SB Nation User Blog: CBKWit

Reveling in BIG GAME Victory

CBKWit — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:27:02 -0000

I feel good. As a faux-journalist blogger, it is my duty to analyze the results somewhat objectively, noting the positives (what a third quarter!) and the negatives (ALAMAR!). It's also in my critical and pessimistic nature to never be quite happy - there is always some problem or looming issue to temper a good moment. But right now, I simply feel good. I know the season hasn't gone as we had hoped (though it has gone pretty much as we expected), but, as a Cal fan, if you can't be happy after a 21 point Big Game victory, you're not going to be happy very often.

At first I was a little annoyed that we were rushing the field - we're an 8 point favorite at home against a 5-6 team, and I feel like we should act like we've been there before. But then I saw students mobbing the axe, and if the axe is as important as the players have said all week, then why shouldn't we revel a bit in winning it back? I took to the field and meandered about the students, just trying to enjoy the moment.

I saw Sean Young and asked him if he was happy he came back for his sixth year; he said "Yes," with a huge smile, and I congratulated him on winning Big Game in his final year. Near the north end zone, I found Anthony Felder; Anthony and I are both from the great state of Washington, and when I was still in school, we were often on the same flight or in the Seattle airport at the same time. He was always a great guy when I spoke with him, and he recognized me when I said hi on the field. I thanked him for his (still not finished) great career at Cal, and he smiled before continuing to sign autographs for a horde of kids. I found a group of senior bandsmen on the field, disregarding the order to stay in the stands so they could soak up the moment in their final Big Game. Now I'm listening to them play "Fight" from my office, and I'm getting chills remembering my last Big Game as a student. It doesn't really matter that we were expected to win against a pretty mediocre team; getting the axe back, no matter what the circumstances, is always a reason to celebrate.

via d.yimg.com

Things were pretty tense at half. Though we held a 10-3 lead, Standford had around 200 yards of offense and was controlling the game. A gorgeous pass from Riley to Vereen and a great goal line stand (and who got the penetration on 3rd down at the 1 to stop Gerhart for a 2 yard loss? Syd'Boner, that's who.) at the end of the half gave us the lead, but it did not feel secure. We were fortunate to hold a 7 point lead, and a repeat of the first half would give Stanford a great shot to win the game. Then the Bears decided to play their best quarter of the entire season.

I wish Tedford could bottle up whatever it is he said to the team at halftime, because I've never seen Cal come out like that from the break. Stanford did their part to help; Pritchard's first pass, across his body while fading away, was a terrible decision. Stanford's game plan is very clear - run the ball and throw it underneath, in an attempt to control the clock and win a close game. If you're going to be successful with this type of plan, you absolutely cannot make stupid mistakes that put you in a big hole and force you to play catch up. In one play, Pritchard undermined the plan and irrevocably changed the game. It was all Bears for the next 15 minutes, and by the time Stanford recovered they were down 37-3.

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What a quarter. According to our poll at the start of the fourth, 66% of respondents described Cal's play as "excellent." For such a pessimistic and snake bitten fan base, I think that's the best we're ever going to get. We scored on 3 straight possessions, and each of our plays seemed more effective than the last. The fake to the fullback-reverse pitch would have gone for the touchdown (glad that play is back after a long hiatus, I've missed it), but the mis-direction to Morrah was even better. It reminded me of the touchdown pass to Stevens to open the '06 Oregon game - Cal had everyone flowing one way, the QB (Nasty Nate then, Riley know), did a great job looking off the defenders, and our TE was all alone with half of the endzone to spare. The hardest part must have been the catch - the throw took some time to get across the whole field, and everyone in the stands started yelling before the ball arrived. Good job by Morrah to bring it in securely.

The next two defensive possessions were remarkably similar, and remarkably awesome: one run for one yard, one incomplete pass, and one sack on third and nine. We scored touchdowns following both, had a great double reverse to Ross, and the UNBELIEVABLE hook and ladder to Jahvid. I saw the defenders collapsing on Tucker before the ball arrived and started cursing another poorly executed screen. Then Jahvid turns the corner out of nowhere and I go from disillusioned to ecstatic in record time. Great design, impeccable execution. By the time we got around to running a simple draw at the start of the fourth quarter, Stanford was so flat footed and demoralized that Best made the 45 yard TD run look easy.

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It had been reported all week that Best was as healthy as he had been in several weeks. It showed. He was stopped on two terrible swing passes for 5-8 yard losses before breaking tackles and turning them into huge gains. He had great acceleration and didn't lose speed while turning corners on sweeps and tosses - I don't think it was by accident that we were running almost exclusively to the outside for much of the game. By my count, all of our wide receivers COMBINED had 1 catch for zero yards (it was a quick flare to Boateng on a 3rd and 2 in the 4th quarter. You could also count a reception for Tucker on the aforementioned hook and ladder, but I'd give the yards to Best). When you receiving corps has literally receiving zero yards, you better have some damn good running backs. We do, and if you wanted proof, you could have watched Best all game and Vereen on the fade TD.

via d.yimg.com

I've been one to say that we could be better on defense next year, due to the fact that everyone in the secondary and on the line is coming back and we have capable people in place at LB. Eddie Young and the Prophet Mohamed both came up with huge interceptions and they'll be expected to lead the group next year. They're great players and they've already produced a lot. But just as some fans discounted the loss of our great receiving trio from last year, we need to remember that we're losing 3 huge contributors at linebacker and we'll have some growing pains next year. Follett was simply unstoppable in the second half - he's a passionate guy and he did not want to leave Cal without the axe. By my count he was in on 3 sacks in the second half. We're going to miss him in particular, as well as Felder's solid tackling and sound positioning.

But there is plenty of time for worrying and hand wringing about our linebackers in the off season (though a bit less if all-everything OLB recruit Devon Kennard ends up at Cal - he was at the game today and you have to think he liked what he saw from Follett). There's also plenty of time to discuss the bizarre officiating today, from 1 and very nearly 2 blocked passes, to the bounce-catch that everyone in the stadium knew hit the ground which was somehow upheld! (The replay official should have just watched the play on the Jumbotron). For now, let's simply celebrate a great Big Game win, the return of the axe to its rightful home, and a coach that has guided us to six Big Game victories in seven tries.

via d.yimg.com

GO BEARS!

