UCLA Football: How Chip Kelly Feels About His Aggressive Defense

The Bruins took four offside penalties last week.

Following their game on Saturday against Coastal Carolina, the UCLA Bruins were critiqued for the amount of penalties they took on defense. 

The team took four offside penalties, one in each quarter, but overall had a dominating game. 

As a team, the Bruins had 10 tackles for loss and three sacks. While the penalties were one of the only negatives for the D-line, head coach Chip Kelly was happy with the aggressiveness he got from his front line.

"We had a very, very aggressive defensive line,” UCLA coach Chip Kelly said. “There’s also, ‘Hey, let’s sit back and not get offsides,’ but then you might not get 10 tackles for a loss and four sacks. I think there’s a fine line and the amount of offsides we had was unacceptable, but you’d rather err on our guys being aggressive and attacking than to just sit back.” (Via Orange County Register)

UCLA will be tested in week two as they take on San Diego State on the road. Last season the Aztecs averaged over 200 yards on the ground per game. 

Although the Bruins are happy with the statistics coming from the line in the first game, they still want to work on taking fewer penalties. 

During practice this week, the team focused on staying on side while still being aggressive. 

Touted as one of the best defensive lines in the country, UCLA will have to live up to the hype to be successful in San Diego.