FanPost

What is this team REALLY prepared to do?

Time to make some noise! - Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Because what it did tonight was UNACCEPTABLE.

Yeah, this is me – Meriones, the guy who pulls inspirational movie speeches out of every conceivable orifice.

I’ve been the guy who tries to rally the BN faithful when things look bleak, look maddening, look desperately futile. I’m the one who thought Jerry could lead us to victory, who thought a 1st round Pac-10 loss during the height of the Howland era was a blessing in disguise, and who thought my extended family members were quitters when R. Jay Soward pumped $C’s lead up to 17 on us in 1996.

Tonight, I was in the stands, in the season seats I’ve held for nearly 2 decades... and I saw one of the single WORST performances I’ve ever seen.

Ten (10) sacks. TEN. Memo to Klemm: The City of Pasadena now charges 10 cents for every non-disposable sack given out at business establishments, so you had better start setting aside a fund.
The most mobile QB in the college game getting fewer designed rollouts than the Utah PUNTER.
Barely 1 quarter of run blocking.
Utter, reckless indifference to pass rushers by both Caleb Benenoch and Malcolm Bunche, who with every game is proving to be less mobile than the on-campus social sciences building on concrete "stilts" which shares his name.
No end runs until the 3rd quarter.
An unjustifiable lack of Paul Perkins in the 3rd quarter.
No toss sweeps.
No quick hitches.
No curls.
No screens — unless that canned ham of a lob pass for the pick-6 was supposed to be one.
No slants.
No crossing routes.
No end containment whatsoever by the defense.
Unimaginative blitz packages against our THIRD consecutive opening-day backup QB.
Pass rushers who overrun and MISS the QB.
Defensive backs who STILL don’t know when to turn around.
Missed open-field tackles.
Linebackers repeatedly telegraphing their angles and coverage lanes leaving holes 2-3 yards wide and 5-10 yards deep.
Linebackers, corners, and safeties repeatedly schemed to be 10 yards out of position.
Special teams formations with no adjustments for a constantly scrambling punter.
No qualified returners placed at the No. 2 or No. 3 slots to make Utah pay for their relentless avoidance of Adams.
And yet another, Division 2-level kicking performance by Fairbairn.

As I told my very disappointed son (yeah, thanks a LOT for that, you guys) when we got home from the game, NOW is the time when we find out what kind of team we really have.

We have 1 loss, but we can STILL win the Pac-12 South, we can STILL win the Pac-12, we can STILL get a playoff spot, and we can STILL win the Championship. Hell, Alabama can have 3 losses and still get the #1 seed, for crying out loud.

But tonight’s performance by players AND coaches was PATHETIC.

Complacent.

Embarrassing.

Infuriating.

UNACCEPTABLE.

In his last line in David Mamet’s screenplay for "The Untouchables," Sir Sean Connery (as the veteran Chicago beat cop, James Malone) spat out with his dying breath, "WHAT ARE YOU PREPARED TO DO?"

The question is, what is this football team -- players AND coaches -- really prepared to do?

Is this team really and truly prepared to prove, over the course of this season, and for all time…

…that the death-grip on stagnant, narrow-minded, and tunnel-visioned offensive game plans by Noel Mazzone, aka the Ron Popeil of retail-available HS spread offenses…
…that the junior high-level of execution by this Maginot line of jersey-wearing turnstiles under the direction of Adrian Klemm, a high-powered recruiter with the apparent teaching voltage of a plastic comb run through Eric Kendricks’ hair on a cold winter’s day…
…that the oft-failing, oft-flailing, oft-trailing, defensive schemes of Jeff Ulbrich, which bafflingly are 2 quarters late and/or 2 quarters short of a whole dollar by having linemen and linebackers often 5 yards out of position…
…that Demetrice Martin’s style of defensive back coverage, which inexplicably does not require anyone other than Anthony Jefferson or Ishmael Adams to LOOK FOR THE BALL before it hits the receiver’s hands or to challenge receivers within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage…

that all of these chronic flaws in our football team are finally, and unequivocally, UNACCEPTABLE?!?

COACHES AND PLAYERS OF THE UCLA FOOTBALL TEAM — Are you prepared to prove that ALL of these glaring, self-inflicted deficiencies are UNACCEPTABLE, through your actions? Through your strategies? Through your preparation? Through your practice?

Through your COACHING?

Through your PERFORMANCE?

BRUIN COACHES AND PLAYERS: WHAT ARE YOU PREPARED TO DO?

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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