SB Nation - Courtney Viney

Spaulding Roundup: DC Thoughts, Verner's Views, Finals Week & Other Notes

Nestor — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:42:46 -0000

Can Bruins handle this (if it snows in DC)? Photo Credit: photoal (flickr)

Well yeah. It's not snowing in DC today but it did over the weekend a bit giving us our first snow of the year. The picture above is from another year though, which I think gives a little hint of what folks could expect in late December if we get a legit snow storm in Washington DC. Will the Bruins get to play in their first legit snow bowl (don't really count the one from Washington State during the regular season because it wasn't really snowing during the game) this December? Well as everyone know by now, we are not going to know until the end of Army-Navy game this upcoming weekend.

CRN is excited about rooting for the Midshipmen:

"Although we always support the men and women fighting for our country, on this particular three-hour stint, we're going to be anchor's aweigh ~~away~~," Neuheisel said on Sunday. "We're excited about the opportunity and looking forward to getting into the ball game. We know we need a little bit of help, but we're looking forward to a chance."

Interestingly, from the LAT report today, it sounds like the Bruins did have a chance to accept an invitation to the Humanitarian Bowl. However, the payout for that game ($700,000) wasn't enough for our program:

UCLA officials received interest from other bowls, as Neuheisel said, "I know there were lots of conversations and I was also told that UCLA was a desired team."

Humanitarian Bowl officials showed particular interest, and the Bruins might have gone there if Army lost, but the bowl payoff "wasn't right," said a UCLA official not authorized to speak about the situation.

UCLA officials turned down a Humanitarian Bowl invitation in 2001 after bowl officials asked for a $300,000 sponsorship from the university, a former UCLA administrator said.

Wonder who was that former UCLA administrator talking to the LAT. Anyway, if Navy does come through for the Bruins on Saturday (you never can take an outcome for granted in an intense, emotional rivalry game), Bruins will have interesting decisions to make re. the quaterback situation. CRN seemed to indicate that Prince might be ready for the bowl game:

"He told me it was getting better when I saw him last week," Neuheisel said. Given some rest, I think he would be ready."

Prince of course is still recovering from his mild AC sprain (considered a "slight separation") of his throwing shoulder. I personally think the Bruins should start Craft and prepare Brehaut as the backup option, and let Prince fully heal for spring ball. However, I feel comfortable in having Neuheisel and Chow making the call. More bowl related and end of season notes after the jump.

Players in general sound pretty excited about the bowl game. Taylor Embree "wants it really bad":

"I saw (offensive coordinator Norm Chow) today, too, and he said it looked like we had a really good chance," sophomore wide receiver Taylor Embree said. "We had a meeting with coach Neuheisel last Tuesday, and he just said, 'Focus as if we were going to a bowl.' We're prepared. If we go to one, it won't be a shock. We're ready for a bowl. We want it really bad."

While ATV thinks Bruins could be an "exciting" team to watch during the bowl season:

"We're fortunate to be put in the position to try to get one, though, and that's all we can ask for. I think we did enough to deserve it, showed enough promise through the course of the year with our youth, and we'll be an exciting team to watch come bowl season."

Oh and speaking of ATV, if you haven't done it yet, I think you will want to read the last edition of Verner's views:

[F]our years have gone by way too fast for me as a UCLA Bruin. I remember the times when I used to watch the Bruins play and wearing the #1 UCLA jersey to high school and stuff to now, when I am leaving UCLA with an interception touchdown record and lasting memories to all the Bruin Nation. My experiences here have been top of the line and something I will cherish forever. From academics - competing against the top brains in the world in my math major was always fun - just walking around campus and seeing the variety of people and cultures on campus, it was beautiful to see. Through all this intermingling, you realize that everyone is basically the same and they have the same struggles as you. You can be an athlete, a pre-med student, or grad student - it didn't matter. Everyone is fighting for their education and that is what created so many bonds with people in all areas of UCLA life.

Having the pleasure of being the student representative for the library catalogue a while back to now being spotlighted on UCLA Big Moment spots are two others things that stand out. My time with this sector of UCLA has been difficult, however all the more amazing!

Football, man it's been the craziest roller coaster, but one of those that was worth the wait, but so short that you almost missed the thrills of it. Being in the Rose Bowl with our wonderful fans that were there from the beginning, to putting on the Blue and Gold was just simply amazing. I had the honor to be coached by DeWayne Walker for most of my career and finished up this year being coached by the great Carnell Lake! Many guys have helped me in numerous ways of playing the position. I appreciate their expertise on the field. I had a great time playing with my former killa bees and current ones -- Chris Horton, Rodney Van, Trey Brown, Dennis Keyes, and Bret Lockett to Tony Dye, Rahim Moore, Glenn Love, Courtney Viney, Aaron Hester, Sheldon Price, Andrew Abbott and everyone else. Each player is so good and made my job so much easier and helped contribute to my success. I will definitely miss all my teammates, I really love them all. The hard work and the grind I had to do with all of them makes them all special to me. They are all very talented and that's why I believe UCLA will be back at the top very soon and I can't wait to see that unfold.

You need to read rest of ATV's post by going here. ATV and his team-mates will be taking finals this week. Once they are done at the end of the week (per Jon Gold) they will have practices on Friday and Saturday. They are going to practice Saturday morning, have lunch and take in the Army-Navy game. Needless to say we will have an open thread here for that game cheering on Navy.

Lastly, before I end this good luck to all of your students this week. Yeah, I know we are hard on you guys sometimes. However, look at the ideas our discussions generated in last 24 hours. While we get down sometimes during the tough times, it is clear how much passion and dedication we have among a huge core of students and alums here in Bruins Nation. Often times when we call each other out, I personally think it only makes that dedication deeper forcing us to think hard about how we can make our community bigger offline. Hopefully we can keep the discussion that started yesterday going in the coming weeks/months resulting in what I truly believe will be the most rabid fanbase in the Western US. We have had two of the worst weekends in UCLA athletcs in recent history. Yet just look around this community this am. We are still here. Aren't we? Anyway, kick ass in finals and then head down to Anaheim.

GO BRUINS.

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.

Time To Rally Behind Our Team

Nestor — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:38:02 -0000

More photos » by Greg Wahl-Stephens - AP

Bruins sticking behind their head coach and not quitting during toughest moments of long rebuilding period

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Earlier in the week the Daily Bruin attacked Rick Neuheisel in just 19 games into his tenure in Westwood in an article entitled "Neuheisel's Team Falling Apart." I found that kind of funny for a newspaper that was too busy licking Steve Lavin's boots, assaulting Karl Dorrell's critics, and patherically celebrating close loss to Southern Cal all those years. Well unlike those guys, here on BN we are not going to celebrate moral victories. That will never happen. However, one thing we know after another heartbreaking loss in the month of October (which is thankfully over) that our Bruins have not quit on Coach Rick Neuheisel and his entire staff. They made whoever wrote that piece for the Daily Bruin look as clueless as his previous predecessors making himself appear total tonedeaf when it comes to having pulse of the program.

The game was set up perfectly for a classic Bruin nightmarish explosion yesterday. I think many here and all over the greater Bruin Nation were bracing for the worst expecting the kind of humiliating defeats we had suffered in the hands of BYU last year, against Arizona in 2005, and against the Oregon State bunch earlier in the decade. The way the game was going early on when our offense was handcuffing itself with one frustrating mistakes after another, the chances were very good that the Bruins would fall apart. Instead of quitting on the coaches and on each other, not only didn't Bruins came back with a memorable charge, they almost had a chance to win the game in the last mins when senior leader ATV dropped a sure fire pick-6.

