Friday Random Thoughts
by Beergut on Jul 30, 2010 12:23 PM CDT
56 comments
- I will be attending the Dallas A&M Club Coach's Night tonight. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a report up later tonight on any interesting comments Coach Sherman makes.
- I really think the Nebraska media needs to let Bill Callahan go. Even two years into his tenure, they are still trying to compare Coach Sherman to Callahan. Sorry, Barfknecht, but A&M and Sherman have yet to give up 70 points in a game to Texas Tech (2004) or 73 points to Kansas (2007). As bad as our defenses have been the past two seasons, we haven't managed to match the '07 Blackshirts by giving up 455 points in a season (and that was against a Big 12 North schedule, mind you). When we match those dubious accomplishments, then you can begin making comparisons.
- If you want to get an idea of what texas' offense will look like next season, go to this link, and click on every play listing an I-formation. The author of the site, Rob Pongetti, doesn't understand everything he is watching, but he admits to just being a fan who likes watch football on television, and he does a decent job breaking down the film. The video is from the 2007 Nebraska game, where Jamaal Charles went berserk on the 'Husker defense for 290 yards rushing and 3 TDs. Something to note for texas fans is the amount of zone blocking done out of the I; the formation itself doesn't dictate the blocking scheme, and I don't see texas going away from their zone scheme. Simply moving under center won't give texas a "downhill running game", any more than running from the shotgun hurt their offense (plenty of examples of running from the gun in that game, too). If nothing else, the film should show texas fans that it isn't the formation that makes the difference, but the offensive line doing their job, and the guy carrying the ball who makes it happen. Unfortunately for texas, they don't currently have a superior talent like Charles returning at RB.
- I watched a replay of a De La Salle HS - Mater Dei HS football game on Fox College Sports earlier today. Watching De La Salle's split veer option offense makes me wish we still had some college teams running this offense. If you build the offensive line right, I actually think you could combine aspects of this offense with the original WCO passing concepts LaVell Edwards ran at BYU, and have a hell of an offense at the collegiate level.
- Walk-on tryouts for the football team are on Thursday, September 2. Given that it is two days before the home opener against SFA, I am thinking we're not looking for too many players to fill out the 12th Man Kickoff Team.
- Call it sophomoric, call it immature humor, I don't care, I'll miss Marty B television. If Tellus is focusing more on football and working to achieve his amazing potential, I have no problem with him canning his youtube channel, but I enjoyed it while it lasted. There is nothing wrong with being a character; the NFL could use more of them.
- Bowen Loftin's message to the Big 12 that A&M expects the conference to honor their promise regarding revenue is probably the first thing he has done as president that I have approved of. The Big 12 is now saying they will stand by their commitment. I still want to see us in the SEC in 2012, but getting this promise from the Big 12 in writing can't hurt anything.
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Sherman/Callahan
Mike Sherman will need winning seasons each of the next three years to match the lowly Bill Callahan’s total after five Big XII seasons. Mikey is dangerously close to the Dan Hawkins zone in terms of futility.
Sherman follows a much less successful HC than Callahan did though. Nebraska fired Solich after a nine win season, Fran was let go after seven wins. Solich got to a title game, Fran got to the Cotton Bowl once as a result of two Big 12 teams in the BCS, where they were annihilated by a superior Vol squad. Most significantly, Callahan ended the longest bowl streak in the nation, while A&M had missed a bowl in two of Fran’s seasons.
Sherman had a poor season the first year, but there was significant improvement last year and if A&M doesn’t win 9 games this season I’d be greatly surprised.
by HawkeyedFrog on Jul 31, 2010 1:16 AM CDT up reply actions
If Sherman only wins 6 or 7 games this year, who will be the new coach???
"Have a happy halftime." - Mike Leach
You guys don’t think Sherman will get replaced if next season only produces 6 or 7 wins?
"Have a happy halftime." - Mike Leach
I think it's possible
If the Ags drop some stupid games to teams they’re supposed to beat, and if they fail to beat any of their major conference opponents (I’d say OU, Texas, and Nebraska) then I for one would be highly skeptical of his ability to win. Barring injuries of course.
Personally I don’t see that happening. But if it did then yeah, I think it would make sense to start looking for someone new.
Dude – you simply don’t realize how pathetically slow and unathletic all our guys were three years ago. All Aggie fans can see the improvement and we don’t mind being a little patient – especially with a guy the class of Sherman.
He’s only had two recruiting classes so far (plus Gray). We’ve seen dramatic improvement.
if Tech goes 6-6 this season
with losses to A&M (probable), texas (possible), OU (probable), Colorado (possible), Missouri (probable), and Houston (possible), who is Tech next coach?
I think Tech will go 7-5, but Tubs is a solid coach and once he builds up the defensive talent some, Tech will be better for having him around. It may not translate to more wins and better bowls because I think A&M will be consistently better than they were while Leach was in charge, but they’ll be a good group.
by HawkeyedFrog on Jul 31, 2010 2:07 AM CDT up reply actions
So you're saying Colorado and Houston
have just as good a shot at beating Tech, as Texas does? And Mizzou has a better chance of beating Tech, than the Horns do?
