Photo by Jason Olson/Deseret News

I was blessed -or cursed- to be apart of two different Coaching regimes. One that went to consecutive bowl games and one that went home for consecutive bowl season. While seeing your family for an extra week during Christmas break is nice, the bowl games are more beneficial to individual players and teams.

When a team reaches the all important sixth win it sets its self up for an additional couple weeks of football practices that losing programs don’t get to participate in. I was never the kind of player that loved practice, but I appreciated the extra time on the field while other teams were at home sucking down egg nogg.

Those couple of weeks help build and establish a program for the next year. Coaches are able to evaluate young talent in short scrimmages and contact drills. Starter are  able to rebuild the strength lost during the long season, which can catapult players towards spring and summer conditioning. Those practices also give player additional time on the field with Coaches to learn technique, schemes and position mastery.

The learning aspect of bowl preparation is what contributed the most to my individual growth as a player. Being able to assess my performances on film and then have the opportunity to get out on the field, enabled me to fix bad habits and restore proper technique before the introduction of a new season.

When I think of the springs after bowl games I can defiantly say I came into the next season more prepared and ready to contribute after participating in a bowl game. Missing out on the bowl games early in my career slowed my progress and made the beginning of the winter semester the absolute worst -conditioning, lifting and position drills.

P.S- I also need to mention the fact that consistent attendance in bowl games in crucial to recruiting. 18 year old kids love to hear about bowl game experiences and the cool gift and such. Also the national exposure helps bring BYU’s accomplishment to a wider audience. Gotta love the MWC’s television contract, but I would like to thank the Mtn. for updating the HD cameras. I’m glad Cougar nation didn’t experience The Gooch in HD, that would of been U-G-L-Y and I would of never lived it down.

5 WORST THINGS:

5.   Not Dominating Washington.  At the beginning of the year perception can be detrimental to the psyche of the team.  We went into that game thinking Washington was supposed to be a good team.  They had a lot of hype around them this year coming in.  We were content with playing them tough and being ahead by a score.  Hindsight is 20/20 right?  Reference No.2 for this, but it would have been great to come out and stomp them like we did the UCLA and Wyoming.

4.   Collie not going to New York.  It was just announced that Collie is not one of the 3 Finalists for the Bilitnikoff Award.  He has dominated every opponent and posted 10 consecutive 100+ receiving games and is still not thought of as a top 3 receiver in the country.  For more on this see my article “Someone Stole Austin Collie’s Post Season Award.”

3.   Dave Nixon Being Hurt.  This did not “hurt” the team but I was just disappointed that I could not watch Dave at full strength one last time.  And I felt bad for him because I know what it’s like to play your senior year not at 100%.  Dave is an amazing athlete and an outstanding football player.  His shoes will be hard to fill at BYU.

2.   Inconsistent.  We never really played consistent on both sides of the ball all year.  One thing about the 06 and 07 teams that made them great were that aside from 1 game on O and 1 game on D you always knew what you were going to get from both sides of the ball.  For some reason that was not there this year.  That being said, I almost give them more credit for putting up 10 wins when they were not sure what was going to happen.  I got the feeling the team waited until the 2^nd quarter to decide what kind of game it was going to be. 

1. No Conference Championship. More than anything that had to be the No.1 Goal this year. Contrary to popular belief I think the MWC was the strongest it has been in a while this year. We had 4 great teams at the top and the middle teams (UNLV, UNM, CSU) were better than the also-rans the last couple years. Every Conference has their SDSU and Wyoming, you can’t change that. What makes this go from disappointing to #1 Worst is that in the two biggest games of the year we just flat out fell on our face. We were never in the TCU game and at Utah, well, enough said.

 5 BEST THINGS:

5.   Harvey Unga.  Another 1,000 yard season for Unga.  Harvey continues to be the workhorse on the offense.  I hope he comes back next year Healthy and in even better shape. 

4.  4^th Straight Bowl Game.  This will get even better when we win our 3^rd straight.  This is a great game to reward our seniors and prepare the underclassmen for next year.  How we play this game will determine what opportunities for greatness we will have next year.

3.  Speaking of Hype… This year there was and continues to be a lot of attention on our conference.  As we continue to get better and stronger as a conference we will help open doors to great things in the future.  In ‘06 we went to Vegas 10-2 and ranked #21, last year we were 10-2 and ranked #19, this year we are 10-2 ranked #18.  It takes a lot to move up a notch and we are moving.  This sets the stage even better for next year with a win.

2.  Austin Collie and Dennis Pitta.  Both of these guys spent their fair share of time at the top of the country and Collie had a carreer season.  He should be in New York making one more reception at the end of the year, but we all know he was the best out there.

1.  Another Undefeated Season at LES!  We are 2^nd in the country in consecutive home wins.  LES is becoming a tougher place to play and we are taking care of business at home.  More than anything else I want this to get even better.  I want to walk out of that stadium with a headache every home game because of how loud it was.

 By: Markell Staffieri

I’ll get the post game wrap-up  posted soon, but here are a few thoughts I’ve had as I have read through the comments after the game.

Coaching – Both coaching staffs worked extremely hard in order help their teams win. BYU had a few new wrinkles installed during the week, but they weren’t enough to swing the games emotional momentum completely to the Cougars side.

The Utes also threw in some new defensive looks, which they executed at the right time to get turnovers. Utah also did a good job of sticking to their game plan and exploiting our defensive weaknesses in order to capitalize on turnovers throughout the game.

Coach Anae doesn’t need to be in the box because he has Doman and Reynalds up there spotting everything that he is missing on the field.

