If-Then Statements: An if-then statement is just what the name says it is. It is a statement that proves if something happens then something else will happen. For example, “If the Red Sox trade Manny Ramirez to Florida, I will become a Marlins fan.”
I ripped off that definition from a math web site explaining conditional statements in algebra. (The example, I came up with all on my own.)
About 60 percent of the voters in our poll said UCLA will be .500 this year (give or take a victory), maybe because this is a team that returns only its third leading receiver and just two offensive linemen that started in 2007, and is still unsettled at quarterback.
Yet here are five conditional statements on UCLA having a winning season in 2008.
5. If UCLA plays its freshmen …
When the freshmen play, everyone else plays harder. Playing time becomes a matter of survival. No one is comfortable, making competition no longer an ideal but the culture. That might have been cultivated in the spring when there was a board posted every day in the locker room breaking down each player’s performance.
You might tire of hearing about USC, but playing freshmen is a major reason why Pete Carroll was able to turn the program around. Shaun Cody, Mike Patterson, Mike Williams, Reggie Bush, LenDale White, Steve Smith, Dwayne Jarrett, all of which were All Americans and all played significantly as freshman. More recently, Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing and Taylor Mays, the Trojans’ three best defensive players, have followed suit.
UCLA has a good start with defensive tackle Brian Price and kicker Kai Forbath, two sophomores named to freshman All-American teams last year. The Bruins had an excellent recruiting class, ranked in the top-10, nationally. Now we need to see several of these kids play to allow for some of them to make valuable, if unexpected, contributions.
4. If defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker can build a formidable secondary …
The linebackers are going to be the strength of the defense. The defensive line appears in very good shape. The defensive backs are a total mystery. Cornerback Alterraun Verner is one of the best in the Pac-10, but after that, who knows? It is an inexperienced group.
Walker is in his third year at UCLA. His defenses the past two years have been better against the run than the pass, but that probably had to do more with personnel than with Walker, a secondary coach for three NFL teams. With five prep All-Americans now on board, this can be the area in which that freshmen class makes its biggest impact. They might have to playing in this conference, where the Bruins cannot win if they cannot keep opponents off the board.
3. If Kahlil Bell can regain his 2007 form and stay healthy …
Bell was on his way to having an all-conference season a year ago. He rushed for the most yards by a Bruin in a season opener (195, against Stanford). He averaged 99.38 yards a game, despite starting just five times and playing only the first quarter in his eighth game, when he tore the ACL his right knee. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry. (His career average is a solid 5.3) He even had 13 receptions.
Bell on Wednesday was cleared for full practice. The question will be if the aggressive back that often breaks the first tackle will have the same burst. Last year he picked up the important yards inside while also flashing the speed and wherewithal to do damage outside. Being a reserve his first two seasons and missing the second half of last year to injury should make him one hungry senior.
2. If new offensive coordinator Norm Chow finds a quarterback he likes …
People forget, but Matt Leinart was not a Heisman quarterback coming out of high school. No, after waiting two years behind Carson Palmer, Leinart was caught up in a five-way quarterback competition in 2003. His status was uncertain even into the fifth game of that season.
Well, now Chow has six guys to work with. Four of them competed for the job in the spring, with Ben Olson the de-facto winner of sorts. Knowing Chow, the competition is still wide open until he has a thorough look at incoming freshman Nick Crissman and Kevin Prince. This position could be an issue that drags into the season, but once UCLA gets it figured out, they might become a competitive team fast.
1. If Coach Rick Neuheisel is half as good as he wants to be …
He talks a very good game. And he has backed it up at two other big programs (Colorado and Washington). UCLA will be a bigger challenge — his alma mater so desperate to compete with its city brethren on a national stage.
I use the word desperate because Neuheisel has made it sound urgent for the Bruins to be on par with USC, a comparison that keeps coming up because he keeps making it. He is not afraid. “He has tremendous confidence,” was how Carroll described Neuheisel, who called Carroll soon after getting the UCLA job.
It’s unreasonable to expect the Bruins to be a national contender this season — I honestly don’t expect them to make a bowl — but Neuheisel should make it interesting. He already has.
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go bruins!
Well Duh? How about the O-Line? Let’s get down to the real nitty-gritty. That has to be clearly the #1 concern and biggest question mark. If they don’t open up holes, protect the QB and control the line of scrimmage - Ben, Kahlil and Marcus will be literally stopped in their tracks and the D will be on the field too often and for much too long.