Event Details
- What: Tennessee vs. South Carolina
- When: Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007, 7:45 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Where: Neyland Stadium
- Cost: Not available
- Age limit: All ages
Tennessee Stat Book
Chris Brown has a remedy for Tennessee's football team:
Have fun.
"Maybe people aren't having as much fun as they should be having," the senior tight end said Tuesday. "When it comes down to it, we should be having fun.
"It is football. It is not something that is life or death."
UT football hasn't been much fun for coaches, players or fans this season. UT is 4-3 with three lopsided losses, including last Saturday's 41-17 defeat at Alabama.
Brown's attitude doesn't mean he's downplaying the importance of winning at UT, but he also believes there's a more effective way to handle the pressure.
"When you do make a big play you need to have some excitement and enthusiasm out there on the field and not always be so serious," he said. "When you come here you want to win championships, you don't want to not do well.
"You need to win a lot of football games and some people get caught up in that."
Brown said he's never taken football too seriously. Evidently, that approach is working. Brown is having a career year with 26 receptions for 195 yards and five touchdowns.
"I don't ever really find myself not having fun playing football because that is what I came here doing and what I have done my whole life and having fun doing it," Brown said. "You can't really worry about things and get too serious about."
The fun starts again Saturday against South Carolina at Neyland Stadium.
Back Talk: Running backs coach Kurt Roper said he wasn't too concerned when sophomore tailback Montario Hardesty didn't show up for practice on Sunday evening.
"Probably not like everything got portrayed because I know how Montario is," Roper said. "You know what his mental makeup is and how he's going to approach things."
After being upset over a lack of playing time against Alabama last Saturday, Hardesty's absence was conspicuous. His family and UT coach Phillip Fulmer said on Monday that the absence was due to a high fever.
Scouting Report: Even though opposing offensive coaches don't prepare for each other, David Cutcliffe knows what to expect out of South Carolina's Steve Spurrier.
"You can't afford to stub your toe and beat yourself," Cutcliffe said. "What Coach Spurrier does well is if you turn the ball over or you get in a situation where you put him in good field position, he is going to score a lot of points.
Lighting up the scoreboard hasn't been Spurrier's approach in Columbia. These Gamecocks (unlike those championship Florida teams) rely on defense, led by strong safety Emanuel Cook and end Eric Norwood.
"They are unbelievable playmakers and tacklers," Cutcliffe said. "They just have a knack for being around the football."
South Carolina's defense is led by coordinator Tyrone Nix, who was the defensive coordinator at Southern Miss while Cutcliffe was the coach at Ole Miss.
"They throw a lot of things at you," Cutcliffe said.
Cutcliffe said South Carolina's defense thrives on being multiple. Such an approach has led the Gamecocks to the top ranking in the SEC in pass defense and the fifth-best pass-efficiency ranking in the nation.
"They have a lot<0x00A0>of good defensive backs and get a lot of pressure on the quarterback," Brown said. "They pressure the quarterback and force the quarterback to make mistakes.<0x00A0>
"We need to come out and run the football first to soften up the pass. South Carolina will try to stop the run and make us throw the ball and make us make mistakes."
End Game: With only four sacks by its defensive ends this season, UT hasn't created much pressure up front. That must change Saturday, said defensive end Robert Ayers.
"It is very important," the South Carolina native said. "In his (Spurrier's) offense everything is on timing. You have to get to them quick.
"That is what we have to do this week in order to disrupt his passing game. If we don't, we will have trouble."
The Vols certainly struggled to get pass pressure with their defensive line against Alabama, when coaches decided not to blitz, instead dropping defenders into pass coverage.
"We are really leaving our defensive backs out to dry by not getting pressure," Ayers said. "We just want to handle our part."
Ayers, a junior, leads UT with three sacks. Senior Antonio Reynolds with one is the only other end with a sack.
For Kicks: Daniel Lincoln said he expected Alabama coach Nick Saban to call a timeout just before he kicked a field goal late in the second quarter.
"Saban is always messing with you," Lincoln said. "He opened the game up doing an onside kick, doing something you don't expect."
Calling a timeout to "ice" the kicker just before the ball is snapped has become common practice this season in college football and the NFL. Lincoln said such tactics don't affect him because of his approach.
"We just have fun; it is a game," the redshirt freshman said. "I just have fun with it and visualize the kick once or twice and wait for the opportunity to come back out there and kick."
Lincoln is 13-of-14 in field goal attempts and 26-of-26 in PAT's this season. Such lofty production doesn't mean Lincoln has satisfied coach Phillip Fulmer. After a bad practice last Monday, Lincoln was punished with extra running.
