I think that this team has responded remarkably well given the injuries it has sustained. Think about how other BYU teams would have responded had they lost their starting quarterback (Hill), best running back (Williams), potentially best WR (Kurtz), and a seasoned starting DB (Johnson) along with the three best defensive players missing key games (Fua, Bills, and Kaufusi). How about the National Championship year without Bosco, Heimuli, Kozlowski, and Morrell with Gouveia, White, and Lyndenko missing key games? How about 1990 without Detmer, Bellini, Drage, and Crutchfield and with Beigel, Davis, and Grey missing key games. What about 1996 without Sarkisan, Jenkins, KO, and Morgan; 2001 without Doman, Staley, Mahe, and Gilford; 2006 without Beck, Brown, Harline, and Robinson; 2008 without Hall, Unga, Collie, and Howard? How many games would those teams have lost and by what kind of margin. Clearly, injuries are part of football and it is the responsibility of coaches to recruit and prepare players to step up when starters go down. But realistically, there are very few teams at any level that can afford to lose their starting quarterback and not have at least some adverse impact on the team. This team has responded very well, which I think speaks to the overall strength of the program. Stewart has gotten into a rhythm. The running backs have held up. Kurtz hasn't really been missed and we've been able to cover up better than you'd expect in losing Johnson.

We have remained competitive in all but one game even with the injuries to key players. We knew going into the season that UCF and Boise would be tough road games. We stayed close with UCF and got killed by Boise. We certainly didn't think we'd have a problem with Utah State or Nevada. But those losses are nothing like UTEP in 1985. What has really hurt, of course, is that our offense has generated enough points to win these games while the D, uncharacteristically, failed to hold up. It has taken longer than it should have, but it seems like we are figuring out how better to use Kaufusi and Jackson. It is hard to imagine that other BYU teams would not have at least a couple of more losses had they experienced the same level of injuries.

Over the last few years, our D has been solid and our O has been especially weak at QB, OL, and TE. Clearly, Taysom looked great, the OL has improved, and the TE continues to be an enigma. Hopefully the QBs will keep coming.

I get the hang ups that people have with Bronco. He is sometimes his own worst enemy when it comes to how he communicates things. I'm sorry that a lot of you have seemingly hit the point of no return. It is tough enough reading your rants...feels about the same as listening to Salt Lake sports radio which I avoid at all cost...let alone having to feel what you do.

I think Independence is the best and only option for us right now. I think that we are getting to see BYU play some great teams--clearly not 100% on our terms--but we're doing an admirable job. I respect Bronco and have no doubt that he gives his very best to the program and that it is in a far better place than when he found it. I think we are making great strides in trying to identify and recruit socially conservative, Christian athletes. I think that the D returns to itself and the O continues to improve provided we can get a decent QB pipeline going again.