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HB Arnett’s
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West 800 South –
Vol. 34,
Issue 5 – September 2, 2013
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BYU loses 19-16
Please Pardon my Participation in the
Ponzi Scheme called the BYU Offense
Big hat, no cattle.
That’s the promise and premise of all Ponzi schemes. Bernie
Madoff made his scheme work longer than most with slick bookkeeping and great
public relations. Bronco Mendenhall has made his offensive Ponzi scheme work
for almost two years now.
He has used coaching changes, mantras of “grit and determination
and go fast, go hard” and fan gullibility, including mine, to keep this
scheme and hopes of a return to BYU’s offense of old alive.
But here’s the problem with all Ponzi schemes: Big hat, no
cattle. Eventually there is no production to back up the promised rate of
return to glory days of offense for Cougar fans.
You don’t have to be a forensic accountant, but just an ordinary
football fan to see that BYU’s offensive books didn’t balance
against
Here is what was promised preseason by the BYU hype machine and me and
what actually materialized against
Ponzi vs. Production
We were promised that 10-11 offensive linemen would travel to
We were promised that Taysom Hill is the most athletic quarterback to
ever play the position at BYU. That turned out to be just 80% true. He has two
legs, one arm and a good head to live up to that billing, but his right arm let
him and BYU’s offense down.
No matter how you promote it or Ponzi it, 13 of 40 for 175 yards is not
pretty. Those were the passing stats for Hill. The killer, of course, was the
last throw of the game that was intercepted and led to
Offensive coaches told us all spring and preseason that Taysom Hill was
accurate enough. His passing stats were a definite throw back to the past when
it comes to BYU quarterbacks. We aren’t talking about McMahon, Young,
Detmer or Wilson. Hill looked more like Steve Lindsley and Bob Jensen in his
first outing of this season.
Speaking of that ill advised late throw, when BYU appeared to be in
control of the game, offensive coordinator Robert Anae took total blame for the
play call.
Assessing Blame
No word yet on assessing blame for some of the other bizarre BYU play
calling throughout the contest.
We were told that Anae was the answer. Based on his first game back at
BYU and the offensive performance turned in against
We were told the kicking game was solved. Yes, there was a successful
field goal against UVA, but it is now going on almost three seasons since I can
remember seeing a ball kicked into the end zone on a kickoff by BYU.
We were all abuzz when word leaked out from fall camp that NFL scouts
were paying attention to walk on receivers. We were led to believe that this
would be a renaissance year for guys like Ross Apo. We thought dunking a
basketball would translate to the football field and making spectacular
catches.
Yes, Cody Hoffman did not play because of a hamstring injury, but
walkon receivers are the key words here. BYU is playing with too many of them.
When it came to special teams and snapping the ball, those also are
apparently works in progress. Putting the ball on the ground while snapping it
to Taysom Hill cost the Cougars a safety. Having a punt blocked is faulty
special teams play. Those two flubs alone cost the Cougars 9 points and the
game. Throw in another 7 points lost on the final Cougar turnover of the contest
on the Hill interception, and this game was gift wrapped for the Cavaliers.
Grin and Bear It
Most BYU football fans had to grin and bear this unfortunate defeat
which was snatched from the jaws of victory. There were, however, probably
others who just were grinning from ear to ear.
This is only my assumption, but smirks and smiles were probably all
over the faces of Riley Nelson and Brandon Doman and the rest of the dismissed
offensive staff from last season.
BYU did prove that the go fast, go hard offensive attack would produce
more plays. The Cougars ran 93 against
Back to Ponzi schemes. Before new money covering old money eventually
runs out of steam, most schemes have their blue chip moments. They occasionally
make a winning trade or transaction during the process. They just don’t
make enough to keep the scheme afloat.
Jamaal Williams was BYU’s blue chip performer against
Will Depend on Defense
While Williams was carrying the offense, the
It remains to be seen just how good the
Even the BYU defense can only cover so much for the rest of the
team’s performances. But make no mistake. Bronco Mendenhall may be
clueless when it comes to game management and offense and solving the glaring
issues on that side of the ball, but he does know defense and delivers
consistently in that area of the game.
Is
BYU looked bad offensively on its first swing of the season last week
against
They were off balance, out in front, and out of sync. Despite my Ponzi
pontifications about the Cougars above, I will wait to see how the Cougars do
on their next two swings of the season before actually turning myself in to the
proper authorities for being too Pollyannaish in the preseason on the BYU
offense.
While BYU returned to
This week should be telling.
So here’s the deal. This game for BYU is simple.
They will game plan and take away Jamaal Williams. There will be no
100-yard plus rusher for BYU against the Horns.
Offensively, the Longhorns racked up 711 total yards of offense last
week against
Borrowing similar words from former Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen in a
debate with Dan Quayle some years ago, “I know BYU’s defense and
This game will rest on a must-be-improved BYU offense. The Cougars have
to be more productive than they were last week.
Taysom Hill must be more accurate and must be protected by the
offensive line for that to happen.
Here’s the irony of last week. As bad as the offensive line
played, Jamaal Williams did rush for a buck 44 on the ground.
Hill will have to complete at least half of his throws this Saturday
for BYU to have a chance.
Defensively, we expect the Cougar defense to put up a big fight against
the Longhorns. We don’t expect
All four of David Ash’s four touchdown passes were big yardage
throws. He had td passes of 54, 64 and 74 yards. His last td pass was for 25
yards. Ash also ran one in from 55 yards out. Those kind of over the top scores
shouldn’t happen against the Cougar defense.
Make no mistake, BYU’s secondary and pass rush will be tested by
Again, with two strikes left in the early season at bat for BYU, my
Ponzi-Pollyanna pick for Saturday is BYU 24 Texas 21.
BYU’s Top Ten Toughest Teams to
Beat this Season
2.
3.
4. Notre Dame…Beat
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. Georgia Tech…Home sweet home. BYU will be
hard to beat in
10. Middle
Others receiving votes…
NFL Rosters
NFL teams pared their rosters to 53 players last Saturday. Here is the
list of former BYU football players that stuck.
John Denney, Deep
Snapper,
Dennis Pitta, Tight
End,
Brett Keisel, DE,
Matt Reynolds, OL,
Bryan Kehl, LB,
Ziggy Ansah, DL,
Harvey Unga, RB,
Chicago. Signed again to the practice squad.
Television Timetable
BYU vs.
Saturday, Sept 7 at
Kickoff: 5:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: ESPN2
BYU vs.
Saturday, Sept 21 at
Kickoff: TBA
TV: TBA
BYU vs.
Middle
Friday, Sept 27 at
Kickoff: 7:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: ESPNU
BYU vs.
Friday, Oct 4 at
Kickoff: 6:00 pm Mountain
Time
TV: CBS Sports Network
BYU vs.
Georgia Tech
Saturday, Oct 12 at
Kickoff: TBA
TV: TBA