JessN: Texas A&M wrap-up: Alabama’s win makes no sense, from any angle

Thanks Jess.

We benefitted from two atypical Manziel throws: the endzone interception, in which we marched back down the field for a score, and the somewhat bizarre Sunseri interception in which he dove into the endzone with an exclamation point. Weird stuff for the #1 and #6 team in the nation, but so was Johnny's Hail Mary that was up for grabs and caught for a big gain. That's what Manziel brings to the show.

Fortunately we had enough offensive firepower of our own to counter what Johnny threw at our defense.

Ironically, it was our star qb, not our defense, that was the answer for JF.

Never dreamed we'd give up 42 and still win. Crazy!!!

Hat tip to JF though. He's better than we gave credit after last year. CNS, having 10 months to prepare couldn't solve him and that means nobody this side of the NFL can!

I agree that A&M will struggle post JF just like the Barn has struggled post Scam Newton. I don't know if A&M will fall off to the Barn's likeness but, unless they recruit them some defensive stars they will fall back some.

It does feel like we've been sucked into a parallel dimension when Alabama wins a non-OT game 49-42.

I agree with Jess entirely though. My takeaway from yesterday's game is twofold:

1) Alabama is a really good football team that can win multiple ways.

2) Johnny Manziel is a singular talent the likes of which we've never seen.

RJ YellowHammer said:

2) Johnny Manziel is a singular talent the likes of which we've never seen.

Click to expand...

And hopefully will never see again unless playing for the Tide!

The kid has some skills, no doubt. However, he gets bailed out of some terrible decisions by his receivers. Greatest of all time? I'm no where close to crowning him, not based on 16 games. However, I'll enjoy sitting back and watching the rest of the SEC contend with him for the remainder of the season.

RJ YellowHammer said:

2) Johnny Manziel is a singular talent the likes of which we've never seen.

Click to expand...

Two words: Michael Vick.

CrimsonTheory said:

Two words: Michael Vick.

Click to expand...

Vick could never make the throws Manziel makes with that kind of touch...

Johnny Football benefitted greatly yesterday by some truly horrible no-calls of holding. That said, he took full advantage and made things happen. I fully believe that you create your own luck and he is great at doing that. He never gives up on a play.

Outside of Ole Miss, I don't see another offense giving us the fits that aTm gives us. Not discounting LSU, they just run a more conventional offense. Plus, our secondary will get better with experience.

Was surprised that we had 5 false start penalties yesterday, with four coming from the left side of the line.

Great wrap-up. Thanks.

CrimsonTheory said:

Two words: Michael Vick.

Click to expand...

Couldn't have kept his VT in the game with this Alabama team all by his lonesome. Even though he has a "bigger" arm than Manziel, it took years for Vick to develop the kind of touch and field vision that seems to come instinctively to #2.

I'm not leading the Johnny Football appreciation train, but he played a helluva game yesterday against a dominating, singularly focused team hell bent for blood and just about stared us down.

I realize that they never got closer than one score after the 2nd quarter. Maybe that's what I admire most The Ags yesterday; they're pluck. When Vinnie takes the INT to the house after juking Manziel out if his cleats to go up 3 scores, a lot of teams quit. A&M didn't.

I'm leaning towards CajunCrimson. A hail mary, by rights, out of 5 throws is completed once, dropped thrice, and picked once. Manziel's escapology is amazing, but when throwing into a crowd is merely lucky, and he didn't deserve it. I'm glad that the lesson he took from that play was that Alabama is contemptible, because he played the contempt card once too many later in the drive and that was the turning point in the game.

Manziel is amazing but he still has to learn when to hold em and when to fold em.

manziel is as good a qb for college as i have seen in my 65 years of fandom. however, i am not convinced it is all skill. he makes many unconscious plays that do not work for a lot of teams. i guess it is his ability to attempt plays, and make them that many qbs would not attempt. mainly, because most coaches would be afraid. give his coach credit for letting him control the offense. of course, our secondary made him look good as well. we really have a problem at corner. i think the safety is ok, we need playing time.

We did what was needed. Glad out coaches figured out that our best defense was out offense. That 8 minute drive comes to mind when it comes to the defense. That was a great drive to end the second quarter. It also gave our offense work to gel as well. Still though, we shot ourselves in the foot a few times during the game to let them in it when it should had been a big blow out. AJ is the man. OJ is starting to break out. Roll Tide!


Sent from my iPhone

edwd58 said:

The kid has some skills, no doubt. However, he gets bailed out of some terrible decisions by his receivers. Greatest of all time? I'm no where close to crowning him, not based on 16 games. However, I'll enjoy sitting back and watching the rest of the SEC contend with him for the remainder of the season.

Click to expand...

Thank goodness! I thought I might be the only one that feels this way...

He was hardly on the radar until the win against Bama last year; and I agree as well he's gonna have to win more than 16 games and the Cotton Bowl to even get in the conversation of best ever...smh

Bamabuzzard said:

-Give me a balanced pro style offense over a HUNHO any day. Our offense had the ability to change gears and go from running to passing much easier than aTm. aTm struggled to slow down their pace and establish a running game.

-Was their OL that good, our DL that bad or a lot of holding that weren't called? We got ZERO push on the DL.

Click to expand...

I felt like we got a lot of push, but ol' Autographs is elusive and his o-line holds our boys like it's the airport scene in Casablanca.

JBama_in_PCOLA said:

We did what was needed. Glad out coaches figured out that our best defense was out offense. That 8 minute drive comes to mind when it comes to the defense. That was a great drive to end the second quarter. It also gave our offense work to gel as well. Still though, we shot ourselves in the foot a few times during the game to let them in it when it should had been a big blow out. AJ is the man. OJ is starting to break out. Roll Tide!


Sent from my iPhone

Click to expand...

Both quarterbacks were extraordinary Saturday, with one key difference. Manziel did it against OUR defense. We designed a plan to keep him In the pocket and make him beat us with conventional plays and he put the ball on the side of a dime throw after throw. Jess is right: our DBs played better than their statistics. The better team won, but not before the best player scared the daylights out of all of us.

CrimsonEyeshade said:

Both quarterbacks were extraordinary Saturday, with one key difference. Manziel did it against OUR defense. We designed a plan to keep in the pocket and beat us with conventional plays and he put the ball on the side of a dime throw after throw. Jess is right: our DBs played better than their statistics. The better team won, but not before the best player scared the daylights out of all of us.

Click to expand...

One guy ate us alive. Belue would had made a difference, but he got hurt. Just glad we made it out alive. We killed them with those drives.


Sent from my iPhone

Good write-up but I am not ready for

Manziel is in the discussion for best college football player of all time, at any position. He’s a hands-down lock for the title of best quarterback ever.

Click to expand...

yet. He is very good and at times very lucky. There was one throw where he basically threw it up as a jump ball and their guy leaped up and got it. Thats really an end of the game hail Mary desperation throw and really should have never been thrown when it was. The Sunseri int should have never been thrown, it appeared to bounce off of one of our guys helmet. You cant argue though that he had great success against our defense after we had a year to prepare for him. The "best quarterback ever" discussion will need to wait for awhile though.