Was that a worst case scenario for our QB situation?

[smokymountainrain]

They need to have Jake take off the green jersey and let the defense knock him around in practice to get him ready for game situations.

Of course they would never do this, but I think you're right - it's the one thing that might help some.

[Shaka]

I don't get this. He was yanked last week. Is there any indication that he is doing anything other than what you describe above? He looked very supportive during the game and he seemed to say the right things during his interviews this week.

When did I say he didn't work in practice.? I said he needs to work hard. Saying that doesn't mean that he wasn't doing work prior to getting yanked. Well unless you want to spin it to fit your opinion...

While he's out there practicing hard it would also help if he adds additional focus to his deficiencies.

[Tone Loc]

If I am heaps I am pissed. As a 19 year old sophomore with a handful of starts he goes on the road in hostile environments and home against great defensive teams in his first 5 games. He has absolutely no running game, and the oline play was much worse than expected. Doman kept making him throw 5-7 yard outs clear across the field. With all this going on he started to wilt. He gets yanked against usu without even throwing a pick. Watches his backup along with the help of Jesus complete a hail mary and a ricochet pass for the win. Then the soft schedule comes along and suddenly byu can run the ball, doman calls 10 spot passes and screens that go for big plays and yards. Jake had to be on the sidelines saying f me, where has this been all year.

It seems like he was mismanaged and then hung out to dry.

I would think about transferring if I was him. He needs a new start. Not sure the players like him and there is a fairly good reason why. Boise would seem like a good spot with their level of coaching.

As far as riley is concerned I like him as a player, kid is nails. He just doesn't have the tools to beat the good teams. If he starts through 2012 byu is most likely 6-6, 7-5.

[Jeff Lebowski]

What does the press conference have to do with anything? That is your biggest concern...justifying things to Greg Wrubell?

I'm not really concerned with what the coaches would say to the press, but that is just me. Getting him to hit his receivers will take practice. What better way to get practice than against a slew of tomato cans coming into LES.

Greg Wrubell? Obviously I am speaking of his explanation to the public at large. I don't buy the "this season is lost anyway" line of reasoning. In spite of all this talk about other priorities, blah, blah, blah... the truth is that the #1 most important thing is winning. Look at how hysterical some fans were last night that we beat, but did not dominate, SJSU. Imagine the bloodletting that would have occurred had we lost. Losing to teams like Utah State and SJSU would be devastating to the program. No kind of talk about "Hey don't worry, we are cashing in this season and building for next year" will ever fly, especially for a team with only two losses. This is just not realistic.

The fact of the matter is that Heaps played so poorly that he gave the coaches no alternative but to bench him. Now, as long as the team keeps winning, it will be very difficult to bring him off the bench. I feel for the coaches as they are in a tough spot. Not a lot of options at this point.

[TripletDaddy]

When did I say he didn't work in practice.? I said he needs to work hard. Saying that doesn't mean that he wasn't doing work prior to getting yanked. Well unless you want to spin it to fit your opinion...

While he's out there practicing hard it would also help if he adds additional focus to his deficiencies.

You didn't say he didn't work in practice, at least not in the post I quoted. Conveniently, I didn't say you said such. Sheesh.

I didn't understand your tone. You are saying Heaps needs to shut up and support his teammate. I'm asking what he has done to make you say this. Seems like he already has shut up and is supporting the team. I only have this week to go on because prior to this week, he was the starter.

[TripletDaddy]

Greg Wrubell? Obviously I am speaking of his explanation to the public at large. I don't buy the "this season is lost anyway" line of reasoning. In spite of all this talk about other priorities, blah, blah, blah... the truth is that the #1 most important thing is winning. Look at how hysterical some fans were last night that we beat, but did not dominate, SJSU. Imagine the bloodletting that would have occurred had we lost. Losing to teams like Utah State and SJSU would be devastating to the program. No kind of talk about "Hey don't worry, we are cashing in this season and building for next year" will ever fly, especially for a team with only two losses. This is just not realistic.

The fact of the matter is that Heaps played so poorly that he gave the coaches no alternative but to bench him. Now, as long as the team keeps winning, it will be very difficult to bring him off the bench. I feel for the coaches as they are in a tough spot. Not a lot of options at this point.

Exactly. There are not a lot of options because Bronco has inserted another starter into the mix. I recently cited to the Denver broncos...how they continue to go with their QB despite the losses because they feel like the long term benefit it is there. I think Bronco should have done the same. The starting QB went 1-2 and was on the verge of losing game 4. You pull him for that? Has Arizona pulled its starting QB? Has oregon state? How many schools that are 1-3 right now have benched their starting QB?

I've asked before and I will ask again. What exactly are they playing for this season? Fine if you don't buy it, but help me understand. I already cited bowl eligibility, but also noted that they will get that sleepwalking. 6 wins isn't a very inspiring goal. They need 2 more wins.

