Published Thursday, June 18, 2009 1:46 AM

Comments

Posted by: miller58 On: 6/23/2009

Comment Title: WHO HAS THE MOST FOUR STAR SPEED, ATHLETICISM AND SIZE IN THE CURRENT CLASS ON THE DEFENSIVE SIDE OF THE BALL, A&M OR baylor?
My personal opinions:_____SHERMAN doesn't need to be recruiting any defensive four star speed, athletism and size at all in his third signing class, so of course it's baylor?_____miller58

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Posted by: Sister On: 6/22/2009

Comment Title: re- PABLO
The same idiot who screwed up the football program is now doing his good old boy deeds in the president's office. As far as your comment about rivals, I am glad to see you are catching on. Something new can be learned every day which is a statement you are now totally familiar with.

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Posted by: Pablo On: 6/22/2009

Comment Title: Arm Chair Chancellor, huh?
Miller and Sister taking it to a whole other level! While you guys are at it, can you do something about our current vacancy at the A&M presidency? Thanks, never thought all we had to do was search rivals.com! duh?! (you really should read it out loud before hitting that submit button, LOL)

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Posted by: miller58 On: 6/21/2009

Comment Title: RE: Sister
My personal opnions:_____Sister, great point!_____Do we want the same people hiring the next coach that hired McKinney and RC's friend?_____NO!_____Do we want the same people that chose McKinney and RC's friend to give us 8 bad losses, over the previous two 7 and 9 win seasons?_____NO!_____Do we want the same people that chose McKinney and RC's friend, that gave us a 49 point tu loss over the previous two seasons tu wins?_____NO!_____Do we want the same people that gave us McKinney and RC's friend, and recruiting classes of 3, 5 and 7 difference makers over the previous year A&M 14 commits and a coach that was bringing up to 20 difference makers to the '08 season?_____NO!_____It's not hard to get a good coach!_____Simply go down the list of D1 coaches for the last 9 years, pull out the ones that have 2 seasons or more of signing 10 to 22 difference makers, and recruit the best one!_____He should secondarily, ideally have won at least 3 games against modern spread-run first and spread-pass first teams al-la florida, ou, tech etc.teams_____There are two approaches universities use in modern football?_____One is to sell the tickets to fill Kyle Field and care less about winning more than about half of the games?_____The second is hire a top coach to win almost all your games, and Kyle field will fill itself?_____A&M has been the former for the last 20 years; and I would like us to be the latter?_____The only test is "has the new D1 coach signed 10 to 22 four and five star difference makers in the last 9 years"!_____This question will be quickly answered for free by checking rivals "team ranking" list for the last 9 years for our new coach in about 3 minutes!_____If our new coach can't pass this one test, he will be worth about as much as Aggie Spin Machine bs has been toward wins in the last 20 years?_____Zip, nada, neicht!_____miller58

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Posted by: Sister On: 6/21/2009

Comment Title: re- miller58---NEXT COACH
Seems to me the next search committe should be made up of people who have a good understanding of todays college football and recruiting but who are in no way connected to the university. Ex employees, coaches, board members, students, or contibutors should be banned from having any input. Maybe then we could get a person qualified for the job instead of one who is only qualified for the good old boy organization. Look at most of the current coaches and see how many were even currently employed prior to coming here, how many had recent college experience, and how many knew sherman from a previous good old boy network. We are getting nowhere and the rest of our conference knows it.

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Posted by: miller58 On: 6/21/2009

Comment Title: ____________________THE A&M PATTERN?
My personal opinions:_____A&M hires a new coach, who proves beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is a poor coach and a worse recruiter!_____The Aggie Spin Machone lies almost daily that the head coach is a good coach, and a good recruiter, and you belive the bs!_____Shame on the Aggie Spin Machine?_____The pattern repeats itself for 20 years, and you still believe the daily Aggie Spin Machine bs?_____SHAME ON YOU!_____miller58

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Posted by: Pablo On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: An endless "tit for tat"
Looking at the stats, I'm well aware of the defensive struggles, so your point is well taken. It is interesting to go back even farther to the last time we had a legit QB/WR combo was QB Mark Farris and WR Robert Ferguson. They paced us to a respectable 7-4 season, WR Ferguson played only one season, grab a couple of Big 12 honors and went pro. If WR Fuller can improve, I still maintain that the Ags improve as well, more tit than tat?

