Antanas Kavaliauskas to Houston

Terrance Harris of the Houston Chronicle blogs that the Rockets have offered Texas A&M's former 6'11 forward a contract as an undrafted free agent. As a fan of AK during his time at A&M, I hope he is able to find a niche with the Rockets, and stick with their team.


AK scoring on Baylor

Updating the premature 2008 two-deep

Time for an update to my premature 2008 two-deep which I wrote earlier this week:

Juco defensive end Matt Moss committed to the Ags last May, and could play either DE or DT in the Fall of '08. Assuming he can add some weight to his 6'4 frame, and bulk up from 270, he might make a fair DT prospect for us.


Nice serial killer mug shot

If he comes in and plays DT, this could allow Ben Bass to stay at DE, as Moss would either start or back-up Lucas Patterson. Moss is expected to arrive next January, in time for the 2008 Spring Practice.

Winning in non-revenue sports is celebrated

The Dallas Morning News have a feature article on Bill Byrne and his plan for 'Building Champions'. My problem with this article is that of the 6 conference titles we won, 5 were in women's sports (women's basketball, track & field, soccer, golf, and women's swimming & diving), 1 was the Big 12 baseball conference tournament title. The article notes that we had a $35 million dollar budget in 2002 when Byrne was hired; our budget is now $70 million dollars. Ignoring the fact that our budget increase can be directly tied to exorbitant increases in ticket prices for many sports (football tickets alone went up 41% from 2002 to 2003), shouldn't we be getting more of a return on our investment in the revenue sports, like football and basketball, if we're bringing in so much money? Men's basketball went to the Sweet Sixteen last season, and considering how far we've come as a program in that sport, that is phenomenal, but football has been a glaring disappointment. We've had two losing seasons since Fran was hired, and set a slew of records of the worst-ever variety (worst ever loss, worst bowl loss, biggest margin of victory in a loss to a conference opponent, etc).
Doesn't Bill Byrne deserve some criticism for his lack of leadership in regards to our football program?

McGee underappreciated nationally

The Sporting News' Matt Hayes pens an excellent opinion piece on Aggie QB Stephen McGee, and why he might be overlooked nationally. While I'm all for people underestimating McGee (makes it sweeter when we surprise everyone), it makes for an enjoyable read.

Acie Law is a lottery pick, taken #11 by Atlanta

Former Texas A&M point guard Acie Law was the #11 pick of the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft, becoming Texas A&M's highest ever draft pick.
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution has a nice article about Atlanta's two lottery picks, Law and Florida's Al Horford (picked #3 overall).

The Dallas Morning News has coverage of the Big 12's showing in the lottery (3 players taken in the first 13 picks) , including the following quotes from Law:

"We talked about that coming into the draft, the opportunity that we had to
have three players go in the lottery," Law told the Kansas City Star. "It just
speaks volumes of the talent that is in that conference.

"I think this is not the [last] time you're going to see three players get
drafted in the lottery. I think there are a lot of talented players left in that
conference, and people are going to find out."

Sounds like Acie believes we'll still have plenty of terrific players to watch next season, and in the years to come.

Incredibly premature look at our 2008 two-deep

Brent Zwerneman's article yesterday got me thinking about our roster for the 2008 season. I projected out our two-deep going into 2008 (making some wild assumptions on the OL, admittedly, since I don't know who will play where and who might be a backup at Center), and noticed a glaring lack of true interior defensive linemen. Sr. Henry Smith should be starting for the Ags at DT this season, but what happens in '08 is anyone's guess.
(Bold indicates projected returning starter.)

