Sherman's March Past Mediocrity and Into the Sea

I still can’t believe Texas A&M hired Mike Sherman a few years ago....I mean that move literally boggles my mind, even to this day. Pardon me if I'm wrong, but A&M has EVERYTHING in place to stay a national power: Huge boosters, huge fan support, a monster home field advantage…and oh yeah…they sit right in the middle of some of the most fertile recruiting grounds on earth. So how come they keep moving backwards? What’s their deal? HOW DO YOU LOSE TO ARKANSAS STATE AT HOME?!?!

After doing a little research about A&M over the past couple of days…I’m really not sure I know the answer.


TEXAS A&M (4-8 in 2008)

If one of your biggest wins is over Iowa State (A close one at that)…you’ve got problems. The funny thing is, the Aggies have such a strong reputation for being a difficult place to play, that people actually fail to realize just how Godawful they really are these days. How’s this for size? 114th in rushing offense…114th in rushing defense…108th in pass efficency defense, 114th in total defense…114th in scoring defense…104th in turnover margain. They did only rank 95th in pass defense, so I guess they had somewhat of a strength there. Come to think of it..how did these guys win any games? Arkansas State? One of the best home field advantages in football? Really?


POSITVES FOR 2009
I have read a lot of preview items around the conference, and I’m sorry…I just don’t buy that A&M is somehow lacking the athletes to compete with other teams in the Big 12. Granted, you are in the South, but that still makes it unacceptable in ANY case to have lesser speed and power than the University of Kansas. Sherman has gotten a lot of love from the recruiting geeks over the past couple of years…but as Bill Callahan proved, you don’t have to be a genius to destroy perfectly good overrated players. There are some key guys coming back this season, but the only question now is whether or not rock bottom has been hit. The fact that I’ve rambled on for several sentences and STILL can’t find a single positive here, should speak volumes. Did I mention A&M has a great band?


NEGATIVES FOR 2009
Besides the fact that a HORRIBLY overmatched NFL flunkie is their coach, A&M is still trying to find the right QB mix for the 2009 season. One of the guys seriously being considered is Ryan Tannehill….who oh yeah…isn’t even a quarterback. If one of your best QB’s is not a QB….that’s an issue.


THINGS YOU CAN COUNT ON IN 2009
As long as Sherman is running the show, look for A&M to continue to be a conference afterthought. With Texas and OU still light years ahead and OSU and Baylor (BAYLOR for God’s sake) improving quickly…the bottom of the shitter is pretty much reserved for a team that gave up 40 or more points 8 times in 2008. Perhaps they’ll “bounce back” as Nebraska did last year…but just as the Huskers feasted on Northern bottom dwellers to install a false sense of satisfaction, A&M has no such luxury. I would say also that a tough game with Texas as home is something to count on…but looking at the rosters of the two teams…uhhhh…no. Probably not.


HISTORY TEACHES US….
..that there are bad coaches and bad talent..but it takes a true special debacle to combine bad talent and bad coaching. Maybe it was the good-ol-boy network that allowed Sherman to take the job in 2007 without anybody else even getting an interview? Perhaps he has nude pictures of George Bush? Whatever it is, it’s safe to say that this train wreck will not stop rolling until the head buffoon in charge is ejected. Whether that happens this year or next year or never is up to the boosters, who will tell AD Bill byrne when it’s appropriate to fire Sherman and give him untold millions to go take a vacation somewhere. It’s just a matter of time. My money is on Mid-October if you are taking bets on such action.


SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS
Well, at least up-and-coming Miami is off the schedule. Back is New Mexico, which gave the Aggies a rare road win over a team from everybody’s 2008 darling conference. Jerry Jones’ monument to decadence will hosts Arkansas’ blowout win over the Aggies on 10/3, as the Aggies shortly after move into Big 12 play. The North slate is as easy as it gets with KSU, Colorado and Iowa State on the schedule. Good thing, because the last three weeks include OU, an improved Baylor team (that thumped A&M last year) and then the formerly-good-game-now-regular-bludgeoning-sideshow game the Friday after Thanksgiving with Texas. In order for the Aggies to shock the world and God forbid make a bowl game, the OSU, Arkansas and Colorado games are a must. Ummm yeah..I'm not counting on it either.


TEXAS A&M BY THE NUMBERS:

120 – The amount of points A&M gave up in 2008 combined to Baylor, K-State and Iowa State.

1.8 million – Amount in legal U.S. currency wasted by A&M in 2009 to emoply Mike Sherman

99 – Teams in NCAA FBS that had more sacks per game than Texas A&M..most of which did not have a deafening home crowd of 88,000 per game to cheer them on.

212.42 – Number of total offense yards per game QB Jerrod Johnson had in 2008…good for 11th in the Big 12.