SB Nation - Cyril Obiozor

NFL Games To Watch This Week: Aggies In The NFL

Beergut — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:46:21 -0000

There are 24 Aggies playing for NFL teams. In order to watch them play, here are the games to watch:

Player	Games
Martellus Bennett	Dallas Cowboys @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rocky Bernard	Washington Redskins @ New York Giants
Red Bryant	St. Louis Rams @ Seattle Seahawks
Melvin Bullitt	Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts
Dan Cambell	Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints
Jason Carter	Philadelphia Eagles @ Carolina Panthers
Corey Clark	San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders*
Ron Edwards	Kansas City Chiefs @ Baltimore Ravens
Robert Ferguson	Miami Dolphins @ Atlanta Falcons
Mike Goodson	Philadelphia Eagles @ Carolina Panthers
Danny Gorrer	Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints
Geoff Hangartner	Philadelphia Eagles @ Carolina Panthers
Chris Harrington	Denver Broncos @ Cincinnati Bengals
John Jolly	Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers
Shane Lechler	San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders*
Stephen McGee	Dallas Cowboys @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Seth McKinney	Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots*
Mike Montgomery	Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers
Don Muhlbach	Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints
Cyril Obiozor	Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers
Cody Wallace	San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals
Ty Warren	Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots*
Pat Williams	Minnesota Vikings @ Cleveland Browns
Billy Yates	Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots*

Each player's team is bolded. * Monday night game

SB Nation 2009 Big 12 Preview: Texas A&M

Beergut — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:31:32 -0000

SB Nation Big 12 Preview: In conjunction with The Ralphie Report, all Big 12 blogs are previewing their teams. The conference preview will run over at The Ralphie Report tomorrow, but A&M's preview is running today.

Texas A&M Offense: A&M returns 8 starters on offense, with virtually all of their skill position talent returning. QB Jerrod Johnson will be leading the offense for his second season, and WRs Jeff Fuller, Ryan Tannehill, Terrence McCoy will lead our passing attack. Tight end Jamie McCoy also returns, as does offensive linemen Evan Eike, Kevin Matthews, and Lee Grimes. Top backup RB Cyrus Gray will be the starter in the offensive backfield next to Johnson, although he may share playing time with Christine Michael. The offense averaged 5.3 yds per play last season, and a poor 340.9 yds per game total offense. If A&M is to have a winning season and go to a bowl, those numbers have to improve.

The Running Game: A&M averaged a pathetic 2.9 yds per carry on the season, while averaging 88.5 yds rushing per game, good for last place in the Big 12 in rushing offense. On the season, A&M rushed for a total of 1062 yds; to put that in perspective, Oklahoma had two running backs (Chris Brown and Demarco Murray) who gained more yds rushing than that individually. The return of three starters on the offensive line would seem to be an advantage for our rushing attack in 2009, but when it was some of the same players who manned a poor line last season, you have to question how much of an advantage that returning experience is. Right now, the starting offensive line in Fall Camp is Lucas Patterson and Lee Grimes at tackle, Mike Shumard and Matt Allen at guard, and Kevin Matthews at center. There has been some movement of Patterson from let tackle to right tackle on different days in camp, so it is unknown yet exactly who will start where. With the return of Gray and redshirt sophomore Bradley Stephens, and the addition of true freshman Christine Michael, A&M has the talent at running back to have an effective rushing attack. The question is whether or not we will have the blocking up front to get the job done on the ground.

The Passing Game: A&M returns record-setting starting QB Jerrod Johnson, who currently holds the records for most TD passes in a season (21), and most passing yards in a game for an A&M QB (419 yards vs. Kansas State). A&M also returns two record-setting wide receivers in freshman Jeff Fuller (most TD receptions for an A&M WR, with 9) and Ryan Tannehill (freshman record for receptions in a season, with 55). With John Mackey Award candidate Jamie McCoy returning at TE (43 receptions, 500 yds, 5 TDs), and senior Howard Morrow, freshmen Kenric McNeal, and Uzome "EZ" Nwachukwu providing quality depth at WR, A&M's passing game looks to continue to excel in 2009. The Aggies averaged 252.4 yds passing per game last season, a number that should rise with the return of so much skill position talent, and the implementation of a no-huddle spread attack this season.

Texas A&M Defense: Texas A&M was horrific on defense last season, no other way to put it. If the Aggies can improve to just being an average defensive team this season, i.e. giving up an average of 250 yds per game passing and 150 yds per game rushing, so giving up right at 400 yds per game in total offense, we will win enough games to be in a bowl game. The defense returns only 5 starters, but that may not be a bad thing, considering we gave up an average of 462 yds and 37 points per game last season.

