Samuel: On August 3, 2016, I realized a lifelong dream. I saw Guns N’ Roses live in concert. Now, for some the fact that only three of the five members who made “Appetite for Destruction” were there made this band a knock-off. But I defy anyone who was there when they closed the show with “Paradise City” to say these guys were impostors. Maybe it wasn’t all of the guys. But it was the spirit of the bunch, and it sounded great.

What does that have to do with Aggie football? Well, a lot in my twisted brain. The question this week is whether the Wrecking Crew is back. I say it is.

No, it’s not the undefeated 1994 squad that allowed 147 points in 11 games (including 21 in a tie of SMU in San Antonio, for some reason) or the 1991 team that led the nation in total defense despite losing 35-34 to Tulsa in a game that still gets some old Ags’ blood boiling.But the game has changed.

In 2015, 57 teams averaged at least 30 points per game in the NCAA. In 1991, there were 21. Because of things like Texas summer 7-on-7 leagues, the Air Raid, more and more 6’4” wide receivers and the tightening of rules on pass defenses, offenses around the country have become more prolific than ever. So the chances that a team is every going to allow 147 points in one season are somewhere between unlikely and ain’t never gonna happen.

Where does that leave the Wrecking Crew title? In context, I say. We don’t judge Edd Hargett as a guy who threw one more touchdown than interception in his Aggie career and call him a stiff. He was an integral part of three memorable Aggie teams, one of which beat Bear Bryant in the Cotton Bowl. We don’t look at John David Crow and wonder why the guy won the Heisman with 562 yards rushing (and five interceptions on defense). We just recognize that the game has changed over the years and the numbers aren’t what they used to be.

This is the University of Tradition. Don’t do anything twice in Aggieland, lest someone find out about it and make up T-shirts and you’ll have to do it every year from then on. Why on earth would we run from the tradition of the Wrecking Crew? We have a scoreboard for the dead mascots. Why not embrace a culture that celebrates being the program of Von Miller, Dat Nguyen, Jason Webster, Sam Adams, Aaron Glenn, John Roper, Johnny Holland, Ed Simonini, Lester Hayes…the list goes on and on.

Think it wouldn’t help in recruiting if a kid saw a big third down stop and the crowd lit into the “Wrecking Crew” chant and he he saw the T-shirts all over the stadium? The Wrecking Crew title was stripped away by Dennis Franchione, a man any thinking Ag knows didn’t understand this place at all. I’m not entirely convinced that he wasn’t the Fifth Column. Fran said in a 2004 article,"That's not something that is just given to you. You need to go out and earn it, play in that fashion...defense at Texas A&M will always be the Wrecking Crew. Whether their statistics live up to Wrecking Crew standards remains to be seen.”

It’s like the guy just couldn’t get out of his own way. He had recruited and coached those kids, but five of the linebackers that year were walk-ons. Amazing.It’s time to reclaim, to celebrate, to tell our players and recruits, “You are the Wrecking Crew, so go out there and play like it!”

It’s time to reclaim the mantle that has been passed down to us and was only denied by a guy who thought putting injury reports in a private newsletter was a great idea.Their play will catch up eventually. When you give the kids a standard they are expected to fulfill, they will respond. All we need is just a little patience.

Mark: There would be nothing more that I would like, outside of seeing Johnny Manziel back in the shotgun (healthy and deadly, mind you), than hearing the chants of "Wrecking Crew! Wrecking Crew!" raining down on the defense after another stellar three and out.

So far, the Aggies have allowed 78 yards a game on the ground and an average of 12 points a game in 2016. They have shutouts in two of their last five games. They have two deadly defensive ends, three ballhawks at safety and two stellar linebackers.

Wrecking Crew, right?

Ignore Grievous. Listen to Obi-Wan.

Or, if you prefer, something more to the point:

This is not to say that the Aggie defense can't get to that level, but it has a long way to go. I think Sam's right when he says you're not going to see a team hold opponents to around 120 points, especially in the grind of the SEC. Even if they continue to hold opponents to 12 points a game, you're up to 144 and we know that's not going to happen.

But the idea of the Wrecking Crew is not necessarily found in numbers, it's found in being a complete defense. When A&M's defense was at its best (ignoring the fact that it was mostly a 3-4 scheme), the defensive tackles were dominant up front, the ends and linebackers were flying into the backfield and the secondary was up to the task of man coverage virtually every time.

So where are we?

I think you can say that the end combination of Garrett and Hall is as good as any A&M's ever had, especially since they've gone to a four-man front. And I know that's high praise. The tackles seem to be deep, but nobody's standing out yet as a force -- but Kingsley Keke, Zaycoven Henderson and (of course) Daylon Mack can all get there.

Otaro Alaka is playing smart in the middle. It may not be drawing much attention, but I think his presence there has done as much to settle the defense as anything. Shaan Washington is playing like a man possessed, and true freshman Tyrel Dodson is tied for fourth on the team in tackles even though he's had limited action.

Justin Evans, Donovan Wilson and Armani Watts? All excellent.

The Aggies are doing Crew-like things in getting to the quarterback and stacking up tackles for loss. But they're falling short in two major categories: turnovers and coverage. The Aggies are dead even in the turnover department with 4 each. Last year, they were -6, so it's a start. But it's not good enough. Domination in this day in age largely depends on turnovers. And the corners have lost their guys too often early in the season and that's why they're 95th in passing yards allowed in 45th in yards per completion.

Wrecking Crew defenses are aggressive, hit, hurt and force turnovers. Shutouts are nice too, but the idea is to impose your will on offenses, and A&M's not there yet. 54th in total defense is not Wrecking Crew style. Can they get there? Maybe. But they're not there yet.