Y Gotta New Attitude

One of the things that we have always noticed is the way BYU comes out of the gate at the beginning of the season. Lots of hope with first game, then some relapse and inexplicable bad losses. We question the character of the team and what is "real".



Mike Hague shed some light on the situation, and from his comments, the past summer work-outs have not been up to par for the entire team.



He seems to indicate things will change this summer as they are not satisfied with past performances.



1. Need to improve conditioning. They are committed to being the best conditioned BYU team going into Fall Camp.



2. Everyone appears to be on the same page: coaches, players, and trainers. All appear to embrace the need to get over that hump.



3. They want to improve upon the 10-3 record and are not satisfied with just winning 10 games.

zzzzzzz. prove it. I hear this every year.

Talk is cheap in March. Hopefully, those words are worth more in August.

This goes in the "I have to take my hat off to "X opponent" ... They really played well, and" blah blah blah ... file. ie the trash can.



As Lingo said, I've heard enough talk to last me through the next decade. Time to put up, and/or shut up.



(nothing against Hague, Alisa, B. Mendenhall, Doman or any of the other guys saying these things... or against the OP. )

I think last season was a turning point for the fans. They're tired of the rhetoric by players and coaches. They want results. And BIG results. I think that's one reason why this spring ball has so many fans so disinterested.



We realize Spring means very little. Signing day means very little. Nothing matters but the games in the fall.

IS THERE A SIGNING DAY COMING UP. Oh you got my hopes up. We still have to wait awhile.

jonnylingo wrote:
zzzzzzz. prove it. I hear this every year.

This was my attitude going into last year. I'll take it into this year as well.

Big difference last year - we were listening to the Heaps hype and all the potential he claimed the team showed with first year OC Doman, etc.



This year it is Riley and Company - proven commodities with a "never say die" attitude and they are dedicated to hard work during the Summer. He noted the older players are not going to babysit the younger ones and goad them into practicing. According to Riles, everyone is starting with a clean slate and no position is guaranteed. You show up, work hard, you have a chance. Sit back on your laurels, you won't play. The coaches are actually training the players to be coaches and run the drills for the summer - expect them to implement the training regimen. This is way different than last year.



What is the difference? I think it is the extra year of experience for all the coaches, the fact the QB situation is solid, and the depth at several positions is making the competition ferocious (can't say that we were that deep last year at WR, DB, etc.). The fact that we have 2 Rugby players trying out means that Bronco et. al. are not opposed to thinking out of the box. Additionally, I doubt that Riley and the DL want to go out their senior years with a whimper or thinking about what could have been.

BTW - can't forget that OC is back - and that in itself is great. He brings it every day and is an inspiration to the team. This team isn't anything like last year because we have some very vocal leaders.

Mars wrote:


Exhibit A- Players come into Spring camp out of shape.

Exhibit B- Players say that they are going to come into Fall camp in great shape.



Which do you put more belief in, what people say will happen next time, or what they actually did last time?

That blew me away when I read that players came in out of shape. This isn't the game of yesteryear. Football no longer starts in August. It is year round and if players don't look at it that way they will never beat the ones that do. There is a quote that says "hard work will beat talent every time if talent takes a break". I think this is pretty accurate, especially in BYU's case since talent is not that much different between BYU and the upper echelon of D-1 teams.

imuakahuku wrote:

Exhibit A- Players come into Spring camp out of shape.

Exhibit B- Players say that they are going to come into Fall camp in great shape.



Which do you put more belief in, what people say will happen next time, or what they actually did last time?

That blew me away when I read that players came in out of shape. This isn't the game of yesteryear. Football no longer starts in August. It is year round and if players don't look at it that way they will never beat the ones that do. There is a quote that says "hard work will beat talent every time if talent takes a break". I think this is pretty accurate, especially in BYU's case since talent is not that much different between BYU and the upper echelon of D-1 teams.

there are many factors but this is largely the product of team culture. Players surely contribute to the culture, but coaches create the culture. I don't think Bronco's football culture will ever result in an undefeated season or a bcs bowl type season. Which is probably fine. Bronco is a good fit for byu. Prove me wrong Bronco!

SpiffCoug wrote:
I think last season was a turning point for the fans. They're tired of the rhetoric by players and coaches. They want results. And BIG results. I think that's one reason why this spring ball has so many fans so disinterested.



We realize Spring means very little. Signing day means very little. Nothing matters but the games in the fall.

The turning point in an on going cycle.



We all felt this way back in 2008 after the "Quest" ended in 10-3. Yet, three years later we all bought into it again and, for whatever reason, thought it was going to be different.



We are licking our wounds and letting bruises heal. Give it 2-3 more years and we will have found some other reason to be excited and overhype the coaches and team.

This. Not That. This.



