Posted by pdhuff on June 7, 2008 at 7:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Cannon fodder.

Posted by ncvol on June 7, 2008 at 7:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Will never understand why so much!
Go Vols...

Posted by vols1314 on June 7, 2008 at 7:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

i guess we have to pay the crappy teams we always schedule to come get their butt handed to them by us.

Posted by KingsportVol on June 7, 2008 at 8 p.m. (Suggest removal)

3 major a** whippins for 2 million bucks by the greatest coach on the planet.Sounds about right to me.

Posted by pdhuff on June 7, 2008 at 8:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Does that money count toward the Fulmer Cup?

Ooop, meant the Neyland Chase.

Posted by vol52 on June 7, 2008 at 8:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Has Fulmer gotten his raise or or is the matter hush hush?

Posted by BigVolinCarolina on June 7, 2008 at 9:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

So, looks like this is the real reason ticket prices were raised...we better not lose any of these games.

As it currently stands, the product on the field isn't worth the value of the money paid. I love UT...I love Volunteer football...I'll always be a fan and a faithful alum...it's not a cheap shot against the current staff but, rather, a realistic trend since the end of the 2001 season.

In any other profession, folks would have been fired for not closing the deal with as many opportunities as the football team has had under Coach Fulmer.

Posted by TommyJack on June 7, 2008 at 9:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

BigVol: That's downright heresy.

Posted by yemmusdarb on June 7, 2008 at 10:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This may seem a little TOO common-sensish, but... why do schools have to PAY other schools to play them? Just because it's an away game for that school?? That's retarded.

I highly doubt Gen. Neyland's teams ever paid other schools just because they were playing them in Knoxville.

It just seems really stupid to me.

Posted by BigVolinCarolina on June 7, 2008 at 10:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)

TommyJack: not sure what you're specifically referencing in terms of "heresy". Part of what I said or all of it?

One clarification, though: when I talked about closing the deal, I meant from 2002 to the present--not the overall career of CPF.

Posted by RichRollin on June 7, 2008 at 10:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

These teams should pay us to play us.

Posted by TommyJack on June 7, 2008 at 11:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

BigVol. My big tongue was firmly in my big cheek.

Posted by tigervol9802 on June 8, 2008 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Trickle-down economics in college football....you gotta love it!

Posted by dw0731 on June 8, 2008 at 9:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Didn't UAB beat Alabama last year or am I mistaken? UT better play in these games or a similar fate could happen.

Posted by waterskier3 on June 8, 2008 at 9:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)

no fulmer has not received his raise... rumor has it the AD is waiting to see by how many points fulmer loses to fla by at home before he makes the offer.. if fulmer loses by single digits he gets 1X his current pay if he loses by double digits he will get 2X his current pay....

Now this is just the rumor.. so please don't leak it to fulmer because he's workin like heck

just kidding no body have a cow!!!!

Posted by dw0731 on June 8, 2008 at 9:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Checked my facts it was Louisiana-Monroe the Alabama lost to last season but you get my point about playing what most ranked teams consider patsies. You got to show up and play every game. That should all be 3 sure wins, and brother we will surely need them with Auburn, Florida and Georgia on our schedule.

Posted by givehim6 on June 8, 2008 at 9:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

OK, so we pay other teams to come to Neyland and play. So why when we go to other non-conference teams home like UCLA thay do not pay us. What a way for scools to make $$$, have some big school pay you to kick your butt. So in cases like where APP. ST. bet Mich. last year did Mich. get a refund?

Posted by dw0731 on June 8, 2008 at 10:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

givehim6, most smaller schools need the money for their athletic departments to schedule obvious mismatches. That 750K means so much to N. Illinois, Wyoming and UAB. Just read Anthlon 2008 predictions and Florida is #1 and loaded especially on offense. We could beat them with turnovers and lucky breaks. Both teams playing their best games though it doesn't look promising (not impossible just daunting). I do believe we will be a better team this year than last. Not predicting we will win the SEC, I think Florida will win it all (NC) but still a better overall team. Man if we could pull that upset over Florida though. I remember running out on the field after that missed field goal in 1998 that was the greatest thing I have ever seen in sports hands down (even back then I was no kid 38 at the time). It was incredible and I will never forget it.

Posted by TommyJack on June 8, 2008 at 10:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)

dw0731: Then you need to take your mo-jo back to this year's FL game. It never hurts to have a plan.

Posted by 99gator on June 8, 2008 at 11:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)

dw0731

i have withheld opinion on the fl-tenn game for this year.....but, after reading some of the preseason stuff, reading posts from people here regarding the tennessee defensive line, and doing further research on florida.....i don't see any way tenn beats florida unless florida hands tenn the game or something funny is in the air.

in 1998, it wasn't a miracle. tenn ended up winning the rest of their games. in 2008, i think it would be a minor miracle.

just a litte stat nugget....for those concerned with the tenn d-line.

i have said that i am not sure tenn will face a better qb than tebow, playmaker than harvin, or o-line than at florida this season.

well here are two under the radar stats regarding florida's o-line. florida led the nation, not just the conference, in third down conversions (percentage) and least amount of negative yardage plays from scrimmage.

also, tenn's big playmaker for this season (gerald jones, the guy who sjt18 compared to harvin) supposedly still is not starting and had 19 touches on the season last year.

i hate to burst the bubble, but i seriously don't see where everyone believes this offense (tenn)will be explosive this season. not, with a first year starting qb, new offensive coord, and the big play ability (tongue in cheek) of rogers and briscoe.

i may turn out to be wrong, and y'all can pelt me with posts, but, i just don't see it.

Posted by murrayvol on June 8, 2008 at 11:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

givehim6: Michigan didn't get a refund but they got a helluva lot of publicity. Just guessing but I'd expect LSU to be a bit more prepared for Appy St.

Posted by murrayvol on June 8, 2008 at 11:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

99gator: If UT beats UF, you can rest assured that in the immortal (albeit paraphrased) words of Freddie Mercury and Queen....."we will we will mock you."

Alas, I pretty much agree w/your post. In closing, however, I'll bet a lot that you don't hang 59 on our boys this year.

Posted by TommyJack on June 8, 2008 at 11:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

99: Could be. Then again, maybe Pope Urban will prepare for us like he did for Michigan. No team or coach is infallible.

Posted by chrisw2967 on June 8, 2008 at 12:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

not changing the subject but on July 3rd Georgias Mark Richt is going to be at the NCO club here at Ft. Stewart so I think im putting on my orange and go check it out.

