We were a 10 win offense & 7 win defense...

[Brooktrout]

We went from having the best receivers in the nation, to being the team with the second best receivers in the nation. It will no doubt hurt us, but I don't think it will be as bad as some think. Guess we will find out in a week.

If you think UT has the 2nd best WR corps in the nation after losing DR, think again. You don't know much about USCw, Clemson, WVU, Baylor, Mizz, TA&M, etc.. Rating a Juco palyer who has never played a down as one of the best in the nation before he plays is premature, no matter how good everyone thinks he will be.

 

[CA_Vol]

Volnation has turned into a bunch of women posting

Christ, Da'rick was here last year when we went 5-7

Hes not the be all end all

Get a f'en grip

Stunningly stupid statement. The fact that we lost Bray and Hunter last year for significant time may have played into that 5-7 record. DaRick was our only productive offensive player.

 

[Catbone]

The WR corps is so unknown right now, NONE of us know how good we'll be. CP could be as good as advertised, Hunter could come back just as good, a freshman could step up and have a monster season, our running game could be awesome, or we could be completely inept on offense. We just don't know. All of this guessing is obnoxious.

Khaleesi is hot.

 

[daj2576]

Before the DaRick debacle, we were a 9 win offense & 7 win defense meaning we likely had a ceiling of 9 wins and a floor of 7 based on best case / worst case scenarios.

Without DaRick, the dynamics of the offense completely change. We are still talented, but completely unproven. The reality is that none of these kids have experienced winning at this level. Consequently, they have no idea what it takes to meet and exceed team goals. We have been mediocre for so long now that a culture of success simply does not exist at UT. That can change, but not until your most talented players buy in. At this point in Dooley's tenure, this has not yet happened. Whether its childish behavior, mailing it in at Kentucky, multipe thefts, or continued substance abuse issues, the problems consistently involve our most talented players.

With DaRick likely gone for the season, I now believe the UGA & USC games are probably out of reach. The FL, MSU, and Mizzou games are now much more competitive.

As a result, I think our new reality is a ceiling of 8 and a floor of 6 barring a special effort by the remaining members of this team. Still a decent team, but certainly not what it could have been 24 hours ago (with an emphasis on could have been).

It's really sad we aren't going to have the opportunity to see what those 3 receivers could have done with Bray I think it would have been really fun to watch...GBO and I still can't wait to see how we respond!

That is an odd point you make. I thought DR was on a team that went 5-7 last year and 6-7 the year before. It doesn't seem like he was experienced at winning at a high level either.

 

[daj2576]

Stunningly stupid statement. The fact that we lost Bray and Hunter last year for significant time may have played into that 5-7 record. DaRick was our only productive offensive player.

You are right, he threw and caught every pass. He also blocked for himself to make sure he could throw and occupied 10 other players so he could go 1 on 1 with a DB and catch the ball he just threw.

 

[daj2576]

If you think UT has the 2nd best WR corps in the nation after losing DR, think again. You don't know much about USCw, Clemson, WVU, Baylor, Mizz, TA&M, etc.. Rating a Juco palyer who has never played a down as one of the best in the nation before he plays is premature, no matter how good everyone thinks he will be.

First off, let me say "abide". But then I should say "you are being very un-dude like."

How can it be wrong for someone to speculate on how good our WR corp will be when you want to compare them to speculation on how good other WR corps will be? Those WR rankings are ALL speculation.

 

[CA_Vol]

You are right, he threw and caught every pass. He also blocked for himself to make sure he could throw and occupied 10 other players so he could go 1 on 1 with a DB and catch the ball he just threw.

Ok buddy, you're right. Nothing lost here. Old White Lightning will just step in and off we go! Must be nice to be so delusional....

 

[GreyhoundMan]

The WR corps is so unknown right now, NONE of us know how good we'll be. CP could be as good as advertised, Hunter could come back just as good, a freshman could step up and have a monster season, our running game could be awesome, or we could be completely inept on offense. We just don't know. All of this guessing is obnoxious.

Gotta agree -I'd like to see the Vols play at least one or two snaps before deciding the season is a complete failure.

 

[CA_Vol]

That is an odd point you make. I thought DR was on a team that went 5-7 last year and 6-7 the year before. It doesn't seem like he was experienced at winning at a high level either.

Did you miss the word NONE in the sentence you highlighted? It's a fairly all encompassing word that included DaRick.

 

[daj2576]

Ok buddy, you're right. Nothing lost here. Old White Lightning will just step in and off we go! Must be nice to be so delusional....

Delusional is to make a series of comments that are unconnected to reality. I didn't say there was no loss, losing any starter is a loss but pretending that DR was, on his own, the best offensive player is ridiculous and gives no credence to other surrounding situations. It also opens you up to criticisms of "if he was the BEST offensive weapon, then he is also largely responsible for a record of 5-7", right?

He was productive but can that be because the #1 receiver went down last year leaving no other viable options? Or could it be that we relied heavily on the pass game because there was no run game, heavily skewing his numbers, and as he was the only viable receiver remaining he was going to get the ball?

There are many that buy into your line of thinking, that a hugely talented WR can only help a team. I think there are plenty of high profile examples in the NFL that suggest that even if a WR is insanely talented that his attitude can do more to hurt than to help. Is it not possible that this is the case here too?

Finally, if CP is even half as good as advertised and Hunter is 80% of what he can be (which is an athletic, olympic caliber freak) we will still have two of the better WR's in the SEC. Sure, we might be much more blue collar than all flash, but we will still be very good.

 

[daj2576]

Did you miss the word NONE in the sentence you highlighted? It's a fairly all encompassing word that included DaRick.

If it included him, then how does it help prove your point? How does that sentence help strengthen or define the first other two in that same paragraph? In other words keeping DR doesn't solve the problem you are trying to illustrate. Yet, I bet that before DR was dismissed from the team yesterday you wouldn't have made the same statement regarding inexperience.

 

[CA_Vol]

If it included him, then how does it help prove your point? How does that sentence help strengthen or define the first other two in that same paragraph? In other words keeping DR doesn't solve the problem you are trying to illustrate. Yet, I bet that before DR was dismissed from the team yesterday you wouldn't have made the same statement regarding inexperience.

What I think so many of you are missing is how important DR was to the sum total of our offensive talent. Without him in the field, the entire offensive dynamic has changed. Not that we can't be effective, but this loss is big schematically.

Also, my inexperience at winning comment is about the mindset of the program in that these players have not yet experienced the fruits of their labor, i.e. winning. To date, they have all worked diligently and due to a number of circumstances, have only experienced mediocrity. My fear is that with DR's dismissal, the fragility of their mindset, which we have all observed the past two years, will again seep in. My hope is that they are more mature and more talented, and we respond positively. You cannot underestimate the valie of a winning mindset whether it be football, business, or anything in between. That's my point. This unfortunately becomes a huge distraction and can erode much of the positivity and confidence built up throughout the offseason.