SB Nation - Derrick Coleman

Spaulding Roundup: Owl Preparations

Nestor — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:00:28 -0000

Well I am on my way to LA this morning (provided that we can get out of a snow covered Washington DC in time). So I will not be around much most of the day today. I wanted to get in some practice notes from Friday and yesterday as it now looks like the Bruins are in full game preparation mode (which includes the diving stunts from Friday).

Al Balderas from the OC Register wrote about Rick Neuheisel's over all philosophy to keep his team entertained, motivated and getting them ready for the bowl game:

"Make sure it's a reward but find a way to get them to practice hard. Get ready to enjoy the game, and talk about what winning the game means so that there is a real carrot at the end of the stick."

Neuheisel does not want the Temple game plan to get stale, so he's installing the plays gradually while leaving enough room for fun.

The Bruins have three days to prepare for an opponent during the regular season but, counting Friday they have seven days to work on Temple.

"We put an install day, then we polish," Neuheisel said. "An install day, then we polish. And then an install day, and we get back there and then it's all polish.

"I also want to make sure there's also time for fun, which is the reason we're doing the bowling and high dives and Magic Mountain and all the different stuff.

"You've got to make sure there's a lot of laughing. College campuses, this time of year are ghost towns, so you have to find ways to make this a good deal."

More on Rick Neuheisel's thoughts on bowl preparations in the Daily News:

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel waited a bit to incorporate the Temple game plan earlier this week as the coaches have taken a good, hard look at the team's up-and-coming players.

Part of it was to get an invaluable jump on next year's lineup. The other was to deliver the Temple message at the right time so that it wasn't lost.

"You don't want to do it early," Neuheisel said. "You don't want it to get stale. You want it to be where you're thinking, you're getting into it and you get it up to full speed and then perform it.

"It's like preparing for a play. You can get tired of rehearsals. You want to get with the live audience."

CRN also mentioned that he had gotten his "formula" on bowl preparation from Terry Donahue. That makes me slightly uncomfortable because the memories of the last two bowl games we collectively experienced from Donahue were not pretty. They included a listless loss against the Jayhawks in the Aloha Bowl (1996) and an unprepared and sloppy one against Wisconsin in 1994. While I definitely understand the need for our guys to have fun and engage in team-bonding, I just hope Neuheisel and his staff have the guys locked in for Temple because Golden's guys are going to be fired up.

Al Golden gave the LA Times a little glimpse on how fired up his Owls are going to be face off against a team from a BCS conference:

"No. 1, any bowl victory is a great bowl victory," Coach Al Golden said. "But when you play a team with the tradition, notoriety and brand like UCLA, it is sure to add significance in terms of perception and in terms of being accepted nationally. Don't think we don't understand for a second the magnitude of playing someone like UCLA."

Again, let's hope our guys are ready to match their intensity and passion on the 29th. More after the jump.

It looks like Kevin Prince had a decent practice on Saturday per Jon Gold's notes:

* Kevin Prince had an effective practice, throwing a couple passes with perfect zip on them. I expect him to play against Temple.

* At this point in preparation, reps are still being divided, particularly at running back.

CRN thinks he will have a "better feel" re. Prince's start by Monday. Meanwhile, more on the running back situation from the LA Times:

"Obviously, we have to create a more efficient running game," Coach Rick Neuheisel said. "We don't want to have to lean on the passing game too much and lean on our protection too much."

Moline had a plow-horse-like day against Arizona State, gaining 84 yards. He was less effective against USC, with 15 yards in seven carries.

Franklin leads the team with 597 yards and has shown the breakaway speed to get quick scores. But the fumbles have reduced his playing time. He has only 36 carries in the six games since rushing for 101 yards against California.

"I'm definitely trying to earn some trust back from the coaches," said Franklin, a redshirt freshman.

"This is the longest season I have ever had, the longest time I have ever been on the football field. I'm getting used to it, slowly but surely, but it's a long time."

Running backs coach Wayne Moses has used the week to "get back to the fundamentals and getting it back in perspective to see who needs to work on what."

Apparently Moline is expected to start per the LA Times. However, I think this could be a game where the coaches should probably also put in Coleman, Knox and Thigpen with a decent amount of reps.

Coleman's physical running style could be a good match for the Temple's tough running defense. This should also be a game where the coaches will need to mix things up and hopefully take advantage of some of the speed and athleticism we have in guys like Franklin, Knox and Thigpen. I don't think it is going to help us a lot if we keep throwing out the same looks we have shown in our last two games (ASU and Southern Cal) for a well prepared Temple Owls team.

GO BRUINS.

Moving Forward: Bruins Need One More Win (And Focus On Arizona State)

Nestor — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:36:07 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

about 1 month ago: UCLA tailback Derick Coleman (33) runs the ball as Washington State linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis, right, defends during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009 at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. UCLA won 43-7. (AP Photo/Dean Hare)

Browse more photos »

I know lot of us are dying to think about that last regular game of the season (especially after what transpired yesterday) but this is not the time for any of us to look ahead. It looks like we did have a good reason to feel slightly better after that fourth quarter against Oregon State, when we got the sense that it was time to rally around our Bruins. Well something is clearly working right now and it feels good.

Yes, last night's blowout win was only against lowly Washington State. We could have looked lot better than we did against Paul Wulff's demoralized bunch. Yet, I still think there is something little encouraging about that performance because it was one of those games we have seen UCLA football team either choke away or make it unnecessarily hard on themselves to win over the years. We now hope our team can keep it going by locking in on the next opponent which is capable of ruining senior day at the Rose Bowl.

Let's start with something CRN did to get his players in the right mindset to deal with the elements. From the LA Times:

Neuheisel's cold-weather preparation included holding Friday night's team meeting outside in a snow storm.

"I was amazed how many of our guys had never been in snow before," Neuheisel said. "It gave us the right mind-set."

Still, it was cold.

He also made his players get a little taste of snowball fights so that they could "get used to the weather":

UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel had his players throw snowballs, while his kid threw touchdown passes.

UCLA players hardly seemed uptight heading into today’s game at Washington State. A snowstorm Friday night had a handful of Bruins outside throwing snowballs at each other for a half hour.

The frolicking was the result of Neuheisel’s instructions to go outside and get used to the weather.

