Aggie football fans may not have liked what they saw Saturday night at Kyle Field, but they should have been impressed with what followed on Monday at the weekly press conference.
Not because there were promises of Texas A&M rebounding from an ugly loss. And not because the Aggies promised to win eight or nine ball games, or even seven. Quite the opposite. There were no promises at all, at least not of the kind that can be measured statistically.
What was portrayed was the foundation of this team and new coach Mike Sherman's program.
Sherman is setting the table for the type of person he requires to play for him. Listening to his players, there was no ignoring what happened and no excuses made for why it happened. There was plenty of disappointment, but most of all, there was a confidence that doing things the proper way, which begins by going to class and acting with class, will eventually equate to what Aggie fans want to see on the football field.
Sherman is not a bells and whistles guy. His edict is simple: play the game, respect the game, respect your opponent.
And he sets the example by being straightforward and honest.
Sherman acknowledged the mistakes he made on play calls, specifically the fourth-down call late in the second quarter. He spoke honestly about the play of his quarterback and star running back. "[Stephen] McGee didn't trust the play called or his initial read," he said, and about Goodson: "Some of the runs Mike made in the first half weren't there in the second half. The cuts weren't there"
Sherman even spoke honestly about who would have kicked a late field goal with the game on the line after senior Richie Bean, who won the job in the final week of fall camp, missed two gimmies. A&M would've used freshman Randy Bullock.
That, by the way, doesn't mean Bullock will kick the first field goal attempt the Aggies get against New Mexico. But it does mean Sherman was paying attention to his special teams play Saturday.
If it sounds like Sherman was throwing his players under the bus, he wasn't. If his players aren't getting the job done, Sherman starts with himself, and he was obviously at ease with the points he was making. He has an assurance in his beliefs and needs no defensive gestures or made-up "us against the world" talk to prove a point. He's not going into a shell and hiding when asked about his team, and he has a good knack for pointing out a player's mistakes without sounding overly critical.
His honesty does trigger more questions, however.
Sherman said the Aggies had the deer-in-headlights look after an early sack in the second half. He blamed himself for putting too much emphasis on that possession during halftime.
With their recent history, it's understandable for the Aggies to start questioning themselves when things go badly -- against Oklahoma or Texas Tech. To be thrown aback because of one play while leading a middle-of-the-road Sun Belt Conference team 14-3? That's disturbing and worrisome.
And part of a coaching change.
Sherman says the Aggies are doing 80 percent of what he and the coaches are asking of them. He was primarily speaking of being good teammates, taking responsibility and being accountable. The other 20 percent is trusting him and what the coaches are trying to do on the football field.
That's 20 percent he shouldn't be asking for for very long.
Putting a timetable on when the Aggies will be "Sherman's team" was one thing Sherman wasn't as frank about, but that's because the answer might be anybody's guess. And to Sherman's credit, he didn't pull any punches on the subject.
"I'm sure [athletic director] Bill Byrne would be very interested in that," Sherman said. "Better be sooner rather than later, I know that much."
Richard Croome's e-mail address is richard.croome@theeagle.com.
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Posted by: a66ies On: 9/6/2008
Comment Title: Who
Miller you must throw up every morning when you look into the mirror. I guess you were saying the same during part of the 50's & 60's or have you forgotten.
Posted by: On: 9/6/2008
Comment Title: Who
Try USC and Michigan both dont know about you but they have and/or were both perennial top 10 teams
Posted by: miller58 On: 9/6/2008
Comment Title: Bill Byrne runs a tight ship too?
My personal opinions: Bill Byrne, after almost six years on the job, has presided over an A&M turn-around like none before! A&M is ranked #5 in one national publications "Bottom Ten". A&M is ranked # 105 in another. A&M's Head Coach has been ranked dead last in another. We lost to a sunbelt 4th ranked team in its conference My question to you is, can you name me just one top ten program that would tolerate this without making a change before the end of this year? miller58