MMR 6: Mid-Season Update

Welcome back Aggie fans! We are in our bye week and we get a chance to reflect back on the first half of the season and see what’s gone right, what needs to improve, and where do we go from here.

First, the SEC looks much different than we all thought it would be at week 6. Ole Miss and Georgia were poised to make a run at the championship game in Atlanta, and now all those plans are sidelined as they lick their wounds from a conference loss last week.

Alabama, who seemed to be left for dead after the loss to Ole Miss, roared back into the top 10 after pounding Georgia on the road last week, and are looking to a trap game this week with Arkansas as they see our Aggies on the calendar next weekend.

Florida seems to have come out of nowhere to stay undefeated at 5-0, but outside of the big win at home against Ole Miss, I am not 100% sure this team can run the table against the rest of the SEC…but that’s why we play the game.

Then you look at who’s on top of the SEC West. LSU has surprised some people not by their winning but by how. A beast by the name of Leonard Fornette has jumped to the top of the Heisman Trophy race by averaging 172.8 yds per game. Just some astounding numbers when you think about it, and the fact that he was not on anyone’s radar in the pre-season

And they there are our beloved Aggies! It is very nice to see that we are 5-0. It is very nice to see that we have won close games, and won some big games. We can win on the road and at home, something Coach Sumlin was actually struggling with at Kyle Field. The last time he beat a ranked team at home was 2011 and that was a ranked Baylor team led by RGIII. That was a looong time ago, and another world for us.

Now, we have somethings to clear up as we begin to understand more about the Fightin’ Texas Aggies. First, we started to hear the rumblings that the Arizona State win was not was high of an achievement since ASU has been struggling this season, and then the Sun Devils go and beat #7 ranked UCLA in Pasadena last week. Big win for ASU and for Texas A&M as that victory proves more than people want to give us credit.

The defense has been a huge question coming into the 2015 season. People wanted to find out if Coach Chavis’s leadership could turn things around. Now we are not back to the glory days of the Wrecking Crew from the mid 80’s, the defense has made huge improvements compared to the last few years. We are now ranked 85th in rushing defense and 44th for scoring defense, where last year we were 109th and 77th respectively. The one game that seems to stand out as a question mark is the Arkansas game. But one thing we have to remember is that the Hogs have an offensive line bigger than every NFL team, not just college. That will make a difference for any team. Outside of that anomaly, we have monsters living on the defensive ends, Daeshon Hall and Myles Garrett. This could be one of the most dangerous combinations in the country, and I LOVE IT!

Kyle Allen is proving that he is not just a good quarterback, but that is has the makings of a GREAT QUARTERBACK. The things he does well today are the skills NFL scouts are going to drool over when he becomes draft eligible. First, Allen has a pocket presence that is beyond training, but just innate skill and talent. He loves the pocket; he lives there and makes it his home. He is actually very athletic and has deceptive speed, but doesn’t rely on it. Allen also has a cannon for an arm, and you can tell by the number of dropped passes that hit the receivers’ hands. Yeah, not an ideal skill now, but to be able to deliver a football with that kind of speed and power is exactly what the NFL looks for in a QB. Finally, he is improving on his receiving options and making the right checks at the right times. Allen has grown up in identifying what receiver route is optimal. Notice I didn’t say open, but optimal. Allen will throw a dump pass because the risk is lower for an incompletion and turnover and the yards after catch are as effective as a longer thrown downfield that’s riskier. Remember Allen has about 3-4 seconds to do all of this, very quick thinking, practically subconscious at that speed.

Now, not everything is as rosy as I would like it to be. I’ve been harping on the offensive line for the last few weeks but I can narrow it down to one specific lineman, the left tackle. There are just way too many times that the QB is getting pressure from the blind side and being forced to scramble or rush the pass. The good thing is that Allen has the accuracy to throw a pass where only an Aggie could catch it, or no one else can. But you can see every week that he just needs a second or two more in the pocket and even more of these passes will connect. Just an observation…

The other issue that we can’t really address but need to be aware of is the running game. Not that we have bad running backs, but we have a depth issues. From injury or just play calling, the running game has been inconsistent. This could also be from line issues, but we so enough to take pressure off of the passing game and keep opposing defenses honest.

The best (and still amazing) surprise of the 2015 season is the immediate impact of Christian Kirk. Holy cow this kid is fast, athletic, and a great playmaker! You can sue him in the backfield, run him out on just about any pass pattern or have him return kicks and you see the other team making adjustments, for this one player.

NO MORE COWBELL

Thank the Lord we are done with the Bulldogs! I couldn’t think of anything more annoying than that damn cowbell. But good for us we played at home and our stadium has the sound effect like playing football on an airport runway, just so damn loud.

While the game wasn’t perfect, there were great highlights. Our defense is coming along just fine. While the big play is something we need to stop from happening, we have a knack of keeping teams off the scoreboard. I think the aggressiveness of our defense will continue to expose a big play every game, but I love how aggressive our defense has become.

Something to be proud of is the fact that A&M has gone back-to-back games without a turnover. That is something to be proud of because we’re playing good teams. Let’s see if we can keep it up against the Crimson Tide.

The offense has become more efficient. So many options are available in a given play, and Kyle Allen has become more tuned into his offense, we now know what his options are and what he’s comfortable doing. And trust me he is comfortable with this offense. I think the experience and the fact that Kyler Murray is just itching to get into the game gives him the incentive to play as well as he has the last couple of weeks. We know we can rely on Christian Kirk and Josh Reynolds as Allen’s go to options. But you still can discount that there are so many other good wide receivers. And Tra Carson has become a solid workhorse. Nothing flashy, but just smash you in the mouth yards when you need them, reminding me of Ben Malena from a few years ago.

To tell you how much our world has changed, here is something to digest. This win moved our record in the SEC vs top 25 teams to 9-9. That means we have already played 18 ranked teams in just 3.5 years. I can remember the days we used to cruise through the SWC and maybe, maybe play a couple of ranked teams per year. To know that we’ve already played 18, and have at least 3 more to go, not counting the bowl game is just bizarre for this ol’ Ag.