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TN vs AL: Who will light up a postgame cigar? · Champions of Life

• welcome to the champions of life podcast where 3 orangeblooded Tennessee alums discuss how there's always next year Welcome back, y'all, to the Champions of Life podcast, home of your five and one Tennessee Fighting Volunteers.
• 0:18
  Go Vols.
• 0:19
  Go Vols.
• 0:20
  We've got Joe, Laney, and myself back here in the...
• 0:25
  It's not a studio, it's a conference room.
• 0:28
  But we are still working like heck here at R&S to do all your logistics needs, warehousing, trucking, transportation.
• 0:37
  You name it, we can do it.
• 0:39
  And we're here to unpack a little bit.
• 0:42
  I guess we're basically midway through the season here.
• 0:45
  Five and one, what are our thoughts? A lucky five and one.
• 0:51
  Lucky five and one Fortunate.
• 0:53
  Yeah.
• 0:54
  Could be what? Barely what? Three and- We could be three and three three, two.
• 0:58
  Could be three and three.
• 0:59
  Three and three, yeah I think we won the last two games.
• 1:05
  Yes, our defense played good most of the time.
• 1:08
  Special teams has been relatively good.
• 1:11
  But I think Auburn, especially Arkansas, to me it's like they lost the game more than we played to win the game.
• 1:25
  I never took Arkansas as a serious threat until they got the big boy, the running back, 27, I forget his name.
• 1:32
  But he was running us over.
• 1:33
  He was running safeties over and I was like, "Oh, well, this could be it."
• 1:36
  But I never thought that their offense had the ability to orchestrate something against Jim Knowles's defense.
• 1:45
  I knew that we were gonna have struggles with our offense.
• 1:47
  That's where we go to die is Arkansas.
• 1:50
  And we get a win there for the first time in 25 years.
• 1:54
  That's great.
• 1:55
  Gotta count for something.
• 1:57
  The way we got it was not great, I would say.
• 1:59
  I think optically everyone's pretty frustrated with the way...
• 2:04
  A- admittedly, we've been spoiled a little bit by Heupel's offense.
• 2:07
  We've seen it as high-flying and putting up 40 points a game.
• 2:12
  And, to be where we're at now, it does feel a little frustrating.
• 2:14
  It feels I think you go back to last season, the coulda, woulda, shouldas on not closing out Georgia, the coulda won against Texas, and now you're kind of here, you're struggling with two mediocre teams at best in Auburn and Arkansas.
• 2:28
  It just, the hope that you had at the beginning of the season starts to, to dim a little bit.
• 2:35
  So then do we get exposed this coming Saturday against a Alabama team coming off a loss, maybe angry, the coach is gonna have them super mad to absolutely crush us? And be exposed it was a defensive battle for sure Saturday against Georgia.
• 2:57
  They looked really good.
• 2:59
  They had obviously some miscues.
• 3:00
  Georgia did too, stalled out at times offensively.
• 3:04
  But those are two of the top SEC teams, if not in just as a whole.
• 3:10
  So we have not played competition like that.
• 3:13
  Our defense has not really been tested by an upper echelon team.
• 3:19
  And so I think that happens Saturday.
• 3:23
  I think our defense, which has kept us in games, is that's not going to be the case as much this Saturday.
• 3:30
  And I do not have confidence offensively that we can put up more than 14 points, 17 points, just in general.
• 3:38
  I'm not even saying against Alabama.
• 3:40
  I don't think we put up that many points this weekend at all.
• 3:43
  But Heupel was brought in.
• 3:45
  He's this offensive guru.
• 3:47
  But that is not translating on the field.
• 3:50
  It hasn't been the case the last few seasons.
• 3:54
  And it's tiresome.
• 3:56
  I don't know why we're in the situation we're in with our quarterbacks.
• 4:01
  Like at this point, I'm ready for us to just throw Staub in there because what do we have to lose? Like, is he gonna be any worse? And McIntyre, he doesn't have much meat on him, as we have talked about.
• 4:14
  He took some hard hits against Arkansas on Saturday.
