3 Thoughts and a Struggle for Talismans

by CornFromAJar on Nov 30, 2007 3:22 PM EST in Tennessee Volunteer Football

We might be out of luck, folks. Literally. I've spent the last few weeks in this space being purposefully negative about the Vols, just for good luck. It wasn't too hard at first, the idea of losses to Vandy or Kentucky and the memories of horrible play at Florida and Alabama made pessimism fairly easy.

But not this week. I love this team. I'm thrilled that we're playing for a championship. And although I'll be horribly disappointed if we lose, and I'll surely find something to complain about, for now I'm just anxious and looking forward to Saturday.

Still, I feel a duty to say something bad about UT, so here goes:

We don't know how to play a full game
"Bad Erik" always shows up against LSU
Les Miles is the smartest coach evah

There you go. It's not much, but it's the best worst I can muster right now.

Geaux Vols!

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Les Miles is the smartest coach evah

...um, is there anything in the "downtalk the team to get good results" doctrine about blatant falsehoods? While our second-half performances may yet make that statement look good, it really has me nervous that you might be invoking some kind of reverse of the reverse. ;)

by David Hooper on Nov 30, 2007 3:31 PM EST reply actions

Nope

It's an entirely true statement. Miles is like Kenny Rodgers: knows when to hold 'em, knows when to fold 'em. His gambler-style playcalling is way better than Fulmer's conservative game plans. I mean, Fulmer's way has only won him about 72% of his games and put him in the SECCG five times in the last 11 years.

Miles is one of them new-fangled coaches what goes for it on fourth down and runs them spread plays and such.

You know, the kind of coach a whole bunch of us thought we needed after the Florida game. The kind of coach that would give us our only possible shot of ever getting back to Atlanta. And we couldn't be wrong; we're fans, we know everything.

Maybe I should have made #3 above to read more fully: Fulmer will get outcoached all day, because Miles is the smartest coach evah!

Yeah, that's the ticket.

by CornFromAJar on Nov 30, 2007 8:44 PM EST up reply actions

Perhaps

Miles certainly has his strengths. He's solid at recruiting, player development, and mid-week planning in particular. However, he's lacking in the real-time decision making department. If he's calling plays the teams has rehearsed and that he knows when he wants to use them, he's great. If a situation surprises him, he gets lost easily. In several games this season, he's made screwball judgments on timeouts, clock management, and even playcalls - most of which have worked out more due to the talent of the team then the wisdom of the call.

I'm a go-for-it-on-4th kind of guy myself - planning for 4 downs does amazing things to your playbook and significantly impairs a defense. But you really have to be be ready for the situations when they come up, and he gets caught frequently.

Still, I could see him outcoaching us, and I certainly don't dispute that. I just think that there are much better game-time coaches out there. Unfortunately, I think Meyer is one of them.

Enough of that. Go Vols!

by David Hooper on Nov 30, 2007 11:14 PM EST up reply actions

Or,

did my sarcasm-o-meter completely fail me?

by David Hooper on Nov 30, 2007 11:15 PM EST up reply actions

Um

Didn't I mention Al Wilson will be at the game. His presence will motivate the Vols.

by Smitty @ Rocky Top Talk on Nov 30, 2007 3:39 PM EST reply actions

It's Time.

Here we are on the precipice of a SEC Championship. What a season! It's been full of twists and turns and intrigue. 3 games took about ten years off my life! But, we still stand. It's time for Tennessee to reclaim its rightful place atop the SEC. It's time Tennessee draws a line in the sand and says, "Here, and no further!" It's time to make our return to elite BCS status. It's there for the taking. 60 minutes of Tennessee football to attain the types of memories that are priceless. Tomorrow the Vols will take the fight to LSU and lay it on the line for every Tennessean. I wish I could be there. But, I truly believe that the collective support of every true Vol fan combined with the heart and the fight of this Vols team will bring back to Tennessee a victory over these LSU tigers. Even if we come up short, however, we are still Tennessee! Let's give those Tigers a beating they will never forget! GO VOLS!!!

To Strive, To Seek, To Find, and Not to Yield.

by mike2ray on Nov 30, 2007 6:27 PM EST reply actions