Q: We're going to start hearing the peanut gallery (myself somewhat included) question the coaches for the Ainge injury and the simple fact that more talented team didn't win Saturday. It's inevitable.

But based upon your insight, my question is how do you think Fulmer views the lofty expectations at UT and do you ever see our expectations taking a toll on him?

Steve Spurrier said one of the reasons he left UF was because the expectations were so high and one loss or two loss seasons weren't good enough for the UF faithful. Do you think Fulmer feels the same pressures and do you think he's pretty good at dealing with them?

I tell you, I often think Fulmer and Sanders (not Chavis) get outcoached but you simply can't argue with Fulmer's production. And based upon the UF experience, I'd have to say that I'd take Fulmer and his consistency any day over the chance of maybe taking a step backwards.

heath@gearyi.com

GRIFF: I would say the expectations are what drive Fulmer to succeed. Phillip Fulmer is a proud man who considers himself a walking and talking representative of Tennessee football, and that's why he's always so careful and conservative with what he says publicly. Privately, he's driven to succeed by a fear of failure. Fulmer was honestly sweating it after the four-loss Cotton Bowl season.

I agree UT fans need to be careful what they wish for. Fulmer has a good system in place, with great assistants and a tremendous budget to work with. There's no reason at this point to fool with that.

My explanation for the defense's ability to play better than the offense year after year is that John Chavis' system is less specialized than the offensive system. Though people say UT is too predictable on offense, I say it's just the opposite; it's too complex.

It takes too long for receivers to learn to play their positions at UT (we're seeing that this year with the slow maturation of Robert Meachem), and unless the Vols have a marquee back, the run plays don't work. UT counts on its tailback breaking one tackle, and that hasn't happened consistently since Travis Henry left The Hill.

If redshirt freshman tailback Arian Foster doesn't pan out next season, UT's run game might not get untracked. Gerald Riggs Jr. is getting better, but he's not where the Vols' great backs of the past have been at this stage of his career.

I see where tailback Lemarcus Coker says he'll visit Auburn. He says he's a solid Tennessee commitment.

Yeah, well that's what Carnell "Cadillac" Williams said before his trip to Auburn, and so did one-time UT commitment Montae Pitts, a speedy defensive back. If there's one coach who can out-slick Fulmer, it's Tommy Tuberville. The Auburn head coach committed a secondary violation to land Williams, according to a former Vols' assistant. I'd say it was worth a slap on the wrist for the Tigers to drive a Cadillac the past four years. Tennessee's tailbacks have been more like Impalas. Decent, but not enough muscle or speed when you get right down to it.

Q: I keep reading time and time again that Coach Fulmer made a bad call at the end of the first half because Erik Ainge got hurt. I fail to understand the logic in that idea.

First, last year against Florida Casey Clausen threw a bomb at the end of the first half, we completed it for a touchdown, and it turned the whole game around. No one said that was a bad call.

Second, if Fulmer had called the same call in the third quarter, or first quarter, or halfway through the fourth quarter, Ainge could have gotten hurt just the same. Kevin Simon got hurt early in the year. Does that mean it was a bad call for John Chavis to make for the defense? How could Erik Ainge getting hurt possibly have factored into that call anymore than any other time in the game. Finally, if Ainge doesn't get hurt and Tennessee scored — or even if they did not score — we are not having this conversation. I think it is ridiculous to say the play is a bad call because someone got hurt.

ellisonfamily@netscape.com

GRIFF: The bad call was leaving Chuck Prugh in the game after he suffered a sprained ankle. Part of that was circumstance — Richie Gandy, the other backup center, was being pressed into action at guard because Cody Douglas was still struggling coming off a foot injury.

To that point, Ainge had only been sacked three times all season. Only once in the pocket. Further, Notre Dame only brought four guys on the rush and UT left five in to block. The percentages were that Ainge would get the ball off and at the worst would throw an interception deep downfield.

How many times have we been at Neyland Stadium and heard the crowd say "boo" when UT takes a knee at the end of a half? You think ‘‘They could at least try something!"

