Why can't we have a 1st year turnaround under Pruitt like 2015 Michigan or Florida?

#126
#126
IndianapolisVol said:
When are you releasing your full 2018 draft projections? I saw the Allen and Jackson thread but we are all patiently awaiting the full position by position breakdown.
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Soon. Very soon. I want these rankings to be great. Look out for them early next week in the NFL subforum.
 
#127
#127
1974Vol said:
If we can stay healthy, there is no reason why we can't win 10 games in 2018.

Okay the good news...looking at the 2018 schedule the Vols only play 3 good teams - Alabama, Georgia and Auburn.

Now the bad news...every team on the 2018 schedule that was on the 2017 schedule beat Tennessee last year.

6-6 with a bowl should be the expectation. Anything better will be gravy.

Here is the thing early success is crucial for this team. If they could beat West Virginia and Florida then maybe they get 8 wins but that's pretty much the ceiling.
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Last year is last year. This year is this year.

You guys are making the mistake of assuming what happened last year will translate to this season. It won't. You'll see a brand new team in 2018. I believe Jeremy Pruitt is 100x the coach Butch Jones was. He'll get this roster to play up to it's talent level which is top 11 in the country.
 
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#128
#128
dobbs 4 heisman said:
last year is last year. This year is this year.

You guys are making the mistake of assuming what happened last year will translate to this season. It won't. You'll see a brand new team in 2018. I believe jeremy pruitt is 100x the coach butch jones was. He'll get this roster to play up to it's talent level which is top 11 in the sec.
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fyp
 
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#130
#130
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
Remember 2015? In the preseason expectations were low for 1st year head coaches Jim Harbaugh and Jim McElwain. Both took over teams that had bad records the year before. Neither team had much blue-chip talent on offense. There are huge questions about Florida's offensive line. There were questions about Michigan QB situation. And yet in year 1 both teams ended up winning 10 games and were ranked in the top 10 nationally for at least some time during the season after starting out the season unranked.

What everyone underestimated in 2015 about Michigan and Florida was the amount of blue-chip talent they had on defense. Both schools had recruited really well over the preceding 4 years and even though they didn't win as many games as their recruiting rankings warranted, they still had talent. And what they needed to get that talent to play up to it's potential was a competent head coach. Once they got the new coach both teams took off immediately.

We all know Butch Jones was a totally incompetent head coach. The early practice reports in the spring are showing just how little coaching our players received under the previous coaching staff. With that said, the previous staff did do a decent job recruiting. According to 247sports, our 4-year composite recruiting ranks 11th overall in the nation. That's talent comparable to what Jim Harbaugh inherited at Michigan from Brady Hoke. If Jeremy Pruitt is even halfway decent as a head coach, we have every reason to expect a big turnaround next season. Yes there are questions on this team. Yes we have depth issues as certain positions. However, there is no denying we have a lot of top end talent as well. Especially on defense. And given the fact Jeremy Pruitt is thought of as a defensive mastermind, we should expect to see a big turnaround on defense this year.

We have enough talent on paper to beat everyone on our schedule other than Alabama, Georgia, and Auburn. And it's not impossible to believe we could steal a game from one of those three. This team has had the talent the last 3 years to be ELITE. We were just held back by incompetent coaching and bad luck with injuries. If we can stay healthy, there is no reason why we can't win 10 games in 2018.
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You left out perhaps the biggest factor in a big turnaround. Neither Michigan or Florida were converting from a zone read offense to a standard pro style power running offense. Plus, neither Florida or Michigan were converting from a 4 - 3 base defense to a 3-4 base defense.

Neither change is a quick and easy one to make. Our OL has to convert from a athletic lean OL to a big powerful drive blocking style. Our defensive line has to adjust to a 3 man line that can essentially take on 5 blockers and hold their own to allow 4 linebackers to fill gaps and make plays.
 
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#131
#131
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
Keep rooting against the Vols.

