I stumbled upon the finebaum show a few minutes ago . I heard him give an opinion about his trip to Vanderbilt an whether he thinks we are serious about being competitive . He seems to think nothing has changed. We shall see in the future. But thank goodness opinions don't dictate results. One day at a time. One game at a time. Show improvement an stick to the process. #nevergiveup

Is Mike Wright going to be the guy moving forward or do they go with the freshman?

Has a depth chart been released? I would imagine they want NIU wasting practice time on both QBs considering how different the two are.

Also - Please run jet sweeps and fakes regardless of who the QB is. I know it sounds simplistic but it is brutally difficult for linebackers and safeties to diagnose who has the ball. If you can slow down the run stoppers for a split second, that may be the difference between the success of a play of failure of it.

Strange matchup. Who will you be pulling against the most?

I’m hearing Rocco Griffin is questionable. What is his injury. And is Patrick Smith playing this weekend. They don’t start playing Patrick Smith he may transfer because this is getting ridiculous

Duran Parish had a good night for Biloxi tonight. On one touchdown reception (which ended up being the game winner) he went up SKY high to get the ball in a crowd, came down with it and got into the end zone. I would say he was playing above the rim. Also had a dynamic punt return, as well as good pass receptions and a reverse. He is really fast, and elusive. But can also carry some contact. Still raw for sure (and still learning the game), but a lot of skills to work with.

81 high and with no chance of rain Saturday in Dekalb Illinois.

A game where Wrights athleticism should be superior to NIU. But, 2 turnovers later and inability to make NIU defense play honest.
28-24 NIU.

Anyone know of the school is hosting a sponsored tailgate (for a fee)? Didn’t see anything on the site.

If not, I need to start planning and load up the truck.

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What did Corey Chavous see in AJ Swann against Wake Forest? Where is Vanderbilt having communications issues on defense? How do the Commodores match up with Northern Illinois? Those topics, and more, in our latest podcast with one of the the NFL's foremost draft experts.

Apologies if this has been reported somewhere & I just missed it, but according to Kendall, Corbs is the highest paid baseball coach in the country. He went on to say in that thread that he makes “north of 2 million.”

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What kind of importance are we placing on this game at Northern Illinois?

How happy are you that we scheduled a game at NIU?

How can Clark Lea keep recruiting momentum if we lose this game?

What does it say about the program if we win this game?

Big game.

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Lanier picked up a new offer from Minnesota last night, so that's something to monitor because other teams will likely get involved. As previously mentioned, Lanier was a guest of Georgia Tech for their opener against Clemson at the Dome along with two other Vandy commits in Martel Hight and Anthony Miles.

Players won't be able to enter the portal until December 5th

The podcast is presented by Dr. Jody Jones, DDS.

Today’s mailbag is sponsored by Sutherland & Belk, a family owned injury law firm. If you or a loved one has been hurt in an accident, give Taylor or Russell a call at 615-846-6200 to see what your rights are and if they can help.

The guest line is presented by Michael Kendrick of The Kendrick Group. Michael is a local carpenter and a lifelong Vandy fan. He builds bookshelves, cabinets, picture frames, furniture and made-to-order items, including a display case for my prized Dale Murphy jersey. I have seen Michael’s work and he’s a true craftsman. If you’re in the market for custom woodwork, give Michael a call at 615.830.9458.

Please submit your questions in this thread.

For those of you at the game on Saturday, I was wondering your thoughts on a few things from the defensive backfield:
-- I bet this got a lot of discussion on the game thread which I didn't read in-game because I didn't want to get my phone wet and didn't have the stomach to go back and read afterward ... BJ Anderson vs. Lucien. It was interesting that one week after playing BJ exclusively at CB an entire game that he yanked him (which he should have) for Lucien and kept it that way. Not sure Lucien looked much better. Who would you start this week?
-- Any thoughts on Tyson Russell? He seems not to show up as much in the burn department.
-- De'Ricky - the last two weeks have reminded me that he's a barely played any football. He is also a bit of a tweener, maybe more of a LB than a DB overall. I haven't been blown away by his coverage skills. I have been impressed how around the football he is at times.
-- CJ Taylor - I'd like to see more of him
-- Mahoney and Worship - solid

I'd like to see some INTs this week.

After listening to Chris and Will's podcast, I had a thought.

Clark Lea is a smart guy, obviously. I'm not trying to question his intelligence at all, but this question/thought does so on its own.

We all knew Mike Wright can't consistently throw accurately. The fans knew it, the staff knew it, opponents knew it. Point being, it's not a new revelation.

So, you go out and recruit two QB's in A.J Swann and Drew Dickey that can throw the ball all over the field, that can make every throw. You have a returning QB in Ken Seals that throws the ball pretty darn well himself when he is healthy. Why go against a passing QB when you have three on your roster that you like, to use one that can't make the throws the other three can?

Ok, I know the short term thought was run the ball with Wright. But, why? Did Lea really think that without the threat of a passing game that he would be able to run the ball against quality teams? You have recruited players that fit a down field passing attack, you have current players that fit a down field passing attack. You know that you can actually (gasp!) run the ball AND pass it. Why make a one dimensional choice when it was unnessecary, and goes against everything you're recruiting for in the future?

I didn't like the decision to start Wright, but hoped that it would work out. It did against the two chumps on the roster, but, we have no more gimme games left.

Now, Lea finds himself in a self made pickle. Do I keep playing Wright, when everyone knows his limitations passing? Do I start Swann, and piss off half of my team because they support Wright? Do I play them both, and neither really gets enough meaningful reps to seperate themselves from the other?

Again, Lea has a dilemma on his hands, one that will be second guessed whichever way he chooses, and he has no one to blame but the guy looking back at him in the mirror every day.

We should remember the life of Mark Hindy, a former VU pitcher who lost his life on 9-11-2001.

Mark was working at Cantor-Fitzgerald when he was murdered by terrorists. He was one of nearly 3,000 Americans killed that day. Let us remember all of them.

Shout out to @Chris Lee for all of the content you’ve been pouring out from fall camp on. You have stepped up the coverage now that you are healthy again 🙏 and although I know this is a labor of love, we recognize it’s a ton of hard work and long hours. Much appreciated.

Someone mentioned “lose the locker room” the other day — which admittedly is a real phenomena but in having both played and coached football it’s just something you’d never hear a coach or player say. Then this morning I saw an open letter from a Nebraska fan saying “Scott, you hated losing more than you liked winning” — again that is such a fan statement. Which got me thinking because I know there are some others that I’m totally missing that are obvious. Anyone have one or more?