Impressions of a scrimmage

by BruinAl on Aug 23, 2009 8:46 AM PDT

I'll let others give you guys the statistical breakdowns. I want to set the stage first for those not in attendance. The campus view from the Drake Stadium bleachers was breathtaking, the weather perfect, the sun shining on Royce Hall in the distance, the crowd a blend of blues and smiles.

At least as far as I could see with my six year old's pom poms on top of my head.

My first impression was that our defense is on top of the offense like a blanket. Secondarily, Brian Price blows up a play like no one is even trying to block him. My other impression of the defense is speed to the ball. There is no room for the first team offense. I'm a little disappointed that the offense is struggling so much on the ground.

The six year old is now sitting on my lap and asking me again," which team is UCLA daddy?" While I'm being poked by the foam finger, Damien Thigpen is putting on a show. The first good impression of the offense is our young backs. They are absolutely flying. This team has real playmakers if they get into space.

My special teams impression is that Jeff Locke could bounce punts off the ceiling of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium and that the coverage team better adapt to a guy who can boom it 60. His punting and kicking are nothing short of spectacular.

My best impression of Kevin Prince is his arm; He has a true D1 arm. My second impression is that he made a couple of real bad decisions; one picked and one that should have been picked.

Overall, the picture was blurred by speed, speed and more speed on both sides of the ball. CRN has definately seen what teams like FL have done. They will put up big plays on you because they have so many playmakers. We are headed in that direction (in a hurry).

My players to watch this season; on offense, Franklin and Thigpen and Knox. on defense, never take your eyes off Brian Price if you want to see something spectacular. My last player to watch is Jeff Locke. This guy could be a real special punter. Can't wait for this campaign to get under way.

Oh BTW, Petros was there and he obviously has been hitting out of his league.

Go Bruins!

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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petros

i was glad to see Petros there with his new wife supporting his brother, maybe next time we see him he’ll be in a blue and gold number 30 jersey! i’m happy he’s not like every other idiot that came out of SUC, some people thiks he’s annoying i personally like the fact that he tells like it is.

G.Granillo

by g.granillo on Aug 23, 2009 9:16 AM PDT reply actions

Petros

He is the funniest guy to ever come out of SUC. Not to mention it was great beating his team every year. LOL.

by BruinAl on Aug 23, 2009 11:30 AM PDT reply actions

Question for Al and others re. Locke

How was the hangtime for his punts? One thing that really bugged me about our punting efforts last few years was that while Perez could really launch it, lot of his posts were line drives. It was leading to lot of good returns as they weren’t really giving our special teams guys to spring upfield.

Any thoughts in terms of comparison between Perez and Locke?

by Nestor on Aug 23, 2009 2:15 PM PDT reply actions

Hangtime

was amazing. They weren’t line drive punts at all. They were perfect spirals every time. I’d say he has a little more power than Perez based on what I saw yesterday. Even though he managed to bounce a 46 or so yard punt out at the 1 yard line, what some people have been saying is that he doesn’t quite have Perez’s finesse yet.

by captainqtp on Aug 23, 2009 3:54 PM PDT up reply actions

That is encouraging to hear

by Nestor on Aug 24, 2009 4:33 AM PDT up reply actions

Awesome post.

if my 3 yeard old was at the scrimmage with me, then I wouldn’t have been able to write a report since I would have been chasing him and trying to keep him occupied the whole time, instead of sitting there and actually watching (which is exactly what happened to me at the spring game!), so you did pretty good it sounds like! My kid is only still is when he is sleeping. I am hoping he’ll be able to use some of that energy in the Rose Bowl some day! Heh. A dad can dream.

by captainqtp on Aug 23, 2009 4:01 PM PDT reply actions

Locke

The impressive thing was the hang time. His 50+ yard field goal was pretty good too. I think Perez had a tendency to hit those low rifle shots occasionally. This guy can kick it high and still out kick his coverage. This guy could be a real weapon, he just needs to be calibrated. Yeah the kid kept me from some of the details. The cool part is she keeps talking about it. We’ll see how she does at the Rose Bowl soon.

by BruinAl on Aug 24, 2009 6:14 AM PDT reply actions