Max – Remember that post about emotion and not letting  your emotions run over, but controlling your emotions through a channel that would allow for a players best individual performance. Max didn’t read that one. He simply couldn’t recover from his second interception when Dennis read the defense one  way, Max read it a different way and hit the Utah defender right between the numbers. Then after the initial bad decision, he let Utah’s defense get to him and retaliated in an immature manner, which cost our team dearly headed into the half.

Max isn’t a bad player or a head case, but he is extremely competitive and when things didn’t go BYU’s way he couldn’t recover.

There were lots of mistakes made on the field Saturday night. Max’s just happened to be the most visible and obvious, but he chose to play quarterback and that position comes with a lot of glory -unless you were responsible for 6 turnovers and then it comes with a lot a crap-o-la that no one wants.

The Defense – I am going to save this one for another post.

The Rest of the offense – will also be addressed in another post.

This is Matt Allen and I really miss playing BYU football on Saturdays (and sometimes Thursdays). I miss doing the Haka before the game. I miss calling the coin toss and seeing Nate Meikle out there with his microphone and head set doing KSL’s dirty work. I miss the green grass, the blue stands, the yellow flags and the red-faced opposing coaches. I miss the BBBBBBB – YYYYYYY – UUUUUUU – COUGARS late in the second half. I miss signing autographs (although I did sign someone’s scriptures and a pass-along card the other day at church). I miss Coach Mendenhall coming into the locker room jumping up and down after a big win! I miss the players most of all, but its fun to see their names and comments pop up on this website every once in a while.

I am now removed, physically, from Provo. My family and I are living in South Pasadena, California while I am attending Physical Therapy school at USC. Every time I tell people that I go to USC they ask me if I’m a Trojan fan now. I tell them that it’s hard to convert when the program that I put so much energy into over the past 5 years has an identical record as this perennial powerhouse. Needless to say, I’ve made a lot of BYU fans out of my classmates. That being said, I regretfully have only been able to watch a few BYU games this year as Time-Warner Cable doesn’t carry the MTN. Thank goodness for Greg Wrubell on KSL.com. Here in California we have learned to live with the smog and the traffic, and ignore all the “No on Prop. 8″ protests. We actually really love it here.

This is a very important week for all of us, and while I have so many great memories of my playing days that I would love to reflect on right now, it would be inappropriate to mention anything other than the BYU/Utah rivalry past and present. Above I mentioned things that I really miss about donning the Y on my chest on the weekends. However, there are also some things that I do NOT miss, and most of them revolve around this week. For instance: I do not miss trying to ignore all the hype created by the fans and media. You hear it said all the time and I know it is annoying, but as a player it really is just another game. So much is made of this rivalry by the outside that the minute you give into hype, your focus is gone and it’s difficult to not get distracted. However, now that I’m on the other side, it is easy to see what the fuss is all about. All I want to do now is read more about what this coach may have said or what ward these two opposing players grew up in together. As a fan it’s awesome!

I also do not miss the irritating phone calls, text messages, and emails I received from cowardly, anonymous Ute fans (not players) telling me – in their own derogatory descriptive words – how BYU was going to lose. Many of our players started receiving these gestures immediately following our game the previous week (we literally had not boarded the airplane to come back to Provo before our phones started ringing) and continued to receive them right up until game time the next week. Yeah, I don’t miss that at all – GET A LIFE!

I will never miss playing games at Rice-Eccles Stadium. In fact, if I never make it back there again, it’ll be just fine with me. Aside from how they treat our fans (many of you will know more about that than myself), the Ute faithful have a definite impact on the game. Some players will tell you that they can completely ignore the crowd while they play. That is impossible up there. First of all their “fight” song is annoying! All of their fans are in red which color has been proven to elevate one’s heart rate by just looking at it. And just when your heart starts pounding, your ears begin ringing from the deafening crowd noise. The loudest opposing stadium I have ever played in (the only time I’ve ever heard anything louder was the earthquake that erupted after we converted on 4th and 18 last season). I have never felt like fans were able to impact our players’ execution on the field. But not being able to hear your own voice clearly as you yell at the top of your lungs to the player lined up next to you, wears on you after a while.

One of the best moments of my life was when that noise was silenced! Johnny on his knees with a ball in his hands. For just a fraction of a second there was no sound at all. I still remember that moment as if time were standing still. The silence was broken by the overjoyed celebrations of the Cougar faithful in that stadium. A vast minority in that venue, but their voices were proud representations of cheers being hollered in unison all across the nation.

I’d give just about anything to be back on the field listening to those cheers again this Saturday.

Go Cougars!

Photo by Miller

I got a text from Quinn asking me if I would write a little bit about 2006’s final drive. Detailing my thougts and feelings on the final drive. I think for the rest of my life whenever it is the BYU vs Utah week I will always be reminded of that game in 2006. Even as I sit here typing, I have above me on a shelf the ball I took the final knee with. I wanted the ball that Johnny caught, but I don’t know if anybody knows where that ball currently resides. I just held on to the next best thing.

Well where do I begin.

When Dan Coats caught the touchdown on the goal line off of the play action I really thought that was the go ahead TD that would seal the game. Although Utah had a good amount of time left on the clock with the ball in their hands I believed our defense would hold the Utah offense and we would be back out on the field to run the clock out.

Yet, because of past games in my career I hesitated for a moment because there are so many crummy variables that every game is filled with. I knew that the offense needed to keep their heads in the game. Understand that our last TD wasn’t close to being the final play of the game. If we had to go out there and get a first down to seal the game or put another drive together we needed to be ready. I remember I was walking the sideline and I found Jake Kuresa and told him that we needed to make sure everyone was mentally prepared for whatever could happen.

