Tennessee has got problems...

[PurplePeopleEater]

along with the others getting suspended and booted off teams yesterday was the don juan of the new recruiting class at Tenn. Father played at Tenn and this kid may or may not be good, but he got the boot as well for driving on the SIDEWALK! Earlier this summer this stud was allegedly sleeping with a teacher or some sort of faculty member at his high school and allegedly could have changed his grades.

My point--- Last year these thugs went wild in the offseason and had a horrible year. Fulmer said this year he was not going to be dealing with it and the hammer was coming down. Well the summer has not been all quiet up on the hill. Less than a couple weeks ago a playa was waving his piece at an undercover cop as he was DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY! Very nice indeed!
That is just a couple things that have happened quite recently on the HILL.

I see a possible disaster all over again for the Vols. One must wonder! Before Richt was at UGA, Holtz at USC now Spurrier, Fulmer was a great recruiter and plucked talent out of these states like crazy. Well now all that as stopped. Some say he might still be recruiting great, but I believe that it has slacked off. Being involved in the Alabama fiasco could ultimately be leading Fulmer to doom.(What goes around comes around!)
This season is huge for UT and the Cal game will set the tone.

I don't see UT winning this game. I think the pub and press will pump UT as having Cut back and redeaming themselves and all that blah blah. Cal has the talent to compete with UT. This UT team is not loaded with talent by any means.
How many players can you name on their team? The qb Ainge and who? Anybody? Can you even point out that they have that great receiver or great runner or great guy on defense but you can't remember his name? NO!

If UT doesn't win this game then the whispers will start up.

We shall see!

 

[THECLOSER]

it is getting a little silly at UT

 

[TomBrady#1]

I think their coach is horrible. Always have. Good recruiter and boat load of talent always...just look at the NFL talent developed there.....just look! They should be much better and seem undisciplined on the field (off too but that is another matter sort of).

 

[golffish]

along with the others getting suspended and booted off teams yesterday was the don juan of the new recruiting class at Tenn. Father played at Tenn and this kid may or may not be good, but he got the boot as well for driving on the SIDEWALK! Earlier this summer this stud was allegedly sleeping with a teacher or some sort of faculty member at his high school and allegedly could have changed his grades.

My point--- Last year these thugs went wild in the offseason and had a horrible year. Fulmer said this year he was not going to be dealing with it and the hammer was coming down. Well the summer has not been all quiet up on the hill. Less than a couple weeks ago a playa was waving his piece at an undercover cop as he was DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY! Very nice indeed!
That is just a couple things that have happened quite recently on the HILL.

I see a possible disaster all over again for the Vols. One must wonder! Before Richt was at UGA, Holtz at USC now Spurrier, Fulmer was a great recruiter and plucked talent out of these states like crazy. Well now all that as stopped. Some say he might still be recruiting great, but I believe that it has slacked off. Being involved in the Alabama fiasco could ultimately be leading Fulmer to doom.(What goes around comes around!)
This season is huge for UT and the Cal game will set the tone.

I don't see UT winning this game. I think the pub and press will pump UT as having Cut back and redeaming themselves and all that blah blah. Cal has the talent to compete with UT. This UT team is not loaded with talent by any means.
How many players can you name on their team? The qb Ainge and who? Anybody? Can you even point out that they have that great receiver or great runner or great guy on defense but you can't remember his name? NO!

If UT doesn't win this game then the whispers will start up.

We shall see!

Just curious, what does Fulmer's reporting of the Alabama cheating have to do with the doom of the Tennessee football team?

Also, Tennessee might tank this year but it won't be due to lack of talent or depth. You may very well be right, I'm not betting on them or against them until I see what the chemistry of the team is. If you feel the way you do, you should load up against them. Best of luck to you.

I still think the best bet in the Cal/Tenn will likely be the under.

