SB Nation - Nelson Rosario

UCLA's Price Is Right For The Pac-10: Brian Headlines 11 Bruins Honored As All Pac-10

Nestor — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:13:22 -0000

hicalliber is already on it but this deserves lot more attention. This is not a surprise but still worthy of a huge celebration on Bruin Nation. Here is our Pac-10 Defensive Player:

The official announcement came out earlier this afternoon which included lot of good news for the football team. Not only Brian Price was named Pac-10's Defense POY, he was part of a group of 11 Bruins named in the All Pac-10 team. Five of them were first-team selection:

UCLA junior defensive tackle Brian Price has been named Pac-10 Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year by vote of the league's coaches, it was announced today.

A total of 11 Bruins were named to the All-Pac-10 teams. Joining Price on the first team were senior linebacker Reggie Carter, sophomore safety Rahim Moore, senior cornerback Alterraun Verner and junior place kicker Kai Forbath. Forbath and Price were two of the three unanimous selections to the first team.

Redshirt freshman punter Jeff Locke and senior wide receiver Terrence Austin were selected to the second team, the latter as a kickoff returner. Four Bruins were named honorable mention - sophomore linebacker Akeem Ayers, senior linebacker Kyle Bosworth, sophomore wide receiver Nelson Rosario and freshman offensive tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo.

UCLA had more first-team defensive selections (four) than any other school in the conference.

You can read more from the official press release here.

Congrats to Brian, Reggie, ATV, Austin, and Bosworth. That's a wonderful way for them to leave Westwood after what they have given us last 3-4 years. We will have to wait to see what happens with Kai, as he might be testing the waters during the off season. Meanwhile, can't wait to see how Rahim, Akeem, Nelson, XSF, and Locke build on the success from this season.

For now though let's hope the Midshipmen comes though on Saturday so that we get to see these guys for one more time to close out the year. Go Navy. Oh and don't forget to congratulate our boys in this celebratory thread.

GO BRUINS.

Some Thoughts On UCLA's Offense

Nestor — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:35:24 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

JetSki needs to carry the ball around campus rest of school year

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The bowl picture remains cloudy for us and per the folks at the Irish Round Table (HT Magnusblitz), the news of Notre Dame players voting "no" to play in a bowl game looks very premature. Either way, I think it is time we start shifting the focus back on our team today. The defensive performance against Southern Cal was encouraging to say the least. Although the big question to ponder in the coming weeks (especially if we don't have a bowl game to play in) is how the heck we are going to replace Price, Jerzy and Carter next year in our front-7. I have no doubt CRN and his staff will put together a full court press in the coming days to find some DTs and shore up our LBs spot, but the inexperience in our front-7 heading into next year is going to be a huge challenge.

We will talk about the defense another day (unless one of you want to start the discussion in a separate fanpost today). I really want to talk about the offense today based on what we saw (or didn't see) last Saturday. Let's go back to last week and revisit a quote from CRN in which he conveyed that the Bruins needed more than Moline to beat the Trojans (emphasis added):

UCLA used a safe-and-sane offensive approach in a 23-13 victory over Arizona State on Saturday. The Bruins had fullback Chane Moline at tailback and ground out yardage.

"That remains to be seen," Coach Rick Neuheisel said when asked if a similar game plan would work against USC. "I don't think we can do it wholesale. I think we have to mix things up. I just think we're going to need more explosive plays. That's going to require more than just having our 'bigs' on the field."

Needless to say, we didn't see much of that on Saturday night. Chane had 12 carries for 15 yards (with a TD). JetSki got the ball 4 times for 28 yards (he fumbled in one of those carries), and Coleman got the ball one time picking up a single yard. So, during the game and for most of last couple of days I was pretty frustrated picturing Moline getting the ball in that "Cheetah" formation and going nowhere with it. I wasn't getting why the coaches were putting a big back in that formation who doesn't have the speed to get by defender or hasn't shown the ability to throw the ball. We didn't see any Knox or Thigpen at any point during the game. So yeah, I can see why so many of us would be so frustrated with that game plan (especially after CRN himself articulated the need for "explosive plays").

