I Hate Bama But......

Give the Crimson Tide credit! Nick Saban may have the best team in the country in less than two short years with Bama. Saban and the Tide are indeed rolling, and they are rolling with young talent, which means that the rest of the SEC might be in serious trouble for years to come. The rebuilding of the Bama nation under Saban is one or two years ahead of schedule!

Sure, Alabama paid Nick Satan ( LSU calls him that) too much at approximately 4 million per year, but can you argue with the results? Bama sold their college football souls to Saban, but he has and will deliver now, and for many years to come!
Sabans smash mouth, and hard nosed approach to the game is once again changing the way the game of football is played within the SEC. The adaption to the spread offense has been the trend with Urban Myer and Florida leading the way, but give me hard nosed and bust them in the mouth down in and down out football that Bama is playing over any " Flavor of the month/year" at any time and I will show you a consistent winner.

Alabama is winning by returning to the days of the olden SEC style of play by just physically whipping your opponents on both sides of the ball. Bear Bryant would finally be smiling down on his beloved Crimson Tide program and the way they play the game.

I do not like Bama, but I do give them credit for their great start and the way they play the game. Saban is going to win at Bama, and it is up to Tennessee if they want to stay in the chase with the big boys of the SEC!

What Do You Do Now ?

What do you do now ? The answer is simply to start over. You start over from tackle to tackle on the O-line and you look for new running backs to emerge, such as Taurean Poole, and you bench individuals like Arian Foster, and give more reps to Lennon Creer and Montario Hardesty.

Obviously, you make a change at the Q.B position and give Nick Stephens or B.J Coleman an opportunity. What do you have to lose ( except more games)? Maybe, you implement more of the G-run ( I know it is the G-gun, but we usually run 99% of the time). Do you put Eric Berry on offense? I know that I am grasping for some answers, and unfortunately so is our coaching staff! The situation seems desperate, and I know that I can offer very little hope for the rest of the 08 year. Tennessee has become a program in a downward spiral over the years and it is about to hit rock bottom!

What is the difference between the Tennessee football program and the Titanic? Tennessee has a larger band! It is truly sad times to be a Vol fan, but the sun will shine on our tails once again! WE WILL BE BACK!

Tennessee has way too much tradition and pride to stay down for long, and better days lie ahead. Ask Alabama, Texas, USC, Auburn, Notre Dame, Michigan,etc. Many other programs that are steeped with tradition have struggled over the years! You go through cycles, and unfortunately the Vols are in that downward cycle now, and I believe they will struggle for another 2-3 years depending on the future decisions of the program. Reminds me of the days of Bill Battle. History often repeats its self.

What Do You Do Now?

I was as reckless and carefree as "W" in Nawlins

I was reckeless in my previous post. I'll freely admit I have a few spelling errors, and I neglected to hit check before I posted. Please accept my apologies.

Dis Your Opponent...Awbun

I'm going to change this post around some from my previous dissing posts, because my hatred level for Aubie reaches that of teal on our terror alert scale. Besides, we have a common enemy to bond together to fight and ridicule. Instead, I'm going with a list of top ten barners of enfamy. Some I hate, some I loathe, some I simply wag my head in indiferrence; however, all are names that ring a bell and give credence for a "dissin" post.

In no particular order:

Sir Charles: Loud-mouthed and controversial. This guy may actually win the governship of Alabama in the future. That would be as much a collosal failure as his golf swing has become, but I wouldn't put it past people from Bama from electing his dumb ass.

Freddie Weygand: How long did this guy play anyway. I knew as much about Fred back in the 80's as I knew about John Stallworth. If there has ever been anybody that has more letters in a sport I'd like to see them.

Pat Dye: We used to beat Pat, and that's enough reason to list him. He has been reincarnated however in the form of Boo Weekly. Both slack-jawed, good ole boys running amock in the very deep south and loving it. Majors and Pat were so chummy that even Barney Frank wanted in on the action.

Aubie: What a stupid name for a macot. Slap a LSU jersey on him and he might have some significance. I like the War Eagle better; at leasts its' cool to see it perched on a band nerd's arm.

Bo Jackson: I'm not gonna rip Bo. He is SEC and what a Heisman winner should be, although he almost got reamed by Chuck Long. We beat him in 85, and I like him... so there.

Stan White: Beat us the only time I've been to the plains. Wait, they didn't beat us, but it sure felt like they did. I didn't and still don't like him; his teeth were and still are too big.

Jordan Hare Stadium: I know this isn't a person, but I know who "Suge" is. Who the heck is Hare? It's kinda cute how they mispronunciate it though.

