A 2-4 Tennessee team is two weeks away from becoming a 2-6 team. It's merely a matter of nationally ranked Alabama and South Carolina filling in the blanks the next two Saturdays.
College football isn't supposed to be that predictable. It's supposed to be about upsets. It's supposed to be about South Carolina beating No. 1 Alabama, and Kentucky beating South Carolina a week later.
No wonder UT fans are frustrated. It's hard enough to accept that a storied program is no longer a championship contender. But it's even more disconcerting to acknowledge that the Vols don't pose a serious threat to championship contenders.
Plenty of prognosticators made a case for South Carolina knocking off Alabama. A week later, it wasn't farfetched to assume the Gamecocks could suffer a letdown against Kentucky in Lexington or that Mississippi State could celebrate in The Swamp.
But if you can envision UT knocking off Alabama or South Carolina in Columbia, don't bother looking over your shoulder. There's no line forming behind you.
Georgia took care of the line. When the 1-4 Bulldogs handled the Vols with ridiculous ease in a 41-14 victory, UT's upset potential plummeted to Vanderbilt's level. All the goodwill built up from a near upset of LSU vanished in the process.
The current state of affairs isn't shocking. In a typically topsy-turvy college football season, UT has traveled the track laid out in preseason. There were a couple of swerves - a near loss in an overtime game that UAB deserved to win, and a near win in a less conventional overtime game at LSU - but the record matches the consensus preseason predictions.
That hardly cushions the blows. Gloomy predictions don't have the same impact as gloomy predictions being fulfilled.
UT coach Derek Dooley was asked if he had been surprised by how the first half of the season had unfolded.
"I think we always expect more than we should as coaches," he said. "I think I would look at what's disappointing and what's encouraging - instead of 'surprised,' I would use those two words.
"There were times where I was disappointed in how we competed and there were times when I was really encouraged in how we competed. Given our roster and given our injuries and all that, as much as we want to be in a lot better shape ... I think what's important is not to go in the tank because the results aren't there.
"Over time, the results are going to come. It's hard to say, 'Don't get frustrated by the results,' because that's what we're all measured on. But that is in fact what you must do to show improvement."
The message isn't new. And it applies to winning teams as well as losing ones. Rarely does an interview go by without Alabama coach Nick Saban, Dooley's mentor, mentioning "the process."
The process is more readily embraced when it's further along. The process has produced a national championship at Alabama. It has produced victories over UT Martin and UAB for the Vols.
The process takes patience.
Patience and football are an odd coupling anywhere. They go together even less at a school which has had two losing seasons in the previous five years, but only 11 in the last 100 years. So you couldn't blame UT fans for beating their players into the tank.
If so, they will miss their best chance for an upset. All they have to do is stick around for four quarters at Neyland Stadium on Saturday evening.
The early fourth-quarter line has the Tide favored by 25,000 fans.
John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 126
mybolognahasasecondname writes:
Going in the tank is unacceptable. So is selling your ticket to a bammer. I sat next to one two years ago and he was gracious but it still sucked.
WaltGoVols writes:
We are seeing the fruit of Mike Hamilton's decisions. Don't lose track of that.
Walt
UT '81
MikeTheTiger writes:
Don't slam Vandy. At least they have a SEC win and they will beat UT this year.
VolunteerLifer writes:
Don't bet on that. Odds are not in your favor.
After the incredible luck of the tigers against the volunteers a couple of weeks ago, I wouldn't be talking trash on this site if I were you.
12Hours writes:
No Walt, we're seeing the result of Fulmer's failures at recruiting.
Check this out from an article I recently read.
Florida and Alabama have top 5 talent nationally. They both have more talent than almost any team they face. Florida's talent is young, but they just had one of the finest defensive classes on paper in the history of CFB.
Auburn and UGA and SC and LSU and Arkansas.
