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Nov 28, 2021
10:16:10pm
TheDash All-American
An Olive Branch to Those Concerned About Defense. Which is Everyone. Isn't It?
I think most people acknowledge BYU's defense could get better. I also think most people understand that it was, almost every game, good enough to get the job done.

I think most people wish the defense were better overall, and especially better at rushing the passer. I also think most people understand that BYU's defense depends heavily on the top few guys to be special. When they're on the sideline, most people get that our defense will suffer for it.

I think most people understand that it's hard to tell whether the defense struggles sometimes because of the coaching or because of the recruiting. But most people also understand that those things are closely related--and often come back to the same person.

I think most BYU fans have romanticized previous defenses and forgotten that Detmer, et al., threw for 500 yards a game because they often HAD to throw for 500 yards a game. Against New Mexico and Utah State. And that there were "good" teams in the past that had to onside kick in the 4th quarter against USU because there was no way BYU could win if it didn't get the ball twice in a row. A defensive stop was not a thing. I think most fans have forgotten that top-20 defenses at BYU are as rare as punt returns for 10+ yards. I also think most BYU fans really wish that weren't so, and believe it doesn't have to be that way.

I think almost all BYU fans are very, very happy to be 10-2. That said, there are some few in the "no moral victory" category that have ported that over to mean "but moral losses are totally a thing". That seems a sad way to live, but some have chosen to live that way. I think most of us are glad to have them aboard anyway.

I think most of us could do a much better job of recognizing that we're watching entertainment, and that winning is entertaining, and BYU is doing a really, really spectacular job of providing wins. Over opponents previous incarnations of the team would never have had the opportunity to schedule, much less beat consistently.

I think one year of pounding the worst P5 conference in the world is probably not quite "consistently". But I do think 21-3 counts as "consistently". I'm pretty old, and there are no more than a bare handful of BYU teams in my lifetime that could have gone 10-2 against this schedule.

I think we all understand that it's pretty hard to make significant staff changes when you've lost 3 games in two years. I think many BYU fans wish we'd do it anyway. I think most BYU fans also are trying to be careful what we wish for, and that there is potentially a lot more than just defensive efficiency at stake here.

I think we beat Utah this year. And USC on the road. And 8 other teams. I think if you offered that to any BYU fan at the beginning of the year, that fan would have bit your hand off taking it. Even if--and I think this is true for most BYU fans--there were moments of every victory where we wished for just one really crushing sack to kill a drive. I think we're all hoping that BYU's team improves--and I think we all understand that improving on 10-2 is pretty stinking difficult.

At least, that's what I think.
TheDash
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TheDash
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