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Posted by: Seeing Stars On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: RE: Pablo (one more thing)
One last comment then I am out on this topic. I want you to be the opponent for a moment. Last year none of us knew how sherman's team would play out. Turns out we have discovered a Johnson, Tannehill, Fuller, Hunter, Miller, etc. AND SO HAS THE OPPONENT. Expect other teams to be very familiar with your scheme and your go-to guys. Remember the halftime adjustments made against us. How would YOU attack our defense? How would YOU defend our offense? Well now they have had a year and their week of preparation will include scheming around our better players and onto our weaker ones and weaker schemes as well. They will have a plan of attack for Johnson to shake both his physical and mental performance. Sherman's offense will be the same so they now know what the old pro coach is trying to do and more importantly with who. Last year they were not so sure til the game got underway. We will have to get better offensively just to break even. You can have the last word, see ya'll on the next article.

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Posted by: Seeing Stars On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: RE: Pablo
Absolutely will win more than one game. Never suggested we would not. My opinion is we will NOT win six games mostly due to defensive problems that shouuld not exist for the most part. Age old argument: "If the offense could keep the ball longer and keep the defense off the field, the defense would not get tired".........."If the defense could stop the opponent and get us the ball back we would be able to keep the ball longer and score more points". Usually the argument ends with both sides realizing that if the defense wants off the field then all they need do is stop the drive and if the offense wants to keep the ball longer and score more points then they should sustain drives by picking up first downs. You can argue either way but all you need to do is look at where our offense and defense ranked last year, what changed this year (good, bad, unknown), and ask yourself where the most work needs to be done.

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Posted by: Pablo On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: MIller, glad to see you are on record
"losing more games than we win is an absolute guarantee" - If and when A&M post a 6th win, which would EQUAL the number of wins, we will all know you for what you are.. a spin machine!

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Posted by: Pablo On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: Stars.. point taken, but consider this
Wouldn't you agree that an improved offense will indirectly benefit the defense? Does it not make sense that the offense ability to hang on to the ball longer than 3 plays will keep Von Miller & Co. off the field enough to rest? While we are at it, what about budding youngsters such as DB Hunter, think he improves? I hear your point about, well ALL teams should improve, so its a moot point, but it's not when you realize that the better players GET much better. Exactly why we need to sign us those type of players that have really good upside. Are we getting those? Not as much as OU and UT, for sure, but do you really believe that Texas A&M will go 1-11? That will only happen if we are starting the 3rd string my friend. A&M will be better, but I for one do not believe we have all the pieces for a National Championship run. I think we will get there, but in time. My opinion of course!

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Posted by: miller58 On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: __________ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS!!!
My personal opinions:_____Yes, we are that bad!_____1-11 is entirely possible, and losing more games than we win is an absolute guarantee, with Sherman's poor coaching and even worse recruiting!_____ The national media and sporting publications and recruiting services I've seen, are all picking us dead last, and not higher ranked than #84 at best>_____It's all that AGGIE SPIN MACHINE speed we DID NOT COMMIT AND SIGN IN SHERMAN"S FIRST THREE CLASSES!_____There is no second tier for A&M!_____DEAD LAST is third tier, not second tier, get used to it!_____You've seen the last 14 commits that A&M had offers to the past couple of months, and lost, listed on this blog!_____The rest of the Big 12 is get tu's leftovers, not us?_____We are getting only almost all of the rest of theBig 12's lower ranked leftovers, now?_____That is strong third tier, not second tier, get used to it!_____Hell, if Sherman blew it with Judies course work selection to get him eligible, we won't even have a single commit on defense with four star speed, athleticism and size, for a damn TWO STRAIGHT YEARS?_____As bad as Sherman's poor coaching is, his recruiting is even worse!_____Our Defense has gotten only slower with more missed arm tackles, blown coverages and regressed even worse the last two years, and no recruiting help on the way for years to come now!_____Sherman being fired at Greenbay for his inability to evaluate player personel, shows every time he moves an AG from offense to defense back and forth!_____McKinney's and RC's friend is just gone, gone, gone!_____miller58

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Posted by: Seeing Stars On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: RE: Pablo
Young players bear a responsibility to perform not just here but at every school in the nation. Freshmen and Sophomores are Freshmen and Sophomores everywhere, not just here. That is where a coaching staff comes in. You can't just wind them up and turn them loose unless you just absolutely out-talent the opposition and we do not. It takes coaching and that is where we are, along with a lot of other programs, with our group of kids. Back to your exhibits. All well and fine but you are once again focusing on the offense. Look at the defense, don't use the "if" word, and tell me how you get 6 wins with it this year. Remember, we scored 25 points per game last year. Your Johnson, Fuller, Tannehill, etc can raise it to 40 and we are only a five win team with this defense. This season will hinge on defensive improvement not offensive and there are some of us who doubt the direction we are taking. It is VERY evident the defensive coaches are having to learn the details of current NCAA offenses and that will take several years of experience or you could have hired one who already had it. My opinion is that if sherman would have hired a good, college experienced defensive coordinator things would be different today with regard to success on the field and in recruiting as well.