Posted by chrisw2967 on June 8, 2008 at 12:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

isnt Fla hurting on def. also ?
if so then it may be one of thosr games that comes down to the last team that has the ball.
I dont really see Fla being no different than last year , its also another year where coaches can plan better against Tebow and Harvin after seeing them from last year.
99gator:doing research isnt a bad thing but reading about it and believing in it is another.
we read and believed everything when we were picked in 05 and looked what happened

Posted by pdhuff on June 8, 2008 at 12:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Are donkey's practicing flying around Boerne? Fla not ready for the Vols!

No coach is infalliable? I assume you meant present company excepted.

As BigVolInCarolina so succintly noted above, anyone else would have been shown the gate after nine years. Its all about goals. If at first you don't succeed, lower the goals till you do.

Posted by TommyJack on June 8, 2008 at 12:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

PD: Our coach long ago proved that he is fallible. Suburban's performance against MI seemed to show his. Maybe there are more in store. Who knows?
Besides, if you accept mediocrity long enough, it becomes the norm. Pay more, expect less. (lowers the bar, thus less painful)

Posted by cjraney on June 8, 2008 at 1:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

99gator-
There's a good chance you're right about our offense's lack of explosiveness. However our run game should be strong if we will commit to it. Given that your D-line isn't much better than ours, it wouldn't take much of a miracle for the Vols stay in the game with defense and a solid rushing attack. A UT win would definitely be an accomplishment but its far from a lead-pipe lock for the Gators [especially in June].

Posted by 99gator on June 8, 2008 at 1:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

cjraney

tenn has not been able to run the football well against florida in the last couple of years. in addition, they have not been able to pound the rock like they once did in general.

i am not a big believer that florida will have a great defense or anything, but i don't think tenn has the right offense to take advantage of florida's problems(potential) on the defensive side.

Posted by cjraney on June 8, 2008 at 1:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

99-
I'm thinking you might also believe your D-line has a chance to be much-improved with Dunlap? and that new stud DT. Shut down our running game and put the pressure on Crompton. You could be right.

I'm hoping for the same thing for the Vols D-line. But its less likely for UT since it would mean some JR's & SR's have unexpected break-out seasons or some 2d-string sophomore's just come out of nowhere. Could happen, not too likely.

Posted by cjraney on June 8, 2008 at 1:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

99-
The last couple years have been the Cutcliff running attack which is to say intermittent, inconsistent, and failure to commit throughout 4 quarters. I expect, and hope for, this to change this year.

Since I think you're right about our lack of high-octane offense, I'm betting our new OC doesn't expect to just come in and light up the SEC either. Wouldn't be a reasonable expectation. Sooo, I would bet he will try to lean more heavily on our Sr. RB and solid O-line. I hope he does cause I think its our best chance to win some conf games this year.

Posted by jcherrie on June 8, 2008 at 2:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

How much did Michigan pay to be humiliated by Appalachian State?

Posted by TommyJack on June 8, 2008 at 4:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

jcherrie: Too much.

Posted by pdhuff on June 8, 2008 at 8:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

We should have played Chattanooga instead of N. Ill. Bigger crowd.

Posted by LongtimeVol on June 8, 2008 at 9:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

We pay, like other big programs, so we don't have to do a home and home. It is why we have 7 home games and only 5 away games. We aren't paying UCLA because it is a home and home deal. My complaint with these games is that we tend to play down to the level of competition. Last year we took care of business, but 2 years ago it took a game saving play by Xavier Mitchell on the last play to avoid an embarrassing loss to Air Force, and 3 years ago we narrowly beat UAB 17-10 in our home opener.

Posted by TommyJack on June 8, 2008 at 9:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Longtime: You're right, but CPF doesn't like to "run it up".

PD: We need to schedule a home & home with Tennishoe Tech...save you some driven time.

Posted by invisiblekid on June 8, 2008 at 10:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

99Gator, I stated my case the other day on why I believe our offense will be better than last year. Just to hit the highlights in no particular order: 1)If Clawson is as good as advertised, he should break some of these 20+ year old tendencies that we saw under Fulmer and Cutcliffe 2)I don't buy the installing a new offense argument. If Franklin at Auburn can do it in 8 days, then Clawson should be able to in 8 months. 3)Jones was hampered by a hamstring injury and should be much more of a factor this season. Staying with the WR's for a minute, Paige and Moore could well push Rogers and Briscoe for playing time. 4)Crompton gives the offense more options as far as a downfield game and possibly making an occassional play with his legs. 5)If Cutcliffe can put 32PPG on the board with an injured QB, routine disappearing acts in the second half, and some of the most predictable play calling in the SEC, why shouldn't we expect better? The bottom line though is it's June and no one really has any idea what to expect.

Posted by invisiblekid on June 8, 2008 at 10:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)

99 Gator, just a suggestion for you, it's probably a tad early to consider anything minor miracles at this point. With the Gators defense, I wouldn't consider any SEC games a lock. If there is one thing we have learned the past couple of years, a mediocre defense can keep any opposing team in a game. Especially a mediocre defense that is soft up the middle and last I saw, you guys are counting on two freshmen who have never seen a snap in the SEC at DT.

Posted by Colliervol on June 8, 2008 at 10:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

99gator, you might very well be right. But, then again, remember that Big Brown's trainer thought his horse was unbeatable too. And look how embarrassed he is today. Stuff happens that nobody can account for.

Posted by vol_in_lsu_land on June 8, 2008 at 10:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Guys. I just think we aren't giving the potential that our new OC brings enough consideration. Y'all seem to think it's all about coaching "up" the players you have. Well Tennessee may not have had the best recruiting class this year, but didn't we have two top 10s? (05 and 07 classes?)...To me this says the talent is there. Sooo, let's say hypothetically that Clawson is a diamond in the rough, an offensive genius at the top of the heap, just waiting for his Bowl Division opportunity. Well now he has it at one of the premier schools in the SEC, which happens to be the premier conference in all of college football. I think we have the players if his staff has what it takes to coach them up, put fire in their spirits, and put the ball in their hands on game day.

And defensively, I know we have some holes, but I also think we need to look at Tennessee's repuration for the last 12 or so years on the defensive side of the ball. Chavis may not like recruiting, but he's put together some pretty fast slobber-knocker defenses over the years. He does a pretty good job of making his gameplan. I think he lacks halftime adjustments (seems like we play too much zone in the seconf half)...but for some reason I don't think our defensive woes are going to be as big a factor as some would believe.

So, really guys..I'm trying to be reasonable, positive, and give everyone something to look forward to. Let's see what Clawson can do. I just have this funny feeling (like I did in the 97, 98 time frame) that this team will be special. I'm taking sjt's stance. We need to give this coaching staff two years. They deserve the benefit of the doubt in 08 due to implementing new philosophies. But if CPFs team isn't a BCS team in 2009 I'll be grabbing my pitchfork.

Posted by vol_in_lsu_land on June 8, 2008 at 10:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

that should be reputation not repuration LOL.