War Eagle: Again not a person, but any war cry that goes back to the civil war is worth mentioning.

With the prospect of Aubie kicking our tail again, we may have some names to add to this list next time, so if you have any others to add, please feel free to post them in our comments section. Enjoy Sir Chuck's swing.

Early 80's Revisited

Oh how painful the days of the early 80' with Steve Allatore And Jeff Olszewski at the helm for the vols. That is the era of 5-6 in 1980 and 8-4 in 1981 with losses to Georgia and USC by a combined score in the first two games of 87-7. That 81 team beat powerhouse Wichita State by a score 0f 24-21. Those were the days!

We have come full circle in big orange country and we have returned to those " glory days". The only thing missing is the Worlds Fair! The offense is once against pedestrian at best and the defense cannot make key stops when needed. The Q.B play is pathetic at best and the D-line has two more sacks than me after three games this year!

One glimmer of hope though is the only complete game the Vols played in 1980 was at Auburn as the Vols won that game in astonishing fashion by beating down the war eagles/tigers 42-0. I would not count on the same thing happening in 08 as these Vols have shown us very little reason to have any optimism. I hope that I am wrong, but I have seen this same song and dance over many of the years of following Tennessee football.

Saturday, will go a long way to determining if this season has any hope left in it , and I am afraid that I know the sad truth to how things will end. Just as the Worlds Fair came and went , and K-town was the toast of the country, so has the Tennessee football program come and gone. Tennessee ten years ago was the toast of college football and now we are back to the 1980"s! Get out your foam fingers and World Fair shirts!

Battle Between Offensive Juggernauts

These two offensive geniuses face off this week in what will be a battle between the ghosts of hot seat past and hot seat present. Despite Big-uns defiant tone this week, he knows that his offense must improve if he wants a reprieve from the backlash from the overwhelming majority of fans this week. He thought having to answer to Alabama attorneys would be his major distraction this week. Nope. That seems like a cake walk compared to the uproar from the orange nation trying to dethrone him from his coaching post. Although the Alabama courts are workin like heck to get him deposed, Fulmer's got the red-ass for vol fans who dare question his rightful heir to orange, crown jewels.

Tubbs probably can feel his pain after surviving an embarrassing and unsuccessful coup four long years ago, but there won't be enough pity to keep him from ground storming Chavis again. Besides, Wingnut has the cow college faithful in their own uproar over his lack of offense prowess as well. Any way you slice it, this is going to be a defensive struggle with the team making the fewest mistakes coming out on top.

Oh crap...mistakes are us.

Tennessee + Michigan = Same Results

If there is ever two programs that have mirrored each other in the recent past it would be Tennessee and Michigan. Both prorams have achieved many highs and lows over the past several years,and both programs have had coaches on the proverbial "hot seat"!

Take a look back to 1997 and the year the Wolverines won the national title and Charles Woodson stole the Heisman ( yes I am still bitter). The following year it was the Vols who won the national title. The similarities do not stop there. Both teams are currently owned by their two chief rivals in Ohio State and Florida!

For Lloyd Carr the losing to Ohio State eventually caught up with him. We will have to see the what will happen with coach Fulmers fate because of his and the Vols futility against the gators. Judging by the way Michigan responded and the parallel between the two programs I would say that it does not look good for coach Fulmer.

Imagine just eleven and ten short years ago Michigan and Tennessee were celebrating national titles, and now Michigan has a new coach in Rich Rodrigues, and now Tennessee may once again be following suit in the footsteps of the Michigan program. This time it will not be a celebration though, but a changing of the guard. Just like Michigan.

Tommy Boy

This week it is off to the lovliest of the plains in Auburn, Alabama. The Tigers/War eagles will not be in the best of moods after their loss to LSU in a 26-21thriller! Tommy Tuberville and his troops will not be the ones feeling any sympathy for the Vols as they get ready to embark on what could be coach Phillip Fulmers last stand as the Volunteer coach.

Tuberville is 3-1 versus Fulmer head to head and has won the last three in a row. He very rarely has lost two games in a row at Auburn and I do not remember him losing back to back games at home in his tenure as head coach ( definitely in the near past). You can bet Tennessee will not sneak up on the Tigers/ War eagles this weekend. The "river boat gambler" will let it all hang out there against the Vols and why not? Can Tennessee make them pay for any miscues? The answer is painfully, NO! Why not let it all hang out there if you are Auburn!