We'll see how mad you are in December when we have 10 wins.
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I don’t root against the Vols, ever. Been a Vols fan for decades before you, who is anything but a Vols fan, were born and then swore them off (and Dobbs) here on VolNation. What I do root against is your unending trolling and stupidity, hence my FYP post.
 
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#132
#132
I'll put my two cents in: Looking back at last year's 4-8 team, We probably should have won a couple of other games, such as South Carolina, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. I believe a big part of those losses was the attitude of both the team and the coaches at the end of the season, knowing a change was pending. Had we won those games , Coach Jones would still be here, under an extremely hot seat and 2018 would then have been his last, so we are probably better off. I don't expect to win 10 games this year, but I honestly expect to win at least 7 and 8 would not shock me. I believe there is talent on defense and we have an excellent defensive coach and while I doubt if we set the world on fire on offense, I think the style of play, under center, bigger backs and throwing the ball downfield will be a pleasant surprise for us. I know there are concerns about the offensive line, but there are two things that I think will help: 1. The style of smash mouth will be helpful to some of the existing recruits that maybe struggled with the "Zone" philosophy of coach Jones. If we have a first and goal from the 1, we will line up under center and at least try and run the ball in. 2. If Trey Smith comes back, we are at least 20% better on the O line and hopefully the junior college transfer, Johnson will be an improvement also. If Hall comes back, the possibility of having at least a decent O line is there.
 
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#134
#134
We don't have the talent or depth. Our Offensive line can't block, our offense can't sustain drives to eat time off the clock and give our defense rest, so eventually our defense gives up.

Look for more of the same this year if we can't get our line to block.
 
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#135
#135
People just don't understand that if you have a bad coach (not just a coach that has a losing record,but an actual horrible coach) that you have to get rid of them immediately no questions asked. We held on to Dooley 2 seasons too long and butch for 2 seasons too long. This is now the result. The program that so many people said was resurectred by Butch was also devastated by the very same idiot. You get what we have now. Probably no better off as a program then when we fired Dooley all those years ago.
 
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#138
#138
Coaching is one thing. Managing a game is another. Pruitt is unproven managing. On the bright side. You guys probably wont take a step backwards. Probably.
 
#140
#140
jmfDAWG said:
Coaching is one thing. Managing a game is another. Pruitt is unproven managing. On the bright side. You guys probably wont take a step backwards. Probably.
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Solid point.

Pruitt is a teacher, and from all accounts a very good one. It looks like that is trickling down through his staff to his players. That by itself is miles ahead of the last experiment. The managing is an unknown and what separates the teachers from the elite coaches. The last guy did neither very well.
 
#141
#141
jmfDAWG said:
Coaching is one thing. Managing a game is another. Pruitt is unproven managing. On the bright side. You guys probably wont take a step backwards. Probably.
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Agreed. That said, even if you’re not the best gameday coach in the world, you can still win a ton of games, even a national title if you can recruit at the highest levels and coach the hell out of your players Sunday thru Friday....Fulmer proved that imho.
 
#142
#142
KBVol said:
I don’t root against the Vols, ever. Been a Vols fan for decades before you, who is anything but a Vols fan, were born and then swore them off (and Dobbs) here on VolNation. What I do root against is your unending trolling and stupidity, hence my FYP post.
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I clearly remember you enjoying yourself after we lost to South Carolina 2 years ago and Dobbs had an awful game.

You can't root against me without also rooting against the Vols since I only predict us to win. So by extension the only times you can be successful is when the Vols lose.
 
#143
#143
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
Soon. Very soon. I want these rankings to be great. Look out for them early next week in the NFL subforum.
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Patiently waiting. Your superior track record speaks for itself. Thank you for all of the insight that you provide on here free of charge.

Have you ever considered going into scouting or sports journalism as a career? Just wondering. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.
 
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#144
#144
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
I clearly remember you enjoying yourself after we lost to South Carolina 2 years ago and Dobbs had an awful game.

