The onside kick decision

by beeru on Oct 12, 2008 10:14 AM PDT

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

As my first fan post I thought I'd dissect CRN's decision to go for it after that first TD last night. Everyone has their own opinion on the subject. Not going for it sure looks good right now. What I really want to look at is why decisions like this get me so excited for what the future of UCLA football looks like.

CRN showed us again last night that he's playing to win. He will take the calculated risks. This is his coaching style and I love it. It was a gamble that he took last night with the onside kick. It most likely wasn't in the gameplan, but his tenacious coaching instinct prompted him to do it.

So lets look at the decision a little deeper. We have an offense that is extremely rhythmic. Our QB, bless is heart, is hot or cold. We just drove down the field and ate up a big chunk of time and our offense is just starting to click. We needed to get them back on the field before we got out of sync. We have their fans out of the game. Our defense has shown, for the time being we can stop the spread; so,if we don't recover they can get a stop. I stand behind this decision one hundred percent.

But heres the cold hard truth, this defense, when put up against the wall, crumbles. Im too lazy to pull out the stat book, but when they get put in a bad position due to turnovers or special teams the result, more often than not, is a touchdown. We are terrible at changing the momentum back in our favor. Why? I'd argue a few reasons, no pass rush, not a great secondary, and no defensive leader.

So knowing this, why was this still the best decision? The only way to for our defense to get better at changes in momentum, is for them to be put in the situation and grow from it. We have a young team that is just going to learn and soak up each and every experience. CRN also showed that he still has trust in them and that means a lot to a player because they in turn buy into him. By making these kind of calls, hes a players coach and not only does our team love that, but RECRUITS love that.

Most importantly, this kind of decision is a split second call. I doubt he thought about all of this before they ran it. It was a gut feeling he ultimately had. Just wait until that killer instinct has the skills behind him to make the play. Or better yet, if we don't recover it, to have the defense that will cover his rear end.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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Comments

Karl Dorrell never attempted an onside kick

Rick plays for keeps and KD plays not to lose. I’ll go with Rick’s philosophy every time. He’s trying to change the culture of losing established by the banished one. I don’t believe KD ever attempted an onside kick when it mattered and rarely did he gamble on 4th down.

by bruin75 on Oct 12, 2008 10:30 AM PDT reply actions

Trust is big

One of the things I really don’t like is when you have a QB or something throwing a fit on the sidelines wanting to go for it on fourth and short. It looks bad from both directions, and makes it seem as if the coach doesn’t have faith in his players even if it’s the tactically correct decision to make, and it makes the QB look weak as well, raising the issue that they couldn’t get it done with three downs.

This is where I like what CRN is doing. He fosters the trust between he and his staff and his players. He wants his guys to know that he has their back and trusts them to make plays. You saw this at the end of the game when much was made of Craft and Co. getting in each others faces expressing frustration. They were looking inwardly on what they could have done better. They were taking responsibility and ownership of the situation. No one plays The Blame Game in CRN’s sidelines and huddles. Responsibility and Trust. If that’s the new culture CRN is bringing, I will take it.

by Tydides on Oct 12, 2008 10:54 AM PDT reply actions

The onside kick towards the end

of regulation that went high in the air and was tipped by Dominique Johnson into the Oregon player’s hands was one of the better onside kicks I’ve seen in a long time, pro and college. So obviously Neuheisel knew Forbath could do it so it was a calculated risk.

by bruin95 on Oct 16, 2008 12:07 AM PDT reply actions