PV, where are you now?

Well, this happened to me about three years ago...

Bat Girl

She's occupied quite a bit of my time.

We moved to Johnson City to be closer to family and to get out of Florida. Hope to make it to a few games starting with USC if the weather holds up. Saw TRO's tailgate. Any others?

I have returned.

LSU was hot and in their own gym. We overcame that and stuck in there. Great, great win. This team is learning that you have to take the risks to win big. I never thought I'd say this but I actually prefer CCM over BP. This team has something that I thought we lacked at times under BP, mental toughness. If they can beat Vandy and then make a run in the tourney, it will be hard to keep us out of the 64.

Crockett

I don't think Lane is exactly an ethical coach and therefore not the coach for UT, but I don't see him as the antichrist. I have no doubt that he has contributed ultimately to the downfall of the program. However, I would only assign 25% to him and the rest to Fulmer. And that doesn't mean that I think Fulmer was horrible. He just let the program get away from him. Kiffin came in and showed that Fulmer was squandering talent. Personally, I do think Lane can coach. His mercenary attitude wasn't entirely apparent in the beginning, so I can't fault his hire. I do think Dooley is doing a good job. I just hate that we couldn't have had a smoother transition to another coach after Fulmer. That we had to go through a hire like Lane Kiffin and then to Dooley (who may work out after all).

To be fair to Tebow, he hasn't asked for this scrutiny. And as much as he has received undue praise so has he received undue criticism. In fact, I think the latter would have broken most players. Let us not forget the number of number QBs who have been eaten alive in this league, never amounting to much. All but a very few need curing and cultivating over many years to make it. The top QBs now certainly didn't have to go through what Tebow has had heaped on his shoulders: a losing team and a media that laughs at every throw you make. Most people would have tried to change up their game to please the critics, instead this man has gone out there and done his best, all the while with a smile on his face.

And though he didn't kick the amazing field goal, do not underestimate the power of his success has had on the team. He fights and they are willing to fight. Maybe he's taken an undue share of the attention but he's also taken an undue share of the attention, something coaches try to do at times so their team isn't the focus of the spotlight. Sometimes when the story is about someone else it allows you to just go about your business without worry. In essence, the man is what sports should be about.

Crockett

I think it is interesting to talk and argue the merits of Fulmer staying on a couple of more years. Personally, only my opinion, but when I see how Fulmer left the program and how his players reacted, it showed me that he had lost control. Fulmer is a throwback to the old days and college football has changed. A head coach is not a micromanager but a true manager of coaching talent. All he did with bringing Cut back after 05 was prove in 08 that it was Cut and Cut only that would be allowed free reign to run the Offense. Frankly, it was ridiculous the silly system he had with Sanders. He couldn't let go of the reins. Sanders has proven himself to be a pretty capable OC at KY.

That said, it could be worse. My biggest fear was Cutcliffe taking over the program. UT needed to move into the future and the luck of the draw was that we had a rough transition. A lot of teams in the SEC have had that. Alabama floundered for a number of years. UF got zooked before Tebow came along. Georgia had Goff and Donan for a long time.

I still have hope for Dooley. I know the patience is running thin but I'm trying to remember the slack I was willing to cut anyone for taking over the program in the state it was in. Next year will be a different matter. Crockett

I still think that Worley with three games under his belt gives us a better chance to beat Vanderbilt and become bowl eligible than Simms gives us to beat Vanderbilt and become bowl eligible. That's why Dooley yanked the red shirt when he yanked it. If Bray is back for Vandy, the redshirt was wasted. But coaches don't have the luxury of hindsight.

Worley is going to be a good QB. Simms was never going to be a good QB.

What he said.

The worst down period in modern times for Tennessee was 1958-1964. I hope Tennessee doesn't stay down that long!

The longest down period was 73 to 83. Those were both 8 win seasons so you could say 74 to 82. There was a lot of mediocrity in those 10 years.

