Let's Get Jazzed!!

I can't believe how fast the summer flew by but for me, Wednesday marked the beginning of fall. That's right, the NBA season kicked off on Wednesday. It seems like the NBA finals were just a few weeks ago. I'm excited for this NBA season.

Thursday the Utah Jazz opened up the season by hosting the Denver Nuggets. My wife was nice enough to buy me tickets for opening night. They were awesome seats too! Okay, the truth is, I was on THE TOP row. You couldn't get any higher in the Energy Solutions Arena if you wanted to. But hey, in my opinion it's so exciting to see a game in person. Even if you are on the top row.

The Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets in an intense game that went down to the wire. I was nervous going into this game because we'd be with out our star point guard Deron Williams. I felt some comfort knowing that the Nuggets would be with out their star Carmelo Anthony because he was suspended for the first game of the season. Ronnie Price filled in for the injured Williams and did a pretty good job. He did exactly what was needed of him to win the game.

Carlos Boozer lead the way with 25 points and 14 rebounds which is more than a solid game. I was also very impressed with Andre Kirilenko who had 16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. For the first time since becoming an Allstar, the Jazz brought Kirilenko off the bench. I thought it plays huge to both his advantage and to the advantage of the Jazz.

Iverson had 18 points and 8 assists to lead the Nuggets. He is the only reason the Nuggets stayed even close.

The Jazz open the season with a win. So far, so good! Williams is expected to miss a couple more games so hopefully Ronnie Price can continue to step up and contribute big.

Weekly Fan Favorite

I've decided to start doing something new this week. Each week I am going to pick out a player who I thought was fun to watch as a fan. It will be my "Weekly Fan Favorite" Award. Weather the team wins or loses, there are usually certain players who have great games. I want to high light one player each week who I especially found fun to watch.

So! Drum roll please!....This week's award goes to...

FUI VAKAPUNA

Fui Vakapuna was especially fun to watch on Saturday. A couple of years ago when he was running with Curtis Brown, he seemed to plow people over. Nothing could stop him from gaining the yards that he needed. I wasn't sure if we would ever see that same passion and determined running.

Saturday sent me back to the days when he would lower his shoulder and hit opposing linebackers and DB's hard every time. Each time Fui was handed the ball he gained an average of almost 8 yards! I was particularly impressed by a drive in the second half where he ran the ball down the field and then caught the ball out of the back field for the touch down.

Fui has always been a fan favorite since a couple of years ago. Each time he touches the ball the entire crowd yells "FUUUUUUI".

Because of his hard hits, determined runs, and strong heart, I give Fui Vakapuna my FAN FAVORITE award this week. Below you'll see his final stats for the game on Saturday.

9 Runs
71 yards on the ground
7.9 yards per run

2 catches
13 yards
1 touch down

It's a Good Thing BYU Has a Good Offense!

BYU faced off against UNLV on Saturday. Simply said, all I can say is it's a good thing BYU has a good offense, otherwise they'd be losing a lot of games. All year, I've been talking about how the defense needs a lot of work. I'm not sure why it took a half of a season for other teams to pick up on BYU's weak defensive holes but they seem to have us figured out. BYU walked away from the game with a 42-35 victory but it wasn't what most people were expecting.

Most people expected BYU to score 40 or more points on Saturday. However, they didn't expect UNLV to score even half of what they did. UNLV came out and attacked our defense. They ran plays that confused BYU. BYU has never been great at defending a quick quarter back. UNLV's quarterback is not only quick but he has a good throwing arm as well. The score was close the entire way through the game. When BYU would score, UNLV would turn around and score right after us. We knew it would come down to who was able to make the final scoring drive of the game. Luckily BYU's offense was able to take care of business against a weak UNLV defense. However, even at times BYU's offense struggled. UNLV forced BYU to kick 2 field goals in the second half by stopping them in the red zone.

Although I don't believe BYU's defense is very good right now, I do have to give credit where it is due. I did see two things that I liked from the defense. First, the defense was able to stop UNLV on a couple drives in the second half which gave the offense a chance at pulling away. UNLV's defense responded and forced BYU into the two field goals rather than touch downs. Second, in many instances I noticed that the Defensive backs were not giving the receivers their usual 15 yard cushion. I saw many times when the DB's crowded and even got physical with the receivers forcing UNLV's quarterback to look to the middle of the field for passing lanes. The middle passing lanes should mostly be covered by the linebackers who were too slow. This allowed UNLV's quarterback to throw a 10 yard short slant or crossing pattern at will. Some of the fans around me in the stadium were upset because of the free passes in the middle of the field. The truth is, we the DB's playing the receivers closer, that's what happens when you have an average set of linebackers.

Again, BYU will still win most of their games the rest of the season, however, it probably won't have too much to do with their defense. The defense is weak, venerable, and slow. It's a good thing BYU has a good offense to cover for the defensive weaknesses.

The Game I Love...

I drive up to my Parents house on Thursday to watch the BYU vs TCU game. I'm excited yet extremely nervous for the game because I understand the importance of the game. This game could possibly mean a Mountain West Conference Championship, a BCS bowl game, and even possibly a small chance at a National Title. I settle in front of the TV with my dad and brothers anxiously awaiting kick off. And then it comes...

