'Spy vs. Spy': Ags look to contain Arkansas' dual-threat QB Taylen Green
Even as an adolescent, I had an insatiable hunger to consume classic works of literature.
And by classic works of literature, I mean “Mad Magazine.”
Among the many great features included was “Spy vs. Spy,” a wordless comic strip in which adversarial agents scheme to outdo each other.
Perhaps that was the origin of a fascination with spies. From James Bond to Ethan Hunt to Maxwell Smart, I’ve found spies to be intriguing.
Yet, there is more intrigue with football spies and their schemes to neutralize the threat of running quarterbacks.
The Aggies face such a threat on Saturday afternoon.
Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green is ranked seventh in the Southeastern Conference in rushing with 325 yards.
Much of that yardage —probably most of it — is gained when the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Green escapes the pocket.
He scrambled for a 36-yard touchdown vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He bootlegged for a 31-yard gain vs. Oklahoma State. He scrambled for a 22-yard gain vs. Auburn.
Also, his scrambling ability bought time and led to a 58-yard touchdown pass vs. Auburn.
To combat similar off-schedule big plays, defensive coordinators devised a plan to utilize a “spy.”
Originally, a spy was a player — usually a safety or fast linebacker — designated to mirror the quarterback’s movement. If the quarterback left the pocket, the spy’s task was to hold him to a minimal gain or even a loss. But offensive coordinators developed ways to identify and exploit a spy. Therefore, defensive espionage became more sophisticated.
Texas A&M coach Mike Elko confirmed as much when asked about schemes to spy on Green.
“OK, we’re running an 11-man defense,” Elko said hypothetically. “It takes 11 people to fit the run. They’re going to call a play. They may run the football. We can’t just say, ‘OK, you spy the quarterback.’
“What you try to do (on) first and second down within each of your coverage structures, each of your defenses, is you’re trying to identify — as the play goes out — who kind of becomes the guy paying attention to (the quarterback) if he does pull the ball down.
“I don’t know if it’s specific to ‘this guy spies him.’ It’s kind of as the play unfolds, as the route concept develops, as the coverage develops who winds up in that spot that has to make sure he keeps secondary eyes on him.”
On a given play, two or more players could be possible spies. The offensive alignment, the flow of the play or just the direction the quarterback runs may dictate who the spy actually is.
There could be communication issues. If there is confusion, two players may act as the spy and a receiver likely comes open. If neither does, the quarterback could run for big yardage, especially if the secondary is in man-to-man coverage.
But A&M may have gotten a head start in preparing for Green when the Aggies faced Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard in the season opener.
“We’re a little bit fortunate because we had some preparation with this with Notre Dame,” Elko said. “We faced a dual-threat quarterback against Notre Dame that was a very similar type mindset in terms of how you have to go about this.
“That helps, but still, they present different challenges, so we’ve got to make sure we account for (Green).”
Keeping Green in the pocket would seem good enough. He’s completing just 53 percent of his passes, so minimizing his running threat should be a high priority.
Arkansas should have similar priorities.
Marcel Reed, A&M’s likely starting quarterback, has shown to be a dangerous scrambler. He escaped the pocket to pick up a first down on a 31-yard run vs. Florida.
The Razorbacks also figure to scheme to minimize Reed as a rushing threat.
It’s kind of like another version of “Spy vs. Spy.”
