Got a great e-mail from Randall in Shoal Creek, Alabama concerning our QB discussion on yesterday’s show. Astute commentary such as below is what makes doing this so much fun:

Hey Beano - I don't get to listen to the show but I
read the blogs here every day. I want to say thanks to
you and Tony and everyone else involved there! I'm
stuck down here in Alabama so I get most all my UT info
from online forums and sites like yours. Keep up the
good work.

To answer your question about Worley:

I think I will be a little disappointed if Worley is
the starter on opening day. That's not entirely
Worley's fault, either. A lot of it is human nature.
But make no mistake if he is the guy, I will cheer him
on and want to see him succeed in every way. He was
really improving quickly last year until he got
derailed by an injury, and in a way it would only be
fair if he gets another shot.

Why I would be at least a little disappointed
though. There are several factors at play here:

1) Worley, Lane, etc. are (at least subconsciously) the
last significant connections to an era that every VFL
wants to scrub from their brains - the Dooley era. To
put it frankly (and it's not his fault) he has the
Dooleystank on him. Everything associated with that
coach seems to be viewed automatically as damaged
goods, like the way things from a bad first marriage
would seem when viewed in light of the happy new second
marriage (bad example but it's the best I have at this
moment);

2) He's a senior, so it would feel like we were getting
a 1-year rental instead of being able to fully buy in
to something new and shiny that will last. Kind of like
when your favorite NFL team signs a guy going into the
last year of his contract, but you know they can't
afford to renew him so why get attached? In a small way
that will dampen some of the enthusiasm for the new
season;

3) We want desperately to believe that the future
national champion Heisman Trophy winning QB is already
on campus (so we can get the ball rolling without
having to continue waiting). Worley starting would mean
the others had every fair shake to get it done but
didn't earn it. That would speak volumes for the
current backups and it would only confirm the fact that
we are not yet ready to turn a big corner with what we
have;

4) Worley has a history of injuries so even as he
improves and we buy in, there's a really good chance
that his own tendency to get hurt and the new OL will
combine to take him out again. Then we are stuck with a
backup that couldn't earn the job in the first place
and has now missed even more opportunity for game
experience up to that point. This would pretty much end
the hopes for a bowl berth (in our minds, at least);

5) Through 3 seasons and a spring game Worley still
hasn't grabbed the job by the horns and taken it. The
perception is that he gets the job by default due to
the other QB's failure to take it, not by earning it
himself. Hard to get excited about that.

6) Butch's offense can't develop into its optimal
efficiency until it has a QB that is a good fit for it,
and we know that whatever Worley does to improve and
grow he will not be an ideal QB for this system. This
is why some of us feel that it would be best to go with
a younger guy like Dobbs if the competition is even
close at that time.

I want to stress that IMO Worley is hands-down a VFL
and deserves our praise for that SC win last year (and
the GA practically-win), and for being willing to blow
a redshirt year being sacrificed to the likes of
Alabama when Tyler Bray went down. I'm not bashing
Worely here, I'm just talking about perceptions,
feelings, and the like. If Worley is the starter and he
gets us to a mid-tier bowl game, I would feel like he
had pretty much maxed out his potential and gave us all
he had. I believe that in another system, in another
place and time, and without the Dooleystank, Worley
could've been a really good QB. Regardless of whether
he has or has not been a good/great QB, he has
definitely been a good Vol and deserves our respect.

Thanks again, and GO VOLS

Randall thanks for the eloquent and well thought-out perspective; I greatly appreciate it. Keep fighting the good fight and flying the Orange in hostile territory.


B, B and B, i.e. Briney, Brocky and Beano will be back at your service today as Tony B continues his week’s sabbatical in parts-unknown. T.B. is probably touring old USFL facilities, buying obscure World Cup Soccer apparel and irritating the heck out of anyone and everyone he can. I just hope he’s having a great time with whatever endeavors he chooses to pursue on his well-deserved time off.

Brocky came up with a great suggested topic of discussion for today:

Dave Serrano, Butch Jones and Donnie Tyndall all bring new blood, prior coaching success, potential recruiting prowess and a common infectious enthusiasm to their jobs as leaders of the three major men’s sports at the University of Tennessee. As the triumvirate enters the 2014/15 sports calendar how confident are you that the black cloud that has surrounded the men’s programs is about to be lifted?

Also

Which of the three programs do you have the most confidence in going forward?

Other than that we’re wide open for you –

-Thoughts on anything coming out of the SEC Spring Meetings
-The NBA Finals
-MLB
-College Baseball’s Super Regional matchups


Those and any other sports topics on mind are all fair game

And we hope you’ll join us at 200-5402

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