• 4:19
  So if he's taken those same hits or more by even bigger guys that Alabama has I fear for his wellbeing, as well.
• 4:27
  And who knows if Faizon is really hurt or what the issue is.
• 4:29
  Heupel has been confusing on that.
• 4:31
  He's not been clear intentionally, as is his MO.
• 4:36
  So I don't even know who starts for us Saturday.
• 4:38
  If you have any insider knowledge, please call into the show.
• 4:40
  Let us know.
• 4:43
  I left the Arkansas game going, "Okay, I think if Faizon is healthy, I think you have to, you play him."
• 4:51
  Now, that is dangerous territory because if that does not go well again, you can't go back.
• 4:57
  I mean I would assume that ship sails a little bit with Faizon.
• 5:01
  He's a young kid.
• 5:02
  He's trying to figure it out too, and we've talked about it here in the podcast before.
• 5:07
  The podcast is just, he looks like a different player between Georgia Tech and Texas.
• 5:11
  Now, obviously that's because of talent on those two defenses, but we know that he has the potential in there.
• 5:17
  Do you have the bandwidth and the time to wait to let that come out? Again, the whole season's still in front of us.
• 5:24
  We're I think before the Arkansas game I saw an ESPN stat that we were a top 10 team statistically just based off numbers alone.
• 5:32
  Um, and so if you truly believe that, if we do have a top 10 basically defense and run game, you just need a quarterback that can manage the game for you.
• 5:42
  And George had three turnovers against Arkansas.
• 5:45
  On the positive side, he did at times show some poise in the pocket.
• 5:50
  He was able to step up and miss a guy who was coming right at him.
• 5:54
  I don't know how that was possible.
• 5:55
  Yeah.
• 5:55
  But that was pretty great.
• 5:57
  He was able to do his check downs.
• 5:59
  Also, why have we not seen this slant across the middle from Mike Matthews? I've been begging for that all season.
• 6:04
  I know.
• 6:05
  Why is that- Just now why does it take six games to g- like- Yep I don't understand.
• 6:08
  Maybe they listen to the podcast and that's why.
• 6:12
  It was a good sign that we were getting our play makers the ball in the, like the wild cat direct snap for Mike.
• 6:17
  He got him a reverse.
• 6:19
  And then, yes, the slants I've been...
• 6:21
  Every time somebody runs slants against us I'm like, "Why are we not doing this?" Mm-hmm.
• 6:24
  This is, it should be pretty elementary.
• 6:27
  But the strength of this football team is obviously the defense, which is, it is, it's ironic.
• 6:32
  We, when was the last time we had a really good defense that was hamstrung by our offense? But Xavier Gillum on the defensive line is an absolute monster.
• 6:41
  He's crushing it.
• 6:42
  Yep.
• 6:42
  And I don't know where we'd be without him and Telander and Carter.
• 6:47
  Carter.
• 6:47
  Mm-hmm.
• 6:48
  And then even Lane.
• 6:49
  The three levels of defense between the line, linebackers, and safety.
• 6:53
  This is far outweighed all my expectations coming into the season.
• 6:58
  And we've been burned by like the, the shoot coordinator from Penn State that we got from Butch or whatever.
• 7:04
  You think you're getting this, this high-powered mercenary and then we, our defense stunk.
• 7:08
  Yep.
• 7:08
  And so you kind of have a little bit of heartburn, but Knowles has done it.
• 7:11
  Yeah.
• 7:12
  Even with our, who's the, our best cornerback that is out for the season? Faruk.
• 7:18
  Faruk.
• 7:18
  Yeah.
• 7:19
  Yeah.
• 7:20
  They've made it work.
• 7:22
  I don't think it's an overly complicated defense, but it's been effective.
• 7:25
  Yes, I'm frustrated that we don't have Hendon Hooker throwing to Hyatt getting two touchdowns a game.
• 7:31
  It is frustrating and you wonder, "Why is that gone?" But I think our defense is gonna continue to keep us in games to where that is, you're not going to absolutely need it in order to win.
• 7:44
  Now Alabama's got a first-year quarterback.
