God bless him and your wife. Sorry to hear that.

CW

What ever happened to Dawg o Rama?

Oh, be sure that if UGA wins Maugwa, or whatever his name is, will be hanging around until he is banned.

CW

Our newer posters really don't know our Dawg "regulars."  Interesting reactions.  Long time no see Jedi and 151. 

It seems that Romo is throwing games. That's ridiculous of course but how does one explain some of the passes that he has made recently? For a guy to have the talent he has and to make those types of mistakes over and over is amazing.

CW

http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/2011/10/02/georgia-olb-cornelius-washington-arrested-in-jackson-county-for-dui/

CW

Anything could happen and it's possible that the Vols could beat Bama and LSU this year but I think it's highly unlikely. More than likely the Tahd and LSU will have their way with us.

I don't care how low we sink, it was time for Fulmer to go and IMO, he is 90% of the reason why UT is floundering. I probably wouldn't be as negative towards him as I am now if he had stayed out of the spotlight after he was fired. His comments after Dooley's first recruiting class were what broke the camel's back. Anyway, that is history now.....unless he gets in front of a camera again and starts bitching. Oh how Fulmer and Majors were so similar after they received their walking papers.

CW

We are only three games into the season so it's not really a time to reflect on this year but I was thinking about the 2000 season of all things and it brought back a flood of memories and some depressing comparisons. I remember going to the spring game in 2000 and meeting a bunch of you guys and gals and what fun we had that day. Later that same year we met up again for the Florida game. I think both times we were at YouTee's place. By the way, he used to live on this board and several years ago....poof....he was gone. I wish that he were still active; I always thought he had a good take on things.

Anyway, so much has happened since then with the program. I'm almost 40 years old now and back then I was still in my twenties. I'm in good health but I don't feel as good as I did back then. I still run and workout a lot but in the morning after a run I feel like someone beat my ankles and the bottoms of my feet with a baseball bat. Before I lift now I have to make sure to limber up or it feels like a branding iron is pressing against my joints. And to top it all off, the Vols just look lost a lot of the time on the field.

Back in 2000 we still had studs on both lines and good running backs. The qb situation that year was horrific and that is what got us beat in the Florida game but we had a chance and Florida was loaded. Now we have to totally outman the opposition or we are sol. Yep, lots has changed.

Remember 2004 when it seemed that we were on the rise again with the two young qbs and all those stud receivers? That all went down the toilet. I guess I'm just being Mr. Negative tonight but I miss the days when no matter who we were playing we had a chance to win. Oh, statistically we still have a shot in any game but lets face it, we are going to be skull dragged by LSU, Bama and probably South Carolina and maybe even Georgia. Well, probably not Georgia.

Most fans of my generation remember the days of the late 70s and early 80s but we really connect with that 1985 team that got the ball rolling again in Knoxville. I wish that that kind of beginning would happen again. I just can't see it yet. Dooley may be the next General and I hope that he is but it saddens me to think about the "old days" and damn my freaking leg is cramping from running earlier. Sheesh, it sucks getting older. It sucks even more when your team is struggling.

There's no real point to this post just a lot of rambling and yearning for the good days to come again.

CW

Thank God for that!

CW

Completely disagree. Fans and their dollars make all the difference in the world of college football. The more engaged and vocal the fan base, the more likely ADs are to make timely decisions. Sure wish more people had been behind canning Fulmer after 2005. Hell, I was guilty as well. I wanted him to turn it around. I was wrong.

Talk radio, letters to the AD, not buying tickets...whatever it takes to get the point across that a losing coach needs to hit the bricks. Just waiting for the administration to do their job doesn't cut it unless you really trust the AD and others in charge.

We will just have to agree to disagree.

CW

It isn't the fans' job to keep the pressure on him. That'll take care of itself. If Dooley isn't putting butts in the seats and keeping apathy at bay, the administration's decision to move on will be an easy one. But show me a fan who is interested in putting pressure on a coach to win and I'll show you a fan who, 9 times out of 10, has unreasonable expectations. I don't think anyone is going to be willing to give Dooley a free pass on fielding a mediocre football team. I know I'm not, and I'm probably one of the guy's biggest fans. But, IMO, there's a gigantic leap from being unwilling to accept an average football team and expecting far too much.

Done and will continue to do so.

CW

I agree with you that Dooley needs time because of the situation created by Fulmer and Kiffin. But I believe it is very important that fans keep the pressure on him. This program has a rich history and any coach is going to have to produce and do better than just average to maintain his job. It's just the way it is. It may not be fair but little in life is so GOOOO DOOLEY...but you better start recruiting studs and you had better win or out the door you go.

How's that?

CW

How many years will the UT fans give him or how long should they give him?

Dooley has to have a minimum of four years to turn things around.

Will our fans give him that before the caterwauling begins? I doubt it. We'll finish off this season on a good note, anticipation will build for next season, and then when Florida comes to Neyland Stadium and beats us, the wailing and gnashing of the teeth will begin. Heck, you've seen and heard the comments from fans this week after Dooley took his second-year team of freshmen and sophomores into a hostile environment, lost arguably his best player on the first series, and still only lost by 10. FTR, I was disappointed that Tennessee once again choked, to a certain degree, but there are fans out there already questioning whether Dooley is the right guy. Which is just asinine, IMO.

