A few tidbits about A&M's offense vs App State

[TheProf]

Texas A&M had 8 possessions in their game against App State. Of these 8 possessions, 1 ended in a touchdown(their other touchdown was a kick return), 1 ended in a missed FG(their last possession of the game), and the remaining 6 possessions were 4 plays or fewer. Of those 6 remaining possessions, the longest gained 29 yards.

QB Haynes King attempted 6 passes of 10 yards or more in the entire game. Only one was completed.

Texas A&M didn't just have QB issues vs App State. Nearly 50% of their rushing attempts were either a zero-yard run or a loss.

And a bonus tidbit about App State's defense that game. They only blitzed 4.2% of the time.

All statistics were pulled from an article on The Athletic.

None of this guarantees that offense will be just as poor against Miami, but it does point out how poor their offense played this past Saturday.

I have watched both of their games multiple times over and I personally thought after the Sam Houston game their OL looked rough. They were often getting beat anytime Sam Houston ran any type of stunt, and the pocket was collapsing rather quickly, especially when y ou consider what level of competition Sam Houston is. I thought their OL would be something to really focus on when they faced App State. I wanted to see if it was just a week 1 type of deal or not. Well, their OL still struggled mightily all game. From what I understand, they may be getting their starting Center back who has missed the first two weeks with mono. If so, it will be interesting to see how well he plays after missing the first two games with the illness, and how much he improves the entire line by simply being present.

My personal opinion is his return won't be the cure. The entire OL has struggled in both games. The tackles were on skates against Sam Houston, the guards have been getting pushed back fairly regularly in protection leading to the quick collapsing pockets, and simply replacing your C is not going to fix all of those issues, not in my eyes at least. It may aid in the interior pocket protection, but they shouldn't go from a poor OL to a good one simply by returning one guy.

I think their OL is definitely at a disadvantage vs our DL heading into the matchup. If so, if we can get consistent pressure with rushing only 4 or 5, that will allow us to drop 6 or 7 back consistently allowing our defense to better protect itself from being burned, which has been the biggest issue so far through our 2 games on that side of the ball.

 

[JD08]

People like to point out that App St controlled the clock. The only way they could do that was if aTm's offense couldn't.

 

[TheProf]

People like to point out that App St controlled the clock. The only way they could do that was if aTm's offense couldn't.

This is true, and A&M returning a kickoff for a TD obviously plays a role here as well. If the return wasn't taken all the way, they could have easily gone 3 and out and not had much of a change to the TOP, or it could have been a 9 play drive for a score and that significantly alters how the game plays out.

I don't think you can look at how App State played and say that is the blueprint to beat A&M. Their victory was strange and a lot of advanced statistics point towards the win being more of a fluke than not, but it did happen and that can't be changed. However, the statistics do show that A&M's offense was putrid in that game, and has not looked hot at all in the first two weeks. If they do not improve any, one would assume our team is better than App State and can punish them more for it.

If A&M has a similar tendency of having 75% of their drives going for 4 plays or less and no score against us, I would imagine we would have a good shot at winning much more comfortably than what App State did. I truly hope that is the case.

 

[ScubaCane]

Texas A&M had 8 possessions in their game against App State. Of these 8 possessions, 1 ended in a touchdown(their other touchdown was a kick return), 1 ended in a missed FG(their last possession of the game), and the remaining 6 possessions were 4 plays or fewer. Of those 6 remaining possessions, the longest gained 29 yards.

QB Haynes King attempted 6 passes of 10 yards or more in the entire game. Only one was completed.

Texas A&M didn't just have QB issues vs App State. Nearly 50% of their rushing attempts were either a zero-yard run or a loss.

And a bonus tidbit about App State's defense that game. They only blitzed 4.2% of the time.

All statistics were pulled from an article on The Athletic.

None of this guarantees that offense will be just as poor against Miami, but it does point out how poor their offense played this past Saturday.

I have watched both of their games multiple times over and I personally thought after the Sam Houston game their OL looked rough. They were often getting beat anytime Sam Houston ran any type of stunt, and the pocket was collapsing rather quickly, especially when y ou consider what level of competition Sam Houston is. I thought their OL would be something to really focus on when they faced App State. I wanted to see if it was just a week 1 type of deal or not. Well, their OL still struggled mightily all game. From what I understand, they may be getting their starting Center back who has missed the first two weeks with mono. If so, it will be interesting to see how well he plays after missing the first two games with the illness, and how much he improves the entire line by simply being present.

My personal opinion is his return won't be the cure. The entire OL has struggled in both games. The tackles were on skates against Sam Houston, the guards have been getting pushed back fairly regularly in protection leading to the quick collapsing pockets, and simply replacing your C is not going to fix all of those issues, not in my eyes at least. It may aid in the interior pocket protection, but they shouldn't go from a poor OL to a good one simply by returning one guy.

I think their OL is definitely at a disadvantage vs our DL heading into the matchup. If so, if we can get consistent pressure with rushing only 4 or 5, that will allow us to drop 6 or 7 back consistently allowing our defense to better protect itself from being burned, which has been the biggest issue so far through our 2 games on that side of the ball.

It's amazing to think that they only scored 7 pts against a D that gave up **** near 60 pts the week before, I think UNC had one TD on special teams.

 

[dk72]

Texas A&M had 8 possessions in their game against App State. Of these 8 possessions, 1 ended in a touchdown(their other touchdown was a kick return), 1 ended in a missed FG(their last possession of the game), and the remaining 6 possessions were 4 plays or fewer. Of those 6 remaining possessions, the longest gained 29 yards.

QB Haynes King attempted 6 passes of 10 yards or more in the entire game. Only one was completed.

Texas A&M didn't just have QB issues vs App State. Nearly 50% of their rushing attempts were either a zero-yard run or a loss.

And a bonus tidbit about App State's defense that game. They only blitzed 4.2% of the time.

All statistics were pulled from an article on The Athletic.

None of this guarantees that offense will be just as poor against Miami, but it does point out how poor their offense played this past Saturday.

I have watched both of their games multiple times over and I personally thought after the Sam Houston game their OL looked rough. They were often getting beat anytime Sam Houston ran any type of stunt, and the pocket was collapsing rather quickly, especially when y ou consider what level of competition Sam Houston is. I thought their OL would be something to really focus on when they faced App State. I wanted to see if it was just a week 1 type of deal or not. Well, their OL still struggled mightily all game. From what I understand, they may be getting their starting Center back who has missed the first two weeks with mono. If so, it will be interesting to see how well he plays after missing the first two games with the illness, and how much he improves the entire line by simply being present.

My personal opinion is his return won't be the cure. The entire OL has struggled in both games. The tackles were on skates against Sam Houston, the guards have been getting pushed back fairly regularly in protection leading to the quick collapsing pockets, and simply replacing your C is not going to fix all of those issues, not in my eyes at least. It may aid in the interior pocket protection, but they shouldn't go from a poor OL to a good one simply by returning one guy.

I think their OL is definitely at a disadvantage vs our DL heading into the matchup. If so, if we can get consistent pressure with rushing only 4 or 5, that will allow us to drop 6 or 7 back consistently allowing our defense to better protect itself from being burned, which has been the biggest issue so far through our 2 games on that side of the ball.

Good information, thanks. Also, while its true they are getting back their starting C on the line, so their OL should be better than at AppSt., we are getting back our most disruptive pass rusher, Mesidor, who did not play against USM last week.

 

[TRick72]

Texas A&M had 8 possessions in their game against App State. Of these 8 possessions, 1 ended in a touchdown(their other touchdown was a kick return), 1 ended in a missed FG(their last possession of the game), and the remaining 6 possessions were 4 plays or fewer. Of those 6 remaining possessions, the longest gained 29 yards.

QB Haynes King attempted 6 passes of 10 yards or more in the entire game. Only one was completed.

Texas A&M didn't just have QB issues vs App State. Nearly 50% of their rushing attempts were either a zero-yard run or a loss.

And a bonus tidbit about App State's defense that game. They only blitzed 4.2% of the time.

All statistics were pulled from an article on The Athletic.

None of this guarantees that offense will be just as poor against Miami, but it does point out how poor their offense played this past Saturday.

I have watched both of their games multiple times over and I personally thought after the Sam Houston game their OL looked rough. They were often getting beat anytime Sam Houston ran any type of stunt, and the pocket was collapsing rather quickly, especially when y ou consider what level of competition Sam Houston is. I thought their OL would be something to really focus on when they faced App State. I wanted to see if it was just a week 1 type of deal or not. Well, their OL still struggled mightily all game. From what I understand, they may be getting their starting Center back who has missed the first two weeks with mono. If so, it will be interesting to see how well he plays after missing the first two games with the illness, and how much he improves the entire line by simply being present.