So how to explain the minimalist approach from a UCLA football program that has Neuheisel and Chow, two of the more aggressive and dynamic play callers in the game? Well we have to take in few factors into consideration.

Norm Chow was playing with the hand he was dealt with. He was going into this game with a QB who is still developing in his redshirt freshman season. His OL was completely rebuilt at the start of this season and is now just coming around in terms of pass protection. Among his running backs he has some speed in JetSki but doesn't have dependability given his fumble issues. Milton Knox from what I have seen in limited appearances hasn't show the ability to read defenses (get in the right position in blocking schemes). He did well in the Wildcat formation in the Washington game (so I can see the argument why he wasn't used in that form on Sat but then again it would have been predictable). Thigpen is still very raw as a freshman and needs to bulk up. As for Coleman, I think he is better suited to be a FB, and didn't exactly light it up when he played against faster defenses such as Tennessee and Arizona State (total 3 yards in 8 carries).

As for our receivers, Pressley has been banged up. Randall Carroll is still getting up to speed on our playbook. Austin and Embree are servicable, but they have issues with getting separation in the defensive backfield. Then we have Nelson Rosario, who simply hasn't been consistent yet. He was showing signs of coming around this season and has definitely taken a step forward, but it seemed like the stage was too big for him on Sat. Add into this mix, our senior TE, Logan Paulsen has a habit of making crushing mistakes.

So, add in all these factors into the mix, I can see why Chow and Neuheisel decided to go with a minimalist approach. For most part they had a very good chance of pulling it out. Kevin Prince didn't have a good night. Yet, we were in that game. We were driving on those guys and certainly moving the ball on the Trojan defense. It was a freshman mistake on his first throw that did us in. If we didn't get burned by Rosario's fumble we probably would have gotten at least 3 in the first half. Same story in the second half, when Prince injured himself because of the difficult long yardage situation we found ourselves in due to Paulsen's brain cramp. Yet, despite all the adversity we were within 7 with lots of nervous Trojies in the Colosseum late in the game.

Now, as I mentioned above, I guess I can see reservations about why coaches didn't use Knox in Wildcat formations. Yet as I wrote, I think given that Knox at this point can only seem to handle that formation, it would have been predictable. I would also add that IIRC we were also making mistakes in terms of penalties and fumbles with Knox and Thigpen in the game in recent weeks. So, I understand if the coaches opted to go with the dependable handles of Chane Moline. The factor was paramount considerng the fumbling issues of JetSki and also the TOs generated from our own passing game.

I also think we have reasonable grounds to be frustrated about continious use of Terrence Austin in kick and punt returns. I am not exactly sure why all season coaches didn't given Thigpen or Carroll legtimate shots in those departments. Austin is a great kid and he can be depenable (most of the times). However, it was frustrating to see us not being able to take advantage of any of the opportunities presented by our stout defense. Going forward, if there is a bowl game, I really would love to see Carroll and Thigpen getting legit opportunities to play a part in the return game. When we have that kind team speed at our disposal, I just think coaches have to find a way to leverage it on the field.

Also going forward, as encouraged as I am about the progress I have seen from Kevin Prince this season, I am really hoping Richard Brehaut is going to hit the playbook hard. I hope he got started on Sunday. I think it would be beneficial for the entire team (and Kevin Prince) if Richard can mount a ferocious competiton during spring ball (and perhaps even during December if we have practice weeks thanks to a Bowl bid). As for JetSki, Knox and Thigpen, those guys will need to hit the weightroom harder and study up on Professor Chow's playbook. They have certainly shown flashes of promise but they need to prove they can maintain it on the field. Thankfully they are going to get competition next year through Malcolm Jones and Jordon James.