 

[PurplePeopleEater]

Fulmer's situation with Alabama fiasco in that he was termed "the secret witness" in this case. They (NCAA) used a rival coaches testimony (Fulmer)who had second hand knowledge from a so called recruiting expert (Culpepper) who had recently applied for a job at the University of Alabama and did not receive it.
Now Fulmer is no saint and his testimony was deemed as reliable and used against the UofA by the NCAA.
This isn't the first time Fulmer has gone running his mouth!
Fulmer has backdoored his own kind before. How do you think he got the job at UT? Ask Johnny Majors what he thinks of Fulmer? For those that don't know, Majors was in the Hospital, possibly recovering from heart attack or stroke or something why Fulmer was badmouthing his boss and lobbying for his boss' job.

It could be all crumbling down for Fulmer!

His recruiting is no where near where it use to be. I am talking about the last five years compared to the years before.
He is not getting the same kind of talent! Who was the last running back that you remember compared to the ones he had before? Qb's? WR? DE? LB?

 

[silver7]

Think About It 4 A Min.

If this guy was swinging his johnson out of the window while driving, how long that sucker must be. Was he a brother? I mean jeez from a sitting position!!!!!

 

[golffish]

Fulmer's situation with Alabama fiasco in that he was termed "the secret witness" in this case. They (NCAA) used a rival coaches testimony (Fulmer)who had second hand knowledge from a so called recruiting expert (Culpepper) who had recently applied for a job at the University of Alabama and did not receive it.
Now Fulmer is no saint and his testimony was deemed as reliable and used against the UofA by the NCAA.
This isn't the first time Fulmer has gone running his mouth!
Fulmer has backdoored his own kind before. How do you think he got the job at UT? Ask Johnny Majors what he thinks of Fulmer? For those that don't know, Majors was in the Hospital, possibly recovering from heart attack or stroke or something why Fulmer was badmouthing his boss and lobbying for his boss' job.

It could be all crumbling down for Fulmer!

His recruiting is no where near where it use to be. I am talking about the last five years compared to the years before.
He is not getting the same kind of talent! Who was the last running back that you remember compared to the ones he had before? Qb's? WR? DE? LB?

I think there was also a trial in federal court where an alabama booster was found guilty of buying a player. That wasn't based on Fulmer's or any of the several other head coaches that reported Bama to the NCAA. All of that is besides the point. I think we're all here to try to get info to help us win $.

As far as recruiting:

QB - Elite 11 Jon Compton rs freshman
Brent Schaeffer New Ole Miss QB
Eric Ainge

RB - Gerald Riggs top5 rated back graduated lastyear
Lemarkus Coker top 5 rated back rs freshman
Hardesty top 10 rated athlete rs freshman
Arian Foster top west coast back

I could go on...Meachum 2nd or 3rd rated receiver junior. Rico Mccoy, Robert Ayers, Mayo, all top ten rated linebackers

None of this makes any difference. If you believe Tenn is light on talent you should bet against them. I truly wish you luck as I would like to see everyone on here win money. I don't think you can support your talent argument, however, when Tenn had a concensus top 5 recruiting class 2 years ago.

As far as off the field incidents, they occur with every team. As I've said in another thread I think the key for Tenn is how well Cutliffe can help Ainge's mental lapses. The jury is definitely still out as to his success.

Best of luck to you.

 

[PurplePeopleEater]

his heralded classes are turning into busts. Recruiting is measure a 2-3 years down the road.
I think you missed the point!
Riggs was a bust by the way! The other RB's haven't done anything. Schaeffer is no longer there. Are you saying that the 1 year Schaeffer was there he did great things. no . Your recruiting is measured by what you do on the field FOR THE SCHOOL YOU ARE PLAYING FOR. You don't get credit for Schaeffer anymore.
You are not measuring there recruiting class with wins and losses and how they perform, but rather what they did in high school.
Jon Compton has not even played has he? Are you saying that he is great? He has done nothing! I donj't even know who he is.
Verdict still out on Ainge. I wouldn't call him great or even good. He had one good season.
Meacham might be good, but he hasn't done anything. I have not even heard of the rest of the guys.
You MUST be a UT fan b.c I don't think anybody on here recognizes the names above as being even good players, much less really good or great.

