At The Heart of UCLA’s Complex Problems: The Exposed "Filthy Five"

Nevada has a much better QB and Cal was forced to respect the passing game. Cal couldn’t drop both safeties into the box against Nevada, because unlike us, Nevada would have taken advantage of it.

Also, and I cannot emphasize how important I think this is, Cal didn’t have Mike Mohamed for the Nevada game. The guy is not only a beast, but a very smart defender and the leader of their defense. Having him (he is essentially their defensive QB) back makes a huge difference in their ability to play smart.

was that Cal had an extra week of prep time, AND had already seen the option against Nevada. That made the Cal D MUCH less vulnerable to the things UCLA does well on offense than the Bruins will be seeing pretty much all year (I suspect the Duck D will know what they’re doing too, since their own offense is option-based, even though a number of the details are different).

…a QB who can be moderately accurate. As Prince has demonstrated time and time again, he can’t seem to hit anyone in stride, often throwing behind his receiver (which often leads to INTs).

Especially since their DC is new, it might have taken them a few games to learn his schemes. So far it looks like it was a good hire for them.

I wasn’t advocating that Bell is the better QB. I trust CRN’s judgment that Prince is the best QB for our offense at this snapshot of time.

That being said, I think Prince should still be benched because laughing on the sidelines is simply inexcusable. That and that alone is why I’m calling for Bell to start at Oregon. Prince and Brehaut need to learn that losing is not acceptable and chuckling it up when the Golden Bears are mauling us is disgraceful.

…but when you look at who we recruited and brought into the program, it really begs the question of why we’re starting a converted TE at DT.

In the other thread, I posted:

As I’ve said, from my observations, our defensive linemen have not developed under Howard. Their technique in shedding blocks has not qualitatively improved. As for our defensive ends, I have not seen any development in their ability to utilize basic moves (such as the swim move) than what they came into the program with. Our defensive linemen, like our WRs, seem to be a pretty much known quanity once they get to UCLA. When they leave, they were more or less what they were when they arrived. Yes, they’re bigger and stronger, but that’s not because of Howard, that’s because of their work in the weight room and the fact they are still growing young men. In terms of “coaching up” the talent, Howard, IMHO, has been deficient. Our defensive line has looked good only because Howard was lucky enough to have elite talent (Brian Price, Brigham Harwell, Bruce Davis) coming into the program that got pressure on the QB and made it look like he was doing his job. Can you point out which defensive linemen came into the program and got better (in terms of technique or ability not attributable to weight or strength gain) under Howard? As for Korey Bosworth, I’m sure he’s a great guy, good kid and all that, but I don’t think his technique was that good, his stats were mediocre, and I’d say 95% of his success was due to the defense having to key in on stopping Brian Price, Datone Jones, and Akeem Ayers. Howard is an okay coach, but okay isn’t going to cut it in this program anymore. I think it says a lot that despite bringing in numerous defensive linemen over the past 5+ seasons (David Carter, Reginald Stokes, Jeff Miller, Dylan Rush, Andy Keane, Darius Savage, Justin Edison, Brian Price, Datone Jones, Damien Holmes, Iuta Tepa, Keenan Graham, Owa O., Sealii Epenesa, Cassius Marsh, Rykeem Yates, Derrick Bryant, and Wesley Flowers) we’re having to start a converted TE at DT. Of all those guys we brought in, exactly 1 has left early for the NFL. A converted TE at starting DT should say a lot, especially when you look at how guys like Stokes, Keane, and Edison, who were ranked higher than Bosworth out of HS, who were certainly considered better defensive lineman than Nate Chandler, a freakin’ TE, have not developed into reliable players for UCLA under Howard.

All-in-all, we’ve brought in enough guys that, had Howard developed the talent, we should have 2 to 3 solid starters and only be forced to work in one young or inexperienced guy. Kind of concerning in a Reggie Moore kind of way.