re: Are the Aggies on the decline?

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. I argued that if Kevin Sumlin could have his pick, he would probably have wanted to save the 10-win seasons of 2012-13 for 2014-15.

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No shite? It would have been better for Sumlin now had he gone 8-5, 8-5, 9-4, 11-2 instead of the other way around?

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MOST LSU fans have not stated anything negative about Chavis outside of his recruiting failures and his prevent D at the end of games.

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I'm the one that's full of shite?

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in fact, most LSU fans (myself included) have openly stated that Chavis was a big upgrade over their previous DC's. he has proven that to be true.

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Patently false.

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he has proven that to be true. he is one of the best DC's in the business and he elevated them immediately. BUT, he still is not a factor in recruiting and at LSU he held on to a DL coach that also couldn't recruit. his result, at LSU, was a steady decline in our DL and LB corps. those he recruited were too small for SEC play (fast as hit tho) against power up the middle teams.

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Who's said any different? I said his defense will be good for 7-8 wins a game. No better because of his deficiencies in recruiting. Just like his time at LSU.

You managed to simply regurgitate my sentiment while simultaneously rustling your own jimmies.

Quite impressive.

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in the meantime, I hope all of you join me in relishing the aggies' travails and tribulations while their fans (some of them) continue to blow hot air about their greatness.

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Oh well. Okay.

Can't decline if they have never risen.

It's more like they're comfortably "at home".

Just pat them on the head, feed them jello and tell them the stars are lucky charms.

I don't think Sumlin will be there long enough (probably not past this next season) for Chavis to get all the players he needs to fit his system. Nor do I think he can get the talent needed to make his scheme work. He needs elite corners all over the field. Not enough draw to college station to get them. I see an 8-4 season coming. A&M cleans house and starts over.

Nice

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So Jim Turner isn't an upgrade over B.J. Anderson and Dave Christensen?

John Chavis isn't an upgrade over Mark Snyder?

Noel Mazzone isn't an upgrade over Jake Spavital?

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While every one of those hires may be an upgrade, the most important upgrade is the one that hasn't happened. Most people would agree that Sumlin was hired due to the success of the UH program during his tenure. It now appears that UH's success may have been due to his assistant coaches more than Sumlin.

On the Chavis hire, I'd ask this question...What made that a great hire? From a PR perspective, you stole LSU's DC and could spin the theory that he left for a better opportunity. That was the headline and every "talking head" jumped on board. LSU responded with a horrible DC hire and things were definitely looking good for aTm. Our fanbase could only respond with Chavis' obvious weakness with recruiting, his issues with D philosophy,and his late game melts. aTm had to close the talent gap with this past years recruiting class. Did that happen? Do you feel good about stoping the run in the future? Chavis' defense fits a ball control offense. The hire was a mis-match from the start so it was obviously made for emotional impact. I'd say that backfired.

There are 2 reasons why I would take bets that Chavis wouldn't be retained should aTm make a move with a new HC hire. His defensive philosophy will not win you an SEC title because he's too stubborn to change. He can't recruit and no team has the luxury of carrying "dead weight" in the SEC West. Those issues were well documented at LSU but Les is a "good guy" and wasn't going to do anything to change that.

Les has finally woken up but it wasn't from aTm stealing his DC. Had Steel not left, we were in trouble. It was the imminent threat of his job which has him making moves like a competent HC. Summon is a lame duck and it would take a miracle to save him. Your talent is certainly declining and he can't close that gap with coaching.

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MOST LSU fans have not stated anything negative about Chavis outside of his recruiting failures and his prevent D at the end of games.

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This made no sense

The only reason why Sumlin won at Cougar High was that he was using Art Briles players. When Sumlin jumped ship he left Houston high and dry for Tony Levine.

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Your talent is certainly declining

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Uh, next year will be the most talented roster A&M has had in decades. The average recruiting ranking of classes that make up our current roster is around top 10. Sherman never had a undisputed top 15 class, let alone a roster that averaged in the top 10. The same roster in say 2009 (aka with a Big 12 schedule) might have won a national title.

The problem isn't our talent is declining relative to ourselves, in the Sumlin era we are way more talented than we were before (even when you count those NFL-level diamonds in the rough Sherman found). The problem is that even at a 40 something year peak for talent it just isn't good enough, ala shades of Ole Miss. The SEC, especially the West, is just that much better.