I submit that these 5 teams all have top 20 talent nationally. When you have studs like Lattimore and Jeffrey come to SC, it only matters if you have the talent on the line to go with them. They do. Each of these teams has outstanding players we all know will be in the NFL. Cameron Newton wanted to come to TN but he would have been scrambling a lot more for our team. Switch he and Simms and Auburn has more losses but I am not sure if TN has more than 1 more win.
Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Mississippi State.
Yes we are in the bottom tier talent wise. Whose fault is that?
Phillip Fulmer...
In summary, TN has from one recruiting class that are now seniors:
Kevin Cooper a serviceable FB
Gerald Jones, a WR who calls out the freshman OL but who drops balls that hit his hands
Denarius Moore who has been good at WR
Luke Stocker who was supposed to be AA and who cannot make a catch this year if the ball is thrown behind him (Jason Witten would have made almost everyone one of the grabs Stocker dropped as a college player)
Lamarcus Thompson pretty good LB but misses tackles after all this time. Has let multiple QBs get away from him, most recently a white guy who is about as fleet of foot as Manning.
Chris Walker an emotional leader.
Nick Reveiz a guy whose score football IQ wise is off the chart but whose body made him a walk on.
Gerald Williams who has yet to make an impact
Tyler Wolf...trying his best...
The rest are not worth mentioning.
In our junior class with his pedigree I hope Ben Bartholomew will do something.
Art Evans is getting replaced as soon as the recruits hit town.
Rae Sykes is vying to be the new Chris Donald, a disappearing man with sick athletic ability.
Tauren Poole runs very hard and is fun to watch but not in the building with Dyer and Lattimore talent wise.
Austin Johnson may end up being a very solid player...
That is it! Do you understand how bad that is?
Fulmer had two whole classes where he missed over and over and over on OL and DL. If we kept him as some on here argue we should have, he would still have been decimated by the awful recruiting on the line over that time period.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
Well, John Adams, you helped orchestrate this current state with your attacks on Phil. Was Phil doing poorly at the time? Yes. But the approach we took (yes we) has put us in the Iowa State/ Indiana category: woulda-coulda-shoulda.
I don't know where we'd be if Phil had not been fired. I feel we'd have fired Clawson and gone pro-style. I also think Phil would have bee more focused.
Well, times are what they are. We chose to start over, and we are irrelevant.
Meanwhile, KNS is pulling hard for Bruce to get fired. Might as well trash the whole program, and watch KNS go bankrupt with no fans to read their tripe.
Denvervol4life writes:
John tells the truth and everyone gets mad. Lol
hcjournals#206623 writes:
John adamz:
No matter what you say, we still know it's you. You crossed the line. When you admit it we can move forward. Until then, please refrain from telling us how pathetic we are. That's what they do in LSU country....Where you are writing from. It's fine to be from somewhere else. Even welcomed. But I can't come up with a better reason why you turned on Phil Fulmer. But you did. And we....And he will have the last laugh. Unless you come to Jesus. Vengeance is mine, sayeth the lord. Turn the other cheek, said Jesus. How bout them Vols, said Johnny. Remember the Alamo, they said at San Jacinto.....What do you have to say? Think about it.....Thanks for coming out...
CabanX writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
GiveHim6TDTennessee writes:
John, I hate/despise/loathe you, but dang it sir you are correct. There is an acceptance of the condition we are in that sticks to UT fans (such as myself) on gameday Saturdays like a scent of poop on a man's shoe.
KFDLaw writes:
I think we will beat Memphis and Vanderbilt, lose to Alabama and South Carolina and have toss-up close games with Mississippi and Kentucky. There is ALWAYS a chance for an upset on any given Saturday. I will be in my seat Saturday night at Neyland hoping for one. If our boys have used their week off to get well and get better, and if Alabama takes us for granted, it could happen.
volsfannsc writes:
The 'process' takes bodies....bodies we don't have. CDD stated prior to the season that we had some fair talent for starters, but if they became injured, there was nothing down the line. We are seeing just that. To say that a coach can keep his starters healthy in the SEC is fiction. We are seeing coaches swapping name tags for positions they have never played. THIS is not Tennessee football. Its not that there is a lack of process, every team has a process, but one has to have the ability to supply that process. I'm not going to bash former coaches on the lack of players, although I do have my own thoughts. The process is broken because we can not substantiate the process. I honestly don't think I should be reminded of the gloom that hangs over this season by KNS articles, and I am even more surprised that KNS 'staff' have lost sight of why. Instead they would rather become the "Eore's" of the world and engulf us with all the "woe is me" they can muster.
