We have a good team.

#51
#51
ntxVOL said:
Sorry, not drinking the kool-aid. I expect the OL to take a step back this season. Hope I'm wrong but I'll have to see it to believe any different.

BTW, I'll take experienced but avg over inexperienced but talented any day. OL especially takes time to gel. Hopefully it's not a complete dumpster fire.
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The PFF numbers from the outgoing OL were really bad...especially at pass blocking. Ever wonder why NONE of them were drafted?
 
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#52
#52
ntxVOL said:
Sorry, not drinking the kool-aid. I expect the OL to take a step back this season. Hope I'm wrong but I'll have to see it to believe any different.

BTW, I'll take experienced but avg over inexperienced but talented any day. OL especially takes time to gel. Hopefully it's not a complete dumpster fire.
Click to expand...
Go examine the names on the roster in the 50’s thru the 70’s and look at all those names we sweated until they showed up. Especially the last 2 classes after the Spector of the NCAA hammer had less impact on the relationship establishment phase.

Notice the quantity of guys with an R in front of their class, guys way up our board with time in our weight room and training table. Targets, not fallbacks. Brought in some highly regarded portal guys too. Big list to yield 8 or so crunch time contributors from with continued development for those not yet there.
 
#53
#53
ntxVOL said:
Sorry, not drinking the kool-aid. I expect the OL to take a step back this season. Hope I'm wrong but I'll have to see it to believe any different.

BTW, I'll take experienced but avg over inexperienced but talented any day. OL especially takes time to gel. Hopefully it's not a complete dumpster fire.
Click to expand...

You could be 110% correct on the OL this year. However I remember all of the OLs there during the wilderness times, and they got experience (most stayed 4 years) but never improved. We are really only replacing 2 guys that haven’t started college games.
 
#55
#55
Brave Volunteer said:
8-4 is probably where we'll finish. I dont see a path to beating Georgia at all. Beating Alabama at Brian Dennehy stadium will be a tall order and Deboer has notoriously been very successful in his 2nd year. We haven't won in Gainesville since George W was in office. And I think we drop one that we are favored in because...thats what Huepel teams do (I'm thinking Oklahoma).
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"That's what Heupel teams do" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

That's what almost all teams do
 
#63
#63
Rocky Top T said:
We are a 7-9 win team. 9-3 would be a good season
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This.

I like Heupel, he seems like a good person. He was a great hire to clean out the debris of 10 years of bad management.

We are entering the phase of his time here where HIS decisions will tell the tale. He has won so far with Pruitt's players and then a mix of his own and Pruitt's players. Now his roster is HIS. He does not make staff changes unless forced to do so. This is HIS staff.

What happens next? I look at the roster and don't see many playmakers. I'm dubious about our staff outside of Garner. I see 8 wins. Maybe 9, maybe 7. 10 wins is a dream.
 
#66
#66
BernardKingGOAT said:
Sorry, Pard, but no one knows what's in your mind. Your posts don't provide such a context. Especially since you react critically to him in every post about him 🤷
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Here is my original quote...

8-4 is probably where we'll finish. I dont see a path to beating Georgia at all. Beating Alabama at Brian Dennehy stadium will be a tall order and DeBoer has notoriously been very successful in his 2nd year. We haven't won in Gainesville since George W was in office. And I think we drop one that we are favored in because...thats what Huepel teams do (I'm thinking Oklahoma)
Click to expand...
 
#67
#67
Brave Volunteer said:
8-4 is probably where we'll finish. I dont see a path to beating Georgia at all. Beating Alabama at Brian Dennehy stadium will be a tall order and Deboer has notoriously been very successful in his 2nd year. We haven't won in Gainesville since George W was in office. And I think we drop one that we are favored in because...thats what Huepel teams do (I'm thinking Oklahoma).
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To be fair, all teams drop a game they’re favored in outside of about 5 every year.

Edit: And I see this has been discussed already.
 
#69
#69
hUTch2002 said:
To be fair, all teams drop a game they’re favored in outside of about 5 every year.
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Again, I didn't say it as some kind of "gotcha" against Huepel. I used it as an indicator to try and predict our record for this year. Huep has coached 4 seasons here and in all 4 seasons he's lost a game he should've won. The most accurate predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
 
#72
#72
Brave Volunteer said:
Again, I didn't say it as some kind of "gotcha" against Huepel. I used it as an indicator to try and predict our record for this year. Huep has coached 4 seasons here and in all 4 seasons he's lost a game he should've won. The most accurate predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
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Ok. I wasn’t saying it as a gotcha moment against you either. All good.
 
#73
#73
bpalmer28 said:
Fair, but consider this:

Moe > Karic
Pendleton > Spraggins
JMO but the WRs LittleVol mentioned are better players than Bru (post-injury), Squirrel, and Thornton.
Sanders > Campbell
2025 Heard > 2024 Heard
2025 Kitselman > 2024 Kitselman
Davis has the athleticism to explode if his blocking is improved.
Bishop led the team in YPC last year and didn't show the fumbling problems that plagued Sampson.
Jury is still out on Satterwhite but he is bigger, stronger, and had a higher rating as a recruit than Mays.

If Aguilar can simply avoid mistakes hit the open guys I feel confident that we'll be better on offense in 2025.
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A lot of those Oline guys I agree are more talented but they’ve never played as a unit. Not to mention Coop being gone means we’re breaking in a new center. How that line gels and how quickly they can do it will determine a lot this year. If the Oline is good I believe Aguilar can be as good or better than Nico was last year. Lots of youth at lots of postions.

I think this team probably looks a little discombobulated out of the gate but is a team no one wants to play at the end of the year. Just seems like an 8-4 year where we drop a game we shouldn’t to someone on the road. Georgia, Bama, Florida will be tough.
 
#74
#74
orangebloodgmc said:
He has established NO "pattern" of losing home games in Neyland. Yeah, GA will prob be favored, but I think we led them at halftime last year, at THEIR place. 🤔
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No doubt, there is definitely a path to beating Georgia. No SEC games are easy, but the Vols are capable of beating everyone on their schedule. They are also capable of losing some games that they should win. That’s why things are settled on the field. They are no sure things in the SEC and this year looks as wide open as ever. Every team in the SEC has at least a few pretty big question marks. I am excited, this team has the potential to be a playoff team and compete in the SEC. But nothing is easy and the teams that can bring that week to week consistency are the ones likely standing in the end. GBO!
 
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