Anae and Discipline

PS We could have easily set up a makable game winning FG, but instead of, hmm, maybe throwing a 10 yard pass to Mathews, decided to run that stupid delayed counter to our third string walk-on running back and lost 5 yards. Still scratching my head over that one. When they showed Bronco closing his eyes before the last pass, I said to my son, “It looks like Bronco is praying.” My son responded, “Yeah, he is saying, please Heavenly Father, don’t let Anae call another dive right now.” It gave us all a good laugh before the huge cheers!

For one of the few times in my life on these discussion boards I agree with K.C. Enjoy the two wins. We get two of the most incredible wins in BYU history and people are complaining. I think most people who looked at the first four games on the schedule felt like BYU could call September a success if they came out of it 2-2. If BYU comes out of September 3-1 it will have been a great success. If they come out of it 4-0 lookout because for the first time in years I will have hopes the Cougars can go 12-0.

Enjoy the 2nd coming of the real Jake Heaps. Mangum is the real deal because he has all the tools and he is a winner. I am still very disappointed in losing Hill but the glass is half full because Mangum has the goods. Great arm, accurate, a smart kid, poised, a leader, and a winner. If Anae isn’t all that good of an offensive coordinator at least he has a QB who can make plays and bail him out.

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I agree Aro… and am upbeat with Mangum behind center. It seems that he is comfortable running Anae’s offense because he knows he can check off and improvise when necessary and that appears to be a regular occurrence after the first two games. His ability to stretch plays and adjust is paying dividends, much like Hill used to do. RA is fortunate to have QB"s who can do this.

I do believe it is possible to enjoy the wins and still be honest about what took place. Do you disagree with the notion that BYU was fortunate, no… VERY fortunate to come out on top in both of these games? After the first game I knew Mangum would make some mistakes, after all he is not perfect, but I also know he has some moxy.

Lastly, I think we need to thank Jamal WIlliams mother for her role in the victory. She mentioned before the game that she had talked with that Deion kid (the mouthy one) who was a teammate of Jamal and Devon Blackmon in high school and told him that he just needed to take his beating like a man and look forward to the next game after BYU won. I thought that was great!

BYU was fortunate to win but I am going to enjoy the wins. Some years the breaks go your way and some years they don’t, like last year for instance. If we go 10-2 this year I will be happy. I think 9-3 would be acceptable and anything better I would be thrilled.

I understand the analyzing and critiquing but sometimes I think people over analyze things and can’t enjoy the moment. BYU may have been lucky to win both games but I still think they were the better team in both games and it would have been a shame for them to lose.

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9-3 would be outstanding. Still rough road games to play, so win half your remaining tough road games and take care of business at home and you will have a great year. Play calling with Anae has always been an adventure. You have the players to stretch the field, but imo 80% of your passes should be 5-15 yard variety. The delayed up the middle hand-off is killing a lot of BYU drives. I would rather see Hine catching swings. Brown has not looked good imo, but Carter hasn’t either and could be because of the absence of Hill. Some don’t really understand how good Hill was and how he made everyone else better. Mangum is a star in the process, but will exhibit growing pains which will create a few losses, but his potential is NFL caliber. BYU is 2-0 and could have been 0-2, so I’m thrilled. If you would have polled most people they would have been happy to be 2-2 at the conclusion of the first 4 games. BYU can play with UCLA and Michigan, but the play-calling has to improve and they need to win the turnover battle. I am very intrigued by the BYU defense-they have potential which I don’t believe they really had last year. I don’t proscribe little blue pills, but it’s great being 2-0 going to the Rose Bowl!

Sorry, I agree they came out flat on defense, but not offense. They made three first downs before they had to punt. Pass, run, pass, pass, run, sack, pass, punt. The offense moved fine, it was the defense where the problem was initially. We took over the second quarter and should have scored an additional TD had RB caught that pass on the last drive.

You seem to have two different debates at the same time. One is that Anae calls bad plays. The other is that we won because we are lucky.
I agree the play calling was frustrating at times. 5 straight dives into the line. Too many bombs. Bombs basically work in either broken plays or the QB has way too much time to throw the ball. RA called too many of them.
I disagree that we only won because of luck. Luck only happens when there is preparation, talent and skill. The long passes required accurate passing, good blocking by the line and good moves by the receivers to get open and to the right place at the right time.
Nacuas interceptions we again being in the right place, working hard and having the skills.

We don’t run dive plays, they are draws, traps, powers and read options for the most part. It’s a myth that BYU runs dive plays concocted by uneducated fans.

Maybe that’s what we are suppose to be running. But they just turn out to be dive plays into the line. Liberals always trying to act like they know more than anyone else.

Okay, so don’t call them “dives”, call them “belly flops” because that is a good description of the effectiveness when they are run. I totally understand and recognize the need for that call on occasion because it keeps the defense guessing but the predictable nature of the call on R.A.'s part is what makes it so awful. Likewise the problems associated with actually running a play that works and then never going back to it or never running a play that might work are so glaringly obvious that it is annoying to the fans that have been watching for years.

Honestly, don’t you get tired of watching the RB’s get stuffed when they run up the middle or try some ill advised draw or trap that the defense KNOWS is coming because of the formation or whatever? and then when they spread it out a little and let Hine run to or on the edges and he goes for 8, 10 or 15 yards and Anae never goes back to that play… doesn’t that Anaey you at all? I get very Anaeyed when I watch that over and over. Also, the “everyone go long and I’ll try to buy some time by throwing as far as I can while running to the sideline” play just doesn’t have lasting potential. Sorry man, I just have never liked the way R.A. calls a game, it is rare that the offense flows, clicks and moves the ball in sustained drives that result in touchdowns. That is the kind of football I like, ball control and dominating as the offense dissects the defense and wears them down.

I guess it is just a personal preference that I have to live with. I do enjoy the miraculous bombs to the end zone as well so I’m pretty happy so far this season. :smile:

Actually one of those draw plays worked beautifully on the last drive against Nebraska. Hine gained about 13 yards if I am not mistaken. I think a lot the effectiveness of that play is the timing. It is a good play if called at the right time and executed well. It was actually a staple of the old BYU playbook under Norm Chow and others before him.

I always try to look at the big picture. The BYU scoring average is 34 points per game and the offensive production is around 450 yards per game. That should win most games. So far it has won both games.

Jim - Going back to that play… It does Anaey me (good one Anaey). Back in the 80’s and 90’s we had Inside Circus Dizzy Pass Plays were fun to watch. Watching other team not able to stop a quick short or long pass cross pattern. Good ole days.

Somewhere in the mid 3rd qtr bsu with the ball, I walked away from the tv feeling the gut that the broncos going to score again and we won’t be able to catch up. But coming back to tv 3 minutes later we score to bring the game closer was a relief. I hope this time at ucla we will play good game all 4 qtrs.!

That’s the thing for me - play a good game all 4 qtrs.! If we play well the entire game and lose, at least we gave it our best shot. Without a doubt, we cannot go on winning games by pulling it out in the last minutes or seconds.

That was a draw play vs Nebraska that worked, not a dive play

Where did aro call it a ‘dive’ play? He said ‘draw’ play at the beginning.

I’m the head 8th grade coach at our local middle school. Yes they are only 8th graders, but I humbly submit that I know the difference between a draw, a trap, and a read option, all of which my team runs after we wear teams down with our ball control passing game. But I digress…You are right that I rather lazily and wrongfully refer to all of our worthless runs up the middle as “dives,” but what I’m rather lazily calling “dive” is when we announce we are handing the ball to a lone back up the middle with no lead blocker, and then he dives onto the pile for zero yards after discovering that for the 20th time in a row there is no hole to run through because the D all knows what’s coming. To me, that’s a dive. Plus give me a pass because in the olden days, EVERY run between the tackles was called “dive.” If Anae wants to shorten the game, I think there are better ways to do it. Plus I’m being contrarian here anyway, because I’ve largely supported Anae–I just think he gets too stubborn and uncreative with his game plans, and it’s fun to discuss this stuff with fellow BYU fans.

Yet his offense has produced some incredible RBs and success with balance. I love his game plans so far, they have been perfect. We don’t have the athletes to just line up and throw every down and expect to keep it close at the end. His game plan plays to the talent on the team and is working, let’s enjoy it while It lasts, as film is out and d coordinators are going to come up with new wrinkles for us.

KC I love your posts but you and I are just going to have to disagree about the game plan. I think that Anae’s running success has been more a factor of sheer talent rather than scheme during his tenure, having Harvey Unga, Jamal Williams, and Lasike, three borderline NFL players, to carry the rock. I REALLY miss watching Baby J play–he plays as hard and as passionately on every snap as any football player I’ve ever seen. My campus sources tell me that Squally Canada has the type of body and passion that could make him next in that line of great BYU backs.

I hope you are willing to reread your post and rethink what it is you are saying. You talk as if it is only because of this great offensive mind named Robert Anae that the running backs at BYU have been successful. What is it exactly that you love about his game plans? Do you love the way he adjusts at halftime? Also, I disagree strongly that BYU does not have the athletes to just line up and throw every down. We have absolutely one of the best group of wide receivers the school has ever seen. Tall, good hands, good route runners and some speed mixed in. His game plan does not play to the talent of the team. We had some pretty good tight ends that never got the ball much, except in the rare occasion when they scored touchdowns after getting a play called their way.

I just think your take, while okay most of the time, is lacking and defensive of an OC that is overly conservative, tries desperately to protect leads and has been fortunate to win the first two games because of flukey, go-long intramural type plays. I am very anxious to see what kind of game plan he has ready for UCLA. Of course you are already making excuses for him with that “film is out, new wrinkles” comment at the end.We will see how well RA adjusts and is able to come up with NEW wrinkles for the offense…

We have [quote=“JimHawks, post:39, topic:3017”] the running backs at BYU have been successful[/quote] at BYU? News to me… LOL

I agree with you Jim, the RB’s is not that good this year.