This Just in……the Vols Stink!!!

I know it is only one game into the season, but I am ready to pronounce judgment upon the Tennessee Vols for the year.  After what I saw last night against UCLA, it’s pretty easy for me.  If there was even a shred of doubt that UT will never return to football prominence under Phil Fulmer, it was completely obliterated last night.

Now I know that I will probably catch hell from some Big Orange fans, but I feel I have plenty to back up my position here.  I have been a Vols fan since I attended school there back in 1994 and first walked into Neyland Stadium to behold the sea of rabid orange fans and hear their deafening roar as the team trounced Georgia.  I watched or listened to every game of that magical 1998 National Championship season and have stayed with them through their ups and downs since then.  But the last few years I have noticed alarming patterns arising……patterns which I once again noticed last night and will now present as my argument for the case stated above:

1.  Off-field discipline issues – I know, I know……every team seems to have them.  The thing is, a few years ago things got way out of hand and UT began to get a really bad reputation in the national spotlight.  You would have thought they were the Tennessee Hurricanes rather than the Vols.  Fans of opposing teams flooded the message boards and UT fans took a beating.  This was a huge embarrassment for Fulmer who promised to clean up the program……yet year-in and year-out, there never fails to be arrests, suspensions, guys getting dismissed from the team, etc.  It seems to me that Phil is not doing enough to get the message through to his players.

2.  On-field discipline issues – There seems to me to be way too many stupid mistakes being made on the field and with some players, it seems to be a recurring issue.  Take Arian Foster’s fumble in the red zone last night…..it was deja vu all over again.  How many times has this guy done that?  Montario Hardesty had already shown that he knows what to do with the ball inside the 20…..why not tell Foster, “Sorry, Butterfingers, but when we get in the red zone, you’re riding the pine.”  If not for the fumble, UT more than likely scores at least 3…..no overtime would have been needed.

Also, the penalties at crucial times just kill me.  The Vols had to take 3 points off the board because of a delay of game penalty….just a stupid penalty.  At another point in the game, the Vols missed getting a safety by a hair but still had UCLA pinned at about the 1-yard-line, which gave them an excellent opportunity to try once again for the safety.  But, alas, no.  UT’s nose guard (aka the guy who has the ball right in front of his face) jumps offside and now UCLA has the ball on their own 6.  Well, at least there were no stupid late hit or personal foul penalties like there usually are.

3.  The defense – All the pre-game hype was about UT’s great defense and offensive line (I’ll get to them in a minute).  They played pretty well in the first half, but after the half, what happened to the vaunted UT secondary?  When did Kevin Craft suddenly become Joe Montana?  For a team that used to be a defensive powerhouse, the D just does not look up to par and I’ll give my theory as to the reason right now…..

4.  The coaches – I can’t speak too much about this Clausen guy after only one game, but I thought we were getting someone who was going to bring in something new and fresh.  Looked like the same old thing last night, to me.  I just can’t help but think that Fulmer and Chavous still think this is 1998.  I have news for you boys……it ain’t.  The game has changed a lot since then and obviously you haven’t changed with it.  Using the same old tired, lame-ass gameplan isn’t going to work against younger, more innovative coaches such as Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Les Miles, or even Rick Neuheisel for that matter.  This old-school, conservative BS just doesn’t work anymore!  Fulmer was out-coached last night, as he has been for the last several years.  The talent level seems to decline more and more each year and there hasn’t been a truly dominant QB since Tee Martin…..oh, sure there have been some talented ones, but I think Fulmer’s antiquated approach to the game trumps that talent.  And, finally, Fulmer seems to have trouble getting the players motivated for the game.  There is a pattern in which UT seems to come into the game with a lackadaisical attitude, gets behind to the other team, and then wakes up and tries to make a comeback only to lose by a field goal.  I get upset watching the team because I want so badly for them to win and their demeanor on TV gives the impression that they just don’t give a shit.

5. The offensive line – In the pregame show, Lou Holtz and the other guys gushed over Tennessee’s offensive line like they wanted to take them out back and give them oral pleasure.  The fact that UT was “returning all five starters” seemed to be a big point to them.  I’m sure they felt embarrassed as hell after watching the O-line get pushed all over the field by the Bruins’ D-line.  Crompton didn’t really impress me much in this game, but maybe he would have had a few more completions if his O-line wasn’t shouting “Ole!” and letting the entire Bruins defense in to try to murder him.  Maybe Crompton did something to piss them off?  Maybe he’s an asshole and they wanted to see him get his head ripped off?  Who knows?

The bottom line, in my opinion, is that issues 1-5 all point back to one man and that is Phil Fulmer.  Problem is, UT just signed him to a monster contract extension, so he is not going anywhere anytime soon.  I think a lot of people still support him but I predict that that support will wane as the disappointing seasons continue to pile up.  And please don’t bring up the fact that UT made it to the SEC Championship game last year.  The fact of the matter is that they got lucky and backed into it and LSU easily made the point that it was the better team.  Anyway, I think it is going to take a major fan revolt to get Fulmer dislodged from his position.  There is already a lot of grumbling on the UT message boards.  If UT ends up 1-2 after the Florida game, I bet the grumbling will only get louder. 

I feel pretty confident in everything I say here, but will of course admit I was wrong if UT goes on to beat Florida or Georgia or Alabama (although I am tired of just beating one of those teams each year constituting a “good year”) and/or win the SEC, but at this point it doesn’t scare me because it isn’t going to happen.  I will probably watch the Florida game at the start and then turn it off shortly after halftime when Tebow and the Gators are once again making Phil Fulmer their bitch.  I’ve been there and done that too many times and have better things to do with my time.

I may be accused of “not being a true UT fan” or of abandoning my team just because they aren’t winning and that’s fine with me.  I doubt that anyone will dispute that Tennessee is one of the elite programs in the NCAA but they are on the decline.  A team with the history, the facilities, and the prestige of Tennessee should not be slipping every year in the recruiting ratings.  They should be winning an SEC championship every few years like Florida, Georgia, and LSU.  They just are not living up to their potential and I for one am not OK with getting my heart broken week after week, season after season.  I have made the decision to treat UT like I do Vanderbilt……I wish the best for them and hope they win each week, but do not get emotionally invested in them.