I felt sick to my stomach for ATV. If there is one Bruin who deserved that moment more than anyone else, it was him. I got even more upset after watching the defense then kind of fall apart to Roger brothers in that last Beaver drive but still this morning for some reason I am not as frustrated as I had been in last 5 weeks. This Sunday I am taking some form of comfort in the way our boys fought back yesterday. But I believe the only way the flicker of good feelings some of us might be experiencing this Sunday will be validated, is if our team can genuinely grab hold of this momentum by pouncing on the Washington Huskies next Saturday. Right now I cannot wait for the game this Saturday and it's a good feeling to have this deep into this college football season. I think it is time we rally behind our coaches, players and the entire program to help them any way we can to get them over the hump against Washington.

Yesterday's game was a mixed bag. There are some key issues that I find myself extremely frustrated with. On the other hand for the first time after watching that fourth quarter replay of our offense, I had that feeling of looking forward to the next offensive series. The last time I experienced anything close to that was the 2LIVEDrew's last season in Westwood when they carried them team on their backs. We will find out whether Kevin Prince, Nelson Rosario, Taylor Embree and rest of the UCLA offense can build on the clear momentum they gained in the cold and wet afternoon in Corvallis next weekend. I can't wait to find out and as I said above I like that feeling. More after the jump.

I will start with Kevin Prince. His team-mate Embree saw something yesterday:

"Kevin showed today that he is ready to be the guy," Embree said.

His head coach is now a little more hopeful:

"He calmed down and made some plays," Neuheisel said. "Hopefully, this was a precursor to more consistent play."

Prince finished having completed 22 of 34 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns, directing an offense that had scored only two touchdowns in the previous three games.

Richard Brehaut like both Kevins have done throughout this year put this team first and was excited about his team-mate's afternoon:

"Kevin did a great job," said Brehaut, a freshman. "He was doing everything he could to help this team win. That's the most important thing right now."

I really don't have anyhing to add in terms of Brehaut/Prince discussion. I think Brehaut possibly deserved another series in the first half. But Kevin got it done in the second half and I think sealed the deal in terms of having the starting job rest of this season. I just hope he can build on it and show the same confidence he did in those last two quarters. I am also not going to look back at this point and wonder what would have happened if Prince hadn't gotten hurt. That kind of looking just doesn't help.

Prince wasn't the only bright spot in offense yesterday. Nelson Rosario had the best game for a UCLA receiver in years. In face his game reminded me of J.J. Stokes' coming out party against Oregon in Eugene in 1992 (the game before "Barnes Burner") when he showed of his surreal athleticism as a college receiver. Again the key for Rosario right now is to build on yesterday afternoon and put together a complete performance next weekend when he is running aggressive routes and also executing the easy catches.

In addition to Prince and Rosario's performances, I was encouraged by the offensive play calling in general. I think the play calling at the outset of the game was interesting. Chow certainly was making an earnest effort to get the ball in the hand of our athletes. I loved that double reverse call with Randall Carroll (for 5 yard game). Wished we had seen more of that. I think if we didn't have problems holding on the ball in the first half (was it weather related?) the outcome might have been a little different. Then when Prince got in his grove Chow really opened it up. Loved the 4 WR sets and QB draws when the opposing defense was least expecting it. It was fun to watch.

Now I am still perturbed by Coach Chow's call on 3rd and goal early in the second half. He said during the post game that he made that call because of the coverage. I would definitely like to hear more on that point. And I'd like to know not because I dont' trust Chow but more because I'd actually like to learn about it. I was pretty upset with the decision not to go for either the first down or TD in that sequence. The more I have thought about it, the more I have come around to Roger's line of thinking:

I also wanted to add that I thought the decision to go for the field goal on 4th and 1 was definitely the right decision. With the way our offense has been struggling running the ball there was probably about a 40% chance they wouldn't have made the first down (and even making it wouldn't guarantee a subsequent touchdown). The chances of Kai Forbath making a field goal from there were about 98%. Most importantly it could have been disastrous to go for it and not make it by demoralizing the offense and maybe the whole team playing on the road. By taking the 3 points they put something on the board and established some momentum. And there was plenty of time left in the game. Playing to win doesn't necessarily mean going for it on fourth and short. Playing to win means playing the percentages in the smartest way.

Guess I think that's a fair explanation. Still have to say at the time it was extremely frustrating and in the back of my mind I was thinking what kind of message it would send to rest of our offense. Clearly it didn't hamper their fire given how they came back in the fourth.

As for other negatives on offense, it's tough to say this but our seniors haven't really shown leadership on the field. Paulsen once again disrupted drives by taking more penalties. Austin had the dropsies and he seems so snakebitten that even when busts lose for a big return TD, it gets called back by dumb penalties (although Austin can't be blamed for Sloan's bad play). Still it would be awesome to see one of our seniors step up and make a play. They just haven't and it perhaps tells us something about the level of talent recruited by the previous coaching regime.

Moving to the other side the defense choked in that last drive. There is no other way to describe. It certainly sounds like Chuck Bullough is facing intense scrutiny from the fanbase (at least all over online). Our defense is extremely frustrating to watch. They make their share of plays and I guess we have to give them some props for holding a fairly explosive Oregon State offense to 26 points. However, the bend don't break philosophy is not going to win us many games.

I think in today's world of Pac-10 football which features so many explosives offenses with multi-dimensional athletes we need a defensive philospophy that should be centered around making the trigger man (QB) uncomfortable. It's a broken record now. Every week we seemed to write and discuss how our defense needs to come out and exert serious pressure on the opposing QB to throw him off his rhythm and get him uncomfortable. We talked about how Bullough needed to mix in some blitzes (not after we fall behind) and get Canfield rattled early on. It didn't happen as we saw the defense once again sat in its base 4-3 scheme and played with a strategy of containing the other guys to FGs. It only works to a certain extent but it also faciliates the classic death by a thousan cuts that can demoralize the entire team.

At this point with just 4 games left in this season is Bullough even capable of shifting and adjusting his philosophy? I have no idea. What I am seeing though on a week to week basis is how the opposing team keeps burning our defense with the same plays. Last weekend it was Arizona screwing us with reverses, this weekend we once again looked hapless against the Rogers brothers. Even us novices pointed out the "wild beaver" formation earlier during game week, yet we looked thoroughly confused and lost when Oregon State scored their TD out of that play. No other words to describe except that it's just frustrating.

I am not sure what it is going to take but I would love to see the UCLA defense come out and play with the same aggression we haven't seen since Tennessee. I still remember how Courtney Viney was coming after Crompton in corner blitzes to destroy him in that last series. Feels like haven't seen any of that since those moments in Neyland stadium.

Anyway, as mentioned up top, despite the frustrations from yesterday I believe this team has a chance of really coming together this November. We all kind of felt it and sensed it in the fourt quarter. Now collectively we need to will our team to a victory this Saturday. Thank fully the players and coaches seem to be in the exact mindset. Here is Tony Dye:

"To be honest with you, there's no such thing as a moral victory to me," sophomore safety Tony Dye said. "The only stat that ever matters is the wins and the losses. We came out with another `L' today. It's heartbreaking to get so close."

Reggie Carter:

"I don't even know what the hell that is," UCLA senior linebacker Reggie Carter said. "That ... don't mean nothing. Ain't no such things as moral victories. There's victories and there's losses. We just took a loss."

And Rick Neuhiesel:

"We're not in the business of moral victories. But there were some positive signs."

Let's rally and will our team to real victory this Saturday.

GO BRUINS.