Yeah, his son - Jerry Neuheisel - threw a 45-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-11 play with 31 seconds left to give Loyola a 41-37 victory over Crespi (which I guess was a good omen for the weekend). Anyway, going back to the game, what I liked about iur guys was how they looked confident. They weren't cocky as team leaders like Reggie Carter struck all the right notes before the game as he was gracious towards a struggling team. Our guys had the look of a locked in football team that knew exactly what was at stake and what they needed to hold on to the momentum Rahim Moore and co grabbed to end the Washington game on our home coming weekend. It is going to be a challenge for us to hold on to that momentum next weekend against a very good defensive team. However, if we can continue to build on the successes of last 9 quarters, this will truly turn out to be a Novermbet to remember.

As noted in the post game thread, Kevin Prince was the head line grabber. He had a great game by all accounts. Yet CRN (as he mentioned during half time) though Prince could have played even better:

"When you're enjoying this kind of success, it's almost like going down the cafeteria line and trying to grab everything," Neuheisel said. "You have to maintain your patience. I thought Kevin tried to make throws down the field instead of taking what they were giving him underneath."

Prince completed 27 of 40 passes, as Neuheisel, said, "I thought he did a nice job getting back to the scheme." Practice-like corrections made possible by the scout-team-like defense Washington State offered.

I thought we saw that in Prince during the second half, especially after the Cougars scored a TD. Prince drove the team down for our own TD drive during when he was methodically looking of his primary and secondary targets. He also did a great job during the two min drill to end the first half when he was finding Moline for little check downs:

Prince hit Moline four times on the ensuing drive for 35 yards, meticulously going through his reads until settling short, and the Bruins chopped their way down the field to set up a 38-yard field goal by junior kicker Kai Forbath.

"All week in practice we knew the check-downs were going to be a big factor in the game," said Moline, who finished with three carries for 25 yards and seven catches for 60 yards. "We check-released, we checked down from linebackers, and especially in that two-minute drive when I got all those catches, Prince was checking down the field and no one was there."

Moline had himself a great game which you can read more about here and here.

However, the fact that Moline was our most productive running back is a cause for concern. Derrick Coleman had a decent game yesterday rushing for 50 yards in 12 carries. Our entire team (thanks largely due to Prince's 68 yard rumble down the sidelines) rushed for 232 yards which is not too bad against a bad Washington State defense. However, Coleman to me appears more as a servicable full back than a feature tailback. He did a better job of falling forward yesterday though which is a positive but I think he will have tougher times against team with average or better defensive speed (like the one we are going to face next weekend at home).

JetSki's fumbling issue is a real problem now. Not sure what else the coaches can do. They have sent every message they possibly can. It's a matter of him playing with focus and concentration on every down. Milton Knox picked up some decent chunk of yardage during garbage time. Yet he looked unsure in the fact of Coguar blitzes and failed to hit the hole with authority on a key 3rd and 1 in third quarters. Thigpen has a lot of promise but he doesn't have the frame to be a every down back. Christian Ramirez is just too brittle and inconsistent to have a discernible impact. So, you can see why getting both Malcolm Jones and Jordon James were big deal for this year's recruiting class. It looks like we have a QB of the future slowly emerging in Chow's offense. We now need a back or two, who can costar with the Prince.

Our OL did a decent job of providing pass protection. However, there were moments of sloppiness that needs to be cleaned up. Darius Savage didn't look totally comfortable at RG stepping for Ryan Taylor. I thought our OL's overall run blocking performance was pretty mediocre against an atrocious defensive line. Also, our OL looked somewhat unprepared for WSU blitzes when it seemed like opposing LBers was getting to Prince untouched. Again, it's something we really have to work on this game week to prepare for a solid Arizona State defense.

Moving on to the other side Akeem and Brian Price were the two big stars in last night's defense. From Jon Gold in the Daily News here are Kyle Bosworth's comments on what BP did to the Cougars' offense:

"BP has always had his name out on the leaderboard, but with Akeem, it's really good to see him kind of shine today," Bosworth said. "Two picks is huge for anybody, and it's good to see him with those two sacks.

"I'm happier for him, but BP did great - I know he'll be in the league one of these days, and this is one of the games that's going to help him do that."

Price racked up three tackles for loss, which makes him Pacific-10 leader with 16.5 for the season. He also has 5 sacks to go along with those stats. There is not much I can add to make him sound more incredible than he already is. I cherish watching this kid play just like I enjoyed recent great Ben Ball warriors such as KL, RW, LRMAM, AA, and DC. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he can add to his legend on a week by week basis (because I won't blame him if he decides to jump provided he gets positive feedback from NFL draft whizes during the off season).

In addition to Price, Akeem had a great game as he benefited from a new look Bullough through at the Cougs:

For the first time this year, UCLA defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough lined up Ayers on the defensive line in a three-point stance, allowing Ayers to burst off the ball at the point of contact. He said both of his sacks were from the formation.

That is sure to catch the eye of those in the NFL, as well, as hybrid pass-rushers - those who can play both in coverage and on the line of scrimmage - have become in vogue in 3-4 defenses.

"It wasn't anything really new to me," said Ayers, who played his sophomore and junior seasons in high school at defensive end. "I'm used to being in a three-point and getting a pass rush. I definitely can see myself doing something like that - I'm athletic enough to stand up and drop into coverage, but I'm also able to rush the passer."

Hope Akeem can build on this weekend's performance to put together another consistent outing next against Arizona State.

While Akeem and BP had great games, I am getting worried about Reggie Carter's contribution to our defense. Reggie Carter is a great Bruin and solid leader for this football team. He is definitely the emotional heart and soul of our defense. However, the more I have watched him in recent weeks, the more its becoming clear to me that he is not the same Reggie we have seen over the years. It looks like his injury is really bothering him. He doesn't have the same ability to move around from MLB spot and he routined finds himself away from the action. Just look at the game tape from Tennessee and compare it what we saw yesterday. It's not even close.

Apparently Reggie is trying to will himself through these last few games of his Bruin career. The coaches tried to take him out during early in the fourth quarter but he wouldn't come out. So per the LA Times the coaches had to take a time out to get Reggie out of the game:

"That was the first time since I have been at UCLA that we have been ahead by so much that they were taking me out of the game," Carter said. "I told them, 'No, let me stay.' Then coach told me he didn't want me to get hurt. So I apologize, but I just wanted to enjoy the moment."

