I think Jimbo asks Mond to do too much.

quote:

---

This is not the Bama rush D of past years. Mond can definitely hurt them with his legs. Question is, will he?

---

Hes going to have to if we want to move the ball on the ground. Can't really assess or fix anything until the O-line improves, but you're not wrong. Something needs to change to compensate.

We're missing:
1. OL Coach (Jim Turner to NFL)
2. TE threat (Jase Sternberger to NFL and Baylor Cupp to injury)
3. OL (Eric McCoy and Keaton Sutherland)
4. A solid RB (Treveon to NFL and Jashawn Corbin to injury)
5. A mobile QB threat (Jimbo has Mond in chains)
6. An intimidating home field (though I don't buy Herbstriet's recent assessment, because last year we beat #6 and #12 at home, and was one play away from #1)
7. A game plan congruent with the players we have.



Everybody knows we are going to try to establish the run. They also know that our OL can get overwhelmed at the LOS if they are stacking the box/playing the run.

All defenses do is disguise coverages and play run defense. By the time we decide to abandon the establish-the-run game plan, it's too late.

We had a solid (as in, consensus All-American) TE in Sternberger last season who would require attention, so teams were not able to sell out on the run as much or they would get punished. We also had a better OL. Jim Turner needs to come back. We should pay him handsomely.

Jimbo is really missing his AA TE, and his replacement is gone for the season with a broken leg, I think.

I do believe that Mond needs to go through his reads most of the time, but abandon it when the field is wide open. Teams are sitting back in coverage and daring Mond to throw, knowing that Jimbo does not want him to run (and that Jimbo even goes so far as to make sure Mond knows it that scrambling a bad thing, even when there is 15-20 yards between him and the next defender). Mond needs some latitude on those decisions. It's the only way to keep a defense honest. Right now, nobody is required to account for Mond. There is no spy required. There is no mismatch for a LB to account for a dangerous TE. They get to sit in coverage on receivers and/or play run defense.

We are not better in year 2, and it's not going to improve in year 3, unfortunately. Jimbo should try to preserve some recruiting momentum and go to a HUNH offense for the first 2 offensive possessions, with an occasional run play to keep defenses honest and tired.

Excellent assessment. I have nothing to add. Well said

quote:

---

We are not better in year 2, and it's not going to improve in year 3, unfortunately. Jimbo should try to preserve some recruiting momentum and go to a HUNH offense for the first 2 offensive possessions, with an occasional run play to keep defenses honest and tired.

---

I am most interested in assessing TAMU now with LSU, Auburn and Florida. Because Auburn dominated defensively this year and then got thumped by Florida. That was supposed to be a good matchup for the Aggies. And LSU was stretched thin last year against the Aggies but appear as a dominate team this year. They will have it out this weekend with Florida on their way to a possibly great season. All those teams have out-recruited TAMU in three of the last four years per 247 though the rankings are close enough. LSU is interesting in that they took care of mediocre QB play by grabbing Etling and Burrow and I think that has been a game changer for them. Same system that OU employs to de-risk qb development by selectively recruiting experienced talented QBs. There is no doubt that attrition has negatively affected TAMU. I was surprised to see at the season start they had so few seniors. They are not yet an "experienced team".

When I mentioned player sparks of brilliance earlier in this thread, I saw that last year with Mond and Kendrick Rogers at LSU and Clemson. I've not seen it this year and I don't think Jimbo has. That's why it appears we will see more focus on Ainias Smith. Mond is streaky but he is not consistently in the same class a number of SEC qbs. I could go on but won't. FYI, I am not an Aggie but I dropped 10s of Ks sending my kids there. And I suffered with my son ( aTm 2011) in the games where the Aggies played spectacular first halfs only to lose so many of those games by the end of the 4th.

quote:

---

Might want to check that wording.

---

No inappropriate reference intended.

With this crap OL, should be passing to establish the run