Well, one thing that became increasingly clear - albeit on the down low in a lot of instances - was that last week's drubbing of the South Carolina Gamecocks was definitely a lot of the Texas A&M Aggies showing their quality and only somewhat of the home team coming up short. This is important because in the immediate aftermath, many were not sure how much of the victory was Aggie success or South Carolina failure.
But after both sides had gotten a chance to review the film, it became clear, especially from Spurrier's press comments to the media, that it was a lot of Aggie talent, execution and composure. Thursday night, the Head Ball Coach had made disparaging remarks about his defense. By mid week of this week, he had changed his tune. The lack of success of the Gamecock defense had much more to do with the fact that the Aggies had weapon after weapon after weapon to throw at an admittedly young and inexperienced defense. But what Spurrier noted was that it was not so much his young and inexperienced defense executing poorly, but rather excellent execution by the Aggie offense.
That should definitely be reason for confidence out of College Station.
I do still think there were a few things the Gamecocks had within their own control that they didn't handle well. First and foremost, they were not physically prepared. Flat out not prepared, with no reason not to. Second, what exactly did they expect? There is enough tape on Hill to know what you were going to get - at least to a large degree. I know a number of poeple who watched him at Southlake that shrugged when I asked them about him. This was no different than back then. Cool, calculated execution. And as for the weapons Hill had to play with - and play with is the right phrase, because he was flat out toying with them for the vast majority of the game - only Noil was one you didn't really have any tape on. The OL, running backs, Jucos, RSL, Clear had all played before and there was at least some tape. Especially the running backs and OL. (MAN, did that offensive line look good....)
And the overall Sumlin offense - it has been around for YEARS, yet Carolina seemed to react as if they had no idea what was going to happen. Those of us who followed the team the last two years knew exactly what was going to happen - Aggies score first, and if the defense can get a stop, second, and before you know it, it is all over but the crying.
But credit to the coaching staff and players. The coaches had them prepared and the players executed it flawlessly. The only question I have now about the offense is do we have the ability to attack vertically? That and the usual "how do we react when things don't go well." I am sure we will find out. By the time we play the Mississippi schools and the Alabama schools, they will have enough tape to throw some real challenges our way.
And I just have to say, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way we ran the ball, especially with the big packages near the goal line. How scary is that, to see a jumbo package run out there for a team that is HUNH, and have it execute that well.
But offense? A+, especially considering the environment, the situation, etc.
The defense - after watching the game again, so impressed with Armani Watts. A little concerned about what happens when he doesn't time the tackle the right way, but he did it more than once - certainly didn't seem to be an accident. And that front seven. Now THAT was an SEC front seven! The linebacker play can probably improve, but the DL was outstanding against a really good offensive line. Maybe that is another place where the Carolina preparation was a little lacking - where they seemed to expect the same crap we put out there last year, when obviously that was not the case. If nothing else, I would have been looking at tape from 2012 because the talent level HAD to rise after 2013, didn't it? And at least 2012 would give you a feel for how Snyder wanted to call plays, right?
On second viewing, it looked to me like the PIs were legit. Maybe a little ticky tack, and there was the one where the WR pushed first (but on that one, the DB never turned around, so it was a bit academic), but overall, they were legit. The ones on the freshmen I am not so worried about. The one on Deshazor, though. Come on, vet. You can do better than that. Right?
But with Everett likely getting back to his old self, and Watts out there, you have two legitimate quality DBs. Considering the pressure that the front seven should be able to put on most teams, that should be good enough. The nice thing is this - we now have three games (four if you count Arkansas) of gradual escalation in talent or home/road challenge to work and make improvements. I actually really like the game against Lamar as they have a good, high energy offense that will require good fundimentals from the guys. Solve the PIs and the breakdowns, and then you have a solid defense - one that when paired with this offense will be too much to handle for all but a handful of teams.
I do want to touch again the special teams. Ooooh they were solid, with the potential to break something big. Kickoffs didn't give away big returns. Same for punts. KRs and PRs were good to great most of the time. And Lambo was automatic.
But what I want to finish with is this - what it takes to go 11-2 on the road in the SEC and the Aggie schedule is something special, and we really need to let it sink in that this team is not going to be out-prepared, out-coached or intimidated by much if anything. Not only is that a welcome change, it is something that I think only Alabama rivals in terms of institutional success.
Let that really sink in guys and gals. We got ourselves a football coach who loves where he is and is so fantastic.... These are once in a generation, people, if that often. I for one am so glad to see the University take his relationship so seriously and make sure that all is well with him and his staff.
Alright, Lamar, give us your best shot. Let's see how we have improved.
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