Relentless Optimism

by Nestor on Apr 26, 2008 10:44 AM PDT in Football Comment 7 comments

I will get to the details on PC and BO's injuries below. But let's start with what should be in the docket of every member of this Nation who lives in the Southland: spring scrimmage at the Rose Bowl. If you are looking for the details go here. The scrimmage starts at 7 pm. But you can get there at 3 and start all your tail gaiting.

Bruins are going to be without their two top QBs. Dohn has more details on their injuries:

The Bruins, who were ravaged by quarterback injuries during former coach Karl Dorrell's last season, are facing a similar dilemma under coach Rick Neuheisel after an MRI on Friday revealed starting quarterback Patrick Cowan tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Cowan would miss the 2008 season if surgery is performed. UCLA said it was not determined if surgery was needed, but sources said reconstructive surgery was the expected path.

The only thing keeping it from being a finalized decision is hope when the swelling lessens, the tear is not as bad as feared, and Cowan can rehabilitate the ligament. The MRI also showed a torn meniscus.

Cowan had arthroscopic surgery on the knee in February, and sat out Tuesday's practice because of soreness in the knee.

"(Doctors) don't feel they can make an accurate, or the best decision, until the swelling goes down," Neuheisel said. "It's not (a) total (tear), but it's more than what was in there on the Tuesday MRI. The Tuesday MRI was fine, normal."

The news regarding Olson's injury was concerning, but not nearly to the level Cowan experienced. X-rays showed Olson, who was Cowan's backup, fractured the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot and will be out six to eight weeks. Because of the area of the break, Neuheisel said surgery to insert a screw to aid in healing is often needed because of a lack of blood flow.

"Ben will consult with his folks, and make that decision," Neuheisel said. "I'm told that he is leaning toward having the surgery."

Coach Neuheisel for his past is remaining positive and keeping his faith in "two great kids":

"These are tough setbacks for two great kids, who certainly have been trying," Neuheisel said. "They have been bitten with bad luck over the course of their careers, but both have always bounced back."

More from Neuheisel on how he thinks both of these kids will persevere through the injury:

Said Neuheisel: "If reconstructive knee surgery is necessary, we'll be without Pat for the 2008 season. I don't want to cross that path yet. I always remain optimistic."

Neuheisel was confident that Cowan and Olson had enough time to heal and prepare before training camp opens in August.

"The learning curve doesn't get hit too much," Neuheisel said.

"Both can continue to work and study tape and develop a more comfortable feeling with our offense. . . . With Ben, even if he is out eight weeks, he'll have most of June and all July to get ready."

CRN also mentioned how this presented an opportunity for other three QBs to step up in a big way:

"It's a great opportunity for Kevin Craft to take a step forward and learn the offense and go out and gain confidence," Neuheisel said. "It's a chance for Chris Forcier to take a step forward. It's a great opportunity for Osaar Rasshan to get a chance to play and prove he is a quarterback."

I am with Neuheisel and I will do my part to feed off his optimism in the coming months to get ready for what will be a very challenging first season at UCLA. I completely agree with the realistic perspective Achilles provides below. The challenge CRN is facing is much more daunting and difficult than what CBH faced given how long it takes to rebuild the foundation of a football program. And it doesn't take a lot to figure out how the foundation in terms of talent was basically run into the ground by Karl Dorrell (until it was too little too late with the last recruiting class that is coming in next season).

Given the state of QBs, offensive line, LBs, inexperience at secondary, and grueling schedule I am not going to hold out hope for going to a bowl game.

That said, we are not going to concede next season. No way.

We are going to take my cue from our head football coach and remain as relentlessly optimistic as possible (just like we did during Coach Howland's first two seasons in Westwood). Chris Dufresne From the LA Times gives us a little taste of CRN's relentless optimism and why he is smiling through the adversity he has faced in his first spring practice:

The good news is there is a template for town turnarounds, provided a coach has energy and determination--and Neuheisel has plenty of both.

How fast?

On Oct. 22, 2001, UCLA was 6-0 and No. 3 in the first Bowl Championship Series standings. The Bruins did own the town. USC, coming off a loss to Notre Dame, was 2-5 under first-year Pete Carroll.

Yes, that was this century.

"I have studied Pete the last several years," Neuheisel said. "He had a plan and stuck to it. He sold, sold, sold and people bought in. It was no accident."

Neuheisel wants to use Carroll's strengths against him - sounds like a chapter out of Sun Tzu's "Art of War."

"He went 100 miles per hour from the start and it finally took root," Neuheisel said of Carroll. "...I think the same thing can happen here."

One of the reasons I love college football/basketball is how the teams in these sports take on the persona of their head coaches. If these injuries happened during the prior regime in Westwood, there would be no sense of optimism and assurance coming out of its head coach. Instead we would be subjected on non-sensical clichés and any sense of calm confidence or security about where the program is heading.

