Both teams need to play w/emotion, but still control their emotions.
Photo by Scott G. Winterton
I also wanted to build on the emotion of this week and mention how important it is for both teams to play with emotion, -but at the same time be in control of their emotions. This game -more than others- it’s easy to pursue personal battles with red/blue jerseys. With your emotions running at def-com 9 it’s easy to forget about your team and instead try and humiliate the faceless foe standing awkwardly in-front of you.
It can come in the form of a late hit, a face mask, some elegant words -well…that’s not too bad-, a love tap to the body….I think you get the picture. Rivalry games bring out -not only the best- but the worst in players, fans, kids, teachers, Zoobies and Yewte’es making it easy to justify an on-field open hand fight. While these fights can increase the intensity of the game and keep the fans watching the whole field, they don’t improve your teams standing on the scoreboard. Instead leave the blatant blasphemy and belligerent comments for the zealots of both fan bases. I just can’t wait for the Rice Eccle bleacher fights to hit youtube -cell phone videos are all the rage - where I can watch a heavily sedated Yewte get his trash kicked by a gangly white guy with Bill Gates glasses and a perfect hair part.
Trust me I enjoy watching Travis and Dallas lying on helpless red/black clad DB’s and LB’s as much as the next guy, -you know what I mean…where they’re lying on the defender, arms and legs extended so all you see are flailing arms and legs- but don’t let the emotions of the rivalry deter from the all important goal, winning. After the initial rush of emotion both teams will need to settle in and find a rhythm, but which ever team finds that rhythm while maintaining their emotional “high” will have the advantage throughout the game. Snap decisions normally make you and your team look pathetic -reference the 06′ Weddle incident and the video tribute I posted.
Besides, red is a hard color to disguise between the whistles. There isn’t anywhere to hide and the game consists of four, 15-minute quarters. Chances are you’re going to run into each other again.
But, exercise judgment in retaliation, 15 yards could mean the difference between a 4th and 3 or a 4th and 18.
But hey…that sounds manageable, right McCain.
p.s.-I probably shouldn’t take so many pop-shot, but they keep the dialogue light 
November 20th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Quinn, I agree with you here about playing with emotion. But it brings up a little concern of mine. Forgive me if I don’t articulate it well here, but hopefully you can grasp what I know many us us Cougar fans are concerned about. How should we reconcile the “treating each game the same/preparing like normal” mentality that we keep hearing, when we all KNOW that “normal” isn’t going to get it done for a rivalry game like Utah, who obviously with their emotional play do not treat the BYU game the same as any other week? Where is the proper balance of more emotion versus treating each game the same–of which the latter obviously didn’t get it done at TCU. (I was there.)
I guess what I’m concerned about is that I want BYU to treat the Utah game differently–otherwise I’m afraid of what could happen this Saturday! As a former player, how do you reconcile this with the desire to be consistent in execution week in and week out at the same time as preparing for a big rivalry game that will demand higher intensity and emotion?
November 20th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Gooch,
Quick question on emotion regarding Bronco…
When he came from UNM, he seemed to be the “risk taker, aggressive, highly emotional” type perfect as a DC. I’m not saying he wasn’t controlled, it just seemed he was more intense…in a good football way.
Over the last couple years, it seems he’s lost some of this edge. Perhaps, it only seems this way on the outside looking in, but I wanted your take.
I’ve wondered if this perceived change in his approach (as he became HC) has influenced his coaching/oversight.
Here’s the thing: As the offense became more “vanilla” in the earlier games (TCU, etc), I would think Bronco would be the perfect coach to see those weaknesses and work w/ Anae to adjust & offset the speed/aggressive defenses w/ cnange of direction/change of pace, naked boot legs, etc. (we have seen more of this recently - & I’m rambling now).
In otherwords, a DC w/ his background would absolutely know the problems w/ an aggressive defense over commiting and getting burn by the offense (think weakside screen, while luring the LBs to blitz, etc.). It confuses me that we don’t see more of that, as I thought Bronco the perfect person to see this weakness.
I guess this was two points in one, but I think there’s a link between them.
