Defensive Changes?

1. Sampson over Eason. This needs to happen soon. Eason isn't a **bad** player. He is easily one of my favorite players from last year. He is a good cornerback, and an awesome tackler. Sampson is just a better every down cb at this point.



2. The safety play. Do we really not have anyone better than Uale/Sorenson? I think Sorenson is doing a good job, but routinely bites on play action fakes and gets out of position because of that.

Also, Is there some unspoken rule out there that we need to let opposing teams catch the ball in zone coverage, so we can try and get a big hit?



Travis "Big Whiffa" Uale - I can't remember the last time I have seen a safety at BYU:



A) have so many blown coverages go for TD's and/or long plays



B) Miss so many tackles (and take so many bad angles to miss them)



C) penalties - though they cleaned that up last game.



I don't want to turn this into a Heaps thread, because this thread is about the defense, but this guy is singularly responsible for as many TD's against us, as INT's for Jake. He misses almost as many tackles per game as Jake misses throws. It just strikes me as funny that we have 12 "Heaps is dead to me - Who's next?" type threads going, but not one about shoddy secondary play.



Is Hague still injured? Do we have other options here?

BlueIsBetter wrote:



Is Hague still injured? Do we have other options here?

Wait until next year when Bills is back from his mission...

I haven't minded Uale, but also have noticed similar deficiencies in his play. He is a pretty big hitter, but his coverage hasn't been the best. Sorenson is young and will develop into an excellent player. I think they need to step it up in coming weeks or we will continue to see big plays over the top of our coverage.

Wickchad84087 wrote:

Is Hague still injured? Do we have other options here?

Wait until next year when Bills is back from his mission...

Bills is a bonafide stud. i hope he can be game ready shortly after his mission. That would be a huge help.

We all kind of expected the secondary to be weak because it is every year, except with Rich back there I guess. Nobody expected the O to suck this bad, so the focus goes there.

BlueIsBetter wrote:

2. The safety play. Do we really not have anyone better than Uale/Sorenson? I think Sorenson is doing a good job, but routinely bites on play action fakes and gets out of position because of that.

Also, Is there some unspoken rule out there that we need to let opposing teams catch the ball in zone coverage, so we can try and get a big hit?



Travis "Big Whiffa" Uale - I can't remember the last time I have seen a safety at BYU:



A) have so many blown coverages go for TD's and/or long plays



B) Miss so many tackles



C) penalties - though they cleaned that up last game.



I don't want to turn this into a Heaps thread, because this thread is about the defense, but this guy is singularly responsible for as many TD's against us, as INT's for Jake. He misses almost as many tackles per game as Jake misses throws. It just strikes me as funny that we have 12 "Heaps is dead to me - Who's next?" type threads going, but not one about shoddy secondary play.



Is Hague still injured? Do we have other options here?

Totally agreed here! Uale has provided some AWESOME hits, but man has he been a liability out there! Sorenson will eventually stop biting on Play Action and I'm impressed with him so far from a speed, positioning, and tackling standpoint...

Double post, sorry

Not sure I change anything yet. About to hit the weakest part of our schedule, and our D has looked really good so far. I smell some shutouts coming up, or near shut outs. 2-3.

I can't wait to rely on true sophomores who just got back from their mission at one of the key safety positions!

SpiffCoug wrote:
I can't wait to rely on true sophomores who just got back from their mission at one of the key safety positions!

hahaha!!!



** DEEP SIGH **

Do we see an SER on the horizon?

Dont forget to add the PER in as a moderating variable somewhere in that equation.

I mean c'mon, how can we expect Uale to play well when the PER is so low?

If there weren't so many 3 and outs, we'd be salivating over how good this defense has been.

Possibly. But if we we are ahead by 2 or 3 touchdowns, teams would have to throw more and our weaknesses on D would be even more exposed. So, see, PER does effect SER, didnt ya know. :-)

Eason is good in that he is always on his man, its just when the ball is on its way he does something to get out of position and or completely blow the play. Uale takes terrible angles, misses a ton of tackles, and cant cover. He has had a few good hits but it seems to have gone to his head, causing the pass interferences.

SpiffCoug wrote:
I can't wait to rely on true sophomores who just got back from their mission at one of the key safety positions!

Bills is probably the best safety recruit we've gotten since Francisco. Considering the fact that he was pushing for playing time behind Johnson before he went on his mission as a true freshman I can't wait to see him play once he gets back. Comparing him to Sorensen it isn't even close.

hawkwing wrote:
If there weren't so many 3 and outs, we'd be salivating over how good this defense has been.

Everyone is already salivating over how good the defense has been.



3 and outs have nothing to with any of the things I outlined with Uale. As another poster mentioned, if we were actually ahead and scoring, teams would pass over the top more, and take more chances.



I can't see any reason that having less 3 and outs would objectively make our safety play better. If anything, it gives Uale more game time, to - hopefully - improve. But he is just playing miserably, and has just as much game time as anyone else on the field.

Interestingly enough Uale only has three more career starts than our starting QB. He's still pretty young in actual game experience ;)

SpiffCoug wrote:
Interestingly enough Uale only has three more career starts than our starting QB. He's still pretty young in actual game experience ;)

Yep, he is. But Hague was neck and neck with him in camp, and Uale basically only won it the last couple days of camp. (And that proves my point... No one is calling for Uale's head on a stick. At most people are "questioning" the secondary. If Heaps had an Oline as good as our Dline, and RBs as good as our linebackers the offense would be in a completely different shape right now.)





Besides, Uale is way worse at safety, than Heaps is at quarterback.



(Like anyone could even know that, Napoleon :) )

BlueIsBetter wrote:

If there weren't so many 3 and outs, we'd be salivating over how good this defense has been.

Everyone is already salivating over how good the defense has been.



3 and outs have nothing to with any of the things I outlined with Uale. As another poster mentioned, if we were actually ahead and scoring, teams would pass over the top more, and take more chances.



I can't see any reason that having less 3 and outs would objectively make our safety play better. If anything, it gives Uale more game time, to - hopefully - improve. But he is just playing miserably, and has just as much game time as anyone else on the field.

However if we were ahead 2 or 3 tds we would most likely sit in more of a cover 2 deep or even a cover 4( quarters) and expect the pass and then adjust to the run as it sits now, teams are able to run so we have to think pass or run and adjust to the to either. Not a very good argument that if we were ahead that our pass coverage would be exposed. Whenever most teams are ahead like that they attack a little but usually have safeties and corners a little deeper to prevent a quick strike and keep the other team from getting back in the game.



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BlueIsBetter wrote:
1. Sampson over Eason. This needs to happen soon. Eason isn't a **bad** player. He is easily one of my favorite players from last year. He is a good cornerback, and an awesome tackler. Sampson is just a better every down cb at this point.



2. The safety play. Do we really not have anyone better than Uale/Sorenson? I think Sorenson is doing a good job, but routinely bites on play action fakes and gets out of position because of that.

Also, Is there some unspoken rule out there that we need to let opposing teams catch the ball in zone coverage, so we can try and get a big hit?



Travis "Big Whiffa" Uale - I can't remember the last time I have seen a safety at BYU:



A) have so many blown coverages go for TD's and/or long plays



B) Miss so many tackles (and take so many bad angles to miss them)



As you know Travis Uale is a family friend. Having said that, I would be perfectly happy to see Bronco rotate in Hague to give Travis the rest that almost every other defender but the safeties are getting if you will quit making excuses for Jake Heaps and be willing to consider that maybe he ought to sit for a quarter or two. I think the fact that Bronco is rotating almost all defenders including KVN last Friday, except the safeties tells you that he doesn't think he has a good backup even though Hague is now healthy enough to play special teams. Perhaps it is because EXPERIENCE MATTERS and Hague has none. I would imagine that Bronco is working to get him ready and that we will see what he has got at some point. That is a good idea. You need to develop backups and we clearly have not done enough of that at safety. I thought Sampson or the other new corner were also supposed to double at safety. We should try some of that out - especially if we ever get a comfortable lead. You might ask why the safeties are in so many plays. That often means something else broke down.



BTW, Travis has an Int, iirc, and has at least knocked the crap and the ball out of a receiver saving a TD, and made many good tackles. He got player of the week once. How many TDs does Jake have? How many times has he been player of the week? You said you like to give credit where credit is due. Uale is not perfect. When tired DL and LB ket big speedy backs get loose in open field he gets jukes and arm tackles. He is nit perfect in coverage. Who is? He is not NFL caliber and does not claim to be. Working man. Walk on that earned a scholarship at the U then walked on and earned one here. That is all he is. He does not play scared of pain. Can play tentative of getting jukes. He is not afraid to hit. He does have some limitations.



C) penalties - though they cleaned that up last game.



I don't want to turn this into a Heaps thread, because this thread is about the defense, but this guy is singularly responsible for as many TD's against us, as INT's for Jake. He misses almost as many tackles per game as Jake misses throws. It just strikes me as funny that we have 12 "Heaps is dead to me - Who's next?" type threads going, but not one about shoddy secondary play.



Is Hague still injured? Do we have other options here?

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