“We’ve got to get a lot better on special teams. It’s hurting us a lot right now.”
No, that’s not Mark Richt saying that. It’s his opposing head coach this week.
… UT missed kicks, punts, returners and blocks in another disappointing effort by its special teams, a performance that helped keep the Vols winless in the SEC and send them back to the conference undercard for next week’s home date with Georgia (TV: WVLT, 12:21 p.m.).
“The momentum of missing the field goal on the opening drive and (then) the extra point, then having a couple (long) kickoff returns did not help us special teams-wise either,” Kiffin said. “I thought we lost in all three phases, which is very disappointing, especially for our SEC home opener.
Sounds like we’ve got all the makings of a classic coming up.
Get The Picture 
We make fun of him, but at least he’s willing to point out his team’s flaws. Richt is getting to the point were we could lose 12 games a year and he’d talk about being a few plays away from 12-0.
As much as I hate to say it, it’s days like this were I worry we’re going to get passed by the great Hello Kiffin army, and soon. Can’t hurt that UT was willing to spend some real cash on it’s coaches, whereas we low-ball everything.
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I had the same thought, Will – the honesty is somewhat refreshing. You can take it too far, throwing your kids and coaches under the bus and such, but Kiffin’s not calling individuals out – he’s diagnosing failure so they can fix it.
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Monte Kiffin vs. Mike Bobo: Who you got?
(Note: That’s a rhetorical question.)
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Monte Kiffin says he’s going 1-on-1 with AJ. So.
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Eric Berry vs. Joe Cox. Who you got?
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I got nauseous, is what I got.
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Lane Kiffin vs. Willie Martinez. Who you got?
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Uh huh. See, I’d reserve that sort of talk for when Tennessee actually wins some freaking games.
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We have 3 wins and have been beaten in every game. Our only hope now is teams may over look us. TOP 10 RECUITING EVERY YEAR AND LOOK AT THIS S__T!!!! GATA
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We have the recruited horses, the talent. We’ve got the fans, Sanford Stadium, Butts-Meyer, and on and on.
Let me think.
What else do we need?
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We have the fans? Really? Yes, we have the worst fanbase, and it is large so I guess technically we do have fans, even if so many of them are lousy. Have you ever seen another group that rips their coaches and players to little pieces win, or lose? I haven’t, on a consistent basis, and this is while we have compiled a helluva record.
I don’t mean a few bad fans, every program has that 1-5 % that cannot be pleased, but UGA is unquestionably #1 in the most haters among any school above a 60% winning level. I read a lot of team message boards, blogs, and comments to newspaper and blogs that cover CFB so I can make the comparison. As a group, we are whiny, delusional, and have groups so obsessed with promoting their own agenda that we attack even the successful efforts of our players/coaches/units just to keep the drum beats going. (“Dang Bubba, I am gonna post that we fire that sucka on eight message boards even if we pitch three straight shutouts!”)
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Really? The LSU and Ohio State boards that I’ve read have been as bad as any this season.
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LSU does have a large group as well, but they do give credit (come back into the fold if you will) when things go well. The UGA contingent will ignore when things get better just to keep singing the same song. This year presents the perfect oportunity to see this as the defense has played well against OSU, ASU, and LSU while the offense saved the D against SC and Arky.
Ohio State is interesting in that their performance on the “big stage” is actually in decline. I am not saying they don’t have a lot of negative Nellies, but they really haven’t won many “tests” in the last seven years. I would say the last seven years at UGA reflects an upswing and should feel different…..but doesn’t.
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At this point, I won’t be surprised to hear Richt explain the special teams debacle by saying, “It’s all part of the plan.”
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If Tennessee needs help with special teams, I know a guy who loves “challenges” that I would be willing to send their way to try and fix the problem. I’ll have Fabris on the next plane to Knoxvegas.
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