After refocusing the offense I turned my attention to the defense.

There was a play where Aaron Wagner almost intercepted a pass to end it. I remember it played out in slow motion to my eyes because I knew that could have sealed the deal. When it wasn’t caught I had a feeling that Utah kind of got a second life. At that point I knew the offense was going to need to be ready. When Utah started getting some plays in big chunks my first thought was, “you’ve got to be kidding me. There’s no way it can end like this.” We had been in games over those last few years that had ended so crazy and somehow we ended up losing. To that point there had only been a few games where we had come from behind to win, but for many of us we remembered games like Stanford in 03, Boise St., UNLV and NM in 04, TCU, Utah and Cal in 05, and Arizona and BC in 06. Games where we fought so hard to get right there to win and in some cases even scored what we thought was the game winning score, but somehow still fell short.

When they continued to move the field I went back to the offense and said it looked like we are going to have to get ready to go into our two-minute offense and we would probably need to score. The best thing about that moment was nobody looked at me like “you think so” or “really”, they just nodded and said OK.

Moments later Utah hit that screen play for the TD and the stadium erupted. Looking back I’m glad that we got together as an offense before they scored because in our minds we were already prepared for what we needed to do. When Utah scored there was no quick rally needed. From that point until we took the field no words where needed, we were simply focused on the task at hand. Each person in their own way had already mentally prepared themselves for the final drive.

The last Thought I had was, ” I’m not going home with the game ending like this.”

Before games Matt Allen and I used to joke around and say “let’s just go out there, win this one, go home happy and kiss our wives.” At that point in the game , for whatever reason, that phrase was also what was being repeated in my head. I wanted to make sure I went home with the game ending with us on top. So after Curtis Brown returned the kick Coach Anae got the offense together on the side and basically said. “it was a two minute situation and we needed a touchdown to win.” I can remember glancing at the clock knowing we had over a minute and just running through all our two minute rules. No sacks, if you need to use a time out, get out of bounds to stop the clock, when do we take time outs and when do we want to spike it, than we took the field.

There are certain plays in that drive that stick out to me as key plays.

First was the catch by Bryce Mahuika. Bryce did a great job of avoiding a tackler and picking up an extra 5 yards and in 2 minute offense, every yard is crucial. There was also a play where I checked down to CB and he made a few guys miss to get out of bounds. That “fight” in Curtis to shed those tacklers is what gave us the few extra seconds we needed at the end.

On the fourth down to Johnny I could tell that the Utah student section had come down on the field thinking that they were going to rush the field when the play ended. I just kept my mind on my reads and knew if they rushed two or three men I wouldn’t have to force anything and I would be able to move defenders with my eyes and feet and make a play to keep the drive going.

As it turned out they only rush a three, so I had the time to move defenders and it opened up Johnny in the middle for the fourth down conversion.

The big play to McKay Jacobsen was really what set us up for the final completion. When we lined up for that play I knew I would have to squeeze the ball in a tight window, but if I could hold the nickel defender  with my eyes, using Johnny to pull him towards the middle, McKay could push the defense vertical, break his route of sharpe and we would be able to pick up the yardage we needed.

McKay did a great job of feeling the hole and settling and the play worked, just as I had imagined.

The next play I took a shot to Johnny on a fade, because Johnny had man to man coverage. He had been winning all night and they left him matched up on another defender besides Weddle. I thought it would be a sure thing. The defender made a great play so we were down to 3 seconds and the last play.

We called a timeout and went to the sideline to discuss what we wanted to do. When they had played man-to-man the play before Zac Collie and been open in the back of the end zone. We thought if they went with the same coverage Zac could get open again for the score. If Zac wasn’t open, or they went to a different coverage we would just read out the three receiver side and find the open man.

 When we took the field CB was the first to ask me what I wanted him to do. I just said if I don’t get the ball off quick just try to get open somewhere in the end zone. When we got closer to the line Johnny asked the same thing, I told him to “run a fade again, but if the fade isn’t there find a way to get open when I’m scrambling.”

 When I got to the line I surveyed the defense and recognized that there was no way they could play man coverage in their presnap alignments. I knew they were going to drop 9 or 10 into coverage.

That is when my thoughts took me back to the quarterback meeting room in November of 2005. I know all of those close losses -which I mentioned earlier- were tough for a lot of BYU fans, but I also know that there’s no way anyone had a harder time swallowing them than I did.

 I hated losing! I couldn’t take another lose… and I wouldn’t.

After the 05 loss to Utah I decided I would sit down at the computer in the QB room with a pad of paper and the game film and make a list of all the things I could have done differently to insure our team wins that game in overtime. Especially on the last play. I remember closing my eyes with my hands on the remote thinking of every possible scenario, decision, even steps that I could have made to win that game.

I don’t even remember how long I was in that room but when I walked out with a sheet full of ways to win. I felt that if I was presented with a similar scenario, I knew exactly what I needed to do.

As I stood on the 15 yard line and glanced up at the clock, then back down to the defense and my teammates, I took a deep breath and had a feeling like I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I knew from their alignment they were only going to rush a couple -it was just like the year before. I knew I would just buy as much time as I could with my feet and throw the ball only when I found an open guy.

When I was shuffling left pointing, I knew I would eventually find an open receiver because they were working so hard to get open. My receivers where running all over and the Utah defenders where stationary, I knew we had them.

After the snap when Johnny and Zac were covered, it turned into a school yard play. Where you tell everyone to “get open and I’ll find you”.

When they brought the LB to put more pressure it forced me right and I felt everyone move right. I knew I was going to need to locate the initial rusher to determine how much time I was going to have before I needed to throw it.