 

[PurplePeopleEater]

silver

his piece was his toy gun!

'and wave it like you just don't care'

 

[VolPett]

Last year was a disaster with the 5-6 record, the qb situation, and especially the off the field transgressions. However, you have to put things in perspective. Tennessee is only one year removed from an SEC Championship apperance, a Cotton Bowl win, and a top 3 recruting class.

Tennessee is a funny program in the way it traditionally under preforms when much is expected, and over preforms when the least is expected.

In no ways is this a recomendation to take the Vols over Cal. Being an alum and life long season ticket holder I never bet with or against Tennessee, I just felt this thread needed some perspective.

 

[CoachLT]

If this guy was swinging his johnson out of the window while driving, how long that sucker must be. Was he a brother? I mean jeez from a sitting position!!!!!

Silver7, my MATURE RX Brother, thanks for the laugh!:lolBIG: You sir, are a HOOT! :toast: arty: LT

 

[AlwaysKeen]

what's up silver7!?...

 

[Coast2Coast]

The kid Smith was not going to be playing anyway. This is no real loss and it has zero effect on this team. Yes, UT does have its share of drunks, misfits and thugs. Which college teams don't? And besides, are we betting on which team makes the better boys choir or wins football games? And as far as Tennessee being worse than Bama, Auburn or any other SEC team, that's rather faint praise. Every team in the SEC, except perhaps Vandy, is a criminal enterprise in terms of cheating. I'm not a Fullmer guy by a long shot, but at least Fullmer suspends or kicks the miscreants off the team...which is more than can be said for some coaches who have in the past kept guys on their teams who have gotten in fights, abused girls, were arrested for gun play or drugs, stole, or accepted free stuff from local retailers.

 

[PurplePeopleEater]

actually, UT had so many problems last year and the way they handled situations that this year they proclaimed what happened last year was not going to occur this summer.
so the fact Fulmer booted a kid, who you say wasn't gonna play anyway and brought baggage with him as well, he deserves praise?

the problem on UT's campus is the inmates are running the asylum!

 

[ChrisParadise]

purple you have no idea what you are talking about.

here are some facts.

Lee Smith was headed to a midmajor program until Fulmer let him on the team because of who his dad was, he screwed up - hes gone.

Marsalous Smith didnt wave a gun at anyone. It was a toy and it was an offduty officer on I-24 in Putnam county that was just being nosy. I personally got pulled over on MTSU's campus for the same thing when i was 17 yrs old. They had weapons drawn and everything because some idiot in the backseat handed a plastic toy gun (bought at walmart) to my passenger and another nosy driver called the police. He got 4 game suspension and he didnt even commit a crime, Fulmer is being serious.

Fulmer dismissed Daniel Brooks , one time TN player of the year in high school this past spring after he got in a fight at a frat party for the 3rd time . He dismissed Brent Schaeffer, this years Ole Miss starting QB, last spring for being in fights at parties at the same frat house. He dismissed James Banks ,who will sokmeday play in the NFL, for using a fake penis to try to pass a drug test, much like the one Onterrio Smith the NFL RB was caught with (Smith was also dismissed by Fulmer when he was at UT to later star in the PAC-10).

Fulmer is serious about discipline , make no mistake about that - hes been embarassed by a spike in idiot offenses by idiot 18 yr old kids.

Majors was having heart surgery and when he went out the Vols were 0-3 in '91 and had lost 6 straight to Alabama. Fulmer earned the job as Majors was on the hot seat already. And his record is a helluva a lot better than Majors was.

Alabama cheated. The NCAA asked Fulmer what he knew, he told them the truth. He wasnt anything like the nosy off duty cop on I-24 going forward with info to be an ass..

Now off the soapbox and time to give the real reasons for the on the field problems at UT.

1) Losing Rodney Garner to Georgia. This guy was the real secret to Fulmers success in recruiting and hes done wonders at Georgia. The day he left was really a turning point for the program. no excuse for letting him go.

