App State is not a terrible team, but they had a great game plan that worked because of Aggie miscues - bad blocking, bad defensive schemes, missed assignments, poor execution. All these things and Ags still could have won.
All that's over, and I think it looks a lot worse than what it might actually be going forward. But many things must change to turn things around. Here's some changes I'd like to see.
1. Treat every game like Alabama. I say this because it looks like the coaches are holding back, trying to hide schemes and plays for future games, basically expecting to win by playing "vanilla" against weaker opponents. Play to win every game, worry about later games later. Don't hold anything back for any opponent.
2. Open up QB competition. Haynes has struggled, find out in game situations who the best QB is. We hear that this is already the case, that competition is what decides who plays. I don't believe this regarding QB. If Haynes is really the best option, the Ags are in trouble. I don't believe he is, and hopefully we will get to see if Max or Conner are better.
3. Figure out how to use Achane better in the passing game. He is not a good blocker and that hurt the Ags Saturday. Either get a better pass blocker in or don't ask him to pass protect until he gets better at it.
4. Coaches practice what you preach. We hear alignment assignment technique all the time, but the Ags were beaten in all 3. Just saying it doesn't make it work. It's hard to understand how the score was 7-7 at halftime, and no visible adjustments were made for the 2nd half, no corrections, no changes in alignments on offense or defense. I think this goes back to 1 above. Coaches just figured they would still win because they're so much better. Lazy and short-sighted if true, and it didn't work.
5. OL must improve. I don't know what needs to happen, but they are completely lost on too many plays. Hopefully Foster is back at C this week and he provides some leadership and consistency. Individually, they've all looked bad at times, which causes the whole group to look bad often.
All that's over, and I think it looks a lot worse than what it might actually be going forward. But many things must change to turn things around. Here's some changes I'd like to see.
1. Treat every game like Alabama. I say this because it looks like the coaches are holding back, trying to hide schemes and plays for future games, basically expecting to win by playing "vanilla" against weaker opponents. Play to win every game, worry about later games later. Don't hold anything back for any opponent.
2. Open up QB competition. Haynes has struggled, find out in game situations who the best QB is. We hear that this is already the case, that competition is what decides who plays. I don't believe this regarding QB. If Haynes is really the best option, the Ags are in trouble. I don't believe he is, and hopefully we will get to see if Max or Conner are better.
3. Figure out how to use Achane better in the passing game. He is not a good blocker and that hurt the Ags Saturday. Either get a better pass blocker in or don't ask him to pass protect until he gets better at it.
4. Coaches practice what you preach. We hear alignment assignment technique all the time, but the Ags were beaten in all 3. Just saying it doesn't make it work. It's hard to understand how the score was 7-7 at halftime, and no visible adjustments were made for the 2nd half, no corrections, no changes in alignments on offense or defense. I think this goes back to 1 above. Coaches just figured they would still win because they're so much better. Lazy and short-sighted if true, and it didn't work.
5. OL must improve. I don't know what needs to happen, but they are completely lost on too many plays. Hopefully Foster is back at C this week and he provides some leadership and consistency. Individually, they've all looked bad at times, which causes the whole group to look bad often.