It was than that I saw this one white jersey cutting through the flow. I knew if he could get through the clutter he would be open. I took a few more steps to my rigth, as I saw him clear the last defender, I let it loose.

As I jumped to throw it I knew it was going to be a touchdown. When I was on my back looking through my legs I saw Johnny go to his knees -and for a second I thought, what if the throw wasn’t long enough and he’s on his knees out of the endzone!!

But when there was a huge roar and I saw Johnny get up to he’s feet in celebration I knew we had done it. I ran straight to my line and jumped up on Travis Bright. It was pandemonium. BYU fans, reporters, cameras were all in the mix, I was wondering how so many BYU fans got the field so quickly?

There was a moment during that celebration where I was hoisted on my teammates shoulders and I got to hold my helmet up towards our fans -kind of sounds like that part from Nacho Libre when he says ” do you remember when I  ripped my blouse. That’s a moment I will always remember because of the effort that went into the performance. 

I grew up on an old tape called “Greatest Moments In BYU Football History”. I would gather the neighborhood kids and have them watch the beginning of the tape to fire them up before we played pick up games in the street in front of my house.  I actually brought that tape into the locker room at BYU and we would watch it on the TV’s.

Guys laughed because I knew the narrator’s part word for word. BYU’s tradition meant so much to me and at that moment when I held up my helmet and was on my teammates shoulders I felt lucky to be apart of another great BYU moment.

I get asked all the time about that Utah game and when did I see Johnny and how did it feel. That one play was definitely a great moment and one I will always remember, but to be honest it was a culmination of many things, of years of work, that made that game and that play so special to me. In that game there was a group of guys on our team, on both sides of the ball that had been through so much adversity. Through all the adversity we never lost the belief that we could do it. The road to get to that opportunity was a difficult road to travel. The thing that made it so special was that everyone was prepared. Everyone wanted it so bad because we wanted to overcome the hardships that we had been through and just go out there and win it…and we did!

 On a side note:

I also get asked what Weddle and I were talking about when we were walking down the field together before I took the knee to end the game. Earlier that year, during the summer, a couple of my buddies and I were fishing at Fish Creek down by Scofield Reservoir. One of my friends was also friends with Weddle and had told Eric that he was going fishing with me that weekend. I guess Eric likes to fish also and wanted to come. I told my friend to tell him No… that I couldn’t fish with him until after the season, I wasn’t going to fish with a Ute that I was going to be playing later that year.

As Eric and I were walking towards the ball we were joking about our future fishing expedition to Scofield Reservoir and the fish we would catch.

Like all of you I hope BYU can get it done this weekend. I believe they will and I think they believe they will. Sounds to me like this one could be. . .another great moment in BYU football history!

Go Courgars.

AP Photo Douglas Pizac

First and foremost, Quinn, you are doing a marvelous job of giving priceless insight to Cougar Nation.  With all the catchpenny rubbish and hearsay that I’ve read on all the other sites, it’s quite refreshing to come onto your blog and read an intricate, even “doctrinal” analysis of the game from a intelligent and articulate player’s point of view.
To all you cougar fans out there, if you wish to satiate that thirst for true knowledge of the game of football, and how the Cougs play it, don’t be an ignoramus, read Quinn’s blog and tell your friends.

At any rate, this is Ben Criddle the washed up walk-on #21.  How time flies, just two years ago I was in Colorado Springs handing out a thrashing to the Cadets of Air Force Academy.  Nostalgia plagues each and every one of the former Cougs, and I’ve cried a few times as I’ve watched my team run out of the tunnel without me.  But, on to bigger and better things right?  At this moment I am living in the infamous Ute country, a few blocks away from Rice Eccles stadium preaching the word to my lost brethren.  Nah, but I am working at the UofU Orthopedic Center doing orthopedic sales, specifically bracing hoping to open up a CPM line soon.  I work with all of the team docs for the Utes, and we have a weekly meeting to discuss games, stats, and predictions for the upcoming games.  We also find time to talk trash about each others teams, which is quite entertaining.  Medical sales has been a great fit for me thus far.  I love working with the patients, doctors, and the pay isn’t too bad either.  One of these days when I find an eternal companion, hopefully I’ll be able to support her in her spending habits.  If any of you bloggers know of any cute, spiritual, funny, athletic and ambitious girls, send them my way.=)

My other extra curricular activities include, coaching a flag football team of 7yr olds, writing a book, and working on my musical talents.  My 7yr olds went 8-0 this year!  I implemented an intricate offense with 7 different formations and over 45 plays.  I had some amazing athletes; the only downer to the whole season came at the conception of our season when I asked them “if they wanted to be called the Cougars or Utes?”  It was an 9 to 2 vote in favor of the Utes……heartbreaking indeed.  The book I am writing is called “Walk On” -Living the Dream-.  The book’s main purpose is to instill in the young men of the church, the desire to build a stronger mutually beneficial relationship with the Lord.  I also plan to share insights about the life of a walk-on and the singular experiences that come with being a walk-on.  My musical endeavors will also be intertwined hopefully with the book.  I’ve been working on classical voice for 7 years now, and have finally built up enough confidence to consider making an album.  I’ll also be posting on Quinn’s blog a song by Troy Sheide and myself called, “The Ode To The Scout Team” soon.  It’s a comical number expressing the life of a walk-on/scout team player.  Troy and I hope that we can set up a downloadable version for your Ipods, I know you will enjoy it.  The two times we performed it live, we received standing ovations. =)

My current connection with the program is not as strong as I wish it could be.  I’m still an avid fan, attending some games in person and watching others on TV.  I miss the game dearly and I’m looking for ways to stay involved with the program.  I believe my book will help in the recruiting process for the football program though and build a stronger connection with program.  You can only give out so many scholarships as an DIV I team, but I’m hoping to persuade those in-betweeners (like i was), who had small school schollie offers, to walk-on instead.  I have strong opinions about the choice I made, and I’ve weighed out the positives and negatives to each scenario for the future prospects.  My dream (although unfeasible to some) is to have every worthy LDS football prospect coming to BYU, with or without a scholarship.  Thus, I’m not as connected as I want to be, but I’m looking for ways to stay involved, just like Quinn has done with this beautiful blog.

