InkDemon
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10 days ago
:: 321 views
Bringing back the Wrecking Crew at Texas A&M!
Will the Wrecking Crew ever come back? In the 1980's and 1990's Texas A&M University football developed a reputation for its hard hitting defense. Those teams were dubbed the Wrecking Crew.
The Wrecking Crew sacked quarterbacks, stopped big time running backs for no gain, staged goal line stands and regularly topped or were near the top of the conference and national statistical charts.
I witnessed the death of the Wrecking Crew. For me, it came in 2003 in a game with the Pitt Panthers. Pitt ran all over the Texas A&M's defense and killed a tradition.
Every year under failed coach Dennis Franchione, Aggies expected the Wrecking Crew to return. In 2005, the defense finished 119th in the nation in passing defense. The running defense was nearer the bottom of the list than the top. Who needed to run on the Aggies? The pass defense was so porous!
Will the Wrecking Crew ever return? Will some hot defense mastermind like Joe Kines step in and put all the pieces together? Not likely.
Lot of changes has taken place in college football since the 1980's. For one, offenses are just better. Rules favor the offense. No longer can a defensive back stand on the line of scrimmage and bump a receiver all the way down the field. Offense linemen can grab a defender and practically literally rip his jersey off. Everywhere rule changes have favored the offense.
Television wants more offense. High scoring games are simply more "tele-visual". TV drives NCAA football, and the TV executives want O-F-F-E-N-S-E.
Successful college teams are taking the approach that Texas Tech's Mike Leach developed. Leach, as offensive coordinator, took an Oklahoma team to a national championship. Then he is on the verge of taking a once derelict Texas Tech team to the BCS.
Texas U rode the coattails of a awesome offense and a superb quarterback to the BCS championship. The West Coast offense means one thing: Passing!
These offenses rely on quarterbacks in a deep drop who dump the pass in less than 10 seconds. They spread the linemen wide and send every eligible receiver out on pass routes. Defenses for the most part have given up on blitzes and even started dropping defensive linemen back in pass coverage. A good offensive team and put up 600 yards of offense. If a defense holds an offense under 400 yards of offense, it is good day.
The old Wrecking Crew is dead! Do not look for it to come back.