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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 1989)
1 '15, The Battalion SPORTS 9 her Lyr- : al party j J exchir Bizze •! : ng Inie' B'zze •: Friday, September 15,1989 illOWStlif; innifeifc Coaches tackle Aggies ’ otfensive woes By Richard Tijerina Of The Battalion Staff Texas A&M offensive coordinator Bob Toledo has heard the com- Park.F; ■ For [no! 30 p.m, am 110; :all Iran 7p.in.t h Studr Ol0p.B Wow: ublish Up is rerun Ifyou A&J IS to istry in an op- :er ac- science is wel :h pro- ■ more ofoni 1 . > Running back Darren Lewis hasn't been effective) Texas A&M is having trouble finding the endzone, auat-terback Lance Pavlas isn't throwing the football long enough and the Aggie offense is too conser vative. But complaints are easy to listen to. The hard part comes in finding the answers. The day before No. 22 A&M opens its Southwest Conference schedule against Texas Christian, Toledo and the rest of the coaching staff have to find the missing pieces to the puzzle that will get the Aggie offense rolling. A&M looked impressive in its 28- 16 upset over Louisiana State in the first game of the season. But even though Pavlas completed eight-of-11 for 114 yards and fullback Robert Wilson rushed for 121 yards, there were danger signs. Lewis, the nation’s top-returning rusher from last season, was touted as a contender for the 1989 Heisman Trophy. However, he has been inef fective thus far as opposing defenses have surged upon him to stop the rushed for but 107 yards on 32 car ries, Texas A&M at TCU • Site: Amon G. Carter Stadium • Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. • Ranking: A&M (22nd), TCU (un ranked) • Records: A&M (1-1), TCU (0-1) • TV/Radio: HSE (Ch. 25) tape de lay at 10:30 p.m.; KTAM (AM 1240) “(Defenses) are taking him out of the game plan,” Toledo said. “They’re smart. If I was defensing A&M I’d say we’d better stop Darren Lewis too and hope that the passing game isn’t big enough to beat me.” That passing game is the one el ement of the A&M offense that has looked effective. Toledo, who as of fensive coordinator led an efficient passing attack at Oregon last year, r last scheme — eliminating last year’s op tion for a controlled passing look. Under the new offense, Lewis has struggled as he dreams of the option and nghts for yards against swarm ing defenses. “One of the big things that turned him loose last year was the option,” Toledo said, "if you look at a lot of his long runs, the option was a big part of that. We’re not an option team right now.” Last week against Washington, A&M tried two option plays but nei ther were effective. Slocum said that with last year’s option specialist, redshirted junior quarterback Bucky Richardson, out for the season with a knee injury, opponents won’t see the play that much in 1989. “We’re not going to become an option football team,” Slocum said. “I would be more inclined to be more of a passing team. That’s what I ultimately want to evolve to.” Slocum said he was concerned about Lewis’ lack of contribution in the offense so far. “We need to come up with some more things to do,” Slocum said. “We’re not going to be good enough to just run tailback and fullback plays and beat good teams. We’ve got to throw the ball more.” Toledo said what the Aggies need more than anything else right now are effective plays on First downs. That might eventually lead to mere passes for Pavlas. "I don’t know how much we’ll be able to run wide right now,” Toledo said. "We need to concentrate more on running inside, making people stop that so we can run outside. We can’t be a run-the-ball-on-first-down type of team. We need to open it up a little bit and be more balanced on first downs.” Slocum said he accepts some of the blame for the team’s offensive “I have to some extent limited what we’ve done offensively,” Slo cum said. “In his career Pavlas has had some bad experiences by being thrust into See OfTense/Page 11 TCU’s Jiles will look for upset over A&M By Clay Rasmussen Of The Battalion Staff Texas Christian University quarterback Ron Jiles is a patient man. Recruited by TCU in 1985, Jiles was considered one of the Horned Frogs’ top blue-chip re cruits. After being redshirted his freshman year, Jiles broke his wrist during TCU’s spring work out and spent the next three years backing up starting quar terback David Rascoe. “It was a little frustrating,” Jiles said in a telephone interview Thursday, “but I had a lot of sup port from my family, friends, and (TCU) Coach Wacker. They helped me a lot, emotionally” It would take time and pa tience, though, until Jiles would get an opportunity to lead TCU. After Rascoe graduated last season, the starting spot was up for grabs, but