I have so many favorite memories as a BYU football player it’s ridiculous. The walk-on tryout and making the team. Singing in the walk-on locker room with all the other scrubs. Breaking up a pass the first day of practice against Todd Watkins and accidentally tackling him, then subsequently getting yelled and cursed at by John Beck for possibly hurting our star WR.  Talks with Bronco Mendenhall, Ode To The Scout Team, Locker room ping pong matches, Starting in my first DIV I football game, breaking up a number of passes, making plays and realizing my potential.  “Caught for the Touchdown! Caught for the Touchdown!” 4th and 18.  And of course Vegas Bowl 2007, the blocked field goal. I loved it all!  I lived a dream indeed.

I arrived on campus just before Coach Mendenahall started his first season as head coach.  When I got there, the “weeding out” was almost complete.  Yeah, there will be transfers here and there, but most of it had already taken place.  I witnessed a mediocre season in 2005 from the stands.  I chose to red-shirt that season because I didn’t want to waste a year of eligibility just playing special teams.  I then saw how the players rallied together, taking the counsel of our coaches, applying it and then reaping the fruits of our labor for two years.  Our coaching staff is amazing, and we should be grateful, and be hoping that we don’t lose any of them.

My expectations for the rest of the season are these.

If our defense does not put in the extra time to watch film and to be assignment sound Utah will beat us.  Individually they are not watching enough film and visualizing themselves making plays as they come to them.  It shows on film, there’s no hiding it.  They are not doing their homework.  Our secondary and linebackers should watch at least 8 hours of film individually this week.  I’m begging you to.  If you want.. call me .. I’ll watch it with you!  If that happens, we beat Utah, take a piece of the MWC title, have a minute chance of BCS (doubtful) but we go bowling a beat a Pac 10 team.

If everyone sticks around for their senior seasons (which i think they will) we go into next season nationally ranked again with a chance to bust the BCS.  We don’t have enough experience on the O-line to protect max like we have in the past, but the talent is there, but it depends on their work ethic.  We will need a QB in the near future though.  I haven’t seen anything promising in the ranks thus far, and I know a good QB when I see one.. trust me.  There’s talent, but a lack of ambition, drive and competitive nature is festering amongst our younger QB’s.  They don’t realize the hours both John and Max have put in tossing the football and watching film in the off-season.

If you got any questions feel free to shoot me a line.  Keep up the good work Quinn!

Ben Criddle

During AFA’s offensive series in the 05′-06′ games the defense could hear the Air Force quarterback calling out signals at the line of scrimmage involving numbers and -if I remember correctly- colors. As the game progressed the quarterback kept repeating colors and numbers followed by identical run plays.

It was a difficult code to decipher, but the D managed.

As Cameron and Co. caught onto the signals he started yelling out where the players were going, who was getting the ball and what the running back’s girlfriend’s favorite color was.

You could just see Carney’s frustration mounting as Cameron would yell who was getting the ball and what gap they were running into. This friendly exchange proceeded for a couple of series until Air Force finally changed up the signals and decided they would rather play the game without Cameron being part of their offense and our defense.

There was also a moment late in the 2006 game where the back-up quarterback came in the game, looked to the sideline got the play and yelled it out to is teammates. As I heard the call I recognized the numbers and yelled out where the ball was going. The quarterback stepped back from center, looked at the coach who said,” run the play dammit!!.” They ran the play and I blasted the pitch player as he caught the ball.

I got up, shook my head, turned and trotted off the field. I chuckled the whole way back to Provo about that play…dammit.

Football is an easy game if you are able to understand your job well enough so you can start paying attention to the details. Isn’t there some kind of Chinese proverb that says “it’s all in the details”….maybe not, but there should be.

Well a little about myself since, BYU. After the draft and attending Camp,-with the New York Jets- I was able to continue playing this great game and get paid to do it. Because I was drafted my Junior year in college in the CFL draft, to the Toronto Argonauts. I was able to pursue my dream to play professional football, and I signed a 4 year deal up North. It has been a great experience. My family and I have been able to spend 5 months of the year in Toronto and then we were able to buy a home in Cedar Hills, Utah. So it has been really a great life for us.

Last season, my wife gave birth to our little girl Saydie Ann, and next week she turns 1 years old. She was born up here in Canada, so she is a dual citizen. After the season last year, we came home bought our home and spent a lot of time decorating and moving in, and getting comfortable. I also spent a lot of time and effort, building my Real Estate business. I got licensed as a Realtor and really worked hard getting connected with top real estate Investors in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. I was able to not only learn the business and develop some great networks, but also expand my personal portfolio, by purchasing more rental properties in Provo and developmental property in Canada.

Last season my team had a very disappointing ending, as we were divisional champs and lost our playoff game that would have sent us to the Grey Cup Game -Canada’s Super Bowl. This season has been pretty tough as our team has really struggled losing more games than we have won. Our coach has been fired and management has been juggling player personnel like musical chairs. This has been one of the toughest parts of playing Pro football. You spend time making good friends with teammates, just to show up the next day at work and have their lockers cleaned out. It’s a pretty “cut throat” business, very little to no loyalties. This is definitely a performance based business and even more a, “what have you done for me lately?” business. There are the constant threats of, if you don’t get it done its “ding ding” “DOD” -Dinner on Delta. But aside from the pressures of the game it’s still football, and I love it. We will finish up our season at the end of the month and then it’s back to Utah, where I will continue building a business in this tough economy. I am hoping that my business ventures will allow me to walk away from the game and be financially independent, before I can’t walk anymore altogether.

I have been so excited to watch BYU this season. Unfortunately I have not been able to see the games up here, since I don’t have satellite. But I have been able to listen on the Radio, and it has been great. In the Pro’s all the guys still have a ton of pride for their college teams and often there is a lot of betting and trash talking about college football in the locker room. BYU has made it easy for me the last two years, and I’m able to rub in wins over UW to former QB Cody Pickett, and the win over UCLA, was great to rub in the face of former RB Tyler Ebell.

Anyway I have so many great memories at BYU. I remember clearly the transition from Coach Crowton to Mendenhall. I remember the secret meeting with AD Tom Holmoe, I remember a large number of players, very scared that Bronco would get the job and that they would have to do pursuits. I remember a lot of players wanting to transfer and I remember the off-season conditioning that year. It was crazy! Everyday literally, at least 1 or two people would just quit the team and not just walk-ons, but scholarhip players also. There was definitely a weeding out process. As Bronco put it, “getting the right people on the bus, and wrong one ‘s off”.

One memory that will always stand out to me was a specific meeting with Coach Mendenhall after the coaching change. I knew about the offer to Whittingham and Cameron Jensen and myself, went into Broncos office to talk with him. I remember seeing Coach in a way that I had never seen him before. He was not his confident, composed self. He looked nervous, almost scared and as we spoke it was confirmed that there was some uncertainty -as would be expected. I remember this moment clearly as it really changed the way I viewed Coach Mendenhall -and ultimately really changed my relationship with him.

After that meeting and through the remainder of my career Bronco was a support that I couldn’t find in anyone else. He felt like a father figure and really helped me through some tough personal times.

Before that meeting I thought Bronco was cold, unsympathetic or even a hard &%$# But he is as good as they come. I always thought he was a good coach, but I finally understood he is an even better man! This BYU program will win many more games for many more years because of his leadership!

I feel like this years team has huge potential. I haven’t been able to see them play and I won’t make bold predictions, but I will say this……In football, anyone can win on any given day! I believe that BYU is prepared so well, and are talented enough to win every game they play in.

One of the perks to my team not making the playoffs, is that I should be able to catch a few of the last BYU games, so I’m excited to see some history in the making. Well it was good to be able to share some thoughts and updates with everyone….. See ya at the games, Cougar Fans!!”

Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images

There is another part of Air Forces offense, which makes them unique to defend, cut blocks. It’s not that the cut blocks are vicious or dirty; it’s just that they take a certain amount of focus to defend to insure that you aren’t left lying of your back as a cadet scurries for a first down.

When you look up “cut block” in the dictionary you will find a picture of a 5′10″ white male with a stocky build, decent speed, wearing a blue jersey with a lightning bolt across the chest. Air Forces is so good at using cut blocks that teams need to designate time during the week to teach the proper technique to neutralizing this type of block.

In order to survive a cut block without being upended you have to first focus only on the blocker. As a defender you tend to look through blockers to see where the ball is going to end up. With Air Force it is crucial that you forget -just for a second- that a ball carrier is running your way, so you can deal with the ankle biter coming your direction.

When the blocker approaches, it will look like he is going to lower his head and block you. Oh no, that’s just the type of mistake the cadet is hoping for. In defending the block the defender has to use his hands. As the block approaches the defender needs to place his hand on the cadets helmet and shoulder, with knees bent and his inside leg back. So, if the play is coming from left to right the defender should have his left foot back. Having your feet correct insures that if a hand isn’t in the totally correct position the cadet might still miss the defenders legs and some nasty cadets will roll after they dive at your legs. Having your front leg back keeps the ligaments in your knees tightly in place.

When the defender has his feet, hands and body in the right position. The defender has to push the cadet’s helmet and shoulder into the ground, while giving up a small amount of ground. Basically the defender absorbs the block, jamming the cadet’s face-mask into the ground, and then comes off the block ready to tackle the next 5′10″ 200 lbs cadet flying his direction.

It isn’t that defending the block is difficult but it takes quit a bit of concentration and practice to do it correctly. Seeing as some of our defenders are young this year. I would expect a few to be lying on their backs on the first couple of series.

It always took me one or two option plays to get used to the speed and look of the cut block, but once you get a feel for it; it becomes easier and easier.

The worst cut block I ever experienced was in Colorado Springs the second time I played Air Force. As Markell mentioned the safeties have to read the motion and run across the formation to run the “alley”, tackling the “pitch man”. I was doing just that -watching the ball carrier, mistake number one- and as I approached the ball carrier I saw a flash of blue diving for my knees. Luckily I got my feet off the ground just as the cut block made contact sending me head over heals. I thought it was an illegal block, but there weren’t any flags on the ground.

I let the referee have it for about three plays after that and I think I got a pity call later in the game.
During film on Monday everyone had a good laugh watching me do front flips on the field. The tape was even funnier because of the way I disappeared from sight the moment I was hit.

Moral of the story, pay attention at all times, keep your eyes in the right spots and use your hands not your shoulders and you’ll be fine.

AP Photo by Douglas C. Pizac

This may be my shortest post of the year because defending the Veer Option is not a complicated task on paper.  The AFA offense tries to out-execute their opponent by getting the defense frustrated and having players trying to do too much, or more than their responsibility.  But if you study their offense you realize that they run the veer the exact same every time.  There are no variations.  It all comes down to who will be more disciplined.

There are three options on the veer: 1. The fullback gets the ball and hits the A Gap. 2. The QB keeps the ball and hits the C Gap.  3. The QB pitches the ball to the RB.

The first option -the fullback- is taken away by the nose tackle playing off the block of the center and filling the FRONT SIDE A gap -or the first play side gap- and the designated player on the backside playing the BACK SIDE A Gap.  ALL THESE PLAYERS DO IS TACKLE THE FULLBACK.

When these two players do their jobs the FB option is shut down.  In the last 4 years there has only been 1 play where the FB got the ball for yards and that is because the back side A gap defender tried to do too much and left his gap unmanned.

The second option is taken by either the defensive end or outside linebacker -depending on the play call.  ALL HE DOES IS TACKLE THE QB.
This player is unblocked and is commonly referred to as the “option man.”  The QB reads this defender to see whether he will keep the ball or pitch it.  Sean Carney  -the old AFA QB- loved to fake the pitch, which would get the defender off balance and then tuck the ball and run for a good chunk of yardage.

When you do someone else’s job, you give up big plays.

A player in the secondary handles the third option.

At the snap of the ball they go through their read progressions and those keys will take them right to the ball -if they are paying attention. On the snap, one of the safeties runs “the alley” to where the pitch will be and tackles the running back. This needs to happen on all option plays NO MATTER WHAT with the fullback or quarterback!  If the safety sticks to is responsibility the play will result in a zero or 1.5 yard gain.

So what does it boil down to? You have to be unselfish and you have to tackle the man you are responsible for no matter what you see.  On every play you only have one person to look at.  Coach Mendenhall makes the assignments easy by simplifying the play calling. He keeps it really simple, which frees players minds up so they can concentrate on their specific responsibilities.

In the 4 years that I was at BYU the cadets struggled to move the ball against us.  The option was useless, because we played very disciplined.  The only success AFA had against us came in 2005 when we knocked their starting QB, Carney, out of the game in the first quarter.  The back up came in and that is sometimes scary for one reason, back-ups have nothing to lose.

That is how he played.

In the second half he started slinging the ball all over the field -13 of 24 for 265 yds and 2 INTs- and they abandoned the option.  Our coaches were searching for adjustments on the sidelines because we hadn’t practiced our coverage’s in the weeks practice. But, the coaches made the changes and the final score was 62-41 with Air Force scoring 27 points in the 4th quarter.

No need to fear, Air Forces passing attack worked for one simple reason.  We had worked tirelessly in order to stop the option and in order to prepare a young secondary our defense had to sacrifice coverage reps for option reps. We were a bit stubborn in that we didn’t revert back to our normal defense until late in the 4th quarter. A wins a win right?

Last year AFA tried to throw the ball against us and spread it around and they weren’t successful because the 3-4 is better equipped to stopping the option offense.  In that 2007 contest the cadets completed 33 passes for 98 yards.

In conclusion I wanted to give you a little FYI.  Shaun Carney the 4 year starting QB for the Air Force Falcons beat every team in the MWC at least one time in his career, EXCEPT FOR BYU!  We had a pretty friendly rivalry (he and I) and after the game he was pretty ticked off.
Ah, I love the smell of defeat in the morning.

Written by Markell Staffieri

OLB Reads – In a 3-4 the OLB reads the TE (if there is one on his side), the T and G.
Determining Run/Pass:

• An OLB, whether on the ball (on the LOS) or off is reading the last man on the LOS (TE/T) to the Near Back.  This means that at the snap of the ball he will see what the first step of the end man on the line is.  If it is a Pass play the T will step back and stand tall.  This tells the OLB to get to his drop ASAP.  If the first step is up the field then he knows it is a run and moves on to his next key.

• Is the Run TO me or AWAY:

• Once he knows it is run he looks at what type of block the tackle is performing (really this is blended into the first step read).

If the tackle steps down/inside to block the DE (cut him off) the OLB will know that the run is going away from him.

If the tackle steps toward the OLB he knows the play is coming at him.
Another read is if the tackle steps outside and goes up field onto an ILB.  This tells the OLB to look for a pulling OL and that the play is coming at him.

Finally if he sees that the T is blocking the DE directly in front of him he knows it is an inside run play.

Where is the ball supposed to be run and what is my job:

• In (i) the OLB would know that the ball is designed to be run on the far half of the line, probably between the G/T or on a stretch to the outside.  The fact that the T is trying to cut off the DE tells the OLB he is unblocked and his job becomes the “Heel Line”/”Cutback” Player.  When he is the heel line player his job is to run flat down the line on the heels of the OL.  This is where you see Dave and Kehl make 80% of their plays, because they are so fast down the line.  The offensive coaches are telling the RB, beat him with your speed.  The heel line defender will only make the play if we get a stalemate at the LOS from our DL.  The cutback aspect of it, is that if the RB decides to cutback, the OLB is responsible for turning him back inside/keeping contain.

• If the T is trying to “Kick Out” the OLB the play is designed to be run inside the OLB, or inside that block.  ANYTIME there is a pulling OL the play is designed to be run INSIDE that pullers block.  On these plays the OLBs job is to engage the OL and push his body back into the hole while keeping the RB contained.  It is then the job of the ILB to make the tackle.

• If the T is trying to “seal” the OLB or get to his outside shoulder then the play is designed to be run outside.  The job now becomes “stringing” the play out to the sideline.  The OLB can not let his shoulders get turned.  He has to contain the play while buying time for the troops to rally.  All of his buddies are inside, so that is where he has to force the play.

