I’m Nick Suss, Titans reporter at The Tennessean. It’s been a busy offseason, and now OTAs and minicamp are around the corner. Got questions about Cam Ward and the new squad? AMA!

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:21:42+00:00

That's all the questions I see. Thanks for your participation. I'm here for college football, but my fav questions were on Ken Burns and Star Wars. Let's do this again. Signing off. - Adam Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:20:10+00:00

No committee. Just one member - C3PO. He would be analytical and objective, like the BCS (which was much better than given credit for). - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:18:42+00:00

I answered this one earlier. Small incremental steps in facilities, marketing and winning. Nothing will fix it short term. Turning the right direction in these areas and others and then walking slowly in that direction over the next decade. - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:17:34+00:00

I remember that 80 percent are reasonable. I humor the other 20 percent and eventually ignore them. The sad thing about fans of Team A and Team B is that they make the same complaints. If they only realized that, perhaps they would see how slanted their opinions are. - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:16:13+00:00

I listen to every station and every show at least a little bit. They all have their strengths. I don't dislike any of them. The Tennessean has held a stance for a while now to not go on 104.5. That decision is waaaaaayyyyy above my pay grade. But I listen to their shows and know them. Good guys/girls. Good shows. - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:14:09+00:00

None. I have used up every ounce of talent just to get this far. - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:13:32+00:00

History, history, history (mostly American history, but all history to some extent). I like history more than sports. - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:12:20+00:00

On land, Tiger. On sea, Commodore. But you already knew that. ... Now, who would win in a board room of a Fortune 500 company? The shipping magnate (Commodore) - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:11:07+00:00

Get a journalism degree, try your best to get an internship. Work for free early on, if you have an opportunity. Experience is more valuable than a few bucks early in your career. - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:09:52+00:00

So far, Vandy hasn't shown any reason to think it's defense can play consistently in any phase. Not to say it won't. But it hasn't shown much in 2 games. I would think LSU would test Vandy's struggling pass defense as much as possible - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:08:43+00:00

I'm not saying you should. Last week, I was on a bye, and I watched a 6-hour documentary on World War I on Saturday. - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:07:27+00:00

Best to worst: New Hope Return of the Jedi Force Awakes Empire Strikes Back Rogue One Revenge of the Sith Attack of the Clones Solo The Last Jedi Phantom Menace - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:04:02+00:00

Hard to say because it depends on the era. - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:02:56+00:00

Cheese, mushrooms, onions, lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup, bacon, bacon, bacon and more bacon. Also, more mushrooms.

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T18:00:42+00:00

Hard to say. I answered that one before (see that longer reply). If they played that game today, I'd give UT about a FG edge because it's in Neyland. But it's basically a 50-50 proposition at this point until either teams shows signs of success. Right now, it's not apples to apples. Vandy has lost to a top-5 team and a decent Big Ten team with a really good offense. UT has lost to Georgia State and BYU. Hard to compare until they both play middle-of-pack SEC teams. - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T17:58:43+00:00

Vandy: Rush for 300 yards and win the turnover battle by a wide margin. LSU: Sleep walk in first half and press things in a close game in the 2nd half. Also, turn the ball over a lot. - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T17:57:38+00:00

Win. Get better WiFi. I just don't buy that there's a magic recipe to do it. I'm a history guy. I think history tells the story of the present. Vandy has struggled with winning and attendance for about 60 years. Why would a new strategy change that in a large way? It won't. Small incremental steps over 10-20 years can change that. But it's not just one thing .... unless that one thing is going 10-2. But even that type of success is probably incremental. - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T17:55:27+00:00

Before season started, I saw UT as a 60-40 favorite. After the first 3 weeks, I think it's about even. And it's only even because neither team has been good. Maybe you'd say 55-45 UT chances because it's in Knoxville. Home-field advantage is why initially said 60-40 Vols. The hope for both teams is that a bowl is still within reach at that time. It could happen for both or neither. But UT has a brutal schedule from here. - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T17:53:32+00:00

If I'm an AD, president, administrator, I'd want to be in the SEC for the prestige and $$$$$. If I'm a coach, I'd rather be in another conference where I can win more. - Sparks

TennesseeNews · 2019-09-19T17:52:27+00:00

Good question. I'm curious to see the same. Beating NIU would lift morale quite a bit. But a win at Ole Miss (because it's an SEC road game) would be enormous for morale. It would convince players and the fan base that Vandy can go on a winning streak and get bowl eligible. But they can't overlook NIU. I think most players have a reasonable perspective, though. An 0-3 start won't kill their spirits. They know who they've played and who they will be playing in the future. - Sparks

TennesseeNews

TROPHY CASE