Keys to the Game - Texas A&M Edition

by NM99 on Oct 22, 2009 10:24 PM CDT in Football Comment 8 comments

It's that time of year again. The wind starts blowing from the north, all of the ranchers make sure their sheep are pinned up, and the old army starts clambering for another new coach. The toy soldiers are coming to town. There was once a time when winning this game would ensure a Tech football coach another year on the job. Those days are gone, but that doesn't mean this game should be taken lightly. Our first week in the rankings this season, and you can be sure that most Aggies don't think we deserve it. Let's take a look at how we make sure to prove them wrong.

I have many Aggie friends, and they know I jest about sheep and toy soldiers. The coach thing is a fact of life in College Station, and you better have think skin if you're going to sign a contract to lead that team. They have a lot of pride at that school, a huge alumni base, and they still draw a lot of excellent players to their program. All reasons to make sure and ignore any recent history and prior games this season and remember that they do have guys who can make things happen. Here are my thoughts on what we do to keep them in check.

Offensive Keys

1) Continue the base play calling. We've seen the success that can happen when the Tech offense keeps it simple for the QB. Leach needs to continue with a steady diet of passes to the flat, designed runs, and play calls that allow Taylor Potts to go with his pre-snap read. Especially at the start of the game when he is seeing live action for the first time that he remembers since the Kindel hit. Now that our receivers and the O-line have worked out the wrinkles from the beginning of the year let's let these guys play together and see what can happen.

2) Keep Von Miller out of the backfield. Similar to last week, A&M has a guy on the defensive line that we need to game plan for. Though given the trouble we have had in previous games in protecting the QB from the edge, this may be a bigger challenge than containing the boy named Suh. Play calling (above) will help. If we can give him a reason to stay home instead of just making a b-line for Potts every snap, it will give our committee of OTs a chance to get in front of him.

3) No stupid penalties. This is a ~~rivalry~~ really important game to the Tech fans and players, but of marginal consequence to the aggies. If guys come in wound up too tight then false starts, late hits, extra-curricular activities after the play, and ramming the goal post into the stands might ensue. The next thing you know the aggies are fighting among themselves and there is laundry on the field. We have had two pretty clean games in a row in this department. This trend needs to continue. Play with intensity, but keep it under control.

Defensive Keys

1) Cover like a blanket. As already mentioned, Texas A&M has two quality receivers in WRs Nwachukwu and Tannehill. They also have a couple of qulity possession guys in WR Howard Morrow and TE Jamie McCoy. Each of these guys needs to be wearing a Red Raider DB as a shirt for 3 seconds after the snap. That will give our defensive front time to generate some pressure and Jerrod Johnson will get happy feet.

2) Watch for Johnson to tuck and run. Aggie QB Jerrod Johnson is a big guy (lists at 6-5, 243), and he is good for 10 carries a game, not counting sacks. When he opts to run, he generally picks up positive yards. Last week, Howard and Henley did a great job with containment. We need that effort again and we need some of the same from Sharpe, who pretty much just pinned his ears back and went for sacks the entire game against Nebraska.

3) No stupid penalties. See Above.

Special Teams

Ryan Erxleben saw way too much time last week. This week, I hope he's board. Corona has got to find some consistency in his kicking.

Who needs the corps?

Texas_tech_cheer_medium

GO TECH!

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Comments

You know, professors always talk about a great introduction and conclusion....

and I think you nailed them both here!

by RdrPwr on Oct 22, 2009 10:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Beware of A&M

This game won’t be as easy as it might appear. Tech is going to have to throw the records of both teams out the window and get it done on the field.

by BorderDrama on Oct 23, 2009 4:17 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Don't believe the record

A & M nearly beat Okla. St and gave Ark a run for their money early. This is the same Arkansas team that should have beaten Florida last weekend if the SEC refs hadn’t started to provide “subjective” penalty calls that would ensure a victory for the gators and The Chosen One.

by ttu_porters on Oct 23, 2009 5:55 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Take no one for granted

There are better teams in the Big XII South but none more dangerous than the Aggies. Just based on the emotion generated by the Aggie team, the faithful and Coaches I’d expect a very fired up opponent. Raiders must not take these guys for granted. Now I don’t think our coaches are going to fall into any trap like this. But Sherman himself said they had good practice before the Manhattan melt down. So anything is possible would expect the Raiders to display a high level of maturity in approaching this game. Biggest concern is unforced errors and Aggie emotions being so out of control they commit an egregious foul on the QB, receiver etc. The more I think about the bounty on R. Allison and the cheap shot on G. Harrell in 07 it just makes me wonder. Do the Aggie coaches have their team in check? So the Raiders need to get up on these folks fast and take the fire out of the A&M team. Still waiting for that first Raider special teamer’s strip of the ball from the opponents return guy. Go Raiders.!

"do routine things routinely"

by centexraider on Oct 23, 2009 9:04 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Respect Everyone -- Fear No One!

The Lyle Leong Bandwagon will Continue to Roll!!!
Wreck 'em, Tech!

by Tortilla Pirate on Oct 23, 2009 11:48 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Sleeping Giant

Sooner or later the Aggies had to come out of their slumber. Tech was the victim. Their QB, Jerrod Johnson, can be awesome if he gets a little self confidence. The Aggies have had some of the best recruiting crops in the Big 12 for several years and finally they begin to show their stuff. They have to be admired for getting up off the canvas after that KSU debacle and coming back big.

This year the game between UT and A&M might be more than a ho-hum matchup. However, Mack Brown will be more ready than Tech was. This A&M win will serve him notice.

Injuries, especially to QBs, to the SL and even the OL, has caught up with Tech. With three losses, Leach should start building for next year and start Karam or another freshman QB for the remainder of the season to give them some game experience for next year. I have suggested this before, but Leach is Leach and he’ll stick to his habit of playing wounded and/or disabled QBs rather than build for the future. Good talent will not always sit on the bench indeterminedly; they may go else where to get some playing time.

by BorderDrama on Oct 25, 2009 8:05 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs