Spaulding Roundup: Reviewing Tapes & Shuffling In The Depth Chart

As the Bruins look to recover from Saturday’s nightmare, coaches are promising to go through the entire game and figure out what they can do to address some of the glaring concerns (there are so many of them) facing this football team. From Chris Foster in the LA Times:

The aftermath of the 59-0 shellacking Brigham Young laid on UCLA on Saturday had Bruins coaches poring over the film while trying to prop up their players' psyches Sunday.

That will require a detailed review of the horror film -- for the Bruins -- that was shot in Provo, Utah. It will provide players, and coaches, a to-do list that must be at least partially handled before Saturday's game against Arizona.

"When you take a tail-whipping like we took, the first thing you want to do is throw away the tape," Coach Rick Neuheisel said. "The second thing is to analyze it ad nauseam because you have to fix it.

"So we will spend more time on tape and more time on the players, not berating, but in teaching mode. The coaches will evaluate themselves, in terms asking, 'Are we asking more and expect more in terms of schemes?' "

One thing the coaches will continue to ask is that the Bruins try to run the ball. UCLA has 38 yards rushing, averaging 0.8 yards a carry, in two games.

"We have to control the game," Neuheisel said. "We can't have our defense out there for 80 plays."

Well to keep defense off the field, coaches will have to figure out a way to kick start a dead running game. Brian Dohn reports that there may be lot of shuffling going on in the OL and RB depth charts this week:

Senior tailback Kahlil Bell is expected back, but junior Chane Moline could plummet on the depth chart as the coaching staff looks at younger talent.

Offensive tackle Mike Harris could challenge for a starting job, but starting center Micah Reed is expected to miss at least a game, maybe more, with a sprained right knee.

As of today, Jake Dean is the starter, but that could change by Saturday's Pacific-10 Conference opener against Arizona. […]

At the forefront are adjustments to the running game, which, in UCLA's case, could be termed the crawling game.

"The only way I know (to improve it) is hard work, and maybe some different backs," Neuheisel said. "Chane has had some chances and hasn't burst onto the scene. I'm not faulting Chane, just we might have to try some different combinations."

More on the OL shuffling from Dohn:

With Reed injured, starting right tackle Nick Ekbatani is also the backup center, and he could slide there while Harris gets a look at tackle.

Also, Neuheisel said sophomore Brandon Bennett and true freshman Jeff Baca could also factor into the mix.

"We'll look at some different combinations," Neuheisel said. "We're always going to try and find our best five, so we'll look at the different options."

They have no choice to but try out different combinations because what they have put together so far has provided nothing positive, in terms of production on the ground. Again, this is something that is not surprising given the fact that coaches are dealing with an OL that features converted TEs and DL. So hopefully they can figure out something in the short term that allows them to generate a running game that is at least serviceable. Moreover, it is good to hear we might see more youngsters getting shot at TB because that position is in desperate need for speed.

Also from the same article Dohn indicated that Ayers might be getting shot over Hale at LB. Given what we saw on Saturday, it would be a logical move.

Lastly, it looks like the comparison to Howland’s first year resonated beyond BN. Adam Rose from LAT also brought up CBH’s first year to offer his “small dose of perspective” on “What’s Bruin.”

Remember Ben Howland's first year as the men's basketball coach? The Bruins went 7-12 in Pac-10 play and finished 7th in the conference -- the worst result for a UCLA basketball team. Ever. Their 17 total losses was among the worst in the post-Wooden era, second only to the previous year's team.

That was in 2003. The next year they were back in the tournament. Then they made the next three Final Fours. Now they look like a perennial threat for the national championship.

Sure, football has a longer rebuilding process. No, the monopoly is not over. But expect the prodigal son to rise -- eventually.

Glad Adam is paying attention to what we have been saying here on BN.

GO BRUINS.