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Posted by: Pablo On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: Closing Statement
A lot talk has been about Sherman's perceived inability to coach, recruit, etc., but in my opinion I think we need to look at the players with as much expectation. I know they are still kids, but speaking strictly from a sporting point of view, I think they bear an awful lot of our expectation to perform BETTER than they did a year ago if they can stay healthy. That being the case, I really believe QB Johnson will improve upon a really solid beginning to his A&M career. In roughly 12 games (going back to 2007) he has 333 atts., 196 comp., 2485 yds., 23 TDs., and 10 Ints. In roughly twice as many games, Stephen McGee posted 730 atts., 429 comp., 4889 yds., with 11 Ints. I really think Stephen would have thrived under Sherman, but I have to hand it to Jerrod for performing better than expected. All that however, matters little when you win only 4 games, so I think he will certainly improve upon his previous year and THAT will translate to more wins. How many? Hard to say, but I know we will not go 1-11.. !! Holy smoke! That is just crazy.

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Posted by: Pablo On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: EXHIBIT B - WR Jeff Fuller
For those of us who attended the M&W spring game, my buddies and I agreed on 2 things.. Gotta protect the QB and WR Jeff Fuller is a man among boys! Again looking at the stats, he compiled an impressive resume in his freshman year (50rec., 630yds., 9 TDs) On top of that he was out vs. OU. Only Tannehill had a better season (55 rec., 844yds., 5 TDs). We are talking a legit #1 WR threat that opposing defenses will have to deal with. Tannehill or the #2 WR will no doubt benefit from that double coverage on Fuller. Oh yeah, TE McCoy hauled in an impressive (43recs., 500yds., 5 TDs) I guess they need to deal with him as well!

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Posted by: Pablo On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: EXHIBT A - QB Jerrod Johnson
One of the reasons I think the Aggies will be better than 4-8 is at the QB position. In roughly 10 games worth of action, Johnson threw for more than 300yds twice and had 6 games of multiple TDs in his first full year of substantial playing. In contrast to QB McGee who in two full seasons of action (throwing out 2008 and 2005) had two 300yd. games and just 5 games with multiple TDs. Of course the reason is the system. While Fran did pass the ball, it appears to me from looking at the stat sheets, he targeted the backs and tight-ends more than the WRs. Which will lead to my next piece of evidence.. WR Jeff Fuller.

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Posted by: Seeing Stars On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: RE: Pablo
I honestly do not think the Aggie Nation will sit still with a five win season. As I have stated before, my opinion on a five win season is that it cannot cost sherman his job THIS year because of the economics of the situation. Five wins will however cost him the job and get the closed door search committee (consisting of one or more persons)quietly up on it's feet and active setting the stage for a buy-out at the end of the next year unless we experience something very close to a 2010 conference championship.

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Posted by: On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: re: HADENUF
With you all the way. This article even talks about the importance of winning the BAYLOR game as it influences our recruiting efforts against them. As instate talent continues to choose TU, OU, TT, OKST, LSU, and others over us, we too have really fallen to second tier fodder in our conference and third tier irrelevance in the nation. The 2010 class picture has taken shape. Get it turned around now before more damage is done.

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Posted by: Pablo On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: I did say 4 "plus"
I think the bar is lower for A&M than it is for Baylor this season, don't you think Stars?

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Posted by: upset On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: wth!!!
are we really that bad now? for long we talk of texas as a major rival. now we have to worry about the very unknown "the battle of the brazos". the thing about the aggies they are so blind to admit that they we are sucking and we just have to change our staff. for crying out loud...wake up

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Posted by: Seeing Stars On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: Ouch, Pablo !!! We need six wins this year !!!
Coming into the baylor game with 4 wins means you are sporting a 4-6 record with baylor and tu left......OUCH !!! If that is the case, as you say it may be, the only thing looking to get picked up may be sherman's contract.

