Cruisin for a Bruins - the official Utah v UCLA thread

[Tone Loc]

He is a limited QB, but has made far fewer costly mistakes this year. A pathetically low standard to meet, of course; but to paraphrase Rumsfeld, you go into the games with the quarterback you have.

p.s. The word from inside the program is that Chow did nothing to develop Hays.

Fine, then Hays hasnt been developed at all. And keep in mind Solon said this year.

Plus I think you pulled that far fewer costly mistakes out of your can. His QB rating is identical from year to year.

[Solon]

Could you please explain how BJ turned Hays into a servicable QB when he is exactly the same QB with practically the exact stats as last year? Sounds like Chow deserves the credit for 'developing' him, because he isnt any better this year than last.

LAUte said it best. "serviceable" is the lowest acceptable adjective I could use. Hays hasn't lost us any games. He doesn't fumble. He threw a couple of picks vs. USC but otherwise has been a decent game-manager. Don't get me wrong - Hays isn't a very good QB, but I feel like he's much better than he was last year.

Hays isn't the biggest problem with the offense. Maybe that's the best way to put it.

I know you're saying his stats are the same as last year, but I'd say he looks better than he did last year. His fundamentals are better. He seems to be making better decisions, even if he's limited.

[wally]

Turning Hays into a serviceable QB this year is a great credit to Brian Johnson.

I thought that for a 25 YO first year OC, BJ did a pretty good job calling plays vs. USC. Less than stellar execution by Utah versus superior talent did not yield the result I wanted, but I thought that the play-calling was creative enough and showed some decent improvement over previous weeks.

I remain staunchly optimistic about the BJ hire. (Sorry to PU and MPFunk if this is hard for you to hear!)

[LA Ute]

I just think Hays is who he is, and he hasn't developed at all since he's been here. He doesn't make a ton of mistakes, but he doesn't make a ton of big plays either. He's just an average player.

Bingo. He has a ceiling and has met it.

Now, before we get too deep into a Hays-bashing fest, let's be clear that the guy is tough as nails, has all the heart in the world, and can inspire his teammates. There doesn't seem to be an ounce of pettiness or selfishness in him. I honor him and appreciate him for all that.

Last year in the early going he lost games for us and regularly killed drives. This year he's not doing that and not throwing picks (the USC pick-6 is a notable exception, but that game was already out of reach). He's doing the best he can for us and with some decent blocking he should be good enough to get us bowl-eligible. I doubt it will be his fault if we don't get there.

[The_Douger]

Bingo. He has a ceiling and has met it.

Now, before we get too deep into a Hays-bashing fest, let's be clear that the guy is tough as nails, has all the heart in the world, and can inspire his teammates. There doesn't seem to be an ounce of pettiness or selfishness in him. I honor him and appreciate him for all that.

Last year in the early going he lost games for us and regularly killed drives. This year he's not doing that and not throwing picks (the USC pick-6 is a notable exception, but that game was already out of reach). He's doing the best he can for us and with some decent blocking he should be good enough to get us bowl-eligible. I doubt it will be his fault if we don't get there.

Given the dysfunction around him with an OC that I think is in over his head, and a poor offensive line, I think Hays has done fine.

In fact, I'd prefer Hays over Riley at BYU. Maybe that just means I think really poorly of Riley though. Completely agreed that Hays seems like a good teammate.

[Portland Ute]

I remain staunchly optimistic about the BJ hire. (Sorry to PU and MPFunk if this is hard for you to hear!)

Don't lump me in with MP on this.

I was shocked and disappointed at the hire, but I've not been all that down on BJ. Maybe I haven't stated that clearly enough on CUF, but I've said that the very LAST thing the U. needs is more turnover at the OC position.

I've said elsewhere that I was fairly impressed with the playcalling in the 1st half vs. USC and saw some glimmers of hope. There were a couple of drives that were really fun to watch.

I think BJ will do better now that the decision has been made to go to the spread. He knows it. He understands it and I believe he's got the athletes to run it.

[Solon]

I thought that for a 25 YO first year OC, BJ did a pretty good job calling plays vs. USC. Less than stellar execution by Utah versus superior talent did not yield the result I wanted, but I thought that the play-calling was creative enough and showed some decent improvement over previous weeks.

I remain staunchly optimistic about the BJ hire. (Sorry to PU and MPFunk if this is hard for you to hear!)

I'm optimistic too. I trust Whittingham; if he saw something special in BJ, he saw it. If Whit is willing to attach BJ's abilities to his own W-L record, I think fans should be willing to give the kid a couple of years to prove himself. It's an unorthodox move, for sure, but I'm still in wait-and-see mode.

Now, before we get too deep into a Hays-bashing fest, let's be clear that the guy is tough as nails, has all the heart in the world, and can inspire his teammates. There doesn't seem to be an ounce of pettiness or selfishness in him.

I think Hays could be a really good coach someday

[UtahJazzFan88]

Wilson starting.

[BoylenOver]

Well, as it was with Hays, the guys around Wilson (on offense and defense) have to do their jobs to enable him to do his.

He's much better-suited to run spread option than Hays, and has a much better pedigree. But we'll probably see some growing pains in terms of decision-making and holding onto the ball too long.

[The_Tick]

This game on normal tv?

[BoylenOver]

This game on normal tv?

Whatever your opinion of Fox (that's over-the-air Fox) is, that's the station carrying the game.

[hostile]

This game on normal tv?

In slc it is on Fox

[The_Tick]

In slc it is on Fox

I will look for california

[The_Tick]

Not available in ca

[Mormon Red Death]

I will look for california

Its on fox nationwide

Sent from my SGH-T839 using Tapatalk 2