The interesting thing about all this is that because we are playing so many freshmen and first year starters, we are actually building depth for the future.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Very well said.
The stark truth.
WaltGoVols writes:
How is going to the 2007 SECCG running the program into the ground?
There is no telling when we will be in another SECCG, but I bet it will be later rather than sooner.
Walt
UT '81
WaltGoVols writes:
'Acceptance of the condition we are in' begins when we forget and forgive the man most responsible for our sorry state, and that person is Mike Hamilton.
Walt
UT '81
WaltGoVols writes:
What I know is that Coach Fulmer deserved one more year to see if he could turn it around.
We are certainly in the midst of a fiasco. It could hardly be worse had Coach Fulmer stayed.
Walt
UT '81
iadvol writes:
We will win the sec in 2013 but will struggle the next two years. Better times are down the road. GBO!
VOLinATL writes:
Ouch!
AllUTAllTheTime writes:
John Adams...YOUR AN IDIOT. Why a Knoxville based paper would hire you is a mystery. I wonder if this article was a job interview for an Alabama paper. If the upset happens I can't wait to see your retraction to this piece.
rootin4volz writes:
Thanks for spreading so much sunshine, John. Got anymore to share? Idiot.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
D, sad to say, is dead last in the SEC in yds given up. Strength punishes but speed (or lack of) kills.
And on we go.
GBO
TnScooby writes:
So many contradictions within this article, but the main message of negativity came through loud and clear...After watching SC lose to KY, I still won't rule out a 3-5 record heading into November ...And yes, a bowl is still a possibility...That alone could be huge in developing the young'uns on this team with the extra work bowl preparation would allow..Any logical Vol fan knew this would not be easy, and the win-loss record at this point of the season is about what I expected , but an article overstating the obvious seems to be piling on...BTW, this just in : Hard to win with a depleted roster AND Freshmen all through the depth chart...But thanks John for once again taking time to point out the obvious....Yes, reality IS a bummer right now!!!
CoverOrange writes:
If Fulmer was here last and this year I agree it could hardly be worse and probably would have been better simply because several players would still be here (most notably BJ Coleman). However, I don't think we would be that much better, 7-5, 8-4 with big losses to Bama, Florida. It was a roller coaster with Phil, getting lower with each cycle. Dooley may or may not take us back up but we know Phil wasn't going to.
auttat writes:
That wasn't an article. It was an idiot on a message board.
AncientVolFan writes:
Driving Mrs. Dooley. Trying to follow the logic of your argument. Now that Fulmer has been gone 2 years we've been a top 5 in recuiting the last 2 years? However you define top 5?
I'm not even arguing that Fulmer should have stayed, but logic suggest the possiblity that if we've not recruited top 5 the last 2 years we might not have recruited top 5 those 5 years. If we have recruited top 5 the past 2 years then where's the problem? If Fulmer was the sole problem then we should be loaded now. Sorry, the logic of your argument escapes me. Not saying your wrong, just having trouble following it.
orangeman1 writes:
Yea, having the best reg season record in the SEC less than a year before he was fired was terrible. Finishing top 25 two of the last 3 years must have been horrible too. I guess the top 10 recruiting class Fulmer had coming in also reflects his poor recruiting and running the program into the ground? Forget that Fulmer had to replace a great offensive co and install a whole new offense in 08 or that he was fired before the Wyoming game which was total distraction for coaches and players and UT couldve won 6 games. Forget the 20 or so players that quit the team after Fulmer was fired. Forget his 11-5 record vs Bama. Forget his 31-1 record vs Ky an Vandy. Forget the 5 SEC East titles. Lets just forget all that and blame shape the teams in on Fulmer. People that didnt appreciate what they had in Fulmer are seeing the results of Mike Hamiltons decision now. No doubt in my mind , if Fulmer hadnt been fired UT would be competing for the East again this year. He NEVER went more than a year without winning at least 9 games, but everyone just ignore the facts and blame Fulmer. Insanity.