Cal-UCLA Football Competition News Roundup

TwistNHook — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:00:56 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

UCLA QB Kevin Prince or Karl Dorrell in a fake mustache? Tedford alone knows.

Browse more photos »

In many ways, an internet blog takes after the personalities of its moderators. Its Marshawnthusiasts. That's why CougCenter is the quintessential of cool. And Addicted To Quack is so slow. Mentally.

Here at CGB, we are one thing and one thing alone: Ridiculously self-centered. We're self-centered when it comes to discussing our personal lives, but we're also self-centered when it comes to discussing our beloved Cal Bears. We always talk about Cal. Cal this. Cal that. Tedford this. Marshawn that. And it's been great. We couldn't have become the 3rd best Cal sports oriented web log without it.

But I know how it makes those other teams feel. Stanford feels like we just don't care about them. Which we don't. And Arizona State feels like we don't spend enough time together. Given everything I know about every ASU student I've ever met, I agree 100%. We need to spend more time at ASU.

But this self-absorption, it ends now. Because after the fold, we take a look at UCLA. We look at some news paper articles. We read some of our SBN brethren, the Bruins Nation. We go on a magical mystery tour of all things Southern Branch.

First, we have some information on a cornerback battle that could have some serious implications for the game. We all know Kevin Riley needs to get things going to help take the pressure off of Jahvid Best. And we all know that Verner is kind of like the Syd'Quan Thompson of LA. But what is going on on the other side of the field?

In the meantime, [Sheldon] Price will continue to fill in. He had some difficult moments, including having his 160-pound body ricochet harmlessly off Ducks receiver Jeff Maehl on a slant pass that resulted in a 20-yard touchdown.

"After watching the tape on Sunday, I pushed it behind me," Price said of his performance in the game. "I threw it out because there is no point dwelling on the past."

The UCLA depth chart listed Price and sophomore Courtney Viney as possible starters this week, but Bullough said Price would keep the job.

The normal CB, Aaron Hester, is injured, so this might be an opportunity for Kevin Riley to get going. Nestor at Bruins Nation is puzzled by this decision:

Honestly, I don't get this decision. No doubt Sheldon is giving eveyrthing he can but to me it seems like Viney brings a more noticable physical presence in the way he covers and tackles (despiting giving up size). At least that's what I remember from the effort he gave against pretty athletic Tennessee receivers at Neyland stadium. Anyway, we will see how it goes on Saturday.

The concern with Price appears to be with his size. We do not have the largest, most physical receivers, so I am not sure if we can take advantage of a diminutive corner back. But, hopefully, Marvin Jones and Verran Tucker can get going. We get Boateng back, which is certainly good news.

From the same article as above, further information on the UCLA RB situation:

Tailback Johnathan Franklin returned to practice Wednesday and tested his sprained left ankle, getting a handful of carries.

His availability remains in question for Saturday's game against California. Franklin, the Bruins' leading rusher with 332 yards, was injured in the 24-10 loss to Oregon.

Franklin, who gives the Bruins speed in the backfield, was unable to get in a full workout.

It leaves coaches pondering other options.

"We'll find out on Saturday," Franklin said about whether he would play.

Asked what was difficult about running on the ankle, Franklin said, "No comment on that." Asked if it still hurt, Franklin said, "No comment on that."

Asked if he was told not to comment, Franklin smiled.

Their running game is not strong to start with, so I'm pretty sure some back up RB will come in and kill us Arizona 2008 style. It's in the cards!

And who could that backup RB be? Why Christian Ramirez!

Ramirez presents a completely different option than the team's more diminutive backs. At 6-foot-2, Ramirez is the biggest Bruin back, with two inches on Coleman, four inches on Franklin and six inches on Knox and Thigpen.

His size gives him a built-in advantage in pass protection and in the receiving game, though he was admittedly shaky with his blocking against Oregon.

"I need to try to use the combination that I have - the size and speed. And I pride myself on catching the ball, being a receiving back. I can split out and turn it into a five-wide easily. I still need to get some more experience in (protection). I felt a little rocky out there Saturday. I'm coming. I need to get back into the groove, and try to establish myself again."

UCLA does have some injury concerns. Another is with star LB, Reggie Carter. He does appear likely to play, even though his practice has been limited:

Carter expects to be in his usual position – middle linebacker – for Saturday’s game.

"They told me to relax a little bit but my knee feels great," he said. "I’m more anxious for Saturday than I am for Tuesday so I’m not complaining."

As agreeable as Carter was to sit out of Tuesday’s practice, it was a different story during the third quarter of last Saturday’s game.

Medical personnel were trying to examine him but the foremost thought in his mind was getting back into the game.

"I think I missed two plays and I was upset about that," he recalled. "The doctors want to examine you and poke on you. I said, ‘Just give me some Flexall and a sleeve and let me go.’ "

Carter is confident that the missed practice time won’t have a negative affect on him as he prepares for Saturday. UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel agreed.

KTVU brings us some information on what to expect from both the Bruins Offense:

UCLA struggled mightily on offense against Oregon last week, finishing with just 211 total yards, and three turnovers certainly hurt the team's chances of winning the game as well. Kevin Prince returned from a two-game absence and was a bit rusty, completing 13-of-25 passes for 81 yards and one interception. The Bruins rushed for just 66 yards on 33 attempts and failed to score any points on both of their trips to the red zone. UCLA is generating just 20.2 ppg this season, an output that isn't going to scare any opponent. The Bruins are posting 282.8 total ypg, including just 112.6 rushing ypg at a clip of 3.4 ypc. The fact that the team has only managed seven offensive touchdowns in five games is proof of just how inept the offense has been. Whether it has been Prince, Kevin Craft or Richard Brehaut under center for the Bruins, the passing game has been weak. No receiver is good enough to demand double coverage, and while Jonathan Franklin is a solid running back, he is a far cry from Cal's Best.

And the Bruins Defense:

The UCLA defense was not at fault for the loss to Oregon last week. In fact, two of Oregon's three touchdowns weren't even scored by the team's offense. Also, the Bruins had a defensive touchdown in the game, as Akeem Ayers scored on an interception. Sure, UCLA could have played better against the run, as the Ducks gained 221 yards on 43 rushing attempts, but the play against the pass was quite strong. Opponents are scoring only 17.2 ppg against UCLA this season, and the team has yielded a mere eight touchdowns to opposing offenses. Foes are gaining just 285.6 total ypg against UCLA, which has been tough against both the run and the pass. A total of 11 takeaways in five games, including nine interceptions, have clearly helped the Bruins. Keep an eye on Reggie Carter, as he has made 37 tackles, including 5.5 TFLs, and forced a pair of fumbles.

Poll

How do you think Cal will do against UCLA? Thanks to Avinash for these choices

Bears devour Baby Bears in a horrifying sign of cannibalism

24 votes

Bears pat Baby Bears on head, tell them they'll understand when they're older

70 votes

Baby Bears cuddle Big Bears to death

22 votes

Baby Bears overwhelm in numbers, commit patricide

10 votes

126 votes | Poll has closed

Spaulding Roundup: More California Game Notes

Nestor — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:50:43 -0000

Let's get back to football and talk a little bit more about the game this Saturday. If you haven't done it yet make sure to listen to ryebreadraz and ucla13_usc9 talking about Bears-Bruins match up with Ragnarok from California Golden Blogs. The nugget I found most interesting was the discussion about the special teams. Now special teams have been a huge topic of discussion (or shall I say consternation) here on BN. I didn't know that it was such an issue for the Bears as well. Ragnarok pointed to a post from Jon Wilner that at least on surface points to a UCLA advantage for UCLA specials teams (don't LOL) on Saturday. I thought the numbers on punt and kick returns were especially surprising:

Punt returns

UCLA’s Terrence Austin averages 10.5 yards per return with a long of 45.
Cal’s Syd’Quan Thompson averages 5.6 ypr with a long of 12.