The Vols are going to need a long time to reach SEC level. What Dooley inherited was a mess. Fulmer's departure showed how bad the team chemistry was. His players were dedicated to him and not the team. Lot's of popular coaches have been fired but CPF's departure was ugly. Three seasons ago, we lost to Wyoming for crying out loud. Kiffin wasn't much better in resurrecting a better team spirit. His quick departure probably left scars on an already fragile team. These are kids, lest we forget, and they are not professionals. Their confidence can be destroyed in a minute and take a long time to rebuild. So not only do we have a young team, made up of many recruits that weren't on Florida or Georgia lists, what seniors and juniors we have didn't grow up in a healthy system. This team just doesn't have great chemistry. They don't believe in themselves, they get down too easy, I see too much frustration and not enough confidence. Bray is starting to show too much anger on the field. RBs don't trust their blocks, OL doesn't trust their RBs.

However, this team is fighting. They're staying in the games. That shows progress to me. They need more time to come together and start playing without worrying about the result. Eventually, they'll get it. For that reason, I think this coaching staff is doing a good job. My worry is that we need some better recruiting and losing to USC will hurt. All the teams around us are doing better. Georgia is past. This team needs to grow and learn something from the next 2 games and my hope is that we catch USC. Otherwise, I only see 3 more wins, at most. No bowl will hurt this team greatly.

Crockett

Let's face it. UF has the better players. Years of instability, mediocre recruiting and natural attrition have put us on par with the second tier of programs. While we have had some bright moments, we are lacking speed and strength pretty much across the board in our two deep. We're slow at LB, incredibly weak on OL, without talent at RB, thin at WR. Yes, I've had my doubts on Poole. He's not Hardesty. Bray is a great QB but he has a ways to go. He's a gamer but I saw things yesterday that make me wonder whether he will ever be a pro talent. He's not Peyton and he doesn't have the supporting staff around him. He is, however, the bright spot on our Offense.

This may sound pretty negative but actually I'm just accepting what Dooley has been trying to tell us (as well as the media). Last year was year 0, this is year 1 of a 4 year rebuilding effort. I'm sure he sees the numbers. As he plugs holes, new ones will appear from graduation. And some of the players we're having to get aren't SECC talent. Right now, CDD is in the position of having to pull off some upsets, like beat Georgia and S Carolina so that new recruits will come here and the present team will not lose heart. Yesterday, this team lost heart, regained it, lost it again, regained it and then got mad and tried to finish out strong.

I like Coach Dooley. I hope it turns around for him. I think he deserves it. But he's got a tough road ahead of him. His rivals are no slouches, not like when UT rose from the bowels of the SEC in 89 to make a run at dominance in the 90s in the SEC. We got lucky in that our big rivals except UF had knuckleheads at the helm. Bama, UGA, USC are different creatures today. I even think this coaching staff is as good as we've had it. They're better across the board than any we had in the 90s.

I think we'll have a good season but not a great one. Someone on here posted that we might win 7 games. We may not. 7 games will be more than the odds. Right now I can't even count Vandy as a win because of how good they looked. Buffalo and MTSU will be wins but out of Georgia, LSU, Bama, USC, Arky, Vandy and KY, I wouldn't bet we'd win 3 of them. Without Hunter, we're a jeep running a mud race on a donut. I think we will win 3 but I thought we'd win yesterday as well. I guess what I'm saying is that I think Dooley needs more time and I hope expectations aren't too high. A great season, IMO, would be to beat the last 3 and upset one of the other 4. Even that will make recruiting tough. Which makes that 2nd Sat in October, not the 3rd or 4th, very crucial for rebuilding.

Go Vols.

It will depend on who scores first. I would think Muschamp has seen what Rodgers/Hunter/Rivera will do to a defense so he will start out with cover 2 and hope his 7 can win the battle up front. If we get ahead or if we start to establish the running game, he'll have to put pressure on Bray.

What a change in the way we used to be, huh? Remember when all you had to do was stop the run game and we would refuse to pass our way out of 9 in the box a la Auburn 2003. Whether it's in war or sports, always hit them where they are weakest.

Crockett

I'm not sure this is a bad idea. Fielding punts is all about confidence. Technically, it isn't that hard. Mentally....another question. Sometimes, you take a young guy with some natural running ability and give him this one job and he will do a good job. As we've seen, even an upper classman can screw it up. Sometimes it's because they've got other things running around in their head. It's a judgement call. I trust the coaches to know whether this kid is mentally tough enough to do the job.

My worry is that UF will try a fake on him by throwing a pass and he may not be tall enough to see what is going on nor know what to look for. It's sure what I'd be thinking if I was UF.

Crockett