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1) relative healthiness - injuries killed BYU at DB & LB last year. Yes, Harvey has been out, and the OL has had people out, but so far neither could be classified as a problem that's really hurt the team.
2) An influx of DBs - specifically at CB.
Healthy LBs & DBs means that you can blitz a bit and expect the pass coverage to still be decent. We simply couldn't blitz by the end of last year, nor could we try to disguise coverages. The personnel we had on the field couldn't make up any deficiencies that might be caused by trying to do anything 'fancy.' It was standard cover-2 all game long - and BYU did nothing to hide that fact.
And on top of that, having good CBs (and Safeties) means that when you blitz or otherwise change things up on defense, there will be passes broken up and have guys tackled before they break out of the second layer of the defense.
By the end of last year, the Cougs were so banged up, Bronco's only alternative was to go plain-vanilla on defense and 'keep everything in front' of the defense. It became VERY predictable - enough so that marginal QBs simply picked BYU apart.
Now that BYU has healthy guys playing on D, a more aggressive style of play is available. Start with a solid D-line. Add in two guys who can cover at CB, dramatically immproved safeties, and a whole slew of healthy linebackers, and you've got a much less predictable defense that forces opposing QBs to have to actually make decisions on the fly and allows everyone to 'sell-out' a bit more in pass rush and pursuit to the ball. Defenders & coaches are now confident if they are aggressive and miss a tackle, there will be someone there to make the tackle behind him. It's how defense is SUPPOSED to be played. What we saw at the end of last year was not. But given the injury problems, I'm not sure Bronco had a choice...
2) An influx of DBs - specifically at CB.
Healthy LBs & DBs means that you can blitz a bit and expect the pass coverage to still be decent. We simply couldn't blitz by the end of last year, nor could we try to disguise coverages. The personnel we had on the field couldn't make up any deficiencies that might be caused by trying to do anything 'fancy.' It was standard cover-2 all game long - and BYU did nothing to hide that fact.
And on top of that, having good CBs (and Safeties) means that when you blitz or otherwise change things up on defense, there will be passes broken up and have guys tackled before they break out of the second layer of the defense.
By the end of last year, the Cougs were so banged up, Bronco's only alternative was to go plain-vanilla on defense and 'keep everything in front' of the defense. It became VERY predictable - enough so that marginal QBs simply picked BYU apart.
Now that BYU has healthy guys playing on D, a more aggressive style of play is available. Start with a solid D-line. Add in two guys who can cover at CB, dramatically immproved safeties, and a whole slew of healthy linebackers, and you've got a much less predictable defense that forces opposing QBs to have to actually make decisions on the fly and allows everyone to 'sell-out' a bit more in pass rush and pursuit to the ball. Defenders & coaches are now confident if they are aggressive and miss a tackle, there will be someone there to make the tackle behind him. It's how defense is SUPPOSED to be played. What we saw at the end of last year was not. But given the injury problems, I'm not sure Bronco had a choice...
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