Sept. 27, 2005, 1:22AM
A&M guilty of having a lousy defense
By JOHN P. LOPEZ
It might be time for Dennis Franchione to rethink his decision to leave surnames off the backs of jerseys, at least when it comes to the Aggie defense.
We need to know who the culprits are.
They have been dazed, shredded, ripped and pureed. By Texas State. And SMU.
Franchione called his defense "inconsistent."
Yes. And life in the Corps of Cadets is a tad bit regimented.
Somewhere, former A&M defensive back Chet Brooks must be shaking his head, the acknowledged originator of the Wrecking Crew nickname no doubt disgusted at what has become of the famed Aggie defense.
The biggest obstacle the Baylor Bears must overcome Saturday at Kyle Field, in fact, could well be overconfidence.
How bad can it be?
The Aggies rank 85th nationally in total defense. Against the pass, they rank 110th out of 119 Division I teams, behind notables such as Kent State and Florida International.
They break, but don't bend. They have raw ability that's souring.
Yet as much as this could be the worst defense there's ever been in Aggieland, this also could be the best offense ever to step onto Kyle Field.
The Aggies are averaging more than 543 yards and 44 points per game and easily are on pace to establish school records for yards, points and passing offense.
Quarterback Reggie McNeal possesses everything Vince Young does, except a salty
D-line, and is probably a better passer.
Texas State or no Texas State, McNeal leads an offense that can be impossible to stop. Even in the 25-24, season-opening loss at Clemson, the Aggies averaged more than seven yards a snap.
It was the A&M defense that was a dud, giving up points on seven of 10 possessions and allowing the Tigers to dominate time of possession and keep McNeal off the field.
When Franchione was hired to turn the Aggie program around three years ago, this wasn't the kind of turnaround most people expected.
Neither did anyone expect the once-lowly Bears to play such a significant role in deciding coaching livelihoods and the next step for the A&M program.
OK, it's not that bad
This is not a time to panic in Aggieland. Franchione certainly has built programs from much less desirable starting points, and the recruiting classes Fran has brought in have been among the best in the nation.
But get fooled by Baylor once, good for them. Get fooled twice, shame on defensive coordinator Carl Torbush.
This is as pivotal a week for Torbush since Franchione's arrival was trumpeted with everything short of the theme from Patton. Franchione's expertise in building a program deliberately, emphasizing work in the weight room, physical offensive lines and balance offensively is coming along nicely.
The foundation of the Aggie program, recruiting, has been taking those steps forward — the Aggies' classes ranking 10th nationally in 2003, 13th in 2004 and eighth last winter by rivals.com.
The offensive line, manhandled as recently as last season's Cotton Bowl, is a clear strength, anchored by a future NFL millionaire in redshirt freshman Yemi Babalola. The line also has high-caliber depth.
And offensive balance? The Aggies are averaging 266 yards on the ground and 277 yards passing.
Defensively, Fran usually leaves most of it to the defen-sive staff. And Torbush has been good for Franchione before.
No lack of muscle
But nothing opposing offenses are doing to the Aggies now is because of a physical disadvantage the A&M defenders must overcome. If anything, not only was the Aggies' defense more gifted physically than Texas State and SMU, but it was more talented than Clemson's offense as well.
Torbush's squad is being humiliated. And it's happening in the worst way possible.
Indefensible mistakes
The Aggies look confused. They're getting caught out of position. They are indecisive. They are unsure.
"We didn't do our basic fundamental things very well," Franchione said of the Texas State game. "We got bad reads. We were out of position."
From 1985 until Franchione's arrival before the 2003 season, the A&M defense finished ranked lower than 25th in the country just twice.
Since his arrival, the Aggies have finished 96th, 63rd and now stand at 85th.
Everything Franchione needs to do to make this program a power again is working. Everything but the one thing on which Aggie fans could always count.
Who would have thought the key to Torbush's future could be finding a way to stop Baylor?
Check out Lopez@Large, John P. Lopez's blog at www.chron.com. [email protected]
That hasn't changed since the Clemson game. They haven't shown any progress this season at all.The Aggies look confused. They're getting caught out of position. They are indecisive. They are unsure.
If it gets down to a "what have you done lately" for Torbush he is gone. A&M used to loose their defensive coordinator every year and kept on going, mainly because of R.C. (that will get some haters to the surface).
Perhaps, they need to have RC offer some opinions...he is still there, but not involved with the football team. RC was a genius with defense.
I believe that R.C. still has this year on his contract, but I would imagine he isn't involved very much, and probably gives a whole of a more about the friends and family he has in SE Texas right now.
Also, Jerry Jones needs offer big money to R.C. Slo as the defensive coordinator next year, just in case he would do it. NO ONE knows how the 3-4 and the secondary work together like R.C. Slo .
they should get Andy Slo on that staff
I'll pass.
I don't know what it is but a&m might have a tough time with Baylor
That was last year.
A&M wins this year by 70
LOL, A&M let John Gilley throw for 400 yards!!!
Torbush sucks. I've got friends on the team this year and also who played and graduated last year. The players have no confidence in the guy.
