Eric Berry and Tennessee Football

I could not have anticipated how bad this season would be. There was no way I could have anticipated how bad our QB's would be. As of late it seems Tennessee has found the formula for success: DON'T THROW THE BALL!

After hitting rock bottom and losing to Wyoming (13-7, all 13 of Wyoming's points came off of Stephens' interception throws) the Vols (FINALLY) put together a simple game plan. Run the ball. They only threw 9 times against Vandy (and had 2 picks) and won 20-13.

It's sad to see Fulmer on his way out. He deserved better than this, but I won't feel too bad for him. He had my dream job for 16 years, and has an incredible resume*, not to mention he made himself a multi-millionaire in the process.

It's really a shame to see this defense go to waste. They are probably the best in the SEC (statistically they are near the top, but if you factor in that they have a field position handicap, and time of possession handicap both caused by the offense, you can really appreciate how good the D is).

It's also a shame to think that Phil would probably be roaming the sidelines a few more years had he not made such a bad hire in Clawson. Clawson took almost the exact same offensive pieces from last year's team (minus Ainge) and made them into one of the worst offenses in all of the NCAA. Tennessee returned 5 starting O-lineman from last year's team that only gave up 4 sacks all year! They gave up 6 against South Carolina! It's pretty obvious that the problem is Clawson.

The one bright spot we do have is Eric Berry. He seems to be a shoe-in for the Thorpe award, and he is the only sophomore to ever be a semi-finalist for the Lott Trophy. He leads the NCAA in INT's (7) and INT yards (264) with 2 TD's. Not to mention 67 tackles, 3 sacks, 6.5 TFL's and he laying out fools left and right including Knowshon Moreno, and that hit on a Bama WR.

If Berry keeps it up for 4 years he will definitely be in the conversation for best defensive player ever. He is unbelievable. He is only a sophomore but has 12 picks, 3 TD's, he's right around 150 tackles, and holds the SEC career and season records for INT yards, and he is only 14 yards short of the career NCAA mark. Although it's been hard to watch my Vols, it's been a pleasure watching Berry.

*1998 National Title
2 SEC Titles
Led Tennessee to 5 SEC Title games in the last 11 years. Most in conference.
NCAA COY 1998
From 1995-1998 went 45-5
Finished 6 seasons in top 10, 13 seasons finished ranked
13 January bowls
Coached 17 First Team All-Americans
Coached 16 NFL First Round selections
150 wins
97 SEC wins

Peyton the Choker

Peyton Manning is a choker. The ignorance of the statement is almost laughable.

"He couldn't beat Florida" is why he got a bad rap for his college days. Peyton led the Vols to rankings of #22, #3, #9, and #7. He won 3 bowl games and an SEC championship. He led Tennessee to 3 straight victories over Bama (who was our biggest rival at the time, and we hadn't beat them in 9 years). The 4 years Peyton was at Tennessee, Florida finished #7, #2, #1 and #4. Who can blame Manning for losing? Despite finishing 39-5 against SEC opponents, Manning is a choker.

Football is a team sport. Somebody claiming a QB is the best, or is clutch by the number of Super Bowls they have won is incomplete. QB's only have control over about 45% of the game, the other 55% is obviously crucial in winning a Super Bowl.

Manning has had a few bad playoff appearances. No excuses. It happens. Manning has had good games, when the Colts lost for which he was called a choker, Steelers 2005 (Manning posted a rating of 91) and Chargers 2007 (rating of 97)*. In relation to the losses, people said of Manning, "He can't win the big one."

He was even criticized for regular season losses. In 2004 at New England, in the 4th quarter with a 3 point deficit James fumbled on the goal line. The next possession with 24 seconds left Vanderjagt missed a 48 yarder. Colts lose. "Manning can't win the big one." Big one? This is regular season. Of course in 2005 when Manning did beat the Pats people said, "Big one? This is regular season."

Manning is the only QB to post a perfect passer rating in the playoffs. He has a Super Bowl. He's been to the playoffs 6 straight seasons. He's overcome terrible defenses to get to the playoffs. He won a Super Bowl with possibly the worst run defense ever. The last time Mr. Clutch (Tom Brady) didn't have a top 10 run defense, he didn't make the playoffs.

