Northeast Tennessee Conference Alignment

[Cap1]

The Hater comment is not just a label, its a fact. Just like the fact that you are a DB Hater. Most if not all of what this Goat Roper said about DB in his post is not true....a lie. Im pointing it out and you Haters don't like that. Thats ok though, Im going to continue to expose you for what you are. A bunch of cry baby DB haters.

Why don't you cut it with the Sarah Palin generalization answers "some if not all of what he said is not true". Give me a break!! What is it that's not true... enlighten us. If you can.

[Cap1]

Teams are free to drop any and all sports at any time. Even if it means canceling an entire season midway if they like. There is no "right" for students to play football anywhere in the law.

 

Football is an expensive sport. It's not just about hiring a good head coach, you've got to give him the assistants, too. Then you've got to let him do it his way. A lot of schools refuse to let their head coach have a say over who he works with and who he doesn't, which creates horrible staffs where nobody's on the same page and you have assistants trying to undermine their superiors so they can steal his job, etc. Then you get administrators who want to meddle in everything from the weight room to the play calling and depth chart.

 

Besides coaching (you've got to figure teaching jobs and stipends for at least 6 coaches, plus an extra few thousand on part-time/non-faculty coaches), you've got to pay for expensive uniforms, pads, field and stadium maintenance, fuel for the busses, practice gear, maybe some new weights every few years... it's easily the most expensive sport, on average, that a high school can field. Starting a team from the ground up would easily cost several hundred thousand dollars.

 

But it can also be a great moneymaker. Volunteer's team turns a big profit even when they go 0-10 because their fans are very loyal, pack the house for every game, and buy lots of blue and orange merch. Which is probably why the Hawkins County admin never expects much from them. Instead of re-investing that money in the program, they take it for budget shortfalls in other areas. Areas like overpaid administrator's salary increases...

Another great and very informative post!! Get your note pad out Wac... this is how you constructively contribute to a topic.

[tosssweep]

I totally agree... especially with the measuring stick of playing a top 5 team every year. It really isn't fair to DB and SH to have to play in a 5A conference. I agree that you should be in a conference with like peers regardless of how good or bad they are.

 

This board may come crashing down but I actually agree with you and Wac. The best and fair way to do it is by classification but the reality is the economics don't support it. You ask the AD at DB if he would like the gate from a DB-Boone match up versus DB-Farragut and I bet you he will take the Boone match up everytime. I was at the Boone game last year and you couldn't find a seat. Even the end zones were filled up. I was also at the farragut game this year and I bet there was just as many fans from opossing schools there to watch the game than Farragut fans. If there team would of been playing the visiting stands would not of looked as full.

 

I also agree with Comp on the coaching effect. I will give you Boone as an example. Since the day that school opened in the early 70's at best we have been a 500 football team. We've had some good years sprinkled in there but on average we were a 500 team. Since JJ was named coach we have steadily started to become a legitimate football program. He has been helped by Gray's population growth but he has also started from the ground up. The feeder programs have improved, disclipne has been instilled into the program and he has asked for and received facility upgrades. When I played there was no weight program, now if you have 3 missed sessions without an excuse your gone. It is a totally different mindset over there now and it shows on the football field. Now if we could just get south out of his head.

[THSVikings2004]

As for Maryville's talent, which someone else commented on... name some big time Maryville recruits over the last decade. There haven't been many and most of their stud players wind up going Div. 2 or 1-AA/FCS even with all the attention on that prgram. D-B, OTOH, has sent a few kids to Div. 1a/BCS schools over that time.

 

For several years they had at least one D-1 player every year. They usually have several kids that go to smaller schools. They may not send several kids to the SEC, but I assure you they have talent. They also have the best coaching staff in the state, good feeder schools, and championship caliber tradition.

 

But I think I agree with your point. It takes a lot of things outside of talent to make a great team.

[Cap1]

Thanks for the compliments.

 

East has been playing up, but they've not really had much in the way of coaching. Nelson's overrated and a bit of a joke, based on stuff I've heard about him from former players. Colobro might be able to turn it around, but he doesn't have the luxury of football crazed parents raising their kids to devote their lives to Gate City football. Even if it means "redshirting" them in 8th grade.

 

IMO, "talent" in HS football is really more about developing the athletes you've got. Some kids mature earlier than others. A kid might be a big, fast stud in MS, but only because he hits an early growth spurt and he turns out to be average by the time he's in HS. A kid may be mediocre and undersized in MS, but a couple of good years in a quality weight, speed, and nutrition program can turn him into a beast by his senior year. Plus, football is one of the most technique intensive sports there is. Throwing a football, blocking a 300lb DT, backpedaling and keeping pace with a stud WR... these are not natural things for a kid to just "do." Especially if he's confused about his assignment or never gets any work on his weak points.

 

Most schools in a given geographic area will draw from the same general pool, though schools like D-B, Tennessee High, and Greeneville do get the luxury of drawing kids from the county to come play for them. It's not right or wrong, or even because of "recruiting" (which happens in some places), but it is what it is.