Here's the reality that's going to be difficult for the unreasonable portion of our fan base to accept: the days of us winning 10 games every single year are over. The SEC landscape has changed dramatically since we were at our peak in the '90s. Florida is Florida and always will be simply because they can cherry-pick one of the nation's biggest hotbeds of prep talent. For whatever history will ultimately write about Mark Richt at UGA, he's had some good success against UT. And if Georgia gets the right person in place, they could easily grow into an annual contender for the SEC East. Spurrier can't take South Carolina to the next level, IMO, but he's proven that it can be done. When he finally retires, USCe will have an opportunity to bring in someone who can finish what Spurrier started. Plus, used to be, our only real threat from the West was Alabama. Now that Auburn is back and Petrino is doing what Nutt really wasn't able to accomplish at Arkansas, plus Mullen is doing what no one thought possible at Mississippi State, the West is even better than the East. Ten years ago you hoped that your draw from the West was Alabama and any two teams other than LSU or Auburn. Now the only pushover in the West is Ole Miss. It's only going to become more difficult as the SEC expands. Most UT fans have this perception that we're going to return to the '90s, where we would lose a game or two a year in the SEC year-in and year-out and not think twice about it. One-loss or no-loss SEC seasons will be the exception rather than the rule going forward and I'm not sure that our disillusioned fanbase is prepared to deal with that reality.

50/50 that we beat Georgia. And that's if we play lights out now that Hunter is gone.

South Carolina has the potential to run up the score on us.

CW

Dooley walked into the same type of mess that Majors saw when he returned home.
CW

Until we get a stud runningback, our O line toughens up and we get some playmakers on D line, we are not going to contend for the SEC ring. Dooley had better land some recruits and fast.

CW

I thought the article made some very good points. The statement about Fulmer was just to emphasize what he was saying about Dooley taking a few more risks. And the particular risks he was talking about weren't too risky given the situation of that game.

And by the way, I hear people saying that "we have the dumbest fans in the world". Funny, I read that on every messge board. I'm not a big fan of Colin Cowherd but he said something a couple of months ago that is true regarding "dumb fans". And I believe it to be true. He said, those fan bases that bitch and moan the loudest in college football usually get results. If you think about it, it's true. We have a long, long way to go before we reach the level of Alabama, Florida and the like when it comes to putting pressure on a coach to win.

I don't think anyone (with a brain) wants Fulmer to return. At the same time, Dooley, as much as we love him, deserves his share of criticism. Hell, he loves to dish it out on his players (rightly so) so why shouldn't he take his medicine from time to time? I am squarely behind Dooley and I think it is going to take a while to get on the right track. He is following two Buffoons in Kiffin and Fulmer (the latter part of his career especially). It will take time but he's got to do a better job. It's just the way it is.

CW

The day the bad luck stops is the day when the dropoff from our 1st team guys to the 2nd team guys isn't like falling from a plane at 35,000 feet to the floor of the Grand Canyon.

CW

Florida only spooks those who let it happen. Being spooked was the general attitude regarding Alabama and then we kicked them in the teeth 7 times in a row. Florida simply has better talent. Rather, far superior talent across the board.

Most of the last two decades Florida has had better talent than UT. There were a few years when we should have won; 1999 comes to mind. But for the most part, there were massive mismatches in places that counted during most of that time. Florida has had better talent and it shows on the scoreboard. It's that simple. We beat them when we have the advantages.

CW

I agree with most everything. Two points:

1) I think that Bray is a stud. Anyone can see that he is going to be a very good qb. Hell, he already is. Yes, he made mistakes but who wouldn't surounded by that line, those D linemen and our running backs. He has a good eye for the field, has a lazer for an arm and is mentally tough. Last year he acted a little goofy with all the gestures and so forth but he has matured a lot.

2) Gene Stallings was no slouch. He was a damn good coach and UT shooled him several times. He may not have been the coach when UT first began (under Johnny) to rise, but lots of peole (not saying you) conveniently forget his tenure when they talk about UT kicking butt in the early to mid-90s.

CW

Fulmer would never have been this bold. That's all I need to know. Go Devrin! Go Vols!

CW

I was just making a contribution. Didn't mean to hijack your thread.

CW

Yes, they have a shot. Remember who is coaching that team and LSU's history. They always blow at least one game when they should dominate. Also, we watched Chavis blow leads for years so why shouldn't that happen again at LSU. They have a shot but chances are that LSU will torch them.

CW

Okay, but the implication is that most UT fans are thinking that we have this one in the bag which is hardly the case. So a few bozos call in and say we are going to kick their butts...yep, that's representative of the Vol Nation.

I know that he lives in Knoxville and I saw his post on their message board.
 If we do whip them, I wonder if he will admit that most UT fans expected it and that they were right?

CW

He's right though. I've been listening to the same shows. I think most UT fans have reasonable expectations, but those are not the ones who call Doc and Jeff here in Knoxville (and GatorTrekE lives here). The fans that call that show couldn't name 5 UF players, and I'm not sure the hosts could either. The show is practically unlistenable even when you're starving for UT football chatter.

Of course that is what a Gator would report on a Gator message board. Funny, I listen to talk radio in Chattanooga, both local and the ESPN affiliate, and it has been a very measured response by UT fans. More of a "prove it on the field first" attitude.

He's just setting up the big Gotcha! in case his Gators win. Please.

CW

There is no quandry, pressure from the middle and force Bray to throw on the run. It's that simple. If they cannot get pressure from their interior d line, they might be in for a long day.

CW

picked the Gators to win this Saturday. None of them thought that UT would give UF much of a scare.

They may be right but why is it that I keep thinking that UT has a good chance to steal this one? I certainly have not felt this way in a long, long time.

I will not be surprised at all if UF wins. Hell, they should win. Just look at who they have recruited vs. our guys over the last four seasons and it's obvious.

This is one of those games where the home team might just get a really bad surprise. I hope so.

CW

Florida fans on Saturdays, Jags on Sundays. Are you surprised?

 

CW