Can Tennesee make any team pay for taking chances against this years team? The answer again is a painful, NO! When your offense is as anemic as the Vols, why not play with reckless abandon, because Tennessee cannot make you pay for your mistakes, because most likely we will trump your mistakes with two of our own! That is what happens when you have no identity as a fotball team!

The sad fact of the matter is that many Vol fans will still make the trip down to Auburn hoping against hope that the " real Tennessee football program" will show up this weekend. The sad fact is the " real Tennessee football program" has already shown up the last three games, and that team is just plain awful! Get ready to roll Toomers corners one more time Auburn fans at the expense of a fading Tennesse. program.

IT IS OVER

Thanks for the memories as Bob Hope use to sing. That is the tune I pick for the state of Tennessee football and coach Phillip Fulmer. The best days have come and gone and it is your time to bow out gracefully. As a Vol fan I appreciate your accomplishments as our head coach, and I will truly never forget the great runs you had at Tennessee. With that being said, it is simply time to move on! We are mediocre at best and I believe we are even below mediocrity at this point.

The list below are candidates that I would like to see Tennessee take a serious look at when the inevitable comes to pass at the end of this football season. They are in no particular order, but I will list the pros and cons of each coach.

1. Jon Gruden/ Tampa Bay: A long shot candidate, but he has ties to the program as grad. assistant in the 70's and his wife is from nearby Jefferson County. The drawback would be the money situation, as I am sure he is making a ton of money in the NFL.

2. Brian Kelly/ Cincinnati; This guy has won at different levels within college football at the likes of Central Michigan and now with the Bear cats. He brings a high octane offense to the game and a high energy level! Reminds me of Bruce Pearl on the gridiron! Can he compete on the recruiting trail in the SEC?

3. Jim Leavitt/ South Florida: Doing a terrific job with the Bulls program! A players coach that also seems to have very good discipline within his program. Also, has great recruiting ties to the state of talent rich Florida. Is he ready for the competition of the SEC and the elevated level of play?

4. Chris Petersen/ Boise State: If you can win at Boise State and beat the likes of Oklahoma, maybe he could really be outstanding here at Tennessee with the facilities and tradition that Tennessee has! Again, the level of play week to week would be a drastic change.

5. Butch Davis/ North Carolina: Has been a success in the college game every where he has been plus has added NFL experience that would aid in recruiting. Doing an exceptional job recruiting for the Tar Heels. He has had NCCA problems in the past which is a huge concern.

6. Bronco Mendenhall/ BYU; This guy is creative and his BYU teams are always exciting to watch!. He has brought life back into a program that was down. My concern would be his ability to bring a complete staff with him. Remember, this team beat UCLA 59-0 after that same UCLA team beat us in their previous game. Apparently he can learn from film study( a novel approach at Tennesse).

7.Skip Holtz/ East Carolina: Besides hating his father Lou I think Skip has done an excellent job with the Pirates and would deserve a look see. Again, having Lou anywhere near does make my stomach churn.

8.Jeff Tedford/ California: The shine has come off him a bit with last years 6-6 record, but he still has the reputation of being a very solid coach. The Cal program stunk before his arrival.

9.Jim Grobe/ Wake Forest: My boy, Ren Tenn Tenn brought this name up to me, and I like it! Hell, if you can win at Wake imagine what you could do at Tennessee?

10. Bobby Johnson/ Vandy: See the above but replace Wake with Vandy. The Steve Martin clone has done a wonderful job with little talent and tough academic requirements that many other SEC teams do not have!

This is just my two cents worth on possible coaches I would like to see Tennessee look at when the 2008 season ends. Let me know if you guys have others in mind. By the way, is it almost basketball season yet?

IT IS OVER

The Common Fan Is Mad As...

well, the heatmizer at the very least. This is downfall is happening now at warp speed and a collision of fan and athletic director is inevitable. 72 year extension or no, Tennessee power boosters won't stand for this. Can you imagine being one of the big-money players having to endure the constant questions about how long we'll keep Fulmer and now Clawson. Fans are looking for the Haslem bat phone trying to find out how long this administration is going to last. My prediction looking at the bevy of butt kickings coming our way, is not for long pal.

Execution ultimately comes down upon the coaches' shoulders, and this weeks' litany of woe is theirs for them to endure. Urban is now Four up none down on us, with two shellackings back to back. This one was never in doubt; Clawson hadn't even a chance to dazzle us with his brilliance before being out of the game completely. Our offense improved this week, but crucial errors in the kicking game left us for dead, just like last year and just like at UCLA. Hire a dadgum special teams coach maybe instead of separate coaches for tight ends and offensive lineman. Our kicking game has gotten us beat more times than our tight end has. We did get a workin like heck blast from Fulmer on his show which really pleased me, though.