Right.
Sports is man's joke on God, You see, God says to man, 'I've created a universe where it seems like everything matters, where you'll have to grapple with life and death and in the end you'll die anyway, and it won't really matter.' So man says to God, 'Oh, yeah? Within your universe we're going to create a sub-universe called sports, one that absolutely doesn't matter, and we'll follow everything that happens in it as if it were life and death.'" - Sam Kellerman
Colorado and Missouri are both 2-0 in the last two games with Tech
texas is not
Hmmmm, wonder why that would make me view things differently?
There is also the fact that texas is going to be playing Tech early in the season, and there is the very real possibility that Tech may outscore texas. They did it last time texas went to Lubbock.
Well,
Colorado and Missouri are both 2-0 in the last two games with Tech
Using that logic, A&M has lost to Tech 4 out of the last 5 times they’ve played. So, go ahead and downgrade that “probable” to “possible.”
Thanks
"Have a happy halftime." - Mike Leach
if you weren't returning the majority of the starters who gave up 52 to A&M last year
and you hadn’t hired an SEC guy as your new DC, what you did in 2008 might be somewhat relevant to this conversation
as it stands, you return the same team that got bent over in Lubbock last year, and you brought in a new coaching staff, so 2008 is irrelevant
One bad game. Sorry, we figured taking the field would be enough to beat the aggy… as usual.
No worries Beergut, I don’t think it will happen again.
"Have a happy halftime." - Mike Leach
was it a bad game against texas?
or Houston?
or Oklahoma State?
You can’t claim it was “just a bad game” when you lost several of them in 2009. In that case, it isn’t a bad game, it is just who your team is.
We won nine games to your six games last year. So, apply that logic to your own team.
Nope, we deserved to lose to texas, okie state, and uh.
Just a bad game against anm.
Anyone there saw it. You weren’t there and thus didn’t see it.
"Have a happy halftime." - Mike Leach
You don't give up over 300 yds rushing b/c you had "a bad game"
you give it up because you got your ass kicked
you weren’t good enough to stand on the field with A&M that day
maybe after you lose again in College Station this year, you’ll finally start to get the message
As I stated earlier. The team thought they could walk on the field and the aggy team would roll over.. as usual. To your credit, they did not. Indeed our ass was kicked, you are correct, because we did not come to play.
I wouldn’t be so confident about beating Tech this year, because remember… you guys don’t do that often.
"Have a happy halftime." - Mike Leach
Not in the last decade.
You guys have been pathetic…. and you know that.
"Have a happy halftime." - Mike Leach
you record this past decade
really meant a lot in Lubbock this past season, didn’t it?
Past success doesn’t guarantee future results. It’s why we play the games.
Just acknowledge your team has been a joke for years. One more bad year = new coach and “rebuilding” (and more than likely failing to do so) yet again.
"Have a happy halftime." - Mike Leach
I'd rather have a bad few years
than have a whole history that is a joke, like Tech
what has Tech ever accomplished in their football history?
you've had a bad decade.
" Answers --Become Resources."
Without Questions, There are limited Resources...
Tech is far less of a joke than K State. First team to 500 losses in NCAA DI football, lest we forget.
in K-State's defense, though
they have won a Big 12 championship in football
Tech hasn’t won an outright conference championship since the days of the Border Conference
That makes absolutely no sense at all
to use that stat when these teams haven’t played each other in 3 years. So you’re figuring since Chase Daniel (who’s not at Mizzou any longer) led them to two wins over Graham Harrell (who’s not at Tech any longer) that that should have an effect on the outcome of this season?
By that reasoning A&M has no chance at all against Texas this year seeing as how they lost the last two games by a total of 50 points.
Sports is man's joke on God, You see, God says to man, 'I've created a universe where it seems like everything matters, where you'll have to grapple with life and death and in the end you'll die anyway, and it won't really matter.' So man says to God, 'Oh, yeah? Within your universe we're going to create a sub-universe called sports, one that absolutely doesn't matter, and we'll follow everything that happens in it as if it were life and death.'" - Sam Kellerman
No
I’m figuring Brian Cabral, who is still the LB coach at Colorado, will again be able to come up with a defensive scheme to stop Tech’s offense. Tech struggled against Cabral’s schemes before, and I don’t see that changing.
As for Missouri, I think Blaine Gabbert & Co. will simply be able to outscore Tech.
Except...
You fail to realize Tech won 9 games last year as opposed to your 6. Bringing back most of their key players, this is supposed to be a very good year for Tech. (personnel wise at least, coaching change aside, which I don’t think will cause a step back but perhaps I’m a homer). We always win at least 8 games, so the suggestion we will win less is laughable. Couple that with a favorable schedule, we’re expecting 9+ wins.
A&M probable… no, possible.