Poll

How do you feel after this Big Game?

Cal Loses Legend, Wins Game

CBKWit — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:05:29 -0000

Pete Newell Court

Pete Newell, Cal's coach from 1954-1960, died on Monday at the age of 93. He led Cal to its last national championship in 1959 and retired shortly thereafter, having beaten John Wooden's Bruin teams 8 times in a row (and without even paying his players). In fitting irony, Tuesday's game at Haas featured the two teams he led to national titles - USF, which won the NIT in 1949, and Cal. Cal paid tribute to Newell before the game with an announcement and video presentation, a moment of silence, and the loudest cheer of the evening. I was sitting with an Old Blue who commented that "Newell was a great coach and an even better person." Those that knew him speak with glowing admiration; the rest of us will have to settle for the pride in having this great man associated with our University.

This Cal team is going to live and die on its three-point shooting. We don't have much of an inside presence (more on that later) so we're going to have to rely on Patrick Christopher, Jerome Randle, and Theo Roberston to hit outside shots. When they're hot, we'll probably win; when they're cold, we'll almost definitely lose. Last night, Theo was scorching, hitting 5 threes in the first half and scoring 11 straight Cal points during an early stretch. He found a spot outside the arc about 1/3 of the way to the left baseline and started firing away - I'm pretty sure he hit all of his threes from the same location. He ended up with 19 of Cal's 38 first half points. In the second half, Jerome Randle took over the scoring with 21 points in last 20 minutes. He finished with 25, 3-4 from beyond the arc.

It seemed like Cal hit more than 50% of their shots, and they did - 58.3%, to be exact, and a ridiculous 8-12 on three-pointers. Christopher was "only" 4-9, but Boykin chipped in 15 on a steady diet of mid-range jumpers. More often than not, our victories are going to look a lot like this game. And if you think hitting 66% of our three pointers is sustainable for 20 or so games, then you probably think we'll be a tournament team. I don't, and I don't see much in the way of offense that's going to carry us when the outside shots aren't falling.

Boykin hits from 18

Although we shouldn't bemoan Ryan Anderson for leaving us (1st round draft pick and 15 & 17 in his first two games - looks like he made the right choice), it would be nice to have an offensive presence in the paint. Our centers are simply physically weak; Jordan Wilkes' fist offensive offering was less of a baby hook than a fall away heave over one shoulder, and Max almost broke himself in half when he tried to reach down for a low bounce pass. You want to beg Wilkes to go up strong around the hoop, but he looks very tentative and afraid of contact, and thus his height advantage is completely wiped out. On the other end, Wilkes had a great (and very surprising) block that had the stunned crowd roaring. He also gets in decent position for defensive rebounds and uses his long arms to box out opposing bigs. We've been spoiled by Powe and Anderson, which makes the difference offensively all the more glaring.

The defensive effort from Saturday night did not exactly carry over to Tuesday - USF hit 50% from the field and 57% from beyond the arc. The Dons were hot, but they also had a number of open shots. Cal will definitely need to improve its defensive intensity if it wants to compete in the Pac, and Montgomery knows it: "I went in and blasted them a little bit," Montgomery said. "We made a lot of mistakes that we can't make if we're going to be a good team down the road" Still, the building blocks are there: on a few occasions, Cal had nice weakside ball pressure in the key which led to a a few USF turnovers. And we have photographic evidence of Cal guards defending beyond the three-point line, something I didn't think was possible last year.

Perimeter Defense!!!

While we still love Jorge Gutierrez (he has a sweet little pull-up jumper off the dribble from the top of the key), he and Randle are prone to pretty sloppy play. USF briefly took the lead 60-59 on about a 10-0 run, fueled by very careless mistakes by our backcourt. Randle looked like the vintage, turnover-prone freshman version of himself when he tried to dribble through a double team (fail!) and then proceeded to lob an alley-oop to Guiterrez in the hopes that he had Patrick Christopher's vertical (he definitely doesn't). It was an ugly stretch, and Montgomery, wanting the two of them to work through their difficulties on their own, was finally forced to call a timeout when the Dons took the lead. Cal then proceeded to go on a 8-10 point run of their own, fueled by (you guessed it) Guiterrez and Randle. Randle settled down, started playing within himself, and scored about 15 points in the last 8-10 minutes. Monty had a number of choice words for Randle during the game, and how Randle handles himself, the instruction, and the criticism is going to have big implications for the team's success.

Guiterrez scores from the free-throw stripe.

The most amusing part of the game was a very animated referee; at one point, the ref pointed to a USF player, hopped on one foot for a second or two pointing at his shoe, and then made an exaggerated first down motion in the opposing direction. I appreciated his efforts, since I often wonder what the officials see that determines the call, but I was troubled by the feeling I had seen him before. In fact, I had; Seinfeld fans (so, Spazzy and Twist), remember George's "timeless art of seduction" and the photo-shop guy he accidentally woos? He has resurfaced as a ref.

via imagecache2.allposters.com

I couldn't find the other guy, so we'll just have to use this and a little imagination.

Credit to Ragnarok for the pictures, especially the last one.

Yes We Can!

CBKWit — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 06:50:19 -0000

Ed Note: We received the following from loyal reader Andrew. It would have been interesting to read this article had Lehman Brothers and AIG not collapsed, since it was primarily this economic downturn and not a historically unpopular president nor a once in a generation unifying political figure which stole the election from John McCain. I, for one, would have loved to hear John McCain's take on that muslim Mark Hussein Sanchez, that domestic terrorist/tight end/education professor Blake Ayles, and that Commie Pete Carroll's socialist philosophy of spreading the carries. Why the mainstream media isn't reporting on these stories, I do not know. But it sure would be a lot more interesting and divisive than the lame unifying and uplifting message that follows.

Zoonews, you know what to do.

via www.bancroftclothing.co & mobasoft.com

An Inspirational Message to Cal Fans from President-elect Barack Obama

Thank you! Hello Berkeley! Good evening! Thank you!

Thank you all so much for all of your support. Without visionaries like you, we never could have accomplished this. I am, and I hope you all are, truly proud to be living in such an amazing country at such an amazing time.