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Posted by: Pablo On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: Baylor Game is crucial
FOR BAYLOR that is. The pressure will be on Briles and Griffin to repeat the performance at Kyle Field. No matter how far we are in a rebuilding mode, Kyle Field is still the home of the 12th Man and I can tell you many of my buddies are already amped for that game. We will be driving in from all over Texas to see us defend Kyle Field. Will BE A HUGE STAGE for Baylor, since we already know how important Kyle Field is to us. I bet if we both come into to the game with 4+ wins it will be at least a regional pick up or better... circle your calendar Ags! - Gig 'em

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Posted by: miller58 On: 6/20/2009

Comment Title: OUR NEW COACH MUST MEET 10 CRITERIA , PERIOD; OR NOT BE HIRED?
my personal opinions:_____ What are these 10 criteria that our new coach must absolutely meet? (#1)MUST HAVE SIGNED FROM 10 TO 22 FOUR AND FIVE STAR DIFFERENCE MAKER DIVISION 1 PLAYERS, AT LEAST TWICE IN THE LAST 9 YEARS!_____(#2) Same as 1_____(#3) Same as #1_____(#4) Same as #1_____(#5) Same as #1_____(#6) Same as #1_____(#7) Same as #1_____(#8) Same as #1_____(#9) Same as #1_____(#10) MUST HAVE 3 OR MORE YEARS EXPERIENCE RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL COLLEGE LEVEL DEFENSE AGAINST SPREAD-RUN FIRST AND SPREAD-PASS FIRST OFFENSE VARIATIONS AS DEVELOPED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS AS at Florida, ou, tech, baylor, etc.; also running such an offense would be a plus._____Preference must be given to anyone not a friend of McKinney and RC!_____Failure to act on this in 2009 without deviation means a package deal for me on Fall, Winter, and Spring SAturday afternoon tee times; and means Ags get their fill of losing and Aggie Spin Machine bs for at least the next decade!_____miller58

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Posted by: HADENUF On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title: HEY TexAgs93
You are gonna have depth problems when you recruit offensive linemen and put them on defense or run them off for "attitude" problems. Maybe if I can get you to believe I needed them on defense more than offense or that they had bad attitudes then I can buy more time while I try to figure out how to recruit an 18 year old and how to defend these college offenses I havent seen in ten years and generally how to be a division one head coach on and off the field. A lot of the fans will buy into the bare cupboard excuse but the deep pockets who got him here may get a little restless. How come the mighty offensive line coach is getting his jock handed to him by other conference coaches in the offensive lineman recruiting game. I know, I know, he is sooooo much better than they are that he can see true talent and they cant. You can take that stuff that comes out of the south end of bevo back to houston with you along with the folks that put him here. To hell with fran, he was a failure, you inherited some amount of talent on the roster and have had a big hand in recruiting. Make something happen this year and quit blaming previous coaches and others. Stand in the line of the fingers being pointed at your kids every weekend after a loss when cessna grades them with F's. Dont hide behind the eagle. For those who take issue with this, thats great. Just see if you can write an opposing view without using the words fran, franchione, rc, rc slocum, or anything else that happened back in the day. Get to the present, where we stand, and whats being done about it with a head coach at 1.8 million a year and his staff at 2 million a year--NONE OF WHICH ARE AGGIES !!!

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Posted by: miller58 On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title: MIKE SHERMAM LOST HIS 14TH COMMITMENT OF THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS TO OKIE LITE?
My personal opinions:_____Big 12 opponents continued to sink Mike Sherman to the very bottom when a good one, 6-1 175 4.4 athlete Justin Gilbert of Huntsville turned down Sherman's offer?_____Poor Coaching and worse recruiting will always rise to the bottom of the Big 12?_____That why we are ranked #84 by one national publication, last place by three more, and expected to be 1-11 by another?_____1-11 means that We lose to #106 New Mexico, #116 utah state, #95 uab and beat only #91 isu?_____At least there won't be much noise from Kyle Field, to distact my putting!_____miller58

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Posted by: W C Fields On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title: Baylor
Ahhh,yesss,,Good old Baylor ,,where the girls are girls and the boys are too...ah yesss...

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Posted by: Curious On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title:
Today the A&M athletic site had the '09 roster listed complete with the '09 freshman class and jersey numbers. This afternoon the site took it down and put up last years roster stating the '09 roster would be available in july. I assume that for the many years they have been doing this they know when or when not to publish a roster. Any idea why the switch.

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Posted by: miller58 On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title: OUR 0-LINE WOULD BE ONE OF THE BEST IN THE BIG 12 THIS YEAR IF ONLY OU COACHES HAD BEEN COACHING THEM SINCE NOV '07!
My personal opinions:_____Ag 93, With 4*Schumate. 4*Williams, 4* Allen, 4* Lewis, Remington Award Nominee Mathews,plus Patterson, Grimes, Elkie, Baker and Joe V, including backed up by Sherman sophs and Fish, we have 23 o-linemen to pick from on campus!_____ou has 13 total to pick from and watch them kick our butt with just good coaching and better recruiting! Sherman's poor coaching and worse recruiting will come through again, with another of many future blow outs, and lose more games than we win in '09?_____miller58

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Posted by: On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title:
Yeah, we get the ball back from the other team on a regular basis but instead of stopping them with our defense we stop them with our goal line. We receive their kickoffs instead of their punts.

