Neuheisel Conference Call
On what ails UCLA:
"Offensively, we have got to do a better job of throwing and catching and converting third downs. Our running game has been pretty good and can get better. But we have to do a better job of converting third downs and throwing and catching the football. Defensively, we can get better at some of our gap integrity. Our inside front seven have got to be in our gaps and playing efficient football in there."
On Andrew Luck:
"The Luck kid last night was really good at making first downs with his legs. I think our coverage was really good at times, and yet he got out of trouble, made a number of playing with his legs that cost us and kept drives a live."
On the mental mistakes plaguing the team:
"The opening punt return that we let the ball bounce 30 yards and put the ball on the 10-yard line ... We had a couple penalties where were trying to match their substitution and couldn't get it done. We had to waste a timeout because we had a punt returner on third down. You can't put your finger on one thing - its execution. Our quarterback misfiring, not throwing to an open receiver, quarterback not getting to his read to an open wide receiver, a number of things. We've been better. Been better with these guys. It's a little bit alarming that this is going on."
On the starting quarterback against Houston:
"We haven't made that determination yet. We'll see. We'll watch practice. The effectiveness of the quarterback position is critical, so we want to make sure we have someone out there who knows what he's doing and does it well. At the end of the day, as long as (Prince's) health is good, it comes down to performance. To date, the performance hasn't been what it needs to be."
On questioning himself about starting Prince:
"I question myself all the time. I know why I chose what I chose. I can't go back and switch it."
On Prince's shoulder:
"We're dealing with some basic soreness, and I don't think it's one of those things that requires an MRI."
On Ricky Marvray's personal foul:
"He made a block downfield, kind of a peel back block, and it wasn't necessary. Wasn't a necessary block. You like that he likes to play, but he needs to have more discipline than that."
On Derrick Coleman:
"Derrick is fine, out of hospital, here today. He's sore, has a little neck sprain, and a mild concussion, but I think he'll be back shortly."
On Johnathan Franklin and Malcolm Jones:
"They give you different things. Johnathan's got the quickness to get through holes, and Malcolm's got the power. Both are doing well running the football, but we need both improve in the blocking department."
On Coleman's blocking ability
"Derrick is a very accomplished blocker, and he's a very good running back. If you just knew you were going to be blocking, you'd know Derrick would be in the game."
On other injuries:
"Justin Edison has a mild knee sprain but nothing that will keep him out of practice."
On the offensive struggles:
"We didn't have anybody to practice it against. Why were struggling is not because of the Pistol. Has nothing to do with the Pistol. Has to do that were not throwing and catching. We've had ill-timed procedure penalties. Ricky Marvray's two penalties are both first downs inside the 15-yard line. We've just got to eliminate stupid mistakes."
On Richard Brehaut:
"Some good things and still some things that he's got to do better at. He had one formation he didn't get put together right. He had a ball that looked like he forgot what the guy was running, threw a route we don't have on that formation. Those are things we have to do a better job of coaching, to make sure this doesn't continue.
On why he's frustrated with the passing game:
"I can only point at what the numbers are. We're 4-of-22 in third down conversions. You can't win football games doing that. Four-of-22 in two games. We have to get better."
You better F-ing bench Prince. I don't give a flying F if he plays like an all-American during practice he doesn't deserve to start. Time to test out someone else.
Enough finger pointing coach!!! Take some responsibility, you have the talent to be better. Your team looks unprepared and that should be embarrassing to you. Your players deserve a greater effort and so do your fans.
Start Brehaut, adamantly play Jones at running back. Put in Riley and give your team a chance to win.
Pick up that BIG TE/DE from OAKS; He catches that ball on the 3yd line and as once before with Cassius brings real heat from the edge 15 sacks and 70 tackles a pic for six last season from the strong side! Your wasting MJ
Slick Rick talks like he's still a frat boy in the early '80s. Man up and accept the fact that you were out coached.
wawawawwaaaaa we're losing. i have an idea, let's do the opposite and we are sure to succeed. i think i'll call this the "George Costanza Principle"; it worked for him.
CRN...Master of Rhetoric. What makes you think you can fix this Rick? You've given us no evidence that you have the skill set to improve this team. We're in our 3rd year together and your "we gotta fix it" comments are no different than when you started in 2008. Same problems...same issues...same rhetoric.
And frankly, Rick, I found your post game comments praising the no life's that stuck it through till the end of the game insulting. I bleed blue and gold, and spend $$ thousands for my season tix. I had to leave early last night because I couldn't stand watching the abomination you call a team desecrate the hallowed Rose Bowl field that I hold so dear.
Keep your rah rah passion bucket crap to yourself...Good coaches let the exceptional play of their team speak for itself.
Man, I'm stealin money at this gig. Maybe I can hold on for the full 5 years
O. M. G. hahahehe =D =D =D
keep saying that to urself nooooheehehe!!!
Cal ta's are better football players than ur sick teDDies
cant wait for our date!!!
♥♥♥GO BEARS♥♥♥
i have to say, watching ucla football has taken a new low. and this is coming from someone who has sat my ass through freezing weather rooting for my shitty ivy league team.
is it possible that we actually got worse from last year? i was actually wondering why we were picked to finish 8th and thinking we were going to surprise everybody. guess the joke's on me.
the blame falls on the coaching. in the college game, you're going to have some good talent and some so-so talent, but the point is to prepare them well and put them in the best possible situation to succeed. in the nfl, you can get away with letting your best players make plays, but damn, you have to teach these kids in college: discipline. focus. drive.
discipline isn't just dismissing a few players for stealing purses. discipline is making sure the players are well-conditioned, willing to compete on each down, and know what the hell they're doing.
i couldn't stand the 3 commentators espn had for the game--they could not stop riding andrew luck's nuts and basically belittled ucla every chance they got. I was hoping ucla would do something good to shut them up, but that never happened.
it's the 2nd game of the season, and i've already asked if it was basketball season yet--obviously not because of last year's results, but at least i have more faith in howland's ability to bounce back and actually coach.
You guys are right...Coach Neu should just quit, admit that he is an awful coach, and that there is no hope for this season.
Get real.
As much as I want Brehaut to start the rest of the season...he's not showing that he can do much better. He looks timid out there and confused on a few plays...in terms of getting the formation in...
I really hope Malcolm Jones will be our feature back who will get 25-30 carries a game.
Just saw the video on Bruinsnation w/ interview of players...why interview those guys? Those soundbites are absolutely useless...oh, it's just the second game, we have 10 games to go. THAT'S A LOSER'S MENTALITY...last week you said we still had 11 more games...it's hard to see us beating anyone other than WSU and ASU...it's looking like a 2-10 season.
At Cal? That's a loss
Oregon will demolish us at Autzen. Rodgers brothers of Oregon State will demolish us. UW and Jake Locker will demolish us. Foles and Arizona will demolish us. And finally, Matt Barkley and that talented USC frontline will demolish our defensive front 7. Well there you have it...this is a very realistic assessment. Don't yell at me for being doom and gloom...
Man, I was surprised at how bad UCLA was last night. It was the most I've watched of them in some time. I caught the last 3 quarters.
I didn't expect Prince and the passing game to be that bad, despite his missing all the practice time. However, I didn't expect the OL and the running Pistol to be that good.
Yes, you guys looked like crap last night. But truthfully, you were facing one of the top 3 teams in the Pac 10 last night and it was a poor match-up for you guys. You won 3 conference games last year, and you'll win at least that this year.
Next year the roster will have the experience to match the talent that the staff has recruited. If they get some stability at QB, I think you're likely looking at 8 wins...if the fan base can hold out that long.
As for Prince, his athleticism is a better match for the current system than is Brehaut.
I do agree that Rick has to decide tomorrow who the starter is for the rest of the year, go with it, and shelf the other guys for good. Neither guy is going to develop into anything if he keeps jerking guys in and out. He has to figure this out tonight and get it right.
If Prince can't go full speed in practice all week starting tomorrow, I think the decision is pretty easy. Practicing one guy and playing the other has been a mistake and you've lost 3 weeks of fall camp and the week between games 1 and 2 as a result - even if Prince's natural talents look like a better fit for the Pistol.
This is worse than being in a probation. Can we just forfeit the Texas, Oregon, and $c game. It's very embarrassing.
Great, Karl Jr. is going to start talking execution.
Remember.......we have to execute the game plan with better effort......after 4 hours at the Rose Bowl Saturday I needed someone to execute me!
Why so many down comments.... we've got a great coaching staff, we're recruiting great players and we're leaning a new offense. This all going to get turned around and we're going to send those cheaters into the offseason with their tail between their legs while we go to a bowl game. Guaranteed!
Why so many negative comments? Cause the majority of these posters are SUC scum
there are so many negative comments because it is reality. jon gold gave the entire team F's, does that mean he's a SUC alum?
let's call a spade a spade. the way ucla played was a joke.
i'm all for a rah-rah coach like rick, but if he can't deliver and instead crushes people's expectations beyond belief, then maybe he needs to change his approach.
yeh, and jon gold also said that kevin prince look very good at practice with his pass game too but what did we get from him nothing!!!! except zero on scoreboard.
He left two programs in shambles. And more noteworthy from a coaching standpoint both got worse the longer he was there. Really need a new AD, he whiffed on the last 2 hires. Imagine Mike Riley at UCLA for the past 8 years.
"we're talking about practice. I mean listen, we're sitting here talking about practice. We're talking about practice man."
you remember what phil jackson called sasha vujacic? the 11 o'clock player.
prince looked good at the beginning of fall camp, before he sat out for 3-4 weeks. looked, as in past tense.
we need a winner--someone who finds a way to win games.
I have been a die hard bruin fan for 25 years, and unfortunately it seems fairly apparent that we are not "there" yet. It is gonna be a tough year...we are probably gonna get our hats handed to us by all of those teams that the pundits say are gonna run over us. So, we suck it up and take the hit. What other choice do we have? Dan isn't gonna fire the coach in the middle of the season. They say that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Am I gonna jump ship...and go where? The team across town is not an option. Has CRN done all he can to develop this team? Based on recent history, he's only got a finite amount of time to show progress or he will be gone. Guerrero has demonstrated his capability to make that decision. For now though...Rick Neuheisel is our coach. I hope he turns it around. Recent recruiting indicates that he has a shot to bring us back. I think Harbaugh convincingly reminded us that we shouldn't use the "academic standards" excuse for not getting top tier talent. So, I think we need to shut up and focus on playing football...let the rest of the scenario unfold...as it inevitably will. Go Bruins!