Hall's running makes Mendenhall nervous
BYU quarterback Max Hall ran for 26 yards in Saturday's 42-23 win over Colorado State. However, he was credited for only 4 net rushing yards because he was sacked twice and fumbled a snap for a big loss.
Hall ran for one touchdown, after faking out pretty much the entire CSU defense by feigning a handoff. He picked up a critical first down with another scamper in the third quarter.
Coach Bronco Mendenhall said he doesn't mind Hall running, but he does urge his senior quarterback to pick his spots carefully.
"I am comfortable with him running. I am not comfortable with him not sliding. Max is competitive," Mendenhall said. "He will understand, and he's coachable. Durability will become an issue, and he will know. I don't mind him running, I would just like him to get down."
More of Mendenhall's postgame comments:
Opening Comment:
I think our team played with a lot of heart and a lot of determination, and I think they played that way from beginning to end.
We were certainly opportunistic in the first half, and I think made some critical execution plays through execution in the second half that enabled us to have a great victory today.
I credit Colorado State. They are a good team, and they are an improved football team. But I thought our team played well today. Mountain West Conference football is difficult, and we had a convincing win, so I was happy with the outcome."
How important was starting fast?
"I think that was possibly the difference in the game, just in setting the tone.
If you have been following Colorado State, you know they have been playing from in front, with substantial leads, and starting fast. So we have been emphasizing to our players that was going to be critical.
So to have a couple of interceptions and a blocked punt all that quickly, and to get 21 points on the board, they then were playing from a different point of reference than what they had been, and maybe were a little bit unsettled for awhile."
You created turnovers, instead of giving them up?
"There's not a large margin in any given week from what could be high-scoring, low scoring victories, losses, etc.
And there is a lot of work that has to go into making those critical plays at the right time, and tonight our team did that and it was a good victory for us."
What did you think of Brian Logan's play?
"Not only tonight, but just in how he has played in the first four games. I thought he has played very well. Tonight, had a few pass interferences, and certainly was tested, but he battled I think from beginning to end, and that's all I can ask.
We can work on the execution, we can work on his technique and everything else. As long as he is willing and will play hard, which he did. So I thought it was stil a positive performance."
What can you with a guy who is a foot shorter than receivers he is going against?
"There are some guys that are short and play big, and I think to this point he has. He is an excellent tackler. He just needs to play with a little bit better leverage so he can track the ball and time his jumping better. And he was trailing or at least even, so he wasn't able to elevate and that is when you are not very tall, that's a problem."
Did you feel comfortable with the lead?
"Reasonably comfortable, I think would be the right words. It mattered to me how the game ended. I didn't want them to score one more time. And I told our defense that. And I wanted our offense to get at least one more touchdown, which they did. So I was pleased with that I think it showed heart and determination and executing at the right time at a high level. As you know, it is easy if you have a lead to get a little bit complacent, if you are relatively comfortable.
I don't want our team to get relatively comfortable because in the Mountain West Conference, we know each other too well and it is too easy for a play here to swing back and forth and then a lead can shrink too easily. I think that was a valuable lesson."
Did D-line played better?
"That would be my first thought. I still think that we have some work to do at inside linebacker at just playing aggressive and not, they have quite a bit to do between coverage and run, and they are not making the distinction quite enough in the last two games. The first two they did.
And I thought the defensive line noticeably played more physical and applied more pressure when needed, but also I thought they were more stout than they were a week ago. Much like the first two weeks. So that made me feel better."
Did they get more pressure as game went on?
"I think so, and it is easier to get pressure when you know a team is playing from behind and is going to throw the football more. We didn't send much pressure, scheme wise. We just relied on them to do it, and we were very clear that we weren't going to call them in to get them better. We were going to have to work to do it, simply by technique and fundamentals, and I think they worked hard to do that today."
How did Romney Fuga do?
"I didn't make a big deal of it a week ago, but when Romney came in in the Florida State game, and we play poorly against the run like we did, it is not time to highlight a player for playing well. But he actually played quite wel last week, and so we thought he would play well today. He played hard, and he's not as quick and fast as Russell, but he is more physical at the point of attack. I won't be surprised to see him do some good things on the fim when I watch it. But I was encouraged, even from what I saw from him last week."
How did secondary do as a whole?
"If I can just give a philosophical point of view: Yards to me aren't the indicator. It is points. And any time we hold an opponent to 24 points or under, we win a lot of football games, on any given season against any teams that we play.
When you look at the nature of the game, and if you are protecting leads, etc., none of those things are excuses, games just take different flavors and different turns, and I thought they played well enough for us to win the football game, and win it by ...I don't even know what the score was.. It was relatively convincing."
