SB Nation - Damien Holmes

Three Keys to UCLA-Stanford

Ryan Rosenblatt — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:00:20 -0000

In past seasons, a game coming off of a bye week would lead to ecstatic claims like, "UCLA was undefeated last weekend!" Well, guess what, even though we're a full three weeks into the season, we can actually still say "UCLA is undefeated this season!" At the same time though, the Bruins have yet to win a game in conference play. While a 3-0 start is outstanding, a tough slate of games lays ahead for the Bruins and UCLA can ill afford to rest upon their laurels. That tough slate begins this weekend with a trip to Palo Alto to take on a surging Stanford team, so what are the three keys to the Bruins' tilt with the Cardinal this Saturday?

1) Defensive Line Depth- Shutting down the Stanford running game is out of the question. You don't shut down Toby Gerhart and Co. You can slow them down, but that's all you're looking for. Even if you slow the run game down though, Stanford is going to have the ball for a solid amount of time and they're going to play a physical style that wears down your defensive front. You also take into that it's a 12:30 start time and the boys will be playing in the heat.

All those factors are going to force UCLA to rotate their defensive lineman regularly and count upon the two's to perform. David Carter, Jess Ward, Damien Holmes and the rest of the backups will get their share of snaps and if they don't come to play, by the time the one's get back on the field, the Stanford offense will have found a rhythm. With a power offense like Stanford's you cannot take snaps off and give the offense anything. That means that in a game where the depth will be called upon, the depth will have to respond.

2) Don't Lose Special Teams- Usually, the goal is to win special teams, but you're usually not going up against a team with special teams as good as Stanford's. Chris Owusu has three kickoffs returned for touchdowns already this season, meanwhile Richard Sherman has a punt return of his own, while averaging 20 yards a return. As you can see, the Cardinal are dangerous in the return game and when you add in the Bruins' lack of excellence in coverage, special teams could win Stanford the game.

The key for UCLA will be to play special teams to a draw. That may be by kicking away from the Stanford returners or some other tactic. The key will be to try and give themselves a chance to win the game elsewhere. The one place the Bruins have a special teams advantage is with their kicker, where Kai Forbath has emerged as one of the nation's top kickers, but Stanford's kicker can get the job done too. He has two misses this year, but both from over 40 yards and he is perfect on extra points, while also having a season long field of 54 yards.

3) Keep Pressure Off The Edge At Bay- The Cardinal aren't overly big at defensive tackle, but they are very good at defensive end. Tom Keiser is the guy to keep an eye on. The sophomore end already had four sacks and seven tackles for a loss so to say he's a playmaker is an understatement. Toss in Erik Lorig and Chase Thomas and you have yourself a dangerous trio of pass rushers off the end.

While much improved, the offensive line will need help to keep the Stanford ends from putting Kevin Craft on his back all game. Logan Paulsen has done a great job blocking, but will need to chip the ends even when he is going out for passes. Jonathan Franklin and the rest of the UCLA running backs will be asked to stay in a pass protect more often than usual too. We spent all of last season watching Craft be knocked to the turf snap after snap. If it happens again on Saturday, which is a definitely possibility because of the Cardinal's pass rushers, we'll also see results similar to those last season and because Stanford is a much improved squad, we won't be able to eek out a win with that type of play this year.

Spaulding Roundup: Bye Week Practice Notes

Nestor — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:14:46 -0000

More photos » by Francis Specker - AP

Jet Ski working on holding on to the rock

Browse more photos »

Bruins continue to use the bye week to work on fundamentals and slowly work in players who went down with injuries during late summer camp. I am assuming coaches are quietly putting together their scouting report (if they haven't done it already) for Stanford but they are not talking about the Cards to reporters yet. Moreover, they are probably not going to work on installing that specific game plan until next week because they will want to make sure that it stays fresh in our players' minds, and might throw in wrinkles after what they see in the Stanford-Washington matchup.

