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BYU football: Coach, team come to Hall's defense
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He will return next season as a more poised, skillful leader. The team will be loaded next year with both TCU and UTAH at home.
The first practice for the bowl will mark the first practice for next year. Whomever gets the Cougars in the bowl game will meet a highly motivated, focused team.
The Utes achieved the Zoob quest, and they did it without coins... weird....
[Oh, I'll never tire of that.]
-Hall telegraphs where he is going to throw because he makes up his mind who he is going to throw to @ the snap. Watch his head, he never looks off the receiver that he wants to throw too (for the most part Austin Collie). That may work against the UNLVs of the world, but it doesn't work against BCS caliber teams as TCU and Utah exposed.
-A byproduct of Hall watching only the side of the field where he want's to throw is that he fails to see defenders moving into his intended target area from the opposite side of the field.
-Hall has got to:
1. See the whole field AFTER the snap and acquire his receiver after the snap. 2. Be humble enough to know that this issue is not a question of trying harder, or just "executing" better. Hall has to make this transition to move from a GOOD QB to become a GREAT QB.
3. If Hall has problems acquiring receivers after the snap, then the BYU offense has to be scaled back to it's early 2007 form accordingly.
On the bright side, he was named Utah's MVP!
Seriously though..
Austin Collie and Harvy Unga were studs in this game, and I'm sure that Hall will redeem himself next year!
In the end at least you know there is more to life than football. I know you didn't stick your mission through but hopefully you at least learned that. Your teammates know that and can handle losing with grace. Good for Jan Jorgensen. That kid is a stud!
Max Hall is a great QB against poor to average teams. Against great teams, he is brutal. Not only did he have 6 TO's, he had 6 balls batted down.
Collie is a stud. Good thing we had him. Would love to see him suit up for Utah in the BCS Bowl Game! AH
Great job Utah Utes. Do this state proud.
Utah realized that Hall like Peyton Manning would try and alter plays at the line. They effectively changed their sets at the last second and flustered Hall into being out of rythm.
The only way Hall overcomes this is if Mendenhall changes his system on both sides of the ball. I also agree that Hall is not the same as Beck under pressure. But, I say again that if the system changes then he will be better as the quarterback.
Tough game, but that doesn't erase all the great stuff you did this season. You're our QB and we support you. Let's beat the snot out of a whatever Pac-10 team we play in our bowl.
Me and my roommates
BYU had a great year but has had weaknesses exposed under pressure. Max Hall will do just fine....
I remember (actually visiting with Marc Wilson, long ago Cougar....) who threw 6 TD's one week and 6 interceptions @ Wyo. the next....his perspective was great..."I found it difficult to pass a football through a brown jersey.
Max had the same problem last night with red.
Relax fans on both sides: You WinSum, You lose some.
in last night game was...there were too many "opens" especially the ones in red. That confused Maxie.
Seriously, hype of Maxie is Heisman material is as real as "Quest for Perfection". You don't talk until you can walk the talk.
Max is not accustomed to pressure but why would he be, other than TCU (who destroyed him) Max has not faced pressure all year. Funny things is the game should have been worse, UTAH DROPPED THREE PERFECT INT THROWNS by Maxie, hilarious.
GO UTES!!!
If you recall, he came into a team that was decimated in many ways. Do you recall several players being suspended and criminally charged for rape? Do you remember the other players and drunk driving? Thefts?
BYU went from Lavell Edwards to complete chaos under Gary Crowton. Mendenhall inherited a team that was completely lost, recruiting was a mess and two or three consecutive losing seasons. He not only needed to win games but more importantly field a team capable of living BYU's Honor Code, which is the strictest in the nation.
Let me see, Utah went from Ron McBride (great coach and program) to Urban Meyer (better coach and program) then to your current coach.
BYU has not had such a nice transition between three tremendous coaches and programs.
Mendenhall has done an incredible job and I applaud him for it. He get's his team focused and on the same page. And if you worry that he uses "gimmicks" please stick to flipping burgers because the corporate world (I consult for a dozen of them) use these "gimmicks" daily for the same reason Mendenhall does.
We weren't seeing a different Max Hall last night. Utah coaches and defenders watched the tape and plainly knew that Hall can't check off his receivers.
And Utah's man coverage gave him fits because they were pretty well covered. Given his difficulty checking off covered receivers, he forced at least 11 balls.
He did the same thing at Utah State, only they used double coverage to pick off Hall 3 times.
On the Cougar fan boards they're calling Hall a 'headcase.'
Maybe they're right.
That being said we could've run the ball on them more
sincerely, BYU fan
ps Fui was incredible, so why didn't we run the ball more?
This game will be seen as a massive growing experience both as a person and a quarterback.
And while so many BYU fans are ready to dump on Max Hall it is sad that you do not give a massive dose of credit to that Utah defense!!
You mock Hall by saying he is great when he plays bad teams. You shouldn't mock him for it but recognize that he played a very solid and deep defense yesterday and STILL put 24 points on the board!! He really improved since TCU and showed he is getting better and better.
Utah is a great team lead by their defense, which is how champions should win it all: Defense!!
I think the world of Max Hall and if you are reading this, my whole family wishes you the best, thanks you for the fun of watching/listening this year and look forward to a bowl win this year and an encore next year.
To Utah, congratulations and as die-in-the-wool Cougar, I'll be rooting for you in the BCS. Great program!
Go-BYU!!
Denvercougar, please don't tell your friends and especially not your family that you secretly cheer for the Cougars because you are clearly not a fan of BYU. Yes, Hall made some bad mistakes but too bad you did not see the game last night. If you had seen it you would not write such idiotic comments like, "He was not pressured hardly at all and was never sacked."
Max was throwing long passes into double coverage when a defender was right on top of his receiver. He easily could have been picked off more than he was. Utah was also collapsing the pocket around him and he still tried to make the play rather than throwing the ball away or taking a sack. All you're going to do with that strategy against real opposition is embarrass yourself.
I think the real "return to glory" will only come once BYU starts scheduling some better teams again and learns how to play up to their level rather than fooling themselves into thinking how good they are because they are beating up on inferior opponents.
I though BJ was the one who was supposed to crumble under pressure! Glad Max decided to take his services to the TDS.
Can't wait for next year's game!
I'm sure some of BYU's non-conference competition next year will have learned how to defend Max from those two games. They shouldn't be lollipops like Washington and UCLA were this year. Although, for some weird reason, that seems to keep happening to BYU. Schedule great teams, then get them on down years when your own team is on an up year. No bang for the buck.
I'm really more disappointed in the lack of use of the RBs than in how badly Max played. That's directly on Anae's shoulders, and to an extent, Bronco's for not realizing how little Anae uses his best talents. Harvey's never disappointed the way Hall has. So why is Hall featured more in the offense? Dumb!
Congrats to Utah for bringing the BCS dollars into the MWC. About the only consolation in BYU's loss.
such as a dumb personal foul, and Haka fights.
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The thing about Football is we have next year to look forward to and this season to reflect on. There are many teams that wish they had gone 10 - 2 in the regular season.