Things I learned at lunch: daydreaming on a tummy full of opossum

by Joel on Jun 9, 2009 12:41 PM EDT in Rocky Top Talking Points Comment 25 comments

When the morning muse strikes, the Talking Points get demoted to Things I Learned at Lunch:

Tennessee football

Strange: Stud-dee, stud-dee, ace that exam : Columns : GoVolsXtra.com
Mike Strange is daydreaming on the job. And he must have eaten something Bob Hodges killed with his bare hands. For future reference, the answer to the question "May I recommend the cajun possum chili -- NUCLEAR HOT!" is "No."
There Simply is No Basis for Believing Lane Kiffin Will Succeed - Dawg Sports
Reserving comment on this one for tomorrow morning's muse. Put 'em up, Kyle!
Will Urban Meyer abandon the spread-option once Tim Tebow leaves?
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Meyer fooling with the system that has won him two out of the last three national championships will go down as either genius or idiotic. Here's hoping for the latter!

Tennessee basketball

Goins' enrollment to wait until July
Goins not goin to enroll under second session. Har.

Other stuff

BIG 12 HARDBALL will be blogging and tweeting live from the CWS! - Big 12 Hardball
Raise your hand if you knew the College World Series was about to happen. Uh-huh.

For those with your hands raised, check out Big 12 Hardball, which will be blogging and tweeting live from the event this weekend. LSU's participating, and they will apparently have their paws full with Virginia Saturday.
The NCAA is doing what they do, making rules and revising them when they think they don't work and sometimes revising them when they do work to make them don't work so that they have something to do later. Grubby fingerprints all over block/charge calls (no charges under the basket; fine), who can shoot free throws after an injury (the fouling team's coach selects from the victim team's players on the court; will soon be known as the "MAUL THE POINT GUARD RULE"), and the expanded use of replay (can now be used to determine if a foul was flagrant; because everything looks exactlly the same in slowmo).
Understanding Zone Blocking and Florida State's Offensive Line - Tomahawk Nation
TN takes a look at zone blocking. Good job, but I'm still fond of hooper's post on the subject despite the fact that hooper continues to hate on Eric Berry. ;-)
And finally . . .Evaluating the Mechanics of Big Ten Quarterbacks - Adam Weber - The Rivalry, Esq.
The Rivalry guys are doing an excellent job on an interesting series about how young men move with footballs.

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Comments

Honest to God,

I have never seen so many fanbases worry about and try to find reasons why a Tennessee coach won’t succeed in my entire life. I don’t see any posts on this site claiming a national title, or even a shot at the SEC title, but the rival fanbases and even those of non-conference teams we haven’t played in forever (Michigan) have had their say on the matter.

Look, I realize we’ll probably get spanked by Florida and Alabama, lose close to Ole Miss and Georgia, but the rest of the schedule is winnable simply with our talent, and let’s face it, the staff can coach a little right (Monte, Jim Chaney). That’s 8 wins. A solid bounce back and a step in the right direction as far as I’m concerned.

And since when does Georgia have the right to crticize Crompton? Look at your QB depth chart. Not much there. And sorry, but if you couldn’t get it done with Stafford’s cannon and Moreno in the backfield, what’s gonna happen with Joe Cox and the rest of the rag tags? They won’t beat Florida, LSU, or Oklahoma State, and Georgia Tech just ran for another first down against their defense. 9-3 or 8-4 for the Dawgs and I’m giving them a win in Knoxville. They need to pump the brakes down there. Don’t write about UT’s coach if you’ve got you’re own issues.

by Volorado on Jun 9, 2009 1:45 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

They are scared Volorado...horrified even

They had gotten used to the Big Orange being down and now they can’t handle the excitement that we are oozing.

And I, for one, love it!

Official MCM Hater!
Summer 2009 Troll Call: Bedazzlers(2), Ratbirds, Squeelers(2), Rosencopters, Cardinals

by gramsey712 on Jun 9, 2009 2:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That was really uncharacteristic of Kyle.