Visitors: The Vols are planning on at least two official visitors this weekend: tailback commitment Tauren Poole from Stephens County High School in Toccoa, Ga. and defensive tackle Jeremy Lewis from West Palm Beach (Fla.) High.
UT is also trying to secure a visit from defensive end Lavar Edwards from Desire Street Academy in Baton Rouge, La.
Real Life: Freshman offensive lineman Cody Pope's family has been forced to evacuate their home because of wildfires in the San Diego area. Unfortunately, that's not the first time such a tragedy has struck the Pope family. The Popes lost their home to wildfires in 2003.
UT's new $45 million football…
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Comments » 34
DennisVols writes:
That's it. We are all a bunch of moron here. All this time we thought it was poor coaching, poor preperation and poor findamentals.
Dang it was the simple things that get you.
Lets just have FUN.
"We are the world", Lets hold hands and sing now and UT will win the SEC this year and a national championship next year.
I am a bit sarcastic ain't I.
Too much vodka in the orange kool-aid tonight. LOL
NCCOLTSFAN writes:
Mr Brown:I have a better idea.Take your chart and go to Jamica.Or Alabama.Or Gainesville.Or how about California???
This team and coaches are a nightmare!
NCCOLTSFAN writes:
Plasticman:You are of course right.My apologies.
It's just tough hearing a player or coach say "have fun" while watching my beloved Vols has become torture.
Tc man!
Colliervol writes:
He's right. I need to have more fun too. I should skip the game and take my wife to a nice dinner and a movie instead. That would be more fun. Of course, a root canal without Novocaine would be more fun than watching this mess.
But no, I'm sure I'll be right there indulging my masochistic side. Whip me, beat me, make me write bad checks.
SmokeDog72 writes:
With the way the team is playing, a night in jail might be more fun than watching the game.
I might learn something new anyway.
"Excuse me sir, I don't understand, you wanted me to do what concerning tossed salad?"
Relatively speaking, maybe the game isn't so bad.
DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu writes:
Chris Brown and Daniel Lincoln, we love you and you're right -- it's a game, so have fun. You both can say that because you've delivered consistently.
We fans out here just love winning so much at Tennessee that we have a hard time when we don't compete.
Cutcliffe translation: We are most definitely going to come out throwing first to soften up the run. Try and stop us.
DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu writes:
Chris Brown and Daniel Lincoln, we love you and you're right -- it's a game, so have fun. You both can say that because you've delivered consistently.
We fans out here just love winning so much at Tennessee that we have a hard time when we don't compete.
Cutcliffe translation: We are most definitely going to come out throwing first to soften up the run. Try and stop us.
VolsorCat writes:
I wonder what Nix is making at South Carolina. He has put together strong defenses at USM and now South Carolina. I would love to know what he would do with our talent!
vtvol#210290 writes:
Tennessee Football--it's off the charts!
GreerVol22 writes:
look kid, thanks for all you do for Tennessee football, but this isn't some Pee-Wee league or Jr High squad. This is Tennessee football and your "let have fun" attitde is exactly whats wrong with this team.
I mean its like everyone on the team has been sharing reefer with the basketball team...peace, love, harmony, its just a game man, have fun man, no worries man...
If you don't want to win, we don't want you on the team. and that goes for any coach and any player with the same half a$$ attitude.
webbofconfusion writes:
It appears that this year at TN we have gotten away from the basics...
Having fun, Tackling, defending the ball, no stupid penalties, running the ball, blitzing... you know the basics.
We have the talent... we just seem to forget the basics at all levels... Players and Coaches.
Pound the rock... the pass will come.
Pound the QB... and we'll have fun.
Go Vols. Pound the Cocks!
waterskier3#226480 writes:
I'm so tired of reading about this team and coaches... I live for vol football but the last 4 years have driven me to not care about them becasue i know all they will do is break your heart and then tell you to your face that everything is ok and then break it again.... I'm over them and my donations will not be going to the AD they will go to some other department.
I hope they lose the next 3 games so fat boy will be gone!!! i told everyone at the start of the season that we would lose 4-5 games and that could have been low...
GerryOP writes:
Yep, let's publicize that Lincoln, one of the bright spots in the dark UT football sky, gets punishment for a "bad practice?" Hey, Phil, pick on the real miscreants! Or is the name of the game practice good and play bad -- no problem. Play good and practice bad -- suffer the wrath of Fulmer. What is wrong with that picture????
vol4good#206163 writes:
I bet these players are echoing the sentiments and comments of thier coaches. Getting your Arse whipped is no fun. "We" as Fans, know you cant win every game. We expect and DEMAND that you go down fighting in every game! Heart and Desire are impossible to hide. Unfortunatly, so is lack of heart and desire.
