On SPJ ...

by Nestor on Sep 12, 2007 4:02 PM PDT in Ben Olson

I think it is hilarious to see a number of folks coming down so hard on Ben Olson. I know I have seen some comments here. But, I have also seen comments elsewhere, many of them coming from Dorrell supporters, who are already looking for a scapegoat in case this season doesn't work out like it has been hyped for the last four years. Pretty interesting that the same clowns who are willing to give a mediocre coach with no experience whatsoever 5+ years to prove himself, are coming down hard on a college quarterback who has only played 7 games and is on his 3rd offensive coordinator in his 4th year of a badly run football program.

So, what's the deal with Olson's so so performance last Saturday? CPB at Bruin Roar takes a crack at that question:

So what's the problem? Is Ben not getting enough time from his offensive line to make his reads? Are the receivers not getting enough separation? Is Ben just not finding the right receiver or is he just getting the ball to them too late? The answer might be a combination of the items above but the consensus seems to be that Olson just doesn't deliver the ball fast enough. He waits too long on quick, short passes (which are a staple of the west coast offense) and his passes arrive too long after the receiver has made his break. He needs to deliver the ball before the receiver breaks and that requires making good reads and an almost immediate decision on where the ball should go.

So are these problems fixable? Some of the pressure will fall on Jay Norvell to try and find plays where the Bruins can maximize Ben's strengths. I also think that Norvell can take some of the pressure off of Ben by utilizing the running game some more. Kalil Bell has the hot hand right now and he is running with power, strength, and a lot of anger. He's been a bull in the backfield and his consistent success carrying the ball will help develop some more play-action passing. Norvell also needs to call in some more deep passes. He only utilized a few last week and got more conservative as the game progressed. Stretch the field and put that big arm to work! The receiving corps also needs to step up as 5 dropped passes isn't going to get it done.

Ben may have some issues and he may never be able to regain that magic from his high school days, but he is the only man for the job at UCLA. Even if Pat Cowan were available (which he isn't) or if Mac Thompson were more experienced (which he isn't), Ben would still be the most gifted of the three. Nobody can deny that he can throw a nice ball and if he can work out his timing issues he could be special. Pat brings a scrambling element to the game that Ben doesn't posses, but his accuracy when throwing is really no better. Thompson might be able to step up in a pinch, but would you really put the offense in the hands of a red-shirt freshman walk-on? Hopefully, it doesn't come down to that and this offense irons out its problems. Otherwise, it could be a very long season.

I mostly agree with CPB, except for the part about pressure being on Norvell. The buck ultimately stops with Dorrell on this issue. Dorrell has banked on Olson for the last few years. It is his responsibility that we have a freshman walk-on backing him up, while the other option, were he to be healthy, is not exactly a BCS level QB.

I give Cowan a lot of credit for showing moxie at certain moments. However, I am just not sure if he is the answer based on what I saw last season. As CPB pointed out above, his accuracy is not all that much better and he simply doesn't have Olson's ability to throw the ball.

And, people who are making the absurd comparison between Paus and Olson should take a look at these clips again:

Can someone point to any game in which Paus showed that kind of touch and accuracy in his throws.

Moreover, I don't want to read gossips about Olson not being a team player and that his team-mates don't respect him based on info from practice groupies. If you have read this blog for a while, you know I don't care much about the information coming from practice groupies. That info is mostly worthless. I have been lurking on various UCLA message boards long enough to remember reading practice report posts from 2000, when people were saying Cory Paus was showing "Cade"-like leadership qualities at Spalding Field. So please don't bring that bullsh!t here.

And, also, about the assertion that Olson is afraid to take a hit, again we must have been watching different games last season. IIRC, there were moments when Olson showed no fear in getting out of the pocket and taking hits from the defense.

So put away the concern about Olson. If you are going to hyperventilate about his game without focusing on the sh!tty playcalling and pine for some dude who played huge roles in blowing games at Notre Dame and Florida State, please take that whine somewhere else. You are going to sound just like those clueless, blowhard losers during the Lavin era, who took their frustrations out on a wonderful kid like Cedric Bozeman, instead of focusing on the obvious culprit posing as a head coach on the UCLA sidelines. Ced turned out to be an amazing (legendary in my book) Bruin.

