Apr 20, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nathan Peterman (12) during the first half of the spring Orange and White game at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
No, those aren’t our words, we’ll dive into our game by game predictions this summer. This is according to Bleacher Report’s lead SEC football writer, Barrett Sallee.
Now before you go jumping on Sallee (by the way, Sallee is an excellent writer, who’s opinion I value highly), let’s look at what he had to say about the Vols in 2013.
First off Sallee mentions Tennessee as one of three SEC teams that will disappoint in 2013, the other two teams are Florida and Mississippi State.
In regards to Tennessee he says:
"Tennessee being on this list isn’t necessarily a knock against the program or first-year head coach Butch Jones. Jones is a great coach who will get Tennessee back into contention for the SEC East title.Just not this season."
He goes on to say:
"The switch back to the 4-3 will benefit players such as defensive linemen Maurice Couch and Daniel McCullers, and linebackers Jacques Smith and A.J. Johnson. But there still will be inconsistencies along the way.That’s what’s going to get Tennessee in 2013—inconsistency.The Vols have cross-division games versus Alabama and Auburn, and play Florida in the Swamp a week after visiting Oregon, in addition to tough intra-division games versus Georgia, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.A bowl game would be a monumental feat for Jones in Year 1, but I’m not sure that’s going to appease a Vol Nation that has been desperate for a winner for the better part of the decade."
It’s not that I disagree with what Sallee has said about the Vols, there’s really not a lot here to disagree with to be honest.
I just think it’s a stretch to say the Vols would disappoint, even if they go to a bowl game. The Vols do have an extremely tough schedule ahead of them, but I do believe fans have expectations in check.
I also believe Tennessee’s defense will be vastly improved over last season. The Vols severely under-performed with Sal Sunseri calling the shots on defense, probably costing the team at least two or three wins.
The offense is where I’d be more concerned, and not because of Butch Jones, his staff, or what he’s implementing.
The Vols lost virtually all of their offensive production, from a team that was one of Tennessee’s most prolific offensive teams ever.
Even then, the Vols still return a supremely talented offensive line, loaded with future NFL players, which will ease the pain of essentially starting from scratch at the offensive skill positions.
Butch Jones has an enormous uphill battle ahead of him, but he’s already shown he is more than up to the task.
As long as Tennessee fans have their expectations tempered, then there’s no way I would ever consider a season where the Vols show progress, a failure.
So while I agree with Barrett Sallee’s assessment of the Vols, I completely disagree that they will be an SEC team that disappoints in 2013.