I think Reggie needs to rest up a bit. I think it could potentialy be worth it to use him as sparingly as possible next weekend against Arizona State and perhaps use Steve Sloan at the MLB spot, who did a servicable job last year when he took over for Christian Taylor. Guess, this is an issue we will have to defer to the coaches who have shown pretty good judgment wrt to injury issues this season (See the cautioun they showed with Aaron Hester).

Our punt return performance continues to be a concern. Terrence Austin had another fumble yesterday, which luckily for us went out bounce. He also had a fumble against Washington State during kick return the previous weekend. Terrence has to clean this up. He is running out of time in his last few games as a Bruin.

On the flip side, Sean Westgate came out with a huge punt block. It's not the first time he has made big plays a special teamer (remember the punt block he had against Tennessee last season at the Rose Bowl). I also liked the intensity Damien Thigpen showed during punt coverage even when we were up by a huge margin late in second half. Damien sprinted down the field during Locke punt and dove to down the ball at 2 yard line even when we were up by a score of 43-7. That kind of little details tells us something about the character of the team under its head coach.

Going back to big picture as good as we feel this Sunday, it is important that we don't get carried away. Tracy Pierson from Bruin Report Online had a solid breakdown of the game, in which he rightfully warns UCLA fans to not get too carried away. However, Tracy ended with the following encouraging notes (not behind a subscription firewall at the time of this post):

UCLA’s 556 total offensive yards were better than Arizona (471), Arizona State (410), and Stanford (481).

In fact, it was better than what USC did in the Coliseum against WSU (403), or even Oregon in Eugene (514).

UCLA’s defense held WSU to 180 yards, compared to the 185 yards WSU gained against Arizona, 206 against Notre Dame, 440 against Cal (what the heck?), 181 against Arizona State, 229 against USC, and 351 against Stanford.

Yeah, WSU was without its starting quarterback when it played UCLA, but Jeff Tuel didn’t even play in some of those other games.

So let’s overlook the actual play on the field and go with that. It’s so much more fun to look at it that way, huh?

Regardless if you’re the type who watched that game and came away satisfied (Blue), or came away thinking there wasn’t much you could take away from it and it didn’t give you great expectations for facing ASU and USC (Crank) – or a little bit of both (most of us) – it was good to see UCLA have an easy, blow-out win for the first time in a while. It clearly kept Prince and Co. in the same productive, offensive rhythm established in the OSU 4th quarter and against Washington last week, which is a good thing. It’s also good that the defense maintained its bottom-line successful M.O. – looking vulnerable but doing enough to put UCLA in a position to win.

In other words, at this late stage of this season the team under CRN's leadership continues to move forward. We now have 5 wins which on paper at least is clear step forward from last season. We now need our boys to take lock in and focus for another game week to get that much talked about 6th win next weekend at the Rose Bowl. That's all we should be thinking and talking about till next Saturday. If we can accomplish the objective of getting our 6th win, we will have our program in a pretty decent spot heading into last regular game of 2009 season. So, let's just all focus on Arizona State just like we have been taking it game by game since Oregon State.

GO BRUINS.

Pregame Guesses: Washington State

Achilles — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:00:49 -0000

Not sure what it means, but Rick Neuheisel was in a very good mood on the Dan Patrick Show this morning. (Update:The link to the interview is now here.)

Neuheisel played sang, played guitar and outlined why the Bruins will be successful the rest of the year.

Neuheisel also explained to Dan why he's hopeful the Bruins have a lot of success in their future. He pointed to freshman quarterback Kevin Prince and some of the young playmakers around him.

The above is from the Dan Patrick blog. I was driving and didn't take notes while I was listening, but in addition to Prince, Neuheisel called out Nelson Rosario, Jonathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman as players he's looking to for big things the rest of the year and in the future.

Patrick asked RN if UCLA was going to a bowl game and the coach immediately went into "coach-speak" about how the team was going to work hard or try or whatever he said. Patrick cut him off and asked again if the Bruins are going to a bowl game.

Neuheisel said flat out:

"We're going to be bowl eligible."

Well, that's what I like to hear.

No bull, no equivocation, just:

"We're going to be bowl eligible."

Translation:

Neuheisel expects to win at least two of our last three games against Washington State, Arizona State and USC.

There is a paradox involved here.

On one hand, finishing 6-6 and being "bowl eligible" (and by that I think RN means that once we have six wins we're at the mercy of the bowl games issuing invites and even with six wins we can't control whether or not we get an invitation) is nothing really to brag about. If we're 6-6 every year, eventually the natives are going to get restless. A .500 program is not what we're ultimately aiming for.

On the other hand, when one considers we only won four games last season, that we are very inexperienced at many key positions including the offensive line and at quarterback and especially when you remember (and how could anyone forget) we were 0-5 in October -- well -- a 6-6 year is actually a sign of progress and hope for the future.

(Speaking of the future, I want to go on record right now with a semi-prediction: We are going to have a very good record in the PAC 10 next season. You know, I've already seen some prognostications that next year is another rebuilding year and that "our year" doesn't come until 2011. Most of that is based on a murderous non-conference schedule that includes trips to Kansas State and Texas and a home game with Houston. And, yes, I've heard the rumor that UCLA might drop one of those games to play TCU in Cowboys Stadium, but TCU is in the Top Ten right now so that's no easy game. My point is, even though UCLA plays a difficult non-conference schedule next season and could even lose all three, we are going to go 6-3 or better in conference. It's going to be a very Terry Donahue like final record, where we have a fair to worse non-conference schedule, but get on a roll and become a very dangerous team by year's end. I'm serious and if it happens, I'll be linking to this post all next season. If it doesn't I'll "accidentally" delete it or just edit out this paragraph. But, I digress ... )

In the Patrick show today, Neuheisel was particularly pumped about how the team has looked in practice the last few weeks. He didn't actually use the cliche "the lights went on for some guys" but that was the impression I got. He just seemed to feel that things were starting to click, that Prince was finally seeing and doing the things he needed to do, that Rosario had emerged as a go to receiver and that the defense was coming together and playing like a team.