My personal opinion is his return won't be the cure. The entire OL has struggled in both games. The tackles were on skates against Sam Houston, the guards have been getting pushed back fairly regularly in protection leading to the quick collapsing pockets, and simply replacing your C is not going to fix all of those issues, not in my eyes at least. It may aid in the interior pocket protection, but they shouldn't go from a poor OL to a good one simply by returning one guy.

I think their OL is definitely at a disadvantage vs our DL heading into the matchup. If so, if we can get consistent pressure with rushing only 4 or 5, that will allow us to drop 6 or 7 back consistently allowing our defense to better protect itself from being burned, which has been the biggest issue so far through our 2 games on that side of the ball.

Don't people typically lose weight due to mono? Even if they don't gotta assume they lose some strength after dealing with an extended illness

 

[TheProf]

Good information, thanks. Also, while its true they are getting back their starting C on the line, so their OL should be better than at AppSt., we are getting back our most disruptive pass rusher, Mesidor, who did not play against USM last week.

Very good point. This completely slipped my mind. I don't think it is a stretch at all to say Mesidor is our best player on defense already. He will be a key piece to the game.

While most people are concerned with Gattis' offense vs the A&M defense, and I get why, I feel the game is going to be won/lost based on how our defense does.

 

[TheProf]

Don't people typically lose weight due to mono? Even if they don't gotta assume they lose some strength after dealing with an extended illness

For the average person, 1-6 months of fatigue is expected after mono. I would assume some weight and strength loss would be in play also. What a D1 athlete's mono experience may be like, I'm not sure, but I would assume it's going to have an impact on their center to some degree and it's why I said it will be interesting to see how well he plays after having the illness. I imagine he won't be 100%, but everyone is different and he may be able to recover from mono much better than the average person would.

I would imagine if anything, he'll struggle on longer drives or as the game goes on due to the fatigue that is normally present for awhile after being sick with mono. That bodes well for us given how deep our DL is, and its something to definitely keep an eye on.

 

[Cajuncane]

if that kid that had the mono is just getting over it I'm sure his strength and stamina won't allow him to play the whole game so i don't see that being a big difference in the game...jmo

 

[skyman]

Texas A&M had 8 possessions in their game against App State. Of these 8 possessions, 1 ended in a touchdown(their other touchdown was a kick return), 1 ended in a missed FG(their last possession of the game), and the remaining 6 possessions were 4 plays or fewer. Of those 6 remaining possessions, the longest gained 29 yards.

QB Haynes King attempted 6 passes of 10 yards or more in the entire game. Only one was completed.

Texas A&M didn't just have QB issues vs App State. Nearly 50% of their rushing attempts were either a zero-yard run or a loss.

And a bonus tidbit about App State's defense that game. They only blitzed 4.2% of the time.

All statistics were pulled from an article on The Athletic.

None of this guarantees that offense will be just as poor against Miami, but it does point out how poor their offense played this past Saturday.

I have watched both of their games multiple times over and I personally thought after the Sam Houston game their OL looked rough. They were often getting beat anytime Sam Houston ran any type of stunt, and the pocket was collapsing rather quickly, especially when y ou consider what level of competition Sam Houston is. I thought their OL would be something to really focus on when they faced App State. I wanted to see if it was just a week 1 type of deal or not. Well, their OL still struggled mightily all game. From what I understand, they may be getting their starting Center back who has missed the first two weeks with mono. If so, it will be interesting to see how well he plays after missing the first two games with the illness, and how much he improves the entire line by simply being present.

My personal opinion is his return won't be the cure. The entire OL has struggled in both games. The tackles were on skates against Sam Houston, the guards have been getting pushed back fairly regularly in protection leading to the quick collapsing pockets, and simply replacing your C is not going to fix all of those issues, not in my eyes at least. It may aid in the interior pocket protection, but they shouldn't go from a poor OL to a good one simply by returning one guy.

I think their OL is definitely at a disadvantage vs our DL heading into the matchup. If so, if we can get consistent pressure with rushing only 4 or 5, that will allow us to drop 6 or 7 back consistently allowing our defense to better protect itself from being burned, which has been the biggest issue so far through our 2 games on that side of the ball.

Good stuff. It seems they have problem sustaining drives if just watching their first 2 games, in their first game they just hit big explosive plays. Their QB doesnt really seem efficient and in sam houston game he put alot of gifts in play, sam houston caught some but dropped others also. Mario in all his interviews has emphasized that they have big oline but their skill guys include 10.1, 10.5 and 10.6 runners so its good that is a really big emphasis because I have been mentioning since summer and thats basically how they scored their points in sam houston game and Achane was their scoring output in app st.