So going back to working on basics Johnathan Franklin has been focusing on holding on to the rock. Jet Ski despite his great start has had some issues with fumbling. He almost gave the game away in Tennessee when he fumbled near our own goal-line (but was lucky enough to recover it). He then fumbled again during the fourth quarter against KSU this past week (but by that time UCLA was up by 14 points against a mediocre KSU offense). He is not going to be able to get away with making those mistakes in brutal Pac-10 matchups. Foster from the LAT reports on how Jet Ski is "working on keeping a firm grip":

"He knows the consequences of putting the ball on the ground," running backs coach Wayne Moses said. "You can't do that to your teammates, he knows that."

Franklin, who had 119 yards rushing against Kansas State, said he has to "be more aware as far as putting two hands on the ball and holding it high and tight."

Both fumbles came on runs through the line.

"It's a wake-up call," Moses said. "Once you get into traffic, you have to cover up. Once they get you and start ripping and stripping, if you don't have two hands on the ball, you're not going to hold on to it."

Again it also helps that he is being pushed by a deep stable of tailbacks as 4 guys are fighting for playing time. Hopefully his focus on this aspect of the game will pay off in the coming weeks. This is all part of the development of a first year (red-shirt freshman) running back. Well our running backs have been finding some holes to run through this season thanks to a revamped OL. Looks like the OL might be getting another boost in the near future. Find out how after the jump.

Mentioned yesterday how Coach Palcic was excited about getting Ekbatani back in his rotation. Jon Gold froom the Daily News expands on that story today:

Well, Ekbatani is back, and along with him, some of that depth.

"To get him back means more competition, more rotating, and it is killer," said sophomore left guard Jeff Baca. "He's a senior, a returning starter, the only guy who started 12 games last year, and he's a special player."

With his versatility, no position is safe.

While Ekbatani primarily rotated at guard Wednesday, Ekbatani is what Palcic truly values: an offensive lineman who can play everywhere.

"I'll fit in wherever they need me; I've played every position since I've been here, and whoever's lagging I can fit in for," said Ekbatani, who started the first six games of 2008 at right tackle before switching to starting right guard for the final half year. "It will create some good competition, get guys going."

And speaking of getting guys going, Reginald Stokes, who tore his right knee cartilage back in August and expected to miss at least half the season, is apparently making "fast recovery." He has been practicing with the team this week and took part in full-contact drills yesterday. From the LA Times:

"I’m close," said Stokes, a 6-foot-3, 266-pound junior. "I’m starting to do a little bit here and there and ease myself back."

But asked if he could play against Stanford next week, Stokes said, "As of today, yes."

While that is pretty amazing, CRN is being cautious:

Coach Rick Neuheisel said Stokes was way ahead of schedule, but was more cautious about an immediate return. Stokes was ticketed for a key role off the bench, but the Bruins have received solid play from redshirt freshman Damien Holmes.

"The trainers earlier this week were less than optimistic that he would play," Neuheisel said. "But it is in Reggie’s heart to make sure he makes it all the way back. I’m encouraged that he did well [Tuesday]. I’d be pleasantly surprised if he is at full speed and ready next week."

Either way this is great news. I personally thought after an injury like that he would just sit out this season with a medical redshirt and come back next year. I am sure CRN will do the right thing by taking the cautious approach under counsel of some of the best doctors in the country.

However, given the excitement from this past few weeks and seeing how the team is so fired up, excited behind Neuheisel, can't blame the kid for doing everything he can to get himself back in action. Who doesn't want to be part of something like this?

GO BRUINS.

2009 UCLA Football Post-Camp Grades: DL

Ryan Rosenblatt — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:38:15 -0000

The entire offense has been graded and it doesn't look so bad. The results won't lead you to believe that we'll have an explosive offense and that's because we won't, but you can see mediocrity across the board for the most part and after last season, I'll take mediocrity. The quarterbacks got a C+, the receivers and tight ends an A, the running backs and fullbacks a B+ and the offensive line a C-. Not so bad. Now we go to to the defensive side where there is elite talent at the top in some spots, but little to no depth in just as many spots.