I like what I'm hearing and expect UCLA to win on Saturday. Washington State is the worst team in the conference and we're 17 point favorites (or 17.5 depending on where you look).

Look, I'm not polyanna, no cockeyed optimist. When I was less than impressed with our 3-0 record I said so. When I say I like what I saw last week and like what I'm hearing this week and expect to win, it's not just being a fan. I really think we go to 2-0 for the month and if we do, I expect to be favored at home next week against Arizona State. A win there would get us bowl eligible before the cross town trip to the Coliseum.

Here are your Pregame Guesses for Washington State:

Nelson Rosario has two straight 100 yard receiving games. Within five, how many yards receiving will Nelson Rosario have this week?
Will UCLA convert a fourth down this week? (For our purposes, a conversion is either a first down or a touchdown.)
Name a Bruin who snags an interception this week.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: UCLA Bruins (with audio!)

Dancing Football — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:24:40 -0000

More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince has been limited due to injury at times this season. Even if he isn't able to go on Saturday, it probably won't make much of a difference.

Browse more photos »

Head Coach: Rick Neuheisel

Record: 4-5 (1-5)

Offense: 20.3 PPG, 5.1 YPP

Like many of their Pac 10 brethren, the UCLA Bruins have chosen to go with youth at the quarterback position. Freshman Kevin Prince was named the starter at the beginning of the season over senior Kevin Craft. Craft still has had opportunities throughout the season, as Prince has missed time due to injury. In that time, Craft has put up numbers that are very comparable to Prince's.

Name	Att	Comp	Pct.	Yards	Yards/Att	Int	TD
Kevin Prince	184	105	57.1	1264	6.9	5	5
Kevin Craft	89	51	57.3	624	7.0	2	2

In fact, the numbers are nearly identical. The two combined for over 300 yards in UCLA's last game vs. Washington and Prince three for over 300 against Oregon State two weeks ago, so it appears the Bruins may be hitting their stride in the passing game. Expect Prince to start on Saturday, as he returned to practice Tuesday after suffering an injury against the Huskies, but if Craft is forced to play there shouldn't be too much of a drop off.

The Bruin passing game has been forced to carry the offense so far this season, as the running game has struggled mightily. UCLA is picking up just 3.16 yards per carry. In an effort to improve, Neuheisel has named Sophomore Derrick Coleman the starting running back for Saturday's game against the Cougs. The Bruins should expect to see an improvement this week, as Washington State usually brings out the best in their opponents.

Going forward, changing the running back may not be the solution UCLA is looking for. Looking at the stats, it appears the offensive line has struggled, giving up 25 sacks on the season and that small yards per carry average quote above.

Whoever the starting quarterback is for UCLA is on Saturday, they should enjoy success. WSU has shown little ability to get in the backfield, and the they should have the time in the world to throw. Moving the ball on the ground should not be a difficult task either against Wazzu's depleted defensive line.

Defense: 23.0 PPG, 5.3 YPP

UCLA's defense has looked very stout at times, but overall is right around the nation's average in yards per play. They are not the dominating force that Paul Wulff made them out to be in his presser this week, but they do force turnovers and they do well against the passing game.

One of the players that has been key in pass defense and forcing turnovers is sophomore free safety Rahim Moore. He has been able to pick off a remarkable eight passes and also leads the UCLA with six pass breakups.

While Moore has been spectacular, Brian Price is man to watch for the Bruins on defense. At tackle, he is one of the top defensive players in the nation. He uses his 6'2". 300 pound frame to overpower offensive guards and also has a suprising amount of quickness and agility. He has used all this to rack up 13.5 tackles for loss and five sacks so far in 2009. Price will be in the Washington State backfield early and often on Saturday.

As is the norm, the Washington State offense will struggle on Saturday against a bigger and more athletic UCLA defense. Look for either Jeff Tuel or Marshall Lobbestael to be running for their lives and Dwight Tardy and company to struggle for yardage.

UCLA is in trouble with: Kenny Alfred is somehow able to neutralize Brian Price, freeing up the running game and giving Cougar quarterbacks more time to throw. Also, UCLA turns the ball over five times or more and the Cougs are able to turn at least two of those into scores. Then, we may have a game on our hands.

From the other side ...

For this week's interview with the opponent, Nuss caught up with Ryan Rosenblatt (aka ryebreadraz) from BruinsNation.com. Topics covered include the chances the Bruins stub their collective toe in Pullman, how the UCLA offense seems to be coming together, and what a beast Price is.

And as a reminder, you can subscribe to us on iTunes (why wouldn't you want to carry our pretty little voices with you everywhere you go?) or go to our podcast site here for other subscribing options.

Bruins make a change at running back for Cougs

Nuss — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:21:43 -0000

More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

In a move that makes a lot of sense for the Bruins, Derrick Coleman will get the start Saturday against the Cougs.

Browse more photos »

UCLA is making a change at tailback for Saturday's contest which on the surface might seem odd, but in actuality makes a lot of sense.

Johnathan Franklin is a 5-foot-11, 195-pound redshirt freshman burner who has started eight games at tailback for the Bruins. Only problem is, he's fumbled the ball five times. So the Bruins are turning to 6-foot, 230-pound sophomore bruiser Derrick Coleman instead.

At first blush, you'd think they'd want to go with the speedy guy, given our lack of that quality on defense. But the Cougs have shown the ability to generate fumbles (although that's tapered off a lot the past three games), and when you combine that with the expected cold weather ... well, I can see why UCLA would want to try and make sure that it doesn't give WSU any possible way to stay in the game.

Besides, it's not like we've done great stopping big backs, either -- Notre Dame's Robert Hughes (5-11/234) went off for 131 yards on 24 carries, repeatedly dragging our smaller defenders for an extra two to four yards.

Spaulding Roundup: Shakeup At RB Rotation, Prince Is Ready & Other Notes

Nestor — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:34:55 -0000

We have some news on the running back front. Looks like the coaches are sending some clear message re. fumble issues we have experienced in recent weeks. Per the LA Times this am, Derrick Coleman is going to get the start against Washington State:

Derrick Coleman, a 6-foot, 230-pound sophomore, will get his first start of the season when the Bruins play at Washington State.

UCLA has struggled with its running game in recent weeks, and the number of fumbles has become a concern.

That has brought the focus to Coleman, who had seven carries in five games before he gained 49 yards in 13 carries against Washington on Saturday.

"We need to see more yards after contact and we obviously need to see more security with the ball," running backs coach Wayne Moses said. "We just need some tough, hard-nosed, old-fashioned football."

Of Coleman, Moses said, "We want to see what he has got this week and we'll assess things from there."

The Bruins have run for only 200 yards the last three games combined.

I like this move for few reasons. First, I think it sends a clear message to the entire team that the coaches will held players accountable for their on field mistakes. Christian Ramirez had fumble issues against Arizona and he lost his spot in the rotation. Jet Ski has shown a lot of promise this season and he certainly seems to have the speed and athleticism to emerge as one of the better Bruin RB we have seen in recent years. However, he has to hold on to the ball and cannot afford to cost his team by loss of focus. So, this move will get his attention and it sounds like he is dealing with it in a very positive way:

"You have to have the discipline to hold onto the ball," Franklin said. "For my part, when I get in traffic, running down the field, I got to cover the tip and tuck that ball away."

I also like the move because I also enjoy watching Coleman's style of power running. He still needs to do a better job of picking up blitzes and he also needs to learn to fall forward when he gets hit. If you notice Coleman's running you will see he usually tends to fall backwards as soon as he gets hit (check the goal line plays in the Oregon game). I think those are issues he will address and get better at over the years. Going into Washington State game this weekend if he can gets us 4-5 yards per carry whenever he is called on, it will be a huge help for our offense. If we serve a steady dose of Coleman and mix in with JetSki, Knox and Thigpen, the running game will be fun to watch. More after the jump.

While Coleman is getting to set start, his back field team-mate Prince has been cleared for Saturday:

Redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince was cleared for Washington State after suffering a concussion in the second quarter of last Saturday's victory.

Prince was injured while scrambling for an 8-yard gain as he dived head-first toward the ground and collided helmets with Washington linebacker Donald Butler. Against Tennessee in Week 2, Prince broke his jaw on another hit while going to the turf helmet first.

UCLA now is expected to reintroduce the Slip 'n Slide at practice today, a tactic Prince utilized in preseason camp.

"Hopefully, they bring out the Slip 'n Slide, that'll be fun for everybody," he said. "I'm sure coach will want me to practice it. I'll pretty much tell you right now I'll be sliding on Saturday."

Sure hope so Kevin. The entire BN is going to get anxious every time he takes off for a run. He clearly has the mobility to pick up extra yards but there is just need to go all Cade McNown and slam right into opposing LBs. Running out of bounce or sliding will be just fine (for now).

From the Washington State side there is a good story on Jared Karstetter, a sophomore wide receiver who is having a great individual season despite his team going through an extremely tough rebuilding season:

[C]urrently, WSU ranks ninth in the Pacific-10 Conference with 195.3 yards passing per game (Oregon is 10th at 184.2), and the Cougars have thrown more interceptions (12) than touchdown passes (10).

All of which makes Jared Karstetter’s season that much more remarkable. Karstetter, a sophomore wide receiver from Spokane’s Ferris High School, is tied with Oregon State star James Rodgers for the Pac-10 lead with six touchdown catches.

Half of Karstetter’s touchdown grabs accounted for all three Cougar touchdowns the past two games. In the waning minutes of Saturday’s 48-7 loss at Arizona, the Cougars avoided their first shutout of the year when Karstetter got half a step on cornerback Mike Turner at midfield, plucked a long Marshall Lobberstael pass with his right hand, tucked it away and zoomed off for a 64-yard touchdown.

"Great catch," WSU coach Paul Wulff said. "A really great catch. He’s doing a good job."

Karstetter leads the Cougars (1-8, 0-6 Pac-10) with 420 receiving yards. True freshman Gino Simone is the team leader in receptions with 30, but Karstetter is second with 27.

"He’s definitely a playmaker," Lobbestael said.

I am assuming ATV, Price, Moore and co. have been preparing for Karstetter and Simone. Hopefully they are not going to give him 7-8 yard cushion so that they can get carved up by the second worst passing offense in the conference.

That brings to my closing note for this am. Yesterday we talked about how our offense can't afford to make any mistakes on the road. Glad the coaches are addressing the fumble issue by sending a clear message to our RBs. Now we will also need the defense to set the tone. Seems like we have been writing that line every game week over last two months only to lament how the defense waited for a while to adjust and react to the opposing team. Bullough is not going to get a better opportunity to get his defense back in to swing of things and get back in the groove it found itself in against Tennessee. Let's hope he can take advantage of that opportunity this Saturday setting up for a solid end to 09-10 season.

GO BRUINS.

UCLA vs. Washington Report Card

Ryan Rosenblatt — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:14:43 -0000

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

Kevin Craft sure didn't have this much room to throw last season. The offensive line played their best game in the CRN era.

Browse more photos »

Let's be honest now. UCLA was far from flawless. While the effort, courage and heart that the Bruins displayed was admirable, you're not going to win many games with five giveaways. Two weeks ago, Arizona was kind enough to keep UCLA in the game before eventually winning. Today, it was UCLA who was kind enough to keep Washington in the game, but the Bruins did do enough to win and a team coming off of five straight losses isn't going to complain about the manner in which they get a W. Here are the grades for each unit, with A being exceptional, C being average and F last season's offensive line.

