From CelticVol
5@10,
I've talked to you about Tennessee football till I'm blue in the face. After this week I will refrain from talking about it anymore until changes are made. I will not stand for mediocrity any longer. There's no reason and I mean NO REASON why Tennessee should not be a consistent top 5 team in the SEC. There's no reason why the Vols shouldn't compete for an SEC Championship once every 3 years. What happened on Saturday is totally inexcusable and unacceptable. With the facilities they have, the history of the program and the passion of the fan base, it's ridiculous to think that this is a bottom half SEC team.
Everybody wants to say, "Oh Dooley inherited a mess," "It's a tough place to recruit," "There are better jobs out there," "The fans are too demanding." You know what I say to all that, "HOGWASH!!" It's time that everyone stop making excuses. It's time someone with some guts step in there and up the standards of that program. I, as a fan, will not accept 7 or 8 wins as a good season anymore. Gosh 5@10, there's so many questions that I could ask about this whole situation that I could have a 5@10 in the 5@10 but I'll stick to this. What can we as fans do to get thru this?
P.S. Someone asked me this week if I would root for Tennessee to lose in order to expedite the process of firing Dooley. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you EVER root for your team to lose, then you're not a true fan.
CelticVol,
As fans, it's tough to watch and even tougher to endure during the week. Being here in the greater Chatta-Vegas area, the struggles of the UT football program are tangible on the faces of every Johnny Vols Fan everywhere.
That misery is compounded by the record-setting success of Alabama and Vandy, and even the current surge of the Georgia Bulldogs. It's simple, really. Misery loves company and it loathes merriment.
As fans, the best approach is to be civil and fair-market-minded. Write letters to the AD, the president and the board of trustees expressing your displeasure. Don't go to a game -- look at the power empty seats had on Joker Phillips in Lexington.
That said, if you do go, never boo. Don't do it. There are recruits there and it hurts the image and the appearance of the program. Think of it this way - if Vonn Bell is in the stands at Neyland on Saturday and the chorus of boos rain down, how does that compare to the cheers and rah-rahs at Bryant-Denny or the Big Horseshoe.
And if you are hurting the recruiting process, then you as a fan are actually hurting the program by booing. Call the radio show and voice your displeasure, but booing your college team when there are recruits in the house makes as much sense as cutting off your hand because of a painful hangnail.
And if you start rooting for your team to lose, then you're going to have to change your handle to LakersVol. It's unacceptable to root for your team to lose, and there may be some who think, "Well, we'll lose the battle to win the war."
Hogwash, indeed.
From TennFlyer
You love the draft, we know that. The SEC is the big dog when it comes to college football, we know that too. Let's say they take the next step and declare themselves the official minor league for the - cue Jaws - The National Football League. The first step is a draft. Based on current standings (alternating between west and east, next year we go east first) the draft order is: Auburn, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Missouri, Mississippi State, Vandy, LSU, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Georgia, Alabama, Florida.
Each team can draft one player from another team and no team can lose more than three players. Each player only has his remaining eligibility left. Do you go for the win right now and save your job or do you take the freshman you missed on this year? You're Auburn and you're on the clock. Who you taking?
TennFlyer,
This question is so money, it made us tear up. This is so, So, SO good, and there is no doubt which question demanded a huge chunk of our time this week.
Yes, we love the draft - you know this - and we love college football. This is the Reece's Cup of mailbag questions.
There is no universal answer about going for the win now or taking a freshman. That said, age makes a huge difference since drafting a freshman pays at least two-plus years of benefits; drafting Cordarrelle Patterson means another three games. While we'll adhere to the three-player rule, we're going to test it by going two rounds, which means even Auburn and Kentucky may have players drafted.
Here goes:
Auburn - The quarterback debacle that has consumed the Plains and Gene Chizik's program must be addressed. Auburn almost landed Jeff Driskel in recruiting, and it would be tempting to take the sophomore here; but after he recently put a record-setting torching on the Tigers in Jordan-Hare, Auburn takes Johnny "Football" Manziel.
Kentucky - Joker Phillips sprints to the podium screaming "T.J. Yeldon, T.J. Yeldon, T.J. Yeldon!" before realizing that he just made the pick for Bobby Petrino or whomever will be coaching the Cats next year.
Arkansas - John L. Smith wants Donald Trump to try to get him out of his real estate hole. AD Jeff Long would try to draft Nick Saban, but we don't think that's allowed. Knowing they will get a new coach and need a lot of help the next few years, the Razorbacks have a slew of needs. How crazy is this, Jadeveon Clowney would go first in the NFL draft if he was eligible, but he goes third in the SEC draft.
