DL Could Be Decent

[murfvol]

Is it wrong to think the DL could be deeper, and actually more productive than last year? I don't expect greatness, but solid mediocrity seems possible.

And yeah, personnel-wise the OL could be serviceable with o.k. coaching, which I'm not betting on.

[Creek Walker]

It might be a positive that the DL is one of our least experienced units. It certainly can't get any worse!

[HerbTarlekVol]

Lots of new guys there.  Not going in that direction yet. 

Still firmly in "show me" mode.  I've bought the hype way too many times before.  Not going to let myself be disappointed this time. 

[BanditVol]

Haven't seen a lot of hype this year, not from anyone.  I think expectations are low and should be.  I am sticking by 7-5 and a lower tier bowl, which is progress.

As for the DL, it was not great last year, but could be called below average to average.  Unlike the OL, which was about as bad as it could be.

[volsboy]

These positions better get better pretty quickly. Look at the 2020 schedule. We play OU at Norman early. On a good note we play UF later in the season.
https://fbschedules.com/ncaa-2020/team/tennessee

[HerbTarlekVol]

Haven't seen a lot of hype this year, not from anyone.  I think expectations are low and should be.  I am sticking by 7-5 and a lower tier bowl, which is progress.

As for the DL, it was not great last year, but could be called below average to average.  Unlike the OL, which was about as bad as it could be.

No offense, but if you haven't seen it you must live in a cave. 

[Black Diamond Vol]

No offense, but if you haven't seen it you must live in a cave. 

Other than a couple outliers like Cowherd (who always does this just to stir shizzle up), I haven’t seen much hype. We were just picked 5th in the East at SECMD, so the consensus is pretty clear.

[BanditVol]

No offense, but if you haven't seen it you must live in a cave. 

Maybe a few random fans on Volnation, but  a very small minority.  None on here, we aren't even doing a countdown this year.  And little from the press other than a couple of speculative articles about "can we get to 8 or 9 wins", but those are not getting a lot of traction.

I have never seen lower expectations. In a way, maybe that's a good thing, as for most of the last 12 years since Fulmer was fired IMO the fanbase expectations have not jived with reality. 

[Creek Walker]

I stand by my prognostication that if this staff is the staff that can rebuild a championship-caliber program at Tennessee, 8 wins should be an expectation this year. Beating all of South Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky and Vanderbilt should be seen as doable. Not saying it's going to happen; I think there's a strong chance we lose two of those games. And depending on how the season goes, I might look back at 6-6 and say it's not an underachievement. But, going into it, I think Tennessee has a talent edge in all 4 of those games, plus the 4 OOC games. All else being equal, I don't think 8 wins is an unreasonable expectation*.

Maybe I'm singing a different tune at the end of fall camp. But going into this thing, the biggest question mark about this team by far is the OL. We made huge gains on the recruiting trail and while it stands to reason that it'll take those kids a year or two to get their sea legs under them, the OL may be the one position more than any other where a player can come in and make an impact right away in the SEC.

*It's not an expectation for me, because I'm not sold on the ability of this staff. But there are a lot of Tennessee fans who think this is an A+ staff. If that's your view, I don't think 8 wins is an unreasonable expectation.

[Tnphil]

Maybe a few random fans on Volnation, but  a very small minority.  None on here, we aren't even doing a countdown this year.  And little from the press other than a couple of speculative articles about "can we get to 8 or 9 wins", but those are not getting a lot of traction.

I have never seen lower expectations. In a way, maybe that's a good thing, as for most of the last 12 years since Fulmer was fired IMO the fanbase expectations have not jived with reality. 

Miss the countdown....I guess Pirate being on the other side of the pond makes it hard to do. Or maybe his give a sheet meter batteries are running on low like a lot of us.

[murfvol]

Creek makes a good point. If the staff is big-time we can get 8. Are they? I dunno. I think some are.

Let's face it, Vandy has worked us with lesser athletes who received better coaching.

And yeah, I haven't seen much hype. I'm with Bandit and BDV there. This may not be a bad tbing.

[VinnieVOL]

I stand by my prognostication that if this staff is the staff that can rebuild a championship-caliber program at Tennessee, 8 wins should be an expectation this year.

I agree with that.

[VOLMAN]

This staff has coached on several NC and CC teams, they know what it takes. I think 7 wins is very realistic with potential for 8. I think the key is no injuries as we are still thin depth wise. Last year when Pruitt took over we had 2 OL over 300lbs and now we have 15. It has become quite obvious Butch did not emphasize S & C at all. I had unrealistic expectations last year due to lack of consideration as to just how little time the staff had with the players before the season began; but I'm expecting to see on the field a big difference after a full year of being coached on their positions and a year in the S & C program. GO VOLS !!!           

[BanditVol]

I stand by my prognostication that if this staff is the staff that can rebuild a championship-caliber program at Tennessee, 8 wins should be an expectation this year. Beating all of South Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky and Vanderbilt should be seen as doable. Not saying it's going to happen; I think there's a strong chance we lose two of those games. And depending on how the season goes, I might look back at 6-6 and say it's not an underachievement. But, going into it, I think Tennessee has a talent edge in all 4 of those games, plus the 4 OOC games. All else being equal, I don't think 8 wins is an unreasonable expectation*.

Maybe I'm singing a different tune at the end of fall camp. But going into this thing, the biggest question mark about this team by far is the OL. We made huge gains on the recruiting trail and while it stands to reason that it'll take those kids a year or two to get their sea legs under them, the OL may be the one position more than any other where a player can come in and make an impact right away in the SEC.

*It's not an expectation for me, because I'm not sold on the ability of this staff. But there are a lot of Tennessee fans who think this is an A+ staff. If that's your view, I don't think 8 wins is an unreasonable expectation.

I have a bit different take.  I would expect more of the staff aside from the specific cases of OL/DL.  IMO those are the two most important positions on offense/defense, and we are doing pretty much a total rebuild of both, although we do have one veteran back on OL and Kennedy returns, but Kennedy has only a couple games as a Vol.  Given the line situaiton, my expectations are seven wins.

I agree that this season will do far more to show what Pruitt is capable of than last season.  As has been beat to death, even Saban struggled in his first year at bammer.  Second season he went undefeated in the regular season and lost a relatively close SECC to Florida, but his talent situation even in his second year was much better than we are now.  Bammer fans had much to complain about with Shula, but recruiting was not one of them.

One thing we can all agree on, ending this season the way we ended last will be completely unacceptable.  If that happens, we might want to start the coaching search early.  Pruitt can maybe be excused by a Butch Jones hangover for the late November debacle last year, but not this year.  No way, no how.