What of your offense's inconsistency?
"I think we still need work as a football program. We have a good team. Whether it is a great team -- and I think I have made this comment a number of times -- if we can make the right plays in the right games, at the right time, then that will be a great team.
I think we are good to this point, but consistency just throughout -- offense, defense, special teams -- has to improve."
What of Riley Stephenson's punting?
"Positive. I think we took another step forward. The kickoffs for the most part, were deep and placed in the right spot. And the punts, even though there were some that didn't have great hang time, the bounces then ended up helping us cover them. As a true freshman, I think he is doing a nice job so far."
What is the injury situation?
"Hard to say. as the game wore on, it looked like we were limping and getting slowed down and I saw that to some extent in practice this week that they were working so hard. So we will have to look hard at how we practice this upcoming week. I know it will be a fast turnaround and we will have to assess it, but I think a lot of guys were fighting through just Game 4, kind of things."
How did they explain the pass interference penalty on Pitta to you?
"We receive notice from the MWC each week on things they are going to make a point of emphasis. And one of those things was the idea of picking -- where a receiver is running to rub off a defender so another one could get open. The play that we ran wasn't designed to do that. It wasn't a designed rub of any sort. But that's what the official saw.
And he said that our offensive player went out of his way to get in the way of the defender. And that was the explanation that I got."
What about Harvey's play?
"I think it was one step closer to what we are going to get from Harvey. And we are getting a complement of Kariya and JJ and Manase with Harvey. Somewhere in there is probably the right mix.
But Harvey makes a difference. He runs hard and he runs physical and he's a good football player. We will just have to continue to look as we watch the film, the workload, if it is too much, or if the others need to be involved a little bit more. We like to have fast and fresh bodies going at the defense as much as possible."
Too much work for Harvey?
"I am not sure. I will have to assess it and watch how he carried the football. When he is running as hard as he was running, it is hard not to give it to him, but I will know after I watch the film, and after I see him on Monday, whether we gave it to him too much."
Third-down conversions on the big second-half drive?
"It is remarkable. The one play that I can maybe highlight most -- and I cannot even remember when it happened -- O'Neill Chambers caught a ball on our sideline that was a critical play in the game, I thought. There were similar plays like that but those kind of plays -- to have a great football team, you have to make those kind of plays, at those times to win football games in this league.
And so there was enough of those that we made, and then some we didn't make that we can highlight and just emphasize how important that is going to be."
Hall ran for one touchdown, after faking out pretty much the entire CSU defense by feigning a handoff. He picked up a critical first down with another scamper in the third quarter.
Coach Bronco Mendenhall said he doesn't mind Hall running, but he does urge his senior quarterback to pick his spots carefully.
"I am comfortable with him running. I am not comfortable with him not sliding. Max is competitive," Mendenhall said. "He will understand, and he's coachable. Durability will become an issue, and he will know. I don't mind him running, I would just like him to get down."
More of Mendenhall's postgame comments:
Opening Comment:
I think our team played with a lot of heart and a lot of determination, and I think they played that way from beginning to end.
We were certainly opportunistic in the first half, and I think made some critical execution plays through execution in the second half that enabled us to have a great victory today.
I credit Colorado State. They are a good team, and they are an improved football team. But I thought our team played well today. Mountain West Conference football is difficult, and we had a convincing win, so I was happy with the outcome."
How important was starting fast?
"I think that was possibly the difference in the game, just in setting the tone.
If you have been following Colorado State, you know they have been playing from in front, with substantial leads, and starting fast. So we have been emphasizing to our players that was going to be critical.
So to have a couple of interceptions and a blocked punt all that quickly, and to get 21 points on the board, they then were playing from a different point of reference than what they had been, and maybe were a little bit unsettled for awhile."
You created turnovers, instead of giving them up?
"There's not a large margin in any given week from what could be high-scoring, low scoring victories, losses, etc.
And there is a lot of work that has to go into making those critical plays at the right time, and tonight our team did that and it was a good victory for us."
What did you think of Brian Logan's play?
"Not only tonight, but just in how he has played in the first four games. I thought he has played very well. Tonight, had a few pass interferences, and certainly was tested, but he battled I think from beginning to end, and that's all I can ask.
We can work on the execution, we can work on his technique and everything else. As long as he is willing and will play hard, which he did. So I thought it was stil a positive performance."
What can you with a guy who is a foot shorter than receivers he is going against?
"There are some guys that are short and play big, and I think to this point he has. He is an excellent tackler. He just needs to play with a little bit better leverage so he can track the ball and time his jumping better. And he was trailing or at least even, so he wasn't able to elevate and that is when you are not very tall, that's a problem."
