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The BYU Front 7, Can They Stop Chris Polk?

by PurpleReign · 8/24/2010

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PurpleReign
Mars, I think it will be a tough game for either team, but it's pretty clear to me right now that you are utterly clueless with the current state of our Husky football team. You will be surprised by both the offense and the defense come Sep. 4th.
M
Mars
PurpleReign wrote:
Mars, I think it will be a tough game for either team, but it's pretty clear to me right now that you are utterly clueless with the current state of our Husky football team. You will be surprised by both the offense and the defense come Sep. 4th.

Tsk, tsk, resorting to name calling. Though that still beats resorting to actually having to watch Washington play football. :lol:



I see BYU winning this game 23-20. That doesn't erase what an ugly blight Washington has been on the face of the sport the last half a decade.
I
Italics
BYU had one of the top rush defenses in the country last year - and it will be better this year. That alone leads me to believe we will stop Polk sufficiently enough to win the game. I'm more worried about our offense and pass defense.
C
Cougarbib
UW will be a much improved team on both sides of the ball if they stay reasonably healthy. Locker, Polk, receivers, linebackers (2 of them), will be the leaders on this team. They do need to prove that they can win on the road - but they will do better than last year. So don't take them lightly. But I agree that it is the passing game combined with the legs of Locker that will give BYU the most problems.



BYU's defense will be pretty solid imho. I have no idea how good the offense will be becasue I have no idea how good the QB, RB, FB, TE, positions will be. Talent is at an all-time BYU high, but experience is lacking.



Polk will do some damage and Locker has better receivers due to experience.



23-20 might have been a good prediction. Usually home field is an advantage for BYU - except FSU and TCU last year proved that we are not invincible at home. If UW is as good as those two teams, and especially if as good as TCU, unless coaches have made some off-season adjustments to deal with mobile QBs - we would be toast. But UW is not TCU good - maybe FSU good.
M
Mars
Italics wrote:
BYU had one of the top rush defenses in the country last year - and it will be better this year. That alone leads me to believe we will stop Polk sufficiently enough to win the game. I'm more worried about our offense and pass defense.

BYU's run defense will be worse this year (than #20 in the nation last season), I will put $100 on it. But not by much, as our LBs and the defense in general will actually be faster and more athletic than last season. More sacks will also help here, and we will definitely have more sacks in 2010 (So'oto, Van Noy, Frazier, Bryson, Eathyn M., etc.).



Pass D, well we return 3 of 4 starters in the secondary (Rich/Logan/Bradley, plus Eason/Galea'i/Buckner/Everett), so I'm not too worried there.



Offense? Heaps is an excellent passer, Nelson will surprise opposing Ds and is an excellent runner. DiLuigi is going to be an amazing, fast RB this year (BYU hasn't started a halfback this fast since Luke Staley), and Quezada is a beast on 3rd down. McKay Jacobsen is going to eat up the stats at WR now that the slot is back, for the first time since BYU last went undefeated twice in the MWC, and the depth in unbelievable (Chambers, Ashworth, Hoffman, Apo, Hafoka). TE is very talented as well obviously, with Wilson/Meuhlmann/Mahina/Holt/Mathews. I have very few concerns for this offense.
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frdbtr
You asked the wrong question. Your question should have been phrased "Can Polk run on you guy's front 7?" The answer is No. Just go back an look at what this BYU defense has done against the run since 2006 (the year Bronco switched to the 3-4 defense) and you will have your answer. It hasn't mattered what personel has been there, they haven't allowd big run games by anyone. Locker may get his, but your polk will be lucky to get more then 50 yards on BYU.
S
SpiffCoug
PurpleReign wrote:
Chris Polk can make a defense YAC.



That's "Yards After Contact," and opposing defenses yielded in 2009 an estimated 700 yards of it to Polk, the most successful freshman tailback in Washington history.

Polk finished with 1,113 yards rushing, which ranks seventh on the Huskies' all-time list, averaging 4.9 yards per carry despite running behind an offensive line that most would agree was slightly below average. That line figures to considerably improved in 2010. Seven players with starting experience are back, and another year of offseason workouts has turned a unit that looked decidedly soft in the middle in 2008 into a physically impressive crew.



"Everybody wants to point this out as a position of weakness for us," coach Steve Sarkisian said. "In my humble opinion, it should be a position of strength."

What this stat tells me is that you guys don't know how to block for him. 63% of his yards came after contact. That's a lot of early contact. A lot in the backfield? That's an awful lot of work for a guy. I'll take the RB who's not getting hit immediately and getting YDF (Yards Down Field).
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imuakahuku
Cougarbib2 wrote:

If UW is as good as those two teams, and especially if as good as TCU, unless coaches have made some off-season adjustments to deal with mobile QBs - we would be toast.


If they were that good they would be ranked #6 :roll:
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imuakahuku
frdbtr wrote:
You asked the wrong question. Your question should have been phrased "Can Polk run on you guy's front 7?" The answer is No. Just go back an look at what this BYU defense has done against the run since 2006 (the year Bronco switched to the 3-4 defense) and you will have your answer. It hasn't mattered what personel has been there, they haven't allowd big run games by anyone. Locker may get his, but your polk will be lucky to get more then 50 yards on BYU.


Since 2006 only one Pac-0 player has rushed for over 100yards (in a loss to BYU btw).



09 - OSU Rodgers 18 - 63

08 - WA Locker 18 - 62

08 - UCLA Moline 7 - 12 Hard to tell which is his carries and which his yards (TIC - added for clarity)

08 - AZ Grigsby 20 - 87

07 - AZ Jennings 14 - 41

07 - UCLA Bell 16 - 79

07 - UCLA Markey 17 - 116 Here he is and they lost. And BYU greately outplayed them which may explain the 08 game.

06 - AZ Henry 13 - 63 I think I remember some AZ poster coming on and claiming he was going to run all over BYU.

06 - ORE Dixon 10 - 51 He was the all world fastest man alive QB that spent most of the game on the sideline or on his back. Oh, and the out of this world, gonna rush for over a million yards and catch a pass from a certain Ute QB that hasn't landed yet, the ever famous and greatest to ever wear green and yellow-I think it was yellow-is urine a color? J-STEW 7 rushes for an amazing 21 yards. Oh minus one rush for 14 and you get the impressive other six rushes for 7 yards. Another 92 or 93 rushes like that and he would have topped the centry mark.



No my friend, I don't think we are too afraid of Polk coming in and rushing for a gazillion yards ( or even hitting 100 for that matter). I think Bronco has shown he keys on the run to make the team basically one dimensional and with the talent and experience in the DB corps to go with the speed in the LB corps, I like our chances.
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redneckjedi
I think if I were creating the gameplan for the Washington game, I'd look at Locker's accuracy over the last three years, the experience I have in the secondary, and I would tell my front seven this: "Kill." Don't let anyone or anything out of the backfield, and let the secondary take care of the pass. Spy the QB with Pendelton and/or Van Noy, run blitz any time there's 5 or less for a first down. I would force Locker to beat us with his arm, because I don't think he can do it. Bring the pressure, smother the run, and force sacks, ill-advised or pressured throws, incompletions and interceptions when they do pass. The only way we lose is if Locker's accuracy and pocket presence is much improved from 2008. I'm willing to take that risk.
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frdbtr
imuakahuku wrote:
You asked the wrong question. Your question should have been phrased "Can Polk run on you guy's front 7?" The answer is No. Just go back an look at what this BYU defense has done against the run since 2006 (the year Bronco switched to the 3-4 defense) and you will have your answer. It hasn't mattered what personel has been there, they haven't allowd big run games by anyone. Locker may get his, but your polk will be lucky to get more then 50 yards on BYU.


Since 2006 only one Pac-0 player has rushed for over 100yards (in a loss to BYU btw).



09 - OSU Rodgers 18 - 63

08 - WA Locker 18 - 62

08 - UCLA Moline 7 - 12 Hard to tell which is his carries and which his yards (TIC - added for clarity)

08 - AZ Grigsby 20 - 87

07 - AZ Jennings 14 - 41

07 - UCLA Bell 16 - 79

07 - UCLA Markey 17 - 116 Here he is and they lost. And BYU greately outplayed them which may explain the 08 game.

06 - AZ Henry 13 - 63 I think I remember some AZ poster coming on and claiming he was going to run all over BYU.

06 - ORE Dixon 10 - 51 He was the all world fastest man alive QB that spent most of the game on the sideline or on his back. Oh, and the out of this world, gonna rush for over a million yards and catch a pass from a certain Ute QB that hasn't landed yet, the ever famous and greatest to ever wear green and yellow-I think it was yellow-is urine a color? J-STEW 7 rushes for an amazing 21 yards. Oh minus one rush for 14 and you get the impressive other six rushes for 7 yards. Another 92 or 93 rushes like that and he would have topped the centry mark.



No my friend, I don't think we are too afraid of Polk coming in and rushing for a gazillion yards ( or even hitting 100 for that matter). I think Bronco has shown he keys on the run to make the team basically one dimensional and with the talent and experience in the DB corps to go with the speed in the LB corps, I like our chances.


Like I said in my prediction yesterday, if BYU finds a way to score 20 on UW, we win. I don't have any fear that the defense is going to be really good. My fear is that BYU's young offense does not gell quick enough and we lose some winable games early before they get it figured out.
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frdbtr
One other comment. The OU guys came on here all last spring and talked about OU's 2 1000 yard rushers. What did they do against us? I don't think that they got 100 yards combined (I could be wrong). Anyway, purplereign, I like you, you have taken some good abuse from us and never gotten personal (can't say as much about the cocky Arizona fans we had here in 2007). I hope your team wins the Pac 10 but I don't think they are going to get a victory in provo this year.
Y
YNot
I don't think we can rest too secure when talking about Locker and Polk. Simply stating the rushes and yards against BYU's defense doesn't tell the whole story.



