Coverage roundup: Fall begins with discontent for Vol fans

Fire Phil Fulmer petition (check it out)....

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_per...

I think part of the discontent stems from Hamilton starting to charge students to attend games and going up on ticket prices year after year. Fans expect improvement and not the same old coaching mistakes game after game, not having the team prepared to play, the players not improving due to the lack of coaching, and the same penalties due to the lack of discipline. In other words, outcoached and out played seems to becoming the norm.

I hate to say this, but we are in a downward spiral. the negative performance, though predictable, is the 'straw that broke the camel's back'. Most of us knew that 1) Crompton was not a D1 qb, and 2) not having Colquitt would hurt us. There are obviously other issues as well.

Well, now the fans are booing. The vols are on national tv, looking sick. all this will drive off top-tier rectruits, which will lead to more losing and more booing.

Hell, guys, let us say we fire Phil, or he quits. Who do we get to replace him?? Meyer was the best young coach out there, and the Gators got him. I'm not all that impressed with the others. We could get lucky and get a Pete Carroll, but IMHO Pete is a 'perfect storm', a positive guy in sunny SC who fits perfecty with the program, fans, and athletes.

I don't like dumping on crompton, but we should really be looking at a new qb, even if it is gerald jones.

One thing is certain: the negativity of us fans, deserved or no, will drive off prized recruits. that is a simple fact.

Never lose site of the fact that in almost every tackle scrum, something is said or done that is offensive. I certainly wish Foster had brought it to the attention of the official instead of taking matters into his own hands.

I don't know for sure, but I will bet that if you ask any of the highly regarded SEC officials that are alumni of Tennessee, you will find that even though they don't call our games, they are aware that our team is not well thought of by officials. KNS, this might be a good time to ask Rocky or Terry what they think.

Here's thought.. While whe have the punt and kick-off return teams and big penalty commiters running bleachers at the stadium today, we should have a lecture on football etiquette and consideration for the officials. Those guys want to like the players, why make it hard on them?

Wait.. they don't have to run bleachers after a performance like that? Maybe we have our first insight to the issues...

So we don't look for a coach, because some big name does not come to mind?

Ridiculous

Ole Clawson's new offensive schemes as OC are really making the defensive coordinators work into the night to come up with some new wrinkles to stop them. Maybe he thinks he's still with the Richmond Spiders!

You find me an OC that could be effective with Crompton @ QB. People love to jump on Clawson because he's the new guy. Remember Cutt was here last year and we got beat worse. Stick to tennis.

I hope you guys will help me send a clear message to Mike Hamilton and sign my petition. The time has come for a regime change.

http://www.petitiononline.com/UTcoach...

I heard foolmer is racist by former players, so that explains why he didnt hire Trooper Taylor as OC, I think Oklahoma St is averaging like forty points a game, we havent even scored 40 yet!!

For those of you still fortunate enough to live within the confines of the great state of Tennessee .. it may not be as obvious to you as it is to those of us who now reside outside the state - our football program has become the laughing stock of major college football. It's a shame that we continually lead the way in donations, facilities, attendance and continue to put us with this "death spiral" we are in.

I supported us thru the late 70s and early 80s, but at least then I don't think people were openly laughing at us and our coaches....

One of the silliest moves the administration has made this year is making such a "fuss" about the National Championship 10 years ago.. with all the hoopla and video highlights in the pre-game - it just shows us all in attendance how far we have fallen.

Oh and by the way - this living out of state hurts even worse when it comes time for our children to head to the "Hill" ... as having alumni parents counts for absolutely nothing in the whole process.

It's time to face the facts, this is a big business - all about money, greed and fear - we need the same kind of immediate correction the financial/credit markets are seeing currently. Quick and Painful is what it's going to take to get things turned around.

Any guess on how may people will show up for Northern Illinois at 7 pm (who is on ESPN that night?)

On the bright side .. it's now extremely easy to get a table at Calhoun's after the game !!

When do we all get our email from Mike Hamilton telling us to sit down and shut up??

Grobe.

I do not think Coach is racist by any stretch of the imagination. He may be pompous, however. I think he had a problem with Trooper's "in your face, let's kick some butt persona." I'm sure he thought it was beneath his program to have an OC that acted like that.

Did you see Urban on Saturday?

He looked a lot more like Trooper than he did Phil.

I think we, as the Vol Nation, have to raise the intensity level both on the field and in the stands. Coach, let Dave call the d--- plays. You hired him to do that, let him do it. We have had some success on offense but it has been overshadowed by mistakes. We need an injection of new ideas to catch the remaining defenses off guard and make a success of this season.

Intensity and drive are the fuel of any successful endeavor - football or otherwise. I would love to have that Trooper type intensity here again, and I think we can get it.

I challenge the team to find it, and I challenge the fans to find it. If you leave the stadium, win or lose, without hoarseness in your voice, you shouldn't have been there.

I think some of you may have not fully understood my post, my fault.

I've said in the past that I like Phil as a person, and many of his attempts at running a program are admirable.

He has, however, lost that 'touch' for running the FOOTBALL TEAM. We fans expect, and pay for, NC aspirations EVERY season. Phil is delivering an Auburn or Arkansas or South Carolina style program to us, and that won't work.

It is pretty cut and dried. Phil is on his last legs. What I fear is this: there will be SO MUCH turmoil that we will be set back for YEARS. Remember, Tennesse is not Bama or Florida. We are not a state stocked with outstanding talent, just waiting for a coach to say 'hop on over'. We MUST HAVE the national stage of tv.

The upshot?? A couple of years of Crompton-led futility will take us off the tube, we'll be 5-7 or 6-6, and then face YEARS of recovery.