Posted by 99gator on June 8, 2008 at 10:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

good to see i got y'all mad at a gator instead of each other.

i don't mean to suggest that tenn can not win. but, i think that it would be safe to say that it would be an upset.

i would say the florida defense should be improved, although still not an elite unit. but, i will explain my thought process on that. florida was as bad defensively last year as they are ever going to be.....and tenn struggled to run the ball. florida also covered their wr's as good as any team they played last season.

so, the coaches may have changed. but, i don't know how quickly they can be up to speed and how good they could be once they do. and, until i see something different, i just have no respect for the skill positions.

now, as someone else said.....respect can be earned quickly. i had no respect for georgia and then along came a beat down.

Posted by BigVolinCarolina on June 8, 2008 at 11:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Anything can happen in these ballgames, particularly in the SEC East--and that's why, as the old saying goes, "they play the game".

As for the UT-Florida matchup this year in Neyland, it's too soon to tell who is going to win the game because players can get into trouble, fall into academic problems or injuries can befall a team.

With that being said, it's a safe bet that, if we lose to Florida, odds are it will be because Meyer will outcoach Fulmer. I HATE saying this, particularly since it involves Florida. But, Meyer knows our tendencies a lot better than Fulmer knows Florida.

Posted by ZacharyUTK on June 8, 2008 at 11:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I wonder how much Michigan payed App State?

Posted by sjt18 on June 9, 2008 at 1:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)

99gator, you are basing your "install" predictions on how long you think it took Meyer. What you seem to be misjudging is the degree to which UT's O will change.

They aren't installing an O that requires a different type of QB to make it effective. In fact, Crompton's style seems to almost be ideal for what Clawson says he wants to do.

Mock all you want but if Jones doesn't self destruct... your mind will be changed fairly early in the season.

I've duly saved the rest of your comments for future reference.

"Minor miracle"? You have to be kidding... Your D was weak last year and the only things you have saying it will be better... are the same things UT has for hoping theirs will be better- some talent and another year's development.

Posted by sjt18 on June 9, 2008 at 1:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)

BigVol, the caveat to your last paragraph is that Meyer doesn't know what Clawson's tendencies will be... in part because the guy can play chamelion. He's run everything from the proset I to the spread option. UF will not have enough of a view of DC through the first two games to have developed an idea of his tendencies in playcalling. He's made a career of not carrying over tendencies from one year/team to the next.

It usually takes Chavis and Fulmer 3 or 4 shots at a new coach before they figure out how to beat them, ie Spurrier and Richt. After they get over the hump, they actually have beaten better teams with less talented ones... in particular against UGA 2004 and most would argue 2007.

Posted by sjt18 on June 9, 2008 at 1:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)

BTW, 99gator. I'm not predicting anything with ANY suggestion of certainty.

UT could collapse into a quivering mass of gellatin. They could surprise the world. I'm pretty much prepared for either- hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Interesting that you cite speculation about UT's D as proof they won't improve and speculation about UF's D that they will... and then come up with it being a "minor miracle" if UT wins... at home.

Posted by txsvol on June 9, 2008 at 3:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Donkeys don't fly over Boerne, but they have nearby pastures full of fainting goats! (BTW, the Aggie Hill Country Extention Station up in Junction recently discovered a new use for sheep----wool!) I'm glad somebody explained the economics of collegiate football to the earlier posters. A school like the University of Chattanooga used to be fodder for us, and maybe Ole Miss, or Auburn, or Georgia. Those blow-out losses funded the budget of the ENTIRE athletic department for the whole year! And, there's always a chance for something like 1958. Go Vols! SAVol

Posted by KingsportVol on June 9, 2008 at 7:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)

TDTN LOL at vols72 the leg humper.

Posted by pdhuff on June 9, 2008 at 7:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)

TT, did Dupree eat some minnows like last time?

Posted by 99gator on June 9, 2008 at 7:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

sjt18

to be truthful, as if you could not tell, i really don't care about the tenn defense.

bottom line, barring injury, florida is going to score points on anybody. period. it's just a matter of how much or how easily. i'm not crazy. florida will not put up 59.

but, they will score. and they will score touchdowns as they are very, very, very good in the red zone. only a rash of turnovers (something they did not do last season) would prevent them from putting up a serious amount of points.....against most anybody.

i only mentioned the thing about the defensive line of tenn because most people have been saying it's the weakness of the defense. well, unless somebody has a strong defensive line against florida. points are coming.

so, under that assumption.....tenn will have to score.....a lot. well, when is the last time tenn put up a whole bunch of points against florida?

thus, my prediction (which is meaningless). i did not go out on a huge limb here. florida will be favored.

Posted by 99gator on June 9, 2008 at 7:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)

sjt18

i'm not basing my assumptions either about the tenn offense on how long it took meyer to get it running at florida. look at most any school and any system.

and as invisiblekid and i have discussed, i am not ready to buy into dave clawson until i see it. i know how popular he is in knoxville, because tenn went outside the volunteer tree on that hire....but, he was at richmond. that ought to cause some pause.....especially when tenn goes on the road. he may be outstanding. but, i would not assume a coach that has never been involved in a d-1 game is ready to whip up on people in the SEC.

Posted by 99gator on June 9, 2008 at 7:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)

also, if the new tennessee system is not all that different....then, what's all the fuss about. everyone is in love with clawson and not much will be different. that doesn't make sense.

Posted by vol_in_lsu_land on June 9, 2008 at 8:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)

99Gator.

I don't think anyone believes that it won't be different. Of course it will be different. It was different under R. Sanders vs. D. Cutcliff (granted, not much). Fulmer likes the pro set offense, but there are lots of possibilities with that style. And no matter what anyone says, it is still the style that most championship teams run. I do believe LSU won the NC last year with a more or less traditional pro style O. The differences that Clawson (may) bring to the table are (1) new ideas...Even traditional offenses can shake things up (2) faith in playmakers...Cutcliff only seemed to have faith in his QB (3) New game and clock management styles. We'll see, but a new guy will usually have his own way of managing the game on gameday.

And the most important thing, I believe, is how Clawson handles his players. He's younger, can identify with the kids, probably has more energy and zeal which trickles down. It's the little things like that which make the difference when all things (talentwise) are more or less equal.

Posted by GoVol on June 9, 2008 at 9:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

If FL comes to Neyland ranked #1 I will guarantee a TN victory.

This game will not be about talent, but simply about who wants it the most. FL will be complacent and TN will be hungry.

TN may not have a great season, but they will beat FL if FL comes in ranked #1. Throw all of the stats out the window on this day...the VOLS will prevail.

Posted by auttat on June 9, 2008 at 10:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns...

