Texas A&M Football: Adjustments Aggies Must Make During the Bye Week

The Texas A&M football team is 5-3 and riding a three-game losing streak. It needs to make some major adjustments during the bye week in order to salvage the rest of the season. 

The Aggies have lost three consecutive games to three top-10 teams in embarrassing fashion. They failed to even show up during a 59-0 loss at Alabama. 

Head coach Kevin Sumlin needs to reassess every aspect of the program, as nothing is beyond reproach at this point. Some changes in the coaching staff may be in order. 

This is a look at some adjustments the Aggies have to make during their bye week. 

Replace Jake Spavital as Offensive Coordinator

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During the first quarter of the Aggies 35-21 loss to Ole Miss, the Aggies did not attempt a pass of 10 yards or more beyond the line of scrimmage. Texas A&M was shut out in the first half of the Ole Miss game, a first for a Kevin Sumlin-coached team. 

Aggie offensive coordinator Jake Spavital did not learn anything from that experience, because he again refused to call downfield passes during the first quarter of the Alabama loss. 

Spavital's play-calling has become predictable and ineffective. When the Aggies are facing a short yardage situation on third or fourth down, everyone in the stadium knows that Spavital is going to call a run to Tra Carson up the middle. 

Sumlin needs to demote Spavital and take over the play-calling duties. The Aggies have always had an explosive offense during Sumlin's tenure, and he needs to call the plays in order to ensure the offense continues to reflect his offensive philosophy.

Return to Your Identity on Offense

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Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin has always featured an offense that spread the field, pressured defenses with tempo and used short to intermediate passes. The current version of the Aggie offense does not employ intermediate passes and is not using tempo at all. 

The Aggies need to return to their roots on offense. The need to go hurry-up, and throw passes that are 10-15 yards down the field. 

Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital has fallen into a rut where all he does is call passes near the line of scrimmage. He is not stretching defenses vertically. 

The Aggies need to get back to basics on offense and go with what has always worked. When Texas A&M spreads teams out and executes its offense at a fast pace, it can move the ball on any team in the country.

Spavital's play-calling over the past three games has been a good example of what not to do on offense.

Simplify the Defense

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Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin would be justified in firing defensive coordinator Mark Snyder. The Aggies are in the third year of his system and still struggle to tackle and make plays. 

The Aggies have a major talent deficiency at linebacker. However, that does not excuse the rest of the defense from not tackling. If Snyder is allowed to keep his job, then the Aggies need to simplify the defense. 

They need to attack the offensive players, wrap up and bring them to the ground. Right now it is common to see an Aggie defensive player wait for the offensive player to come to him. Then the defender often misses the tackle, and the result is a first down for the opposing offense. 

The lack of fundamentals on defense is frustrating for Aggie fans. Pick a base scheme, and learn to execute as well as you can. On the other hand, it may not matter if Texas A&M is in a 4-3, 3-4, 3-3-5 or 4-2-5. None of those schemes are going to cover up the fact that Jordan Mastrogiovanni and Justin Bass are not quality SEC linebackers. 

Simplify the defense and let the Aggie defenders react more instead of thinking. 

Utilize Mismatches on Offense

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

The Aggies offense have some play-makers at the skill positions that pose matchup nightmares for defensive coordinators. Texas A&M needs to focus on getting the ball to those players in positions to make plays. 

Ricky Seals-Jones is a 6'5", 240-pound receiver against whom defenses cannot match up. Cameron Clear is a 6'6", 270-pound tight end who is rarely thrown the ball. 

The Aggies should focus on getting Seals-Jones and Clear the ball in the middle of the field. There is no point in recruiting all these superior athletes if you are not going to use them. 

Sophomore quarterback Kenny Hill has appeared unsure of himself in the past two games. Giving him huge targets in the middle of the field like Clear and Seals-Jones should alleviate some of the pressure on him and allow for some easy throws and the ability to move the chains.

Clear and Seals-Jones should each be targeted a minimum of five times per game going forward.