Guess the reporters are not really all that worried how UCLA defense is going to perform against BYU’s offense. The focus remains on the UCLA offense this Friday. We will start once again with Southpaw Jesus. Kuwada from the OC Register recounts how the UCLA coaches screwed up SPJ’s confidence last season after he got off to a great start against Utah:
The Bruins ran the football 52 times against Rice. Then they suffered through some dubious play calling at Washington that continually left them in second- and third-and-long situations. There were game-planning and confidence issues. There were issues with the number of practice reps and the overall quality of that work, all of which played a part in the Bruins’ lack of progress.
Olson saw his completion percentage fall every week following the opening victory over the Utes, in which he hit 75.7 percent of his throws. It was 68.4 percent against Rice, then 58.1 in a loss at Washington and 54.1 against Stanford. The average gain per passing play also fell precipitously, from 9.6 yards in the opener to an average of 5.5 yards over the next three games.
Having opened this season with five touchdown throws at Stanford in the Bruins’ 45-17 victory, Olson is not keen on looking back. But he is confident that new offensive coordinator Jay Norvell will not allow the offense to bog down as it did a year ago against Rice, Washington and Stanford, which ended the year ranked 112th, 95th and 97th in total defense, respectively.
It will be very interesting. One thing we will have to watch is to see what UCLA does if it gets the ball with 1-2 mins left in the half and a decent field position. If things truly have changed in KD’s offense, I’d expect Bruins are going to be aggressive on our home turf, by trying to score points, instead of just running up the middle or taking a knee, like KD has done in the previous year. Something to keep an eye on this Saturday.Olson saw his completion percentage fall every week following the opening victory over the Utes, in which he hit 75.7 percent of his throws. It was 68.4 percent against Rice, then 58.1 in a loss at Washington and 54.1 against Stanford. The average gain per passing play also fell precipitously, from 9.6 yards in the opener to an average of 5.5 yards over the next three games.
Having opened this season with five touchdown throws at Stanford in the Bruins’ 45-17 victory, Olson is not keen on looking back. But he is confident that new offensive coordinator Jay Norvell will not allow the offense to bog down as it did a year ago against Rice, Washington and Stanford, which ended the year ranked 112th, 95th and 97th in total defense, respectively.
Speaking of running, Foster has an article on UCLA RB tandem of Bell and Markey. Both of those guys are happy to share ball carrying duties. They are saying all the right things. Here is Bell:
"I got caught up in that last year, worrying about how many carries I was going to get," Bell said. "That stuff doesn't matter. When you get a chance to carry the ball, you got to show the coaches what you can do.
"Most teams in the NFL have two backs, so it's a good thing for both of us. If one of us is tired, the other can go in and there's no drop-off. If we can keep switching back and forth like that, I think that's a great thing."
And then there is Markey:
"Most teams in the NFL have two backs, so it's a good thing for both of us. If one of us is tired, the other can go in and there's no drop-off. If we can keep switching back and forth like that, I think that's a great thing."
"I told Kahlil, 'Let's be the best backfield in the nation,' " Markey said. "That's our goal. One of us is going to be on every game. I wasn't really on [against Stanford] and Kahlil was, and we won.
"I'm a workhorse. But however [many] carries they give me, let's get at it. That's how I feel."
Again that’s all sound good to us. Keep in mind we will probably get Moline back soon. And we also have Ramirez. Goes to show why we deposited that we have a deep enough running attack that should propel us to a Pac-10 championship this coming season."I'm a workhorse. But however [many] carries they give me, let's get at it. That's how I feel."
Elsewhere in the Daily News Dohn’s report focuses on Everett who wants to do what he can to get back in the offensive mix. Everett had few passes thrown at him during the Stanford game. He just didn’t come down with them. He is vowing to bounce back:
Senior Marcus Everett, who led the team in touchdowns and receiving yards in 2006, heads into Saturday's home opener against BYU looking for his first catch of the season.
"This week I'm going to try and bounce back and show everybody what I have," Everett said. "Show the nation that I'm one of the best receivers in the nation."
Everett caught 31 passes last season for 450 yards and five touchdowns. He had a few passes thrown his way at Stanford, but couldn't get control any of them.
Well if you are planning to watch Everett haul down some TDs, you will have to do it watching it on "Versus." DN also has a write up on the "sport" network with funny name which used to be called the "Outdoors Life Network" broadcasting events like doped up cyclists biking through the Alps. Hey, I don’t care. I’d watch my Bruins even if it was broadcast on Food Network."This week I'm going to try and bounce back and show everybody what I have," Everett said. "Show the nation that I'm one of the best receivers in the nation."
Everett caught 31 passes last season for 450 yards and five touchdowns. He had a few passes thrown his way at Stanford, but couldn't get control any of them.
GO BRUINS.