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| BYU QB Joe Critchlow (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News) |
True freshman quarterback Joe Critchlow had a humbling day in his second career start for the BYU Cougars. He misfired on his first five passes, and finished the day completing less than half (21-45). He was sacked seven times. What was worse was the four interceptions he threw. He was able to lead BYU to just 10 points. That wasn't enough, so the Cougars lost to UMass at home on senior day.
Critchlow's offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Ty Detmer experienced something similar during his playing days at BYU. As a freshman in 1988, Detmer took over for Sean Covey in a game at Wyoming. The Wyoming Cowboys blitzed a lot, and Detmer was sacked five times. He completed less than half of his passes (9 of 26), and threw four interceptions. Naturally, BYU lost that game as well.
Detmer was not proud of himself for throwing his first touchdown at the collegiate level, or actually playing in his first game. He recounted the experience in his biography as follows:
The game with Wyoming was truly a baptism by fire. I knew that I wasn't as good as I had thought I was; but that game awakened me, too, and I knew that I had to learn from it. I also learned a lot about Coach Edwards, because after the game was over he came up to me, put his arm around me, and said, "Don't worry about it, Ty. Just keep your head up, and you'll do fine. No one has lost confidence in you. It was your first game, and you can use it as a learning experience." I was relieved that he hadn't come down on me, but instead had given me understanding and a continued vote of confidence.
Still, I wanted to make sure, for myself, that the team still had confidence in me, just in case I ever went back in. So I talked to the seniors and apologized for how I had played. I also told them that it would never happen again, but that they could count on me (Ty: The Ty Detmer Story, Brenton Yorgason, pg. 96).Critchlow can learn a lot from the game against UMass. His pocket awareness was poor. He was stepping up at times he didn't need to, and stepping right into sacks. He held on to the ball too long and took unnecessary sacks instead of throwing the ball away. He can learn about reading blitzes and how to react--hot read or audible. His accuracy can still improve.
Learning from his mistakes is a must. However, Critchlow would show more leadership by following Detmer's lead and apologizing to the seniors. Losing at home to UMass must have been very disappointing for the BYU seniors. The Cougars haven't lost a home game in November since 2005. That means all of these seniors had done their part in previous seasons to give the seniors before them a win in their final game at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Saturday, the 2017 seniors were expecting the younger players to do the same.
Detmer's miserable performance at Wyoming came in the first game of the season, so he had the rest of the season to make it up to those seniors. While there are no more home games this season, there is one final game on the schedule. The Cougars travel to Hawai'i this week to end the 2017 season. A win in the final home game is nice, but a win in the final game, wherever it is played, is even better. Critchlow can make it up to the seniors by playing well and leading the team to victory in Hawai'i on Saturday.
The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com
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