Spaulding Roundup: Defensive Changes, WR Starting Rotation Weirdness & Other UCLA Notes
by Nestor on Nov 3, 2010 5:27 AM PDT
in Football
Email
Print
Let's start the Humpday roundup with a look at our defense. Apparently Coach Rick Neuheisel (who you will note from the video in this post is not MIA in his scheduled public appearances) has been spending some time working with the defense for the second straight week. He stressed in his comments that it didn't have to do much with "confidence" issue in his defensive coaches, and had more to do with making sure that top receivers who were working out with the scout team (more on that later in the post) were "integrated properly" into the workout.
Either way it's certainly a changeup and the Bruins need some shakeup on defense very badly after giving up almost 1200 yards in their last two games. One of the changes we will see this weekend is Jordan Zumwalt getting his first start at Mike LB. Of course Zumwalt should have gotten the start anyway after coming off a huge game in which he had 6 tackles and a crucial sack (giving the offense a chance to win the game), he is going to be in the lineup by necessity. From the LA Times:
"I'm it right now," Zumwalt said. "There is no one left behind me. I have to step up and make the right plays."
Zumwalt is an aggressive player, showing that with six tackles against Arizona. That included a sack on a third down late in the game, "that gave us a chance to win the game," Neuheisel said.
Where Zumwalt will need to get up to speed is running the defense, though linebackers Sean Westgate and Akeem Ayers will help out.
"Those guys know the defense like the back of their hands," Zumwalt said. Besides, he said, "it is always best to know what you're doing. But once the ball is snapped, if you don't know what you're doing, play fast and cover yourself."
You can check out this week's depth chart courtesy of Brandon Huffman from BruinReportOnline.com. In addition to Zumwalt starting at MLB, it is interesting to see Sheldon Price listed as Aaron Hester's backup. Guess the coaches don't want to rush back Price in (who is back in practice and might be ready to go). Hester is excited to get his starting spot back after losing it couple of weekends ago. His comments to Jon Gold were interesting:
"I did some good things in the first half of the season, and I did some bad things; unfortunately, the bad things gave the coaches a change of heart," Hester said. "It just made me realize how precious football is to me. I know I'm not a second-string caliber guy. I know I deserve to be starting, so I went out there and I proved myself to them." [...]
His time away did not sap his confidence, though, and nor will his temporary move to the bench.
"I want to go to the NFL," Hester said. "I can't go to the NFL being second-string. I want to go to the NFL, and I want to prove that I can be an NFL player, and I have to be on the field to do that. Any opportunities the coaches give me, I'm going to take advantage of it."
I think Hester's comments are fine. Still it's kind of weird to see the guy so zeroed in on his individual goals, when his sole focus should be on making his team better. Hester has a lot of raw athleticism and potential but he has been on the receiving end of number of dumb penalties (although the call against him last weekend was iffy). IMO Hester and the entire defense should prolly keep the talk of going to the NFL to themselves for now and put all of their energy in making sure they don't embarrass the UCLA defense on game days, which has become a common occurrence during this football season.
As mentioned above, Coach Neuheisel made with the media yesterday after what Jon Gold described as a "high-intensity" and "high-quality" practice. Neuheisel talked about a number of issues including having guys like Randall Carroll, Josh Smith and Ricky Marvray work out with the scout team due to attrition issues and wanting to give the defense a taste of speed. He also gave updates no number of injury and personnel related notes:
So I want to zero into the issue re. wide receivers. As CRN noted Carroll, Smith and Marvray worked out with scout team due to few issues. Smith and Marvray are still working their way back through suspensions. The scout team right now needs bodies due to attrition issues. Moreover, having those guys in the scout team gives defense chance to practice with guys with speed given how they are getting ready to face a team headlined by Jacquizz Rodgers.
What concerns me though is that I really hope Rick Neuheisel doesn't let the UCLA offense stagnate with a starting WR rotation of Nelson Rosario and Taylor Embree. Here are couple of bullets from ESPNLA's "quick hits":
*Receiver Nelson Rosario returned to practice after sitting out the last two weeks with an ankle sprain. Rosario practiced full speed and said he would be ready to play this weekend. "It's a little sore, but nothing I can't push through, he said. "It didn't really hurt straight line at all, it's just hurt a little bit cutting off of it, but nothing too bad. " [...]
