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BruinMBA
Joined: 11/22/05 Posts: 4,723
Couple of things I hope to see this year
Posted Fri, Sep 02 7:12 am
The D needs more growth/improvement than the O.

There were two plays last year that Ucla was seemingly incapable of defending:

1. The WR screen/ the swing pass to the back: both plays get the ball on the edge asap. And the CBs and edge players (Calvert, agude, Jones, etc) were just bad at blowing that up.

It's almost super human for a CB to make that tackle. OL or Titans or a slot receiver are coming from the inside to kick out the CB. BUT UCLA'S CBs rarely fought back. They would stay high and get driven to the sideline, opening a huge channel for the pass receiver. But the edge guys were no help. They were very slow to recognize the play. I'm hoping the edge guys this year decipher the play and fly to the outside, tackling the receiver before he gets going.

These teams ran the bubble screen/ swing pass a lot v Ucla: asu, Utah, Oregon. Ucla lost all three games.

2. The back shoulder fade: 25 to 30 yard pass... and UCLA'S short CBs were never proficient at defending that play. Stanford, sc and Oregon hurt Ucla with that play. Hopefully the taller & faster CBs, combined with more pressure from the front 4, will mess up the execution and timing of that play.

On the O side, it would be really good to see DTR have some success throwing the back shoulder fade. He did have a nice TD to dulcich in the cal game. But the other times when he tried that throw, he targeted Kyle, who was just too short and earthbound to go get the ball.
OswegoBruin
Joined: 11/11/10 Posts: 17,107
All excellent points.
Posted Fri, Sep 02 7:44 am
In response to Couple of things I hope to see this year (BruinMBA)
As for the two plays on D you mentioned, a proficient pass rush will be helpful on both accounts. And not just "rush the passer with whoever on a blitz" pass rush, but a real DL pass rush. I think we will be at worst better this year at generating pressure with our four down linemen. Hopefully we will see significant improvement.

On O, I know we hit Kaz with those a couple times. I expect him to be a HUGE part of this passing attack (and rushing attack, frankly), so I imagine that will be one of his go-tos.
BRUINBBQ
Joined: 9/11/14 Posts: 1,251
Yes, and both of those are due to
Posted Fri, Sep 02 8:55 am
In response to Couple of things I hope to see this year (BruinMBA)
us having to bring extra bodies every down. Both of those plays are standard ways to combat a highly aggressive defense, which we were to the Nth degree.
Bruin Brian
Joined: 9/25/06 Posts: 5,939
Look for 6'5" Jake Bobo on the fade routes this year
Posted Fri, Sep 02 9:07 am
In response to Yes, and both of those are due to (BRUINBBQ)
I expect some improvement with him in the lineup.
MarkLA
Joined: 12/06/11 Posts: 2,862
That could open things up a lot in the red zone (NM)
Posted Fri, Sep 02 9:31 am
In response to Look for 6'5" Jake Bobo on the fade routes this year (Bruin Brian)
Go Bruins!
uclanman
Joined: 9/23/12 Posts: 1,866
Ricky Manning Jr. ate those plays up.
Posted Fri, Sep 02 1:20 pm
In response to Couple of things I hope to see this year (BruinMBA)
Great tackler from day 1.
BruinMBA
Joined: 11/22/05 Posts: 4,723
And super aggressive
Posted Fri, Sep 02 3:38 pm
In response to Ricky Manning Jr. ate those plays up. (uclanman)
You have to play with reckless abandon
8years
Joined: 7/10/12 Posts: 1,694
Ironically, these were the plays that the Bruins ran over
Posted Fri, Sep 02 7:26 pm
In response to Couple of things I hope to see this year (BruinMBA)
and over until the opposing D adjusted, then the Bruins went to other plays under Mazzone. Back then, people kept asking why does he keep running the same thing over and over. Now we know, if the D doesn’t stop it, keep ramming it down their throat. Once the D changes, it opens something else to attack.