Checkmate for Neuheisel: On Field Results Rest of this UCLA Season Will Not Matter
by Achilles on Oct 24, 2011 11:00 AM PDT
in Football
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Print"I believe our football team will not quit," Neuheisel said. "I believe our football team will come back to work and I believe we'll play a much better game next week against Cal. That's where I am right now. We're going to play our best game against Cal and see where that leaves us."
Ricky Marvray thinks UCLA can win out rest of this season:
"This can't be a season breaker or season maker," receiver Ricky Marvray said. "We just have to come out with a fighting attitude and just not give up. I'm not one to give up ever no matter what the circumstances are. I'm going to keep fighting and as long as my teammates take the same stance, I think we'll be fine. We just have to win out the rest of the season."
Marvray's comments are funny because he is suspended for the Cal game.
I appreciate the sentiment guys. Unfortunately it appears to us that team quit not just on each other but on those four letters on Thursday night. I understand and sympathize with public statements of Coach Neuheisel and his players. They are in a rough spot for sure. However, I hope they realize the rougher and unacceptable position UCLA football has been during last decade, making what was once a nationally proud program irrelevant at best and a laughing stock at worst on the national scene. Watching the college football highlight shows on the national networks has become a battle between "will they ignore us" or "will they make fun of us."
There is no going back at this point. No matter what transpires rest of this season we want a wholesale regime change in Westwood [sign the petition calling for wholesale regime change here].
Anyone reading this community and other UCLA communities in last 72 hours should get a sense of the digital firestorm that is lighting up Westwood. Our traffic is through the roof and our posts are getting whipped around all over Facebook and Twitter. If anyone was hoping that Bruin alums were going to remain quiet after what happened Thursday night and what have been happening for last 10 years, they are going to be surprised. This is not going to get stopped by "emailing" a "blog" during mid-week.
We also want to make it clear for anyone who is under a delusion about the Bruins making a "Steve Lavin type" run to close out the season. Even if the Bruins put together a streak and win the Pac-12 South (as technically we still control our "destiny") we will want a regime change. I would also add we are not going to be impressed if Neuheisel somehow pulls off an emotional upset against USC. This game is over. We are done and we have emotionally moved on. This is obvious to non-UCLA observers as well.
If you have not signed a petition asking for a wholesale regime change in Westwood, you can do it here. You can also track all the activities around the movement to "OccupyUCLAAthletics" over here.
We still support our players and want them to do well against Cal this weekend, but the on field results will not matter to us when we ponder the big picture.
It's checkmate.
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one thing
I will be impressed if we win out/beat USC. That will show a lot of heart from this team to bounce back from the beatdown last Thursday.
HOWEVER, the point still holds. Even if that happens, while we can applaud and appreciate it, it should not save Rick’s job.
Too bad Marvray is suspended
Or he could actually have a say in Rick’s last march
I also found it hilarious this morning when I checked my tickets that good ol Embree is on the Cal ticket. In fairness…considering 4 skill position players were suspended it was likely to have one of them there, but still
I take it back..it's Rosario
Long weekend
by bruinhopeful on Oct 24, 2011 11:22 AM PDT up reply actions
First thing I thought about when reading Marvray's quote, too
Kinda symbolic, isn’t it?
greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com
What are the odds?
Of UCLA winning out the season vs. being struck by lightning vs. winning the lottery?
As much as I want him gone, I also know enough that a emotional win vs. USC w/7-5 record will erase the stain of the UA game.
Let’s keep SOME perspective people. We always suck on the road vs. UA, and that suck factor increases exponentially on Thursdays.
No it will not.....
A win against SUC will not erase the stain of embarassment of the UA game. BN has stated this over and over again Brians. Even if we finish with a 7-5 record and a win against $C, CRN and DG must go. Don’t settle for mediocrity. UCLA is better than this.You are part of the problem, not the solution if a few wins down the stretch erases the stain left not only by the UA game but 4 seasons of heartache.
by Waitingfornumber12 on Oct 24, 2011 11:26 AM PDT up reply actions
I want Doughnut Dan gone too, but..
I’m saying it now and mark my words, Doughnut Dan will blame this whole mess on RN and fire his ass by the end of the season in order to save his job. Doughnut Dan knows the system and has been playing it for far too long – he isn’t going anywhere.
Not saying he should keep his job
Just saying the rivalry game carries A LOT of weight. More weight than people care to admit, until of course that game rolls around. The die hards of BN will never forgive Rick, that much is certain, but for the average fan out there – they probably would w/8-4 record and a big win over sc…and DG caters to them, and not us.
The "average" fan?
I think this community is big enough to incorporate the “average” fan. And regardless, the “average” fan has no say in what happens at UCLA.
DG caters to donors and boosters, not to the average fan.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Sorry to say that you have a much better chance
of being struck by lightening and winning the lottery combined than UCLA winning out the rest of this season. On that thought a miracle could occur, Cal does its best to let us win, we get the inspiration to win the next games going into the SUC game, and SUC so lightly regards us that we catch them by surprise and beat them.
That would be a sweet sendoff of CRN to other pastures. He ain’t stayin.
Perspective
You may want to consider why we have been sucking on Thursdays and against programs like of UA. That is the big picture issue.
If you want to think small ball and think Rick should be around just by beating SC, then go right away. However, don’t preach that kind of small ball nonsense here at BN.
Arizona game is now a permanent stain along with many other blowouts in Neuheisel era and last 10+ years. We have had enough and we are done.
small ball
Who said he should be allowed to keep his job under any circumstances! I am just envisioning realistic scenarios in which DG would cave and extend his contract. I’ve wanted him gone a looong time before this last Thursday.
It's thinking like yours
that gives people an excuse to accept the status quo. No such scenario should be realistic, and if you think like this, and the next guy thinks like this, and the next guy thinks like this, we will be stuck in this nightmare.
So stop coming up with these “scenarios”. Yes, you can bet your bottom dollar that DG is banking on the team making a bowl game and/or beating U$C to find an excuse to make no changes. That is NOT an acceptable scenario and he should be told as such, loudly and clearly.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Dream on
It never ends with you guys, does it. And after 7-5, let’s keep perspective, we could win the national championship next year! It can happen!
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
7-5 is a major accomplishment to some Bruin fans
They actually think it’s awesome to be in the top 76 teams. Bowl games these days are like pee-wee trophies: everybody gets one unless you don’t even show up.
Perspective
I think the perspective we should take is that “we always suck on the road vs. UA, and that suck factor increases exponentially on Thursdays” is a HORRIBLE thing. Certainly not something we should just shrug and be okay with.
Also, somebody (Fox? I think it was him) posted some stats about our record following bye weeks under Rick:
We’ve lost all 6 going back to 2008. Combined scores? 54-249
THAT’S perspective.
no ones shrugging
it’s just an explanation, not an excuse. Rick’s won a grand total of 4 road Pac-10/12 games in 4 years. i was expecting us to lay that egg and was not surprised when we did, so sorry if i cant share in your outrage in this game we “should have” won? I want him GONE.
Rationalizing
provides excuses for a status quo.
Learned Helplessness…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Please don't settle
You want perspective? Relive the last 3 years. Or the last 2 coaches. Or the last decade. Your choice.
I still want to win every game this year. But doing so does not change the fact that Rick and Guerrerror must go – and sooner rather than later, so we can get started on the future.
greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com
I wouldn't worry about SC win saving RN.
They have a good QB. We do not. They will be heavy favs.
The big picture
I agree wholeheartedly. The big picture is the entire body of work, not the next five games and not the game against just$c*. The big picture says that as much as we love him, and we truly do love him as a brother, he can no longer be left in charge of the team. He’s as passionate about UCLA as anyone, and it’s got to hurt him as much as it hurts us to see what’a happened to the program. In fact, it’s got to hurt him more, because he has no outlet to vent his feelings. He can’t call for himself to be fired.