*Receiver Taylor Embree practiced with a red no-contact jersey after suffering a bruised sternum on a punt return against Arizona. Neuheisel said it was precautionary. "We didn't want him to take a hit, but he'll be ready to go," Neuheisel said.
I don't understand how coaches (that includes Neuheisel, Chow and Moore) can justify starting these two guys not only because of their nagging injuries but their total lack of production during this season. Embree and Rosario have not gotten it done. Despite being the primary target, Embree's numbers are less than impressive.
Embree has caught 13 passes for 158 yards all season. He has ZERO TD catches. In contrast despite barely getting any action Randall Carroll already has 7 catches for 141 yards and 1 TD. Josh Smith already has 6 catches and 1 TD while Ricky Marvray has team leading 14 receptions and 2 TDs. I do think Embree and Rosario have roles in our team but they just don't bring the game breaking, play making abilities of Carroll, Marvray, and Smith.
It is up to Chow (he is the "coordinator" of this offense) to ensure he puts together schemes that maximizes the playmaking potential of Carroll, Marvray and Smith to add an explosive element to our offense. We saw some glimpses of it this past weekend but it needs to happen consistently while also not forgetting our running game. We are going to watch our offense very closely this weekend. This is a huge game for Norm Chow to devise a dynamic game plan and put together a balanced performance against a very mediocre Oregon State defense. No excuses.
As for Oregon State, Paul Buker from the Oregonian has an update on Oregon State's various injury related issues and included the following funny note re. UCLA OL courtesy of Beaver DC Mark Banker:
We spoke with defensive coordinator Mark Banker and DTs (and housemates) Brennan Olander and Kevin Frahm after practice about the keys to stopping the UCLA Pistol offense -- which probably won't look too much like the Pistol Nevada runs if you watch Neuheisel's team on Saturday.
Banker, who spent a long time talking to the defense at the team's indoor facility, said UCLA is using the Pistol more as a look these days, max-protecting QB Richard Brehaut, and running its tailbacks wide (Johnathan Franklin is No. 3 in Pac-10 rushing) behind some pulling O-linemen who look like something out of Jurassic Park.
From left to right, UCLA's starters on the offensive line are Micah Kia (6-5, 321), Darius Savage (6-4, 339), Ryan Taylor (6-3, 298), Eddie Williams (6-1, 329) and Mike Harris (6-5, 319). ... tight end Cory Harkey is 6-5, 259 and back-up TE Joseph Fauria is 6-7, 259.
"A lot of bodies in there,'' said Banker, illustrating the problems posed by a team trying to stop the Bruins' run game.
And this weekend we will get Sean Sheller in the mix boosting that OL, which did a solid job of pass protection against a stout Arizona front-7. As mentioned above no excuses if the Bruin offense doesn't get it cranking this weekend at the Rose Bowl. At this point we have talked the issue with our defensive coordinator to death, the spotlight for rest of this season is going to be on Norm Chow. He needs to get it done.
GO BRUINS.
32 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
on Hester's comments
I’d bet a strong majority of BN participants have a job. I’ll go on to assume the vast majority of those employed do not own the company/organization they work for – I certainly don’t. I’d like to see the company do well, and I know my successes help that happen…but I’m certainly motivated by my paycheck. Pay is a consideration when looking for jobs. Many of us probably viewed our UCLA (or other) education as preparation for the workforce, whether or not our major was relevant to our actual jobs.
I think it’s quite reasonable for Hester to be thinking about what he needs to do to get the job he wants. I do agree with you, Nestor, that he shouldn’t be so blatant about it in public. I also realize that even if he were to play multiple years in the pros, he’ll still need his college education for the remainder of his life. That being said, he’s got more of an idea of what he wants to do after graduation than I did!
Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
Right
He is in a battle for his position, and while he could pull out the platitudes about helping the team win, I’d rather guys be competitive than trite (though perhaps best is competitive in private and trite in public)
I’d also add that if he had said “I love UCLA and football is giving me the chance to get my degree so I can become a doctor which is what I want to do with my life” it would probably receive more praise…
by britishbruin on Nov 3, 2010 6:06 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Agree re: making too much out of Hester's comment
The exact context of the question is missing (as far as I know) and we are parsing the words of a kid.
But still, I counted 19 references to “I” or “me” or variants thereof in a comparatively brief discussion by a member of a team which is playing dreadful football. That’s a mouthful.
by peggysue69 on Nov 3, 2010 6:42 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Hester talks much
This kid is trash-talking on the field regularly, despite his team being mired in losing/blowout situations. Certainly welcome less talk and more results from Hester.
actually graduated in 85, the olympics and h.locklear were distracting...
