What I'm saying is that you need good WRs to spread the field and give the TEs room to get open

The premise that a 2 TE offense, like the Patriots with Gronkowski and Hernandez, would be a successful basis of the BYU offense, is based on false assumptions. The Patriots ran the 2 TE offense with Gronk and Hernandez for 2 seasons: 2011 and 2012 (Hernandez didn't start in his 2010 rookie season). Unfortunately, the 2 tight ends were not the primary pass catchers. The Pats had WRs including Wes Welker (122 catches in 2011 and 118 in 2012) and Brandon Lloyd (71 catches in 2012). The Pats had a great offensive line. And of course Tom Brady.

Here's what I learned yesterday talking to people who know more than I do.

#1 -- This coaching staff is committed to not making excuses and taking the blame wherever possible.

#2 -- As part of that, and for competitive advantage, Kalani insists that no one discuss injuries other than season-ending injuries. Keep other teams guessing, let the guys have privacy and not be second-guessed by weekend warriors who say "I pulled my quad last winter shoveling snow, and I was playing church ball the next week. Don't know why that guy has to sit 4 weeks"

#3 -- In Spring, it was apparent that MLP and Matt Bushman were both going to be studs. In looking to replace the production of Taysom Hill and Jamaal Williams, Ty and his staff largely reinvented the playbook to center around double tight end sets. Think Patriots when they had Gronk and Hernandez (Bushman = Gronk, MLP = a non-murderous Hernandez). It was going to be a Y-Iso offense, with a few basic formations--the old Redskins H-Back set, Power I, Buffalo, etc.

#4 -- Also in Spring, it was apparent that Ula was going to be the premier back once he got his legs back after his mission, and his big body and style of running was/is a perfect fit for the double-tight end offense. So, the playbook was built around 4 feature players -- Mangum, Bushman, Tolutau, and MLP.

#5 -- During the Summer, Ula suffered an undisclosed injury that has hampered his return. His recent emergence isn't a revelation, it's him slowly coming back. He has been rep-limited, and his workload has been increasing per the medical professionals' timetable. If you doubt this, you can go find his dad's instagram account where he spelled it out for fans who were frustrated with the coaches after the Utah game.

#6 -- MLP went down for ~8 weeks during the very last practice of Fall camp.

#7 -- So, one week before the season opener, about 60% of the playbook, and the most emphasized part of the playbook became pretty much useless given the dropoff between MLP and Tanner Balderee. MLP was meant to be the flex-TE -- the one who could play in the slot with speed. And we've all seen the drop off from Ula to the rest of the backs. Add to that the additional responsibilities that got dumped on OTs and these 2nd+ string backs in pass protection who were practicing for double-TE sets that won't be happening.


So, we are seeing (especially now with Beau Hoge) an offense that no one was planning on in mid-August. Schematically It's not what Ty or any other coach on the offensive side of the ball envisioned. It's not the offense that was giving our defense fits. It's an offense that has been cobbled together on the fly over the course of 4 weeks in which we also had to prep for two top-10 teams.

This doesn't excuse all the failings -- a playbook should not be put together in a way that the loss of one or two players guts it, and you at least have to be competitive. What it does do is offer some context and understanding as to how a purported offensive genius could be failing so badly. It also explains why I think Detmer will get a pass on this season as long as we finish with a bowl game.