My Keys to Winning vs. A&M…

[KANE]

And if App State did that and we can't we got problems.

But that's what App State do to people.

 

[Canes6292]

…a brief analysis.

In my opinion, the best chance that we’ll have to win this Saturday is if we play aggressive football from the get go.

On offense, I would love to see us call a pass on first down to start the game. I think that aTm will stack the box to try to stop our running game. Would love to see something like what Lashlee successfully called last year a few times (a pass design that gets the ball to either Arroyo or Mallory), or a wheel route to Rooster or Parrish. I’d also like to see more passes overall on 1st down to keep them off-balance and having to guess.

On D, I’d love to see Flagg and Ivey riding the pine. A&M has some serious speed at the skill positions, and their QB can run. I’d play a faster LB combo, and keep a spy at all times on the Aggie’s QB. From what I’ve seen of him, his strength is as a runner. If Flagg is out there, this guy will gash us, and he may house a long run. I’d try to make him beat us by blitzing more than we have so far this season, and by mixing/disguising coverages.

Ivey, as I stated, should not see the field as a starter ever again at the U. Great kid, but he is a serious liability, specially in a big game like this one. Wish that they would start Al Blades and Stevenson, with Couch at boundary.

If our lines come to play, we have a shot. Hoping that TVD puts it all together this week. He had mentioned in the pre-season that he had talked to Gattis about putting some plays in that he’s already comfortable and familiar with from last season. Hopefully Gattis listened and unleashes some of those type of plays this week.

It’s now or never. Gotta at least play tough and make it a close one. Let’s Go Canes!

I have a feeling they're saving the passing concepts that worked from last year for this game. I don't think our team has thrown a wheel route once this year or spread a RB out as a WR even though we did that well last year and Gattis did that at Michigan.

 

[Okefenokee Cane]

Hay Okee, da Rockin Bear is showin da game an serving BBQ! Johnny Bones iz cookin the Q. Hole hawg and baby back coyote ribs!

Ooh wee sun! Datill make yur tung beet yur teeth to death! Jonny kin slap cook an I ain’t had no yote ribs in a minut. Onlie downside iz ya gotta dres up an where a shirt in da Rockin Bare.

 

[UMFarArcher]

Gotta keep the defense honest.

****, they'll steal the grapes off your Fruit-of-the-Looms.

 

[Okefenokee Cane]

Thank da Lord! U ramemba dat time Jackie Sharrel kastrated dat bull bufore dat game wit Texas? Dat’s da kinda sh#t we need ta git everbuddy fired up. Dam sun dat makes da hare on my peches stan up!

 

[supacane]

Texas A&M was #84 in returning production on defense. They allowed App St starting RB to rush for 112 yards on 19 rushes for 5.9 yards per carry. I see them having alot of trouble defending our run game opening up the deep shots we haven't seen yet. Misdirections and bad eye discipline are Young defenders Achilles. They still should be good at rushing the QB still, which will be our challenge. Communicating in that loud environment. Containing the QB run on broken plays will be our challenge on defense on 3rd downs. We have been poor so far. I see a score of 20-16 Canes.

 

[ThomasM]

I understand what Mario is trying to do. He wants to toughen this team up and establish the ability to run the football. The thing is that when you also have a QB with the talent of TVD then you must use him. That is the tightrope Mario finds himself walking right now. However he hired Broyles award winner Josh Gattis to be the OC and this is where Gattis earns his paycheck. Let's see what he's got.

I'm 100% in their corner, until they give me a really good reason not to be. While they haven't proven anything yet, that can also be said for any negatives. I haven't seen enough. I know every year we hear about how we are saving the playbook for better teams, but this year that might actually be the case by default. While I in no way think we were saving "good plays" for TAM, I do think there is a good possibility we were focusing on the run game to get ready for the rest of our schedule. I hope that's the case, at least. We do need to be able to run the ball, but we also need to get our star QB comfortable.

We'll know a lot more after this weekend.

