that BYU lost a couple of games because the players didn't execute well enough? The coaches and players are the ones that have been able to study the game film in depth and know a little bit more about football than even CarolinaCoug.

Why are fans so ready to dismiss them? I suspect it is because most fans think that there is some sort of genius, whiz-bang defensive or offensive scheme the coaches can come up with that will make execution unnecessary.

Guess what, folks. If the players don't execute, it doesn't matter what the scheme is. You will lose to good teams every single time. 3-3-5, 3-4, 4-3, 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1, doesn't matter. Poor execution means losses to good teams.

BYU runs the scheme it does because it fits its personnel best. It can make tweaks to the base defense each year based on variations in personnel, but repeatedly changing the base defense is just nuts.

BYU's current defense is linebacker-centric because that's a position BYU recruits well. Unfortunately, due to many unforeseen factors I think our LB corps is weak this season due primarily to inexperience. Three of the four starters are starting for the first time this season. I have seen all four of them fail to execute properly on numerous occasions. Bad angles, failure to maintain leverage and just bad reads have plagued the LB corps all season. Here's hoping they get better quick.

The bottom line is that I don't think it is far-fetched at all to blame our two losses on lack of execution this season.

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To see previous "Inconvenient Truths for Al Gore" click on my name.