Then Jake, if we go 6-6 or better in 2012, what are we going to do in the 2013 season, especially if that is supposedly a down year?

jake=alex_9=miller58.

I agree with Jake on some points. We have a great team this year, and we should be poised for some excitement as fans in anticipation of this fall (why else would we have conversations like this). However we're thin at experience in RB behind Christine and Cyrus, thin on the O line behind the 5 guys who saw significant action last year, and though I'm confident that there's enough talent between Moore, Stewart, Ward, Russell, Thomas, Mangan, Baggs, and Jenkins to adequately fill holes on the LB corps, questionmarks remain. So Jake's point about how precariously the team's success hinges on injury is reasonable, at least until new guys show they're up to muster.
Where I'll dispute him is on his somewhat crackpot notion that he can make teams below #67 in the rankings simply disappear to service his argument against recruiting. Those rankings are out of 119 teams, and there are plenty of bcs programs below #67 and plenty of non bcs teams above it. So that makes us top quarter in scoring defense, period.

The future is difficult to predict. IMHO defense wins championships. Coach DeRuyter and staff will lead A&M defense in 2011 to top ten defense. 2012 will be a continuation of that. Great defense should be and will be our credo. I remember the LSU "Chinese Bandits" of 1961 that were unknown. But they had physicality and great coaching. IMHO A&M defense has that at present. Ag offense has superb skill set players at QB, RB. We will score mucho points in 2011 and 2012.There might a slight dropoff offensively beginning 2012 due to new QB but by fourth game; Ags will be"in stride".As long as DeRuyter is at A&M we will be top team.
gig em!

quote:

---

Coach DeRuyter and staff will lead A&M defense in 2011 to top ten defense.

---

Even if we have a top 10 defense, I seriously doubt we will be top to in total defense. With our up-tempo style of offense, there are more than the average number of plays per game, for both offense and defense. More defensive plays means you will give up more yards on defense. Additionally, we play several teams who will be at the top of the total offense rankings. Our D ranked #55 in total defense last year, but we were far better than the #55 defense in college football.

Ag Law 02: Your position is not necessarily correct. True, our offense will score more and our defense will see more on field appearances. How about" if defense is so effective; opponents are Three and out?"Offense will then get on field more.IMHO the TECHNIQUES of defense is constantly changing. Coach DeRuyter, Toth and others are constantly evolving manners in dealing with offense. In 1975 Ag defense was so good that opposing offenses rejoiced at first downs!I realize that times have changed but A&M approach to defense is so ahead now, old slogans are in demise.
gig em!

Can you name 54 teams with defenses you would have rather fielded over our squad last year? I doubt it. The total defense stat is misleading. I agree with you that we probably didn't produce the 3 and outs that elite defenses do, but I don't think anyone really ranks us as the 55th best D last year.

Even the best defenses give up long drives and scores sometimes. More chances means a greater average number of yards and points per game. That is just a fact.

Looking at the top total offenses from last year, we play 3 of the top 10 and 5 of the top 15 (OSU 3, Arkie 9, OU 10, BU 13, TTU 15).

That means the top offenses get a lot of chances to rack up yards and points, which means our defensive ranking is going to be skewed down compared to teams that get to play bad offenses and/or shorten the game with a slow-tempo offense. If we played a cushy MAC or Big East schedule (their best offense is ranked 67th in the nation) we would have been ranked in the top ten last year, but we don't.

Conner, our 2012 team depends so much on our current recruiting with so many holes to fill in our starting 2012 lineup. We don't even have the holes filled in our 2011 team yet, and an average sec lsu team proved tine after time in the Cotton Bowl that our coaches have not developed the 76 two/three star players Sherman signed, to play backups at a winning Big 12/sec level.

The current class with 22 players committed does not yet appear to fill the holes in the 2012 team. WE've already lost top players like LB Phillips, DE Hawkins, RB bourgue to decommits and the RB from Winnie and it's still just June.

We have a starting team on O and D with some glaring holes with almost no known winning first level backups in 2011, and we have a starting team with even more holes to fill and almost no known winning level backups in 2012. Winning starters to fill the holes and quality backups must come from our coaches developing them from the 76 two/three star ranked players and also from our coaches recruiting them in the current class.

Normal frequent injuries to any starters, lack of coaches developing players for starting and backup positions or coaches current recruiting class to fill need positions, affect the 2012 team; and the 2011 team as well.