Check TBS interviews with KVN, Ogletree and Riley. They are not tolerating the lackadaisical approach that maybe characterized previous teams. In fact, they recognized the same thing we did, takes 3 games to find team identity and get out of the gate. According to them, they are going to improve to the point where they will be ahead of the projected schedule and ready to take it up a notch. That is commitment and apparently several of the team leaders have bought into it.



The coaches have apparently noticed it too as this week they are training the leaders on how to coach the other players and prepare them for what they need to improve upon during the summer. The leaders love the opportunity to coach and also are committed to the team hanging out more and developing a team chemistry. Again, this is a much different mantra than what we have heard before - so I believe that it is real.



I know many were stung by the UT loss and need lots of convincing that this year will be different, but it begins with change of attitude and commitment - and yes, I see it, feel it, and believe they are ready to improve upon what was started last season and raise the bar.

byucougar1 wrote:
This. Not That. This.



Check TBS interviews with KVN, Ogletree and Riley. They are not tolerating the lackadaisical approach that maybe characterized previous teams. In fact, they recognized the same thing we did, takes 3 games to find team identity and get out of the gate. According to them, they are going to improve to the point where they will be ahead of the projected schedule and ready to take it up a notch. That is commitment and apparently several of the team leaders have bought into it.



The coaches have apparently noticed it too as this week they are training the leaders on how to coach the other players and prepare them for what they need to improve upon during the summer. The leaders love the opportunity to coach and also are committed to the team hanging out more and developing a team chemistry. Again, this is a much different mantra than what we have heard before - so I believe that it is real.



I know many were stung by the UT loss and need lots of convincing that this year will be different, but it begins with change of attitude and commitment - and yes, I see it, feel it, and believe they are ready to improve upon what was started last season and raise the bar.

This would be more persuasive if it didn't appear that people showed up to spring ball out of shape and unprepared. words are cheap. Most of us are waiting to see results before making a judgment.

Bronco's best teams were ones when he had great player leadership. His first few years he had Cam Jensen, Bryan Kehl, John Beck/Max Hall, etc etc. I see the 2012 teams fitting into the 2006/2007 mold and not the 2010/2011 mold, where player dysfunction was the issue.



IF anything, I think this D will be very good, very intense, and very physical. IF they can get the Oline up to that standard of intensity, then I like the 2012 team a lot.

Agree. It was interesting to me that Riley relishes the role he is now filing and appears to have bought into the BYU QB legends aspect. He noted in his interview that he has watched film on all QBs from Virgil Carter to Hall. While he indicates that he is not trying to pattern his game after anyone of them, including Young and his scrambling ability, he did say he felt that to qualified as a BYU QB he needs to be productive on the field (i.e. efficient, limit turnovers, score and win). He gets it and I like this understanding. I have felt that the attitude has been missing for the last two years and leadership, as Law mentioned, seemed to be missing not just at QB but from the seniors. Glad someone is stepping up and the others will get in line.

This D will be one of the best defenses we have ever seen at BYU. If the Dline can pick up the slack from the missing pieces of next year (Fangupo, Putnam, etc), and they should be capable without too much problem - then this might be the best ever.



We've never had the depth or athleticism in the secondary at BYU than we do now. Never.



Bills/Hague and Sorenson/Sampson will be fast and predatory. For the first time in YEARS there is real competition in the secondary, rather than having the defacto starter guys who are heads and tails above everyone else, then whomever else at a very distant back up position.



I just hope the offense can stay off the field long enough to win us 8 or 9 games. If J. Sorenson comes back from leg surgery that will be HUGE. If we don't a have a kicker than we might be in trouble in a handful of games.

My concern, as appears to be most, is how well the OL performs. I see Brown, Hansen and Reynolds starting, likely R. Matthews and Vitai. While these guys didn't play much in Spring, I believe that they will all be ready by Fall. If they are nasty, and can run-block, our passing attack will flourish. If the O is even half as good as the D, we have a very good team this year because the D is quite solid (goes 2 deep with talent at all positions).



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What I'd like to see is a quote or two from an offensive lineman or two echoing these sentiments.



It's one thing for skinny, fast guys like Hague and Riley to talk about being in better shape, et al. It's quite another for a big guy to say them as well.



It's like the argument my National Guard unit has every six months. We have a few 2 mile run courses we can choose to run our test on. One of them is pretty downhill and usually everyone is about 20-30 seconds faster on. We have one that is right near our armory but has more rolling hills on it. Those who usually run 14 minutes or faster want to run the close one because the test doesn't take as long (don't have bus out to the course, etc). Those of us who are down near the time limit want the other one because those 20 seconds could be the difference between passing a failing.



Those are the guys' whose opinions really matter. They're the one who will make the commander look good by having more of his Soldiers pass.



I don't know that makes sense. But it's the OL who will need to be putting in the work and it will be more work for them than guys like Hague and Riley to get where they need to be. So I want to hear that these guys have bought in as well. That they can't wait to get to work and to put in the work over the summer that they need to.