Rocky Top Talk: FanPosts

Lil' Wayne's Latest Shout-Out to Lane Kiffin and the Vols

2009-11-06T21:31:36Z

Joel fanshotted (fanshat?) this just about an hour ago.

Bruce Feldman of ESPN tweeted:

More "street cred" for #Vols Lil Lane from Lil Wayne (go to 15:00 mark)

He also posted a link to a Lil' Wayne UStream broadcast where he talks about the Vols for a minute or two. The video is here, but I thought I would just transcribe it for everyone's ease of reading.

So, here is Lil Wayne on Lane Kiffin and the Tennessee Vols:

"....shout out all my people at ESPN, shout out Lane Kiffin and the whole Tennessee Volunteers team. I heard they [the University I believe] don't indulge in the things that I said because I said 'smoke weed talk [fulmerized] like Lane Kiffin' but Lane what you don't know is you gonna be sittin' in some recruit's living room and his mother is gonna call him from the back room and he's gonna come up front listenin' to an iPod. On his iPod he's gonna be listening to 'smoke weed talk [fulmerized] like Lane Kiffin' and you'll be able to say 'hi son, I'm Lane Kiffin I'm who he's talkin' about' and you just may get a recruit because of that. Don't thank me, just apologize for not thanking me.

Naw, but for real though, I rock with you Lil' Lane. I heard that's your new name they call you Lil' Lane. And all them boys over there at Tennessee, I rock with y'all!! And y'all stumped ummm I watched y'all stump South Carolina tonight y'all did y'all's thing. I am a big fan of the Ole' Ball Coach, but y'all did y'all's thing tonight and I rocks with y'all. I LOVE the black and orange jerseys you killed 'em, thank you...."

That's it, but the recruiting value of that is tremendous, and any rival fan who thinks otherwise is delusional. I'm sure we'll take some more "street-cred" comments, but they can keep it up as long as Lil' Wayne does!

Back in Knoxville

2009-11-06T20:55:32Z

Tigers vs Volunteers coverage

*gasp for air*

Yeah I've been out of touch a bit. Unfortunately the nations fastest 3G service also has the smallest coverage area which means I'm currently working double time trying to get ready for an absolutely massive expansion project here in Tennessee.

However.

I have managed to secure my tickets for the Memphis game this weekend. And I have already arrived in Knoxville

I may try to scalp some tickets to the volleyball game if I can find out where it is, and thanks to Hooper I should have my parking situation dealt with tomorrow and not come back to a empty space as I did the last trip here :)

Otherwise tonight is wine women and song before we tear down Memphis tomorrow night! Hopefully I'll see ya'll there!

Why do opposing kickers never miss against Tennessee????

2009-11-04T21:18:37Z

I dont know about you guys, but it drives me crazy that whoever we play our opponents always always ALWAYS make their field goals. and we dont. and its frustrating. Let me show you some disturbing numbers:

First, since WKY didnt kick any field goals, lets start with UCLA:

UCLA: 4/5 on FG

UF: 3/3 on FG

OH: 3/4 on FG

AU: 4/5 on FG

UGA: 1/1 on FG (their lone hit was a ridiculous 53 yarder)

Bama: 4/4 on FG

South Carolina: 2/2 on FG

So ladies and gentlemen, opponents made 21 of their 24 field goals attempted againt Tennessee this season. That is an astonishingly high 88%. That just doesnt happen. It doesnt happen to anyone BUT the big orange. Now we are a damn fine fotball team, but Murphys Law certainly apples to Tennessee's special teams; what can go wrong WILL go wrong. I dont know this for sure, but I would wager that we have the highest percent of made field goals allowed on us in the NCAA.

Sorry guys , I had to get that out. Its been eating at me for a while. Btw no teams have missed a PAT on us either.

GO VOLS!!!!

Of ESPN and Pat Forde

2009-11-04T17:09:49Z

That was ESPN's College Football frontpage as of Wednesday 11:40 am, a picture highlighting Pat Forde's weekly "40-yard dash" feature on College Football. First and foremost, this: Florida is number 1 in the BCS, AP, and Coaches poll. Alabama and LSU are gearing up for a massive battle on Saturday. And yet it's Tennessee on the front page. Actually, it's not even just Tennessee's uni's being on the front cover, it's the text accompanying it:

Mess With Your Uniform Month featured some misses. Urban Meyer just plain missed. But November has some games not to miss. The Dash passes judgment on it all.

Hold up, say it ain't so. ESPN thrashing Urban Meyer? The Golden Boy, Boy Wonder? Yep. Which all leads me to point at one thing: Lane Kiffin is winning at the SEC Football season, and that spells wonderful things for Tennessee's program. The link to the article can be found here, and I'd just like to comment a bit more on it.

First off, Florida Bashing: as flimsy as it might be, it somewhat excites me to see this approach taken on the Gators, for no other reason than the brutal dog-eat-dog world of the SEC. Bad publicity for Florida -- and enough people pay attention to ESPN to make this very big -- is a good thing for Tennessee. And Pat Forde didn't bother easing into the issue:

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (discounted suspensions -- half off! -- sold separately at Florida [1]):

Everyone who has seen the video of Gators linebacker Brandon "The Gouger" Spikes (2) going after the eyes of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey recognizes the truth. It was an appalling cheap shot, one of the worst things a football player can do to an opponent.

Look, I've said it a thousand times: I don't think that Brandon Spikes is a bad kid. I think that what he did was retaliation for something that happened before, and in football you are somewhat expected to play dirty if the other team is playing dirty and trying to hurt your boys. I'm not saying it's okay, I'm just saying I think Brandon Spikes is a football player, plain and simple. But still, as a UT fan who wants Florida to stumble so that Tennessee can catch up, this makes me happy. Yes, I'm a homer and a moron in some respects, but still ... I am glad that most of the ire of Forde was directed at Meyer, as you can see here:

Gators coach Urban Meyer (4) reviewed the video and used it as a teaching moment. The lesson Meyer delivered: Nothing, not even thuggish behavior, will be allowed to substantively interfere with our pursuit of a repeat national title. That was the unmistakable message sent by Meyer's semisuspension of Spikes, which will keep him off the field for roughly 30 first-half snaps against mighty Vanderbilt on Saturday.

