Execution

[cachevalleycougar]

As for execution, there were some blown assignments by the O-line and missed tackles by our defense at times. If Hall only gets sacked twice, doesn't lose that fumble, and our defense is bring down the ball with the first hit, we have a much different game.

With that said, what this team doesn't seem to have regularly enough is "playmakers." We haven't really had playmakers all year. Unga in the UNLV game, Hall/Clawson in the OU game, Johnson in the SDSU game...that's about all that comes to mind for me. Unga and Pitta are consistently good, but not "playmakers." Clawson, Pendleton and Rich make sporadic exciting plays, but aren't consistent "playmakers." Hall is makes great throws regularly, but isn't a "playmaker."

Looking at the 2006 team, there were a number of playmakers week in and week out: JRob, Cameron Jensen, Brian Kehl, John Beck, Harline, CB, Fui. Not only were there playmakers, but they played with A LOT of emotion. Watch all the game clips from 2006 on JustAnotherDumb - that team was SO FUN to watch!! They were so intense and excited and fun!

We have a lot of good, solid players this year. But we don't have game changers. There's not the same emotion and excitement. And that's not really something you can coach or develop. It's either there or it's not. Saturday was the perfect time for Chambers to step up - we needed a deep threat, and we even went to him a couple times, but he came up empty. Saturday would have been a great time for Rich/Johnson to lay the wood on somebody and cause a turnover...didn't happen. Logan and Bradley could have come up with a couple deflections and big stops, but they didn't. The o-line could have controlled TCU's pass rush and given Hall time to pick apart the defense....nope. Unga was the only bright spot on the WHOLE team!

Anyways, better execution could have made a good difference, but without "playmaking" and some real emotion out on the field, we still would have lost to TCU.

[Mars]

Hey Guys.

What about OU? Did Bronco prepare only for OU in the offseason and then simply go on cruise control for FSU and TCU? That's hard for me to wrap my head around.

It is my opinion that the OU game was won by our pass rush (which was largely helped by Brody Eldrige's inexperience at center and Mike Stoops egregious non-preparation of his freshman backup)...

I still think BYU can beat Utah, but to do so, our defense is going to have to hold Utah to 21 points or less. Without a strong pass rush, I'd see a repeat of FSU and TCU.

I think that OU was hurt by lost starters worse than everyone assumed, and that as a result BYU dominated them on both lines, especially the defense. McCoy began to take over in the 2nd half, but he wasn't enough and he was too late.

The Utah game, to me, comes down to the linemen. And they have been better than us recently there, especially on defense. Their OL may be a weakspot this year though. We'll see.

[Gunk]

As for execution, there were some blown assignments by the O-line and missed tackles by our defense at times. If Hall only gets sacked twice, doesn't lose that fumble, and our defense is bring down the ball with the first hit, we have a much different game.

With that said, what this team doesn't seem to have regularly enough is "playmakers." We haven't really had playmakers all year. Unga in the UNLV game, Hall/Clawson in the OU game, Johnson in the SDSU game...that's about all that comes to mind for me. Unga and Pitta are consistently good, but not "playmakers." Clawson, Pendleton and Rich make sporadic exciting plays, but aren't consistent "playmakers." Hall is makes great throws regularly, but isn't a "playmaker."

Looking at the 2006 team, there were a number of playmakers week in and week out: JRob, Cameron Jensen, Brian Kehl, John Beck, Harline, CB, Fui. Not only were there playmakers, but they played with A LOT of emotion. Watch all the game clips from 2006 on JustAnotherDumb - that team was SO FUN to watch!! They were so intense and excited and fun!

We have a lot of good, solid players this year. But we don't have game changers. There's not the same emotion and excitement. And that's not really something you can coach or develop. It's either there or it's not. Saturday was the perfect time for Chambers to step up - we needed a deep threat, and we even went to him a couple times, but he came up empty. Saturday would have been a great time for Rich/Johnson to lay the wood on somebody and cause a turnover...didn't happen. Logan and Bradley could have come up with a couple deflections and big stops, but they didn't. The o-line could have controlled TCU's pass rush and given Hall time to pick apart the defense....nope. Unga was the only bright spot on the WHOLE team!

Anyways, better execution could have made a good difference, but without "playmaking" and some real emotion out on the field, we still would have lost to TCU.

Have to agree. Very few "playmakers" on the team, or the ones we do have are scared to show themselves in fear of taking away from the team.

[BoiseBYU]

Does all this talk about execution sound too much like corporate organizational speak? I know Bronco is well read in these sorts of books and theory and they have their place in sports management, but while making the best widget at the cheapest price may come down to how well the business plan gets executed, hitting someone on the other side of the line, hurling yourself at an opponent is just not a corporate sort of endeavor...

[Lawboy]

I understand all the execution speak. It is vital in winning games. In practice, you focus on it to improve performance. But I also understand that BYU is not trying to execute in a vacuum. They are on the field with an opponent who is jacked up to play and beat them. TCU sure was. Utah will be. Florida State was and they came to LES with attitude and a chip on their shoulders from the opening kick off. We showed up with execution. And that is what we get in those games--executed. It is time to play more smash mouth in the trenches, to beat teams up physically. We have the size to do it is all I know.

Here is the thing. In the trenches, it is emotion that helps players execute better. The linemen need to play with fire, or they will get pushed off the ball and thumped. They need that little extra something to beat the guy across the line from them. Just telling them to go block and execute does not work in all positions. I wanna see our big uglies pancake dudes, or push their guy into the QB and create havoc. But we do not. We hold our position--maybe. So something is missing. Fire. Heart. Will. We have no Curtis Brown type guys on this team, no Ty Detmer's, no Cam Jensen's. At least, none that are apparent. That tells me that team player leadership could be an issue. because this team lacks a few guys who are the heart and soul of the team and who fire up the troops.

It is very apparent when BYU gets down by 14 or more that real guts and heart are lacking. I think they keep hope, but you need more than that. You need to gut it out.

[Cougarfan87]

What about second half adjustments? During Lavell's day, the OC was great at making adjustments in the second half. Defense was always so-so, so we would make some adjustment there, but we never were going to completely shut anyone down.

Am I reading this wrong? There just does not seem to be any good second half adjusting going on.

[cachevalleycougar]

Here is the thing. In the trenches, it is emotion that helps players execute better. The linemen need to play with fire, or they will get pushed off the ball and thumped. They need that little extra something to beat the guy across the line from them. Just telling them to go block and execute does not work in all positions. I wanna see our big uglies pancake dudes, or push their guy into the QB and create havoc.

Hans Olsen is always going off on tirades about how dumb BYU is to not practice in full pads, particularly for the lineman. He feels its hurt the development of what could have been some high NFL draft picks in the past, as well as not giving the current lineman the same workouts and fundamentals that other teams are providing.

[BroncoBot]

Here is the thing. In the trenches, it is emotion that helps players execute better. The linemen need to play with fire, or they will get pushed off the ball and thumped. They need that little extra something to beat the guy across the line from them. Just telling them to go block and execute does not work in all positions. I wanna see our big uglies pancake dudes, or push their guy into the QB and create havoc.

Hans Olsen is always going off on tirades about how dumb BYU is to not practice in full pads, particularly for the lineman. He feels its hurt the development of what could have been some high NFL draft picks in the past, as well as not giving the current lineman the same workouts and fundamentals that other teams are providing.

While I kind of agree with Hans, I don't know if this year is the best to put our oline in ANY situation that could result in an injury.

[Mars]

...something is missing. Fire. Heart. Will.

The Haka.

[BroncoBot]

Another important aspect is team chemistry. BYU might just have terrible chemistry this year. I definitely don't get the same vibe that I got from the 06 bunch. I suspect that part of the reason is that the 06 team had overcome multiple challenges and still remembered losing seasons. They were finally able to put together a very solid season and it seemed that they fed off of their success.

This years team seems to come out and play as if it's just another day at the office. They've plateaued for quite a while and don't have the experiences that the leaders of the 06 team did. Who is responsible to get this fixed? Bronco? team leaders?