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Posted by ChrisApplewhite on April 7th, 2008 under Football
Yes, I know William Sherman didn’t say that. But his wikipedia page failed to give me any other ideas for a headline, and anytime you can remind me of Dave South it brings a warm, albeit confused, smile to my face.
“He makes the catch! Touchdown! . . . . . incomplete, he dropped it. First and goal at the twelve.”
It absolutely kills me that the Aggies have been so bad for so long that they own double scoreboard on us and you can’t find a single one willing to talk trash. It only took one beatdown for OU fans to hook up phone lines to their outhouses to flood Hornfans with hastily assembled electronic chicken scratch praise for Bob Stoops.
I was a member of Websider for a few years, and they were so desperate for any success that they started talking women’s basketball smack. When you’ve sunk so low that you fake pride in the world’s least popular mainstream sport, yet you can’t find your way over to a Longhorn website to mix it up a little over their two wins, that just goes to show how deep in the hole this fan base is.
Granted, they’ve been through a lot. Mack obliterated RC Slocum with early recruiting (funny to think that we’re now the last ones to offer, generally) and making Texas the ‘it’ school in the state again. RC probably has a dart board with Mack’s face on it in his den. Of course, he has to get Kevin Sumlin to throw the darts for him.
The post RC era was a resounding failure, although only so compared to the expectations of the regime change. The bronze statue of Slocum fell, the Aggies cheered, then six months later you had stories on the news quoting Cletus Bumblescrew:
“Ya know, maybe we ain’t had it s’bad.”
The irony of the shift from RC to Fran was that they hired almost the exact same coach. Both have the personality of the very desk from which I slave, both value toughness and coachability, and neither one stood a chance amidst the vast expanse of the recruitocosm. It takes more than the ability to coach, which both men certainly have, to compete in this region.
The few big names they did get - Reggie McNeal! Jorrie Adams! Justin Warren! Jason Jack! - turned out to be bigger recruiting wins for us than them. We had essentially switched places. Suddenly we were the media darlings who always landed in preseason top 10 lists without actually having won anything, and they were a school with visions of former glory and just enough talent to fool the fans into thinking they had a chance to succeed.
Sadly, those days are gone now, as most fans are so jaded and bitter than they can’t even recognize, much less appreciate, the excellent job Fran managed to do with his talent level. Yeah, it was his fault the talent wasn’t there, and A&M was right to fire him, but he got the absolute most out of what he had. Back to back 9 win seasons is nothing to sneeze at when you’re running the option with Stephen McGee and you had pick a flame out insurance salesman as your DC. Those guys schooled us three years in a row, shut down team after team defensively in the second half, and pulled out close wins seemingly every week. Talent wise A&M went into every conference game 50/50 and won their fair share. It’s not what they wanted, but a worse coach would’ve had them 6-6 both years.
The point is, Fran was an excellent coach that wasn’t the right fit at the right time. Bring him in in 1989 and he wins at least one championship. In 2004, and he goes down as a roadkill stain on the highway.
This is why the hiring of Mike Sherman is confusing to me. Yet again they go with a boring choice, a safe, solid coach with a decent resume. He’s shown nothing so far to suggest that he can recruit with his direct competition, outside of the yearly role as placeholder for a few second tier candidates who are counting down the days until OU offers them. He’s already bought into the Aggie mystique, which should endear him to the fans and any farmer’s son that manages to grow up to 6′5 300.
His first challenge, then, is to somehow keep Texas and OU from devouring the top 30 players in the state, and keeping the SEC and Big 10 from picking off the leftovers. A&M used to be the place that the academic and personality risks went, but Oklahoma State has become so desperate that they are quickly eating into that market share, too.
Can he get his? He can sell his NFL experience, that he coached Brett Farve, and he can honestly try to sell Aggieland as a positive (meaning he doesn’t roll his eyes the 40th time he has to explain what hullabaloo means). He doesn’t have the ring that Mack, Stoops, and Miles can show off, and he isn’t salesman enough to overcome Texas’ already enormous saturation within the state. On top of all that, he has to create all the momentum on his own since the previous staff left a perceptual wake of failure and snack cakes.
What bothers me, just from a football fan standpoint, is that A&M hired a west coast offense coach to come into a situation where he is left with a team built entirely around running the football. The receivers are awful, the two best players are running backs, the QB can’t throw, and the OL can’t pass block.
Fran was wise enough to focus on what his team could do. This is why they won what they did. What I am most curious to see is if Sherman can overcome his biggest obstacle, changing his own offense to fit the talent.
Stephen McGee was built to fail in the west coast offense. He is just the perfect antithesis of what you need at that position. No accuracy, no quick decisions, and no ability to strike downfield when the opportunity arises. He can scramble, and he’s the master of the dump off, so at least he has those as a last resort.
But it’s not just McGee. His backup, for a time, was current WR Terrance McCoy, and his backups now are Jerrod Johnson and Tommy Dorman. If Sherman is organizing an office potluck, these guys are the ones bringing ice and cups. They fit the mold for a Fran QB, but not one that will have to play from under center with a FB and TE.
A&M’s spring practice is underway so there is probably some word about what the offense looks like so far, and I would like to hear that word. If he just comes in and pulls a Callahan, i.e. running an offense irrespective of your talent, then he’ll find himself exactly as fired as Billy was.
Whether or not he can adapt is the key. Can he take a team built to run out of the spread and figure out a way to apply his principles to their strengths? Or did A&M just cast Denise Richards to play its nuclear physicist?
Parlin Hall said:
April 7th, 2008 at 5:30 am
Putting in an offense that players can’t run (a la Callahan) is only a symptom-albeit a powerful one-of the larger problem, which is not understanding college-age players.
Letting them heat up railroad tracks and bend them around trees all across Georgia-now, that would be a good way to gain their respect.
In my opinion, every team should have a 3rd-down play called “Burn Atlanta.”
TaylorTRoom said:
April 7th, 2008 at 6:59 am
Great topic and post. I think TAMU screwed up by bringing in a WCO guy to begin with, because I think there is a lot of evidence that the spread (spread option or a passing variation) is the best way to go in D-1A. I expect TAMU to struggle this year due to their graduation losses, and to struggle more next year as they realize they have the wrong offense.
I’m trying to figure Sherman out. He definitely had success at Green Bay, with good-to-great offenses, until it collapsed in 2005 (4 - 12, 8 fewer ppg, Pass rating dropped 20+ points). GB fired him, and nobody else was interested in hiring him as a head coach. Is he an odd duck, who only gets to keep a job while he’s winning? Do struggles and difficulties bring out the worst in him? Does he have trouble adapting?
I expect the Ags to be a well-coached team this year. I just don’t expect their talent to be very high, or at least high enough to make the wrong scheme work, no matter how well-coached.
South '06 said:
April 7th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Chris,
You’re more accurate than you probably realize when evaluating our fanbase and expectations for next season. I’ll be more than happy to respond, but it will inevitably be long-winded and I don’t wanna publish a thesis here in the comments section.
Email?
Aggie Lurking said:
April 7th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Let me pose the unthinkable unanswerable question then…..
What IF we beat you again this year with our maladapted scheme run with our bland coach and “leftover” recruits?
Facebook User said:
April 7th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
South - Spill it. You’re one of our favorite resident Aggies.
AL - Only a fool would say it couldn’t happen, though the odds are slim.
South '06 said:
April 7th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
AL - I think you missed the point of the post. Rivalry or no, Texas is one game out of 12.
Sailor - It’s on the way.
TaylorTRoom said:
April 7th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
It will be interesting to see what Sherman has with his staff. There is certainly a lot of experience there, and much of it good experience. However, they are old, older even than Mack’s staff (Ag coaches average age- 52; Texas coaches average age- 47).
We know how Mack’s staff got old- he has been here 11 years, and four of them have been with him the whole time. Sherman’s staff is coming in old. Are they a bunch of old lions, looking for that one good, last triumph? Or are they a bunch of old guys mailing it in? You get the idea that the five younger guys on the Ag staff are supposed to do all the recruiting, while the old guys (Kines, Rossley, Sherman, Cromwell and Doll) stay at the base, break down film, and gripe about the Democrats.
You know, the odds are very much against a coach retiring at any school. Texas has had two coaches retire in the modern era- Bible and Royal. Mack will get to, also. The Ags have not had a coach retire in the modern era, even firing their only coach to win a MNC there (Norton). They even fired a coach (Stallings) who went on to win a MNC somewhere else. The odds are not in favor of this working out well for Sherman, although he is an interesting hire.
ChrisApplewhite said:
April 7th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
“What IF we beat you again this year with our maladapted scheme run with our bland coach and “leftover” recruits?”
Then head will roll here, big time.
ChrisApplewhite said:
April 7th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
South - all of us can be reached at our username@barkingcarnival.com
Nordberg said:
April 7th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
“What IF we beat you again this year with our maladapted scheme run with our bland coach and “leftover” recruits?”
Fireable offense for every member of our staff, IMO.
Bill Callahan said:
April 7th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
In fact my playbook *did* have a “Burn Atlanta” play.
It had 25 distinct iterations, each of which was broken down on six separate notebook pages, with color graphs.
Each of those, in turn, had algorithm check-offs which were to be shouted out, in one of the Sami languages, prior to (and in some cases, during) the snap-count.
The upshot is that Atlanta was never burned, but we came darned close and confused the heck out of defenses while we tried.
Kilgore Trout said:
April 7th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I think our offense will be less predictable and have more vertical passing routes. We have more returning talent on that side of the ball and I think we should be able move the ball and be competitive.
Defensively we still lack speed and depth and hopefully we won’t have the injury bug hit. I think the schemes will be more creative, not sure yet about execution. I don’t think we are going to give 10 yard cushions and let people dink it down the field playing pitch and catch (like we’ve done forever). This will inevitably give up some big plays, but no more death by a 1000 cuts.
All reports are that the new coaches actually do a lot of coaching. Since practice was previously closed (unless you were on the email list) no one had a feel for this. I hope the players respond and pick up alot.
Dave South will continue to be unitelligible but I don’t think there is any cure for whatever it is that he has - my favorite is “Caught, dropped”.
As for recruiting, if Sherman does reasonably well the 1st 2 seasons and gets some momentum we might start winning more head to head battles vs. Mack, Stooper & Mile$.
Dave
JonDoeSmith said:
April 7th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
That’s a great article. Although some Ags who watched field goals with 2 mins left, down by 4 and crap like that, would beg to differ about Fran’s gameday abilities.
ChrisApplewhite said:
April 7th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
He certainly had some head scratching moments, didn’t he?
Kilgore - I hope Dave South makes some braodcasting hall of fame someplace, just so they can put “caught, dropped.” on a plaque. Classic South.
CrazyJoeDavola said:
April 7th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
“Or did A&M just cast Denise Richards to play its nuclear physicist?”
IMO, it’s just the opposite - they hired a nuclear physicist to play Denise Richards.
Oh, and yes, definitely: If we lose to the Ags for the third year in a row - especially if it’s coupled with the fairly routine loss to OU - there will be all kinds of changes.
Facebook User said:
April 7th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Is “Caught, dropped” an incompletion or a fumble?
ChrisApplewhite said:
April 7th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Incompletion. South is such a homer that he yelps out “caught!” anytime a ball hits a receivers hands, without waiting to see what happens.
It’s fantastic theater.
Sasha_Is_A_Longhorn_Dog said:
April 8th, 2008 at 5:35 am
I know a guy who was up for the Voice of the Aggies (to take over when South retires). He would have been great! (And he likes Texas as much as he likes a&m.) He was too young, though, and lost out to an older guy.
By far the best thing my friend ever heard DS say was something along the lines of, “We’re here at Kyle Field, looking at a beautiful sunset off in the north…”
EyesOfTX said:
April 8th, 2008 at 6:27 am
Very nice analysis, Chris. I think you nailed the Franchione regime. I also think Aggies will be longing to go back to coach Fran after about 2 years of Sherman. I think the guys’ main qualification for the Aggie job was his crewcut.
BiggUggly said:
April 8th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Not that anyone gives a damn about what I think, but I am continually impressed by the quality of the writers on this site.
ChrisApplewhite said:
April 8th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Bigg, for the last three weeks my ego has been a shriveled pea in a smoldering crater. I take anything I can get.
Sasha_Is_A_Longhorn_Dog said:
April 8th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
What??? I’ll refer you to my comment on your “got dumped” blog about how I like your posts. I’ll thank you to appreciate my appreciativeness. :-)
I do agree with Bigg. As a relatively new reader of this site, I am also very impressed with the quality of analysis (and the writing skills) of the bloggers.
ChrisApplewhite said:
April 8th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
That day was an apparent anomaly. Usually I can out appreciate even the most modern of appreciating machines. I’m like the John Henry of taking compliments.
Anyway, I know you guys are writing “bloggers” but I’ll just assume you mean me and me alone, because I make dots sometimes.
Sasha_Is_A_Longhorn_Dog said:
April 8th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Whatever makes you happy. As long as this site remains up and has new content, my day at work goes by faster. If throwing you the odd compliment here and there will accomplish that, then I have no problem with that.
longhornmatt said:
April 10th, 2008 at 1:00 am
A&M was 7-5 this year. Fran never had back to back 9 win seasons at A&M. He actually had a fairly remarkable pattern of 1 decent season to get their hopes up followed by a catastrophically embarrassing season the next year to completely destroy their spirit.
longhornmatt said:
April 10th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Actually, A&M was 7-6 now that I checked. Wouldn’t want to forget the heart-breaking Alamo Bowl loss that drove Jorvorskie to tears.
ChrisApplewhite said:
April 10th, 2008 at 3:15 am
Oh you and your “facts.”
Bates Horn said:
April 11th, 2008 at 7:31 am
Good stuff.
I actually found the Franchione regime to be entertaining (well, right up until the moment the horns all decide to have thanksgiving leftovers and sleep through the game).
Under Slocum, the gomers still had illusions of glory and for those of us who have relatives or inlaws who defiled themselves at college station, they could be quite annoying during the holidays.
Under Franchione, the resignation and understanding of their near third tier status in college football became palpable, and despite the losses, they finally shut the fuck up about football, accepted their place in the world, and finally became enjoyable human beings to hang out with and drink shiner.
Keep hangin in there CA. And keep posting.