I watched the KY fans give thier team a standing O. When they LOST to Florida. They cheered the tremendous effort, not the loss.
LAVol writes:
Fulmer is harder on the kicker than any other player and look at the success that Lincoln has had this year. Wouldn't it make sense to leave the kicker alone and start worrying about the position players? He is to scared that he is going to make someone mad. Look at Saban, he lost numerous starters from suspension before the game this past week and the reserves came in like they have been playing all year (or maybe b/c it was against UT). Its called discipline and Fulmer does not have it. No wonder players like to come to UT b/c they can get away with just about anything. With that said, I hope that the stadium is full Saturday night and that we whip the cocks! GO VOLS!!
rbhobbs73#226545 writes:
Good Job Fulmer...
Discipline the kicker...yeah that should turn the team around. You know, the kicker...who is 13-14 FG and perfect on extra points.
If you defense was as good as your kicker, your job wouldn't be on the line dumba$$!!
GerryOP writes:
Where is Pennington when we need him? This whole article could be headed by a few lines from the song "Somethin' Stupid."
One thing most of the football players learn well from Fulmer is how to make stupid, inane statements to the press. To paraphrase a guy named Lombardi -- 'A loser having fun is still a loser.'
Voldodger writes:
I've been reading the board for about two weeks and even though I'm all for a new coach roaming the sidelines next year, a lot of ya'll are over the top.
I agree with Brown. If watching Tennessee football is such a miserable experience, you really should find something else to do. Sure, we aren't very good right now and last week's game was no fun to watch, but I can't help but wonder if we win this week if some UT fans will be upset because it helps Fulmer's status.
Enjoy the good times, get over the bad times. Like Brown said, it's a game.
tigervol9802 writes:
I must say, it is fun reading some posts on here.
The one good thing about losing - it makes the lower intellegence people come out of the woodwork to give their two cents (on both sides of the issue), which is always worth a good laugh. Good times for all!
Coach_Joe writes:
Does anyone know what kind of attitude Eric Berry, B. Vinson, D. Moore, K. O'Neal, Ben Martin and L. Creer have?
DadwasaVol writes:
Yes, tigervol9802, the "lower intelligence people" are here. I pray hard that the players and recruits are not reading here.
Volunatic writes:
Anyone criticizing Chris Brown hasn't been paying attention to HOW HE IS PLAYING.
He is the best TE at UT since Jason Witten. He is doing great. I wish the rest of the team would follow his lead.
orangebloodgmc writes:
A good bit of wisdom in what Brown is saying.
APPLEJAX555 writes:
I just went into the bathroom and took a big alabama.
invisiblekid writes:
Don't worry about Lincoln getting punished, at the rate things are going, Fulmer will forget who Lincoln is by gametime just like the Invisible Man, Montario Hardesty.
invisiblekid writes:
I have to admit that I had flashbacks to Danny Wuerffel watching John Pierpont Morgan(or whoever the hell was playing QB for AL last Saturday) lob wounded duck after wounded duck in between our 2 deep coverage the entire game. It's fitting in a somewhat sadistic way that Spurrier is now rolling into town. About all I can say at this point is "GO CHARTS!!".
Volunatic writes:
I'm not as concerned about the lack of playing time for Hardesty as I am about the fact that the coaches ignored how well Foster did every time he got the ball.
If your RB is getting 7 or 8 ypc, then keep handing it off to him.
That said, it was pretty lame on the Phil Fulmer show last Sunday when Phil said he was "surprised" that Hardesty didn't get any carries. HELLO! A COACH SHOULD KNOW THESE THINGS!
invisiblekid writes:
DadwasaVol, I am more worried that potential recruits watched the game last Saturday than most anything they could be exposed to on this message board.
NCCOLTSFAN writes:
No worries!
Here is what coach said about the SC game.
"Both of us are in the mix for the Eastern Division championship, so you have a game that is crucial, both schools coming off tough losses," Fulmer told the Vols' official Web site. "We want to get back on the right track."
Hmmmmmmmm.
Can you say "dumbbbbbbbbbb?"
Last time this team was on track was in Atlanta in 2001.For one half anyway!
vol_in_lsu_land writes:
Lord this site is a mess.
I don't know where to begin. First of all, I am as sick to my stomach as anyone about the way this program has performed especially in the past 4,5 years. I live in the heart of LSU Tiger country so I know exactly when our program took a turn, right after that fateful SEC Champ. game where Matt Mauck came off the bench to lead LSU to victory. Since then we've continued to spiral. It's as if all the heart in our program deflated.
