What if this team stayed healthy?

#1
P

ProfessorD

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
963
Likes
394
#1
I see a lot of blaming Butch or DeBord or Shoop. But hardly anyone recognizes that this team was playing a lot of third string guys.
If this team didn't suffer the injuries it did to so many key players could we have beaten a&m? I think we definitely beat sc and give Bama all they wanted. We would be headed to Atlanta for a rematch with Bama and easily be in the CFP top 10.
I know this season didn't turn out like we had hoped but I honestly don't think it is all on the coaches. I'm not saying they don't have a part in the way this team came out flat this year but if Bama had the injuries we sustained this year, that is all the media would be talking about when they lost.
Also I know if ifs and buts where candy and nuts we'd all have a merry Christmas. Just wanting to know why everyone expected a third string defense to play well in the SEC.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: 8 people
#3
#3
hardyemt_p said:
it all goes dack to recruiting quality depth. obviously my vols aren't there yet.
Click to expand...

This is silly

If you believe a team can lose 15+ starters over the course of the season and shouldn't skip a beat, you are delusional.

Any coach ever would struggle with that. The level of "depth" to achieve that is just unheard of.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 10 people
#6
#6
If this team was even relatively healthy, they would be in Atlanta no doubt.

Bama is stacked roster wise and can plug and play. But, if they had as many key injuries to key starters, they wouldn't be undefeated right now. Probably 1 and maybe 2 losses right now.

The Ole Miss and LSU games could have easily gone the other way for Bama if multiple key starters were out those games......
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#7
#7
If this team stayed healthy, we would be playing New England in the Super Bowl.
 
#8
#8
Would have liked to have had Kamara against SC. Turned the ball over too much at A&M or they probably would have won. A perfectly healthy Tennessee team might have kept the Alabama score from getting way out of hand. I'm going to say they would have beat SC with a healthier team, but Dobbs was off that night and he's our starter so..

So 1 of the 3, only one game that i think really would have been different. You can't turn the ball over 7 times and expect to beat anybody. SC... They were flat as a pancake coming off the bye, unprepared and looked sloppy, unmotivated and Hurd was a quitter.
 
#9
#9
To further support "losing starters hurts", look at Green Bay. Pro teams are built of quality players all the way to taxi squad. Loss starters and look at GB to see what happens.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#10
#10
ProfessorD said:
I see a lot of blaming Butch or DeBord or Shoop. But hardly anyone recognizes that this team was playing a lot of third string guys.
If this team didn't suffer the injuries it did to so many key players could we have beaten a&m? I think we definitely beat sc and give Bama all they wanted. We would be headed to Atlanta for a rematch with Bama and easily be in the CFP top 10.
I know this season didn't turn out like we had hoped but I honestly don't think it is all on the coaches. I'm not saying they don't have a part in the way this team came out flat this year but if Bama had the injuries we sustained this year, that is all the media would be talking about when they lost.
Also I know if ifs and buts where candy and nuts we'd all have a merry Christmas. Just wanting to know why everyone expected a third string defense to play well in the SEC.
Click to expand...

I agree - team has done well in spite of injuries. I just hope the team can beat Vandy and win in bowl to keep the people who want Butch and TN to fail at bay.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#11
#11
I don't post often but I have to say that injuries really affected the playbook and thus the coaches ability to truly show their stuff. I equate it to trying to paint a masterpiece with one brush and only a couple of different paint colors. Kinda tough.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#13
#13
I know it's been noted many times, but I do think some won't acknowledge it as factor, and just rant that we have not yet achieved Bama's level of depth:

Reeves-Maybin
Sutton
Tuttle
McKenzie
Kirkland
Kamara
Numerous O-Linemen
Numerous DBs
Evan Berry
Hurd, O'Brien for other reasons

That's a lot of talent, leadership and experience, especially the top three DTs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#14
#14
JMO but I think a certain rb's drama started at A&M and carried thru to scar. Seems like a different team now but the injuries sure ain't helping none. Fingers and toes crossed this Sat LOL.
 
