Secondary in zone coverage inside our 20 yd line

That's all you need to know about our triple overtime win over Fresno State on Saturday. We were playing zone inside our own 20. Our defensive braintrust(?) has so little faith in our cornerbacks and safeties, they don't even trust them to cover WRs when they are compacted down inside the red zone, and have nowhere to go but straight at the defense.
I fear we are in for another one of Fran's "odd year defensive swoons".

Nice article on Matt Featherston

Not a fan of Robert Cessna, but he pens a nice piece on LB Matt Featherston. I've been a fan of Matt's ever since I saw his recruiting picture on signing day, and it looked like a prison mug shot. You knew when you saw the picture that this kid was a linebacker.
An interesting note on Featherston is that A&M offensive coordinator Les Koenning's father coached him in the HS All-American game that got him noticed by A&M, and that relationship helped in his recruitment.
I guess that is one thing I can give Koenning Jr. credit for, which is more than I would have given him credit for before today.

Aggies appear to still be looking for a backup FB

Jodie Richardson came out of Spring Practice as the back-up fullback to starter Chris Alexander; now comes word that the Aggies are looking at walk-on Nick LaMantia as a possible back-up for Alexander. I don't know what Fran is thinking here, but I think this means that we need to really, really hope Chris Alexander stays healthy throughout the season.

Possible replacements for Fran

I always like to keep a list of candidates ready for the A&M football job, just in case we need to fire our head coach.

My current list:

1. Rich Rodriguez - West Virginia: Yes, I know he turned down the Alabama job and the multi-millions that would have gone with acceptance to stay in his native West Virginia, but I still feel he is someone you have to approach. I am someone who believes that 'perception' really doesn't matter when you conduct your coaching search, so if your #1 candidate says he isn't interested, it doesn't doom your program. The important thing is to hire a winner, not worry about what sportswriters think. Rodriguez is a winner.

2. Bill Cowher - retired, former head coach of Pittsburgh Steelers: He won a Super Bowl and was a very successful coach in the NFL for many years. His NFL pedigree and winning ways would attract recruits galore, and his defensive-minded, ball control style would fit in with many die-hards at A&M. Only knock against him is I've heard rumors that Penn State may be looking at him to eventually replace Joe Paterno, whenever he decides to leave. Cowher may also be looking for another NFL job whenever he ends his current 'sabbatical'.

3. Steve Kragthorpe - Louisville: Krag did an outstanding job building Tulsa into a respectable program, and is stepping into the bigtime in a BCS conference with the Louisville job. Coach Krag has a history with A&M, having spent time here as our offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach from 1997-2000. Only knock on Krag is that he would be a one-year guy at a 'major' program before we hired him.

4. dark horse - Todd Dodge, University of North Texas: Todd Dodge has been the best high school coach in the State of Texas in the last 5 years, leading Southlake Carroll High School to a 79-1 record, including three consecutive undefeated seasons and three straight state titles before leaving after last season. I think Coach Dodge is going to be very successful at UNT, making him a candidate for bigger and better jobs. Similar to Krag, only knock on hiring Dodge would be that he has only been the head man for one year at a minor program. Also, with such a short tenure, we would have no idea of how well his program develops/his recruiting benefits the program. However, if UNT wins 8 games this season and goes to a bowl, I think you're going to see plenty of people after Coach Dodge.

Those are just a few names at the top of my list. Who is on yours?

Red Bryant and Chris Harrington ready to play pain-free in 2007

Red Bryant blew out his knee in game 9, and missed the final four games of the season last year. Chris Harrington played the second half of the season with a bum shoulder. Now, both are ready to play without pain in '07, and lead the Ags to a Big 12 Championship.
I'm just thrilled we have Bryant's leadership back for '07. I believe Harrington can have an All-American type season for A&M this year, if we win enough games to get him the media attention he deserves.

Football notes

Jerrod Johnson is making progress at QB, there is less drop-off between the second team and the first team, the coaches have a new way to signify the play ending on game film, and more..

I'm happy Jerrod is making progress, but knowing Fran, I don't think this means we'll be seeing more playing time from him than the token garbage duty at the end of blowouts. This is Fran's time to blow smoke up everyone's rear.

