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Texas A&M Football

SEC Network's Marcus Spears discusses A&M's coaching situation & more

November 24, 2017
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Key notes from Marcus Spears interview

  • It’s been amazing to be able to be creative in a different in the sporting landscape. I’m not too keen on my cohost, but other than that it’s been cool.
     
  • The idea was for the show not to be like a lot of the other sports narratives this year. A lot of serious and political stuff. Players getting in trouble and about the sport. Our idea was this is a game that everybody loves. We want to do the players a service and let fans see their personalities outside of football.
     
  • I think A&M moving on from Sumlin has been something in the making. When you look at the whole body of work Kevin Sumlin has been terrible. He’s won some big games but November is when you get into the real SEC West play and have to prove if you’re good enough to go through the gauntlet. From a physical standpoint and getting professional players on the field at the same time. Then you have the handling of the quarterback situation a few years ago. Still don’t think they’ve been physical enough on defense. And he has good players but it hasn’t translated to games.
     
  • It’s asinine to think Texas A&M shouldn’t compete in the SEC and have the chance to get into the college football playoffs. Everybody might not feel that way, but as a media guy who follows this game, A&M has all of the factors of a successful football team. 
     
  • In the state of Texas now you don’t have time to step back as a program. You have TCU who has reasserted themselves and UT with the Tom Herman high. Oklahoma has been present and is close to Texas. As A&M you don’t have time to talk about trying to rebuild. You don’t want to get back into the mold where you become second to the University of Texas. 
     
  • You just had the first pick of the NFL draft. You’ve had top recruits at quarterback at your school and a bunch of linemen drafted in the first round. What is the issue? You’re getting players and playing in the best conference in the college football. You can offer great football and a great education. What is this not aligning? The reality is when you have the opportunity to compete with the Alabama’s of the world you have to take advantage of that. A&M hasn’t done that.
Discussion from...

SEC Network's Marcus Spears discusses A&M's coaching situation & more

11,203 Views | 10 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by StickTogetherAgs
txagman1998
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AG
I think the reason we haven't been able to compete for an SEC championship all comes down to stubbornness. I like Coach Sumlin...he's a good talent recruiter and he seems to be good with the media and alumni. However, I think he wants to prove that the "Air Raid" can win championships in this conference and he is too stubborn to make adjustments. Maybe the 11 win season with JFF convinced him that it is just a matter of finding the right QB. I think he doesn't want to admit it was an anolomy. JFF was a unique college talent at QB, and we had multiple O-linemen that were first round NFL draft picks.

I think it is clear that a base 4 WR offense is not a fit for this conference. It doesn't allow us to consistently win time of possession, and that hurts the defense, both during games and over the long haul of the season. I have always felt that a simple switch from a 4 WR set to a 3 WR + TE set would do wonders for this offense. Having an additional blocker on the line would help the running game. Additionally, a TE would offer extra pass protection, either by picking up a blitzer or by chipping a DE when they start their pass pattern. Also, a good TE causes mismatches against LBs in the middle of the field in the passing game. That type of flexibility would make it easier for us to win time of possession and would help the defense in the long run.

Whether we keep Sumlin or make a change, I hope our coaching staff will finally realize the importance of tIme of possession in this division and will run a more conventional offense that gives us a chance to compete for championships.
FormMorm
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We haven't run air raid since '13
gocobra
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AG
Going from -- please lord, just don't get embarrassed again-- to -- actually competing for championships--
is a huge jump for this program.

We need a way better coach to make that leap. We have everything in place or else lined up.

Let's do it!

BTHO SECW and every other team in our path to some respectability.
txagman1998
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AG
Quote:

We haven't run air raid since '13


I guess what I mean is "pass first". We try to run a pass first, high tempo offense. I believe we would be better off with more balance.
Lonestar1
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AG
Good interview. He's right about the general principal, which is that we should expect more. We aren't wrong to expect more and any media that say otherwise can buzz off.

Just because we have a history of average results doesn't mean we should settle. Currently, nothing is average about our program and school except for the final record each year.
Meximan
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txagman1998 said:

Quote:

We haven't run air raid since '13


I guess what I mean is "pass first". We try to run a pass first, high tempo offense. I believe we would be better off with more balance.

The team has been more run heavy this season.
txagman1998
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AG
True, but they still try to run a lot out of that 4 WR set. I think the the run game, and the offense as a whole would work better out of a more balanced set.
SWTcat
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I stated this exact thing in a thread a couple of weeks ago and was ridiculed as a troll and a closet UT t-shirt fan. It is utterly ridiculous that a school with ATM's resources, fan base, recent Heisman winner, entry into SEC, upgrades to facilities and Texas recruiting grounds is the 3/4/5 best team in Texas/Oklahoma nevermind the SEC or the country. And when you start talking about hiring Fischer you can see the frustration manifesting itself.
Callaway1991
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1. It's going to be difficult to get this right until we get real leadership from the AD job. This school has suffered through a revolving door of very average presidents and AD's. I don't know much about this new AD other than that he decided not to bother practicing his very first press conference presentation. I'm not sure I could have been more disappointed. Right now, I'm concerned and always lack confidence in "comfortable low energy people." I hope I'm wrong.
2. My suggestion for Woodward is to:
A. Get this Brent Z guy on the phone and say "You either tell me right now who your sources are or you'll never step foot on this campus because your quoting anonymous sources is disgraceful and by stooping to that level of National Inquirer journalism is not welcome here.
B. Woodward is going to have to evaluate this bloated athletic department. Look at the sideline during home games. It is an incredible posse of people who have no business being on the sidelines. Our athletic department looks like your average Fortune 500 Company with weak Managemebt, in that they grotesquely hire layer upon layer of people when times are decent. What I'm getting at is that there have been too many embarrassing leaks from this grand university. Just look at the way Stoops retired from OU. No one heard a thing about that because they have really good leadership in Joe C. There is no doubt who runs their athletics. We need Woodward to demonstrate that he is as polished a leader as their AD is.
3. Like Nick Saban one said "If your going to be a fan, be a good one." I hope it I wish that this grand schools studend body and fan base shifts the focus from hated, venomous comments that you see so many other fan bases exhibiting these days. What about the players, their stories, their family backgrounds, their triumphs and challenges? These kids put their health on the line out there yet there is very little content about them. On a related note, here was a question asked by one of the reporters after the Ole Miss game: "Kevin, how would you describe they way you have been treated by Texas A&M since you've been here?" To Kevin's credit he fielded the question like a pro. What I'm getting at is this, watch post game press conferenced with Saban, Meyer, Franklin, and Fisher. Those reporters know football, ours need to elevate their game. It's an embarrassment.

I really appreciate the comments about the teams offensive scheme. Personally I believe that blocking on the O line is about attitude, and leverage. When your an O lineman and your in a two point stance and your first step is in reverse I question whether your ever going to dominate one's opponent. I could go on and on about that subject. The reason for my comments today is that I personally feel that before we jump on the idea of firing the coach that we must get the leadership right First. With out the vision, leadership, values, and seriousness of the right kind of leadership I don't have confidence that we would have the ability to select the next coach. I'm tired of watching these AD's who have gotten the job here because of who they know rather than what they know. I hope and pray Woodward is not one of these, but he needs to step up and work diligently to create an image that the athletic department is in good hands no matter what the decision is with Kevin Sumlin.
StickTogetherAgs
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