I realize that I have earned your support because my message rings true to you. We all know how similar our two stories are. Throughout your lives, you have been told that it was impossible for Cal to go to the Rose Bowl based solely on the color of your uniforms. Somehow, conventional wisdom made people believe that the Blue and Gold just wasn't good enough for Pasadena in January. Baby blue and gold, green and gold, and, for the past six years, Cardinal and gold, were the accepted colors of the establishment. Being Blue and Gold was somehow looked down upon as inferior; as not belonging. But it is 2008 now, the past is behind us, and all across America people are ready for change.

You cannot let others dictate what you are, what you can be, and what you should do. There will be skeptics- there always are. Even before the season began, the skeptics were mocking your defense. They said Cal didn't have the athletes to line up in a prostyle formation. They said you couldn't bring the 3-4 defense to the Pac-10. And what did you say?

Yes we can!

For the past two years, other schools have told recruits that Cal will always have the worst facilities in the Pac-10. They said you would never break ground on a new training center. They said you would never be able to get the hippies out of your trees. When they all said “no, you can't,” how did you answer?

Yes we can!

You can't listen to the pundits. You have to make your own path. The pundits will tell you that two quarterbacks means no quarterbacks. Pundits will say you can't name a different starter week in and week out. What do you say?

Yes we can!

Now I'd like to share with all of you a story about two great Cal fans. Don and Marianne Winter are folks I met along the campaign trail. They go to every home game, and they never miss a game. And they have never missed a game in the 50 years that they have been watching the Golden Bears. Don shared with me his story about coming to Cal as a freshman in 1958. Over winter break, he took a road trip to Pasadena. It was January 1, 1959, and Cal was playing Iowa in the Rose Bowl. After a 38-12 loss, he was disappointed, but he remembers thinking, “I have the rest of my life to see Cal win a Rose Bowl.” After he finished telling me the story, he grabbed me by the arm, looked me dead in the eye, and said, “And I'm not going until I do!”

Well, Don, 50 years is a long time. And you have seen a lot of changes. You've seen GM go from making the greatest cars in the world to barely making paycheck. You've seen our banking system go from being a model for the rest of the world to being bankrupt. All because Cal has not been back to the Rose Bowl. But you've never lost faith.

And now you are joined by legions of loyal fans that all yearn for the same thing as you. Because 50 years is a long time to hear that the Rose Bowl is no place for the Blue and Gold. 50 years is a long time to be told, “No you can't.”

Well to all those out there who say “, “No you can't,”, I say to you-

From Zellerbach up to Dwinelle,

From Telegraph to Pimentel,

The winds are changing,

I can feel the breeze.

From Haas to Boalt to our chopped down trees.

On Memorial Glade ‘neath the Campanile Bell-

I need to hear every Old Blue yell

Yes we can!

Now when you wake up on Saturday morning you will hear a lot of doubters. The experts from Las Vegas will say we're going to lose by three touchdowns. Chris Fowler will roll his eyes as Corso suggests we can keep it closer. And Kirk Herbstreit will tell the nation that there is just too much talent on the Trojan bench.

But don't you listen to the pundits and the experts, to the doubters and the skeptics. Because these are the same people who would tell you that a team from Lubbock could never defeat the mighty Longhorns. And these are the same people who would have you believe that a man named Barack Hussein Obama could never be elected President of the United States. And these are the same people who could never imagine that somewhere, someday, somehow, a team from Berkeley will beat a team from USC. And I ask you,

Why not here? And Why not now?

Thank you all very much, and may God bless the University of California at Berkeley!

Reveling in Victory

CBKWit — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 23:42:25 -0000

Or, perhaps more appropriately, Shivering in Victory. The associated press calls this game "Berkeley's worst game-day rainstorm in a decade." I'm not sure if it was any worse than last year's USC game, which was definitely colder, but it was close. Regardless, I feel a lot better now than I did after USC last year, and I doubt any Cal fans are complaining about the win. And besides, RemorsefulBruinBabe reports that the ESPN crew gave a nice shout out to those of us who toughed it out in the rain: "If you are still in the stands right now [~45 seconds left in the game], you are a great fan."

There were 8 turnovers in the game, not including a snap out of the endzone for our long coveted safety (finally! it seemed impossible that the refs could call anything else, but I was holding my breath and looking for a flag). It was a pretty volatile game with a number of rapid, intense swings, especially in the second quarter as the teams tried to out-turnover each other. Yet the biggest play of the game wasn't one of our four (!) lost fumbles, or even Worrell's huge interception at the end of the second half. In a game full of huge plays, the biggest was a 5 yard false start.

via www.dkimages.com

He's no Ed Hochuli

Oregon had cut the deficit to 3 on an embarrassingly easy touchdown drive (3 plays, all of them runs of more than 15 yards) in the third quarter. After a Cal 3 & out, Oregon marched right down the field and was poised to take their first lead since the opening touchdown. But on 3rd and 1 from the Cal 10, an Oregon player jumped early, one of only four duck penalties for 36 yards on the day. The 5 yard penalty made it 3rd and 6 instead of 3rd and 1, and their third down QB draw netted only 3 yards. On the next play, kicker Matt Eversen missed a 29 yard field goal.

Cal would manage only one first down on the next drive, but Oregon fumbled the punt return and resident Duck assassin Marcus Ezeff recovered at the Oregon 6.

via imgs.sfgate.com

Sorry duck fans, he's only a junior.

Cal scored 2 plays later to make it 26-16. What looked like a duck touchdown drive and a 23-19 Oregon lead became a Cal touchdown less than five minutes later. The false start, and the fourteen point swing which ensued, determined the game.

Of course, recovering fumbles (and intercepting passes) is only part of the story. Teams need to be able to capitalize on opposing turnovers, and Cal, despite losing the turnover battle by two, was the victor in this area. Of the three Oregon turnovers, two (the Williams interception immediately before halftime and the Ezeff fumble recovery) led to quick Cal touchdowns. The Oregon very-long snapper gave Cal 2 more points on the long awaited safety. The only turnover that Cal did not convert into a score was a second quarter interception by Sean Cattouse deep in Cal territory, immediately following one of Jahvid Best's two fumbles. Oregon, on the other hand, capitalized on the early Riley INT for a touchdown, but failed to score after any of Cal's 4 (!) lost fumbles, including the aforementioned Best fumble at the Cal 17. That's a 16-6 Cal advantage (Oregon missed the extra point following their touchdown) and, not surprisingly, the Cal margin of victory.

