Disclaimer: I'm not an expert. Rely on the following analysis at your own risk.

--------------------------------------------

In my last post I showed how the Cal defense disguised one of its blitzes in the ASU game which forced the offense into throwing an interception. If you read that post, my tone seemed to suggest that the Sun Devil offensive line was mostly at fault for failing to identify the blitzer (Cal safety #7 - D.J. Campbell). They were at fault there. Of course, some credit is due to the actual Cal defensive players on the field like D.J. Campbell and Mychal Kendricks for disguising their respectively blitz and coverage so well.

But another person needs credit for this INT. You see, this great defensive play didn't JUST happen because the Sun Devil offensive line failed to identify a blitzer post-snap. This great defensive play didn't JUST happen because D.J. Campbell and Mychal Kendricks did such a great a job disguising their coverage/blitz exchange. This great defensive play didn't JUST happen because there was otherwise great all-around execution on the field by the other Cal defenders. This great defensive play ALSO happened (and perhaps more importantly happened) because of great scheme by Cal Defensive Coordinator, Clancy Pendergast.

Let's take a look at what he did.

In case you don't recall the situation, I'll quickly revisit it.

Arizona State was down 9 points late in the 4th quarter. They obviously needed two quick scores to win the game, meaning that their offense had to pass the ball. The Sun Devils faced a 3rd and 10 at around midfield. They had 10 personnel on the field (4 WRs), with trips left and the RB offset to the weak (the side opposite of the WR strength) and short side of the field.

Cal countered with its 3-3 Nickel defense (3 DL, 3 LBs, 5 DBs). Cal showed a pre-snap Man Free / Cover-1 look. Immediately after the snap, Cal safety #7 -- whom was showing man coverage against the inner slot WR -- blitzed. Cal linebacker #30 dropped back into man coverage on that very same inner slot WR. This was the coverage exchange. My big point in that previous post was how critical it was for that Sun Devil OL to identify disguised blitzers post-snap.

Continue reading this post »

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert. Rely on the following analysis at your own risk.

------------------------------

To successfully pass the ball in football, the offense must be able to identify the defensive coverage and identify blitzers. This duty generally falls on the shoulders of one player: the QB. If a QB can correctly identify the coverage, and identify blitzers, he will have a huge advantage over the defense. The earlier a QB can identify the coverage and identify blitzers, the better. If the QB can diagnose the coverage and blitzers prior to the snap of the ball, that's ideal. That is basically like knowing the defensive play before it happens.

QBs have gotten better and better at diagnosing coverages pre-snap. Defenses, if they hope to confuse the QB, must take countermeasures to prevent them from being read so easily. How so? Disguising the coverage. Let's take a look at how Cal used such a disguise against Arizona State in 2011.

The play I want to break down occurred late in the fourth quarter. Cal is defending a 9 point lead. The down is 3rd and 10 at around midfield. There is only 2 minutes and 22 seconds left on the clock. Arizona State needs two quick scores to take the lead. With such a short amount of time remaining in the game, the offense must pass -- giving the defense an ideal opportunity to disguise coverages.

Continue reading this post »

Here are some quick updates from the Twitter-sphere regarding Cal Football's Pro Day! (We'll try to keep this post updated as more info comes in.)

Justin Cheadle doing his broad jump (picture)

Mychal Kendricks getting his hand measured (picture)

Sean Cattouse about to do his broad jump (picture)

Marvin Jones getting ready to perform at the SAHPC (picture)

Marshawn Lynch and Cameron Jordan are apparently in attendance!

Ernest Owusu doing his 225 lb bench press! (picture)

Ernest Owusu did 39 reps of 225 lbs! Wow!

Michael Calvin ran a very fast 4.32 and 4.34 forty yard dash outside in the rain!

Michael Calvin also hopped a 40 inch vertical!

49ers.com video coverage of Cal's Pro Day

49ers.com write-up about Cal's Pro Day

Feel free to comment about Cal Football's Pro Day in the comments section after the jump. Go Bears!

