UCLA’s Noel Mazzone: I need to be a more ‘aggressive’ playcaller

UCLA’s offense has trended toward the ground in the past few weeks. In the Bruins’ last three first halves, they have run the ball on 44 first downs while passing on only 19. In Saturday’s loss against Arizona State, they handed the ball off to tailback Paul Perkins to start five straight first downs — despite the Sun Devils stacking the box.

Asked about the shift, offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said the changes have been due more to his decisions rather than anything he’s seen in the on-field matchups.

“I was not nearly as aggressive as a playcaller as I should be at this point,” Mazzone said Thursday. “It’s like life. If you wake up in the morning and you get out of bed, and all you’re worrying about is not making mistakes, you might as well not get your ass up out of bed. You might as well stay in bed. Continue reading “UCLA’s Noel Mazzone: I need to be a more ‘aggressive’ playcaller” »

UCLA 56, Arizona 30: Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone

After throwing three interceptions against BYU, UCLA freshman quarterback got back on track in the Bruins’ 56-30 in at Arizona, going 19 of 28 for 284 yards and two touchdowns.

“I’m just speculating, because I don’t know what the hell I’m doing anyway,” offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said. “But it seems like when we go tempo, when we spread out and he’s reacting, he really has a great feel for the game. I think sometimes when we’re in there, we’ve got two backs and we’re trying to pound the ball — he’s maybe looking at too much.

“He loves the tempo offense. When we’re playing fast, he can just react to what he sees.”