Good article on Mayo being a rookie in New England. He seems to be getting a lot of praise.

It's ok KNS. Shouldn't expect you all to run much of anything positive on former players. But we will continue to look forward to the always rewarding, "What does Saban think of this?"

Posted by TommyJack on June 9, 2008 at 11:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)

txsvol: Was a lad, but remember that debacle in '58. I believe Chatt. fans tore down OUR goalposts and all sorts of hell erupted. We stopped playing them a few years later...don't think they've had a decent squad since.

Posted by LongtimeVol on June 9, 2008 at 1 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Not sure the record bears out the idea that after 3 or 4 games Fulmer figured out how to beat Spurrier. CPF won his first game against Spurrier, then lost the next 5, won another, lost 2 more, then won the last one. The best you can say is he broke even in the last four games, but I guess that is progress over 5 straight losses. Thank God for the Zooker who lost 2 of 3 to CPF. Now it is Meyer and we are 0 for 3. As Alabama came to be the measure of Majors, so now Florida is the measure of Fulmer. He is 5-11 and IMO this has become a must win game every year until that series is brought back in line.

Posted by orangebloodgmc on June 9, 2008 at 1:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I believe LSU opens their season this year with Appalachian State. Maybe Coach Miles can stay at LSU and still get to see what it feels like being a Michigan coach.

Posted by invisiblekid on June 9, 2008 at 1:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Not mad at all 99gator. I don't have any doubt the Gators will be favored and a win by the Vols would be an upset. I also don't intend to bet the farm that Clawson will come in and dominate the SEC. For all we know, he could curl up into the fetal position and do nothing but blubber(much like Sanders during the '05 season) after the first series against UCLA.

However, his track record shows that he has had success at every stop and he has coached a few NFL players. As far as not being ready for Division I, most didn't think that Appy ST would stand a chance against MI and we all know what happened with that. I know it's a stretch, but Clawson's team actually put more points on the board against the Mountaineers than Michigan did. I also remember all the talk of Meyer's offense not working in the SEC and here you guys are 3 years later with a national title and Heisman in the trophy case.

I suppose my ultimate point is that I see no reason as of June 9nth to believe Clawson won't be able to get the job done. If we have another 17-10 nailbiter against UAB or drop less than 20 on UCLA, then I'll change my tune. Until then, I'll stick to fretting over the defense.

Posted by auttat on June 9, 2008 at 1:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Wonder what Saban has to say about this? I'm sure we will find out...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/st...

I'm young, so who should be fired over this?

Posted by 99gator on June 9, 2008 at 1:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

invisiblekid

i generally have faith in any coach, but usually think it takes time unless there is a boatload of talent waiting.

personnally, i think tenn will be pretty good offensively. not great, but above average to good.

there are a lot of unknowns at tenn which will be interesting.

example....the tenn offensive line. how good is it really? can they pass protect for more than one second? can they knock people off the ball in the run game? we really don't know because they weren't asked to pass protect for more than one second and they did not make a concerted effort to pound the rock. in a lot of instances, they would fail to get short yardage first downs. so, i have no clue how good that line really is.

how good will crompton be? no one really knew what florida had in tebow until around october.

there are just a lot of unknowns offensively, not just defensively.

Posted by invisiblekid on June 9, 2008 at 1:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Well-reasoned post LongtimeVol. It would be a fairly easy argument to say that Fulmer has gotten progressively worse against Meyer.

Posted by 99gator on June 9, 2008 at 1:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

i also don't think fulmer ever "figured" spurrier out. i don't think spurrier ever really confused tennessee.

i just think tenn had better football players in the late 90's than they did in the early to mid 90's. i wonder how good tenn would have been if manning was in school from 98 through 2001 instead of 94 through 97.

i think that's the problem now. i know there are those will disagree, but i don't think the problem is getting outcoached per se. i just think florida has the better players (for the most part) or they have guys like tebow and harvin who can do things that belong on playstation.

Posted by pdhuff on June 9, 2008 at 1:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

99gator- as the long gone, lamented TDTN said, Phil will hold the Grail in January.

Ol' Siwash will rise to glory trampling the Gators and all in their path. I can see the 2-9 lined up now, confusing Tebow and others of his ilk.

Well, got to get off this tanker of koolade and get the honey-do's done.

Going to Coral Springs in July, any donations of petrol will be appreciated.

Posted by 99gator on June 9, 2008 at 1:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

which goes along with what longtime vol said. if things have gotten worse against meyer, it is because the talent level at florida has gotten stronger and will continue to do so, as they are still pretty much sophs. which is why they looked really good at times last year and really bad at times.

i think 2009 is the year for florida, if tebow returns.

Posted by invisiblekid on June 9, 2008 at 1:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

As far as pounding the rock goes 99Gator, I think we will be better at it this year if, for no other reason, Clawson will be more likely to stick with it. I also felt like there was improvement in run blocking as the year progressed, especially when McClendon and Richard started to see more playing time. Factor in a year's experience for Creer, and he should provide more of that home run threat that was missing since Coker was shown the door.

Talking about Crompton, I believe he has the physical tools and it's his time. If he can't handle the pressure after 3 years on campus, then the Vols are in trouble. I expect his footwork to be better than what we had with Ainge so I think we'll see more of a roll out passing game which should help in pass protection. The sack total last year was one of the most overhyped stats since Fulmer's winning percentage but I think the offensive line will be solid. Some on here have tried the comparison with him and Tebow which I think is far-fetched. Tebow is a freak of nature and there are few comparable to him.

Posted by invisiblekid on June 9, 2008 at 2:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

PD , "Going to Coral Springs in July, any donations of petrol will be appreciated". Better dump the kool aid and stockpile the gas, gonna be 4.99 a gallon come July. They'll keep it under 5 until July 5th to help with the nation's psyche and make us feel patriotic.

Posted by 99gator on June 9, 2008 at 2:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

pd

pack fritters....not sure they have them in coral springs.

Posted by TommyJack on June 9, 2008 at 2:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

99: Fritters are NOT, repeat, NOT, a Tenn thing. You need to get out more.

Vol fans need to pray nitely for the resurgence of Miami and FSU. Til then, we're gonna have a problem with the gators. Not saying we will not win one here and there, but they will be a dominant force in SEC without some help from our other Florida friends.

Posted by 99gator on June 9, 2008 at 3:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

tommyjack

i know. i know.

but, i don't think they are a south florida thing either.

pd is heading to the palm beach county broward county border. my wife's family is down in boca raton. that is not fritter country.

help from the other two in state will take a while. might get more help from the south florida bulls than miami or fsu in the short term. keep in mind, florida state was a dominant force during the spurrier years.

you are right though. right now, with the miami and fsu being down and the brandon warren fiasco being told to every mama in the southeast. florida is urban meyer's play pen. but, believe it or not florida had more out of state signings last year than in state signings.