I’m disappointed in the usually fine DawgSports. Message board claptrap is still message board claptrap even when delivered in the Mayor’s professorial tones.

________________________________
I will give my shirt for Tennessee today.

by Holly on Jun 9, 2009 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

And that’s what upset me the most. DawgSports is always really good and doesn’t get wrapped up in off the field back and forths and speculations. But when it comes to the new UT staff, everybody and their mother wants a say.

by Volorado on Jun 10, 2009 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We will not lose to Ole Miss

Says I.

by kidbourbon on Jun 9, 2009 6:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would like to agree

but I think the Ole Miss and Georgia games are toss ups. Realistically, we are only outmached by Florida and Bama, but who knows, it’s June. Us speculating on wins is ALMOST as crazy as other people saying Lane Kiffin will not succeed at UT, almost.

by Volorado on Jun 10, 2009 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If you did the math at home

Yes, I am predicting a 9-win season. And I don’t think it is terribly unreasonable.

by kidbourbon on Jun 9, 2009 7:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I saw no criticisms of Crompton in Kyle's take, so...

I think you’re going a little off the wayward with your last paragraph. I think one of the commenters did, but opinion’s are like a certain orifice…

To address your other points, I agree with you and I don’t really like the approach Kyle took to claim that “There’s no basis for Lane Kiffin to succeed”. That’s like me buying a brand new car from a GM dealer and a salesman from the Ford dealership that I didn’t buy from telling me that the car will break down before I leave the parking lot while I’m still filling out the paperwork at the GM dealer (I know, GM = terrible example and I’m not trying to imply anything with it, but humor me). We have no way of knowing how good my car is until I roll off the lot and own it for a few months.

Basically, the key question you can ask is “What is the record of a Lane Kiffin coached COLLEGE team?”. The answer is there is no record to base any assumptions on. Therefore, I think it’s fair to wait until after next season or even two seasons before we can pass the “There is no basis under which Lane Kiffin can be successful” judgment.

Now I don’t have any personal issues with Lane Kiffin as a coach and I don’t want to come across as preachy or act like I’m only looking out for the best interests of the Tennessee fans by telling them bad things about their coach. Personally, I couldn’t be happier if Kiffin turns out to be a total bust and loses everytime he plays Georgia. I’m not out to protect the Tennessee fans so don’t misconstrue my opinion as such. Holly made a comment over at DawgSports that sums up the absurdity of opposing fans that pretend like they care about the Tennessee faithful:

Oh, I see. You only have our best interests at heart. You’re after Kiffin not because it’s an easy headline and quick guaranteed pageviews, but because you’re concerned from our welfare. This statement is the college football equivalent of "Why do you hate America?".

My contention is that personally I wouldn’t want this guy to be the face of my program. It’s got nothing to do with potential W’s or L’s. I’d have a problem if when Mark Richt came into Athens in 2001, he started shooting off at other coaches or basically saying “To hell with it” when it comes to violating the NCAA rulebook (IMHO secondary violations are the dumbest things ever, but rules are rules). I don’t believe that any publicity is good publicity. Just because you got on Sportscenter because you violated a rule or made some asinine comment doesn’t make your program look good. Then again, I don’t know what it takes to reach 17 and 18 year old kids today, so maybe that’s what is necessary. Frankly, I would have been furious had Richt come in with that type of attitude (certainly winning would have changed things, but you look pretty darn stupid until you do).

In 5 years, we may look back and say “Lane Kiffin was the best thing that ever happened to Tennessee football” after you’ve won a couple SEC titles or even more. Honestly, the argument I get from my co-workers that graduated from Tennessee that “Tennessee football is fun again” is just silly. Will this all be worth the fun times you’re having now if the guy never pans out and loses 5 games a year over the next 3 years and is fired? I don’t think so. I think this argument is equally as asinine as the “There is no basis that Lane Kiffin will succeed” argument that Kyle wrote over at DawgSports.