Agreed
I’d like to see him walk the walk as opposed to just listening to him talk about how he’s going to improve every time he screws up.
by all hail westwood on Nov 3, 2010 1:04 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree with all the comments on Hester's remarks...
and just want to add that at this point in our season and given the failures of our defense (more importantly our DC), that it’s probably not too important what motivates a player to do his best as long as he does his job well and make plays when we need them. I think his comments are just more evidence that our coaches are less influential on players than they could be, but it he’s a gamer than he needs to put his money where his mouth is and get er done. Otherwise keep the selfish talk to himself.
I really hope we don't keep starting Rosario and Embree because of seniority
But rather because they’re the best. That doesn’t seem to be the case right now, and of course that goes back to conservatism among the coaching staff.
Frustrated & confused
by the coaches continued blind faith in non-productive and nicked up guys when there are perfectly viable alternatives. The mismangement of our personnel is another area the staff has failed royally.
What would be really interesting
Is to get a clear picture on who makes the specific personnel decisions re. WR rotations and who is packaged in what plays. Who makes that call? Does Reggie Moore set the top-4? Does Wayne Mose set the RB rotation?
I have heard Chow have been making final determination in terms of QB starts (deciding to start Prince v. KSU and Cal). Does he also make the calls on WRs?
From what we know publicly Norm Chow has total control of this offense with input and consultation from Neuheisel. So the personnel decisions fall on him. It is up to him to “coordinate” (his job) with rest of the staff to make sure we have as many playmakers on the field at the same time, creating mismatches in a dynamic offense.
Really good point...
Has anyone posed this question to Jon Gold?
by Jyaan on Nov 3, 2010 10:14 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
The answers I've read from various reports
Are that position coaches determine who is in for each play. That’s what Chow said at one interview, implying that while he CAN overrule the decisions of a position coach, it’s not something that’s usually done. Chow, as qb coach, is the position coach for that.
In other words, it would take an overrule of authority and thus dissent. At this point I think all that’s necessary when it comes to receivers. Moore should be minimized as much as possible until fired. Until now Palcic has decided who plays in OL, Moore receivers, Moses running backs, even Gansz for special teams.
And how those decisions are made
I realize that coaches need to keep some things secret, but I would really like to know how some of the personnel decisions are made. I am baffled by some of them (e.g. KP @ Cal – it should have been obvious before that game that KP wasn’t physically up for it, despite his gamer’s assurances). I have speculated what factors could have lead to CNC sticking with KP at that game – was Bre coughing up blood that morning? What up? I give Chow some slack for the KSU and Stanford games – he may have though KP was going to shake off the rust and it was early in the season.
More worrisome have been the decisions who to play at WR and RB – there are more viable choices for these positions and we see productive players getting scant play time or completely passed over. This doesn’t seem to be trying to win the game.
I don’t think that the D has been as baffling but there are questions on that side, too – why didn’t they pull Ayers last week?
by KnudsenRockne on Nov 3, 2010 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions
regarding our WR production
by DoubleTroubleBruin on Nov 3, 2010 8:53 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
ok i need to stop posting from my phone
What I was trying to say is, even though carrol and smiths numbers look better in comparison, its worth noting that their playing time was with brehaut at QB and a more pass intense offense being run.
by DoubleTroubleBruin on Nov 3, 2010 8:57 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Ricky Marvray has a team leading 14 receptions and 2 TDs
That says it all. At this point in the season the top receiver on a team, with any semblance of a passing attack, would have 30 catches and 4-5 TDs. The following are the numbers for the other Pac10 schools top receivers in catches and TD’s
Arizona: 49 and 5
ASU 32 and 2
28 and 4
Cal 38 and 3
32 and 5
Oregon 47 and 9
OSU 23 and 1
19 and 4
Stanford 33 and 6
U$C 43 and 8
UW 45 and 10
WSU 49 and 6
What a dramatic difference. Most of the schools go to their fourth or fifth receiver before you see numbers like our top receiver. Only Oregon St. is remotely close to us but still a bit better. All the others are significantly better. There just won’t be the kind of winning that we want as long as the offense is unidimensional.
yes
This is a much more clear way of saying what I was struggling to say above
by DoubleTroubleBruin on Nov 3, 2010 8:59 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
A bit of context for Embree's numbers:
Embree has 13 catches this season and no TDs as Nestor mentioned.
