Sep 24 2007
BYU vs. Air Force: Three Phases of Domination
Coach Bronco Mendenhall was accosted after Friday’s 31-6 win by the world’s worst sideline reporter. He responded with the predictable “3 phases of the game” response then looked like he was going to head butt her after she asked if he was going to smile (Max Hall’s response that she needed to get a blue jacket next time was classic.) BYU came out swinging this game and truly dominated on defense, offense and special teams. It was interesting to see BYU win the toss and defer, putting what Bronco still feels is the strength of the team, the defense, out first.
Now, on to the grades.
Quarterback: A- Max Hall had another outstanding performance, completing 69% of his passes for 293 yards and 2 touchdowns. He really had a solid game and garnered some serious respect from his teammates by taking a hard hit by an Air Force linebacker and sitting out a play and coming back and taking it to Air Force and scoring on a truly beautiful wheel route to Harvey Unga. Hall would be getting an A+ but for three things: First, an interception (which was really a pretty play by Cason Bird jumping a curl route.) Second, Hall throwing a pass with no blue jerseys in sight over the middle. He looked really confused and kind of laughed it off, but there was no BYU player anywhere close. Third, Hall has now fumbled in every game this season on a blind-side hit. Teams are going to continue to exploit this until he can secure the ball.
Running backs: A+ Unga seems to be Curtis Brown II with more size. He rushed for 111 yards (5 ypc) and had four receptions for another 49 yards and a touchdown. Tonga added another 41 yards on the ground with two touchdowns and 69 yards through the air. They provided excellent pass blocking against a constant blitz and gave Hall time to make great plays. When Unga bounced around the corner on a 4th and short it showed he has the speed to make plays. He is a very capable back and lessens the pain of losing Vakapuna greatly.
Wide receivers/Tight Ends: A These two groups are essentially one in the same. One play there were two wideouts on the outside and two tight ends and, before the play ,they switched spots with the TE’s outside. This group is so versatile they are just as capable as slot or true tight ends as they are as receivers. Pitta is proving unstoppable like Harline did last year and should put up monster numbers all season. Consider this, through 4 games last season Harline had 229 yards receiving and 1 touchdown. Pitta as a sophomore has 326 yards and 2 TDs. Allen had a spectacular touchdown catch and really showed his athleticism. This group would have been even better had Collie been there, but showed they were still good without him.
Offensive line: B I am trying to decide if I agree with Bronco’s assessment that flags are only a problem if they affect points scored. If that is the case, the line would get an A since the Hall-Pitta connection works so well on third and long. Bright had a stand-out game and really redeemed himself in my eyes. There were a couple flags, but the big boys provided Hall with more than enough time to throw against the blitz and opened up some pretty holes for the running backs. Of note was Dallas Reynolds tackle of the defender who scooped up Hall’s fumble. Had Reynolds not gotten that great burst and tackled him, that would have gone for a touchdown. Overall, one of their best games.
Defensive line: A+ What a great game by the defensive line. To think the most “seasoned” of the players on the line is a sophomore is incredible. Jorgensen had 6 tackles, including a sack and another for loss, Manumaleuna had 4 tackles including an explosive sack, and Dulan added 4 of his own. The back-ups did a great job as well: Wolfey (the converted OL) had 3 tackles, Sullivan had 3 and Brock Richardson had 1. This group is getting dangerous. I noticed they are using more stunts on the line and really confusing the offensive line.
Linebackers: A Is Kehl fast or what? Air Force runs to the short side of the field, opposite of Kehl. He runs behind the line and is on the guys tail as he breaks through BYU’s secondary. He then outruns Criddle and another defensive back and makes a great solid tackle, not a shoestring-hope-he-trips-soon swipe. That just blew my mind away. The linebackers had 17 combined tackles, 4 pass break ups, 2 tackles for loss and a ton of pressure on Sean Carney from Kehl and Nixon. They dominated the game. The only blemish is the personal foul on Nixon, but he came back and put a couple licks on Carney to make up for it on the following set of downs.
Secondary: B Coach Mendenhall put his defense on the field first and Gooch stepped up and made a great INT to permanently put BYU up. Overall they had a great game and made great tackles and really showed they took the Tulsa game to heart and made the adjustments needed. Only one play went over their heads and they were able to stop him short of a touchdown. Criddle had a great block on the field goal and kept Air Force off the scoreboard. Overall a great game, but the lack of concentration allowing a 49 yard pass from such a mature group earns them a B.