I did enjoy the new method to signify the end of the play on film:

" Throwing in the towel: A&M coaches created a way while watching film during spring drills to know when the whistle blew, so they could know if the players were going full tilt until the play ended.
"A manager holds a towel up when the ball is snapped and when we have a coach blow the whistle, [the manager] throws up the towel at the end the whistle," A&M offensive coordinator Les Koenning Jr. said. "So we can tell who is loafing on the play. "

I need to take note of that, b/c it may prove useful later on, when filming games.

Chris Alexander gets some love

Robert Cessna often annoys me with the myopic drivel he writes, but not today. He pens a wonderful piece on the Aggies' unsung backfield hero, Chris Alexander. Alexander was the lead blocker on many key plays last season, most notably the load option play that gave A&M the 1st quarter TD to take the lead against texas.
I also had the chance to meet Alexander's mom after a few games in the 2004 season who is a wonderful lady, so Chris has always been a favorite player of mine.
Since Chris was second team All-Big 12 last season at FB, there is a pretty decent chance he'll make first team this season.
It would be some nice recognition for a very deserving player.

CBS Sportsline gives a projected starting line-up

CBS Sportsline gives a projected starting line-up for the 2007 Aggies, as well as offering some other predictions on the team.
While I normally ignore semi-informed fluff about the program on sites such as these, their projections aren't bad, if a little disappointing.

Their projection:

Offense -- QB Stephen McGee, RB Jorvorskie Lane, FB Chris Alexander, WR Pierre Brown, WR Earvin Taylor, TE Martellus Bennett, QT Yemi Babalola, QG Kirk Elder, C Cody Wallace, SG Chris Yoder, ST Corey Clark.

Defense -- DE Chris Harrington, DT Red Bryant, NT Henry Smith, DE Cyril Obiozor, SLB Mark Dodge, MLB Misi Tupe, WHIP Jordan Pugh, CB Danny Gorrer, CB Jordan Peterson, FS Devin Gregg, SS Alton Dixon.

I'll be somewhat disappointed if Kellen Heard doesn't break into the starting lineup at NT at some point this season. Ignoring his problems with late hit penalties last season, the kid is a beast inside.

Sorry for the delay between posts

Technical difficulties prevented me from posting yesterday.

Today's news......

Jorvorskie Lane says he wants to rush for 1,000 yds and 24 TDs this season. If Lane keeps his weight down, and Fran gives him the necessary number of carries, especially in short yardage and goal-to-go, Lane can make those numbers.

Fran is 'intrigued' by true freshman safety Billy Chavis. At 6'5, 231 lbs, Chavis' size and the hitting ability he's displayed so far in practice have Fran touting him early. At that size, he sounds like a true OLB for a 3-4 defense, although we'll never run that.
I just don't want Fran to get cute, and do something that screws up the kid's development.

Fran is going to design some plays specifically for Jerrod Johnson. While this may cause some fans to overflow with optimism about the possibilities with Johnson and McGee in the same backfield, I'm fairly certain we're just talking about a few inside zone plays for a goal-line package. If we actually use Johnson like Florida used Tim Tebow in the 'Tim series' last season, I'll be pleasantly surprised.


QBs Stephen McGee, T.J. Sanders, and Jerrod Johnson at practice

Wide receivers will be key this season

The Eagle takes a look at A&M's wide receiver situation this season. If we are going to truly make the spread portion of our spread option scheme work, we need to be able to execute the base scheme of mesh routes, and that means we need our WRs to make plays for us this season.
The running game, with returning starts on the OL and in the backfield, should be stellar.
What we want, though, is an offense that is equally lethal in the air and on the ground, and for that to happen, we need to find some playmakers at WR.
Personally, my money is on Kerry Franks, E.J. Shankle, and Pierre Brown to step it up big for us this season.