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Posted by: Seeing Stars On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title: Another Point
It will not matter what reasonable improvement sherman makes with the offense this year if he doesn't hold his defensive coordinator accountable. We won 4 games last year while scoring 25 points per game (#83 nationally). We could have scored 40 points per game (#10 nationally), every game, and we would have ended the season with only 5 wins. If sherman improves the offense from 25 PPG mark to 35 PPG and the defense makes little improvement it won't matter. This defense ranked #114 last year giving up 37.42 PPG. We need more questions answered on defense than offense.

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Posted by: TexAgs93 On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title: OL - Miller58 made my point
Miller58, you made my point about the OL. Sherman is way behind on talent there because of Fran. If you look at his last class & next year's, there is improvement there. By the time he came in on his "first" class, he was late on getting in to the top OL. He had to fill it with what was still available. However, he was still able to add major talent to the roster. The top players from that class that saw action last year were all ones he brought in. You are seeing a difference in the OL recruiting now. Based on your logic of stars only, while important but are not the end all be all, we never would have recruited some of the greates players to ever play at A&M.

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Posted by: Ags in last again On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title: Pencil in a Baylor win
I'd like to know what part of last year's 41-21 Baylor win makes Mr. Optimistic so optimistic. Remember, it was 41-7 in the third quarter last year? Two of those Aggie TDs were garbage time. Yes, Baylor has not won at Kyle since 1984. So what? The Bears are due - overdue - for a win. Baylor fans have not forgotten 73-10 in 2003. There will be hell to pay in November. BTHOTAMU.

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Posted by: miller58 On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title: RE: Ag 93
My personal opinions:_____Ag93, Most teams Shoot for 10 to 11 O-Linemen plus 5 to 6 true fish!(total 16 on their squad)_____Example: ou has 13 including true fish this year and will win big?_____So?_____Difference makers, the trend in Sherman's poor coaching and worse recruiting?_____When Sherman was hired in Nov'07, A&M had signed 32 four and five star difference makers in the previous 5 years?_____In Feb'10 Sherman will have signed just 23, a drop of 9._____How is Sherman creating this bare cupboard of mjissing talent?_____Look at this trend:__'08 signed 7 difference makers, '09 signed 5, current class signed 3, and with multiple offers out, the next two classes have signed 0 difference makers?_____In Feb'10, we will be behind these teams in talent:__ tu,__ ou,__ neb,__ ark,__ okie lite?_____miller58

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Posted by: AgsRule! On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title: Scary!
According to this web site we are not just predicted to hit rock bottom, but we will hit with a major thud! 1-11! Please! http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/analysis_bigtwelve_texasam.html Now you have to take their predictions with a grain of salt, but it does show the enormous disrespect people have for Texas A&M football now. Look at some of the other stats at your own risk as they are pretty depressing. But I still say if we blow out New Mexico and build on that from week to week I think we could upset Arkansas. After that Baylor will be a cakewalk, but if we loose or struggle to beat New Mexico, it will be a long, long season. I wish New Mexico had not been dufas heads and let us move the game to TV so those of us far away could see it and get a good assessment of what we will look like this year. But once again Aggies, New Mexico is the only game we need to care about, Baylor is a bridge we will cross when we get there.

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Posted by: Seeing Stars On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title: RE: TexAgs93 "nothing but a decoy"
Last year (2008) we threw the ball 326 times in the West Coast offense for 2435 yards. In the spread-option with Mcgee we threw the ball 376 times (2007) for 2410 yards and 330 times (2006) for 2477 yards. Doesn't it seem we should have had more throws in the West Coast? In 2008 we had an average of 65 plays per game. In the two years prior we averaged 70 plays per game. Not a lot of difference. We also had the run threat from the QB which made the defense play 11 on 11 instead of 11 on 10. The spread-option is also an ideal offense for a weaker offensive line because it allows you to double-team every defensive lineman. You do let the backside DE free but he is your read and will run out of the play if the QB makes the correct option read. The West Coast is more demanding of individual skills with regard to the offensive line. Sherman is a WCO coach however and we are going there come hell or high water so we will live with the individual talent/experience line problems for now. I do think he should have done better with the situation given his background and with very good numbers of O-line players on the roster this year we should expect to see great improvement. Your comment on keeping Tannehill at WR is a good one but what about the QB position? Can we afford it? Is Dorman a legit #2 ahead of Tannehill or is Tannehill a legit #1 ahead of Johnson? Also, in the last few years (especially in the Big-12) coaches have seen the need to place very good athletes on defense to defend the new 4/5 receiver sets. Lots of speed and lots of good tackling one on one in space. You come out with just a 2/3 receiver set and they have a much easier time defending you. My opinion is that a 2/3 receiver set in a West coast type offense will be shut down by these new defenses. A 2/3 receiver set in a spread-option is another story. Different schools of thought on this and I have my opinion but it seems to be validated more and more each saturday in the Big-12.