Obivously, this post is just to kickstart the discussion on our offense. We are just scratching the surface in terms of issues we have to discuss around this side of the ball. We will have a lot to talk about in the coming days, weeks, and months going through (hopefully) bowl game, recruiting, spring ball, and 2010 kickoff season. I get the sense excitement level and passion around Bruin football (at least around this place) have kicked up to whole another level after last Saturday. Let's keep that fire burning.

GO BRUINS.

BN Gameday: Southern Cal Second Half Thread

Nestor — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:47:20 -0000

Well let's see what we got here. Bruins despite few frustration filled moments are right in this game. We are down 0-7 unfortunately due to an ill advised throw from Kevin Prince. Here is the box score, which has Bruin defense getting the job done and the Bruin offense despite doing a decent job of ball control, coming up short because of some tough, jittery mistakes. Prince showed his jitters in this big game as have few other underclassmen such as Rosario and Locke, who are not playing up to their usual form.

Still. We are in this game thanks to probably the best first half by our defense for this entire year. Our D at this moment thanks to Price, Carter, Moore, and ATV are manhandling McKnight and Barkley. Although we do need to make some subtle adjustments to make sure McCoy doesn't get wide open in the middle. Right now, we need to desperately find a way to take the next step on offense executing and stepping up when we get on their side of the field.

Like I said despite couple of tough mistakes we are right in this game down only by a score. We need Prince, Rosario and rest of our offense to shake it off and finish the game strong. Oh a huge return from Austin before he is done in Westwood will be nice. Let's get it done in the second half.

BEAT $C. 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.

Barnes2JJ = Prince2Rosario?

Nestor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:42:49 -0000

We never get tired of watching this:

And many of us have been thinking about that possibility of reincarnation of that kind of play through the exploits of Nelson Rosario. Now after last two games CRN is hoping for the same. From Jon Gold in the Daily News:

"Physically, both of them have a way to dominate," said Neuheisel of the 6-foot-5 Rosario and 6-4 Stokes. "They're going against kids who are not nearly their size. They both are so long and have such good body control that when covered, they still make plays."

Neuheisel first saw glimpses of it last season, Rosario's first for the Bruins after a standout career at El Camino High of Oceanside.

Against Stanford in Week 7 last season, Rosario made a sensational catch of a ball thrown way over his head, one of four grabs for 71 yards.

Earlier this season, against Kansas State in Week 3, Rosario had a highlight-reel, one-handed snag that wowed the crowd.

Following that catch against Kansas State Rosario seemed to be going through the motions just a bit. He wasn't making plays when he opportunities kept presenting themselves, as he was dropping TD passes and big receptions. However, something seem to click up in Corvallis and he has been in a very comfortable zone since then.

It's the same situation JJ went through his sophomore year in college when he didn't become the JJ we know until the second to last game of the regular season when he had a huge TD catch and run against Oregon up in Eugene.

Gold caught up with JJ who remembered what it was like for him in his second season at UCLA:

"Until you have that type of game, you're always like, `I knew I could do it,"' Stokes said. "It's almost like, see, I told myself it could be done. (After that) I would get off my classes and go grab lunch and do film on the defensive backs every day. I understood what they wanted to do and was able to take advantage of it. I just think that my intensity level stepped up.

"I tasted success and wanted more of it."

Well Rosario has definitely shown what he is capable of in last couple of games and in flashes since his arrival in Westwood. The question is whether Rosario can stay in the same zone. He thinks he can:

"The first game I got really comfortable, started feeling like how I used to feel in high school," Rosario said. "It gave me the confidence back that I can make plays on anybody. Before, I was trying to force stuff, trying to make sure I didn't blow my assignment. I'm playing a lot more comfortable now, relaxed."

Let's hope he can stay in that zone up in Pullman. If he can continue to develop that confidence it will be a huge boost for Prince and our offense. Just may be it will lead to moments inspiring new usernames with very special Bruin significance attached to it in very near future on BN.

GO BRUINS.

Sunday Reflections: Resilient Bruins Keep Battling Away

Nestor — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:29:43 -0000

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

Dear Coach Neuehisel: How About Sticking With Those Home Jerseys Rest Of This Season?