WR/KR Kerry Franks goes the distance against Texas Tech

Big Televen expansion

There are rumors going around that should Notre Dame not accept another overture from the Big Televen to join their conference, The Conference That Can't Count will pursue texas university. Since texas basically won't go anywhere without Texas A&M in tow (I don't think the politicos in the Texas Legislature will allow it), this would be a move that would effect A&M.
However, I believe the travel costs for the non-revenue sports like women's swimming and men's tennis, et al., would make such a move cost prohibitive.
A move to another conference would also mean texas would be playing A&M and Oklahoma as out-of-conference games, which means they would only have two non-conference games to start the season that are already pre-determined. I don't see either A&M or Oklahoma changing the game dates they've had for years now, so it would royally screw with texas' conference schedule, if they made the move.
I wouldn't mind seeing A&M and texas in different conferences, mainly b/c it would strengthen the perception of college football in Texas. With two schools in two different BCS conferences, the schools could play each other at the end of the season, and regardless of who wins, it won't effect their ability to win their respective conferences and go to a BCS bowl. The situation they had in Florida with UF in the SEC, FSU in the ACC, and Miami in the Big East is a perfect example of this situation.
Regardless, I don't see this move happening.

A&M ranked #25 in pre-season poll

I don't put much stock in pre-season polls, but A&M is ranked #25 in the USA Today coaches poll. It doesn't mean anything to me, b/c we'll know what kind of team we have after we face Fresno State and Miami, but it is better than being unranked.
Another positive is it guarantees our highlights will make Sportscenter.

I do think it is a joke that we're ranked behind Florida State, Nebraska, and Rutgers, but if we're a good team, we'll move ahead of those teams.

I will enjoy watching texas fall from their perch at #4.

I also think Oklahoma is overrated at #8.

Bradley Stephens plays in 2007 THSCA All-Star Game

Bradley Stephens played for the victorious South team in today's Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game. I haven't yet been able to find stats for Stephens online, but the last I saw, he had 7 carries for 16 yds, 1 rushing TD. He scored a TD on the South's first offensive drive of the game, enough points to win in a game that ended, 14-0.
Stephens showed some good speed, but wasn't able to do much inside with an offensive line that has only been playing together for four days.
I'm just glad he didn't get injured.


Bradley Stephens running for a TD in a HS game last season.

Fran actually explains some Xs and Os to fans

According to his Fridays with Fran report from July 27, Fran actually answered that question that seems to be asked by a lot of Aggie fans, "Why do we run option to the short side of the field so often?"
Fran's explanation:

"One of the more interesting aspects of that is the reaction to the plays where we demonstrate when and why we run the option to the short side of the field. One example is Mike Goodson’s touchdown run in Austin last November when he ran around right end, to the wide side, or what we call running to the field. Then, when Stephen McGee ran the game-winning touchdown on the same play, he ran to the short side, or what we call running to the boundary.

In Austin this Tuesday I told anyone in the audience to ‘fess up if they were one of the fans who asks the question of why we “always” run to the boundary on the option. A large number of people raised their hands. (You know, the Aggie Code of Honor is for real – Aggies never lie ?)

The answer, of course, is that we don’t “always,” and when we do, it usually – not every time, but normally – has nothing to do with it the ball placement on the hash mark instead of the middle of the field. It always has to do with what the defense chooses to do, and Stephen’s ability to recognize it and get us in the right play.

Most folks are surprised when they find out that in many cases, such as those in “The Drive,” we actually break the huddle with four plays called. That is, it could be a run either direction, or either of two passes. Stephen checks us into the right play when he sees, for example among several things, where the safeties are shaded. They might be favoring the field side, which is often the case because a defense will try to use the sideline as a defender and protect where the offense has more room to operate. Based on that and a couple of other things, Stephen would check us into the boundary call.

Either way, we have to execute the play properly. When we don’t and the play doesn’t work, it leaves the impression we’ve called the “wrong” play, and if that’s to the boundary then it feeds the perception about running to the short side. "

If Fran would talk more Xs and Os, I really think he would endear himself more to the rank and file fanbase. That, and avoid making idiotic statements like, "We may be a better team than we were last season, but have a worse record."

Aggie Roundtable II

This is my second time doing the Aggie Roundtable, the first time the questions are my own. Be sure to check out the responses of the other Round Table members: Aggie Sports Blog, 12thManchild, TAMABINPO, and Offtackle.

1. What play in our offense would you like to eliminate or see called less often? Give a valid replacement play or series that will attack the same area, i.e. if you hate the option to the short side of the field, how do you propose we attack the C & D gaps shortside to keep the defense honest?

