Grading out
Feel free to grade the Bruins off Saturday's 34-6 loss to Oregon State. Here are my grades:
Running backs
Kahlil Bell had 45 yards, which is his second-highest total of the season. The next two leading rushers were a WR and QB.
Grade: D
Quarterbacks
At least "Groundhog's Day'' had some funny lines it to offset the daily repetition.
Grade: F
Receivers
Taylor Embree (5 catches), Dominique Johnson (4) and Terrence Austin (3) each had nice games.
Grade: C
Offensive line
Speaking of "Groundhog's Day,'' how many times this season has the offensive line have a day like Saturday?
Grade: F
Defensive line
Giving up 201 rushing yards doesn't begin to tell the story of how hard, and how well, this unit played.
Grade: B
Linebackers
Reggie Carter had 10 tackles and John Hale came off a splendid week of practice to make six tackles.
Grade: B
Secondary
CB Michael Norris gave up a couple of big plays, but the secondary held up well otherwise.
Grade: B-
Special teams
Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel said the kickoff coverage was as good as it's been all season. That's as special as special teams was this week.
Grade: C
Coaching
This season may be DC DeWayne Walker's best coaching job, and the offensive staff's most frustrating coaching assignment.
Grade: C
Defense: B...I think they held tight, but the offense kept putting them in bad positions and the guys finally yielded.
Offense: n/a...I think as CRN said post game, everything hingles on the OL. OL gets an F -, Kraft gets an F -, and I'd say the skill players are ungradable because there's simply nothing they can do given the horrid play of Kraft and the OL
The funniest thing is the fact that Kahlil Bell thinks he is going to be in the NFL. If we are bragging about 45 yards, that is not going to cut it. LOL
Kahlil Bell needs to share the wealth of carries with other guys
If Michael Norris isn't the worst cornerback in the history of college football, will someone please tell me who is?
DMN said:
Go with the youngers guys and give serious time to Forcier, Dean and Coleman. Go with the youngers guys.
The defense played extremely hard, but I continue to be frustrated with Michael Norris getting playing time. He consistently gets beat on coverage. He does a good job of wrapping up when it comes to tackling, but a corner who can't cover should not be in the game.
For as frustrating as it is this year... I can only imagine how it would be if Karl was still coaching. We'd probably be fighting for our first win this weekend. The cupboards are just so bare!!
It looked like the D gave up in the fourth quarter
I agree with Kurt. They should play that stud shut-down corner who's been on the sidelines all season! Oh wait....THERE ISNT ONE!
The good thing for Michael Norris is that Karlo Durell did not recruit any cornerbacks, so there is no depth at the position. This means that Norris is guaranteed a starting spot no matter what.
Actually, Norris is not that bad compared to prior years. He has grown a lot as a player.
Maybe C. Force should be put in as corner over Norris, he seems to be the savior of this team
I'm with teacher and Sid on these things. When you lack the personnel to control - or even contest - the line of scrimmage, there's no way to judge the skill players. Kevin isn't ready at QB - was brought in to spend a year as the emergency 3rd stringer and hopefully play in '09. With no running game and very little time to get the ball off, he's 'way over his head. And who's worse than Norris at CB? The guys behind him on the depth chart. As to CForce, he hasn't figured out the offense and he doesn't throw the ball nearly as well as Kevin Craft.
The one bright spot on the team is that the very good freshman class is learning and will be around for three more years (four for those redshirting this year).
I think the entire team knew in Spring Practice that they were going to be terrible this year. That explains why they chose to not practice that one day. They knew that no matter what they did, they were going to be terrible, and they have lived up to their expectations. I HAD been a Bruin supporter since 1954, but they showed me what their moxy was. They knew they were going to be terrible, and no amount of practicing was going to change it. They might as well just not practice the rest of the year because the results will be the same on game day.
Norris isn't as bad as you make him out to be. He plays hard and makes some good plays, and at the same time, will give up some, but he certainly isn't "the worst CB in the history of college football"
Whatever. Playing hard doesn't mean anything if you're not making tackles or covering receivers. Watch how he plays... he won't make a tackle. He dodges or pulls up every time. Of course, watching Lockett isn't exactly the best example to follow.
Brian, how does the D line get a B? It doesn't matter "how hard you play" if you aren't getting the job done. Are you grading effort or results? Based on the results I'd say they get a D.
The secondary gets the same, a D. They allowed the opposing QB to complete nearly 73% of his passes, for an average of 10 yards/completion...that's not getting it done, not even close.
So let's see, the offense gets an F for this game, the defense gets a D, therefore the coaching gets a D-.
It is not the OL. Craft holds the ball way too long. There is no running game because all opposing have to do is focus on the run.
Neuheisel and Chow should admit they have made a mistake with Craft and try something else. They keep blaming the OL for their mistake and it is not fair!