Defensive Line

Any defensive line that has Brian Price in the middle is going to make its fair share of plays, but one player alone cannot make every play and its the play of the other three along the defensive line that brings a shred of doubt into the mind of UCLA fans. You know what you're going to get from Price. The massive, agile, strong and tough junior defensive tackle from Crenshaw High School will be double teamed, but hold at the point of contact, shed his man and get on the ball carrier against the run. Against the pass, he will command double teams, but will be able to create a push up the middle to create an uncomfortable situation for the opposing quarterback as his pocket collapses. If they're double teaming Price though, opposing teams clearly respect him enough to avoid running at him regularly and will assign as many necessary to block him in the passing game. That means the other three guys along the front four will have to make plays because the opportunities will be there.

As we head into the season, the other starting defensive tackle position is held by Jerzy Siewierski, a senior who has played better than expected this camp and has given the coaching staff some comfort in the level of play next to Price. Siewierski has shown improved strength that has allowed him to hold the point much better and create problems for the offense. In the passing game, he hasn't quite gotten to the level where he's bringing down the quarterback, but he's moving the pocket and causing confusion in the backfield so the opposing quarterbacks are often moving into the path of other defensive players. The top two of the UCLA defensive tackles looks strong, but behind them there are serious questions.

Jess Ward was having a good camp, but his knee injury leaves his play in doubt for 2009. Whether he can regain the form he showed in camp before his injury will be one of UCLA's biggest questions heading into the season. Reggie Stokes is another guy who was having a good camp, especially with his intensity and motor before falling victim to injury. His injury is more serious than Ward and he may be back by midseason, but only in a best-case scneario. If Ward and Stokes are still injured or does not regain his form, the even more responsibility will fall to David Carter, who had a sensational camp to go from near afterthought to trust member of the defensive tackle rotation. Carter showed a better motor than he had before and was able to establish leverage on a more regular basis despite being 6'5''. Carter should be a force in the running game with his size and improved handwork that allows him to shed blocks well, but the next step for him will be to pressure the quarterback.

The depth at defensive tackle is so poor right now that a pair of offensive linemen, Sean Sheller and Connor Bradford were moved to the position to give the Bruins some depth in camp. Andy Keane and Justin Mann are ahead of the two converted offensive linemen on the depth chart, but are closer to those two converts than they are to the rest of the tackles. Both really struggled in camp and will be called upon this season so they have limited time to make vast improvements.

The end position is another position that is rather strong at the top, although not as strong as at tackle, but with little depth, although a little better than tackle. Starting at ends is one guy with plenty of experience and another with plenty of talent. The one with plenty of experience, Korey Bosworth, is a redshirt senior and does have some talent to go with that experience. He led the Bruins in sacks last year and was second in tackles for loss so much is expected of him in his final year at UCLA. He will provide the Bruins an outstanding end and after a strong camp in which he was often on the quarterback off the edge, the only concern is when teams choose to run right at him. The super talented end is Datone Jones. What he lacks in experience (he's a sophomore), he makes up for in athletic ability, which he has in spades.The question for Jones is how he handles himself not in one-on-one situations, but when he's asked to twist or stunt. In one-on-one situations in camp, Jones was a terror as he used his speed to get off the edge and while he wasn't great against the run, he was able to get into the backfield with some regularity. When asked to work more within the team structure, he often got lost and dominated. When backs picked him out of the backfield, he was often slow to react and taken out. When tight ends rubbed him on the line, he was knocked backwards. He'll need to deal with those if he's to be a trusted every down end, but that could come with experience.

Damien Holmes will also be used off the end and while he doesn't have great physical tools, he has a never ending motor. Time and time again, Holmes would be originally outplayed by an offensive lineman, but would eventually make his way downfield, across field or into the backfield late in a play to make a tackle. Against the run, Holmes was often outmatched in the strength department, but used great handwork to shed blocks and get in position to make a tackle. He's a crafty guy with a great attitude that allows him to play above his tools. With so little depth, Stokes could slide over to end when he returns from injury and little talked about Ian Davis could get time, Davis doesn't quite have the strength to play on the defensive lins o he would be vulnerable against the run, but he has some wheels so if he were to be used only in passing downs, the Bruins might be able to get away with it. Otherwise Iuta Tepa, a freshman who would probably be best served redshirting, may be forced into action.