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Let's hit the reset button again this am. For last few weeks we have seen the UCLA beat reporters working hard to weave the storyline about how Rick Neuheisel is losing control of the UCLA football program. We have had the LA Times making a big deal out of a frustrated true freshman's twitter post. We have had Trojan alum posing as OC Register reporter running wild with unverified face book musings of a frustrated parent's as some kind of legitmate news story. Piling on top of those nonsense Rick Neuheisel and our football program have had to deal with routine classless attacks from LAT's TJ Slimers on a weekly basis.

If the UCLA football program were truly "falling apart", it would have quit a long time ago and got blown apart in Arizona or in Oregon, and walk around like zombies at the Rose Bowl during their home coming game yesterday. Yet game after game, we see these guys battling away. While the defensive tentativeness, silly penalties often make me want to throw my remote into the TV screen, these guys keep fighting back every game. They almost pulled it out last weekend when ATV had a chance to put the Bruins ahead in a heart pumping win. They got it done yesterday when Sheldon Price, who has been deservedly criticized all season long, played a huge part in the game clinching interception. Price and Moore's efforts yesterday were the hallmark of a football team, that not only appear resilient, but united under Neuheisel's leadership in Westwood:

"It's called teamwork, man, and teamwork makes the dream work," Moore said. "That two-minute drill, we do that in practice all the time. That's the camaraderie we have with one another. I mean, Sheldon ran up to me and was like, `I love you, man. I love you, Rahim.' As a team, we've been through so much, to pull out this win is a blessing."

CRN offered up the following comment on UCLA's comeback after falling behind by a score of 14-23 without our starting QB:

"To keep coming back, to keep fighting like that, is easy to preach, it's harder to get done."

And than brings me to CRN's comments on Kevin Craft:

"He's been maligned," Coach Rick Neuheisel said of Craft in a television interview afterward, "but he keeps coming back, and that's what sports is all about."

Let's get something straight first. UCLA is now Kevin Prince's team (when he is healthy). Prince showed in the first half yesterday why Ryan and others were so hyped up about him coming into this season. Moreover, Brehaut's performance during that firs half series (more on that below) also vindicated Norm Chow and other observers who were steadfast in their conviction that Brehaut isn't ready to step up this season.

As fro Craft he had a solid day as a backup. He managed the game really well and allowed Chow to stick with his regular offense. However, at the same time there were spots when Craft showed why Prince is the starting QB for this football team. He missed an open Moya on 3rd and goal. His pass to Austin was slightly under thrown. Still it felt really good to see him get the win. Just like Sheldon Prince Kevin Craft is the picture of resiliency of this football program and proof how the players in this team have bought into CRN's leadership, despite some of nonsense the local reporters have tried to blow up out of proportion this season. More after the jump.

Going back to Brehaut it CRN is making sure the kid keeps his chin up:

"I got to hold onto the ball," said Brehaut, who also fumbled in his last play against Oregon State in the previous game. "I got to have a better thought in my mind. I have to take off running, I just can't hold onto the ball like that. Coach Neuheisel told me to keep my chin up, that he is still behind me."

Neuheisel, while not blaming Brehaut entirely, said, "Competition at this level requires a great deal of concentration and a great deal of preparation. . . . I told him I still had high hopes for him, and was still going to get him more playing time, but this is harder than he thinks it is right now in terms of preparing."

Brehaut will have his time before he is done in Westwood. I think the key for him right now is to take his cues from Craft and stay plugged in with the offense every which way he can. This means total concentration not just during practices but during every film sessions and meeting with Chow and Neuheisel when they are going over the offense.

As for other positives from yesterday let's start with the offense. Ryan laid out below how Nelson Rosario has emerged as a go to receiver in our rotation. Let's hope takes advantage of his confidence to maintain his concentration and focus. His emergence is also important for another reason. CRN can also offer him up as the clear example of what happens when a young player locks in with focus to kids such as Pressley and Carroll.

