I am trying very hard to get fired up about our game tomorrow night. I am trying. But just when I want to put the nightmare from last weekend on the back burner more disturbing news pops up. Apparently it was total disarray on the field last weekend in Seattle. Apparently there may have been total implosion on the field:
So, how high did the frustration level go for the Bruins' offense in their 29-19 loss on Saturday at Washington? Huskies' linebacker Scott White told the Seattle Times that it was up there.
"They started arguing," he said. "Their running game wasn't working any more, their receivers weren't doing the right things, the quarterback is yelling at the receivers, he's yelling at the line. The linemen are yelling at each other. It was real chaotic on their end."
UCLA split end Junior Taylor was read that quote and denied that the Bruins were bickering on the field, though he as did several players, admitted to some frustration.
(HT to Dump Dorrell) Its good for JT to do some damage control and put on a brave public face this week (even though it was him pretty much openly questioning the coaches earlier in the week). But again this kind of news is not encouraging at all for a program which is in its 4th year under the current head coach. And this happened after the Bruins had two weeks to prepare for a Pac-10 opponent, which had lost 8 conference games in a row on their home turf. Pathetic really."They started arguing," he said. "Their running game wasn't working any more, their receivers weren't doing the right things, the quarterback is yelling at the receivers, he's yelling at the line. The linemen are yelling at each other. It was real chaotic on their end."
UCLA split end Junior Taylor was read that quote and denied that the Bruins were bickering on the field, though he as did several players, admitted to some frustration.
I would get excited I guess if I knew we had coaches who are capable about making quick adjustments after something went wrong. Well you'd think the coaches would try to figure out what went wrong, specifically in the end zone. Here is Svoboda doing more soul searching after the debacle in Seattle (emphasis mine throughout):
Script adjustments needed? Bruins offensive coordinator Jim Svoboda took plenty of heat for his play-calling at Washington, but he said he exhausted the playbook near the end zone.
The Bruins were inside the Huskies' 10-yard line four times, had nine plays, threw three passes and scored one touchdown.
"I called every play on our script from the 10-yard line," Svoboda said. "Every play & and then you're there again."
Now that is pretty stunning news. So that's what we get after an exhaustive look through the Bruin's playbook? An exhaustive look that doesn't include a freaking simple fade route into the end zone? An exhaustive look that didn't include one f*cking pass into the end zone? And what is Svoboda's explanation?:
The Bruins were inside the Huskies' 10-yard line four times, had nine plays, threw three passes and scored one touchdown.
"I called every play on our script from the 10-yard line," Svoboda said. "Every play & and then you're there again."
Some plays are either runs or passes, depending on what quarterback Ben Olson reads from the defense. So does the script need to be lengthened?
"I got into a (Division II) national championship game where you had four two-point plays," Svoboda said. "Usually, you have two, so you have to get creative in that situation. These are plays we typically use in that situation, and again, because of the restriction of the field, your plays are cut in half.
"You talk about, `Why didn't you throw the ball in the end zone?' Well, tell me what the coverage was. If they're playing off, it's pretty hard to do, just throw a fade route. That's as low percentage a thing as anything else."
I guess that's what we get when we have D-11 coaches leading our program. A D-11 program. Everyday Svoboda sounds more unimpressive in the press (just like his boss). Right now all his hollow explanations in the press still sounds like a coach who is making excuses for a boss who plays with the mindset of trying not to lose. After three games the evidence we have seen only reinforces the conclusions we reached after last three years, which is we are lead by coaches, who are over their heads, do not have killer instincts, and frankly have not shown the will to win."I got into a (Division II) national championship game where you had four two-point plays," Svoboda said. "Usually, you have two, so you have to get creative in that situation. These are plays we typically use in that situation, and again, because of the restriction of the field, your plays are cut in half.
"You talk about, `Why didn't you throw the ball in the end zone?' Well, tell me what the coverage was. If they're playing off, it's pretty hard to do, just throw a fade route. That's as low percentage a thing as anything else."
In other news the fall out from DeWayne Walker's pinning the loss on Rodney Van continues. Apparently Van found out coaches were scapegoating him via papers just like rest of us. Although he is trying to make the best out of the situation, he almost sounds like how Ced Bozeman used to sound back in the day when the Lavin staff was blaming him for their own screw ups on the court.
It sounds like we have a football program that right now has serious mental issues to work through:
"When I get out there on an island by myself," Van said, "I'm so worried about what can go wrong, and what I can do wrong, that I actually do it, instead of just making it a routine play.
"I need to make it like a practice play, whether it's a break on a hitch or tackling a running back in the hole. I make more out of it than it really is."
Good luck to Rodney."I need to make it like a practice play, whether it's a break on a hitch or tackling a running back in the hole. I make more out of it than it really is."
Well apparently all this fall out from Washington game has not been disconcerting to Dorrell. He is sticking to his own script:
Dorrell on UCLA's play-calling against Stanford, which is last in the conference in rushing yards given up: "I'm not paying attention to any of those things. I'm worried about us playing as good as we can play.... Defensively, we're doing some really good things. We're working on tackling. We are working on all of the issues that we think we need to improve on."
It is pretty obvious Dorrell never pays attention to scouting his opponents. Otherwise after four years it wouldn't be so obvious that he is nothing but a below average and mediocre football coach.Meanwhile, there is a lot of excitement on campus about our program. How excited are our students?
Classes started Thursday and all new students have been offered a free ticket to Saturday's game against Stanford. A crowd of 60,000 is expected at the 91,136-seat Rose Bowl.
So the Morgan Center is trying to give away free tickets to gin up excitement for a program that is coming off yet another horribly disappointing, underachieving performance against one of the worst teams in the conference. These kids are sharp. Guess you can't really blame them for not getting too psyched up to blindly follow a program, which has proven to be mediocre after three years.For our community's sake lets hope these underachieving bunch (not our students) come out with fire and put together a statement (something akin to that 66-3 Texas route from 1998) that will give students some reason to believe. That is the only way there will be some excitement back in Dorrell's listless, boring, mediocre, and dull UCLA football program. We are going to need an overwhelming blowout win tomorrow night at the Rose Bowl. Let?s hope the coaches get it done.
GO BRUINS.