BYU needs the mind of a champion

The weakness of the 2011 BYU football team is mental. BYU lacks the mind of a champion.



http://www.bluecougarfootball.com/2011/09/byu-needs-mind-of-champion.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Where's Jimmer when you need him?

SpiffCoug wrote:
Where's Jimmer when you need him?

Can he at least bring out the alumni flag this week?

Good article. Someone with the mind of a champion manages the clock at the end of the 1st half to get us into FG range to go up 16-3 at half time. Someone who is surprised and happy to be in the lead mismanages the clock and doesn't get the play off in time and goes into the locker room 13-3 instead.

frdbtr wrote:
Good article. Someone with the mind of a champion manages the clock at the end of the 1st half to get us into FG range to go up 16-3 at half time. Someone who is surprised and happy to be in the lead mismanages the clock and doesn't get the play off in time and goes into the locker room 13-3 instead.

The way BYU decided to just keep running the ball drove me crazy. It was a vote of no confidence in the offense.

Do you guys remember the 2009 Oklahoma game, at halftime when Max Hall ran into the locker room he could be seen/heard on the ESPN telecast yelling "We're Gonna Win!" to the fans. And he meant it. And he believed it. He had the heart of a winner.



It's true, that kind of attitude is just not around the team this year. The team needs a leader. The team needs to believe in themselves. The team needs to expect to win the tough games and to play to win, instead of to play to not lose.



I really don't know about Heaps. For all his raw talent, his is really missing the fire of a true competitor. The fighters - the jim mcmahons, the steve youngs, the ty detmers, the max halls - they are always the best, and the funnest to be around and cheer for. Maybe I am being too harsh. Heaps just looks like he is still in high school. He just reminds me of Ben Olson. A top recruit, yes... but that didn't end up amounting to all that much.



Anyway... I guess my point is, I would rather have players out out on the field that have less natural skill and ability, and more heart. There are a few of them - Pendleton, Van Noy, Kariya... But we need more!

hypercoug wrote:
Do you guys remember the 2009 Oklahoma game, at halftime when Max Hall ran into the locker room he could be seen/heard on the ESPN telecast yelling "We're Gonna Win!" to the fans. And he meant it. And he believed it. He had the heart of a winner.



It's true, that kind of attitude is just not around the team this year. The team needs a leader. The team needs to believe in themselves. The team needs to expect to win the tough games and to play to win, instead of to play to not lose.



I really don't know about Heaps. For all his raw talent, his is really missing the fire of a true competitor. The fighters - the jim mcmahons, the steve youngs, the ty detmers, the max halls - they are always the best, and the funnest to be around and cheer for. Maybe I am being too harsh. Heaps just looks like he is still in high school. He just reminds me of Ben Olson. A top recruit, yes... but that didn't end up amounting to all that much.



Anyway... I guess my point is, I would rather have players out out on the field that have less natural skill and ability, and more heart. There are a few of them - Pendleton, Van Noy, Kariya... But we need more!

After reading about Chase Hansen in his last high school football game I wonder if BYU let a good one get away. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/tribpreps/52554480-190/highland-lone-peak-hansen.html.csp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



The guys sounds like he has a ton of heart.

A couple of weeks back, I was at work on the phone and Andrew Rich walked in (I was star struck) after he had finished business with my boss, we proceeded to grill him on how this years team was going to be. He talked about how athletic the defense is and the team in general and that they had a huge upside.However, He said one thing that was very profound. He said the thing that worried him about this years team was they hadn't learned how to win yet. Then he spoke about in 06-09 all the players had learned how to win (namely the quarterbacks) The team learned how to win at the end of the year last year, but learning to win isn't necessarily something that carries over year by year. In order for this years team to be successful they have to learn how to win. I thought that was a very insightful comment from one of the players who was a less than natural skill and ability and more heart to steal a phrase from hypercougar.

hypercoug wrote:
Do you guys remember the 2009 Oklahoma game, at halftime when Max Hall ran into the locker room he could be seen/heard on the ESPN telecast yelling "We're Gonna Win!" to the fans. And he meant it. And he believed it. He had the heart of a winner.



It's true, that kind of attitude is just not around the team this year. The team needs a leader. The team needs to believe in themselves. The team needs to expect to win the tough games and to play to win, instead of to play to not lose.



I really don't know about Heaps. For all his raw talent, his is really missing the fire of a true competitor. The fighters - the jim mcmahons, the steve youngs, the ty detmers, the max halls - they are always the best, and the funnest to be around and cheer for. Maybe I am being too harsh. Heaps just looks like he is still in high school. He just reminds me of Ben Olson. A top recruit, yes... but that didn't end up amounting to all that much.



Anyway... I guess my point is, I would rather have players out out on the field that have less natural skill and ability, and more heart. There are a few of them - Pendleton, Van Noy, Kariya... But we need more!

This is spot on and exactly what has been floating around in my head over the past few days. Heaps does not have that type of command or fire in and out of the huddle which inspires his teammates to go to war for him. Everything just seems to be done in a lackadaisical manner on offense--slow out of the huddle, no one amped up to make a play.



That kind of mentality was something that Vai picked up on in his blog after the Ole Miss game--Detmer or McMahon would take it personally if they threw an interception. They'd go back to the bench and knock over some cups after throwing their helmet and get psyched to come back in with a vengeance (and they would actually try to make the tackle while on the field).



The 'going to war' competitive streak that most great players possess just doesn't seem to be there with Heaps. Fangupo said it best last week that football is about making the other team surrender and that he could tell by the body language of the players on the opposite side when he owned them. Heaps looks like he is the one getting owned.

Pendleton and KVN have plenty of both talent and heart. The argument in the link assumes the outcome in the hypothesis.



That said, I totally agree with Stormin's point about body language. The most telling thing to me was the shot in the 4th quarter with Heaps on the sideline, all alone, with his hands tucked into his collar. Max/McMahon/Steve Young/ even JoBeck--those guys would've been showing leadership, spitting fire on the sidelines cheering on the defense and huddling with the offense pumping them up about how the next time they went in, they were going to make something happen. Instead he looked like a lost little boy. Same as when he threw the pick-6 against Ole Miss. Heaps sort of shuffles away from the play, looking lost, and with no fire to fix the problem. Almost like he's a guy who's been comfortable relying on his talent to get the job done and is hesitant to put his own self out there.

I miss the Heaps from last year's Utah game. Maybe that cracked rib got to him more than he let on.