Sports column: Reason for Lions' woes not totally in the players

With all the drama surrounding the A&M-Commerce football team the past week, amped up a quarterback change and subsequent exclusive interview with new starting quarterback J.J. Harp, I was ready to write an editorial targeted at the new signal-caller, and honestly, I was ready to criticize his performance.

However, after a shaky first start against Incarnate Word, Harp bounced back to put up solid numbers in last weekend's loss to Tarleton State. Now, before you get the wrong idea, I'm not about to hammer out a few hundred words praising our new quarterback here at A&M-Commerce, but I'm also not going to attribute a large portion of the blame to him either.

Nope, if you take a look back at the first six games of the 2011 season, I think there's plenty of blame to go around for the Lions' 0-6 record (the worst start in program history since 1926), and I'll dish it out appropriately.

It's not exactly difficult to see where things are going wrong if you appreciate statistics the way I do, and it's not at all difficult to find numbers to support my argument if you know where to look, and when you put the Lions up against the other Lone Star Conference teams, it's even easier to point the finger.

Take the Lions' offense, for example; this unit ranks last in the LSC in points per game (22.3), a number that has been boosted in a big way thanks to big plays by the defense and special teams that resulted in touchdowns. In total offense, the Lions are eighth out of nine teams, ahead of only Incarnate Word by a measly 4.5 yards.

The passing game – which now ranks fifth in the LSC – has been helped tremendously by Harp's return, but the rushing offense is absolutely atrocious, ranking dead last in the conference with a putrid 57.5 yards per game. That number could be the result of the Lions only running the ball an LSC-low 144 times, but the Lions average just 2.4 yards per carry and have just one touchdown on the ground.

The defense is certainly not off the hook, allowing a conference-high 38.8 points per game while ranking sixth in total defense (427.7 yards per game). The secondary is not too bad, ranking fourth in the LSC, but the rushing defense is getting torched for 192.5 yard per game, next to last in the LSC.

The special teams unit has its problems, too. The Lions have hit only .769 percent on extra points (ninth) and .444 percent on field goals (eighth), including several blocked kicks that certainly don't help.

But the players don't deserve to shoulder the entire burden – that's where the coaching staff comes in. It's becoming more and more obvious that Guy Morriss' five-year plan isn't panning out the way it was drawn up. There was a lot of rumor floating around campus following the loss to Incarnate Word that an immediate change could be coming. But to that, my question is this: if Morriss gets the pink slip, who steps into the interim role?

From the conversations I've had with a number of sources, offensive coordinator Dan Lounsbury seems to be the first choice if the coaching tree were to receive a firm shake, but at the same time, those same sources aren't too high on Lounsbury, for a number of reasons. However, they all seem to be huge supporters of defensive coordinator Brian Williams, a young, energetic coach that could pump some life into this Lions team.

I'm not prepared to start campaigning for one coach or the other, but I'll simply say that when a team is struggling as much as A&M-Commerce has in 2011, it seems to me like a change is inevitable, and that kind of change tends to start at the top.

The Lions will have their best chance at a win this weekend as they celebrate homecoming against Angelo State, the only other LSC team without a win in conference play. All blaming aside, I'd love to see the Lions win this weekend, but if the losing streak hits seven, prepare yourself. There could be some big changes in the not-so-distant future.