Sports
The Battalion
Page IB • Tuesday, September 17, 2002
ffense should learn from Wrecking Crew
|)e fense dominates again while offensive struggles continue to plague A&M
Dallas Shipp
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$25 Cash
16-6117
hen people
think of Texas
A&M football,
pink of defensive,
d-n seil, smash-
iuth. in-your-face
)tblll. That is because
■re i a distinct difler-
pe lie tween the offense and the defense of the
,;gieI football team — attitude, and lots of it.
Members of Texas A&M’s famed Wrecking
ew defense know who they are and what they
; made of. They have an identity that the
fense hasn’t had in recent memory and is still
ug£ ng to find two games into the 2002
mp;
Th *
affens
e goes through
ch \
ek ho
ping to score
fbfiih
to wii
^ while the defense
for<
i to It
old the opponent to
tier* !
no no
•inis week in and
Leek >ut. Although it may be a
|w V
ir, it’s
the same old story.
Q So
omon
2 quarterback
instil 1
-ong.
who many believe
■ the e
ailing
candidate to start
C as v
kend
against Virginia
T BEAD
Ave.. Suitf;
w-^hh*** , ch summe d up the offense':
Station . . 11 .1
titu le this year.
94- I 103 “iBoth defenses are ranked
Managemeit rett > «gh»” Long said. “As an
ffense we’re just going to score
$ m; ny points as we can, we know our defense
dll keep us in the game."
The offense relies too much on the Wrecking
reu to bail them out of every game
big part of the offense's trouble is leader-
ttle of lotio'hip. It will never get the identity it is looking for
>..n « i*,mi fhKput a reliable, confident leader at the quar-
> oo o/ ertnuk position.
^rris has not provided leadership for this
Offensive unit and now it appears that Long will
be th> man until fan-favorite Reggie McNeal is
ead> to take the reigns.
, Meanwhile, the guys on the other side of the
3 yall quietly do their job. They aren’t worried
pbout doing enough to win the game — they
44
It doesn't matter
to me if they run the
ball or throw the
bally we can stop
them not matter
what they do.
5%
>FF
irber
want to dominate it.
The Aggies' front seven has not allowed a
100-yard rusher in 14 consecutive regular season
games and has allowed only five 100-yard rushers
in the last 34 games, an incredible feat when con
sidering the talented running backs in the Big 12.
In 2001, the Wrecking Crew held Oklahoma
State’s Tatum Bell to 94 yards, Texas’ Cedric
Benson managed just 79 yards, and Texas Tech’s
Ricky Williams was held to a minuscule 48
yards.
The 2002 edition of the Wrecking Crew has
been equally impressive, holding its opponents to
33.5 yards per game on the ground, the best
rushing defense in the nation.
Virginia Tech touts two of the
top running backs in the Big
East in Kevin Jones and Lee
Suggs, who each rushed for
more than 150 yards against
Marshall on Thursday night. But
they do not intimidate anyone on
the Wrecking Crew. In fact many
of the players are looking for
ward to it.
“It doesn’t matter to me if they
run the ball or throw the ball, we
can stop them no matter what
they do,” said redshirt freshman
Jaxson Appel. “Defense is what
A&M is all about and we have
pride in the Wrecking Crew.
“We haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 14
straight games, and that’s something we are
proud of. We want to make it 15.”
Appel isn’t the only member of the Wrecking
Crew that is fired up about facing a top-notch
running attack like Virginia Tech’s.
Senior linebacker Jarrod Penright said it's
about respect and going out there and proving
that the Wrecking Crew is one of the best
defenses in the country.
“If we didn’t have that attitude, we shouldn’t
be on the Wrecking Crew,” Penright said.
For the Aggies sake, that attitude had better
spread to the other side of the ball before another
season goes to waste.
— Jaxson Appel
Freshman Safety
John C. Jjvas • THE BATTALION
Freshman safety Jaxson Appel (19) closes in on Pittsburgh quarterback Rod Rutherford (12). Appel has
already become a leader on the Wrecking Crew in his first year as a starter.
upon
visits.
not the
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alignment
el m 8
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savings
[-8575
’RIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
Weekend Warm-Up
dder Plaza* 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Free Food
Live Music
Performance
Martin Short
with special guest
Mark Curry
Reed Arena • 8:00 p.m.
Opening performances by
the Singing Cadets,
Percussion Studio
and the Aggie Wranglers
(hr hmin
,irc» 10/15/02
hursdaV
M.uh
I’lns l o 202.
Math Ml
, Suitf Ibt
coin
Midnight Yell Practice
Kyle Field
ATURDAY. SEPTEMBER 21
Cook-Off Classic “BBQ”
Judder Plaza *11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.
Featuring Live Music from
Honeybrowne and Owen Temple
First Yell
September 20-21, 2002
The Yell Leaders and MSC Town Hall present
Martin Short
with Mark Curry
Reserve student tickets on sale
Wednesday, Sept. 4 th
F O K
Texas A&M vs. Virginia Tech
Kyle Field • 2:30 p.m.
iase
vice
■ ■
Brought to you by:
12™
frMsr. _
&
Tickets on sale now....
Reed Arena
MSC Box Office
Ticketmaster
or call (979) 845-1234
http: //yell. t amu. edu
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