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Posted by: TexAgs93 On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title: One other thing Miller
The other area that needed improvement was WR/TE. Bennett's departure hurt more than anybody imagined it would as there was not a safety valve for the QB over the middle. That is obviously getting better. Under Fran's option (don't even compare it to what Florida was running), no WR would ever want to come play at A&M. You were used as nothing but a blocker & decoy. How we got Bennett in that offense still baffles me. Those guys can play as a True Fresham as you saw last year. In '09, we had 2 WR (one 4-star) and a TE. We only had one in '08, but how did that one work out. That class was pretty full and Sherman had to add OL because we were so thin there. If you have 2-3 good WR and 1/2 a threat at TE with our RB's, your offense is going to be pretty good, especially knowing our OL will be much better this year. I personally hope Tannehill stays at WR. You would now have 3 studs there and with our RB crop, that can be a lethal option. Imagine rotating Tannehill, Fuller & Nwachukwu ('09) with 2 of them always on the field and one getting a breather while rotating the RBs of Michael(09 & 5-star) & Cyrus Gray. I could envision plays where all 5 are on the field. Now if you focus on the WR, one of the RB's will torch you. Load up the box to stop the run, you will have 1 or 2 WR's open. Oh yeah, McCoy who had came along last year hasn't even been mentioned.

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Posted by: TexAgs93 On: 6/19/2009

Comment Title: Biggest reason for struggles
The one thing I noticed was most games we were in through the first half. In the 2nd half, our OL seemed to give out and it stalled our offense, especially late in the season. This then compounded the wear & tear on the defense because the offense could not stay on the field in the 2nd half. I found the reason I believe this happened. We had no OL depth at all and most of the starters should not have been on the field because they were so hurt, but there was nobody to replace them. So, for Miller58, I broke down the 4 classes (all that were fully recruited by the great Fran) regarding OL. 2004 - (3) - Babalola, Dickey, Schneider 2005 - (4) - Frost, Grimes, Heard, Schumard 2006 - (1) - Patterson 2007 - (2) - Baker, Eike For Miller, that is a total of 10. I am not counting the true freshmen (2008) as they should never play their first year because they are not ready, yet we had to play one last year because of depth. OK, besides to their only being 10 recruited during that time, here are a couple of other factors. Patterson ('06) had been moved to DL by Fran. Frost ('05) I believe was a TE last year but is no longer on the roster. Heard ('05) was on DL. Babalola('04) was in trouble with the law and is now headed to jail. Therefore, out of a whopping 10 OL that Fran recruited that should have made up the classes of RS Fr through Sr, there were only 6 left. That means that 83% better be studs. For Miller's sake, even Stoops & Brown don't hit those numbers. If you noticed in the '08 class, Sherman recruited 5 OL and one of those had to play last year. In '09, he recruited 4 OL including one of the top in the country. In '10, he has 4 committed including one of the top in the country. Miller, in case you forgot, that is the one position Sherman knows (put many in the NFL during his previous time here) and is the one that can make the biggest difference in this team. With depth and increased talent there, which will be seen this year and moving forwards, our offense will improve dramatically and will be able to stay on the field more, therefore improving the defense by default. This year, we are looking at 9 or 10 (I thought I saw where Patterson is moving back to the OL). Next year, with Patterson on OL, you will have 12. The year after that, you will have 15. I am only counting RS FR through Sr. That means if there is only a 50% hit on the OL, you still have a solid starting 5. The next year, it only has to be 42% and the year after 33%. My guess is with Shermans expertise in that area, it will be much higher. Miller, I know that doesn't help your argument and it actually uses knowledge of the team and takes out personally hate, but I thought I would let you look at it.

