June 22, 2008

State of the Program - Football

With the heat of summer bearing down upon us all, I thought I'd toss off a few words concerning the state of the football program under Coach Neuheisel.

First, and most obvious, is the fact that Neu was able to build a very well-respected staff (spearheaded by coordinators Norm Chow and DeWayne Walker) and hold onto basically the entirety of a well-stocked recruiting class built by departing coach Karl Dorrell and assistant coach Walker. This gives the team a sense of positive energy moving into the latter half of the year, and moving towards the season. It remains to be seen if the team will be able to manifest that energy into on-field results, but it would be hard to argue that the program has a greater sense of vitality than it has had in years. That would be due largely to the difference in personality types between Dorrell and Neuheisel, who in many ways reminds me more than not of Pete Carroll. The similarities between the two could be a good thing, or a very bad thing. We'll find out.

Obviously, there has been, as referenced in the post below this, some dissent over what kind of season it would be reasonable to expect. However, one must believe that to demand an enormous improvement in any coach's first season - especially one in which he loses so much talent on both sides of the ball - is rather unfair. When talking about the chance to transform that energy into game results, one must expect the buck to stop right at the foot of the Tennessee Volunteers. Expecting a win is, perhaps, too much at this juncture. However, the team must come out with a sense of visible purpose and desire to attack that has been lacking in previous years. Getting embarrassed on national television in the opening game of the Neuheisel regime - especially in the Rose Bowl - would put a huge screeeeching halt on all the momentum the program has been building over the last half-year or so.

The lull in the sports world that presides over the mid-summer months will cause many fans to salivate wildly in anticipation for the tiniest bits of information regarding the program. But it is important to remember that the big picture must be one that requires taking a step back, in order to view it all. This is not a championship-caliber team. That should not be where the focus lies for the short-term. Instead, be excited for a new era in the UCLA football tradition, and hopefully one that will last long and bear many great successes.

June 19, 2008

I come not to bury Neuheisel...

Ugh. Not going to even pretend that this huge hiatus was anything but unacceptable. Moving on, hey, new color scheme. We'll try this out for a bit - feels a lot more 'UCLA,' but I'm not totally sure about how that translates to a blog's colors, or ease of readability. My, like... 1 reader out there (you do exist, right?), please let me know if this is manageable, or if I should go back to the old darker blue background.

There's been a lot of talk over the past couple of days regarding reasonable expectations of the upcoming UCLA football season. First, Nestor laid out his belief of what the season would likely be. Sunday Morning QB suggested, in response, that said projection was skewed not with reality, but with previous projections for the season made by the BN team during the reign of favored BN whipping boy Karl Dorrell. I might note that this message was possibly provoked - fairly or not - by a rebuke of his commentary on Rick Neuheisal. Unsurprisingly, Nestor and the gang replied in kind. Kyle from Dawg Sports put in his two cents plus change, and Meneleus of BN's staff gave a point-by-point rebuttal in return. Unsurprisingly, the definitive word comes from nowhere else but Every Day Should Be Saturday, and I believe Orson has found us all some ponies as party favors to boot.

The arguments involving Bruins Nation (on both sides) bother me somewhat - and I might also add that it's not that being in the minority (as BN appears to be) is always proof of being incorrect. Fans of UCLA football have certainly felt, to a degree, that they were placed in a rather unfair position given proximity to USC, the seeming bias of the LA Times, and a national media that has periodically been described as 'east-coast biased.' And to a degree, it is true, I believe. The moniker "Gutty Little Bruins" arose not from a hegemonic program that demolished all in its path, to say the least. But I worry that at times this sentiment engenders a bit of defensiveness that might not be the most healthy in the world.

One of the best parts about being involved in the New Wave of Journalism™ is the interaction between the various constituencies on the web. Whether that be the (sometimes not-so) enlightened back-and-forth of the Dems and Reps, or a discussion between fans of Ohio State and Michigan, it is the possibility for collaboration and immediate feedback that help to differentiate Old Media from Neu Media (see wut I did thar?). The attitude that everybody who speaks ill of UCLA (or positively about Karl Dorrell, up until a few months ago) was somehow targeting the program itself for destruction breeds more insularity. Which is too bad, because as I've said time and again I think that the group over at BN has a lot to offer - it just seems that rare are the cases when anybody outside of the UCLA sphere of influence seems to be positively involved, nowadays.

Web sites like Bruins Nation and SMQ are accurately described at opposite ends of the "most and least partisan college sports weblogs" spectrum (to quote Kyle's lengthy treatise on the matter). That dichotomy offers a divide in terms of the general rhetoric used, as well as the subject matter generally covered by each type of blog. But what is important to remember is - beyond the obvious platitude of "it's only a game" - that intelligent commentary can take all forms, even the sort that we sometimes dislike to see/hear. By allowing oneself to place too much importance on, not the content of a blog, but the blog itself, that message can get muddled. In summation, Orson is right as usual, and Rick Neuheisal is aesthetically pleasing in form to all who may observe his majesty.

As for me? My expectations for the season are both easier and harder. I don't expect anything. Cop-out, I know. But what I desire is simply to see evidence of a change in the structure of the offense (I suspect Norm Chow will have almost as much to do with that as anybody else might), and evidence that the team is willing to get behind their new coach. One of the most glaring problems with the Dorrell era, in my opinion, was the team's general willingness to play to the level of its opponent - this explains the handful of shocking victories, as well as the stunningly bad defeats. I don't even need to see consistency from the Bruins - new offense and lots of departing veterans make that unlikely. I just desire a clear and effective managerial vision that imparts itself on the team in some visible fashion.

Though projecting a surefire win over Southern Cal is a little delusional. Really, guys... Not even a 'toss-up'? :)