Friday, October 17, 1997
Defensive squad storms the field
FOOTBALL: Key to Bruins’ success lies in their ability to
recover after breakdowns and forcing turnovers
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Staff
Gary Oldman said it best in the movie, "The Professional": "I
like these calm moments before the storm; it reminds me of
Beethoven."
These words symbolize the Bruin defense.
Defensive coordinator Rocky Long is like Beethoven – a composer
and conductor. The storm is the UCLA defense out on the field.
With thunder and lightning, the Bruins attack opponents on every
down, leaving them bruised and gasping for air. The sweat that
comes down the offensive lineman’s forehead is nothing like the
fear which the UCLA linebackers can smell coming from the
quarterback.
The calm is UCLA’s football team, which greatly benefits from
the all-out attack performed by the defense. With 26 turnovers
forced in only six games (an average of more than four a game), the
defense is able to provide the offense with plenty of possessions
that begin in the opponents half of the field. Two statistics
provide proof of just how much the defense has improved: First,
last year, the Bruins forced only 22 turnovers in 11 games, and
second, in the second half, UCLA has allowed an average of less
than a touchdown a game.
"As a defense we’re really understanding the scheme and the
importance of alignment [and] assignment," said senior inside
linebacker Brian Willmer, who led the team with 104 tackles in
1996. "It is really playing with a lot of intensity. Flying around
and just trying to make plays. The turnovers, a lot of them, are
just because guys are going hard and flying around – playing
recklessly."
The reckless play that Willmer speaks of is the reason why the
Bruin defense has both praise and criticism.
With the large amount of man coverage involved in an attacking
scheme, the defense will keep the offense on their toes and a lot
of turnovers should be forced. The criticism comes when a player
misses an assignment or when a young cornerback who receives some
mop-up time allows a wide receiver to get open deep.
When Oregon’s Saladin McCullough broke through for a 71-yard
scoring run in the first quarter, things looked bleak for the
Bruins. In that play a linebacker misaligned himself before the
start of the play, and when the safety missed the tackle, no one
was left to tackle McCullough.
But the key to the 1997 defense is its ability to bounce back
from such a breakdown to shut down the opposition.
The Bruins buckled down after McCullough’s long run to limit him
to just 62 yards in his other 19 carries.
"People get the opinion that (a breakdown) is never supposed to
happen, but every game you watch on TV that happens to somebody,
someplace," Long said. "Because you gave up a 71-yard run means
that somebody messed up or the other team executed well. In this
case, it was a combination of both. Those things are going to
happen, and they happen in a lot of football games. You can’t let
those kind of things ruin the game for you."
Another thing UCLA won’t allow to get them down is the defensive
rankings. The Bruins rank only eighth in total defense in the
Pac-10, and fifth in scoring defense.
These may not seem like the rankings of a top-notch defense, but
many of the yards gained by opponents are gained late in the game.
At that time, UCLA has many of their backups who don’t get a lot of
practice time and a team like Texas (whom UCLA defeated 66-3) gains
around 150 yards well after the outcome has already been
decided.
"Because I realize how some of those statistics are gained it is
not important," Long said. "The important statistic is winning and
losing. We’ve had a couple of games, because the offense has done
so well and we’ve turned the ball over in a position where they can
score some points, we’ve gotten ahead. We’ve been allowed to reward
a bunch of players that would not normally play."
Few people care for excuses. The Bruin defense is characterized
as opportunistic rather than talented. But the defense can be
proven as talented when one considers the fact that in six games
UCLA has only allowed 13 points in the third quarter. This
statistic signifies the ability of the Bruins to perform the
defensive adjustments that are made at halftime.
"You take (the criticism) personally," Willmer said. "You’re on
that team and you want respect. You want to come and establish that
you have a good defense that can definitely dominate a game. What
that says to us as a team and as defensive players is that we need
to get a lot better. We cannot be at all complacent as to where we
are."
The defensive squad knows that the only way to silence critics
is to improve those statistics. Although the Bruins have started 18
drives in opponent territory thanks to turnovers forced by the
defense, the offense, at times, has to score a touchdown. Has to
because the Bruins allow an average of nearly 17 points in the
first half. Throw away the two blowouts against Texas and Houston,
and the defense allows nearly 25 points in the first half.
"As a defensive team, we always know we can be better," senior
free safety Shaun Williams said. "Basically, it’s mental mistakes
and we had a few last game, and basically what we’re trying to do
this week is staying more focused on the little things that will
help us down the road, something that may help us win some ball
games."
A lot of defenses believe in a "bend, but don’t break"
philosophy that aims to prevent rather than shut down the other
team’s offense. The Bruins’ philosophy of an aggressive defense
that forces the offense to adjust is something that is very hard to
grasp.
There are more assignments and the added responsibility is
something most players have never seen before. The lack of
familiarity with the defensive scheme is the reason why UCLA – only
in its second year under this system – still suffers from several
lapses.
UCLA has received contributions from many different people.
Players such as junior defensive end Brendon Ayanbadejo, junior
strong safety Larry Atkins, sophomore rover Eric Whitfield, senior
defensive tackle Kenyon Coleman and senior defensive end Jason
Nevadomsky have surprised everyone but Long. All of these players
were overlooked before the season started, it was Willmer and
Williams who were expected to carry the defense.
Willmer and Williams "are the two guys we put in the middle and
I believe in the developing the defense from the middle out," Long
said. "You put who you think are your best players near the middle
of the field so they can make plays on both sides of the ball."
The Bruins will lose Willmer and Williams to graduation after
the year. Therefore, contributions from other players will be
necessary. But Long is not worried. He believes that with time the
system will breed players capable of preventing the big play while
at the same time forcing turnovers.
"We’re still developing," Long said. "We’re not even close to
what we will be some day."
Rather scary words if you ask other Pac-10 offensive
coordinators.