“Killing it” begins with “K” — Bruin star Eric Kendricks is named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after his 77-yard Interception Return Touchdown leads the Vikings to victory; Meanwhile two new “K” additions to the Dance Team gives them 6 Killer K’s (7 if you count the new Assistant Coach, and you know I do)
Eric Kendricks was an All-American Linebacker at UCLA. He was one of the best Bruin Linebackers in the last 30 years, and even won the prestigious Butkus Award, honoring the NATION’S BEST Linebacker. But some people felt his prowess in the college game would not translate well to the Pro’s. He might not be big and strong enough to be effective at the next level. Well, Kendricks is now in his second year with the Minnesota Vikings, and he has already shut up all the doubters.
On Sunday, as the Vikings were battling the Tennessee Titans, Kendricks had 6 Tackles, 1 Tackle for Loss, and athletically snagged a pass from former Oregon Duck Heisman-winning Quarterback Marcus Mariota, and ran it back 77 yards for a Touchdown. The Vikes Defense later returned a fumble for a TD, as the D scored more than the O in the 25-16 victory. Fellow Bruin Linebacker Anthony Barr is Kendricks’ Viking teammate, and he also made a key play to assure that Minnesota started the season with a win, despite losing their starting Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater two weeks ago to a season-ending injury. Even their superstar Running Back Adrian Peterson did nothing on Sunday, but with a Defense featuring Kendricks and Barr, the team doesn’t need a superstar RB or QB to be competitive.
Speaking of Running Backs who did nothing, the Reggie Bush Era in Buffalo got off to an inauspicious start. The disgraced ex-trojan carried the ball 3 times, for a grand total of NEGATIVE FOUR YARDS. The Bills have another trojan: Wide Receiver Robert Woods — another ex-trojan who has severely underachieved in the Pro’s. Woods caught 4 passes, for a whopping total of 20 yards. To be fair, one of those receptions was a fantastic catch, but between his meager contribution and Bush’s total lack of impact, the Bills scored only one time all game, in a 13-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore has an ex-trojan too: Running Back Buck Allen, who probably thought he should be the Starter this season. As it turned out, he is now apparently 4th string, and never touched the ball on Sunday. At least a DOZEN different Ravens touched the ball, but not Javorius. I never even saw him on the field.
Someone I DID see on the field this weekend was Bruin great Cassius Marsh. Although he plays for the loathsome Pete Carroll in Seattle, it’s still nice to see the Bruin do well in the Pro’s. He had a great game, and made a crucial play in crunchtime to preserve the victory over Miami. In Jacksonville, I didn’t see Myles Jack in what should have been his NFL debut, but old-timer Bruin Tight End Marcedes Lewis had a great game, including an impressive 37-yard catch and run. The Jags gave Green Bay all they could handle, before falling short in the final seconds, 27-23.
Speaking of falling short, the UCLA Spirit Squad NEVER falls short of expectations. I had an amazing time mingling with and photographing the new 2016-2017 Squad on Saturday. And since I captioned all the photos before today, you may have noticed the preponderance of K names on the Dance Team. Returning from last year are Kelly, Kate, Kiana, and Katy, and new this year are Kaitlyn and Kendenn. That’s 6 of the 13 girls! And a new coach is Katie K.. Then if you believe in phonetics, you could spell Christine’s name with a K (because it starts with a K sound). Then you could add two more from the Cheer Squad: Christina and Courtney. So many K sounds! Too kool for skool!
Anyway… here are 50 more shots of the UCLA Cheerleaders — not just the K-girls, but almost everyone. And I still have at least 40 more shots that I will post in the near future — perhaps in the article after the BYU road game this Saturday night.
By the way — I forgot to mention this year: If you click on the pics, they enlarge, especially the horizontal ones, which will fill up your widescreen with beauty.