We now need a RB to step up. JetSki has fumbling issues. I wonder if some of this has to do with health. He hasn't been the same since he screwed up his ankle against Cal few weeks ago. Perhaps he is thinking too much when he is out there. He still does a solid job in terms of blitz pickup but he has to protect the ball. Obviously loved watching the Wildcat package with Milton Knox. Hopefully he gets into the mix even more in the remaining games. He looks a little unsure as a RB during regular formation but perhaps that will change if he gets more carries. Oh and welcome back Mr. Coleman.

I am not going to spend more time giving credit to the OL. They are clearly coming along and point to obvious sign of improvement from this past season. Anyone out there who wants to blather about this team not improving from last season, just has to look at our OL and the kind of time it is providing our QBs. They need to get better at run blocking but I am not too worried about it. Under Palcic's coaching it is going to happen over time.

My big complaint from the offense is unfortunately the seniors. We need Logan Paulsen to wisen up. He had a huge play yesterday but once again he committed stupid penalties that hurt the team. Seems like he has hurt the team with one dumb penalty for 3 straight weeks. It just shouldn't happen from someone who is looked up as one of the senior leaders in this team.

Moving over to the defense. While Price and Moore were the obvious stars from the defensive side, lot of issues remain. Washington's offense racked up 5.95 yards per play against Bullough's defense. While Bullough did mix in some blitzes later in the game (which yielded results) they looked throughly confused and on their heels at the outset. Chis Polk ran for 132 yards in 15 carries against our front 7 tearing them up every time he was touching the ball. Polk almost made it look too easy and I have to wonder why Sarkasian (the so called young offensive genius) didn't stick with the running game to bloody up our defense.

The huge problem right now with our base 4-3 is that our front-4 is not generating much pressure on their own. Brian Price is a monster but he is not getting much help from the other three guys. So it's a matter of deciding when to bring in our LBs or SS to rattle the opposing QB. That depends on Bullough thoroughly scouting the offensive schemes and the tendencies of the opposing QBs. Once again I was surprised why we waited long to bring pressure on Locker who clearly looked uncomfortable when he got a little heat. In fact one of his "sacks" was pretty much Jim Evertesque when he went down sensing Datone Jones around him.

As for ATV he got burned couple of times yesterday. I think that has to do with his health. He has been dealing with a dislocated toe he suffered few weeks ago. While he is all right, he is clearly not 100 percent. Same goes for Reggie Carter who even though played a decent game yesterday doesn't look 100 percent either. So, I think it goes back to Chuck Bullough making sure his defense doesn't look predictable when they come out of the game.

That brings me up to the topic of James Washington, the commentator. I am kind of sick and tired of the cheap shots that I often see hurled towards James here on BN and other places. People need to cut that nonsense out. I understand that James's voice, words choice are often not perfect for TV. I think he knows that too. Well many would say that about the Big Red during his early years of broadcasting career.

I can sense in listening to James that he is making an effort to get better. If you listen to him very closely, he offers some incredibly valuable insights based on his observations from practice. Particularly he is frank and candid. Multiple times yesterday he called out Chuck Bullough for not scheming aggressively and not bringing pressure to rattle Jake Locker. That doesn't happen from vanilla, boiler plate commentators who are afraid to offer up criticisms of coaches because of fear of losing access.

Listening to him, I get to hear an impassioned Bruin who loves everything about blue and gold, and who is offering his exact words he would offer up to young defensive back in blue and gold. James is doing all right and in many ways I find him as enjoyable as listening as Petros Papadakis when commenting on Pac-10 football games. So let's cut the cheap shots out against James Washington and reserve them for morons like David Norrie who is somehow ashamed to let out his UCLA colors while offering up commentary.