This was a nice victory over a decent conference opponent, which puts Cal back into the conference race for exactly 1 week. Win at USC next Saturday and Cal is in great shape to win the Pac and go to the Rose Bowl. Do I expect this to happen? No, considering the injuries and ineffectiveness of our offense (when Best was on the bench, presumably due to his 2 fumbles, we were down 6 of our 11 offensive starters - Riley, Best, Calvin, Guarnero, Malele, & Tepper, and 7 if you count Teofilo instead of Schwartz) and our less than stellar road appearances. If we get some of our offensive players back (namely Riley and some modicum of depth on the o-line), we'll have a shot against a USC sqaud that has seemed vulnerable at times (not today, though: 49-0 USC after three. Then again, it is the Huskies).

Regardless of the outcome next week, there were plenty of encouraging signs today. Nasty Nate did not throw ANY interceptions (not even a back-breaking fourth quarter INT just for fun) and our receivers did a much better job of catching the ball, all the more surprising since they were playing in a bit of a rainstorm. Our defense continues to look very, very strong (at home), creating turnovers and for the most part (excepting two drives in the 3rd quarter) making life tough for the duck running game. Our three senior linebackers all made huge plays (as they do pretty much every week) and Syd was generally Syd. Perhaps most encouraging to me, defensively, is the continued strong play from Cameron Jordan and Darian Hagan. Jordan has looked good for a while, but he's been great since taking over for Rulon Davis. I think we're getting more production from his defensive end position than we did before Rulon's injury. At cornerback, Hagan keeps breaking up passes and making strong tackles in run support. Both of these guys are rock solid right now and look like potential stars: Hagan looks better than Syd did at the beginning of last year (GULP I STILL LOVE YOU SYD) and Jordan is our most explosive defensive end since Ryan Riddle in 2004. And they're both sophomores.

via graphics.fansonly.com & grfx.cstv.com

That said, the biggest surprise to me was our offensive line. I was not confident in our chances today, and much of that hinged on our banged up o-line: we were missing our 1st, 3rd, and 4th offensive tackles and our top 2 guards, which would be damaging in any game but especially so against the top pass rush in the conference. Aside from one play when all-conference DE Nick Reed destroyed LT Mitchell Schwartz and blind-sided Nasty Nate, the offensive line gave our QBs enough time to throw and opened up some holes for our running backs. Our O line hasn't been consistently great this year, but they stepped up to the challenge and then some today.

GO BEARS! All aboard the Pain Train!

via d.yimg.com

Poll

USC Week! How do you think Cal will do against USC?

Blowout victory over USC!

35 votes

Close victory over USC

141 votes

Close loss by Cal

151 votes

Blowout loss by Cal

85 votes

USC forfeit

50 votes

462 votes | Poll has closed

Reveling in Victory - Cal v. UCLA 10.24.08

CBKWit — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 23:44:28 -0000

My enthusiasm pail overfloweth.

Honestly, I wasn't very energized until the horrible flea flicker turned miraculous TD to Boateng and the prophet Mohamed's pick 6 in the fourth quarter. Prior to that, we experienced the same herky-jerky game last witnessed (successfully) against ASU. I felt a pair of series in the third quarter nicely encapsulated they alternating excitement and discouragement so prevalent throughout the game. After Anger pinned the Bruins on the 10, Alualu came up with a sack on 1st down and we (AGAIN!!) came thisclose to a safety on a stuffed run. On third down, the little bruins completed a short pass and we were ready to start our drive at the UCLA 40. Our defense had done its job and then some, forcing UCLA backwards and almost coming up with the safety. Then our offense took the field.

On first down, a holding penalty. On first down again, a sack. On second down, a decent QB draw...with another holding penalty. 2nd and 34(!) netted us a 12 yard screen pass and a high, almost intercepted pass that would have been short of the first anyway. With a 1st and 10 on their 40 yard line, we went back 12 yards.

Clearly, this type of offensive effort is not going to win us road games at USC and OSU, and will make life pretty difficult at home against Oregon and Stanford. Our offensive line continues to struggle with penalties and protection, our receivers continue to drop catchable balls, and our QBs continue to make slightly to very inaccurate throws. I wasn't terribly optimistic about our offense coming into this year, but I thought they'd be ahead (through 7 games and two bye weeks) of where they are now.

via d.yimg.com

He's the most awesomest.

With that said, and with our offensive problems still a looming concern for our upcoming games, that was a fun fourth quarter. You would think that STCPA (Special Teams Coach Pete Alamar) would have learned from the 10 men on the field fake punt debacle in the Rose Bowl in 2005, but there was a UCLA gunner standing all alone at the top of the field for a first down on 4th and 23...only the pass was lofted and behind, giving our defender the opportunity to make the tackle one yard short of the first down. It was only a 7 point lead for Cal at that point, and a first down would have completely energized UCLA. Instead, Cal took the ball, called a flea flicker which was almost blown up twice in the backfield, and staked an insurmountable 14 point lead on a great catch by B (Boateng). And honestly, while the flea flicker was great, my favorite part of the bruin fake punt failure was the awesome bruin band. As Cal fans are whooping it up and the ref is signaling a first down for Cal at midfield, the bruin band played on celebration, oblivious to what was going on around them. That's my definition of relentlessly positive.

While the offense continues to struggle, how about that defense! UCLA had 10? 20? rushing yards, but even more reflective than yardage of the run defense domination was UCLA's play calling. Their first 4 plays from scrimmage? All passes, including an interception, a sack (I believe), and 3 solid hits taken by their QB KC (Kevin Craft). UCLA knew from the very beginning that their running game had no chance, and they were right.

And let's not forget, Let's NOT forget, our awesome pass coverage. We knew KC (Kevin Craft) was a pretty mediocre QB playing behind a patchwork offensive line, but 4 interceptions is 4 interceptions. Although, to be fair to KC (Kevin Craft), our secondary had a little help from one of the greatest supervillains known to man.

