The CheckerBoard

Agree +1

Not exactly sure how I feel. Proud of the way they played considering we were down early in the game; however, disappointed in the fact we left 11 points on the field and turned the ball over late in the game. CP with another drop is discouraging.

Defense is really beginning to bother me. We look out of position.... a lot. Getting torched on way too many plays. Can't recall ever seeing a TN team have this many big plays against our defense. AND THIS IS ONLY THE 5th GAME!!!

Still think we can finish the season at 9-3 or 8-4, but my gut tells me this team has much better potential.

Agree totally!

Your defense has got some work to do in the new system but it will come, us Georgia fans know. We went though it two years ago. You guys are going to beat some people this year. Neal is one of the most improved players in the SEC this year IMO. Your offensive line whipped our boys upfront all night, was very impressed by your OL, which is young and only getting better. Those are two of the best offenses in the country if you ask me. Gurley, Marshall, Patterson and Hunter are four of the most explosive players in the conference and even the country. UT is making big strides. Good game fellas.

Do you guys think any of Hunter, Patterson or Bray return next year?

I would like to start off by stating that i'm not trying to bash anybody or Dooley but some things must be said. First off, sitting behind the offensive unit tonight only confirmed what I began to suspect late last year and what showed its ugly head two weeks ago at the Florida game. Once again Tyler Bray showed us a side of him that no Vol fan would like to see. After he was over ruled on the 4th and six, he came to the bench to display his signature sulk face. After the missed field goal, he stood up and started to rush in Dooley's direction but was cut off by an assistant (who seemed to baby sit him the entire game BTW) at which point both of them exchanged some heated words which resulted in Bray taking a walk to the far end of the field by himself. After the first interception he once again seemed to blame the receiver and the route, and immediately came to the bench and slammed his helmet twice in disgust. I'm not talking about a little toss, i'm talking about a full on trying to destroy my helmet slam. All of the GA fans in my immediate vicinity we're laughing and calling him a cry baby (which I know he was close enough to hear). It has become apparent that he is a spoiled, head case of a quarterback and i'm not sure any amount of coaching will ever change that. Your mental makeup/toughness is something that is hard to change though coaching. Sure, he looks great against cupcakes and non-conference opponents but for all of the hype concerning Bray it has become apparent he can not play from behind, he typically folds in big time situations, and he routinely displays a poor attitude/body language in front of staff and teammates. As a junior and supposed leader of your offense these are all troubling signs if your a Vol fan. As far as Dooley is concerned it's hard to justify not having any timeouts left at the end of the game when you desperately needed one. I thought that was football 101?!? I'm sure fans will be quick to point out that he had to use a timeout on the two point conversion because the wrong personnel were on the field, but ultimately who does that mistake fall upon? Secondly, with all of our kicking woes, can anyone provide a god forsaken reason why we could kick any field goals from 25+?!?!?!? You might as well not even kick and just give the other team the ball because love it or hate it thats the reality of our kicking game at this point. Lastly, your team will take on the personality of your head coach, and in our case its a coach who doesn't know what its like to win a big game so can't really say i'm surprised by the outcome. It's a simple thought process- How can you go somewhere if you've never been there before? Sorry to write a novel guys, i've just sat on the sidelines for too long without venting. I'll hang up and listen

I am more on the Dooley bandwagon than ever after tonight. We've gone from Trainwreck City three years ago after Kiffie skipped town to nearly beating No. 5 at home on CBS. I like our progress.

welcome to the board ...+1

Agree 100% rockytop. We scared em tonight. UGA fans left Sanford tonight with a collective sense of dodging a bullet. Everyone one of them I talked to was impressed with us. You can't say we are back until we win one of these, but we are getting there. I feel so much better after this game than Florida.

There aren't many times when we have come back from as deep a hole as we did in the first half. Our fans were deflated and defeated. Georgia's fans were celebrating and mocking us. But our Vols fought back. Just terrific.

cpavol, only part of this is directed towards your post but I am new to the board and this is the only way I could figure out to post, You guys fought hard to get back in the game and my hats off to you guys for showing the resolve and grit to do so, earlier on the tread I saw someone bashing Bray, which is uncalled for IMO ( not directed at you cpavol). He played hard the entire game and for every negative thing he contributed to, he had at least two good things he did IMO. The game could have went the other way but there were two huge drops, one from #84 that was sure a TD and the one from the running back which would have been a sure first down, either of those were completed and the field goal hit instead of missed and it would have been a W. I watched bray sit in the pocket and the few times we got pressure he moved around in the pocket, kept his composure and on several accounts burned us because he played with a chip on his shoulder. I know the last three pocessions didn't go well for him but if either of the dropped passes had been caught it would not have been so crucial with time winding down. I am a UGA fan through and through but I was proud of Bray and think UT fans should be as well. Guys I am not blowing rainbows or smoke here, you guys have closed the gap more in this year than you have the two pervious years and that is due to Dooley, trust me I know it sucks to lose but IMO you guys have turned a corner and I believe you will surprise some ppl this year, support your team the future is bright for you guys, I was impressed with the toughness this team displayed and if you expierenced UGA fans being obnoxious then I apologize but just keep in mind there are fans like that from all fanbases and it doesn't mean we are all like that.

Amen! Georgia didn't "give up" anything that I saw. Excellent tipped-ball from using perfect technique for the int TD. Excellent blitz execution and ball strip from Lathers. Perfect technique and a hard hit that knocked the ball loose on the second fumble. Granted, GA screwed up the kick return out of bounds thing, but that was a very good kick that was hard to field. I'll give them that one as a mistake though.

The narrative is 180 degrees wrong. Georgia did NOT "almost" beat themselves with mistakes. It was Tennessee that DID beat ourselves with mistakes! (Not harping, just reminding.)

We absolutely had the horses to beat these guys. No doubt about it. OUR fumble and interceptions and dropped balls were the results of player errors. The point is not to harp on our team, just to do a reality check here and note that the game was NOT close because of GA "mistakes".