These are things that we may have to just agree to disagree on, but those would be my sentiments if that were my coach. Of course, I’d show support because that’s what we do as fans, but I’d be hesitant to embrace the method my coach was taking. Then again, what do I know? I was a Jim Donnan apologist for a few years. I guess I’ve just been through this and it sucks when you invest emotionally into a coach when the warning signs are already there at the beginning. Like I said earlier, I’m not gonna feel sorry for Tennessee fans if Tennessee football fell into a bottomless pit because of Kiffin. That’s not my job as an opposing fan. I’m just trying to provide an as objective as possible viewpoint about what would bother me if Kiffin were my coach.

Anyways, those are just the words of one man. Feel free to tear my argument apart.

http://hobnailboot.wordpress.com/

by AuditDawg on Jun 10, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The title of your blog makes me angry

Was it really necessary for Munson to say that line? I didn’t even know what a hobnail boot was. In fact, what is a hobnail boot?

Anyway, my response to your post is: “why is it so bad that tennessee football is fun again”?

I assume you are not signing on to Kyle’s uncharacteristically weak “a brash unproven coach will fail because I say so” argument, right? (Of course you aren’t….because such a conclusion is obviously baseless and doesn’t even rise to the level of an “argument.”)
SO, if my assumption is correct, you would agree that (a) tennessee football can be fun, and (b) tennessee football can win games….all at the same time. In other words, that these two propositions are not mutually exclusive.

If you’re still following me, then I must ask: What’s so wrong with your friends having fun with tennessee football? How is that silly?

by kidbourbon on Jun 10, 2009 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I apologize if the title angers you

To this day I still have no idea what a hobnail boot is other than the fact that it was used to describe one of the most memorable moments of my life as a Georgia fan.

Fair points, and this is what I like about the interwebs. If you don’t fully explain yourself, it leaves your points open to questions as you have made and now I have a chance to rebut.

To agree with your first assumption: No, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with my friends or any Tennessee fan having fun with Tennessee football. That’s the way it should be. I want to have fun with Georgia football as you and my Tennessee friends should with Tennessee football. It shouldn’t be a serious thing all the time. In the end, sports are only entertainment.

I also agree with you second assumption that Tennessee football can win games and should win games. It has too long of a storied tradition and history for this to not be the case (although I still call the 2007 East Division the luckiest team to ever win the East since the league split in 1992, but I digress).

As I stated earlier, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Tennessee fans having fun with Tennessee football. My problem with the “Tennessee football is fun again” argument is that it’s a weak cop out to excuse the boorish and sometimes childish behavior of your coach. I just want them to call a spade a spade so when their coach is acting stupidly, call it as such. Don’t pass it off as “Oh, that’s just Kiffin making Tennessee football fun again”. No, he’s embarassing your school and looks like a fool.

There has been strong condemnation within the Dawg blogosphere (is that what you call it?) of Mark Richt’s ridiculous assessment about the Georgia/Florida game that “It’s hotter for us, it’s cooler for them…”. We have come out in strong force to rightly criticize Coach Richt for such silly banter. What I’ve gathered from RTT and other Tennessee blogs of respect is that they have done similar acts and called out Coach Kiffin for his silly statements. I’m not singling out the fine people here because they have fairly criticized Kiffin when warranted. It’s just been my experience thusfar with people outside RTT that they are unwilling to call out Kiffin because “he’s making Tennessee football fun again”.

So, hopefully that clarifies my earlier point about why claiming “Tennessee football is fun again” can be a silly argument. I want the Tennessee faithful to have fun, but to quit excusing their coach’s embarassing actions as “being fun”.

http://hobnailboot.wordpress.com/

by AuditDawg on Jun 11, 2009 8:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Totally clarifies it

And i really have no qualms with such a statement. I may not find Kiffin’s actions as objectionable as you do, but I think I am probably the one in the minority.