My projections:

Offense

QB - Stephen McGee, Sr
Jerrod Johnson, So

TB - Mike Goodson, Jr or Jorvorskie Lane, Sr

RB - Cornell Tarrant, So
Bradley Stephens, RS-Fr

FB - Jodie Richardson, Jr

WR - E.J. Shankle, Jr
Terrence McCoy, So

WR - Howard Morrow, Sr
Pierre Brown, Sr

TE - Martellus Bennett, Sr
Frank Avery, RS-Fr

LT - Yemi Babaloa, Sr
Danny Baker, RS-Fr

LG - Robbie Frost, Jr
Evan Eike, RS-Fr

C - Travis Schneider, Sr

RG - Lee Grimes, Jr
Cody Wallace, Jr

RT - Michael Shumard, Jr
Vincent Williams, Jr

Defense

DE - Michael Bennett, Sr
Cody Williams, So

DT - Lucas Patterson, So
Ben Bass, RS-Fr

NT - Kellen Heard, Jr
Rod Davis, Fr

DE - Cyril Obiozor, Sr
Paul Freeney, Jr or Von Miller, So

Mike - Matt Featherston, Jr
Charles Young, RS-Fr

Will - Anthony Lewis, Jr
Derrick Stephens, So

CB - Danny Gorrer, Sr
Arkeith Brown, Sr

CB - Jordan Peterson, Jr
Chevar Bryson, So

FS - Alton Dixon, Sr
Billy Chavis, RS-Fr

SS - Devin Gregg, Sr
Lionel Smith, So

WHIP - Jordan Pugh, So
Garrick Williams, RS-Fr

I'm hoping that Rod Davis' commit sticks, and that Ben Bass can put on the weight to play on the interior DL. We're seriously lacking depth there.

Wednesday news

Brent Zwerneman of the San Antonio Express-News wrote an excellent column for today, saying A&M could go 8-4 with a better team than they had last season. Zwerneman also predicts such a record would get Franchione replaced. I predict we'd still have 'fans' saying he deserved 'one more year' to 'see what he can do with a veteran team of his players'. Because 4 years of embarrassing losses isn't enough, right?

The WWL's Mark Schlabach says Miami's Craig Cooper is #4 on his list of freshmen to watch in 2007. The Aggies will get a chance to see how good Cooper is on September 20th in a Thursday night game to be televised on ESPN.

Running on a 40-Even Front

When coming to the Line of Scrimmage in a double-slot formation versus a 4-2-5 defense, if a QB sees a safety in Cover 1, and all of his WRs have a man-on in press coverage, he's going to audible to a running play, if one hasn't already been called.
With Cover 1 against 10 personnel, he's only facing 6 in the box against a 40-even front, which means he is playing 7-on-6 (QB, TB, 5 OL vs. 2 DE, NT, DT, 2 LBs), so he has the numbers advantage to overwhelm the defense at the point of attack.

6 in the box

On the first play of the 2006 Texas A&M - Oklahoma game, Oklahoma came onto the field with their 11 personnel package, and A&M responded with a Cover 2 look. Seeing Cover 2, the Sooners stuck with a run call. The playcall was a simple TB Trap Off-tackle, with the RT blocking DE Jason Jack, RG trapping the playside LB (Mark Dodge), the Center and LG combo-blocking NT Bryce Reid, LT blocking down on DT Marques Thornton, and the TE blocking DE Chris Harrington.


The original playcall: TB Trap Off-tackle

Now, what actually happened was that DT Marques Thornton tried to run a stunt around Bryce Reid backside (taking himself completely out of the play), so the LT slides down to block Thornton, finds no one there, and goes to the next level and blocks backside LB Justin Warren.


What actually happened

The result is a nice funnel at the point of attack, and RB Allen Patrick, who is aligned 5 yds behind QB Paul Thompson in the Sooners' backfield, takes the snap and easily follows the trapping RG's block on Mark Dodge, gaining 6 yards on the play, and setting the Sooners up with a nice 2nd and 4 to go. The Sooners run the ball again on second down, make a first down, and go on to score on their run-heavy opening drive, giving them the early lead in the game.

Teams that run the Dart series can move the ball especially well against a 40-even front.

When running Dart Trap, the Center will downblock the NT, the backside OG will trap the DT, the backside OT will go to the second level and block the WLB, the playside OG will cross-block with the playside OT, and block the DE, while the OT blocks the Mike LB. The QB will read the backside unblocked DE before making his Give of Keep read. If the DE comes upfield, it is a Give read, the TB gets the ball and runs right at the A-gap, which has been cleared by the BSOG's trap block. If the DE crashes down, it is the Keep read, and the QBs runs outside to the C-gap, sweeping upfield.