Posted by 99gator on June 9, 2008 at 3:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

in addition, fsu is not out of the woods with the ncaa yet on their academic cheating scandal.

probation could be coming their way. i've got the champagne bottle chilling in preparation for the blessed event (although knowing saint bobby, it probably won't happen)

Posted by TommyJack on June 9, 2008 at 3:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

99: Yeah, well you know the lay of the land down there better than I. I have nothing for FSU or Miami..just looking for help from them, no matter how obliquely.

Posted by TommyJack on June 9, 2008 at 3:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

PD: You're gonna need a ginormous increase in the price of aluminum, or find more fertile ditches in order to buy rocket fuel for trip.
Trailways still in bidness?

Posted by invisiblekid on June 9, 2008 at 5:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"but, i don't think they are a south florida thing either."

You mean to tell me they don't have avocado flavored fritters down that way?

Posted by invisiblekid on June 9, 2008 at 5:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Onto more important business, here are some charts to study(and anyone who has direct access to the coaching staff, please pass this along):

http://rivals100.rivals.com/content.a...

Posted by TommyJack on June 9, 2008 at 5:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Kid: The fritters down there are teal/pink.

Posted by invisiblekid on June 9, 2008 at 6:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)

TJ, I am just not sure if I could handle eating a pink fritter...something downright UnAmerican about it.

Posted by General_Watermelon on June 9, 2008 at 6:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Not to be disrespectful Gentlemen, but just what do you guys know about fritters?

Posted by General_Watermelon on June 9, 2008 at 6:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Here you go Sir:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritter

Posted by General_Watermelon on June 9, 2008 at 6:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Apple Fritters were invented in Oregon by my Grandfather. Why do you think they call me the General?

Posted by General_Watermelon on June 9, 2008 at 6:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Strawberry Fritters from Florida:
http://www.florida-agriculture.com/re...

Posted by pdhuff on June 9, 2008 at 7:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It is always a warm feeling when a man such as Gen Fritter rises from the ashes to speak the unimpeachable truth about the near holy fritter. I live, as most know, some 19 miles from Ralphs. King of fritters in same location near 60 years.

1 lb apple fritters are commonplace, the bigger 1 1/2ers require a near quart of pure chocolate milk. This to complete the arterial clogging of epic proportions. Made null and void by fish oil, of course.

I shall inquire around Palm Beach and the Boca Raton region for fritters, but I fear 99gator may be correct on this one. Pink and green drinks abound.

Posted by invisiblekid on June 9, 2008 at 8:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Not as much as you sir.

Posted by 99gator on June 9, 2008 at 8:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

dc

i was referring to a national title season. i would pick florida to win the sec in 2008. although, winning the sec can provide an opportunity to play for the whole thing.

Posted by AlabamaJack on June 9, 2008 at 9:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I have to respectfully disagree!

Alabama Will win the NC in 2008. The Tide has strength at every position and Teblow can't do anything against the Saban Defense.

You guys need to get rid of those orange (florida and tennessee) colored lenses.

Posted by 99gator on June 9, 2008 at 9:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

dc

from your mouth to god's ear.....but, that ain't happening.

Posted by 99gator on June 9, 2008 at 9:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

bamajack

baby steps....

be the best team in alabama first.

Posted by AlabamaJack on June 9, 2008 at 10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey 99gator,
We will be the best team in Alabama in 08. The new OC has the offense ROLLING and the Saban D is always great. I predict that we put up at least 42 on the Vols this year and, if Florida makes it, at least that much on them.

I must admit that I am a little excited about the upcoming season. I do think that the Vols will be much improved and the gators are always strong, but I don't think either can play on the same field as the tide this season. You should see the things I have seen so far in Bama.

Posted by cjraney on June 9, 2008 at 11:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

BammerJack-

OK, I'll pay the blackmail request---name your price. Just don't make me see the things you've seen in Bama.....

Posted by pdhuff on June 10, 2008 at 6:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)

AlaJack 10 pm - you trying to say you wouldn't swap Saban for the Dean of the SEC Coaches?

Posted by LongtimeVol on June 10, 2008 at 7:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Having lived in Coral Springs from the mid 80's to the mid 90's I can tell that they do have fritters, of a different sort. You can get conch fritters all over South Florida since they originated in the Bahamas. Not the same thing to be sure, but fritters none the less. It was good to get back to Tennessee after that time in the wilderness. As for Alabama, I believe Saban will make them very good over time but Jack's talk of a national title this year is premature escalation, so to speak.

Posted by 99gator on June 10, 2008 at 7:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)

pd

check out what's happening at a school in coral springs

http://www.local10.com/news/16527927/...

Posted by pdhuff on June 10, 2008 at 8:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

99- I guess that was instructing.

LongtimeVol - never could get into conch fritters, even after several Bud Lites. Now Gulf Shrimp, that's another story.

As long as we are drifting far afield, Tennessean.com click to obit page - ad at top
"Man believes eating plankton cures cancer"

Looks a lot like Dupree when he lived briefly in Tuscaloosa......

Posted by TommyJack on June 10, 2008 at 9:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

PD: Where is obit link?

99gator: Slow on the uptake...Don't get the teacher deal???

Posted by 99gator on June 10, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)

tommyjack

that story is making the news down here, and thought it was a funny coincedence that pd happened to be traveling to coral springs when this story made news.

nothing more to it. their have been a rash of these incidents in florida recently. must be the heat.

one of the things about this site is you can't edit a post or take it back. not one of my finer posts.

oops.

Posted by sjt18 on June 10, 2008 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"Posted by 99gator on June 9, 2008 at 7:44 a.m.

also, if the new tennessee system is not all that different....then, what's all the fuss about. everyone is in love with clawson and not much will be different. that doesn't make sense."

I didn't quite say that it wasn't "all that different". I said it wouldn't require a different QB like UM's system did. You made quite a big deal over the fact that Leak wasn't the right QB for Meyer's system.

Regardless of whether Clawson's system works immediately or ever... Crompton seems to be the right type of QB for it.

I don't know if UT's O or D will be good or not. There are reasons to hope and doubt. If you are looking at the preseason mags to base your "minor miracle" comment on... maybe consider their track record.

FWIW, most of the predictions I've seen question UT because of an O that returns 9 starters and about 18 of the top 22 from an offense that scored 33 ppg... If UT does poorly, I doubt that the O will be the problem.

Posted by 99gator on June 10, 2008 at 10:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

sjt18

i feel i am being a little bit misinterpreted here.

i will not go into detail as i have done this before....but, i will try to convey what i generally mean.