I actually don't have many complaints with our playcalling, save a few 3rd and short situations last season here we didn't give J-Train the ball, or where he wasn't carrying the ball in the 4th quarter to run out the clock at the end of a game.
If anything, I would like to bring BACK a series we used back in 2004. We had a nice Power-T goal line series that we used effectively to punch it into the end zone, which I'd like to see more of. I'd also install a Belly Series from a shotgun-T backfield formation, and run Inside and Outside Belly, as well as a true quadruple option. First read is inside belly, attacking the A gap. Second read is outside belly, attacking the B gap. Third read is option, attacking C and D gaps.

2. What was your favorite season of Aggie offensive football? Give a year and explain why.
I'll have to go with the 2000 season. We had Robert Ferguson at WR, Ja'Mar Toombs at TB, and Mark Farris at QB. We had the Steve Kragthorpe-Pete Hoener-Larry Kirksey braintrust guiding our offense. We ran a beautiful Fly series, which was installed by Pete Hoener. We were a fun offense to watch, and we scored plenty of points. All three coaches (Kragthorpe, Hoener, Kirksey) were snagged by the NFL, and left after the season was over.

3. If you could steal any assistant coach from one of our conference opponents, either to improve our program or weaken their program, which coach would you take and why.

I would take Kevin Sumlin away from Oklahoma. Two reasons: First, he coached at A&M from 2001-02, leaving after Fran arrived, so he knows A&M and knows our traditions. Second, he was an outstanding recruiter, as well as an incredible offensive coordinator. He turned around our 2002 offense in one short week, eventually leading us to an upset win over then-#1 ranked Oklahoma at Kyle Field. I'd love to steal him back from OU.

4. Given that we have gone back to the old timing rules during games, do you expect our defense to experience a slight setback in total yardage given up per game? What about points per game?

I expect to see ~12 more plays per game, which comes out to roughly 6 more plays per team on offense, or 24-30 more yds given up per game. I expect to see A&M's yards per game numbers go up by ~15 yds per game, but average points given up per game to go down to <20 per game. Hopefully, experience on defense will help us.

5. Playing athletic director for a day, if given the chance, what sport would you add to A&M's athletic department, assuming the funding is there for scholarships, facilities, support, etc.

Women's hockey. It would even out all the Title IX issues with football, and would put A&M at the forefront of the women's college hockey in the South, meaning we'd get all the good female players from this region. Besides, can you imagine the brawls that would erupt when we'd play t.u.? A game might break out!!!

6. Fran tells you he's going to let you coach a whole game as an assistant coach. You can coach any position you want, including both coordinator positions. Which coaching job would you take, and why?

Offensive Coordinator/QB coach. Basically, I'd take over playcalling duties from Fran, to make sure we didn't get stupid, and pass the ball on 3rd and goal from the 2 yd line.

7. Ignoring LSU, Arkansas, and the former SWC teams, what BCS team would you like to see A&M start a non-conference series with? Do you want to play home-and-home or at a neutral site?

No question about it, I want Notre Dame in Arlington at Jerryland. A non-conference game with Notre Dame would get us national attention, and give us a big leg up in the national championship race whenever we beat them. I think Notre Dame would go for that deal, b/c it would be a guaranteed game in Texas every year, opening the state to them for recruiting.

Big 12 is loaded with second year QBs

The Houston Chronicle has a nice piece on how Stephen McGee, Colt McCoy, Chase Daniel, and Graham Harrell will all try to produce an encore to the spectacular year they had in 2006.
Notably absent among those list is Bobby Reid of Oklahoma State, who might have the most returning skill position talent surrounding him of anyone not name Stephen McGee.
Ir will be interesting to see who will improve on next season (I believe Reid will), and who might suffer a sophomore jinx (Colt McCoy is my pick there).


McGee will try to lift the Aggies to new heights in 2007.

Parity here now in the Big 12

Robert Cessna of The Bryan Eagle quotes Mack Brown talking about parity in the Big 12. I think this is just Brown covering his butt, trying to assuage the anger of texas fans who were disappointed by late-season losses to A&M and Kansas State last year. Whenever a coach talks about 'parity', my bullsh*t sensors go off, b/c it always sounds like an excuse.
It's funny how I never hear Urban Meyer or Pete Carroll talk about parity; the great coaches of the great teams don't worry about the rest of the conference, they just concentrate on making their own program better.
The sad thing is, some fans will read this, and use it as an excuse for any losses this season, just like they do every other year.