Special teams: A- The punting game has made a 180 since the start of the season. Santiago punted 3 times, one inside the twenty and one nearly pinned at the 1 that ended up being a touchback. He is showing why BYU brought him on late. The kicking game was solid, including a 42 yarder by Mitch Payne and no missed PATs. That alone is cause for celebration. The only wart on special teams is kick coverage. I attribute this to 2 injuries: Nate Hutchinson and G Pittman. These two players had the speed to get down the field and make the tackle or slow the returner. Hutchinson is out with the same knee injury that kept him out of the 2005 season and Pittman was injured at UCLA. (Hutchinson on ST last year only had 11 tackles, Pittman had 3 in two games this season.) BYU needs to find another speedy guy to take down or slow down the returner.
Coaching: A Not just for the game, but for the week. To take a team with two straight losses and recently torched for 500+ yards and help them refocus to dominate the way they did takes a great coaching staff. They played much more conservative with the lead, allowing Unga and the short passing game to wear down the clock (with a 15 minute difference in time of possession.) I also really liked that after a flag on Aulai he sat the rest of the game. There is too much depth along the line to let those dumb mistakes go. If it was due to a blow out and getting Sorensen some meaningful snaps or to punish Aulai, kudos to the staff. Great game over all for BYU.
NOTE: For those of you who didn’t get to see the game (anyone outside of Utah essentially) here are some highlights.
21 Responses to “BYU vs. Air Force: Three Phases of Domination”
I love recieving your e-mails. Upbeat, informative, and accurate. I’m no football expert, but your reports prove to be on the money. We had season tickets for 15 years, but two years ago when my husband’s eye sight deteriorated, we decided to watch on TV. WHAT BAD TIMING! I hate Comcast and the mountain!
In the TV listings on Saturday, They listed a rebroadcast of the Air Force-BYU game on BYUTV at 10:00. It wasn’t there. Do you know if it will be broadcast sometime soon?
Keep up the good work, Shirley
That Kehl play was awesome…as the runner broke free, and I saw all the blue jerseys behind him, I thought, “Shoot - looks like they’re gonna score.” Then Kehl caught him from behind…incredible.
I agree with your grades. I think the benching of Aulai was a great move - if there was any time to bench a player for underperforming/hurting his team with his subpar play, this was it. Not like Sorenson can’t handle it (All-SEC as a frosh!).
My favorite play was probably Nixon’s hit on Carney as he threw that resulted in the pass going into the stands. He got DRILLED.
Great game.
I had only one concern coming out of the Air Force game, and that is pass protection. The vibe I get based on coaches’ and players’ comments is that the problem is a combination of line, running backs and quarterbacks. The difference in this game was that the big hits that Hall took weren’t the result of staying in the pocket too long. Hall took responsibility for his fumble, saying that he should be reading blind-side blitzes better before the snap. I hope pass protection becomes a major focal point this week in practice, as New Mexico will be blitzing the lights out next week. If Hall gets injured, this season could go downhill fast.
I will say this: Hall is flat out the toughest QB I have ever seen. He continued to stand in there and deliver throws even after getting plastered a couple of times. He doesn’t get happy feet no matter how many times he gets popped. You’ve gotta tip your hat to him, because that takes guts.
Shirley,
Thank you for reading. I have bad news for you though, no rebroadcast of the game (http://www.byub.org/sports/football.asp) It looks like they are taking it one game at a time and they are hurting the fans by trying to force the negotiations (they didn’t have this game on the internet either.)
Josh,
I don’t know if a team can blitz more than Air Force did. However, you have to expect that New Mexico has seen that a blind side or a late blitz from Hall’s back side is a great way to force a turnover.
Great analysis. My only beef would be to lower the Running Back’s grade a notch because of the missed block that led to the only sack (and fumble) all day on us.
Brandon,
Probably a legit “beef.” Those type of plays are really open to the running back. They are given the task of deciding if they should stay in or sneak out under the coverage. I think Tonga saw a gap (probably where the blitz was coming from) and thought he would be wide open before the hit. The running backs are given a ton of responsibility and we only really notice their bad decisions which this one turned out to be.
I’ve been trying to avoid jumping on the Max Hall bandwagon, but each game he’s making it more difficult not to get on. He’s played exceptionally, especially for a first-time-starter sophomore quarterback.
I loved that he tried to wave off the trainers after getting absolutely leveled on that first throw of the second half. Also, his “we’re going to have to get you a new jacket” comment to the reporter was classic.
It’s hard to think about his future at BYU and not get a big silly grin on my face.
