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Ah, yes. We have come to the end of our long, bumpy journey through all 120 teams in Division I college football. I didn’t exactly stick to the original schedule, but yet I’m still finishing with plenty of time before the season gets underway Thursday night (thank goodness).
Anyways, to the actual task at hand, as every year, I am incredibly excited for this season of Tennessee football. Last year was such a roller coaster with some really frustrating times as well as some times that honestly were just fun. Being in Gainesville and Tuscaloosa and watching those games I can still remember the different emotions and feelings of frustration, disappointment and anger that resulted from those trips.
At the same time, three home games – UGA, Carolina, and Arkansas – were just a joy to see in person. Of course the Kentucky had more of an emotional toll on me than probably any game before because after the game I wasn’t even that excited – just more relieved and worn out. If I learned anything from last year, it was two things: (1) the heart that team showed was tremendous and I admittedly wrote us off of ATL about ten times, only to be proven wrong EVERY time, and (2) just a few plays can determine a good season and a great season.
As for this year, I feel there’s a new air of excitement about the 2008 Vols for a couple different reasons: (1) the new offensive staff – finally, some unpredictability, and I for one have little clue as to how exactly the Clawfense/Circle of Five is going to run; (2) we’re flying so much in the shadows of Florida and Georgia that it almost has to fire you up as a Tennessee fan, especially knowing how we have recently fared in such situations; (3) the new QB – it’s like 2004 all over again, except there’s just one guy and he’s not a true freshman. Nevertheless, I think all Tennessee fans are interested to see how a guy who’s waited his turn will do finally getting his chance; (4) finally, the defense. This might prompt some questions, but just think back to the end of last year to how our defense, particularly against LSU and Wisconsin, was absolutely knocking some folks up (Tyler Donovan and Early Doucet in particular).
I don’t expect us to miss a beat offensively. I know he has called as many plays in a game at Tennessee as I have, but I have full confidence in Dave Clawson’s ability. Maybe it’s just a feeling, maybe I’m a homer all up on the kool-aid, but I think our offense is going to be very good. Of course, Jonathan Crompton is the wild-card. I think he’ll do fine, but I also expect to see some risk-reward tradeoffs here. He’s going to throw some picks, but I think he brings more of a deep passing game than Erik Ainge or even Casey Clausen did, as he showed against LSU in 2006.
I expect a much more concentrated commitment to running the ball this year than under David Cutcliffe. I think our group of running backs with Foster, Hardesty, Creer and potentially Tauren Poole might be one of the best in the SEC. We know what Foster can do, and we’ve seen Hardesty’s ability when he’s healthy, which he says he is heading into UCLA (and hopefully it stays that way). The progress of Poole – he’s very much in the mix for the third back with the talented Creer – can only be encouraging.
Yes, I know our offensive line hasn’t been pushing folks around the past two years, but by all means we have absolutely no reason for not being able to run the ball this year. I do know Tennessee had success with Jacques McClendon and Vlad Richard on the line last year. Crompton couldn’t ask for a better group to throw the ball from behind.
Like the backs, the receiving corps is one of the more underrated in the SEC. I know some have been saying that Gerald Jones hasn’t proved enough and questioned if he can be the dynamic player others have predicted, but he’s going to be a huge part of this offense, and I expect the G-Gun to be used til someone stops it and I also think we’ll see him throw it at some point.
The growth of Lucas Taylor and Josh Briscoe has been incredible, and despite some dropsies, Austin Rogers is almost money on third downs. Quintin Hancock made some big catches last year. Denarius Moore and Ahmad Paige brings some big-play and yards-after-catch aspects to the group.
Brandon Warren and Luke Stocker provide more weapons down the middle of the field and Warren will be a real matchup problem for defenses. Another reason for Crompton to feel comfortable and confident.
Defensively, the obvious strength is in the secondary, which I think talent-wise might be one of the nation’s best. Eric Berry (need I say anything else?). I expect a big year from Demetrice Morley. After what he went through to get back into Tennessee, you can’t not respect the guy.
Two plays from the Florida game last year I still remember: (1) deep pass down 42-20, DeAngelo Willingham has inside position on Percy Harvin and Harvin basically takes the ball from D-Will. (2) Cam Newton running over Dennis Rogan. Even at the end of last year, the improvement from those two was just amazing, despite Willingham’s struggles against LSU. Brent Vinson might have been our best corner last year, and that was with a major shoulder injury he played through after being switched early in the season.