All that said, I like Dooley and hope he can bring UT back to competing for Championships on a regular basis. Of course competing for them isnt enough for alot of UT fans so he better start winning them on a regular basis or he'll be fired too I guess. Shouldnt be a problem playing Georgia, SC, FLorida, Bama,Auburn, LSU, Ark, Miss, Miss st, Ky, etc.
ClearVol writes:
All "that" being said, yes it is a bummer. I hate it, hate losing, hate it for the kids, hate it for my school and hometown..
I have a request, though. Change things you can control: Dont Leave Early! Stay in the stadium until late in the fourth quarter! Get up and cheer/scream/GET LOUD when the other team has the ball on third/fourth down. You wanna sit on your hands and quietly watch a game, stay home or come down to Atl and go see the falcons.. (it was truly embarrassing for our 90,000+ to be outdone by the 10,000 oregon fans, in the rain)
Pay attention the next time you watch a winning team: Passion on the field means passion in the stands and visa versa..
Thanks,
Still screaming in the 4th cause I was a the Arkansas game in '98
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
You guys forget:
Adams used his bully pulpit to drum up the 'Fire Fulmer' rage.
Thing is, Phil NEEDED help. He NEEDED Cutcliffe, who at best is a half-a##ed head coach on his own but is a great assistant.
(See next post)
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
People ain't going to like this....but I'm used to that.
The SEC teams ALL made a concerted effort to ramp up football in the 2000's. Every team has hired better coaches, put mo' money into the programs.
UT was maybe 10-12 years AHEAD; we where with UF, LSU, and a few others. When all the other schools began competing harder, our talent supply go tighter.
In short, Phil had to take more 'marginal' character to get the same quality athlete as he got in his early years...and this led to discipline issues (crime issues, actually). We went form getting almost all high-quality kids AND athletes to a mix of high and low quality kids. This hurt us in our image, and eventually on the field.
Phil never adjusted his own ego. his hiring decisions (Sanders, Clawson) where totally wrong for the program, but who was Phil vetting these hiers through?? My guess is no one.
I feel like right now we are on that same treadmell as Notre Dame, ISU, Indiana...and it's going to take a coach who builds us up from the linemen on out to reach success again.
In the meanwhile, we are about as relevant as, say, Nebraska or ND, a novelty from 'ancient' glory...yeah, 3-4 years being ancient.
Thanks for reading this. Yeah, it does bug me when Adams is all 'distant' now, like an observer, when at the time of Phil's troubles he was a main public instigator...and never underestimate the influence of the press.
jbocap writes:
Folks...history is in the past. Its too easy to compare this particular season to the 'glory days' of the past. LETS FOCUS ON NOW AND THE FUTURE....PLEASE!
I believe in the players who are working very hard to improve and represent the university.
I support CDD and his staff.
Everybody with a pulse knew this season would be tough given everything that has happened the last couple of years. Be patient, and support our team! GO VOLS !!!
orangeman1 writes:
None of us UT fans that thought Fulmer was a good coach think he is a god. None of us think he will come back as head coach. We just want to defend him against ridiculous comments like "Fulmer ran the program into the ground" or "Fulmer couldnt recruit"and people that couldnt see or appreciate how good a coach he was. I'll make a deal. Quit blaming the shape the team is in now on Fulmer and most people will quit "reminding" you about the real facts and having to defend him. Kinda like your statement about his last class being ranked 35th, but having to remind you he had a top 10 class already put together in 08 when he was fired. I'll let it go if you quit blaming everything on Fulmer.
