Story Poster
Photo by Stephanie Aiple
Texas A&M Football

Fisher addresses importance of situational football, intensity

April 2, 2018
30,381

The message Jimbo Fisher seemed to deliver on Monday was the best way to avoid a precarious situation is to be in a familiar situation. Therefore, Texas A&M's eighth spring practice session was heavy on “situational” football.

Or to be specific: “A lot of third down, red zone, third down red zone, which is totally different,” Fisher said. “Two-minute …

“It’s getting guys to play situational football and be situationally smart. Understand what guys are trying to accomplish. How to think, how to play and what’s trying to be achieved on each play.”

A&M definitely can improve in certain situations. In recent years the Aggies have been inconsistent on third- or fourth-and-short. They’ve sometimes played poorly at the end of a half (see Auburn last season). They were mediocre in Red Zone offense and weak in Red Zone defense last season.

A&M was ranked 53rd in the nation in Red Zone offense. The Aggies were 122nd in Red Zone defense. Fisher pointed out that playing well in the Red Zone can atone for any mistakes made in the other 80 yards on the field.

“You play great football between the 20s, but if you don’t play situations on third down, red zone, two minutes and things like that, you’ll get beat.”
- Jimbo Fisher

“You play great football between the 20s, but if you don’t play situations on third down, red zone, two minutes and things like that you’ll get beat,” Fisher said.  “You can play average there (between the 20s) and play great in those situations and you can find ways to win games.

"You’ve got to be able to convert on third downs and get off the field on defense. Red zone stops … make the other team kick field goals, while you score touchdowns. Being able to handle two minutes before the half and all those things.’’

Fisher said he was encouraged by how his team responded in a variety of situations on Monday. That’s vital, he said, because making plays in the right situations can change games.

“You’ve got to get them to think those situations, as I say, to steal ball games, to steal momentum,” Fisher said. “Third (down) in the field compared to third down in the red zone … how do teams react? What do they do? What chances do they take? It’s a whole different mindset on offense and defense.

“It’s getting guys in those situations as much as you can and make them aware of what their surroundings are and what they’re trying to accomplish.”

To that end, the Aggies worked on two-minute drills before halftime and third down in the red zone with the clock running at the end of the game with one timeout and with two timeouts.

They worked on snapping inside the 5-yard line with the clock running. Apparently, they tried to think of every possible situation and then prepare for it. And that’s how it’s going to be for the remainder of the spring.

“We’ll just continually do that the rest of the spring,” Fisher said. “We got about half of those things in.”

Fisher also said he was encouraged after watching video from last Saturday’s scrimmage.

“I want more consistency,” he said. “I like to watch plays when the defense does it right and the offense still makes yardage — not when there’s a missed assignment. 

"You’ve got to take advantage of those situations, don’t get me wrong. But I want to see more consistency of doing the right things on both sides, but somebody just beat someone’s tail and somebody just beat a block. Or somebody makes a block or breaking a tackle. Things like that.”

Fisher added that the defensive backs showed better in the scrimmage than they had in practice. 
He also said quarterbacks Nick Starkel and Kellen Mond had good plays and bad plays.

Stephanie Aiple
Kellen Mond (above) and Nick Starkel continue to battle for the Aggies' starting quarterback job. 

“Both of them had their moments. Both led drives and scored. Both made a couple plays I didn’t like,” Fisher said.  “We have to be smarter with the ball at times and how we are in this. It’s even how you make a throw and where you miss … your safe zone. Where the safe area of a play is. As they continue to understand the offense, they’ll understand what I want more.”

"As they get to that, they’ll play faster. They both had very solid days. I was very pleased with both guys’ days, but they weren’t close to perfect. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Finally, Fisher said that work will be done with great effort. In fact, he said the effort must be even greater than he’s seen thus far.

“One thing I’m going to harp on is we’re going to fly around the football on both sides,” Fisher said. “The effort — not that I thought we did bad — but sometimes we just don’t know we don’t know.

“We’re going to play with a lot more intensity and a lot more running to the football. It’s not that I’m down on those guys and they were lazy, but there’s a high standard on those things.”

 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.