Kick returns

Austin averages 24.8 ypr.
Cal’s Shane Vereen averages 25.6 ypr.

Coverage units

It’s about even on kicks, although UCLA has 10 touchbacks and Cal has one.

UCLA has a huge edge in net punting, with a 41.3 average (first place) vs. Cal’s 33.9 net (last place). The Bears have also allowed one touchdown, the 66-yarder by USC’s Damian Williams.

Advantage

UCLA, by a substantial margin.

Again, I am not sure if we can get too comfortable looking at those numbers. In fact looking at those numbers it worries me even more for what could happen this Saturday. If anything it seems like now it's a done deal that Syd'Quan Thompson or Shane Vareen will take one to the House against us. Austin is a good kid but to me Vereen and Thompson are way more explosive than TA.

We saw last weekend how falling asleep in one play can change the dynamic of an entire game. They can't just depend on booming kicks from Locke ( leads the conference with a 46.3 net.) every time out. I hope our specials took that lesson to heart and are working extra hard this game week because they will need to focus as hard during punt and kickoff coverages as they did against Stanford's Chris Owusu in Palo Alto when they were able to bottle up Palo Alto. More on the game and other team notes after the jump.

The guys over at California Golden Blogs have the notes up on UCLA and I think they are pretty much on the mark. I have been saying all week Saturday is going to be about how UCLA offense performs against Cal's defense. Avinash's thoughts on the "biggest battle" on Saturday:

Not only is their starting tailback a frosh, but their starting o-line is very young. 1 frosh, 3 sophomores on the offensive line, Even more interestingly, their left tackle is a true frosh (although Su'a-Filo might be their best guy on the line). So they're going to struggle generating offense as they get their reps in and they make those mistakes.

It's why the biggest battle will be UCLA's offensive line playing Cal's defensive line. The Bears D-line has played well the last two weeks, but got overshadowed by the other deficiencies and strong O-line play by Oregon and Southern Cal ~~UCLA~~. They'll certainly want to make their mark, and Alualu might have his most favorable matchup of the season playing either Harris or Su'a-Filo. The Bruins have to hold their ground to make sure Kevin Prince is comfortable in the pocket and execute their blocks to get UCLA's running backs to that second level against our weaker linebackers.

Not only are we working in freshman and sophomores, two of our offensive line starters are also transfers. I actually think our guys have done an average job (which is substantial improvement from the miserable state of things last season) of giving our QBs time and opening up running lanes. They just need to do be working on becoming more consistent. They are aware of what they need to do:

Sophomore center Kai Maiava said he takes personal responsibility for the team's inability to punch it in from inside the 2-yard line on four consecutive plays against the Ducks.

"Shoot ... Oregon did a good job plugging up the holes," Maiava said. "We just couldn't execute it. We never really practiced that play. But either way, we should've punched it in. I take most of the responsibility on that. We should have wedged it in and gotten that seven."

The key question will be whether our guys (Prince or Brehaut) will be able to get in a rhtyhm early on. There was no doubt Prince was rusty early on against Oregon. He did get back into it somewhat in second quarter (IIRC at point he had completed something like 8 passes in a row) but he went back into a funk during that Duck explosion early in the 3rd. I think it will be imperative for Chow to call a game on Saturday that will put Prince in a comfortable spot and facilliate his game management decisions. Perhaps having Christian Ramirez this weekend will help:

"He's (Christian Ramirez) looking like he's healthy and he's starting to work his way back into the mix a little bit," UCLA running backs coach Wayne Moses said. "When you're away that long, it takes a little time to get your timing and rhythm back. It looks like he's starting to get into the flow."

Ramirez presents a completely different option than the team's more diminutive backs. At 6-foot-2, Ramirez is the biggest Bruin back, with two inches on Coleman, four inches on Franklin and six inches on Knox and Thigpen.

His size gives him a built-in advantage in pass protection and in the receiving game, though he was admittedly shaky with his blocking against Oregon.

"I need to try to use the combination that I have - the size and speed. And I pride myself on catching the ball, being a receiving back. I can split out and turn it into a five-wide easily. I still need to get some more experience in (protection). I felt a little rocky out there Saturday. I'm coming. I need to get back into the groove, and try to establish myself again."

I wonder if we will see Ramirez in goal line situations this Saturday. As for the Jet Ski sounds like it's a day to day deal with him at this point. From the LA Times:

Franklin, who gives the Bruins speed in the backfield, was unable to get in a full workout.

It leaves coaches pondering other options.

"We'll find out on Saturday," Franklin said about whether he would play.

Asked what was difficult about running on the ankle, Franklin said, "No comment on that." Asked if it still hurt, Franklin said, "No comment on that."

For some reason I am not as worried about this as I should be. I am thinking in a situation like this is perfect for backs like Ramirez and Knox to pounce all over and take advantage of the opportunity. At least I hope that's the case and they get the chance to do it. We will see.

Speaking of personnel decisions it looks like Hester is not going to be available for this week. The earlier he might be available is for the Arizona game on October 24. But CRN might decide to work him in cautiously and wait till October 31 when the Bruins take on Oregon State (See the OC Register report). Meanwhile, Sheldon Price is scheduled to start against California this Sat:

The UCLA depth chart listed Price and sophomore Courtney Viney as possible starters this week, but Bullough said Price would keep the job.

"I think he's growing up more and more every game," Bullough said. "He's a very gifted player and hasn't had as many mental mistakes as you would expect as a freshman."

Honestly, I don't get this decision. No doubt Sheldon is giving eveyrthing he can but to me it seems like Viney brings a more noticable physical presence in the way he covers and tackles (despiting giving up size). At least that's what I remember from the effort he gave against pretty athletic Tennessee receivers at Neyland stadium. Anyway, we will see how it goes on Saturday.

Lastly, let's end with a note with a quick look into the mindset of the Bears. They are desperate for a win and per Jonathan Okanes of the MercuryNews.com, apparently Tedford has been tyring out some "new practice rituals" to fire up the Bears for this Saturday (and rest of the season):

Tedford also introduced some new practice rituals in an attempt to work on intangibles. The team began and ended practice by assembling in a big huddle, and jumping up and down and hooting and hollering, as though they were about to take the field for a game.

"That's the swagger that we have all day, every day," Kendricks said. "That was fun. That's what they're trying to install in us. You have to have fun while you're doing this. We always have a sense of urgency and we always want to win, but I feel like having fun while we're out there playing is just going to help us play better."

"A lot of people had high hopes for us. The season isn't over," Cal safety Marcus Ezeff said. "The season is brand new now. That's how we're looking at it. "

I hope it all works out for them ... starting on October 24th.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Injury Updates On Prince, Moore & Setting Up A Rebound Week

Nestor — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:09:18 -0000

As mentioned in last night's post we will probably know in next 48-72 hours whether Kevin Prince will be able to return (or start) for the Oregon game this weekend. From what we have heard from last few weeks that he was on track to be available for this weekend. However, we will have a definitive answer sometime Wednesday when Prince is scheduled to undergo an X-ray on his jaw. From the LA Times:

Prince, out three weeks since being injured against Tennessee, had nearly all the rubber bands removed from his mouth Sunday. He will continue to do non-contact drills until seeing the doctor Wednesday. He has been able to throw, run and lift weights the last two weeks, and he lost only five pounds with his jaw wired shut.

If cleared, there is a good chance Prince will start against Oregon on Saturday.

"We have to wait and see," Neuheisel said. "We'll have to see consistency. It is such a timing position. You have to have the ability to let things go on time. He has been able to work out lately, so hopefully he doesn't have too much to dust off."

Prince is not the only injury situation we are going to keep an eye on next couple of days. Lot of us were wondering about Rahim Moore after he was knocked out in a costly play on Saturday. Here is also the latest on Rahim from the LA Times:

Safety Rahim Moore, who left the Stanford game with a concussion, had an MRI exam on Sunday, which was negative. Under concussion protocol, Moore must go 24 hours without a headache before being cleared to rejoin practice. Neuheisel was optimistic Moore would play against Oregon.

More on Rahim's story and an encouraging note to start this Monday after the jump.

If people were wondering what was going through Rahim's mind when he tried to bring the lumber here is the OC Register:

"I saw the tight end but I couldn't see him from the jump," he said. "I was already close when I went and made the play. I couldn't see anything. The sun was in my eyes. I couldn't even see the ball."

As the ball was sailing over Moore's head, and everyone else's, Moore moved in to make the hit on Fleener.

"All I could see was red and I tried to hit it," he said. "I knew it was late in my mind."

The penalty that accompanied the injury was the least of his worries.

"Everything was good and I thought I was going to be able to play but they decided to sit me out," Moore said. "I was a little mad about that because I wanted to play. I know I'm a part of this team and I didn't want them to go down like that.

Apparently Rahim was so insistent on coming back into the game that the trainers had to take away and hid his helmet:

"They took it away from me and I was mad, real mad," Moore said after a 24-16 loss to Stanford. "I was going to run onto the field and play if I found it."

Instead, Moore remained on the sideline.

Coach Rick Neuheisel said the Bruins couldn't afford to lose another starter in the secondary. The Bruins, who are thin on experience in the secondary, were already playing without starting cornerback Aaron Hester.

CRN made the right decision. BTW in case you were wondering Hester is not going to come back at least till the Cal game. Meanwhile, it is going to be very interesting to see what happens with Price/Viney situation this game week. I for one would like to see Viney back into the mix by this weekend because we are going to need his experience and cover skills against an explosive Oregon offense.

Speaking of the Oregon game the last I head the Bruins opened up as 6.5 point underdogs to the Ducks. I am going to guess that number is going to move up to as much as 9.5-10 points depending on our QB situation by the middle of this week. Obviously, we have done a lot of reflection in last 24 hours and we will be talking about what went down on Saturday wrt to QB situation at least until we have clarity wrt to Prince's availablity this weekend. However, amidst the disappointment, I do want to share the encouraging notes Kurt Streeter posted about the team yesterday in the LAT:

Despite all this, the Bruins kept kicking and clawing. They launched a nice little comeback, kept the outcome in question until a few ticks past one minute remained. A completed pass here, a better block there, maybe, just maybe, this game goes to overtime.

It was a tough loss. More was expected after a 3-0 start and two weeks off. But let's take the long view here. The Bruins are not yet strong, fast and experienced enough. What they must rely on are intangibles. How hard they fight. How long they can endure. This game proved they've got these qualities.

Streeter went on to provide a big picture quote from CRN and give his own impression of the Bruin locker room after the game:

"I don't want to say we are that far behind a team like Stanford," Neuheisel replied. "But it's going to take time. One more year of our program. One more year of conditioning so we're bigger and stronger. It's going to take time, but we're seeing good things."

When Neuheisel left, I walked the locker room to check the vibe. It was nothing like the dour mood after so many losing games last season. After this loss you could feel the depression, but also an assured calm.

Rahim Moore actually smiled, a surprise since he'd literally blacked-out following his fusillade hit on one of the game's key plays: Stanford third down, a pass overthrown, Moore's blow ruled a personal foul that kept alive a touchdown drive.

Tellingly, neither that hit, nor this game, was enough to dim his optimism. He assured that even with all the other difficult games still to come, this will end up a fine season.

Have to say that is a little more encouraging than the last tough loss in Palo Alto back in 2001. After suffering that crushing loss against Stanford crushing our BCS run, we were reading stories about how players (so called leaders of the team) like Ricky Manning were yacking it up on the cell phone and laughing around, not worrying too much about crushing loss the Bruins had suffered against Willingham's crew.

We will see how the Bruins react this game week and how they work to rebound against the Ducks. The effort they give against the Ducks this weekend will be telling wrt how far we have come in the department of culture change at Spaulding field.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Tale Of Two Seniors Putting Team First, Setting Example

Nestor — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:25:02 -0000

As mentioned yesterday coaches are touring all over the Western US in search of next Bruin recruits this weekend. Our guys are going to be back in practicing beginning their preparations for Stanford tomorrow. I am sure they are going to be keeping a close eye on all the other Pac-10 actions going on this Saturday. I will put up an open thread around 12:30 pst for those who are watching the game. If you are watching the Washington-Stanford game, please make sure to share your notes since we are not getting it out on East Coast. As for news, it's a little light today. However, couple of good stories involving two of our seniors, indicating once again the kind of leadership and example this group is providing for all the new talent CRN is accumlating in Westwood.

I will start with Christian Ramirez who has had a tough start to this season with nagging injuries. Christian is battling to get back into the rotation. If his quotes in LAT are any indication he is going about it right way, putting his team first:

"Honestly, I'm just glad we're 3-0," said Ramirez, who returned to practice last week. "I could care less about my spot.

"We're probably going to have a three- or four-back rotation, so I'm just trying to work my way into that right now. I'm not trying to go out and take 30 carries. I just want to get in there and have fun and play."

Ramirez acknowledged that the going had been "rough" in practice. He was slow getting up Thursday after getting a cleat stuck in the turf.

"Getting back in a groove, getting in shape, it's tough right now," Ramirez said. "We have a lot of backs out there, so it's hard to get in a groove."

Hopefully Christian will chip away and get back into action soon. He had secured the starting spot this past spring because of his ability to block and catch out of the backfield (Chow loves that). If he can battle through his injuries and find a way to contribute with couple of plays here and there, it will help him get his confidence back. Hopefully it happens for him sooner rather than later. In the meantime it is good to hear him having the right mindset of putting his team first.

Speaking of seniors leading the team, let's talk about ATV after the jump.

Well what can I say about our All American CB. Per the OC Register ATV is basically been serving as an extra coach on defense for our young cornerbacks, helping them out on all kinds issues ranging from "schemes, alignments, game film, or even life.":

"If you have a question about anything, you could probably ask Verner," said freshman cornerback Sheldon Price, who filled a similar role during his senior year at Bishop Amat High School.

Price was picking Verner's brain before the Kansas State game on Sept. 19. That game marked Price's first start.

One week earlier, Courtney Viney was doing the same thing.

He was preparing for his first start of the season, against Tennessee. Viney had been thrust into the role as starting cornerback when Aaron Hester went down with a cracked bone in his leg.

"Verner has provided insight on a number of things," Viney said. "He's like another coach from the aspect that you can go to him when you need something. He's always there to give advice. Moreover, Verner has been in the program and he knows the defense inside and out."

Coaching, teaching, advising and basically helping others is nothing new to Verner. He's been doing it for as long as he can remember.

And one just has to read ATV's blogposts to get the sense of how he is going out of his way to help EVERYONE in any way he can. Here is ATV in his latest post:

I don't know if my girl, Sina'e, wants me to do this, but I am proud of her, so I wanted to say she is competing in the Miss California pageant. She is in the district round now. She is very excited and needs support. If you want to help her raise money to fight cancer, please visit this site. She needs everyone's help with a goal of $100.00. You will be supporting her and helping a child with cancer!