Which, really, is the message a lot of people will get out of this, which is why I believed that Urban Meyer should have punished Brandon Spikes for the entire Vanderbilt game: saying "it always happens" suggests that you are allowing the behavior to happen. Saying "it always happens but that doesn't mean we're going to do it" says that you acknowledge what your player did was bad -- which it was, alright? Stop acting like eye-gouging is anything but bad, please, everyone -- but not that bad but still bad enough that he'll regret it more than, oh noes, a half off against Vanderbilt.

Spikes' action reminded The Dash of a moment from the 2006 Colonial Athletic Association basketball tournament. Namely, when George Mason guard Tony Skinn groin-punched Hofstra's Loren Stokes.

Going after a guy's eyes is more serious because of the potential damage. But the two acts are similarly classless.

Eleventh-seeded George Mason bit the bullet, did the right thing and suspended Skinn for its first game of the NCAA tournament against No. 6 seed Michigan State. The Patriots wound up going to the Final Four.

Florida suspended Spikes for half a game against the worst team in the Southeastern Conference. In a word: weak.

Florida fans will say a half-game suspension is fine. Some of them are saying that the action wasn't even bad, such as this guy on TSK who links a Georgia article from the RB who said

"I had my eyes closed," Ealey said. "He really didn’t gouge my eyes. …I was just trying to get up as fast as I can."

Apparently, Mr. Falcontom is mistaking intent with result: apparently because Spikes didn't cause harm that makes the event okay. Like I posted in the comment: What was he trying to do, if not damage him? I mean, just because he "didn’t reach my eyes" doesn’t mean the intent wasn’t there. That’d be like saying "Oh, he shot me, but the bullet missed so we’re cool." I think it’s more that football players in general do dirty stuff like this; it’s commonplace rather than the exception. But that doesn’t make it "okay" in my book. To quote the beginning of that fanpost:

I'm guessing I won't be receiving an apology any time soon from everyone who immediately assumed that Spikes was trying to permanently blind somebody out on the field. Keep on hating though, the Gators need the motivation to make it down the final stretch.

Yeah, you won't be, because despite Brandon's motives behind the act, despite the result -- or lack thereof -- of the act, it was still something Brandon Spikes appeared to be doing to hurt someone else. I can guarantee he wasn't trying to pinch Mr. Ealey's nose and whisper "Aww you're so cute in those black hats!" to him.

Edit: because I realized I wasn't done with my rant of this situation.

Look, saying that "everyone does it" isn't any excuse to be doing it. And honestly, saying that "the entire game was 'chippy'" isn't an excuse either, as far as I'm concerned. For the millionth time: I don't think Brandon Spikes is some current-generation ear-biter or anything; I think that this type of play is just something that goes by without notice. That doesn't mean that it's okay, you could severely hurt someone doing it. Is that what it's going to take for the NCAA to crack down stuff like this? Someone getting severely hurt? Can't they, you know, take the initiative on stuff like this? For that matter, isn't that what the NCAA was founded for? To protect student atheletes playing football? While I doubt anyone is going to die playing the sport, someone might very well get blinded if punishing this practice is whiffed on just because "everyone does it." Someone, anyone, needs to take a hard stance on this, because no football game is worth losing an eye over.

Also, in the "pointing fingers" mantra that this debate has turned into, Meyer is now in on the action.

"That should have been a penalty, in my opinion," Meyer said. "Obviously, it should have been. You've got to protect quarterbacks. That's the whole purpose. It's right in front of the referee. I'm not sure how they're going to handle that, but ... that was one of the plays we did send in."

Meyer didn't mention the play until asked about it Wednesday, possibly trying to avoid drawing punishment from the league. He also prefaced his comments by saying he has "great respect" for SEC officials and the way the league handles complaints.

Ah .. there's something stuck in my throat .. I think I need to cough .. yes .. *coughcoughcoughSUCKUPcoughHYPOCRITEcoughcoughcough* ... hmm .. sorry about that. But really, is Meyer going to be punished at all for that? That's pretty straightforwards: that's a public criticism of the refs? "Oh, but it wasn't public criticism of the refs!" I can hear some Florida fans moaning about now. Or "Well, he sent in the play too!" that one seems more likely, as anyone reading that quote should pretty well understand that he was calling out a ref. Does this sound familiar?

SEC Bylaw 10.5.4 clearly states that coaches, players and support personnel shall refrain from all public criticism of officials

It will be interesting to see how Slive doesn't punish Meyer for these statements, won't it?

End Edit.

But, there was more than just Florida-bashing in this article. Forde has this to say about Tennessee's jerseys:

And Saturday night, Tennessee (10) strutted some black jerseys with orange numbers against South Carolina. Dash reaction: Not quite as hideous as anticipated, but not exactly a look that evokes memories of Gen. Neyland, Johnny Majors, Reggie White and Peyton Manning. If the decidedly nontraditional Lane Kiffin thinks it would help him sign a recruit, the Volunteers would come running out through a cursive "T" before their next home game.

And really, that's it about Tennessee. That, apparently, justifies a nice and fancy front-page image, which I'm totally alright with. All that trash-talking of Lane Kiffin seems to be a long, long time ago in a galaxy far far away. Generally, public perception has favored Lane this season, beginning with the quirky and undeniably funny jabs at Urban Meyer and his flu; Lane's promise that UT won't lose to Georgia anymore -- right before his team went out and thrashed the Bulldogs; his comments and protests after the Alabama game (Slive: don't want coaches talking about officiating? Fix the problem, then!) and even his insistence in sticking up for JC. That move looks brilliant now, a month and more into the decision, doesn't it?