You have made clear your position. I'm asking you to lay out some things that these guys are shooting for now. Lost the rivalry game, lost at Texas, no conference championship to win, what else is there? Moral victories? Finishing what you started? Not quitting? If they win out or if they only win 2 more times, they are going to the same bowl game. If anything, this season ended sooner than most others by virtue of being locked into the armed forces bowl.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Exactly. There are not a lot of options because Bronco has inserted another starter into the mix. I recently cited to the Denver broncos...how they continue to go with their QB despite the losses because they feel like the long term benefit it is there. I think Bronco should have done the same. The starting QB went 1-2 and was on the verge of losing game 4. You pull him for that? Has Arizona pulled its starting QB? Has oregon state? How many schools that are 1-3 right now have benched their starting QB?

I've asked before and I will ask again. What exactly are they playing for this season? Fine if you don't buy it, but help me understand. I already cited bowl eligibility, but also noted that they will get that sleepwalking. 6 wins isn't a very inspiring goal. They need 2 more wins.

You have made clear your position. I'm asking you to lay out some things that these guys are shooting for now. Lost the rivalry game, lost at Texas, no conference championship to win, what else is there? Moral victories? Finishing what you started? Not quitting? If they win out or if they only win 2 more times, they are going to the same bowl game. If anything, this season ended sooner than most others by virtue of being locked into the armed forces bowl.

I don't know how else to say it. There is very little tolerance in this business for coaches that lose, especially to poor teams. That is the bottom line.

I have also lost faith that Heaps will ever be consistently productive for us. So consider that when you read my responses. If they want to give him another shot, that is fine. But I doubt he ever comes close to the hype he has received.

[jay santos]

Exactly. There are not a lot of options because Bronco has inserted another starter into the mix. I recently cited to the Denver broncos...how they continue to go with their QB despite the losses because they feel like the long term benefit it is there. I think Bronco should have done the same. The starting QB went 1-2 and was on the verge of losing game 4. You pull him for that? Has Arizona pulled its starting QB? Has oregon state? How many schools that are 1-3 right now have benched their starting QB?

I've asked before and I will ask again. What exactly are they playing for this season? Fine if you don't buy it, but help me understand. I already cited bowl eligibility, but also noted that they will get that sleepwalking. 6 wins isn't a very inspiring goal. They need 2 more wins.

You have made clear your position. I'm asking you to lay out some things that these guys are shooting for now. Lost the rivalry game, lost at Texas, no conference championship to win, what else is there? Moral victories? Finishing what you started? Not quitting? If they win out or if they only win 2 more times, they are going to the same bowl game. If anything, this season ended sooner than most others by virtue of being locked into the armed forces bowl.

Your assumptions is that Bronco/Doman agree with you that Heaps is the QB of the future. Also that by sitting out an undetermined about of time this season will not help in the long run. I think Bronco/Doman clearly disagree with you. So you can toss out the rest of the logical process.

I think it's very possible 2012 will be a better season with Nelson playing the rest of this season and next than Heaps. I also think it's very possible Heaps will be a better QB in 2012 if he has a little adversity to overcome with this QB situation.

[TripletDaddy]

Your assumptions is that Bronco/Doman agree with you that Heaps is the QB of the future. Also that by sitting out an undetermined about of time this season will not help in the long run. I think Bronco/Doman clearly disagree with you. So you can toss out the rest of the logical process.

you are correct in identifying my assumptions.

Im not sure what Bronco and Doman think. Ive mentioned before that I'm not convinced Bronco even knows how to handle this situation.

[jay santos]

you are correct in identifying my assumptions.

Im not sure what Bronco and Doman think. Ive mentioned before that I'm not convinced Bronco even knows how to handle this situation.

Heaps is a head case right now, and I agree I don't think Bronco knows how to deal with head cases. Bronco's method to deal with personnel issues seems to be punish the crap out of them, and if they're tough enough to make it through, he'll accept them back. Boggles my mind, but his players seem to respond and love him pretty universally.

[TripletDaddy]

Heaps is a head case right now, and I agree I don't think Bronco knows how to deal with head cases. Bronco's method to deal with personnel issues seems to be punish the crap out of them, and if they're tough enough to make it through, he'll accept them back. Boggles my mind, but his players seem to respond and love him pretty universally.

Ha, that is kind of funny but seems to be true. Weird.

I don't know whether heaps is a head case. I think this issue is much like the B12 expansion. Everyone thinks they know but in reality almost nobody does, including myself.

[Shaka]

You didn't say he didn't work in practice, at least not in the post I quoted. Conveniently, I didn't say you said such. Sheesh.

I didn't understand your tone. You are saying Heaps needs to shut up and support his teammate. I'm asking what he has done to make you say this. Seems like he already has shut up and is supporting the team. I only have this week to go on because prior to this week, he was the starter.

Since when did anyone accuse me of being a good writer? I'll admit to not being the best at conveying tone. I'll try to do better.