That said, he’s got to go. I wish he would resign now, but apparently that’s not going to happen.
One other thing. Our record shows Loss, Win, Loss, Win, Loss, Win, Loss. I see a pattern. I see us winning against Cal and then every other game after that. Hmm, if that’s true, where does just$c* fall? Will it be a win or a loss?
If our program was strong......
….we wouldn’t be having these conversations. We’d expect to win every week against anyone. We’d be talking about recruiting and being nit picky about specific plays or formations or calls….
Now – everyone who is a fan of Bruin football has that wrenching feeling in their gut every week that we are going to lose – even against teams we should clobber. That is a symptom of inconsistency and mediocrity. It has to end.
If you want to talk about the game ...
… Cal is on a little uptick after beating Utah in a must-win game for both teams, who desperately needed some momentum. They are finally rolling out QB Maynard and giving him some zone read plays, which is his strong point. He has been bad about looking at his checkdown receivers until v Utah; hopefully he can continue his good habits. WR Allen is one of the nation’s leaders in yardage, and RB Sofele is serviceable but he lacks the vision of his predecessors like Best and Marshawn Lynch.
Defense is clicking. Clancy P will probably like to bring out his favorite toy, man free / cover 1 vs UCLA. he’ll try to shut down Franklin and dare Prince to throw, particularly with your now-thin WR corps.
Intangibles: Rose Bowl won’t be nearly the hostile environment that Cal has seen at Washington, Eugene, or Boulder. UCLA players’ response after the UofA loss could be along the lines of giving up or pissed off and angry.
I don’t see this as a UCLA win.
by ginfizzbear on Oct 24, 2011 1:02 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
There is no way
we win Saturday. Cal’s strength is its defense and we just lost half our offense.
Ugly game coming.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
There is a very good chance...
NO wins for the remainder of saturdays left on schedule. let that slide around your noodle for a while. It’s possible…sheeesh!!! Let RN go NOW!!!
T-10 you knew UofA was gonna kick butt before the game didn’t you???
by GogetemBruins on Oct 24, 2011 3:08 PM PDT up reply actions
I thought we'd lose
but I didn’t expect us to look so inept on offense. I knew our defense would get clowned. We were all blinded by hope.
Losing to Colorado would actually be worse than this. That’s when I wouldn’t even allow them to play anymore.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
"Wouldn't let them play anymore"...
That’s pretty funny!!!
NCAA might step in at that point and mercifully drop UCLA as D-1 Program.
by GogetemBruins on Oct 24, 2011 3:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Thursday night was the last straw, not an isolated incident.
In fact, it was typical of UCLA’s play for years on end. That’s what people like Chancellor Block need to realize.
Rick is gone. Sadly, Dan is not.
There has been absolutely zero pressure placed on Danny boy by his employers throughout this last decade. My guess is that the chancellor will take all of these outraged calls and view them simply as a warning. Neuheisel will be fired and used as a scapegoat by Guerrero, but Doughnut Dan himself will get a slap on the wrist. Dan will get to hire one more coach (on the cheap, and most likely a former Donahue disciple), and we will have to sit through another 3-4 years of infuriating embarrassment. Finally, upon the termination of that next coach, Dan’s bosses will let him go.
Do I literally pray that I’m wrong about this prediction? Absolutely! But realistically, given the track record of our entire athletic department and the interest (or lack thereof) of the chancellor in sports, Dan Guer-error isn’t going anywhere after this year.
I just want it to be over.
I agree with everyone, it doesn’t matter how the season ends we need a change. In a weird way I’m excited. Excited to see whether they will fire Dan Guerrero, excited to see who our new coach will be, and excited for all the possibilities and come with a new coach. Can’t wait till next season!
