M
mcgregor1. Riley Nelson is not a good QB. He's a scrapper. He's a fighter. He's a leader. But a good QB he is not. He simply cannot see the entire field, makes poor decisions, and cannot complete many of the throws even standard D1 QBs need to make.
2. Bronco is a good coach, just not a perfect one. I think Bronco is a good coach; in fact, better than average. I see him as having a system that is 80% complete. Once he figures out that last 20%, he will be stellar. Until then, Utahs will continue to happen. The problem is it seems Bronco is misinterpreting events in a way that will damn his progression. For instance, he views the Utah game as evidence in his team's undying yearning to win, rather than, more accurately, a team completely spooked and outplayed by an inferior opponent.
3. Coaching lost us the Utah game. Yes, players on the field made mistakes, but the majority of the mistakes were the result of players not being prepared, both mentally and physically. That is on coaching. Every year Utah, regardless of their quality, plays BYU hard. That is also the product of coaching. Good coaching, that is (but again, not perfect coaching; else, Kyle Whittingham would learn to win more games).
4. Not the best players play. Hate to break it to Cougar fans, but the best talent at BYU doesn't always see the field. Yes, Bronco wants to win, and he will do what he thinks he needs to to win. The problem is that Bronco thinks about much more than talent, and sometimes his calculations include things that may or MAY NOT produce better on-field results. For instance, let's say Bronco wants to inspire by creating opportunities for walk-on RMs, so he may give one a starting spot over a more athletic non RM. In Bronco's mind, he's minimizing the entitlement that the more athletic kid may have, and he's creating a meritocracy. But what he fails to see is that he disgruntles some players when they interpret Bronco as playing favorites, especially when basing that criteria off personal attributes the player may not control.
5. BYU will not improve until Bronco improves. Like I mentioned before, Bronco has to be honest with himself and crack the last few walls keeping him from being a good coach. The talent is there. The coaching is not. I have faith, though, as Bronco has shown a willingness to fire coaches and bench players in the past, and to change his approach to certain things. Just hope he is open-minded.
6. Riley Nelson makes Doman look bad. Brandon Doman has some growing-up to do as far being an OC goes, but I am not faulting him too much for this year, as Riley Nelson simply cannot deliver a diversified and robust offense to any OC. And unfortunately, RN is the right man for the job right now.
7. Bronco's main quirk is his insecurity. Bronco loves Riley because Riley is Bronco Incarnate. He's another Rudy. Bronco was a less-talented player who found his way to ultimately beat BYU, who otherwise cut Bronco's dreams short. Now Bronco is looking for others just like him. This is ONLY attributable to Bronco's insecurity about his path to where his is today. Similarly, Bronco is trying to prove that things can be done differently and still be successful. He still has this yet to prove.
8. Riley Nelson is the worst QB in decades. Yup, I'm saying it. But let me qualify this: I mean he is the worst BYU QB to be the unquestioned leader. So Jake Heaps, Matt Berry, etc--those guys don't count. Riley--God bless his soul--simply does not belong behind a BYU center.
9. Riley Nelson is BYU's best chance to finish out the season strong. Despite what I said about RN in #8, there's no question he leads the team, and that's he's the best option right now to move forward. I don't think allowing Taysom Hill to take over would be a smart idea.
10. You are all right. I've perused the board here the last couple of days. Excellent thoughts. It's important to understand that almost all of you are right. College Football is a complicated sport, and successful games, coaches, players, and programs requires a plethora of inputs. What keeps us fans and not football gurus is out inability to see all the inputs and to know how to put it all together. Thus, rather than attacking one another, we should be learning from each other--seeing that others are seeing what maybe we are not.
I know I've been rather critical in this post. Please do not misconstrue what I'm saying. I'm a die-hard BYU fan, and will always be so. I love BYU, I love Bronco, I love our university and what Bronco is doing for it. I just want more. And, if Riley Nelson was here in front of me, I'd shake his hand, sincerely wish him the best of luck, and slip some cold hard cash in his backpack.