Evil genius Karl Dorrell intercepts one of KC's errant throws.

After MM's (Mike Mohamed) pick 6 put us up by 21, I thought Tedford would put on the breaks. I expected to see Slocum running behind our second team O-line, but our starters returned and ran our offense, including a double reverse with a SWEEEEEEET hurdle by Jeremy Ross and a play action TD with about 2 minutes left.

via d.yimg.com

You could make a case that Cal was running up the score, and if I was calling the plays, I wouldn't have dialed up the play action to the tight end which we attempt quite frequently. But I think CJT (Coach Jeff Tedford) has demonstrated on numerous occasions that's he's a stand up and honorable guy, and has never shown a propensity to run up the score (sometimes to his detriment: So Miss 2004). I think the play calling here was more a product of the fact that our offense isn't very good right now, and we need all the game experience we can get.

As a very strange act of retaliation, CRN (Coach Rick Neuheisel) called 3 timeouts with 1 minute left on the clock and his team down 21, including the final timeout after Cal had gained a first down and could simply kneel the ball. Here's ESPN's take on it:

"[N] (Neuheisel) curiously called timeouts after each of the Bears' three kneeldowns in the final seconds, forcing Cal to run a handful of running plays."

I think we know who was really behind this sinister plot.

UCLA: Strange coaching decisions since 2003.

Maybe CRN was just trying to get his defense some more game reps, as CJT was with the offense. Or maybe CRN was trying to maintain that relentless positivity we've heard so much about in the face of impending defeat. In any case, CRN and CJT's decisions to play to the final gun made for an odd finish from what was a very predictable game: Cal's defense dominates while its offense struggles and makes just enough plays to pull out a (mostly) close game. I'm very nervous for the upcoming Oregon game, but for now, lets just revel in our victory with our overflowing fervor troughs.

Reveling in Victory

CBKWit — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:46:58 -0000

First of all, I was wrong. About the Lipizzaner Stallions, they are from Spain, not from Portugal (ROLL TIDE). Also, about the point spread. Clearly, Cal -8 to 10 was the correct line, not Cal -5 as I would have pegged it. Avinash, to the victor go the spoils. For your reward, you may now have sex TwistNHook.

The biggest surprise to me, and the difference between a Cal victory of 7-14 points and a Cal victory of 3-6 points, was the defense. Our offense performed pretty much as I expected, but our defense dominated a major opponent like I haven't seen in a while. Here's what I saw:

via assets.espn.go.com

Cameron Jordan, official badass

1) Our opening drive was exceptional. We have struggled in this area for a while, dating back to at least 2006. I can remember a number of 3 and outs followed by long TD drives by the opposition to open games, but not much of the opposite. I don't believe we had a third down until we were at the 4 yard line, and while it was disappointing not to score a touchdown, I felt this drive put ASU on the defensive, and it gave us a lead we would not relinquish.

2) Our goal line woes continue. I thought we should have rammed it down their throat from the 4, but we ended up with 3 incomplete passes. Of course, last year we ran it right up the middle all the time for limited success, so I think I'm just using hindsight to criticize obvious failures. And as the game wore on, it was increasing clear that our offensive line was not doing a great job opening holes for Vereen. Still, I thought we had ASU on their heels on the first drive, and I felt we let them off the hook by being too cute.

3) The passing game still isn't clicking. Like Riley, Nate missed a number of receivers. Unlike Riley, he threw a horrible interception. When we needed third down conversions during the fourth quarter, he threw too far in front of Morrah on an out and too short of Calvin on a fly down the sideline. I slightly favor Riley over Longshore at this point, because Riley does a better job of limiting turnovers than Nate (especially impressive considering Longshore's experience), but I think Jonathan Okanes has it right that neither QB has separated himself.

4) Our secondary...wow. When Tedford told us this spring that he had been trying to hire new DB coach Al Simmons for a while, I was excited. Good hire, coach. Syd made great strides towards the end of last season, but I don't know if I expected him to be THIS good. He seems to make a play on every ball that comes his way; it's gotten to the point where I'm surprised when he doesn't break up the pass. Meanwhile, Darian Hagan came in very highly touted but had done nothing until this fall; suddenly, he is making plays on the ball that Syd didn't make until last year and is obviously a natural in run support and open field tackling. Add in Sean Cattouse coming up with a pick and a critical pass break up in the back of the endzone and this unit might be even better than the 2006 Daymeion Hughes secondary.

via assets.espn.go.com

EntireSecondaryBoner

5) The Chris Conte interception deserves its own bullet point; other players may have had better games (Cameron Jordan, I'll get to you), but his pick in the 3rd quarter was the play of the game. Our offense did NOTHING in the second half, save for a touchdown drive immediately following Conte's pick. That put us back up by 17, and while we may not have needed it in the long run, it sure made our lead much more secure. Conte has vacillated between average and bad this year, but that pick was a great play at a critical time.

6) Bryan Anger. He had two pretty bad punts in the second half which allowed for big returns and good field position by ASU, but that 71 yard punt was unbelievable, even for him. It effectively clinched the game for Cal. Twist asked me if a punter had ever declared early for the draft; let's hope he's not the first.

7) On the subject of field position, our kickoffs were much better. I won't say they were good, as most were pretty low and I don't think any approached the 5 yard line, but compared to kicks landing at the 20 or out of bounds, they were great. Our kick coverage was also much better, and the result was ASU starting around the 20, not the 40.

8) Our offensive line needs work. Losing Guarnero hurts, especially because Malele hasn't done much at the other guard postion (he was absolutely destroyed on a 1st down run in the 4th quarter). He and Teofilo especially need to assert themselves.

9) Our linebackers can hit. I can remember at least one big hit by each of our four starters; Worrell destroying a receiver over the middle to end the first half, Eddie Young body slamming (I think) someone on the outside, Felder eating up an inside run, and Follett doing his best reenactment of his hit on Ainge to cause a fumble in the 4th.

10) Finally, I'd give the game ball to Cameron Jordan. He sacked Carpenter on ASU's first series. I can't count the number of times I turned to the people next to me saying "he's REALLY fast". The defense was out there for most of the second half, but I didn't feel like our depth at DE was challenged. For him to step in for a vocal senior leader like Rulon and play at the level he did, for the entire game, is phenomenal.