Stickin' it to Spurrier

2009-11-02T05:47:58Z

It really is a lot of fun to do, you know? I grew up during the development of the UT-UF rivalry in the '90s, a painful time for most of us. I hated watching us get smoked by the likes of Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel, Doug Johnson, the Bachelor, etc. On top of all the pain associated with losing, I hated those games because they gave Spurrier a chance to make some snide remark and get away with it. Trash talking has always irked me, but the only thing you can really do to shut a trash talker up is to beat them on the field. On a few memorable occasions, we were able to do that to Spurrier-led Florida teams ('98, '01), but more often than not, he got away with his Citrus comments because we couldn't beat the Gators.

Because of those experiences during my formative years, I maintain a healthy dislike for Spurrier (on a completely unrelated side story, my grandfather was an optometrist in Newport and checked Steve Spurrier's eyes once when Spurrier was a kid...I have let him know several times that he could've saved us all a lot of grief with a few carefully placed pokes, but I guess that would've robbed us of a villain, right?). Because of Spurrier's ability to consistently emerge victorious and his penchant for talking smack after the fact, I have always enjoyed the games where we have been able to return the favor.

Last night was no different.

Continuing in my pattern from last week, below are my observations after watching the game.

The members of RTT are all right :) Now that I'm in the real world and live farther away from Knoxville than I care for, I haven't gotten to many games in the last few years. Up here in ACC country, nobody is in touch with or seems to care about SEC football...which is interesting since ACC football is so incredibly lame (Question: if Georgia Tech is the ACC's best team, why were they trailing my alma mater late in the 3rd quarter last night? Ponder that one, ACC fans). Last night was my first experience with participating in the live game threads while watching the game on TV. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to chat with like-minded people who appreciate the splendor of UT/SEC football. So, thanks for that.
I liked the black jerseys if for no other reason than they were something different. I grew up with Fulmer and enjoyed the highest highs and suffered through the lowest lows, but at the end, it was kind of boring. Kiffin has been anything but boring thus far, and the black jerseys were just another example of that. Now...while I'm on the topic of the jerseys, I think last night was a lot more about what the jerseys represented than the actual jerseys themselves. Obviously, the color of the shirt on a player's back doesn't change the way he plays. What might make a difference, though, is playing for a coach who you feel supports you no matter what. That's what Kiffin did with the black jerseys, in my opinion. He listened to the players, he empowered the captains to take action, and he embraced something they were excited about (I'm sure Hamilton would've listened if Kiffin had asked for the jerseys, but it had to be more convincing coming from Berry and Hardesty directly). That's what I think encourages me the most as we move further into the Lane Kiffin Era. He's getting the most out of his guys because he's willing to listen when they want to shake it up.
It was a satisfying win if not the most statistically astounding win. If South Carolina holds on to the ball in the first 15+ minutes, then things turn out much differently. SC's defense is strong and was able to keep UT from any sort of sustained drive. UT's only drive of longer than 60 yards was the one that ended in the blocked FG. That being said, the Vols took advantage of the turnovers and cranked out a business-like victory. I seem to remember enjoying those back in the glory days.
Montario Hardesty is a beast. He has been lost in the shuffle over the last few years amongst his injuries and the overall struggles of the team. Now that he's healthy and he's the main man...I am able to appreciate the fact that he's really good. That spin move he made to get our 2nd touchdown last night was a thing of absolute beauty. I hope he's able to finish out the season strong because he has NFL potential.
Crompton did what he had to and didn't force anything. I think that I could've hit Austin Johnson on that first touchdown pass, but Crompton played well enough to get us through. There were a few throws in there that made me wonder if he was reverting to his pre-"4th quarter of Auburn game" self, but he was not too shabby overall. As long as he stays within himself, we've got a legitimate shot at 8 wins.
I just can't say enough about this defense...they are outstanding. From a yardage perspective, no, it was not their most impressive night. That being said, they continue to do what they need to do to help us win ballgames, and in last night's game, they helped us maintain a comfort level when the offense was stuck in neutral. Each group of the defense had an impressive outing. The defensive line got great surge all night, especially Dan Williams. We talked on the game thread about shutouts/wins being greater than sacks, but it was nice to not go 0 for October in the sack department. The linebackers played well despite suffering more injuries. We struggled when Reveiz went down in the Ohio game, but Greg King was able to come in last night and maintain the high level of performance. In the secondary, Janzen Jackson can flat out bring the noise (though he could use some more Stick-Em on his gloves :P). The only downer comment I have about the secondary is that I'm starting to be legitimately worried EB won't get his 15 yards. November does look to be filled with potential INTs, but if nobody will throw at him, he might not get it. That would be immensely disappointing.
I want the Elias Sports Bureau to look up the last time that any team in Divison I (I guess in the spirit of political correctness, I should call it the FBS) had 3 consecutive field goals blocked. 3 in a row?! Really?! This is simply echoing Will's thoughts, but the inability to kick a field goal is extremely disheartening. I hope that Alabama was the only game where horrific special teams comes back to bite us.
This might be the sort of comment that invites bad karma down the road, but I do not fear Spurrier anymore. True, he has doubled the number of wins SC has in this series despite being there only 5 years. It is definitely worth nothing that those 2 wins came against the 2 worst teams that UT has fielded in my memory. We beat his last team at UF ('01), lost 2 heartbreakers in the 2 seasons before that ('99, '00...I was there and I still maintain that Jabar Gaffney did not catch that ball), and beat him in '98. It's almost as if Al Wilson singlehandedly stole his mojo on that crazy September night 11 years ago.
Maybe that lost mojo has adversely affected Spurrier in every game he coaches. He has lost at least 5 games in each of his previous 4 seasons in Columbia and I think that's going to happen again this year. Either South Carolina is doomed to play bad football forever, Spurrier doesn't communicate as well with players as he did 10-15 years ago, or South Carolina simply can't recruit the caliber of players that Spurrier had at Florida. While each of those options may contribute to some extent, I think the combination of 2 and 3 are the more likely/more damaging realities.