All in all, this game, our season, our coaches, our ticket prices make you want just....well, cry.

Fulmers Biggest Game?

I know the game that a coach loses always turns out to be the "big game". This game versus Florida is perhaps Fulmers biggest game of his 16 year tenure. At no time has the fan base been this restless and his popularity has dipped to George W. Bush levels in public opinion polls around K-town!

Fulmer has responded well in times of adversity over the years and once again his back is against the proverbial wall. This team needs this game in the worst of ways and Fulmer probably needs it even more! A loss to the gators will drop Fulmer to 0-4 against Urban Meyer and further validate that the Tennessee program is in decline. However, a win over the gators may jump start this years team and at least for the time being get the fan base off of coach Fulmer and his much maligned staff.

One game does not make a season as we have been told numerous times by about every coaching staff in the country, but this game has huge ramifications for not only this year but for the future of Tennessee football and coach Phillip Fulmer. This truly is a " big game"!

Why I Hate Florida

There are many reasons to hate the dreaded gators to our south in the sunshine state.I thought I would list several of my reasons for my disgust for the gators and the most obnoxious fan base in the country.

1. They wear Jorts ( a combination of jeans that are cut off to resemble shorts) a
true fashion statement to say the least!

2. They are like "new money". Theses are people that win the lottery and become
obnoxious with their spending. Simply put, the gators have no real tradition.

3. Most of their fans are not even locals from their own state, but they are
transplants, that are mostly above the Dixie line of the beloved south.

4. The " gator chomp". Come on guys surely you can come up with something better
than that queer cheer or whatever you call that!

5. Declaring championships with teams that only the best that money could buy in 84
and 85. That is like Bama claiming 12 national titles. What a joke!

6. Suspending key players for easy games and miraculously not have them suspended
for key SEC games and then suspending them again for the game against the
sisters of the poor.

7. For being classless. An example set by Urban Myer and the likes of Steve
Spurrier.

8. For the " Johnny come lately" fan base that is Florida football. Where were
you guys in the 70's and 80's? Again, what a joke!

9. For the shitty town of Gaines ville in general! What a dump!

10. Finally, just for you gators being you! The classless jean short wearing trash
that is Florida football who think that they are superior to the rest of the
SEC with their 15 year tradition and their fan base that consists of band wagon
fans that will jump off as quickly as they got own when things get tough and
they will! Tebow will graduate and we will see what a genius Meyer is!

Week 3 Dis Your Opponent

It's that time of year again where we face our nemesis to the south - those jean short wearin', rub it in your face gators. Classless and despicable, they have become a thorn in the side of every Vol fan, replacing many a vol's number one most hated rival from Alabama. The Florida highlanders boast none of the scenic beauty of the coastal regions and can claim more mullets per capita than any region in the country.

I can't tarry long on this thread, because I'm workin like heck to get to the Ryder Cup practice round tomorrow, so I'll have to just say for now: Florida....I hatcha, I hatcha, I hatcha, I hatcha.

Urban. You're a jerk, and you're going to get yours. You can't have Saint Tebow forever to give what amounts to either a divine blessing or a horseshoe up your tail. That offense will get someone killed one day. Someone that's less than 240. You've reached a new low when Warren Sapp thinks your a jackass. I hope your fortunes amount end the end to what Lehman Brother's are going to be. Eat it. Here's a big workin' like heck foam finger to ya.

Mission Impossible?

Here we go again! The Vols versus the Hated Gators and coach Urban Meyer who has moved up on my list as one of the a-holes in the SEC. Tennesse will come in as a decisive underdog and rightfully so after the their first two games of the season.

Florida is loaded with playmakers at about every position and do not forget the have Clark Kent slash Superman on their team in Tim Tebow.Also, take in the fact that the gators have made Neyland stadium their home away from home over the last sevral years does not bold well ( won 5-7 ).

The only thing Tennessee seems to have going for it is " Fulmer luck"! The Vols seem to be at their best when their backs are against the wall. Remember 03 when the Vols beat the Canes to end their fifty something game winning streak at home? How about the win over Georgia last year when the doubters were hot and heavy after Fulmer? Yes, Tennesse reponds well a lot of times under adversity and this is definitley one of those times!

The unrest in the program is at the level at anttime of the Fulmer era ( rightfully so in my opinoin) and he needs to desperately settle the restless for at least the time being. Saturday is the perfect time to start! This is the biggest game of coach Fulmers tenure at Tennesse if he wishes to contine his tenure!