Well now I can't wait to read his followup post on how she reacted. In any event, of course if anyone wants to help out, they should go for it. From ATV's post it was also clear how much he is enjoying his last year at UCLA:

On another note, we start school Thursday and I'm pretty excited and sad at the same time. It officially means I'm a fourth year and about to embark on this difficult journey. I have three upper division classes -- Stats 100, Management 122 and Math 131a. I have them all five days of study as well, but it will make me a better person. I'm getting close to that degree and success guaranteed in some area! Most importantly, I get to help the freshmen adjust to the schedule change and let them know how they have to focus in on both school and football.

As school is about to begin, we had our annual 2009 Bruin Bash where we had LMFAO and Clipse perform in Pauley! They were very good and entertaining. I was with my young teammates and it was cool watching them enjoy themselves. I felt so old at times since I am a senior. But I still managed to have fun.

I am still struck by reading his posts on how genuine he sounds about his enthusiasm for UCLA. The way he writes about his experiences as an athlete and even more importantly as student at UCLA, you can sense he is not doing it as some kind of act. Because what he is sharing can only come from someone who went to our school. It's something that cannot be manufactured solely for the purpose of generating PR. It's just too cool and it is creating the kind of bond with this senior class and his team with rest of us that we started experiencing when Ben Ball warriors were starting to make their mark with the senior class of CB and RH in their last year in Westwood.

I don't know how this year is going to end. I am keeping my expectations to getting into a bowl game. However, I think I can safely say so far this has been the best start to a UCLA football season (not just record wise) in almost a decade and lot of it has to do with a group of seniors who seemed to be intent on taking advantage of stable and competent leadership from the coaching staff to leave a special mark in Westwood. Their journey and experience is drawing us even more emotionally closer to this football team. It's fun stuff.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: Need To Swarm Palo Alto With Bruin Blue & Other Football Notes

Nestor — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:17:02 -0000

uclafan11 already has already started the discussion on our first Pac-10 road trip of the season. The game time is set (hopefully it will be a little cooler in the bay area in two weeks for a noon time start). Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on ABC with Terry Gannon (BORING) and David Norrie calling the action. Anyway, I think this upcoming game will present even a bigger opportunity to accelerate the ongoing rebuilding of our football program than the Tennessee game. Let me lay this out a bit more.

Just like Tennessee game, we will most likely be the underdogs heading into the road trip. The way this early Pac-10 season is shaping up right now Stanford is going to be emotionally charged up to face off a "top-25" Washington team (which is in the national spotlight for all the right reason). If Stanford beats up on Washington this upcoming Saturday, they will be the clear cut favorites heading into their UCLA game, and I think that will put Bruins in one of those situations like they were in Knoxville when they didn't face much pressure in terms of expectations and simply go out and have some fun.

Hopefully this time around there will be even more Bruin fans backing up our team. This means if you live in Southland get on the 101 and meanwhile the entire UCLA alumni base from the Bay Area (and Northern California) needs come out in full force to swarm Palo Alto.

Coach Neuheisel for his part is not getting wrapped up in number of wins. He is just thinking about the next game:

"I know this is going to sound very coach cliché and maybe it is, but I was taking it one game at a time. When people asked me before the season, 'I wanted to be in a bowl game.' How to go about getting that, I didn't say which bowl. It's obvious that this conference has a lot of good teams. Rather than worry about how many wins, I think the best way for us to proceed, and coach cliché aside, we have to play our next game."

As for the next game, the official site has released its pre game notes heading into bye week.More on that and other notes after the jump.

Here is a quick recap of our series history w/ the Furd:

UCLA owns a 45-31-3 edge in the series with Stanford which dates back to 1925. The Bruins lead the series 19-18-2 in games played at Stanford. The Bruins have won the last five meetings overall, including a 23-20 verdict a year ago in the Rose Bowl. The last series win by the Cardinal came at Stanford (21-14) in the 2003 season. A Kevin Craft scoring pass to Cory Harkey with 10 seconds left gave the Bruins a dramatic victory in game seven of the 2008 season. UCLA trailed 14-6 at the half before Craft connected with Terrence Austin on a two-yard scoring pass to narrow the gap to a single point. A field goal put UCLA ahead 16-14 at the 14:57 mark of the fourth quarter.The Cardinal answered with two field goals to take a 20-16 lead with 2:31 left in the game. The Bruin two-minute drill was capped off by a seven-yard scoring pass from Craft to Harkey. The UCLA defense held Stanford to 51 yards passing on the day. Craft threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns.

The question lot of people will be wondering is whether Craft will be starting again in two weeks. I am guessing Craft will have to compete in this week and next to hold on to it. I think the odds are in favor that he will hold on to the starting position, unless Brehaut really breaks through during the practices. I also think it is very possible that coaches will work in Brehaut in their game plan, if they think the true freshmen will give them the best chance for the win (within the flow of the game).

In addition to Craft-Brehaut competition at practices, I imagine Viney-Price competition at CB is going to be a little spirited because I am assuming the freshman will not just give up his sport. Plus coaches will have some fun with the running back spot with Knox coming back into the fold and Ramirez getting healthy. Should be fun.

Speaking of fun, let's end with the following quotes from latest UCLA commit Derrick Bryant (emphasis added):

Bryant, who is 6 feet 4, 230 pounds, is ranked the 29^th best defensive end by Rivals.com. He made his official visit to UCLA last weekend.

"I just liked everything," Bryant said. "My entire visit, everything I saw, sold me. This is where I was coming hands down. I loved the atmosphere, looking out at the hills around the school, seeing all those houses, the atmosphere, being between Beverly Hills and Bel-Air."

I am assuming Mr. Bryant will be preaching that message relentlessly to his buddies in Ohio and to all the other big time recruits in Midwest. Looks like the coaches have found themselves what appears to be a pretty effective ambassador to champion the Bruin blue and gold in the great Midwest. The world of recruiting we call that opening up a pipeline.

GO BRUINS.

Neuheisel Enforces Discipline At UCLA, Suspends 4 Players For KSU Game

Nestor — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:47:41 -0000

Here is another reminder why we can't take any opponent for granted. Per Jon Gold at the Daily News Neuheisel has suspended sophomore cornerback Courtney Viney, freshman running back Milton Knox and freshman wide receivers Morrell Presley and Randall Carroll for the KSU game "due to a violation of team rules". Here was his official statement:

"When you are a member of a team, you have a special commitment to the entities that make up that unit and to those that you represent," said coach Neuheisel. "When someone falls short in that regard, there have to be consequences, and then, we move on."

Until facts come out (with citations to credible sources) please keep the rumor mongering on other boards. Meanwhile, whatever these guys did I hope they are learning a fast lesson. They cannot take anything granted at UCLA. They will always be hold accountable for their actions as they will not be able to get away with running some practice laps.

This is also a clear message on the part of Coach Rick Neuheisel that he is not going to hesitate to come down hard on our players if they deviate from team rules. For these young kids, this might represent a short term set back, however for the long term this will have positive impact for them and for the entire team. Not to mention this will also undercut all the usual BS about how Neuheisel has problem with enforcing discipline in his program. More after the jump.

In terms of roster moves, the key thing to keep an eye on will be who will step in place of Vinney, a position that was already thin due to injury to Hester. My money is on the coaches starting walkon Andrew Abbott from Mater Dei who is often used as a nickle back. He has been solid at practices even though he had a tough moment against SDSU when he got burned on the long bomb. Not sure if the coaches will burn the redshirt seasons of freshmen (Sheldon Price, Marlon Pollard, and Brandon Sermons) who were backing them up. Guess we will find out.

Meanwhile, remember no moping around here. No whining. We just have to cowboy up. Obviously we will have more notes on this as the story develops.

GO BRUINS.

UPDATE (N): Rye has insta analysis in terms of potential roster moves. He thinks at least one freshman will have to burn his redshirt season:

If Abbott does indeed start at one corner, then you need a nickel back, which one of the freshmen will take. The only other option is putting Love in at safety in nickel and letting Dye play nickel back, but I don’t see that happened. Two may lose their redshirts if we go to dime at any point, which is possible because I saw K-State spread the field a little in their opener.

On the offensive end, I wonder if Knox and Carroll's suspension means, we might see more of Thigpen in this week's game plan. Chow and Neuheisel love speed. Thingpend has it.

UPDATE II (N): To no one's surprise The Trojan Times is on breathless rapid posting mode on this story. Like Pavlov's dog. GO BRUINS.

This Feels A Little Different

Nestor — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:47:43 -0000

I am still having a hard time setting aside my emotions after last night. Thanks to wsmontano1994 and others for helping to maintain all of our perspectives and keeping our collective eyes on the big picture after one of the more stirring wins in UCLA’s recent football history (which has been dotted with one heart break after another).

Montano and others are right. In the big picture last night represents nothing more than a building block. Yes, it was something special because time after time, in situations like that on national stage our guys have come short even with legends such as _____ Aikman and Cade McNown. I didn’t expect the Bruins to win last night (and yeah the CROW was the most delicious meal I have ever had) and was fully embracing a funky and somber Saturday of reflections after another hard loss. I was mentally ready for heart break when Tennessee was driving in for what looked like the go ahead TD and then going for it on the FG. I wrote last night how I was having visions of Brady Quinn and Dewayne Walker’s prevent defense when Tennessee went on that last drive. When we made the goal line stop and then Viney rushed from the Corner to once again rattle Crompton, it felt like something changed in the collective Bruin psyche. Something feels different today about UCLA football.

I don’t what is that "difference" yet but we will know next week when we see how our coaches and players prepare for Kansas State and in the following weeks against one tough Pac-10 team after another. We still have a long way to go. Our offense is a work in progress with a young (but fearless) leader and skill players, and our defense still needs to figure out a way how they can show that ferocity and aggression (with discipline) right from the first drive. We have played two games and there is a lot of room for improvement.

That is I guess what is so fun (I told everyone this year was going to be fun even if it will a roller coaster ride) about this team right now. These are young kids playing their heart out and giving everything they have to represent those magical four letters on those gold helmets. It is fun to see them play with so much fire, aggression. It is fun to see a coaching staff operating in a way they know what they are doing and then have it reflected in their game plans. It is a fun feeling to have a sense of growing confidence that our guys are going to come in and fight with everything they have. We were getting the same feeling with those Ben Ball warriors in Coach Howland’s second season when they were going into Arizona and giving the Wildcats everything they can handle. We are now seeing it on football. Now the trick is for these guys to do it every game and bring it in every play. With those macro thoughts out of the way let me share some of my game notes and interesting reads from today’s paper.

I will start with Kevin Prince. Kurt Streeter of all people encapsulates it perfectly:

UCLA learned much in this game. It now knows, for certain, that its defense can apply the brakes, which is what happened during a goal-line stand late in what became a 19-15 win. And it now unquestionably also knows that at quarterback, the most important player on the field because the ball is in his hands so often, UCLA is manned by a kid who has something special burning inside.

"Guts," said teammate Terrence Austin in the locker room when the game was done.

"Heart," said another teammate, Rahim Moore.

"Composure," added offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who compared his 19-year-old pupil to one he coached at Brigham Young many years back: Ty Detmer. "Kevin discovered he can control a game today. Stats don't mean everything and this game was proof. It wasn't always pretty, but he showed through his body language he will to do what it takes."

No, it wasn't pretty. Prince had one touchdown. He had 11 completions in 23 attempts. He threw for 101 yards. Maybe his greatest statistical contribution was that, facing a team with a Heisman candidate at safety, he did something that last year would have been unthinkable: There were no interceptions, no picks for 70-yard returns. This from a UCLA quarterback -- yes, you read that right.

The stats weren't great but what Prince did do, with a calm look that belied his admitted case of nerves, was help stare down a team bent on revenge for last year's loss in Pasadena. And help silence more than 100,000 fans whose lives clearly hang on the fate of Tennessee football. And help wipe the perma-smirk from new Volunteers Coach Lane Kiffin.

"I just tried to hang in there and keep us in the game," said Prince when it was done. Blood dripped from his lips. There were cuts and scrapes and cherry-colored welts on his chin, neck, arms and legs. "I struggled as far as passing, but I just wanted to do what it would take to win this game. . . . I just wanted to protect the ball and give us a chance because they were coming. I've never heard it so loud, never been hit this hard."

You have to read the whole piece here.

Not sure what else I can add to that in terms of admiring what this kid did yesterday. Again, he pulled out a win at a place where Maddox and McNown melted. Now to keep it in perspective I think both Maddox and McNown went against much better and more importantly better coached Tennessee Volunteers. So we have to be again – keep it all in perspective – in terms of getting carried away with Kevin’s performance. But Kevin is showing us something. He is showing us promises and he is built on last week’s performance.

He still made some mistakes. He and Kai need to put in some extra time on communications and exchange of snaps, because we have had three of them in two weeks. Also, he needs to learn to slide. At this point I think he has showed us and his team-mates enough on how tough he is when he is on the run. But no need to get into those brutal collisions (and I am not talking about the play in the end zone) when he is running out on the open field. Slide Kevin, slide! It will be very interesting to see how he comes out against Kansas State.

Just like Kevin, our young OL had their moments. I think they really helped to set the tone in that first drive when they helped take advantage of good field position, by opening up some running lanes, get some first downs, and get us three to start the game. That was huge. However, then we saw the kids make freshman mistakes when they were getting overwhelmed by the Tennessee rush. Especially, in the second series (I believe it was the second series after Tennessee scored three), Hasiak and XSF absolutely got blown up on the left side which led to the Prince sack and fumble (and subsequent TD, the only one of the game for the Volunteers).

That said, they did all right. I am not going to complain too much about the OL, given the coaches kept the game plan conservative. From Jon Gold in the Daily News:

The two-face UCLA offensive line seemed to alternate between perfect protection - as when redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince found senior tight end Logan Paulsen with a pristine, 14-yard pass near the beginning of the third quarter - and awful blocking, as when Prince found himself on his back more often than a tomato-can boxer.

But the Bruins did enough.

In the third quarter, with the score tied at 10, Forbath rang off field goals on three consecutive drives, providing a little cushion for the young Bruins offense. On the three drives, Prince attempted just six passes, while UCLA ran the ball 11 times.

"The second kick gave us a six-point lead; the third one gave us a nine-point lead, which means two scores," UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel said. "With a freshman quarterback and a hostile environment, we don't need to do that to him. We can keep pounding and take care of the ball."

Instead of passing, UCLA handed it off - not to its running game, but to its defense.