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert. Rely on the following analysis at your own risk.

--------------------------------------

While watching the Cal vs. Utah game a while back, I noticed Cal doing something new on offense. Cal was executing a zone read, but something seemed very odd about it. It didn't seem right. Upon closer inspection, Cal wasn't really just running a zone read. They were running -- what I will call for lack of a better term -- a "playside zone read."

This is a new play to the Cal playbook. I haven't seen Cal run it in previous years, and I'm pretty sure this is the first game in 2011 which Cal has shown this play. So let's get right to breaking it down!

Cal is facing a 1st and 10 from their own 37 yard line in the 1st quarter against Utah. Cal has 11 personnel in the game (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs). Utah has their nickel defense in the game (4-2 variety: 4 defensive linemen, 2 linebackers, 5 defensive backs).

There is actually a Check-With-Me (CWM) on this play, and a pre-snap chess match going on between the Cal offensive coordinator (Kiseau) and the Utah defensive coordinator, but I don't want to focus on that in this analysis. I just want to focus on the playside zone read. So I'm going to skip all that...

Continue reading this post »

Every so often CGB gets hate mail. It's rare. But it happens. Most of the time the hate mail is directed towards TwistNHook for trolling, or .... well, actually, it's mostly just directed at TwistNHook for trolling.

But this time!.... We have some hate mail from a Texas Longhorn fan who isn't exactly happy that he's been banned.

The following is the email we received from him/her. It is 100% real and unmodified. We've redacted the person's name for their privacy:

You are banned from California Golden Blogs.

You can browse the blog, but you can't participate.

just shows why you pansies are losers that you have always been

go back to touching peters with each other, you poof-puffers, and dreaming of how A rogers might have done it.....................yeah, choked on TTech

the California Golden Girls

you will not even have a program in 2 years - your university system will be broke

enjoy it and starve in the fucking gutter, get butchered by a beaner illegal

[user name redacted]

Don't you just love Texass????

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert. Rely on the following analysis at your own risk.

-------------------------------------------------

So one of the new wrinkles to the Cal offense in 2011 has been the addition of Check-With-Me ("CWM") plays. This are the plays were the offense will line up at the line of scrimmage, give a hard count, and then look to the sidelines to see if the coaches want to run the original play or call a second play.

Before I break down one of these plays, I suppose it's prudent to explain why a team might want to run a CWM. The purpose of a CWM is to better counter what the defense is doing. When the offense lines up at the line of scrimmage, the defense will line up in response to the offense's formation. The offense will be looking at how the defense is aligned and will attempt to read the defense (guess the defensive play) based on the formation.

However, defenses will often "mask" their defense. In other words, they'll pretend to show one defense before the snap, but as soon as the ball is snapped they'll switch into a different formation. And this is where the hard count of a CWM comes into play. The offense, after lining up at the line of scrimmage will hard count. This is done deliberately to try and trick the defense into believing that a play is going to be run, and thus the defense will unmask their defense.

After the hard count, the offense will look to the sidelines. There, they will wait for a signal from the coaches on the sidelines. That signal will either tell the team to run the original play or run a different play. The play that is called is a play that the coaches feel will best counter what the defense appeared to be showing based on their formation and after the hard count. In other words, by using a CWM, it's as if the offense basically knows beforehand what play the defense is going to run, and thus the offense can run a play which counters that defensive play.

So let's get to the play I want to break down.

The play is from the Utah game. Cal is facing a 1st and 10 from their own 30 yard line in the 3rd quarter.

Continue reading this post »

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert. Rely on the following analysis at your own risk.

---------------------------

In this film study post, I want to go over Oregon's second touchdown from the 2011 Cal vs. Oregon game. I want to break down this touchdown because I think this play is significant. Why is this play significant? I think it -- once again -- demonstrates the mental chess match going on between an offensive mastermind and a defensive coordinator.

