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Sep 28, 2020
12:25:28pm
cougaman Intervention Needed
As a critic of Tuiaki, there are a few things I want to address.
First off, there are no "tuiaki haters". Nobody hates the guy. What we didn't like was the passive, bend don't break defense, allow them to drive down the field, as long as it isn't 1 big play mentality and playcalling he brought way too often.

Second, Very few people who complain about the "drop 8" actually think that you should never rush 3. There are plenty of times when its fine. Its doing it all game, keeping your LB off the LOS, playing with too much cushion on the outside all game long thats the problem. Also on 3rd and long. If you give the QB and receivers enough time, they will find someone downfield. Defenses should salivate over 3rd and 8+ and that is the time to get after the QB, create pressure, and hope he makes a mistake.

Third, the defense has played well this year. That has nothing to do with last year. It does not excuse last years failures. Wilson had an awesome game Saturday. That doesn't excuse his mistakes last year, but hopefully he learned from them and doesn't repeat them.

Fourth, there has been a lot of talk that Sitake is more involved with the defense this year. If thats the case, then that only proves the point that Tuiaki was a problem. A lot of us called for Tuiaki to be fired, but ultimately we wanted a change to the defense. If this is the change and the results continue the same, then I hope Tuiaki is here for a long time. It has nothing to do with WHO calls the plays on the defense, its HOW they call the plays. Aggressive defense has been much better most of the time the last few years, and the defense was much more aggressive these first 2 games than it was most of last year. I thought it was the same thing against Boise. They were aggressive for 3 quarters, but then went back into passive defense and got shredded. I don't know who called that game. I don't care. I just want the defense from the first 3 quarters where they would occasionally blitz and put pressure on the QB, not the 4th quarter where they sat back, so afraid to get beat over the top, and trying to run out the clock, that they couldn't get off the field.

Fifth, don't talk about the offense or the ST to excusing the defense. Those are units in and of themselves. Their failures are not excuses for the defense. They had problems of their own last year, and I've been critical of Grimes, especially in the redzone. ST struggled as well and missed a lot of key kicks. There is a lot of talk about how the defense is on the field too much for the offense. You know another way they can get off the field? Getting a stop on 3rd down. Don't blame the offense for your failures. Offense sitting on the sideline for 10 minute drives, allowing the opposing defenses to get ample rest isn't ideal for the offense, but we don't often hear people blaming the defense for the offenses failures here.

Sixth, we are 2 games into the season. There will hopefully be another 6-10 more. BYU had a few great games defensively last year. Lets see if they keep it up. Lets see if when they struggle they are able to make necessary adjustments and get key stops in close games. I won't talk about the quality of competition, because they have looked great against teams that are better than some they struggled against last year. Ultimately, its a long season though, and you need to do it for the whole season, not just 2 games. I'm hopeful that they will
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