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Don't panic when you read about the Bruin Offense being in trouble.
It's true that they didn't look very impressive in Friday night's Spring Game, but there were very good reasons for it -- First and foremost, they were going up against a World-Class Defense. Pat Cowan's first pass of the Scrimmage was intercepted by Dennis Keyes and returned for a Touchdown, and that set the tone for the night.
Cowan later got picked again, and ended up only 4-for-13. Fans were murmuring that they could see why Ben Olson got the Starting nod... by default.
Because Ben didn't win over any new fans on Friday night either. The main problem was his inability to commit. He showed indecision several times, and it led to four sacks. He also fumbled a snap, threw a pass into the bleachers (NOT on purpose), and badly missed an easy swing pass that had him furious with himself.
It wan't totally depressing, as Ben did make a few nice, elusive moves, and a few nice strikes, including 1 TD. But speaking of elusive, the most exciting player of the night, just like in the last big scrimmage, was 3rd String QB Osaar Rasshan. Once again, he dazzled fans with his Vince Young-like scrambling, giving the Bruin D fits. He also completed at least one really nice pass down the field. Perhaps it's because he's playing against the 3rd String Defense (Is he?), but watching this guy slip tackle after tackle (and after watching Ben go down 4 times), you've got to wonder if there's a way to get him some playing time. Could he be like an Antwaan Randle-El or Kordell "Slash" Stewart type of guy? Can he run out of a formation, or is he only a graduate of the Michael Vick School of Improvisational Scrambling? We're not suggesting that Osaar supplant Ben as the Starter, but we would love to see him get a shot to do to an opponent what he has done to the Bruin Defense two years in a row (even if it isn't the 1st String D).
The Offense tried and tried to run conventionally, but couldn't make much headway. Late in the scrimmage, some holes finally started to emerge, with Kahlil Bell, Ryan Carew, and Craig Sheppard all showing some potential. Even Justin Fareed earned some cheers.
Who? Well, yeah, that's the other reason not to panic. Due to injuries, the Bruins' two best Tailbacks, Chris Markey and Derrick Williams, did not play. Neither did Michael Pitre or Brandon Breazell. That's a lot of Starters/major contributors, at skill positions, who were spectators. With Markey in there, the Offense probably would have been able to sustain at least one drive.
So between learning a brand new system (of terminology, at least), missing several crucial elements, and going up against what is expected to be one of the Nation's best Defenses (who is very familiar with the Offense), you have to cut the Offense some slack for their lack of production.
Speaking of missing several crucial elements, now it's time for our "lament." But before we start, let's make it clear up front that there is probably a perfectly logical reason why the Cheerleaders did not perform at the Spring Game. Perhaps they were at the Gymnastics Championships, in case that team won Title #100 for UCLA (they didn't). Perhaps they had another engagement, perhaps something for charity. Maybe the Squad is on hiatus, and doesn't perform at this point of the school calendar. The point is, we are NOT saying that they SHOULD HAVE been at the scrimmage... We are just saying that we MISSED them terribly, and so did the fans in the bleachers. It got to the point that some obnoxious fans were turning on Geof Strand (Every Man, Woman, & Child), because they were so bored with him being the only Spirit person in attendance.
There's one other reason that we can think of for them not coming to this event. Now this is where it gets weird. We'd like to think that we're crazy, with delusions of grandeur on this one: Back in 2005, we published some photos from the Spring Game that the squad thought were unflattering, and they asked us to take them down. We complied with the request, but the COMPLETE removal did NOT happen immediately.
Then, at the 2005 FALL Scrimmage, they performed, but they switched to dark navy tap pants (for the first time, to our knowledge). We thought it might have been because of us, but again, we don't really think we MATTER that much. We did NOT post any objectionable shots from that Fall scrimmage, and have not received any complaints about any other photos from the squad since. However, they didn't appear at the '06 Spring Scrimmage, and they didn't appear last night. We sincerely hope that we had nothing to do with it, and like we said, we doubt if anyone cares that much about us, especially after two years of harmony. In '06, they had a Basketball Game on the same day, so let's just believe that it was just a scheduling conflict this year too, like the one that kept Arron Afflalo from coming to sign autographs as scheduled.
We just wish that they would decide to return, and once again grace the sidelines in Westwood. It's just not the same without them.
Below are 16 photos from Friday Night's Spring Game. It starts with Ben Olson, warming up, getting a Shotgun snap (lotsa Shotgun in this scrimmage), dropping back, scrambling, getting sacked, getting a ball batted down, and fumbling a snap. Then they Punt. Then you see Cowan take over, but it BRINGS A TEAMMATE TO TEARS. Then you see Osaar take a crack at it, then the OTHER Cowan gives the ball a mustache ride. Then Bell tries a run, on one of the few occassions where he isn't visually obliterated by a swarm of gang-tackling Bruins. Then you see Markey and friends watching seriously and patiently, and finally, Bruce Davis proves that it's okay to smile, when your team is in possession of the Victory Bell.
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