DROP ZONA III

Falling faster than Neuheisel’s stock.

Plenty of Snipes after free-falling Bruins’ 27-13 Desert Dive:  Dropped passes, bad passes, bad penalties, missed tackles, missed blocks, and missed blitzes — If Neuheisel wants the movie of this season to have a Hollywood ending, he better get Bus(e)y

It’s enough to give you brain damage.  And what if the ‘chute doesn’t open?

UCLA tried 3 different Quarterbacks, and none of them were even CLOSE to good enough to overcome all the dropped passes, bad routes, miscommunications, false starts, and poor execution of the Bruin Offense.  The Arizona Wildcats utilized a Spread-style Offense out of which they repeatedly ran Sweeps and Reverses for big chunks of yardage.  Their Backs and their Receivers had plenty of room to run, usually turning the corner on the confused and outmanned Defense.  The Bruins also failed to pressure the QB, allowing him time to throw two long TD passes, one where oft-requested Courtney Viney got burned one-on-one.

The Bruins trailed by 10 at the half 13-3, thanks to a 53-yard Field Goal by Kai Forbath (who later finally MISSED a 50+ yarder), and thanks to two Interceptions by Rahim Moore, just in the right place in the right time, for a Nation-leading 7th time this year.

And the Defense seemed to start getting the idea in the second half, having made some good adjustments.  But Neuheisel yanked the ineffective Kevin Prince in favor of Kevin Craft.  Craft to the Rescue?  Not exactly.  Craft was no more successful than Prince.  Both guys were sailing passes off-target, and when the Receivers managed to get their hands on them, they dropped the ball.  Nelson Rosario was a repeat-offender, but not close to being the only guilty one.

After Craft missed by a mile on an easy Swing Pass on a 4th Down that would have put the Bruins right back in the game, Craft was pulled and Richard Brehaut got a chance.  He got sacked on his first play, and ended up 2 for 3 for 11 yards Passing.

The difference in the game was 3rd Down Conversions:  Arizona converted 9 of 16, while UCLA went 2 for 15.  And the only Touchdown the Bruins scored was on a dropped Interception that was questionably called a lateral/fumble recovered by Tony Dye and returned for six points.  In other words, none of the QB’s could get the Bruins into the end zone except Arizona’s.

The main reason may have been the Bruins’ inability to pick up the Blitz.  Norm Chow tried to call Screens and plays that are made to work against a Blitz, but they didn’t, mostly due to bad execution.

The Bruins started the Season 3-0, and then started playing thier Pac-10 schedule.  In the Conference, they have gone a humiliating 0-4, good for 9th place, and good for fans to be dubious of Coach Neuheisel.  The “bringbackkarl.com” website is just waiting to be opened, as the Bruins were never this bad under Karl Dorrell’s leadership.  The better team won again, for the fourth time in a row.  Kyle Bosworth is SO good, sometimes, but on Saturday, he missed more than one open-field tackle that led to big gains.  Even with Arizona’s star Tailback going out injured, the Bruins couldn’t contain the Wildcats’ Offense.  Except for all the Turnovers, Arizona would have won by a  lot more than two Touchdowns.  But that’s no way to think.  The better perspective to take is that the Bruins were very close to making it a one-possession game late in the game, on the road in the Pac-10, against a very good team.  The Offensive line seemed to hold up the pocket a little longer than in the past, and if Prince can get confortable with that, and if the Receivers can start holding on to the ball, the Bruins might not go winless in the Pac.

Christian Ramirez started at Tailback, with Jonathan Franklin backing him up.  Ramirez played okay, with one nice 9-yard run, but nothing overly-impressive.  Franklin probably looked a little better, but not enough to keep Milton Knox out of the game.  Maybe Knox was unavailable, sick, or injured?  Damien Thigpen also was mostly an observer, as the Bruins failed to mount any Touchdown drives, no matter WHO was in.

But enough post-mortem. Here’s a link to an Ed O’Bannon piece (sent in to this website for your enjoyment), and also, a letter I just received, and finally, some more photos from the Cal game, of one of the understandable reasons why UCLA’s Football team is still able to recruit top-quality prospects.  Too bad the Coaching staff can’t do anything with them… The prospects, not the Girls.

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http://www.lostlettermen.com/2009/10/ed-obannon-falling-back-in-love-with-hoops/

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“Hi…can’t recall how I came across your website (cheerleader search I think, lol) but I HATE the Trojans too!

Big Michigan fan…but gotta tell ya, everyone loves a beautiful California girl, especially in Bruin blue!!!

Keep up the good work!”

🙂

California Dreamin’ in Michigan

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Reminder:  Put your mouse over these photos for captions, and click on the photos, to ENLARGE the photos.

Bright side?  The Bruins’ 3-headed QB Monster (it IS scary) didn’t throw any Interceptions (just 1 lost fumble).

Bright side part 2:  ESPN’s box score is crediting Jeff Locke with an 81-yard punt.

Not-so-bright side:  The Bruins gained only 65 yards on the ground, 146 in the air.

Back to the Bright side: Alabama and Iowa, two teams ranked above sc, both won an last-play, walk-off heroics.

Arizona ran for 209 yards, and threw for 247.  Their victory was not a fluke.

No matter how you spin it, it’s hard to ignore all the Bruin fans exclaiming “Oh my God, we suck!”

Before you ask, I would still start Prince next week, assuming he’s not injured.  And Brehaut would still be my second-stringer.  And Knox would see the field.

And this may be an over-reaction, but I would give Nelson “Poli-Dixon” Rosario’s minutes to Gavin Kethum, Randall Carroll, and Damien Thigpen.

It SEEMS like the Bruins’ Defense usually sturggles early, against the opponent’s “scripted” plays.  On Saturday, they had to try to climb out of a 13-0 hole.

I talk about saving the season, but as usual, only one game matters, now more than ever, and it’s going to take a Jake-Locker-size miracle.

Should I just stop talking about the gloomy football outlook, and just concentrate on pointing out how amazing these Cheerleaders look in the blazing Rose Bowl Sun?

Earlier, were you teased by the Beavers, as they stayed close, before falling to troy in a fairly-close game?

Honestly — Taking these photos is what keeps me from almost DREADING my trips to the Rose Bowl this season.  Like Saturday’s loss in Arizona, these Bruin losses have all been within reach, and winnable with their best effort.

Pete Carroll says he roots for Mark Sanchez’ Jets to win;  I say that when they lose, he might just crack a smile.  And I think somewhere, Karl Dorrell is doing the same thing when Neuheisel’s Bruins lose.  If so, he’s been smiling a lot lately, with no end in sight.

Comments

6 responses to “DROP ZONA III”

  1. SCopper Avatar
    SCopper

    My team is 8-0 so far this season. But without a classy dance team, what’s it all for?

  2. James Avatar
    James

    Who is the captain of the dance team this year?

    [T-H’s Note: I don’t know. Maybe someone will write in and tell us.]

  3. Rick Avatar
    Rick

    Perhaps Prince’s descent–and his unacceptable inability to hold onto the damn ball when hit–can be explained by the aftereffects of, and time/timing lost due to, the jaw injury.
    But how Rosario went from the potential next J.J. Stokes to the next Poli-Dixon in three weeks is a bit tougher to explain…Was the amazing one-handed catch a fluke? I would find that hard to believe, but one more drop and… Maybe we should tie one hand behind his back in the future?
    On the other hand, so to speak, as you properly noted, everyone is dropping passes all of a sudden. Even the formerly sure-handed Embree has looked less than reliable recently. And don’t get me started on the pathetic tackling, even by formerly sure tacklers like Bosworth. This is not looking good.
    Maybe the answer will simply be still more time spent on fundamentals, even more time on the practice field doing the basics. Indeed, maybe the players just need to be more angry–and if longer practices don’t do it, they can always just follow the lead of the ALUMNI…

  4. brianna fan Avatar
    brianna fan

    Katie and Elise are Co-Captains this year.

  5. Scrpn Avatar
    Scrpn

    T-Hater,

    Thanks for the cheerleader pics on the site. At this point, it is the best part of the football. season. Very depressing to see the team perform so poorly. I hope we can settle on a QB and get this thing rolling. Thanks again, the cheerleaders look great (although I prefer the unedited ones).

    Sincerely,
    [Name withheld in case he’s married.]

  6. Scoop Avatar
    Scoop

    Why is no one saying anything about U$C’s Taylor Mays’s cheap shots? First he literally partially scalps Robby Parris towards the end of the Notre Dame game. At first I thought his ear was hanging loosely. On closer look (HDTV), it was part of his scalp. This and other probably more serious injuries resulted from Mays’s unsportsmanlike late shot to the head which ripped off Parris’s helmet and left him writhing on the field.

    Last week, Mays used the exact same tactic against Oregon’s Sean Canfield. In this latest incident, Canfield, though stunned and furious, was able to walk off the field and return to play. The referees were standing right there and saw it clearly, yet no flags were thrown. Even the TV announcers, who usually act as unofficial $C cheerleaders, were appalled at the lack of official response to such a blatant illegal violence.

    What’s up with that? Is U$C allowed to do whatever it wants with no consequences?

    Scoop

    [T-H’s Note: They had to make new rules because of this guy’s dirty tactics. No wonder he came back this year — He was born to be a trojan.]