What did you think? I was encouraged, but I think we'll need Jahvid Best and an improved passing game to beat Arizona. Jahvid, get healthy, and GO BEARS.

Poll

How are you feeling after the Arizona State game?

Ecstatic, because Cal won and whenever Cal wins, you are overjoyed!

43 votes

Happy, because Cal managed another solid victory over a competitive Pac10 team

168 votes

Satisfied with the staunch performance of the D, but concerned about the O

165 votes

Upset, because you wanted Riley to start the game

24 votes

400 votes | Poll has closed

Alright, I didn't submit my picks on time

CBKWit — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:08:51 -0000

Why they don't use the Thursday night game but do count the Friday one, I have no idea. Thursday night college football is the norm but for some reason BYU has a random Friday game, which prevents me from giving 15 other teams the pleasure of my endorsement. I'm sure my competitors are breathing a heavy sigh of relief after the recent revelation that I am making up ground faster than Rulon Davis can suffer a lower extremity injury.

Well, you huge nerds that somehow submitted your picks before Friday at midnight: You may "win", in the technical or actual sense, but I am submitting my picks right here for you to marvel at. If, at the end of the year, I lose by 7 or 8 but got 10 right in the space below, I hope your victory rings as hollow as Rulon Davis foot bone.

Penn St over Purdue

Kansas over ISU

Florida over Arkansas

Oklahoma over Baylor

VT over West Kentucky

Alabama over Kentucky

Texas Tech over KSU

Vandy over Auburn

Texas over Colorado

A&M over OK State

Uconn over UNC

OSU over Wisc

Oregon over USC

Mizzou over Nebraska

Fresno over Hawaii

I would have taken BYU, so 0 for 1.

I'm going to get more games than Rul...

Fantasy Week in Review - Week 5

CBKWit — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 05:11:21 -0000

My only contribution lately (aside from this slightly premature piece - I'm sure everyone's feeling good about Brian De La Puente's replacement and our red zone offense) has been whining about my fantasy team. The 95% of you who don't read the comments on our fantasy threads (read: everyone except Hydro, Yellow Fever, Avi & me), consider yourselves lucky. I know they're annoying to read; I annoy myself writing them, but each ball busting loss leaves me grasping for a release, and RemorsefulBruinBabe just can't appreciate the anguish behind statements like "Sam Bradford had 6 touchdowns and I still lost". I need you, fellow fantasy football sociopaths, to relate to my misery and feel my pain.

That said, I don't want to become a whiny, one issue blogger like Yellow Fever (I HEART RINGER) or TwistNHook (MARSHAWNBONER) or Ragnarok (CEREAL FOR BREAKFAST, STATISTICS FOR DESSERT) or HydroTech (MAYBE WE SHOULD ALL STOP SHOUTING and realize that, as fans, we don't know everything and we should just trust the coaches even when they lead us to only a 7-6 record with 7 NFL draft picks) or CaliSeth (I LIKE SHOUTING AARON RODGERS FAP DRINK FAP DRINK FAP). So I decided to whine a little bit more, out in the open this time, away from the low lighting and musky smells of the fantasy thread comments section. Grant me this space to pathetically gripe, grumble, and snivel, for all to read, and I promise it will be the last time. Or the last time until I lose to Yellow Fever again.

via dessertyears.files.wordpress.com

Fantasy football hurts. Cymbalta can help.

Since I have the 5th most points (out of 10 teams) but have somehow lost all 5 of my games, here are 5 things that matter way too much to me.

1) Chris "Beanie" Wells was my first round pick. And with the chance to grab any defense, I selected the invincible magnificent Buckeyes. Yes, 2 of my first 6 picks came from the most over-hyped team in the country. Just for reference, my top two picks from my pro team were Randy Moss and Ryan Grant. I love fantasy football!

2) Last week, Beanie was finally healthy enough to play, so at the last minute I inserted him in my starting lineup versus the vaunted Minnesota defense. How did my first round pick respond? 10 carries, no touchdowns. The man for I benched for Beanie? LaGarrette Blount, 3 touchdowns. I still earned the third most points of the week, but I played Yellow Fever, who had the second most points, and lost by 6, or 1 touchdown.

3) Growing up a Michigan fan, I hate the Buckeyes. But one of the "keys" to fantasy football is to disregard your allegiances and pick the best players. I thought I had done this by picking Wells and the OSU defense, but they've turned out to be the worst part of my team. I've been faced with the very unpleasant task of rooting for OSU, only they continue to suck. So now I hate them even more, because I'm forced to root for them and they keep coming up short.

via www.latimes.com

I can't even find joy in your failure any more.

4) September 13th. Not only did I sit through the muggy, unbearable crap fest that was Cal @ Maryland, but my fantasy team scored an unbelievable 141 points...only to lose to a team that scored 150. Teams have scored 105 points or more 18 times and are 15-3 when they do; 2 of those 3 losses are mine. To top it off, I picked a rousing 7/18 (2 worse than the 50%, random chance line) against the spread. My saving grace? 59-0, BYU.

via www.latimes.com

CoachRickNeuheisel knows how to cheer me up on a bad day

5) I was one of two people to skip Fan Appreciation Day in order to draft my players. Every auto-drafted team has done better than mine. Yellow Fever's auto draft netted him Ringer's backup, Brandon Gibson (not the WSU star, the Alabama receiver who hasn't recorded any stats this year), and the Western Kentucky defense (What?) in the first 8 rounds, and he's killing me. Well done, CBKWit.

I hope the four of you still reading have enjoyed this visit into my fantasy hell. I definitely probably shouldn't care this much, but to quote George Costanza, "I have so little!"

Still, I get to end on a positive note. For the second straight week, I was the top performer in the Top 25 Pickem. Joining the pool in week two, I have cut my initial deficit of 19 to 12. That's a 7 spot gain in 4 weeks, so if I keep up this rate for the final 10 weeks, I'll win by 5.5 games. Maybe "CBKWitJoinsWeek2&StillWins" wasn't such a bad name for my picks after all.

via blog.tmcnet.com

Yahoo Pick'em, you're my only hope.

