re: IM at the tractor pull

be safe and you can have Nolan, I am texting him your number now.

serious you 2 be careful.

I'm not driving. We are chillin at his friends house. I meant that he was with me. I didn't word that correctly

Eta. I don't text and drive. I'm not that coordinated

What a boss hog. You have been a member since '04. I haven't seen you in here before, nice to e-meet you sir!

pff, I do this big write up on Tennessee and it gets stuck at the bottom of last page while we talk about booze and weed!

Oh well, that's more interesting than my post really.

Hey, there aren't any Tennessee fans in here.

I don't consider you to be one of them. You're cool in my eyes.

From GBO:

I seem like a nice guy but I only play one on this board.

Tennessee is going to be significantly better than they were last year. However, they have the worst possible draw from the West in Arkansas, Alabama, and LSU. They have no chance of beating Alabama, next to no chance of beating Arkansas, and we usually play LSU close but I am chalking it up as a loss too; they are way more talented than we are.

The East is kind of a different story. Tennessee could conceivably sweep all of the teams, but it's not necessarily likely. We should beat Vanderbilt and Kentucky. We shouldn't beat Florida, but we could if we get some breaks. I see Georgia and South Carolina as toss-ups, but I give slight leans to both of those teams. South Carolina has beaten us only one time in Neyland Stadium, and the last two times Georgia came to Knoxville they got massacred. South Carolina does have Marcus Lattimore and Alshon Jeffery, but they also have Stephen Garcia. And we gave them a really good run last year...had we played Bray the whole game, I'm not so sure we wouldn't have won.

As for Georgia, they kicked our arse up and down the field. But, to be fair, the LSU game was the week before and I don't think anyone was in a good state for Georgia. We played our absolute worst football of the season against Georgia (though UAB was a close second), and Georgia played their best. It should be close this year.

Our baseline should be 6-6 if the playmakers stay healthy. We should beat Montana, Cincy, Buffalo, MTSU, Vandy, and Kentucky because we are significantly better than all of them. However, just because you should win the game doesn't mean you will. Cincinnati scares me because they remind me of UCLA in 2008 and 2009. We are better than they are and we should beat them, but who knows how it will actually go down.

I'm also legitimately scared of Montana because I see it as a lose/lose. I've seen too many FCS teams upset FBS teams, and Montana's one of the good ones. We got this game because North Texas backed out, but I would much rather have played North Texas. However, if we do lose to Montana, it will have been a colossal screw up on the part of the coaches.

All that being said, Tennessee has nowhere to go but up after 2010. That team was the worst Tennessee has fielded since probably the late 1970s. Still, being significantly better, we may not see any different results. 6-6 is a very real possibility.

I'm being optimistic and picking 8-4, but 7-5 is probably a bit more attainable. If we go 7-5, I'll be fine. 8-4 and I'll be thrilled. I will accept 6-6, but 5-7 or worse will be a tremendous disappointment. Tennessee should be a good offensive team, but the defense still has a ways to go. Getting back Jackson helps, but there's not enough experience or depth at linebacker.

2012 should be the year that we are contending for the SEC title.

Very good.

I see you guys as about 7-5 this year. I think you'll be improved across the board but not enough. Bowling for sure though.

What up md?