What happened to North? I hear he is out for the season. Are the Vols as light

[volsboy]

at the WR position as GoVols Xtra says? I was under the impression we were loaded at WR.

[VinnieVOL]

Bruce Feldman:

SOURCE: Speculation on #Vols big WR Marquez North possibly being injured & lost for the season is all false. He may be out 1 wk or less

[BanditVol]

We were more challenged at WR than I thought prior to Von Pearson coming back.  North was a big piece of the upcoming season, but frankly after wowing in his rookie year he didn't do much last year anyway.  IF he's out, which is still uncertain, it's an opportunity for a young guy to step up.

What I want to know is how is bammer going to compete with as many as five guys still in the running for QB (per SECN last night), only three starters back on offense, and literally half their passing offense (Amari Cooper) playing in the NFL? 

And oh yeah, Kiffin is the OC.  His offense last year consisted solely of finding ways to get Amari the ball.  What is he going to do this year?  Do you trust him to pick the right QB? 

Here's another thing to ponder.  Personal saban ass licker Finebaum says that Bammer's D was "really good last year and people are not crediting that".  Putting aside Finebaum's bias, bammer's D gave up 18 ppg last year, which is their highest since saban went 6-6 in his first season.  The second highest was 14 ppg in 2008.  (Defensive ppg is one of the most correlated stats in football to wins).    They also were 58th in the country in pass d and lose a 1st round DC/1st team AA db in Landon Collins.

So in spite of the fact that they get 7 starters back on D, do you really agree with delusional saban ass puppet Finebaum that bammer's d will be "one of the best, if not the best, in the country?"

I just figure you follow bammer really closely and might have an opinion.   

[volsboy]

Why do you think I follow Bama? Not in the least. All  I am guilty of is calling the Vols out on things I think are substandard. We have been waiting for Jones to get a substantial win. That's all I want. He has beaten Vandy, UK and USCe since becoming coach. I think he will change that some this season. Until he does, the Vols are a work in progress. Bama is the benchmark until we beat them. Do you expect us to beat them, if they are as weak this year as you imply?

[crockettman]

Bama is loaded with talent,but experience is the question this year on offense..I have a feeling this will be the worst year for Saban at Bama..Kiffin will have to earn his money now and is way past due to screw the pooch..I'm thinkin' Saban will be feeling the heat to get rid of the turd as oc by the end of the year and wouldn't it be sweet if UT went down there and contributed to Saban's misery and handed them an L just to for $hits n giggles 

[Volznut]

North is out 1 week.

This UT team, as far as I can tell, will have a very stout defense, and a 3 headed running game. The run game will feed the passing game. I look for a big year.

[BanditVol]

Why do you think I follow Bama? Not in the least. All  I am guilty of is calling the Vols out on things I think are substandard. We have been waiting for Jones to get a substantial win. That's all I want. He has beaten Vandy, UK and USCe since becoming coach. I think he will change that some this season. Until he does, the Vols are a work in progress. Bama is the benchmark until we beat them. Do you expect us to beat them, if they are as weak this year as you imply?

USCe was ranked both times we beat them.  And they are far better than any team Dooley beat. Butch should IMO beat one of Florida, Georgia or even bammer this year (though it's debatable if florida is a "big win" this year...but it will be big if for no other reason than we broke a 10 year streak).  And though people routinely underate Mizzou, beating the team that has been to the SECC two years in a row would be a step up from USCe IMO.  Heck, other than vandy and Kentucky, beating any SEC team is impressive.

Can we beat bammer this year?  It will be tough, but IMO we have our best shot since 2009.  Our talent level is finally SEC again, but we are still young and need one more good recruiting year for depth.  Even down they will be our toughest game.  I would say we have about a 12% chance, but if their QB situation does not gell and their D struggles a bit that could go up to 20% at gametime, assuming we improve about like we should.

[Black Diamond Vol]

As bammer has the nation's #1 class every single year (and I mean EVERY.  SINGLE.  YEAR.), "down" is a relative term for them.  However, I do believe they're as vulnerable this year as they have been probably since Saban's first couple seasons.  If we were getting them in Knoxville, we might even be a trendy upset pick.  But to have a chance down there, we're going to have to stay almost completely healthy, and hope that they don't.