The Colts lost to the Steelers because of a missed field goal (indoors, on turf). "Manning is a choker" was the reason. Brady beats the Raiders on a bogus call and a long field goal in 3 inches of snow. "Brady is clutch." is the reason.

A little known fact is that Peyton Manning has never thrown an interception in the 2 minute drill with the game on the line. Brady has done it 3 times (twice in the playoffs, twice against the Colts). Not that Brady isn't clutch, it's just silly that he is considered clutch while Manning is considered the choker.

Now you can see why the ignorance of these statements is laughable. Peyton Manning has a Super Bowl Ring, and all stats show that he makes his teammates better**. But he is a product of a system, and a choker? Right.

* Manning lost when he posted a 91 rating and a 97 rating in the playoffs, but has won when he posted ratings of 39 and 71. Brady has won in the playoffs with ratings of 66, 57, and lost with ratings of 82 and 79. This further illustrates the fact that it's not always up to the QB.

**Players tend to have their best years with the Colts: E James, J Pathon, K Dilger, M Pollard, B Stokely, D Rhodes, R Lilja. Many players that have played with Brady have had equal, or better season performances with other QB's: T Brown, D Branch, D Graham, C Dillon, D Patten, D Stallworth, J Gaffney. To say that Manning has the stats he has because of his weapons is absurd. His weapons change all the time but he continues to rack up huge stats year in, and year out.

Anticipating The College Football Season

This is the 10th anniversary of Tennessee's title run. I don't think people really appreciate how good that team was. They beat #17 Syracuse, #2 Florida, #7 UGA, #10 Arkansas, #23 Miss St, and #2 FSU in the title game. Those teams finished #25, #5, #14, #16, unranked, and #3 respectively in the final AP poll. I am unaware of any National Champion who beat 6 ranked teams. The '98 Vols are ranked by computers #2 all-time behind the '71 Cornhuskers.

Tennessee had an efficient offense and a smothering defense. As I recall, no tailback had a 100-yard game against Tennessee including Shaun Alexander. Tennessee gave up less than 2 TD's per game and scored 32.8 per game against 9 SEC opponents. This was made possible by the amount of talent on both sides of the ball.

Starters that made NFL rosters:
Tee Martin
Travis Henry **
Jamal Lewis **
Travis Stephens
Shaun Bryson *
Peerless Price *
Cedrick Wilson *
David Martin *
Chad Clifton **
Cosey Coleman *
Shaun Ellis **
Darwin Walker *
Corey Terry
Al Wilson **
Raynoch Thompson *
Eric Westmorelant *
DWayne Goodrich *
Andre Lott
Deon Grant *
Jeff Hall

19 players in all. That's an NFL player from at least 16 of the 22 starting positions. That's not even mentioning the several reserves who ended up playing in the NFL such as: Eric Parker, Donte' Stallworth, Fred Weary, Will Overstreet, etc. 28 players were drafted, 29 made NFL rosters. It was an awesome team.

This upcoming season reminds me of the 1998 team. Our pre-season ranking is in the teens. Just like in 1998 we lost our stars on both sides of the ball Manning/Ainge and Little/Mayo, but we have 17 returning starters (6 All-SEC), with a great crop of RB's, WR's, OL, DB's and DT's coming back. We have a new O-coordinator. All the new starters will be players that have experience and were coveted recruits (Crompton was the #2 QB in his class). McCoy will have a breakout season, similar to Al Wilson, Lucas Taylor reminds me of Peerless Price, and let's be honest, when have we ever had a playmaker like Eric Berry? The current team has 12-18 starters and major contributors that I could see making NFL rosters. The biggest problem is we are playing Florida and UGA who both did very well last year, and are both returning many starters. We have the talent and the coaching to go all the way. If we find a way to win those close ones like in '98, we will go all the way. Go Vols!