 

[nickster]

Jimbo will do everything to change the offense this week with their starting center is back and maybe a new QB. I would not gage last week's performance on how Texas A&M will perform. UM needs to start out HOT and take the 100,000 fans out of the game.

 

[TRick72]

Jimbo will do everything to change the offense this week with their starting center is back and maybe a new QB. I would not gage last week's performance on how Texas A&M will perform. UM needs to start out HOT and take the 100,000 fans out of the game.

Maybe I’m misinterpreting what your saying but if I’m an ATM fan I’m not comforted by Jimbo changing his offense and QB 3 weeks into the season. Especially after what was essentially two additional preseason games to work things out.

 

[TheProf]

Maybe I’m misinterpreting what your saying but if I’m an ATM fan I’m not comforted by Jimbo changing his offense and QB 3 weeks into the season. Especially after what was essentially two additional preseason games to work things out.

Make that two of us that may be misinterpreting this. Jumbo is not one that is known for adjusting his offense at all. That's why FSU soured on him and it is why his A&M teams have struggled at times.

 

[AUcane]

This game always makes me nervous - the whole wounded animal metaphor. App State was their worse game - they will get better from there. I wish they had their crap game against us but it is what it is. Our defense has enough holes in it in order for their offense to get going (lack of consistent pass rush from DL, slow LBs, questionable CB). King will eventually make mistakes but Jimbo can gameplan some easy pitch and catches for him as well as leverage his speed.

Their OL is absolutely their weakness and so is their passing game (pass pro, qb and no clear cut WR1). Their strength is their defense but they do have a flaw. Their DL is big and if our offense plays in a phonebook, we'll be cooked. As long as our OL can protect TVD, their defense is susceptible to a wide open passing attack, imo and of course, I think TEs will eat.

 

[TriStarCane]

I expect Jimbo to dial up some shots. He’s heard the noise all week and we can be had vertically. Again, last weeks game is such a statistical outlier that it’s hard to include in an analysis

 

[nickster]

What I am saying is that Jimbo is going to do everything he can to jump start his offense. They have a ton of speed and quite frankly I'm not impressed with our secondary. This is definitely a winnable game. Kick the ball in the end zone, no penalties, hope the OL holds up and let TVD do his thing.

 

[arinand1]

Jimbo will do everything to change the offense this week with their starting center is back and maybe a new QB. I would not gage last week's performance on how Texas A&M will perform. UM needs to start out HOT and take the 100,000 fans out of the game.

The start of the game is always important against decent competition, but extremely important in this one considering the crowd. If Miami starts out hot (specifically on offense/TVD isn’t off), I honestly think it could be a pretty comfortable win as their offense will be playing from behind.

Come out flat as we did against Southern Miss, and we will be fortunate to find ourselves in a close, defensive dogfight. Could certainly be rather ugly in A&M’s favor.

 

[423Hurricane]

Jimbo will do everything to change the offense this week with their starting center is back and maybe a new QB. I would not gage last week's performance on how Texas A&M will perform. UM needs to start out HOT and take the 100,000 fans out of the game.

A lot of change can lead to a lot of mistakes.

 

[caneULM]

I think their OL is definitely at a disadvantage vs our DL heading into the matchup. If so, if we can get consistent pressure with rushing only 4 or 5, that will allow us to drop 6 or 7 back consistently allowing our defense to better protect itself from being burned, which has been the biggest issue so far through our 2 games on that side of the ball.

Very good breakdown.

Another key as everyone has stated is when Miami gets pressure they need to make sure they maintain their rush lanes especially on the outside. This is where Caleb Johnson really needs to have more snaps because I can't see their fast quarterback taking off and Corey Flagg chasing him. That’s not a very good scenario.

 

[FL Cane]

Make that two of us that may be misinterpreting this. Jumbo is not one that is known for adjusting his offense at all. That's why FSU soured on him and it is why his A&M teams have struggled at times.

Jimbo is about as stubborn as Richt was when it came to his offense and playcalling. At one point, a long time ago, both coaches were elite play callers. Eventually, the game passed them. The only difference between Richt and Jimbo is that Jimbo got a Heisman level QB and some lucky bounces in his career, where’s Richt didn’t.

I expect Jimbo to go back to what he thinks will work, which would’ve worked in 2012, but not today.