I believe Ben can have Ced's ending, if he is coached up, inspired just like Ced was under Ben Howland. And if he doesn't get that kind of coaching, it would be a travesty if UCLA continues to let a "head coach" like Karl Dorrell waste talents like him next year in Westwood.

GO BRUINS.

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Thanks Nestor for Saving Me the Time of Writing

I have been upset by the misplaced blame focused on BO.

I agree with everything you said -- and have a couple of things to mention.

In case no one has noticed, Olson has taken his hits. He's scrambled when he's had to. And, he's thrown some blocks on the end around play. I resent anyone challenging his cojones.

In an orphan post, in another thread, I talked about a story in today's Houston Chronicle. Seems that Mack Brown, of Texas, has revamped his offensive scheme to maximize the impact of his quarterback, Colt McCoy. That's what coaches do.

If you accept KD's pre-season statements about the talent levels on this team, and I do -- you have to look at why our offense is not playing like the talented and experienced crew that they are. The answer is simple: they are not being given an offensive scheme designed to maximize their talents.

So, stop blaming BO. Stop blaming Markey because he gets stopped for short yardage running up the middle plays that probably should not be called. Stop blaming players for not getting first downs when running to the short side of a short field.

When assembly lines don't turn out enough product or the quality of the product is down -- the CEO gets the heat.

Stop placing the blame on the assembly line workers. They can't do other than what they are told to do.

Blame the CEO.

sjh

PS. I have a fantasy in which the offensive unit rises up, ignores JN and KD, and executes the plays it thinks ought to be run. I'm willing to bet that we would do much better in that scenario.

sjh

by Class of 66 on Sep 12, 2007 4:29 PM PDT 0 recs

And count the plays in the clip, folks.

16-yd TD pass to Moya (?).

21-yd pass to Paulsen.

11-yd pass to Breazell on quick out.

46-yd pass to Paulsen.

20-yd TD pass down the middle to Willis.

24-yd pass to Breazell in center of the field.

23-yd screen pass to Markey.

8-yd TD pass to Everett.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but did that highlight reel contain:

(1) More passes over 15 yards than we've seen THE PAST TWO GAMES?

(2) More passes to TEs than we've seen THE PAST TWO GAMES?

(3) More RB screen passes than we've seen THE PAST TWO GAMES?

(4) More passes down the middle (i.e. not counting inside slant dump-offs within 5 yds of scrimmage) than we've seen THE PAST TWO GAMES?

Just curious.

WHY NOT US? WHY NOT NOW?

by Meriones on Sep 12, 2007 4:31 PM PDT 0 recs

So I'm confused

Do you want to re-hire the same OC we fired last year? Because after the Utah, we got very conservative on offense.

The bottom line is, Ben looked amazing that first game in the clips, living up to all his High School hype in the first drive alone.

I think we saw flashes of that against Stanford, some well delivered deep balls and some nice touch on the screens for TDs to Cowan and Brandon B.

However also in the Stanford game a couple of the long TDs could have been interceptions if not for some excellent adjustments by our receivers.

The concern is we don't want a repeat of last year's "graph"--excellent first game, big question marks raised by game two in a narrow win followed by a collapse on the road where our offense looks lost.

While our "CEO" remains the same, I am hopeful that game two this year was due to Ben pressing a bit against his former school rather than solely play calling.

If we make calls where Ben can be successful, by that I mean mixing in all kinds of passes including a fair mix of deep balls, I have every confidence he will be.

by Free the 16 on Sep 13, 2007 9:33 AM PDT up 0 recs

Audibles

I keep dreaming back of the days when Cade would come up to the line, change the play and have a big gain. I cannot recall a QB ever changing the call at the line under KD. Is that a result of the WCO or KD or our QBs not being confident?

by tasser10 on Sep 13, 2007 10:45 AM PDT up 0 recs

Re-hire JS? NO, but...

... I find it incredible that a team that had LESS experience in the WCS-CO (that's West Coast So-Called Offense) LAST year showed more diversity in playcalling in ONE game than we did in TWO.