All in all, it was a convincing and satisfying win, even if it wasn't always the most polished performance. It helped ease the pain of the Alabama game a bit for this fan, and it was apparent that Kiffin didn't let the players dwell on it too much. Hopefully we'll take care of Tiger High next week setting up a showdown with the Rebels for a possible January 1st bowl game. Go Vols!

RTT Pick 'Em: Vol in Mississippi has good week, marmot_man_111 extends lead

2009-11-02T02:01:59Z

Top ten below. Complete standings here.

Rank	Selection	W-L	Pts
Standings for Week 9
1	Vol in Mississippi	9-1	54
2	Wine2UTVOL's picks	8-2	52
3	Huskerhorsepower's picks	8-2	51
3	cdalton's picks	8-2	51
5	wshelton2's picks	8-2	50
5	azvol's picks	8-2	50
5	cnyvol's picks	8-2	50
5	birdjam's picks	9-1	50
5	LaylaKiffinsPoolBoy's picks	8-2	50
10	utavanti's picks	7-3	49
10	jimvols's picks	9-1	49
10	mmmjtx's picks	8-2	49
10	jacksonian's picks	8-2	49
10	crafdog's picks	9-1	49

Rank	Selection	W-L	Pts
Overall Standings Through Week 9
1	marmot_man_111's picks	79-24	599
2	JCW's picks	80-23	591
3	Pete Carroll's picks	77-26	590
4	Big Ol' Daboner's picks	75-28	584
4	mmmjtx's picks	78-25	584
6	Jimmy's Picks	77-26	579
6	nc2316's picks	79-24	579
6	Phonies's picks	77-26	579
9	Wine2UTVOL's picks	74-29	578
10	Incipient_Senescence's picks	79-24	573

RTT Guessing Game standings after Week 8

2009-11-02T01:56:16Z

Standings below, but I wanted to point out that although it wasn't one of the questions, ttocswob nailed the final score.

	W1	W2	W3	W4	W5	W6	W7	W8	Total
golfballs03	0	0	2	1	2	3	1	1	10
Incipient_Senescence	1	1	2	0	1	2	0	2	9
NickDrake87	0	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	9
Graysnail	0	0	0	2	2	2	2	0	8
jacksonian	0	2	2	2	1	0	0	1	8
Joel	0	1	1	2	1	2	1	0	8
CornFromAJar	0	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	6
Will	0	0	2	1	1	1	1	0	6
bobo_the_vol	0	2	1	0	0	2	0	0	5
bulldurham	1	0		1	0	2	0	1	5
hooper	0	0	2	1	0	1	1	0	5
matamn145	0	0	2	0	0	2	1	0	5
rblakeh	0	0	2	0	1	1	0	1	5
VolBrian	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	5
birdjam	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	0	4
memphispete	0	2		1	0	1	0	0	4
Pride of the Southland	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	1	4
Tennexile	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	4
wvvol	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	4
cincyvol6198	0	1		0	0	0	0	2	3
Muhler	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	3
pound the rock	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	3
Rockytopman	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	3
rustytanton	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	3
Smokin Turkeys	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	3
bugsdad2000	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
ChattVol	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	2
Prometheus1185	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2
RockyTopinKY							2	0	2
VolnVA	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2
Zoltar	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
757 vol fan	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Aerobab	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
davy	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
G.M.U. Vol	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
GeekWhit	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Getoffmyvols	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
kidbourbon							1	0	1
steelersman42	1	0		0	0	0	0	0	1
thetennesseethumper							1	0	1
ttocswob								1	1
UTGrad2000	0	1		0	0	0	0	0	1
volfan5216	0	1		0	0	0	0	0	1
Volorado	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1

SEC Red Zone Comparisons & Projections

2009-10-30T02:41:58Z

So, I took it upon myself to go ahead and check out some of the red zone stats for SEC teams and compare their performances from last year / this year and just see what happens. This all started from checking out Alabama's red zone statistics. First off, Tennessee:

Obviously the most shocking statistic is that we are on pace to score Eighty Eight (88!) more points in the red zone this year that last year. The green outline means that everything is better for the Volunteers in red zone scoring. Absolutely everything, which is somewhat amazing. On the defensive side, things are just a little bit worse, with the heavy increase in scoring % mostly mitigated by the lower Touchdown numbers. Both this year and last year, teams have had to settle for field goals against us. The other awesome thing about this chart is that no offense has scored a touchdown on us from outside the red zone.

Rest of the SEC after the jump...

Next up, in no particular order, are the rest of the SEC. We'll begin with Alabama, since they are the team I originally went to cfbstats.com for.

This sheet shows something somewhat startling: Alabama's red zone scoring appears almost completely up, however in one major area this goes down, supporting what everyone has been saying about the Crimson Tide: they are having to settle for a ton of field goals. Scoring 14% fewer Touchdowns per trip is offsetting the fact that they are getting into the red zone more often. They are on pace to score 18 more points but at almost a half point less per trip. (A half point might seem like not a lot, but it is definitely noticeable.) On the defensive side, Alabama can take a lot of glee; they weren't bad last year but have been stellar this year. As Will said on the original post: defensive wins championships.

So, onto the other great defensive in the SEC: The Florida Gators.

Yikes. Uhh.. how much do the Gators miss Percy Harvin? A lot, as in "94 points this year" a lot. Their ridiculous TD% from last year has come back down to earth, but lucky for the Gators they are average on offense, still. They are slated to get into the Red Zone 72 times this year, a definate plus, and they still have a better TD % than Alabama. Their defense is scary good,as if you needed to know that, but they are only giving up .1 fewer points per trip than the Crimson Tide. Florida's ~~better~~ amazing Defesive TD% is offset by the high amount of Field Goals they are giving up, but let's face it: once they get in the Red Zone, holding them to 3 points is practically a victory.