1. new systems. new terminology. change. takes time. whether in football or business. companies usually lose money early after a merger. no transition is completely smooth for whatever reason. again, i predict you will read things in the spring of 2009, about players feeling better about having a grasp of things and now feel like they are playing instead of thinking. i will wager this with anyone.

2. the concern mentioned in #1, does not mean the tenn "o" will stink up the joint. i have no idea just how good they will be. all i am saying is don't expect the tenn scoreboard operator not to be able to keep up with the tennessee offensive output.

3. defensive line. people here keep harping on it. against florida, if you don't win up front.....than it will take i minor miracle to slow that offense down. i'll take the florida skill people over the "goon squad" any day of the week and twice on sunday, especially if tebow's jersey is clean and runners are given holes to run through.

4. i saw florida's defense last year. and one of the few teams that did not give florida a matchup problem, for whatever reason, was tennessee. maybne it was ainge's pinky, maybe tennessee had a bad day. but, receivers did not burn florida db's the way other teams did. florida struggled to cover just about everyone, except tenn. tenn could not run the ball, the way other teams did (granted by mid season florida had injury problems on the d-line). and if people want to blame that on short stuff....florida could not cover short, intermediate or long on most saturdays.

Posted by 99gator on June 10, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)

sjt18

in fact, i would argue the florida defense actually won that game for florida more than the offense did.

when the game was a game....tenn lived on the florida side of the field with the benefit of field position for the whole 1st quarter and came away with 3 points. once the florida offense got going, the game was over.

Posted by TommyJack on June 10, 2008 at 10:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

99: Yeah, I've wanted to un the enter key myself at times...alas, it was too late.

Posted by TommyJack on June 10, 2008 at 10:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

99: Advice. Never argue with a preacher. It has been my experience that most are spoiled, narrow-minded, and intractable.
Retire #45!

Posted by sjt18 on June 10, 2008 at 11:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)

99gator, who is being misinterpretted? I admitted that I don't know how good UT will be on either side of the ball. I don't even know whether or how smooth the transition will be. It seemed to have gone decently well during the spring.

Unlike others, I like the way UT's schedule works leading up to UF. They get UCLA, a week off to adjust, UAB to try out the adjustments, then UF.

I don't doubt what you say about next spring. OTOH, I'd bet we'll see the same types of comments around the 3rd and 4th weeks of August.

Posted by sjt18 on June 10, 2008 at 11:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Concerning the DL- I've said repeatedly that this is still where UT's season will be decided... and UF's for that matter. If UGA has a big advantage over UF and UT, it is their DL.

UT has guys with potential. They haven't had as much physical talent at DE in a long time. We'll see if they can finally pull it together or if you get to worry about a new coach at UT. That's how critical and uncertain I think that group is.

Posted by sjt18 on June 10, 2008 at 11:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Sure, TJ re the 10:40 post... and all the hypocrites are in church on Sunday too, right?

What preacher would be worthwhile if they weren't intractable... at least to other people?

Spoiled? I'm sorry that's your experience. What I'm paid probably doesn't cover my travel expenses back and forth to church.

Narrow-minded? LOL. Are you a preacher too? That's all a matter of perspective though isn't it? Most people who are thoughtful but firm once they draw an opinion are considered closed-minded by those who don't want to acknowledge a particular standard. Sort of like anyone who believes homosexuality is a sin is regarded as a narrow-minded "homophobe" by those who don't like that position.

Posted by TommyJack on June 10, 2008 at 12:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

SJT: Did I mention you? I left out self-absorbed.

Posted by sjt18 on June 10, 2008 at 1:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)

TJ, Did I mention me other than the part about not being spoiled?

But since I'm a the only preacher I know of in the context in which your statement was made... it is pretty reasonable to assume you were talking about me. If you deny it... I'm willing to take your word at face value though.

Posted by TommyJack on June 10, 2008 at 1:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)

No, I think I'll just pass on further discussions with you. Shalom

Posted by sjt18 on June 10, 2008 at 1:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I see.

Posted by sjt18 on June 10, 2008 at 1:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

jwhite, that's a false statement.

Posted by orangebloodgmc on June 10, 2008 at 1:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Newsflash: we do not all share the same beliefs, political nor religious, but last time I looked, we shared the bond of being Big Orange fans. Let us focus on that.

Posted by 99gator on June 10, 2008 at 1:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

sjt18

"I don't doubt what you say about next spring. OTOH, I'd bet we'll see the same types of comments around the 3rd and 4th weeks of August."

i think this is true for all teams, but will really be true of tenn. i think they will also be better in november than september.

one of the things that takes time is for a coach to figure out is the hand they have been dealt in terms of talent. practice is obviously usually a good indicator, but you have to know how guys react on a game day. there are things (in september) that i am sure clawson will think are ahead of schedule or better than he expected and some will be worse. you will probably see playing time change radically for a few guys after a couple of games, when he gets to see how they play against live competition.

Posted by sjt18 on June 10, 2008 at 2:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Yeah orangeblood, I'm not exactly sure why TJ thought that was relevant or funny or whatever he thought... especially since it doesn't require one being a preacher to be spoiled, narrow-minded, intractable,... much less "self-absorbed".

Posted by sjt18 on June 10, 2008 at 2:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

99gator, I "hope" they are better in November than September but the real question is whether they'll be better 9/20/08 than they were on 9/15/07... or even better than they were on 1/1/08. With that many returning players, you'd hope so even changing OC's.

That's one reason I mentioned liking the way UT leads into the UF game. They get a BCS opponent in a primetime game, a week off to basically go back to pre-season camp if necessary, then UAB to warm up for UF.

I don't disagree that it will be a learning process. My main point was that UT's prior system used basically the same skill sets as Clawson's system seems to... except for the QB. And Crompton seems to fit Clawson's system better than Cut's.

IMHO, I think UT would be mired in a QB controversy right now had Cut stayed. He loved Coleman and, if rumors are to be believed, didn't care for JC's personality or skills.

Posted by sjt18 on June 10, 2008 at 2:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

99gator, I did and do respect Cut. I think he deserves the greater credit for pulling UT out of the 05 tailspin. However, many think his "system" limited players and especially potential playmakers.

That makes your point about Clawson having to learn who can play very true. At the same time, there are guys and maybe a few that may immediately benefit from being cut loose. Even without being at full potential, the O could still start 08 at a higher level than 07. The difference in playcalling should help too.

