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Observations from Kyle field.
Posted on 8/31/13 at 4:24 pm
Posted on 8/31/13 at 4:24 pm
1. RSJ is HUGE. Looking forward to his career here.
2. The run D needs to step up. If we couldn't stop rices run game then we are in trouble in sec season. We only have 1 more warm up game to get it together. Also we didn't get much pressure on the QB in the first half.
3. At first it felt like the offense was moving faster getting plays in and tempo wise. But I didn't like the offense in the second half.
4. It was hotter than a prostitute in church.
5. Rice had a CB that was 4'9" and I still can't get over that
2. The run D needs to step up. If we couldn't stop rices run game then we are in trouble in sec season. We only have 1 more warm up game to get it together. Also we didn't get much pressure on the QB in the first half.
3. At first it felt like the offense was moving faster getting plays in and tempo wise. But I didn't like the offense in the second half.
4. It was hotter than a prostitute in church.
5. Rice had a CB that was 4'9" and I still can't get over that
2
Posted on 9/1/13 at 11:44 am to FleurDeLonestar
1. Agree. It's even funnier when Cam Clear comes out on the field and is 100 pounds heavier.
2. I'm just hoping this was because of the lack of Ennis and Jenkins..
3. Meh, we'll see what happens next game with Johnny starting
4. It was terrible
5. Seriously? Had no idea. Would love to see him on RSJ
2. I'm just hoping this was because of the lack of Ennis and Jenkins..
3. Meh, we'll see what happens next game with Johnny starting
4. It was terrible
5. Seriously? Had no idea. Would love to see him on RSJ
Posted on 9/1/13 at 4:13 pm to FleurDeLonestar
I rewatched the game this morning. The announcers were unbearable.
The run D was pretty brutal but our scheme is designed around each player controlling their gap. The tackles in particular were often popping out and losing leverage over and over. It's a technique thing. I know they've been coached on it but it's tough in a game atmosphere to do things right and you go back to bad habits that you always got away with in high school because you can physically dominate the guy anyway.
There was a lot of bad tackling too but most of that is just not being in the right place and having to hit a guy with a full head of steam. Price will get this cleaned up but having Ennis in there (who wins his gap virtually every time) solves a lot of that. Ennis is a huge reason for our decent run defense the last few years.
Also, we rotated the front 7 a lot. I never remember that much subbing and it almost seems like it was designed to get guys on film. I know it was hot as balls but no one really played that much and several of them were just bad. There was actually a point in the 2nd quarter when 8 of the 11 guys on the field were freshman. All in all though, after rewatching I'm far less concerned. It will either get fixed or a few guys won't be seeing the field much going forward.
Observations on new guys
RB Tra Carson - runs with power. Missed the hole once or twice but he's a load and adds a nice dimension. Did well blocking.
TE Cam Clear - he really didn't play a lot. He's an exceptional blocker though. On Malena's TD reception he locked up the safety and probably could have sustained that for a half hour. Might as well have had him in a sleeper hold.
DE Tyrone Taylor - neither of the Taylors particularly impressed me but like what Tyrone brings more. Strength is a serious issue though and the fact that he's playing ahead of Alexander (who didn't play at all) speaks volumes about BA. And scary but we really need Stansbury back
LB Tommie Sanders - just awful. He missed his assignment on the very first play resulting in a broken coverage - everyone was blaming Honeycutt but he was only safety help here. Sanders got fooled by play action and on the replay you can see the light suddenly going on and him hauling arse to find that guy. He also flat whiffed on the huge QB run when the QB is his man on the option. Actually almost every single big play early he missed his assignment though tbf to him he was forced into playing some WLB. Hopefully it was just jitters playing in front of 86k. You can also see why Mastro is the short yardage SAM. He got run over a bunch incl getting killed on a kickoff. Benched til late 3rd after 2nd series.
LB Nate Askew - was bad. On their 2nd TD (when HM got run over on goalline) he was playing paddy-cake on a guy he should have peeled off to cover in the flat. Don't think he had one positive play. SAM is a major problem as no one is even suspended.
15 true freshmen played
WR Ja’Quay Williams - came in on the last series. Not even sure why as we just killed the clock.
