When I heard the news on Eric Berry yesterday, it made me dizzy. I just found myself wincing. So sad. What else can you say? He's such a refreshing athlete. Just an amazing young man. Always takes time for everybody. A credit to professional sports. A credit to humanity. I will pray that this will work out for him. He may have a long road ahead of him. Heartbreaking. Just shocking news.
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Equally shocking for different reasons was the 'resignation' of two members of Donnie Tyndall's coaching staff. The news hit like a bolt of lightning early last night. Adam Howard was Donnie Tyndall's #1 confidant. I would call these choppy waters at this point. The boat's being rocked at sea and perhaps taking on a little bit of water. Not much middle ground on this one. This is either a horrible sign in that these two guys got out before the getting was good or this is simply UT doing due diligence and peeling off a couple liabilities as far as that NCAA case goes. I believe this sudden movement is related to the NCAA case.
Adam Howard was DT's top guy. He was an insiders insider. The consigliere on the staff. So trusted that according the KNS, he's the guy that drove Donnie to New Orleans to meet with Tennessee last spring during a job interview. Now he's out. Either this guy was involved in something nefarious and had to go or he's jumping from a sinking ship. I'm choosing today to believe that it's the former based on information that I have last week about the meeting with the NCAA. My understanding is that there was a bunch of questions covering a ton of ground last week from NCAA investigators but no answers given from Tyndall considered radioactive from Tennessee's end. RJ Rush is a guy that served as DT's personal assistant the past couple of years at Southern Miss. I guess the danger here is that these guys know where the bodies are buried if there are any to unearth. That has to be a concern going forward.
It should be pointed out that Howard is regarded as an excellent basketball mind. He will be sorely missed.
In the meantime, Tennessee must carry on and try and cobble together a respectable season absent their top assistant. There's no sugar coating this, it's not good.
Here's the story from KNS.
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Here's a little more on the developments with Orange Throat.
Orange Throat
'We seemed genuinely surprised that the Missouri veteran defensive front overwhelmed our offensive line Saturday night, and took Josh Dobbs right out of his game. They controlled the contest from the beginning. Gary Pinkel and his staff do a great job and have benefited from a weak SEC East.
Now we turn our attention to the private school on Nashville's West End Boulevard. Vol fans will likely stage their own version of "Occupy Vandy" as the Commodores have reverted back to usual form and first-year head coach Derek Mason has been very unsteady on his feet.
The Vols have another week to absorb the shock of the A.J. Johnson situation, even if an arrest happens this week, should be in better form.
Plus, there's a strong nucleus of young Middle Tennessee players on this Volunteer team (Reeves-Maybin, Jalen Hurd, Derek Barnett, Jashon Robertson, Josh Malone, etc.) and they are likely to set a tone for UT's approach.
Meanwhile, as of this writing, two members of Donnie Tyndall's organization have resigned. Since both were with Tyndall at Southern Miss, speculation is rampant this is tied to the NCAA investigation in Hattiesburg.
Thought the situation certainly appears to be headed toward Southern Miss receiving a Notice of Allegations, it is less clear to what extent Tyndall will be directly implicated.
It's known Tyndall is very concerned for the future of his "dream job." It has been reported this is the work of a "rogue assistant" who has gone to the NCAA, and that appears to be true.
It is believed Tyndall is very confident nothing is going to be linked to him directly on the financial aid or academic front, but the worry is he could get hit over some things on the academic side that were revealed to him in the interview the NCAA conducted with him last week.
Certainly, an ultimate finding resulting in a "show cause" would be the end of Donnie in Knoxville, but I don't think that's by any means a certainty.
I think we should get behind this guy and his team until we are presented with facts and a judgment to the contrary. This guy loves Tennessee and he's a good fit for us. I think he's worth fighting for.
Orange Throat'
I agree with the throat on Tyndall. Bottom line if he gets some kind of suspension at the end of all this, Tennessee needs to stay the course because the next hire here will be the second coming of Don Devoe. God forbid we have somebody around here in hoops that's both fun and a solid coach. Can you imagine what these jokers would do for an encore if Tyndall is jettisoned?
Santa Clara warmed up for Tennessee Thursday with a 27 point loss at Michigan State.
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Young Gun Jon Reed returns for more.
Jon Reed
'All last week I questioned whether or not Tennessee would be able to match Missouri’s intensity. The Tigers were playing for the SEC East while the younger than ever Volunteers were playing with house money.
The answer was no. And that was the key to the game. The Vols were without their emotional leader, and it showed.
As people were arguing about their favorite Josh Dobbs nickname and hyping up his Heisman chances for next year, Missouri took notice and showed that their defense is a little better than Kentucky and South Carolina’s. No one on the offense was interested in helping Dobbs either. Receivers could not get separation and had too many drops when they did, the offensive line was dominated as Dobbs was unable to scramble out of trouble, and the play calling seemed to consist of only four plays.
The Vols played a clean first half, but came unraveled after halftime with costly penalties, blown coverages, and turnovers. The coaching staff stole at least four points on a perfectly executed fake field goal, and then robbed Dobbs and the offense of a chance for an improbable comeback with criminal clock management. The penalty on the onsides kick was abysmal, but the Vols caught a break on a third down conversion which should have been an incompletion. By now, terrible officiating isn’t a surprise.
So, here we are: the season on the line in a true must-win.
A victory against Vanderbilt, as seventeen point favorites, secures a bowl game. That has been the do-or-die scenario all season: bowl game or bust. Accomplishing that goal solidifies 2014 as an acceptable season, despite having no signature win and losing two home games in which the Vols were favored.
