As I was sitting in the Kyle Field bleachers on a sunny Saturday afternoon,  an instant classic broke out in the sweltering Texas heat. I extend my personal  thanks to the good folks at CBS for setting this game up in such a healthy, sauna-like environment, one in which I joyfully sweated out a good 10
pounds.

 In yet another testimony to the toughness of the average A&M football  fan, the line to the bathroom stretched from mid-field to the goal line five  minutes before halftime. It was even worse for the ladies, as their line  stretched clear around the end zone to the other team’s 20. A&M officials  encourage fans to bring a lot of water inside and then dare them to drink  it.

 As for what was taking place on the field, it was a football game that was  extremely well-played and nearly perfectly orchestrated by two superlative  college quarterbacks and their excellent coaching staffs, in miserable  conditions made specifically for TV.

 The Best in College  Football
 The two quarterbacks taking the snaps Saturday in College Station represented the best that college football has to offer, along with Oregon’s ‘Zone Read’  guy, Marcus Mariota, who was busy whipping up on Tennessee with his reads, arm  and legs.

 Mariota, Alabama’s AJ McCarron and the reigning Heisman winner, Johnny  Manziel, are total packages within the respective schemes, philosophies and  demands placed upon them by their football programs. You may consider each of the three effectively flawless and, by all means, unflappable, in any  situation.

 These three possess the intuitiveness, physical ability and leadership qualities to take each of their teams to the Promised Land. They are the three untouchables in today’s  fast paced, need-for-speed college game. Teddy Bridgewater, Braxton Miller, Tajh  Boyd and a handful of others, including several who also toil in the SEC, are  definitely dandy competitors and hard to beat by any standards. I know of no  college coach who would turn any of them away, but these three in particular are  quintessential examples of ideal quarterbacking specimens.

I would compare AJ to Andrew Luck; Marcus to RGIII, and Johnny to a perfect  blend of Barry Sanders and Joe Montana.

 The coaching staffs here at Kyle on Saturday were represented by an instant  Hall of Famer, Nick Saban, who has returned Alabama to its proper place in the  college football world. Kevin Sumlin is the No. 1 challenger for the title, with  possible objections heard loud and clear from good friends in my home state of  Louisiana.
 
  The difference in Saban, Sumlin, and LSU’s Les Miles is that two of them have  the unconditional support of their fan bases; whereas, the other cannot always  claim this as a certainty. We can all agree the Mad Hatter’s game management  acumen is certainly as entertaining as his results on the field, and he is  usually on the smiling end of a big game when it’s all said and done.  Nonetheless, with the tremendous strides of Mettenberger and the quick ascent of  the Fightin’ Tigers in the early season polls, there’s a triangle that has formed here in the awesome SEC West that cannot be denied. Ole Miss may even  make it a perfect square in the next two weeks.

 I’m not naïve enough to believe the axis of excellence will continue once the  Great Playmaker leaves College Station for much greener fields. Let’s be frank;  Johnny will be  drafted and may even go as the No. 1-overall choice, so let’s not be stupid, or  allow our stupidity to become public, anyway. You don’t put a brand new saddle  on a jackass, as my high school coach used to say, and Manziel is no  jackass.

 A Jacksonville team desperate for a star attraction to sell tickets cannot miss this opportunity in  2014. To say Johnny isn’t going pro is Australian for Naysayer, or, in other  words, delusional. So let’s store this away for another day, most likely  sometime in April. After all, this is college
football at its all-time  greatest. The first Game of the Century for the 2013 season may have exceeded  all pre-game hype – and it only gets better from here.

 And speaking of quarterbacks, the programs at LSU and Alabama don’t seem to be as dependent on theirs individually. They have illustrated a two to  three-year plug-in system that works very well in their systems. Manziel,  however, has made himself one of the most elite, indispensable players to play  any position in modern  times. He is the guy who could step into anyone’s offensive system and make it shine – even yours, Barry Switzer, should you  decide to refrain from choking him first.


There is a lot of football left to be played. As Johnny said after the game,  this was just one game;  it wasn’t the Super Bowl.  I agree wholeheartedly, although Johnny and his offense played as though it  was their Super Bowl.  Offensively we can assume all expectations for A&M were exceeded, yet we’d  be dead wrong.

