If you could fix one position group...

Where is BYU having the most glaring weakness right now?

I'm sure a lot of folks will respond with "coaches" but I'm wondering about on the field. What position, if it was functioning at high efficiency, would make the biggest difference to the current BYU football team?

QB

Receivers

Ha. I was going to say running backs. I think it would take a lot of pressure off the QB and receivers if they weren't facing 3 and long so often.

For me, it was close between receivers and RBs. I went with receivers because they are marshmallow soft, rarely fight for the ball, and are a huge disappointment. RB's have under-performed at an amazing level, but I think their overall performance is better than receivers (though the gap between where they are and where they should be/were expected to be is greater for RBs)

coaching

Offensive coaching staff.

The fans...oh wait we're the ones that know everything!! :lol:

Quarterback

Coaches.

QBs.

OL.

WRs.

RBs.

DL.

Kicker.

LBs.

I remember how the Pocatello kid hurdled the db from Texas and we won big. I remember many of the great QBs through the years and the victories they inspired. Someone like that can lift the whole team so that's my first choice. An outstanding running back could do a lot too as could a good line which would help the QB and RBs. A defensive end like Ziggy Ansah can inspire as well.

mtnradio wrote:

For me, it was close between receivers and RBs. I went with receivers because they are marshmallow soft, rarely fight for the ball, and are a huge disappointment. RB's have under-performed at an amazing level, but I think their overall performance is better than receivers (though the gap between where they are and where they should be/were expected to be is greater for RBs)

Our biggest problem (stated in other posts) is that we have between five and ten marshmallows on the field. Tolutau is an exception to this, as is Koroma.



I agree, WRs are probably the most glaring of our issues. Vs Utah, the WR got pushed to the sideline by the Ute CB on a fade route, resulting in a pick thrown by Mangum. BYUtv's commentators (maybe Blaine Fowler?) said that he needs to push back, stay at/inside the numbers on the field to give the QB a chance of placing the ball where the WR can get to it. I enjoyed Austin Collie, Cody Hoffman, and Mitch Mathews...none of which was very fast! Each was just physcial in their route-running and protecting the targeting space around their body. Collie and Hoffman could make one-handed grabs while holding the defender at bay with the other arm. Mathews could too a little, but was 6'6" and virtually undefendable. I'm surprised our coaches didn't have QBs throwing the ball 10 feet high and having him grab it like an alley-oop dunk...he could have springloaded with the jump to grab the ball, turn his body & shield the ball as he comes down. Maybe no YAC, but guaranteed yards. And if he brakes that initial tackle, maybe he does get yards after the catch.

Last year a lot of us, myself included, thought it would be good to play Mangum. I thought the offense might be struggling because it was more of a traditional passing attack, things weren't going well, and Mangum was supposed to be the better passer. However, the coaches kept talking about how the problem wasn't Hill. They said Hill was making the right reads, but there were other problems. This was further validated by Taysoms outstanding pre-season with Green Bay.



Fast forward to this year, and the coaches are flat out saying that Mangum is making bad decisions, not making the right reads, etc. There are definitely problems in the other position groups, but a capable quarterback can make a bigger difference than any single other player on the field. I don't understand why they are playing Mangum at all. He has not had a single game, including last year, where he has appeared capable in the offense they are trying to run. And now he's hurt. It's the perfect excuse not to play him. You just tell him he'll get his shot when his ankle is healed.

After Mangum's freshman season, I thought the BYU world was on an upward trajectory. I was really pumped to see what Ty could do with Mangum.



Tanner just isn't getting it done. Yes the receivers are marshmallows. Yes we are playing a freshman at TE, and a pre-season TE is out with injury. Yes we are playing a freshman as the main RB now.



But Tanner has had open receivers that he simply doesn't see. My vote here is QB

This is the danger of a 4* QB who is the Elite 11 MVP in this system.

I wonder now what would have been if Hoge wasn't injured. He looked OK against the Dairy Utes until the injury. We could have won that game.



Would Hoge have made a difference against BSU?

vancouvercougar wrote:

I wonder now what would have been if Hoge wasn't injured. He looked OK against the Dairy Utes until the injury. We could have won that game.



Would Hoge have made a difference against BSU?

I wasn't a believer in Hoge, but I was impressed with his Utah State performance. I think we would have had a legitimate chance against BSU if he had played.

Ty Detmer talked this week about having to learn some spread offense principles on the fly to try to utilize the talent that we have. I think this was probably a direct reference to Mangum. I think it's good to adapt your offense to your talent, but it's probably too little too late and will not fix our issues.

I think Ty's comments were also very telling to where he's at as a coach. Yes, he's a brilliant offensive mind, but everything he knows about offense is 25 years old and the game has evolved since then. He hasn't kept up on offenses over the years and it shows. Now, he needs to, he can still run a pro style offense, but he needs a modern pro style offense, not an easily defended pro style offense from 1990.

I would improve the running game 88 yards a game wont get it done if we were averaging 200 yards a game rushing we probably only have a couple losses right now. An improved passing game would also come as a result.