* NFL Starter
** Pro Bowler

Vols in the NFL

There are 43 Vols currently on NFL rosters. 8 Pro Bowlers, 3 Rookies, 30 who got significant playing time in 2007, and 21 who were starters in 2007. 2 were completely inactive last year due to injury.

It is a significant accomplishment to place 43 players on NFL rosters, 21 of them starters. 31* of the 66 BCS schools don't even have 21 former players currently in the NFL, let alone 21 starters.

Tennessee may place a few more players on NFL rosters before the season starts**. Pro Bowl linebacker Al Wilson has been looking at making a come back. He has been interested in signing with a contender. Travis Henry was cut by the Broncos due to nagging injuries. He was leading the NFL in rushing last season when he got hurt. Cedrick Wilson and Peerless Price still have talent, but other issues may keep them from playing again this year.

Undrafted rookies Eric Young, Jonathan Hefney, Xavier Mitchell, Antonio Reynolds, and Chris Brown are all battling to make NFL rosters this year.

*Including West Virginia, Clemson, Oklahoma St, Georgia Tech, and Missouri
**And may lose a few due to cuts

The Real Finals MVP

So I figure Paul Pierce won Finals MVP because he has been on team through the hard times. Although he had good stats, he did not have the best series.

My MVP is Ray Allen. He is the only member of the Boston Three Party to not have a bad game. Pierce only had one bad game, but it was awful. In Game 3 he had 6 points on 14 fga. If Garnett or Pierce had even a mediocre game 3, with Allen leading the way (25 points on 13 shots) the Celtics may have swept.

Garnett really only had 2 good games, so he is out of the running. Pierce choked away his best game. Kobe picked his pocket twice in the last few minutes of game 5, negating the 38 points he had scored (16 from the stripe). So let's compare their final stats:

Allen: 20.3 ppg, 73 fga, 51% fg, 5.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 spg, 0.7 bpg, 1.8 topg
Pierce: 21.8 ppg, 88 fga, 43% fg, 4.5 rpg, 6.3 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.3 bpg, 3.7 topg

The only stat where Pierce has a real advantage is assists. Ray Allen was consistent. Ray Allen was the man. He just doesn't have the star power Garnett and Pierce have. He couldn't just play better than those 2 and win MVP, he had to absolutely stand out, which he didn't. Oh well, I am sure Ray is just happy to have a championship.

Personnel Change

Well, a lot has happened in the last few weeks with the Men's Hoops squad. Ramar Smith and Duke Crews were dismissed for substance abuse violations. Crews will be missed, but I never cared much for Smith. He was a superior athlete but a very poor free throw shooter, jump-shooter, and not a great passer.

Tennessee did sign a great prospect to pick up the slack (I actually think we are a better team after this shuffle). PG Bobby Maze who started his career at OU, just finished a year in JC where he averaged nearly 21 points, 7 assists, and 2 steals per game.

We did lose 5 players that had major minutes last year, but I couldn't feel better about the circumstances. This is what our team will look like...

Jr - Tyler Smith - 6' 7" 215 lbs (13.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3.4 apg)
Jr - Wayne Chism - 6' 9" 242 lbs (9.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
Jr - JP Prince - 6' 7" 205 lbs (8 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
Jr - Bobby Maze - 6' 2" 175 lbs (20.7 ppg, 6.8 apg, 1.7 spg)
Fr - Scotty Hopson - 6' 5" 185 lbs (5-Star)
So - Brian Williams - 6' 10" 267 lbs (2.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
Sr - Ryan Childress - 6' 9" 235 lbs (2.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
Fr - Reynaldo Woolridge - 6' 8" 205 lbs (4-Star)
Fr - Phillip Jurick - 6' 10" 250 lbs (4-Star)
Jr - Josh Tabb - 6' 4" 196 lbs (1.3 ppg, 1.1 apg)
So - Cameron Tatum - 6' 6" 196 lbs (5 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
Fr - Daniel West - 6' 1" 165 lbs (3-Star)

We are stacked. I think this is definitely enough talent to get us finally past the Sweet 16. We'll see how it all comes together.