In the grand scheme of things, the loss to Missouri did not mean much to the 2014 season. Is there really a huge difference between six and seven wins? SEC history says that no coach has won a conference championship without winning at least 7 games in year two. However, it is safe to assume few, if any, of those coaches had road games like Oklahoma on their schedule.
Saturday’s loss to Missouri does mean that it is fair to still have questions about this coaching staff.
Some have been quick to point out that Missouri is a better team than Tennessee, and that is fair. It would be hard to argue against it as the Tigers are on the cusp of winning back-to-back division titles. My biggest question is which is bigger: the talent-gap between players or the coaches?
Yes, Gary Pinkel’s coaching staff is better than Butch Jones’. In between the lines, and off of the recruiting trail, it isn’t even close right now.
Can Butch Jones catch up? Sure. He’s still learning on the job and has been better in year two than he was in year three. It is safe to assume his staff will take a collective step forward in the offseason.
The 2014 class has paid immediate dividends improving the roster, and people are hanging on to the idea that recruiting alone is going to fix everything.
From 2010 to 2013, Florida had four top twelve recruiting classes, three falling in the top 5. Texas had four straight top five classes from 2009 to 2012. Michigan had the seventh and fifth best classes in 2012 and 2013. The end of the Fulmer era had four top 25 classes, including two in the top five, from 2004 to 2007 (All class rankings courtesy of Rivals).
Recruiting top high school talent does not always equal wins. Missouri proved that there is more to it.
Follow @jon__reed on twitter and listen to the Young Guns every Friday from 3-5EST on the Tony Basilio Network.
Go Vols
Jon Reed'
Jon Reed is young. He's a young gun. He's all in. Today he better be ready for a fight if he's going to write some stuff like that about Butch Jones and his staff. I will make him back this up on the air today. Tune in to hear the fireworks. I will hold the young gun accountable and perhaps click on his safety so he can't fire at the hip.
Tee Mail:
Black Helicopter Theory?
'Tony,
Just a ‘black helicopter’ thought on the bad call on the on-side kick at the end of the Mizzou game: the $EC wants as many teams as it can get in the Playoff / Selection Committee Bowls. To facilitate this they need Mizzou to be in the $EC Championship game (Alabama and Miss St are locks at this point barring upsets this weekend). Georgia missing out on the $EC Championship game leaves them at 10-2, in the Top 10 (currently at #8) and a shoe-in for one of the Selection Committee Bowls. Georgia in the $EC Championship game losing to Alabama (we know ‘Bama won’t lose that game with a Playoff berth on the line) would leave them at 10-3 and likely dropping down in the bowl pecking order. That’s a lot of lost $$$ for the $EC.
Rgds,
Matt, Richmond, Va'
One thing is for sure Matt, when Mike Pereira came out hard on SEC officiating a few weeks back, folks like you have a right to wonder when you see thing like that. Not saying I subscribe to what you're saying but NOTHING is too farfetched as far as I'm concerned and that's a real shame.
Midstate Heath returns with a shot at UT's WR's. Big Will is on an anti Zach Azzani kick on the radio show. Is Mid State Heath going there today?
'Tony, I 100% agree with your summation on your blog. The lines got handily beat, so all the other discussion is tempered by the fact they Missouri was simply better.
If there was one issue I would armchair quarterback, if is that the receivers are not working for the QB. Even ESPN pointed it out because it was glaring on a particular play. After the receivers run their route, they need to keep working instead of quitting the play. It's unforgivable and needs to be called out.
Did you see Romo Sunday night? He literally had 8 seconds of protection before he led his receiver in the corner of the end zone. Dobbs, of course, does not have this kind of protection, but he needs to be confident in where his receivers are going to go as he runs for his life out of the pocket. Dobbs mobility is being compromised because they are not working for him after their routes.
MidState'
Vic asks 'What Recruiting?'
'Tony,
I keep hearing the excuse that UT just doesn't have the
talent that these other schools have after they lose to
them. If you look at the last four recruiting classes
compared to Missouri's UT has definitely out recruited
them. Look at Scout's numbers.
Tennessee
2011-10th
2012-22nd
2013-36th
2014-4th.
Missouri's
2011-47th
2012-34th
2013-35th
2014-32nd.
I do understand that some players didn't pan out but
that can be said with most schools.
That excuse is getting old and is just not true. It's
just that some teams coaches get more out of their
talent than UT does.
Regards,
Vic'
Vic: I get what you're saying. It's not that simple though. Mizzou has enjoyed a stable situation there. Gary Pinkel has done an excellent job of creating stability in that program. Plus their player development has been excellent. It's not as simple as raw recruiting rankings. Many more qualities go into having sustained success in college football. To me it's a matter of stability versus instability. Jones and his staff will be on the hook in a couple of years if they haven't overtaken Mizzou. For now, it's understandable.
The Falcons at 4-7 are in first place in the NFC South. What's better? The NFC South or the SEC East? Just sayin'.
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At 2-9, Tampa is only two games out of first place. That's parity that Pete Rozelle would be proud of. Parody or Parity?
Baltimore is in great shape for the stretch drive after last night's win in New Orleans.
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Eastern Washington won at Indiana last night and collected 100k in the process.
Final thought: That Ferguson deal is heartbreaking. Those are law abiding folks with families who saw their businesses burned to the ground over nothing last night. Just a tragic scene last night. I've stayed in Ferguson, Mo and its decent little community. Can you imagine what it would be like to see your business burned to the ground while no one was protecting it? Lawlessness is never the answer.
Tony
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