1. WHO CONCERNS YOU THE MOST ON OFFENSE FROM TAMU? | Texas A&M has three offensive players that have caused problems for defenses this year, WR Jeff Fuller, RB Christine Michael and QB Jerrod Johnson. Last week, WR/QB Ryan Tannehill finally got some snaps for the Aggies, but there's no controversy, so who are you worried about the most on offense for TAMU?
2. ARE YOU ON BOARD WITH THE OFFENSE HAVING A COUPLE OF PLAYS FROM THE PISTOL OFFENSE AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE POSITION CHANGES FOR TORRES AND LEWIS? | Yesterday's coordinator post-practice press conference had some interesting items and something that I covered in my recap, but failed to mention in the PGT. Here's the non-transcript:
Neal Brown: Big win on the road, kids played hard in the 2nd half. Made a bunch of plays. Detron Lewis and Alexander Torres made plays, Eric Stephens made big runs. The offense is getting better, but shot ourselves in the foot, not as bad as last week. Three drops and missed assignments. Against OSU was really flat, but not the case against Colorado. Taking what defense is giving us. Receivers blocked really well. Little banged up, Jacoby Franks is lost for several games, broken bone, Lyle Leong is beat-up, Tramain Swindall is beat-up. Switched up Detron and Torres, moved Detron to Y and Torres to Z. Will keep it that way. Needed more explosiveness outside, and consistency inside. Haven't watched any TAMU defense yet. TAMU runs a 3-4, although Colorado is a base 4-3, they did have a handful of 3-man fronts. TAMU mixes up their fronts, and it does help having the same style that TTU runs. The run game is improving, not yet have had a 100 yard rusher, doing a good job of mixing it up outside-zone, inside-zone, little man play. Getting confidence and getting better every week and as they get better, the run game gets better. The Pistol formation, it's a way to get some downhill runs and it's hard for the defense to find it, and can get some play-action pass. Ran it at Troy.
I'm very much interested in some plays out of the Pistol offense and DTN has been talking quite a bit about adding some variety to the offense. Are you encouraged by the offense making some moves to do some things a little different? Also, Torres has moved to inside receiver and Lewis has moved to outside receiver and Texas Tech had good results. Talk about about the position switch and you you think this is going to have a long-term success?
3. ARE YOU ENCOURAGED WITH NEW PLAYERS STEPPING UP, INCLUDING DT GRAVES, AND DO YOU EXPECT ANY OTHER PLAYERS TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT THIS YEAR? | Defensive coordinator James Willis said that DT Pearlie Graves plays like he practices. Is it encouraging for the defense to continue to find players, despite all of the injuries, and do you think there's anyone else left that you think might make an impact that hasn't played yet or played sparingly? Here's Willis' non-transcript from yesterday's post-game press conference:
James Willis: Made our mind up that TTU would stop the run. Wanted to be physical, rallied around with getting the quarterback out. Pearlie Graves was huge, and he literally practices like he plays, plays with high level intensity, a great lesson for everyone and it showed up on Saturday. Stopping Colorado on 3 and out, kids responded and had to come together on the sideline and will themselves to win in the 4th quarter. How we created pressure and almost designed a defense on the sideline and forced the QB to throw the ball. Just loaded the box to stop the run, forced the ball to go outside and make plays. TAMU is loaded and one of the top offenses of the season, they do a lot of good things and Johnson gets the playmakers the ball, lots of vertical routes. Can always motivate from last year's game, but things are different. Need to have a plan to counter.
4. ARE YOU GIVING DC WILLIS A PASS THIS YEAR AND IF SO, WHY DON'T YOU GIVE OC BROWN THE SAME TYPE OF PASS? | OC Brown is taking quite a bit of heat for the less than expected offensive results, while DC Willis is getting a bit of a pass for this year. LondonRaider does a much better job of comparing and contrasting in his weekly report card, but I did want to take a look at the differences between the two main categories for production (offensive and defensive). There's no doubt that both sides of the ball have regressed, but the defense has significantly dropped off from last year. Do you give Willis a pass this year and if so, is it because of injuries, or implementing a new system, or new players, etc., and do you think that Brown doesn't get a similar pass because the offense is relatively similar to last year's offense?
| 2009 | 2010 | Difference | |
| Total Offense | 470.77 (4) | 430.14 (30) | 39.86 (26) |
| Scoring Offense | 37.00 (7) | 32.57 (37) | 4.43 (30) |
| Total Defense | 352.38 (49) | 424.71 (99) | 72.33 (50) |
| Scoring Defense | 22.46 (41) | 30.86 (94) | 8.4 (53) |
5. WHO ARE THE TOP TWO AND BOTTOM TWO TEAMS IN THE BIG 12? | Here are the Big 12 standings, who are your top two teams and who are the bottom two? And if your top two teams are from the North and your bottom two teams are from the South, is this the most surprising part of this year?
I've copied the five questions after the jump for easy commenting. Also, this week's Confidence Poll is after the jump. We're up! We're down! We're so damn inconsistent!
1. WHO CONCERNS YOU THE MOST ON OFFENSE FROM TAMU?
2. ARE YOU ON BOARD WITH THE OFFENSE HAVING A COUPLE OF PLAYS FROM THE PISTOL OFFENSE AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE POSITION CHANGES FOR TORRES AND LEWIS?
3. ARE YOU ENCOURAGED WITH NEW PLAYERS STEPPING UP, INCLUDING DT GRAVES, AND DO YOU EXPECT ANY OTHER PLAYERS TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT THIS YEAR?
4. ARE YOU GIVING DC WILLIS A PASS THIS YEAR AND IF SO, WHY DON'T YOU GIVE OC BROWN THE SAME TYPE OF PASS?
5. WHO ARE THE TOP TWO AND BOTTOM TWO TEAMS IN THE BIG 12?