Texas A&M Football: Linebackers Need To Improve If Aggies Want To Be Champions

As you would expect in the first game of the season, the A&M-SMU clash featured some bright spots for the Ags and some areas that needed improvement. The one position that stood out like a sore thumb was linebacker. It may be more appropriate to say the linebackers were the one position that did not stick out at all.

They were invisible for most of the night. In a scheme like the Aggies' 3-4, that is alarming because the linebackers, specifically the outside linebackers, are supposed to take a leading role.

Junior Sean Porter had his usual solid game by leading the team with 10 tackles and half a sack.

Junior Jonathan Stewart had arguably the best game of his career with five tackles and a tackle for loss, and probably ensured he will be starting at MLB against Idaho next week.

Senior Garrick Williams was not noticeable at all. This continues a disturbing trend for Williams who did not play good football the second half of 2010. He needs to pick it up or he may lose his job to true freshman Donnie Baggs.

The most glaring performance, or lack of said, came from OLB Caleb Russell. The senior plays the joker position for the Ags which is basically a license to create havoc. The joker at A&M is supposed to get into the backfield and wreak havoc. 

Russell barely caused a ripple as he ended the game with two tackles. In the first half he was constantly enveloped by the SMU left tackle on running plays. He needs to play better.

Defense wins championships, but the Aggie defense committed way too many mistakes in the first half to even talk about championships yet. Busted coverages in the secondary are understandable and easily corrected. A lack of play making from the joker position is simply unacceptable.

Sophomore joker Damontre Moore sat out the game as punishment for some off the field issues he had during the spring and summer. Moore should be available for the Idaho game. Moore, who was a Freshman All-American in 2010, was second on the team  with 5.5 sacks trailing only Von Miller. 

Moore can produce the kind of disruption that is needed at OLB for the A&M defense. The Ags need Russell and Moore to produce for them at the joker spot if they want to make a serious run at any kind of championship this year.