Bronco

[ERCougar]

Can the Bronco-haters finally give him some credit? Just a few nice accomplishments off the top of my mind...
1) Completely switching defensive schemes to match our personnel. Not only would the logistics be difficult, but that's quite a piece of humble pie to eat.
2) Transforming Tialavea. That was a different player last night, with Bronco taking over NG coaching duties. I'm anxious to see the tape, but we were solid in the middle last night.
3) 11-2, 11-2, 10-3.
4) Whipping the U fans into a frenzy with every statement from his mouth, even during arguably their best season ever. They just CAN'T ignore him.
5) Outcoaching one of the premier coaches in college football. I loved this quote from foxnews: "Bronco Mendenhall owned Stoops down the stretch; don't assign this loss to Bradford's injury — BYU earned it with superior coaching (and play)." http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/1...BYU-earned-win

Is there any question where Bronco's priorities lie? He may talk big about religion, family, friends, and whatnot, but his actions sure point to a guy who lives football.

PS...SU was notably quiet last night after the game. Don't think we didn't notice you were logged on...

[Sizzle]

PS...SU was notably quiet last night after the game. Don't think we didn't notice you were logged on...

He'll be eating his own words if there is anything but praise for BYU.

(see signature)

[BlueHair]

I will give him credit. It was nice to see some emotion from him. The schemes were good, the adjustments were good, the team was well prepared, and the players emotions were just right. They didn't look out-classed in any phase of the game.

Just as he earned this praise, he earned the criticism in the past. I hope this is the new Bronco and the new Cougars. I really hope the aggressive defensive play calling continues and doesn't go back to the rush 3 and drop every back type of defense we saw last year. This defense looked really really good. The type of defense I have been dreaming of.

[All-American]

I will give him credit. It was nice to see some emotion from him. The schemes were good, the adjustments were good, the team was well prepared, and the players emotions were just right. They didn't look out-classed in any phase of the game.

Just as he earned this praise, he earned the criticism in the past. I hope this is the new Bronco and the new Cougars. I really hope the aggressive defensive play calling continues and doesn't go back to the rush 3 and drop every back type of defense we saw last year. This defense looked really really good. The type of defense I have been dreaming of.

I wonder if part of the reason we've been so vanilla on defense is to compensate for big holes in personnel. Now we are somewhere between solid to strong at NT, DE, safety, and LB (arguable on that last point, I suppose, but we were good last night even after losing a senior starter). That lets you do things otherwise unfeasible.

[JohnnyLingo]

I wonder if part of the reason we've been so vanilla on defense is to compensate for big holes in personnel. Now we are somewhere between solid to strong at NT, DE, safety, and LB (arguable on that last point, I suppose, but we were good last night even after losing a senior starter). That lets you do things otherwise unfeasible.

Makes sense to me. No reason Bronco suddenly changes his defensive philosophy unless he's forced to, and just flat out not having the personnel to do what he wanted to do qualifies.

[TheAzzuri]

I will give him credit. It was nice to see some emotion from him.

That was my favorite part, actually. I loved seeing him get intense on the sideline. It reminded me of when he was the D-coordinator.

[Jarid in Cedar]

Bronco and Hill have taken alot of heat from BYU fans and BYU haters. They both should deserve the credit for how they prepared their teams. Hill was especially fired up on the sidelines and his defense took on that personality.

If you take all the heat in bad times, you deserve the credit in the good. Kudos to both of them.

[BlueHair]

I wonder if part of the reason we've been so vanilla on defense is to compensate for big holes in personnel. Now we are somewhere between solid to strong at NT, DE, safety, and LB (arguable on that last point, I suppose, but we were good last night even after losing a senior starter). That lets you do things otherwise unfeasible.

I'm sure that is the reason. I guess there are two schools of thought. One is that you get a lot of pressure on the QB so he doesn't have time to pick apart your secondary or you rush three and drop everyone else back to compensate for your secondary. I prefer the first one, even though you'll give up more big plays. At least your offense gets the ball back sooner. It's hard to watch an opposing team methodically march down the field and score.

If this is the type of game Hill is going to call every week, this is going to be an amazing season. The blitzes were well-timed and well-designed. I love a good zone blitz.

[MarkGrace]

I will give him credit. It was nice to see some emotion from him. The schemes were good, the adjustments were good, the team was well prepared, and the players emotions were just right. They didn't look out-classed in any phase of the game.

Even though there were some big miscues early, I was still content with the fact that they looked like they belonged. So often in these games BYU comes out and looks a step slow because they are intimidated by the game/atmosphere. Yesterday was one of the few times I can remember them coming out on the field in a huge game and immediately looking like they were ready for the challenge. They played fast and hit hard right off the bat, and it was exciting to see.

[All-American]

I'm sure that is the reason. I guess there are two schools of thought. One is that you get a lot of pressure on the QB so he doesn't have time to pick apart your secondary or you rush three and drop everyone else back to compensate for your secondary. I prefer the first one, even though you'll give up more big plays. At least your offense gets the ball back sooner. It's hard to watch an opposing team methodically march down the field and score.

If this is the type of game Hill is going to call every week, this is going to be an amazing season. The blitzes were well-timed and well-designed. I love a good zone blitz.

I think the first philosophy led to the porous defense of 2005. Of course, we may very well have overcompensated in 2008.

But personnel still dictates a lot of what you can do. With a weak nose tackle in 2008, we were really struggling to control the line and get much pressure. I think we had little choice but to drop back into coverage.

Notice, though, that in last night's game, BYU did not have to choose between containing Oklahoma as they methodically marched down the field and potentially giving up big plays. We got pressure on them without giving up a single play over 20 yards.