5 Things the Aggies Learned from Last Year

The Texas A&M Football Team learned multiple lessons about themselves during the disappointing 2011 season. The 7-6 season was not what the coaches, fans or players had in mind for their farewell tour of the Big 12.

Their disappointing season led to the firing of the coaching staff and Kevin Sumlin is the new leader of the A&M program. Whether or not his players can learn from their mistakes in 2011 will go a long way towards determining what kind of success the Aggies can have in the Southeastern Conference in 2012.

This is a look at five things that the Aggies learned from the 2011 season.

Ben Malena Is a Solid College Running Back

Ben Malena proved in 2011 that he can be counted on to carry the ball 20-30 times per game. He is a solid running back who will give you a quality effort when he is needed. Malena is not going to rush for 150 yards and four touchdowns in a game.

He is not going to be a superstar. Malena will consistently get three to six yards per carry throughout a game. He needs to work on his blocking and improve his speed but he can be counted on when the starter goes down.

Malena is not going to carry the team to a win, but offers the adequate threat of a running game no matter who the opponent is.

You Need to Finish Games

The irony about the 2011 season was that I felt in the SEC in 2012 was when the Aggies were going to have problems finishing games. In the SEC no lead is safe and games are often decided in the fourth quarter.

Les Miles has made a career of coming back against seemingly insurmountable odds and winning games late at LSU.

Instead, the Aggies spent 2011 proving that no second-half lead was safe. There are various opinions floating around over why these second-half collapses happened. Some think it was a conditioning issue, some think the defensive coaching was poor while others blame the offense. 

The bottom line is that in 2012 the Aggies are going to need to learn how to put teams away in the second half.

The Seniors Need to Lead the Team

The 2011 team was devoid of leadership from the seniors. There was no one who stepped up at deciding points in the game and made plays consistently.

Some games Ryan Tannehill would make the right throws and they would be dropped by the receiver or tight ends. Some games he seemed to go out of his way to lose the game by himself.

Terrence Frederick made some big plays but he also dropped some key interceptions that could have finished off teams.

The seniors on the 2012 squad like Sean Porter and Christine Michael need to lead the team on and off the field. They need to step up and make plays to put teams away, and hold their teammates accountable if they are not putting in the effort required to be champions.

Trying to Be Balanced on Offense Can Get You Beat

One of the more frustrating aspects of the 2011 season was watching Mike Sherman attempt to make the offense balanced when the Ags were killing a team by simply running or throwing the ball. It was almost as if Sherman had a disorder that made him have to achieve equality between the run and the pass.

Sherman refused to run the ball in the second half against Oklahoma State despite the Ags gashing the Cowboys in the first half. He insisted on passing the ball in the second half against Texas when the only way Texas's anemic offense could score points was if they were set up by turnovers from the Texas defense.

A&M lost games because the offense did not stick with what was working. Contrast that with the TicketCity Bowl, where the then Houston offensive coordinator passed the ball play after play because Penn State could not stop it.

In 2012 the Ags need to simply stick with what is working on offense. Make the opposing defense stop you instead of doing it yourself with play calling.

Not Performing Will Get Your Coach Fired

It is really a simple concept. If you do not perform to your abilities and win games on the field your coach will likely be fired.

Some of the Aggie football players expressed disappointment when Sherman was fired and that is to be expected. They need to understand that if they like their coach then they need to perform to keep him as their coach.

There is no one to look at but yourself when you drop passes that could win the game, and then your coach if fired because you lost the game. If a A&M football player wants to know why Sherman was let go after the 2011 season then they need to look in the mirror.