WR LaQuvionte Gonzales - came in on 2nd series at H. We ran a really interesting play which was a handoff to Carson but Quiv undercut RSJ and flashed into the slot for a quick screen. Appears to be some sort of option. If we'd have fed him the ball there he probably scores as the safety was looking into the backfield. He played sporadically but not all that much.
WR Ricky Seals-Jones - came in the game on 2nd series at Y. Not a committed blocker yet but he's so big it hardly matters. Otherwise I think we all saw what he brings. Wasn't sure if he played after the TD but noticed he was in for a series in the 2h.
WR Jeremy Tabuyo - came in on 3rd series at H. He looked smooth. I hope we try him out at X actually as he seems to have better speed than Walker.
DT Jay Arnold - didn't come in til 2nd half and was playing 3-tech DT. Made the tackle on his first play. High motor and good technique. He was most consistent on DL of all fish. The 4th and 1 on their end late was all Jay as he knifed in and blew up that play.
DT Isaiah Golden - didn't get in til midway thru 2nd. His first play he pushed two OL into the backfield and rerouted the play (resulting in 5 yard loss). But he also made himself really easy to block at times as he popped up and just got shoved back 1v1 which should just never happen. But he can make plays. Absolutely blew up that first 4th and 1 (even if we couldn't make a tackle)
DE Daeshon Hall - came in on 3rd series. I'm giddy over this kid. He's still light but he showed flashes of brilliance. Just got that pop. Going to be very special. But at the same time, on one running play the guy blocking him seemed to be running as fast downfield with him in tow as the RB. Ejection sucks bc it means he misses the 1h next week. Needs the reps. But was warranted. No idea why he did that. No excuses.
DT Hardreck Walker - (started) Guh. Got pushed around a lot. More to do with technique than skill. The Rice OL hit him from all angles and he was standing too tall a lot. Needs to keep his pad level down. Hopefully his injury is not too serious.
LB Darian Claiborne - came in on 3rd series at MLB (Baggs moved to WLB). Made a lot of tackles and overall did well but it was clear Baggs (who was poor) was giving him instructions before almost every play. Needs to learn the defense better and then he may be starting
LB Jordan Mastrogiovanni - didn't get in til midway through 2nd (played WLB with Baggs sliding back to MLB).
LB Shaan Washington - didn't get in til midway thru 2nd. Showed quicks but appears tentative at times. Doesn't quite have that Porter burst but he looks good. Probably going to be starting soon bc Sanders and Askew were awful
DB Noel Ellis - didn't get to play til last series. Came in as nickel. Not much to say really.
DB Tavares Garner - special teams
DB Alex Sezer Jr. - (started) He was okay. He's obviously thinking too much still and is tentative laying the wood. We were so much better when Everett came in and locked down Taylor. Sezer shows flashes but we'll be better off when he's the 4th corner. One thing I noticed was him dropping far too deep on 3-deep looks and them running bubbles under it. He needs to delay that drop esp given he's the fastest guy on the field. But huge props for quickly taking that guy down after he looked tackled but never touched down (replayed). If not for that, that may be a touchdown as everyone else stopped (in fact Moeller was already looking at the sideline and standing right there)
DB Jonathan Wiggins - special teams
The run D was pretty brutal but our scheme is designed around each player controlling their gap. The tackles in particular were often popping out and losing leverage over and over. It's a technique thing. I know they've been coached on it but it's tough in a game atmosphere to do things right and you go back to bad habits that you always got away with in high school because you can physically dominate the guy anyway.
There was a lot of bad tackling too but most of that is just not being in the right place and having to hit a guy with a full head of steam. Price will get this cleaned up but having Ennis in there (who wins his gap virtually every time) solves a lot of that. Ennis is a huge reason for our decent run defense the last few years.
Also, we rotated the front 7 a lot. I never remember that much subbing and it almost seems like it was designed to get guys on film. I know it was hot as balls but no one really played that much and several of them were just bad. There was actually a point in the 2nd quarter when 8 of the 11 guys on the field were freshman. All in all though, after rewatching I'm far less concerned. It will either get fixed or a few guys won't be seeing the field much going forward.
Observations on new guys
RB Tra Carson - runs with power. Missed the hole once or twice but he's a load and adds a nice dimension. Did well blocking.
TE Cam Clear - he really didn't play a lot. He's an exceptional blocker though. On Malena's TD reception he locked up the safety and probably could have sustained that for a half hour. Might as well have had him in a sleeper hold.
DE Tyrone Taylor - neither of the Taylors particularly impressed me but like what Tyrone brings more. Strength is a serious issue though and the fact that he's playing ahead of Alexander (who didn't play at all) speaks volumes about BA. And scary but we really need Stansbury back
LB Tommie Sanders - just awful. He missed his assignment on the very first play resulting in a broken coverage - everyone was blaming Honeycutt but he was only safety help here. Sanders got fooled by play action and on the replay you can see the light suddenly going on and him hauling arse to find that guy. He also flat whiffed on the huge QB run when the QB is his man on the option. Actually almost every single big play early he missed his assignment though tbf to him he was forced into playing some WLB. Hopefully it was just jitters playing in front of 86k. You can also see why Mastro is the short yardage SAM. He got run over a bunch incl getting killed on a kickoff. Benched til late 3rd after 2nd series.
LB Nate Askew - was bad. On their 2nd TD (when HM got run over on goalline) he was playing paddy-cake on a guy he should have peeled off to cover in the flat. Don't think he had one positive play. SAM is a major problem as no one is even suspended.
15 true freshmen played
WR Ja’Quay Williams - came in on the last series. Not even sure why as we just killed the clock.
WR LaQuvionte Gonzales - came in on 2nd series at H. We ran a really interesting play which was a handoff to Carson but Quiv undercut RSJ and flashed into the slot for a quick screen. Appears to be some sort of option. If we'd have fed him the ball there he probably scores as the safety was looking into the backfield. He played sporadically but not all that much.
WR Ricky Seals-Jones - came in the game on 2nd series at Y. Not a committed blocker yet but he's so big it hardly matters. Otherwise I think we all saw what he brings. Wasn't sure if he played after the TD but noticed he was in for a series in the 2h.
WR Jeremy Tabuyo - came in on 3rd series at H. He looked smooth. I hope we try him out at X actually as he seems to have better speed than Walker.
DT Jay Arnold - didn't come in til 2nd half and was playing 3-tech DT. Made the tackle on his first play. High motor and good technique. He was most consistent on DL of all fish. The 4th and 1 on their end late was all Jay as he knifed in and blew up that play.
DT Isaiah Golden - didn't get in til midway thru 2nd. His first play he pushed two OL into the backfield and rerouted the play (resulting in 5 yard loss). But he also made himself really easy to block at times as he popped up and just got shoved back 1v1 which should just never happen. But he can make plays. Absolutely blew up that first 4th and 1 (even if we couldn't make a tackle)
DE Daeshon Hall - came in on 3rd series. I'm giddy over this kid. He's still light but he showed flashes of brilliance. Just got that pop. Going to be very special. But at the same time, on one running play the guy blocking him seemed to be running as fast downfield with him in tow as the RB. Ejection sucks bc it means he misses the 1h next week. Needs the reps. But was warranted. No idea why he did that. No excuses.
DT Hardreck Walker - (started) Guh. Got pushed around a lot. More to do with technique than skill. The Rice OL hit him from all angles and he was standing too tall a lot. Needs to keep his pad level down. Hopefully his injury is not too serious.
LB Darian Claiborne - came in on 3rd series at MLB (Baggs moved to WLB). Made a lot of tackles and overall did well but it was clear Baggs (who was poor) was giving him instructions before almost every play. Needs to learn the defense better and then he may be starting
LB Jordan Mastrogiovanni - didn't get in til midway through 2nd (played WLB with Baggs sliding back to MLB).
LB Shaan Washington - didn't get in til midway thru 2nd. Showed quicks but appears tentative at times. Doesn't quite have that Porter burst but he looks good. Probably going to be starting soon bc Sanders and Askew were awful
DB Noel Ellis - didn't get to play til last series. Came in as nickel. Not much to say really.
