A Dose of Reality

by Paragon SC on Jan 26, 2008 1:07 PM PST in USC Football Comment 15 comments

Over the last 4 weeks a lot has been made about Slick Rick getting hired at ucla. He's grabbed all the headlines with his retaining of DeWayne Walker, which keeps the recruiting class intact, and the hiring of Norm Chow as the offensive coordinator. All the bruin blogs and message boards are abuzz with their interpretation of finally being relevant.

I have no problem giving credit her its due, Slick Rick has managed to put together a pretty good coaching staff. I have no doubt that ucla will be improved in the years to come. They really didn't have anywhere to go but up so any good news should be seen as an improvement. Some in the fan base are fairly realistic in their expectations, 2008 will have a lot of growing pains with 2009 showing marked improvement and who knows after that, you have to start somewhere.

But there is another part of the fanbase that is simply delusional and they are showing they aren't "reality based".

From Dohn's Blog:

During the hiring process, you repeatedly stated that the UCLA job was not viewed highly nationwide and gave several reasons why, thereby insulting the entire Bruin Nation. Included, was your belief that because of these reasons, DW was our best option. Given that UCLA now has, arguably, the best coaching staff in America, would you like to retract those statements?

The best coaching staff? Compare UCLA's coaching staff with Florida's coaching staff, or a bunch of other coaching staffs. Tell me why Bob Palcic is a great offensive line coach, or what makes Reggie Moore a great receivers coach, or Wayne Moses a great running backs coach. How do you know. Compare it with every other program in the country. Break down how UCLA's staff is better than Texas' staff. To say UCLA has arguably the best coaching staff in the nation is ludicrous to me. By the way, UCLA got, at the very least, it's fourth option when it came to the head coach. Not to mention they hired someone that Georgia Tech passed on, SMU didn't want to get involved with and Duke wasn't sure about. In short, UCLA was one of the few schools willing to give Neuheisel another chance. And that is not a shot at Neuheisel, because I think he's going to be a lot of fun to deal with.

As usual Dohn nails it dead solid perfect. There is no question that Neuheisel and Chow have some success. Walker is an average DC but he can recruit. The other pieces to the puzzle I am sure are adequate but as Dohn pints out in the comments section a coaching staff is more than three guys. This staff isn't even completed and some are already anointing them the greatest ever.

Can we at least see what sort of team they can cobble together in 2008 before anointing them "The Greatest". The one comment in the thread comparing the wining percentages of Texas and Florida is rich, ucla hasn't played a game yet so how do we know how good they will be. Everything looks good on paper but what will their results be?

If we are going to bring up the past (Neuheisel being one of two coaches in the Pac Ten that has won a Rose Bowl) then two things still stand out, 1) He hasn't won when he hasn't broken the rules, 50 minor recruiting violations show a pattern of intent, which got him into trouble with NCAA and 2) RN is an average recruiter whose teams end up going soft once he weeds those players that are not his own. He won't have much of a problem there as he is losing 20-or-so seniors so we are going to see how his players perform real quick.

It will be fun to watch but lets not get ahead of ourselves, do something on the field first then lets talk.

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This is what we. . .

. . .should come to expect in the coming months. All the up until about the 3rd or 4th game of the 2008 CFB season. Delusions of grandeur. Irrational exuberance of self-importance. Relentless whining of credibility and relevance.

And that's just Neweasel. Wait 'til the mighty BruinNation start filling up space in blogosphere!

Agreed. Dohn has it nailed.

btw: what's up with the USC basketball previews? or lack thereof?

sidenote: i voted over at mGo dot bomb for the CFB blogger nominations/awards. i only voted once though. will vote again today and tomorrow. some i agreed with you assertions, some i didn't. smq, dawgsports, burnt orange, rakes of mallow, and bcsbusters definitely got some of my votes. i went with 82sluggowin for the "open" and "funny" blogs though. believe it or not, i went with both dohn and wolf for msm. hey, wolf is a tool, and he seems vindictive, but he's also fair and honest- even though his honesty is rooted in "personal" beliefs and not objective journalism. he also cracks me up at the same time he drives me nuts.

by tapoutstylist on Jan 26, 2008 1:24 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

you won't be able to vote twice

as I am pretty sure that IP addresses are logged and locked. thanks for the support though.

by Paragon SC on Jan 26, 2008 1:29 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Great news!

I was able to vote again yesterday and today. I guess the voting gizmo allows users to vote once every 24 hours.

I paused for the cause 3 times. Now if only I get my arse in gear on Feb. 5th - CA primary. Then. . .I'd really feel good about being an "active citizen". .ahem. . as it were.

Today's the last day guys!