#15
#15
Injury stats for Saturdays game has 10 guys out of TN starting line up as it sets today, 3 left team, 1 dis missed the other 6 injuried, TN certaonly had injuries at times that cost them there us no doubt but, as everyone wants to discuss and put their side of things to point the fact still is as said on this FORUM, TN has backed into the record they have, they were 100% opening day and won a game in OT against a team that everyone couldn't wait to see play Miami to justify why TN struggled against such a great team, then they had a hell mary to win another against a team that is playing a true fresh Q, I think supporters and nah sayers alike are trully missing the point, TN is not consistant in any game to game play, yes injuries play a role no doubt but the HC plays the biggest role, teams are inherent to their coach, no matter what the supporters will savor in CJ, and the haters will hate, Coaches for the most part do what they think is right what they know, very seldom does a coach change (Mark Richet) for example, meaning coaches reach a high point and have a hard time getting to that next level, Jones may have reached his HIGH POINT...
 
#16
#16
Here's my analysis for what little it's worth...

Coaching...The only things coaches can do is teach, try to motivate, coach them up and try to get the players focused and keep them totally focused.

After that it's 100% totally on the players to execute at a high level on both sides of the ball in order to get the WIN.

Confidence factor...Last season our coaches and players all SAW, beyond any doubt, that we could play with any Team in the country including 2 of the Playoff Teams since we WERE leading in the games against both of them into the 4th quarter.

We all BELIEVED including JRM, Sutton and AK and that belief and confidence in their ability to WIN the SEC and make a serious Playoff run is why those 3 decided to forget the NFL and come back to Tennessee to try to make some serious college footVol history.

Then you add on top of that all the huge amounts of pre-season hype and top 10 rankings and our players became OVERconfident.

So OVERconfident that it seems they believed that they could just walk out on the field and the other Team would just lay down and give up.

We would all think that the App State game would have taught our players their lessons but they kept doing it game after game and the comeback at The Battle at Bristol seems to have further increased their confidence so they gave floriDUHHH a huge 1st half lead and then came back and totally Dominated them so they again learned nothing about giving 100% effort for 60 minutes.

All we hear about from the UGa game is the Hail Mary play and man oh man what a beautiful miracle play that was to watch because it so rarely works.

Everyone forgets that we should never have needed that play because we would have been Winning anyway if Mr Hurd hadn't been showboating and gotten the ball knocked out of his hand right before he crossed the goal line.

Huge negative by Mr Hurd that almost Lost us the UGa game BUT I believe it was right then at the UGa game that our Team chemistry started to unravel.

THINK...Mr Hurd probably did get, and certainly deserved, a serious butt chewing from our coaches and you can bet that many of our players also jumped in on it.

Then came the mystery injury to Mr Hurd and he didn't even travel to the aTm game and suddenly our Team focus was in tatters and turnovers that were bad before became much worse.

Without all those turnovers there's zero doubts that we would have stomped the aTm Aggies, not 1 doubt at all.

We were already playing with a MASH unit from a massive amount of injuries but now our Team chemistry was also badly inured and along comes the rolling turd of alaBubba that totally destroyed us.

Team chemistry and confidence are now totally destroyed beyond repair and even with a Bye week we come out at USCe and lay a total egg, can't get our focus and MoJo back and this time it even Josh Dobbs seems to be badly effected.

I greatly appreciate the Honor and Loyalty of buTch but in hindsight maybe it would have been best to encourage Mr Hurd to leave our footVol program before the aTm game and lessen the negative impact Mr Hurd obviously had on our Team.

Had that been done sooner maybe we Win the aTm game and I'd say probably we WIN the game with USCe and we would be the SEC East Champions.

1 thing is certain and undeniable...Since Mr Hurd has been gone our O has been outstanding and really putting up the points.

Yes, it's been against lesser teams but with our D totally destroyed by massive injuries the pressure to score early and often has also increased a huge amount and our kids on the O side have done a remarkable job to carry our Team to WINS even with O linemen continuing to fall to injuries.

Massive amounts of injuries most certainly HAVE played a huge part in what's taken place so far this season but injuries alone haven't been the only problems that Team 120 has been forced to deal with.

Now comes a much improved Candy Commode door team and whoever we play in our Bowl game.

We all need to unite, get LOUD at the games and show Team 120 and the players that won't be with us next season how much we love and believe in them and how much we greatly appreciate all they go through so we can all enjoy a great footVol game and more WINS this season.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my brother and sister Tennessee fans!

VFL...GBO!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 people
#18
#18
omghulkhands said:
This is silly

If you believe a team can lose 15+ starters over the course of the season and shouldn't skip a beat, you are delusional.

Any coach ever would struggle with that. The level of "depth" to achieve that is just unheard of.
Click to expand...