2) Chavis defense allows the big play. Statwise his defenses are incredible, but ...they blitz and man to man and force teams to gamble with the long play. All SEC teams have at least one speed reciever that can exploit this. When lightning strikes twice in the same game it hurts.

3) Early departures to NFL. Yep, it happens everywhere but it didnt used to happen in Knoxville. Up until about 4 yrs ago only a couple of players had ever been early entry. Fulmer is suffering from Coach K syndrome.. When you sign the top players they dont stay 4 years. Jamal Lewis, Kelley Washington, Deon Grant, Abert Haynesworth , Jason Witten, Donte Stallworth.

4) Recruiting mishaps. Cadillac Williams commited to UT, and changed his mind at the last minute. Ditto Chris Sims. Ditto Chris Leak.

5) QB politics. Back to Chris Leak, Fulmer felt forced to play C.J. when Claussen was hurt in early 2003 because he wanted to make former OC Randy Sanders and Daddy Leak happy. Then in 2005 he played the same hand trying to recruit Jimmy Claussen happy by playing Rick Claussen and ruining Ainge's confidence - now Jimmy is headed to Notre Dame anyway.

6) Doug Dickey retired as A.D. The football coach is no longer running things up on the hill. This new A.D. is some public relations marketing wiz that wants to bring up all the other programs instead of the traditional focus on football

7) Special teams. A strongpoint of Johnny Majors teams, this has gotten worse year by year. Field position via the kicking game has lost several games. No excuse for this - it pisses me off to no end.

8) Uprising of others. Brohm nearly went to UT, if not for Lousiville being a good program suddenly he would have. ACC and big east teams are taking a lot of recruits from VA,NC,SC that used to go to UT.

9) High school football in Tennessee sucks. Has never been quality players from TN, i dont now why. West TN plays basketball. Middle TN plays soccer and baseball now. East TN is scarcely populated. Very very few NFL players played high school football in TN. The recruiting Fulmer has done in places such as Texas,Oaklahoma,California is remarkable.

10) Complacency. Look at a photo of Fulmer is 98 holding the national championship trophy, then look at 2005 on sidelines vs Vandy. Hes gotten too damn fat and complacent. Time to get lean and mean again or move on to administartion - lots of coaches would call 150 wins a decent career...


I could go on all night, believe me - some nights i do , but those are the highlights.

The truth is , I love Phil Fulmer as a coach and will defend him till my face turns blue , but if i were the A.D. he'd have been fired the day after losing to Vanderbilt. I honestly thought id never see that day in my lifetime and i'd better never again.

On the other hand , Tennessee football is not really down, they were 8 pts away from a 8-3 season last year and have the talent to run the table this year. Id settle for a 9-3 with wins over Bama and Florida. I think even with Cutcliffe, Ainge will still stink. Hes just not the same since the shoulder injury. Crompton had offseason surgery and doubt hes ready just yet but Id expect to see him settles in by the Alabama game - remember Casey Clausens first start was a win vs Alabama. Expect a LOT of running by Arian Foster, I predict he leads the SEC in ypg. The defense will be as good or better than last year if they remember how to tackle unlike the 2005 team

 

[NYReb]

Good info in this thread. Thanks to all who contributed.

Anyone have any knowledge of the attitude of the team as they gather for first practices? Will they be in good shape injury-wise when they face off against the Bears?

Anyone with any news about the Bears?

 

[mblkd74]

Good info in this thread. Thanks to all who contributed.

Anyone have any knowledge of the attitude of the team as they gather for first practices? Will they be in good shape injury-wise when they face off against the Bears?

Anyone with any news about the Bears?

UT is in great shape going into fall practice. HOWEVER, CUTCLIFFE HAS DECIDED TO TAKE THE GREEN JERESEY OFF OF AINGE AND CROMPTON FOR SELECT PRACTICES. That is right, Ainge is going to be taking licks from potentially one of the best D'S in the SEC. Some may call this crazy, but it is yet another reason that reassures me Cutcliffe is calling the offensive shots on the Hill this season. No way in hell Fulmer would ever do this.