DB Tavares Garner - special teams
DB Alex Sezer Jr. - (started) He was okay. He's obviously thinking too much still and is tentative laying the wood. We were so much better when Everett came in and locked down Taylor. Sezer shows flashes but we'll be better off when he's the 4th corner. One thing I noticed was him dropping far too deep on 3-deep looks and them running bubbles under it. He needs to delay that drop esp given he's the fastest guy on the field. But huge props for quickly taking that guy down after he looked tackled but never touched down (replayed). If not for that, that may be a touchdown as everyone else stopped (in fact Moeller was already looking at the sideline and standing right there)
DB Jonathan Wiggins - special teams
Posted on 9/1/13 at 6:22 pm to tmc94
Thanks for the exhaustive write-up 
Posted on 9/1/13 at 7:02 pm to tmc94
Great write up.
Posted on 9/1/13 at 8:19 pm to tmc94
I love these posts you do. 
Posted on 9/1/13 at 8:39 pm to Monsters and Men
It seems to me that the game turned when Claiborne made the solo stop on 3rd down for a 3 yard loss and kept Rice stuck on 14.
If I were to make a starting lineup of available players based off of the suspensions and this past week's performance, first I would appeal Everett's 1st Half Suspension and ask Slive to censure and reprimand Tom Austin for his epic fail regarding the targeting rule. Then:
Rush End: Julien Obioha
Nose Tackle: Kirby Ennis (Alonzo Williams is ok on a 4-man front, but awful as a nose)
Strongside End: Jay Arnold (Tyrone Taylor doesn't seem to be able to get penetration and Gavin is still suspended)
SAM linebacker: Shaan Washington (Tommie Sanders is completely lost and Askew doesn't make good reads)
MIKE linebacker: Donnie Baggs
WILL linebacker: Darion Claiborne
Cornerback: Tramaine Jacobs
Cornerback: Noel Ellis (Everett 2nd half)
Free Safety: Floyd Raven (Honeycutt may be better in practice, but he doesn't hit like the Raven)
Nickel Safety: Toney Hurd
Strong Safety: Howard Matthews
If I were to make a starting lineup of available players based off of the suspensions and this past week's performance, first I would appeal Everett's 1st Half Suspension and ask Slive to censure and reprimand Tom Austin for his epic fail regarding the targeting rule. Then:
Rush End: Julien Obioha
Nose Tackle: Kirby Ennis (Alonzo Williams is ok on a 4-man front, but awful as a nose)
Strongside End: Jay Arnold (Tyrone Taylor doesn't seem to be able to get penetration and Gavin is still suspended)
SAM linebacker: Shaan Washington (Tommie Sanders is completely lost and Askew doesn't make good reads)
MIKE linebacker: Donnie Baggs
WILL linebacker: Darion Claiborne
Cornerback: Tramaine Jacobs
Cornerback: Noel Ellis (Everett 2nd half)
Free Safety: Floyd Raven (Honeycutt may be better in practice, but he doesn't hit like the Raven)
Nickel Safety: Toney Hurd
Strong Safety: Howard Matthews
This post was edited on 9/1/13 at 10:27 pm
Posted on 9/2/13 at 12:52 am to tmc94
That was an excellent post tmc, keep bringing it. 
Posted on 9/2/13 at 4:13 am to tmc94
tmc, in your opinion, who should play less and who should play more?
Mine:
QB - Obviously, Manziel should play more, but Joeckel is a serviceable backup
HB - Right now the Malena/Carson rotation is extremely effective. Need to see more of both Williams' though
WR - Derel Walker needs to sit. He whiffed on two key passes in the first half that could have blown the game open early. Need to see much more of RSJ, Quiv, and Tabuyo.
TE - N/A
OL - N/A, but I noticed that Stuckey did not play.
