Your Mom and Wilt Chamberlain have the questions this week, and they give us a chance to make a little side-rambling about Mike Griffith's report card after the UAB game.
Generally, Griff is one of the News-Sentinel writers I agree with most. He doesn't overly dwell in the realm of the negative, he's usually factually correct...and well, he's not John Adams.
Having said that, Griff's report card from Saturday's 35-3 win over UAB is a picture of the mindset of a significant percentage of Vol Nation right now.
And part of that mindset is totally insane.
Tennessee's offense ran for 266 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 fumbles and averaged a whopping 6.5 yards per carry.
Griff gave them a C.
Lucas Taylor caught 9 passes for 132 yards. Gerald Jones caught two touchdown passes. Brandon Warren made his real Tennessee debut.
Griff gave the receivers a D+.
Tennessee held UAB to a field goal and won the game by 32 points (and not that it matters, but they covered).
Griff gave the overall performance a D+.
Have you lost your mind?
Look, if you want to be negative, God knows you've got company. If you want to question Crompton & Clawson (there's a "cc's" joke in there somewhere), you can. If you're still upset about UCLA, me too.
But good grief, let's be rational.
D+?! If that performance by the tailbacks is a C...good grief Mike, what's an A look like?
Tennessee fans need to stop being so spoiled, suck it up and deal. The same people who didn't enjoy Atlanta last year because it came with three losses are clearly still in need of therapy in 2008.
If you want to be negative and hateful...wait 'til Sunday.
I can't read the comments on the News-Sentinel articles anymore because they make me furious. There are legions of Vol fans who're spreading the word that Florida's going to win by at least five touchdowns on Saturday. Vegas says Florida by a touchdown. Vol faithful say Florida by whatever they want.
How did that happen?
If you want to be pissed, you may have reason to be after Saturday's game. I'm not misled about just how average we've looked thus far, nor have I forgotten the worst loss of my lifetime the Gators handed us last season. And no one is required to be as optimistic as I generally am.
But if you're one of the Vol "fans" who're trashing us right now...if we win, do you celebrate as much as the rest of us? And do you see the imbalance in that?
I cannot stand the fairweather bunch who will spend six days running us down because it's easy...and then if we do find a way on Saturday night, will turn right around and want to celebrate us. I cannot stand all this negativity coming into the Florida game when we haven't even played yet. If you want to get bitter about things, you wait until after we've lost to do it. Right now we're 0-0 in SEC play and the score of the Florida game is likewise. Shut up.
Optimism and negativity aside, here's a realistic attempt to grade the Vols this week, as posed by The Stilt:
How would you grade the VOLS performance this past weekend?
QUARTERBACK: C-
Crompton was average: 19 of 31, 240 yards, 2 scores and 2 picks. UAB's defense isn't very good so it gets downgraded to slightly below average. The kid is still feeling himself and the new offense out...and yes, of course, we hope he gets a better feel by Saturday.
RUNNING BACKS: A
Look, I don't understand with the aforementioned numbers how it's anything but. What more did you want from any of those guys?
WIDE RECEIVERS: B-
Lucas Taylor continues to be underappreciated. Gerald Jones got two touchdowns, and both men seem to be generally on the same page as Crompton. Brandon Warren looked good when thrown to. Arian Foster made a nice play on his one reception. Luke Stocker needs a catch early in the Florida game to regain his composure. You could question the reserves, but it's not their fault if they don't get thrown to and we're busy running.
OFFENSIVE LINE: C-
Again, UAB now has the worst defense in the FBS, so competition has to be a factor. Lots of yards after contact for the tailbacks, whose skill and speed had more to do with the 266 rushing yards than smashmouth blocking did. Penalties frustrated, Crompton was sacked and defenses are still forcing bad throws with pressure on him. This line must play up to its potential next week.
DEFENSIVE LINE: C
Contain but few tackles for loss against Webb and UAB, though this unit has done a good job of stopping the tailback for two straight weeks. Bolden and Williams are experienced in the middle, and the ends must continue to grow.
LINEBACKERS: C
Bending but not breaking against a decent offense; missed tackles will haunt if they reappear on Saturday. Ellix Wilson has been solid, Rico McCoy needs to show up more.
SECONDARY: B-
Eric Berry (son) and friends have seven interceptions in two games, including Berry's drive-stopper last week. DeAngelo Willingham hasn't been beat all season, and this is a unit with versatility that can come in handy.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C
Chad Cunningham keeps almost kicking it to the end zone. Daniel Lincoln didn't get a chance to redeem himself, the Vols didn't get many chances on kick returns. Kick coverage has improved since last year.
COACHING: C-
The philosophy grade was an F through the first six quarters of the season, and better improve on Saturday. The Vols did finally say "screw it" in the second half and found great results. Poor clock management at the end of the first half I'm going to blame on the coaches more than Crompton. If they're still looking for what they're good at, I can't help them. Still...the Vols won by 32 points.
OVERALL: C+
Again...32 points. UAB's not very good and they weren't going to tell us everything about our football team no matter the score. The Vols play hard even if they don't always play smart, and the issues don't appear to be talent-related (with the possible exception of Crompton, but that'll take some time to fully answer). Nothing definitive can be said about this team until Saturday night.
Check out YMSWWC for his grades and everyone else's...and hey, you can join us on Facebook by clicking the link in the right hand column.
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