I'd re-list the mgoboard dot com URL for the nominating/voting gizmo, but the URL is blocking me because I've already voted today. For what it's worth Paragon, I'd re-list it again just as an FYI for those who haven't yet voted, or those who are just coming to CC again this weekend and haven't heard much about it. I'm sure they've read your "suggestions" but your original posting of where to go to, is now on the 2nd page of your main/homepage here at CC. Just a thought.

(something I learned: I gotta go to more SBN-based blogs. I didn't know WHAT to put down for the ACC, non-BCS, and Big East blog voting? Just left them blank)

Wishing you all the best this year Paragon. Your blog deserves it.

by tapoutstylist on Jan 27, 2008 11:56 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

almost forgot

You too, were well represented in my voting. In a few of the categories. Keep up the stellar work!

(pssst! other CC posters, get over there already and show some CC love!)

by tapoutstylist on Jan 26, 2008 1:29 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Oops...

AO had to bow out for the time being due to his work schedule. Thats cool, this should be fun and not a responsibilty and he has bigger fish to fry, I'm sure he will be back once things calm down on the work front.

No worries...

by Paragon SC on Jan 26, 2008 1:30 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

They have a lot to be excited about

Yes they have a much improved staff. Chow and Neuheisel are the stars of the staff though. DW has shown promise, but is still a ? in my opinion. Its wait and see for me. Next year the bruins have Fresno St., and Tennessee at home, and BYU in Provo for a non-conference schedule. All of those games should be winnable ones. I still think they will have a hard time in a competitive Pac-10. ASU, Arizona, USC, and ucla will all be running for the title. I'm leaving Cal off the list because of their QB problems, sorry Oski.

by frak on Jan 27, 2008 1:13 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

dose of real reality...

"then two things still stand out,

1) He hasn't won when he hasn't broken the rules, 50 minor recruiting violations show a pattern of intent, which got him into trouble with NCAA and..

Lets see now..

When Bush has to testify in court he will likely include USC in whatever penalties come about. How could coaches at SC not know what was going on? Bush is not the type to keep quiet about his tricked out car. How many THOUSANDS of dollars was that car? How many THOUSANDS of dollars was the house for his parents? The Neuheisel infractions were a few DOLLARS and since when is playing H-O-R-S-E a FOOTBALL tryout?

2) RN is an average recruiter whose teams end up going soft once he weeds those players that are not his own.

I don't believe any of the new coaches will let anyone get soft. Too much work to do. We do not need as much talent because our coaching is better overall than across town. Wait and see.

"DW has shown promise, but is still a ? in my opinion."

Remember 13-9. Coach Walker motivated a group of pretty damn good players and SHUT DOWN the "superior" trOJan offense.

Wait until our offense is as well coached and you don't get a short field because we turn over the ball to your sorry mustard and ketchup uniformed bozos.

The times they are a changing. Thanks Mr. Dylan

Go Bruins!!!!

by bpbruin on Jan 27, 2008 12:48 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Two different issues my friend...

Take a good look around CC and read my posts about the Bush mess. I have been solid in my position that if Bush and his family did as accused then awards, stats and wins should be forfeited, vacated or whatever. If anyone on the coaching staff knew and didn't say anything then they should be fired, that includes Pete Carroll. What you miss is that nowhere has it been proven that ANYONE at SC knew about it. Most people's position on this blog are pretty much along those lines.

As for RN, He hasn't done anything yet, hiring the staff is one thing but you need some players to coach and you're not there yet I don't care how good of a recruiting class you have on paper they will need to perform.

It doesn't matter what infractions RN committed, major or minor, the fact that the NCAA censured him is all I need to know. You take the good with the bad, you can't pick and choose. The NCAA may not get it right most of the time, like suspending the ucla player for getting a bag of groceries, Love talking to Wooden or Mayo's NBA tix. That the last two were even investigated, which we didn't discuss here, is a joke. The NCAA is the governing body we have and we have no choice but to accept their rulings regardless of their fairness or logic. But if you won't listen to me why don't you listen to two of my colleagues ( SMQ and Dawg Sports) whose knowledge and respect within the CFB blogosphere are above reproach, their takes are pretty dead on.

13-9, that's the best you got?? Again, that win defined your season, it was all you could point to- that you kept SC from going to the MNC. There were no other signature wins on your schedule and you promptly wet the bed against Half-assed U in the Emerald Bowl. As for Walker, Utah and ND stand out this year. Heck, most of the ucla fan base acted like they didn't want him back as the DC let alone the HC. Did he stab Dorrell in the back?? RN only wanted him because of his recruiting ties and it would not surprise me if DW bolted at the end of the season. We'll see if they get soft, I would suspect they won't but again for "reality based bruins" the numbers shouldn't lie and RN teams at both CU and UW did just that. His past records are all anyone can go by. It easy to rationalize RN's past because he's a bruin and he finally will make you relevant again. Being relevant, when you haven't been in a while, can be very intoxicating so if RN crosses the line in the future what will you say then? Rationalization can be a wonderful thing.

