And the Bruins Won’t Get Off Easily Either

After the preposterous Cal shutout, Bob Toledo tells us that Cory Paus is “very fragile right now. . . . He’s going through growing pains. . . . I don’t want to hurt him.”

Al Borges adds: “He might be a little bit [fragile]. He’s a young guy and he played against a mean defense. He did a lot of growing up today. . . . We still have confidence in him.”

Right, and why not just add that he’s good enough, he’s smart enough and, doggone it, people like him.

The head coach needs to be less concerned about the feelings of his players than about about this sensitive, new-age claptrap he has obviously bought into and which will surely lead him to an unhappy, if not aborted, career.

CHARLES CHICCOA

Reseda

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Finally, UCLA fans get to see some defense at the Rose Bowl. I only hope Bob and Bob (Toledo and Fields) paid attention and took notes, since it was Cal showing them how to do it. Fields has mastered the “prevent defense” for years. It successfully prevented UCLA from winning the big games when he coached before, and any games of significance this year. Why should we expect him to take a lousy defense from last year and make it better? Suggestion to Pete Dalis and Bob Toledo; hire somebody who actually knows and can teach defense. Start the search with the Cal coaches.

S. LORENZ

Los Angeles

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There was the old quote about “freshmen are no longer freshmen after midseason.” How many more excuses do we have to hear from UCLA’s coaches and players? I have found it is best to face reality and go on from there. The reality is these “young” men are no longer inexperienced. The reality is these “young” men are really not very good. Please, Bob, hit the road now in search of a good quarterback and a few young men who have a little heart.

By the way, has anyone ever checked Drew Bennett’s student ID? The way he instinctively knows how to kill UCLA single-handedly makes me wonder if he could be a Trojan in disguise.

HECTOR HERNANDEZ

Orange