Based on eyars past, I have always DREADED hearing a UCLA coach -- whether it's Toledo or Borges or Skipper or Dorrell or Axman or Svoboda -- say we have to "SIMPLIFY THE OFFENSE" for our players.

Are we the ONLY Div. I team that worries about REDUCING the number of available plays as the year progresses, just as other teams start figuring out what our offensive tendencies are?

In other words, why do our teams show less understanding of our offense when other teams show more as the year progresses?

Obviously, this has NOT happened to this eyar's team... YET. If Norvell or Dorrell start talking about dumbing down the offense as the year progresses, we're in a load of trouble.

WHY NOT US? WHY NOT NOW?

by Meriones on Sep 13, 2007 3:25 PM PDT up 0 recs

Strong on theory

Our trainees are strong on theory but weak in putting that theory in practice. I am sure that both can give a lengthy dissertation (in Mr. Dorrell's case a lengthy string of cliches) about exactly how the WCAO will beat any team any time no matter what. That theory is perfect, except it only works with perfect players such as Joe Montana, Roger Craig and Jerry Rice.

I was strong on sailing theory, then I capsized my little sail boat and my wife showed me how strong she was in the actual practice of selling the sail boat (she was in it when my theory went askew.) I also understand the theory of golf perfectly, but I still need to take a lot of replacement balls with me.

We don't need trainees who are still trying to figure out how to implement an offense that just doesn't work. The next thing these theorists will do is bring in a doctor who will start bleeding all our injured players.

I give up. End of rant. I think I'll go find some of that Kool-Aid. It would be so much easier to be happy with whatever these pin-heads do, because we need to support our school. (I'm going to go throw myself before a speeding freight train and end it all.)

by Fox 71 on Sep 13, 2007 8:40 PM PDT up 0 recs

Not sure I agree

Lets throw out game two of each of the last two years playcalling wise as a wash, because they both were too close to the vest conservative.

So comparing game ones, I think we showed some stuff against Stanford that was very promising:

1-The Flea Flicker--nothing close to that in the Utah game of '06, or the rest of the season for that matter.

2-The Shotgun. We saw a very liberal use of it versus Stanford. If we used it at all in '06 I can't recall.

Why? Chai.

Seriously, of all the Dorrell gaffs, how in the hell can you start someone who can't execute a shotgun snap? It was like a Burt Hooten knuckle curve or something when he tried it from the year before.

It's not like he was some third string guy we had to patch in there, he was their number one choice!

Amazing, but I digress.

3-A good mix of run/pass for huge yardage. I think it was equally diverse to the Utah game of '06, if not superior to it. Over 600+ yards in our opener this year. Granted it was Stanford, but we did nothing close to that on them in '06, and we had them at home.

4-Utah's D in '06 basically figured Ben was rusty so we'll challenge him to beat us through the air and stack the box. I think that was a large reason why the diversity of passes was so available. While the Stanford D was not all that great, I don't think they sold out completely to stop the run like Utah did, so the passing lanes weren't so open.

In short, I think we are all nervous that we've seen this film before, from the allowing tons of yards, but winning to the great offense week one to the disappearing one in week two.

It kind of reminds me when we had twins on the team that never quite panned out. Then we recruited another set and most people's take was "twins, no, they'll suck!" The 2nd set of twins? The Ball Brothers, who definately didn't suck.

The moral? I guess, let's wait and see if game three this year equals Washington of last year. It certainly could, team that shouldn't hang with us, on the road. First real crowd noise Ben will have to deal with this year, etc. But let's wait and see on Saturday.

What I do agree with is your take re reducing the playbook.

Not only do we have talented players, but by the mere fact that we could get them admitted at UCLA, seems to me it is not an unrealistic expectation that they should be able to absorb a LARGER playbook than most teams, not a smaller one.

by Free the 16 on Sep 13, 2007 10:06 PM PDT up 0 recs

The above is a reply to Meriones

If that wasn't clear.

by Free the 16 on Sep 13, 2007 10:08 PM PDT up 0 recs

Agree but...

... the criticism near the end of the post about Pat Cowan having a huge role in blowing the losses at Florida State & ND is a but unwarrented in my humble opinion. I think we know who had to do with that (i.e., game calling, preparation, etc).

I also don't think we get anywhere without SPJ as our QB this season, but for me it has more to do with SPJ's (obvious) abilities than PC's deficiencies. I just am not all that high on criticizing PC, who is a tough, hard-nosed, good kid. Like y'all keep saying, blame the CEO.

by uclaike on Sep 12, 2007 4:45 PM PDT 0 recs

Don't assume everyone blames PC

As I recall, he didn't play even one down on defense against either ND or FSU. And I think those games involved breakdowns on the defensive side.

by Fox 71 on Sep 12, 2007 5:25 PM PDT up 0 recs

Dorrell, not PC

"pine for some dude who played huge roles in blowing games at Notre Dame and Florida State"

- I think "some dude" is a reference to CKD.

by swc89 on Sep 12, 2007 9:12 PM PDT up 0 recs

Ben's issues...

are most likely due to play calling IMO. He is slow at throwing the short routes. But they keep calling short throws; the field is shortened and the receivers are crowded.

If they knew how to stretch the field by throwing more long balls the short routes would open up more.

Also, MOST coaches pick up their quarterbacks strengths and weaknesses and adjust to their strengths. If Ben has a rocket for an arm, why aren't they throwing more deep balls?

I think Ben looses confidence in games rather quickly, and that is ALL on the coaching staff. I mean he starts out pretty confident from what I've seen, but then a few misses and the coaching staff doesn't know how to correct and they get conservative and he looses confidence.

A Bigger question for everyone...
I'm sure I'm not the only one who notices that the offensive game plan does not change based on opponent. Karl is a F%#&ing IDIOT!!!!

by FullertonBruin on Sep 12, 2007 4:55 PM PDT 0 recs

In the above footage...

... I saw roll-outs, a screen, and some play action.

Where the heck has all of THAT been THIS year???

WHY NOT US? WHY NOT NOW?

by Meriones on Sep 12, 2007 5:09 PM PDT up 0 recs

I know, that's the utah game last year

the first game of the year. I went to it and like I said in my post I thought Dullard finally changed his ways but he went right back to form. He for some reason just didn't let Ben throw the ball after that game last year, reverting back to his horseshit playcalling. Same thing this year, after the second half of the Stanford game gave me a little hope but by game 2 Dullard once again crushed it with the Dorrellian playbook. Hell even the playcalling in the second half of the Stanford game this year wasn't even that good; it just wasn't atrocious.

By the way great freaking post. Pat Cowan, while a tough guy, is probably the most inaccurate quarterback I have ever seen yet people are complaining BO is too inaccurate? Does anyone remember the Florida St. game or any other game PC started because I could've been more accurate. He was fairly decent in the Arizona St. game but for some reason the coaches opened up the playbook for him last year more than they did for Olson minus the Utah game. I remember right when Olson went down against the thugs at Arizona PC was allowed to throw downfield. Explain that one. Dorrell let's the guy with no arm throw downfield yet has the guy with the monster arm throw short yardage.

by Dorrellian on Sep 12, 2007 9:19 PM PDT up 0 recs

To BO's Credit...

Would you throw the ball to your receiver when hes not looking, right after you have thrown them great balls all day that were just dropped? I sure wouldnt trust my receivers. It's all about that trust and timing and hes just getting the rust of the wheels, but part of the blame goes on the receivers too, not to mention the receivers coach and on top of that, our wonderful ex-NFL receivers coach.

by hbruin84 on Sep 12, 2007 5:24 PM PDT 0 recs

The playcalling has ben atrocious

and the coaches certainly should take a lot of the blame for this pathetic offense, however I'm still not sold on BO and don't see any leadership from him and he has been peaking at the rush. Once you peak at the rush as a qb youre screwed.

by ryebreadraz on Sep 12, 2007 5:51 PM PDT 0 recs

Tape doesn't lie...

On the last Bruin talk after the last game, Tim Cates made a good point saying that opposing teams key in on BO's tendencies after watching the game tape. That is to say, teams can see that BO telegraphs his passes and isn't very quick to make decisions. This said, I still think you're right in saying that bad coaching is the culprit here. Carson Palmer was awful too, until Norm Chow fixed him. Alot of people are making comparisons between BO and Corey Paus, but I see alot of similarities between BO and a junior Drew Olsen. I remember while playing catch one tailgate of that year telling my friend,"Look, I'm Drew Olsen!" Then pausing for about 10 seconds before throwing the ball.
Also, I disagree with you regarding Ced Bozeman. I think he was overrated as a point guard coming out of high school, and he was a terrible PG at UCLA. Howland found a use for him as a 3 whose primary role was to play defense and rebound.

by bruin8uclap on Sep 12, 2007 8:25 PM PDT 0 recs

You don't get the point

I can make a argument Ced's game deteriorated under Lavin when he screwed his psyche and totally misused him.

I can see some of the same issues being played out here.

In any event, I really don't want to read any more attacks on Olson.

by Nestor on Sep 13, 2007 4:36 AM PDT up 0 recs

For the Record ...

In my post earlier this week, I WAS NOT COMPARING BO TO PAUS. I was merely remarking about the boos that I heard Saturday in the RB following some poorly thrown passes and how that reminded me of the Paus era. Paus could not hold Ben's jockstrap.

The point of my post was based on a realization I had following the game that BO may never pan out. I don't give a shit about his HS exploits or the fact that he was #1 in the nation coming out of high school. I will, of course, cut him some slack because of his limited D-1 experience, however, exactly how much slack should he be given?

It's all hypothetical and is the product of a longtime Bruin fan/alum who is pessimistic by nature and paranoid by experience. I am not a KD supporter and have stated that he deserves to be on the shortest leash of all.

Here's to BO having a terrific game in SLC and beyond and to no more boos from Bruin fans to bring back some ugly memories.

by 78Bruin on Sep 13, 2007 11:29 AM PDT 0 recs

Give Him...

At least more than 7 starts to prove himself. Again BO is 6-1 when starting and PC is 3-5. That alone should put to rest some clowns who are pining for PC over BO.

by eoj703 on Sep 13, 2007 11:48 AM PDT up 0 recs

The records

are not a good comparison either. BO's wins have come against weak non-conference foes and Pac-10 cellar-dwellers. PC had to play Oregon, Cal, FSU and Notre Dame.

by tasser10 on Sep 13, 2007 12:02 PM PDT up 0 recs

But then again

FSU and Washington State were great football powers last year right?

by eoj703 on Sep 13, 2007 1:21 PM PDT up 0 recs

Hopefully

As a BYU fan he will be motivated on Saturday. Maybe he was reluctant to beat BYU...?

by SuperBruinMan on Sep 13, 2007 5:10 PM PDT up 0 recs

UCLA vs Utah

Last week I gave you guys a lot of praise for beating us (BYU) even though we won all the statistics, in other words, we should have won! Now you come to Utah and stink up the place and thoroughly embarrass the PAC 10! The voters were obviously way off in ranking you at 11. I am writing this with 49 seconds left in the 3rd quarter because I don't think there is any way you can come back from being down 27-6. It's too bad because now this game makes BYU look bad also and it drops you out of the top 25 for sure. I guess all of you were right about not being well coached. You can't go on the road and win anywhere with your type of performance. That's why they play the game because any team can beat any other team on any given day.

You disappoint me, the PAC 10 and everyone in SoCal.

Adios y les machuca un tren!

by SoCalLDSConvert on Sep 15, 2007 4:46 PM PDT 0 recs

BO

Bruin8uclap-

You're right, the tape doesn't lie, BO stinks and you should replace him.

But what is worse, your team laid down and quit! When we got down 20-0 at least we came back and almost won it. Utah is a hated rival of BYU (like you and USC) but I got to give them credit, they were backed into a corner, laid back their ears and just beat the living H _ _ _ out of you!

by SoCalLDSConvert on Sep 15, 2007 4:54 PM PDT 0 recs