ClearVol writes:
Since I don't live in K-town, I can tell you, Adams did not drum up or start the fire Phil rage. It started with the frustration of fans,alum,boosters who saw talented teams in unmatched facilities not reaching their potential, not being competitive with teams that they should have been. This was not true for Phil's entire career but in the end there was clearly a problem. I'm not an Adams fan myself but this "reality" column is written like he sees it, like many see it. Unless the Vols fix the mistakes they have been making, I really dont think they have a chance this saturday but I will be there until the final whistle shouting my ars off... will you?
WaltGoVols writes:
I absolutely like Coach Dooley and wish him all the best.
It may be, probably is, the case that Coach Fulmer was past his best work.
But:
1. He should have had one more year.
2. Mike Hamilton made a hash of a follow-on hire.
I don't see how these points can be disputed.
Walt
UT '81
orangeman1 writes:
Totally agree. Every successful head coach NEEDS good asst coaches to continue being on top. That is why UT dropped off in 08 after losing a great off co. I think it wouldve been wiser to address the 1 issue of the offense then to dismantle the whole team and fire all the coaches and start from scratch, but whats done is done and I just hope Dooley can get the job done and meet fan expectations of winning championships(not just finishing with the best SEC record like Fulmer less than a year before he was fired), because I dont want to have to suffer through another year with a coach like Kiffin(thanks Hammy)
Vol86 writes:
the reality is adams and staff stink
arkyvol writes:
i haven't lived in knoxville in a long time, but i've always followed the vols. what happened to battle was forseeable given his ineptness at recruiting. with johnny majors, it was just a higher level of mediocrity. as for phil, it started off well, but somehow he and the chief got the idea they were bullet proof. kiffen was a bad dream. now, we have dooley. and suddenly we're supposed to accept without question a program mired for the forseeable future at a three digit level of relative competitiveness.
yesterday, i was reading how programs like boise state, oregon, and t.c.u. are excelling with recruiting classes that would have embarassed bill battle. over the past decade, the vols have excelled at recruiting. the coming year looks to be more of the same. so, someone please explain to me how for the next few years, the vols are going to be a cosmic black hole in football.
ClearVol writes:
Only if they cannot be coached to their potential. Thats it, thats the only way we continue to slide backward..
TommyJack writes:
Naval and BB on the mark as usual.
WaltGoVols writes:
Coach Fulmer has been gone for two years.
What might be considered delutional is blaming him solely for the mess the program is in.
The person who is in charge is responsible and that person is Mike Hamilton.
Walt
UT '81
GoVols_16 writes:
We knew this year was going to be tough. We all have had delusions of grandeur. Yet, this team is what it is. Tennessee is in a very difficult place to recruit. We don't have much home ball, nor do we have 20 million people living in our state like Florida.
College football is cyclical. Tennessee will again have good years & will occasionally have GREAT years. But the situations being as they are, Tennessee will always struggle to be a perennial powerhouse, unless either Dooley eventually proves to be a Cracker Jack coach/recruiter or we eventually snag one.
msinva writes:
I will admit that I was hard to convince that it was time for HCPF to go, but I now am more than ever. My biggest fear was that we would become the Bama of the late 90s/early 00s and while that may come true I do not think so. The Kiffen gang and Coach Dooley have done more with the current situation than Fulmer would have in my opinion. But, I have digressed from the topic of reality.
The reality for this year was prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Well the worst has materialized, but there is hope for the future of this young and inexperienced team. Also, reality is relative in my opinion. Relative to the current state of affairs in Gainesville, I will take our reality. The reality in Gainesville is that minus Percy Harvin and Tim Tebow, Meyer's spread offense is what everyone thought it would be matched against SEC defenses. In fact, it is worse. This is from a team whose fans state often that they would just "reload" this time with talented recevers. Well, those four and five stars guys really stink in that offense. Why any kid who wants to play in the NFL would go play in that offense is beyond me. Bottom line, in one year, FL has gone from national championship contender with a consensus top 5 recruiting class to a 7-5 and likely 6-6 team with an coach who is mentally unstable. I don't like where we are, but our future sure looks better than FL. How's that for reality Mr. Adams?