It is a tough deal, is it not??

CPF looked awful during the press conference on Saturday evening. I guess I would too if I just had my butt handed to me by those d-bags.

If Fulmer stays, and he will, a few things have to happen...

A. Dave Clawson has to show a complete 180 in every area of his job or be shown the door. I know I'm stating the obvious, but his game plans aren't working at all, the offense has no rhythm, and Jonathon Crompton still isn't prepared for the UCLA game yet.

B. Mike Hamilton and CPF need to get together and put down some serious money for a Special Teams coach. Maybe they should call Frank Beamer or another head coach with great special teams and ask if they can refer someone. There is no need to have every coach throwing his hat into the ring because it obviously doesn't work.

C. Jonathon Crompton is having a horrible time with the offense right now and it's CPF and Clawson's responsibility to figure out why. JC looks confused on almost every play and that can happen with young quarterbacks, or in JC's case inexperienced ones. To help the situation they need to simplify the offense. Cutcliffe did it for Manning, Martin, and Ainge in their first years to build their confidence and develop rhythm.

D. CPF needs to drop this nice guy stuff and start busting heads and passing out some serious discipline. I know he has his own way of doing things, but a loss of this magnitude is unacceptable. We aren't Miss. State, Arkansas, UK, or the Vandy teams of old. We are Tenne-freakin'-ssee. Light those kids up and let them know that mistakes will happen, but penalties, missed opportunities, and poor execution will not be accepted. It's time for the players to be held accountable. No more excuses!

E. It's obvious that Cutcliffe pulled CPF's butt out of the fire year after year. Now it's time for CPF to earn the big money and save himself along with UT football.

It starts at the top. It's up to CPF to do the right things, get this team together, establish discipline (of the harsh, cruel, and unusual type), and get the ball rolling.

GO VOLS!!!

Another observation, I'm not really sure why the KNS folks on Hooker's radio show today started out by stating that TN is no where near matching up with Florida players and that Urban Meyer did whatever he wanted on Saturday and purposely didn't use his offense more. Is every person over at KNS a mentally challenged vol hater? I agree with the above posters who note that it was UT's crappy play and mistakes that allowed FL to win, and not the gators' sub 250 ypg on offense, or the entire punt coverage team having a shot at BW and whiffing. However, when I get caught up in the if game (if we had scored at the 1 yard line, and if we had made one of 12 tackles against the punt return, etc.) my wife reminds me that I have to make that argument EVERY time UT plays. So, while figuring out why our players are so sloppy and can't put together a good game on a consistent basis anymore is like looking into a black box, the only thing that seems constant is the coaching. However, if your players are duds, maybe they can't be coached (aka, crompton).

good god does everything have to be about a white man being racist

i dont think coaching is to blame, at all. its very simple:

Erik Berry is a good football player/athlete, he stands out like a sore thumb at UT. If Berry were at Bama, FL, SC, Aub, LSU, GA, Ok, TX, USC, etc.... He would just be one of the guys.

Gerald Jones never sees teh Field at FL. We are undertalented. Crompton is a recruit bust (like Ron White says you cant fix Stupid). Thats all we have. We have a bunch of O-linemen who belong in a strong man competition and not a football game.

We simply do not have the talent to compete. HS football in our state dosent provide us with the talent and if they do they arent recruited (Bullocks anyone?). We cant compete from a recruiting and talent standpoint and Pete Carroll couldnt fix that. So as fans we just need to suck it up. Cheer. And hope the players feel the passion of running through the T, play way over their heads and occasionally run someone elses title hopes.

The one play Johnny Majors definetly had right guaranteed Tennessee touchdowns once inside the 2 yard line. Fulmer used to run it, but it's disappeared in recent years. I formation, O-line blocks down and fullback leads way over the top taking out the secondary. Tailback leaps behind fullback and goes in for easy score. I used to go to the bathroom when Tennessee reached the 2 because at that point it was guaranteed.

No amount of excuses can fix this one. None.
The obvious: We are no longer a top 25 program.

Up until this season, I retained the opinion that even with 8-4, 9-3, or 10-2 type seasons (which are typical for us), Tennessee is now worse as a program than before Fulmer came along. Majors, Battle et al were on par with that kind of record.

But 2005 is not far enough in the rear-view mirror for this season to be an abberation. I can't handle 7-5, 6-6 type seasons intermixed with our "good" 9-3 years. Heck, this season MAY even be worse than that!!!

Fulmer, you totally lost me this weekend. I can no longer defend or support this debacle of a program. Crompton should have been pulled at halftime but wasn't. That says it all about the coaching at UT. Same old mistakes, same old stubborn refusal to try something different.

I used to get emotional watching games, I'd get excited even in light of a mistake, because I KNEW we were better than that and we'd recover. I no longer have that faith, so I no longer get mad. It is what it is, and it isn't good.

No more excuses. Perfume nor sugar-coating can hide the smell anymore.

Can we please get rid of the new posting format? One response takes up my whole screen!!

I know we're in dire straits when I start agreeing with Moanin... lol

I agree. Please go back to the old format.

I guess I could handle it if they would reduce the font a little and allow you to refresh the page without going all the way back to the beginning of the posts. Segmenting the posts seems dumb anyways!!

No, this is new to the new format! Had it happen to me yesterday.

Is c r a p worse than damn, or hell, or suck? They let those go

I just can't adequately express my disappointment under this level of censorship! I think they turned this machine toward the good of the program, and when Fulmer said "Crompton is the SEC's worst QB, we are going with Nick next week" the article actually read "the punter is the problem."