Now, for the #3 team in the SEC by most accounts: the LSU Tigers.

Again, yikes. This LSU offensive is strugglin' a mighty lot in the Red Zone, a mighty mighty lot! Their 4.2 points per trip is Floridaesque (Man, it feels nice being able to say something Florida is doing is bad!) and is way down from last year when they were also, surprisingly, Floridaesque (easy come, easy go) in the Red Zone. Luckilly, their defensive numbers are way up too, carrying over Chavis's usual awesomeness onto the Tiger side of life.

Future opponent South Carolina is up next.

South Carolina seems to be doing very "meh" as far as offensive improvement goes, settling for a clone of Alabama, but on a smaller scale: increased trips to the red zone are offset by fewer touchdowns, but they are still on pace to score more points inside the 20 than their opponents. Defensively, they are pretty much the same as last year, though they are better in several key fields, including attempts, TD%, and projected scoring.

Now we'll look at Auburn, the early-offensive-juggernaut-turn-kitty:

Woah! Look at that offense! Offense Offense Offense Gus Malzahanchizik ftw! Those are some really impressive offensive improvements, with a 70% TD scoring ratio inside the 20 yard line. What? How many times have we gotten inside the red zone the past two games? None of that now, look at the green! Defensively... well, who cares about defense, right? Offensive Offense Offense!

Let's see who's offense is worse, Auburn's or next-up Arkansas..

Wow. Why is this a stat we haven't heard brought up a whole lot yet: Arkansas is 100% in the red zone offensively, and defensively has some fairly gaudy stats as well, as far as %ages go. Offensively they are very impressive, scoring TDs on 2/3rds of their red-zone trips, and defensively they are holding opposing offenses to TDs just 33% of the time, and field goals 33% of the time. However, don't let that fool you too much, they have given up a ton of trips into the Red Zone, and that is a bad thing. Also, Arkansas gives up a lot of big, big plays, so that has to be considered. Still, this defense is improved virtually across the board in the red zone, so that is nice.

So, now for the proverbial whipping-dog Georgia:

I wouldn't suggest letting any of those green sections up top fool you, because the first one is bad. They are on pace to get to the red zone 17 fewer times than last year, and they weren't amazing last year. So far into this, every other team has scored more than 100 points in the red zone, Georgia is at 84, and if they get their average against Florida, they'll only be at 96. That's pathetic in so many ways. Not only are they not getting to the Red Zone as much (by a lot) they are settling for a lot more field goals than touchdowns compared to last year. Defensively they are a bit better, doing a much better job holding people to field goals instead of touchdowns, but they still are hardly impressive. They are on pace to be outscored in the redzone by 60 points. Ouch.

Now, another future opponent in Kentucky:

Despite the fact that Kentucky is getting into the red zone less, their very good TD% makes up for it quite a bit to give that 40 point projected swing. They are averaging quite a few more points per trip, too, but one has to worry about the number of trips they are going to get. Defensively, their numbers are way down, and they are on pace to give up 48 more points in the red zone this year; don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that this is bad.

Now let's laugh at Ole Miss's struggles.

Struggles indeed! They are getting to the red zone much fewer times, and are allowing people into the red zone many times. Of course, they have a brilliant Red Zone success %age, scoring touchdowns most often and only missing scoring once. Their defense is quite a bit improved once they get down there, but unfortunately as much as people are getting down there this doesn't show up quite as nicely. Their offense's inability to move has put their defense in a tough place, is my guess.

Let's stay in Mississippi State for the Bulldogs now! Whee!

While the improvements under Dan Mullen are nice, the bulldogs have a long way to go. Through 8 games only Georgia and LSU are on pace to have fewer red zone points (though Vanderbilt will probably make babies cry here in a moment) and their defense is practically the exact same one as last year as far as these numbers go. Giving up touchdowns more than half the trips into the red zone is very, very bad.

Vanderbilt time.

Yeah, this is kind of what I expected, except the defensive part. They are doing much, much better at keeping people out of the redzone this year, so far, which is somewhat of a surprise to me. However, those offensive problems are bad, but not really as bad as I would have guessed. The biggest problem is their TD%, at only 37% that's bad in and of itself, but they are also only scoring 2/3rds of the time they do get down there.

Superlatives time!

OFFENSE:

Most Projected Improvement (points wise):

Auburn
Tennessee
Arkansas

Most Projected Suckage (points wise):

Georgia
Florida
LSU

DEFENSE:

Most Projected Improvement (points wise):

Arkansas
Florida
LSU

Most Projected Suckage (points wise):

Auburn. By a lot.
Kentucky
Tennessee (giving up just 8 more points over the entire season. 40 fewer than Kentucky, 110 fewer than Auburn.)

Guys need your prays and hope !

2009-10-30T01:00:24Z

I've got a nephew that was in a bad wreck Saturday night and hasbeen in a coma ever since that night . If one could find it in their heart to put up a pray or two It would mean the world to me ! If you can help please do there is nothing more powerfull then pray ! god bless ! and thanks phil Just to make it I really really really hope that nothing like this ever happens to you ! Its hard to see good kids suffer !

Is Saban Gonna Jump At The Cash....Again???

2009-10-29T13:55:22Z

With all of the teams doing awful this season in the NFL, the odds are very high that there will be some very highly paid new coaches coming to an NFL stadium near you next season.

Candidates for replacement include:

Jeff Fisher - Tennessee Titans

Raheem Morris - Tampa Bay Bucs

Steve Spagnuolo - St. Louis Rams

Todd Haley - Kansas City Chiefs

Tom Cable - Oakland Raiders

....among others.

