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Butch Jones Press Conference: The First Step is Admission

By Seth Norris

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Butch Jones was willing to hold himself accountable for the Tennessee Vols’ loss to the Florida Gators on Saturday, but he may not have gone far enough.

Every year for the past 11 seasons, anyone of you reading this have been, or are currently suffering from Post Florida Depression.

PFD runs rampant in Tennessee, and a cure does not seem to be in sight. Much like the cure for cancer, Coach Butch Jones and staff are still researching into a potential ground breaking medicine.

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Coach Jones met with the media on Monday to discuss the set back, or perhaps it was another step forward.

“In order to improve and correct this we must own it,” said Jones, “it starts with me first and foremost.”

As we all know, the Vols blew yet another fourth quarter lead and fell 28-27 at Florida. There were several things to criticize in the game, and one of those lies with the use of the wide receivers, or lack thereof. Only two wide receivers hauled in a catch against the Gators, and once again the Vols were not taking shots down the field.

“We want to be able to throw the ball more down the field,” said Jones, “that’s really a big part of us offensively.”

Jones remains clear that in every aspect of offense, it takes all 11 “individuals” working together, but he did acknowledge that they do need to get the ball to the receivers more than they have been.

Coach Jones was also asked about how he feels about the criticism. There is definitely not a shortage of it, and when you’re working on the cure for PDF, you better have some thick skin.

“I want you to put it all on my shoulders,” said Jones “and that’s the responsibility of being a head football coach.”

Which is something Vol fans like to hear, however, the majority of people wants Jones to hold himself accountable. Ultimately, Jones was asked if he thought the staff performed well.

“I do,” said Jones “I thought we all did, again it’s one or two plays and I thinks it’s putting everything into perspective.”

It’s easy to see that people in the media, and the fans just want Coach Jones to admit mistakes.

One of those mistakes is the narrative of Jones being a conservative play caller late in games. Playing not to lose, and being too protective of the leads the Vols have gained.

“Everyone second guesses everything that you do,” said Jones, “that’s the nature of the game; I understand that.”

Coach Jones is sticking to his guns, and does not worry about the “outside clutter.”

“If I worried about scrutiny and all that,” said Jones, “we wouldn’t have went for it on a jump pass on fourth and two.”

One does have to like the confidence Coach Jones has in his staff, and their abilities, but he has to learn to simply admit when they mess up. That is all fans want, that is all the media wants. There are still those that support anything and everything that Coach Jones does, but there is also a large portion questioning his ability right now.

The first step to heal, the first step to find a cure for Post Florida Depression, and improve on fourth quarter meltdowns is: Admission.

Next: Week Five SEC Power Rankings: Vols, Gators Stay Put

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