DL - Need to see what Justin Manning can do. Alonzo Williams is not a nose tackle and it showed early. Need to see much less of Tyrell Taylor and more Jay Arnold and Daeshon Hall
LB - Just need to sit Askew except in garbage time. Sanders needs to unfrick himself or we need to permanently put either Washington or Mastrogiovanni in place of him. Need to see a whole lot more of the FR linebackers
DB - I don't know how the hell Clay Honeycutt beat out Floyd Raven. He got burned pretty badly on some of the plays. Toney Hurd had a bad play that led to a TD with the tip. Need to see what Wiggins can do, especially if Matthews is going to keep getting run over.
Returners - WHY THE HELL IS A WALK-ON RETURNING PUNTS??!! Is there really no PR option after Devante Harris?
Mine:
QB - Obviously, Manziel should play more, but Joeckel is a serviceable backup
HB - Right now the Malena/Carson rotation is extremely effective. Need to see more of both Williams' though
WR - Derel Walker needs to sit. He whiffed on two key passes in the first half that could have blown the game open early. Need to see much more of RSJ, Quiv, and Tabuyo.
TE - N/A
OL - N/A, but I noticed that Stuckey did not play.
DL - Need to see what Justin Manning can do. Alonzo Williams is not a nose tackle and it showed early. Need to see much less of Tyrell Taylor and more Jay Arnold and Daeshon Hall
LB - Just need to sit Askew except in garbage time. Sanders needs to unfrick himself or we need to permanently put either Washington or Mastrogiovanni in place of him. Need to see a whole lot more of the FR linebackers
DB - I don't know how the hell Clay Honeycutt beat out Floyd Raven. He got burned pretty badly on some of the plays. Toney Hurd had a bad play that led to a TD with the tip. Need to see what Wiggins can do, especially if Matthews is going to keep getting run over.
Returners - WHY THE HELL IS A WALK-ON RETURNING PUNTS??!! Is there really no PR option after Devante Harris?
Posted on 9/2/13 at 10:54 am to tmc94
quote:
tmc94
Continuing to be the best Aggie poster on here. You the man
Posted on 9/2/13 at 11:32 am to CGSC Lobotomy
quote:
HB - Right now the Malena/Carson rotation is extremely effective. Need to see more of both Williams' though
of the three that played, I really thought Trey Williams was the best. He seems to be setting up his runs so much better than last year. It was very noticeable to me that he kept feinting into a hole and cutting hard into another one. I kept thinking he was going to miss the hole but he's got an insane ability to put his foot in the ground and cut. He's got sick talent. Hopefully his ankle is okay and he didn't play more only as a precaution.
quote:
WR - Derel Walker needs to sit. He whiffed on two key passes in the first half that could have blown the game open early. Need to see much more of RSJ, Quiv, and Tabuyo.
The problem is he's playing X. The right guy for that position is just a burner that can run by a corner. You want the other team to have to give safety help there. I didn't pay much attention to Walker but he seemed to play a lot. Besides him I only really remember Lakendrick taking snaps at X and even Labhart played a lot more at Z filling in for Evans (Pope is 2nd team here). Jaquay is the recruit but he's just not ready.
I like Tabuyo over there but I've heard Quiv practiced there some. Both are probably too easy to jam lining up at LOS though. I agree Walker was unable to gain separation from that Rice corner which does not bode well. I think X is going to be a problem all year but honestly it wasn't much of a weapon in 2012 as EZ didn't have the right skill set either. Ideally you want Andre Johnson out there. Too big to jam and so fast he requires help over the top. It opens up the entire rest of the field.
quote:
DL - Need to see what Justin Manning can do. Alonzo Williams is not a nose tackle and it showed early. Need to see much less of Tyrell Taylor and more Jay Arnold and Daeshon Hall
If Manning doesn't play this week, I'd assume he's redshirting. Honestly I think he is now. We had 2 starters out on the DL and he didn't play at all. Did anyone see if he dressed? Even if he's hurt or something, we played 8 guys (Obioha, Taylor, Taylor, Hall, Williams, Walker, Golden, Arnold) on the DL yesterday and 2 more come back from suspension shortly. A 10 man rotation should be enough esp when you consider that Alexander didn't play and Robinson will come back at some point.
