Our offense did nothing in the second half and our defense was gassed....

[droner]

Ballgame. 

[crockettman]

No deep pass attempts the whole game..way too predictable in the 2nd half..Welcome to Neyland..Your home away from home..

[JeffCountyVolFan]

Yep. Looked to me like we played 'not to lose'. That will get you an L more times than not.

I can only remember one first down in the second half. Surely there were more than that, but for the life of me I can't remember them.

[Clockwork Orange]

Butch puckered up with the lead in a big game. This is now twice in two years, both terrible deflating losses and both 100% his fault. For the first time I'm really starting to doubt he's going to last.

[crockettman]

Butch puckered up with the lead in a big game. This is now twice in two years, both terrible deflating losses and both 100% his fault. For the first time I'm really starting to doubt he's going to last.

Coached not to lose instead of coaching to win.. Shades of Fulmer..

[Clockwork Orange]

Coached not to lose instead of coaching to win.. Shades of Fulmer..

This game and UF last year are much worse than anything fulmer ever did.

[crockettman]

Looks like another 7 win season..if he's lucky

[PirateVOL]

No deep pass attempts the whole game..way too predictable in the 2nd half..Welcome to Neyland..Your home away from home..

we actually tried 3 deep shots, including a possible TD drop

Biggest problem was pass protection

[crockettman]

This game and UF last year are much worse than anything fulmer ever did.

Some might be happy with moral victories..getting better..blah blah blah..we had this game and completely screwed the pooch..Until Jones proves he can win the big games and finish,he still hasn't got this program where it needs to be..period! Turns my stomach to let those OU pukes come here and act like they own the place after leading by 17 points and seeing the defense play lights out and our offense laying an egg in the 2nd half

[JeffCountyVolFan]

If I am reading the stats correctly we had 93 yards of offense in the 2nd half and OTs. Now I think that 31(?) of those were on Hurd's first run of the 2nd half and 25 would have been the TD drive in the first OT. That leaves, I think, 37 yards of offense for the rest of the third and fourth quarters.

Pitiful!

[HerbTarlekVol]

We have an "ace" recruiter who is a MAC level game day coach.   

[Tnphil]

We have an "ace" recruiter who is a MAC level game day coach.   

The way the MAC is now I'm not sure he's be upper MAC worthy.

[Creek Walker]

The way the MAC is now I'm not sure he's be upper MAC worthy.

Well, he did beat a MAC team by 29 points that beat a Big Ten team by 21 today.

I have some concerns about the cumulative effect of this coaching staff's ability to deliver on the field, but the over-reaction by Tennessee fans is a little bit silly, if expected. Butch Jones' ability to coach Xs and Os is still a huge question mark, we all know that, and he failed to deliver tonight with a golden opportunity to answer that question affirmatively. But the bottom line is that he lost in double OT to a Top 25 team most folks outside Knoxville didn't expect him to win in the first place.

I was pretty disgusted with the way things turned out tonight. I won't go to the Western Carolina game next week and I'm seriously considering skipping the trip to Gainesville. To be honest, I don't know if I'll go back to any other UT game this season. I invested heavily tonight, and the same ol' song-and-dance repeating itself over and over is just getting boresome. But let's wait until the stretch of Florida-Arkansas-Georgia is over before deciding that Butch isn't going to cut it as a gameday coach. I'm concerned about the fact that our coaches were severely outcoached in tonight's game, but it would be a little hasty to condemn them over one loss to a very good football team, IMO.

[HerbTarlekVol]

I have some concerns about the cumulative effect of this coaching staff's ability to deliver on the field, but the over-reaction by Tennessee fans is a little bit silly, if expected. Butch Jones' ability to coach Xs and Os is still a huge question mark, we all know that, and he failed to deliver tonight with a golden opportunity to answer that question affirmatively. But the bottom line is that he lost in double OT to a Top 25 team most folks outside Knoxville didn't expect him to win in the first place.

If this was a first Butch would get a mulligan from me.  However, this WAS his mulligan after the debacle of the Florida game a year ago.  Apparently neither he nor the coaching staff learned a damned thing from that Florida loss. 

[BanditVol]

I definitely see the similarities to the UF game last year, but I also see differences.

Last year I thought we should be favored against UF and that we might lose. So when we did, I wasn't terribly surprised.  I also thought there were two reasons we lost...the complete inability of our line to protect Worley and the fact that UF brought in a new QB.  Their starter last year was just awful, and Muschamp proved he doesn't know squat about offense by leading him stink it up for 3 quarters.  Had they brought him in earlier, it would probably not have been close IMO.

One thing people kept saying last year was that we were too conservative on offense, but the fact is our offense just wasn't that good.  We only had three field goals.  Had Florida not been so inept on offense they would have crushed us because they had a great D.

This year we proved we could handle the OU D.  We scored two touchdowns playing big boy football and should have had a third.  There is no excuse for failing to score the rest of the game.  Dobbs claims they made adjustments and we failed to, which is probably true, but at the same time I think the team relaxed mentally, and that they take cues like that from the head coach.

This is something that definitely has to be addressed, but last year we were just barely good enough to beat Florida even though they were terrible.  This year we were good enough to beat an OU team that is actually pretty decent but for some reason we let them off the hook.

The bottom line is that last year's loss to UF was more understandable to me.  This one DEFINITELY should have been a win.   

[murfvol]

My concern is I don't see Butch making a strategic decision that wins a game. His QB calls have probably cost us both UF games, and 1 UGA game. Personnel decisions are iffy, but in-game choices are worse.

Les Miles is crazy, but errs on the side of aggression. That covers many deficiencies.

[Tnphil]

Butch's PT Barnum act and his Butchisms are out the window with me...Done, over! 62 years as a VOL fan and many thousands of dollars later being one, IMO, I earned the right to say it. UT fans have heard excuses for so many years we've started believing them....In a lot of ways we've become like Vandy fans always making excuses for losing and 4th quarter meltdowns.

Butch needs to win...keep his excuses to himself because excuses are for losers. He needs to start winning some big games or get gone. He needs to hire the best people he can and not just his friends and people he likes.....The Debord hire and the way he made UT fans think he was on some extensive NATIONWIDE SEACH was one of the funniest things I ever saw. Butch is great at pi$$ing on peoples legs and convincing peope it's raining. It's almost like a cult the way folks believe him.

[BanditVol]

Butch's PT Barnum act and his Butchisms are out the window with me...Done, over! 62 years as a VOL fan and many thousands of dollars later being one, IMO, I earned the right to say it. UT fans have heard excuses for so many years we've started believing them....In a lot of ways we've become like Vandy fans always making excuses for losing and 4th quarter meltdowns.

Butch needs to win...keep his excuses to himself because excuses are for losers. He needs to start winning some big games or get gone. He needs to hire the best people he can and not just his friends and people he likes.....The Debord hire and the way he made UT fans think he was on some extensive NATIONWIDE SEACH was one of the funniest things I ever saw. Butch is great at pi$$ing on peoples legs and convincing peope it's raining. It's almost like a cult the way folks believe him.

Wow that's off the charts. I am very patient with Butch for two reasons. One he inherited an absolute dumpster fire.  Two he isn't dooley.

Normally a coach is expected to produce in his third year. I'm on record as saying Butch gets four from me due to the magnitude of the rebuilding effort he faced.

My expectations for this season were 8-4 and that has not changed.

And though most won't admit it, only a minority really thought we could beat ou until the last couple of weeks when the hype ratcheted way up.

There is no excuse for the way we lost that game and I agree that Butch should not make any but he has the rest of this season and part of next to right the ship. From me at least.

[Tnphil]

For the record.....Butch and Dooley have the exact same record at this point. Butch gets paid millions to win...not make excuses. I excepted excuses in year one and two....Not anymore.

I don't expect championships right now.....I don't expect meltdowns we've had against Florida last year and OU yesterday....at home. No excuse.

[crockettman]

Butch's PT Barnum act and his Butchisms are out the window with me...Done, over! 62 years as a VOL fan and many thousands of dollars later being one, IMO, I earned the right to say it. UT fans have heard excuses for so many years we've started believing them....In a lot of ways we've become like Vandy fans always making excuses for losing and 4th quarter meltdowns.

Butch needs to win...keep his excuses to himself because excuses are for losers. He needs to start winning some big games or get gone. He needs to hire the best people he can and not just his friends and people he likes.....The Debord hire and the way he made UT fans think he was on some extensive NATIONWIDE SEACH was one of the funniest things I ever saw. Butch is great at pi$$ing on peoples legs and convincing peope it's raining. It's almost like a cult the way folks believe him.

I've seen a lot of fans in the past and myself included,knee jerk and blame the coaches out of frustration but this time all the blame from all fans and sports writers is justified imo...
This program has suffered and toiled after all it's been through since Fulmer's firing..There has been very little to celebrate..One agonizing loss after another in "big games"..
Another close but no cigar..From the blocked fg at bama in 2009 with Kiffin,to the 13 players on the field against LSU with Dooley and the decade long losses to Florida and pissing away that game last year..
This program has a rich tradition of winning and Jones has recruited well but he needs to grow a set of balls and coach and teach these players and coach aggressively..
He snatched defeat from the jaws of victory Saturday night.He had OU in his grasp and he let them slip away..
Jones better learn from it and make himself and his coaches learn from it fast or he's gonna be in for a long season and will lose the support of a great fan base that has given their all..
Stop the stupid gimmicks before the games and the sorry ass excuses after another heart breaking loss and coach like there's no tomorrow against Fla and for the rest of the year or there might not be many tomorrows for this coaching staff imo