Tennessee - Jalen Mills, freshman cornerback from LSU who is doing work now and who will be the next Tigers star in the secondary. You've seen the UT secondary right? Then you understand this pick.
Ole Miss - Georgia running back Todd Gurley
Missouri - Cordarrelle Patterson, if for no other reason than they do not want to have to try and stop him Saturday.
Mississippi State - Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones, and yes, he may only have the month of November left in his college career, but MSU is staring at the possibility of starting 7-0 and taking a 7-4 mark into the Egg Bowl.
Vandy - Tyler Bray, Tennessee. This is a dual pick since he instantly gives the 'Dores an improvement at QB and it cripples the Vols' offense heading into next week's game.
LSU - Cyrus Kouandjio, Alabama left tackle.
South Carolina - Amari Cooper, Alabama receiver, and that means the Tide have had three of the first 10 picks and none of them were defenders. Wow.
Texas A&M - Connor Shaw, quarterback South Carolina. Since Auburn took Johnny Football, the Aggies have quarterback issues.
Georgia - Aaron Murray. Yes, Georgia already has Aaron Murray, but the Bulldogs use this pick to get to their three and make sure no one goes after any more of their players. To celebrate keeping the team together, Mr. and Mrs. Richt start making out in the War Room.
Alabama - Anthony Johnson, defensive tackle LSU, who is so good he's one of the few players in the league that could actually go and play for Alabama.
Florida - Justin Hunter, receiver Tennessee
ROUND 2 (and Georgia, Alabama an Tennessee players are off the board)
Auburn - Mike Evans, Texas A&M receiver
Kentucky - Odell Beckham Jr., LSU receiver
Tennessee - Denzel Nkemdiche, Ole Miss - arguably the best pick in the draft since you could also be in the running for his little brother Robert, the nation's top high school recruit. That Dooley is brilliant.
Ole Miss - D.J. Humphries, Florida tackle
Missouri - Shaq Roland, South Carolina athlete
Mississippi State - C.J. Johnson, Ole Miss linebacker
Vandy - Sheldon Richardson, Missouri defensive tackle
LSU - Jordan Reed, Florida tight end
South Carolina - Jake Matthews, Texas A&M tackle
Texas A&M - Tyler Russell, Mississippi State
Georgia - Steve Clark, Auburn punter
Alabama - Dorial Green-Beckham, Missouri
Florida - Johnthan Banks, Mississippi State
From Bounty,
I enjoy the 5at10 and read almost every day. You quote a lot of movies, and I can follow along with most of them. What are the top five movies you quote the most and the five movie quotes you use the most?
Thanks and you do talk too much.
Bounty,
Wow, great debut question. Thanks for reading, and feel free to come back anytime, don't cost nothing.
The five movies we most frequently quote... Wow, that's tougher than it sounds.
Caddyshack is definitely on that list. So is Raising Arizona. And Fletch. Coming to America, too. After those four, it's kind of revolving door of movies that alternate depending on which one we've seen most recently. Anchorman, O Brother Where Art Thou, Dodgeball, Animal House, The Jerk, Stripes, Office Space, Bull Durham, Good Will Hunting, Breakfast Club, Beaches. OK we don't quote Beaches, just wanted to make sure you're still paying attention. Also, it depends greatly on your company as to which movies you quote. Caddyshack has been quoted at least three times in every round of golf we can ever remember playing.
As for the top five quotes, wow, that's tough too.
1) Long, the Lama, big hitter - Carl Spackler in Caddyshack
2) That boy good... Good and terrible - barber shop duo in Coming to America
3) So you're saying there's a chance - Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber
4) Government do take a bite - Heavy paycheck lady in Raising Arizona
5) Grab a brew. Don't cost nothing - Bluto in Animal House (this is more than
In truth, we could have sat here and do this all day. Seriously, ask the Mrs. 5-at-10.
And this doesn't even get into the serious movies like Godfather or Pulp Fiction or... sweet buckets of too much trivial knowledge, our head's starting to hurt.
From StuckinKent
I don't cheer for the Titans. I cheer for the Dolphins. So I know bad football. A team that has had exactly four winning records since 2002. Three of those came in 2005 or before. One winning record since 2006. No clear path for the future, until maybe this year with Tannehill. The worst draft pick ever in Ted Ginn Jr (or at least on the Mt Rushmore, because the pick was bad at the time- not like some of the guys that were busts, this was just a bad pick.)
That raises a good mailbag question. Rushmore or the Grand Canyon of the worst draft picks ever. Not busts. Worst picks because they were bad at the time. One for the NFL. One for the NBA. Ted Ginn Jr. belongs on there. A good special teams player. One maybe OK year. Darius Heyward-Bey to the Raiders belongs on there. Had one good year so far. Who else?
