Nothing said
How is Ben Olson feeling? After watching film, what mistakes did he see? How will he correct them? Does he feel like he can still lead this offense to great things?
Is Michael Pitre's knee feeling better? What does he think about coming back and helping the offense?
All interesting questions, none of which can be answered.
During training camp I wrote about how UCLA was not allowing injured players to speak to the media, and some folks decided that was no big deal, that there were enough stories to write about the healthy players.
Well, now three games into the season and of the 22 projected starters in training camp, seven sat out with injuries during Tuesday's practice. I requested all of them, and was told I could not speak with six of them.
That means Olson (headache), LB Aaron Whittington (concussion), DE Nikola Dragovic (concussion), LG Shannon Tevaga (knee), receiver Marcus Everett (ankle) and Pitre (knee) were not made available.
DT Brigham Harwell (knee) was made available, but only to talk about how he is working with DT Brian Price in practice. And with the Harwell interview, a representative from sports information stood nearby, and said the interview would be terminated if a question about Harwell's injury surfaced.
Comments
Jeez- The Dorrell regime is sounding more and more like the Bush administration every day. Is Karl Rove now running the Sports Information Department?
Posted by: MarcoTheBruin | September 18, 2007 09:04 PM
Brian, try to understand the Bruins. They're in a tough spot, with huge expectations and a miserable showing.
Pete Carroll gets to say or do what he wants, I doubt he gets criticized much.
I know it makes your job more difficult, and you do a top-notch job, but I can understand the staff being a little tight-lipped right now.
Posted by: JJ | September 18, 2007 09:12 PM
If a player comments on his injury maybe he says something he would be better off not saying -- like "I have trouble putting too much weight on my right side", or "I'm ok going side to side, but I can't push off very well trying to go forward, but I'll be ok by game time."
That's info that the guy lining up across the line of scrimmage probably doesn't need to know, but if its printed in a newspaper, its there for all the world to see.
Its not paranoia that keeps you at bay, its prudence.
Posted by: shipwreckedcrew | September 18, 2007 09:45 PM
If a player comments on his injury maybe he says something he would be better off not saying -- like "I have trouble putting too much weight on my right side", or "I'm ok going side to side, but I can't push off very well trying to go forward, but I'll be ok by game time."
That's info that the guy lining up across the line of scrimmage probably doesn't need to know, but if its printed in a newspaper, its there for all the world to see.
Its not paranoia that keeps you at bay, its prudence.
Posted by: shipwreckedcrew | September 18, 2007 10:07 PM
I never thought of that shipwreckedcrew, I take back my snarky comments.
Posted by: MarcoTheBruin | September 18, 2007 11:32 PM
Bravo for the Bruins! The program is finally growing a pair!
None of the elite programs just let the players talk to whomever whenever. It is a major distraction for the players and can lead to nothing but downside for the team, the program and the players.
Sure, I want to hear post mortem analysis. But I want to hear it from the pros: the HC and the OC. What does Norvell think of Olson's performance? What grade did he give Olson for the game? How does Olson of 2007 compare to the Olson of 2006, in Norvell's opinion?
There are plenty of questions to ask the adults. Asking a FB player for objective analysis is like asking a random poli-sci major at UCLA for an opinion about world affairs...who cares?
Posted by: BruinMBA | September 18, 2007 11:36 PM
I think MBA nailed it.
To add on: frank comments from the HC and the OC/DC after a humiliating loss are not only welcomed, but expected as part of their responsibilities.
Ahead of and in place of the players.
Posted by: DanO | September 19, 2007 12:14 AM
The reason I have such a problem with it is the coaching staff isn't always honest about things, like the Aaron Whittington concussion. The media wasn't told he suffered a concussion against BYU until eight days later.
Also, the whole injury thing is so ridiculous, to me.
Everyone wants to compare UCLA to USC, so I can only imagine how many more games USC would have won if Pete Carroll didn't let quarterbacks and players talk to the media on Thursdays, or if injured players did not talk to the media.
Posted by: Brian Dohn | September 19, 2007 07:25 AM