We are partisan just the other site but for the most part we measure our responses and we don't get caught up in personal attacks on those rivals who stop by to comment. So you can talk trash all you want but you will have to back it up. We talk trash too, but if you're looking to pick a fight you came to the wrong place and if that's your intention I would prefer you went elsewhere.

We'll see how it goes, 2008 won't show us much. 2009 will be markedly improved but in 2010 it will be put up or shut up time. I look forward to it, most people like yourself either don't remember or choose not to acknowledge that there was a time when this rivalry was special and great. It hasn't been in a while but in the end, whether we win or lose, most of us here we just want it to be competitive because in the end it's good for the Pac-10.

by Paragon SC on Jan 27, 2008 2:35 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

"The more things change. . . .

. . .the more the stay the same."

Dude, you're not even relevant. Please, next time, be.

You talked about a dated Chevy Impala (with rims) and a game played 2 years ago. It's been said by writers paid to cover CFB that Reggie Bush's "new" car rated a 4 on a scale of 10 compared to the other "rides" seeing cruising around the USC campus. 13 - 9? Yeah, what a game. Did you notice this year's game at all. I think you guys still had the same DC? You did? How did that work out.

Listen Mr. Irrelevant, take a cold shower and stop having a hard-on for us. I hear your campus has some beauties, sure it does. I'm dating two of them right now. But I digress.

Let's talk some more next season. Get your boys healthy, that QB position is a beeyotch! No matter your all-star team of coaches- you still have to put young men in their shells and play ball ON THE FIELD. No matter how you wanna slice it bpbruin, your program is still little taters to OUR TRADITION. (let's not even talk about your shared championship back in the dizzay! you're a basketball school. a damn good one at that. but c'mon now- don't invite our punch. it would be silly)

by tapoutstylist on Jan 27, 2008 3:24 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Well

This year USC still only scored 24 points. Average them out and you get 16.5, which is still better than 99% of defenses have done against USC in the last 75 games. Throw in the team actually having the starting QB play for once (hopefully) and a few coaches who actually know something about offense and we'll get some pretty competitive games in the near future.

by SuperBruinMan on Jan 27, 2008 6:34 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

UCLA vs. USC? there's always fire. . .

. . .in those games. I'm not really worried about our rivalry. In most all disciplines of sport, the UCLA/USC head-to-heads are ferocious, tenacious, almost miraculous competitions and results.

It's UCLA's games with their OOC opponents and such. I refuse to drag the names of the schools UCLA lost to this past season in football. That would be cruel. (but I will at the drop of the hat if I have to explain more in another posting/continuation of this topic)

You guys are definitely WAY better (on paper) through accumulation of your new coaching staff(s)- and I hope that translates in way of recruiting, player health, player retention, and player development. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, I'll admit that much- but c'mon! Throw the ball around a little bit with Coach Chow before we start proselytizing a new UCLA-order in the PAC 10/CFB national landscape. He doesn't even have his personalized "Coach Chow" UCLA polo shirts yet. He's barely been able to smell the difference of the inferior grass fields of the Wastewood campus and historic Howard Jones Field?

Yeah, fucla always plays with what they call bruin -pride against us. Hey whatever blows your guy's skirts up? But is it too much to ask, if you guys can play with such heart and passion against some of the other teams you guys will play against in the coming 2008 season. Just pretend you guys are playing us 14 times next season. Whatever it takes.

Be competitive. And STAY COMPETITIVE throughout. Puh-leeze.

by tapoutstylist on Jan 28, 2008 8:07 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

To answer you question

The car I believe was $12,000. It was a 96 Impala. Since both of Reggie's parents worked, and they foresaw a large payday in their son's future, I don't think that car would set up any red flags for anyone. A tricked out $12,000 impala in a sea of BMW's, Mercedes, Porsches, and Corvettes. Think about who you are talking about when you question whether the car stood out. This is USC, we don't drive scooters, or take the bus, or apply for fake handicap placards. We can buy nice cars, and pay for parking.

by frak on Jan 27, 2008 6:49 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

bruin offense

It's not going to be just coaching the QBs and WRs. The ucla offensive line was woeful in 2007. Since Olson has a glass knee, and Cowan (who gets a lot of respect on this site for his mental and physical toughness) can't run forever, o-line play is going to be critical to setting up the kinds of mismatches that Chow likes to run.

That's the kind of infrastructure coaching that "the big three" aren't involved in.

Also, when ucla switches away from pastel colors better suited to a sorority tea party in Columbia SC in 1964, feel free to provide some fashion critiques of USC's uniforms.

by DC Trojan on Jan 27, 2008 10:50 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs