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You’ll have to excuse Texas A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis if he double and triple checks his GPS each morning. The former LSU DC has to be wondering if his move to College Station was all just a dream.
Nope, it’s just a bad case of deva vu.
Chavis left Baton Rouge and an offense with quarterback questions where points came at a premium, to the comforts of Aggieland and its high-flying attack where points seemed to be flying off the scoreboard.
That is until quarterback problems the last couple of weeks that included four interceptions by Alabama followed by a pass completion rate of 35 percent against Ole Miss rendering it as ineffective as any he’s seen down on the bayou.
It would be enough to make a coach at any position lose sleep. But this only seems to motivate the man they call “Chief” and his defenses over the years are proof of his commitment to the job.
Only seven games into his first season with the Aggies, Chavis is already making impressive strides in the defense. It won’t be confused with Alabama’s just yet, but Chavis’ defense is already better than what head coach Kevin Sumlin has had the last two seasons. But then again, everyone can say the same. The Aggies had the SEC’s worst defense both in 2013 and 2014.
However, that can’t be said in 2015. The Aggies are 10th of 14 teams in total yards allowed (391.6), which ranks 53rd nationally. That’s quite an improvement for an Aggies defense that ranked 100th or worse in five of the seven seasons under Sumlin, especially when you consider the amount of injuries sustained, particularly at linebacker.
The aggressive press-man coverage, coupled with surging defensive ends and a mystery fifth rusher, has the Aggies tied with Florida (among six other teams) for 19th nationally in sacks with 21. Of course, DE Myles Garrett is the primary beneficiary. The sophomore, who led the team with 11.5 sacks last year as a freshman, ranks fifth in the country with 8.5 so far this season.
It’s a vast improvement already over what Aggies fans have come to expect from their defense. Yes, Chavis has some catching up to do in terms of what he accomplished at LSU. Over seven years with the Tigers, Chavis’ defenses ranked among the elite and never finished below 26th in the nation. He had the No. 2 defense in 2011 and No. 3 in 2008.
But he’s still way ahead of the game in College Station as the Aggies work toward reaching those heights. Even in the two losses, the Aggies defense has hung tough. It allowed just one touchdown to both Alabama and Ole Miss, each making four trips to the red zone. Last season the Aggies yielded touchdowns an average of 90 percent of the time when opponents entered the red zone.
Yes, there’s work to be done against the run. That’s perhaps the area in most need of improvement at this stage in Chavis’ tenure.
But it’s clear to see that Chavis is putting his stamp on this defense and it is making a measurable different already. He, along with Aggie Nation will breathe a little easier when the offense gets back to its usual style of blowing fuses in scoreboards around the country.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
