A few words of advice for Tennessee football fans following back-to-back losses by a 79-30 margin: "Look outward, not inward."
I realize that goes against the grain of typical fan behavior.
In dire times, most fans will either search frantically for a statistic that signifies a hint of competence or envision a Dark Ages scenario in which their program never beats another meaningful opponent or gets so much as a return phone call from a four-star recruit.
Of the two responses, I heartedly endorse the former. At least, it's founded in rationality.
Recruits will always call back. They like the attention.
But the more rational and positive response has limited potential.
For example, take the Vols, whose Daniel Lincoln is tied for the SEC lead in field-goal kicking (5-for-5).
You want more? OK, check this out: No team has successfully executed an onside kick against the Vols through three games.
Get my drift? When a team struggles out of the starting gates, positive statistics are as elusive as terrorists in a country of caves. Moreover, once you enter into the statistical realm, it's virtually impossible to block out the negatives. UT is 10th in the SEC in scoring and 11th in scoring defense.
If you really want to feel better about the Vols after only three games, forget the stats. In fact, forget the Vols. Look elsewhere.
Finding faults with others isn't just productive. It's natural.
And the process doesn't have to be impeded by the scoreboard.
So what if Florida prevailed by a couple of touchdowns Saturday. The Vols could transport the football from their center to their quarterback without an ensuing chase scene.
You know how that will turn out next month at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Florida quarterback John Brantley will be so preoccupied by his pursuit of a Mike Pouncey snap he will never see the crimson train coming.
In looking outward, you also will notice all 1-2 starts aren't equal. The Vols have lost to two top-10 opponents. Ole Miss has lost to Jacksonville State and Vanderbilt. And Notre Dame has lost to two teams from the same state.
The Vols might have been buffaloed by Florida's fake punt, but Notre Dame got beat by Michigan State's fake field goal in overtime.
You think 1-2 is bad? Check out New Mexico, where former UT assistant coach David Reaves is doing time. The Lobos have lost three consecutive games by a staggering count of 180-31.
The Vols might be 1-2, but they're not in the ACC, where Duke and Wake Forest combined to give up 130 points Saturday; where Florida State lost by 30 to Oklahoma in Week 2; where Virginia Tech was beaten by James Madison; where Georgia Tech lost to Kansas, which lost to North Dakota State; where an NCAA investigation has left more of North Carolina's defensive starters on the bench than the field; and where Miami quarterback Jacory Harris is already getting racist hate mail via after just one loss.
See? You don't have to limit yourself to SEC teams. There's a big country out there and a lot of dreadful stuff is going on.
So extend your vision. The season will look a lot better.
John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 70
RollAFatty writes:
You think 1-2 is bad? I just spent 1-2 minutes of my life reading this lame BS.
murrayvol writes:
Thanks John. I needed that.
UT4ever writes:
Awesome article!! I feel much better about our team now... Please tell me how bad everyone else sucks some more.... HOHOHOHOHHOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!
pickinhick writes:
The cheer, "At least we are not Ole Miss" still rings hollow to me. THe truth is we played two BCS bound teams. and played 4 out of 6 quarters very well. I think this bodes well for the rest of the season!
PEYTONFORHEISMAN1997 writes:
I like what Dooley is doing. I have watched TN football since I was a toddler and have never seen a TN team this low in depth and talent. I like how we competed, but it was evident that Florida just has better athletes. Good players make good coaches. I'm a huge Cutcliff fan and think that Fulmer owes all his success to his best friend. He was the brains of the operation. You look at Fulmer without Cutcliff, and he just runs the team to t he ground. The first game that showed Randy Sanders knew as much about football as a plumber performing brain surgery was the Florida game in 1999. Alex brown had 5 sacks and was timing the snap count. It's an easy adjustment, put Will bartholemew or leave Jamal Lewis in there to chip block. It dosn't take a genious to figure that out. Fulmer than got rid of Sanders after a 5 and 6 season and than Cutcliff comes back to Knoxville and they are back in the spotlight winning the east and finishes the season with 10 wins. After one season, Cutcliff leaves and fulmer goes 5 and 6 again. It's not a coincidence, players and assistant coaches make great head coaches. As a head coach you are a manager and have to fire people when they don't produce. Unfortunately, Fulmer made two bad decisions and it costed him his job. I just hope that the fan base will give Dooley and fair shot and know most of this mess is caused by our past coaches. We are definitely facing adversity in this program, but adversity is what every team will go through at some point. It's a cyclical cycle and we will be top 10 caliber in 2 to 3 seasons. We will just see who the true fans are. Go Vols
Slystone writes:
I'm wondering why I haven't heard anyone say what recruits may have been at the game this weekend?