GO COUGS.
2. Bronco is a good coach, just not a perfect one. I think Bronco is a good coach; in fact, better than average. I see him as having a system that is 80% complete. Once he figures out that last 20%, he will be stellar. Until then, Utahs will continue to happen. The problem is it seems Bronco is misinterpreting events in a way that will damn his progression. For instance, he views the Utah game as evidence in his team's undying yearning to win, rather than, more accurately, a team completely spooked and outplayed by an inferior opponent.
3. Coaching lost us the Utah game. Yes, players on the field made mistakes, but the majority of the mistakes were the result of players not being prepared, both mentally and physically. That is on coaching. Every year Utah, regardless of their quality, plays BYU hard. That is also the product of coaching. Good coaching, that is (but again, not perfect coaching; else, Kyle Whittingham would learn to win more games).
4. Not the best players play. Hate to break it to Cougar fans, but the best talent at BYU doesn't always see the field. Yes, Bronco wants to win, and he will do what he thinks he needs to to win. The problem is that Bronco thinks about much more than talent, and sometimes his calculations include things that may or MAY NOT produce better on-field results. For instance, let's say Bronco wants to inspire by creating opportunities for walk-on RMs, so he may give one a starting spot over a more athletic non RM. In Bronco's mind, he's minimizing the entitlement that the more athletic kid may have, and he's creating a meritocracy. But what he fails to see is that he disgruntles some players when they interpret Bronco as playing favorites, especially when basing that criteria off personal attributes the player may not control.
5. BYU will not improve until Bronco improves. Like I mentioned before, Bronco has to be honest with himself and crack the last few walls keeping him from being a good coach. The talent is there. The coaching is not. I have faith, though, as Bronco has shown a willingness to fire coaches and bench players in the past, and to change his approach to certain things. Just hope he is open-minded.
6. Riley Nelson makes Doman look bad. Brandon Doman has some growing-up to do as far being an OC goes, but I am not faulting him too much for this year, as Riley Nelson simply cannot deliver a diversified and robust offense to any OC. And unfortunately, RN is the right man for the job right now.
7. Bronco's main quirk is his insecurity. Bronco loves Riley because Riley is Bronco Incarnate. He's another Rudy. Bronco was a less-talented player who found his way to ultimately beat BYU, who otherwise cut Bronco's dreams short. Now Bronco is looking for others just like him. This is ONLY attributable to Bronco's insecurity about his path to where his is today. Similarly, Bronco is trying to prove that things can be done differently and still be successful. He still has this yet to prove.
8. Riley Nelson is the worst QB in decades. Yup, I'm saying it. But let me qualify this: I mean he is the worst BYU QB to be the unquestioned leader. So Jake Heaps, Matt Berry, etc--those guys don't count. Riley--God bless his soul--simply does not belong behind a BYU center.
9. Riley Nelson is BYU's best chance to finish out the season strong. Despite what I said about RN in #8, there's no question he leads the team, and that's he's the best option right now to move forward. I don't think allowing Taysom Hill to take over would be a smart idea.
10. You are all right. I've perused the board here the last couple of days. Excellent thoughts. It's important to understand that almost all of you are right. College Football is a complicated sport, and successful games, coaches, players, and programs requires a plethora of inputs. What keeps us fans and not football gurus is out inability to see all the inputs and to know how to put it all together. Thus, rather than attacking one another, we should be learning from each other--seeing that others are seeing what maybe we are not.
I know I've been rather critical in this post. Please do not misconstrue what I'm saying. I'm a die-hard BYU fan, and will always be so. I love BYU, I love Bronco, I love our university and what Bronco is doing for it. I just want more. And, if Riley Nelson was here in front of me, I'd shake his hand, sincerely wish him the best of luck, and slip some cold hard cash in his backpack.
GO COUGS.