There's always that one constant conundrum around spring football practice.

It's Tennessee vs. Tennessee.

Basically, it's a no-win battle. If the offense looks good one scrimmage, the defense had better step it up a notch the next time around.

That's the world UT coach Phillip Fulmer lives in these days.

Momentum changes quicker than March cold fronts around Vols' workouts.

On Saturday at Neyland Stadium, it was the offense making more big plays than it did in virtually all of 2005.

On Tuesday at Haslam Field, the defense took control in some more controlled scrimmage work.

"That's spring practice," Fulmer said. "One side's going to do well and the other one's not. It's usually back and forth.

"Offensively, from an intensity standpoint, I just don't think we took the challenge (on Tuesday)."

It's the kind of back-and-forth that drives a young middle linebacker like Marvin Mitchell.

He heard offensive players talking some smack after breaking a few big plays on Saturday.

Traditionally, at least the past couple of years, the defense has owned much of March and April.

"I'm taking it as a challenge," Mitchell said. "They (offensively) bring new coaches in here and they think it's going to be something different.

"I look in offices and I see Eli (Manning) and Peyton (Manning) in the quarterbacks meeting."

That's when defensive coordinator John Chavis challenges the manhood of every defensive player.

Neither side wants to let the other get the upper hand.

"I think the defense took the challenge a lot more than our offense did," Fulmer said of Tuesday's workout.

"The last scrimmage (Saturday), the offense made a few plays. This scrimmage, it was embarrassing to watch."

Ouch.

Is that a good sign or bad sign? It depends.

Every offensive player on the field can probably expect an earful from new offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe.

Competition between the coordinators is inevitable.

"They're always competitive," Fulmer said of Chavis and Cutcliffe. "That's a good thing. It's a healthy thing.

"They're very competitive and both staffs are competitive."

The next inevitable step is for the competition to filter down to ranks of the players.

"That's who we're playing today and that's how they have to look at it," Fulmer said of offense vs. defense. "We did about a 20-minute board drill (an offensive man lined up one-on-one against a defensive man), and that's out here in front of everybody. What have you got?"

Mitchell is seeing those competitive juices increase as spring drills continue.

"It's a different mindset because everybody's hungry out here," he said. "Everybody's ready to compete."

Ryan Karl, another linebacker hoping for his shot at starting this year, isn't surprised with the give-and-take between Cutcliffe and Chavis.

"I've heard when they were both here together the first time (in the 1990s), that it was like a game every practice," Karl said.

Apparently, nothing has changed. Cutcliffe and Chavis have just picked up where they left off prior to Cutcliffe's 1999-2004 stint at Ole Miss.

As Mitchell put it, the give and take has its advantages.

"It's making us better as a football team," he said.

And everyone knows that's the ultimate goal of spring practice.

"We're battling like hell, pushing and shoving and everything we can to get them to understand that they're going to get hit in the mouth when they play against Cal, and Air Force, and Florida, and Georgia," Fulmer said.

"There are guys out here who think they're going to get to play by osmosis and seniority. It doesn't happen that way."