Craven: A&M's defense wasn't the problem many thought it was

[caption id="attachment_25593" align="alignright" width="350"]Photo by Jerome Hicks Photo by Jerome Hicks[/caption] What if we've been evaluating the Aggies all wrong? Texas A&M stormed into the SEC in 2012. It was a year of new beginnings for the Aggie program, finally unchained from the Longhorns and in the best conference in football. Kevin Sumlin was the new head coach and Johnny Football took over the quarterback position. The end result of Year 1 in the new world was an 11-2 record. The thing we forget about that season? Texas A&M gave up just 21.8 points per game, good enough for 26^th in the nation. The Aggies failed to reach 10 wins in the past two seasons. In 2013, despite scoring only 0.3 points fewer than in the previous year, Texas A&M finished 9-4. The fault fell on the defense. The Wrecking Crew allowed 32.2 points per game, good for 96^th in the nation. Texas A&M scored nine fewer points per game in 2014, prompting an eight-win season despite a slight improvement from the defense. Sumlin needed to make changes before the people in College Station changed him. It was time for a Chief. Enter John Chavis, eater of offensive galaxies. The former LSU defensive coordinator was brought in to fix the defense and, you know, keep Sumlin’s job. No one doubted Sumlin’s ability to coach offense. He helped turn Manziel into a Heisman Trophy winner. His teams averaged over 40 points per game in his first two seasons as a head coach in the SEC. He signed two five-star quarterbacks in back-to-back classes. In one season under Chavis, Texas A&M went from the 78^th ranked scoring defense in the nation in 2014 to the 29^th last season, allowing 22 points per game. That was 6.1 points better than the previous year. Texas A&M’s end result was the same, however. The Aggies once again went 8-5 after the offense averaged just 27.8 points per game. Sumlin has been head coach at A&M for four full seasons (same number of years in SEC).

With Manziel: averaging 44.35 points per game and went 20-6. Without Manziel: averaging 31.5 and went 16-10. The defense gave up 27 points in two Manziel years (skewed with 21.8 in 2012 and 32.2 in 2013), while it gave up 25.05 in next two years. So, while all the hype was around fixing the defense, it was really the offense's lack of production that led to eight-win seasons over past two years. You'd take improvement on both sides, of course, but the trends say we were all looking at the wrong things. The defense last year played at same level as the defense for Manziel in 2012, it was just harder to cover up with team averaging more than two touchdowns less per game. So, from 2013 to 2015, the Aggies defense improved by 10.2 points while the offense worsened by 16.7 points. The Aggies were no longer the high-flying offense that took the SEC by storm. Texas A&M morphed into a typical SEC team with strong defense and inconsistent play at the quarterback position. Both of the five-star quarterbacks transferred. Now, the questions shifted back towards Sumlin and the offense. Those questions remain unanswered with Trevor Knight at the quarterback position. No longer is Texas A&M winning due to quarterback play. Now, Sumlin wins in spite of it. Texas A&M is 3-0 with wins over UCLA and on the road against Auburn. The Aggies are allowing 13 points per game, good for 15^th in the country. Chavis’ crew conceded only three touchdowns in 11 trips to the red zone by opposing offenses. Texas A&M won 11 games in the SEC in 2012 and most of us remember it due to Manziel’s exploits on and off the field. Those offensive explosions were a diminishing return. The SEC was sure to catch on, eventually, and the slow decline in offensive points suggests it happened quickly. The Aggies are one of two FBS teams in Texas to remain undefeated through three games. A&M held UCLA to 24 points in an overtime win before shutting out Prairie View A&M. All remaining doubts were vanquished when Texas A&M won in typical SEC fashion against Auburn. It was the type of game A&M didn’t win in its first few seasons in the SEC, even in the 2012 season. Florida and LSU both beat Texas A&M that year, each with the same formula of pounding the Aggies' defense into submission. That can no longer happen. Sumlin should be commended. College coaches are full of ego. Admitting a wrong is tough. Firing staff is tough. Winning football games is tough. Sumlin made a tough call, but the right call when he hired Chavis away from LSU despite some drama in the process. It improved his defense. It improved his program. And it might keep him his job.