I see this as a big plus and a great gamble that Ainge doesn't get hurt because the theory is that the offense is going to be seeing live "real" action in preparation for a great Cal team. If Ainge has success in these practices, he is going to transition to game time easily. However, from a wagering prospective you really need to pay close attention for a possible big-time injury because it could happen.

Part of the article for all to read below:

To extend the metaphor a bit, the question is how much candy does Cutcliffe have to play with, and there is such a sense of urgency on the offense because there is no clear cut answer to that question. By the end of Sunday night's practice, Cutcliffe will have inserted his entire offense for the year. And Cutcliffe knows that many in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Tennessee</st1lace></st1:State> family see him as a savior for the Vols or a Mr. Fix-It. The 30+ year veteran of the game admits there is no quick fix, but also relishes the challenge.

"I don't have any magic wands," Cutcliffe offered. "Never have and never will. As long as I have been here I have felt pressure because you are supposed to win at <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Tennessee</st1lace></st1:State> and that is what we expect to do. Part of the fun is the pressure. I know I am crazy, but I like that. I like it. It is just fun. It gets your blood flowing and everyone here should have their blood flowing on offense. I don't feel any undo pressure."

At the heart of the fix-it process, is quarterback play. And to get the best feel to how his quarterbacks will react in game situations, Cutcliffe is taking a risk. Later this month the green jerseys will come off the quarterbacks, he will allow his quarterbacks to get hit and to play "real" football. Something that Cutcliffe says is a no-brainer.

"I don't think there is any question we have to do that," Cutcliffe said. "We are playing an outstanding team (in the opener). We have a situation where a guy who is the starter right now needs to play real football. It didn't go well for him last year. He needs to play real football. Jonathan Crompton hasn't played football in quite some time. Also one of my biggest reasons is that I want the offensive line to understand accountability. It is not tag anymore. It is the real deal. Backs, line, tight ends, everyone who is responsible for picking up blitzes and all of that. We need it as a team. I know I am rolling the dice. We just need to go play football."

Cutcliffe likes how Erik Ainge has grown and matured since he returned to coaching in December.

"Mentally, he has come a long way," Cutcliffe offered. "He has studied it. We have these computers here thank goodness so that he can put on all the tapes to study. He has done his due-diligence. He has also met with his receivers on his own. All of this he orchestrated which is a good step. I know he knows what he is talking about because he is coaching them on how we are running routes, where we need to be, the timing of the play, throwing to spots and all of those things that are important to us."

Now it is a matter of being accurate with that, which Cutcliffe declares as the area in which Ainge needs to make the most improvement.

"Without question, he needs to get to the accuracy level that I think you have to have to win in this league," Cutcliffe stated. "That encompasses a lot of things. There are some mental parts to that. There are some mechanics to that. There are pre-snap reads to that. There are a lot of things to being an accurate quarterback. He has got feet. He has a good arm. If he can become an accurate quarterback putting the ball where he wants to in the right places then I will be thrilled."

Cutcliffe does admit that last year gave him a chance to catch up on some of the changes taking place offensively and defensively in college football. And says he has tweaked his offense over the last year with some new concepts and ideas, but that won't be the difference in the success or failure of this offense this fall.

"You don't ever want to do too much," Cutcliffe offered. "I am not a gimmick coach. We have really made some adjustments in our system that has really made it more flexible. That has been tremendous. I think there are some little things that fit us that will make a tremendous difference for us from a scheme standpoint. The biggest thing is not what changes you make. The biggest thing is blocking, running, throwing and catching with unbeliveable efficiency."

 

[AlwaysKeen]

fat phil has this program on the ropes right now...

 

[mblkd74]

fat phil has this program on the ropes right now...

I'd say. Only 5 teams have won more games than UT since 2000. And this is considered down time.