And I was OK with that. Also, it was clear that coaches went into conservative mode of play calling in second half particularly after the picks. Tracy Pierson from Bruin Report Online, in his post game reflections (which is not behind a subscription firewall) explained the reasoning behind it:

There are surely some UCLA fans out there who weren’t pleased with the play-calling. It was a very conservative game plan, with very few running plays going outside the tackles, and very few throws going beyond 10 yards or in between the hashes. But what the critical UCLA fans aren’t getting is that the game plan isn’t a result of short-sightedness by the UCLA coaches, but vision. Or self-awareness, more accurately. The coaches quite soberly realized what UCLA had on offense, and what it could do, and what it would take offensively to win this game. Last year, they attempted the same approach, but with a game plan that only intended to minimize mistakes and turnovers, last season’s offense couldn’t pull it off. This year, at least, in this game, it did. Also, the play-calling in this game changed in a couple of ways. In terms of the running game, UCLA ran tackle-to-tackle for most of the first half, and that set up some of the off-tackle runs in the second half that were key in sustaining some drives and retaining the ball. Also, early on, with Tennessee blitzing and pressuring Prince on just about every play, UCLA wasn’t utilizing any screens to offset the pressure. In the second half, it did, to relative effectiveness.

It will be interesting to see, as the season progresses, if the coaches attempt more offensively, as Prince settles in more and the offensive line grows and matures. You can see maturity from the first to the second game, especially in Prince. Heck, you could see development in this game between the first and second halves; the UCLA offensive line was far more effective in pass protection as the game wore on.

It makes sense to me. Now shifting our attention, let’s talk about our D. Tracy called our defense a "revelation":

It held Tennessee to 208 yards, 115 rushing and 93 yards passing -- a team that gained 657 yards and 380 rushing last week. Yeah, it was against Western Kentucky, but the one thing we thought we could actually take from the Volunteers’ performance against WKU was that they were going to have a good running game. They averaged just 2.6 yards per rush. Their bull of a tailback, Montario Hardesty, gained 89 yards and averaged 3.4 per carry.

We said before the game that whoever won the battle between Tennessee’s running game and UCLA’s rushing defense would probably win the game. UCLA won the battle, and won the game.

But the UCLA passing defense was also superb. Crompton was 13 of 26 for 93 yards, with three interceptions. His longest completion from scrimmage was 26 yards, which occurred when a UCLA defensive back fell down. Tennessee receivers were blanketed, and couldn’t get behind UCLA’s coverage.

Tracy went on to single out Reggie Carter, Rahim Moore (more on him below), Brian Price, Alterreaun Verner, Courtney Viney, Tony Dye, David Carter for their incredible play. He also specifically mentioned the solid defensive game plan of Coach Bullough:

Defensive Coordinator Chuck Bullough put in a very effective game plan, and called a very good and creative game. UCLA blitzed far more against Tennessee than it did against San Diego State, and far more imaginatively. Blitzes came from different parts of the field, from different positions. A big element to UCLA shutting down Tennessee’s offense was, after Crompton had thrown the three interceptions, Bullough went after him. You would think Tennessee would go to the ground, since Crompton was throwing the game away, and instead of sitting back, Bullough got aggressive and run blitzed. It was key to Tennessee going three-and-out on its next two possessions.

Yep. Probably the biggest satisfaction from watching our defense was how Bullough didn’t sit back. He unleashed our guys after our secondary set the tone. Not a lot of DCs have the courage to send in corner blitzes on last drives when they revert back to prevent defense. Bullough went for it and I am going to think this is something recruits will take note from all over Southern California and beyond. I still want to see better results from the first drive though in terms of setting the tone and I think Akeem Ayers can play lot better than he has in last two games to complement the efforts of Bosworth and Carter. But then again these are correctable issues, which give me more hope for the coming weeks.
As for Rahim Moore, here again is Jon Gold from the Daily News:

Forget the picks, because Moore made his presence known beyond the takeaways.

Moore had six tackles, two coming on UCLA's game-defining, goal-line stand with less than two minutes remaining. With Volunteers tailbacks Montario Hardesty and Bryce Brown running the ball up the gut on four consecutive plays, Moore stepped up and filled the gap.

Even as a noisy Neyland Stadium crowd tried to mess with the Bruins' heads, Moore kept his in the game.
"The fans can't do anything for us," Moore said. "They can't make a tackle. All they can do is be loud. We came here, we came prepared, and it paid off. I told the defense, 'We have to win this field position.' We knew coming in, it would be a defensive game."

And it was, as both teams had less than 210 yards of total offense, combining for just 194 passing yards. Each lost opportunity was more important than the next, each turnover leading to heartbreak. That is where Moore led the way.

He is a freak of nature. There is no other way to put it and I am going to just enjoy him play because I am guessing that if he keeps this up, he will be gone after next season. Question for the geezers here on BN. Can you remember the last time UCLA had this kind of powerful combination (ATV/Moore/Dye and even Vinney is holding his own) in the defensive backfield? The only comparison I can think of is going back to early 90s when we had Carlton Gray and Marvin Goodwin in the backfield. IIRC Darby and Turner also played together (but I could be wrong on that). However, what we have here is something special, and these guys are now creating all kinds of options for Coach Bullough. It’s freaking delicious.
Some other notes from yesterday:

Blocks from TEs: I saw some great blocks from our TEs – Harkey and Paulsen – early on opening up room for our RBs.
Knox's Big Play: Speaking of our RBs, Knox I thought had the best run of the game on that screen pass when he just faked out a Vol for chunks of yardage and first down. The guy also has a motor. He is just fun to watch.
Kicking Weapons: How about our kickers? Again they are weapons. Kai is the best kicker in college football. Locke for the first time gives us a kicker with ability to boom kicks into the endzone and get our specials teams enough time to run down with hang time on his punts. Except for that goal line start (resulting from Tennessee’s failure to convert), our team had an average starting position at 36 yard line.
Oh Lane! Lane made a bone head move deciding to burn his TO by challenging the fumble at the endzone when it was clear Franklin had recovered it. Then again he probably thought he would get yet another favorable call from the homerific refs, who had pining me for some SPTRS.
Neuheisel's Questionable Call: I also didn’t like our coach’s move to have Prince roll out on 3rd down from the end zone. I am still not sure why we did that instead of having Coleman rumble for a year and then burn up the clock to take the safety on 4th. Oh well. It worked out.
The Joke That Is ESPN: The game was broadcast on WWL. However, after the game was over, there was no sign from the blowhards from College Game Day (perhaps the most overhyped, worthless sports show on television) or the idiots on the set, that UCLA-Tennessee had played a football game. Why do I get the feeling that if Tennessee had won, we wouldn’t hear the end of Lane building a clone of Pete Carroll dynasty in Knoxville. Whatever who cares about those jackholes from Bristol. I don’t and it’s a good reason why I don’t waste my time watching those shows except when I have to after or right before UCLA games broadcast on that worthless east coast pimping, Big-12/ACC/Big-10/SEC hyping and U$C* worshipping network.

Before I go to my last note, once again I want to tip my hat to our friends at Rocky Top Talk. Pretty clear that the class and passion they showed online is reflective of one of the best fanbases in the country offline. Let’s wish them luck. I still don’t know about their head coach (I think they have the wrong guy) but it’s their business, their program. Let them figure it all out. For our part, it’s been fun talking football with some of the best fans in college football.

I will end with this. If you wanted to get a sense of CRN’s infectious enthusiasm all you had to do was watch the funny exchange between Andrews and him during the half time. It couldn’t be more clear from that exchange how he was soaking it all in and relishing the effort and passion of his players. In turn, it was clear from his players they were ready to go through a brick wall for their head coach. We are so used to it from Ben Ball. Again, it’s weird to see this happening in football.

I am liking it. This is fun. Let’s have some more of it next Saturday.

GO BRUINS.