I’m sure that many Aggies will find this humble blog entry, and they’ll think “there goes another angry t-sip, bashin’ our good ol’ boys because he hates Texas A&M so hard.”

I’m sorry, that’s just not true.  I don’t hate Texas A&M.  You’re Texans, after all.  OU?  I hate those worthless sorry bastards.  But I do not hate Texas A&M.

And to prove it, I’ll start this preview, not by talking football, but by saying some nice things about our good friends down the road in College Station.

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On second thought, let’s just get on with the preview.

2008 HIGHLIGHTS

One brave Aggie picked through the wreckage and pulled together a 2008 highlight video.  He even found a way to make it 4 minutes long!  I didn’t check to see if he re-used any plays.  I searched “2008 Aggie Football Highlights” and it took 3 pages until I finally found something that wasn’t made by an Aggie OPPONENT.  I salute your dedication, sir.

And there’s Saliva again!  What’s the deal with Saliva?  Why do bad football teams attract horrible music?

THE OFFENSE

Poor Ryan Tannehill. I have no idea what Mike Sherman is doing with the Tannehill experiment.  Tannehill is a former QB who moved to WR last year and immediately became the Ags’ leading receiver (55 catches, 844 yards).   He was moved to WR because he’s a great athlete, and because Jerrod Johnson proved himself a more than adequate choice at QB.  In my opinion, Johnson did enough in ‘08 to lock down the QB job.  So now, inexplicably, Tannehill is not practicing at WR.  He’s in the backfield again, battling for the starting QB position.  Huh?

The Aggies are painfully thin – they need as many studs on the field at one time as possible.  I understand the need to have a backup ready in case Johnson goes down, but worry about that WHEN AND IF that happens.  By practicing Tannehill at QB, you’re limiting his ability to improve at wideout.  Pick one, and stick with it!  This has the makings of a total clusterfuck.

If Tannehill were to move to QB, which is so stupid I can’t believe I’m discussing it, then the Aggies would have really only one true weapon at WR – Jeff Fuller.  Fuller seemingly came out of nowhere, but he’s getting a lot of buzz as a future star and NFL material.  Despite a traditional fear of the forward pass, the Aggies have surprisingly put more than a few receivers in the league.  If they keep Fuller and Tannehill at WR, and mix in the McCoy brothers (Jamie and Terrence), they’ve got a decent set of options for the passing game.

The musical chairs game is also seen on the O-Line.  A&M is going to end up with a bunch of inexperienced players struggling because they’re all out of position.  The lack of depth across the board is staggering.  Coach Fran spent FAR more time on secret newsletters than he did on the recruiting trail.

Lucas Patterson moved from the DL to the OL to add depth this spring.  Then, on Aug. 11, Chris Lathrop was moved from the OL to the DL to…. add depth.  You just can’t make this stuff up.

Watch closely for news of injuries to the Aggie offense up front.  If the big boys can’t stay healthy, this season will turn into another disaster.  You’ll read in many previews that the A&M offensive line should improve in 2009.  This is simply because they can’t possibly be any worse than they were in ‘08.  The Aggies were 107^th in the country in Sacks Allowed per Pass Attempt (8.65%) and 114^th in Rushing Offense.

114^th in Rushing seems impossible, given the alleged talents of departed RB Mike Goodson and electric scatback Cyrus Gray.  But remember, sacks count against rushing yards.  And Goodson was painfully inconsistent.  Cyrus Gray is getting the typical offseason hype, but he only carried the ball 75 times last year for 368 yds.  Joining Gray will be stud recruit Christine (Christian) Michael.  There’s enough here to establish a pretty formidable run game, if the O-Line gets a clue and if A&M can avoid falling behind and abandoning the run.  Big ifs.

THE DEFENSE

If any idiot announcer (I’m looking at you, Dave Lapham) refers to the 2009 Texas A&M defense as the “Wrecking Crew”, they should be taken out of the press box and shot.  The Aggies gave up 351 points in Big XII play last year (~ 44 ppg).  Things will not improve significantly this year.