You can't root against me without also rooting against the Vols since I only predict us to win. So by extension the only times you can be successful is when the Vols lose.
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Your memory, like your “predictions”, sucks. Was sick to my stomach that Tennessee, with the opportunity to win the freaking East, came out and played so awful....with Dobbs leading the way with his 3 turnovers and 12.5 QBR. He picked an incredibly bad time to play his worst game of the season. Had he played even remotely well, we surely win the game and our SECe hopes are still alive. Instead.....we all know what happened.
 
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#146
#146
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
I clearly remember you enjoying yourself after we lost to South Carolina 2 years ago and Dobbs had an awful game.

You can't root against me without also rooting against the Vols since I only predict us to win. So by extension the only times you can be successful is when the Vols lose.
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Btw, your last paragraph there. What does that even mean?

I’m not trying to be “successful” on here....I’m only pulling for my Vols while at the same time calling balls and strikes. I’m not into stupid pie in the sky, unrealistic crap like you. All that prediction mess, at which you’re just awful by the way, that’s your schtick, not mine. If I see a 5-6-7 win roster and team, if that’s my opinion, that’s what I’m gonna say on here....rather than spewing a bunch of BS for 4 years running about how we’re loaded with talent, gonna have the best defense in the country and should be expected to win at least 10 games in year one of a major overhaul and rebuild of the program by a first-time head coach.

So go ahead with whatever it is you’re trying to “win” on here with your ridiculous posts. I’ll just keep pulling for the Vols, like I have for nearly 45 years now, while never publicly disavowing them and calling my supposed favorite player a fraud who I never should’ve believed in from the start.
 
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#147
#147
IndianapolisVol said:
Patiently waiting. Your superior track record speaks for itself. Thank you for all of the insight that you provide on here free of charge.

Have you ever considered going into scouting or sports journalism as a career? Just wondering. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.
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Real NFL owners, GM's and coaches don't use the "eye test" that D4H possesses, therefore he is not a fit for scouting. As for sports journalism, it's bad enough listening to an arrogant blow hard like Paul Kuharsky in Nashville w/o adding another.
 
#148
#148
OriginalCoach said:
Real NFL owners, GM's and coaches don't use the "eye test" that D4H possesses, therefore he is not a fit for scouting. As for sports journalism, it's bad enough listening to an arrogant blow hard like Paul Kuharsky in Nashville w/o adding another.
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D4H is probably the most qualified scout on all of VolNation. The amount of scouting reports and prediction threads he’s provided is impressive in itself. His predictions are usually spot on, too.

I don’t recall any of the so called “experts” predicting Kamara to have the first year success that he did. Yet D4H predicted it even before the 2017 draft.

A lot of people give him a hard time, and I have to admit that I’ve given him a hard time in the past as well but if he left everyone would miss him. I cancelled 24/7 and Volquest a few months back because having a sports analyst of D4H’s caliber has increased VolNation’s worth tremendously.
 
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#149
#149
I think a big reason our season tanked last year had as much to do with players giving up on Jones and Jones giving up himself knowing his time was up. There heard the noise going down the stretch. Now we have a ton of things to get better at, but talent wise we were better than we performed last year. Hopefully the coaching changes help get things straightened out sooner than expected. I think this team is capable of winning 7-8 for sure. Of course we need a reprieve from mass injuries and we have to keep improving but I think it is attainable. GBO!!!!
 
#150
#150
Dude, am I the only one who would be pleased with 7 wins? Not over the moon about it, but relieved. 8 wins would be a treat, 9 a dream, and 10 a miracle. Because that means we beat at least one of Bama, Auburn or UGA.

I'm not into 6 or 7 years, but can the man get a year to implement his scheme before we predict double digit wins? Remember, Butch neat Kirby in Kirbys first year? We won on a Hail Mary, but we were behind because of a Hail Mary.

All I'm saying is, the universe doesn't care we have been bad for a decade. We are not "due" for a good year. Real life doesn't work that way.

For now, I believe in CJP. I mean, why not? He is OUR guy. I believe (mainly on hope and faith) we are on the right path. We will get there.

Let's get behind him and root for this team to be the best they can be and get better every day.
 
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