Texas A&M football: 4 takeaways from embarrassing loss to Mississippi State
By Jeff Shull
Can’t generate pass rush without blitzes
Mike Elko has done a great job with this Texas A&M defense this season for the most part. The big issue facing this team has been their pass defense. The coverage has been poor and the team cannot generate pass rush with just four rushers.
When you have to bring extra players to generate pressure, it’s puts the onus on the defensive backs to cover well. These plays are mostly successful in creating stops, but Elko can’t bring pressure on every single down or it becomes predictable. The Aggies struggled to get pressure outside of these blitzes and it killed them on the three scoring drives.
On each of those big third down plays mentioned earlier, Elko elected to bring four and drop seven. It gave Fitzgerald all day to throw and he was able to make crucial plays that decided the outcome of the game.
Elko needs to be able to count on players like Landis Durham to generate pressure and make life hell for opposing quarterbacks. The defensive line has been one of the best run-stopping units in the country so far, but the pass rush leaves much to be desired.