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Starkey radio broadcast
8 comments:
What the hell happened to our OL?.. even Tepper looked like crap a lot...our play calling.. execution but please explain in a post WHY does Gregory play conservative and get his ass beat. In one of your articles you said are secondary was fine...really?..
So far, every weakness identified in these pages has been exploited by the Beaves executing perfectly on both sides of the ball in the first quarter plus.
No mention has been made of the Bears' heart. Let's see if they have any.
I would love to see an indepth analysis of Coach Marshall and Gregory....though my knowledge is limited, they both seem to be performing miserably....when will the apologists give in to reality?
I'll have plenty to say about this game, and it will include the coaches, among them Gregory and Marshall.
I really do hope you include Gregory...this morning I see on BI that our pass defense is ranked #117 in the nation...WTF? Only 3 teams worse then us?..I know much of this is on the LB's but can't one of you great blog guys..and TBWNQ is a great blog, or CGB's at least come out and say Gregory sucks, our LB's suck...somebody is BAD...terribly bad and some are just glossing over it....
SD,
Okay, I took a day or so before beginning to read the various opinions that emerge after a one sided Cal loss. As to be expected, there were plenty of cries for change, whether it be Alamar & Marshall up to Gregory and Tedford himself. I'd like to get your take on the current state of affairs (and future) that is Cal football because of your level headed approach to analysis but I couldn't wait until you posted your thoughts about the game.
Here are some of my questions and where this season has been so confusing to me: What has happened to the defensive backfield and our pass defense? It is the exact same group of DBs as last year -- a group that was close to the top in picks and solid in pass efficiency defense. Has the DB coach changed? No. Has the defensive coordinator changed? No. Has the D-Line changed? Other than an injury plagued Rulon Davis, no. Now, Follett, Williams and Felder are gone. Mohammed was used a lot last year, especially in long yardage situations due to his proclivity to be their best zone pass defending LB. Is Follett's ability to rush the passer the difference between last year and this year? If the statistical difference was less obvious, I might be able to agree with that assertion. However, the drastic disparity has me scratching my head. We try, but simply can't get pressure on the QB. Why? Has our technique deteriorated that much? If so, there are major issues with the defensive coaching staff. What's especially disconcerting is that our only 2 defensive play makers (SQT and Alualu) graduate. Who is going to fill their shoes next year?
Offensively, Saturday was interesting. Against 'SC, the game plan was very solid. Unfortunately, the execution was poor. However, against OSU, the game plan was poor and the execution worse. How many unsuccessful flare screens did we attempt? The one I saw with us down 17 with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter made me laugh. We only ran one 5 receiver set that I can remember and it was completed to Lagemann during our 2nd quarter TD drive. I kept seeing the same plays being run out of the same sets. There was little to no imagination. Circling back to my question in the prior paragraph, what is the deal with the OL? Is it talent, coaching, or both? What does the '10 season have in store with this unit? I didn't see much separation created by our receivers. It didn't help our passing game that Riley went from ASU Kevin to 'SC Kevin. However, I didn't see our receivers running open by design like I did against 'SC. OSU's pass defense is #9 in the Pac 10. I would have thought we'd be able to scheme something more successful. Maybe that was the problem -- we didn't think we needed to do anything different.
The kickoff situation is horrific and embarrassing. The one comment I have in this regard is that playing on special teams is a 'right'. If you watch other teams, their starters are heavily involved in special teams, namely kickoff coverage. When I look out at our coverage unit, I see primarily backups and scout team members. That just isn't going to cut it.
In closing, I think the end of this season is going to be tough. I'm hopeful UofA might look past us enough to give us a chance. Stanford should roll in the Big Game and I'll feel better about UW once OSU removes them from bowl eligibility this Saturday. But, the fact of the matter is 7-5 is much more likely than 9-3. Looking to next year, we have a lot of returnees from our 2 deep. My question is is that a good thing or a bad thing? What needs to happen/change, in your opinion, to reverse these trends and give us more hope for next year?
Jim,
You bring up a lot of very valid observations, and some tough questions. But the toughest question is what needs to change to reverse the trend. And the answer is that it's not one thing.
I will be posting my thoughts on the game soon, and it will touch on some of this, but for now, I'll address just a couple:
(1) Cal needs to find a way to recapture its downhill, short yardage run game. That is the cornerstone of the Tedford offense, and (however folks may feel about that offense) the Tedford offense is what put his program on the map.
As a coach and a program, you will never succeed if you try to be something you are not. And Tedford is methodical, balance-oriented, turnover-averse offensive coach, whose bread and butter is a physical run game. Without that run game, the whole team is playing with one arm tied behind its back.
How to recapture this is not simple. And I'll try to address some things that are needed in a later post. But however it gets done, until Cal can get back to being able to punch people in the mouth up front, this team is going to continue to struggle against better defenses.
(2) The defense needs to commit to taking away the pass the same way they commit to stopping the run. With the exception of 2007, Gregory's units have done pretty well against the run. You can tell he preaches it, and the unit is keyed on it and takes pride in it.
You can approach stopping the pass the same way. But it has to be religion, not just talk. And Gregory's religion is to stop the run and the deep ball, and give up the dink and dunk. That sends a powerful message to your players: "Let certain plays succeed." To me, that should be anathema to a defensive philosophy.
Practically speaking, it is telling your players not to play things like the bubble screen and TE pass urgently. It's telling them not to worry so much about the catch, but more to limit the YAC. It sounds like a subtle difference, but that subtlety changes everything in terms of preparation, which changes how you play.
Instead, if shutting down the pass is to receive equal dignity, the mantra has to be: scout the daylights out of everyone's passing game, scout every route, every tendency, every QB read and progression, and then deny them the ball on every play. Not simply deny them the YAC. Deny the very completion itself. Evey single time. When the ball's in the air, the back 7 or 8 should already be breaking on it or closing.
If that is the mindset, they will play like wrecking balls. And even if they can't get there in time to break passes up, they won't be far off. And if stopping a completion is the goal, then they will tackle with a vengeance anyone who does happen to make a catch, to limit an already missed opportunity.
(3) The special teams needs to become a source of pride. I've said this before: if your scout players can't get it done, hold tryouts for special teams, and award special privileges for making the team. And every incoming freshman needs to be told that making special teams is an honor.
Then Tedford needs to get methodical about it, the way he does about offense. No mistakes, thousands of repetitions, until they can't get it wrong. Again, they need to change the mindset on special teams.
I could go on, but those are some major changes that are needed to get this program back on track.
The word was that we went to the 3-4 because it was easier to recruit college linebackers with speed, then All-Pro DE's and tackles.
Do ypu think the coaches now believe that undersized, fast OL players like the 49'ers and Broncos used to feature, are now much easier to find. (This seems like kind of a Moneyball approach). If that is so, then the downhill smashmouth running game won't work, but rather we will need to perfect the zone blocking, cutback style. Is this the great transition year where we aren't as good at either?
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