• 7:47
  They're without their star receiver.
• 7:49
  I never have to doubt if they're gonna come into to Neyland ready to play.
• 7:53
  They should be always ready to play, and so should we.
• 7:55
  So I think it'll be a good game.
• 7:58
  I could absolutely see us getting beat 38 to 10, but I could also see it being 24-17 and we come out ahead.
• 8:05
  It just depends on what the defenses do.
• 8:07
  Wow.
• 8:09
  Are you on the board with that? You locking that in? I think points are gonna be a premium for us, obviously.
• 8:16
  But I do think that our defense...
• 8:17
  alabama's gonna have two to three big plays.
• 8:19
  It's just inevitable.
• 8:21
  DeBoers got it humming along.
• 8:23
  I think officially you can put me down for I'm gonna say 24-21 Tennessee.
• 8:32
  Three in a row at Neyland.
• 8:34
  Wow.
• 8:35
  Here's a question.
• 8:36
  Have we really faced the threat of a running quarterback so far this season? Has our defense had to stand up against that? I would say all the quarterbacks- True running threat Mendoza and Manning are both mobile quarterbacks.
• 8:51
  Are they a dual threat? I wouldn't consider Russell he's very mobile, but he's not a, he's not Mike Vick or Vince Young.
• 8:57
  Well, no, but he is much more of a dual threat than anybody else we've faced.
• 9:00
  Yeah.
• 9:01
  I'd agree with that.
• 9:02
  So that will be tricky to see how we handle that.
• 9:08
  And the board will be a much better- coach scheming against our defense than anyone else has.
• 9:16
  He'll be able to pick it apart, right? I think so.
• 9:20
  And- Yeah.
• 9:21
  Maybe to your point earlier, Lainey, worried about our offensive line, haven't been able to stop anyone all season, so Alabama, yeah, it's George could get hurt, put in our third string, see what happens.
• 9:36
  Maybe that's our hope.
• 9:38
  Our, that's so- May- may- maybe- Can we- What a, what a great story that would be.
• 9:42
  The third string come...
• 9:43
  This is like Ohio State.
• 9:44
  They won the national championship- That's true with their third string.
• 9:46
  That- Okay, all right can happen to us.
• 9:48
  Okay.
• 9:48
  Okay, I'm calm.
• 9:48
  I don't think Cardale is manifested in Bryce Young, but maybe.
• 9:54
  All right, that we're- We're way off the rails Tennessee football is in a sad state if we are saying six games in our hope is our third string quarterback.
• 10:04
  This is great.
• 10:04
  This is like Tennessee fans.
• 10:05
  We gotta hold onto something, right? We have to grasp at something.
• 10:08
  Do you know what helped me on Saturday, was every other game that was playing...
• 10:13
  Saturday was such a good day of football.
• 10:15
  I watched it from, like, noon to 11:15- Mm when the Georgia-Alabama game was over, and it was great to see.
• 10:21
  I don't, I want South Carolina to win, but when they're playing Florida and South Carolina has not won a game yet- Yes in the SEC, and they make Florida look- They struggled pretty rough.
• 10:31
  Yep.
• 10:31
  Like, I'm here for that all day long.
• 10:33
  Yep.
• 10:33
  Also, if LSU is gonna keep losing, that is wonderful.
• 10:37
  Yep.
• 10:37
  So that was good to see.
• 10:39
  Not necessarily that Kentucky got them, but I'll take it.
• 10:43
  But now I'm a little worried about Kentucky- Mm and South Carolina both.
• 10:46
  100%.
• 10:46
  And what did, say what you said earlier about our next couple games.
• 10:50
  Well, I mean we could lose our next five games, and then we're facing Vandy at Vandy.
• 10:55
  And what do we know? That's not gone well in r- recent years.
• 10:57
  No.
• 10:57
  Obviously Diego's gone, but still Oh, he may come back.
• 11:03
  I'm not confident- Just double check that.
• 11:04
  Not confident about Alabama, okay? I'm not...
• 11:08
  if the same South Carolina team who, Sellers is a good quarterback when he plays like he can.
