And So It Begins

I alone of the Lawrence offspring suffer from BBL Syndrome:  the inability to watch from start to finish any game (or event) involving a team (or lone competitor) which I wholeheartedly support.  The symptoms appear during every manner of competition:  the Olympics, the World Cup, the U.S. Open (both golf and tennis), baseball, basketball, and football...especially football, especially Aggie football.  So it is that I watched the A&M-SMU game this morning, having monitored the game last night and retiring to my bed knowing the Aggies had won.  Knowing the outcome in no way diminishes the excitement but completely alleviates the ANXIETY. 

First half:  offense was decent.  Good line play, effective running by the backs, cool play from Tannehill.  Lots of short passes...outside bubble screens were successful, in large part due to excellent blocking from the wide receivers.  Need work on special teams, though.  Two blocked  p.a.t.'s. Yikes. The defensive play was a bit schitzophrenic...several sacks but several blown coverages and open running lanes on blitzes.  Interestingly, though the score was 33-14 at half, the stats were very even at half-time.

Second half:  I felt like both the offense and the defense lost a little focus at the end of the 3rd and start of the 4th.  There were several penalties and a couple of bobbles, both of which went our way.  This was a first game, though so I am not terribly concerned.  The defense tightened up and though SMU did move the ball a couple of times, it didn't score again.

Cyrus Gray ran great and when Christine Michael got his chance, mostly in the second half, he looked really good as well.  Tannehill threw to at least 5 receivers...Fuller had 6-8 catches, all relatively short completions.  Apparently, he is nursing a hamstring and the coaches didn't want to risk injury sending him on any long patterns.  Swope looked really good, both on screens and across the middle.  He is tough, has great hands, and will go for the tough catch.  Also, he seems to have excellent body control and manages to get decent yardage after the catch.

All in all, I feel really good about the offense and think that with more play, the defense will become more consistent.  Hard to replace Von Miller, after all.

Apropos of nothing, I thought that Joel Klatt, former Colorado QB, did a really good job as color commentator.  The other guy, not so much.  (And, Bob Davie and Brent Musberger are still rotten.)

All in all, a very satisfactory opening day.  Now, beat the hell out of Idaho!  Gig em, Aggies!