Did you feel comfortable with the lead?
"Reasonably comfortable, I think would be the right words. It mattered to me how the game ended. I didn't want them to score one more time. And I told our defense that. And I wanted our offense to get at least one more touchdown, which they did. So I was pleased with that I think it showed heart and determination and executing at the right time at a high level. As you know, it is easy if you have a lead to get a little bit complacent, if you are relatively comfortable.
I don't want our team to get relatively comfortable because in the Mountain West Conference, we know each other too well and it is too easy for a play here to swing back and forth and then a lead can shrink too easily. I think that was a valuable lesson."
Did D-line played better?
"That would be my first thought. I still think that we have some work to do at inside linebacker at just playing aggressive and not, they have quite a bit to do between coverage and run, and they are not making the distinction quite enough in the last two games. The first two they did.
And I thought the defensive line noticeably played more physical and applied more pressure when needed, but also I thought they were more stout than they were a week ago. Much like the first two weeks. So that made me feel better."
Did they get more pressure as game went on?
"I think so, and it is easier to get pressure when you know a team is playing from behind and is going to throw the football more. We didn't send much pressure, scheme wise. We just relied on them to do it, and we were very clear that we weren't going to call them in to get them better. We were going to have to work to do it, simply by technique and fundamentals, and I think they worked hard to do that today."
How did Romney Fuga do?
"I didn't make a big deal of it a week ago, but when Romney came in in the Florida State game, and we play poorly against the run like we did, it is not time to highlight a player for playing well. But he actually played quite wel last week, and so we thought he would play well today. He played hard, and he's not as quick and fast as Russell, but he is more physical at the point of attack. I won't be surprised to see him do some good things on the fim when I watch it. But I was encouraged, even from what I saw from him last week."
How did secondary do as a whole?
"If I can just give a philosophical point of view: Yards to me aren't the indicator. It is points. And any time we hold an opponent to 24 points or under, we win a lot of football games, on any given season against any teams that we play.
When you look at the nature of the game, and if you are protecting leads, etc., none of those things are excuses, games just take different flavors and different turns, and I thought they played well enough for us to win the football game, and win it by ...I don't even know what the score was.. It was relatively convincing."
What of your offense's inconsistency?
"I think we still need work as a football program. We have a good team. Whether it is a great team -- and I think I have made this comment a number of times -- if we can make the right plays in the right games, at the right time, then that will be a great team.
I think we are good to this point, but consistency just throughout -- offense, defense, special teams -- has to improve."
What of Riley Stephenson's punting?
"Positive. I think we took another step forward. The kickoffs for the most part, were deep and placed in the right spot. And the punts, even though there were some that didn't have great hang time, the bounces then ended up helping us cover them. As a true freshman, I think he is doing a nice job so far."
What is the injury situation?
"Hard to say. as the game wore on, it looked like we were limping and getting slowed down and I saw that to some extent in practice this week that they were working so hard. So we will have to look hard at how we practice this upcoming week. I know it will be a fast turnaround and we will have to assess it, but I think a lot of guys were fighting through just Game 4, kind of things."
How did they explain the pass interference penalty on Pitta to you?
"We receive notice from the MWC each week on things they are going to make a point of emphasis. And one of those things was the idea of picking -- where a receiver is running to rub off a defender so another one could get open. The play that we ran wasn't designed to do that. It wasn't a designed rub of any sort. But that's what the official saw.
And he said that our offensive player went out of his way to get in the way of the defender. And that was the explanation that I got."
What about Harvey's play?
"I think it was one step closer to what we are going to get from Harvey. And we are getting a complement of Kariya and JJ and Manase with Harvey. Somewhere in there is probably the right mix.
But Harvey makes a difference. He runs hard and he runs physical and he's a good football player. We will just have to continue to look as we watch the film, the workload, if it is too much, or if the others need to be involved a little bit more. We like to have fast and fresh bodies going at the defense as much as possible."
Too much work for Harvey?
"I am not sure. I will have to assess it and watch how he carried the football. When he is running as hard as he was running, it is hard not to give it to him, but I will know after I watch the film, and after I see him on Monday, whether we gave it to him too much."
Third-down conversions on the big second-half drive?
"It is remarkable. The one play that I can maybe highlight most -- and I cannot even remember when it happened -- O'Neill Chambers caught a ball on our sideline that was a critical play in the game, I thought. There were similar plays like that but those kind of plays -- to have a great football team, you have to make those kind of plays, at those times to win football games in this league.
And so there was enough of those that we made, and then some we didn't make that we can highlight and just emphasize how important that is going to be."
8:41 PM
| 
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home