So what do we know?

Perhaps the lack of conversation on this board has something to do with all of the question marks on the team. Perhaps we just don't know what to talk about. No QB controversy now, but plenty of question marks from that position and others. I think we have no idea what we've got yet. Perhaps we should talk about what positions are clearly settled.



QB-Jake Heaps

JJ Diluigi--Running Back

McKay Jacobsen--WR

Oline--with Matt Reynolds staying at left tackle.

D-line.



Who else should start what position and why (feel free to challenge any of those I state are settled)?

All I know is that with all the changes taking place, this week has an eerie, start-from-scratch feeling to it.

I don't know about start from scratch, just more of a waiting to exhale feeling. We are looking to see who gets the majority of reps at TE, ILB, OLB, Safety. We know who it will be at QB finally. And we are all just holding our collective breaths hoping they pull it all together for Saturday.



I think this week goes a long way towards creating the stability we need at many positions the rest of the year. QB helps enormously, but other positions sill have issues. Get those sorted in terms of who gets the most reps, and it helps on game day. If not sorted, it is gonna be a long year. Really long.

TE-I've not seen anything out of these guys. There have not been enough reps for Heaps to build a repoire with anyone in particular.



ILB-I really liked seeing Stout in there against FSU. I saw him in on some tackles and he seemed very agressive. If he's good enough to play now and we are rebuilding then get him the reps a la Heaps. Stout is the future for BYU and a future NFL draft pick. Shane Hunter has earned a starting position with his recovered fumble and pick against AFA.



OLB-I don't know



Safety-Uale seemed to do just fine against FSU but FSU was not passing a lot when he was in the game. I would prefer Uale over Steven Thomas at this point because Thomas has made some critical errors which opens his position up for debate. I would love to try Bradley at safety and start Eason and Buckner at CB until Logan gets back. This is similar to the Chambers move to TE in that we have a player who has been in the system a long time in Bradley who could replace a younger player who is clearly overwhelmed at the moment.

I think BYU would have moved Bradley to safety if he tackled well enough, but it is not his strength, and a safety needs to hit. I expect Uale to play most reps Saturday, with Mendenhall as the back up--just as happened at FSU. If Thomas goes, bet he splits reps with Uale, though.



Hunter has made some plays, but homeboy has been SLOW sideline to sideline and not helped his cause that way-missed some tackles too. He has got both turnovers, though, so props for that. I personally would like to see Stout and Leng Wei get the most reps, with Jorgensen 3rd, Hunter 4th. And I think frazier/KVN should do as they have already. Frazier gets obvious run downs, KVN for passing type downs.

I would say this: if Heaps is the QB all week (which he is), and if BYU can get a passing game going on Saturday (which they better), and if the receivers are still dropping passes (4th game???), I'd bench the droppers and try younger guys who want the ball.



I'm puzzled by the TE play, maybe it's the teams we've played, maybe it's the rotating QB thing, maybe something else, but these guys need to step it up. Without TEs, BYU is an average passing team.



I too have been very disappointed in Reynolds' play. He's the all-American candidate, the sure fire NFL guy, and he has just kind of stunk it up so far. He was awful at Air Force, and not much better at FSU. He and his buddies better protect Heaps this week, or we're for sure going to be 1-3 Saturday night.



If I were the offensive coaches, I would ride DiLuigi on Saturday, hand him the ball, pass the ball to him (he's the only one who can catch passes so far), I'd let him return kickoffs (get Chambers out of there), and ride him and ride him until they stop him. My bet is, JJ could run for over a hundred and receive for over a hundred--with ease--if we can sustain drives and keep him on the field.



Defensively, I don't know what we know. I don't think the defense is really as bad as they've looked, the biggest problem is our offense has not been able to stay on the field, haven't scored much, and the defense is out there way too long. That much change, Heaps must step up, receivers must step up, Oline must step up, Payne must step up--everybody on the offense has stunk it up long enough, it's time to start playing real football.

QuarterbackU wrote:
OLB-I don't know



Safety-Uale seemed to do just fine against FSU but FSU was not passing a lot when he was in the game. I would prefer Uale over Steven Thomas at this point because Thomas has made some critical errors which opens his position up for debate. I would love to try Bradley at safety and start Eason and Buckner at CB until Logan gets back. This is similar to the Chambers move to TE in that we have a player who has been in the system a long time in Bradley who could replace a younger player who is clearly overwhelmed at the moment.

I thought Thomas was pretty bad as well but let's not forget that UALE was the one that single-handedly let the 83 yard TD run by FSU happen. Bronco showed it on "The Coaches Show with Bronco Mendenhall" on Sunday night and he specifically singled out Uale (without saying his name) for letting that run break.



I also agree with the comments re: Shane Hunter---he's had some big plays but DANG is he slow from sideline to sideline.

Good point on Uale, I didn't realize he was in for that run. One of the interesting things about that run was what So oto said. He mentioned that someone shot the wrong gap. That is an interesting statement. Should anyone be shooting gaps!??? In my opinion, if your OLB is stringing the play all the way out to the sideline on a sweep or outside run and your ILB and your safety are in position you should wait for the RB to choose a hole and meet him there. I saw our players shooting gaps all day on these stretch run plays and always choosing the wrong hole. I think this is because our defense is impatient and everyone of those LBs wants to get the BIG hit, the SEXY play that everyone triumphs over the next week in film study. Perhaps this is on Bronco and Jaime too for not picking a starter. Everyone feels the need to drop the back for a loss by shooting prematurely into the back field isntead of waiting for the play to develope and being in position to make it.