re: 2013 Fall Camp Discussion

shite i didnt realize we started tomorrow. awesoke

IMO, areas of concern heading into 2013. We'll see how many of these Sumlin addresses in his PC

Backup QB - We all know Manziel plays fast and loose and when he went down vs Mizzou everyone shuddered. But we don't have Showers any more so now it would be an out and out catastrophe if the Spring Game is anything to go on. Someone needs to show they are ready to play. I expect we'll see a lot of the backups in the first two games to try to sort this out. Maybe someone will show off when the lights come on

Wide Receiver experience - way too many people are acting like because the incoming WRs have talent, they will be ready on day one. Last year, Thomas Johnson played early but didn't really have that breakout game til Bama (sadly, his last game), game 10 of the year. It was only a few weeks earlier he ran the wrong route against LSU and it cost us an INT. Johnson was a composite 5-star receiver. Being talented is important. But these receivers are going to be thrown into the fire. They need to know the routes. They need to block. They need to know their scramble drills. This offense doesn't slow down to let them only play on plays they know their assignments. They need to really get it.

Strong Side DE - with the top 3 players at SDE returning, it seems an odd concern. But last season's starter Obioha is moving to WDE, Alonzo Williams, who emerged as the #2 late in the year, is moving to DT, and that leaves JR Gavin Stansbury as the de facto guy. The problem is to this point, Stansbury has been a JAG. Every dline needs those to fill in, give breathers, and honestly Stansbury is solid in that capacity. But he simply doesn't have the production you'd want from a starter and he's never really shown it even in brief flashes. Last season leading into the fall the question was at DT but as Obioha emerged, we moved SDE Nealy inside to fill that hole. This season you may see something similar. If any of the young lineman are ready, you could see Obioha or Williams move back to SDE. There's also the ever-talked about, never produced SO Brandon Alexander who could finally come on. IMO, this defense can't be good unless Stansbury gets beat out by someone.

Pass Rush - Besides Damontre Moore, A&M really struggled to get QB pressure without a blitz in 2012. The question at SDE doesn't help but honestly the line should be quality vs the run. Obioha will be a better run defender than Moore on that side. But wither the pass rush? This may be the single biggest concern on the field. I'm sure Snyder will creatively blitz to try to account for it, but that's playing with fire a bit. If someone like Dashaen Hall can show he's ready to play this year, maybe it's him. Justin Manning is another that shows a quick first step on tape. But these guys need to be ready for every down work or they will be no more than specialists as freshmen and A&M will likely struggle to generate much of a pass rush.

Linebacker - it's tough to even say the problem here because there are so many. One reason the defense overachieved last year was that Porter and Stewart, while maybe not being elite athletes, were heady guys that rarely if ever misdiagnosed plays or missed their assignments. Jenkins returns at Will but it's probably the easiest position to learn as it has far less pass coverage responsibilities. Baggs looks ready to man the middle, even if it's not his natural spot. I think he'll show well just because he's got the experience. But JR Shaun Ward is the only other LBer who's gone through a season. Supposedly he's in better shape but to this point he's been dismal so we need him to at least be adequate. Every other LBer projected to get playing time is going through their first fall with us (at least as a LB). Hopefully it will turn out well but this is the kind of thing we would look back on and say we should have seen that coming

Placekicking - It's not easy to wipe the memory of how poor Bertolet was last season. He seems in good spirits and confidence is extremely important to kickers. But I think we're all holding our breath til we see him kick. Honestly, I'd be happy to move up to bad from disaster.

Btw, cc, you're really distracting me with the new Victoria Moore avi

well unfortunately Sumlin's presser was overrun with doofuses asking such great questions as "how do you feel about the Manziel situation?" He didn't get asked a single question about the team itself. He spent some time talking about Polo and that all 31 signees will report on day one but those were just him trying to turn dumb Johnny questions to football.

One thing of note, he officially announced that Kirby Ennis is suspended for the game vs Rice. He also said Everett and Raven's punishment is still pending. I was going to wait til he addressed this to respond to you CGSC but here's what I've heard:

The charges against them will most likely be dropped. They weren't instigators or really involved but put themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were only arrested because they were easily recognizable members of the group. I've heard the likely suspension is no more than 1-2 games. So honestly I'm not all that concerned about it.

Thanks for posting this!

Mike Evans said something very telling: "RSJ is bigger than me"

quote:

---

Our backups looked like arse against SHSU last year so I'd prefer that one to be over and done with by the half so they can get time without having to worry about it being any kind of close.

---

SHSU didn't really do much against our secondary backups. It was the depth at linebacker that was exposed.

Sights and Sounds from Day 1 of Fall camp, via 12thMan TV

I spy #2.......

Good interview! You're right, Mike seems to be the more extroverted of the two.

btw, the official practice schedule

Practice #1 Monday, Aug 5 5:45pm Helmets
Practice #2 Tuesday, Aug 6 5:30pm Helmets
Practice #3 Wednesday, Aug 7 5:30pm Uppers
Practice #4 Thursday, Aug 8 5:30pm Uppers
Practice #5 Friday, Aug 9 6:00pm Full Pads
Practice #6 Saturday, Aug 10 6:00pm Full Pads (Kyle Field) *extended Team

Practice #7 Monday, Aug 12 9:30am Shocks
Practice #8 Monday, Aug 12 5:50pm Full Pads
Practice #9 Tuesday, Aug 13 6:00pm Full Pads
Practice #10 Wednesday, Aug 14 9:30am Shocks
Practice #11 Wednesday, Aug 14 5:50pm Full Pads
Practice #12 Thursday, Aug 15 6:00pm Full Pads
Practice #13 Friday, Aug 16 9:30am Shocks
Practice #14 Friday, Aug 16 5:45pm Uppers
Practice #15 Saturday, Aug 17 6:00pm Full Pads (Kyle Field) *scrimmage

Practice #16 Monday, Aug 19 9:30am Shocks
Practice #17 Monday, Aug 19 5:45pm Uppers
Practice #18 Tuesday, Aug 20 6:00pm Full Pads
Practice #19 Wednesday, Aug 21 9:30am Shocks
Practice #20 Wednesday, Aug 21 5:50pm Full Pads
Practice #21 Thursday, Aug 22 5:00pm Shocks
Practice #22 Friday, Aug 23 6:00pm Full Pads
Practice #23 Saturday, Aug 24 5:30pm TBD (Kyle Field) *situational