Grade: B- The starters on this defensive line would be worthy of a B+ or even A- with the quality all the way across and player who can dominate a game like Brian Price, but the depth is a major concern. If the defensive line can all stay healthy, this unit can be close to an A, but this is D-1 football, no unit stays healthy for an entire year and the depth on this unit will be tested, unfortunately.

Poll

What would you grade the UCLA defensive line?

A

94 votes

B

148 votes

C

24 votes

D

5 votes

F

2 votes

273 votes | Poll has closed

Defensive Line Reset: Coaches Dealing With Depth Concerns

Nestor — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:06:09 -0000

Now that we have gone through the LBing position let’s shift our attention to the defensive frontline. Before we even get through the depth chart we have got some brand new shift in personnel in light of injuries to back up tackles Reggie Stokes and Jess Ward. If you didn't read through the injury post, Reggie Stokes is out indefinitely because of a torn cartilage while Jess Ward is probably going to be out 2-3 weeks with a sprained MCL. As a result coaches made some immediate changes yesterday moving OL Sean Sheller and Connor Bradford to defense. Here is the reset from the LA Times:

"Part of it was in the event of an emergency, and part of it was we have the luxury of time to take a look," UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel said about the Sheller and Bradford moves.

Ward, who has played in 24 games, was expected to be the team's No. 3 defensive tackle. Sheller will play defensive tackle.

"Hopefully, we can bring him up to speed so he can play 15, 20 snaps for us," defensive line coach Todd Howard said.

Will be interested from hearing from the practice goers in the coming days how Sheller and Bradford are performing with their new unit. So basically, just like the situation at LB the same themes are also in play on the defensive frontline where we have solid talent at the starting positions, but have depth related concerns that will stretch beyond this season.

Obviously, the guy who will be anchoring this unit will be superstar Junior Brian Price (6-2, 300). We don’t need to go through what Brian can do over here at BN. He is on pretty much every pre season award watch list. If the kid can stay healthy (knocking on wood) through his junior year and continue to develop the way he has first two years, he would have a strong shot at that award along with having the opportunity to be a first round NFL pick next season. Yeah, I know. We would all like for him to come back for one more year after this season. But I am not going to hold my breath and instead am planning to enjoy watching number 92’s every snap his junior year in Westwood. As Reggie Carter noted to the LA Times there are not many OLs in the country, who has the ability to block Brian:

"I would like to see someone block Brian Price for a while," Carter said at the Pacific 10 Conference’s media day. "I have never seen that."

Ted Miller from ESPN's Pac-10 blog wrote how Brian is on a mission in 2009:

"Every player thinks about one day playing there (NFL) but I'm just thinking about this season," he said.

In a revelation that will surprise no one, Price said he and his teammates are not big fans of last season, when the Bruins went 4-8. The defense was generally good, but the numbers were hardly spectacular because the woeful offense provided little help.

"That's all we talked about this summer -- 4-8," he said. "We've got to get UCLA back."

Now Brian should be able to wreak havoc in the opponent’s backfield if he gets some help from his team-mates on the frontline. And right now the way that line is shaping up, it has the look of emerging as a solid one at least among the starting group. More on them after the jump.

Last year Brian had a great partner in senior Brigham Harwell who had a solid career at UCLA. Now that Harwell is gone it will be Jerzy Siewierski’s - 6-2/296 monster’s – turn to step up. Jerzy has all the potential in the world. Both Foster in his writeup and captainqtp in his upgrade-downgrade series mentioned Coach Howard’s reference to his athletic prowess of having the ability to dunk a basketball. That seems like a fairly scary proposition. If he can exert his own version of pressure down in the trenches, it will be incredibly helpful to Brian Price, who I am sure might be drawing double teams if he develops along his projected potential. So Jerzy’s contribution this year will be key. More on Brian and Jerzy’s team-mates on the defensive frontline after the jump.