oskie_score writes:
My only concern is what's going on in my house---NOT my neighbors.
oimo2005#352417 writes:
My only concern is what's going on in Bruce Pearl's house.
RollTideJoe writes:
Agree with Peyton, Vols good years under the Fulmer era were when Cutcliffe was there. Each time he left, the wheels came off, not only in terms of wins/losses, but team discipline.
hcjournals#206623 writes:
Vol1......Post of the night...Not that the long post wasn't ok. So funny.....
ibvolman writes:
You may be right, but I'm not sure we have played 2 BCS bowl bound teams yet. Florida still has to play Alabama, which Bama should win. They also have to face the game chickens, which I tink may beat them this year. That would put Florida out of contention for a BCS bowl unless SC really screws up by losing 3 games in conference.
As for where this team stands...they have improved from Oregon to Florida, but still have a long way to go. Too much inexperience with not enough depth to expect a great season. We could lose to LSU (close game), Bama (hope it is close), SC (even though I hate Spurier), and GA (even though I think the Vols win that one). Potential is there for 3-5 in conference.
GreerVol22 writes:
so it is what it is.....the issues start with substitutions. Dooley said it would and he's been right since game one. Patience padowans, the days of the Jedi will return.
sol_way writes:
reading some of these coments was almost as painful as reading the article itself.
give_him_6 writes:
Amen, we will find out who the true fans are!
volinky writes:
Is this the best Adams can come up with? Seriously, what a wasted read.
d.hippie_1960#1386500 writes:
D.D. is out of his league as we found out Sat. Urban gave him a coaching lesson. This isn't La. Tech this is the SEC. What a bad decision by Hamilton.
westennvol writes:
I actually do feel better after reading this article. p.s. 1-2 starts are not all equal. Especially, since UGA has lost 2 games in a row to SEC opponents...that puts them way back in the race for the East.
westennvol writes:
you must be watching a different game than the one i attended on sat. We competed very well with a team that had superior talent almost everywhere. Maybe you should join gator nation. Then it will be easier for you to jump on and off that bandwagon so quickly.
tombovol writes:
John Adams,master of the one-sentence paragraph.
gnm53108 writes:
Yep.
Dont give a damn about any other team.My Vols have some work to do.Other than our field goal unit we dont have one position/unit that doesn't require alot of improvement.
CCLC writes:
Dawgs lost those games with their starting WR,RB,Center on the bench....Redshirt Fresh qb looks a lot like Rex Grossman..... Miss St, Colorado and Vols up next.... they will have the starters back and that young qb will have a lot more game. The SEC will know if the wheels have truly come off in Athens after that stretch of games. Catching the Vols between the hedges after their road game to LSU will be loud. Passion – which these Vols are playing with – will only take you so far. They just don’t have the horses to hang in there with decent teams for a full sixty minutes. Should be a telling game in Athens.
just sayin'
oldbasshead writes:
Always good advise. Thanks.
leedsvol2007 writes:
And when we were winning 8-10 games a year you offered the opinion it was better to suffer years like this one if you could win a national championship every once in a while.
I seemed to remember you to be counseling us to be more like LSU.
Of course prior to their re-birth they went through 5 straight losing seasons.
You got your wish.
We been through whiz kid Lane Kiffin.
I just hope Dooley proves to be a better coach than Stovall, Archer or DiNardo.
