Tennessee has lost another player to injury, and it looks a bit like what is happening with the New York Mets. If you are familiar with the rash of injuries that have happened with the Mets, you know that people are questioning the medical staff in New York. I have no idea what the problem is, but I think that the Volunteers are not managing their players properly. There is something to be said for Butch Jones having success in a league that was not the SEC, and now he is learning that the SEC requires a different level of preparation.
A few players cannot save you
The SEC is not a conference where you can recruit one player and have success. I think that Butch Jones thought he could have one great player on both sides of the ball and be fine. I think that he thought this would be easier because he could trick teams in the conference. He thought wrong. He has players that must be working too hard in practice, and they must be trying too hard to win. As much as I dislike Nick Saban's personality, this is where his process would help.
The team is not relevant
tennessee is all hype with no payoff. The team will recruit good players, but they are not used well. They are offering many promises to the people of Knoxville, but they are not giving them a reason to believe in this promises.
I have to wonder if Butch Jones is aware that he simply cannot string along the people of Tennessee forever. They are already restless, and they will continue to be so if they are not given any reason to think the team will improve.
Tennessee had the better division
They have been in the easier division in the SEC, and they have had a good chance of being better than Georgia and Florida.
They are probably better than South Carolina, and they are definitely better than Kentucky. I am impressed with the way they recruit, but I am not impressed with the way they play at the moment. The process that we talk about with Nick Saban would help because the team could make quick decisions about how to succeed. There are too many careless errors to excuse, and I think that Butch Jones simply wants to be more free and open to his players without keeping control of the locker room.
The players might have a bit too much agency, and that makes them play carelessly when they get on the field.
I do not expect anything from Tennessee because I know for a fact that they are not in position to improve. They are not going to get any better if they keep getting hurt, have not corrected their process, and play without care on Saturday.