So, my question to you, Nick Saban, is whether or not you're gonna take this opportunity to make a buck and try to become the highest paid head coach in the history of the NFL?

You definitely have a history of jumping at paychecks. Maybe it's part of your short man complex, maybe not, but you know Al Davis, Jerry Jones, and Ralph Wilson would all pay you big bucks. Now, I know you can't say anything at the moment. Just keep telling the bammers you're not going anywhere until the last possible minute. You're pretty good at that.

Remember also Saban, the likelihood of your Bama team being put on probation increases with each day that passes. Heck, you might even have to forfeit games this time instead of just vacating them once the "agent" rumors floating around a certain HB and DT are no longer rumors. So, will you do the Saban thing by jumping at the money, or will it be a Calipari-esque move to leave the mess for the next coach?

This is me calling you out Nick Saban. What are you gonna do? Don't let someone else grab all that cash, and I know you're a little afraid of getting spanked by the little 'ole NCAA.......again. Do the Sabalipari thing you know you want to do!

Is Kiffin all talk?

2009-10-29T03:27:28Z

I mean, he's the man right? He's got street cred 'n stuff. Or so we thought...

Lane Kiffin was asked several times during his weekly press conference on Tuesday about being reprimanded by the SEC.

The first-year Tennessee head coach reserved comment – as best he could.

"As hard as it is for me to do, I’m not getting into it," Kiffin said with a grin. "I’d like to."

link

Well, if you really want to talk about it so much, Lane, what's stopping you? Afraid of a suspension? Why not go for it? The bad boy image could only help with recruiting, eh? Well, at least that's what John Adams of the Knoxville News Sentinel says in his aptly titled article No Such Thing as Bad Publicity.

Suspension? Anything but that, right?

Wrong.

Imagine what a suspension would do for the street cred of a coach who needed only a couple of months to establish himself as the SEC's resident maverick and ESPN's must-have college football interview. Better yet, imagine what it would do for recruiting.

Kiffin already has recruited by billboard and rent-a-copter. Recruiting by suspension would be even more creative. The lure would be irresistible.

So this is me calling you out Lane Kiffin. If you're going to talk the talk, then walk the walk. Call a press conference, and let us know exactly what's on your mind. We know you want to do it; you said so much yourself. Or are you going to wuss out at the first sign that you might get spanked by little ole' Mike Slive.

Black Jerseys??

2009-10-28T23:44:21Z

so what do u guys think bout us wearing some black jerseys and black pants with possibly a black helmet..for saturdays game i think it would be sick nasty looking.... come out and warm up in normal home jerseys and then go in and change after warm ups and nobody knows bout it.. man that would be sick!! kiffin was asked but them durring a oress confrence and he said we would have to ask mike hamilton or something like that i think that would drive the gamecocks crazy and completley mess with their minds..

Lil' Wayne is down with the Lane train

2009-10-28T16:49:42Z

http://en.musicplayon.com/play?v=101910&Lil_Wayne___Banned_From_Tv__No_Ceilings_Album

It is around 1:10 mark.

I am sure some of you have heard this but it is pretty funny. I assume this may help recruiting some too, the kids do like the rap music after all. I somehow doubt Lane is happy with how close it is to the weed reference though.

he says "smoke weed, talk **** like Lane Kiffin." The song is actually pretty bad but oh well

I was wrong (and thanks, bobo)

2009-10-28T14:58:13Z

In a post yesterday at RollBamaRoll I tried to explain the basic fact that Terrence Cody taking off his helmet was a non-issue. While that point is still accurate, I did make a mistake in the initial interpretation which a couple of RTT folks caught and commented on. I initially defended the interpretation (both at RBR and in a few threads here at RTT). I did some more reading last night and realized that I was wrong and the original post went a bit too far (emphasis in original):

Update #2: After spending a few hours last night poking around the NCAA football rule book, I see what bobo_the_vol was trying to say, and I now agree with him. My initial interpretations of a few different clauses in the rule book were incorrect. Upon further reading, Rule 4-3-h means exactly what I said it did not mean (oops). The rule that I was leaning on to provide that interpretation, after another few reads through, doesn't support my assertion as I thought it did. As a result, the initial post was incorrect: the ball was not dead before Julio fell on it. As far as this particular play is concerned, it's a distinction with no difference as the ball was never bobbled around and there wasn't a Tennessee player anywhere in the vicinity of it when Julio touched it, so the final conclusion of this post is still valid. Regardless, I regret the error and appreciate bobo_the_vol taking the time to educate my stubborn self .

Not being one to like being wrong, this really irritates me, but I do appreciate bobo_the_vol, kidbourbon, and anyone else who came along and helped me figure out my error so that I could correct it. Many thanks for that.

I also apologize for being a little more stubborn than I probably should have been on the issue.

I guess this is the part where I invite you to mock me for being a stupid Bammer who can't read. Have at it, I've earned it.

Ok, Enough Is Enough....

2009-10-27T18:40:27Z

I would like to formally call for an end to all discussion of the officiating during the Alabama game here on RTT. It's not doing anybody any good. While I disagree with the Bama fans' interpretation of the rules, and they disagree with ours, the bottom line is nobody on either side believes beyond the shadow of a doubt that the outcome would have been different had they dropped the flag.

So, let's let it go. Tennessee fans (myself included), let's stop jumping at every troll's flame over this stuff. Trolls, stop flaming, especially about Lane Kiffin. You want to call him names and illustrate how much you feel threatened by him, fine, just take it to your site or TSK where you'll find people who agree with you because we don't. No matter how much you say he sucks, has no class, is "Lame Kitten", "Kiffen", lies, whines, or whatever, right now he is still the coach that is turning UT football around and making them a disciplined, winning football team. Remember, we have the same talent as last season's team that went 5-7 and lost 4 games by 20 points each. This season, with the same talent, we've lost four games by 20 points total, and more talent is coming. We will continue to defend him. Your own team's blog won't allow that type of stuff at their place from us, so why not respect us a little more especially since our admins are so gracious in allowing you here?