 

[ddun1eavy2]

Keys to the game
#22,21,4 all from SFL, all bringing **** with em
#7,12,5,0 -- Zero!!
85 sit this one out -- gone from bad2worse as a blocker
#56,56,56,56,56 and 24
2,7,8
Pass rush gotta get home every time.
On the road at night @place that prides itself on noise - Lot of fun to silence em!!

 

[Angry Ibis]

A night game at Kyle Field with the 12th man will be insane at kick off. Canes have to control their emotions. Atm will bring the heat early. Canes cant get caught up in the hype. Get behind early with that crowd and it will be difficult to get back in. TVD and Gattis have a chance to hush the crowd with some creative play calling in the firsrt series. Smack them in the mouth. Remind them of the doubt they've been burying all week. Take the crowd out.. That's huge.

The first series against So Miss was creative:
- Mallory missed block
- 5 yard gain
- Penalty
- Incomplete
- Punt

Let’s avoid a starting drive where 3/5 plays were bad and 1 of the good ones was a punt..

 

[caneworld]

My thoughts:

I think we've been privy to a bit of skullduggery on the part of Mario & Co. I think we've we've been deliberately been given a very watered down, very vanilla version of the offense and not the personnel that is normally going to be on the field. Why? So ATM (or wTf as they are now known), doesn't have any real film on us. Nothing concrete to prepare for. I think this is the first week we see the real offense and real team on both sides of the ball. I think this will be Mario's coming out party. Now, with ATM losing, they are on high alert and ready however of the weeks we've played, I believe they get the best version of the Canes. Hopefully, that's the case because if this Big Ten power run offense is actually what Gattis has in store. It's gonna be a long season.

Hopefully we are not hiding our playbook until Clemson ...

 

[Empirical Cane]

View attachment 207874

Awful ignorant take.

Coach on right had 5yr $25MM contract. Fired and walked away with $10MM.

Coach on left has 10yr $90MM contract. Might get fired and walk away with more than $10MM.

 

[Dream School]

Check the advanced box score Bill Connelly does for ESPN. App State had something like a 22% postgame win expectancy. They averaged 3.8 yards per play, and somehow 8.2 plays per drive. That's insane. That's like 3 yard gain, 4 yard gain, 3rd and 3....3 yard gain lol. All night long. 3.7% explosive play rate.

The A&M defense came to play. But their offense is sooooooo bad. Pretty much exactly what @SouthParkCane has been saying all month.

But the blueprint App State showed is not what you want. It's not going to work the majority of the time. You're not going to win a lot of games averaging 3.8 yards per play, running the ball 51 times, and 4.5 yards per pass.

Just key on Achane. Nobody else on their entire team is doing anything. They averaged 6.5 yards per play on plays involving Achane, and 4.3 YPP with everyone else. He is the key, focus on him, don't let him beat you, don't give them short fields, and make them have to play consistent offense to beat you. Do that, and protect the QB, and we'll score enough to win.

Running the ball 52 times for less than 4 yards per run, scoring 17 points, and being 100% reliant on the defense while simultaneously relying on their offense to not correct any mistakes at all is a recipe for an embarrassing loss. We would have poRsters and trolls en masse poRsting to fly the banners if we played like App St against 8&4 this weekend.

That doesn't mean that's the winning formula. It worked last weekend and to use @DTP 's brilliant blackjack strategy. It only worked because 8&4 busted out and App St got lucky and kept hitting on low cards with four 3's and a 5 making 17 which was enough to win both figuratively and literally.

I'm not saying run it 52 times, but clearly this Aggies team is so low tempo if you hold the ball and grind it out they will never get enough possessions to win. This is an App State team that had 649 total yards against UNC... granted the Tar Heels defense is TRASH, but they went in with a strategy and pulled it off to win in College Station. The final score wasn't close to how much App State dominated this game, if it weren't for the kickoff return for a touchdown this looks even worse. App State missed a 42 yard field goal after converting multiple first downs on one drive, they had another drive end on the 39 after going for it on 4th and 6, and other field goal on a drive where they got to the 12. It was low scoring and they ran a lot but App State was aggressive in this game going for it 5 times on fourth down and converting 9/20 on 3rd down. Those conversions come from knowing you can out physical a worn down defense. You mean to tell me if App State could do it we shouldn't try and bully them as well? Most of the Aggies returning production this year on defense is in that secondary, they lost all 4 starters on the defensive line and 2 starting linebackers. Might as well attack their weakness.