Scotty Hopson

Tennessee's Men's Hoops offseason just got a little bit better. I think Scotty Hopson was waiting to see if Pearl was staying before he committed. He is from Hopkinsville, KY and rivals.com has him rated as the 5th best recruit in the country, and the 2nd best shooting guard. That will help fill the void left by Lofton and J Smith. Hopefully he can have a huge impact as a freshman. He is Tennessee's first McDonald's All-American since Yarbrough (1998). Hopson finished third in the dunk contest and scored 10 points on 4/5 shooting in the game.

Tennessee Vols '07-'08

Well, I was very sad that we lost, but I have to say the season was a success, and probably the best team Tennessee has ever had. We tied our highest seed ever with a #2. We advanced to the Sweet 16 (the farthest we have gone, but multiple times). And we were ranked #1 for the first time ever, and finished 31-5 with our most wins ever.

Chris Lofton was named 3rd team All-American, after being 2nd team his junior year. I was mostly sad that I will never get to see Lofton play again. He was my favorite college player ever. Chris was first team all-SEC 3 times, and SEC POY his junior year. He averaged 16.6 ppg in his four year career. Lofton was ranked by rivals.com as the #2 3-pt shooter of all time. His best individual season was '06-'07 where he averaged 20.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.5 spg and shot .479 from the field on 14 fg attempts/game. After leading the SEC in scoring his junior year, you would expect Lofton to shoot more his senior year. He reduced his shots/game by 2 attempts his final season. The team was more balanced with the additions of Prince and T. Smith, not to mention the maturation of a few players that played significant minutes as freshman the prior year. Lofton, who was considered front-runner for POY by many this past pre-season, unselfishly changed his game to make Tennessee a better team. It's not that he couldn't score (he averaged 22 ppg in the 10 games where he took 14 shots) his senior year, he just didn't have to.



I was also very concerned that Pearl would leave. Indiana was very interested in him, and he at one time had said that to be the Hoosiers coach was his dream job.

Yesterday morning, on the Dan Patrick Show, Bruce Pearl admitted that friends involved in administration at IU had asked him what he thought about possibly taking the job there. He informed them that it was "no longer his dream job".

Today Pearl made this statement: "I have said many times that I am a coach that digs his roots deep within a community. That is especially the case here at the University of Tennessee. In the last three years we have averaged more than 25 wins while winning SEC championships and making back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances. The fan support has been amazing with 20,000 fans at Thompson-Boling Arena creating the best homecourt advantage in the nation. While there have been rumors about me being considered for coaching jobs at other schools, I want the Tennessee fans to know that the only school I am interested in talking about is the University of Tennessee. We have started something special here and I look forward to being a part of it for a very long time. It is great to be a Volunteer.”

It certainly is great to be a Tennessee Vol. Thank you coach. We look forward to having a winning tradition in Men's hoops for a long time.

All-Time NBA Team

Upon Lish's request, I have come up with this team. He specifically said it couldn't be an obvious team, it has to be a team I feel would play well together. He also said I had to pick a real 6th man, but I don't want to. If I were to simply take the most dominant players at each position it would be Magic, MJ, Bird, Malone, and Wilt. The obvious problem with that team is there isn't enough ball to go around. So let's get on with my team...

Point Guard: This team needs a table setter, and I don't think that there has ever been a better one than John Stockton. He is one of the most fundamentally sound players I ever saw. In his prime ('88-'95) he averaged 15.8 ppg and 13.3 apg, including 3 straight seasons of 17 and 13 (Nash won MVP with 15 and 11). Stockton is the all-time assists leader, and the all-time steals leader. He was All-NBA 11 times, and All-Defense 5 times. He was Mr. Dependable, he missed 22 games his entire NBA career, and he shot 51% for his career from the field and 83% from the line. Let's not forget he hit one of the greatest shots in playoff history.

Shooting Guard: There isn't a whole lot necessary to say here, he is the greatest player of all time, and the team is built around him. MJ averaged 30.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 5.3 apg, and 2.3 spg for his career, shooting 49.7% from the field. He was MVP 5 times, first team All-NBA 10 times, first team All-Defense 9 times, and won 6 titles. The only other shooting guard even close to Jordan is probably Kobe Bryant, who looks like MJ more and more every day.

Small Forward: Larry Bird did it all too. For his career he averaged 24.3 ppg, 10 rpg, 6.3 apg, and 1.7 spg shooting 49.6% from the field. He won MVP honors 3 times (finished 2nd in voting 4 times) and led his team to 3 NBA titles. He was first team All-NBA 10 times (including his rookie year) and had All-Defensive honors 3 times. He was one of the greatest competitors the sport ever saw. According to legend, Larry Bird walked into the locker room just before the 3-point contest and asked, "Which one of you motherf***ers is coming in 2nd?" Of course, Larry went on to win it.

Power Forward: Charles Barkley is my favorite player ever, so this pick may be due to bias. He bruised his way through the NBA averaging 22.1 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 3.9 apg, and 1.5 spg and shot 54.1 % for his career. He won MVP honors in 1993, but he fits this team because he is unselfish. He is this team's enforcer. Images of Sir Charles decking Laimbeer and body slamming Shaq are embedded in my mind.

Center: This is the toughest position. I don't even think that David Robinson is a top 5 center all-time, but I think he fits in with this team the best. Bill Russell is the perfect type of player for this team, but I don't think Bill Russell physically would have had a chance against Shaq and Hakeem. Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are probably the best 2 centers ever, but I would rather have the primary scoring go through MJ and Larry. So here we have it, David Robinson. 21.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg, and 3.0 bpg. Maybe the most important stat is that he shot 73.6% from the free throw line. He was a 1-time MVP, 10-time All-NBA, and 8-time All-Defensive. Like Barkley, the Admiral doesn't need a lot of touches to get a lot of production. But if you need him to, he can score. Robinson put up 70 in one game.

Sixth Man: This is a tough one as well, but I can't think of anybody better than Scottie Pippen. He may be the best on the ball defender ever, and his length and quickness allows him to guard just about anybody 1-3. He can handle the ball, shoot the 3, and take it to the hole. 10 All-Defensive and 7 All-NBA honors...his versatility qualifies him as the 6th man for my squad. Since the team is built around MJ, it doesn't hurt to have his right hand man. I guess I could go with Manu Ginobili or John Havlicek off the bench, since they truly are 6th men and they are great, but I need defense, not scoring.

There you have it, that's my team. This is the best team I can come up with. They would win 82 games in today's NBA. What you got Lish?

Tennessee Hoops

I can't ever remember the University of Tennessee being good at hoops. Our biggest problem through the years has been getting talent, especially keeping in-state talent. Tennessee has barely 6 million people, and with Memphis, Vandy, Louisville, Kentucky and Georgia Tech all within shouting distance it has been very hard to get those kids to wear orange.

Bruce Pearl has done a wonderful job in the 3 years that he has been there. Even when Tennessee has had talent (Hamer, Yarbrough, Watson, Houston) no coach has been able to capitalize. Pearl has taken the talent left by Buzz Peterson and had great success, holding an SEC record of 35-14, including a record of 5-1 against the back-to-back national champion Gators. Not to mention Pearl brought Tennessee their first #1 ranking ever, earlier this season.


Currently the Vols are 27-3, #1 in RPI and #4 in the AP poll. Part of Pearl's formula for success is keeping in-state talent. Bringing Tyler Smith and JP Prince back to the state of Tennessee, after they had played with Iowa and Arizona (respectively), has resulted in Tennessee's first outright SEC title in my lifetime.

But alas, that is not all that is right with Tennessee hoops. Memphis is #2 in AP and #2 in RPI, while Vanderbilt is holding down the 16th spot in the AP and #7 in RPI. Tennessee and Memphis brought the 5th ever in-state showdown of #1 vs #2, with Tennessee coming out victorious in a tight win on the road.



With all this excitement we almost forget about the #3 Lady Vols. What more could a "football state" ask for from the hoops world?...How about men's and women's national titles?

March 9th, Note: Vandy's women are #21. In men's hoops, Belmont and Austin Peay won their conferences. The state of Tennessee will have 5 schools represented in the NCAA tourney.