The context is that Embree caught 40 balls as a freshman and 45 more as a sophomore. Which means he’d have to catch 27 passes in the last 4/5 games to reach the same production he had as a freshman. It’s tough to say that Embree has improved given his falloff in production.
Here is another contextual stat: Embree caught 85 passes his first two years in the program. Only two of those went for touchdowns. That’s really an amazing number: only two touchdowns in 85 receptions. It’s no wonder he has zero scores in 13 catches this season because the truth is, two seasons and 8 games into Embree’s career, he’s just not a guy who finds the end zone with any regularity.
And I forgot to ask?
Has Embree ever run a punt or kickoff back for a touchdown?
I don’t think he has.
So he has 98 receptions for two scores plus probably a few dozen punt and kickoff returns for no touchdowns. You have to wonder at what point will someone in power notices this guy does not put up points for us.
You’d have to think that simply throwing deep to Randall Carroll a couple of times a game and letting RC and Marvray run back the kicks would result in more points than just two touchdowns in well over 100 touches.
Well
This is where I give the staff the benefit of the doubt. Well sort of. Both Carroll and Marvray have had issues with handling the ball during punt returns. That has been the consistent report and we saw it in person when we checked them out last spring.
I do think however that Josh Smith needs to be used at punt return. He did that at CU. Don’t understand why he can’t do it at UCLA.
Embree's return stats
This year: ten for 89 yards, no TDs. Long of 31, meaning the other nine averaged 6.44 yards. Fair catches are not included. The 8.9 average puts him at 37th nationally in punt return average, 6th in the Pac.
Before this year: no returns attempted, per the official UCLA stats.
Source of national rankings here. Their rules for this particular ranking: to qualify, player must have played in 75% of his team’s games and have a minimum of 1.2 punt returns per game played. I hadn’t used this site before, but it pretty much has anything you could think of, and then some.
Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
More context for UCLA TD's in 08 & 09
Here is a list of UCLA scores for 2008 & 2009:
2008 UCLA Scores
v Tenn 3TD 2FG
v BYU 0TD 0FG
v Az 1TD 1FG
v Fresno 3TD 2FG 1SF
v WSU 4TD 0FG
v Ore 3TD 1FG
v Stan 2TD 3FG
v Cal 2TD 2FG
v OSU 0TD 2FG
v Wash 3TD 2FG
v ASU 0TD 3FG
v USC 1TD 0FG
2009 UCLA Scores
v SDSU 4TD 2FG
v Tenn 1TD 4FG
V KSU 2TD 3FG
V Stan 1TD 3FG
v Ore 1TD 1FG
v Cal 2TD 4FG
v Az 1TD 2FG
v OSU 2TD 1FG
v Wash 2TD 1FG
v WSU 5TD 2FG 1SF
v ASU 2TD 3FG
v USC 1TD 0FG
v Templ 3TD 2FG 1SF
We got 22TD’s in 2008 and and 27 in 2009 (almost 1/3 of them were against Washington teams)
Not sure if this is due to Embree’s not getting into the endzone or that our O was so bad that we were, on average, finding the endzone less than once per quarter.
by KnudsenRockne on Nov 3, 2010 11:48 AM PDT up reply actions
Hmmm. We got more TD's than FG's both seasons
by KnudsenRockne on Nov 3, 2010 11:50 AM PDT up reply actions
One of two, at least.
Used the cfbstats.com site I mentioned upthread to look at our TD/FG totals back to 2004, and then looked at Stanford’s for the same time, just as a comparison.
UCLA
2004 45 TD/15 FG, 6-6
2005 62 TD/13 FG, 10-2 (MJD alone 20 TD)
2006 31 TD/28 FG, 7-6
2007 31 TD/25 FG, 6-7
2008 22 TD/18 FG, 4-8
2009 27 TD/28 FG, 7-6
2010 20 TD/10 FG, 3-5 so far
Stanford
2004 28 TD/16FG, 4-7
2005 32 TD/15 FG, 5-6
2006 15 TD/8 FG, 1-11
2007 27 TD/15 FG, 4-8
2008 39 TD/14 FG, 5-7
2009 59 TD/16 FG, 8-5 (Gerhart alone 28 TD)
2010 43 TD/13 FG, 7-1 so far
When I started this, I thought I’d see a reasonable correlation between a higher proportion of TDs and overall record. I’m surprised to find that doesn’t seem to be the case, barring seasons with superstar RBs. So, I thought I’d try a couple of different ways of looking at it. Looking at the entire Pac-10 back to 2004, here are each team’s totals from the season(s) they had the most FGs during that time (years not specifically noted). In parentheses are the number of TDs they scored during that season. Multiple TD totals in parentheses mean the team had the same high-FG total multiple times.
