Something fishy is going on...

Wednesday Aug 15: Brian Davis of the D-Morn news writes a story about J-Train and Goodson and addresses nicknames.

Thursday Aug 16, 7:16AM: I post about the need for a better nickname for J-Train and Goodson and open the floor to suggestions.

Thursday Aug 16, 11:32AM: The D-Morn blogger Pete Aldrich posts about pretty much the exact same thing without a shot out.

Now I am not saying it is not possible that Aldrich came up with this idea all on his own, and I am not saying he read my blog first, recognized its genius, then copied it. All I am saying is that the timing is very fishy.

The biggest question this preseason is not the what the impact level our surgically-repaired defensive lineman Red Bryant and Chris Harrington will have after being "away from football for about eight months", or who will the old man (Marquis Carpenter) beat out the underclassman (Jordan Peterson) in the the heated battle for the left corner spot.
The biggest question is what to call the tandem of J-Train and Mike Goodson? These two guys will be the best combo in college football and need a nickname that sports announcers can repeat ad nauseam. Lane suggested "11-3", which is terrible. D-morn news writer Brain Davis seems to be pushing "beauty and the beast", which is better, but a Disney-rooted will get your zero street cred. They need something tougher... something with the vibe of "fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee", but much shorter. Maybe "hit and run"? A felony is automatic street cred. I can see it now, on the pregame jumbo-jumbo tron. HIT RUN (side note: this would also fulfill my request to stop showing highlights from 8 years ago, it is embarrassing).

What do you think the pair should be called?

And I am back...

Senior linebacker Mark Dodge has impressed the coaches by "going for balls that other people didn’t have a clue they were coming in that direction." Once I stopped laughing that Dodge was good at "going for balls" I became concerned. Dodge's interest in reading plays came in the Tech game when he (FINALLY) realized that "there’s only so many route combinations that teams (run)." He applied that cutting-edge theory in the Nebraska game when he intercepted a ball after noticing that if "they ran an out, they were going to run a drag."

Are you kidding me? I must be missing something.

How is it that a player, in the course of the game, is the one to figure this out? Do we not have assistant coaches looking for these patterns, adjusting the play calling, and informing players? Do we not have assistant coaching pouring over game old game tapes looking for previous patterns and prepping our players? What is going on in the plush film rooms of the Bright complex?

I tried, really hard this time, but once again I failed.

I am optimistic about our upcoming football season. Yes, I am aware of the danger involved in having optimism for an Aggie football team. Damn it if this does not happen to me every year.

It started with the stories about our defense cutting loose and was sealed when I read that J-Train had dropped to a svelte 268 (down from 282 in the Holiday Bowl) and is looking to up his production to 1,000 yards and 24 TDs. Last year the Train put in 19 scores and had 725 yards on the ground. Our last G Pack rusher was Courtney Lewis in 2003. That was his (red shirt) Freshman year... f-ing injuries.

Another reason to be optimistic is the number of new guys who are challenging the old guys for starting spots. Sophomore Michael Shumard is locked up with senior Chris Yoder at guard and freshman Billy Chavis is vying for a spot at safety. This is perfect. You always want this kind of internal competition. The obvious reason is that it is good to have a bunch of talented/game-ready players. The added benefit is that the competition will also make these guys play better and practice harder.

Congrats to McGee for graduating with two years of eligibility left.

I took the red eye to the so-far-very-cool city of Portland, OR. While Portland is fun, sitting in an airport at 4:30AM is not fun. My pain was slightly eased by the obviously well informed Washington Post staff writer Steve Yanda, who filed the story titled "Texas A& M Looks for a Defensive Uprising." Yanda details what a bad ass Chris Harrington is (according to Steven McGee, Harrington's injuries were so bad last year that his shoulder was "just kind of hanging on") and how last year was about building confidence and this year is about busting heads. This is pretty much the same story that has been written in every other paper, just focusing on Harrington and printed in one of the most respected sports sections in the nation.

When we picked up Gary Darnell I thought it had to be one of Fran's last decisions. Going from 107th to 46th was more than enough to prove me wrong. Last year had to be about stopping the bleeding. This year he has given them the green light by promising he will not "judge [them] on [their] mistakes, as long as [they are] flying to the ball." In true Darnell style, "the turtle is way ahead of the hare." I have no clue what that means, but I love it.

The preseason coach's poll is out. We round out the list at #25. USC got 2/3 of the 1st place votes, I guess people expect them to be good this year. Other ranked Big-12 teams are Texas (4), OU (8), and Nebraska (18). In my opinion these rankings are bogus. Seems like teams should not be ranked until a few weeks into it. Preseason rankings are, in my opinion, the reason that Aubrun et al get screwed out of a title shot.

The legal troubles continue for the bad guys... Texas defensive tackle Andre Jones is accused of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, a first-degree felony. He currently is not in custody and an arrest warrant has been issued. This comes a week or so after another Texas player, linebacker Sergio Kindle, was arrested for DWI. Is Texas giving Miami a run for their money?

D-Back Japhus Brown couldn't cut it in the classroom and will not return for his senior season. Brown had 17 tackles last year in 11 with five starts. He is best remember (by me) for his interception in the Texas game. Damn it Brown! We need you.

In our first appearance since the 68-71 loss to UAB in the first round of the first Preseason NIT, we will be playing against a Sutton. ? No not THAT Sutton.? THAT Sutton doesn't coach any more. We will play the OTHER Sutton, Scott, from Oral Robers University. We will host two games in College Station, then move on to the semis and finals in Madison Square Garden.