Posted by 99gator on June 10, 2008 at 2:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

sjt18

i think there is no doubt tenn will be better against florida this season.....despite my believing that florida should win.

the BIG, BIG, advantage florida had in that game last year....was no one really knew what tebow could do. did they trust him to throw, what kind of throw did they trust him to make. how much would they run him. everyone knew the florida offense would look different than the year before, but no one knew how different or how good. combine that with a bye week, playing at home, tenn's loss to cal, and injury problems.....and what happened, happened.

tenn can have a similar advantage as well this season, but they will have to show some of their cards against ucla....but a bye week and uab gives tenn three weeks to prepare for florida. look for that uab game to be an "ugly" game.

you are right about offensive skill sets. most teams don't radically change their system the way florida did. usually a system change is more of a mental problem than physical. tenn got way better with cut in 2006 than they were in 2005. so a change can show immediate results.

Posted by pdhuff on June 10, 2008 at 2:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Why does no one seem to believe Gen Fritter when he said Phil would hold the Grail, come January next?

You must have faith.

In something....

Posted by sjt18 on June 10, 2008 at 2:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

99gator, what kind of "ugly" do you mean?

Also, I'm not sure how much UT will or will have to show playing UCLA... or if that really matters that much. You can prepare for plays but if Clawson is a good playcaller- that should be more critical.

Posted by sjt18 on June 10, 2008 at 2:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

ah yes... General_Fritter. The more sane personality in our resident Sybil.

Posted by GoVol on June 10, 2008 at 2:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I don't believe Clawson will be conservative at all. I see him maybe holding back slightly prior to the FL game, but by then he'll turn it on...meaning all plays he wants to use, will be used. Clawson has the strategic advantage against the opposition because D coordinators do not know what to expect. They'll be reacting instead of anticipating.

This is why I believe Clawson may hold back slightly the first and second games, but not at the expense of a loss. He'll do what he needs to do to score points and adjust based upon the TN defense.

I really do hope FL comes into Neyland this year ranked #1...because there is no doubt they will leave ranked #1. TN might not have the better overall team start to finish, but we'll win this one.

Posted by 99gator on June 10, 2008 at 2:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

sjt18

ugly, as in "not good". most kids are understandably looking ahead. i don't think you will see tenn look very good that day. they will win comfortably, but ugly.

happens when you play a chump before a big game.

Posted by 99gator on June 10, 2008 at 2:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

govol

freudian slip...

"I really do hope FL comes into Neyland this year ranked #1...because there is no doubt they will leave ranked #1."

don't worry, florida won't be #1. georgia, usc and maybe a few others will be ranked ahead of florida in the preseason. i doubt they all lose by the time the game rolls around.

Posted by chrslyp on June 10, 2008 at 2:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

all this talk is getting me excited about my flight out to l.a. to see the ucla game..

Posted by chrslyp on June 10, 2008 at 2:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)

this is off topic, but i've been to several away games, and as always, ut travels extremely well, does anyone believe ucla knows how many orange wearing vol fans will inundate l.a.? could be quite shocking for them, because hell, i've traveled to gainesville and tuscaloosa with no intentions of going to the game, but rather to sit in a bar and watch it.

Posted by vol_in_lsu_land on June 10, 2008 at 3 p.m. (Suggest removal)

http://www.coacheshotseat.com/Coaches...

Have you guys seen this site? Unbelievable. Phil is 25 on the list, yet he has far and away the best winning percentage of all on the "hotseat" and only a handful of coaches across the board from top to bottom have a higher percentage (no matter how long they have been coaching)...and this in the toughest league in the conference. Shameful. We are a bunch of spoiled rotten little girls. One of these days true mediocrity is going to settle in and y'all will be pulling your hair out.

Posted by AlabamaJack on June 10, 2008 at 4:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I must admit, as much as it hurts, that Fulmer has had a good run against us (Bama). Of course, he hasn't been that lucky against us with Saban in the driver's seat.

I think you guys should cut your coach some slack. He has a lot of wins and has a darn good record compared to most other coaches. I believe he is "working like heck" to get more wins for the Vols.

Posted by 99gator on June 10, 2008 at 7:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

have to say....to a degree.....tdtn is right.

didn't get into this....but, people are constantly talking about the florida defense and weren't they bad last year etc, etc, etc.

i have never mentioned this because it is putting faith into people who haven't played....but, i all i can say is look at the talent meyer has recruited. the only reason i have pause is they are still a little green, which is why i think 2009, florida will have a better team.

everyone here is excited about martin and how he may be able to contribute. florida has signed 6 or so martin types (level of recruit) at either end or d-tackle in the last 2 years. they've done this at several positions to the point where they have had five stars transfer who are not getting enough playing time.

recruiting matters....and i believe that florida, georgia, lsu, and alabama are getting the talent they are targeting and tennessee is getting the leftovers.

i think this will show more in 2009 and 2010 than it will in 2008.

donning the kevlar in 5, 4, 3....

Posted by 99gator on June 10, 2008 at 7:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

tdtn

it is a numbers game. about 1/3 of every class does not pan out. transfer, grades, the police, etc.

so the more stacked your class is the better the chance that even if some of the 1/3 that does not pan out were high level recruits.....it does not matter. there are still plenty of high level recruits who did.

some of the reasons why recruiting rankings are inflated is that some of the high profile signings at some schools never got in school (as an example).

but, if your classes are not deep and some that fail to pan out were the high profile guys.....you are in trouble......see florida state.

Posted by pdhuff on June 10, 2008 at 8:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)

R. Garner exiting signaled a downturn in talent.

Dawg O-line coach, my patoot!

Hired Hessian with a luring appeal. Good at it!

Posted by vol_in_lsu_land on June 10, 2008 at 10:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

TDTN, I make it a point to never directly attack your posts because many months ago you showed yourself to be a gentleman by offering my son tickets to a game. I'm going to continue my reprieve and ignore your comments...But I'll assert that my link to the coaches hot seat site demonstrates the weak arguement against CPF and that when it is laid down in black and white (against the other 119 coaches in Div IA) as in that site the only retort you can muster is calling my posts "Bozo". Good day.

Posted by sjt18 on June 11, 2008 at 1:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)

99gator, could be "ugly"... but UAB was 2-10 last year... They are more similar to the warm up games UF usually schedules.

Kudos for this year's slate btw. Best two opponents I've seen UF schedule to begin the season in a long time.

Posted by sjt18 on June 11, 2008 at 1:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I've made a habit of defending CPF when I thought the criticism was unfair... but I have no problem whatsoever with him being #25 on that list.

If 2005 or really any of the other seasons from 98 to 2005 had been underachievements because of some uncontrollable circumstance or lack of talent then maybe you excuse one bad year. But that isn't the case. CPF failed to lead the team. He let discipline on and off the field get out of hand. He kept Sanders when a clear drop off in production could be seen at least as early as 2002.

IMO, if CPF doesn't continue to progress this year, he should be asked to resign. If he regresses this year or else plateaus this year and still doesn't progress next year then he should be given a shove. His service should buy him the chance to turn things around... it shouldn't give him a free pass on high expectations for the program.