GoVols!
CCLC writes:
actually it makes them about last in the SEC doesn't it? They've played and lost two SEC games. You think they will stay there?
orangecountyvols writes:
Adams will struggle to find things to write about for now. In a few weeks, he'll have his coming out party when the Vols play his beloved LSU Tigers. You know that's the one he's waiting for. His column will be predictable.
Athenshomerdawg......... you are hereby saying Georgia is one of those decent teams. Time will tell..........
1974Vol writes:
Offense was improved and should continue to do so as Sims and OL get more experience. When will Jones be back we really need him, although Hunter looks like he will be the real deal. DL will continue to be weak spot especially against good running teams. Bama game may be real painful to watch.
GerryOP writes:
No.
NoEndToIt writes:
I'm not going to agree with this article. Championship and bowl-game-bound programs are not built on the "we don't stink as much as X" principle. They are built on having their own high standards regardless of what everyone else is doing or not doing.
OrangePride writes:
JA......we are not comforted. When we begin to compare ourselves to the lowliest of the competition to take heart, we are looking in the wrong direction. Excellence comes from comparing and matching the BEST in your competition. No one in Knoxville expected miracles this year and we have a ways to go to even be thought of in the same sentence as the tops in the SEC......but that's the goal. So thanks, but no thanks. I take no solice in the woes of Mississippi or the ACC or anyone else. I am focused on supporting these VOLS through the 2010 campaign and beyond. GO VOLS!!
DRORANGELOVE writes:
Good Post my friend. you made a lot of good points. PS: Since Peyton was robbed of the Heisman Trophy, I make it a point to make sure my TV is tuned elsewhere during the Heisman presentations. As far as I'm concerned, the Heisman has absolutely NO credibility anymore and I would'nt walk across the street to attend its awards ceremony even if they gave me free front row seats.
DRORANGELOVE writes:
As much as I utterly loathe and despise the Florida Gators and everything remotely connected to them ( fans, and coaches included ) You have to give credit to Urban Cryer, He made a great call on the fake punt, he caught the Vols and their staff completely by surprise and I think that particular call along with the Fla interception in the end zone totally changed the game around . I think we would have won the game if we could have erased those two plays. GBO
VOLliven2it writes:
John Adams does it again, he makes us feel good about the bad because others are supposedly badder, yeah right.
d.hippie--"Urban gave him a coaching lesson." Urban showed how a team with more experience, more speed, and better talent can play like junk in the first quarter and still win. The fake punt was his mighty stamp. Other than that, I see no reason to act as if Florida is more than a top twenty team at this point. Where are the trollers smacking about 60 points from the Gators. That didn't happen. We will see who they really are when they face Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Hope Urban the lesson in coaching giver takes his medication before that game.
You can down Dooley all you like but he is the head coach of the University of Tennessee Volunteer football team. That is enough for me to be for him. GO VOLS, a lot of football is yet to be played!
westennvol writes:
i'm sure they will get it together. (probably about the time they play UT) but when you start with 2 losses, its pretty hard to compete with the rest. personally, after seeing fla the other day, i think the east is South Carolina's to lose. if they beat UF, its over...
Pompey writes:
...I didn't, I felt fine with what Dooley's doing before I read the article....I don't need a sports writer to approve me being "all in"!
gnm53108 writes:
Hahaha
"FEAR THE DORES!"
Hahaha
Pullingguard writes:
Don't u suppose that Cutcliffe had memories of just how tough the SEC was and is after his Duke team was introduced to Bama.. He probably cherishes the memory of not being overly considered for the Vol head job, for being beat at Duke is accepted and expected in some areas.
CCLC writes:
I hear ya!Just win..... and it all goes away.
