great job distilling what many of us here are also wrestling with after seeing this last loss…CRN seems to have the edge needed to bring UCLA back…i question the OLD PRO CHOW…maybe his time has come and gone and CRN just can’t see it…maybe he is way too impressed with CNC to see how bad our offense really is under this past genius…it is so frustrating to watch other college teams move the ball so easily down the field, when we can’t even get one yard at the end zone…i am still shaking my head over the sequence in the second quarter…

and read all the posts. (some of them truly outstanding) before attempting any rational comment on what I saw. I, too, was greatly upset by the very things Nestor has commented upon, but I have a slightly different read. I don’t question Chow at all. It is impossible to believe that he has somehow forgotten how to be an offensive coordinator, so that can’t be it. I do believe that KP was not ready to play, just not sharp. Forgive me, but we would have been better off with Craft. Brehaut is a natural thrower. That much is clear. As for those who have concluded that Chow is holding back some brilliant plays or that Neuheisel has some hidden gems on the bench who might come forth to save us, let me say that I doubt it. Nevertheless, we should probably be trying something new — on punt and kickoff returns, without a doubt. In the running game, Ramirez should get more carries. But here’s the thing: what play is there in anyone’s playbook that doesn’t require EXECUTION? Forgive the shouting, but really. Why can’t Division I scholarship athletes run a pass route or get their pads low enough to create a push, a seam, something positive, on a consistent basis? Why can’t a QB who has thrown countless passes throw a catchable ball that gets to the right place at the right time more than half the time? Why can’t we handle a blitz better when the situation is an obvious one and we’re mid-season? Well, I’ve vented, but I really think maybe we need fewer plays rather than more. We just need to execute them correctly. I believe this is a six-win team, always have, but it’s the lack of development that bothers me. We did do well in some departments some of the time, and I do support the coaches and the team. I just know we can do better and it’s time to do it. You know, a couple of weeks ago I was looking forward to Cal, thinking that we could control their running game because their passing was so inefficient. Little did I think that those words would describe us so perfectly. Maybe I expect too much, but I do think we need a sense, not of panic, which destroys, but of urgency. Time for re-organization and rededication, and we have to do it on the fly. See you at the Rose Bowl.

Very, very keen observations N.

I can live with newbies making mistakes but for a SR such as Paulsen to make his when he is a Captain, NO excuse at all for that. Didn’t call him out in my post but I remember……

This is what I don’t get. CRN is one of the sharper tools in the box, he knows that he has time. Any knowledgeable person following the program knows that this is a work in progress and that it will take time. Time to clean up the prior regime’s mishaps and time to rebuild a once proud program. I get the fact that we are in the “No Mans Land” with our younger players having the talent to make plays yet lack the experience to do so while we have experienced D-1 players that are quite not the playmakers we need to get to where we want to be.

BUT….if CRN is as smart as I think he is AND if he believes our fanbase is as smart/logical as I believe we are, then he must understand that he has our support but DO NOT give us the same crap that KD gave us during his tenure. That series right before halftime is a PERFECT example. You get 9 yds on 1st down, go for the JUGGULAR. If we fail, we have 3rd and short. If we can’t pick up a yard (yes, I know we couldn’t punch it in at the GL), we don’t deserve to win.

I’m still pissed and my thoughts probably aren’t coherent so I may be ranting a bit.

If CRN is going to return UCLA into a program of national significance, then he needs to get with it. IF our future lies with the younger players, then go with them. Let them make their errors this year so that they have experience under their belt and are ready to make the jump next season. I don’t know a single person that has not become a better person without making their fair share of mistakes.

Without risk, there is no reward. All I see at this point is a gun-shy team playing not to lose as opposed to stepping on the field to take what they believe is theirs. CRN talks about getting to the level of suc, it’s going to be a loooong time before we get there. SHOW US how bad you want to win. We’ll take our lumps but don’t leave bullets in the chamber. Fire those suckers!

GO BRUINS!

How quickly people forget that we were estactic to end up with CRN as our head coach. And Chow as OC. Yet thers’s so much vile hatred after this game it sound like were ready for a new head coach. You gotta give CRN’s program 3-4 years before passing harsh judgement. If Dorrell was still in charge what would our record be and what would our future look like? Coaches don’t win games consistenly, talent does. And we need more talent. We’re in a REBUILDING phase (hello) and need another year or two of CRN recruting before we will have the necessary horses to play big time college ball. Take a chill pill and enjoy the process.

I don’t think CRN is afraid of starting young guys. Just look at our OL. The question is why he isn’t playing more of them. I appreciate your comparisons, Nestor, to those first Howland seasons where JF, AA and JS logged in huge minutes as freshmen and sophomores. If this year was supposed to be a rebuilding year anyway, then why not show us a glimpse of the future. Especially if the upperclassmen haven’t stepped up. I would like to see Thigpen return kicks. He may muff a few, but his speed is undeniable and his presence on the field is electric. He’s just exciting to watch. Brehaut would have benefited from a year with the scout team, but since his redshirt has been burned already, just put him on the field. Much has already been said about the QB sneak calls at the 1. Forget the QB rollouts or the runs to the outside. Go smash mouth, hand it off to our 247lb FB and punch it in. Goodness, just hand it off to our FB in any short yardage situation.

Nestor, I do share your frustrations. I wasn’t expecting much wins this year, but I was expecting to FEEL different about this team. Your 3 crystallizing moments are what I would have expected from this team during the KD era, not the CRN era with Chow and and a host of NFL-caliber coaches running our offense. I will be patient and expect to see progress. It’s just hard to stay positive when I watch teams like Georgia Tech break into a major bowl game and beat their rival during Paul Johnson’s 1st year at the helm. This year, they got off to a rocky start but should be looking good to close off the season strong. Their fans know their team is heading in the right direction and feel it at each game.

I thought that moment for me came against Tennessee. But now, I wait patiently again to find that moment when we have in fact “turned the corner”.

Kind of along the same lines I was thinking. I have to admit that I, too, was really disappointed with Paulsen’s seemingly inability to be a real leader on the offensive side of the ball and I hope he can make up for it in upcoming games.

I also wonder sometimes, too, IF Prince had not been injured on that broken play at Tennessee maybe, MAYBE he would have led us to a very convincing win over K-State which would have given us a huge shot of confidence going into the bye week and subsequently going up to Stanford as well. I don’t know. This team (to me anyway) does not seem to exude a lot of confidence right now and when the dam broke after the 2nd half kickoff against Oregon I think some even more bad stuff got into their heads. Just my 2 cents worth.

The kick-off team has some issues and should consider kicking the ball out of bounds. Putting the ball at the 35 is better than giving up 6 pts.

Everything has been said ad nauseam in detail that I don’t care to get into. But here are my simpler observations and like I mention they have already been said.

The 3rd quarter was an aberration. We will not probably see this happen again in our live times. I don’t think any other coaching staff would have adjusted any better than CRN and Co. That fact that it has generated so much buzz is a testament to its extraordinary occurrence.

Somebody said this week, and my apologies to the author for my atrocious memory:“play calling is overrated.” I agree. I think the success of plays balance out and I say this without any data. I just believe things tend to regress to the mean and the more important aspect of play calling is the execution of the play.

The QB “sneek”, the one play call I will question, and not because it was a bad play per se but because we did not have proper personnel to execute it. To expect a kid recovering from a broken face smash-mouth his way to the endzone is just plain stupid.

Prince was not ready and it was obvious from the start. KC should have “managed” the game. How it was not obvious to the coaching staff is beyond me.

I am not going to get into the Breahut-Prince debate, but I’m not going to deny what I say on the field. Holy fucking cow, that dude is awesome. Why he’s not playing I will leave to the coaches. Something there that we are not privy to is holding up Breahut. I don’t think it is the misreads, for you need game time experience to really resolve those issues-nothing like getting pancaked to reinforce your learning, and alternatively, nothing like a completion or correct read to reinforce it also.

Now if you noticed all the things I said, or repeated for that matter, the responsibility falls squarely on the coaches feet. It is too soon to abandon any player or even adjust our season expectation. Let’s move on from this aberration and provide our unyielding support to our team-and I mean every player-who are probably just as bomb shelled as we are, if not worse

(Not implying that anybody here is not supporting our players, just calling a round up and as N. mentioned before, let’s “cowboy up”)

P.S. Norrie sucks and the Angels kicked ass!

Maybe it’s the injuries, etc., but this team does not look like it is improving over the course of the season. Tackling is still terrible, and the offense is still completely ineffective – especially the passing game. Sigh.

I don’t care about matchups and all that nonsense. What it boils down to is that in both the Stanford and Oregon games victory was WELL within grasp and we just didn’t do it. I am not going to delve into why and all that. What it boils down to is that we were perfectly capable of the proper level of execution. See the whole first half at Oregon, and the second half at Stanford. I do not view these as aberrations. The third quarter of the Oregon game was not an indicator of how good we are, it is an example of how young and unfocused we are. We just need to keep out heads on for a whole game. Its just painful to see so much potential and then have a few huge mistakes cost us the game.
I do not think it is unreasonable by any stretch of the imagination to have watched the Stanford or Oregon games and thought we should have won those games and be 5-0 right now (less so the Stanford game, but I still think if we had just one more thing go our way, like Aaron Hester be in there instead of Sheldon Price, we win that game and the Oregon game). I am tired of that view being called delusional. To go into a game and demand it from the start is delusional. To have witnessed the level of play the team is capable of on the field in that particular game and think we can win it is not delusional.
I look back and see a team that should be 5-0 right now, or at least 4-1. Do I expect us to go undefeated all season? No. Did I expect us to start 3-0? No. If I see us fight and be in position to win a game and blow it will I be pissed? Yes, no matter who it was we were facing.

Its funny how quickly you abandon players such as Austin and Paulsen. First of all an offence depends on all 11 players and with one such as the quarter back or any member of the line not preforming up to par every snap it wont work. you could have the best receiving core in the countries and u wont get anything done without all 11 players doing their job. Also logan paulsen has great leadership qualities and one of the best work ethics i have ever seen, if everyone on that team was as dedicated and focused as he was maybe this game and Standford would have been different. Are you so blind that you dont see Paulsen yelling at the offence, talking to the coaches, and encouraging his freshman quarterback after he fumbled and threw an interception? probably not seeing as how you abandon him after making a whooping 5 yard penalty on a 3rd down… UCLA had over 60 offensive plays and Paulsen was in there for everyone running his routs hard and blocking even harder…. how bout u watch whats goin on off the field as well as whats going on on the filed