To be successful in 2012 we must have no starters injured, coaches develop winning level starters and backup and fill recruiting need positions in the current class. Simply put, none of his appears to me to be happening yet?


This is not a team position in either 2011 or 2012 where you would expect a 11-1 or a 10-2 record, especially when we have yet to prove we can beat most ranked teams a in any season, 2 wins-4 losses last season against RANKED teams.

I expect us most likely to prevail over most or all of the usual 7 gimmies on our schedule, and a maybe over a couple of the 5 RANKED teams, both in 2011 and 2012, 7 to 9 wins.

quote:

---

However we're thin at experience in RB behind Christine and Cyrus, thin on the O line behind the 5 guys who saw significant action last year,

---

No, we're not. Many teams in the big 12 would love to have Malena and Jones as their third/fourth string TBs. We lost an all big 12 caliber TB last in Cmike and look at the production we still got from the backfield. Even if we have a season ending injury to one of our top 2, we'll still be in better shape than half the teams in our league.

If we were so thin on the OL, why did Eike lose his starting job in the spring? Why did Harrison, a BACKUP, get such praise from Mike Sherman. We are comfortable starting Joeckel, Thomas, Lewis, Klinke, Matthews, Eike, Harrison, and Baker. We are by no means thin on the OL. Not even close to it.

quote:

---

So Jake's point

---

Jake doesn't have a point. He's trolling. Quit validating him.

quote:

---

Conner, our 2012 team depends so much on our current recruiting with so many holes to fill in our starting 2012 lineup

---

No, it doesn't. In fact, I'll bet you that no more than 2 true fish start in 2012, and that's pushing it. The current recruiting can build depth, but it isn't filling our starting spots. Our 2012 roster will be more than adequate. Not as strong as 2011, but still very, very good.

quote:

---

We don't even have the holes filled in our 2011 team yet

---

Yes, we do. We have one of the best QBs in the big 12, the best TB duo, one of the best WR corps, a very solid TE group, possibly the best OL in the conference, one of the top 2 DLs, a top half LB corp, and one of the best secondaries in the conference. Stop it, seriously, you look dumb. We have very, very little holes in our 2011 roster and our 2012 roster will be very good as well. Quit making things up.

There's always concern going into every year, but this year we have as little concern as any year the past 15 seasons.

quote:

---

The current class with 22 players committed does not yet appear to fill the holes in the 2012 team

---

It absolutely has. We have great talent at EVERY SINGLE position in the 2012 class. I'm not sure how you can argue otherwise. Good QBs, TBs, WRs, OL, DL, LB, and DBs. I know you're trolling, but it's so easy to counter your points that I feel obligated to do so. How about instead of focussing on what we've lost, focus on what we still have. And that's a current top 5 recruiting class.

Good discussion.

I haven't been this excited about a season in a LONG time. To me, our KEYS to the season are games 3-4 against Okie State and Arkansas. We need/must beat Okie State. They have beaten us 3 times in a row and have proven to be a recruiting thorn in our sides. Every preseason poll i've seen has us ranked ahead of Okie State, so we just need to prove it. Arkansas is a national spotlight game to BEAT AN SEC TEAM. Period. Get past those two teams, take care of Tech, Mizzou and we are in for a fist fight up in Norman. We get the sips at home so a 10-2 or possibly 11-1 regular season projection is doable with this team. Personally, I think we MUST find a replacement for Hodges in the middle and on offense we HAVe to find a way to get Fuller the ball other than the long sideline route. Do this and it will force the safeties into coverage which will turn Swope/EZ/RB out of backfield as short catch big results options.

Re: recruiting. I thought our class we just signed had positive areas (6 LB's, OL, QB, S), but lacked in other areas (unproven WR's, no real A quality back with so many good backs to choose from and I think we needed another CB). What if Floyd doesn't send his LOI and inks with Ole Miss? Then we only sign 1 true corner after losing Smith, Frederick and Judie this year. By us not signing a high profile RB last year, this no doubt opened up the door for the hard sell on T. Williams and we have his commitment. We still need another RB for this class preferably with some size to counter the blazing moves of T. Williams.

I believe our class was not as good top to bottom because of the 5 new coaches establishing relationships late after being hired and that we didn't turn the corner until mid way through the season when we beat OU/NU/Texas. I did feel the staff did a good job closing on late prospects (Alexander, Raven, LB from LA).