Notice that I have not mentioned the RB as a read yet.  This is because the OL will tell you everything you need to know about where the RB will end up.  The RB can be tricky.  Offenses love to run counter plays.  On these plays the RB will start going to one side and then cutback.  This is not a read by the RB it is a designed play.  A lot of teams, like CSU will pull a G on these plays.  IF the LB is reading the OL, he will not be fooled by the RB and will see the G, meet him at the LOS, and stop the play for no-gain.  When players get fooled on the plays like the counter, coaches usually will tell them, “Get your eyes out of the backfield.”  The OL gives the LBs all information they need in order to put themselves in the right place, at the right time.

By Markell Staffieri

Although they are all “Linebackers,” ILBs see things a little differently than OLBs do.  Let’s take a look at how an ILB approaches each play of the game.

ILB Reads – In a 3-4 the ILB reads the “Triangle.”
If the ILB is lined up over the G or in the A Gap the triangle is the G, C and near back.
If the ILB is lined up in an outside shade of the G or over the T the triangle is G, T and near back.
While the ILB tries to see the whole TRIANGLE, 98% of the time the eyes are on the Guards.  Guards will tell you everything about a play you could ever want to know.

Determining Run/Pass:

• Before the ball is even snapped, ILBs read the stance of the G in order to look for a “tell” that may tip   him off to whether it is Run/Pass.  It used to be the “white knuckles” meant run, but everyone wears gloves these days.  You look for pressure on the fingers, leaning forward, lower shoulder pads on the run.  If it is going to be a pass they will have the weight on their heals, maybe in a 2point stance (no hand down), or their pads are more straight up.  The best OL don’t give it away and act the same on both.  A lot of guys have tells.  I played against one OL who on a pass would get in his 3 point stance right away.  On run plays he would come to the LOS, rest his elbows on his knees for a little and then get down.  It was the perfect give-away all game.  I think I even told him about it after the game.

• After the ball is snapped the reads are very similar to an OLBs.  If the G steps forward it is a run…attack downhill.  If he steps back, Pass.

Types of Run Blocks and how to defeat them:

Combo Block:

• What is it?:  This is the most common run block in the MWC.  Teams use it when they run the ZONE, RIDE, RIDE OPTION, and pretty much every other spread offense run play.  What it means is that the G and C will Combo the NT and the ILB to that side.  It starts out as a double team on the NT to stop penetration, then once the C has control the G will “Combo” off onto the ILB.

• How do you beat it?:  To beat a combo block you have to see it coming.  As soon as you see the G step down on the C you have to come in there like a bat out of hell and hit him right in the side of the helmet.  Best to get the big lugs before they turn their momentum upfield.  If you can ear hole him at the LOS you will win 95% if the time and the run will be unsuccessful.

Down Block:

• What is it?:  A down block is when the G blocks down on the NT by himself.  When he does this it usually means that the ball is coming off his butt.  He is trying to pin the NT inside and create a hole in the A gap.  When this happens usually 1 of 2 things will follow.

• The FB will be the lead blocker responsible for blowing you out of the hole.  Your job is to take him on with your inside shoulder so that you always keep the ball between the 2 ILBs.

• A pulling OL will be coming around the corner.  Your job is the same, but you better hit him before he turns upfield, otherwise that is a lot of weight you have to try and stop.

• How do you beat it?: When the G blocks down you “fill” the spot he just vacated, immediately.  This means, once again, flying downhill as fast as possible.  You have to meet the FB or OL on their side of the LOS, stay low and DON’T get driven out.

Pulling Guard/Cut Off Block:

• What is it?:  A pulling guard is when the guard steps back behind the LOS, runs behind the other OL and turns up inside the hole as the lead blocker.  He is tracking the Play side ILB.  (If the play is run AT the SILB the weak G will pull to block him).  How do you stop the other ILB?  Usually a T or TE from the play side will angle back across the play to pick up the ILB who is coming from the side the G pulled from.

• How do you beat it?: When the guard in front of you pulls you follow him!  It is important that you yell to your buddy that the G is pulling so he can go meet him (He will have already seen the down block on his side).  Best to have some warning when the big beasties are coming.  You scrape over the top of the DL and OL until you get to where the G turned upfield and you come downhill keeping the RB on your OUTSIDE shoulder while your buddy has him on the INSIDE shoulder.

Straight Up Block:

• What is it?:  When the G is uncovered (no DL in front of him) and he runs right at you at the snap.

• How do you beat it?:  You run down hill as fast as you can and get your pads underneath his.  Sometimes it is best to give up a man for a man and take him out below the waist.  Sure it may be the “sissy” way out, but if you don’t go down, and he blows you out of there (He has100+ lbs on you) then you will end up in Quinn’s lap.

Reach Block:

• What is it?:  This is the type of blocking you see with teams that like to run sweep and stretch plays.  At the snap of the ball the OL turns and runs laterally trying to cut off any penetration and to get in front of the DL and LBs.  On these plays typically the backside G will try and take over the NT while the C comes up on the backside ILB and the play side G/T will come up on the playside ILB.

• How do you beat it?:  Speed over the top and coming downhill fast.  Remember the principle – if you can hit the OL while he is running sideways, you win.

It is imperative that the 2 ILBs work together.  What made playing with Cameron and Kelly so much fun is that we had very similar styles, and because we always studied together we saw things on the field the same way.  That means we always knew how the other guy would play the play and it would help us to fit up in the right spots.  The No. 1 rule for ILBs is the keep the ball between you.  Then usually the ILB to the play side takes on the blockers while the other makes the play.  That is how the duo should work out.

By Markell Staffieri