General Neyland smiled
Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made. General Neyland
Chad Cunningham showed a strong, accurate leg, dropping three (and nearly four) punts inside the 5 and kicking two touchbacks. Daniel Lincoln made both his field-goal tries, his first attempts since UT’s opener. Gerald Jones provided a spark on punt returns, including a 40-yarder that flipped the field. UT’s spread punt formation still looks like an accident waiting to happen.
http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2008/sep/27/092808reportcard
Watching Saturday’s performance against the Auburn Tigers one thing became readily apparent; that Phillip Fulmer’s clandestine plan to cloak Tennessee’s vertical passing game is a coordinated and well-planned effort, a veritable October Surprise that would make Reagan blush. Jonathan Crompton, Tennessee Quarterback and soon to be winner of the Tennessee QB “Derby”, completed a deceptive 8-of-23 for 67 yards against Auburn, yet The Battle Captain made the decision to continue to hold him back. Even football “experts” and “analysts” like Gary Danielson were were sucked into The Battle Captain’s Trojan Horse Battle Plan as they made comments like: Crompton had no where to go with the ball, I guess you’re not supposed to throw it down the middle to a wide open man in the endzone.
The Dean of SEC Coaches instead has opted to play his cards close to his vest as not too show too much offense with the Northern Illinois, UGA, and Alabama games looming on the horizon. Fulmer instead chose to use the Old School short-field “jumbo bologna pony” Arian Foster package to mercilessly pound the War Damn Eagle’ defenses gaping holes. Leaving the Tigers dirty, worthless and sore as they shamelessly and vigorously lost their innocence. Foster and Crompton wore away at the Tiger defense like a the ocean eroding away a Panama City sand dune, but in the end, a Tennessee win simply not to be as Fulmer forgot about some of the Auburn Homecooking.
The Battle Captain may have misjudged the timing of when to unleash Crompton and the explosive receiving corps. Clearly Fulmer must release the shackles that have bound Jonathan Crompton from ascending from the SEC’s 13th ranked signal caller to the best that the league has seen in decades. Yet another school of thought is that The Battle Captain is so supremely confident in Crompton’s ability that he chose to lose the game, rather than give Saban and Richt a sneak peek at Crompton’s greatness.
On behalf of Tennesssee fans everywhere, powerful young Crompton will accept this mantle with humility, and the promise to do everything within his power to ensure entertaining, competitive football as the Big Orange Nation turns its lonely eyes towards the Smokey Mountains, desperately seeking competent quarterback play.
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