Moving On to BSU--Room for Improvement

This isn't meant to be a Debbie-downer thread or to take anything away from the Cougs' win. Instead, I'm just looking for an honest post-mortem of where BYU needs to work on getting better fast. Nebraska was a field goal kicker away from winning that game. Nebraska was one brain-fart away from winning that game (seriously--on a hail mary, how do you wrap up the receiver and pull him into the end zone with you?). BYU escaped, and I'll take it. Here's what I see needs attention or buttoning down for the next game:



1) Micah Hanneman. The guy looked like he simply was not ready for the college game. He got abused all game long, but got some measure of redemption in his interception of Armstrong's heave as he was going down. A lot of people will remember the pick and think he's swell, but he was lost out there, and Nebraska gobbled up a lot of yards just going after Hanneman down after down. The kid needs to show drastic improvement or find the bench. If he doesn't improve and he's the best we got, we are going to get torched by the pass all season long. Get ready for lots of average QBs to look like Heisman contenders all over again ala 2014. Hopefully with Nacua and Mike Davis back this is addressed in personnel changes.



2) Arm and body tackling. Looking squarely at you, Harvey Langi. This is one that you expect coming out of Fall camp where they don't do as much full-contact any more. The guys as a whole have got to wrap up better instead of grabbing jerseys (or towels) or just trying to bowl guys over. Langi missed a few TFLs that turned into gains, and one even turned into a touchdown.



3) Illegal formation penalties. Dr. Anae--if they flag a formation once, you need to rip those pages out of the playbook for the rest of the game until you can get back to a desk and figure out what's going wrong. You don't call that same formation twice more in the same game.



4) Run game. From what I saw, BYU came into that game planning to win on the passing game. There was little to no effort to establish a true run game. Part of me can't blame them--this was the stoutest middle defense we are going to face all season. Nebraska had two tackles on the DLine who will play on Sunday. Koroma was a beast in pass protection, but BYU never really did anything to try to establish the run game even on the outside where the Huskers are vulnerable. If this was the extent of our run game, it could be looong season.



5) Is GFGH dead? Even in the two minute drill I never saw BYU run the HUNH/Nitro/GFGH or whatever they are calling it these days. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing (especially with how gassed our D was looking late in the third quarter and throughout the 4th). Just curious if that experiment has passed or not.



What am I missing?

You've put together a great list. I would like to see better use of timeouts. All too often at the end of the game we don't have as many as we could have because they were unnecessarily wasted earlier in the game.

snoscythe wrote:
Hopefully with Nacua and Mike Davis back this is addressed in personnel changes.

What am I missing?

Well, for starters, you missed that Mike Davis was T-2nd highest total in tackles for the game and had the most solo tackles of anyone. Can't count on things being better when he gets back if he's already back...



;)

Just have to say, props to the coaches for finally getting Kaufusi back on the D-line. He was a difference maker there.

Predator needs to heal up. Nacua's return will help as well as Tatiaka.

BroncoBot wrote:

Hopefully with Nacua and Mike Davis back this is addressed in personnel changes.

What am I missing?

Well, for starters, you missed that Mike Davis was T-2nd highest total in tackles for the game and had the most solo tackles of anyone. Can't count on things being better when he gets back if he's already back...



;)

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Great points Sno. I posted similarly in another thread.

Micah H-- nailed it. Athletic kid, but overmatched and will be every QBs favorite target. Help?

Langi--yikes. I trust he is correctable and will be a huge contributor.

Illegal Forms--Nebraska had more than we did. New rule? Who knows but It's fixable.

RB--no fixes here. Magnum PI will be slinging it 40-60x per game. The only hope is Trey Dye and he is likely to catch out of backfield. Hopefully Algie can figure out how to catch a throw that hits him right in the hands with an open field for a TD. Hine needs space to get going. Anae was smart to avoid the absolute strength of that D. Credit him for not being so stubborn that he tried forcing that. Got a payoff late in game with Draw to Hine.

GFGH Dead? Who knows. Maybe. In that sweltering heat, it was probably a good thing we weren't. We looked slow enough and tired enough as it was. And last year it definitely seemed that BYU would fade toward end of games, out of gas. My guess, is it's mostly over, and will only come out occassionally to catch teams off guard.

Great to see decrease in penalties!! This hasnt been mentioned in press during camp so I'm assuming it was a priority the hind closed doors. But whatever it showed!!

Do we really want Micah H back receiving punts when we are so thin at DB? Shouldn't he be saving his strength and sparing him from high risk behaviors?

Hopefully Nacua can bring an Andrew Rich influence to this D. Sure seemed missing vs Neb.

On another note, RB blocking seemed decent. Protecting THill sure seemed like a priority. I know the Oline was mostly good, but they also got blown up sometimes in fourth.

But, so much learned with first game.

And credit Bronco for cutting loose on his post game sprint and locker room celebration. You want to win hearts of players, do what he did, including funeral services for THill. Although saying he has never loved a player more seems a bit disingenuous. Riley must be feeling really jilted. ;-)

Go Cougs Kick those damn Donks!!

Show up Cougar fans!!! :evil: :evil: Don't be lam-ohs and stay home!!

Langi tackled much better after the first quarter. It was almost like he wasn't quite ready for game speed and took a while to adjust.

When Nacua gets back, we will see Preator start where Hanneman was. I also thought Hanneman looked like he was over matched out there. Even when he was in the right spot to make a play, he didn't even look strong enough to tackle the receiver he was on, looked like he struggled with it. I think the defense will improve with the suspensions being over, but losing Tuiloma is freaking huge. Nebraska ran the ball right up our gut after he went out.



Also, I will be interested to see how Mangum plays when he is the known starter. It is one thing to go in when you weren't expecting it, it is another thing to prepare all week and have those nerves. I think he is very talented and showed it but he is still a freshman.

If we play as well as we played on Saturday and BSU plays the way they did on Friday, I think we win. TT's loss was devistating! We had a gaping hole up the gut w/o TT, Takitaki & Nacua. With that being said, I expect Takitaki and Nacua to more than compensate for the loss of TT. I thought Hanneman looked pretty good on Saturday (surprised by SNO's scalding assessment). For Tanner's sake, we need to develop a RB that can run down hill and drive the pile. I thought Algie was going to be that guy on Saturday, but he wasn't. I'm optimistic that it was more the fact that NU's D-Line was awesome! Probably their best unit, and the best that we will face all year.



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That dropped pass by brown reminded me of Unga's drop vs Utah (magic happens game). The pass that was intercepted from hill was going to be a big play if not for that guys jumping ability. I thought Hanne man and #2 (hanley?) Both struggled on that side of the field together. Nebraska took advantage of those guys almost all day.



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Both are young players. They will get better.

Everything needs to be done to create an atmosphere where Mangum can flourish.



The O line needs to give Mangum time to find receivers. We can't have him scrambling for his life all night.



We don't have Taysom or Jamal so the coaches have to figure some way to move the ball on the ground. At least enough to keep Boise States D honest. We can't expect to win the game with Mangums arm alone.



Our D has got to step up and keep Boise State from scoring a lot of points. That may seem like a no brainer but we aren't going to win in a high scoring shootout with a true freshman QB.



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No running game? Then throw flares to RBs. That pass to Algie needs to be in the playbook. He'll make the play next time.

scott715 wrote:
No running game? Then throw flares to RBs. That pass to Algie needs to be in the playbook. He'll make the play next time.

The Oline looked terrible on run blocking, but actually very good on pass blocking--both for Taysom and Mangum. If we can't make holes, I agree...those short passes to the backs of yesteryear and draw plays will become very important. Seeing as how the pass blocking was very good, and Mangum has a good arm, I am very optimistic about this season.



The lack of penalties was great.



The punting of Johnny Rugby was fantastic.



The lack of speeding up play when we really needed to throttle down the pace to rest our defense was fantastic.



I am going to enjoy this season. :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

I'll add my thoughts:



1. Anae knows that we've got a stellar receiving corps and a good QB and he's gonna sling it. However, teams will catch on to this and drop eight, which will cause some coverage sacks if we don't have a RB release valve or if our QB just doesn't recognize the coverage/pressure and move his feet.



2. Our run game HAS to improve. Not only run blocking, but crisp handoffs, finding the hole, and our RB's being a little more shifty instead of looking straight for contact. We cannot be a one-dimensional offense and hope for success versus our schedule this season.



3. Mangum is good and will only get better. I like that he's mobile in the pocket, can evade pressure, and isn't afraid to create with his feet. However, he threw a few dangerous balls, one in particular that's probably a pick against better competition, and his footwork seems a little goofy at times. Hopefully taking the first-team reps will tighten up the screws.



4. I agree with everything that's been said about Hanneman (sp?). Kid seems a step (or more) behind his receiver on every play. Defense also needs to tackle by wrapping the player up and gripping their fingers to get a big handful of jersey.



5. Bronson is an animal out there. The guy plays with a great motor, excellent footwork, and will do big things this season. If he doesn't play on Sundays, I'll be a sad Cougar fan.



6. I like the Anae we're seeing this year. That draw play with 0:25 left on the clock was a gutsy call and you gotta take risks to get close wins away from home (especially in packed historic stadiums vs good opponents). Throughout the game we went to our strength and did what worked. I thought the play-calling was good, with a few additions/tweaks, it'll be great.



7. If Kurtz were faster, he'd have two TD's on the season already. Start running hills, buddy.



8. Bronco is a players' coach. It's obvious, once again, that he connects with his players and that kids love playing for him. This is going to be a fun team to watch and a fun year to be a BYU fan.

frdbtr wrote:
When Nacua gets back, we will see Preator start where Hanneman was. I also thought Hanneman looked like he was over matched out there. Even when he was in the right spot to make a play, he didn't even look strong enough to tackle the receiver he was on, looked like he struggled with it. I think the defense will improve with the suspensions being over, but losing Tuiloma is freaking huge. Nebraska ran the ball right up our gut after he went out.



Also, I will be interested to see how Mangum plays when he is the known starter. It is one thing to go in when you weren't expecting it, it is another thing to prepare all week and have those nerves. I think he is very talented and showed it but he is still a freshman.

I agree with everything you said. I think magnum will struggle a little because our run games sucks without jamal. it didn't matter as much for hill because of his own running ability. in fact the way hill was throwing we wouldn't have even needed a running back. he was going to kill people with his arm or his legs. if he was healthy, he would have killed every defense we played. I couldn't believe how well he came out passing. it was unreal.



i was actually excited about our defense. they struggled but when taki taki and nacua come back the whole d would have improved dramatically.



nacua back is a huge upgrade. he has experience, skill, and is out best defensive back. tha also allows preator to go back to corner where he will lpay better and be an uprade there.



I thought the outside linebackers struggled. i was watching them and over and over they weren't holding the edge. warner especially. taki taki is stronger and has experience and has played better than any of our other outside linebackers. his ability to hold the edge and to rush the qb will be a massive upgrade right away. he is a difference maker.



having tuiloma play so well allowed taele to pay at end. because tuiloma was holding down the middle kaufusi and taele were able to get more pressure that we didn't see last year.



losing tuiloma will make taele go to noseguard where he is not as good. it also will make kaufusi less effective because teams can more easily focus more attention on him.



its too bad we lsot hill, jama, and tuiloma. all very key players. i think we could survive no jamal and tuiloma if we had hill. we could also survive no tuiloma easier if we had jamal. but all three i think will cost us some games.

If people sell out on defending the pass, then we're back to the old-school BYU offense: pass to set up the run. We'll get good yardage out of the draw and swing passes to the backs. Anae should have both in his playbook, because we used both quite a bit in '06. I mean, Curtis Brown lead the team in receptions.

And Anae played under the old Lavell offense of draws and flares. He knows that offense very well.

MesaCougFan wrote:
I thought Hanneman looked pretty good on Saturday

Tommy Armstrong was 7/9 when throwing at Hanneman, and the pick came on a pass where Armstrong was scrambling right and tripped up as he flung the ball upfield (see 4:04 in the furious monkey highlights). That's not looking pretty good.