re: Week 9 Open Discussion Thread

Will be interesting to see the Alabama/Tennessee game later on. Tennessee is supposedly as bad as us in a similar situation (young team with young up-and-coming talent) I know they have the advantage of seeing what NOT to do by witnessing our game last week, but if Alabama doesn't blow them out anyway (not necessarily 59-0) then it just going to show in a sense how far we have fallen and what we need to do to get back on track. So just interested to see that one.

Anyone remember z'darius smiths crazy recruitment? Man I wish we got him

Yep

So TCU has 82 points

I'm down AF

They hired his hs coach or dad or something right? We could have used him last year especially.

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I quit being angry after Sims' TD run.

We have problems. I wanna see how we try and fix them.

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I was looking over your game on Youtube after noticing it on the sidebar of the LSU/OM game someone linked to on the main board. I didn't watch the whole thing, just skimmed the TAMU defensive series in the first half, and came to the conclusion that a huge chunk of your problem is the DBs. Yes, the linebackers let runners slip through, but the DBs were just missing tackles left and right. The #29 guy, especially -- the same guy who dropped that early interception -- was getting burned badly...a lot. I went and looked him up and he's a senior. My best guess is that y'all are going to continue struggling until the upperclassmen who formed the core of the defense for the last couple years are gone and Sumlin's hot hand with recruiting supplants what he inherited. Which doesn't help you much this year, granted, but it's at least a good sign for the future. Garrett was pretty good, so there is that.

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Since 2012, A&M has scored 8 defensive touchdowns.

Everett (#29) has 3 of them.

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And came close to getting another one (though he was covering Cooper, so I'm not entirely convinced he wouldn't have been run down halfway there.)

The main problem I saw was that his coverage skills were lacking in this game. I obviously don't have the wealth of knowledge y'all have about past performance, but there were just too many bad angles and poor tackling forms because he was in uninspired coverage for someone who's been there for four years (I'll give him a pass on the times Cooper burned him because nobody's figured out a good way to contain the guy and #29 wasn't going to be the first.) I'm sure he's a warrior and all, but he's nowhere near as talented as some of the recruits Sumlin has been bringing in. I only singled him out because he was particularly egregious in this game. There were actually a couple backs that swarmed to the ball pretty quickly and had good tackling form (I mentioned Garrett) and I can only assume they're part of the new, more talented crop.

Thanks, Randomways, for your input. Several Ags on similar threads have mentioned the problem that is our DB's playing 10 yards off their targets, even when it's 3rd and 3. And when I see the phrase "missed tackle" I hear the voice of angry ancestors and my ulcers erupt.

In all fairness to Mark Snyder we have been missing tackles since RC Slocum left. Am I right? I mean to my mind we have been the tackles-missingest team in football for like 20 frickin' years. That's something you'd have a hard time accomplishing if you wanted to do it. I'll go so far as to say that during the last half of 2012 we were tackling better than at any time during the aforesaid tenure. I was a big Snyder fan then. I wish I knew what happened.

Now and then I'll see some video of a DC coaching his players. It seems like defense has gotten really complicated. It's all, "When they line up like this then this is your gap; when they line up like this then you back up gap H; when they put this guy here then you gap trap gap 4976 subgap C" and whatnot. I know that Tom Landry started this ball rolling way back in the 1950's, but I'm starting to wonder if it hasn't gotten to the point where it's just over a lot of players' heads. I'm sure Snyder can talk X's and O's with anyone; I'm pretty sure he hasn't figured out how to teach it. (Which may have something to do with why he's already failed as a HC). I'm also starting to wonder if a school like Stanford might have an advantage re defense, however ironic.

I don't get the confusion when it comes to cornerbacks. Know your man; stick with him. Gaps be damned. Safeties have to make decisions, granted. Our entire defense looks confused, bamboozled, uncertain, and scared. There's no one to blame but dumb arse coaches.

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If we were 33rd (1996) and 42nd (2002) in total defense and 31st (1996) and 38th (2002) in scoring defense at any time since 2010, we would be undefeated.

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Great point.

If there had been a 16 team in playoff in 2012 we or Stanford would've won it. This with the D we had (at the end of the year). We would've beaten Alabama, again. We would've beaten everyone except maybe Stanford that year.

Like you said, if our D had been in the top 50 last year we would have won it all. (With the possible exception of LSU at Baton Rouge with Johnny's hurt hand).