In 2008, Locker rushed for only 62 yards, but he also scored twice!



In 2007, Bell ran for 79, but Markey also ran for 50. That's 129 yards between the two. And, they both scored a rushing touchdown. Again, 2 TD's.



(Interestingly, in both those games, our opponent scored 27 points...)



Further, in our 2008 game at Washington, Locker was the leading rusher. But they also had another 3 or 4 RB's than rushed for more than 60 yards. Washington ended up with 130+ yards rushing and 3 rushing TD's.



http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/boxscore?gid=200809060065" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



In 2009, Polk averaged 92 yards per game, while Locker averaged about 32 yards per game (and 233 yards passing).



http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/stats/bycategory?cat=Rushing&conference=I-A_PAC10&year=2009" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



The good news is that we get them at home. Regardless, Polk will pound out some yards - if Locker contributes more than 50 yards on the ground and has his passing game going, that will put us in a tight spot. If we can't contain Locker, we could be looking at a close game.
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jonnylingo
I can't wait to see Locker not live up to expectations. He is seriously overhyped. He is a freak of nature athletically and physically. Nobody will deny that, but until he gets better at passing he is limited.
R
redneckjedi
frdbtr wrote:
One other comment. The OU guys came on here all last spring and talked about OU's 2 1000 yard rushers. What did they do against us? I don't think that they got 100 yards combined (I could be wrong). Anyway, purplereign, I like you, you have taken some good abuse from us and never gotten personal (can't say as much about the cocky Arizona fans we had here in 2007). I hope your team wins the Pac 10 but I don't think they are going to get a victory in provo this year.


The takeaways from the OU game are:



1) If your offensive line has any weaknesses, our defense will exploit it. Their problem was at center, and as a result we had outside linebackers like Clawson blitzing into the middle of the line, coming clean, and drilling the QB.



2) Our defense puts a lot of emphasis on third down. If you haven't been able to get much on first and second to get you an easy third, it's going to be a long game. OU was 2-11 on third down, and that was reflected by the fact that they only gained 264 yards and scored 13 points.



Contrast that with the FSU game. Their offensive line gave Ponder all the time in the world to pass, and they averaged over 6 yards per carry. That lead to 12-15 on 3rd down. Ponder seemed like he couldn't miss - statistically, he was 22-28, which is better than 75%. Of course, being +5 on turnovers helped them as well, but 6+ YPC, 12-15 on 3rd down and 22-28 passing is usually a W no matter what your defense does.



I think for Washington, the real key will be whether Locker's arm can open the game up. Ponder did that for OU, and it kept us honest enough that they ran all over the field. Bradford/Jones didn't - they just didn't have time to. If he comes out throwing and is on target, it will be a rough day for our defense, and it'll be up to our offense to match pace and keep us in the game. If he doesn't/can't, we can play the run first and create long 3rd downs and short drives.
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Lawboy
Personally, I could care less how many yards Polk runs for, so long as BYU wins. Polk is really fast and very talented. So was Jac Rodgers, though, so, yeah. All that matters to me is the W. Don;t care how we achieve it.
W
Wickchad
PurpleReign wrote:
I think it's more likely Jake Locker has 50 yards rushing... CP should get his 100+ I'm thinking.


Locker will be the leading rusher for Washington. Polk will have less than 50 yards. BYU rarely allows any player to exceed 100 yards in a game. Going back four years it has only happened a handful of times. Only one of those time did the opposing team win. However, when teams have their way passing on BYU (the weakness of BYU's defense) they win more often. As a Washington fan you should be more concerned with how Locker's arm will do compared to how Polk's feet will do...
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jonnylingo
Wickchad84087 wrote:
I think it's more likely Jake Locker has 50 yards rushing... CP should get his 100+ I'm thinking.


Locker will be the leading rusher for Washington. Polk will have less than 50 yards. BYU rarely allows any player to exceed 100 yards in a game. Going back four years it has only happened a handful of times. Only one of those time did the opposing team win. However, when teams have their way passing on BYU (the weakness of BYU's defense) they win more often. As a Washington fan you should be more concerned with how Locker's arm will do compared to how Polk's feet will do...


Good point.
B
Brayden Green
Oh no! Next he's going to tell us that his TE converted lineman is going to be all conference this year. The cycle is almost complete!





(Note: TIC was used - Which being translated, is Tongue in cheek)



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PurpleReign
Mars wrote:
Mars, I think it will be a tough game for either team, but it's pretty clear to me right now that you are utterly clueless with the current state of our Husky football team. You will be surprised by both the offense and the defense come Sep. 4th.

Tsk, tsk, resorting to name calling. Though that still beats resorting to actually having to watch Washington play football. :lol:



I see BYU winning this game 23-20. That doesn't erase what an ugly blight Washington has been on the face of the sport the last half a decade.


I'm sorry but thinking the comment "clueless" is name calling is a stretch, it's a description. And based on the comments made about Udub, it's accurate (in my opinion anyways).
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