Before the season began, I told folks that I would be disappointed if the Vols didn't win five games this season. I thought that anything over that was a step in the right direction. I thought that six wins would be a good year and anything above that would be just icing on the cake.
I also felt that we needed to see improvement each week, regardless of whether we won or lost. Players needed to show that they were being coached and that they were accepting that coaching.
I still feel that, with all of the off-season attrition and with the state of the program when CJH and staff moved in, that those W/L numbers hold true - at least for me. We should now have a six win season. I'm encouraged by that, especially considering that we could, with just a few breaks, be sitting on a 6-1 record right now.
As for improvement, I think that we are definitely seeing that in most of the athletes on this team. I offer Davis at right tackle last night as an example. When he entered the game in Cade's place last night he was abysmal. Before the game was over he was performing much better and was much more effective. In my view, the coaches are teaching and the players are buying in and improving.
It hasn't been perfect and it never will be. It has been better, however, in my opinion.
We can't win the SEC until we can first win the SECE. We cannot win the SECE until we can first move out of the lower tier of the division. Our first order of business is to get back to being #2 or #3 in the SECE. I think the program is headed in that direction and I'm currently excited about what the future could hold for this program under CJH and staff.
I agree!
However, we are fixing to go through a 3 game stretch where we will struggle to be competitive due to the thin roster and the piling up of injuries
I believe Hooker is done for the year (would absolutely love to be wrong but ...)
Cade's injury, if it is long lasting, could be just as damaging to the team
RB is very thin. The only healthy RB is a walkon
We also need Taylor back at corner, though Martinez is developing the backend - the improvement from game 1 to last night is impressive, as is Garner's work on the DL. We actually have serviceable LBs and IMO better than last year's set.
The OL has now had 3 significant injuries (one before the season, Cooper and now Cade) and were very thin to start with.
BTW, you could see why you need lots of reps to develop an OL last night. The coordination between Davis and Spraggins just wasn't there, really highlighted in blitz pickups and run blocking handoffs. That will improve with practice but we are going up against 3 of the best DLs in the SEC the next three weeks.
I believe the future is bright but there will be near term storms