I read all the comments on here about getting a new coach and I'm for the most part in agreement, though I hesitate to see UT go the way of Alabama and have a decade of horrors before landing a good coach.
My feeling is that head coaching in the Div 1-A football elite is much like being a player in the pros. Everyone knows there is a life expectancy for most pro careers. I believe that our program has stagnated and that our current crop of coaches have lost the magic touch. But... truth of the matter is the Bowdens, Paternos and Holtzs of college football have all found themselves in the same position.
However, as sick as our team play has made me, I am even more sickened by the juvenile banter that I've seen surrounding the "Fire Phil" crowd. I am truly embarassed for our fan base that such juvenile tactics are being used. It's bad enough that Florida, Georgia, or Bama fans call him the Great Pumkin or Foolmer, but to see our own fans doing the same is just terrible.
I am drawing some conclusions and have formed some opinions. First of all it is pretty obvious that many in this group already have an axe to grind. This axe probably dates back to around 1992 during the infamous "interim coaching" period. How many of you guys are life-long Majors fans? Hey, I loved Johnny just like the next guy but geesh that happened FIFTEEN years ago. And everyone was talking much the same as they are now. Sometimes I wonder what another 5 years of Majors would have been like. But then I realize that even he had probably burned the last few years of his creativity and mediocrity would probably have soon followed.
continued next post down....
vol_in_lsu_land writes:
But what this reminds me of more than anything is the current politics surrounding the War in Iraq and the Bush Admin. I kinda see Fulmer in the position of President and the team is like our troops. While I am very disappointed in the state of affairs and wish we had never gone into that country, I can't help but believe that if the citizens of this country showed more support that things might be different. Instead, we almost immediately had the pundits with axes to grind and alterior motives undermining the effort. WORSE THAN THAT...I have participated in message boards where rabid anti-bush antagonists took every opportunity to slam him and worse slam the troops and their integrity. What pains me the most is knowing that our soldiers have access to the internet and media outlets and their pride and dignity are damaged by the naysayers. I truly belive that the political atmosphere has poisoned the war. Now, this doesn't mean I feel people shoudn't speak out or question our leaders...it is the manner and the tactics and the choice of language that upsets me.
So, where this parallels is that Fulmer is basically the Vols Cmndr in Chief and the players are our soldiers. It is bad enough to have them read our coach being lambasted and insulted, but it is worse to see the players slapped and beaten down. At a time when they need confidence and fan support, we are giving them stress and worry. It is no wonder that the season has spiraled with this cloud of doom looming over the team. THE FANS HAVE POISONED IT.
continued next post down...
vol_in_lsu_land writes:
What I would like to see is Phil Fulmer being treated with the respect he deserves. No coach in UT history has quite the record of Fulmer, even the granddaddy of them all Gen Neyland. Fulmer acrued the hightest winning percentage in UT history in the 90s, somewhere around 80%. He won an outright National Championship. Neyland only accomplished this once and the other titles were not consensus. Fulmer has been a great recruiter and an asset to UT football. Yes, I believe his time is up but we should treat him like family.
I'd like to see an offer made to him. I'd like to see an assistant AD position made for him with the understanding that he is next in line. I'd like to see him take part in selecting and grooming his replacement. This is the way UT football is supposed to be. Obviously, it will take him doing his part. He's going to have to take ownership of his recent failings and step down on his own. This would be the biggest boone to the program he could do. Do you realize that in 30 years we have had only TWO head coaches? How many programs can say that? And how many have had the same level of success with the stability we have enjoyed?
Wake up people. I know it is his time, but lets be better than our rivals in Alabama who treat their coaches like royalty one day then like paupers the next.
That's my peace and I don't care what is said. Lets support the PLAYERS by appreciating the success our coach has given us in the past. How many good memories and celebrations did coach Fulmer engineer over the years for you and your freinds and family?
My 2cents
jcherrie#219531 writes:
Chris Brown is a terrific young man. He's talented, intelligent, and plays hard. Everyone needs to quite crying they should shut their pie hole. Everyone in the country right now is crying about their coach except the Ohio State fans.
By the way, I do think we need to evaluate the coaches every year. Perhaps it is time for a change. Let's finish the season and then make a judgement.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Brown is right! We should be off in nano-land, but wait, some think we already are. Oh well, maybe enough Makers Mark and coke Saturday will prepare us to have "fun" against the Cocks. Brown makes it look easy on the field. He and Hardesty are two of the hardest players, effort-wise, especially Hardesty when HE EVER GETS THE CHANCE to have "fun". 100 points from Fla and Bama isn't much "fun".
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