The problem with Zo is he just hasn't played a lot either and now we're asking him to lead the dline the first week. It was a recipe for disaster. But yeah, imo, if we can get the young guys ready, I'd like to see Zo at SDE. Jay Arnold was a very pleasant surprise to me. I'd barely heard his name all fall camp. He's undersized but going to be very useful.
quote:
LB - Just need to sit Askew except in garbage time. Sanders needs to unfrick himself or we need to permanently put either Washington
I'd start Washington this week and just see what he can do. Sanders was just by far the least impressive player on the field saturday. I remember thinking Jenkins sucked early on though so hopefully it's just that transitional phase where we expect a lot out of a JUCO but he's just swimming.
quote:
DB - I don't know how the hell Clay Honeycutt beat out Floyd Raven. He got burned pretty badly on some of the plays.
I actually watched Clay a lot when I reviewed it because he's caught a lot of flack. He played almost every snap the whole game (I think maybe every one). It can be hard to tell a lot bc the safeties are often not in frame but I only saw him make one coverage mistake the whole game (it was late 4th too). He got physically beat twice - one on a ball high in the air fighting with Taylor and one where he pressed too hard and the receiver outquicked him (but luckily dropped the ball). However, he doesn't shed blocks well and doesn't tackle well enough. But you have to remember this is pretty much his first game time. He played all game for 2 reasons: he and Raven are the only two that have practiced at FS. And with all the young guys out there, he and Baggs were getting people lined up each play.
I saw someone rate the safeties an F in the game actually and I really don't think they played poorly. People misunderstand the role of the safety at times. Rice had an awful lot of 6-10 yard runs. Not much a safety is going to do about that. But Rice didn't have a lot of 20+ yard plays. You may say "it's only Rice" which is true but the role of the safety is often to make sure those 6-10 yard gains don't turn into 20 yard plays. They did that without ever giving up a big passing play. They need to show more but I honestly think the secondary (and to an extent the entire d) had an entirely different swag when Deshazor came in. That makes me think it was more confidence than anything.
quote:
MIKE linebacker: Donnie Baggs
WILL linebacker: Darion Claiborne
This is from the earlier post. You'd need to reverse these two. Claiborne played MLB the whole game. Mastro played WLB when he came on. My guess is Claiborne hasn't been trained anywhere but Mike while Mastro seems to have played some of all 3 positions (though he played exclusively WLB Saturday). I think that has put Mastro a bit behind as he's thinking more though. He was more tentative than Claiborne I thought.
Posted on 9/2/13 at 12:08 pm to tmc94
Posted on 9/2/13 at 12:30 pm to tmc94
quote:
Did anyone see if he dressed?
Saw #55 in full uniform walking the sidelines with his helmet off.
Posted on 9/3/13 at 3:57 pm to tmc94
Big thanks. Someone talking actusl football outside of a pay board.... it's like blasting back to TexAgs 10 years ago before it had become commiditized. Big ups.
Posted on 9/3/13 at 5:03 pm to Cooter Davenport
thanks. I don't believe my comments are really worth money or anything but the fact that people post theirs behind a paywall is just weird to me. That just means that you are giving content to Liucci or Hamm or whomever to monetize.
Wish people with more of trained eye would chime in here really. I've mostly been posting just to start the conversations but sometimes I don't know much about the scheme or what they are trying to do. And sometimes I miss things that I guess are blatantly obvious.
For instance, Sumlin just posted the depth chart this week and Floyd Raven is starting over...wait for it...Howard Matthews. Did not see that coming at all. Nothing else too surprising on it other than Tommy Sanders at MLB (we're starting in a nickel so I wouldn't read much into position but he's still starting).
Wish people with more of trained eye would chime in here really. I've mostly been posting just to start the conversations but sometimes I don't know much about the scheme or what they are trying to do. And sometimes I miss things that I guess are blatantly obvious.
For instance, Sumlin just posted the depth chart this week and Floyd Raven is starting over...wait for it...Howard Matthews. Did not see that coming at all. Nothing else too surprising on it other than Tommy Sanders at MLB (we're starting in a nickel so I wouldn't read much into position but he's still starting).
Posted on 9/3/13 at 5:04 pm to tmc94
quote:
we're starting in a nickel
Not sure how I feel about Sanders calling the shots at mike.
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