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Brainiacs weigh in on BYU's grid success

I will be the first to admit that I was sceptical when BYU offered the job to Bronco. As a cougar fan, he wasn't the first on my list as far as coaching prospects available at that time.

I bet you can't guess who topped the list.

I was so wrong. That guy is an absoulute stud. I am so glad that things turned out the way they did. He is doing an outstanding job as a coach. He is teaching his players to be leaders first, and good players second.

"Football is a means to an end, not the end itself."

He preaches this all the time. His players buy into his philosophy. To hear them speak, I laugh because they even talk like him. They are a unified group brought together by him. They truely work as a team.

I am not niave enough to think that they are a perfect bunch of angels down there at the Y, but I think Bronco has done a good job recruiting not only good players but kids that have good values.

As a sceptic I didn't think it could be done. Way to prove me wrong Coach.

Yes, BYU will run the table in the conference and be the conference champions, win their bowl game and finish with a 11-2 record. Utah will be 5-7 and witt will go to Webber; however, I hope he stays at utah for 10 more years.

Go Cougars.
P.S. Before all of you utah fans start dogging on the Y, just remember, don't hate us just because we beat u.

OK, so a think tank was invited to review BYU football (still not sure why after reading). What did they say in the way of constructive criticism? Why does the team make stupid mistakes that lead to turnovers or stalled drives in every game? What limits them from becoming a great team? How can Bronco turn them into overachievers?

It seems to me that there is a major difference in how Bronco has approached the football program compared to how Gary Crowton did. Just as an observer from the outside, I got the feeling that Crowton was overlooking what has made BYU sucessful in the past. It seemed he had less concern about developing these young men into leaders and instead he was more concerned about morphing the football program into a more "acceptable" mainstream program. The only problem with that kind of thinking is BYU has a specific mission, one that cannot be easily ignored or left behind by its sports programs. Bronco has learned that lesson very well and is using BYU's mission as a strength to his organization. Like the organizational specialists stated, the football program is a means to an end, not an end in itself. If Bronco can continue to keep this mentality, he will continue to succeed both in football and in developing young men into excellent leaders for the time when their football careers will end. Keep it up Bronco! I wholeheartedly support your efforts. Go Cougars!!!

Can't argue with 5-0!

Just one question for anyone who knows. How come we don't ever run a screen pass play?

Nice picks for the week Harmon. No one can ever acuse you of being objective. You know since half of your subcribers are Utah fans you could at least try. I get very tired of the LOCAL paper ALWAYS picking against the UTES. If it were not for Mr.Facer I would cancel my subscription to this paper. At least there are some people on the staff who understand sports and objectivity. Go Utes and BYU!

Which coach has a vision for the program? Which coach wants his players to be the absolute best? Which coach struggled a few games his first season, but has since lost few games, and those games were all decided at the very end of the game? Which coach has not been shutout by a Bottom 10 team? Which coach is on his way to his 2nd conference championship in 3 years? Which coach is the perfect fit for BYU's program?

Bronco Mendenhall.

By all comments it can be determined that they are on their way . . . even if they haven't arrived yet!

But the day will come . . and then . . .

Woe be unto You...ah!

I have been reading Dick Harmon's work since the 1980's and he is a great journalist. He writes about BYU athletics in a candid and objective manner that gives an accurate portrayal of what the team or an individual is made up of.
Bronco Mendenhall is the real deal. When mistakes are made he makes adjustments or corrections to remedy the problem and reduce or eliminate it in the future. Recruiting talent is the life blood of a program and he is brining in talent that will play out for BYU's success for many years to come.
I see a game with EWU playing out as BYU taking a big lead and then putting many of the reserves in. I have followed EWU over the season and I have noticed that they have a productive offense. However, this game will be BYU's first victory "in the 50's". The EWU offense will score 3 times and our reserves will learn some valuable lessons:
Final Score: BYU 52 Eastern Washington U. 21

There goes Dick again, confused about whether he is a reporter or a recruiter.

Did you get the sense that this whole visit was a way to get some good quotes from "organizational experts" for the coaches to take with them on recruiting visits? I bet the parents gobble this stuff up. The fans will too, as long as there are victories on the field. For the fans, football is the end itself.

I checked out their website. Here are a few gems from their mission statements:

Developing human capital through applied systems thinking

the greatest leverage for behavior change is to think and then act at a systems level

In the end, it is the capacities of human capital that differentiates.

Connecting vision to behavior through mental models

Telling the organizational story

Is this thinktank run by Bronco's kids? It sounds just like him! I don't think you could ever find a more appropriate group of "brainiacs" to evaluate Coach Mendenhall.

An interesting article about an outside perspective on what is happening with BYU football. Crowton's approach will never work in the long run. He was hacking at the leaves. Bronco is tapping into the heart. Synergy is magic!

Before we talk about "running the table" let's beat Eastern Washington. BYU's program is one that we can all be proud of. I'm glad I don't have to cringe every week worrying about who the next honor code victim is.

Unlike Invested, I was extremely disappointed when I found out that the BYU administration had offered the job to anyone other than Bronco. I had some personal friends on the team who had explained to me the character of Bronco as a defensive coordinator and how the players responded to him.

I happened to be present at the Fireside held a week after the second loss in a row at Tulsa. Bronco spoke of how he had received numerous emails from different individuals (both media and otherwise) who had attacked him personally claiming that he was using all of this "motivational rhetoric" simply to sell tickets and make revenue for the program.

Bronco made a great statement that I hope I can remember and pass on in my leadership responsibilities. He said, "The world we live in would have you believe that the only way to achieve success in this life is by winning. I believe that this is not the case. My approach in leading this program has been and always will be to show these young men that as much or more success can be gained from loosing a game and learning as can be gained from winning."

I have also been reading Harmon's work for quite a while and to be honest can't think of anyone who is more biased and subjective. He is just another BYU fan writing about how great the cougars are, or in bad years, how great they were and will be. I never leave a Harmon article with the slight impression that Dick was too harsh on the Cougars. While they make very few mistakes, they still do make mistakes, and good ol' Dick should give us both sides of the story.

I noticed Harmon picked Utah to beat AFA, UNLV and it cost him. He picked the Utes to beat SDSU last week and was right. He picks TCU this Saturday and "he always picks against the Utes?" Give us a break, red-eyed myopia

We ran several screen passes against UNLV last week to Pitta, Collie, and a few other receivers.

My worry is what happens when the rest of the football programs follow BYU's lead just like with the West Coast offense. Everyone caught up and by the 90's we started to only have great seasons once only every 3-4 years.

I do think our players are a lot smarter than most out there playing college football.

Dick signed on as a BYU writer. Utah fans stop your boo-hooing. hop on the "love train" being a BYU fan causes joy wheter winning or loosing. the best ten step program to all your crying and whimpering is to embrace the cougars. gone will be that naughing gut wrenching emptiness that comes from supporting the Utes.