I think Jake had a good second half of the season last year and rested on his laurels during the offseason. Unfortunately he was successful against medocre competition which gave him a false sense of his abilities. Earlier this season I posted about the collective team reaction when Riley was inserted in the Utah game. Even with Riley doing mop-up duty many of his teammates rallied behind him. We saw an even more glaring reaction during and after the USU game. It's obvious that Riley has earned more respect from his teammates. I think Ogletree's post game remarks, whether you thought he was out of line or not, were a reflection of the general feelings of the team. I think part of the team's reaction goes back to the off-season. I've heard that Jake's work ethic wasn't all that hot. If true it's unfortunate because Jake had problems that needed to be addressed at that time.

Fast forward to this season where Jake has struggled mightily with some of the basic things a QB has to do. Letting this slide can only go on for so long before a coach has to do something about it. If the coach fails to act he loses everyone else on the team. I will state right now no quarterback is worth losing the trust of the other players. The timing kind of sucks for Jake as I have no doubt he'd have more success vs the crappy competition in our future. With that said I feel that Bronco had to make a move to retain the rest of the team's respect.

I also agree with Lebowski on this season is lost crap. It's not lost. We have two losses. Sure we have a road map to the AFB but that doesn't mean I do not want to see us try and win our games with the most productive players getting the bulk of the minutes.

I've stated it before and I'll state it again. Jake needs to get his issues worked out in practice and await his turn to start without turning into a whinny little entitled putz about it. In this way he can earn back some of that lost respect. I time he will get another shot. In the meantime I'm cheering for Riley to do well.

[Tone Loc]

Since when did anyone accuse me of being a good writer? I'll admit to not being the best at conveying tone. I'll try to do better.

I think Jake had a good second half of the season last year and rested on his laurels during the offseason. Unfortunately he was successful against medocre competition which gave him a false sense of his abilities. Earlier this season I posted about the collective team reaction when Riley was inserted in the Utah game. Even with Riley doing mop-up duty many of his teammates rallied behind him. We saw an even more glaring reaction during and after the USU game. It's obvious that Riley has earned more respect from his teammates. I think Ogletree's post game remarks, whether you thought he was out of line or not, were a reflection of the general feelings of the team. I think part of the team's reaction goes back to the off-season. I've heard that Jake's work ethic wasn't all that hot. If true it's unfortunate because Jake had problems that needed to be addressed at that time.

Fast forward to this season where Jake has struggled mightily with some of the basic things a QB has to do. Letting this slide can only go on for so long before a coach has to do something about it. If the coach fails to act he loses everyone else on the team. I will state right now no quarterback is worth losing the trust of the other players. The timing kind of sucks for Jake as I have no doubt he'd have more success vs the crappy competition in our future. With that said I feel that Bronco had to make a move to retain the rest of the team's respect.

I also agree with Lebowski on this season is lost crap. It's not lost. We have two losses. Sure we have a road map to the AFB but that doesn't mean I do not want to see us try and win our games with the most productive players getting the bulk of the minutes.

I've stated it before and I'll state it again. Jake needs to get his issues worked out in practice and await his turn to start without turning into a whinny little entitled putz about it. In this way he can earn back some of that lost respect. I time he will get another shot. In the meantime I'm cheering for Riley to do well.

For all intents and purposes, practice isn't enough for Jake, he needs game reps. I heard that Jake was so good in practice last week and riley so bad, that doman and bronco were wondering what in the hell they were going to do. He kills it in practice.

If you want riley because he is a gamer, etc. etc., fine, but just realize you are most likely capping the performance of this team for the next year and a half. On the other hand, if you let jake ride it out you will still get to your precious armed forces bowls, but there is a greater chance that he grows up, hits his potential, and takes this team to a level that riley couldnt do.

[Shaka]

For all intents and purposes, practice isn't enough for Jake, he needs game reps. I heard that Jake was so good in practice last week and riley so bad, that doman and bronco were wondering what in the hell they were going to do. He kills it in practice.

If you want riley because he is a gamer, etc. etc., fine, but just realize you are most likely capping the performance of this team for the next year and a half. On the other hand, if you let jake ride it out you will still get to your precious armed forces bowls, but there is a greater chance that he grows up, hits his potential, and takes this team to a level that riley couldnt do.

So tell me, where's the disconnect between him killing it in practice and going to pieces in the games? He's always killed it in practice.

[Surfah]

For all intents and purposes, practice isn't enough for Jake, he needs game reps. I heard that Jake was so good in practice last week and riley so bad, that doman and bronco were wondering what in the hell they were going to do. He kills it in practice.

If you want riley because he is a gamer, etc. etc., fine, but just realize you are most likely capping the performance of this team for the next year and a half. On the other hand, if you let jake ride it out you will still get to your precious armed forces bowls, but there is a greater chance that he grows up, hits his potential, and takes this team to a level that riley couldnt do.

I heard the same thing about last week's practice.