[BanditVol]

I've seen a lot of fans in the past and myself included,knee jerk and blame the coaches out of frustration but this time all the blame from all fans and sports writers is justified imo...
This program has suffered and toiled after all it's been through since Fulmer's firing..There has been very little to celebrate..One agonizing loss after another in "big games"..
Another close but no cigar..From the blocked fg at bama in 2009 with Kiffin,to the 13 players on the field against LSU with Dooley and the decades long losses to Florida and pissing away that game last year..
This program has a rich tradition of winning and Jones has recruited well but he needs to grow a set of balls and coach and teach these players and coach aggressively..
He snatched defeat from the jaws of victory Saturday night.He had OU in his grasp and he let them slip away..
Jones better learn from it and make himself and his coaches learn from it fast or he's gonna be in for a long season and will lose the support of a great fan base that has given their all..
Stop the stupid gimmicks before the games and the sorry ass excuses after another heart breaking loss and coach like there's no tomorrow against Fla and for the rest of the year or there might not be many tomorrows for this coaching staff imo

FIFY 

[BanditVol]

Well guys I do agree that there was no excuse for the collapse.  I haven't had time to go back and read all of Butch's comments, but what little I did see suggests he doesn't "get it".

He seems to think this was a valiant effort that just fell short, while most Vol fans, myself included, see it as a game we had won that he let slip away.  His basically should acknowledge that he blew it but will do better in the future.

He has dug himself a bit of a hole.

And TnPhil, the record may be the same as Dooley's but Butch did beat a ranked SEC team and win a bowl game.  Think back to LSU and North Carolina in Dooley's first season.  If Dooley had not buried this program so deeply, there would be more wins.  And there will be later this season.  Also, Dooley started 6-7 and went backwards, while Butch started 5-7 and has gone forwards.

I know you're not seriously trying to compare Dooley to Butch, but the reason we are where we are is Dooley, not Butch.

Here's the thing...you seem put off by Butch's marketing and salesmanship, but those skills are what landed us two top five recruiting classes in a row, and will land what is likely a solid class this year and a spectacular class next year.  I don't want anything to hurt that.  If Butch is not the future, at least he will leave a well-stocked larder for the next guy.  Let's let him do his thing on the salesmanship.   

[Creek Walker]

The good thing for Butch is that he has an opportunity to overcome Saturday's debacle, and relatively quickly. We have a three-game stretch upcoming against Florida, Arkansas and Georgia. Win two of those three and everyone will be back on board. Lose all three and he's a dead man walking at Tennessee.

[Tnphil]

Well guys I do agree that there was no excuse for the collapse.  I haven't had time to go back and read all of Butch's comments, but what little I did see suggests he doesn't "get it".

He seems to think this was a valiant effort that just fell short, while most Vol fans, myself included, see it as a game we had won that he let slip away.  His basically should acknowledge that he blew it but will do better in the future.

He has dug himself a bit of a hole.

And TnPhil, the record may be the same as Dooley's but Butch did beat a ranked SEC team and win a bowl game.  Think back to LSU and North Carolina in Dooley's first season.  If Dooley had not buried this program so deeply, there would be more wins.  And there will be later this season.  Also, Dooley started 6-7 and went backwards, while Butch started 5-7 and has gone forwards.

I know you're not seriously trying to compare Dooley to Butch, but the reason we are where we are is Dooley, not Butch.

Here's the thing...you seem put off by Butch's marketing and salesmanship, but those skills are what landed us two top five recruiting classes in a row, and will land what is likely a solid class this year and a spectacular class next year.  I don't want anything to hurt that.  If Butch is not the future, at least he will leave a well-stocked larder for the next guy.  Let's let him do his thing on the salesmanship.  

True on Dooley......but Dooley was UT's 3rd coach in 2 years and we had some major defections because of it....Got to admit that too. Sure Dooley gets a lot of blame but he had some factors that wasn't in his control either. Was Dooley a bad coach....YES! But he was dealt a $hitty hand too but for some reason people forget that but want to use it loss after loss as an excuse for Butch.

And I'd take the offensive system under Dooley back, right now....today!

[Clockwork Orange]

True on Dooley......but Dooley was UT's 3rd coach in 2 years and we had some major defections because of it....Got to admit that too. Sure Dooley gets a lot of blame but he had some factors that wasn't in his control either. Was Dooley a bad coach....YES! But he was dealt a $hitty hand too but for some reason people forget that but want to use it loss after loss as an excuse for Butch.

I know what the numbers say, but I think Butch is still a clear upgrade from Dooley if only because he's restocking the cupboard while Dooley made it worse.