His defense requires multiple reads pre-snap, and he has overcoached the players in the secondary and LB corps to the point that they are out there thinking instead of playing football
The sooner Fran gets rid of Torbush and gets someone in there who will first and foremost let the players line up across from someone and knock said person on their ass, the better off we'll be.
None of these defensive backs were recruited to come in and play with a 10 yard cushion on every play, and it pisses them off to no extent that they can't play some down and dirty man to man defense.
What sucks is this could be a great year with our offense but Torbush's ty ass defense is going to bring us down.
So will the Cowboy's opponents.
Torbush sucks. I've got friends on the team this year and also who played and graduated last year. The players have no confidence in the guy.
His defense requires multiple reads pre-snap, and he has overcoached the players in the secondary and LB corps to the point that they are out there thinking instead of playing football
The sooner Fran gets rid of Torbush and gets someone in there who will first and foremost let the players line up across from someone and knock said person on their ass, the better off we'll be.
None of these defensive backs were recruited to come in and play with a 10 yard cushion on every play, and it pisses them off to no extent that they can't play some down and dirty man to man defense.
What sucks is this could be a great year with our offense but Torbush's ty ass defense is going to bring us down.
AHF, you are wrong, AGAIN.
The It is not the system, it is the players. The players can not tackle at all. They are there to make the stops, but the first guy is not tackling or even slowing the player down enough for the help to come finish the job.
Watch the game, please.
You are both right. Players are missing assignments as well as tackles.
Regardless, I would say that the defensive scheme has a history in Aggieland of not working well.
Yes, I do not like that they are playing soft on the corners. The problem is, they are still giving up huge chuncks of yardage, even playing off the ball....you might as well play on the receiver and try to chuck him and disrupt the timing of the route.
The first of the two-part Aggie revenge beatdown tour begins this weekend, after that, next stop Norman.A&M wins this year by 70
The first of the two-part Aggie revenge beatdown tour begins this weekend, after that, next stop Norman.
Mikey, A&M beat Batlor in 03 by 60+ pts, they took them lightly last year when A&M was ranked #16, and they found out what happens when they do that...they lost in OT when Baylor goes for 2 pt conversion after Ags went for 1 on their first possession. OU beat Ags by 70 in 03 and Ags almost beat them last year here, but this year, they are better than OU and they will beat them...I have called that prediction from the start of the season....and I will be right.
I agree...that's why I think they will try to hang 70 on Baylor and OU. They should get there against Baylor, the OU game might not be as much but still ugly. The only thing that will stop A&M from hanging 70 on OU is that Fran will pull McNeil.
Sorry Jimbo, it's Torbush.
All of the LBs and 2ndary have like 4 pre-snap reads to make. Way too complex. Based off those reads, they have assignements that don't always make common sense (that are supposed to confuse opponents, but only seem to confuse our guys).
Players who have gone off instinct get shredded in film session by Torbush, even if they made the right play, because it's supposed to be an assigment defense.
Torbush has created an arena where the players are over-thinking and under-reacting out there, and looking over their shoulder worried they'll get chewed on instead of playing football.
Yeah, the tackling isn't all that great, but the guys have no faith that Torbush knows what he's doing. Basically there is no desire there because no matter what they're always getting chewed on for this or that, and they have no confidence in Carl as a coach or leader of the defense.
Think of it as paralysis by analysis. Sooner or later Torbush needs to realize it isn't about diong calculus on the football field, but about lining up and putting the guy across the line of scrimmage from you on his ass.
Well, Torbush's defense might have been sucessfull at Alabama against SEC power offenses, but the spread offense and its permutations that has come about in the past few years require a sound, non-gimmicky defense with clear assignments so that all skill positions can be accounted for.
AHF, on 2 occasions this year including last week, the defender would have made the play and prevented the long pass reception and TD had he just looked back for the ball. The coverage was there, but he just did not look at the QB and he missed the ball, thus gave up the 6.
They will learn as they go, and get better. We have 5 games to get better befiore we play Tech, by then, they will be much better on D.
That is what safety help is for. One disadvantage on the 4-3 defense is that often you don't have an extra athlete capable of pass coverage when you go on the blitz like you do when you have 4 linebackers in the 3-4. This means that the corners have to go man coverage, and if you're already giving them a 10 yd cushion, it is possible that some bad things will happen if they pick up the blitz. Also, there is one fewer LB to cover the hot route of the RB out of the backfield.the defender would have made the play and prevented the long pass reception and TD had he just looked back for the ball.
AHF, you are wrong, AGAIN.
The It is not the system, it is the players. The players can not tackle at all. They are there to make the stops, but the first guy is not tackling or even slowing the player down enough for the help to come finish the job.
Watch the game, please.
I don't have an answer & whoever does isn't running the show or playing. Could be a combination of the 2 but more than likely is the players AND YES, I have seen 2 of their games.
Based on AHF's insights, it sounds more like A&M's problem is that their defense is comprised of a bunch of morons with bad at udes.
just wait for those redshirts!
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