University of Tennessee Athletics
COACH FULMER'S COMMENTS ON VANDERBILT GAME
November 15, 2005 | Football
Nov. 15, 2005
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"Well it's great to be preparing for Vanderbilt and the closing of the season here with the last two games to play of the regular season with a win (last week over Memphis). It's fantastic to see the kids and sing with them in the locker room after the ballgame on Saturday. I really appreciate how they've continued to work and continued to fight through the disappointment of the results of the season, through the frustration of how they've lost a couple of the football games and also through the number of injuries that we've had to face. Just to watch them continue to prepare and get themselves back out there so they can play and are ready so they can help the team has really been - through all those adversities - has really been a pleasure to see.
"We are working like heck, obviously, to get a good a plan in for Vanderbilt. When you play this game records never matter. It's always a very, very physical game. (They're) always a tough, hard-fought football games going back to my playing days and even before that. It's one of those things that when you get two in-state rivals together, anything can happen. We realize that we're going to have to play really well.
"It's particularly a big challenge for our defensive football team facing their offense. (Quarterback) Jay Cutler and his receivers ... I don't know that we've been challenged like that this year as a whole. We've obviously played a lot of outstanding quarterbacks and outstanding offenses, but this guy is a big, strong guy who throws it where he wants to. He understands their offense and can run around and make plays. He does a really good job of running the option, and that gives you problems because it keeps you from some of your pressure packages and things. (We have) a lot of work to do. (Cutler has) had some receivers come on for him that have all got a bunch of catches. It will be up to our whole football team to manage this football game - not just our defensive team. The kicking game. We're going to have to do a great job with field position. We're going to have to do a great job with our offense - of not giving them any short field. (We need to) make them go the long way. Obviously (we'll need to be) scoring points and have a chance to kick the ball away from them some. (It's) a challenge for all of us as we look at Vanderbilt.
"Not only are we playing for a chance to get to play in a bowl game, but also we're very much playing for our own team pride. We're a better football team - I still believe that - than our record shows. We've played an extremely tough schedule during the course of the year. We've been our own worst enemies at times, but we've continued to practice and play hard, and that's a plus.
"Defensively, our defense has kind of held everything together for us this year. They've been very consistent in playing hard and being productive and fighting their rears off when we give up the ball on our end or something like that, to hold the (other) team to three points or no points. They've just done a heck of during the season. During this last ballgame (against Memphis), our kicking game was better. Our coverage teams were better. We had a punt return that set up a score. Obviously those kinds of things are going to be extremely important to us.
"Rick (Clausen) came in and gave us a lift offensively. It's been a strange, strange year that way, and it was great to see him respond to that challenge again. It's a real plus for us that we have a youngster like that that can do that ... that the team rallies around.
"Obviously Arian Foster has been a real plus for us during the last three weeks, and hopefully that can continue because he's given us a respectable running game. Our kids have continued to fight through the injuries. Even though we're having to be real careful with some guys, we should be in pretty good shape by the time we get to the Vanderbilt game - considering that nobody else (gets hurt), because we've certainly had our share of unfortunate injuries during the course of the year.
"I have had a chance since last week to continue to work on the offensive coordinator position. We're making some strides that way, talking to a lot of people at a lot of different levels of football. Some may be pretty obvious. Some might not be so obvious. So we are making some strides toward getting that position filled. I really don't want to start commenting on who they are or where they are or when they might be in place or anything like that. But I do want everybody to know that we have made some significant strides towards that here in the last few days."
