Published: September 05, 2008 10:41 am      

ROCKY TOP BEAT: Vols fans should just relax

Out coached and out of the top twenty isn't exactly how most Big Orange fans pictured the start of the 2008 football season. There was a lot of reasons the Vols failed to deliver last Monday night, but none larger than the Vols' failure to execute the new offense consistently. Of course, there were the mistakes and the failure of the defense to stop UCLA when the game was on the line after the Vols had gone ahead in the waning moments of the game.

Once again our special teams were just that, special. A blocked punt and the failure to make a field goal inside of 40 yards with the game on the line, all contributed to the demise of the Vols once again on the west coast. Also, let's not forget the mistakes on both sides of the ball.

Too many penalties and not valuing the football inside the red zone were huge in swinging the momentum of the game to the Bruins.

There were a few bright spots in this disastrous start for the Vols.

I know that most Tennessee fans are feeling pretty low this week, but consider this, Jonathan Crompton showed that he could operate under pressure and twice moved the Vols late in the fourth quarter, once to take the lead and then again to put them in position to send the game into overtime after the defense failed to hold the lead. I hope that the Vols shelve the "prevent" defense in the future because all it does is prevent them from winning. Despite all the mistakes and unimaginable play calling throughout most of the game, Tennessee still had a chance to win the game.

One thing that should at least cause most of us to have a wait and see attitude is the fact that most teams improve dramatically between their first and second games. In the Vols case, that will be over a two-week period as they have a bye this weekend. Then again, it will be hard to judge the improvement if they handle UAB in their next game, as I think they will. It will not be until the Gators come calling the following week that we will see if this team has fixed their problems on both sides of the ball. I will say this, if they don't get it fixed, that could be an ugly afternoon at Neyland Stadium.

Even though this team started the season resembling the pre-Cutcliffe coordinated teams that almost cost Coach Fulmer his job a few years back, it is probably advisable for everyone to take a deep breath and see how this all plays out over the next few weeks. It would certainly have been better to start with UAB before playing any major program especially with a new offensive coordinator, a new offensive scheme and a relatively new starting QB.

Well, at least the team will be in familiar surroundings next Saturday when they play their home opener. Things should be better as the offense works out their problems and David Clawson becomes more comfortable calling the plays. There were times during the UCLA game that he looked to be feeling his way through his first time calling plays from the press box, although when the game was on the line, he was at his best.

Also, Coach Chavis probably will not be out coached by his counterpart from UAB like he was by Norm Chow. In fact, I doubt the Vols will face a better offensive coordinator this season.

So, sit back, relax this week and enjoy the off week. Next week you should see a better effort by the Vols from start to finish. Take heart in the fact that as bad as the Vols played ay UCLA, they still almost managed to pull the game out. There is still a lot of football to be played this season, and the first game doesn1t define a season. Remember last season? That didn't turn out too bad after a disastrous start on the west coast. So, wash the bad luck out of that orange gear, put on your CD of "Rocky Top" and relax. Go Vols.

Frank Gale is a Chronicle correspondent, and his column appears weekly.