Anyway, back to our game. The season is clearly alive. However, right now on BN we need to make this week all about Washington State. We can't afford to get caught up in bowl projections because all of that will be moot if we don't get it done in Palouse which has always been a brutal place for our Bruins. I hope our fanbase and our team will be locked into next weekend's game like it's an NCAA tourney game. We need it badly. We will have to wait to see the word on Kevin Prince. The word from yesterday was that he was being treated for concussion like syndrome. Prince was feeling all right and was gracious towards Donald Butler:

Prince, who sat out four weeks this season because of a fractured jaw, said, "I remember diving and then I was on the ground and not feeling too good. I'm feeling all right now. As far as I know, it was a perfectly legal hit."

Hopefully he will be ready to go at practices and pick up on the same rhythm and total command he was in of our offense. It looked like things have slowed down for him a little as he was going to his secondary receivers.

Lastly, speaking of gracious, CRN had this to say after the game:

UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel stepped to the microphone as he does after every home game, and for the first time in weeks, he was welcomed with cheers.

His voice cracked, his hair messed, Neuheisel made a plea to all those who have jumped ship as one loss became five.

"For those of you who jumped off the bandwagon, I understand," Neuheisel yelled to UCLA's embattled fans. "I'm just asking you to get back on."

I think he is being too kind. I don't really want bandwagoning losers supporting our team, especially those who are openly talking about "throwing ... away" that last regular season game. We don't need those kind of "Bruins" here on BN.

If we can get Prince to come out in the same form and take care of business, we are going to find ourselves in pretty good shape on the eve of our last home game of the season. For now though, we just need to worry about Washington State and hope the team keeps building on the resilient spirit they have shown the entire season. Meanwhile, let's enjoy the ride.

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.

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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.

Looking ahead to UCLA

John Berkowitz — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:34:21 -0000

More photos » by Greg Wahl-Stephens - AP

about 1 month ago: UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel talks to one of his players during the second half of NCAA college football game against Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore., Saturday Oct 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)

Browse more photos »

The natives are restless in Westwood. UCLA is in year two of rebuilding under Rick Neuheisel and the honeymoon is officially over as the Bruins try to break out of a five game losing streak when Washington comes to visit. The majority of the problems are surprisingly on offense. I say surprisingly because the tandem of Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow make up one of college football's offensive braintrusts.

What is holding the Bruins back this season is the lack of a big time QB and poor production from the offensive line. The UCLA offense is only averaging 19.9 points per game this season. They rush for only an average of 102 yards per game and they average only 305 yards of total offense per game. That won't get it done in this conference.

Defensively the Bruins are not doing bad. They have a pass defense that limits teams to 197 yards per game but the rushing totals have been creeping up all season long and are now at 157 per game. Overall the Bruins have given up 355 yards per game and an average of 23 points in each contest which is fine by itself but doesn't help when your team is averaging less than 20 ppg.

One big equalizer the Bruins have on defense is CB Rahim Moore who has picked off seven enemy passes this season to lead the league. The Bruin defense as we saw in the first half against Oregon can play well and can keep games closer than expected.

The prescription for beating the Bruins on defense is to shut down their running game and put the game in the hands of whoever happens to be playing QB at the time. UCLA has the worst QB efficiency rating in the Pac 10 so accomplishing a win by doing that has been the safe bet this season.

Offensively Washington needs to control the ball and have a big day on the ground. That means Chris Polk needs to have a big day augmented with some help from Jake Locker. Sark hasn't run Jake much this year and a quad bruise suffered early in the Oregon game limited what Washington could do on offense against the Ducks.

Jake has had a week off to heal but early reports regarding his mobility in practice aren't great. Sark labeled Jake as questionable for the game after Sunday nights practice. Jake on the other hand said he would be fine and he practiced well on Monday. A big key to his availability will be how his leg responds on Tuesday.

Defensively the Huskies need to make some things happen against UCLA. Once the running game stalls and the Bruins are in 3rd and long the Huskies need to bring it and get some sacks. They didn't get that done enough earlier in the year when they played Arizona State. UCLA is in a similar predicament on offense except their trio of QB's are even less productive than Danny Sullivan at this point. Washington needs to take advantage of that.

