re: Texas A+M signal caller John Manziel bout to get humbled real fast

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Manziel is an incredible player. If A&M will try and spread Bama our (see Utah '08) they can counter a lot of what Bama likes to do on D. With his running ability he can create some problems.

I think the biggest challenge for him vs Bama is simply playing smart ball for 4 qtrs. Bama will likely mush-rush to keep him contained and let him make some mistakes with his arm.

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Good assessment.

The key is getting Manziel to make mistakes by trying to do too much. When he is relaxed and working within the offense he is damn near impossible to stop. When he gets over excited and tries to pretend he is playing Tecmo Bowl is when he gets in trouble. For instance in the LSU game he made a few unforced errors that turned the game. LSU certainly deserves credit for that of course but still the plays were open and he just didn't execute. Can Bama do the same? Certainly that is the safe bet but it is no guarantee. The opportunities will be there if he can deliver.

The thing most people forget is A&M has a very, very good OL and 2 very, very physical RB's that can take it to the house at any time. You can't just try to contain JFF from running the ball and drop back in coverage. A&M loves to run quickly and powerful plays up the middle looking for the defense to be caught spread out and looking horizontally. Obviously Bama's D is designed to stop the run but you can't cover it all at the same time, something has to give. The key is if Manziel sees the weakness at the line when he calls the plays or if Bama can make adjustments running at double time speed and without a chance to make as many substitutions as they are used to.

I don't think that is where this game is determined though. I think the real game is if Bama's O can control the clock and drive on A&M's D to put A&M in a hole and to shorten the game. Do that and the A&M offense will have a tough time making this in to a shootout. If Bama's offense struggles though and gives Manziel 90 plays or more on the Bama D I don't think Bama's D can hold up that long.

Still think Bama wins but A&M's got a real shot. I also don't see Manziel getting dominated. I mean he has had 1 drive in the last 2 games that did not result in a TD or FG Attempt. Say what you will about Auburn and State's D but that's hard to do against air.