Anyway, I would like to hear your thoughts on this.
Thanks!
November 20th, 2008 at 11:36 am
If it aint broke dont fix it.
I know, I know, the “workmanlike” nature of our team is not the glamorous, cell-phone calling, Icky shuffle dancing, end-zone diving, fumble-rooski running plays that other teams have. But we’ve done pretty well with it over the last 3 seasons.
The best compliment I’ve heard a D coordinator say about our offensive line, although I believe it was before the UCLA bowl game last year was DeWayne Walker, when he mentioned to his defense, “You guys better bring your lunch pails.” This tells me the respect he has for our big nasties.
Bronco demands fanatical effort. I was also at the TCU game. Max was as pumped as I’ve seen him before the game at the opening coin flip. Yes, we may have looked a little flat, but you have to admit we had some things not go our way at the beginning of that game. A few different plays in those opening drives and that ball game is completely different.
These guys are so focused that this will be a great game. There is so much potential here. Both teams could potentially blow the other team out. Or it could go into 4 overtimes. I think Pitta could have half a leg falling off and he’d still be out there. We’ve had 2 awesome games in a row (esp for Cougar fans) that this one is bound to be a bit of a letdown (mathematicians call this regression to the mean).
Just don’t question how Bronco gets his players focused, ready and amped for the game. He may say that “we as coaches didn’t do well in preparing our team”. That is the job of the leader - to shoulder the responsibility and take the blame. Reality is that this coaching staff is the best we’ve seen in a while and there preparation has shown on the field the past 3 years.
November 20th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Oops, their for the Scrabble nazis. I’ve just finished a 24hr shift.
Ki
November 20th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Gooch,
Like other fans…….it is so frustrating how the Utes are always more emotionally prepared for this game. They are bouncing off the walls when they take the field. In 05′ the Utes were at midfield taunting us whie we did the haka (by the way we gotta get rid of the haka, it’s 15 minutes were up in 07′). That year they beat us with Ratliffe. When it comes to prepping teams for this rivalry the edge goes to the Utes. Bronco cannot take a “just another game” attitude. I disagree with you. i think someone needs to send a message with a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty on the first kickoff!
November 20th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Clean Cut,
I talked about this a couple days ago…don’t worry…No Cougar will treat this game like any other game. This game is the biggest of the year by far. All the guys know it, all the coaches know it. everyone is preparing for this game like it is the super bowl. Don’t worry about that. They are approaching this game the way you want them to.
November 20th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Tony,
The best answer I can give you to this is that Coach Mendenhall has a lot of respect for LaVelle Edwards, and also tries to run the team with sound Business principles. Both of these stress the importance of delegation. Coach likes to give more authority/ownership to those “beneath” him. He does it with his players and his coaches. I think he wants to let Coach Anae grow and develop on his own. I am sure that he gives comments in the staff meeting, but it is Anae’s offense.
November 20th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Good stuff Markell, thanks!
November 20th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
The Haka is Bryce’s baby. I always think about the story behind how he brought this idea up to Bronco. It’s a great tradition and I see it as giving props to the Maori culture, especially as it relates to the Mahuika family; not just as a way to get “pumped up” before games like so many other see it. The Haka also reminds me of Bronco’s first year as head coach and some of the traditions he started to institute (as well as the Friday firesides - wouldn’t y’all love to be at Assembly Hall tomorrow???)
As mentioned in earlier posts, I doubt the Haka will continue when Bryce graduates, but it has provided me plenty of good memories, even John Beck liked to participate in this.
November 20th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Bronco has taken a program that was completely in a mess and transformed it into the best program BYU has ever had - even better than Lavell’s glory years in my opinion and I have lived through it all. The WAC in Lavell’s day was a mediocre conference at best. We play better teams that are better prepared.
I do not doubt for one minute that Bronco puts his best foot forward in preparing his team for every game they play. If he needs more emotion I know he will figure that out. What has the guy got to do before people will place confidence in what he is doing.
Both Quinn and Staff have said that there is no worry about Broncos course of preparation.
