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looking at the cause and simply stating that IMHO it can't all be attributed to Dooley and if we continue on the coaching carousel we will be hard pressed to attract the players we need as well as coaches. As to "our only SEC win", look who we lost to....all but one were in the top 15 and 2 played for NC.

Again, that's a huge leap of supposition. Kentucky I will give you for sure... I don't think we can assume that we would've definitely won two games.

I guess I've just gotten to the point where I'm not going to always take the pro-Orange view on everything and for that reason I notice it more when others do it.

The rest of your post talked about continuity and I'm all for continuity if the program is moving forward on the field. I haven't seen that proof yet. Continuity only works when the person in place is getting it done. That combined with a new AD is what makes this a watershed year for Dooley.

why I continue to refer to those factors as to why last year did not meet expectations and feel it's unfair to not consider those factors beyond Dooley's control when evaluating him. Suppose your company says "no more spending" and your servers require upgrading would you feel it reasonable if your boss begins blaming you when people throughout the company begin to grumble and complain about lost data and lost productivity? He had very little to work with and lost his best parts so how was he supposed to "move forward". Now if the key players stay healthy and we don't move forward then that's on the coaches. At least if they do decide to change after this year who ever steps in won't have as little to work with as Dooley did when he took over.

unwillingness to change QBs coupled with the anemic running game we've seen the past few years. The D just gave out from being on the field too long and being put in bad field position just enough times to result in a KY win. Again, if Bray and Hunter stay healthy we're talking at least 2 more wins, probably 3....Dooley can't prevent those. I think if everyone stays healthy we'll have a decent season but I really think he should get 2 more years to provide some much needed continuity and to get the cupboards completely full so we can once again compete with the best of the SEC.

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having a "sit down" with your boss has much chance of producing the results within the company that you'd like. I sounds to me as though what you're looking for can't exist with the situation you described, it appears to me that to obtain the involvement and role you desire you'd have to take a position with a much larger company. Just a word from experience though, the amount of time expected from you once you've moved up the ladder may be more than you and you're family can tolerate and the pressure, and resulting stress, mounts exponentially also which can impact family life as well. It may be different in you're field though.

Tom Selleck in that role you should check out his Jesse Stone series of movies...the last one was a dud IMO but most of the others are pretty good to varying degrees, I really like his character and the location is great.

It's about a U.S. Marshal who previously worked in Miami but he was too trigger happy so they transferred him to rural Kentucky, where he originally was from. He deals with moonshiners, drug dealers and all the nice people of Harlan County.

doesn't enjoy it....well maybe a little.  It's a really good show, I also like Southland which just resumed also. There's not much on TV worth watching anymore IMO, mostly reality shows which are anything but "real". Speaking of Harlan County....I trace my roots back there, my folks mined coal in that area...my grandfather said he went to work in the mines when he was 7 to support his family after his father runn oft. You talk about a rough life....that was tough.

put Jefferson in, he's a great athletic specimen but that's it. He's not a good leader IMO and never thought he was a good QB. I pains me to see Bama win and I really hoped that LSU could do enough with the run game, defensive TOs and special teams to win the game...it was their only hope. The penalties meant no hope of picking up first downs by run alone, Bama's D is too good. I think they were focused too much on being loose and weren't prepared to fight every play and win their individual battles all game long.

to make it unnecessary for Jefferson's play to be responsible for the majority of the offense....unfortunately this was not the case. Jefferson just doesn't bring much to the table IMO, he's a heck of an athletic specimen but his decision making usually seems unsure and slow in coming. Glad I went to bed at half time. BAMA SUCKS ! 

the thought of them having a chance at a NC, so I'm definitely rooting against Bama! At first I though as others that no way Saban loses twice to LSU but after some reflection there are reasons to feel better for LSUs chances.
 