Let's not let this devolve into GVX.

That is all.

Allow Me to Reiterate...

2009-10-27T05:06:42Z

Bumped from the FanPosts. Great job by VolnVA.

-- Joel

I do feel a bit as though I am beating a dead horse here as it has already been 48+ hours since the game ended, but I just got back home this evening from Birmingham after going to the game on Saturday. I just wanted to share a few observations and leave a few questions about 'Bama before refocusing on SCarolina.

I think I have been able to gain enough perspective now to admit that it was a highly entertaining game. I had a feeling all week that Tennessee was certainly capable of pulling the upset, but my rational brain thought that Alabama would win by 10-14. Their body of work to date is more impressive than any other team I've had the opportunity to watch this season, and other than the throttling of UGA, I think we can all admit that the Vols haven't garnered too many results thus far.

As the game unfolded, I continued to believe UT could win, but it looked more and more like UA would pull away. I felt it come close to getting away at the end of the first half, then I felt it slipping again at the end of the 4th quarter. Before it got out of control, though, the defense came up huge (as they are wont to do) and 3+ of the most exciting minutes I have ever witnessed unfolded, ultimately coming up 4 seconds short of being the BEST 3+ minutes I think I have ever witnessed. Those last few minutes just truly encompassed everything that makes college football so spectacular on a weekly basis.

Before I ramble too much (and perhaps I have already crossed that threshold...), below are my observations and outstanding questions to put to rest before I can truly move on to the Gamecocks.

I was very proud of my guys...and I was extremely devastated by the final outcome. In my opinion, the most dangerous thing for a sports fan is hope. I was ready to embrace defeat with 3.5 minutes to go, but there the Vols went clawing, scratching, and making things happen. I felt that I was about to be part of something special, something that you could really tell the kids/grandkids about one day, "Yes, I was there when UT scored 10 in the last 2 minutes to destroy an undefeated Alabama team's dreams." Then a series of unfortunate events happened...and I couldn't believe it. I was on the last row of the upper deck and had to resist the urge to jump overboard, ultimately settling for collapsing in a heap on the ground. My girlfriend said she was afraid I was never going to get up. I am encouraged that we are competitive again...but that loss hurt...a lot.
Jonathan Crompton deserves better. I'll confess to being a bit fair weather when it comes to Crompton. I was ready to throw him under the bus after the UCLA game. But if you look at all the crap he has had to deal with over the last season and a half and then consider his last 9 quarters, I am amazed. He has played with poise and confidence since the end of the Auburn game and I no longer dread every time that he drops back to throw. As has been mentioned in several other posts, this had a chance to be his vindication, his redemption...I wish it had happened for him.
Our defense is beastly. It's not just EB. It's Janzen Jackson. It's Dennis Rogan. It's Rico McCoy (speaking of which, is there an injury update on him? I didn't notice while being at the game, but I caught the 2nd half of the replay on CSS last night and took notice when they said he was out with an undisclosed injury). It's Monte being smarter than everybody. I obviously want EB back next year, but we can continue to be strong on that side of the ball without him.
Penalties hurt us...badly. We've all gone back and forth on the fat man's helmet at the end of the game ad nauseam (thanks, PTI). I'm not suggesting we got screwed by the refs in one way or another over the course of the game (because it's really hard to tell these things from the last row of the stadium), but we had some real drive killers. Those 2 long 2nd half drives that ended up with no points were seriously hampered by penalties. Whether it was a lack of discipline or just being physically outmanned at some spots, we've got to clean that up for next week.
This is the one that really feels talked out, but the last 45 seconds were not well managed. Obviously you don't want to get that close and throw an interception trying to get 5 more yards. I understand that. But given the way we had been destroyed on the previous 40+ yard attempt (it hit Cody in the armpit it was so low), didn't it make sense to get closer? If Lincoln's quad really was bothering him and he's struggling to get the right combination of height and distance, doesn't it help him to be 7-10 yards closer in the middle of the field? Again, it's been well-documented that an extra point wouldn't have made it against the absolute jailbreak that occurred, but I'm not sure Lane put Lincoln in the best position for success.
Did anyone else notice commentary on how 'Bama "dominated" the game until the last 3 minutes? Between the AP write up of the game, a couple of Saban's post-game comments, Pat Forde's article, and some things in the Birmingham paper, I became convinced they watched a different game than I did. Alabama controlled the 1st half, but UT owned them in the 2nd. I just found it strange they would essentially ignore the entire 2nd half of the game...
None of the other coaches in the SEC want to give Kiffin credit for anything. I know he came in with guns blazing and aimed barbs specifically at Meyer, Saban, and Spurrier. I find it odd, however, that both Meyer and Saban have blamed extenuating circumstances (the Great Flu Outbreak of 2009, i.e.) or conservative play calling (don't you guys have control over that?) rather than giving some credit to Lane & Co. Maybe he's in their heads, maybe they fear the recruiting behemoth if they say anything positive, maybe they don't like that he's taken the same group of guys and made them a lot better. Maybe they don't like that our defense has made them look extremely vulnerable. Whatever it is, it strikes me as odd.
Let's be clear...I really don't like Alabama, but dangit if I don't respect them. I think Saban is a money-grubbing opportunist. I find their band with their little capes incredibly irritating. Rammer Jammer instills in me a tremendous desire to pop somebody in the face (I know you can't change the lyrics on the fly, but c'mon, 12-10 does not a "hell beating" make). Their drunk/obnoxious fans are just as bad as anybody else's drunk/obnoxious fans. But I don't know of any other place where fans would seek out supporters of their rival, pat them on the back, shake their hand, and say, "Your team played a great game today." Maybe they were saying this to all UT fans, maybe they just said it to me because I looked more despondent than anyone else. I have been to 4 games in Alabama (last one in B-ham, 3 in Tuscaloosa) and I have enjoyed them all. The majority of that crowd knows class.
I have a funny feeling that this was Alabama's Clint Stoerner moment. I, like probably all of you, have many vivid memories of the 1998 season. Tennessee had no business beating Syracuse on Donovan McNabb's personal field day, but they did. Tennessee had no business beating Florida minus one bad dude named Al Wilson. Tennessee had no business coming back and ultimately pulling out a miracle against an 8-0 Arkansas team that had a huge lead. Sometimes, things just go your way on the way to the ultimate prize. If anybody's taking notes, I am calling Alabama winning the NC in 2.5 months. It is their year.