Reveling in Victory

CBKWit — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:56:55 -0000

The second in (hopefully) a 13 part series, this is a quick summary of a few keys to the game.

via imgs.sfgate.com

Honestly, I started drinking and shouting a lot after we went up 28-3. I'm usually so tense during games that it was nice to let loose and have a fun, relaxing time. And because I'm several beers into the day, I asked for a little help from the other people on RemorsefulBruinBabe's couch.

1) SYDBONER

2) Riley looks a bit shaky. He missed on a couple of long passes, and though that long TD was awesome (as a defense, how can you let a QB run for a 28 yard TD on a broken play?), he clearly wasn't on the same page as his running backs. He didn't throw any picks, but he did give up a fumble in WSU territory. We'll likely need a better performance next week in Maryland and we'll definitely need a better showing against ASU.

BREAKING NEWS: Zoonews informs me that Maryland lost by 7...to Middle Tennessee State. Ok, we probably don't need Riley to be at his absolute best to win next week.

zoonews: YES LOLZ LOLZ

OskiWeeWee <girl>: Riley is my fake boyfriend, how dare you say he's shaky. Or wait, is that a good thing?

3) Punt problems

Anger either suddenly sucks or is bothered by the sprained knee he suffered last week. After seeing him punt this spring, I'm guessing it's the latter.

On the return side, Sean Young seems unsure of when to call a fair catch and when to attempt a return. He's been tackled immediately a couple of times and fumbled another. SydBONER looked much more natural than Young this spring, but he's still battling a sore shoulder, and Tedford might not want to risk further injury to such a valuable player. I hope Young gets his act together or Cal starts experimenting with someone else, like Vereen

4) Boateng & Nasty Nate

The Boateng/Nasty Nate connection was in fine form. It was good to see Boateng make a few plays, as we need productive receivers in addition to Sean Young. And hate him or tolerate him, Nasty Nate had a good game, and it's good to have a capable back-up.

RemorsefulBruinBabe: Now, you all know I don't know much about football, but being up by 56 with 7:21 left in the game is a good thing, right? Oh wait. We scored again. The score is now 66-3. With 6:14 to go. Yeah...watching the game at my house was totally a good idea. With all the problems CBKWit mentioned, and that I assume to be true, I (and my onion dip) take full credit for the Bears' success today.

OskeWeeWee: So... seriously, XX-X? Are we watching Cal Football or am I watching my serious dream team? Insane. RemorsefulBruinBabe hosted a serious party. Wow. Go Bears

Troatie: The worst lost in WSU history?? I feel a little sad. I mean if only the Bears won by less than 59 points. Oh by the way, Brock Mansion is an awesome name. It reminds me of a very rich person, like Richie Rich or Bruce Wayne or something. Maybe Mansion is Batman. But if that is true, who's Robin? And is it just me or does Tedford seem always angry. As CBKWit pointed out to me, he never smiles...but he looks particularly angry. Go Bears

zoonews: COUGWEEK69 HAPPY ENDING!!!!!!!

zoonews: YES MARVELOUS YES

(Back to CBKWit) Between a 66-3 massacre in one of the traditionally toughest places to play in the Pac-10 and, after 20 months, the removal of the oak trees (FAP FAP FAP), this could be one of the best weekends in recent program history. People that are less drunk, what do you think?

Cal vs MSU: A second look

CBKWit — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:49:25 -0000

Watching a game live, drunk, and having only a sun-soaked video monitor with fewer pixels than an iphone to watch replays, you tend to miss a few things. I decided to re-watch the game in hopes of answering a few lingering questions (Did Sundberg blow that snap? No, it went right through Anger's hands. Were Nasty Nate's interceptions as bad as they seemed? No, they were worse.). Beer helped my write some truly insightful insights in my notebook, like "SYD'BONER" after this play:

Syd's hit wasn't the only thing hard.

Thanks to zoonews, I also discovered the beauty of Tivo's 8 second rewind button and slow motion replay, but a word of caution to you slowmoers out there: before watching the same screen shots 7 times in an effort to grab a player's number, see if another replay from a better angle immediately follows. It will save you several minutes and some dignity.

Here's what I saw upon closer inspection:

1) Cal's pass rush was a lot better than it seemed.

No, Cal didn't record a sack. Zero sacks won't cut it for much of the season, and after hyping the Cal D-Line for the last 6 months I was pretty disappointed that they didn't make me look good. But even though they never dropped Hoyer for a loss, the Cal pass rush applied consistent pressure from the first drive (Rulon Davis @ 11:07 left in the first quarter) to the last (both Defensive Ends @ 0:27 left in the fourth quarter).

In general, blitzing (especially up the middle) wasn't as effective as I would have hoped, though a Worrell Williams inside blitz at 0:15 in the second quarter caused Hoyer's ill-advised interception to Syd'Boner Thompson. On the other hand, Cal was often able to pressure Hoyer rushing only three down linemen, such as the pass with 0:27 left in the fourth. Hoyer spent much of the game fading away and throwing off his back foot due to the pass rush, which led to a few completions, many incompletions, and the aforementioned interception. Against less experienced quarterbacks that hold the ball longer (Hoyer is a 5th year senior), this pressure will cause sacks.

This probably won't come as a revelation, but the D-Line and outside linebackers also did a great job playing the run. Rulon Davis and Tyson Alualu repeatedly beat MSU tackles, penetrating upfield to snuff out run plays (for those of you with the torrent, look at 5:45 in the 1st & 5:15 in the 3rd). Eddie Young in particular did a fantastic job stringing run plays to the outside; watch him take out two blockers at the 4 minute mark in the 1st quarter. Both outside linebackers played very close to the line of scrimmage for much of the game, effectively playing a 3-4/5-2 hybrid and making it difficult for Ringer to turn the corner.

2) Keith Browner is a beast

After watching Cameron Jordan and Ernest Owusu at defensive end during spring practice, I was sure they would make an immediate impact. But Jordan was suspended for a DUI two weeks ago and Owusu was largely invisible. Instead, redshirt sophomore Keith Browner, not even listed in the two deep, was everywhere in limited minutes. He played well on MSU's two minute drive before halftime aside from jumping offsides at around 1:10. He penetrated the MSU O-Line to stuff a run with 50 seconds left in the third, and snuffed out a screen at 14:44 to go in the fourth. I'm excited to see what Jordan can do against WSU this weekend, but Browner may be the biggest surprise so far.