 

[VolPett]

UT is in great shape going into fall practice. HOWEVER, CUTCLIFFE HAS DECIDED TO TAKE THE GREEN JERESEY OFF OF AINGE AND CROMPTON FOR SELECT PRACTICES. That is right, Ainge is going to be taking licks from potentially one of the best D'S in the SEC. Some may call this crazy, but it is yet another reason that reassures me Cutcliffe is calling the offensive shots on the Hill this season. No way in hell Fulmer would ever do this.

I see this as a big plus and a great gamble that Ainge doesn't get hurt because the theory is that the offense is going to be seeing live "real" action in preparation for a great Cal team. If Ainge has success in these practices, he is going to transition to game time easily. However, from a wagering prospective you really need to pay close attention for a possible big-time injury because it could happen.

Part of the article for all to read below:

To extend the metaphor a bit, the question is how much candy does Cutcliffe have to play with, and there is such a sense of urgency on the offense because there is no clear cut answer to that question. By the end of Sunday night's practice, Cutcliffe will have inserted his entire offense for the year. And Cutcliffe knows that many in the <st1:state w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Tennessee</st1lace></st1:state> family see him as a savior for the Vols or a Mr. Fix-It. The 30+ year veteran of the game admits there is no quick fix, but also relishes the challenge.

"I don't have any magic wands," Cutcliffe offered. "Never have and never will. As long as I have been here I have felt pressure because you are supposed to win at <st1:state w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Tennessee</st1lace></st1:state> and that is what we expect to do. Part of the fun is the pressure. I know I am crazy, but I like that. I like it. It is just fun. It gets your blood flowing and everyone here should have their blood flowing on offense. I don't feel any undo pressure."

At the heart of the fix-it process, is quarterback play. And to get the best feel to how his quarterbacks will react in game situations, Cutcliffe is taking a risk. Later this month the green jerseys will come off the quarterbacks, he will allow his quarterbacks to get hit and to play "real" football. Something that Cutcliffe says is a no-brainer.

"I don't think there is any question we have to do that," Cutcliffe said. "We are playing an outstanding team (in the opener). We have a situation where a guy who is the starter right now needs to play real football. It didn't go well for him last year. He needs to play real football. Jonathan Crompton hasn't played football in quite some time. Also one of my biggest reasons is that I want the offensive line to understand accountability. It is not tag anymore. It is the real deal. Backs, line, tight ends, everyone who is responsible for picking up blitzes and all of that. We need it as a team. I know I am rolling the dice. We just need to go play football."

Cutcliffe likes how Erik Ainge has grown and matured since he returned to coaching in December.

"Mentally, he has come a long way," Cutcliffe offered. "He has studied it. We have these computers here thank goodness so that he can put on all the tapes to study. He has done his due-diligence. He has also met with his receivers on his own. All of this he orchestrated which is a good step. I know he knows what he is talking about because he is coaching them on how we are running routes, where we need to be, the timing of the play, throwing to spots and all of those things that are important to us."

Now it is a matter of being accurate with that, which Cutcliffe declares as the area in which Ainge needs to make the most improvement.

"Without question, he needs to get to the accuracy level that I think you have to have to win in this league," Cutcliffe stated. "That encompasses a lot of things. There are some mental parts to that. There are some mechanics to that. There are pre-snap reads to that. There are a lot of things to being an accurate quarterback. He has got feet. He has a good arm. If he can become an accurate quarterback putting the ball where he wants to in the right places then I will be thrilled."

Cutcliffe does admit that last year gave him a chance to catch up on some of the changes taking place offensively and defensively in college football. And says he has tweaked his offense over the last year with some new concepts and ideas, but that won't be the difference in the success or failure of this offense this fall.

"You don't ever want to do too much," Cutcliffe offered. "I am not a gimmick coach. We have really made some adjustments in our system that has really made it more flexible. That has been tremendous. I think there are some little things that fit us that will make a tremendous difference for us from a scheme standpoint. The biggest thing is not what changes you make. The biggest thing is blocking, running, throwing and catching with unbeliveable efficiency."

Im sure Brent Hubbs really appreciates that.