Special teams for Washington have not been special over the past month. The Huskies need to win this segment of the game on Saturday and eliminate the crippling errors that have happened over the past three games. The Huskies need to eliminate the errors that have started giving up points and firld position.

Both these teams are eyeing each other as teams they can beat. There is a lot on the line in this one. Whoever loses can basically kiss away any slim bowl hopes they previously had.

Early Game Notes

Washington has not won on the road against UCLA since 1995.

Washington is coming off a bye week after playing eight straight games against the toughest schedule in the country.

UCLA is in the midst of its worst losing streak since closing 2003 with five straight losses, and it's the first time the team has been 0-5 in conference play since 1994

Both teams enter the game 3-5 and must win three of the last four to qualify for a bowl game.

Jake Locker is listed as questionable because of a quad bruise that is still limiting his mobility but he is expected to start.

EJ Savannah is doubtful after undergoing surgery for a broken thumb on Friday. The coaches will probably give him the week off to heal for the last three games. Cort Dennison would likely start in his place.

UCLA QB Kevin Prince completed nine of 13 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter against OSU in an aborted comeback attempt.

UCLA was outgained 248-86 in the first half against Oregon State The Bruins only rushed for 18 yards, were sacked three time to go along with four fumbles.

UCLA WR Nelson Rosario's touchdown catch with 8 minutes, 39 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter against Oregon State was the Bruins first offensive touchdown since 9:36 in the second quarter against Cal in Week 6, a span of more than 150 minutes!

Cornerback Aaron Hester injured his right leg during the OSU game but X-rays were negative. Center Kai Maiva is not expected to miss time after suffering a hyper-extended right elbow. Tailback Johnathan Franklin "tweaked" his sore left ankle in the first quarter but returned to the game.

UCLA defensive tackle Jerzy Siewierski has plantar fasciitis and is expected to miss the game this weekend.

New Look on SBN

You might notice this morning that we have a more readable look this morning thanks to the development department at SBN. They are continually improving the sites and all the members appreciate the hard work.

Spaulding Roundup: Throwback Jerseys On Homecoming Weekend & Other Notes

Nestor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:20:32 -0000

Let's start with a very quick housekeeping note again. As noted last night things look a little different here on BN (and all around SBN) starting this am. Basically what you are seeing today is SBN's tech gurus doing a little "visual refresh" of our communities, which includes a refresh of the current visual design across all blogs. It's part of SBN's unending efforts to make posts more readable and push text higher above the fold, and a first step in a project to improve load time. I think you guys will enjoy BN's cleaner look. Definitely would love to hear what you guys think about this new tweaks. Chime in the fanshot thread posted last night or here in this comment thread.

The timing on this "visiaul refresh" of BN works out well because now I can segway into the topic of the much anticipated throwback jerseys UCLA is going to bust out this Saturday. From the official site:

THROWBACK JERSEYS -- For Saturday's Homecoming Game against the Huskies, the Bruins will wear "throwback" jerseys similar to the UCLA jerseys worn in 1967, when Gary Beban won the Heisman Trophy. The Bruins will also wear gold helmets without the UCLA logo and black shoes in the style of the 1967 team. Facsimilie jerseys with Beban's No. 16, are on sale at the UCLA Store and online.

I am assuming some of you have already stocked up on those number 16s. Moving on to the game notes Bob Condotta from the Seattle Times posted another update on Jake Locker. It looks like as of right now Locker is a go:

Jake Locker basically split the reps at QB with Ronnie Fouch --- appeared to be about the normal division --- working with the No. 1 offense. Frankly, if you didn't know Locker was hurt you wouldn't have known he was hurt from watching this workout. The caveats to that are that it was a no-contact practice --- the team was in just helmets and shoulder pads and sweats/shorts --- and he didn't do any real running, just throwing and handing off.

But considering this is Monday, seemed like the kind of start to the week for a guy who will play on Saturday, though as noted earlier, some of this is also seeing how his leg reacts each day to work the day before. Keith Price worked with the scout team as Locker and Fouch handled all the duties with the main offense, as is the norm.