I’m hoping the team is following Quinn’s advice and putting in a big deposit during this week of practice so they can make a huge withdrawl on Saturday. That is as well put as anything I have heard in sports speak. Did you get that from Bronco Quinn? Sounds just like him.
The bottom line is Bronco is as good a coach as we could ever hope for at BYU and continues to improve at that. When we falter I am sure the blame lies at the feet of players who forget to make their deposits like John Beck, Quinn and the rest have done in the past.
Go Cougars and thanks Quinn and the rest of you players for your insights.
November 20th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
My two favorite memories of last game other then 4 and 18 was reed knocking tate on his butt and out of the game for a few plays. #2 is Harvey running over the utes safety to score the game winner. Reed will forever be my favorite underappreciated couger for that block (markell you can be my #2 underappreciated player-wish we had you playing this year). Lets hope we can get a couple more physical plays like that on saturday!
November 20th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Re: “What has the guy got to do before people will place confidence in what he is doing. ”
Surely the vast majority of BYU fans _do_ place complete confidence in what Bronco is doing. But criticizing and looking for chinks in the armor are a sport in and of themselves these days–fueled by talk radio and internet flame wars.
No wonder Bronco has to devote time and effort to insulating the players from such distractions; and he’s undoubtedly learning to cultivate a thick skin for himself as well. We’re all going to have to do that if we don’t want to be discouraged by criticism. It’s just a fact of life these days.
I completely agree with you that we could not hope for a better coach than Bronco! And I think his example, built upon the foundation established by LaVell, will light the way for future coaches.
November 20th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Chris,
That hit on Tate was my absolute favorite! That go tme so fired up. I think it fired up the whole team. I made mention to that earlier in the week, and that is what we need early and often this weekend.
Gary,
Thanks for the props to our recent teams. The only reason why I will disagree with it is that those teams did it so often. BYU winning Conf champ. was like death and taxes there for a while. The thing we have going for us in this new era is our Bowl Wins. If we can manage to win as many MWC titles as the WAC teams then this new era can become better with winning more bowl games.
November 20th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
That was such an awesome hit! On BYU highlight videos I still watch that play over and over again because I think that was one of the sweetest blocks I’ve ever seen. I loved how Reed kind of just looked down at him after, it was awesome. haha But that just goes to show how valuable Reed is to this team. He’s one of those players that might not get all the receptions or all the attention but he does his job and he does it well. And if someone gets injured he’s got the ability to step it up and pick up the slack. I think we will miss him next year.
November 20th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Gary, I like that withdrawal analogy, too. I’ve heard it before in some Love and Logic parenting classes I’ve attended (not court mandated, just wife mandated).
November 20th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Markell,
I have a question, Why doesn’t the whole team do the HAKA?
Thanks for replying to my question the other day about Bronco saying ” this is just another game”.
HAKA or no HAKA, BYU will beat Utah Saturday. I have no doubt about that. The Cougers are the better team and Austin and Max play with plenty of emotion.
They also play smart football when they need to.
November 20th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
One thing thats been bothering me is how much people build up Brian Johnson. I don’t think he is as good as advertised. You look at his throws and they are all over the place, he’s just got good receivers. Another thing is how everybody says how good of a mobile qb he is when I don’t think he is that impressive. If you look at the stats, Max Hall has almost as many yards on the ground as him with twice as less carries. If I had to choose a qb, I’d take Max over Brian anyday. Although, I do have to admit Johnson has performed well when he has needed too… but so has Hall. We will see how it plays out this Saturday. When the games on the line and it comes down to the final drive, I have my money on the Cougars. GO BYU!!!
November 21st, 2008 at 10:42 am
I have heard rumors of BYU in all white on Saturday. Can anyone confirm or deny this for me?
November 24th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Quinn,
I am not sure if this is an all male forum, but I have a question. I was wondering if it is legal for a coach to run ten yards on to the field, and pull a player off? (aka Kyle Widdingham and 12 players on the field). I thought coaches had to stay on the side lines? Was it o.k. because the play had not yet started?
Thanks for your help with this question.
SCJ