However the front seven will determine the ceiling for this time. It’s not even the linebackers though really – Rico McCoy is this year’s stud, Ellix Wilson was great in limited time last year, and Nevin McKenzie I think is a very good player, and he’s probably not going to even start (Adam Myers-White). Hopefully this mess with Gerald Williams clears up SOON because he’s too good not to see the field.
I have full confidence in our starting defensive line (Robert Ayers, Wes Brown, Dan Williams, Demonte Bolden) and Walter Fisher. Behind that, though, I’m honestly scared because that’s the most glaring weakness I see for Tennessee. Chris Walker and Ben Martin have the ability, but can they be consistent and can they be relied upon? Are Victor Thomas or Donald Langley going to step up this year? Whether you want to admit it or not, Tennessee’s going to need those guys to play some snaps and at least hold their own. You have to be able to run the ball and stop the run to win championships, especially in the SEC.
What question do surround the Vols are going to have be answered quickly, with the front-loaded schedule. After the Georgia game, I don’t see a game we should lose. However, there is a real possibility that Tennessee could start 0-3 in the SEC, thus making the remainder of the year pretty much irrelevant. The restlessness of the masses could also come into play should such a start happen.
That said, Tennessee has to absolutely beat Florida in Knoxville September 20. Absolutely a must-win. Win that, and it could be a great season with very real championship hopes. Lose to the Gators, and it’s trips to Auburn and Athens with no room for error. Can Tennessee repeat as SEC East Champions? Definitely. The talent is certainly there.
Friday I walked over to TRECS (that’s the student recreation center for those that might not know – if you get a chance, check it out because it’s amazing) and the band was practicing their pregame routine on the intramural fields. As I happened to walk by, they of course began to play Rocky Top and I found it hard not to smile knowing how close we are to the start of the season.
Just one more week…
Of course we Tennessee fans like to think that all Alabama fans do is talk about the past and the days of Bear Bryant instead of discussing their recent run of poor coaches and struggles of mediocrity. Nowadays, you’ll likely see more talk of the bright, hopeful future down in Tuscaloosa and an inevitable return to previous glory.
Entering year two under Nick Saban, it’s really hard to deny that he’s beginning to build a talent base that can make that return to national success. Possibly the nation’s best recruiting class in the country last year is now on campus in Tuscaloosa, and even after the disappointing finish to last year, last year’s 6-6 record is all but ignored.
After making the Tennessee coaching staff look completely foolish and incompetent, Bama was in the mix for the West with LSU coming to town two weeks later and went to the wire in the fourth quarter…
Not sure Alabama ever recovered from that series of plays. After a second-straight loss to Mississippi State, UL Monroe as we all know beat the Tide 21-14 and the Auburn won their sixth consecutive Iron Bowl. The Tide limped into Shreveport and salvaged the season beating Colorado.
To be honest, Alabama’s a bit of a mystery this year. The main question I have is how much of an impact will the new, highly-ranked recruiting class have this year? Some of the candidates whom could make big early impacts: WR Julio Jones, OL Tyler Love, JUCO DT Terrance Cody (who’s enormous), and LB Jerrell Harris.
Also, which John Parker Wilson will show up? He was excellent in torching Tennessee’s secondary, but also had this total gem…
Also, who’s he going to throw the ball to? D.J. Hall, Keith Brown, and Matt Caddell are all gone and that’s where Jones could make a big impact. The rest of the offense should be pretty solid, with a backfield of Terry Grant, Glen Coffee, and Roy Upchurch, running behind an experienced OL led by Andre Smith and Antoine Caldwell.
And here’s how Saban could counter the G-Gun and Gerald Jones (although Saban wasn’t there when Bama played in the ‘06 Independence Bowl): throw it to Andre Smith…
While the offense should be pretty good, there might be a few more questions on defense. In the 3-4 that Alabama runs, you obviously don’t need more than six defensive lineman, and Bama should be fine up front. The biggest loss is Wallace Gilberry, who struggled at times last year but still had 17 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.
Linebacker might be a little different story, as the unfortunate issue with Ezekial Knight, the cocaine selling-induced dismissal of Jimmy Johns, and the three-game suspension of Prince Hall has left little around stud Rolando McClain. Much like Julio Jones, this could be where Jerrell Harris makes his mark.
The secondary loses Simeon Castille, but CB Kareem Jackson started 12 games as a true freshman and FS Rashad Johnson somewhat surprisingly led the Tide in tackles. With holes to fill there as well, there’s certain potential for freshman impact.
With the likely inexperience and youth – although talented – that Bama will likely have to use this year at some positions, having road games in Fayetteville, Athens, Knoxville, and Baton Rouge could be a little dicey. Throw in the opener against a talented Clemson team in Atlanta and the finale against Auburn, this year could be similar to last year.
