Boise State defense again tonight against BYU showed they are the heart and the back bone of this team and will be feared by every team they face for the rest of this year. The old saying Attitude is everything was evident across the field for Boise State’s Defense scored the only points for the team and holding a BYU team to just 6 is an unbelievable feat.
18 years ago I took a job with a Nationwide company that moved me from Michigan back to Idaho and quickly in that Job I became the best in the company so much so I became the corporate trainer for every new field rep the company hired. Guys would fly in from all over the country to come ride in my car for a week to learn the Job. I always knew when I would be picking these guys up at what ever airport was near the territory I would be running that week from Spokane to Billing from Pocatello to Salt Lake City to Boise these guys getting in my car would be the best of the best in professional selling. I knew from the very indeepth hiring process the company put people through that there would be one thing I wouldn’t need to teach these guys and that is how to sell. However every Thursday the phone call with the corporate Bosses would take place as I was the final arbitrator on whether the company should move forward with the hiring. Only once did I say don’t hire and that one time I said that I received a ton of blow back and my recommendation was ignored to say the least 4 weeks later I was training a new guy for that same job. What happened it was this simple the guy they put in my car said all the right things knew all the right things, previous job was as a promoter of Motivational speakers to include Magic Johnson. He knew it all, he could give you back everything you wanted to hear. The problem was once it was game time he choked. Knowing and doing are two different things and certainly Joe Southwick knows what to say, knows the play book through and through but once on the field he’s full of fear, fear of failure fear of getting hurt just flat out fear.
Joe displays all the self-confident the rep displayed to everyone unfortunately the same results when in the game. Indecisive, slow to respond lacks Omni presence and awareness. One can know it all, one can display a great positive outlook, but if they fear when it’s time to play none of that is worth anything.Joe certainly displays the skill sets, what he lack is decision making and awareness. What he needs to show real quick if he hopes to remain the starting QB at Boise State is the ability to learn and improve.
There are many different levels of competition as in my career I was at the top of the food chain in the biggest of big games and certainly though I was the one chosen from hundreds who applied and went through process and I certainly had the ability. When I was first placed on the field it took me some time to get my legs under me and certainly at times I was fearful as well as indecisive, but I learned and I reach for perfection demanded more from myself, applied pressure to myself and in short order by doing the extra work by applying myself I built my confidence to the point I was unstoppable, I was a machine and that is what Joe needs to do. I believe it’s fair to say Joe’s got just about 2 weeks left to get it done or it’s going to be time to find out just what kind of gamers we have on the bench.
Coach Prince is in the same boat, his play calling and lack of management is hurting the offence. All too predictable and at times he seemed to call plays as one might do in a video game over and over again just expecting a different result. These interior misdirection running plays are going to get D,J Harper killed they are fooling no one and honestly makes the team look bad .
After the MSU game I filed my write up away and didn’t post it I chalked it up to MSU defense and his first game at the helm, but when you see the same conceptual mistakes in the BYU game as we saw in the MSU game I have to wonder just what is the breath of his knowledge of the play book and how observant is he being to how the other team is responding to his play calling. To date I have to give coach Prince an F, total utter failure. Not one hand off went to a misdirected flanker every hand off went up the gut to J.D and one to Ajayi, however though Ajayi was hit in the hole fell forward for 3 yards. Running D.J into the ground and only giving AJayi one touch was a disservice to DJ and the team.
I’ll take the win and certainly tip my hat to every member of the Defense from Taylor to Lawrence to Bacon to everyone one else because they certainly carried the torch again but at this point with all the talent there is on offense I believe it is fair to say we have systemic problems . Look at the management of the offense to play calling to getting the play calls down to the field, the problems right now are more Coach Prince then they are Joe or it’s a combination of them both. What every the problem I have every confidence Coach Pete will get them corrected either through coaching them up or finding others to do the job.As for the guys behind Joe, I’d like to make a point and it’s a point others have made about Kellen while he was going through the Detroit Lions training camps, some players just flat out play at a different level then they practice. Sure the motto you play like your practice sounds nice, but that’s not really true some guys can just turn it up to a much higher level come game time than others. I was one of those guys. When I first came to Dow High after playing city ball in my youth the only reason I was even given consideration to play was because of what those close to the program would whispering in the coaches ear. It wasn’t until my very first game against Flint Beecher that the coaches final got to see what kind of player I was, sure I did the drills in practice I did the work in the weight room but once I strapped on the game day uniform and walked on someone else field I was a completely different animal, I can’t explain it other than to say it was like I had super human strength and could just pick people up and move them or just blow through them, though I wasn’t quick I could read a play like Kellen Moore making up for what I lack in speed and there was no blocker that was going to keep me from making the tackle no matter how much bigger. Some guys are great practice players and some guys are gamers and all I can say is this after watching Joe take a slide 3 times now on critical downs and distances in the two biggest games lass far he has yet to show me anything that says he’s a game day player. One cannot play football and live in fear of being hurt and it appears Joe lives with that fear and the fear of failure. If he cannot overcome that and gain confidence built on substance not just his personal belief the end will be near.
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