Sunday, September 5, 2010

Who Should it Be?


My expectations were well exceeded in the home-opener of BYU vs. Washington. With three difficult games to start the season, I figured the Cougs would be lucky to win one game (which would most likely come against Air Force). With questions about their offensive line, their defense, and of course their quarterbacks, I thought BYU would look a lot more sloppy than they did. I was pleasantly surprised. Here's my brief synopsis of the game:



  • Defense was a B- at best. Yes, they managed to make a few key stops, but Jake Locker is not the Heisman hopeful that everybody projected he would be. Washington's lack of offense was more a product of the lousy play calling than the Cougar defense. The defense missed several tackles and the secondary played the same as they always do . . . 10 yards off the receiver and hope to tackle him after he catches the ball.

  • DiLuigi was the hero. He filled in for Harvey Unga nicely and brings a solid dual threat on the ground and through the air. He showed some nice bursts of speed and found the holes. I have to also credit the offensive line for opening holes and giving the QBs some time.

  • WRs looked lousy. 6-8 dropped balls that should have been caught. O'Neal Chambers looks a lot more athletic this year, but he still needs to figure out how to hold on to the ball or we can start calling him Steve Slaton soon.

  • QBs looked solid. I'm the biggest antagonist of all when it comes to starting 2 QBs, but I have to admit that I enjoyed watching both play. Riley Nelson showed moments of brilliance and reminded me of a poor man's Tim Tebow in many ways. On paper he looked a lot better than Heaps, but we'll talk about that in a second. Nelson showed leadership and scored the game winning TD. Props for that. Heaps looked nervous but is clearly the better QB. Unbelievable arm strength and accuracy for a freshmen. Though he didn't throw for any TDs, he would have had at least one (and possibly two) if his receivers could catch the bullets he was throwing. I like his potential and think he has a 100% better chance of winning the Heisman in his career than Jake Locker has in his.

I hated the rhythm of the game with the dual QB system. I'm fine with a different QB in a couple of series but definitely not alternating every series like they did. So the million dollar question: Who would you start for the rest of the season?

4 comments:

  1. I am not a fan of the two quarterback system it work out well for the Cougars this week but Bronco needs to man up and pick a starter. I think they should start the freshmen Heaps if both quarterback are fairly matched I would rather see the young guy get some experience under his belt. I also think he fits better into the offensive system.

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  2. I wish I could comment...but having to listen to it on the internet did not paint a picture that I could comment.
    Next topic....independence.

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  3. It's hard for me to choose which one I would play over the other after last week. While I think Heaps has more upside, Nelson seems to have the intangibles it takes to win--no matter how unorthodox it may look.

    I think the two-QB system is a mistake in the long run. However, neither separated himself enough, in my mind, as the clear-cut choice. I would stick with this system for the next few weeks or until one clearly outshines the other. In the meantime, opposing defenses essentially have to prepare for two different offenses with these two quarterbacks.

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  4. Tyson, I hope you are now a Heaps man after the AFA game. Our future is in Heaps. BYU cannot succeed as a running team. They have to be a west coast offense team because they don't have the speed/power to run the ball. Our future is Jake Heaps. Period.

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