Lostvolinhighweeds writes:
That's bold talk comming from a toothless tigger.
Go away.
NashvillePreds writes:
I'm thinking we need to rid ourselves of Dooley (Mike Shula) sooner, rather than later.
totoiv writes:
I was very upset with Mike Hamilton about dropping UNC from the schedule next year. But, after looking at the schedule next year I am afraid things could be even worse for the Vols. The schedule is brutal. I think it will take Dooley 4 years to turn the program around. But, the fans around here are very impatient. If I were Dooley I would go get about 10 JR. College players or get anyone who can transfer in and play immediately. I know they say that route is often short-sited. But, the Vols need experienced players and now. Our lack of depth is killing us.
WaltGoVols writes:
"Walt, Florida helped us out on that by losing (I will take luck any day), but the Vols did nothing to earn that trip."
And yet, in that game, they had LSU beaten except for two bad INT's by Ainge.
LSU was the eventual national champion, as I recall.
Hamilton panicked, and fired Coach Fulmer a year too soon. Then he made the brainless, clueless hire of Kiffin.
That is why we are suffering through the sorry state we find ourselves in now.
Walt
UT '81
jdogg44 writes:
leave out the word "reality" from the headline and you get reality.... "Adams a Bummer for UT Fans"
Adams is the negative post of a car battery.
shipperman#280095 writes:
Walt, stop being an idiot. Makes you look bad. Mike Hamilton should have fired Fulmer 5 years earlier and then we would have a great coach. Where's your boy coaching now? That's right no body wants him. Get over your daddy already
bspurlingcac#225603 writes:
Calm down everyone. We have had two bad periods during this season. 1) The second half melt down vs. Oregon and 2) The Georgia game (filled with turnovers etc.) coming off a tough LSU game loss. Both could be expected with a team that has so much inexperience and little depth.
We are not expected to do anything the next two weeks against Bama & SC which could help us keep the game closer than expected.
I for one just want to see the Vols keep battling and building. Coach DD has put together a quality coaching staff and has shown outstanding focus. He has a chance to be an outstanding leader of our football program. In this microwave society it seems very few have the ability wait on excellence. Short cuts and knee jerk reactions are the norm. We all need to give this program time to get on track. We will be great again…and sooner than some of you think. GO VOLS!!!
vscebail#247785 writes:
Adams,
You may be right, -- but that doesn't excuse you for being a JERK! You are the most negative SOB to ever be employed by KNS. -- and you are responsible for dredging up huge amounts of apathy and discontent. You helped to orchestrate Fulmer's departure because you said "he wasn't doing his job." Well, if generating interest in the University of Tennessee, and promoting the university's academic, social, and athletic programs is your job, --then YOU SHOULD BE FIRED A THOUSAND TIMES OVER!!! Please KNS... can we just get rid if John Adams and hire a sports writer that actually SUPPORTS our school!?!
volky writes:
Walt, you are obviously a Fulmer-hater (as is your right). However, I don't think you can lay the current talent situation entirely at Fulmer's feet. Don't forget, Lane Kiffin ran off several players after he took over. Run ins with the law (last November & this past summer) resulted in the loss of players who could be contributing right now. Kiffin's hasty departure certainly didn't help matters either. Having 3 head coaches in the past 3 years is the biggest contributor to the talent situation in my opinion. I won't argue that recruiting had declined in Fulmer's last 3 years, although he did have a top 10 class his last year. Recruiting overall is just plain harder for everyone. That can be contributed to all of the Thursday & Friday night CF games we have on ESPN. The non-traditional schools who are willing to play on national TV on these two nights have benefited in getting good talent that the Tennessee's, Georgia's, & Auburn's were once able to get.
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