• 11:14
  Mm-hmm.
• 11:14
  And he is a definite dual threat.
• 11:17
  So we face them on the road, I don't think that's a win.
• 11:21
  Then you've got, that's your bye the next week, right? Then you've got at A&M, LSU at home.
• 11:28
  Yeah.
• 11:29
  And then Vandy.
• 11:30
  A lot can change.
• 11:32
  Obvi- we'll drop a, a weird road game, whether that's South Carolina or on paper you should beat both teams.
• 11:38
  A&M's not great, South Carolina's not great.
• 11:40
  I almost forgot Kentucky.
• 11:41
  Kentucky's at home.
• 11:42
  Yeah.
• 11:42
  Sorry.
• 11:43
  I think you drop one of those games and then A&M Bama, LSU, Kentucky, any of those.
• 11:50
  But I don't know I think the team is built on a really strong defense and when Deshaun is healthy the run game is extremely effective.
• 12:00
  We block better for running than we do pass protection, so I am frustrated as a spectator that we're not hitting bombs down the field like we were.
• 12:09
  We're not throwing slants to Mike.
• 12:12
  But I'm pleased that we're winning.
• 12:13
  If you just took the scores.
• 12:14
  Yeah.
• 12:15
  If you just gave me a, a five and one going into Bama I'd say, that's pretty good."
• 12:18
  And maybe Texas isn't any good I don't know.
• 12:21
  But- We're where we thought we would be, and this, the rest of the season's still ahead of us.
• 12:25
  It's just the quarterback play has been really the biggest frustration.
• 12:29
  'Cause I don't think anybody here is complaining about defense, special teams, or the run game.
• 12:32
  No, not at all.
• 12:34
  I'm complaining about our coach Decisions our coaches, and yeah, our offense, yeah.
• 12:41
  Alabama, if they know...
• 12:42
  What you just said is true, Bobby.
• 12:43
  If they know we're only good at the run, and they just pack the box in, what are we gonna do? They're gonna play for us.
• 12:49
  We can't- but we can't beat them there.
• 12:51
  If I'm a defensive coordinator, just pack it in.
• 12:53
  Which is what Muschamp did.
• 12:54
  He knew- Yeah he was like, "Hey, let's let the freshmen beat us."
• 12:58
  And now the tape's out on both those guys.
• 13:00
  I don't think anybody's gonna come in here and game plan around our passing attack.
• 13:03
  And McIntyre, I said this earlier, looked petrified halfway through the fourth quarter.
• 13:10
  They didn't do a close-up on him, but he was in the shot, and I forget what had just happened in the game that our offense was about to go back on the field, and he just looked so scared.
• 13:19
  And I thought right there like, please bring in Stahl.
• 13:22
  Yeah.
• 13:22
  Somebody who's not afraid right now- Yeah because this is just Arkansas.
• 13:25
  This is bottom-of-the-barrel SEC team Arkansas.
• 13:29
  What is gonna happen this week against Alabama? Well you have us just winning by three- Mm-hmm or losing by three.
• 13:37
  How about- Winning by three winning by three.
• 13:38
  Wait, what? Say it, say your score again.
• 13:40
  24-21.
• 13:41
  Good night, Bobby.
• 13:42
  Which I haven't gone back and looked at my score predictions, but I think they've all been pretty close I like your one you said before, could go the other way.
• 13:49
  I mean, I think it could be like- 38 to 10.
• 13:52
  That's, I'm gonna go with what you said.
• 13:53
  Yeah.
• 13:53
  38 to 10 loss.
• 13:54
  I can see that for sure.
• 13:56
  That's completely what I was thinking.
• 13:58
  I was thinking 41-10.
• 13:59
  Hm.
• 14:00
  Alabama.
• 14:01
  So what happens? We're getting exposed- Mm-hmm the way we should've been- Mm-hmm the last two games.
• 14:06
  But the other- But what happens after the game? What happens after the game? Oh, I mean- Mm-hmm people are- People, people are leaving at halftime, Bobby.
• 14:13
  Yeah.