Getting Defensive

 While Alabama gave up a ton of yards and several fourth-quarter touchdowns,  they’d already provided enough of a cushion to ride out the Aggies’ storm. They  did this by going to an unbalanced line in the second quarter on first down.  When the Tide came out of the huddle for the second play, again unbalanced,  A&M quickly called a time-out to get their front seven readjusted. It didn’t  matter.

 Alabama ran the tailback to their overloaded side time and time again,  knocking the Aggies’ defensive linemen two yards off the line of scrimmage. The  Aggies simply had no answer physically, and when you can’t go toe to toe, even  in this high-octane era, you cannot win. When the dust finally settles, it  usually settles in the trenches where it always has.

 Were the Aggies just not in ‘game-shape’ on defense because of the  suspensions? Yes, this is quite possible. The Ags up front were losing the  ‘bench press challenge’ to the offensive linemen of Alabama on every play. The  only way to get in game-shape is by playing in a few, just as the only way to  get proficient at a particular aspect of the game for a skill player is by  getting plenty of ‘game practice.’

 Aggie fans certainly hope their defense isn’t this inferior to the offensive side of the ball, because if this is truly the case,  without Johnny Heisman, this season could be much different. As it is, it’s very  frustrating for any quarterback to sit on the sidelines and watch his defense on  roller skates going backwards throughout the game.

 What Johnny did in the fourth quarter after cooling his jets for so long was  beyond awe-inspiring. He was a frenzied fanatic who appeared to be gasping for  his final breath. But upon seeing the bright light above, the never-say-die  Aggie QB fought with every fiber in his body to survive. If he was going to lose  to the world champions, it was going to by a split decision – certainly  not by a knockout.

The Dream Scheme

 To put a bow on it, A&M runs every quarterback’s dream  scheme - beautiful, it really is. One would think a quarterback  thought it up and then said, “Now watch what I can do!” Receive the snap five to six yards away from the fray, read your keys and deliver the football. Throw it  on a line, with touch or on an arc. It’s all so automatic. All the throws we see  from the Air Raid pocket have been thrown and completed hundreds of times in practice. Catch and throw. Catch and throw.

 Mariota calls the Aggie offense “backyard” football that even he would love  to run, but he’s too busy in Oregon perfecting other aspects of a complete  offense. Simply put, the Air Raid offense is God’s
gift to quarterbacks. Ask any quarterback from any era and see how  many would also say they wish they’d played in this offense. You either catch  the snap and throw, or you catch the snap and hand off. What could be easier?  Nothing. But can it win championships in this decade?

 The shotgun is much simpler than getting under the center, taking the snap  and busting your butt to get back into the pocket, planting your feet, getting  balanced, finding your bearings downfield amidst the defensive rush that tried  to beat you back there, and delivering the football on time and with great  accuracy to any part of the field.

This is hard work. It requires a tremendous amount of focus, practice time  and proper technique. It’s something a lot of schools have decided is  detrimental to the development of their quarterback and system. The shotgun  formation has turned quarterbacks into baseball pitchers standing up there on a  mound.

Sometimes this single ability, or lack thereof, is the deciding factor for a  shotgun passer in his attempt to become a successful NFL quarterback. Many  “catch and throw” guys simply aren’t capable of attaining the same effectiveness  when converting to the traditional dropback used by the pros and by those of us  who played in darker ages.

Wherefore art thou, Zone  Read?

 Another realization that surfaced during this Clash of the Titans is the Air  Raid offense has no running game, per se. It must rely, instead, on true  greatness and elusiveness at the running back position. It has plays drawn up in  the playbook for running the ball, sure, but they’re successful more times than  not as a result of the skills of the ball carrier rather than the accompanying  blocking scheme. We saw this in A&M’s version Saturday against Alabama.  There wasn’t much there.

Even when A&M went to the Pistol with two tights in goal line and short  yardage situations, Alabama knew the zone read was coming and easily defended  it. Jordan Jefferson of LSU can attest to this. There just isn’t much to draw  from, and this is fine as long as you’re throwing for 450 yards and putting up  45 points per game from literally anywhere on the field.