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Posted by: On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title:
You need to get your GED miller58. You can't count. And you sure has heck can't write. None of your prior post made a lick of sense. 85 man squad? What about this year's seniors? You think they'll be around in 2012? Get a clue - once you use up your four years of eligibility, you're done. Stick a fork in you! You can't come back. If you're refering to something else, please actually sit down and type it out clearly. No more of those herky-jerky --- ____. Put a period were a period is suppose to be and give the (?) a rest.

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Posted by: miller.58.longhorn On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: Comment Title: WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET, UNTIL 2013 ??????????
Hey Pops, the fact is that the best coaches put the best athletes on the field whenever they can and then coach them as best they can – look at Miami's young guns. I remember when you pooooor aggies played a quarterback at linebacker; kid’s name was Johnny something – wish he had played quarterback! Oh, and that Vietnamese guy who was too small to play linebacker – he ended up playing for the Cowboys. It's all debate for now but you and I know that a&m will see real improvement this year on both sides of the ball. See you at kyle field on Thanksgiving and I bet we beat the _ell out of a&m! Hook’em! Miller

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Posted by: Sister On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title:
miller58's math is correct. For those of you who do not understand just dump out a bag of marshmellows (I think thats appropriate), count out 72, divide them into four groups and assign a players name to each marshmellow beginning with the 2008 class and maybe once the spinning stops things will come into focus and be more clear. Remember, eating a marshmellow is the same as losing a player to discipline or grades but there is a limit to how many you can kick off, uh-oh...I mean eat.

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Posted by: miller58 On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: RE; WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INFO, MILLER?
My personal opinions:_____Try rivals and 1st grade math?_____The class signed in 06 will graduste after this year and '07 will graduate in'11._____In'08 Sherman evaluate the class, withdrew Ships from Brown and Janisch, POing Texas high school coaches, recruited and re-recruited 24 signed in Feb'08 and signed 3 transfers; and 28 more in Feb'09: 17 more committed in te current class; that's 72 and already with multiple offers for the next two classes, we are full?_____THE 72 Are here 2008,'09,'10,'11,'12+ as are the next 13 we commit, except for Sherman jailbirds and classroom attrition!_____So 13 more commits, and that is our 85 man squad, for what will seem like forever with all the next five years blow out losses!_____Already 27 bare cupboard players missing, and and we are stuck with these almost all low ranked leftovers for a while?_____Expect Less difference makers than tu, ou, Neb, Ark, and okie lite on our 85 man squad, due to poor coaching and even worse recruiting, multiple blow out losses, and losing more than we win every year!_____I realize the Aggie Spin Machine will try, but spin this one: it's in first grade math just for you?_____miller58

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Posted by: On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title:
Where do you get your info, miller58? Only 13 scholarships left to give out between now and 2013? Are you forgetting the players using up their eligibility after this year .... and next year .... and the year after that? There isn't a football program out there that keeps 13 scholarships in "reserve". They might sit on one or two but that's it. Once their seniors use up their eligibility, they give those scholarships to incoming freshmen. That's how it works, miiler58. Chrissssst, you come across as a complete joke sometimes.

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Posted by: On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: dee68
Hey miller - can't wait for the season to start. I'm particularly looking forward to watching our young team grow w/ this staff. Sorry you'll miss it, however, not to worry, we won't miss you a bit. I hear the weather's nice in waco in the fall.

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Posted by: miller58 On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET, UNTIL 2013 ??????????
My personal opinions:_____We Must be loaded at every position, not, because Sherman has signed 72 players in 2008, 2009, the current class, and has multiple offers out for 2011 and 2012!_____We have only 13 more commits until 2013 to fill our 85 man squad?_____Even if they are, all 13 of them, five stars, it won't help Sherman!_____Sherman must be stopped, a new coach won't have any ships left to give difference makers, except for Sherman's players that go to Jail or players signed in 2008 that don't make it in the classroom?_____I would rather have one Five star player, than 4 four star players, 12 three star players, or 36 two star players?_____At least you have room to add difference makers._____Almost full until 2013, means the almost 85 man squad now is it, full, fi'nee!_____Blow out city until 2013_Even with a new good coach?_____Expect us to lose more games than we win, and expext the Aggie Spin Machine and Rotton79 to keep conning you, bsing wins and loses until after 2013?_____miller58

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Posted by: Sister On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: Poll Question
According to the poll question on this site, which of six coaches was Byrne's WORSE hire.

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Posted by: Seeing Stars On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: RE: 08Challenger, starting QB
In my opinion, that was part of the problem with running Tannehill at WR last year. These WR guys get dinged up (ankles, knees, shoulders) more than most positions causing them to lose a game or two or at least be slowed down below normal performance levels. Last year you knew you had Johnson, Tannehill, and Dorman returning in '09, PERIOD......no '09 QB recruits. If Tannehill gets hurt at WR you are a TWO QB team with a starter who has yet to settle in comfortably (downturn at end of last year) and a RS Freshman who is virtually unknown. Right now it shoud be Johnson's team with Tannehill as the challenger. If Tannehill is not able to go (CinterL says he is) and Dorman enters the mix we may have issues if Johnson does not have a breakout year. If one of the two goes down with injury what then. Our QB spot is not a solid position wit regard to overall experience or depth at this point. I will feel much better if Tannehill is 100% but STILL on top of everything else, I see no for-sure leader stepping forward. August will tell us a lot.

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Posted by: 08Challenger On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: QB
Who would y'all like to see as the starting QB on September 5th?

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Posted by: Seeing Stars On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: RE: CinterL
Don't care if the linemen were recruited by Billy Clyde. The situation existed and was known by the staff to be a risky one concerning QB protection and McGee. Glad to hear Tannehill will make a full recovery, could not find a source for that info. As far as not playing the game if worried about injury you are preaching to the choir. It would also be a good idea to consider for those who blame the previous staff for placing McGee in an "unsafe" offense. An offense that works well by the way and is used coast to coast from the Florida Gators to the local baylor bunch. Looking forward to Tannehill taking snaps in August, along with Johnson, as we prepare for the 5 Sept opener.

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Posted by: 08Challenger On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: Tannehill
Regarding Tannehill...We need to pick a position for him. If we play him long enough at WR, there is going to be a transformation (injury, mentality, etc.) that will keep him from ever being an effective QB.

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Posted by: CinterL On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: RE: Tannehill
McGee was injured on Sherman's watch, however the lineman used in protecting him were not recruited by Sherman. Also it was worth it for Tannehill, he is healing nicely and will be back on the field this summer. Injuries can happen at anytime to anyone on that field. If your afraid of ppl getting hurt, then don't play the game period.

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Posted by: Steve On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: Mr optimistic
Baylor is a for sure win this year. Ags win 8-9 this year and beat TECH. Johnson is on the verge of a passing breakout. It helps when coaches can call passing plays. Sherman starts to put the pieces back together this year. 2010 could get interesting.

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Posted by: Seeing Stars On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: Tannehill
Lot's of heat thrown Franchione's way for playing McGee in a spread-option offense. McGee supposedly had his draft position hurt by running an offense not attractive to the pro ranks. His injury (also not attractive) however occured on Sherman's watch by placing him in a pocket without a functioning offensive line which turned out to be more dangerous to his health than the spread-option. When viewed from strictly the health risk angle was it a sound decision? Now to Tannehill. Our rising back-up (or starting) QB placed in a dangerous WR position while other experienced WR's sat down. Maybe he was better, maybe not, but the risk was taken. Running routes over the middle and just the situation of taking unprotected hits as a WR will potentially shorten a career as it has done in this case, He has a torn labrum and may never recover, may never play another down. Assuming he does, that injury is one more hit or one more awkward fall from completely ending his playing days. Was it worth it? Was it a sound decision?

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Posted by: 08Challenger On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: Player Development
I would like to see some player development on the football field this year. That is going to be how I rate Sherman and Co. I graduated in '08 and in my time at ATM have not seen a single player (possibly other than McGee) noticeably improve from one season to the next. Courtney Lewis, Reggie McNeal, etc. all came in as big time recruits, did well their freshman seasons, but stayed at that level or digressed as their careers went on. I'd like to see guys like Tannehill and Hunter, two freshman recruits who played well last year come in and step up their game to a higher level because our coaching staff developed them as players. That is how I will be rating Sherman.

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Posted by: Randyboy 75 On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: I never would have thought
Who would have ever thought that we Ags would have been talking about what if we don't be Baylor?Boy! we have really gone south!!!

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Posted by: aggie92 On: 6/18/2009

Comment Title: Not about where anymore
Cessna, it's not about the venue any longer. I'm sure someone can post the actual record at Kyle Field for this decade, but the Aggies do not take advantage of home field like they did in the late '80's & the '90's. So I don't believe for a second that Baylor will be intimidated by coming to College Station. If everything goes the way it should, both teams will be going into the game this year with 4 to 5 wins, looking to get that 6th win to be bowl eligible. Games are decided by talent & coaching, and Baylor probably will be favored to win. Used to the crowd noise at Kyle Field disrupted the opposing offense, now a days it seems to confuse our defense more. So I say for anyone attending a home game this year, make Kyle Field the "quietest" stadium in college football (that way our defense can communicate).

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