• 14:14
  Like the Florida game, leaving the stands early? Yep.
• 14:17
  Yes, that was so great to see.
• 14:20
  Okay, if Phason's not hurt, I know I'm getting off our, our- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm predictions here.
• 14:25
  Do you go back to a dual quarterback system like Florida? You mentioned Florida, like where they had Tebow and who was the other guy? Chris Leak.
• 14:32
  Chris Leak.
• 14:32
  Yeah, C.J.
• 14:33
  Leak.
• 14:33
  We had Chris, right? Yeah.
• 14:36
  Do you do something like that dual? No.
• 14:39
  No, it's- I don't think you can.
• 14:40
  I think the yo-yo is too detrimental to two guys's mental.
• 14:44
  Yeah.
• 14:45
  I think Tebow and Leak, I don't think Leak liked it, but they were, they had such vast difference in their game that they comp- they complemented each other.
• 14:53
  But even, going back between Ainge and Shaffer, that tug of war for them was probably not good either.
• 15:01
  So- And the fundamental question to it all is we shouldn't even be having this conversation if the coach that we have is the offensive guru that he was brought here to be.
• 15:14
  We're just in a place that is completely unexpected.
• 15:20
  I think that the offense is obviously built around Bishop and the run game, play action.
• 15:25
  I don't think that we anticipated the defense being as good as we did.
• 15:29
  Otherwise, I think hype would've been, should have been, obviously, now that we are six games in, about getting a different quarterback out of the portal when we knew.
• 15:40
  We probably shouldn't have put, if he did, put all those eggs in the Joey basket.
• 15:44
  Hm.
• 15:45
  We should've been a little bit more aggressive in getting somebody who is maybe a true junior or senior who has real game experience and can make reads and throws.
• 15:54
  Because ultimately with this offense, what you need is you need a quarterback that can make outs and slants, who can complete a screen pass every now and then keep the defense honest.
• 16:04
  Can get the ball down the field, maybe draw some pass interferences or something.
• 16:08
  Right.
• 16:10
  But when your leading receivers, it's my guess, I haven't looked at the stats, it's probably the tight end we're just not doing much Yeah.
• 16:21
  Okay.
• 16:22
  What a uplifting podcast.
• 16:25
  Bobby, you're the most positive, though, of all of us.
• 16:27
  We're still- You're still doing great we're still 5-1.
• 16:28
  I love how positive you are.
• 16:29
  We're still, we're a top 12, 13 team.
• 16:32
  14? Keep riding high there, Bobby.
• 16:35
  I- Good.
• 16:36
  Gotta stay positive.
• 16:37
  Do we have as dominant as a defense as we need to, to...
• 16:40
  We don't have any like, there's no Ed Reed's or Ray Lewis' out there, but there's enough to say that they can win us, they can keep us in any game.
• 16:49
  Yeah.
• 16:49
  So you're 5-1.
• 16:50
  Sure.
• 16:51
  They're gonna have to score, for sure.
• 16:53
  They're absolutely gonna.
• 16:54
  We need a defensive or special team score every game- Yep.
• 16:57
  Yep.
• 16:57
  We do to be in the game.
• 16:58
  Yeah.
• 16:58
  Not just to have a good defense.
• 17:00
  Yep.
• 17:01
  Because, again, we need to end it, but we're gonna start facing teams that can stop the run.
• 17:07
  Yep.
• 17:07
  That can stop Bishop.
• 17:10
  So we'll see what happens this weekend.
• 17:13
  Alabama comes to town.
• 17:15
  Get some easy throws, get some mobile pockets.
• 17:18
  Bobby, you need to take your cigar to the game with your score prediction.
• 17:23
  Am I betting my paycheck on it? Absolutely not.
• 17:26
  But can I see it happening? Yeah.
• 17:28
  We've gotten the last two, right? Yeah.
• 17:30
  Yeah.
• 17:31
  All right.
• 17:32
  Two losses and a win prediction.
• 17:34
  All right.
• 17:34
  We'll see.
• 17:36
  We'll see.
• 17:37
  Go Vols.