Well that was nice - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

MikeWaters · 09-02-2007, 01:13 AM

1. Anae didn't lay an egg in the first game as he has seemed to do in the past.

2. Unga is amazing.

3. Hall looks like he will be solid and is the legit QB of the future. He doesn't appear to have the strongest arm, but he appears to have the potential to be an excellent decision maker.

4. Tuitama is awful, so while I think the defense did great, we need another week to really pass judgement.

Venkman · 09-02-2007, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

1. Anae didn't lay an egg in the first game as he has seemed to do in the past.

2. Unga is amazing.

3. Hall looks like he will be solid and is the legit QB of the future. He doesn't appear to have the strongest arm, but he appears to have the potential to be an excellent decision maker.

4. Tuitama is awful, so while I think the defense did great, we need another week to really pass judgement.

Hall had great poise for his first start. He's gonna be a good one. Too bad he couldn't hook up with Collie on a couple of those long passes.

Overall a great game. Kicking scares the crap out of me though.

ChinoCoug · 09-02-2007, 02:03 AM

Unga is our RB of the now and future.

Have any of the Poly backs let us down in the long run? I can't remember.

None of Hall's bombs were anywhere close.

I agreed with Bronco's call on 4th-and-1. at the 2. Total Moneyball decision. If it's 4 and =<2 should be going for it.

jay santos · 09-02-2007, 02:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChinoCoug

Unga is our RB of the now and future.

Have any of the Poly backs let us down in the long run? I can't remember.

None of Hall's bombs were anywhere close.

I agreed with Bronco's call on 4th-and-1. at the 2. Total Moneyball decision. If it's 4 and =<2 should be going for it.

Tahi disappointed a little after his mish and didn't return to freshman form until his senior year.

I like our backs, but I wish we had a speed guy to run the sweep.

ChinoCoug · 09-02-2007, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay santos

Tahi disappointed a little after his mish and didn't return to freshman form until his senior year.

hence "in the long run."

BigFatMeanie · 09-02-2007, 02:42 AM

My thoughts on the game:

- It was hotter than a snake's butt in a wagon rut. 95+ down by the field. I was sure glad when the shade finally came over the west stands.

- I think the "blue-out" was a complete flop in that it had no visible effect. I saw tons of people wearing the blue t-shirts but the statdium didn't look any bluer than it usually does. In fact, over on the east stands (I was sitting in the west) it looked more white than blue.

- Bronco just went off on the crowd for booing the punter (I'm listening to the post-game show on the radio) but how many crappy punts can you put up with? If Bronco doesn't think booing is appropriate, what is an appropriate way to let your own team know that they're not getting it done? You know the punting is horrible when the punter finally lets off a decent punt and the whole crowd cheers.

- I didn't see that the vaunted speed of the AZ defense had that much affect. I also didn't notice Cason that much. Perhaps that's due to the Cougars not throwing to his side of the field but it seemed to me that Corby Hodgekiss had more pass breakups than Cason did.

- The speed of BYU's defense was better than I expected. There were several times where they were able to stop AZ from turning the corner on the outsides. Even if Tuitama isn't the best QB ever, the BYU D did a good job against AZ's run so I can't chalk up the good D performance entirely to AZ's suckitude. That being said, I certainly am not delusional enough to expect that the BYU D will hold UCLA to a single score next week.

- I've never been a big fan of the 3-man wall punt formation. AZ never really had a block on but it seems to me that if a team really wants to block the punt their chances are better against the 3-man wall than against a traditional formation. I don't know why this formation is so in vogue but I just don't like it.

non sequitur · 09-02-2007, 02:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChinoCoug

I agreed with Bronco's call on 4th-and-1. at the 2. Total Moneyball decision. If it's 4 and =<2 should be going for it.

It was absolutely the wrong thing to do. When you have a chance to push it to a 3 score game that late, you have to do it. And if you are going to go for it, don't let the smallest guy on the field try to run it in. Not to bag on Hall, but I think my 13 year old could take the guy down in arm wrestling.

myboynoah · 09-02-2007, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by non sequitur

It was absolutely the wrong thing to do. When you have a chance to push it to a 3 score game that late, you have to do it. And if you are going to go for it, don't let the smallest guy on the field try to run it in. Not to bag on Hall, but I think my 13 year old could take the guy down in arm wrestling.

Given the state of the kicking game, I can see why Bronco did that. You are correct on the QB sneak. Strange call.

YOhio · 09-02-2007, 02:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigFatMeanie

- Bronco just went off on the crowd for booing the punter (I'm listening to the post-game show on the radio) but how many crappy punts can you put up with? If Bronco doesn't think booing is appropriate, what is an appropriate way to let your own team know that they're not getting it done? You know the punting is horrible when the punter finally lets off a decent punt and the whole crowd cheers.

I side with Bronco on this point. I've never liked the idea of booing players. It seems so ugly to boo 20 year old kids. If booing the punting really must be done, at least wait for a few weeks when the guy has shown a pattern of ineptitude. Don't shake his confidence the first game.

JohnnyLingo · 09-02-2007, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by non sequitur

It was absolutely the wrong thing to do. When you have a chance to push it to a 3 score game that late, you have to do it. And if you are going to go for it, don't let the smallest guy on the field try to run it in. Not to bag on Hall, but I think my 13 year old could take the guy down in arm wrestling.

Just got back from the game myself, and IMO, that wasn't really Hall's fault. The O-line gave him zero push and nothing that even looked like a hole.

Hall was much better than I expected. If someone had said on Friday that he'd pass for 288 yards and 2 TD's with no INT's I wouldn't have bought that.

I agree with the sentiments that the team speed for the D was much better than I've seen for a long time from the Cougards. Tuitama would throw these quick outs and expect the receiver to make the first down and a cougar would be right there to shut the WR down. Very impressive.

Unga is a stud. I wish we had someone with more speed in the backfield, too, but I think we'll be fine in the running game.

I think if Tuitama had gone long more often early in the game this could have turned out different. But who knows?

Collie looked fine. Fast, quick, strong, etc. Hope Hall can start to find him with the long ball.

Hall's career looks like it might mirror Beck's in a way... Beck in 2004 had the long ball down and struggled to find the shorter stuff. Hall has the short to mid-range ball in his arsenal and struggles with the long ball. I think he'll progress in that regard.

09-02-2007, 01:13 AM	#1
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	Well that was nice 1. Anae didn't lay an egg in the first game as he has seemed to do in the past. 2. Unga is amazing. 3. Hall looks like he will be solid and is the legit QB of the future. He doesn't appear to have the strongest arm, but he appears to have the potential to be an excellent decision maker. 4. Tuitama is awful, so while I think the defense did great, we need another week to really pass judgement.

09-02-2007, 02:03 AM	#3
ChinoCoug Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NOVA Posts: 3,005	Unga is our RB of the now and future. Have any of the Poly backs let us down in the long run? I can't remember. None of Hall's bombs were anywhere close. I agreed with Bronco's call on 4th-and-1. at the 2. Total Moneyball decision. If it's 4 and =<2 should be going for it. __________________ 太初有道

09-02-2007, 02:42 AM	#6
BigFatMeanie Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: South Jordan Posts: 1,725	My thoughts on the game: - It was hotter than a snake's butt in a wagon rut. 95+ down by the field. I was sure glad when the shade finally came over the west stands. - I think the "blue-out" was a complete flop in that it had no visible effect. I saw tons of people wearing the blue t-shirts but the statdium didn't look any bluer than it usually does. In fact, over on the east stands (I was sitting in the west) it looked more white than blue. - Bronco just went off on the crowd for booing the punter (I'm listening to the post-game show on the radio) but how many crappy punts can you put up with? If Bronco doesn't think booing is appropriate, what is an appropriate way to let your own team know that they're not getting it done? You know the punting is horrible when the punter finally lets off a decent punt and the whole crowd cheers. - I didn't see that the vaunted speed of the AZ defense had that much affect. I also didn't notice Cason that much. Perhaps that's due to the Cougars not throwing to his side of the field but it seemed to me that Corby Hodgekiss had more pass breakups than Cason did. - The speed of BYU's defense was better than I expected. There were several times where they were able to stop AZ from turning the corner on the outsides. Even if Tuitama isn't the best QB ever, the BYU D did a good job against AZ's run so I can't chalk up the good D performance entirely to AZ's suckitude. That being said, I certainly am not delusional enough to expect that the BYU D will hold UCLA to a single score next week. - I've never been a big fan of the 3-man wall punt formation. AZ never really had a block on but it seems to me that if a team really wants to block the punt their chances are better against the 3-man wall than against a traditional formation. I don't know why this formation is so in vogue but I just don't like it.