Huntsville Times
Jones says Bulldogswere trapped by success
Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones said Monday his team started reading its press clippings instead of preparing for Grambling.
The Tigers whipped the Bulldogs 31-6 Saturday night, handing A&M its first loss of the season.
"If you go back and listen to me talk, I've been trying to warn against this," Jones said. "When you score 45 points per game and you do it consistently, people tend to see that and I think our kids bought into it.
"Then we lined up against our best opponent, and we didn't prepare mentally the way we should have. ... We got a little ahead of ourselves and you saw what happened."
As a result, when A&M returns to practice today, Jones said he won't have any problem getting his team to focus on Texas Southern.
"We understand where we are and where we need to be," he said. "It's going to be a lot easier getting their attention now."
Crowd a factor: Tight end John Smith said Grambling's crowd played a part in the Bulldogs' poor play.
The announced crowd of 7,831, Smith said, made it difficult on A&M.
"Most of our guys weren't used to playing in that environment," Smith said. "The crowd was hostile. When we were warming up, they were talking to us. They were rough, but you've got to be able to perform in that type of environment and we didn't do it."
A&M's offense, which entered the game averaging 45 points and 519 yards, managed just six points and 147 total yards.
"It was difficult because we know what we're capable of when we're clicking on all cylinders," said Smith, who caught three passes for 40 yards. "We just couldn't get going. We didn't execute like we did the first three games. We had a good game plan. We just didn't play like we're supposed to play."
Four honored: Tight end John Smith, defensive tackle Justin Harper, inside linebacker Avery Moland and kicker Jeremy Licea were honored as players of the week by the coaching staff for their play in the loss to Grambling.
Smith received recognition on offense after catching three passes for 40 yards. Smith's 24-yard catch before halftime helped set up Licea's 36-yard field goal with six seconds left in the half to allow A&M to pull within 17-6.
Harper and Moland shared the team defensive honor. Harper finished with nine tackles, including six solos, two tackles for loss and a sack while grading out 92 percent. Moland finished with 11 tackles, including nine solos, and one tackle for loss as he graded out 89 percent.
Licea was 2-for-2 on field goals. His 37-yarder was the longest of his career.
Reggie Benson
Jones says Bulldogswere trapped by success
Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones said Monday his team started reading its press clippings instead of preparing for Grambling.
The Tigers whipped the Bulldogs 31-6 Saturday night, handing A&M its first loss of the season.
"If you go back and listen to me talk, I've been trying to warn against this," Jones said. "When you score 45 points per game and you do it consistently, people tend to see that and I think our kids bought into it.
"Then we lined up against our best opponent, and we didn't prepare mentally the way we should have. ... We got a little ahead of ourselves and you saw what happened."
As a result, when A&M returns to practice today, Jones said he won't have any problem getting his team to focus on Texas Southern.
"We understand where we are and where we need to be," he said. "It's going to be a lot easier getting their attention now."
Crowd a factor: Tight end John Smith said Grambling's crowd played a part in the Bulldogs' poor play.
The announced crowd of 7,831, Smith said, made it difficult on A&M.
"Most of our guys weren't used to playing in that environment," Smith said. "The crowd was hostile. When we were warming up, they were talking to us. They were rough, but you've got to be able to perform in that type of environment and we didn't do it."
A&M's offense, which entered the game averaging 45 points and 519 yards, managed just six points and 147 total yards.
"It was difficult because we know what we're capable of when we're clicking on all cylinders," said Smith, who caught three passes for 40 yards. "We just couldn't get going. We didn't execute like we did the first three games. We had a good game plan. We just didn't play like we're supposed to play."
Four honored: Tight end John Smith, defensive tackle Justin Harper, inside linebacker Avery Moland and kicker Jeremy Licea were honored as players of the week by the coaching staff for their play in the loss to Grambling.
Smith received recognition on offense after catching three passes for 40 yards. Smith's 24-yard catch before halftime helped set up Licea's 36-yard field goal with six seconds left in the half to allow A&M to pull within 17-6.
Harper and Moland shared the team defensive honor. Harper finished with nine tackles, including six solos, two tackles for loss and a sack while grading out 92 percent. Moland finished with 11 tackles, including nine solos, and one tackle for loss as he graded out 89 percent.
Licea was 2-for-2 on field goals. His 37-yarder was the longest of his career.
Reggie Benson
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