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There’s no extra pressure for Lane Kiffin.
The Tennessee coach is looking at the long run.
The players aren’t treating Saturday’s game with Georgia any differently.
The Vols are treating it as merely part of a long season.
But as much as UT (2-3, 0-2 SEC) has tried to downplay the importance of beating the Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium (TV: WVLT, 12:21 p.m.), it only took one slip-up to reveal how badly it needs a win to right the ship heading into a bye week.
“We are eight points away from being 4-1,” UT defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said. “I didn’t say 5-0 — I just said eight points, a touchdown and a two-point play. I went to Nebraska, you know, so I can add. I know that we got beat 19-15, that’s four, right? And 26-22, that’s four. There you go. Eight points.
“But gosh darn it, but you can’t do anything about that. We’ve got to bounce back. We really do, we need to win bad, we really do. I’m sure Georgia feels the same way.”
Nobody on either side has been quite as open about it as Monte Kiffin, but it’s clear at this point neither team has really lived up to its expectations — and at least for the Vols, the countdown for keeping bowl eligibility alive might already have started.
After Georgia and the open date, two more critical conference games are waiting and UT put itself behind schedule with the pair of four-point losses at home. Lane Kiffin has maintained all along there are no make-or-break games this season as he tries to get the program back on track, but at least in terms of getting back to the postseason right away, there’s no question Georgia (3-2, 2-1) could be a turning point.
“It would be big because it’s the next game,” Lane Kiffin said. “It’s an opponent that obviously we recruit against a lot as well, and one that has great tradition and a great history of SEC matchups. It’s the next game and it would be a great win for us, but we need to play extremely well. That’s the most important thing is playing well. The rest of it will take care of itself.
“We’re not worried about winning the game, we’re worried about playing well — then the wins come if we do things right.”
The Vols have been doing a few things well, but the whole package hasn’t come together yet.
The running game has flourished with Montario Hardesty as the feature back, but the passing attack has been inconsistent at best and plagued by turnovers. The defense has found a few other playmakers to complement star safety Eric Berry, but they’ve all struggled to balance out the offense by getting many takeaways. And the special teams has had a few positive moments, but they haven’t been anywhere near as productive as Lane Kiffin would like.
A rollercoaster ride isn’t all that uncommon during a transition period, and eventually the turbulence from week to week figures to smooth out — and the Vols at least haven’t stopped believing it will.
“We always want to win, but I would say that we’re going to be a little bit more focused on the mental part of the game because the coaches are giving us all the information that we need,” Berry said. “They’re putting us in the positions that we need to be in to win, we have to take it upon ourselves as players to respond to that and really pay attention to what those guys are telling us.
“They’re doing everything they can, and we just need to go out there and do our part.”
The sooner they do it, the better off UT will be.
The coaching staff is looking at the big picture and not overemphasizing one game in the first season. The players aren’t treating the Bulldogs differently than any other team on the schedule since there’s a whole second half of the season to go.
Both sides have stuck to the script pretty much all week, but occasionally a glimpse at the pressure would break through.
“We need to get this one going into the bye week so we can have some momentum,” UT defensive end Chris Walker said. “We don’t want to not get this one and go into the bye week feeling down going into a big game against Alabama. We want to be able to celebrate at home with our fans, and that’s something we’ve kind of let slip.
“We’ve dropped two games at home, and we don’t want to have that feeling anymore. We hate that feeling.”
That’s enough motivation by itself. The Vols aren’t looking for more.
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Comments » 117
gnm53108 writes:
Chris...your not alone.We all hate that feeling.
Just freakin beat georgia!
gnm53108 writes:
Liquer before beer
Your in the clear.
Moaninglikeheck writes:
Good Lawd, are we really THAT bad under this new staff? We don't even set our sites to winning anymore????????????????? Our goal is to "play well"?
OMG We ARE the new Vanderbilt.
thaclaw writes:
am i posting now?
dirty_don writes:
Yes
GreerVol22 writes:
Crompton is the QB...Kiffin is just keeping it real. No your role and shut your hole.
Ironcity writes:
I love you Monte but please please don't say we are 8 points from 4-1. Its extremely hollow when you look at how we played those games. Against UCLA our QB was bound and determined to give UCLA the amount of points they needed to win. We had no chance. Against Auburn the only thing close was the score. We flat out got dominated. We need to play better but our coaches who I love need to let the players know that they are in it to win it. IF JC starts hit defenders early and often or falls over on hand off or drops a snap again,then he needs to go to the bench. Even if Nick stinks it out at least JC will come back to cheers instead of the incessant booing he gets to hear every home game. The coaches need to prove to the fans and I think some of the players that they care as much as we do.
Go Vols
thaclaw writes:
thank god..its only been 5 weeks..
gnm53108 writes:
I'm with ya.
But..."spill my beer"!!!
I have to say I'm against alcohol abuse.
TommyJack writes:
Moanin ain't real good at keeping the pie-hole closed. But props to him for his shortest post on record.
