A lot more optimism regarding the football team this year

[Volznut]

than in the last couple of years. Am I wrong? I sense it. I think we will have a pretty good offense. We will have good depth on the OL, Bray will likely come into his own and be tested against good defenses. The running game should be better. The receiving corps is young but there's more talent there than we have had in a while. The defensive line should have more depth, and if the LB's can be ok, our secondary should be able to be really good and make up for an ok LB corps.

The kicking game is a concern.

I think this year will be good and lead to anticipation of a really good season next year. 2012 and 2013 should be banner years where we challenge for a SEC title.

Opinions?

[BigOrange Maniac]

I sense it among us messageboard nerds, but when I talk to general fans who aren't fanatic enough to stay glued to the Internet for every morsel of info they can find, I don't sense that they're any more optimistic than they were last year. Certainly the prognosticators don't seem to see us doing any better than last year. And ticket sales would indicate that apathy, if you want to call it that, is still about where it has been the past couple of years.

I do think, as Revolver has said more than once, that this UT team is underrated. It may be the first UT team in a while that has been. I expect some pretty good things from this team this year. I don't know if it would be fair to say that I'm more optimistic than I was last year; I predicted an 8-win season at this time last year. (And except for two once-in-a-decade mishaps, I was right.  )

[Inspector Vol]

What I like is everything I am hearing from the players about how much better the o-line looks than last year. 

[ReVOLver]

I think 9 wins is the ceiling if the ball bounces right in a couple of games. I'm not ready to guarantee that we will beat UF and SC and UGa but I think we are capable of beating all three.

[RipleyVol12]

Not to overlook Cindy or anything, but my feeling is 4-0 is very doable if we can beat UF that would be a huge boost for the kids. UGA well I just think there RB situation is desperate as any in the country with A.J. Green gone I don't see any reason they aren't a beatable team. I think USU is the revenge game for the year and we likely lose to Bama but keep is close. Im on the fence but not sold on SC nor was I last year Gracia is and has been the question mark there.

GO VOLS! 

[101stDad]

I see improvement, but I also see way too much youth to start getting overly excited.  I would call my self cautiously optomistic.  Bray may be better, but the defensive coordinators in this league have a good library of film on him now, as well, and will be better prepared to defend what he does best.  I have a feeling he may experience a bit of the sophomore slump.  There is an ton of pressure on his shoulders as is, but the fans expecations are just way over the top, in my opinion.

What I see is that with a young team, we will likely win a game or two that we shouldn't, but we will likely lose a game or two that we shouldn't, also.  That generally how young teams react.   I'm sticking with 7-5, and anything above that will just be a bonus.  

[ReVOLver]

I see improvement, but I also see way too much youth to start getting overly excited.  I would call my self cautiously optomistic.  Bray may be better, but the defensive coordinators in this league have a good library of film on him now, as well, and will be better prepared to defend what he does best.  I have a feeling he may experience a bit of the sophomore slump.  There is an ton of pressure on his shoulders as is, but the fans expecations are just way over the top, in my opinion.

What I see is that with a young team, we will likely win a game or two that we shouldn't, but we will likely lose a game or two that we shouldn't, also.  That generally how young teams react.   I'm sticking with 7-5, and anything above that will just be a bonus.  

This is a realistic view. I think 6-6 is the floor and 9-3 is the ceiling. My prediction is 8-4. We will be ready to contend in 2012 barring any major injuries or attrition.

FWIW I didn't see it posted... Devrin Young is out 4-6 weeks with a collarbone injury. That is a bit of a blow because everybody expected him to return punts and get a few touches on offense in special packages.

[Inspector Vol]

I am excited but just in the aspect that I think we are progressing in the right direction. I have said and will continue to say that 8-4 is the ceiling for this team. As we all know there is too much youth and still shy on depth in a lot of places especially in the front 7.

I still say the Cincinnati game will tell us what type of potential this team has. If we struggle with them or lose it will be a 6-6 season at best. Bray has got to be really good for us to hit 8-4 this year. If he can be accurate on the intermediate routes and minimize his mistakes he should have a good year.

[ReVOLver]

I am excited but just in the aspect that I think we are progressing in the right direction. I have said and will continue to say that 8-4 is the ceiling for this team. As we all know there is too much youth and still shy on depth in a lot of places especially in the front 7.

I still say the Cincinnati game will tell us what type of potential this team has. If we struggle with them or lose it will be a 6-6 season at best. Bray has got to be really good for us to hit 8-4 this year. If he can be accurate on the intermediate routes and minimize his mistakes he should have a good year.

You are dead on about Cincinnati. If we lose to them, we will all have to readjust our expectations lower because we will likely get handled by every SEC team not named UK or VU. If we beat them close, we'll probably be just about right with the 7-5 / 8-4 predictions. If we hammer them, we may be better than advertised.

[VinnieVOL]

Dooley also seems a little more upbeat than last year.

[101stDad]

FWIW I didn't see it posted... Devrin Young is out 4-6 weeks with a collarbone injury. That is a bit of a blow because everybody expected him to return punts and get a few touches on offense in special packages.

I have thought all along that Young would benefit from a redshirt year, and this may just be what seals that deal.  He has got to get bigger and stronger before he is going to be able to take the physical nature of SEC football.  He won't be able to do much, if any, upper body work with a collarbone issue.  

[ReVOLver]

I have thought all along that Young would benefit from a redshirt year, and this may just be what seals that deal.  He has got to get bigger and stronger before he is going to be able to take the physical nature of SEC football.  He won't be able to do much, if any, upper body work with a collarbone issue.  

I think Young would benefit from redshirting but UT could benefit from him returning punts. I agree that he might've gotten banged up though so this may be a blessing in disguise. Surely we can find somebody to return punts. I remember the days when we wouldn't give punt returner a second thought but it's been a haunting problem for this team dating back to the late Fulmer years.