To be honest we didn't lose the A'M or SCe game because of injuries. 7 turnovers cost us the A'M game and lack of motivation and uninspired play from Dobb's and the offense cost us the S.Carolina game. We weren't beating Ala with a healthy team.
 
#19
#19
Team was healthy early on and barely beat App State and Ohio. The real and constant problem this year has been poor coaching, and no amount of spin can change that. Just look at all the penalties this year which indicate lack of discipline (and let's not even talk about few of the most talented players quitting in the middle of the year).
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#20
#20
While it's no doubt that injuries have contributed to some issues on this team, that is simply one factor in a very complex season.

If you look at the way this team starts games it becomes apparent that there is a significant coaching problem. Leading up to the game is when the coaches should be developing a successful game plan against the opponent, teaching that game plan, preparing the players, and motivating the players. There also should be plays scripted for the first couple of series at least.

So, considering that, when does our team play its worst? At the beginning of games especially throughout the first quarter and most of the second quarter. That is a sign that the coaching staff is failing in these areas. And it is a major red flag of concern. That said, you have to give the coaching staff credit for making adjustments during the game and motivating the players well for the second half.

I believe Butch has done an excellent job in upgrading the talent level, and I believe he's shown himself to be a good recruiter. However, as with everything involving Coach Jones, there is a flip side to that story. While he seems to be good at recruiting players, he doesn't seem to be great at managing relationships with the players and maintaining them at the school. There has been a very high level of attrition, brought to a head by the fact that two Five Star players walked away from the team this season. That is very uncommon and is a major red flag of concern.

Butch has done some really good things to rebuild morale and bring a family-like atmosphere back to Tennessee football. But at the same time, every time he gets near a microphone he is overly defensive and manages to take shots at the people who make up his fan base. That doesn't even factor in the number of times he's insulted people's intelligence by being dishonest and his obsession with hiding behind inauthentic coach speak.

So you see the pattern, Butch takes a step forward in one area and manages to take a step back in another area at the same time. In all areas of the program. That's why there is so much tension in the program right now, and it will eventually break if he doesn't change some things... Beginning with letting go of his stubborn arrogance.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#21
#21
ShoalCreekVol said:
While it's no doubt that injuries have contributed to some issues on this team, that is simply one factor in a very complex season.

If you look at the way this team starts games it becomes apparent that there is a significant coaching problem. Leading up to the game is when the coaches should be developing a successful game plan against the opponent, teaching that game plan, preparing the players, and motivating the players. There also should be plays scripted for the first couple of series at least.

So, considering that, when does our team play its worst? At the beginning of games especially throughout the first quarter and most of the second quarter. That is a sign that the coaching staff is failing in these areas. And it is a major red flag of concern. That said, you have to give the coaching staff credit for making adjustments during the game and motivating the players well for the second half.

I believe Butch has done an excellent job in upgrading the talent level, and I believe he's shown himself to be a good recruiter. However, as with everything involving Coach Jones, there is a flip side to that story. While he seems to be good at recruiting players, he doesn't seem to be great at managing relationships with the players and maintaining them at the school. There has been a very high level of attrition, brought to a head by the fact that two Five Star players walked away from the team this season. That is very uncommon and is a major red flag of concern.

Butch has done some really good things to rebuild morale and bring a family-like atmosphere back to Tennessee football. But at the same time, every time he gets near a microphone he is overly defensive and manages to take shots at the people who make up his fan base. That doesn't even factor in the number of times he's insulted people's intelligence by being dishonest and his obsession with hiding behind inauthentic coach speak.

So you see the pattern, Butch takes a step forward in one area and manages to take a step back in another area at the same time. In all areas of the program. That's why there is so much tension in the program right now, and it will eventually break if he doesn't change some things... Beginning with letting go of his stubborn arrogance.
Click to expand...

Amen to all of this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#22
#22
But you don't mention how they played after halftime adjustments. Good coaching. You can't have it both ways. If the first half is because of bad coaching then the 2nd half is because of good coaching :D.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#25
#25
jasonvol18 said:
To be honest we didn't lose the A'M or SCe game because of injuries. 7 turnovers cost us the A'M game and lack of motivation and uninspired play from Dobb's and the offense cost us the S.Carolina game. We weren't beating Ala with a healthy team.
Click to expand...

To be honest if key defenders didn't miss A&M game the Vols wouldn't have given up all that yardage and points. So yeah it did have a lot to do with injuries
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.
Advertisement



Back
Top