Contra Costa Times: Punt-return strategy off mark

INABILITY TO AVOID STAR UCLA RETURNER HELPED SINK BEARS

By Jay Heater

Cal punter David Lonie got a close look into the eyes of UCLA punt returner Maurice Jones-Drew as he made two long returns Saturday during the Bruins' 47-40 victory in Pasadena. ``That kid is quick,'' Lonie said of Jones-Drew, who returned one punt 81 yards for a touchdown and another 69 yards to set up the Bruins at Cal's 4-yard line. ``I was hoping I wouldn't have to see him.''Lonie was instructed to punt away from Jones-Drew during the game, but Lonie said it isn't that easy. ``Our goal was directional punting,'' he said. ``We wanted to punt it out of bounds, 40 to 45 yards down the field. But I hit one early in the game and it came up short. It's a fine line hitting exactly where you want it.''

Explaining that he feels more comfortable just booming the ball high and long, Lonie said that Cal's punt team usually aims for one side of the field. The alignment makes it obvious to the returner which side is the target. Therefore, Jones-Drew was able to cheat to one side. Lonie can't fool the return man by kicking the other direction because Cal's coverage is set up for one side, and he would be fooling his teammates as well.

Cal Coach Jeff Tedford said he will continue evaluating his special teams and will make any changes he deems necessary. ``Going into the game, we didn't want to kick the ball to'' Jones-Drew, Tedford said. ``We kicked it to him three times and he made us pay twice. We could have done a better job.''

• Although Tedford has built his reputation as one of college football's top offensive minds, he said he didn't consider allowing UCLA to score in the final minute so that his offense could get the ball back.  Ahead 41-40 at the time, UCLA chose not to take a knee and instead ran the ball four consecutive times, eventually scoring on the game's final play for a 47-40 victory. If Cal had allowed the Bruins to score on their first attempt, UCLA would have attempted the extra point and likely would have had an eight-point lead with just under a minute remaining.

Tedford said he thought his team's best chance was to force a fumble instead of trying to drive up the field. ``They were trying to score,'' he said. ``At that point, we only needed a field goal. You're hoping that they fumble a snap or that you can knock one free.''