Quarterback

The Bruin quarterbacks were fantastic from the first toss of the game to the last. Kevin Prince put together a performance that justified all of the pre-season hype I was giving him as he put the ball in all of the right places, used his hot routes to perfection and even an audible. If he could just learn to slide, he'd be in great shape. With Prince on the bench due to injury, Kevin Craft got a shot and showed why he is a capable backup, making just about every throw. He wasn't perfect, but he was good enough and especially good when you consider the lack of snaps he's gotten of late. In his one series, Richard Brehaut proved that he still does have a ways to go. According to CRN in his post-game interview, Brehaut not only took a sack, but he also forgot to bring a guy in motion and was responsible for the illegal formation penalty when the Bruins were in the Wildcat and he did not get on the line. Overall, great day from the QB's, although the two interceptions were ill advised throws. Grade: A-

Running Back/Fullback

You have to hold onto the ball. Jonathan Franklin still hasn't figured that one out. Franklin has had a great freshman season, but fumbling the ball is the number one sin for a back and today was an example of that. Franklin made three great blitz pickups so he did some things right, but hanging onto the ball is number one. Derrick Coleman had a couple nice runs and while he still doesn't have the speed to break one, he picks up solid chunks of yards on just about every carry. Milton Knox was very good with the ball in his hands again, but that was mostly out of the Wildcat. When asked to work as a back in the base offense, he was hesitant, exhibiting why he's had issues getting on the field. Chane Moline is still an adequate blocker at best from the fullback spot, but he was tough running the ball. It was a sub-par performance overall, especially running the ball, but the blitz pickups were great all the way around. Grade: C-

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

It sure is nice to have a go-to receiver and it looks like the Bruins have one in Nelson Rosario. When a guy is 6'5'' and you know that all you have to do is get it up high, it makes things a heck of a lot easier on the quarterback so it's no surprise that Rosario has become a go-to guy. He's showing the focus and confidence he lacked earlier in the year and his second consecutive 100+ yard game is a product of that. Some excellent route running doesn't hurt either and his second quarter deep in that made the DB fall because he was caught by surprise when Rosario cut in is a perfect example of it. Terrance Austin showed some dependability and he's reading defenses better than any of the receivers, becoming a real weapon against zone defenses. Embree had a solid game, while Ketchum made an appearance. Ryan Moya made a good catch and Logan Paulsen had a big 56 yard catch, but for how much longer is the senior going to lead the team in freshman mistakes? Grade: A-

Offensive Line

The unit of the game, bar none. The growth from last season and even the beginning of this season is startling. Last season against a win-less Washington team, the Bruins gave up three sacks. Today, it was just two sacks despite 50% more pass attempts. Kai Maiava was a stud, getting side to side quickly to give the quarterbacks plenty of room to step up, while both tackles, Xavier Sua-Filo and Mike Harris, showed great feet, especially against the blitz. The guards were solid on passing plays, but the lack of surge on running plays has to be a concern for Jeff Baca and Ryan Taylor. The unit gets an A for pass blocking, but they need to be better on the run. The pass was the key to today's win though. Grade: B+

Defensive Line

A poor performance from the defensive line was the low light of the game for UCLA. It's concerning that the front four can't pressure the quarterback on their own, even occasionally and while they've done well to bottle up dive plays, they're not moving well enough side to side to stuff the runs off tackle. A lack of discipline on misdirection plays is also concerning, although they do a good job maintaining their position on the pass rush so even if they did not hit Jake Locker very often, they did keep him from getting the edge too often. At some point, someone needs to make a big play, especially if teams continually double Brian Prince. Two sacks and over six yards a rush for UW points to the defensive line. Grade: D+

Linebackers

The linebackers are fast, but sometimes too fast for their own good, especially Akeem Ayers. Over-pursuit has been a problem for the UCLA linebackers all year and reared its ugly head again today. Luckily, Reggie Carter looked to be in better health than he was last week and he was able to make up for some of the over-pursuit. Carter did a fantastic job holding the point and keeping big holes from opening up in the second level. The run defense of the UCLA linebackers was adequate at best, but they were fantastic in pass defense. They dropped back quickly to get into their space, were very quick coming up to make tackles and got to Locker when they were actually asked to blitz. Their ability to come up and make tackles after dropping into coverage showed just how much speed they have and their tackling was sure. Grade: B

Defensive Backs

Rahim Moore just manages to be in the right place at the right time. Some may call it lucky, but at some point, with how frequently he does it, Moore needs to get credit for it. Moor has eight interceptions now after picking one off the seal the win for the Bruins and he was very active all game, playing centerfield and making tackles against the run when the front seven didn't get it done. Alterraun Verner is still having issues that nobody was expected, but he's still the surest of corners for the Bruins, even if Sheldon Price made a singular great play on Moore's interception. One player who went largely unnoticed was Andrew Abbott, who did a fantastic job at nickle back. The safety position opposite Moore continues to be a trouble though as neither Tony Dye nor Glenn Love was better than mediocre. Grade: B

Special Teams

Kai Forbath is still automatic and while Jeff Locke has not showed the booming leg he did earlier on in the year, he's still be good. Austin's fumble on the kick is a concern for a guy who had been holding onto the ball, while the other candidates for the job haven't. Austin did have one big return to make up for some of his fumble. Kick coverage is still awful on a good day. Grade: C-

Coaching

Norm Chow called a great game and to the surprise of many, didn't take the foot off the pedal when Prince went down. It proved to be very successful and landed the Bruins a win. CRN's decision to go with Brehaut is questionable at best and his vow to get the freshman some meaningful snaps almost cost the Bruins a win, but the sack that took UCLA out of field goal range did not come back to haunt the team. Chuck Bullough's defense is doing just enough, but not as much as it should. He did show some more creativity and aggressiveness at the end of the game and we can only hope that he's turned a corner. The personal fouls are traced back to discipline and the coaching staff. Grade: B-

Pregame Guesses: Washington

Achilles — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:00:35 -0000

Welcome to November ...

The Bruins entered October undefeated and fans here and elsewhere were lamenting why we weren't ranked while poring over the schedule, trying to decide if a trip to San Diego for a bowl game was possible or would we have to settle for El Paso, Texas.

October was an 0-5 disaster, capped by an Orange and Black beating in Corvallis on Halloween night. But Bruins fans are nothing if not resilient -- if you weren't resilient you'd be in an institution by now -- and the second half of the Oregon State game gave the half full segment of the Blue and Gold club something to build on as Kevin Prince discovered Nelson Rosario and Rosario discovered those things on the end of his arms called hands.

The questions I have is:

Has it come to this?

Are we reduced to clinging to "great fourth quarters against Oregon State" as a sign the the team has turned another corner?

Or is the corner we turned just another sign that we're going around in circles?

Seriously, is there any indication that November will be better than October? Will we have something to be thankful for come Thanksgiving or will the Halloween fright last the rest of the season?

Most importantly, will I ever stop asking these lame rhetorical questions?

I'm going to be right up; front with my answer to most of these:

I really don't see anything that tells me we're going to start playing better. We might, sure. But I've yet to see anything resembling consistency on both sides of the ball and without that, it's tough to have confidence.