1. LSU had a lot of people injured in the latter part of the season that should be healthy now.
2. LSU has more quality RBs and can literally pound them with fresh backs for the entire game, like Bama did in the 60s & 70's.
3. Who says that Saban and Bama didn't play their best game in the first game. I mean they should've won but choked so who's to say that they'll come up with a better effort this time....maybe they just screwed the pooch and found a way to lose and LSU will have their best game this time and blow Bama out? This is the scenario I'd love to see come to fruition....LSU 27 Bama 9 (they get their 3 FGs this time). 

lose Bray and Hunter off the bat again then I'd expect only slightly better results than last year, only because Worley should be much better prepared to step in and I'm hoping that the run game is going to be much better which would help the offensive production. I don't think any one would expect last years team, as it existed for most of the season, to win 9 games next year.

myself in their skin so to speak and imagine what was the cause....I suspect it was a lot to do with the fact we had no running game (i.e. all offensive production was lost with the injuries leading to exasperation on both sides of the ball). I can understand (as Clifton pointed out) Dooley and the staff seeing the passing game as being the strength of the offense, and I think we saw early that the passing game, in tact, was very potent, but the lack of focus on the run game was devastating when Bray and Hunter went down. This lack of contingency planning and failure to focus on as balanced an offense as possible is what I was referring to as growing pains....hopefully he learned, if he has any hope of making it at this level he did. To ReVolver, the only thing I fail to understand, and put the blame squarely on Dooley, is why after 1 quarter, when it was painfully apparent that Bray could not be effective due to his injury, did he not play Worley, or even Simms.....to let a back up WR playing QB for the first time beat you basically running the ball is inexcusable! WHY would you not go down firing all of your guns? With any kind of offensive output we win. That IMO is on Dooley alone. The D played adequately but with the lack of offensive output we were hapless. I pray everyone stays healthy and we revisit the blocking scheme so as to improve the run game, if so I really think we could win the east (best case, I realize it would take a few breaks but I think it's realistic). The Vol nation aches and groans and I pray for healing beginning next year!

we had avoided injuries this year we win at least 8....that seems to be one of the factors I've seen not considered with everyone bashing Dooley. We didn't have a good RB and I don't think our OL blocking scheme is the right one for facilitating pass protection AND effectiveness in the run game, but with that said if Hunter and Bray aren't BOTH lost by the 4th game of the year (just as we entered the most difficult part of the schedule) we easily win 8 and maybe 9 games. I read people considering hiring Fulmer back??? He's the reason we're struggling through this period. I think Dooley is a good coach, I think he definitely is building on his knowledge as he experiences growing pains at the big-time level but what we experienced this year can't be accurately, and fairly, assessed without acknowledging the devastating nature of those 2 injuries. My greatest fear is that we experience similar devastating injuries this year and fire Dooley and enter a cycle of new HC every 2-3 yrs. Without a period of stability we will struggle to get the talent and depth we need to compete. I don't care who the coach was this year it wouldn't have made a significant difference after we lost Hunter and Bray. I know I'm disheartened after the past 7 years and am willing to suffer another year or two if we can get Tennessee football back to where it should be.

quick cutting ability. There were many, many times this year that if Poole took 1-2 steps to one side or the other he gets 6-8 yrds easy but he seemed to run into the back of the OLmen. If we can stay healthy next year I think everything will be fine in the Vol nation (i.e. it will evident we are on the right track).

a shot at another NC.

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improve vastly I expect we'll lose to Vandy...they should have beat Ark and have played several good teams very well.

http://www.rockytoptalk.com/2011/10/31/2526091/whats-wrong-with-tennessee-football-has-nothing-to-do-with-derek#storyjump

divert on to another track. 

defense is their strength so I'd say give it to their offense and hope for a turnover in hopes of gaining momentum....their defense on the field first against what's sure to be a nervous Simms and Lane minus our best receiver doesn't bode well. Bray moved well in the pocket and found targets quickly but Simms is a sitting duck and LSU will be going through our OL like a hot knife through butter. I'd take the chance on the defense making something happen.

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