Posted by douglasawilliams on June 11, 2008 at 6:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)

99 gator: if UT scores in the 38-42 point range against Florida we have a good shot at winning. That is asking much but your right about your offense we will not hold them to 17 points they will likely put up 31-37 points on just about anybody. They did average 42 points a game last year so as much as I hate to admit it the offense is great. They did it without some highly regarded JUCO wide receiver that will be back from injury this year to. So we need our stud safeties to get some picks, Defensive front must hurry Tebow in the pocket into some bad throws and not allow him to get some big runs. Then if they only score 31-37 points maybe we can muster the offense for a upset.

Posted by 99gator on June 11, 2008 at 8:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)

douglaswilliams

i think that would be the scenario needed for a tenn win.

Posted by 99gator on June 11, 2008 at 8:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)

all

forgot to mention this....

for those who have a problem with the preseason magazines and pundits.....if i am not mistaken....

last year,

usc was picked to win the pac-10
oklahoma was picked to win the big 12
lsu was picked to win the sec
west virginia was picked to win the big east.

michigan was picked to win the big 10 (finished tied for 2nd)
i don't remember who was picked to win the acc, but i bet virginia tech was in the mix of favorites (especially in their division)

preseason predictions are like recruiting rankings. not an exact science, but right more than they are wrong.

Posted by orangebloodgmc on June 11, 2008 at 1:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I don't squawk about where magazines rank us at this time, but if I buy one, its to get info that I would not otherwise have. So, it annoys me when they just assert that a team will do this or that, without supporting the prediction with a solid rationale. If you look at Athlon's rankings of different units around the SEC (ol, dl, rbs, etc.) and then look at overall team predictions ... it doesn't jive. And I get suspicious of any "analysis" that focuses primarily on players that they lost from last year, vs. what they have now.

Posted by orangebloodgmc on June 11, 2008 at 1:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

And 99gator, we have remarked numerous times that you seem to be a decent chap visiting our site. But I am just curious: do you spend more time on the Tenn site or some Fla one?

Posted by 99gator on June 11, 2008 at 1:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

orangebloodgmc

reading articles (gatorcountry.com), although they don't produce the amount of articles daily that this site does.

posting....this website. why discuss something with people who have the same point of view or have a thicker pair of orange and blue colored glasses.

how else am i going to get dupree updates?

Posted by pdhuff on June 11, 2008 at 4:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

99gator - Do you live close to a K Kreme? Glazed are big here in the fall.

Posted by bigfan502 on June 11, 2008 at 5:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey Guys, the Vols are going to recruit good players most of the time, but some recruts like the Vols' campus and then some do not. Little can be learned from so called "recruiting classes", that are numbered from one to a hundred. Not one football "expert" is able to judge talent that effectively...if he could he would not be a football forecaster. So, disregard the recruiting ratings...that's just good reading for us sports' guys. We argue for our opinion, but we really have no idea. Actually, the 28 recruits we are allowed each year is only a tip of the iceburg. How one can possibly know? The 28 limit has devastated several teams in the past few years..namely, Alabama and Nebraska etc.

Posted by sjt18 on June 12, 2008 at 9:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

99gator,

Who on the planet could not have picked WVU, OU, and USC as winners of their conferences? That isn't exactly going out on a limb. You could just about do that every year and be right much more than wrong.

Picking the ACC and SEC is more difficult but LSU looked pretty dominating from the start last year and had a favorable schedule to boot... and still just about blew it.

One pre-season mag picked UT to win the SECE last year. The SEC sportswriters overwhelmingly chose UF. Everyone else chose UGA or UF.

I don't spend alot of time complaining about the mags. They do what they do to sell magazines. They are right much of the time... but most informed fans are as well. It wouldn't really be fair to expect them to have the in-depth knowledge to be accurate every time. Meaningful things like team chemistry or the impact of new coaches are beyond their ability to research. You simply can't know all you need to about the 120+ FBS teams... or even the 65 BCS teams.

Posted by sjt18 on June 12, 2008 at 9:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Oh 99gator,

Predictions you are likely to see from the pre-season mags (and I haven't picked up any of them) for 2008:

ACC- Clemson
SEC- UF/UGA (west- Aub/LSU)
Big 10- OSU
Big 12- OU (north- KU, MU, CU)
BE- WVU/Pitt
Pac10- USC

Posted by sjt18 on June 12, 2008 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)

bigfan, the recruiting svcs underrate guys far more often than they overrate guys.

IOW's, if they say a guy has big time talent, he probably does. At the same time, they miss guys with big time talent with significant frequency. Matt Ryan was a 3* for instance.

Posted by bigfan502 on June 12, 2008 at 7:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Remember Fellows, few coaches have the other coaches' number when it comes to wins. The winner is usually the team that has the best athletes..out of a limit of recruiting, how can one coach really know if his 28 recruits are actually better than the other teams..you can just hope your 28 are consistently better for several years in a row trhan your foes..some of that rides on luck...some coaches can spot the top athletes more easily.....its kinda like a roll of the dice, if I might say so. Do you agree?

Posted by pdhuff on June 13, 2008 at 9:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)

TT- did you really let Dupree buy that pink Moped?

Posted by orangebloodgmc on June 13, 2008 at 1:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

More on Dupree ...

http://www.123exp-biographies.com/t/0...

Posted by pdhuff on June 13, 2008 at 5:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

TT, I still think the picture of him with his helmet at his first HS freshman practice was priceless.

He will always be remembered as the one with his nose sticking out of the ear hole.

Posted by douglasawilliams on June 15, 2008 at 8:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)

VOLinLSUland, at least UT should be in the mix for a BCS game. My plan is no BCS game in 3 years Fulmer should leave because it would be 10 years without finishing in the AP top 10. Now many of you think that is too long to wait I know, but that is definitely the longest time frame and the minimum expectation that Hamilton should accept. And to be blunt he is the only person that can fire CPF. UT has slipped in to mediocre play the last six seasons and we should expect better than that. Even last seasons 10-4 mark, while from the outside looking in sounds respectable, but there was mighty shaky wins and some God awful blowouts. Those embarrassing losses did hurt are ability to recruit top tier athletes who want to play for a national title team. GO VOLS!!

Posted by pdhuff on June 15, 2008 at 9:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

douglasw-8:05am - excellant insight.

Interesting article at Tennessean.com - click sports-read Economy hasn't hit coach pay - David Climer, like Adams is good at times.

Posted by pdhuff on June 16, 2008 at 6:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

TT, to the bunker.

Posted by pdhuff on June 17, 2008 at 5:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Dupree told me the mullet nation paid more than 2mil for a flock of DT,s. But what does he know, just king of the Halls parking lot under the red K sign.