Nevertheless, I wouldn’t write this team off. Although I don’t seem them seriously contending with Auburn and LSU for the West title, a bowl (Shreveport’s beautiful in late December…) and winning season would be a solid start. Truth be told, an upset or two isn’t a reach. Still, it’s probably another year before we can throw Bama in there with the two Tigers atop the division. Hey, I mean I guess talking about the future’s better than talking about the past…
His mere name strikes fear into every one of us Tennessee people. I also figured the few of you that read my site hadn’t heard his name enough so I decided to use it. And here’s that name a few more times just for the hell of it…
Incredible editing job there. Anyways, the Gates have gotten so much publicity and are so loved by ESPN, who showed their spring game, that everyone forgets they were 9-4 last year and lost to Michigan in the bowl game. Of course they absolutely crushed Tennessee (I know, I was there) so that’s probably why we Vol fans have reservations about our chances of beating Florida this year.
Tebow scored 55 TDs last year. Think about that. It’s ridiculous! Then again, when you’re your team’s QB and short-yardage/goal-line running back you’ll score…alot. And he did. He perfectly fits the gimmicky offense of his lover coach Urban Meyer. To Meyer’s credit (about the only thing I can credit the man for), he’s recruited the fastest bunch of players this side of the Jamaican track team.
Percy Harvin, Chris Rainey, Brandon James, Mon Williams, Kestahn Moore, Jeff Demps, Louis Murphy, Riley Cooper (ask LaMarcus Coker), all have blazing speed and can turn a simple end-around into six with a missed tackle. However, a huge part of that offense, TE Cornelius Ingram, a mismatch nightmare for defensive coordinators around the world, tore his ACL and won’t play a down this year. I honestly felt horrible for the guy since he withdrew from the NFL Draft to come back. The health of Harvin has also been a little in doubt with his nagging heel injury that required surgery in the offseason.
The wildcard for the Gators is USC transfer Emmanuel Moody. Florida’s leading rushers last year were Tebow and Harvin and the use of a halfback was minimal at best. They still averaged 42.5 points/game, why would they add in a halfback now? I’m not sure how I can see Moody fitting in to the offense, but Meyer will have to find some way to take care of Tebow and not let him get as banged up as he did last year. Another possibility is using backup QB Cam Newton a la Tebow 2006. Ask Dennis Rogan about Newton (although Rogan has come so far since that awful September afternoon).
I still wonder how good Florida is along the lines, since line play is essential to winning championships. The OL should be pretty good with the Pouncey brothers, and senior returning starters Jim Tartt and Jason Watkins. Also back in the mix is Phil Trautwein, a 2006 2nd Team All-SEC selection who missed all of last year. So that’s a group that might have improved, and they only gave up 13 sacks last year as it was.
Florida’s defense was iffy last year and the reason they lost four games with the Heisman winner. It wasn’t necessarily the front seven that was the trouble, it was the secondary that had a tendency to give up big plays.
Up front Florida did a decent job for replacing an entire line that’s in the NFL (or in jail) now. Still, I want to see what Urban does when he doesn’t have Ron Zook’s linemen. The ends are scary – Jermaine Cunningham had 6.5 sacks last year and Carlos Dunlap has NFL potential – but DT depth is a concern after the no-show of Torrey Davis, despite the return of Mr. AK-47 himself Ronnie Wilson. The front needs to be able to allow the fast LB corps of Brandon Spikes (#51), Dustin Doe, and A.J. Jones to range and make plays.
As for that iffy secondary, the CBs – Jacques Rickerson, Joe Haden, Wondy Pierre-Louis, and Markihe Anderson better have improved. The safety siutation is a total mess – Dorian Munroe and John Curtis will miss the season, leaving Major Wright (#21) and possibly highly-touted Will Hill – and of utmost concern.
The bottom line is as long as the defense improves just a little bit, the offense should be enough to win games for Florida. The best way to stop this offense seems to be to (a) not let them get into any sort of rhythm, (b) make Tebow beat you with his arm, and (3) hit them in the mouth many times. Auburn and Georgia were both really physical with the Gators, and Michigan wasn’t exactly love-tapping them either. That and hope to force turnovers or you’re gonna have to score 40+ to win.
Of the three East contenders (sorry South Carolina), Florida has the most favorable schedule, drawing Ole Miss and Arkansas out of the West and getting LSU at home. Since 1992 Florida has lost ten more games to SEC West teams than to SEC East teams despite playing 36 less games against West teams (thank you Phil Steele). A split against Tennessee and Georgia isn’t undoable, so that alone has me putting Florida as the team to beat in the East.
