Texas A&M Football: How John Chavis Will Fix Aggies Defense

The Texas A&M football team made a monumental statement when it went out and hired John Chavis to coach its defense. Chavis will fix the defense in 2015 and make the Aggies into a championship contender.

The Texas A&M offense under head coach Kevin Sumlin has had elite offenses. The defense has struggled to stop opposing teams, and that necessitated a change at defensive coordinator.

Sumlin fired defensive coordinator Mark Snyder and replaced him with John Chavis. The decision to go out and hire one of the top defensive coordinators in the country is a testament to the commitment of Sumlin and the Aggie program to winning.

Chavis' defense coupled with a typical Sumlin offense should make the Aggies competitive for SEC and national championships every year. His hire will be a game-changer for the Texas A&M program.

This is a look at how Chavis will mold the Aggies defense into one of the best units in the country.  

Simplify the Defense

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One of the major problems with Mark Snyder's defense was that it was too complicated for the players to execute. The players were too busy thinking about their responsibilities to simply react and make a play. 

A player who is thinking is a slow player. The Aggies would recruit some great athletes on the defensive side of the ball then make them a step slow by bogging them down with defensive assignments instead of allowing them to feature their athleticism. 

Chavis' defenses are simple enough for freshmen to grasp and excel in. He will allow the Aggies defenders to swarm to the ball. The players will be able to react and use their athleticism instead of having to worry about where they are supposed to be lined up in a certain formation against a certain scheme the offense is showing. 

Improved Tackling

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The LSU defense has been able to contain the Texas A&M offense for the last three years because of one simple reason: It tackles very well in space. 

The Aggies have struggled immensely to tackle well. The Texas A&M defense would have a player in place to make the play, only to see him miss the tackle and the opponent convert the play into a first down. 

If the Aggies were simply better at tackling on defense, they would likely improve their yardage allowed by 50 yards per game easily. Chavis taught the LSU defenders how to tackle in space, and he will do the same at A&M. 

The team that blocks and tackles consistently tends to win the ballgame. The Aggies have not been good at tackling for the past two seasons. That will change in 2015 under Chavis. 

Aggressive Mentality

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Mark Snyder wanted to make the opposing offense go the length of the field in order to score. His philosophy was that the odds favored the offense making a mistake and having to punt over it being able to sustain a long drive. 

This passive or "bend-but-do-not-break" philosophy was very frustrating to Aggie fans. Chavis does not believe in that kind of defense. 

Chavis will be aggressive and try to force the opponent to turn the ball over. He believes in playing man coverage on defense. Snyder wanted his cornerbacks to play off the receiver and come up and make plays. 

Chavis wants his corners to jam the receiver at the line of scrimmage and stay in their hip pocket down the field. Sophomore cornerback Victor Davis and senior corner De'Vante Harris should excel in a defense that features more man coverage. 

Chavis will also be willing to blitz more than Snyder did. You will rarely see Chavis' defense rush three and drop eight on 3rd-and-long, which was Snyder's tendency. 

The Aggies have always been able to put pressure on the opposition with their offense. Under Chavis they should be able to do it with their defense too. 

Utilize Defensive Line Depth

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The Aggies will have a nice defensive line rotation in 2015. John Chavis stepped into a situation where the Aggies will finally have the kind of depth up front that is needed to field an elite SEC defense. 

At defensive end they will be able to rotate Daeshon Hall, Myles Garrett, Qualen Cunningham, Jarrett Johnson, Darrell Jackson and Julien Obioha. They have Jay Arnold, DeShawn Washington, Zaycoven Henderson, Alonzo Williams, Hardreck Walker and Justin Manning on the interior. 

Chavis can use any combination of those players on the defensive line depending on the opponent. He could go to a pass-rushing package with Hall, Cunningham, Johnson and Garrett all lined up on the field at the same time. 

LSU always featured great defensive line play under Chavis, and Aggie fans should expect the same from their team as long as Chavis is the defensive coordinator. He will not hesitate to rotate fresh bodies in and get pressure on the opposing quarterback.