Stuck,
We love the draft. You know this.
But this is a tough one because the parameters of your question call in the scenario and the setting of each pick. For example, was taking Troy Aikman a bad pick since the Cowboys used a No. 1 on Steve Walsh the previous year? In retrospect no, but at the time maybe so. What about the Colts drafting John Elway in 1983 even though Elway made it clear he was not going to sign with the Colts so they were forced to trade him for Chris Hinton, Mark Hermann and a first-round pick.
Plus, the most notoriously bad draft pick ever - the Blazers taking Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan can't really be called a "bad" pick at the time because they were desperate for post help and had Clyde Drexler playing MJ's position.
Before we go any further, all bad draft discussions have to include JaMarcus Russell, and this is non-negotiable, but we'll categorize him, Tim Couch, Ryan Leaf and Akili Smith in the bust pile.
With that in mind, the bad NFL draft picks Rushmore/Grand Canyon is Ginn (No. 7 overall for a kick returner), Sebastian Janikowski (kickers in the first round are never allowed), Matt Jones (the former Arkansas quarterback who Jacksonville took No. 21 overall with zero intention of using him as a QB; first-round picks on projects are not a sound plan, either) and Mike Williams (the former USC receiver the Lions took 10th who was a bust but lands on this list because he was the third top-10 pick the Lions used on a receiver in three consecutive years).
In the NBA, the Hawks taking Marvin Williams No. 2 with Deron Williams and Chris Paul still on the board may be the single worst draft decision ever considering the Hawks are still hungry for help at the point. We'll go old school and give a nod to the Mavericks for taking Uwe Blab with the 17th pick of the first round in 1985, and while taking a 7-foot foreign white guy to clog the middle can be of value, the Mavs had just used the 16th pick on Bill Wennington, a 7-foot foreign white guy to clog the middle. (To make matters worse, Joe Dumars went 18th.)
The Pistons taking Darko Milicic must be considered a bad pick when the obvious talents of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade were the next three picks.
And of course, Sam Bowie. He has to be here.
From Tiger Fan
Who's going to be Auburn's football coach next year?
Thanks, and I love the 5@10.
Tiger Fan,
Thanks for the kind words and for reading.
In truth, we don't know who the Tigers coach will be. There were reports out of Auburn on Thursday that AU president Jay Gouge has already made up his mind to clear the deck of the football staff. That, and the news that Auburn is using a security company on its curfew checks on a nightly basis leaves little confidence in Gene Chizik and his staff.
Of course, the first name tossed out there was the Louisville offensive coordinator, and if that's Gouge's plan, then that leaves little confidence in anyone making decisions in the 334 area code.
We believe Chizik is done. It's sad because dude pushed all the right buttons during the miracle run of 2010 - and Chizik did a great job of holding that team together despite all the NCAA distractions and the Cecil Newton stuff. But this is historic bad. And when Alabama is rolling at historic good levels, then there are no mulligans. Plus, this Auburn debacle is clearly the fault of the coaching staff. There is talent on the roster - and the coaches get credit for recruiting well - but the product is embarrassing. In fact, if Auburn loses by 17 Saturday at home against Georgia, the Tigers likely will have played pretty well by their recent standards. And that's sad. And unacceptable.
So if it's not Chizik, and we pray they have a better plan than Shawn Watson, the aforementioned Louisville OC who was 11-22 as the head coach at Southern Illinois from 1994-96. (Sorry, the man we know better as Joe the Policeman from the What's Going Down episode of "That's My Momma," MISTER Shawn Watson is not going to be able to come into the most bitter rivalry in the country and go toe-to-toe with Nick Saban.) We're also against Bobby Petrino for a litany of reasons, including the fact that he can not recruit well enough to survive in the SEC West (Arkansas' rise was on Houston Nutt's recruits, Ryan Mallett's transfer and a shell of a product that's there now).
So we can't answer your question Tiger Fan, beyond who we don't think it will be (Chizik), don't think can do it (Watson) or who we don't want it to be (Petrino).
If it were our decision, the first call we'd make is to Pete Carroll. The worst he can say is no, but this has to be a home run.
The next call would be to Bill Cowher. Seriously. Then Jimmy Johnson. Again, we're being 100 percent serious.
If you run the guy that has brought the school its only football title since 1957, then the replacement has to be a name that makes people go, "Wow, nice hire," and makes fans of other SEC schools go, "Hmmm, this could be trouble."
And if the solution is Shawn Watson, then only Auburn fans will think this is going to be trouble.
That would be good and terrible.