Didn't see the Simers column this morning while browsing through the Times sports section. Simers got to the point on the so called QB competition at the fall training camp:
He's (Southpaw Jesus - ed.) not only a football player, he's UCLA's great hope to put the Bruins atop the Pac-10 standings again, although Coach Karl Dorrell has some explaining to do.
For the last few weeks he has maintained the starting quarterback position is up for grabs between Olson and Patrick Cowan. It makes you wonder if Dorrell has his eyes open while watching practice.
Cowan might be a wonderful young man, maybe a Rhodes scholar or future contestant on "Big Brother," but you put him on the same football field as Olson, and it's a mismatch.
Cowan labors when he throws, and that's when he takes the time to throw instead of scrambling for the sideline. He also throws a pretty good knuckler, which is all right if you're pitching, but not always effective when throwing to a group of inexperienced receivers, as he did in Saturday's scrimmage.
Olson is left-handed, the first obvious difference, and wears No. 7, the number bringing to mind John Elway, and the not-so modest admission by Olson that a top recruiting service referred to him as "the left-handed John Elway" when he was rated the No. 1 recruit in the nation coming out of Thousand Oaks High.
Like Elway, Olson has the ability to sidestep the rush and deliver a deep ball. He might not be as fast as Elway -- "You'll see," disagreed Olson -- and he certainly doesn't have the weight-room-carved body yet to survive the beating Elway took, but he's just beginning his collegiate career. At age 23.
"I'm not as mature as everyone thinks," he joked, but he already carries himself like a team leader and greets everyone as if he's running for office.
Now maybe it's only rust, but if there's a flaw, it appeared Olson was a little slow in his downfield decisions, making him a sack waiting to happen, but then most of the time the Bruins had him firing short, quick, crisp passes against an improved-looking defense.
Sounds pretty on point to me. I know lot of people get annoyed with Simers digs. I don't really care. He takes swipes at every one who deserves it. And he is blunt. For i.e. he went on to call out Dorrell on his PR BS on so-called "quarterback controversy":
For the last few weeks he has maintained the starting quarterback position is up for grabs between Olson and Patrick Cowan. It makes you wonder if Dorrell has his eyes open while watching practice.
Cowan might be a wonderful young man, maybe a Rhodes scholar or future contestant on "Big Brother," but you put him on the same football field as Olson, and it's a mismatch.
Cowan labors when he throws, and that's when he takes the time to throw instead of scrambling for the sideline. He also throws a pretty good knuckler, which is all right if you're pitching, but not always effective when throwing to a group of inexperienced receivers, as he did in Saturday's scrimmage.
Olson is left-handed, the first obvious difference, and wears No. 7, the number bringing to mind John Elway, and the not-so modest admission by Olson that a top recruiting service referred to him as "the left-handed John Elway" when he was rated the No. 1 recruit in the nation coming out of Thousand Oaks High.
Like Elway, Olson has the ability to sidestep the rush and deliver a deep ball. He might not be as fast as Elway -- "You'll see," disagreed Olson -- and he certainly doesn't have the weight-room-carved body yet to survive the beating Elway took, but he's just beginning his collegiate career. At age 23.
"I'm not as mature as everyone thinks," he joked, but he already carries himself like a team leader and greets everyone as if he's running for office.
Now maybe it's only rust, but if there's a flaw, it appeared Olson was a little slow in his downfield decisions, making him a sack waiting to happen, but then most of the time the Bruins had him firing short, quick, crisp passes against an improved-looking defense.
I asked about the so-called quarterback controversy, and he explained he has been looking for separation, and finally got it for the first time in the scrimmage.
It was just a lot of blah, blah, blah to disguise the fact Dorrell wanted to keep Olson competitively challenged, stealing a page out of Pete Carroll's coaching manual.
Now that's what I call a columnist cutting through the nonsense and calling it as it is. This is why I was lol when earlier in the week posters from the message boards were freaking out about BO having a rusty start to the week. I never really had any doubt No. 7 was going to be the starter against Utah:It was just a lot of blah, blah, blah to disguise the fact Dorrell wanted to keep Olson competitively challenged, stealing a page out of Pete Carroll's coaching manual.
Big Ben Fires A Bullet at Scrimmage Yesterday
Photo from Powederkeg Blue
The only thing I was concerned about ealier in the week was Dorrell blowing another PR move when it comes to handling internal QB issues out in public press. He is just not very good at it. As Simers point outs Big Ben still has some kinks to work out on his game. So it makes that much more sense to name him the starter now the scrimmage is done and over with, and get him ready and focused for the Utah game in less than 2 weeks.
GO BRUINS.