The game plan the Tennessee Vols will need to use to beat Texas A&M is obvious
The Tennessee Vols have had a lot of success running the ball this season, but they'll almost certainly need to lean on the passing game a bit more to beat the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday. Texas A&M has a terrific front seven which has been great against the run this season (the Aggies have […]
The Tennessee Vols have had a lot of success running the ball this season, but they'll almost certainly need to lean on the passing game a bit more to beat the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday.
Texas A&M has a terrific front seven which has been great against the run this season (the Aggies have the No. 8 run defense in the nation).
The Aggies' secondary, however, has been suspect. Texas A&M is extremely vulnerable to deep vertical shots and throws to the boundary.
As a result, Texas A&M is blitzing an extreme amount to prevent opposing offenses from having a chance to throw the ball down the field. According to 247Sports/PFF, the Aggies blitzed Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe on 70 percent of his drop backs last Saturday. That approach led to mostly man coverage against Alabama's receivers.
I'd expect the Aggies to deploy a similar approach against Tennessee this weekend.
Gig Em 247 pointed out that Alabama attacked the Aggies' boundary with short throws when the cornerbacks played soft coverage. That's something that Tennessee has done well this season.
Essentially, Tennessee will likely need to use their running backs in pass protection to help pick up the blitzes. And Vols quarterback Joe Milton will need to be accurate on his throws to the boundary (which he has been this season).
And when Milton gets a chance down the field for a deep shot, which will only happen if the protection holds up, he can't miss those shots. If Milton can hit the deep shots when they're available, the Vols will likely win. If he misses those throws, it will mean that Tennessee will have to be incredibly efficient in the short throw game. It goes without saying, but they can't afford three-and-outs.
One reason for optimism for the Vols on Saturday is that Alabama didn't play well on the road against Texas A&M (and the crowd was very, very loud) and they still managed to handled the Aggies' pressure fairly well.
With center Cooper Mays back and closer to 100 percent after the bye week, the Vols should have a pretty good chance at handling Texas A&M's pressure.
If the Vols execute on Saturday, they could cruise in this game. Outside of taking away the run, the way Texas A&M will likely attack the Vols' offense plays into what Tennessee wants to do in the passing game. And the absence of zone coverage for the Aggies should help Milton eliminate any potential mistakes.
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