Dart Trap vs. 40-even front

When running Dart Option against the 40-even front, the BST and BSG will zone-block the NT, the BST going to the second level to block Mike. The C and PSG will zone-block the DT, the C moving to the second level to block Will. The PST will zone the PSDE. The unblocked BSDE is the read man. If he crashes down, QB makes the Keep read, and sweeps outside; if he comes upfield, QB makes the Give read, and the TB attacks the A-gap playside.

Dart Option vs. 40-even front

You can also conceivably run Outside Zone against a 40-even front, but it's rare, and I've yet to see anyone do it successfully. If I feel up to it, I'll diagram that tomorrow.

Early morning note

EB Mike Goodson and QB Stephen McGee have both been named to the Maxwell Award watch list. The Maxwell Award is given to the most outstanding player in college football.
Also, NT Red Bryant and DE Chris Harrington have both been named to the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list. The Chuck Bednarik Award is given annually to the best defensive player in college football.
Goodson, McGee, Bryant, and Harrington join C Cody Wallace, who is on the Rimington Trophy watch list (nation's most outstanding center) and the Lombardi Award watch list (outstanding down lineman) as Aggies vying for post-season honors.

Monday Musings

• Wendell Barnhouse of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram gives an excellent take on revenue sharing in the Big 12 Conference. I really don't understand the viewpoint of the athletic directors who want television revenues shared equally. It's like, I go out and bust my butt to raise money so I can hire the best and brightest coaches so I can win at a level that attracts the attention of the television networks, and the reward for all my hard work is that I give part of the money to another program? I don't think so.
  
• Acie Law is flying around the country, getting ready for the NBA Draft on Thursday.
  
• Aggieland Outfitters and the texas university System have settled their lawsuit over the "Saw'em Off" logo. I still think it is amusing that this lawsuit was filed ten days after A&M beat texas, 12-7.
  

Load Option for TD vs. texas '06

This is a simple load option play: McGee reads the DE and pitches to Goodson, who cuts inside Chris Alexander's lead block on the safety, to score the first points of the '06 A&M-texas game.

Empty Set Speed Option for a big gain vs. OU '06

In this play, Goodson goes in motion from the flanker spot outside the split end on the backside. When his motion reaches the backside tackle, the ball is snapped. McGee reads the unblocked DE, and pitches to Goodson. Goodson goes outside, cuts between the blocks by L'Tydrick Riley on the outside, and Martellus Bennett taking his man inside-out. This is a great example of the possibilities of running option from an Empty Set.

Off-tackle; Speed Option for TD; SIV for 2 pt conversion vs. Missouri '06

This is a pretty simple sequence: Mike Goodson runs off left tackle for 12 yds; On a goal line play, Goodson scores a TD by outrunning the LB to the outside of the end zone after Stephen McGee pitches off the unblocked DE (if Martellus Bennett finishes his block on the SLB, Goodson is high-stepping it into the end zone); McGee scores the 2 pt conversion off SIV to give A&M the lead in the game. You'll notice the DE crashes down to stop the dive to Jorvorskie Lane, so McGee goes outside, and the LB tries to string the play out, so McGee keeps inside to score.

Shotgun Inside Veer: A&M vs. Kansas '06

This is a nice example of shotgun inside veer: you'll see QB Stephen McGee read the NT, who fights off the center's block to stuff the dive, so he keeps and hits the outside. McGee outruns the unblocked DE, and pitches to Mike Goodson off of the safety who comes up to make the play. Normally, you'd want the QB to attack the DE, but McGee gets outside so quickly on this play, he is able to make it further down field, thereby making more yards before he pitches off to Goodson.

Welcome to the Load Option Blog

Welcome, one and all, to my blog. Here at Load Option, we will discuss any and all sports news relating to Texas A&M University, as well as discussing the intricacies and techniques of the greatest game ever invented, football.
I hope you enjoy your visit, and feel free to leave comments.