A very good "after action report, Dimitri. I must be candid that I have not read the previous seasons' report as breathlessly as this and your others given the records and perf, you can understand.
Anyway, I blather.
Checking UCLA's schedule on ESPN, I found it's prediction algorithm has UCLA a "win" for all exc for The 60:00:01 crew from Ann Arbor and, of course, the Toe Jams.
That said and while that being virtually worthless in forecasting Dodgers games but you know I must be desperate and it's nice to to be "appreciated". As Joe said earlier, we have a decent chance for a respectable record of a better 'D' can be harvested.
Sounds like the Rose Bowl folks should be held accountable and be graded as well. I think the current, subpar fan experience at the stadium could be a lingering symptom of the previous seasons of mediocre UCLA football being played there. Meanwhile, the coaching staff and players have many improvements to make, but at least they've been winning their first 3 games instead of posting a miserable 0-3 record and looking clueless. Sure hope DC Hitschler can do a much better job with the pass defense, though. Poor performances similar to the awful defense under former DC Azzinaro can easily trigger BBS...
Dimitri… you hit the nail on the head as far as our defensive woes. In my review of the last few games, IMHO, it all goes back to a lack of having two (or at least one) defensive tackle run stuffers of the 320 pound variety……. Both Cal and San Diego State had 220 LB backs that were able to run up the middle on our defense for 5, 6, 8 yard gains. It seems our coordinator was not going to let that happen with another big bank, Purdue’s Fame Ijeboi coming to town. What I initially noted was an extra backer in the box to help our defensive line stuff the run, which resulted in the Bruins playing a lot more man to man than we had in our first two games. Obviously, we were successful in stuffing Mr. Ijeboi… however, we all saw what happened to our pass defense.
The thing is, we have the athletes to play man to man….they just played it with bad technique……In looking at the film, the biggest technique breakdowns that I saw were “the eyes” of several of our DBs. Half the time, if you go back to the snap you will invariably see within the first second of the pattern, our defensive backs, anxious to get a tip on what the play is going to be, peering into the backfield for a split second (you can see their helmet turn on TV) to see what the quarterback is doing. This is a cardinal sin in playing man to man. That one second can mean the difference between your guy being open or covered….Your role is to shadow your receiver and not bother with anything else happening in the play (Whether college or pro, if you have the camera view from behind the quarterback on replays, you will see quarterback scrambles where the camera catches a defensive back with his back to the backfield oblivious to the quarterback run for a short period of time…… That is because he is playing man to man defense properly, and is being run out of the play intentionally by the receiver…… he has no run support duties)
Purdue’s very first play of the game is illustrative of this… Our defensive back is caught by the camera looking into the backfield while his receiver cuts across field. Having good speed, the receiver creates a several yard gap between he and the late reacting defensive back (the offensive line gives the qb time) and the receiver catches the ball on a crossing pattern and turns it up the opposite sideline for a 75 yard touchdown. There was little pursuit...... because the design of the play ran defenders to the other side of the field.... I have to believe that our defensive back coaches have been screaming about technique all week…..I will talk more about our defensive line issues, where the root of the problem is, a bit later…..this has been long winded enough….
A very good "after action report, Dimitri. I must be candid that I have not read the previous seasons' report as breathlessly as this and your others given the records and perf, you can understand.
Anyway, I blather.
Checking UCLA's schedule on ESPN, I found it's prediction algorithm has UCLA a "win" for all exc for The 60:00:01 crew from Ann Arbor and, of course, the Toe Jams.
That said and while that being virtually worthless in forecasting Dodgers games but you know I must be desperate and it's nice to to be "appreciated". As Joe said earlier, we have a decent chance for a respectable record of a better 'D' can be harvested.
Persevere!
Sounds like the Rose Bowl folks should be held accountable and be graded as well. I think the current, subpar fan experience at the stadium could be a lingering symptom of the previous seasons of mediocre UCLA football being played there. Meanwhile, the coaching staff and players have many improvements to make, but at least they've been winning their first 3 games instead of posting a miserable 0-3 record and looking clueless. Sure hope DC Hitschler can do a much better job with the pass defense, though. Poor performances similar to the awful defense under former DC Azzinaro can easily trigger BBS...
Go Bruins!
Dimitri… you hit the nail on the head as far as our defensive woes. In my review of the last few games, IMHO, it all goes back to a lack of having two (or at least one) defensive tackle run stuffers of the 320 pound variety……. Both Cal and San Diego State had 220 LB backs that were able to run up the middle on our defense for 5, 6, 8 yard gains. It seems our coordinator was not going to let that happen with another big bank, Purdue’s Fame Ijeboi coming to town. What I initially noted was an extra backer in the box to help our defensive line stuff the run, which resulted in the Bruins playing a lot more man to man than we had in our first two games. Obviously, we were successful in stuffing Mr. Ijeboi… however, we all saw what happened to our pass defense.
The thing is, we have the athletes to play man to man….they just played it with bad technique……In looking at the film, the biggest technique breakdowns that I saw were “the eyes” of several of our DBs. Half the time, if you go back to the snap you will invariably see within the first second of the pattern, our defensive backs, anxious to get a tip on what the play is going to be, peering into the backfield for a split second (you can see their helmet turn on TV) to see what the quarterback is doing. This is a cardinal sin in playing man to man. That one second can mean the difference between your guy being open or covered….Your role is to shadow your receiver and not bother with anything else happening in the play (Whether college or pro, if you have the camera view from behind the quarterback on replays, you will see quarterback scrambles where the camera catches a defensive back with his back to the backfield oblivious to the quarterback run for a short period of time…… That is because he is playing man to man defense properly, and is being run out of the play intentionally by the receiver…… he has no run support duties)
Purdue’s very first play of the game is illustrative of this… Our defensive back is caught by the camera looking into the backfield while his receiver cuts across field. Having good speed, the receiver creates a several yard gap between he and the late reacting defensive back (the offensive line gives the qb time) and the receiver catches the ball on a crossing pattern and turns it up the opposite sideline for a 75 yard touchdown. There was little pursuit...... because the design of the play ran defenders to the other side of the field.... I have to believe that our defensive back coaches have been screaming about technique all week…..I will talk more about our defensive line issues, where the root of the problem is, a bit later…..this has been long winded enough….