Lane Kiffin Baffled By Texas A&M's Spring Football Practice, Jimbo Fisher's Comments About Offensive Schemes
Lane Kiffin cannot wrap his head around the way in which Texas A&M is approaching its spring football practice. He is also confused by how Jimbo Fisher looks at offenses across the country.
As the Aggies continue to prepare for their sixth season with Fisher at the helm, the offense is being led by the ever-controversial Bobby Petrino. Although nothing has been made official, the expectation is that he will call plays this fall, considering that A&M's offense struggled under Fisher's watch.
When speaking to Petrino's play-calling, Fisher refused to acknowledge that his new offensive coordinator could implement sweeping change. The Aggies offense could look very different. Assuming that it can't get much worse than a year ago, change will likely be an upgrade.
Fisher doesn't think so.
In his first news conference since hiring Petrino, the 57-year-old head coach was a bit standoffish.
It's not scheme, it's execution.
And then he applied that train of thought to the entire country.
Everybody does the same thing. There's not a hill of beans between anybody, as far as what goes on.
The comments are entirely inaccurate. A spread option offense looks very different than a pro style offense, which looks very different than the veer, which looks very different than pistol, which looks very different than the run-and-shoot. You get the idea.
Fisher was unable to admit that his offense needed an upgrade.
Kiffin found humor in what his SEC West counterpart had to say about offensive schemes. He could not believe that was a real thing that was said out loud and clued-in Kirby Smart on the ground-breaking revelation.
That was not the only part of Texas A&M's offensive focus that left Kiffin confused.
Lane Kiffin doesn't understand the use of a rugby ball.
As the Aggies got their spring ball underway, the tight ends group was working with a rugby ball instead of a football. Kiffin did not understand.
There are two sides to the rugby ball drill.
On one end, most rugby players would say that a rugby ball is rounder, bigger and typically easier to catch. It is designed to be spun and to be easily caught.
On the other end, using a rugby ball is something that the Giants tried last year. Wide receiver Darius Slayton said that it was a helpful tool. He caught 47 passes for 724 yards and two touchdowns last year.
Whether the rugby ball is a valuable tool or not, Kiffin does not understand it. Why not practice with an actual football?!
If Texas A&M tight ends have a phenomenal year, perhaps Fisher and Petrino's rugby ball approach will be more deserving of praise than ridicule. If not, and the Aggies go 8-8 (again), then the rugby ball will only be the butt of more jokes.