And there is the first "Can't wait till next season"
Props to you ovillarr. I’m too beaten down to look that far ahead. When we get a new coach and AD, I will share your enthusiasm.
greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com
Me, too
And, for me, there’s a lot riding on the next few months. Will we acknowledge the problems, and take bold steps to fix them? Will we have the courage to recognize that what we’re doing is not working, and cannot work, without fundamental changes? Will the administration give us lifetime Bruins good reason to “can’t wait for next year”?
Or, will we pretend to acknowledge the problems, while simultaneously dismissing them? Will we delude ourselves that there is another corner to be turned, and that the current staff has the wherewithal to navigate it? Will the obviously necessary changes be “addressed” by merely tweaking the status quo?
Like “eye” tests and “stomach” tests for individual games, there is a “how-many-more-dismal-winters-can-you-take” test for whole seasons, too. My stomach and I really hope that we are given solid reasons for not being able to wait for spring football. If we’re just given a slightly modified version of the same, I honestly don’t know that I can take it any more.
Thursday night was the tip of the iceberg.
It was emblematic of so many horrific performances from BYU to Utah to Wasington and Oregon to Stanford two years ago at home and every SUC game the past three years. Worse, the total failure of discipline was crystallized when our team humiliated the four letters with their pathetic thuggery. And the AD and the HC acted like it was just a bad day, nothing special, an epic fail of adult leadership.
I am so tired of the downfall of our program, the tolerance of failure, the complete lack of accountability, of another wasted season, again having to wait until “next year” to hope we might actually have a football team that plays to a standard worthy of the 4 letters. And it always, always seems we give people who are obviously failing another whole year to see … what, if they can somehow do what they haven’t done for three or four years? Ridiculous.
But both have to go. Three is not the charm. Really.
+1
RN should have been fired after last year’s sc game.
We have not played well in any of our 7 games, even those we won.
I want to win out. I want to kill sc.
But, even if we do, it will not excuse what we’ve seen in this program under his control.
And, of course, DG has to go, too.
sjh
For what it's worth
Rick and Guererro are not the only problems. The Chancellor needs to go too – he is no fan of athletics of any kind – not just football. I have personally talked to his wife and she told me in so many words that within the overall scheme of things, a university’s sports programs are not a priority to him. They weren’t at Virginia; they aren’t at UCLA. To be fair, I understand that academics should of course be his main concern, but in my opinion he’s missing out on a huge revenue stream – not to mention a marketing/branding opportunity for UCLA – by not supporting athletics, particularly football.
Then he should absolutely want to get a top flite AD
He needs to hire one who can run athletics well. This will keep the fan base happy and the complaints out of his office so he can focus on his priorities, because we aren’t going to let this go until we are there. Until then, his secretary is going to have a lot of bad days ahead.
greg in denver, U.C.L.A. guy for life - BruinsNation.com
Great point.
…and an important one. I would add how important it is that we look for an AD who would not treat our athletic program as a springboard to actualize his/her ambitions beyond our school. It is no secret that our current AD has ambitions beyond UCLA and wouldn’t surprise any of us if he took an exec position at the NCAA. Clearly, Guerrero is not attuned to the dismal state of our program and his focus is on his own selfish desires.
After our Arizona humiliation, an Oregon Ducks’ friend asked me if our AD is a covert SEC fan brought to bring down our Athletic Dept. My response: “Worse. He is a UCLA alum and former athlete.” Her response. “Ouch. That is worse.”
I predict we'll keep CRN
if we win out, beatdown $c, win the Pac-12 title in a rematch against Stanford and win in the Rose Bowl against Wisconsin or other Big10 team.
But as this is infinitessimally likely to happen, it can be disregarded.
I like Stewart Mandel for the most part. His comment this week to the effect of “please, someone make this stop, this is painful to watch” seemed on the money.
Sorry, but..
Given what we have seen all season let alone what we saw on Thursday does anyone really think its possible that we’ll win out? As much as any of us want to see us win each week, nothing we have seen this season leads us to think we will win one maybe two wins the rest of the season. As an old manager of mine used to say " hope is not a strategy"
infinitessimally
just need to fire up the Infinite Impossibility Drive
If only RN had two heads
one could recruit and one could coach!
Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
Gene Block's perpective is not wrong, really
if only he was the chancellor at academic institutions such as Johns Hopkins, Rockefeller or Carnegie Mellon University.
I imagine ADs in those schools pride themselves on hammering out intramural sports schedules on Fridays and alternative weekends to comply with the health needs of students. They can also say their program operating budgets sustain itself well, covering all personnal salaries and expenditures, including short bus trips to area high schools, community centers for exhibition matches, fund raising games for disabled youths, etc.
Wake up, Mrs. Block. Good morning, open your eyes and look around you. This is Westwood, California, a preeminent locale where academic excellence in the classroom coexists with athletic achievements on the fields and, transcends all arguments, where COACH’s wise words and triumphant deeds personified the best of NCAA.
It is that simple.
That's the essence
of what is wrong with UCLA.
We are those academic institutions and more.
It’s not just a fringe benefit. It’s what makes us UCLA. Someone better figure this out soon.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
To VeniceBruin, Re: Please make this stop ..... "
I heard the comments too. We all heard it. The folks who did this will hear from all of us soon !
Can’t resist the paraphrase because right now on vacation in Canada, I am reading that dude’s autobiography " Decision Points " just to hear from his own mouth why he did what he did.
I am not getting into politics but to watch our team literally being pulverized, that’s the word, in such unspeakable fashion on prime time national TV, even in eastern Canada, mind you and then to have to watch a CNN journalist announcing the episode during Anderson 360’s newbreak in a glib, nonchalant manner made my blood boiled.
29 Years of Perspective
Since our first year at the Rose Bowl…thick and thin, rain or shine…describing the last 10 years as an ever declining period of relavancy…Thursday at U of A was an absolute low. RN became dead to me and to most on BN.
Suggesting 7-5 saves him…stupid…Arizona acted prudently replacing Stoops and giving their Seniors a chance. Our Senior desrve equal respect. That said I firmly believe that Dan will can him if only to save his own hide.
Please sign the petition. Help save UCLA Football.
by GemCityBruin on Oct 24, 2011 3:57 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
One can suggest a 7-5 season saves CRN, however
he’s unlikely to even make it to 5-7, sadly. My feeling was that there would be no real reason to keep CRN if he lost to AZ. I still believe that. I wish our Bruins well, but I won’t watch another game with CRN coaching. He not only lost badly to AZ, he lost the team.
Gene Block's conversation
I sat next to Gene Block an his wife at UCLA Alumni Day 3 1/2 years ago, and I asked him then when UCLA football would turn around. He said in a couple of years. I told him I was bummed then about having to wait. This has been too much BS since especially after the Texas game, when the cow crapped on our field after the F ing game!
Definition of irony
Marvray:
We just have to come out with a fighting attitude and just not give up. I’m not one to give up ever no matter what the circumstances are. I’m going to keep fighting…
Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
The instant we get that 6th loss...
… automatic Interim Coach begins (Dan, pick one now). Rick gets no post game locker room; no post game team flight (fly home commercial, guy). Solo presser the following Monday in the same room he began (or just release a statement). So Looonnnnnng Chief. (Ummm, do we still say that at basketball games, or has that long been deemed insensitive to Native Americans? I dunno).
U-C-L-A Fight, Fight, Fight! Go Bruins!
NBA: Where Greed Happens. RIP 10/10/11.
We're still on the ESPN highlights
we’re the team getting scored on, blown off the ball and rocked when we have the ball.
Every time a Texas or Stanford or even Oregon highlight comes up during a commercial it’s UCLA on the receiving end, SMFH.
That's wrong. Reduced to common foil and fodder.
“Quick, need highlights for Saturday’s team promos.”
“Relax. Did they play UCLA the last 2, 3 years? Bust open that can”.
Thank you, Rick Neuheisel.
U-C-L-A Fight, Fight, Fight! Go Bruins!
NBA: Where Greed Happens. RIP 10/10/11.
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