During the Texas game, I only remember two guys standing out: Matt Featherston and Cyril Obiozor.  Featherston is back, and along with stud Von Miller, will play the roles of JACK on the Ag defense.  The JACK is a hybrid DE/LB which allows for a flexible look between a 3-4 and 4-3.  These are your two playmakers on defense, and these guys will have to make a ridiculous number of plays, because the rest of the defense …doesn’t have JACK.  See what I did there?  No, seriously, the rest of the defense is garbage.

The D-line is small, inexperienced, and there is no depth (see the “musical chairs” discussion in the Offense section).  I literally can’t tell you who will start on the D-Line because they might be practicing as O-Lineman as we speak.  It’s completely ridiculous.  If Texas A&M gets more than 7 sacks total from its 3 D-Line positions, I’ll buy every reader a cookie for Christmas.  Do you like Chips Ahoy?

When running backs plow through the D-line untouched (which they will), they’ll meet a crop of young and inexperienced linebackers.  Big 12 running backs, read and drool:  Texas A&M will employ a 3-4 defense, with DTs that are 250 lbs, and linebackers with no experience.  While Miller and Featherston are on the outside, teams can run right up the middle on these guys.  All day.

Some previews tout the secondary as a strength since the Ags were 4^th in the conference against the pass.  That is very lazy analysis.  First off, A&M played Army, who completed just one pass for 4 yards in that game.  Totally skews the numbers.  Secondly, the Aggies got their teeth kicked in on a weekly basis, so most teams abandoned the pass in the 2^nd half of games.  In losses to oSu, OU, and Texas, the opposing offenses ran it 62 times and threw it 24 times after halftime.  Thus, the deflated passing yards.  A&M was 11^th in Pass Efficiency defense, a much more telling stat.

Opponents will be able to pass OR run as they please against this defense.  Miller and Featherston might make some plays occasionally, but there is nothing else there to convince me that they can even slow down an average offense, much less the juggernauts of the Big 12.

THE OTHER THINGS

• The Aggies ranked 104^th in Penalties per game, and 104^th in turnover margin in 2008

THE SCHEDULE

The 2009 season opens with three straight home games against teams ranked 113^th or worse in the NY Times Quad Countdown (a great blog btw).  New Mexico, Utah State, and UAB will be easy wins, artificially puffing the chests of Aggies everywhere.

This season hinges on October 3^rd, 2009.  The Aggies rekindle the SWC rivalry with Arkansas at Jerryworld.  The Hogs are gathering some buzz as an up-and-comer.  And make no mistake – there will be a SHITLOAD of Razorback fans at this game.  I fully expect them to outnumber the A&M fans. Save your emails (and your excuses), Aggie fans, we’ll see who’s right on 10/3.  I see an Arkansas blowout here, which really comes at the worst possible time, because it levels any confidence the team may have gathered just before conference play starts.

The next week, oSu brings their offensive attack into College Station.  Then it’s off for two road games to Kansas State and Texas Tech.  We all know about A&M’s horrible history in Lubbock.  Iowa State on Halloween should be a nice breather.  It better be, because after that it’s off to Boulder and Norman, before closing things against Baylor and Texas.

As I said with Iowa State, I don’t see many wins in this Big 12 schedule.

THE RESULT

If A&M doesn’t start 3-0, they aren’t winning a game in October or November.  Simple as that.  If the Aggies do find a way past Arkansas, a 4-0 start might even carry enough momentum to give them 2 conference wins.  That would be a 6-6 record and a bowl berth.  Asking for anything more than that is dreaming.  If any of your Aggie friends start predicting 8, 9 wins for this team, you need to get them to a doctor.  Quickly.  You don’t have much time.

I foresee a 3-1 Non Conf start, followed by a series of nightmares.  1-7 in conference, MAYBE 2-6 with a 2^nd win over KSU or Baylor.  The Iowa State-Texas A&M game will be the Big XII 2009 Toilet Bowl.  There will barely be 60,000 fans in the seats at Kyle Field for that one.

Final tally: 4-8. Whether Mike Sherman returns for Year 3 depends on how many of the 8 losses are embarrassments.

This post is tagged A&M, Aggy, Chips Ahoy, Dave Lapham, JACK, musical chairs, Ryan Tannehill, Saliva