From start to finish BYU was utterly embarrassed by TCU. BYU looked nothing like themselves. They couldn't move the ball on offense and they couldn't stop TCU on defense. It was a disaster. My nervous excitement quickly turned to frustration and dispair. I can generally be pretty positive about things but I wasn't in the mood to look for the silver lining. I kept focusing on the fact that the slim chance of a National Championship was out of the question, a BCS bowl is now out of the question (unless some serious miracles happen), and a Mountain West Championship is going to be a stretch.

After waking up the next morning, I was finally able to see that silver lining. The truth is, I love this game. I love everything about it. That means loving the good and bad things about the game. One of the most amazing things about college football is the fact that any team can go and beat any other team, no matter how good or bad each team is. Unfortunately, BYU came out on the losing end of things this time. But, before I write off the season and start looking forward to next season, I have to remember that there is still so much to look forward to this season. BYU will be playing some great teams and will have the chance to prove not only their skill but their heart as well. We've only seen the first half of the season and the second half promises to be filled with excitement, drama, and passion. What else could anyone ask for?

So with that being said...GO COUGARS!!!

BYU's Defense Needs Work

BYU continued conference play against the New Mexico Lobos. After it was all said and done the Cougars won the football game 21-3. By simply looking at that score you'd believe that BYU's defense had a great performance. However, from where I was sitting, BYU's defense didn't look too good most of the game.

I don't claim to be a football expert by any stretch of the imagination. However, the defensive holes need to be fixed and need to be fixed quickly if BYU wants to continue winning football games. Too often I hear about how BYU's defense is doing so well. Even some of the football players themselves are boasting of the fact that they have out scored opponents by large margins and only allowed 17 points to be scored on them in the last four games. I don't mean to burst any one's bubble but the truth is they have played weak teams. All but one of BYU's opponents at this point in the season haven't even won 50% of their games. Northern Iowa is the only team above .500 simply because they are a Division II football team and play teams that would have a tough time competing with a good high school football team.

The biggest defensive frustration that I see as a fan is when BYU's opponent needs to gain 5-10 yards on their down. If you're in a third down situation and you need 5-10 yards, the majority of the time it will be a simple pass. It will either be a short slant or a quick 5-10 yard side line catch. So, when these situations present themselves, I find it painfully frustrating that the defensive backs will line up and give all the receivers a 15 yard cushion. That allows the quarterback to throw a basic pass to the side line for an easy first down. Again, I don't claim to be the defensive expert here but if I were drawing up an offensive attack on BYU, I would simply throw short slants and side line passes. I would occasionally throw a deep ball or a running play to keep everyone else on defense honest. I believe that with that simple game plan, most of the teams could have easily scored at least another touchdown each.

The second biggest problem I see is again related to the defensive backs and line backers. They seem to lose track of their receivers and fall apart if the quarterback simply rolls out of the pocket. On Saturday, I saw several times when BYU put enough pressure on New Mexico's quarterback that he was forced to scramble out of the pocket. When that happened, he had receiver after receiver open. Luckily he missed most of those open receivers. BYU was clearly defending the big play by not letting their receivers get passed them but at some point you are going to have to defend a receiver who is wide open 15 yards down field.

With all that being said, we really don't know anything about BYU's defense. Sure, they have only given up 17 points in their last four football games, but the true test is going to come on Thursday when they are faced with one of the toughest games of the season. TCU is a great football team that will surely test BYU's defense much more than any of the sub-par teams they have played up to this point.

What Happened? BYU vs Utah State

Was anyone besides me expecting a huge blowout tonight as BYU faced Utah State? Based on my Yahoo College Football Pick 'Em stats, it shows that nearly 75% of the country was with me thinking that BYU would roll over Utah State with ease. BYU picked up the 34-14 victory beating the Aggies who are now only 1-4 on the year. Most people expected a more dominating performance from the Cougars. So what happened?

Although the point differential is not what most people expected, this game was still controlled and dominated by the Cougars in almost every way possible. To prove my point, let's take a look at the rushing and passing stats:

BYU:
Passing: 303 yards
Rushing: 103 yards (3.4 yards per rush)

Utah State:
Passing: 193 yards
Rushing: 129 (3.0 yards per rush)

Utah State played one of their better games all year. But the stats alone show BYU's experience and power over Utah State. The Aggies lack of experience showed by coughing up four turnovers and going down 24-0 in the first half. With each of those turnovers, BYU did just what a top 10 ranked team should do, they capitalized and scored.

So that brings up another question. If BYU was so dominating why was the score as close as it was? First off, let me remind most people (especially those BYU fans with their blue goggles on) that a 20 point win over any team, especially on the road, is a pretty convincing win. We've been spoiled to keep blowing people out and having amazing offensive performances. However, for entertainment value, there were two main factors that kept the score as close as it was:

1. Turnovers: BYU's Max Hall threw two interceptions. Coming into tonight game, he had only thrown three interceptions all year. Both throws were simply bad decisions on Halls part. He threw into double and even triple coverage which gave the defense a great opportunity to intercept. If those interceptions wouldn't have been thrown, BYU's score could have easily been increased anywhere from 6-14 points which would have given the point spread that most people were expecting.
2. Penalties: BYU is usually a disciplined team that doesn't make a lot of frustration penalties. Tonight they had 12 penalties for 123 yards. With out some of those frustration penalties, they could have scored at least another touchdown.

There you have it. Sure, the score wasn't what most people expected, however, it was still a very convincing road win. If the Cougars would have limited their turnovers and penalties the game would have been a big scoring blow out. It just goes to show that even the # 8 ranked team in the nation has a lot of work to do to be considered one of the best.