CCLC writes:
well...one would hope that the Vols have one upset in them.... and that they use it on uSC.
ellerbee123 writes:
I Agree!!! Was extremely proud of our young guys. Have done alot better than I ever envisioned. Have lots of young talent that will be mature talent soon. Dooley is EXACTLY what we need. Go Vols! Go Dooley!
univfl1 writes:
well...look to other teams if it makes you feel better, but it will only last a week, and yes we are not the best either (Go Gators), ND, Ole Miss.,really? judge yourselves against more than that if your going to do it, and yes please pity us Gator fans as we aren't very good LOL..but remember before 1990 we were not EVER very good other than Ray Graves era so while you may think we stink and believe me none of us are thinking we are world beaters, I was at the MIAMI game, it was hot and miserable and scary so I think Mr. Adams is confused as are the Vol fans we know we are not good, but we beat you, and having lost 2 good coaches and a world of talent we shouldn't be any good but maybe when you all come to the swamp next year we will be better with most positions back and a quarter back that should be much improved so don't pity us too much, root for Alabama against us LOL if it makes you feel better....next year we just might beat you again, and as we say wait 'till next year... Go Gators
mybolognahasasecondname writes:
I don't agree with all your points but I do on DD. It's true that Fulmer lived and died by his assistants and not just Cut but Chief also. DD is smart and isn't at the mercy of his assistants. He's more than just a CEO. He's involved right down to the details of applying soap to the rag.
mikethehistorystudent writes:
In three years the top teams in the SEC will be Auburn, Arkansas and Tennessee. Florida won't enjoy the players it's been able to recruit, because FSU and Miami are on the rise. Alabama and Nick Saban will get lazy and content and power will shift to Auburn. Arkansas has a very dedicated fan base and they (like us) are eager to get back to competing for a championship. It's not only the players, but also CDD that is learning about SEC football. I believe we can be a top 10 team in 3 years and a top 6 in four years. CDD has the ability and desire to get us there, and I think (hope) Tyler Bray will develop into the first good QB we've had since T.Martin.
SummittsCourt writes:
I watched some La Tech games when Coach Dooley was there. The one thing I saw that standed out was his players, though outclassed in every way played hard and gave their best effort. With the talent UT will be getting this team will win championships in a matter of a couple of years. Tennessee does not lack talent, just experience and depth. That will be fixed in recruiting.
MilitaryBrat writes:
"If you really want to feel better about the Vols after only three games, forget the stats. In fact, forget the Vols. Look elsewhere."
I don't have to look at other teams to feel good about the Vols.
They were in the game in the Fourth, and showed alot of heart, while looking like they have improved from last week.
I also don't need to know how much we have got beaten by the last two teams neither.
Do you ever say anything good about the Vols?
All Adams seem to write about is what's wrong with the Vols.
To be an un-Bias reporter, you also need to talk about the good things about a team, not just the negatives.
Ralph_Crampton writes:
In response to GerryOP....Remember ninety per-cent of of folks read the funnies...not the sports pages...No, Adams not the reason Fulmer is gone.
tanasi2 writes:
My Sister sat in front of a Vol Fan Moron at last Saturday's game. This guy screamed profanities toward Simms and Dooley during the entire game. My Sister finally had to ask this guy to shut up! He didn't! I am sure that this same Moron fan posts comments on this site. Here is my message to the Moron Vol Fan: The Vols will NOT win a game in the month of October! I don't care what John Adams implies. Accept that fact and look forward to next year. The absolute best this current team can do is a 6-6 record this year and I'm not sure that will happen! Stop your crying and screaming! Look forward to the 2012 or 2013 season!
andforhisnexttune writes:
After a good spanking of UAB everyting will be OK again and we can look forward to October.
bamaman1 writes:
Dream on history student. Fact is vols are lost in the wilderness and will be there for a long time. Tougher years ahead. Enjoy this year. Couldn't happen to a nicer crowd. Only wish fulmer was still there.
easleychuck writes:
I suppose that it is a good thing that parents can't pick their children. Otherwise, most trolls would be orphans.
illinoisvolfan writes:
I just realized the problem. If Tennessee played 4 out of 6 quarters very well against two potential BCS teams, there are still two missing quarters to play. If someone can discover where the offense goes when it disappears over the course of a game, maybe they can find those missing quarters as well.
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