Monday, 8/25/97 Bruins pressured to fix defense woes PREVIEW:
Football team plans to hold up against initial tough contenders
By Brent Boyd Daily Bruin Staff Oh, what a difference a year
makes. Twelve months ago the question marks surrounding the
football team all seemed to revolve around the offense — a young
quarterback, an inexperienced offensive line and running backs and
receivers who could not hang on to a football. But, with less than
a week remaining before the 1997 campaign kicks off Saturday
against Washington State, it is the Bruin defense that has come
under scrutiny. Whereas virtually the entire starting lineup
returns on offense, the defense lost such mainstays as Travis
Kirschke and Duane Ward on the line, and Abdul McCullough and Paul
Guidry in the secondary. Taking their places is a defense that is
considered small, but one that confuses opposing offenses with
blitzes, stunts and a scheme that a casual viewer would describe as
mass chaos, and at least one opposing coach described as "crazy."
At times last year, "chaos" would have been much too delicate a
term, but the Bruins now have a year’s experience behind them in
the system (Rocky Long introduced the concept to the team last
season). "Last year we were all new into the system," defensive end
Weldon Forde said. "But, now we seem to be getting more comfortable
with it and we’re excited about the beginning of the season." They
better be comfortable right from the get-go, or the opening month
of the season could be a disaster for the Bruins – the first three
contests pit UCLA against three of the top quarterbacks in the
nation. First up will be Ryan Leaf of WSU. Last season the 6-foot,
6-inch junior threw for 2811 yards and 21 touchdowns en route to
earning honorable mention All-American standing. And with an off
season of maturity and growth behind him, he is tabbed by many as
the second-best quarterback in the nation. The following week the
Bruins will encounter the quarterback whom everybody this side of
the moon considers as the best in the nation – Peyton Manning of
Tennessee. Manning and the pre-season fifth-ranked Volunteers will
visit the Rose Bowl on Sept. 6. And the season won’t get any easier
a week later when UCLA travels to Austin to take on No. 12 Texas
and senior quarterback James Brown, who led the Longhorns to the
Big 12 championship a year ago. Just how do the Bruins plan to stop
this onslaught? "We just can’t give up the big play," head coach
Bob Toledo said. "We need to throw them off their rhythm and their
tempo." To do so, UCLA will have to get pressure up front – a task
easier said than done with the Bruins’ undersized defensive line
led by the 242-pound Forde (who switched from nose tackle to end)
tackles Damon Smith (6-3, 264) and Darren Cline (6-4, 265). "We
can’t just line up and expect to take people on," Toledo said.
"We’ve got to be moving and attacking and running around all the
time." One advantage the Bruins possess is knowledge — they faced
Leaf and Manning last year, and fared quite admirably. UCLA was one
of only two teams to hold Leaf under 200 yards passing (Colorado
was the other), when he suffered through a 20-for-46 passing day
for only 195 yards in the 38-14 Bruin win. And against No. 2
Tennessee in the season opener, UCLA held Manning to 16-of-28 and
288 yards passing in their 35-20 loss. "I think (the prior
experience) will better prepare us for what we are going to face,"
senior safety Shaun Williams said. "We know they’re both great
quarterbacks and we have to come to play to win. We can’t come out
and just throw our pads out there and expect to win the game."
Right now the focus is on Washington State. The game was originally
scheduled to be played in November, but was switched to Saturday so
that the contest could be televised regionally by ABC. The Bruins
have not opened the season with a conference game since 1993 (also
the last season UCLA went to the Rose Bowl), as doing so creates a
great risk. A loss here, and the Bruins’ conference championship
hopes will take a dramatic hit before September even arrives, and
with two contests with national title contenders in the following
weeks, a 0-3 start is not out of the question. "I think our kids
are focused," Toledo said. "They realize what’s at stake and
they’re looking forward to the challenge. We have to play them
anyways, so why not first." As for the Cougars, with a contest at
USC next on their schedule, this game takes on added significance.
"This is the greatest opportunity we’ve had in school history," WSU
head coach Mike Price said. "And it’s the greatest challenge too."
Price warns that this Cougar team is not the same one that left
Pasadena with a whimper last November after dropping eight balls
and making countless other mental mistakes. That team was in the
midst of a four-game losing streak to end the season after starting
it off 5-2. Every offensive starter and all but two on defense are
upperclassmen. "I think we’re going to be a more experienced team
and a team with more depth," Price said. "We were awfully young at
times last year, and this year we have more veteran players." Daily
Bruin file photo Defensive left end Weldon Forde and free safety
Shaun Williams tackle a player from WSU. Previous Daily Bruin Story
Psychic outlook for 1997 Bruins