I read an article today that said no one should get too excited about Air Force beating TCU because their quarterback had only played 3 games as a sophomore. Does that mean we should be doubly excited about Max Hall and Co. beating AFA? I think so. He has thrown for 1500 yards through the toughest part of the season.
I believe Dennis Pitta said in the post game that Hall’s errant pass you mentioned was to him. He said that he made a move to go underneath the linebacker and Hall thought he would go upfield. Hall had already thrown the ball before Pitta made the move, so it was just a mix up/chemistry issue. Max and Dennis will get to know each other better and Hall will have a better sense for where his receivers are going to be.
Like Josh, my one concern about the Air Force game is the failure to correct the blind side hits on Hall.
After 4 games, other teams can see that Hall can rack up yards and points and so the better he looks in previous games, the more likely that defensive coordinators are going to want to take him out with one horrific hit. We can count on them devising special blitzes to fool our protection and get the clean shot on his back.
For his teammates, Hall has proven that he will stay in the pocket to give his receivers all possible chance to get open, and will take a hit. If some of the problem is him holding on to the ball too long, that’s correctible. My impression is that most of the problem is poor coordination of blitz pickup by the combo of OL and RB (and Hall not glancing to his blind side as he takes the snap).
If the other players on the team admire his toughness for staying in the pocket, to move the offense, it places an even greater burden on them to protect him. He will stay in there, whether they protect him or not. If they don’t, he will be injured at some point.
For a new QB, Hall shows great poise and good accuracy in his reads so far. If the OL and RB’s like having such a tough leader, the team is counting on them to protect him. That would always be true, but Hall’s determination to stay in the pocket makes him more vulnerable than a QB who bails out on a play before all the routes have developed.
My biggest issue is with giving special teams an A- when almost every AFA possession after a kickoff started between the 35 and the 45. I know that you addressed the coverage issue a little, and I know the ball is kicked from 5 yards further back this year, but come on! There was one touchback, but most of the kicks came down at the 20 - 25.
Also of interest to me is the fact that we didn’t see Gaskins late in the 4th quarter of this game. Bronco continues to put all of his eggs in one basket. I am not saying I totally disagree with it, but maybe giving Gaskins one series would have been a good idea. I know that Max is still only 3 games in, and Bronco wants him to get as much experience as possible, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a backup that has seen a series or two before he gets thrown into the fire sometime in the future.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Gaskins late in games that aren’t close, but the problem with playing Gaskins is that he is still wearing a splint to protect the finger that he broke in fall practice. BYU’s faced with the dilemma of risking injury to Max Hall or putting in a still-injured backup.
I’m okay with the decision to keep Hall in late in the 4th; all he was doing was handing the ball off to Unga. Not a high probability of injury for a QB when that’s all he’s doing.
I think the point about Gaskins’ finger is a good one. Let’s not jeopardize the health of our backup if we don’t need to.
You do bring up a good point about special teams. It seems like there was one kick that was pretty short, but the others were decent; the problem (to me) looked like poor coverage and tackling. I said to my buddy at one point, “I thought we had some starters on special teams…it sure doesn’t look like it!” Lots of attempts to lay a hit on the returner or arm-tackle; not a lot of wrapping up, which was really surprising to me. I’d gotten used to watching our team tackle with sound fundamentals, and it was kind of a letdown to see them whiffing/bouncing off guys.
I, along with every other Cougar fan, would like to see Max Hall protected better. Along with that, I’d really appreciate Max sliding after he takes off running. I realize he’s tough, but one yard more verses a lost-to-injury quarterback seems like an easy choice to help the team.
I don’t get all of the fuss about Max Hall not sliding in the open field. I would much rather have him get hit in the open field where he is a moving target and able to adjust to tacklers as opposed to standing still in the pocket and taking shots from blitzers, most of which he never sees.
I’m not a fan of sliding at all for this reason: most quarterbacks don’t slide soon enough to avoid contact. In most instances a quarterback waits until tacklers are already diving at him, so he slides and gets hit anyway, meaning all he did was make himself more vulnerable to the hits that were going to happen anyway.
I owe all of you and especially Coach Mendenhall (who I will write personally) an apology for my comments about the bar being raised, the best is yet to come, etc. After hearing his post-game conference and watching the Bronco Mendenhall show on Sunday night (it is almost like he knew what was being said about him even though he does not read the newspapers and sites like this) I now understand what he meant.