A veritable treasure trove of Aggie football talk today

With A&M being on of the featured teams in today's Big 12 Media Day in San Antonio, there is a lot of media coverage of the Ags available.

To wit:

• The Topeka Capitol-Journal weighs on in new Strength & Conditioning coach Rod Cole.
  
• Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman rips Fran for thinking A&M can have a special season.
  
• More AAS notes, in which they try to say we're 'basking' in our 12-7 win over texas.
  
• The Dallas Morning News has a nice piece on all of the offseason work our guys have done, and how Stephen McGee and Red Bryant are leading the charge.
  
• The Kansas City Star says Fran isn't worried about his job security.
  

In summary: I'm cautiously optimistic about Rob Cole, I'll wait until I see how we perform on the field before I judge the job he has done. I think Bohls knows less about football than my dog, and at least my dog knows we went 9-4 last season. texas fans would love to believe we're 'basking' in our win over them, b/c then they can justify spending the whole offseason stewing about the fact that we kicked their ass up and down the field that day. I'm glad our boys have been busting their butts in the off-season, let's see the results on the field. And finally, Fran should be worried about his job security. If he doesn't win at least 10 games this season, they need to fire him.

This is just proof that the end of the Summer purgatory of no football is approaching. Most of these pieces are fluff and mere hype for the upcoming season, but in the absence of games to over-analyze, we'll take fluff every day of the week.

Fran's remarks from Big 12 Football Media Days

Some comments I liked from Fran:

"We've got some good people on this team. We've got some great leaders on this team. Probably the best leadership we've had since I've been at Texas A&M. Great students. 15 out of our 17 seniors will have their degree by December; 5 of them will have it in about two weeks. And Stephen McGee is with us here today. And I need to mention this. Stephen has two years of eligibility remaining and he'll have his degree in about two weeks also. So pretty unusual for somebody to be in that situation."

I'm thrilled to death that 15 of our seniors will be graduating by December, but just amazed that McGee has been able to earn his degree in only 3 years. He's taken classes every single session they were available without a break since he arrived at A&M, AND balanced that classload with football. That's quite an accomplishment.

Fran addressed McGee's issues throwing the ball last season:

"But with regard to his throwing, we don't spend time talking about injuries at our place. And one of the things that happened to Stephen in two-a-days, in the second day of practice he tore a muscle in the back of his throwing arm. He did not throw again until the week of the first game. So he essentially missed all the throwing during August camp, and as much as anything missed the pocket presence, the feel for the rush, how to move in the pocket, and as a result I think as coaches we were probably trying to make sure that he didn't sit in the pocket and take a beating and take too many sacks, and we encouraged him to run with the football, which may have been a little part of him not finding a second or third receiver sometimes.
"I think that burden needs to go on us more than him and more the circumstances of not being able to throw all through the month of August, which is -- as you all know, fall camp is such a pivotal time, especially for your first-time starter, essentially had he been a senior, wouldn't have maybe been as quite a big issue, but being as young as he was going into the season, it does have to have an impact on him. We all know Stephen McGee can throw the football. He's proven that time and time again.
"So protecting him and letting him now he worked very hard on finding second and third progressions and everything in spring practice. And I think we'll see him better in all those areas."

The bold emphasis is mine. I knew about McGee's injury, and while I can believe what Fran said about telling him to run, I think they also told him to run with the football to avoid making a turnover. Part of McGee's issues passing weren't just not finding a second or third option, it involved not having a second or third option (because of formation/scheme issues), and throwing the ball out of bounds when under pressure to avoid a sack. I think the coaching staff drummed it into McGee that it is better to have an incompletion out of bounds and move on to the next play, than it is to take a sack and risk losing the ball on a turnover.

J-Train getting some love from the NY Times

The New York Times has an excellent article on Jorvorskie Lane, covering his weight issues from a year ago (played at 282 lbs at one point), to his daughter's love of Chuck E. Cheese, to his dreams of begin the next Michael Jordan when he was in junior high school.


Jordanesque on the football field.

One stat I hope Fran notices: Lane had 82 receptions for 1,060 yds in high school. We started to use Lane as a receiver a little bit last season, and I hope we increase that this year.