Yet, this is exactly where Mariota and Oregon have the offensive edge in a  championship-type game such as the one played Saturday. The Ducks, in addition  to executing everything the Aggies run offensively, also run the Zone Read to  perfection. Johnny Manziel has only seen it on TV.

 It’s a killer running play similar to what the handoff read in the triple  option was for a very familiar football team in the ’70s. It isolates one  defender and makes him decide which potential ball carrier he is going to pursue, but in this case, the quarterback’s handoff read also determines the direction of the football. Unlike the Veer and the Wishbone that used only half  the field, the Zone Read requires the defense to defend the entire  football field. The running back may have the ball going one direction or the quarterback may have it  going the other. Good luck on that. The Aggies don’t run the Zone Read,  period.

 Wide Receivers: to the left, to  the left

A&M is also a wide receiver short on its left side. As we all know, the  Aggies like to go vertical and see what develops. Early in the game when Johnny  caught the snap from center and looked to his right with ‘Bama in its Cover 2,  he kept finding Evans gaining separation on the cornerback defending him deep.  Big plays were the result. When Johnny’s pre-snap reads took him to his left for  the throw, there was no separation developing with his wide receiver. This is  when the scrambling started, because it’s better to create while on the run  rather than throw up a hope pass that could easily get picked. It’s truly a  matter of six to eight inches that Johnny must see from 40 yards away; his mind  must then quickly say, “yes” or “no.”

 Without equal breakaway ability on both sides of the ball, the offense  suffered. Defensively for Alabama, their coaches changed personnel when A&M  had a deep-ball threat in Evans on its left side. This was successful for the  second and third quarters. Because of the lack of a deep threat on the other  side, the Aggies resorted to short stop routes by the wide receiver. Then they  successfully slipped their inside receiver behind the shallow-playing cornerback  on deep corner routes, beating the safety to the pylon.

 Aggie receivers know that Johnny is going to throw the long ball as deep as  is necessary and they’re not going to out-run his arm. Problems occur when they  haven’t beaten their man in a timely manner, and for the middle two quarters  they were indeed covered up.

 Final thoughts

 No running game, a defense that’s not in game shape and no break-away wide  receiver threat on the quarterback’s left side were the reasons A&M didn’t  take this ball game. A kickoff that sailed out of bounds when the Aggies had  regained the momentum was no help either. Perhaps an on-side kick would have  been in order here. And the pick in the end zone? You guessed it. A busted route  by a receiver who went straight upfield instead of fading wide to the sideline.  Then there was the non-call of pass interference on the Alabama pick-six the  Tide eventually would desperately need.

 Unfortunately, the long conference losing streak was extended for yet another  year inside Kyle. Not since 1998 have the Aggies gone undefeated at home in  conference play. (This was also the sixth straight loss against Top 10 opponents  in matchups scheduled within the first three games of a season, and the eighth  of 10 overall.) The Aggies held and quickly lost another double-digit lead at home, just as they did last season against SEC foes Florida and LSU. A&M has  never won the division or an outright conference title with a single home  conference loss since freshmen became eligible in 1972.

Even a highly experienced and much improved version of Johnny Football  couldn’t break the cycle. In spite of the blistering heat, A&M’s  balls-to-the-wall offense, and the fanatical, fantastic field general who was at  its helm, the cream of the crop in the SEC still refuses to wilt in the friendly  confines of Aggieland.

The Texas A&M Aggies’ season is now underway offensively, literally, and  the starting defense is expected to rejoin the squad at 2:30 Central this  Saturday. It comes at an opportune time since the Aggies have a real game on tap. The Crimson Tide of Alabama, the Number 1 team in the land, struts into the  Brazos Valley for the first time since the final regular season game in  1988.

 The ’88 game was one of those beautiful, clear winter nights that define  college football. It was nationally televised and Coach Jackie Sherrill’s white  Twelfth Man towels were swirling throughout the Maroon-packed stadium. The game had been postponed from earlier in the year because of the threat of, you  guessed it, a hurricane. It would be the only game the Aggies would lose on  their home turf in ‘88, yet the defeat had no effect on the rankings or bowl  selections. A&M had been deemed ineligible for both prior to the start of the season.

Alabama, ranked 20th on this night, won easily, 30-10, in a game that would  be the Crimson Tide alum’s final game as head football coach for the Texas  Aggies. Even though Sherrill left A&M under something of a dark cloud, he  was propelled into icon status among most Aggies following his three consecutive  Southwest Conference championships prior to the ‘88 season. To this day, he  still enjoys this lofty position in the minds of most Aggies, particularly after  his creation of the Twelfth Man Football Team, its book publishing and  subsequently a Foundation for university fund raising.

 Alabama and Texas A&M have played previously on the date of September 14  — in the season opener in 1985 in Birmingham. Alabama was ranked No. 20 coming  into this game and beat Sherrill’s eventual Cotton Bowl champions, 23-10. The  Aggies went on to a 10-2 season and a final national ranking of No. 6. It stood  as the highest season-ending A.P. ranking for an A&M football team since  1956, and wasn’t topped until the 2012 team completed its season at No. 5  following the Cotton Bowl.

 Modern day college football began in 1972 when true freshmen were first  allowed to play on varsity football teams after a 25-year prohibition. Since  then the Aggies haven’t played many Top 10 opponents this early in the season,  and the Crimson Tide looms as the next one in line.

 During the mid to late 70’s the Aggies were 3-0 in these matchups, beating  No. 7 LSU in ’74 at Tiger Stadium; No. 7 Texas Tech in Lubbock in ’77; and No. 6  Penn State in Happy Valley in 1979. Since the 70’s, however, the Aggies haven’t  had much success in these situations. In fact, A&M has lost its last five  running. The last victory over a Top 10 team within the first three games of a  season occurred in 1989 when they beat No. 7 LSU in the season opener in College  Station.

 Now Alabama is a conference game and the landscape at A&M, including its brand new, revamped golf course, has undergone a tremendous makeover. This A&M football team continues to demolish previous stigmas that have dogged  the program — and has done so at a pace that corresponds with the seamless  demolition of one of history’s all-time favorite basketball gyms, G. Rollie  White.

 With these tremendous accomplishments, which are being pushed along by some  of the greatest examples of momentum ever seen at the university, come even  greater expectations. Aggies need only look back two years to what was a summer  of tremendous anticipation. Mike Sherman and Ryan Tannehill were expected to  have the season to end all seasons in 2011, but after falling to No. 7 Oklahoma  State at home in the third game in dramatic fold-up fashion, these hopes and  dreams were dashed.

In fact, since 1972 no eligible Aggie football team has ever been crowned  outright champion without first winning every conference game at home. It’s one  and done in the history of A&M. While winning every conference game at home didn’t necessarily assure an outright title to each team who did so, the loss of  just one game, historically, has assured there would be no challenge to  mount.

 The only times in the past forty years that Texas A&M won every  conference game at home and did not win an outright conference title were in  1974 and 1975. Ah yes, I remember them well.

The other A&M team that missed out on a conference championship after  sweeping its home schedule was the 1997 team, but they played in a different  format. That team captured its South Division Championship, but then lost the  Big 12 Championship game to Nebraska, so perhaps it deserves an asterisk.

  All the other Aggie teams through the years who went undefeated at home did  win their championships, including Sherrill’s ’85, ’86 and ’87 teams. These  talented squads were later joined by RC Slocum’s four championship teams from  ’91, ’92, ’93 and ’98, respectively. All seven were undefeated and untied at  home in conference play.

 1998 is the last season a Texas A&M football team has swept its home  conference schedule, but, as I mentioned, this team coached by Kevin Sumlin and  quarterbacked by Johnny Manziel is destroying all stigmas. You need to look no  further than last season’s big wins at No. 1 Alabama in the team’s third  consecutive SEC road game and a season-ending victory in the Cotton Bowl over  very-hard-to-beat Oklahoma. Each were rare occurrences in Aggieland.

 Now the big game is  suddenly becoming a reality for the fans while Johnny Football sees it in  his mind as the  next game on the schedule. What he means by this is regardless of who the  opponent is, the execution of the offense will always win out.

 Words won’t describe what a win in this game will mean to Aggies and this  university — perhaps for years to come. Once again A&M faces the Number 1  team in the country, but this time it’s not in Tuscaloosa.This time there are no  surprises and no “shocking the world.”This is just straight-up, best team wins  football, SEC style.

 History has not been kind, but history has never seen this style of offense, this kind of quarterbacking choreography, or this cool of a customer at head  coach. History is about to get turned on its ear, and will most assuredly be  smiling broadly as it happens.

 It’s the biggest game in the land, and the average ticket price of $750 bears  this out. Meanwhile, the wise guys have placed a 7-point underdog tag on the  Aggies. It will be the third time A&M has lined up in its own stadium as an  SEC underdog. They dropped the previous two to Florida and LSU in very close,  exciting games after holding double-digit leads in each. Aggies lament the fact  that had they been victorious in either, they could have eventually gone all the  way.

 Stigmas upon stigmas seem to pop up everywhere, but these are valiant times in Aggieland. The populace appears reinvigorated from just watching some  football again…Aggie football as they now know it. There have been few  disappointments and a whole lot of upside. Worry and anxiety have transformed  into excitement and enthusiasm. Anticipation is back at the level where it was  last season following the Cotton Bowl victory over OU. A&M is united again  as one — and the giant killers still roam its halls.

A&M sits in fourth place on the wagering boards in Vegas at 12 to 1 odds  to win the BCS Championship, just as Johnny did last season to win the Heisman.  Every Aggie knows that 12 is a pretty cool number. Alabama is No. 1 on the list,  Ohio State is second and Oregon is No. 3. If you truly believe the Aggies will  repeat their performance from last November in Bear’s country, then you better  take advantage of these odds while they’re still available. By the end of the  regular season last year, you had to lay 5 to win one on Manziel, which isn’t  nearly as much fun.

 The stigmas, once powerful and omnipotent, are systematically becoming  exposed as imposters and brushed aside in Aggieland. Stigmas are turning into  legacies as surely as that ugly duckling finally became a swan. We’ve got one  more left to handle, and this one lies in the hands of our young, talented  receiving corps. They’re about to meet up with some real athletes and their  ability to create separation will determine the outcome.

 Before heading to the campus to welcome the team home after the ‘Bama game  last season, I wrote: “Somewhere the Bear is smiling, marking September 14 on  his calendar, taking one more drag on his smoke, and one last shot of  whiskey.”

 Well, it’s almost here. Gig ‘em, and let’s Beat the Hell out of ‘Bama!

Johnny Football …
 Heisman Trophy winner …

 He is the face of  College Football Nation:  that includes the administrators, coaches and players of colleges and  universities that have chosen to field football teams. It does not include those  with the gift for gab, fans who buy the tickets, writers, cameramen or any others who aren’t between the lines on game day. The others may impose their will or credentials in attempts to be part of the Nation, but it’s maintained by  the schools themselves.

 As displayed by Coach Kevin Sumlin last Saturday, the outsiders – yes, even  ESPN – have no right to information regarding in-house affairs prior to game  time. This is how insignificant the media truly is and how important the inner  workings of a team are to a college coach. In fact, the media is the necessary  evil of the sport, and without television it would have a very limited role to  play.

 Yet networks would have us believe they and their analysts own and run the  game of college football. Guess what? They have nothing, repeat, nothing, to do with the games. They don’t practice or line up or suffer injuries. They  only talk. They have the seemingly incurable disease of diarrhea of the mouth,  joyfully expounding upon the virtues or shortcomings of those who truly belong to the Nation. Sometimes they put on funny hats. Sometimes they hold court.  There are those among them who have gotten too big for their own britches and desperately need to be reined in. They actually believe it is they who create  record ratings in college football. Seriously.

 The real job of the television networks in question is to first coordinate  with school officials the starting times of games to be televised, and shortly  thereafter serve as the public’s tools. Turn the sound off, and we all agree  they have mastered their craft.

When discussing the College Football Nation, other facts come to mind. Most  importantly, we didn’t need a trophy presentation to tell us who the outstanding  player in the country was last season. We didn’t need a debate about whether a  mere redshirt freshman should be given this prestigious award. Why? We saw it  with our own eyes. Coaches saw it. Opposing players who actually play  the game saw it. (Many of them even said publicly it would be a travesty if  Johnny did not receive it.) Fortunately the Heisman voters listened to those  actually involved in the games. This was key. Perhaps they do “get it.” We won’t  mention their other two candidates.

 Johnny Manziel, because of his athletic skills and instincts to  all who play the game, encompasses the entire shooting match of college football. He is its King until someone else clearly shows on
the field he is superior to Johnny Football. This much is apparent, and the opinions of the media giants should be deemed irrelevant, unnecessary  and irresponsible. They can ruin a Saturday of football because they DWELL … and  DWELL … and DWELL on what we, the cable payers, have no further interest in.

 When you become the face of something this huge, you’re a marked man. When you then evade incarceration after you’ve been found guilty by nothing more than  public opinion, the aggression against you intensifies. You’re suddenly vilified  on a level with the murderous O.J. Simpson, and, had that atrocity occurred  today, it probably would be a dead heat.

 Johnny Manziel is also a young guy with a quick temper who has yet to control it or see the wisdom in  doing so. Temper is normally viewed as a deficiency, frowned upon in most  professions. Exceptions are generally made for those within the athletic  arena.

 Those of us in the business world know that temper tantrums, fits of rage,  admonishments to the point of others’ embarrassment, and even door slamming, aren’t viewed as the behaviors of a true professional. These instances cause  humiliation and, in general, are morale killers, simply because normal people  who have never been part of a competitive teamwork format haven’t experienced  this, and, therefore, do not handle it very well. It isn’t the best motivational  tool, you might say.

 Where are one’s temper, anger, and exhibitions of frustration universally  accepted and even thought to be virtuous? Military personnel, law enforcement  and coaches quickly come to mind because they each work for the same goals: to  train their people mentally, physically and emotionally to be at their very  best, at the most critical moments, under extreme pressure. They dish it out and  their best people respond. The cream then rises to the top because these leaders  and instructors won’t accept anything less. They shout, “We’re only as good as  our weakest player,” and they mean it with every fiber.

 The professionals I’m referring to understand that showing their immediate dissatisfaction as often as is deemed necessary is not only acceptable, but a  strict requirement in performing their duties. It’s a built-in trait used every  day, simply because individuals will take a lazy step when given  the opportunity. This is intolerable in these venues, for in these professions  training under pressure is critical to the success of the organization.

 Intensity levels differ in all of us; our passions aren’t the same, nor are  the expectations and accompanying pressures.

 We each have our own crosses to bear, but we also seem to relish the opportunity to observe how well someone else is handling his. It is worth noting  that our assessments are generally harsher on others than on ourselves.

 It’s the sideshow commentary that seems to sustain and feed Americans; the belittling and preaching we hear ad nauseam from our sports announcers who have  risen above the crowd of mediocrity to positions of arrogance, obedience and  influence. I mean, if Mark May of ESPN doesn’t like Manziel, then I shouldn’t  either, right? After all, he’s the expert in the white tuxedo on TV. Sure, these  commentators are only doing their jobs, which is doubly difficult when doing it  from such high horses.

Johnny takes events, situations and people very personally. He has it in his  head the world is against him, and my perception is he may not be far off base.  It doesn’t take much these days to draw a pack of hungry wolves. This could have  been averted and may still, but this is a subject for another day. As a result,  Johnny seems capable of holding a grudge and remembering very well those who  show loyalty and those who don’t.

 He remembers those who have tried to take him down. He may possibly, on  occasion, read the local forums here in town–TexAgs and AggieYell. It hasn’t  been pretty, even on these boards that are supported by the membership dues of  loyal A&M folks.

 Perhaps when Johnny does speak with the media again, someone might ask his  thoughts regarding the 12th Man crowd who make  their opinions known from behind their anonymous keyboards. (The fans footing  the bill inside the stadium obviously love him, as evidenced by the tremendous  ovation given him before the second half.) I honestly do not pretend to know how  Johnny would answer, but the 12th Man seems to
be growing weary of this 6-foot meteor hurtling through their space. They aren’t  accustomed to defending their players on a national stage. They aren’t  accustomed to feeling like they are obligated to make excuses for any  “Aggie.” They’re not accustomed to having one of their own attacked on national  TV by wannabe moralists casting the first stone. Some Aggies have even tweeted  that Manziel should go to Longhornsville where he belongs.

 Frankly, the showering of attention this school has received is totally  unprecedented, yet many are unwilling to take ownership because Johnny just  doesn’t “act right” in their estimation. The “Aggies Are We” mantra seems to  work only on a conditional basis at this juncture. We’re all trying to teach  this kid how to do it, but he refuses to listen to anything but his headphones,  so we just hammer him from our keyboards. “Dumb jock.”

 Perhaps America also expected a more contrite demeanor from Manziel in the  opener against our former Southwest Conference playmate, the Rice Owls. Perhaps  we wanted to see him get on both knees before the game started and beg our forgiveness, instead of just thanking God for another season of football.

 You see, Johnny has been through some well-chronicled ordeals over the past eight months. For these incidences he has been pounded hard by the media and all  the football fans and college students in this country. Why? Because they  can–even as they practice their own air autographing, which is as close to the  real thing as they’ll ever get.

 The social media miracles of Twitter and Facebook, and the addition of  countless bloggers from bathrooms somewhere in Podunk who have learned how to  effectively tag their pieces, now allow anyone the platform to zero in, and perhaps even be read. It’s gotten to the point that we look at which organization is publishing the article before we even open it –  or post it. I certainly do, so as not to waste my time. It has everything to do  with credibility, and sometimes even the big shots lose theirs. In the end, it’s  ourselves we’re seeing reflections of.

 We spew forth accusations and insults that we, ourselves, are guilty of. We  repeat what we hear on TV as though we are still little children watching  cartoons. When we hide our identities behind made-up usernames, we are free to  speak our minds in whatever context we choose and say things that would be  shameful and embarrassing if said face to face. We have no consequences to our online hatred. Man, it’s just fun!

 @jmanziel2 doesn’t have this luxury, nor would he want it.

 We forget the sports world first met Johnny the morning after he’d been  fighting. Does this tell you anything about the kid? Does me. I also believe we  have thousands of analysts out there now who don’t have the slightest clue about  what’s going on inside this young man’s head. He’s not talking, which leaves us  only the “experts’” speculations to assimilate. Pardon this, while you’re at it.

 I find it humorous that almost every single player mentioned on television this weekend was a “Heisman Trophy candidate.” They’re building a whole library  now of “Heisman Trophy candidates.” Apparently there’s one on every college  football team. Some teams are even professed to have four or five! The Heisman  War is ON! 

The media, with all its heart, wants to crown a new King, while unwittingly,  perhaps, making everyone else’s role in the game insignificant. This is the real  tragedy for America’s football players and their fans. It’s not Johnny, but the  reaction of the media networks that is criminal. “Show me the Money” is now  “Show me your Heisman.” Based on the media’s attitudes and recent actions,  anything less apparently doesn’t merit mentioning.

 First-team All-Conference? Get in line. You’re currently way, way down the  pecking order. Sorry, bud.

 But as they say on game shows, “Thanks for playing.”

In  the 1993 draft there were two college quarterbacks who everyone was frothing  over. The first was Drew Bledsoe from Washington State, and the other was Rick  Mirer from Notre Dame. These two players went first and second overall in the  draft, and another QB wasn’t selected until the second round when Washington’s  Billy Joe Hobart was chosen ahead of lefty teammate, Mark Brunell.

What I vividly recall about these top two quarterbacks was the extensive evaluation given to each on ESPN prior to the draft. The broadcasters and analysts broke down every facet of each quarterback’s delivery and follow-through, his quickness afoot and his mental arrangement. Slow-motion replays of each quarterback were analyzed and critiqued by professional on-camera scouts.  

Both  players had tremendous college careers. Coming off the 1989 National  Championship at Notre Dame, Mirer, the new replacement,accounted  for more points running and throwing (350) than any other player in Notre Dame  history. He left Notre Dame ranked 1st in career touchdowns with 41, and was 2nd  all-time in total offense, completions, and passing yards. There’s a “gimme” if  there ever was one.

 But  I couldn’t see what everyone else was seeing in Mirer. I didn’t see any dazzling footwork, arm-snapping quickness or spiral velocity. I saw a horribly low  release point and a Johnny U “step-straight-ahead” action. He seemed to crouch  on his throws about three inches lower than his actual height. I was looking at  an average throwing motion, even by high school standards, which needed some  major work, yet everyone was so excited by this man’s mechanics. 

Surely I was missing something, but for the life of me I didn’t know what it could be.  It was almost as if this was a ‘Lou Holtz quarterback’ who held all the records;  therefore, he was a “can’t-miss” prospect to be a starter the moment he showed  up for camp. I mean no disrespect to a fellow college quarterback, and we  certainly didn’t have such technology in my day to pound these visuals worldwide  in a heartbeat, but the package wasn’t comparable to Bledsoe.

 What  were these professionally trained eyes seeing? Perhaps it was leadership, but  wait, I’ve never seen a leader better than Tim Tebow, so I’m still puzzled.  Tebow’s passer rating was in the top echelon in the country when he was in college, yet he can’t succeed in the NFL? So what’s the secret intangible? Hey,  Tom Brady barely kept his job at Michigan and look where he is. Did he even qualify for a passer rating in college?

 Still,  Rick Mirer went second in the draft to the Seahawks, who surely would have gone
with home-state QB Bledsoe had New England passed on him and gone with Mirer  instead. New England made the right call, as NFL fans know. When it came down to  it, Rick had trouble throwing to his left, which we know can be rather  detrimental to a professional quarterback. 

While Bledsoe was going to Pro Bowls, Rick was just trying to keep a job, which he did  for 12 NFL seasons. Hey, that’s not a bad gig if you can get it! He also signed  contracts worth millions, so while many continue to say he was a bust, I doubt if he or his family feels that way.

 My  point is we’re talking about an accurate professional assessment of a quality  quarterback here, and this wasn’t necessarily present before the ’93 draft,  regardless of how the media and scouts tried to sell it. Accuracy in quarterback  evaluations seems to be a lost art even today.

 I see at least seven quarterbacks on the horizon who have such wonderful upsides that they’re difficult to tell apart. Unlike twenty years ago, the only question  is when some of these young men will make themselves available for the brightest  lights of them all.  Then, as was the case 20 years ago and every year since, the magnifying glasses pop out and the assessments begin in earnest. 
 
Well,  it all begins this week as the Summer of Malcontents is finally coming to a close. Johnny “Nothin’ but Net” Manziel is finally back in his beloved pocket where he is college football’s “Dude Perfect.” You may recall A&M is on a  six-game winning streak, among their victims the National Champion Crimson Tide and long-time bully Oklahoma. It was nothin’ but fun.  

Then  our social butterfly began making his public appearances and all hell broke  loose with the Establishment. You’d almost think time had rolled back to 1969 in  New York City where a guy was hugging women, drinking scotch and making  far-fetched guarantees. It’s all recorded in the Manziel Chronicles the media  keeps track of, but it’s only a matter of days now before college football fans  are reminded why they love Johnny…or why they hate him. 

It’s  only a matter of days before the Butterfly begins stinging like a Bee again, and  then again and again… on September 14. We can put off the NFL comparisons and  draft possibilities and perhaps even the coaches’ evaluations of the top  quarterback in the SEC until around 6 PM Aggie time that evening. Where will the  football world stand then? From this viewpoint, we Aggies received the amount of  respect we expected nationally and ultimately from the conference – very little.  The only real effect this off-season had on the Aggies was the ascension of Ohio  State quarterback Braxton Miller into the favorite’s role for the Heisman. We  don’t need no stinkin’ Heisman! But we haven’t conceded it, either.


So,  as we put all comparisons aside and begin to once again enjoy the precision of  this proven, efficient, well-oiled A&M offense, and the sparkplug of all  time who directs it, the fortress of Aggieland is once again united, hungry and  extremely well-armed. The lack of respect shown this program from all sides has  created a “take no prisoners” mentality for which there’ll be no apologies. From  now until January, hey, it’s just business.