
Weve got a long way to go, said freshman wide receiver Marsalis Teague, who was held without a reception after catching six balls against Western Kentucky. Weve got to learn from this and move on.
Much work remains. The change of coaching staffs may have given a number of players fresh starts, but there still are some bad habits lingering from the 5-7 performance of last season.
Kiffin said he noticed some grousing and finger-pointing when he entered the locker room after the UCLA game. He intervened. Clearly, Kiffin understands that he must change the culture of this program.
Thats Coach Kiffins job, said Vols linebacker Nick Reveiz. Hes going to point that out and correct our mistakes. I think we came together as a team.
Repairing the Vols collective psyche is one thing. Fixing UTs on-field problems is another.
Lets face it: Tennessee is not going to beat teams of substance with this kind of quarterbacking from Jonathan Crompton. His numbers 13-of-26 passing for just 93 yards, with three interceptions were comparable to some of the low points of last season.
The interceptions came on three consecutive series. On the first, he overthrew an open receiver. On the second, he locked in on a receiver and failed to see the cornerback jumping the route. On the third, he threw late and off-target.
In short, Crompton reverted to last years form. And thats not good for the Vols.
Asked if his struggles reminded him of 08, Crompton said: I dont think about last year.
It remains to be seen if Crompton can pull himself out of this. If he cant, how long does Kiffin go with him?
As things turned sour against UCLA, Kiffin said he never considered benching Crompton in favor of junior Nick Stephens, who started six games last season.
But if things dont get better, all bets are off.
And this just in: Its not going to get better against Florida.
Weve got a long way to go, said freshman wide receiver Marsalis Teague, who was held without a reception after catching six balls against Western Kentucky. Weve got to learn from this and move on.
Much work remains. The change of coaching staffs may have given a number of players fresh starts, but there still are some bad habits lingering from the 5-7 performance of last season.
Kiffin said he noticed some grousing and finger-pointing when he entered the locker room after the UCLA game. He intervened. Clearly, Kiffin understands that he must change the culture of this program.
Thats Coach Kiffins job, said Vols linebacker Nick Reveiz. Hes going to point that out and correct our mistakes. I think we came together as a team.
Repairing the Vols collective psyche is one thing. Fixing UTs on-field problems is another.
Lets face it: Tennessee is not going to beat teams of substance with this kind of quarterbacking from Jonathan Crompton. His numbers 13-of-26 passing for just 93 yards, with three interceptions were comparable to some of the low points of last season.
The interceptions came on three consecutive series. On the first, he overthrew an open receiver. On the second, he locked in on a receiver and failed to see the cornerback jumping the route. On the third, he threw late and off-target.
In short, Crompton reverted to last years form. And thats not good for the Vols.
Asked if his struggles reminded him of 08, Crompton said: I dont think about last year.
It remains to be seen if Crompton can pull himself out of this. If he cant, how long does Kiffin go with him?
As things turned sour against UCLA, Kiffin said he never considered benching Crompton in favor of junior Nick Stephens, who started six games last season.
But if things dont get better, all bets are off.
And this just in: Its not going to get better against Florida