While the Bruin defense no doubt will work on their game prep with Locker on their minds, as Jon Gold notes they will also have to work on improving themselves:

Neuheisel realizes, though, the Bruins need to focus on improving themselves this week, instead of looking just at Locker. For the fifth consecutive week - all losses - the UCLA defense often found itself out of position and scrambling to right its wrongs, but to no avail.

"We've played some pretty darn good offenses, but yes we have to play better on defense," Neuheisel said. "I don't know that you can point at one thing. Assignments, tackling, just being where we need to be and making plays when they're there to be made."

The Bruins have faced a tough slate of opponents, attempting to shut down one star after the next.

Most have been in the running game though, where UCLA has failed to contain Stanford's Toby Gerhart, Oregon's LaMichael James, Cal's Jahvid Best and Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers. But what concerns Neuheisel has been the failure to shut down opportunistic pass offenses, who have taken advantage of freshman cornerback Sheldon Price's inexperience and slight build.

"Until we stop them, we're going to have to face the facts there," Neuheisel said. "Sheldon's going to have to continue to improve and we'll have to try to create competition there. We're going to play the guy who plays the best in practice. We're not down on Sheldon, he's a young player trying to help the team and he's playing hard. ... But we certainly understand we have to play better and not give up the easy yards."

So this gives me an opportunity to ask a question I haven't really zeroed in on enough the last few weeks (or especially since the Cal game). Does anyone have an idea re. why our CBs given so much cushion to opposing WRs? Sometimes when I am watching out defense on television I can't even see our corners. They are off the screen and playing almost 7-8 yards off the opposing receiver. This is not happening just with Sheldon Price. This has been happening even with ATV (who was giving up chunks of yardage in the Cal game). I would love to hear a cogent explanation for this tactic because it is just another one of those attributes that makes Bullough's defense appear very vanilla and always seem to keep them off balance. I don't think they are going to be able to get away by doing the same against Washington. Jake Locker -hurt or not - will take advantage of any open spaces he can find to run through and make huge plays. More after the jump.

Speaking of cornerbacks Aaron Hester will probably not be available this week:

Cornerback Aaron Hester reinjured his right leg Saturday, though not as bad as when he cracked his fibula in the season opener. X-rays did not reveal any major damage.

Neuheisel was unsure Monday if Hester will play Saturday.

Hester returned from the initial injury Saturday at Oregon State but saw limited action. His continued absence would hurt the secondary because opposing teams have been able to take advantage of freshman Sheldon Price.

With Hester out, Price and Courtney Viney will continue to battle it out for the remaining cornerback spot.

This really explains why coaches like Carnell Lake were beinge extra cautious with putting Hester back in. Of course that didn't stop the local beat writers to breathlessly write up on Hester's frustration of not being able to come back early enough baseleslly playing up the angle of a player getting upset with coaches. It looks like all along the coaches were doing the exact right thing by taking their time on Hester. I hope they continue to do the same although I'd like to see a little bit more of Viney in the game.

Lastly, Nelson Rosario is excited after last weekend (the kid was retweeting Tele's video post over the weekend celebrating his first college TD). More importantly he also knows he needs to focus so that he can also be consistent and catch the easy balls in addition to making those spectacular plays (which he has done multiple times this year):

Rosario, 6 feet 5 and 211 pounds, possesses tremendous leaping ability and deceptive speed.

However, there are times his concentration seems to lag, such as during the California game when he dropped a sure touchdown pass.

"There is no reason for that," Rosario said. "It's all about focus. I tell myself, 'Make sure you catch the ball, then run.'"

After the Cal game, quarterback Kevin Prince went to Rosario and told him the ball was still coming his way.

"It brings your confidence up to know that he trusts you, knowing the ball could come your way any time," Rosario said.

Hope it comes his way early and often during this throwback Saturday.

GO BRUINS.