ESPN's Chris LOW-down on the Vols

by memphispete on Aug 25, 2009 6:34 PM EDT

Bumped from the FanPosts . . . an excellent synthesis of what ESPN blogger Chris Low has said about the Vols this summer from memphispete.

-- Joel

Reading back through the Chris Low's last bazillion blog entries for his thoughts on the Vols I put together a little Low-down summary on the Vols from ESPN's perspective.

Overall Power Ranking #9 - Just behind Vandy (yes, that Vandy), South Carolina and Arkansas. The only schools we were ahead of? Auburn, Mississippi State and Kentucky. Ouch! In fairness, he did say that we "probably deserve to be higher" based on our new talent, but lack of depth at DT, concerns about pass protection and our QB performance offset the gains from the new energy, new system and new coaches. He's right about one thing: we "deserve to be higher".

Bowl Selection - Liberty Bowl - At least, I won't have to drive more than 10 minutes and tickets won't be a problem. But it implies a 6-6 season. It can't be any better than that if we have a #9 Power Ranking. Chris hasn't had the courage to give us a win-loss projection, unless I missed it. I'd say at least 8-4 & a better bowl (without any more key injuries).

Top 5 Villains - Lane Kiffin rolls in at #4. It's clear Chris Low doesn't like Lane yet.

All-SEC & Other Awards - Eric Berry is our only selection. He's also the Best Defensive Player of the Year and one of the Top 5 Heisman Candidates. They believe in EB.

QB Ranking #10 - "may be more comfortable in the new offense but neither looked like an SEC QB last year". Painful but pretty accurate, although I do think the new system gives an average QB a better chance to avoid being horrible.

RB Ranking #8 - "potential to be outstanding" but the Vols have "a couple of if's". I'm not sure a ranking of #8 equates to "potential to be outstanding". I am also not sure if Chris Low has seen Bryce Brown, Poole, Oku or the new-Hardesty run yet.

WR Ranking #7 - "added weapons" via recruiting. I'm not expecting Julio Jones-type performance from our guys but I'm also not expecting below-average, either.

OL Ranking #8 - "run blocking will be their forte" but "pass protection figures to be the Vols biggest problem" The line will indeed be good at the run and decent enough for a controlled passing game.

DL Ranking #6 - "most underrated in the league" and then he proceeds to rate us sixth??? /SIGH

I did not see a ranking of the defensive secondaries, but the Vols have to be Top 5. Perhaps that is a forthcoming feature.

Overall, the rankings seem a bit harsh.

FanPosts are most often submitted by users. The views and opinions expressed in FanPosts do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions held by the editorial staff of Rocky Top Talk or SB Nation.

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Comments

Thanks MP!

Good synopsis.

Summary of your summary?

Chris Low is still upset re the “gas pumping” comment about his home state.

Tennessee WILL beat Georgia on the way to 9+ wins in '09!!!
Eric Berry For Heisman!!!

by VolBrian on Aug 25, 2009 8:47 PM EDT reply actions

I think ESPN conspiracy theories are stupid

But I have definitely picked up a negative tone from Chris Low as soon as Kiffin was hired. It’s about as subtle as a punch in the nose.

_________________________________
Eric Berry is better at football than you

by kidbourbon on Aug 25, 2009 8:51 PM EDT reply actions

Chris Low enjoyed some terrific access during the Fulmer era.

I wonder if the playing field got leveled under his feet with the coaching change. (Not that I’d begrudge him; we’d all be bitter if our hard work went away for reasons beyond our control. But there it is. Maybe.)

by David Hooper on Aug 25, 2009 9:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe

Yet he’s still scooping local media. I think he was first with the G. Jones injury this weekend. Might have been something else.

Rocky Top Talk

by Joel Hollingsworth on Aug 25, 2009 9:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks for the bump up.

by memphispete on Aug 25, 2009 9:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Well worth it

Thanks for the post.

Rocky Top Talk

by Joel Hollingsworth on Aug 25, 2009 10:37 PM EDT up reply actions

I thought it was Feldman with the scoop on Jones.

by David Hooper on Aug 25, 2009 9:36 PM EDT up reply actions

And I don't think that scooping GVX is hard.

I get the feeling that their fact-validation procedures get in their way a lot.

by David Hooper on Aug 25, 2009 9:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, Feldman

Though I think that the main thing that happened is that Feldman was working this weekend and the beat guys all had the weekend off.

Rocky Top Talk

by Joel Hollingsworth on Aug 25, 2009 10:38 PM EDT up reply actions

That makes sense.

Because it was posted like a Chris Low SEC Blog post rather than a Feldman super-secret double-handshake Insider post.

by David Hooper on Aug 25, 2009 11:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh, you're not an Insider?

LOSER!

OUTSIDER!

Speaking of Outsiders, that was a good movie. Or at least I thought it was at the time.

Rocky Top Talk

by Joel Hollingsworth on Aug 26, 2009 7:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Mommy won't buy me subscriptions until I put away my jammies and wear real clothes.

;-)

In all seriousness, though, if I were to buy any subscriptions, I’d probably go with Rivals first. I usually find that I miss their stuff the most.

by David Hooper on Aug 26, 2009 8:37 AM EDT up reply actions

My take

Rivals is definitely the way to go if you want the best recruiting information. Scout’s writing on regular stories, though, is better, IMO.

Rocky Top Talk

by Joel Hollingsworth on Aug 26, 2009 9:07 AM EDT up reply actions

That's the read I've gotten on it.

My take is: grad student married to a grad student = no subscriptions. ;-)

by David Hooper on Aug 26, 2009 9:27 AM EDT up reply actions

I do recall

Low having positive Kiffin commentary after SEC media days but I think he has a hard time projecting him above any returning coaching staffs.

"The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it."

by Getoffmyvols on Aug 25, 2009 9:53 PM EDT reply actions

That is true but I'm not sure it touched his core. (Ranked behind Vandy ?!)

I wish I had the link but I also recall reading a comment from the Arkansas print guys that caught my eye. They said that they were perfectly prepared to hate Lane Kiffin before SEC Media days based on all they’d read and heard. But, they heard Kiffin speak and answer questions and came away with the view that he was the best of the SEC coaches. He was candid, insightful, energetic, interesting to listen to, and a bunch of other positive things.

I wasn’t wild about the cockiness and chest-beating because I am old-school, Southern gentlemen. But the kids like it and it did work. Most importantly, he did “turn it off”. And, now they are down to just coaching.

by memphispete on Aug 26, 2009 7:52 AM EDT up reply actions

I think Chris is playing a deep cover zone

If he ranks the Vols to high and they flop he looks stupid but if he ranks them low and they start moving up the chart then he has the out of saying well they are doing this well or the freshman are doing better then he first thought. Nice write up memphispete ! always like your open ended view on things.

Phil,GO VOLS !!!

by bulldurham on Aug 26, 2009 9:10 AM EDT up reply actions

Appreciate the compliment

sorry for the delayed reply – been in Colombia, Peru and Brazil for a week.

by memphispete on Sep 2, 2009 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Chris Low

Writing the SEC blog, he gets some heat from other schools for being a Tennessee homer. So, in trivial stuff like this, I think he might not give UT the benefit of the doubt.

BTW, does anyone remember that we had the #1 defense in the SEC last year and #3 in the country!?

by golfballs03 on Aug 26, 2009 11:02 AM EDT reply actions