Moaninglikeheck writes:
Yeah, that "We were X-number of points from undefeated" rhetoric sounds very familiar to one ex-HC and I remotely remember a lot of "Moaninglikeheck" over it. Thus my moniker.
volatil writes:
I love what the future has in store for the VOLS, but it would be nice to win a game that we're not supposed to. Saban went 6 and 6 his first year with a win over the Eastern Division champs, anyone remember that game? These moral victories need to produce one real one! Give'em all you got Coach Kiff!
ROCKYTOP10ECVOL writes:
Does anyone have an update on Nick Lamasion. Is he Redshirting, is he improving...? Any News would be appreciated.
jclvol writes:
I've never commented on a writer or sports talk guy, but this Ward kid is terrible. What did he hope to accomplish by posting that headline?? At least put the entire sentence in the title. There is nothing wrong with CLK's comments in context, but printing that title is just going to cause more trouble from an already irrational (small portion) of the fan base.
I'm not asking KNS to put out any fires, but good grief, stop pouring gas on it.
VolunteerLifer writes:
I wouldn't give up on seeing Stevens this season yet. I can see a scenario where it might happen:
If we lose to ga, we'll be 2-4 with only an outside chance of becoming bowl eligible. And we'll have two weeks to prepare for the next opponent. The staff may conclude that we should give up on this season and start preparing for next, which means let's see if we can get Stevens as much improved before next season as we can. They would have two weeks to make the transition instead of one, making it the most likely window of time in which a qb change might happen. I'm not saying the staff should do this, but they might. I think it depends on how well Crompton plays, and whether we win or lose vs ga.
ROCKYTOP10ECVOL writes:
Agree Totally. The comments CLK made were in no way saying Winning is not our Goal. He's saying that we have to take care of buisness on the field and the Winning will take care of it's self
ROCKYTOP10ECVOL writes:
What about Lamasion?
tonyvick#213307 writes:
so if we do everything right we win? suppose UGA does everything righter do they win? since we're not worried about winning anymore...
ahhh,just score more point than GA
volatil writes:
No one has said that, read the article before you cast stones. Whoever wrote this did a poor job conveying Kiffin's words.
dirty_don writes:
I would reply to that but Coach Kiffin hasn't told me how to yet.
dirty_don writes:
Plus my strings broke.
ivyvol writes:
Has anyone else heard the rumor that Vandy and Tennessee are considering joining the Patriot Leaque next year if things don't work out this year?
miketnvolsfan writes:
GO VOLS BEAT THE DAWGS
chad_t31 writes:
You people need to read into what's being said. Kiffin says he's not worried about winning a certain game. If we play well enough, the win will be there. Look at our losses. We haven't played well in any loss. Grow the freak up, root for the Vols, or get lost. Go Vols!!
SmokeyHound writes:
wtf...
hueypilot writes:
Has anyone in recent memory done less with more than Mark Richt? He seems to be a very nice man, and recruits well, and puts lots of guys in the league, but has a habit of laying eggs in big games. This one Saturday might be big for us. I say we win at least once against GA, Ole Miss, Bama or S Car. which is very optomistic considering the way we've looked so far. May as well be this week.
10cvalleyvol writes:
I have to accept the coaching staff's philosophy about improvement day to day and the wins will come as a result. Be patient everyone and let's all give this team and coaches the support they need and deserve to get through these times. Accepting and adapting to change is the hardest thing for all of us to do. Sit back and hope for signs of improvement.
OrangePride writes:
If people on here think winning is not the primary goal of Kiffen, and the entire staff and team for that matter, then they have not been following Vol football very closely. Try not to take one comment out of context and go into a tailspin. The point is, if this team executes well at each position and in each phase of the game, the victories will be there. I think we match up well against Georgia and, as the coach said, if we play well, we will get the results..GO VOLS.
VolinCalif writes:
You're a freak with a pee-wee brain and a big mouth. If you're not a Vol Fan Show normal manners and get off this site.
TampaVol81 writes:
"8 points from 4-1."
Sounds very Fulmerish.
garycg writes:
That’s the most important thing is playing well. The rest of it will take care of itself.
“We’re not worried about winning the game, we’re worried about playing well — then the wins come if we do things right.”
Dont you understand what he said? And it dont mean he doesn't want to win.
VolinCalif writes:
I'm with you Doc. But I still think these lopers are being paid by boosters of other schools to create doubt in the recurites that may visit our site. DC and others are 24/7, can't support your own team if you are never on their board. KNS should look into the possibity of them using this site for an income and black ball them each time they appear. Put a spell on them Witch Dr. I'll collect the frogs and snakes for you.
FWBVol writes:
In fairness to Josh Ward he probably didn't have anything to do with the headline on the story. The headline was probably written by a copy editor or the person that is responsible for posting the stories online.
dma38256#264746 writes:
What it said was that if they played well the wins would come....