So let's get to it!

Here's the pre-snap picture, above. It's the first quarter. Cal is losing 7-6. Oregon is facing a 2nd and 7 at the Cal 17 yard line.

Continue reading this post »

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert. Rely on the following football analysis at your own risk.

----------------------------

In football, sometimes a play fails. Quite often, a fan's quick conclusion will be that "the play sucks" or "the playcall sucks" or "the offensive coordinator sucks." But is this necessarily true? I don't think so. I think it's possible that the play could suck, the playcall sucks, and the offensive coordinator sucks, but there are also other reasonable explanations for why a play might not succeed. For example, a play could not succeed due to poor execution by players on the field or just even better execution by the defense. Or a play could not succeed due to the defense being in a formation which the offensive coordinator wasn't expecting which just so happens to confuse the offensive players on the field or alternatively puts the defensive players in a better position to defend the play. Or a play could fail just due to some good ol' plain bad luck (WR's toe barely stepping out of bounds, player tripping or losing his footing, etc.). Some times, and perhaps more often than not, the reasons why a play fails are usually a combination of many of the above reasons.

So in this following analysis, I want to go over a play which failed. And I hope to discuss perhaps why this play failed. Join me in this analysis, as we look at a play where Cal lost yardage on a run play versus USC.

Here is the pre-snap picture. Cal is facing a 1st and 10 from its own 27 yard line in the first quarter.

Continue reading this post »

(1)  What a wild game.  In some football games, it seems like just a few aspects of a team impact the game.  For example, maybe one team's offense just blows out the other team leaving little else to be a factor in determining who wins the game.  Or maybe one team's defense locks down the opposing offense and the game ends up being a snoozefest.  But this game... this game.  Everything came into play.  Everything was a factor in this game.  Cal's offense blew up all over Arizona State's defense.  But then Arizona's State's offense struck back behind all-too-easy deep passes.  But then Cal's defense managed a few crucial punts and forced turnovers.  But then Cal's special teams turned the ball over.  And then the (crappy) Pac-12 refs continued to aid Arizona State's defense with some horrific penalties.  If it wasn't one thing, it was another.  It was a roller coaster.  Seemingly, anything could have happened in this game.  I feared at any moment the tide could turn for the worst.  And for a period of time in that second quarter, it seemed like the tide had turned.  But then...

(2)  Maynard Has A Great Game.  Statistically, he was 19/26 (73.1% completion rate), with a 9.1 yards per attempt, and zero interceptions.  Great game, statistically.  But I think what was most impressive about him was just his demeanor and decision making.  He was nailing most of his throws.  He looked decisive.  He bought some time with his feet.  He ran when he needed to.  In fact, he had 40 yards of rushing, 25 of which came on a fabulous zone read QB keep for a touchdown.  He threw the ball away when he needed to.  When Cal ran one of those fake WR screen plays, and the intended WR wasn't open, Maynard saved the play from a sack and to get rid of the ball.  Maynard looked like the QB we all imagined he could be that Tedford imagined he could be. 

By golly, was perhaps... Tedford right about the QBs once again?  I'm not sure.  Maynard's performance in the last four games have been nothing short of good if not great.  He surely hasn't been perfect, but he's been doing well enough to help Cal win games.  Barring any sort of disaster in Cal's bowl game, if Maynard can repeat his performances as of late, then I think it might be safe to say... once again... Tedford was right.  When are we going to learn to just trust this guy? He is after all, a very knowledgeable football head coach.  He sees the kids in practice day after day (but it is *just* practice! [sarcasm]).  He knows what they can do.  Who are we to question his judgment?   In Tedford we trust? 

