At the peak of our powers, now 17 years ago, injuries were a minor inconvenience. Jamal Lewis goes down with a torn ACL in the fourth game of the season? We've got two star backs to take his place. Best corner goes down just before halftime in the BCS title game and the other team has Peter Warrick? Next guy up will keep him off the stat sheet the rest of the way home.
There are few examples of injuries having a serious impact on a Phillip Fulmer team. The most notable one is 2002, when Casey Clausen, Kelly Washington, and Cedric Houston all missed multiple games on offense and more than half of Tennessee's defensive starters sat at least one week in an eventual 8-5 campaign.