The Heaps Reclamation Project

[Jeff Lebowski]

Very little has been said here about the rest of the Cougar squad, as much has been focused on Heaps and Nelson. But if it is true that some of the players/starters started trying harder with Nelson and were dogging it out of frustration with Heaps, then that is pretty bush league and amateur, which I guess they are both. Most of the skill position players on the offense have blown chunks this season or at least parts of it. There are better ways of expressing frustration than by dogging it or giving less than your best. That really bothered me, truthfully, although it was evident that they were playing harder for Nelson.

I think this whole "tried harder for Nelson" stuff is nonsense. You saw more energy from everyone because we started having success and started seeing some momentum. Had Heaps put together a TD drive late in the game I think you would have seen a similar burst in energy. Momentum is huge in football.

[byu71]

I think this whole "tried harder for Nelson" stuff is nonsense. You saw more energy from everyone because we started having success and started seeing some momentum. Had Heaps put together a TD drive late in the game I think you would have seen a similar burst in energy. Momentum is huge in football.

THIS

[jay santos]

I think this whole "tried harder for Nelson" stuff is nonsense. You saw more energy from everyone because we started having success and started seeing some momentum. Had Heaps put together a TD drive late in the game I think you would have seen a similar burst in energy. Momentum is huge in football.

Agree completely.

[KillerDog]

I'm curious about the comments regarding the offensive line. Is it possible that Anae's focus was more on scheming to protect the QB and the result is that our line looks like they are doing worse than they really are? Who devises the protection schemes the O-line coach or the OC?

[MarkGrace]

I think your aversion to stats is kind of silly. Yeah it's a team game and yeah no stat is ever perfect, but you can get a pretty good picture of what's going on by looking at good stats.

Me? Aversion to stats? haha

[jay santos]

Me? Aversion to stats? haha

We'll i've heard you mention nba and mlb stats but I dont read those threads. Everytime we bring up heaps stats you say its a team game and want to throw them out.

[Sizzle]

True. To illustrate note that the following: project everything the same except for touchdowns over a 13 game season (i.e., use the projections that Sizzle did in his post except for touchdowns). How many touchdowns would Heaps have to throw to achieve an efficiency rating of 129? It's like 50 touchdowns in the next 8 games. His yards per attempt really drags his efficiency down.

Interesting. I remember the 2004 season with Beck very well where the whole season seemed feast or famine with the longball to Watkins and Collie. Makes me also wonder how much the low YPA is being drug down by scheme (short routes/not allowing for YAC) and how much of it is Heaps. His YPA definitely goes up if he connects on a few of the longer passes that have been very close, but again, enough to make a difference?

[Sizzle]

I think this whole "tried harder for Nelson" stuff is nonsense. You saw more energy from everyone because we started having success and started seeing some momentum. Had Heaps put together a TD drive late in the game I think you would have seen a similar burst in energy. Momentum is huge in football.

The only argument that I could legitimately see you making is the message sent to the players that the coaches aren't content to just let the game slip with the status quo. If you aren't getting the job done, we're not just going to let it slide. Step up or be ready to be taken out. Not so much a "Heaps v Riley" thing, but a "anybody can be benched" type thing.

[creekster]

I think this whole "tried harder for Nelson" stuff is nonsense. You saw more energy from everyone because we started having success and started seeing some momentum. Had Heaps put together a TD drive late in the game I think you would have seen a similar burst in energy. Momentum is huge in football.

I think you are ignoring the obvious.

Without question the fact that they had some success, finally, did keep the team interested, but I thought the energy level went up IMMEDIATELY upon Nelson's entrance. It happened before he had success. It is possible that occurred simply because they wanted some sort of change, but IMO it was more than that.

That said, I was watching on TV and at the stadium, so my perspective is limited.

[pelagius]

Interesting. I remember the 2004 season with Beck very well where the whole season seemed feast or famine with the longball to Watkins and Collie.

That's my memory too, but I am not sure it is really true overall. Beck probably connected on a lot more long balls but the average pass doesn't look much different than other BYU QBs. For reference: Feterik and Max Hall both had similar yards per completions as Beck in their sophomore seasons (13-14 yards per completion ... Feterik was the highest -- but he did play against mostly mediocre to poor competition). So it's not like Beck's yards per completion were really high; Heaps are just really on the low side this season (relative to a reasonable matched sample: Beck, Hall, and Feterik in their sophomore years).

If I have time I will do something more sophisticated; it might be time to break out some graphs.

[TripletDaddy]

I think you are ignoring the obvious.

Without question the fact that they had some success, finally, did keep the team interested, but I thought the energy level went up IMMEDIATELY upon Nelson's entrance. It happened before he had success. It is possible that occurred simply because they wanted some sort of change, but IMO it was more than that.

That said, I was watching on TV and at the stadium, so my perspective is limited.

I was there. I felt that there was a palpable difference. The fans were chanting Rileys name before he had done anything.

I don't know if the rumor is true, of course. I couched it in such terms. But I do know that locker room schisms are real. And sometimes players dog it. So while this particular team may be united behind either QB, it certainly isn't that far fetched to think the rumors have some credence, especially when many seem to accept the rumor that Jake has entitlement issues and didn't work as hard in the offseason.

[Jeff Lebowski]

That said, I was watching on TV and at the stadium, ...

Wow. That was quite a trick.

[creekster]

Wow. That was quite a trick.

With byutv and its third tier rights anything is possible.

[jay santos]

If I have time I will do something more sophisticated; it might be time to break out some graphs.

Yes!

[jay santos]

Interesting. I remember the 2004 season with Beck very well where the whole season seemed feast or famine with the longball to Watkins and Collie. Makes me also wonder how much the low YPA is being drug down by scheme (short routes/not allowing for YAC) and how much of it is Heaps. His YPA definitely goes up if he connects on a few of the longer passes that have been very close, but again, enough to make a difference?

I think it goes back to accuracy. If you throw a lot of short balls, like Heaps does, you should complete a lot more of them. Heaps is choosing to throw a lot of short stuff, but he's missing on them.

for example, the following stats would give you roughly the same pass rating (about 113):
2/10, 110 yards
5/10, 75 yards
8/10, 40 yards