 

[JgDaCane]

Gotta get off to a hot start. It’s a must.

 

[harphong]

That same QB (King), passed for 364 yards in their opening week victory. To say that he cannot pass is asinine. He didn’t have a good game this past week, but the dude is a dual threat QB that can and will hurt us if our DB’s don’t tighten up, and if we give him all day to throw the ball.

Why do CIS posters ALWAYS underestimate whichever QB we are playing?

Burrows, Bryce Young, Toledo kid, Sam H....it's always the same dismissal with an even possibility [at best] of being right.

Miss me with all the examples of QBs we trash and have been right to, vs. guys who get totally clowned off on and then, LO our ****** defense makes look Heisman?

It's a tale almost 2 decades old, lol.

It's always a combo of factors between our defensive scheme, players vs. the QB & OL we are facing on any given day.

Yet, we are all shocked when we make every TF first snap QB look all world.

Just respect that all QBS can hurt us if we let em.

****ting on them pregame as a foregone with aged milk consequences is so funny as a tradition around here.

 

[Golsen82]

Mario/Gattis are gping to pound the rock.

3 yards at a time

 

[cameron97]

It's obvious how this plays out. Our first play of the game is a flea flicker for a TD. 8&4 is stunned already. Then on our 2nd drive, we hand the ball off to Parish, he runs up the middle, turns around, pitches it back to TVD for yet another flea flicker that also goes for a score.

14-0 just like that. Gattis will just call flea flickers the entire game and we win easy.

 

[ItsAUThing.com]

…a brief analysis.

In my opinion, the best chance that we’ll have to win this Saturday is if we play aggressive football from the get go.

On offense, I would love to see us call a pass on first down to start the game. I think that aTm will stack the box to try to stop our running game. Would love to see something like what Lashlee successfully called last year a few times (a pass design that gets the ball to either Arroyo or Mallory), or a wheel route to Rooster or Parrish. I’d also like to see more passes overall on 1st down to keep them off-balance and having to guess.

On D, I’d love to see Flagg and Ivey riding the pine. A&M has some serious speed at the skill positions, and their QB can run. I’d play a faster LB combo, and keep a spy at all times on the Aggie’s QB. From what I’ve seen of him, his strength is as a runner. If Flagg is out there, this guy will gash us, and he may house a long run. I’d try to make him beat us by blitzing more than we have so far this season, and by mixing/disguising coverages.

Ivey, as I stated, should not see the field as a starter ever again at the U. Great kid, but he is a serious liability, specially in a big game like this one. Wish that they would start Al Blades and Stevenson, with Couch at boundary.

If our lines come to play, we have a shot. Hoping that TVD puts it all together this week. He had mentioned in the pre-season that he had talked to Gattis about putting some plays in that he’s already comfortable and familiar with from last season. Hopefully Gattis listened and unleashes some of those type of plays this week.

It’s now or never. Gotta at least play tough and make it a close one. Let’s Go Canes!

If you're gonna "play tough and make it a close one" then expect to pound the rock and to play a hard-fought football game, as airing it out (with a slew of receivers not named Restrepo, who aren't running tight routes our getting open) is the recipe of three-and-out football. Need to establish the run at aTm and take some chances when they're there; a la the flea flicker last week.

 

[Empirical Cane]

3 yards at a time

 

[BS85]

I watched him on Saturday and he was getting to the ball fast his problem is not speed it’s making the right choices and being in the right positions to fill gaps on the run and pass. I’m not blind he was getting there when the lanes were clear I know he has problems but again it’s not speed.

Speed is absolutely a problem for him

 

[ZuCrew]

Hopefully we are not hiding our playbook until Clemson ...

Can't afford to. With the VA teams, UNC, FSU and PITT in between then, we're gonna have to roll it out.