Well I sense none of that hopelessness of Dorrel era today. The feeling for me is a little different What is telling is how CRN has gone out of his way to boost both PC and BO in public following their injuries and expressing how he believe in their ability to come back (while mentioning the opportunity for other three kids).

So again there is no reason to get down folks. Go out at the Rose Bowl. Enjoy a beautiful Saturday afternoon/evening of Bruin camaraderie. Fire up that grill, drink up some cold frosties, and take in Bruin football from the stands of the greatest venue in this game.

I have full confidence that no matter what happens our team is going to come out ready, as prepared as they can be, and give it everything they have on both sides of the ball this Fall. Just like it does at Spaulding and at the Rose Bowl, the world of UCLA football is going to remain relentlessly optimistic from my corner of the world here in BN.

One more time : if you are looking for details on tonight's scrimmage go here. May be you will get to see ATV do this:

Oh yeaaah. LET'S GO (OUT TO THE ROSE BOWL).

GO BRUINS.

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Nestor

FYI: Subject line says "Basketball"

by charnaw on Apr 26, 2008 11:00 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Dorrell era

It always seemed that once a big injury hit, Karl could exhale a sigh of relief knowing that he could use that to scapegoat his weaknesses instead of rallying the troops to play even better. Glad that it's over. Even with major injuries you never know what will happen. Who would have guessed that losing Josh Shipp and countless other injuries in '06 that the Bruins would be in the title game? I'm glad to read that CRN is coaching up to the new standards he's setting.

by UCLA4Life on Apr 26, 2008 11:41 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

My own optimism is telling me

Kia, Lanis, Harris, Dean, Savage, Tevaga, etc are going to eventually hold the line this year for these young qb's. I believe we are going to be ok because we have good coaches. Thank god Neu and Chow brought in Craft. Then it would be panic time.

by bruin95 on Apr 26, 2008 11:57 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

write off?

It looks like the UCLA football team has a lot of obstacles in it's way this year.

I hope that will make fans appreciate their acheivements even more.

I will be satisfied if the new coaching staff fixes everything that they can and shows progress.

I don't mind them getting beat, I just don't want it to be caused by coaching.

One of my pet peeves with Dorrell was the way he would finish the half.

I don't know how many times I have seen a game where the bruins are trailing, they have the ball, they run a play on the ground that only goes for a few yards and then they walk off the field as time expires.

I hate that kind of play calling. Our coaches have to give our players a chance to compete. When you need 40 yards to score and you run a five yard play, that's coaching not to score.

by layout on Apr 26, 2008 1:47 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

WILL YOU ALL CHEER UP, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!

Sorry for raising my voice but I was getting a little down myself until I bumped into Rick's bio on Wikipedia. The narrative on his college play is instructive:

College football player at UCLA

He played his college football at UCLA, beginning his career as a walk-on, holding for placekicks for John Lee.

He was the starting quarterback in his senior year in the 1983 college football season. UCLA opened with a loss at Georgia, a tie with Arizona State and then a 42-10 loss at #1-ranked Nebraska. Neuheisel was benched after the Nebraska loss in favor of Steve Bono. On October 1, the Bruins lost to BYU to start the season 0-3-1. Bono was injured during the BYU game, and Neuheisel came back to finish the season.[3] Neuheisel led the Bruins to an eventual 6-4-1 record, culminating with a win over arch-rival USC that, combined with Washington State's upset of Washington, gave UCLA the Pac-10 championship in 1983 and sent them to the Rose Bowl. Neuheisel led the Bruins to a 45-9 victory over 4th-ranked (& heavily-favored) Illinois in the 1984 Rose Bowl, in which he was named the most valuable player; two of his four touchdown passes were caught by a sophomore wide receiver from San Diego named Karl Dorrell, who would become the head coach of the Bruins.[4] Much like his rise to stardom at UCLA, the road to the victory was a bumpy one. Neuheisel and two other players on the defensive side of the ball suffered from food poisoning hours before the Rose Bowl and it was unsure that Neuheisel would start. Neuheisel would end up starting the game. He also set an NCAA record that year for single game pass completion percentage (since broken) by completing 25 of 27 passes (92.6%) in a win over Washington.

He was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team and graduated from UCLA in May 1984 with a B.A. in political science and a 3.4 GPA.

I know virtually everyone here believes in CRN as do I, but there is something about what he did as a football player that is particularly inspiring and not unlike the situation he is presently in.

I cannot tell you how o.k. I am with him, how enthusiastic I am to see his Bruins take the field this Fall, and how unlike the teams previous five years they will be.

MSM bloviators like Dohn and the rest piss me off. They live in the world of what's on paper and not what's in players hearts. How many of you guys remeber how down on UCLA the press were in the '84 Rose Bowl? Hell, I can remember how they counted us out in 1966! Well, they are full of crap and will be full of surprise when CRN starts building a program here..

..but why and I gassing on about this? You guys know it already.

God, it's great to be a Bruin!

by whp68 on Apr 26, 2008 2:03 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs