Vol Nation Growing More Restless

The Tennessee football team (2-3, 0-2) begins preparations for the Georgia game this week, and my guess is that there will not be enough time to cover all of the deficiencies on the offensive side of the ball.  Vol fans that I talk too are becoming more and more disgusted and restless about the state of the program, and are expecting a Georgia rout.  

Every week we keep hearing the players say that they are going to go to the practice field to get better, but very little seems to be getting better for the Big Orange. Vol fans point to a lack of discipline on the field and the penalties have substantiated that claim all season long.

Case in point, after hearing the Vol players talk about limiting their mistakes, they went out and committed 6 penalties for 45 yards against NIU. Two of those came on the opening possession of the game, and one on the first play. The Vols surrendered their second punt block of the season against NIU and converted on only 3 of 13 third down opportunities.

The wide receivers are not showing that they can beat press coverage and get open consistently. Tennessee use to be referred to as Wide Receiver U, but lately references involving UT from the national media have been less than flattering.

To add insult to injury, the offensive line could not generate any running room for the running backs and finished the NIU game with a total of 69 yards rushing despite outweighing the Husky defensive line by over 40 pounds per man. In preseason we kept hearing how this veteran offensive line would be the strength of this year’s team and that it had the potential to be one of Tennessee’s best in several years. (Where and when have I heard that before?) However, they have been guilty of several procedure penalties throughout the season, and they have not proven they can run block or pass block consistently.

Also, let’s not forget the costly turnovers committed every game this season. Arian Foster despite losing more than his share of costly turnovers continues to be the feature back.  Many fans are wondering why Lennon Creer is not getting a shot to show his talents, especially since Foster doesn't look to have necessary breakaway speed.

You have to give Fulmer credit for starting Nick Stephens on Saturday night, but many Vol fans feel that it was too little too late. The Vols record stands at 0-2 in the conference with games left against Mississippi State, Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt.

The season is far from over, but many fans have already lost hope in this program and some have decided to stay home instead of making the drive to Knoxville for home games. The players keep talking about working to get better, and I am sure that most of them are doing just that.  However, I think the time has come to stop talking about it and do it. It’s time to see some improvement on the field.

Fans point to the programs decline into obscurity the last several years, and it is becoming painfully obvious that the program is declining and something needs to happen soon, before the fans move from restless to apathetic.