I translated his theme and post-season comments to mean that this team’s record would be even better than last year’s (national ranking, BCS Bowl, etc.) but now I understand that he meant that in order to even stay the course and stay even with what we did last year, this year’s team would have to come in better prepared and play harder because of the players we lost last year. I am not sure if I will ever question him again because he truly is a great head coach and has our program turned around and heading in the right direction even faster than Tom Holmoe thought it might take.
Can anyone imagine where we might be now if Coach Whittingham had accepted the job? I feel sorry for him because he is a BYU grad but it is clear to me by looking at what has happened and is happening to the Utes that Coach Mendenhall is the better head coach and has laid down a better foundation on which to build another dynasty.
As for the Beck/Hall comparison, I am not quite ready to say that Hall will be better Ieven though he broke all of Beck’s HS records) but I can say that his toughness (even Manning has happy feet), determination, moxie and other QB qualities are a combination of McMahon, Young and Detmer (I should throw Bosco and a few others in also). The one thing that Beck definitely has is a stronger arm which means he can throw deep outs and Harline type passes better. I do not know how you gain that innate sense to feel pressure from the blind side that Montana had but I’m your that Hall will acquire that eventually.
Much (according to Word this replaced “Many” that I wrote) kudos for this site and all your comments.
Go Cougs!
I didn’t see any dangerous or hard hits given to Hall when he ran with the ball. Josh, I think your points about that are valid. He isn’t going to run head on into tacklers, so it shouldn’t be a big problem. I am looking forward to the game in which the Cougars win the turnover battle. Hopefully it is this week.
BTW, we have an article ready for today, but we are trying to get a poll up and running to go with it and it’s taking a while because I’m a novice techie. Thanks for your patience. Now, back to the conversation:
The Cougars are getting closer to forcing more turnovers. They had some close ones that just got away, but if they continue to pressure the QB like they did against Air Force, they will break through and get more takeaways.
As talented as Donovan Porterie is, he is a young QB that can be pressured into mistakes. UNM has a good offensive line (seems like they always do), so it will be a good challenge for the defense to create pressure and get to Porterie often.
I’ve had occasion to visit with Coach Mendenhall a couple of times. I am always impressed by his focused demeanor. He has a business-like charisma about him that makes others want to follow his lead. Place him among a group of competitive young men, and you have the ingredients for success. We are finding out what a catch this coach really is.
While I wish Coach Whittingham all the success in the world, being a former cougar, he seems to lack the same elements of leadership that Coach Mendenhall has. If you get the chance to catch him doing fireside or training session, take full advantage. Its worth the admission price.
On Sunday, a member of our Bishopric spoke about the need to put the Lord first in our lives. He is a graduate of the University of Utah, and is an avid, but courteous Ute fan. He used as Coach Mendenhall as his example of a person who inspires others to put the Lord first. He works for a large company in the valley, where Coach Mendenhall spoke. He came away from the training deeply impressed by the message the Coach delivered, being, that if you want to be successful in life, place the Lord first, and then all other things will fall into place. He even said that while he was not a cougar fan yet, he was a Bronco fan all the way. I’ve heard a number of Ute fans, whom I work with, comment that Mendenhall scares them because of the direction the cougars are headed. Things look bright in Cougarville.
Greg- very well written! I have heard many ex-players commenting on how fast Hall is coming along and yesterday on David Locke’s show from 3:00 - 6:00 on 1320, he interviewed Coach Edwards regarding Hall; Coach Edwards said that Beck has a stronger arm and McMahon had a quicker release (Hall’s arm strength was better than Bosco and Detmer and about the same as Young) but he said that Hall is ahead of every QB that has played at BYU at this stage of his career. He also said that he has that quality that is hard to define that McMahon and Detmer had and a fierce competitiveness that all the abovementioned QB’s had. And, likewise I think Coach Mendenhall has that same quality as a head coach. He has put everything in place so that the standard and direction is set so that the program should regain national recognition like it had in Edwards’ time. But, I think he has taken it even further because I have personally spoken to players who played for Coach Edwards who said their bowl games were treated like gifts and not given the same importance as a conference game which would account for their Bowl record during his time.
At the same time, Coach Whitt is scratching his head now wondering what is going on and meeting with the juniors and seniors to ask them to step up and be leaders which is something that Coach Mendenhall already has in place. We may have lost two games already but it was not due to a lack of effort; we were in both of those loses and played hard enough to win and should have won had it not been for penalties, turnovers and getting surprised by Tulsa.
I do feel sorry for Coach Whitt but maybe he, like Crowton who is doing great at LSU, should be a coordinator instead of a head coach.
wow
its very unconventional point of view.
Good post.
realy gj
thx