3) Nate looked worse on TV

The first throw to Morrah was right on the money, but his mechanics were bad. Instead of stepping up into the pocket (as Riley did all night), he was nearly parallel to the line of scrimmage as he flung the ball across his body. It showed good arm strength, but you want to use your body to throw the ball, not fight against it.

The first interception didn't look terrible in person, as Wiley hid behind another defender before Nate released the ball. What I didn't notice in person was a second defender coming across the field behind Wiley; if Wiley hadn't picked it, I think the other defender would have at least batted it down, and if you probably shouldn't throw into double coverage in the red zone. For the second interception, I wrote "Abysmal pass 5 yards behind. Horrible." I should have included "into quadruple coverage."

The one silver lining, especially to someone sitting on the east side of the stadium and probably to pussies like HydroTech and BearsNecessity (kidding!), was that the boos were much less noticeable on TV than they were in person. After a few seconds of grumbling, the mic men started a stadium wide "Go Bears" chant that was very clear and much louder than the boos. Thanks, mic men, for preventing us from looking like the douchebags that we are.

4) Conservative offensive gameplan

More than half of the passes thrown by Riley were swings, screens, or quick drops with only one read. The third down pass on our first series (9:05 in the 1st) was a 4 yard clear out for Best when we needed 8 yards. The coaches obviously wanted to keep things simple for Riley in his first start; his job was to take care of the ball and not lose the game. I expect the coaches to open things up very gradually over the next three games in order to keep building Riley's confidence and comfort leading the offense; we probably won't need Riley to be a hero to win the next three games, but we will need the entire playbook to beat ASU.

Interestingly, Nate's first interception came on a more complicated pattern, as Nate attempted to look off defenders to the left and throw back across the middle. Nate has more experience, and the coaches seemed more comfortable opening up the playbook for him. I doubt they're as comfortable with him now.

5) We miss Craig Stevens

I've been worried about our blocking from the tight end position all year, and we've got a ways to go until it's ironed out. Tad Smith whiffed on a block at the 1:40 mark of the second quarter, but Best somehow made something out of nothing and got to the corner for a touchdown. With 1:40 remaining in the fourth quarter, Cal had a 2nd and 6 around midfield and needed a first down to run out the clock. Cameron Morrah was destroyed by Greg Jones (the Spartans top linebacker, it bears mentioning) and Best was tackled for a 5 yard loss. If Morrah gets a good block at this point, we might be looking at a 3rd and 3 instead of a 3rd and 11 and may not have to give the ball back to the Spartans.

6) We don't miss Brian De La Puente

This isn't to denigrate De La Puente, our graduated left guard, in any way. He was all Pac-10 honorable mention last year and made the Chiefs roster as a free agent. But watching Chris Guarnero in his first start, it's clear why the Cal coaches moved him from backup center into a starting position with Mack returning for his senior year. He had a nice weakside block with 7 seconds left in the first quarter and a couple other strong blocks early in the second (14:15 & 11:48) before being beaten at 10:30 to force a punt.

At 3:05 left in the second, we saw our present and future centers open a HUGE hole for Best, who might have gone for a touchdown if he had not run into Sean Young. And at 3:00 in the 4th, Guarnero cleared out the strong side for Best's Marshawn bodyslam run.

Twist sleeps with this photo under his pillow

via www.goldenbearsports.com

Along with Mitchell Schwartz, who also had a strong game and helped spring Shane Vereen on his 80 yard TD run, the future of our offensive line looks bright.

7) Those misdirection goal-line plays were awesome

Yeah, they looked awesome in person but they were even better on replay. The first TD pass to Cameron Morrah at the 6 minute mark in the third quarter completely froze stud OLB Greg Jones. Jones looked in every direction as Morrah released into the endzone for an easy score. Of course, Jones got his revenge later on the aforementioned 5 yard loss, but Morrah (and really Cignetti) won this round.

The second TD pass built on the first one. Morrah ran a similar route but this time brought the outside man (in this case a safety) with him...allowing Ta'ufo'ou to release from the backfield untouched into the vacated area. Although Forsett up the middle for no gain was a favorite of mine, I think I'll get used to Cignetti's goal-line offense.

8) Terrible play that was worse on TV

With 3:15 left in the 4th, MSU had the ball in Cal territory down 14. Hoyer threw to Dell in the middle of the field between three Cal defenders. Syd went for the pick and missed, and Hicks gave a half hearted shoulder shove which Dell easily bounced shook off. He went in for the touchdown to make it a one possession game. In this situation, all you're really concerned about is tackling the guy in bounds and not giving up a big play. Thompson and Hicks, our two most experienced defensive backs, barely attempted a tackle between the two of them and let MSU back into the game.

9) Terrible play that wasn't as bad on TV

True freshman linebacker Mychal Kendricks kept a 97 yard MSU scoring drive alive with a roughing the punter penalty at 12:00 in the fourth. From the stands, it looked like Kendricks hesitated before deciding to shove the MSU punter to the ground, but on closer inspection it appears his momentum carried him into the punter. Still a terrible play, but not as blatant as I first thought.

10) Great play that wasn't as good on TV

Darian Hagan's spectacular interception simultaneous catch at 5:35 in the fourth would have been a pick if he had used his hands to grab the ball, instead of trying to cradle it with his body. Still a great break on the ball, but an interception beats a 50 yard completion.

11) Great play that was better on TV

TIE. Riley's pass to Morrah while being dragged down on 3rd and 13 (7:15 in the 4th) was phenomenal, but what I didn't see at the time was how nice of a spiral and how strong of a throw it was. It may have looked like a desperation pass (and it was), but it was thrown with a clear plan and purpose, and with a surprising amount of arm strength.

The inside wide receiver screen to Sean Young on 3rd & long with 9:15 in the 4th was beautifully executed. Sean Young did a great job weaving in and out of traffic, but it was the downfield blocking, particularly by Noris Malele, that made it possible.

Go Bears!