Price and Jerzy will be flanked by two solid athletes in Korey Bosworth and Datone Jones. Coach Howard in his pre camp interview with Bruin Report Online (BRO) sounded excited about both of these youngsters:

On what he saw in Bosworth that translated to the d-line, to end:

"He just could run, and he was flexible. When you get guys like that, that’s your recipe. How do you not play guys like that? How do you not play guys like that? You don’t want guys that you look at on film who aren’t hustling, don’t look like they love football, they aren’t hustling, they’re walking. And then you’ve got a guy like Boz? This is all you need. You don’t talk about what he can’t do. This is all you need to do. If he can run, and his aggression and his attitude are like this on the football field, you let those guys play. They’re going to win more than they lose. I just like guys that like to fly around. You may not know what to do, but you can at least chase the ball like it’s a piece of meat and you haven’t had anything to eat."

On Jones and his future at UCLA:

"He’s hungry. He does what you ask him to do. If I were to tell Datone, ‘Hey, man, when you get up in the morning do 10 jumping jacks,’ he would get up and do 10 jumping jacks. That’s the kind of guy that he is. He’s a hungry player and I think he has a chance to be better than any end I’ve coached since I’ve been here. That kind of lets you know what I think of him."

On what Jones has to do to become that dominant player:

"Just get the experience. We’ll see this year what he’s going to be. I mean, you can talk about potential all you want. Until we see this year how he approaches the games and how he produces, that’s going to tell you. Damien Holmes is not far behind. He might not be as gifted as Datone is, but he listens. He studies. He understands what’s going on."

So after the starting lineup up Bosworth, Price, Siewierski, and Jones, depth becomes a question mark for the Bruins. Few weeks ago the LA Times noted how the coaches were going to look to Jess Ward and little used David Carter for depth. Obviously now David Carter is going to be a key figure in this depth chart. From the LA Times:

[T]he weight of the defensive tackle depth falls mainly on David Carter, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound junior.

Carter was converted from defensive end during the off-season with UCLA needing more bodies inside. That concern was heightened when Brandon Warner, a transfer from Compton College, didn't get into UCLA because of transcript issues. The move required Carter to gain 30 pounds.

"When you're on edge, a lot time you're the contain guy, you have to be athletic," Howard said. "Inside, you're going against more beef."

Carter was more than willing and began to rework his game.

"It definitely involves different techniques," Carter said. "You have to move your feet differently and learn how to play with the big boys."

Bradford will play defensive end, which is also down in numbers.

Per Coach Howard few weeks ago Holmes "made big strides since last fall." So he is going to be counted on to back up the DE position.

Coach Howard in his BRO interview also indicated he was going to closely monitor how incoming freshman Keenan Graham (who ran a 4.56) performs in the special teams. His plan was also to keep an eye on Iuta Tepa.

Our main hope right now is for these kids to stay healthy because we don’t have a lot of depth. If they can stay healthy, I feel good about these guys feeding off the drive and hunger of Brian Price, who has certainly proved himself both on and off the field in his total dedication of being a Bruin.

I also think the first game of the season is going to be telling (I am not going to look ahead to the Tennessee game … no way). We will have to see how this unit comes out and sets the tone on against the Aztec rushing attack and the pressure they are able to generate on the QB from the get go. If they come out and make a statement in that very first game, I think it will serve as a building block for rest of the season.

These guys will have their hands full all year long going up against lightning quick, game breakers in a number of Pac-10 squads. While the line has been steady last few years under Walker, they have had rough times against teams with quick backs and receivers. Moreover, they haven’t been able to generate the kind of pressure on QBs Davis and Hickman were able to do couple of years ago. So it will be up to Jerzy, Bosworth and Jones and rest of the guys in the depth chart to rise to Price’s level at least in terms of effort and determination, so that we can see the kind of intensity we experienced during 13-9, not just for big games but for every game through the coming season. We are going to need that if the team wants to take the next step by going bowling this season

We will wrap our look through the defense by going over the defensive backs rosters in the next few days.

GO BRUINS.