That was a lot to say...but I had to finish the cathartic process by writing this all down. I am now ready to move on to a HUUUUUUUUUGE game against South Carolina. 8-4 is still a legitimate goal, but 6-6 or 5-7 (Kentucky did beat Auburn at Auburn...I'm just saying) is possible if things fall the wrong way. Lane, have the guys shake off Alabama and get ready to go for the last 5 games, please. Thanks.

Tennessee on ESPN Radio

2009-10-26T16:54:21Z

Colin Cowherd had Todd Blackledge as a guest on his show today. The first thing that Colin brought up was Tennessee football. He didn't even mention this weekend's game, he started off simply: "Tennessee is going to be a beast." Blackledge agreed. They both said that this team has some talent now, but in a few years, they will be loaded.

Mike and Mike this morning also talked a little about the Vols. Greeny and Golic both emphatically agreed that Tennessee is going to be "really good".

I know that ESPN radio is no psychic hotline, but I think it's pretty interesting that a 3-4 team would be drawing such reviews - much less getting this kind of air time to begin with. It kind of reaffirms my strange feeling of content despite losing such a heartbreaker

*UPDATE*

For those of you with ESPN Insider, here is the link to the Cowherd segment:

http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/espnradio/player?id=4596569

He starts talking about Tennessee at the 20:20 mark, and again with Blackledge at 23:15. He says Tennessee is going to be a beast about 15 times. He also jabs Alabama fan for thinking they're the best ever, because with a decent QB, Tennessee beats both them and Florida. (Obviously, though, it was anyone but Crompton's fault we lost to Bama)

PTI backs up Kiffin and Mullen's beef

2009-10-26T23:02:46Z

Anyone catch Pardon the Interruption? Wilbon and Kornheiser said that Florida and Alabama needed the help of officials to win this weekend. They said, without a doubt, the no-call on Cody was blown, and so was the fumbled TD by the Gators. Not a mention of Kiffin or Mullen, because presumably, this issue isn't about them...

They also go on to say that Alabama and Florida aren't that good and Wilbon thinks there is an agenda at play in college football.

SEC to Coaches: Quit Acting Like Officials Should Be Accountable

2009-10-26T18:41:38Z

GoVolsXtra - SEC reprimands Kiffin

With the news that the SEC has again reprimanded Lane Kiffin, this time for criticizing the latest in a string of poor (inexcusable?) SEC officiating performances, I'm getting a little aggravated. These reprimands against Petrino, Mullen, and now Kiffin are ridiculous. How can Mike Slive, in the same breath, admonish Lane Kiffin for failing to adhere to the SEC's code of ethics in criticizing shoddy officiating, when the heart of the issue is frustration with officials who continue to demonstrate that they can't adhere to the SEC's code of baseline competence?

To threaten Coach Kiffin with a suspension for future infractions is laughable. Get off your high horse, Mike Slive. There's no way he wasn't smiling all the way to the bank when Kiffin's baiting of Florida drummed up even more national interest in the SEC over the summer. The officials that work your league are blowing calls and affecting the outcome of games. Why don't you to go huff and puff at them? Suspending the Ark/Fla crew clearly had no effect on the crew that worked the UT/Alabama game. How about getting off Kiffin's back and announcing a new zero tolerance policy for blatant officiating errors?

I get the spirit of the rule. You don't want Coaches whining about close calls. But that isn't what's going on here. The SEC can't expect Coaches to stay quiet while officials are getting it wrong over and over again.

And where's Tennessee's worthless letter of apology? Did Slive include that in the P.S. of his threat to Kiffin? "Coach, chill out or we're gonna suspend you. Signed, Mike Slive. P.S. Sorry the refs blew that call, but what are you gonna do? It's not like SEC football is a billion dollar industry, or anything."

RTT Pick 'Em: marmot_man_111 still leads Pete Carroll (!)

2009-10-25T23:16:58Z

Rank	Selection	W-L	Pts
Standings for Week 8
1	JohnnyVolHawk's picks	8-0	36
1	smokymtnmander's picks	8-0	36
1	Rocky Top Talk's picks	8-0	36
1	jacksonian's picks	8-0	36
1	Incipient_Senescence's picks	8-0	36
1	spartanbeta's picks	8-0	36
1	Big Ol' Daboner's picks	8-0	36
1	Grayhound's picks	8-0	36
1	rm_husker82's picks	8-0	36
1	tthomas's picks	8-0	36
1	ugaedgar's picks	8-0	36
1	Phonies's picks	8-0	36

Top ten for this week and overall below. Complete standings here.

Rank	Selection	W-L	Pts
Overall Standings Through Week 8
1	marmot_man_111's picks	71-22	553
2	Pete Carroll's picks	71-22	545
2	JCW's picks	73-20	545
4	Big Ol' Daboner's picks	68-25	538
5	Phonies's picks	71-22	537
6	nc2316's picks	72-21	535
6	mmmjtx's picks	70-23	535
8	Jimmy's Picks	69-24	533
9	Incipient_Senescence's picks	71-22	527
10	Wine2UTVOL's picks	66-27	526