Riley Nelson not appreciated in his own country?

[Cougs_Rule]

I really don't get it either. If you count the Utah St game last year, in which he basically turned an embarrassing loss at home to a great win, he is 10-1, losing only to TCU in Dallas. The offense still put up 28 points in the loss and he played decent.
He threw for 1700 yards last year with 19 TD's and just 7 int's. He had a QB rating of 152. He also rushed for 392 yards with an average of 4.5 YPC, he was the third leading rusher on the team.
This season he has a 66% completion percentage with 3 TD's and 1 INT with a passer rating of 146. He also hasn't fumbled the ball yet this year.
He certainly doesn't have pure talent, but we saw how well just pure talent worked for Heaps. He has a great work ethic, a lot of grit and determination, and generally makes smart decisions on the field.
In short I think he is a very good QB and I love watching him play.
If BYU fans are complaining about that then I wonder what more they want.
(edited for typos and grammar)

LET'S START WITH WIN AT UTAH!

[Cougarfan87]

I want a righty QB. Lefties suck. Just kidding.

If Riley can help lead us to a win versus the dreaded pukes, that will help a lot. If he helps us win a couple of those tough road games against ND and GT, then he will be regarded as a very good QB. If we run the table and get into a BCS game, he will be a borderline great QB. If we actually win that BCS game, he will be an elite BYU QB.

I know it is unfair to put wins and losses entirely on the QB, but I am only speaking of fan perception--from my perception.

[redneckjedi]

I want a righty QB. Lefties suck. Just kidding.

If Riley can help lead us to a win verses the dreaded pukes, that will help a lot. If he helps us win a couple of those tough road games against ND and GT, then he will be regarded as a very good QB. If we run the table and get into a BCS game, he will be a borderline great QB. If we actually win that BCS game, he will be an elite BYU QB.

I know it is unfair to put wins and losses entirely on the QB, but I am only speaking of fan perception--from my perception.

If Riley runs the table with this schedule, I am creating a poll that looks like this:

Riley Nelson is...

O ...a great BYU quarterback
O ...the greatest BYU quarterback

Let me be honest and frank about this. Riley Nelson is the phoenix that helped BYU football rise from its own ashes, and I am grateful to bask in the glow of his flowing plumage.

[BOID]

I agree with the Riley supporters. And I'm confident that he will kick some Ute butt, or perhaps I should say, that he will pluck a few red feathers from that PC PAC 12 stooge birdie's tail.

[mizzoucoug]

I want a righty QB. Lefties suck. Just kidding.

If Riley can help lead us to a win verses the dreaded pukes, that will help a lot. If he helps us win a couple of those tough road games against ND and GT, then he will be regarded as a very good QB. If we run the table and get into a BCS game, he will be a borderline great QB. If we actually win that BCS game, he will be an elite BYU QB.

I know it is unfair to put wins and losses entirely on the QB, but I am only speaking of fan perception--from my perception.

Nah, he'll get more props than that if we go undefeated because it'll be all him on offense. The line sucks so the RB's aren't gonna do much this year. I have every confidence in Riley when he throws downfield that he will find his man and this year he has done just that. Riley will be in elite company if we go undefeated--this is a tough schedule.

[northerncougar]

Everything I need to know will come from Saturdays game. We have played two very poor defenses so we really don't know anything yet. It is great that he only has one INT but he should have 4 more if the DB's could only catch.

Here's to a great showing on Saturday.

[IowaCougar]

I have two comments: First, why is it that when a quarterback throws a laser-pass to a receiver that just gets in before the defender can get to it, it's a great pass, but if a lofted, wobbly pass gets to the receiver just before the defender can get to it, it "should have been intercepted". In both cases, the quarterback made the right read and got the ball to the receiver before the defender could arrive. Just wondering why the double standard.

Second - Most of you may not remember, but the Daily Universe was full of letters to the editor (sorry, no Cougar Corner back then) with criticism of Steve Young when he was playing for BYU because he "wasn't a good passer", "ran first", etc. I always (including back then) thought he was BYU's best quarterback, because of his mobility, his winning attitude, and his grit and determination. Riley really reminds me of Young - he's even left-handed.

[Cougs_Rule]

Um, except check out the scores when Steve Young played vs Riley.
Maybe it's just the diff between LaVel and D minded Bronco.
But you are right to some degree. Detmer threw a lot if INTs as well.
But your analysis is far off. Relative to "just barely getting there" It's not just getting there slowly, there have been defenders with hands on the RN passes and have dropped them. Otherwise there would be several more INTs this year. We have been lucky.

[frdbtr]

db's drop sure interceptions all the time. That is why they only count as interceptions if the db catches the ball. "almost" only counts in hand grenades and horse shoes.

[SpiffCoug]

db's drop sure interceptions all the time. That is why they only count as interceptions if the db catches the ball. "almost" only counts in hand grenades and horse shoes.

"Almost" also counts as a completion if you're a QB at Ole Miss.