Published Wednesday, November 02, 2011 12:16 AM
Inside the Bright Complex's Hagner Auditorium where the Texas A&M
football teams, coaches posted a reminder above the double doors as the
Aggies prepared to face off with Missouri, the Big 12 leader in rushing
yards per game."Be Physical," the sign read.
Apparently the message fell on deaf ears.
"We're not playing physical enough," A&M defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter said.
Missouri didn't use trickery Saturday to beat A&M 38-31 in overtme. Nor did Tigers head coach Gary Pinkel get cute with his play calling. Instead, he chose to go straight at the Aggies' defense. Again and again. Often times, the Aggies were out of position. Even when the A&M defense fit into its gaps correctly, it couldn't make the tackle and finish the play.
A&M gave up a season-high 284 yards on the ground to the Tigers. In the second half alone, Missouri ran it 31 times for 193 yards -- which equates to 6.2 yards per carry.
"They were killing us on the run almost the whole game," cornerback Terrence Frederick said. "We have to just be better at tackling. That's the most important thing. If you miss tackles big plays happen."
The most telling play of Saturday's loss was quarterback James Franklin's 20-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. During his sprint to the end zone, Franklin broke five Aggie tackles -- including one from A&M safety Trent Hunter.
"One of the things we went into this week with was being more physical than the other team," Hunter said. "They outplayed us, myself included."
The A&M defense has undergone multiple injuries to key players. Coryell Judie has had a lingering hamstring injury. Tony Jerod-Eddie played Saturday with a sprained ankle. And inside linebacker Steven Jenkins was concussed early in the second half. To DeRuyter, health isn't an excuse. Rather, it points to a lack of depth.
"We have to do a better job developing depth," he said, "so no matter who's in there we're playing with confidence and attitude."
To DeRuyter, physicality is a by-product of confidence and attitude. It's something that comes after months on the practice field and in the film room -- when players can react and play fast.
"When a defense is playing with confidence and swagger," he said, "you play physical."
For the A&M defense in 2011, things -- both good and bad -- have tended to snowball. For four drives in the third quarter, A&M held Missouri scoreless and deemed its offense largely ineffective. However, in the fourth quarter, the Tigers scored two consecutive touchdowns to erase an 11-point deficit and take the lead.
DeRuyter has a motto for his defense. He calls it "FIDO." Forget it and drive on, he says.
"When you get hit in the teeth, you've got to be able to bounce back and still play with fanatical effort," he said. "Right now, we're not doing a very good job of that."
With No. 8 Oklahoma and its high-powered, up-tempo offense next on the docket, linebacker Jonothan Stewart said that the Aggies' goals and keys to the game aren't changing.
"We just have to be physical."
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