This lack of consistency is perhaps the thing that's bothering me the most. Early in the season, the defense played well and saved the offense. It's easy to just chalk it up to Crompton but the defense did have a couple of great series to preserve the Tennessee win. (It's weird to actually type the word "win.") Somewhere along the line, the defense regressed and, yes, it might have something to do with the fact that the competition just got better. On the other side of the ball, we've yet to see anything resembling a 60 minute performance all year long.

Do I sound a little frustrated? You bet, I'm frustrated.

Writing these posts are supposed to be fun, there supposed to be a cool little warm up to another exciting Saturday. But a five game losing streak turns even a goofy little blog post into a chore. It would be a lot more fun to wax semi-poetic about another win or at least another exciting game. Instead, we're left to make lemonade out of another performance marred by inopportune penalties, delays getting the play in from the sideline, conservative coaching decisions and a scoreboard deficit.

But I'm not giving up. I knew -- like many of you knew -- that this was going to be rebuilding season. I didn't realize that progress would be so incremental that we'd be looking for sliver linings in fourth quarter comebacks that fall short, but that's the hand we've been dealt -- and the metaphor I badly mixed.

Here's to November ... and the Washington Pregame Guesses:

Who will rush for more yards on Saturday, Jake Locker or Derrick Coleman?
Name a Bruin who will score a touchdown.
Which team will kick off to start the second half?

Bonus Question:

We're thinking about doing the guesses for the basketball season. Do you guys (and gals) want to keep playing? I'm not exactly sure I'll have time to write a guesses post for every game and more importantly I don't know if hicaliber wants to total the scores, but if we can get it together on our end, do you want to keep playing? Just write Yes or No as the fourth answer in your subject line.

Spaulding Roundup: Jumpstarting The Ground Game, Locker's Readiness & Other Notes

Nestor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:52:22 -0000

Let's start today's roundup with a focus on our offense. We have talked a lot about Kevin Prince and our passing game getting it going in the fourth quarter of Oregon State game. While we are all anxious to see whether or not Prince can pick up where he left off, we hope the ground game gets back in the groove after having a big day against Cal two weekend ago at the Rose Bowl. For Norm Chow's offense to really get going in Westwood, we will desperately need balance. So far this season we haven't had a game during which both the running and passing game are clicking on all cylinders.

Bruin offense will get that opportunity against the Huskies, who are bringing a defense that is second worst in the conference in stopping the rush and 7th in pass defense. JetSki and his team-mates know that they need to show more consistency. From the Daily News:

"Definitely we need to establish the run; it tires down the (opposing) team, it opens up the pass, it makes the holes a lot bigger in the third and fourth quarter," Franklin said. "Just moving the ball positively is always a good thing, whether it's a long run, short run, whatever."

The problem with the running game hasn't been the long runs.

Last season, behind a shoddy offensive line, the Bruins had just two long runs, one for 44 yards by leading rusher Kahlil Bell and a 40-yard gain by then-freshman Derrick Coleman.

UCLA has four long bursts this year, with Franklin's 74-yard dash against the Bears being the benchmark.

What hurts the Bruins are the difficult short gains, articularly the inability to convert the crucial third-and-short.
"We just have to produce more," senior fullback Chane Moline said. "When our number is called, we have to put confidence in our coaches to call more, especially on third downs and fourth and inches. We can definitely improve on it week to week."

The running game has been an emphasis in practice throughout the week, with coaches trying to get the team to be more physical.

As Neuheisel noted in the same piece it will take a total team effort for our offense to kick start the running game on Saturday:

"Part of it is because of the good defenses we're playing, part is because we've been behind in games and haven't had as many opportunities to run the ball," Neuheisel said. "But also, we have to face the facts that we have to block better and set up the run better. It's a total team effort to correct the running game."

In terms of blocking keep a close eye on our recievers. I don't believe they have given us a consistent effort this season in that department. I am hoping this area will get better in our last four games.

The best thing that can happen for our offense on Saturday is if Prince and co. can come out and get a get in a rhythm early. I think that will soften up the defense, allowing Chow to try stretching them out with the speed of JetSki, Knox and Thigpen. The hopeful part of me thinks that we will be able to pick up where we left off on Sat. We will have to wait and see. More after the jump.

Meanwhile, up in Seattle it looks all but official that Locker is going to be ready on Saturday. From Bob Condotta in the Seattle Times reported that the Washingotn QB "looked just fine" as he "took every snap" during Wednesday's practice. For some reason Sarkasian is still trying to be coy about who is going to start:

UW coach Steve Sarkisian said he was still not ready to say Locker will start or play against UCLA Saturday.

Said Sarkisian: "I thought he moved better today. My big thing with all injuries, especially with something like this, is how they respond. We asked him to move a little more today than we did yesterday. The key for me is how he responds tomorrow. I'll be able to make a better assessment Thursday in how he responded from today.''

Asked about Locker's workload, he said it was "pretty much'' the same as normal. "We put Ronnie in for a few more plays than normal, but for the most part, it was about the same.''

Asked if he was surprised by Jake's ability to move around, he said "No. Like everything, I don't try and make expectations based on hope. I just go with what I see and the facts. I don't try and expect things in hoping for them. I kind of wait and see what they look like.''

Asked how his recovery is going, Sarkisian said: "He got through yesterday fine with a little bit of movement. He came back today and moved better, which was encouraging. We asked him to move more, he moved better. Now the key is going to be tomorrow to see how he responds.''

Asked if he still intends for it to be a game-time decision, he said: "I'd rather it not be. I'd rather, for the sake of our football team, to be able to make that decision so everyone know where we're at, one way or another. If it comes to that, it comes to that.''

Yeah, Ok. Whatever. Obvious no one is going to buy those public comments. I think we can reasonable expect UCLA coaches to totally disregard that kind of coachspeak.

As for other injury related knows Morrell Presley suffered a shoulder sprin after getting lit up free safety Dalton Hillard. Randal Carroll also left the practice with a groin injury. No updates on those guys. It looks like Aaron Hester is going to be out for a while after making his attempt to come back last weekend. From the LA Times:

Hester is expected to have an X-ray today.

