Bye Week

[younglurch]

What are you hoping to see the most improvement on during the bye week?

For me, aside from the obvious ball security issue, I think finally nailing down a consistent starting o-line is paramount. They started to play better during the WSU game but we still have injuiry issues and it seems haven’t played to our talent level yet. As a side note, I think I’ve finally given up on Bam. The dude has no technique or blocking IQ. He gets cooked nearly every down.

Also, getting healthy in general is important. I heard McKinney, Davis, Bishop, and Bernard all had some type of injury during the game. Let’s hope we can get healthy again with our time off.

I also loved to see TJ Pledger have a coming out game. The guy barely got any chance to make an impact and I was hoping they’d finally let him loose. Personally I’d love to see more offensive sets with both him and Bernard in the backfield. That is a dynamic group that could produce a deadly option package with Rising. 

Of course, all of this doesn’t really matter a ton given what happened with A Lowe. But I can’t help but think he’d want the team to stay focused on winning, no matter how difficult. Maybe I’m wrong… people mourn in different ways. At the end of the day I’m going to support our guys no matter what. 

[cicampbe]

Bye week couldn’t have come at a better time. Give these kids some time off to mourn.

[UteBacker]

1) HEAL up.  We’re a walking M*A*S*H unit right now.

2) Rising needs to continue to get his timing down.  He’s close.

3) Find a new ball supplier.  The ones we used Saturday were defective.

4) Sadly, attend a funeral for another fallen teammate.  

I don’t think a bye week has ever come at a more critical moment.

[Tony (admin)]

I honestly thought the same thing about the game balls. Thought they might be slippery. 

[Central Coast Ute]

I hope to see the players who need it, get counseling. Especially those that were at the party and witnessed their friend pass away.
I hope the coaches coach these kids in a way that will benefit not only the players, but the coaches themselves. I just hope they’re ok.

[chinngiskhaan]

I on the other hand can’t help but think that you can’t help but think what you are thinking because you are a fan of a team, and you want that team to win, and are to some degree projecting your desires for the team to win onto the players and coaches.

The reality is, we don’t know how they are reacting to this. Maybe some of those guys feel like they never want to play football again. Maybe they just want to go home and hug their loved ones. We DON’T KNOW.

I’m sorry if this seems harsh, I’m not trying to attack you or suggest that what you are saying is inappropriate. It’s a common thing to say things like this when a person that is close to a person that someone knows dies. “Sorry for your loss, you must be devastated… blah blah blah.” When s**t like this happens people don’t know how to act, they don’t know what to say either.

Personally, I don’t think placing any sort of expectation on the team is fair at the moment (I’m not claiming that is what you are doing, you are fine, just venting I guess). If they are inspired to play their best game of the year, fine, good for them. If they just decide to not even show up to the game at all, that’s fine too. At this point, I don’t care if we instantly become the worst team in the history of college football for the rest of this season.

[younglurch]

No worries, that’s why I said “maybe I’m wrong.” It’s definitely fair to say I could be projecting my own feelings. Like also said though, no matter how these guys decide to move forward, I’ll support them no matter what. 

[chinngiskhaan]

sure, it’s just hard to know what to do/say in situations like this when you feel bad, but you are sort of on the outside looking in.

[5150]

Getting this team some therapy.  Two gun deaths in 9 months has to have these poor kids reeling.  

[Utegibby13]

I would like to see a win. I dont care if we fumble the ball 7 times again, if we win. At this point, i have no expectations for this team. With everything that has happened, i feel like this team got cursed in some sort of way. Thats the superstitious side of me talking.

I love this team. I have loved this team my whole life. I dont care the record this team will have at seasons end, this team will be the one that has dealt with the most adversity of any Utah football team that we are aware of. With social media, we now know more about the team than that of other generations.

That being said, outside of football what i would like to see is the athletes getting proper mental/emotional care. I feel like we are simply scratching the surface with what athletes deal with. Especially those competing at this higher level. I hope these athletes get to talk to someone that can help them arm themselves with the tools to handle any adversity that comes their way. As has been said here before, **** happens to everyone. Life happens and we dont always know what is next. The strongest come out, not necessarily without scratches, but with the tools to move forward.

This doesnt mean they do not have to or get to grieve. That is part of moving forward. They need that time. They need the time to feel, and time to heal. I believe this team, with what I saw saturday and what i saw to start the season, has young leadership that care so much about each other that they will make decisions to move forward and will help each other now more than ever. They are unfortunately learning what it is to be a Ute family really quickly. United Together ETERNAL Soldiers.

I will support them through it all. Coaching staff included. I have said things on here that were very critical of certain coaches. Its so petty at this point. We all want our favorite team to win, but when tragedy strikes, we are brought back to the reality that these men are people with lives and feelings and even as we are frustrated with outcomes of contests, we need to keep this in mind. We do not know what the future holds. What we do know, and will continue to see, is this program shout from the mountains “Family” because that is the culture.