Defensive Line: The Aggies lost both defensive ends as Michael Bennett and Cyril Obiozor used up their eligibility. They will be replaced by junior college transfer Matt Moss on the strongside, and hybrid Jack linebacker Von Miller on the weakside. Walk-on defensive end Spencer Nealy may also see significant time this season. On the interior line, A&M returns two players who saw extenisve action in 2008, with Eddie Brown returning at defensive tackle, where he started two games, and Tony Jerod-Eddie returning at nose tackle, where he started seven games last season. Redshirt freshman Rod Davis will provide key depth inside. As I have noted before, the key to improvement on our defense starts up front.

Linebackers: Von Miller is expected to be the Aggies' biggest playmaker this season, coming from his Jack linebacker position. Former MLB Matt Featherston will back up Miller at the Jack position. The middle of our linebacking corps will be manned by freshman Kyle Mangan, nicknamed "Ice Cream" by his teammates. Garrick Williams and Ricky Cavanaugh are battling for the other outside linebacker position. Linebacker is one area where an infusion of young talent and speed can really help us.

Secondary: A&M returns safety Trent Hunter and cornerback Jordan Pugh in the secondary, although Pugh has now been moved to safety. Backup Justin McQueen is currently running first team at one cornerback, and Jordan Peterson has moved from free safety, where he started last season, to compete for the spot with McQueen. True sophomore Terrence Frederick is the starter at the other CB spot and has had a very strong camp. I would argue that we were actually okay in the secondary last season, because Trent Hunter is a difference-maker at safety. Considering the fact that our cornerbacks and safeties had to stop the run AND cover the opposing receivers all the time, they didn't do too badly last year. With the improvement in the front seven of our defense this season, there is reason for hope for a solid season from our secondary. I don't look for us to be world-beaters, but we should be okay, and Trent Hunter should receive serious consideration for some post-season awards.

Overall prediction for A&M: I think we'll finish 4th or 5th in the Big 12 South, going 6-6 or 7-5. Is that overly optimistic? Maybe. I am a fan, after all. I think wins over Iowa State, Colorado, Kansas State, and Baylor can be expected in conference. Swing games that will define our season are aganst Arkansas in Arlington, Texas Tech in Lubbock, and texas in College Station.

Texas Tech Opponent Prospectus // Texas A&M Aggies

Seth C — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:00:11 -0000

2009 Texas Tech Opponent Prospectus

Game 1: North Dakota Fighting Sioux // Game 2: Rice Owls // Game 3: Texas Longhorns // Game 4: Houston Cougars // Game 5: New Mexico Lobos // Game 6: Kansas State Wildcats // Game 7: Nebraska Cornhuskers // Game 8: Texas A&M Aggies

Head coach Mike Sherman is in year two of the rebuilding project that is the Texas A&M Aggies. After the past two years, there's no doubt in my mind that Dennis Franchionne left the program in complete shambles and now Sherman is left cleaning up the pieces.

Join me after the jump for a closer look at Texas A&M.

General Information

Opponent	Texas A&M University
Nickname	Aggies
Location	College Station, TX
Enrollment	38,430 (Undergraduates)
Conference	Big 12
Head Coach	Mike Sherman
2008 Record	4-8 (2-6)
Starters Returning/Lost	16/6
Blogs	I Am The 12th Man Texas A&M & Baseball In No Particular Order
Links	2009 Media Supplement (pdf) 2009 Spring Game Wrap-Up

Statistics


Statistic	Texas A&M	Texas Tech
Pass Offense	252.42 (27)	413.15 (1)
Rush Offense	88.50 (114)	117.84 (94)
Total Offense	340.92 (78)	531.00 (4)
Scoring Offense	25.00 (64)	43.77 (3)
Pass Efficiency	135.25 (35)	158.76 (9)
Sacks Allowed	3.25 (115)	1.00 (4)
Pass Defense	242.67 (95)	242.23 (94)
Rush Defense	219.25 (114)	140.38 (61)
Total Defense	461.92 (114)	382.62 (79)
Scoring Defense	37.42 (114)	27.85 (74)
Pass Efficiency Defense	144.41 (108)	130.56 (72)
Sacks	1.33 (100)	2.62 (18)
Tackles For Loss	4.83 (97)	4.85 (95)
Turnover Margin	-0.83 (104)	0.62 (22)

Top Returners

Category	Player
Rushing	Cyrus Gray (75 / 389 yds / 1 TD)
Passing	Jerrod Johnson (194-326 / 2,435 yds / 21 TD / 10 Int)
Receiving	Ryan Tannehill (55 rec. / 844 yds / 5 TD)
Tackles	Matt Featherston (94)
Sacks	Von Miller (3.5)
Interceptions	Trent Hunter (3)

A Few Things

Young Defense: The defense returns seven players, and although the Aggies weren't great defensively (a lot of teams were in the Big 12, including your Red Raiders) I think there's always something to be said for experience and as a team with good talent, that experience eventually pays off. The nice thing about the TAMU defense is that the Aggies aren't having to replace an entire unit (i.e. defensive line, linebacker, and secondary), which give the some consistency to this unit. Perhaps the biggest need for this unit is to force more turnovers. The offense could do a better job of holding onto the ball, but defensively, the Aggies probably need to force the issue a bit and with second year defensive coordinator, Joe Kines, I think that will eventually happen.
Rushing Duo: Returning running back Cyrus Gray and true freshman Christine Michael should prove to be a formidable rushing duo. Gray didn't necessarily light the world on fire last year (75/363/1 TD), behind incumbent Mike Goodson, but he did finish just under 5 yards per attempt. Michael is being touted as one of the top freshman in the country and despite the contempt for the Aggies, don't dismiss the fact that they do have talented players and Michael should be one of them.
Building a Line: The Aggies return four starters from last year, replacing their right tackle, and most of these guys were fairly young. Again, the concept that although the line wasn't very efficient last year, only 2.91 yards rushing and giving up 39 sacks (good for 115th in the nation) last year there's the potential for improvement. Of those players returning, OG Lee Grimes will be a senior, C Kevin Matthews will be a senior, OG Evan Eike will be a sophomore, and OT Michael Shumard will be a senior, so it appears that right now, TAMU will need to replace at least two starters next year.
Receiving Threats: TAMU returns their top three receiving threats from last year, and I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that I really like both of the Aggies' wideouts, Ryan Tannehill (55/844/5 TD) and Jeff Fuller (50/630/9 TD). Not to mention, TE Jamie McCoy had a pretty good year, catching 43 passes for 500 yards and 5 TD's.
Getting to the QB: Getting pressure on the quarterback, including sacks and tackles for a loss, is a big problem for the Aggies. TAMU only mustered 16 sacks for the year in 2008, which was good for 100th in the nation. The bad part is that the Aggies return Von Miller, but lose three of the top four pass rushers in Cyril Obiozor, Danny Gorrer and Johnathan Baston. That's 7 of TAMU's 16 sacks for the year gone due to graduation.
Pressure on Johnson: Personally, I like Jerrod Johnson at quarterback for the Aggies and think that he's a pretty good quarterback. When it was known that WR Ryan Tannehill was going to push Johnson at QB, I wasn't sure if this as the best use of Tannehill's talents, especially after seeing him catch 5 passes for 104 yards against Texas Tech. I don't know that I know Mike Sherman, but I can understand the concept of needing to push players at every position. This is something that Mike Leach often does, which is make it known that his starting quarterback is being pushed by the backup, although most of us know that there's little chance of the backup having much of a chance. It's artificial pressure, but I get the feeling that this can affect the player. In any event, I have no doubt that Tannehill is a talented QB, he seems like the kind of guy that is good at just about anything, but I think it would take a monumental push from Tannehill to unseat the incumbent, Jerrod Johnson.

Poll

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most worried and 1 being the least worried, how worried are you about the Texas A&M Aggies?

1

186 votes

2

136 votes

3

84 votes

4

21 votes

5

34 votes

461 votes | Poll has closed

Cyril Obiozor Is A Green Bay Packer

Beergut — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:03:38 -0000

Cyril Obiozor signs on as a free agent with the Green Bay Packers, where Mike Sherman was formerly the head coach and general manager. The Packers project Obiozor as an outside linebacker, even though he played defensive end in the 4-3 and 4-2-5for most of his time at A&M.

With the use of the zone blitz, A&M put their defensive ends back in coverage, though, so Obiozor has soem experience dropping off the line and covering TEs and RBs.

At 6'4, 270 lbs, Obiozor has the size to contain the outside and stop the run, and his 4.7 speed means he can move in drop coverage, and rush the passer.

Here is hoping Obiozor finds a permanent spot on the Packers' 53 man roster next Fall.