Also, I should have tossed a “;)” after the hobnail boot comment. I mean, I do hate that word, don’t get me wrong. But no vitriol was intended with the statement.

by kidbourbon on Jun 11, 2009 11:17 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

A hobnail boot is:

If you think of boots that were assembled using nails to hold the soles to shoe, a ‘hobnail’ was a nail that was sticking out for some reason (e.g. worn out shoe, bad cobbling, worked itself loose, etc.). By stepping on a face with a hobnail boot, the implication was that the injury was delivered by the worst possible means – not just a boot to the face, but the nail sticking out of said boot to the face.

In other words, that was Munson showing his age. But anachronism aside, it was an apt metaphor. I bet he had been sitting on that one for a couple of years, just waiting for an upset of a rival in the waning minutes.

by Hooper on Jun 11, 2009 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

As far as Tennessee football and being fun again,

Since the end of last season, Tennessee football hasn’t even been again. Not until Western Kentucky. Certainly it’s been one of the most interesting UT offseasons in a long, long time; that’s even more remarkable considering the total blank on the Fulmer Cup board right now.

Like you’ve noted, I have no problem criticizing Kiffin’s mistakes and calling a cigar a cigar. However, they have made me far less upset than last year’s rash of arrests. If I had to choose between the two, I’d take this in a heartbeat.

by Hooper on Jun 11, 2009 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You and me both

The rash of arrests Georgia had between being pegged pre-season #1 and opening day was not cool at all.

http://hobnailboot.wordpress.com/

by AuditDawg on Jun 11, 2009 1:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Smiley face accounted for,

I don’t see how voting against one Berry play makes me a Berry hater any more than your vote against a different Berry play.

;-) back at ya

by Hooper on Jun 9, 2009 2:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

HATER!

Why because that’s me, of course. And because if Berry ever comes for us, I’m pointing at you. And running. And hiding. And finding dry pants.

Rocky Top Talk

by Joel on Jun 9, 2009 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's ok; I have a secret defense.

A Wyoming Cowboys jersey!

(Hey, it worked pretty well last year…)

by Hooper on Jun 9, 2009 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

One thing I ought to mention about my writeup on zone blocking

since writing it, I’ve notice that the terminology is somewhat fluid. What I called “Inside” zone blocking is often called “Outside” zone blocking (and “Outside” is more likely to be the term used by our own coaching staff for that play). No matter the system, the principles are the same; it’s a matter of semantics and the difference between inside and outside for any given system is the initial direction that the running back takes before deciding on a cutback.

by Hooper on Jun 9, 2009 2:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

So is true to say

That up is down and right is left and forward is backwards ? I guess that means if we lose then we really win ? Dazzed and Confused ? I ain’t no Berry hater !!

Phil,GO VOLS !!!

by bulldurham on Jun 9, 2009 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I cant wait until the season starts

This team, more than any other team I can remember, has so much to prove…to name but a few, Kiffin needs to prove he can coach, Crompton needs to shed the perception that he sucks and that he CAN be a good quarterback, and Hardesty needs to prove that he is ready to be our go-to rusher. So much smack and doubt has been thrown around concerning this team, I would be surprised if something truly special happened in knoxville this year.

by cincyvol6198 on Jun 9, 2009 3:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

CAN'T WAIT TO DRINK THE KOOL-AID !

Phil,GO VOLS !!!

by bulldurham on Jun 9, 2009 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

RB's suited for zone blocking

Reading that portion of the zone blocking article reminded me of Bryce Brown. He’ll be perfect.

by kidbourbon on Jun 9, 2009 7:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Just for fun, I commented over at Dawg Sports with a set of predictions

http://www.dawgsports.com/2009/6/8/903126/there-simply-is-no-basis-for

It’s about 15 or 20 comments down. If you want to read the carnage (which is probably coming), feel free to just be entertained. But, some Big Orange support would be great.

After all, Holly’s already over there!

by memphispete on Jun 9, 2009 9:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I posted on dawg sports as well

A brief response, illustrating how weak his analysis was.

I may follow up with more substance. Perhaps draw a conclusion based on inference and politely point out that this conclusion is the opposite of Mr. King’s conclusion, which was based on mere assumption. Later, though. Need finish workey.

by kidbourbon on Jun 9, 2009 10:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs