previously: Florida, SMU , SCSt
Balance
- 1Q: 14 pass calls, 5 run calls (26% run)
- 2Q: 15 pass calls, 6 run calls (29% run)
- 3Q: 15 pass calls, 8 run calls (35% run)
- 4Q: 13 pass calls, 3 run calls (19%!!!! run)
- Overall: 57 pass calls, 22 run calls (28% run)
- Wow, just 28% run calls in a game played on a rain-soaked field. And 3 run calls versus 13 pass calls in the 4th quarter of a blowout. This staff is serious about getting backups useful experience.
- By far the most pass-heavy game all season, but with the way JFF was slinging it, you really can't blame Kingsbury for continuing to call his number.
- And I feel like this is a broken record, but 21 2nd quarter plays resulted in 20 points. This offense just kills it in the second frame.
Offensive Line
After 2 straight weeks of facing outmatched defensive fronts, how did the oline match up against an "SEC" front 4? Pretty damn well.
click for OL chart explanation
Another outstanding performance from the guys up front.
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Jake Matthews had a little bit of trouble the first drive, but Johnny Manziel was well-protected almost the entire day.
- Teams have been able to get pressure bringing extra blitzers, but on 4-man blitzes, the A&M online has been almost flawless.
- It appeared that Arkansas tried to employ the Florida rush strategy, having the ends play more contain than trying to beat their man. But they did not have the talent in the secondary to make this strategy work, which lead to Johnny having a field day. Speaking of...
Quarterbacks
All 3 QBs got to see action in what turned into a route, but with Matt Joeckel only seeing a few snaps, his numbers were not charted.
Johnny continues to favor the right side of the field (Evans & Swope's side) and again, 40% of his pass attempts were beyond 10 yards. Not much over the middle of the field, but with guys running wide open everywhere else, no reason to complain.
Showers came in during a blowout and aired it out, with half of his passes beyond 10 yards and 1/3 beyond 20.
click for QB chart explanation
- Even though Manziel set an A&M (and SEC) record for total yards, his accuracy numbers were down a little bit. But overall, still a respectable day. A few of his deep passes were way off and his short game was slightly erratic (covered up by a huge day from the receivers).
- Mixed in with that mild inaccuracy were some great throws, none bigger than his bomb over the top of the defense that hit Swope in stride for an 80 yard TD to blow the game open.
- The lone bad play on the day was another case of holding onto the ball on 3rd down instead of finding an open receiver. again, these aren't the worst plays in the world, but still something to improve on.
Jameill Showers came in firing, but had very little success. Definitely not a day to write home about..
Receivers
Remember....
- 3 - routine....should never drop these
- 2 - difficult....low, behind, high. you hope to see 40-50% catch rate
- 1 - circus catch....anything here is gravy
- 0 - impossible....charted for targets, not held against WR
click for WR chart explanation
Monster day for the receivers.
- Mike Evans was the leading target-getter, again. Another great day from the big freshman, including a display of those magic hands on the opening TD drive, picking a ball just off the turf in the endzone.
- Seniors Ryan Swope and Uzoma Nwachukwu continue to find themselves in this offense. It's refreshing to see these guys not get lost in the new system with all the young pass catchers.
- Thomas Johnson is gonna be a great one. 2 more tough catches for the other super-frosh.
- No targets for Kenric McNeal was surprising, considering the number of passes.
- TEs were more active than any previous game. Nehemiah Hicks had his best game of the season, including a nice catch over the middle on a pass thrown behind him. And Michael Lamothe reeled in his first catch of the season.
Running Backs
As mentioned at the beginning, not a ton of carries for the running backs. But all the ball carriers looked good, with Ben continuing to look like the best of 3-headed monster at RB.