The 12th Man QB on A&M's Line Play, Defense, and Quarterbacking

Howdy, football fans, welcome back to your weekly “12th Man QB” experience,
once again being shared by me, David “Moon” Walker, the first four-year starting
quarterback for the Texas Aggies. No, my first start as a freshman was not in 1944. That was a different dude.

 As I’ve previously spoken about in my book, which your mom is secretly hiding
away for you for Christmas, football is the most complex game on earth because
of the vast number of potential assignments placed upon the offensive personnel
on any given play. These assignments (“Oh, crap! I’ve got number TWO now?”) are
subject to change right up until the moment the ball is snapped, just before all
hell breaks loose up and down that line of scrimmage. Defenses don’t always get
on all fours in an orderly fashion as they once did, sitting pretty and
stationary like old-fashioned football dummies stuffed with cotton, waiting for
the offensive player to calmly take aim and fire. It just isn’t that simple
anymore.

 Because defensive linemen were once so big, fat and slow (thus making them
much harder to bulldoze back off the line of scrimmage) the rule makers felt it
would be too much of an advantage to let offensive linemen actually use their
hands and outstretched arms in attempts to block them. In fact, offensive
players were penalized if their clenched fists ever left their own chests while
in contact with a defensive player who, by the way, had much more freedom in the
use of his own hands to actually play the game effectively. Now, thankfully,
it’s a fairly equal match-up and much more fun to play in the offensive line
than it was, say, in the Lombardi era.

 Just as kickoff teams prevent the receiving team from getting an exact
headcount by scattering from the huddle like a covey of quail, much is the same
with defensive personnel prior to the snap of an offensive play. Now a guy
lining up at middle linebacker over the center on down quickly becomes a
defensive tackle face-to-face with a guard and on hut, he jettisons out
to play defensive end by the time the ball is snapped. It’s all done in attempts
to confuse the offense on its blocking rules and can be quite effective.

 You counter this activity by using motion, shifts, quick counts or long
counts, but both sides should be ready to go or someone is going to be
completely out of position defensively, or that new defensive end will be coming
through untouched for a kill shot on a running back, or worse, the quarterback.
It’s quick stuff that requires quick thinking.

 Whichever offensive coaching staff best thwarts the opponents’ skills and
schemes of attack with expertise that is not only successful but consistent
(particularly those not necessarily drawn up in a normal playbook or seen
previously on game film) will usually force the defensive front back into a more
basic look and then return to its original offensive game plan. Offenses that
are unprepared and suddenly find two defensive players shooting the same gap
(and aren’t provided the necessary repetitions or film study by their coaches to
recognize and adjust) are usually shut down from the start and have great
difficulty in recovering momentum or confidence.

 They go into “overload” mode from which some cannot escape mentally or
physically and are then defeated from basically any standpoint. Defenses will
test the knowledge and athletic ability of every offensive player during the
course of the first few offensive possessions, which is why we sometimes see
teams sputter from the onset as they mentally ascertain what the opponent is
doing differently from its game preparation perspective.  It could be something
as simple as a player lining up on the inside shoulder instead of the outside
shoulder to tactics as complex as several players switching assignments
defensively after the ball is snapped.

 You saw some of this taking place in the first quarter between the Texas
Aggies and the SMU Mustangs. As talented and experienced as the offensive front
is for the Aggies, it will still see small nuances in every pressure attack
which it may not have seen before or at least in a while, particularly in a
young season peppered with new terminology.

 Fortunately what we also saw here, unlike during the second half of the
opener against the Florida Gators, was a team that was making some necessary
offensive adjustments while the defense was impressively holding the Mustangs in
check. This “warm-up” period allowed the offense, with redshirt freshman
quarterback Johnny Manziel settling in firmly at the controls, to begin ripping
apart these eight-game winners from 2011 with a wonderful combination of quick
jabs, left hooks and fancy footwork that took SMU totally out of the game on
both sides of the ball from the second quarter on.

 Nationwide, there was only one other game where a favored team whipped the
other more mercilessly in the eyes of the prognosticators than the Aggies did
SMU, and that was Fresno State’s romp in the park over A&M’s former fellow
Big 12 counterpart, the aimlessly wandering Colorado Buffaloes. And speaking of
ugly, Alabama’s huge mashing of Arkansas
in Arkansas was a close third, right behind A&M in the runner-up
spot as far as visiting teams’ performances were concerned. When teams fold the
tents as easily as these three did, there are major reasons why it occurred. At
least in the SEC teams’ cases, it was superb execution obliterating their
ill-fated foes.

 Rebound games like SMU are especially important to have sprinkled into key
spots throughout your schedule for times like these; times when enthusiasm is a
little down, the fans are suspiciously beginning to peek at the ground moving
underneath their bandwagon and you desperately need a solid confidence-builder
to get back on track. SMU turned out to be the perfect snake oil concoction for
the 12th Man’s woes  and its team as well on this genuinely warm and fuzzy afternoon.

 Back in ’77, after getting humbled by the Michigan Wolverines in a nationally
televised debacle of a game that pitted No. 2 vs. No. 3 (nominated and still in
the running for the most embarrassing national stage performance in Southwest
Conference history), we Aggies drove our Greyhounds over to Baylor after having
pulled off four straight wins against the Bears and clobbered them yet again, at
least for a half. In the second half we held on for dear life, but we still eked
out a precious conference win, and it felt great, reminding us henceforth what
an outstanding offensive football team it was.

 Last Saturday was time to get well. The game represented not only A&M’s
second consecutive victory in as many seasons over the Mustangs, but also Coach
Sumlin’s fifth straight over them personally with the previous four coming while
he was leading the University of Houston program. Houston had won the last three
by an average of 40-14, even winning one of them 45-20 at SMU as a one-touchdown
underdog.

 When you’ve managed four straight triumphs over any opponent, there is a
certain amount of confidence that accrues on your staff and permeates throughout
the team. This feeling normally overcomes the opponent’s cumulative mindset of
self-doubt, unless of course, overconfidence rules the day,  which happens on many occasions when least expected. This is why our high school coaches were always saying, “I’ll  tell you when you’re good!” This meant their opinion was the only one that  mattered; not our girlfriend’s, mama’s, the media’s or even our own.


Sometimes, however,  you get a guy’s number and there’s just no questioning
the outcome, as Sumlin obviously has now on June Jones and  SMU, particularly with Sumlin’s improved athletes and recruiting base.  The  combination of a dominating coaching staff guiding a confident football team  based on a big 46-14 victory prior works on the head-game approaches within both  camps. In the overall scheme of things, only superior coaching, better athletes  or insidious inflictions of temporary insanity can turn these negative  situations around, which can then somehow maintain themselves for years.

 SMU’s defense had a nice game going by keeping Manziel and the A&M
offense somewhat off balance for almost a quarter and a half before becoming a
little too predictable. The five-man front had kept sufficient pressure on both
A&M passing and running games and allowed only the occasional completion to
redshirt freshman wide receiver Mike Evans, normally aligned opposite the
three-receiver side of the A&M shotgun spread formation. Because of the
rush, quarterback Manziel was forced to scramble on several occasions and the
normal running game was providing little support. With less than nine minutes to
go in the second quarter, Manziel looked up to find veteran slot receiver Ryan
Swope “uncovered” to his right side by anyone underneath. For most offenses,
this is a pre-snap “hot read” which turned into exactly that on this play.

On this second and eight situation, the SMU defense brought both linebackers,
its left defensive end, nose tackle and a defensive 5-technique (tackle) from
the right side. A&M was set up in a balanced one-back formation with two
receivers split to each side, catching the defense in a cover 2, a popular
coverage with two deep safeties and each cornerback aligned tightly on his
respective wide receivers. The backside defensive end dropped into coverage
while the play-side defensive tackle, with his side’s defensive end blitzing,
rose out of his four–point stance to try to retreat back into coverage,
hopefully into the passing lane between Manziel and the slot receiver,
Swope.

 This “coverage swap” approach employed by the SMU staff, commonly referred to
as a zone blitz, had worked earlier for the Mustangs resulting in some
behind-the-line tackles and confusion in the Aggies’ blocking assignments. This
time, however, the defensive tackle saw only the football zipping by his head as
Swope ran a quick post pattern and caught the perfect throw, then targeted a
spot that would split both safeties as he went into the end zone standing up.
Junior offensive tackle Jake Matthews did an outstanding job of recognizing the
swap and swiftly picked up the defensive end before being outflanked instead of
the tackle he’d originally been assigned.

 Offenses, such as A&M’s, love gifts and when they are offered on silver
platters via pre-snap misalignments such as this one, it gobbles them up without
even a “thank you.” The lesson to be learned here is that Ryan Swope cannot be
covered by defensive tackles or headed off at the pass by unassuming defensive
safeties who get caught flat-footed. Any defensive player must be cognizant of
one indisputable fact: if a player lines up on a D-1 football field, he can beat
you.

 Meanwhile we continue to find A&M’s front four a very active and athletic
group. SMU quarterback Garrett Gilbert seemed to have them on his mind a
majority of the time. Even though the Aggs did not do much blitzing and
primarily only on short yardage situations, but when they did, Gilbert was
misfiring or repeatedly trying to force it to the wrong receivers. A&M’s use
of the D-Line over-shift coupled with strong-side blitzes was especially
effective.

 Leading 7-0 after an SMU three-and-out on first down from the SMU 48, Johnny
Manziel tucked the ball away in his left arm (as he always does) on a scramble
through the left side, scooting past a defensive lineman who’d been hurled to
the ground by offensive tackle Luke Joeckel. Manziel then sped by pursuing
linebackers, juked another defender and went untouched into the end zone. When I
played at A&M and was running the Wishbone, you never saw me carrying the
ball in my right arm either. Regardless of what the coaches said about having it
in the arm away from the defender, I believed it much more important to
always have the ball in
my strongest arm. Perhaps Johnny has this same belief, although he throws the
football right-handed.  Whatever the case, he was only getting warmed up.

 Next, he completed a 78-yard drive after an A&M interception by hitting
Uzoma  Nwachukwu with a 36-yarder after rolling out of the pocket to his right
and throwing down the middle of the field to his veteran receiver. This was a
perfectly executed “scramble drill” which requires a great amount of practice
time. The appearance of improvisation doesn’t make it a reality. The Aggies had
just scored two touchdowns within two and a half minutes and suddenly held a
20-0 lead at the half. Strike up the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band!

 These are the defining moments that kick-start a season’s
momentum, not just a game’s. The defense surrendered just over 300 yards in
total offense to June Jones and crew, and there was not a single touchdown. They
held Zach Line, the country’s No. 4 career-rushing leader, to 104 yards. A&M
now has 12 sacks after leading the nation with 51 last season. SMU failed to
convert on 13 of 14 third down attempts, which is an amazing defensive effort
even against a scout team.

 Johnny Manziel reminds me of another college quarterback who was a little
smaller of stature and wore two number 2’s on his jersey, a guy named Doug
Flutie. Manziel only got better in the third quarter, acrobatically whirling
around and pin-pointing a touchdown pass that no one else on the planet would
have even attempted, primarily because they’d probably have taken the sack or
said, “The hell with it,” and thrown it away. Johnny delivered. He set a Texas
A&M single-game freshman record by passing for 294 yards (breaking Kevin
Murray’s 29 year-old record of 280 set against Rice) and accounted for six
touchdowns — four through the air and two on the ground. That’s right, and he
also ran for 124 yards. Just like in the song, the boy said, “My name’s Johnny
and it might be a sin, but I’ll take your bet, you’re gonna regret, cuz I’m the
best there’s ever been.” Could be.

 Only time will tell, and there will be a lot of armchair quarterbacking going
on trying to get into his head. I say, “Let him be and don’t screw him up.” Ol’
Johnny might be the phenom A&M has been waiting for, and all the wondrous
things that phenoms bring with them could soon be within the Aggies’ grasp.
 And while Johnny was resting on  his team’s laurels during the fourth quarter
after kicking the door in, his replacement, sophomore Jameill Showers,  looked
poised, classy and razor-sharp as well, hitting six of seven for 76 yards. It
was a truly remarkable exhibition of efficiency displayed in every phase of the
game. The Aggies did what you’re supposed to do in a rebound game; put the last
one behind you, stay in the moment and improve your performance.

 Next up for the Aggies isn’t South Carolina, but South Carolina State, a team
that lost to Arizona last week, 56-0. Arizona had 43 first downs while South
Carolina State had 8. Arizona had 689 yards of offense, while South Carolina
State had 154. Arizona punted only once. And as they say, the rest was
history.