 

As for Maryville's talent, which someone else commented on... name some big time Maryville recruits over the last decade. There haven't been many and most of their stud players wind up going Div. 2 or 1-AA/FCS even with all the attention on that prgram. D-B, OTOH, has sent a few kids to Div. 1a/BCS schools over that time.

ChurchHill… you are a man after my own words… TELL IT LIKE IT TIS!!!

[WaCoJaCo]

Another great and very informative post!! Get your note pad out Wac... this is how you constructively contribute to a topic.

 

The only thing I saw in that post that I didn't learn at the high school level was the part about Volunteer fans buying lots of orange & blue merch. I don't know what their doing with all that "merch" because I've never seen anybody wearing it anywhere around the tri-cities area. I could understand how you would find his post "very informative" though, as any information posted here would be a great help to someone like you. You just need to pay attention in class.

[The Hill]

You have got to be kidding. For one, DB was in the same conf as Bearden. But to say that Maryville has never had as much top talent as DB is a load. DB gets some impressive players but ones that are legit D-1 talent are rare for them. Maybe one every 4 years, tops. And Sensabaugh is not D-1, too small for a RB, too slow for a Defensive back. Maryville always has D-1 talent and to say they haven't or don't is ridiculous. DB teams are traditionally undersized to be honest. IMO, its why they made the switch to the 3-3 stack. Large defense lineman have usually been in short order for them and until this year, so have large, road grading offensive lineman. Along with having duran ferguson and lamon williams, its why they made a switch from the veer to the spread offense in 2003. However, I do completely agree with you about DB becoming overrated. As freshman they get over-hyped about their potential. Several times I have heard "That sophomore class is something special" and what seems like what happens is you get inflated egos from accomplishing NOTHING. Now having some swagger is good and I'm not saying every player is like that, but too much arrogance has ruined some outstanding DB teams. Many times losing one of those out of conf games early is good. In 2002, they lost to MBA and Greenville to start the year 1-2. That team went 8-2 knowing that nothing would come easy and lost to the eventual state champs, riverdale in the semis by special teams snafu. Which was oddly enough, committed by a junior with an overinflated sense of accomplishment. That year was also the last time they had two large run stuffing DTs. Not D-1 talent, but great for 5A (now 6A). The stack has been good to them, but I think its feast or famine nature doesn't lend itself to success in the playoffs when the competition level drastically rises.

Quasar . . . I disagree, I believe Sensabaugh has D-1 talent. May not be major D-1 starting rotation talent (could be, ya never know one's potential), but he has a chance at D-1. And if you do a background check on the D-1 players coming out of Maryville you might be surprised at how very few are legitimate D-1.

[BatmanDB]

I don't know how many D1 players Maryville has on this years team,but they have some kids that can go.They allso have some very good big men to boot.They and Alcoa may only have a few D1 players but a lot of next level guys .Either way they both are almost like playing a small college, a load for any high school team in our state.Alcoa has a weight program that I've heard has come a long way and that's why they are toe to toe with Maryville right now.I'd love to see DB have a team that could go over Maryville like a small speed bump,but it's going to take a very special day with us hitting everything and them not so.That's why we line up and play them.Maryville has lost their last two championships,so it can be done.Before we think about such things,there is 8 or 9 games to stay healthy and get better

[dbFAN91]

I don't buy the schedule is making DB soft.A good year to go by is 2004.We played three easy teams and than hung 48 on Oak Ridge.Who gave us our only loss that year.Injuries,depth and a lot of factors can get you beat at playoff time.Alcoa doesn't slow down when they get into their 3A schedule after the early Maryville game and so on.

Look at it like this Batman. If your use to playing against kids with no real shot at making it to College Football or the NFL, what happens when you play kids with a real shot at it? That's right, you get smoked. Is that understandable. Same thing. Roll Tribe!!!!!!!!!!!

[BatmanDB]

Look at it like this Batman. If your use to playing against kids with no real shot at making it to College Football or the NFL, what happens when you play kids with a real shot at it? That's right, you get smoked. Is that understandable. Same thing. Roll Tribe!!!!!!!!!!!

That doesn't add up for what I wrote.We smoked Oak Ridge the first time after playing nobody and they beat us in the third round of the 2004 playoffs for our only loss.We have to find a better excuse is what I'm saying.You can take several years and find some key injuries,having the depth to make a deep run is a huge factor.We are a couple of lineman or skill players away from being in trouble as far as a playoff run is concerned.The really good teams can make complete line changes and not miss a big beat.Plus they can run skill players into the game with much more depth.I think a lot of people try to put the blame on our players and coaches,but we can only do so much and it has to all come together on the right year as it almost done a few times.

[The Hill]

According to Maryville people I have talked to . . . The reason Maryville has lost the last two years at state is because they haven't had the skilled players the last two years they've had in the past.

 

 

Edited September 9, 2010 by The Hill

[BatmanDB]

According to Maryville people I have talked to . . . The reason Maryville has lost the last two years at state is because they haven't had the skilled players the last two years they've had in the past.

 

 

They have them this year.That one wideout was lightning against the Alcoa secondary.