UCLA Football vs Texas A&M: Defensive Review
Sep 3, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies running back James White (20) is tackled by defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes (47) and defensive lineman Takkarist McKinley (98) and linebacker Jayon Brown (12) during the first quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports
The UCLA Football team took on the Texas A&M Aggies Saturday in College Station. Here’s Go Joe Bruin’s review of how the defense performed.
First Quarter
The UCL Football team came out looking to stuff the running game and did just that. Both Eddie Vanderdoes and Jayon Brown shot through the Aggie defensive line to keep the rushing game to 19 yards in the first quarter. The secondary, had some blunders though. They continue to give an inordinate amount of cushion to receivers who then make plays underneath.
The defensive line was able to apply pressure on Knight and keep him from scrambling for too many yards. They will need to continue to keep the pressure on and allow the back end to force turnovers as the season progresses.
The Bruins spend a majority of time in the Nickel with Kenny Young and Brown seeing the majority of action. Brown was the best in coverage but Young wasn’t beaten badly on anything obvious.
We did see Takkarist McKinley leave the field with what looked like a groin injury. He had suffered one earlier in Fall camp.
First quarter MVP has to go to safety Tahaan Goodman who made some big hits and forced a fumble on the Aggies opening drive.
First quarter grade: B
Sep 3, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Ricky Seals-Jones (9) makes the catch in front of UCLA Bruins linebacker Jayon Brown (12) during the first quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports
Second Quarter
McKinley did not return to the field at the start of the quarter and his place was taken by Rick Wade at defensive end. We also got a chance to see a lot more of freshman Boss Tagaloa as he moved to the defensive tackle position.
Those substitutions didn’t help the Bruins though as they were unable to mount any pressure against the pass game and allowed the Aggie run game to gash them for an eventual touchdown by Oklahoma transfer Keith Ford.
In what was a complete 180 from the first half, the UCLA linebackers were an absolute mess. They were ineffective in the run game due to offensive linemen getting to the second level and struggled to keep pace with receivers and backs.
The secondary continued to play off in coverage allowing receivers to make catches with a six yard cushion in every direction. This type of coverage gifted the Aggies yardage giving them easy access to the redzone. For all of the preseason hype the UCLA secondary received, they have yet to deliver on that promise.
At the half the Bruins had allowed Aggie QB Trevor Knight to throw for 100 yards and rush for 13 more but kept him out of the endzone. The rush defense though struggled just like last year by allowing 103 yards before the half to the tune of 6.1 yards per carry and one score.
Second Quarter MVP was Eddie Vanderdoes who was stout in the run game and was able to beat guards multiple times for pass rush pressures.
Second Quarter Grade: D
Sep 3, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies running back Trayveon Williams (5) runs by UCLA Bruins defensive back Nate Meadors (22) during the second quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports
Third Quarter
The defensive slide continued during the third quarter. The Bruins were still unable to get consistent pressure during passing plays but tightened up their run defense especially up the middle. However anything to the outside went for big yardage.
Linebackers have yet to make many splash plays but have also had to deal with plenty of offensive linemen in their faces. It didn’t help that the Bruins stayed in the nickel all game which led to them being outnumbered in the run game.
The secondary has again proved to be the weakest link and were only saved by the interception which came courtesy of Adarius Pickett. The Bruins gave up a long touchdown reception with Macrus Rios getting turned around to allow a 30 yard touchdown reception.
Third Quarter MVP was Pickett by default with the defense as a whole playing very poorly.
Third Quarter Grade: C-
Sep 3, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; UCLA Bruins wide receiver Eldridge Massington (82) makes the catch infront of Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Armani Watts (23) during the second quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports
Fourth Quarter
The game took a major swing in the fourth quarter. Both the UCLA offense and defense came to life and fought back to get into a position to win the game.
More from Go Joe Bruin
The defensive line led by Vanderdoes came to life, stuffing the run and applying enough pressure on Knight that he couldn’t set his feet to make accurate throws. We even saw McKinley return to the lineup on one of the final drives of the game despite his groin injury. Wade played hard and helped keep contain on Knight who often looked to escape the pocket.
The linebackers led by Brown were much improved in the fourth quarter and it seemed like UCLA became much more aggressive with their defensive calls late in the game. Brown and Young were all over the place and Young made some big time plays in the run game late to give the offense the ball back.
In the secondary Nate Meadors and Colin Samuel, who saw some limited action, played well and were instrumental in knocking down potential big plays. However Pickett, who came in during the third quarter to replace Goodman, continued his big time play late in the game when he dislodged a would be completion late in the game to force a punt giving UCLA a chance to go down and win the game.
OT Analysis:
The Bruins were able to force the game into overtime but once it got there it seemed like the UCLA defense had spent itself and was unable to force a FG attempt. The Bruins were eventually beat on a read-option play where Knight kept the ball and outran any potential contain by Vanderdoes.
Fourth Quarter Grade: B+
Overtime Grade: C
Sep 3, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Nick Harvey (1) cannot come up with the interception in front of UCLA Bruins wide receiver Eldridge Massington (82) during the second quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports
Final Analysis
The Bruins clearly still have a lot of work to do. They need to find a way to get a consistent pass rush. It doesn’t help that McKinley was already dealing with a groin injury but he can’t be the only source of a rush.
Some of the young guys have to start getting into the game and making an impact otherwise the secondary, that has plenty of work to do itself, will be in for a very long season. At defensive tackle, the Bruins really need a running mate to pair with Vanderdoes and to develop depth so there isn’t such a drop off when the subs come in.
UCLA spent a ton of time recruiting guys who could make an immediate impact at that position this offseason and yet we didn’t see any of them this game.
At linebacker being in the nickel will stress your guys especially if teams can run on you. Brown and Young are strong run stoppers when they have free lanes to run to but only Brown is a competent pass defender against backs and could improve greatly. This is where the Bruins really miss guys like Myles Jack and Mique Juarez who are impressive athletes in both the run and pass game.
The secondary needs a ton of work in my mind. When Mora came to UCLA he promised we would see plenty of press coverage which is something that this writer had been begging for for a long time. At this point I haven’t been impressed with the UCLA style of “play off and give them what’s underneath”.
What has been described as “death by a thousand cuts” demoralizes and deflates your defense. They need to jam, press and re-route receivers otherwise what’s the point?
The Bruins will get a chance to regroup against UNLV next week but this type of defense is not sustainable and perhaps things need to change at the top.
Final defensive grade: C-