You know, I really dislike it when sports analysts pat themselves on the back for all the things they correctly predicted before the start of the season.

So I won't bore you with how I said the only way Tennessee could screw up this season was if they didn't settle the quarterback deal.

I won't try to impress anyone by pointing out that it was I who said Gerald Riggs wouldn't rush for 850 yards (too fragile), and that he wasn't even the best tailback on the team.

Nope.

I've decided to try something different and write about all the things I was wrong about.

Like ...

Tennessee would win out after the Alabama game and play in a New Year's Day bowl.

Surely, I thought, with all the Vols' talent, they would give South Carolina and Steve Spurrier a royal butt-kicking and take that momentum into South Bend where they would shock the Irish.

Maybe they would have, if not for Arian Foster's goal line fumble and the horrid special teams' play against Notre Dame.

If nothing else, Foster's post-game comments after the South Carolina loss cemented my belief that the offense's accountability philosophy is at the root of its problems.

Foster, asked of the fumble after the game, said he just made a little mistake.

Little? That loss to Spurrier took three year's off Fulmer's coaching life and probably cost at least three assistants their jobs. Never mind how many Vols' fans won't be renewing their season tickets or traveling to a bowl game, that fumble also cost UT who knows how many recruits in the Carolinas who would have swayed the Vols' way.

So I was wrong. I thought Foster would have solved his fumbling problems with 1A 1/2 years of coaching.

I was also wrong in my belief that Fulmer would step in and start playing power football. I really believed that as a former offensive coordinator and line coach, Fulmer would go back to pounding the rock and the Vols' heavy-duty offensive line would respond with some monster outings.

I was also wrong about Robert Meachem. I thought the guy would be a star by now, but he has turned into a bust. Yeah, he's injured, but when hasn't he been?

Talked to Casey Clausen on Sunday, and Casey simply stated "Our receivers are so banged up, none of them look 100 percent. They all look slow.''

My question: how did they get so banged up? It's not like there has been a lot of contact in practices, and outside of C.J. Fayton and occasionally Jayson Swain, they certainly haven't sacrificed their bodies to make catches over the middle. One day, six receivers came to practice in green "no-contact'' jerseys. Fulmer, to his credit, sent a manager to the locker room to get orange jerseys for them so they could at least look like part of the team, if not perform like it.

As good as Pat Washington treats his receivers, you'd think they would have cared enough to play well so the man could feel good about his job security. If Washington is guilty of anything, it's being a nice guy.

Same goes for Randy Sanders. All he did was run the offense the way Phillip Fulmer wanted, and in return his family gets harassed and he takes the fall for an impossible quarterback situation.

By the way, I was wrong about Erik Ainge and Rick Clausen, too.

I believed Ainge, with the job all his own, would settle in and start performing like last year, when he was a consensus second-team Freshman All-American. Instead, he clutched in the fourth quarter against Notre Dame and the opening quarter of the win over Memphis.

And Clausen? Well, I just should have known you can't count him out. Goodness knows, I've written plenty of articles about his older brother's never-say-die attitude and heroics in the final moments of big games. I'm beginning to think the only way you can kill a Clausen is with a wooden stake to the heart. If nothing else, the brothers have proven they compete like few others.

And, just because little Jimmy Clausen probably isn't coming to UT, don't kid yourself into thinking he won't be the real deal. It looks like Southern Cal or Notre Dame, but he also genuinely likes Spurrier.

Another thing I was wrong about was that folks would start to appreciate secondary coach Larry Slade.

Slade had a ridiculous mission last year: put together a secondary despite losing three of the four starters from the year before, and then lose three other projected starters to injury or suspension (Stewart, Banks, Brandon Johnson).

So Slade took the heat in the offseason despite those conditions. Fair enough.

But this season, the secondary has played very well despite having four players starting in new positions and losing bell cow Jason Allen against Georgia.

So what does Slade get for those coaching exploits? Rumors that his job might be in jeopardy. Unbelievable.

I was wrong about Alabama winning the west and wrong about South Carolina dropping below Vanderbilt. Wrong about Michigan and Tennessee being top 10 teams, and wrong about Jeff Gordon making NASCAR's Chase for the Championship. Wrong about the Houston Astros winning the World Series. Wrong to draft Randy Moss in the first round of my fantasy football league.

So the next time you read a story where a sports writer is telling you he told you so, keep in mind they probably told you some things that didn't take place.

After all, nobody's perfect. Just ask Phillip Fulmer.

The Pearl: A few months into covering basketball coach Bruce Pearl, I feel compelled to share this about him: He's quotable. He's energetic. He's fun.

But he's not a miracle worker.

Granted, I haven't seen enough of the rest of the SEC to start throwing too many predictions around (I've been wrong about enough, right), but if this team plays in the postseason, I'd be shocked.

Major Wingate? Nice guy. Too nice. Too soft.

C.J. Watson: Boring. Solid. Boring.

Chris Lofton: Talent, but only 6-foot-2, and good teams can take him away.

Stanley Asumnu: Athlete, jumps through the roof. Nice guy. No touch.

Andre Patterson: The garbage man, gets put-back trash underneath. Legitimate SEC player.

Dane Bradshaw: Nice guy. Nice hustle. Limited talent.

Those are the highlights.

Tennessee fans will like the hustle and enthusiasm, and the Vols might even score an upset or two.

But don't kid yourselves. This is a transition year. Pearl and his players will be working hard, but until the stud recruits roll into next year, Tennessee is a mediocre team at best.

Vandy Game: Oh yeah, got to pick the football game this week, right? It's another chance to be wrong. I'll take Tennessee, 30-20.

Now, your questions ...

Q: A sports writer for the Cleveland Daily Banner, in an article on Nov. 15, 2005 about Terrell Owens asked, "Is he really worth the trouble?" He then compare T.O. to other athletes who have been "pains" in the past such as Randy Moss, Ricky Williams, Dennis Rodman, Kobe Bryant, and Erik Ainge. What is Erik Ainge doing on this list? He states, "Erik Ainge, who told teammates one day in practice, 'I don't have to practice. I'm the best player out there anyways.' '' Did Ainge really say that? If so, I can understand why his teammates do not support him as well as they do Rick Clausen. Please tell me this is not so!

morrowcd@bellsouth.net

GRIFF: I seriously doubt that. No quarterback is going to come off like that in collegiate football. Ainge certainly doesn't have the respect of teammates like Rick Clausen does, but he has been put in a tough situation. While sharing reps with Brent Schaeffer, it was obvious Schaeffer was a physical marvel and had impressed teammates with his athleticism. Clausen, meanwhile, has the maturity and likable nature.

I'm not making excuses for Ainge, just trying to explain some of the dynamics he has tried to overcome. It will be interesting to see if Ainge can take charge in the spring, or if Jonathan Crompton overtakes him.

Q: In looking back on this latest Vol football campaign, I can't help but wonder about what might have been.

With all the ineptness of the UT offense this year, I have wondered if there could have been maybe just one thing that could have turned things around. My mind keeps going back to Brent Schaeffer. If he could have stayed out of trouble and stayed around, I believe he would have made a world of difference in this offense. Enough so, that combined with a defense that was even better than advertised, the Vols would have been at least Sugar Bowl bound if not in the national title game.

He brought a whole new dimension to the game. Does anyone remember the South Carolina game last year? He tore the Gamecocks up with his different style and even Ainge played better after that. Do you agree?

Davenport, Larry A - Voridian

GRIFF: I've wondered some of the same things. Schaeffer, however, was clearly No. 3 on the coaches' list in the spring, and he knew that. Schaeffer would have likely been moved to receiver and seen action at QB only in certain packages.

Schaffer's mistake was not redshirting. Another year would have given him a better understanding of the offense and a chance to bulk up, so as to better avoid injury.

But Schaeffer wanted to play, thinking he knew best, and the coaches relented. It was that type of "I know better than you attitude'' that got Schaeffer in trouble. Part of it is the coaches' fault, too, for not putting their foot down.

Fulmer knows what to do, but he has got to get tougher with his players and his program.

Q: What is the truth versus rumor about Norm Chow as the next OC? Did he contact UT? Did UT contact him? Is there even the slightest chance he'd consider a gigantic paycut to come to Knoxville? I'm betting this rumor is just wishful thinking, but I'd like to know if you've heard anything.

chbaldwi@rockwellcollins.com

GRIFF: It's a rumor. Norm Chow would accept no less than a head coaching position at a major university. I don't see where he would have made a difference this season. It's not the Xs and Os that's getting UT beat, it's the lack of execution, fundamentals and talent at the skill positions on offense.

What has Chow done for the Tennessee Titans this year? What as Cal hotshot Jeff Tedford done for the Golden Bears this season?

Doesn't matter how good the coach is if the players aren't disciplined and focused on the field, or if there's not enough talent to compete.