This Notre Dame game had hit a pretty hot tempo. The Irish called a timeout on their previous drive deep in their own territory, or the Vols wouldn't have even gotten the ball back.

It turned out to be a bad call in hindsight. Personally, I don't have a huge problem with it. I can see it argued either way.

However, Fulmer has many critics, and I believe they have been waiting to pounce on him. I still believe this is the best job he's done coaching over the seven years I've covered the team.

That said, if he can find a marquee tailback and figure out how to get his receivers coached up better/faster, be it more film study or a simpler system, the Vols will be more successful.

NOTE: The following e-mail has been edited, with the inappropriate curse words blanked out.

Q: What do you think now (edit) boy? Oh, you will come up with your usual smart(edit), bull(edit) because we commoners are so dumb. Your problem Griffith is that you get so much nonsense that it has jaded you from being able to tell the difference between crazy talk and obvious coaching deficiencies. If you would get off your high horse and quit trying to shoot everyone down maybe we could get some objective reporting.

Bottom line. Whoever is responsible for that call should be fired. Tonight. God knows Fulmer won't accept responsibility so that means Sanders. One of the two. The two of them ought to pray to God Ainge's daddy doesn't come down there and stomp the living (edit) out of them.

(edit) Fulmer, (edit) Sanders, (edit) you. They (edit) our whole season on one (edit) play. The (edit) with the whole program, I've had it.

jskelton@comcast.net

GRIFF: You sound a bit upset about the Notre Dame game. Should I assume you had some money bet on it, or are there some stability issues where your loyalty to the Tennessee Vols is concerned?

As for my horse, I'll have you know it's drug free.

By the way, Doug Ainge didn't have a problem with the play call, and neither did Erik.

Q: Read your article and even had a coworker griping about the lack of respect the Vols got in the BCS poll. I'll tell you why we aren't getting any respect--good grief--we have been so embarrassed the last two years, I don't think we deserve any better until we win something.

We haven't won anything yet. The 2002 and 2003 teams we would like to forget. With the humiliating losses in the Peach Bowl those two years, and the disgusting losses against Georgia last year and Auburn this year-what do we expect?

It's OK if you lose and you really have tried your hardest and given everything you have. But in those bowl losses and the second half of the Georgia game and this year's Auburn game, it looked like to me the team was just not trying.

You can tell it when our team comes out and no one is jumping up and down, and they don't seem motivated at all. Do they think that just because they show up they are going to win? That is either poor coaching or poor recruiting of people who have winning attitudes. Either way it's the coaches' responsibilities. I hate it when I read the players griping about respect. If I was one of their coaches, I would be telling them to shut up and go out and win something.

Win out and then beat Auburn's butt in the SEC championship, then go and win your bowl game. That's when they deserve some respect. I am tickled to death that they are winning as much as they have this year, with so many young players. We are a bit lucky to have only one loss. But in the back of my mind, they still haven't shown that they are a team that will be memorable. For me that's yet to come, we will see.

Steve.Deblois@fairfieldresorts.com

GRIFF: I'm going to go ahead and assume your opinion hasn't changed after the Notre Dame loss.

I do think UT should have been ranked ahead of Georgia after beating the Bulldogs head-to-head. But after the Notre Dame loss, that's obviously not the case.

As for giving up, the second half of last year's Georgia game was a low-point on my seven years on the beat. No doubt, Tennessee raised the white flag because the offensive line simply couldn't protect Casey Clausen.

This year's Auburn game? No. There was no quit. In fact, the defense played great in the second half, allowing just 67 yards and three points after giving up 333 yards and 30 points in the first half. And that was with the Tigers leaving their starters in for the entire game.

The Peach Bowl losses have been the pits, but that doesn't erase the biggest upset I've seen UT score over the past few years — that win over Miami in the Orange Bowl.

Back to your point, that the Vols don't deserve respect. I think they deserve some, particularly when you look at the key injuries to players who were voted the top two playmakers on the team in the preseason — James Banks and Kevin Simon. That would be last year's top tackler, and last year's top receiver.

There's a lot of young talent at Tennessee right now, and they have learned some valuable lessons. We'll see if they make those lessons count against Auburn and in the bowl game.