Moving On to BSU--Room for Improvement

[crazycougar84601]

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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[scott715]

Both are young players. They will get better.

[KingCoug]

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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[scott715]

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.

[Cougarfan87]

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.

[Schmoe]

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.

[jonnylingo]

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.

[redneckjedi]

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.

[scott715]

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

[snoscythe]

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.