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Utes 2011 Football Discussion

NUMBERICA said:
I might be nuts but I thought Hays looked pretty good. Granted, it was against a bad pass defense that allowed him to make the throws he was getting late in the game, but I have a tough time believing that he could be worse than Wynn in the USC game. AND you can realistically expect Hays to make some real progress. And as it all pertains to winning the division, the Utes are still fine in the race.

The biggest concern I have with the QB sitch is... what happens if Hays goes down?
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I am curious to see what Hays will do after a full week of practicing as the starter. If he can develop some timing (and accuracy) then his running ability will be nice.
 
Why not start Shreve? He is a freshman and the experience would be valuable.

Hays is a JC Transfer (Junior) along with Wynn. If Wynn is out for the year or an extended period, Shreve's experience would be worth more for next year and beyond.
 
NUMBERICA said:
I might be nuts but I thought Hays looked pretty good. Granted, it was against a bad pass defense that allowed him to make the throws he was getting late in the game, but I have a tough time believing that he could be worse than Wynn in the USC game. AND you can realistically expect Hays to make some real progress. And as it all pertains to winning the division, the Utes are still fine in the race.

The biggest concern I have with the QB sitch is... what happens if Hays goes down?
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUmDTCpaiUA

Judging from this video, Hays can make the throws given the time and he was actually hand picked by Chow i believe

Let's give the guy a shot

If something happens to him or he doesn't work out than we turn to Shreve
 
Well it is the same JR College that gave the U Ratliff and I have fond memories of his end of season take over when Brian Johnson got hurt.
 
Why are Ute fans in panic mode all of a sudden? The media, callers, etc are basically giving up on this game.

Was the backup really that crappy last game? How do we know that he received much burn in practice the week before to get him prepared?

As I remember, Ratliff was supposed to suck bigtime too.... Yet.....

I think Utah still can beat these guys. I haven't seen the backup play, but it's not like Wynn was Aaron Rogers or Peyton Manning. And even then, Painter did a good job against the Bucs. His defense is what let them down....

As long as the Utes are solid on special teams and defense and their offense just doesn't give the ball up every possession, they'll have a chance to beat Arizona St. They're good, but they're not LSU or Alabama. And according to Gunther, they run a base defense. That's perfect for an inexperienced QB. If he were running into a Rex Ryan defense that shows different looks, then he'd be in trouble.

Besides, I think Arizona is still mentally weak. This is the same team that crashed in the 2nd half of the season last year...

I hope the Utes win.
 
The Thriller said:
Why are Ute fans in panic mode all of a sudden? The media, callers, etc are basically giving up on this game.

Was the backup really that crappy last game? How do we know that he received much burn in practice the week before to get him prepared?

As I remember, Ratliff was supposed to suck bigtime too.... Yet.....

I think Utah still can beat these guys. I haven't seen the backup play, but it's not like Wynn was Aaron Rogers or Peyton Manning. And even then, Painter did a good job against the Bucs. His defense is what let them down....

As long as the Utes are solid on special teams and defense and their offense just doesn't give the ball up every possession, they'll have a chance to beat Arizona St. They're good, but they're not LSU or Alabama. And according to Gunther, they run a base defense. That's perfect for an inexperienced QB. If he were running into a Rex Ryan defense that shows different looks, then he'd be in trouble.

Besides, I think Arizona is still mentally weak. This is the same team that crashed in the 2nd half of the season last year...

I hope the Utes win.
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I agree with you 100%

I've avoided sports talk radio all week because I just can't handle listening to the Ute fans who are already packing it in. Seriously people, it's easy to support this team in the midst of Fiesta and Sugar Bowl runs. How about growing a sack and showing some faith in your program when things aren't looking quite as rosey (pun intended)? Fairweather bitches!

One of the reasons I'm not throwing in the towell yet is that I didn't think that much of Wynn to begin with. The guy hasn't truly been right since very early last season. In fact, I think most of the time Utah wins in spite of Jordan Wynn, not because of him. Just like everybody else, I've seen very little from Hays but what I have seen makes me think that Utah can be just as good at the QB spot as they were with Wynn. Long story short: If Utah loses to ASU it's probably going to be because their defensive struggles and turnovers continue into this week, not because Jordan Wynn is on the sideline. I actually saw a headline in the SLtrib along the lines of: Utah can't win without Wynn. Easily one of the dumbest headlines I've ever read from that paper. Lazy journalism at it's finest.

Another thing I agree with you on: Dennis Erickson has a knack for having talented teams that at some point show themselves to be mentally weak and undisciplined. I think ASU will come into RES overlooking Utah just a little bit and if they're not careful, could find themselves on the wrong end of an upset. I'm still a little concerned about Utah. Last year, everybody thought Whit would have the Utes ready for Notre Dame after the TCU beatdown and everybody turned out to be wrong. I still lean towards a Utah bounceback. Whit's been so good for so long that I think you've got to give him the benefit of the doubt in regards to shoring up the D and helping this team get their minds right.

Utah-24
ASU-21
 
I certainly haven't given up hope. I haven't been listening to the sports talk radio either, so I don't know why anyone is giving up.