Arizona 21 (39 TD)
ASU 24 (50 TD)
Cal 15 (54 TD, 48 TD, 54 TD again)
Oregon 23 (49 TD)
OSU 22 (49 TD, 46 TD)
UCLA 28 (31 TD, 27 TD)
$c 16 (54 TD, 50 TD, 64 TD)
Stanford 16 (28 TD, 59 TD)
UW 18 (37 TD)
WSU 14 (38 TD, 47 TD)
OK, that made the contrast between FG and TD a bit more obvious. The last thing I looked at was the number of seasons a Pac-10 team has had with 18+ FG since 2004 – sixty “team-seasons” worth. The list, again with years ignored other than ours:
18 FG: 2008 UCLA (22 TD), UW (37 TD), ASU (43 TD), Oregon (71 TD)
19 FG: ASU (31 TD), OSU (43 TD), Oregon (61 TD)
20 FG:
21 FG: OSU (32 TD), Arizona (39 TD)
22 FG: OSU (46 TD), OSU (49 TD)
23 FG: Oregon (49 TD)
24 FG: ASU (50 TD)
25 FG: 2007 UCLA (31 TD)
26 FG:
27 FG:
28 FG: 2009 UCLA (27 TD), 2006 UCLA (31 TD)
I intentionally left in the blanks to preserve the scale. What this screams to me is that even when other Pac-10 teams score a lot of FGs, they score a lot more TDs. For the entire rest of the league, over six years, the smallest TD-to-FG margins were +11, +12, and +14. Our TD-to-FG margins since 2004 are +30, +49, +3, +6, +4, -1, and (so far in 2010) +10.
Kai Forbath is amazing. Justin Medlock before him was excellent as well. However, I think this backs up what many of us have been thinking for a while: over nearly five seasons, with two coaching staffs, we have been way too dependent on the kicking game – or perhaps less confident in our offense than any other team in the league. I’m not saying just go for it on fourth downs and all will be well. I know all about the patchwork OL, KP’s playing despite injuries, suspensions, etc, etc, etc. This just highlights to me the difference we’ve been seeing when we watch the rest of the league play.
Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
Something in the air in the Morgan Center??
Last basketball season: complete bewilderment on BN over how and why the coaching staff chooses which players are on the court, with no apparent consideration of production or skill. Choices seem to favor players who have been in the program over newcomers, regardless of what they actually do on the court.
This football season: complete bewilderment on BN over how and why the coaching staff chooses which players are on the field, with no apparent consideration of production or skill. Choices seem to favor players who have been in the program over newcomers, regardless of what they actually do on the field.
Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
To be fair
I like Embree and Rosario. They seem like good guys who represent us well. I want to see a little more effort and intensity for them though. As for hoops, I can’t say that I liked you know who. He was a disgrace to the four letters.
I have nothing negative to say
about Embree and Rosario as young men and representatives of UCLA. Embree’s just a prime example of a player who’s on the field far more than his stats would seem to dictate, especially when we have had players like Jerry Johnson available. Rosario seemed for a while like he’d actually be able to catch this year, unlike last year – I hope he can get back to that. Harkey’s another player getting more time than it seems he should. Again, nothing personal whatsoever, just looking at production, or lack thereof.
Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
Agree
I think Rosario has the physical tools to be a good one. He just needs to really step up in terms of effort. That is why making him come off the bench might be a good idea.
It's a complete pity
Because I came into this season thinking Prince/Rosario were just going to tear secondaries apart.
by all hail westwood on Nov 3, 2010 1:06 PM PDT up reply actions
Remember the pistol O pre-RB
The emphasis was almost entirely learning the running game with KP as QB. Could be reason Rosario and Embree have been thrown so few passes and their stats suck besides the issue of dropped passes. Also, because they are such tall targets they may lack some agility to be play breakers after catching the ball and they are a bigger target for defenders.
'CaptainJack65'
Jack Metcalf
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bruins Nation
Related FanShots on Bruins Nation
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