RockinTop writes:
I swear if Crompton plays bad again this week and Stephens doesnt get in....I may not watching them again this season until whoever we get at QB comes in and starts playing...(like anyone cares).
I just wish the guy would freakin STEP UP AND PLAY WELL! DAM!....I could get excited again if he would just STEP UP and show some freakin IMPROVEMENT!...it's pretty obvious that Stephens will never see the field unless there is an injury.
Dont care about winning just want to play well is a statement that I pretty much figured out a few weeks back Coach....and one player hasnt been playing well....and that doesnt seem to matter either. Dang this is frustrating! Coach must hate Stephens or something.
And the writer of this article?....I am not impressed.....Rucker is 100 times better than all of them combined!
RockinTop writes:
Dude....you crack me up!
Rockin never lie =]
murrayvol writes:
Thank you! We appreciate your support.
murrayvol writes:
Based on what I've heard and read.
1)He is not redshirting
2)He is not improving
volsgirl writes:
Hey coach KIFF let kick some tail.......GO VOLS
It is time........
murrayvol writes:
This game is huge for both teams.
I think it's bigger for Richt & UGA since they were ranked and alleged to be a "contender". The Vols on the other hand are in the fetal stages of reconstruction. JMO
Vols4Ever writes:
Maybe I can't see the forest for the trees, but don't we play a pissed off Georgia team tomorrow? 4ever, haven't we found some of our best players in the Peach State? Wouldn't our beat down of them help our efforts? U of Fla and U of Au are in the past. Leave those memories alone and put the first building block in place as this overly qualified coaching staff builds the future. Send the 'Dawgs southbound on I-75 wondering WTF happened to their hopes in the SEC East when they meet the future of dominance. GO VOLS!!!
VolFanInTheBoro writes:
How about you start by learning to spell Kiffin
NOOGAVOL writes:
If you read what he said."Our goal is to play well".If we play well the wins will come. ie... no mistakes, or turnovers. Stop taking things out of text, and support the coaches and the players.
kd45music writes:
This could be a breakout game...for Georgia. I never heard any coach worth his salt admit he hopes his team just plays well. This greenhorn needs to go. If you think the program was bad last year, wait until Kiffin gets done with it. There were several quality coaches available, and we got this goon! A new AD is also needed.
crimsonviper writes:
I think you are right about that murrayvol,I think there will be some hot seat talk if Ga. dosen't win.
volfaninwh writes:
has anyone heard anything about nick stephens tranfering from ut
cmoore7 writes:
Let's beat Georgia's a#$. They don't have the running game or defense that we have. We can limit AJ Green's touches and make the other guys(O. Charles, M. Moore) beat us. I say Lincoln redeems himself with a 40-yarder to win it in the final minutes.
Go Big Orange
69vol08 writes:
Auburn, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama have more talent and depth than we do so a quick turn around at Auburn was feasible (and the staff has done a great job). We have been on a talent slide for many years so not much to work with (talent and depth at UT is more like Kentucky and Vandy right now). To turn things around in 2-3 years we have to recruit well. To do that we have to convince top recruits that we are close and will begin to win with their help. So by “keeping it close” we accomplish two things 1.) as a lesser talented team we give ourselves a "chance" to win late in a game 2.) we lure recruits that see that we are close to turning things around. If we go out "gun slinging" and loosing by 30 points they would not look our way. Rest assured we can not line up against the strong teams in the sec and duke it out (we couldn’t do it against UCLA).
Therefore, the only chance we have is to have a good game plan, stay in the game, and take advantage of any mistakes by the other team. How foolish would this staff look if they said, “we are as good as everyone else” and came out and tried to line up and smash mouth? We would be laughed off the field, the team would loose confidence and we may win 3 or 4 games. I think this staff is doing a fantastic job of developing game plans that give us a chance to win. It is realistic to say that we had a “chance” to win all of our games IF we had executed the game plan. We just don’t have all of the pieces in place to do it yet. I see progress…we are disciplined and are showing 100% effort for the full game…NOT the case last couple of years!
Therefore, UT fans need to “wait and see” what happens the next two years with recruiting and developing of players. I think (personal opinion) that we will still manage to win 6 or 7 games this year, win 8 or 9 next year, and in 2011 be championship material and win 10+ games. If that doesn’t happen then we trash this staff, but until then it is not fair to be overly critical. Give them a chance!
A comment about the “boo birds”…you buy tickets and you are free to say what you want. However, we need to show the recruits, that we need so desperately, that we support our team regardless of the circumstances. Therefore, vent on the way home, call the radio shows, post comments here, but please do not boo our team! Let’s get behind them and show everyone how great it is to be a Tennessee Vol!
Go VOLS!
dvols writes:
i hope to drink well, dont want to get drunk! Lots of pressure.....
creekroad writes:
We sound like Vandy....not concerned with winning anymore...just "show up" and play well. First, the "moral victory" at Florida, now "just play well"..this guy is just coasting along, drinking "cool aide"...check his record in four years...lower expectations...lower results...
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