Jiles still found himself playing backup. He went into spring workouts this year listed second on TCU’s depth chart behind freshman Leon Clay. Wacker had a difficult choice to make. The Horned Frogs switched from a run-oriented of fense to what TCU now has coined the “Triple Shoot.” The new offensive scheme re lies on three wide-receivers, a “su- perback” and centers around a strong-armed quarterback. Wacker felt Jiles Fit the bill. “He executes well,” Wacker said. “Actually, I’m more worried about his supporting cast than I am about Ron.” Texas A&M Coach R.C. cum feels See Jiles/Page 11 Slo- The only remedy for NFL egos is a salary cap, not big contracts The bloodiest part of the pro football year is over. Finally, the last of the 28 first-round draft choices have been signed. Once again it’s safe to watch ESPN without fear of being bombarded with flashy rookie holdouts, slimy agents and greedy owners. When Sammie Smith, the ninth overall Dick, signed with the Dolphins Monday, he Decame the last of the 28 to be inked. The rookie running back from Florida State signed a four-year deal reportedly worth $2.5 million. Less than a month ago, 18 of the 28 remained unsigned, and it wasn’t for lack of ink. Highly sought-after rookies have a right to ask for big contracts, but it’s become all too common to see them holding out for more money. This year’s skirmishes seemed particularly ugly. Who would have thought that a rookie offensive lineman would ever ask for $2 million per year? That’s what this year’s second pick, a- - .• >/cqbe but: vti■ d o.i Alan Lehmann Sports Writer former Michigan State lineman Tony Mandarich, demanded. When Green Bay refused, Mandarich said he wanted to play for Dallas or he’d fight Mike Tyson. But he didn’t have to put on boxing gloves to get big money. Last Tuesday, he reached a four-year deal with the Packers reportedly worth $4.4 million. We should have seen this lunacy coming whep Andre Rison became one of the first of the coveted 28 to sign. Rison, who some talent scouts regarded as a second-round pick, signed a multi-year deal with Indianapolis reportedly worth $3 million. To further complicate matters, Dallas signed Troy Aikman for $11.6 million over six years. Granted, Aikman looked good (for a rookie) last week, but $2 million a year for a quarterback who had never taken an NFL snap? Maybe Mandarich thought that with all the cash floating around, nobody would deny him $2 million. Poor Tony, if he’s still grumpy, he can use his education to figure out the exact number of Big Macs he’d have to flip to make a million bucks. Let’s get serious. The world of pro football has very little to do with the real world. But, does anyone in either world need more than $1 million per year? Randall Cunningham certainly seems to think so. Although he already has a contract that gaurantees him huge bucks for years to come, he’s still not happy- f. & S3* Cunningham isn’t the highest paid player in the NFL. At the moment, Bernie Kosar has that honor. So, Cunningham is asking to renegotiate his contract so that he will be the highest paid player in the league. Why? Does Cunningham really need to have more income than anyone else in the NFL? Does he have that many mouths to feed? Does he need some new wheels? No, probably not. It’s just greed. But, the big question is that if Cunningham gets a new contract, how will Kosar react? And how will all of the other stars in the league feel? You can see how this could lead to a bidding war. How can we avoid it? Well, colleges could require athletes to take a special economics class to teach them how to scrape by on $500,000 per year. How about a salary cap? The NBA has one. Why not use one for the NFL? True, it’s not the American way. Each kid should have the right to grow up to be the highest-paid football player in the world. Since a salary cap would endanger that right, don’t hold your breath for the NFL Player’s Association to suggest it. But, this childish bickering has no place in sports. Football players are called players because they are supposed to enjoy the game. A salary cap could give the owners and players less to argue about. Players could still be paid ridiculous sums to play a child’s game, but a maximum limit on pay should curb some of the league’s huge egos. I’m not under the illusion that it would work, but it’s a good idea. In the meantime, guys, let’s try to remember that it’s only a game. The fans pay your salaries so put the egos aside and play. Ask About Our New 3- said ICUSStl have ft jrns! Utlff intedl 1 "'1 d. t riaiii /cJ gesfl sts;:! FIRST FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS Help for the high cost of higher education. 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