It is about the almighty green dollar in college athletics these days and by observing from last Saturdays crowd against UAB it is time for Fulmer and the Vols to step it up or risk losing a fan base that is one of the most loyal in the country. Do you hear me Mike Hamilton? Decision time looms near and what happens this Saturday will be a major step in one direction or the other!

Sleeper of a Blowout

After almost two weeks of angry preparation for the mighty blazers of UAB, UT looked to take out its' frustration on its' most unfortunate foe. In what, in my opinion, is going to be a recurring theme this year, UT looked disjointed on offense...again. The staff continues to put Crompton in decision making positions he just not ready for, and it's going to really show up next week as the gators come to town. Not that in hind sight UCLA getting bludgeoned by 59 today really says that at all; we are in deep doo-doo.

I've heard the reinforcement in the post game press conference by the players and coaches, but we Tennessee fans have seen enough to know we are in trouble. Just look at the attendance today; our fans know this is going to be a disastrous season. We look teeth-extractingly slow on offense and we've lived through 2005 when we wasted an incredible defense with awful play at quarterback. I don't know which was preferable after this game, passing out in the extreme heat in Neyland, or watching this from the vantage point of QQ row 26 on Raycom. Either way, it wasn't pretty. Give me a 3 to 2 win next week ala Auburn, and I'd be thrilled.

Week 2 Dis your opponent

After rather glowing comments about UCLA in my inaugural "dissing" blog, I've been given ample material should this series continue into next season. Not even one Mark Harmon reference by ABC last week; I am disappointed:{

This weeks angst is relatively mild once again as I can't justify wasting quality Alabama pictures and video on UAB. The school to the southwest of them will get plenty...not to worry. Now, what I hate about UAB:

Funny enough, their nicknames and history will do the trick. It's been called "the Pittsburgh of the South". Now I know this has to do with all the industrialization the city has provided for that wretched state, but Pittsburgh? Nice. Any time Hollywood wants to portray a drab, dreary, miserable setting, Pittsburgh fits the bill. Heck, it might as well be Pittsburgh, West Virginia. Atlanta at least calls itself the New York of the South......and, bama has Pittsburgh. It made me smirk just reading it. Bombingham. If your under 50, you might not know the history of this well received nickname, and I'm not going to bore myself by restating it. Just google it yourself if you don't know. It's not one to wear proudly, but it is historical. Just ask Neil Young.

The "magic city" has been a hub for business for since 1871, and can proudly boast that a quarter of the state's residents live within its' metro, area {including that Soul Patrol nerd). It can also boast that it is the 18th most dangerous city for violent crime helped out by a #7 national ranking for murder- a real shocker if you've ever been to Legion Field.

I've been quite nasty so let me end by saying, I know very little about the blazers, nor do I care to. Let's just get this game behind us, so we don't have to think about UCLA so much.

Bruins celebrate!!

It's been two days since digesting the rotten tomato of defeat from a depleted, mediocre UCLA football squad. It's been highlighted by ESPN as an instant classic, a case study in perserverance, and the little man triumphant over the giant. This is one classic most Vols won't want to relive or stack in their video collection alongside the 86 Sugar Bowl. I still have it on my DVR, but It's going to be replaced very soon by an episode of Man vs. wild.

I'm not going to rehash the nightmare over what happened, but I will say we got outcoached and out-hearted. Whether that's a word or not, I don't care... I'm still bent. Tennessee, no doubt will be workin' like heck to get better over the bye week, so we shall see what the heck happens after the UAB game when Florida comes to town. We'll have to see if we can muster another double digit underdog performance at that time just as we can never seem to play worth a crap when we're supposed to be heavy favorites.

UCLA was a team ripe for our new coming out party; our new coordinator was going to show who was boss. New kid in town, new offense, downfield passing attack, get the pig into the playmaka's hands, orange pants, rose bowl, HECK YEAH!!! Err, uh, uh, no, not really...UCLA, Craft, Chow, Neuheisel all came outta the closet to smack us in the face and treat our coaches like a bunch of ______'s.


Next up....Go Vols beat Birmingham.

Introducing The New Vols Forum.

We are workin' like heck. What are we working like heck on though??? That's the important question. Well at football season is dead upon us, we thought that it would be extremely nice for UT Vols fans everywhere to have a UT Vols Forum. You know a place to rant, a place to rave. A place to theorize, and predict.

Our new forum is powered by PHP BB, the best forum software available. It has plenty of easy to use and understand options, and it's super-simple to create yourself an account. Be sure to visit and share your true Tennessee Vols passion with the rest of the world. Enjoy!