(WARNING: This is pretty much my rant of bashing UGA, who I despise – thanks to my first road game as a student to Athens in 2006. That said, please enjoy!)
Nope, that’s not a mistake – the Georgia Bulldogs are ranked at the top of both the media and coaches’ polls, after finishing #2 in the nation last year. Georgia rode the wave of momentum created by this well-know, dramatically overblown act of celebration…
…to a 42-30 win over the media’s darlings in Florida. These silly antics continued two weeks later for the Dawgs’ home game against Auburn…
…where Georgia won 45-20. After a seventh-straight win over Georgia Tech, UGA, perceived as “playing the best football in the country,” was hoping a national title game appearance was possible thanks to the carnage going on everywhere else.
Except there was one problem: Georgia didn’t even win their own division. UGA ended up in the Sugar Bowl, where they crushed a WAC team, thus forcing the offseason hype machine into the red. I guess it’s still going because of the #1 ranking and the talking heads everywhere calling for Georgia as the favorite to win it all.
I swear the media apparently forgot this game ever happened, or that it was some sort of false stroke of luck…
The hype machine has been sputtering a little bit though. The biggest hiccup came just recently, when All-SEC Freshman from last year T Trinton Sturdivant was lost for the year, a huge, huge blow for such a powerful running team. That of course followed the well known string of offseason nonsense going on down in Athens, resulting in suspensions and dismissals. We Tennessee fans saw the effects of those in 2005, though that team and this UGA team are pretty different, so I’m not sure that comparison holds water.
Let me just get to the point: Georgia is not going win the national title, the SEC, or even the division in 2008. Let’s examine how UGA came to be anointed the 2008 paper champions: lost to South Carolina at home, got smoked here in Knoxville (a worse beating than 2006), stole victory from defeat at Vandy, beat a beaten-up Tebow, beat an ACC team on the road, and beat a WAC team. What in there really makes you think this is going to be the best team in 2008.
It starts with Knowshon Moreno. He had a whopping 30 yards against Tennessee, so it’s not like he’s totally unstoppable, though he’s an incredibly talented back and one of the SEC’s best. Stoppable? Yes. Scary good? Yes, without a doubt
Matt Stafford has done nothingspectacular, throwing 26 TDs and 23 INTs in his career. All the hype he’s getting is based on pure potential and speculation. Stopping UGA isn’t rocket science people: you make Stafford beat you with his decision-making throwing the football. He hasn’t done that yet to my knowledge (I’ll even give you Alabama last year, but that was one throw). The receivers don’t scare anybody.
I can’t argue against Georgia being pretty good defensively this year with nine starters back, but then again, Tennessee has hung 86 points on them the past two years. Geno Atkins, Jeff Owens, and Roderick Battle up front, Dannell Ellerbe, Akeem Dent, and Rennie Curran at LB, and Prince Miller, Asher Allen, C.J. Byrd, and Reshad Jones is a pretty good secondary. I think they are going to be really good.
But this Georgia offense isn’t what it’s been made out to be for me. What scares you outside of Moreno and the talented backs behind him? The offensive line has really become a concern now due to some injuries and suspensions.
I haven’t even discussed the schedule: trips to Arizona State, South Carolina, LSU, Auburn, Florida in Jacksonville, and Tennessee and Bama at home. It’s rough. Really rough. I just don’t think Georgia’s as good as the media has made them out to be – they’re very talented, sure – and the brutal schedule should reveal that.
Mark Richt’s an excellent coach with plenty of class in my book, but he is out of place at Georgia. Those fans deserve a bigger jerk as their coach than Richt. I also have to wonder what antics UGA will pull this year. Internet rumors are that the game against Tennessee will be this year’s blackout game. Here’s a reminder of how that worked last time…
So to answer my originally posed question…absolutely not.
One of my favorite times of the week has returned, time for the purely majestic Big Orange Roundtable. This week it’s hosted by Fulmer’s Belly, and he’s determined he’s going to pick a winner at the end of this week, breaking the “everybody’s a winner” norm. We’ll call this the Start-of-School Edition, since UT starts today (I don’t – let’s hear it for a 12-hour, Tuesday/Thursday class only fall semester!).
I’m probably not going to win anyways, but I’m still going to answer his wide array of interesting questions for this week. You should know the deal by now, the other blogs will be linked at the bottom so you have to at least skim my ramblings to get there to see the others.
Enjoy!
1. Knock on wood before answering this question, but let’s assume that Jonathan Crompton goes out with a season ending injury in the 1st half of the first game of the season. Should we just pack it up and wait until next season, or is there a glimmer of hope in any of the young backups?
For the record I really did knock on wood. That’s mostly because if Crompton gets hurt, we’re screwed. Neither Nick Stephens or B.J. Coleman have played in a real game and for them to be thrown in there due to injury is something that obviously I really REALLY don’t want to happen.
Now that said, the part about us being screwed is if Crompton goes down, say, against UCLA. It would of course be different if he was hurt against, say, South Carolina or anytime the middle to latter portion of our schedule.
For example, Rick Clausen, after botching the Notre Dame game, led Tennessee to wins over Vandy and Kentucky, thanks to the help of the Riggs/Houston combination. So Coleman, who I see as the backup, could beat those two teams, but to have him for Florida, Auburn, Georgia? No thanks.
Then again, either could be the next Peyton Manning, er, probably not, but those around the new QB could really step up, so I don’t think we’d not win a game with a backup or anything like that.
2. Does Erik Ainge have a future in the NFL?
As a starter, no way. As a practice squad QB, possibly. The main reason is that he doesn’t have David Cutcliffe to help him out, and I really think that shoulder injury his freshman year diminished his potential a little bit.
Yes, he did put up some pretty gaudy numbers in 2006 and 2007, but he was a different QB then than he was in 2004 as a true freshman. He was so afraid of getting hurt again – though last year he played through a couple different injuries, so you can’t hate on his toughness – that it effected him in the pocket.
In the NFL – even more than in college – you have to be able to take some hits and deliver throws in the pocket. The only time I saw Ainge do this last year was the two-pointer in the 4th OT in Lexington when he hit Austin Rogers. Unless he can change from the last two years and do that, he’s not going to see the field.
3. Why in the hell did you decide to blog about Tennessee football? Aren’t there already enough Tennessee blogs?
Of course The View isn’t a strictly Tennessee football, or even Tennessee sports for that matter, blog. There’s been and will be plenty of college football and college hoops – my two favorite things – on here in the future.
As for why I started, I had kinda always wanted to start a blog, and starting a month of summer school seemed like a good place to start one. I did, and here I am today. I had been reading some other blogs for awhile, so I guess you could them inspiration.
The hardest part was thinking of a name. I think the name I chose fits, me being a UT student and all.
4. If you could be one player in one game in Tennessee history, which player and which game would you pick? Why?
Thomas from over @ YMSWWC and I are great minds because we thought alike. I knew this one pretty quick: from a game I still have never watched (I have my reasons), it’s Travis Stephens in Gainesville 2001.
Get the hell off him!
That was probably Tennessee’s greatest win since 1998, as the underdog in Steve Spurrier’s last home game in the Swamp. He had 226 yards and Florida could not tackle the guy. That’s gotta be such a great feeling – knowing you can’t be stopped.
5. Which is your favorite rivalry and why? (Not necessarily limited to Tennessee teams)
I don’t care what you say, Yankees/Red Sox is in a league by itself. But I’ve progressively have begun to care about baseball less and less over the last couple years that I’m not gonna answer this question with a baseball rivalry.
There’s Ohio State/Michigan, Auburn/Alabama, and countless other interstate rivalries in college football and even college basketball. As a Tennessee fan I despise Florida and Alabama of course, but UGA as well thanks to my trip down to those score 51 on them and their awful fans in 2006. But I wanna pick a non-Tennessee rivalry.
The Big Ten especially likes to play for silly little trophies like an ax (Wisconsin-Minnesota), a pig (Iowa-Minnesota), a brown jug (Minnesota-Michigan), a bucket (Indiana-Purdue), and useless crap like that.
Those trophies are ants compared to Chief Caddo, the trophy battled for each year by Stephen F. Austin and Northwestern State. This joker stands 7-foot-6 and weighs over 320 pounds and it’s basically a big wooden Indian chief. Who wouldn’t wanna play and win THAT big ole hunk of wood?
That said, trophies are cool and all, but there’s absolutely nothing better than playing purely for pride and bragging rights – the way it’s done in the SEC. Though I may and usually do despise the two teams playing, any and all SEC rivalries are my favorite.
Bonus: Who will win the national title this year? And by how many points will Tennessee win? (See what we did there?)
The perfect preseason question. After a wild and wacky year, Clemson gets to the title game and Tennessee crushes them 49-7.
Here’s everybody else’s:
- Fulmer’s Belly
- Gate 21
- Your Mom Did It With The Wilt
- Losers With Socks
- SESB
- Third Saturday in Blogtober
- Rocky Top Talk
- MoonDog Sports
