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Spaulding Roundup: No (Immediate) Change At QB

After our anemic offensive showing last two games right now lot of folks are wondering whether CRN and Chow will make any changes at the QB position in near future. Here is Kevin Pearson’s report at PE.com:

"Everything he (Kevin Craft – BN Ed.) needs is inside his head, but he gets going too fast and therefore he makes decisions before he needs to make a decision and gets off the timing the game requires," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said on his Sunday night conference call.

"It's like a Rubik's Cube. He keeps twisting and he hasn't gotten the combination yet. I hope it will come with time."

But how long that takes is becoming an issue. UCLA's offense has not scored a touchdown in two consecutive games and Craft has been unspectacular in both, including an 81-passing yard performance in a 31-10 loss to Arizona on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

Neuheisel said that the competition would remain open this week but at this point, Craft is still ahead of freshman Kevin Prince. Neuheisel said it would still be several weeks before Ben Olson's broken foot heals, meaning Craft will continue to learn on the job.

"He needs to stay in himself and continue to make the plays he is capable of making," Neuheisel said. "We are putting our faith in Kevin. He never makes a mistake. We just hope he will turn the corner."

If CRN is going to make a move at QB, it would obviously be based on discussion with Chow:

So while Neuheisel said "the competition remains open at the position," he added, "unless Norm and I have a conversation, he's still our guy."

As for Chow, from his pov (which syncs with RN’s) our offensive issues are not limited to Craft:

"You see one break down, then you see another guy break down, then you see another guy get called for holding," UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow said. "It's hard now. It's not easy. But I think our guys are resilient. I think young people are resilient, and I think we have to keep working.

"If we knew it was one guy doing it all the time, we'd change it. But there's not a lot for us to change to."

Well, hopefully Craft will reward the trust coaches are placing in him by rewarding them with a much improved performance next weekend against Fresno State. And there is a glimmer of good news from the injury report wrt to next week:

Tight end Cory Harkey will have an MRI test on his left ankle today. He was injured early in the game but kept playing.

Tackle Micah Kia will have his back examined; he left the game after the first half.

Neuheisel said he expects tailback Kahlil Bell (sprained ankle) and wide receiver Nelson Rosario (strained knee) to return for Saturday's game against Fresno State.

If Bell can return at 100 percent, it could potentially be a nice boost for this offense. If he comes back and contribute at the level he did last season, it could take enough pressure off Kevin Craft, getting him in the mindset of just managing the game, instead of trying to force the action like he did during couple of occasions on Saturday afternoon (like when he flicked the ball towards Graves on third down when he could have probably scrambled for a first).

GO BRUINS.

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Comments

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Getting Bell back would be huge

However, if the game is going to be lopsided again, I would like to see a back-up Qb get some snaps. Not to show a lack of faith in Craft, but to acknowledge the reality that with our O line it is very possible that Craft could get dinged and miss some snaps if not an entire game.

We need to get some back-ups some experience when the game is not on the line, so if in the future the game is on the line when they are in, they have some game experience.

It was not tolerable last year nopt playing our inexperienced QBs in the Utah rout, nor should it be this year.

by Free the 16 on Sep 22, 2008 9:27 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Injury report

I severely sprained my ankle on Saturday, just before the game. I was playing racquetball with my father-in-law, who, at 62, is in better shape than most 25-year olds…ok, so he’s a top black belt, so what. He was schooling me until the very last game, which I was about to win…only to sprain my ankle and have my foot swell to the size of an elephant foot.

So I got to watch the game at a bar in San Luis Obispo, with my ankle in ice…and lots of beers. Despite the inebriation and 56 advil pills, I still felt the pain of this game. We had some nice runs, but KC made a bunch of mistakes. I thought the OL played far better than last week. Special teams was horrendous. When all of these issues go away, we will be an average team. I will say, however, that this team is progressing, believe it or not. I think by game 6, we will be able to put some drives together. The boys just need to start playing every game like it is their last.

by tasser10 on Sep 22, 2008 10:10 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

I don't think Kraft is the problem

Replacing him would be a mistake. Until Saturday, we had NO running game. And, even after Saturday it was only an improvement not a transformation. The Offense as a whole is not clicking, and until something clicks the rest won’t work.

Our passing game would be much more effective if we had a ground game you have to respect. Vice Versa, our ground game would find more opportunities if defenses keyed in on stopping our passing game. But, until we find that one thing to build upon, we will continue to make our opponent’s job easier.

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden

by MexiBruin on Sep 22, 2008 11:01 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Betting Line

The sports books have installed Fresno State as a 7-point favorite over UCLA. I’m surprised that the spread isn’t bigger, given the large margins of defeat in our past two games and the way Fresno hung with Wisconsin a couple weeks back. I guess Vegas is downgrading the Bulldogs because of their close shave at Toledo on Saturday, but I expect the line to approach double digits as the week progresses.

by Dexter Fishmore on Sep 22, 2008 11:49 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Kraft isn't doing too bad

Sure he threw some off target balls, and he forced a few (like the one where he ran past the line of scrimmage before he threw) but he also wasn’t getting great play from his receivers. We had at least 2 drive killers that I can remember in dropped balls that should have been caught (at least from my perspective in the stands). Remember the first half of Tennessee where he threw 4 pics? He has zero since then, and that’s with almost no running game. He hasn’t been stellar, but he hasn’t been particularly bad either.

by captainqtp on Sep 22, 2008 2:17 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Offensive Rhythm

seems to be a factor. Put in a new Quarterback and the rest of the offense has to get into a new rhythm or at least timing. This is something I was not so aware of; but I am perceiving it to be a significant factor. Consider NC’s comment, to the effect, if you do not have one Quarterback then you have no Quarterback. And the timing seems to be that established by the Quarterback inantly and in response to the game. The Arizona game got away form us fairly quickly (certainly from a momentum standpoint – a defensive touchdown.) I think putting in a new Quarterback still would have been a loss. If you replace a Quarterback during a game you might be saying, unless the replacement does far worse, he will be the starter for the next game. And that would be starting over in a sense of getting the rest of the Offense in sink.

We are inexperienced. But we are becoming more experienced every game – even if we are losing them. I agree with others on the site. I am impressed with the poise and patience of our coaches.

Go Bruins !!

by northbaybruin on Sep 22, 2008 3:21 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Somewhat OT, but what the heck

Giving up 59 to BYU is bad, and scoring only zero is bad. But BYU threw another shutout last weekend, too. Their defense isn’t all that bad, obvously.

by Fox 71 on Sep 22, 2008 8:05 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

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