This year we are seeing the fruits of our labors on the field and this staff digging in roots and recruiting much more aggressively. We have a very solid class committed and are looking for ILB, RB, DE/DT. That's a great spot to be in before the 2011 season starts as there are sure to be some late bloomers who we can court if need be.

Re: the 2012 season it's hard for me to project THIS early without seeing which fish will impact in 2011. If LB Jenkins, LB Baggs, NG Strahan and CB Raven, Everett prove to be "hits" then my prognosis for 2012 will be much more optimistic.

BPA, all good points. The thing about 2012 is that there are so many guys to choose from, unlike other years. I've been trying to convince people on this board that we are finally at a point where we are reloading moreso than rebuilding.

At QB, we lose Tannehill, which is always hard to replace a starting QB. But we have 3 more guys that will all have a full year to develop. If we only had one guy in the pipeline, I'd be a little more nervous. But anyone of Joeckel, Manziel, or Showers could develop into a star by next season. Also, Matt Davis and Trevor Knight might both enroll early. While I'd never count on a true fish for any position, especially QB, having those two will just increase the competition. We'll find a quality starter here.

At TB, we may lose gray, but we'll retun Cmike and add Trey Williams. That might still be one of the top 10 combos in the country.

At WR, we lose fuller, but we'll return 4 SRs who have all been solid for us their first two years. We won't have a WR as good as fuller, but we'll still have one of the top 3 or 4 groups in the conference.

At TE, we'll return all 3 guys we have, Lamothe, Hicks, and Prioleau.

At OL, we'll return 4, maybe even all 5 starters and 8/10 of our two deep. We could have the best OL in the country.

AT DL, we'll have to replace both starting DEs, but I believe that NT will be stronger. It will be Strahans second year on campus, and you'll add Logan David. Two really good 330+ lb NTs will do wonders for this defense in 2012. We have plenty of guys to fill in at DE that I like. Barrera, Nealy, Stansbury, Robinson,

At LB, we'll return everyone except Garrick. Our LBs will improve overall, but we do have to find help at ILB.

At DB, we have to replace 3 corners. It will be tough, but Harris will be a SR, Hurd will be a JR, Jacobs will be coming in, and Raven and Everett will have a full year under them. We at least have quality names to choose from which should create great competition.

Overall, our 2012 roster looks better to me than our 2010 roster did, and that one went 9-4. We'll drop off IMO, but that's only because I feel 2011 will be a really special year.

Holy crap, he's even capitalizing the word "ranked" and citing the (AP) in all of his posts. He's not even trying to hide the fact that he's a miller58/alex__9 sock.


Allsome

We're looking two years out in a sport where we only get to keep players for 4 years; of course we don't know we will have quality depth that season. The guys who should be the backups by then will be freshmen and sophomores next season. Guess what, we're going to SUCK in 2015 because we have no projected contributors signed!!!1!!

Don't forget about Johnny Football. We could send him out there by himself and with the MNC in 2012.

Turkey's right, with Manziel, expect no drop off! 26-0 the next two seasons!

Our players don't have the stars... ohhh nooo

Beerads 26-0 for the next two seasons is way out; I want at least 28-0 for the next two seasons.

I do too, but that's impossible.

(do we intentionally limit his carries so that he can't put up a huge season that would garner pro scouts' interest so he'll come back next year?).



Dumbest statement ever. Selfish ass.

What is the obsession, or shall i say optimism, with JUCO players? Doesnt that mean they werent quite good enough to cut it at a real program.

Exception: sCam Newton, but he started at FLA

"AT DL, we'll have to replace both starting DEs, but I believe that NT will be stronger. It will be Strahans second year on campus, and you'll add Logan David. Two really good 330+ lb NTs will do wonders for this defense in 2012. We have plenty of guys to fill in at DE that I like. Barrera, Nealy, Stansbury, Robinson, "

Beerad12man, I will be looking forward to getting some recon on Logan David. Also, is Strahan on campus this Summer going through off-season conditioning workouts?

One other observation I'd like to make re: our OLine. We all remember the 2-3 offensive line classes Fran used to bring in. We were constantly low on oline numbers and quite frankly a lot of those guys just weren't Big XII championship caliber recruits. It is obvious that the Sherminator set out from day 1 to rebuild the trenches. We are building & manufacturing depth along the lines with multiple tackle & dual position lineman ready to come off the bench. I have to say, I'm most interested to see the progress of young Jarvis Harrison from Navasota who quietly arrived on campus, but Coach Sherman has raved about this past Spring. That's a pretty strong endorsement from an old OLine coach.