"It doesn't feel broken, it's just real tender," Hester said. "I can't do anything explosive off it.

"They told me if I didn't practice [Wednesday] that I wouldn't play this week. It stinks, but I don't want to shatter my leg."

Well at this point I rather have the coaches use as much caution as possible with Hester. They were doing it to begin with yet the beat reporters were playing up the stories about Hester's frustrations from being out and how the coaches were not working him back into the mix. It sure looks like coaches in this case were doing the right thing by taking the cautious route all along.

Lastly, Jon Gold has a a huge story on ATV missing out on a potential game winning interception (potential pick 6) last weekend in Corvallis. Not sure I want to dwell over it. ATV is a great Bruin. I really believe he will have more chances to do something special during the last 4 regular season games of his great Bruin career. He is just one of many reasons to stick with our team during this month of Novermber. Hopefully it will be one we remember (for all the right reason) for a long time.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: QB/RB Rotation & Thoughts On Balancing Perspective During These Rebuilding Years Of UCLA Football

Nestor — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:58:14 -0000

Let's start with the quarterback story again in today's roundup. Rick Neuheisel wants Richard Brehaut to get meaningful snaps this weekend in Oregon. It looks like he doesn't want to put him in situations when the outcome is already decided. It sounds like he wants to put Brehaut in situations during which there will be opportunities to grab the momentum via offense. From the Daily News (emphasis added):

"Richard Brehaut deserves some meaningful time, not just at the end of ball games, to show what he can do," Neuheisel said. "Earlier, I said I'd hoped, or I'd like to be able to. Now I'm making sure it's going to happen. I'm going ahead and saying it this time." [...]

"Norm and I have discussed it," Neuheisel said. "He's in those meetings with those kids. He believes (Prince) is the best bet for us as it stands currently. I don't disagree. He wasn't sharp Saturday. I wish he were, but he wasn't. I made a switch. But it doesn't mean I can't go back to him and have confidence in him. I want the young quarterbacks to play without fear of a quick hook. But they also have to play and play well.

"We've got two young quarterbacks and we'd like to see them both develop; I just think it's time Richard gets some chances."

Cannot agree more with CRN on this. Look I get that QB is not our only problem. I get that our wide receivers are not making plays. We are not getting senior leadership from certain guys on our offense. Our offensive line is still developing as it was completely rebuilt from the disaster left behind by Karl Dorrell. However, to me it still starts with our quarterback. Forget winning the game at this points. We need our QB to at least manage the game and take advantage of opportunities when the present themselves.

We just haven't gotten that from Prince or Craft. Prince had a great first half against San Diego State. Then he fizzled out in the second half. He didn't throw interceptions against Tennessee but he didn't exactly light the place up. He showed some signs of life against Cal but was beyond awful against Oregon and this past weekend against Arizona. I think he has the tools to emerge as a good QB. However, at the same time I think Richard Brehaut deserves fair shots to prove himself during in game opportunities as well (not just in situations when the games are already decided or UCLA is looking to make desperate come backs).

I really hope CRN and Chow have special packages in place for Brehaut which he can run coming into either second or third quarter that would fit his athletic abilities. Not sure if its going to help the kid if we ask him to take 5 step drops in slow developing plays when the defense is already teeing off him with blitz after blitz . Anyway, it will be interesting to find out how the rotation is going to work this weekend (even though we are not going to get to see it). More after the jump.

Speaking of rotation looks like Ramirez is going to be out of it:

Christian Ramirez, who was No. 1 on the depth chart at tailback coming out of training camp, has been told he's no longer in the playing rotation.

Ramirez said he received the news Monday during a meeting with running backs coach Wayne Moses.

"We're just trying to find the right combination," Neuheisel said.

Ramirez started against Arizona because Johnathan Franklin missed a team meeting. But after he fumbled early in the third quarter, Ramirez never played again.

Neuheisel said that on the play Ramirez fumbled he was "dinged up, and may have a concussion."

Hope Christian gets to be 100 percent sometime soon. Frankly, I was really surprised to see Ramirez start this past weekend. It didn't make any sense to me given how productive JetSki has been this season. Moreover, where is Derrick Coleman? The kid is our second leading rusher averaging around 5.5 yards per carry. Where the heck is Milton Knox? Why haven't we seen them in our last couple of games? Our RB rotation has been very befuddling without making any kind of sense. Not just that our running plays have also not shown any kind of imagination in terms of offensive scheming.

Seems like we just keep running the same off tackle plays without taking into account who is at TB. I don't get why we have 5-8, 170lb Damien Thigpen running between the tackle when he comes in. As I mentioned yesterday with Knox, Thigpen and JetSki, it seems like we have the RBs who can get outside and take advantage of their speed. So I don't understand why we are not working up plays that would put them in a position to dart through in open spaces. Meanwhile, on the other side it'd be good to see Coleman in situations when we need to pound the ball and wear out the other team.

Anyway, those are some thoughts that have been going through my head. Honestly I know we are all frustrated and that is natural given a 4 game losing streak. However, like many year I am not close to giving up. Also, I think people here to need to brace for tougher times because I don't expect this weekend to be pleasant either. Plus we have talked about how gruesome the schedule is for next season. Still while we are going to stick with the team and be supportive of our players and coaches, that doesn't preclude us from questioning decisions not making a lot of sense or wonder out loud for explanations.

I get the difficult job of rebuilding CRN and his staff inherited. I mentioned on Sunday that we will not go easy on him in terms forgetting the mild expectations we had set for this season and the reality based expectations for next year. That said we will definitely take into account the improvement he has already made in several aspects of our program. Its clear to me that our OL is getting better and we have better talent among our younger guys. We will be patient and allow our coaches to grow this younger guys while at the same time we are going to wonder about any moves that might seem illogical.

Guess that's part of the drama that is college sports. We are all part of it and I actually think it's fun in some ways to talk all of our issues out in such detail. Speaking of which, I think you guys should take up on the offer from ryebreadaz and ucla13_usc9 to join them in this week's podcast. Specifically those of you who might not agree with their takes from recent weeks (cough***QB decison***cough) might want to call in and make your case on why you disagree with them. :-) As mentioned above, it's all part of the fun and the balancing act that will take place here on BN during these tough rebuilding years of UCLA football.

GO BRUINS.