"Have a happy halftime." - Mike Leach
You guys see Tubbs’ last attempt at the spread offense?
by miketag on Aug 1, 2010 4:07 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
To be fair, Auburn had abysmal personnel to run the spread (think Michigan two years ago), so Tubbs can’t be blamed too harshly for that. Tech, however, has been running the spread for several recruiting cycles so we’ll get a better idea of just what an ideal Tommy spread will look like this year.
the problem with making the personnel argument at Auburn
is that Gus Malzahn went in and made it work last year with a lot of the same personnel
I don’t think the problem that year was personnel, as Tuberville is claiming, but a lack of commitment to the scheme
I’ve read Tuberville’s comment that the only QB they had who understood the spread was Chris Todd; that is basically saying they are incompetent as coaches, and can’t teach the spread to their other QBs. The Air Raid system isn’t that complicated to learn, so I think the problem there was a lack of commitment and buy-in from the other coaches, particularly Tuberville. You don’t fire a coach (Franklin) halfway through the season just because your starting QB was injured.
You don’t want to make run me off Beergut. You’d lose one of your 5 loyal readers.
"Have a happy halftime." - Mike Leach
Excellent grammar check Beergut. My mistake.
You know what I mean…
I wouldn’t want to see this blog with only four loyal readers.
"Have a happy halftime." - Mike Leach
I maintain the Michigan comparison fits. It’s damn hard to argue that Rich Rod isn’t a good coach, he’s been too successful at too many places and he’s one of the modern spread’s fathers. He went up to Michigan who ran a similar run heavy pro set as Auburn did, and suddenly he’s looking at back to back losing seasons.
Malzahn is a hell of a coach, but the players did have a year in a spread system before he came in, making the transition at least somewhat easier.
Michigan's problem isn't RichRod or their offense
their defense was having issues before Rodriguez arrived
Michigan needs to give RichRod time to put some speed on the field, there is a reason they lost to Appalachian State.
That said, the hiring of Greg Robinson wasn’t a feather in his cap.
and re:Malzahn
there was total buy-in from Chizik and the staff; they let Malzahn run the offense
they didn’t fire him halfway through the year like Tuberville did Franklin
Auburn’s offense was horrific after Franklin was gone, so obviously, they didn’t have the personnel to run any offense that season.
OMG NO, what happened?
Seriously? That is your arguement?
Tony Franklin made an attempt with a class that had no spread players involved.
Neil Brown has loads of talent already able to run the spread.
" Answers --Become Resources."
Without Questions, There are limited Resources...
Sherman/Callahan
Not to make excuses for Sherman, but Callahan had more talent than Sherman did his first two seasons. I do not think Nebraska had to play double digit numbers of freshman either year. Also the North division is closer in talent to the Mountain West than it is to the South. Sherman would be at .500 if A&M was in the North.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight
because they really beat up on Colorado and Kansas State last year.
Some people will never understand what it means to rebuild a program
by miketag on Jul 30, 2010 10:32 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
Rebuild?
I think the proper word is build.
Sports is man's joke on God, You see, God says to man, 'I've created a universe where it seems like everything matters, where you'll have to grapple with life and death and in the end you'll die anyway, and it won't really matter.' So man says to God, 'Oh, yeah? Within your universe we're going to create a sub-universe called sports, one that absolutely doesn't matter, and we'll follow everything that happens in it as if it were life and death.'" - Sam Kellerman
by 2Cor12:9 on Jul 31, 2010 3:38 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I'll never understand Aggie Logic
Since A&M upset a Texas Tech team that was clearly a better team than them(9-4 v 6-7), and it was clearly an upset because Tech was favored by 21, it’s probable that A&M will win this year too. Is it probable that Tech will beat OU this year too? Using Aggie logic because you return the same team(that went 6-7 last year) I would expect similar results this year.
What are the probabilities that Tech will start a QB with a concussion, replace him with a freshman and have 5 turnovers again this year?
Can A&M beat Tech in College Station? Yes they can. Are the Aggies taking it as a lock, just like the Raider were last year? Looks like it.
Be smart enough to learn from our mistake last year.
Fair points all around.
Count me as one not optimistic about our chances against Tech, but I never am. Tubbs is a terrific coach and a great hire by the Raiders, although I would argue our offensive weapons are at least as potent, if not more so, as last year.
I will say, as well, that it would very much surprise me if the players or coaches came into the Tech game thinking it was a lock.
by AgAstraPerAspera on Aug 2, 2010 3:33 PM CDT up reply actions
Looking forward to this game.
Should be great all around. Sure hope the defense shows up that day. And the special teams. ugh.
so now your QB was injured with a concussion?
wow, you never run out of excuses
I think we’re going to beat you in College Station b/c we’re at home, and b/c we return the same offensive weapons you couldn’t stop last season. Your problem is you think you lost to A&M because your players were overconfident; I don’t think they were overconfident, I think we just went out there and kicked your asses. Our offense is that much better than your defense, and switching to a scheme you don’t have the personnel to run isn’t going to fix that.
Tech was not a better team than A&M; you don’t lose by over 3 TDs if you’re the better team. Period.
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