On Hays... I think he was pretty bad against Washington. He finally looked good on that last drive to end the game, but Washington had already called off the dogs at that point. So if people are only looking at that and assuming he won't get any better, then there is a real cause for concern. His throws were not accurate at all, and his timing with the receivers was not there either. He was definitely not ready for prime time.

Having said all of that, I expect Hays to be pretty good after getting some practice time as the starter. His timing should improve exponentially, and that will hide a lot of his accuracy problems. Plus, his accuracy will hopefully improve a little also. He has an ability to run that Wynn doesn't have, so he actually adds another dimension to the offense. Call me crazy, but I am optimistic that Hays will make the Utes even better. Didn't Alex Smith only have 1 legit offer and only get his chance because of an injury? Not saying Hays is Alex Smith, but sometimes it takes an injury for a good player to get his chance.

I'm still very optimistic. Maybe some Ute fans don't realize this isn't the MWC anymore and the Utes are still in this thing? 2 losses in the MWC and the season would be over. But the Utes still have a legit chance to play in the Pac 12 championship game. And anything can happen in 1 game, so if the Utes make it to the Pac 12 championship game, the Rose Bowl is not out of the question.
 
hmm i've seen a opposite reaction, i ignore the radio but i've noticed a lot of fans remain upbeat on twitter.

article on hays in trib:

Two days into his role as Utah’s new starting quarterback, Jon Hays isn’t nervous, he is ready.

Hays, who will get his first start as a Ute on Saturday against No. 22 Arizona State, said he is eager to take on the Sun Devils.

“It’s something you dream about,” he said. “I’m excited to get out there.”

Hays said the biggest difference he has noticed as Utah’s starting quarterback, other than getting reps with the first team, is “the coaches get on you a little more,” he said. “But it’s good for me.”

Utah’s coaches were happy with Hays’ play Monday and Tuesday. While the offense will be changed to suit his style, both Utah coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Norm Chow said Hays has a strong arm.

“He has a stronger arm than Jordan [Wynn],” Chow said. “He can run, too, but we can’t afford to run him too much, we have to be smart in how we use him.”

Whittingham said he likes Hays’ demeanor, which reminds him of former Ute and fellow Butte College product Brett Ratliff.

“He doesn’t get riled up,” Whittingham said. “He is collected and takes care of business.”

Troublesome preparations

Starting Hays against the No. 22 Sun Devils certainly isn’t an optimal situation for the Utes, but preparing for a guy they know little about is making life hard on the Sun Devils, too, coach Dennis Erickson said Tuesday.

The Utes haven’t hidden the fact they must change their game plan to fit Hays’ running style, but just what those changes might be has Erickson guessing.

“Kyle said they’d have some new things coming, which always keeps everybody up late,” Erickson said. “[Hays] is just a heck of an athlete and competitor, you can see that in him in the game he played in junior college, and it’s hard to prepare for. Are they going to stay with the same things they’ve been doing or change? Obviously, it creates a headache for everybody involved.”
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YB85 said:
Why did Fotu get benched? Besides the turnovers, I thought the biggest play was when Dres Anderson dropped that long pass in the first quarter. Follow that up with John Cullen's false start on 4th and 1, the turnovers, and the drive continuing personal fouls. Just a horribly sloppy game.
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Fotu was benched for his personal foul on the drive that allowed Washington to kick a FG before halftime. I guess he head butted a Wash player right in front of the refs and Whitt. That was the end of Fotu's night. Fotu has been a disappointment.
 
green said:
Fotu was benched for his personal foul on the drive that allowed Washington to kick a FG before halftime. I guess he head butted a Wash player right in front of the refs and Whitt. That was the end of Fotu's night. Fotu has been a disappointment.
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Not really. I've enjoyed every second of watching him play/rot on the bench.
 
TroutBum said:
Not really. I've enjoyed every second of watching him play/rot on the bench.
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As much as I've enjoyed the complete and utter debacle that is the Jake Heaps saga?

As much as I've enjoyed 54-to-10?

As much as I've enjoyed watching Riley Nelson try to act as if he's actually straight?
 
jazzman12 said:
As much as I've enjoyed the complete and utter debacle that is the Jake Heaps saga?

As much as I've enjoyed 54-to-10?

As much as I've enjoyed watching Riley Nelson try to act as if he's actually straight?
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That's funny right there.
 
I'm so disappointed he cut his hair, then apologized to anyone who may have been offended.

Roscoe = Hitler
 
Hays definitely has an arm but he is showing his inexperience so far. You take the sack to avoid that interception to end the half.
 
Again, you can't hold onto the football then you won't win games. 5 turnovers. This team will not be competitive until they actually get a QB that is competent. The defense needs to be commended for their performance today. The score might not show it but they have been on the field a lot of the game and are absolutely exhausted by this point.
 
So if Utah is struggling this much in their Pac-12 games, I wonder if BYU could ever play within 6 TD's of most teams in the better conferences. They should have stayed in the MWC and been the proverbial big fish in the small pond.
 
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