Continue reading this post »

(1)  Luck Gives Cal a Chance.  It was just shocking how ... off ... Luck looked during that first quarter.  He missed some ridiculously easy passes.  Ridiculously easy.  For a guy who has been toted as the shoe-in Heisman winner from the first day of the season, his performance was horrible.  It was as if the stars were aligning and the Football gods were giving Cal a chance.  Throw in some ridiculously easy drops by the Furd receivers and tight ends, it was like the Football gods were just begging Cal to steal this game... if only Cal could. 

(2)  Cal Offense Can't Go All the Way.  Cal starts the game with a beautiful 42 yard pass.  And then the very next play?  A fumble, recovered by the defense.  Stanfurd would score a touchdown three plays later.  Next drive, Cal gets the ball and drives from their own 25 yard line to the Furd 8 yard line, and settles for a field goal.  Cal does manage to score a touchdown on a short field thanks to an interception by Steve Williams (Cal CB #1).  But when it came to driving the field on the next possession, Cal could only go from their own 17 yard line to the Furd 2 yard line -- again settling for a field goal. 

And then... that's where the Cal offense stalled.  The next drive?  Three and out.  The next drive?  Three and out.  The next drive?  Six and out.  The next drive?  Three plays and then a lost fumble. 

In that span, Furd put up 14 points.  It wasn't a lot, but I think everyone know the way the Cal offense was struggling, it was probably enough. 

It's so cliche to say it, but you have to score touchdowns and not field goals.  Red zone efficiency matters.  If Cal scores two touchdowns instead of field goals, Cal could have had 21 points and been neck and neck with Stanfurd. 

So why couldn't Cal's offense go all the way?...

Continue reading this post »

(1)  Story of the Game #1:  Offensive Line Dominates.  And I mean, DOMINATES.  The Bear offensive line was just opening up huge, gaping holes in that Beaver defense.  It was just ridiculous how good the run blocking was this game.  Half way through the game I started thinking how the Beaver run defense looked like a high school team the way they were just getting man-handled. 

I know there were some holding penalties in there, but a number of them seemed quite questionable -- especially the holding ones.  Two particular holding calls on Galas (Cal's center #65) seemed like bad calls.  On the first holding call against him, the defender just pancaked himself to the ground, and Galas pretty much sat on his head (okay, not really, he just sort of pushed him some more into the ground).  There's no penalty for throwing yourself and pushing down on a defender who falls to the ground.  That is not holding.  Seemed like a bad call to me.  On the second holding call against him, the defender threw a spin move at Galas.  I think Galas pushed him back, and the defender ended up falling to the ground and in the process also tripped Galas who fell on top of the defender.  Again, I don't think it should have been a penalty.  It was just a matter of a defender falling to the ground, and an offensive linemen also going to the ground too.  That is not holding.  Of course, it LOOKS like holding to most refs, so they'll often (incorrectly) call it as holding, but it's not.  I think Cal was definitely the victim of a few bad hold calls in this game. 

But ironically, despite the penalties against the Cal offensive line (holding, false starts), they pretty much made back all the yardage.  It was kind of ridiculous how they were just getting the yardage back like it ain't no thang.  First and 20?  No problem.  Isi up the middle for a 12 yard gain.  Penalty negated.  Done.  Why can't we do this all the time???

(2)  Story of the Game #2:  Cal's runningbacks Dominate.  And I mean, DOMINATE.  Both Sofele (Cal RB #20) and Anderson (Cal RB #9) were just eating up that Beaver defense.  We haven't seen such a dominant Cal runningback performance like this since... 2009 Big Game (Shane Vereen!).  Sofele averaged a whopping 8.3 yards per carry.  Can we say, "ridiculous"?  Anderson averaged 6.9 yards per carry.  Again, ridiculous. 

A lot of credit has to be given to the offensive line for creating such success for the RBs, but the RBs were also doing a great job with the holes that they were given.  It's not like this was a case of the RBs doing something with nothing.  This was a case of the RBs doing something with something.  When the RBs were hitting the holes, they were juking linebackers.  They were plowing through defenders.  They were using great vision, balance, and strength to gain additional yardarage.  It was a beautifully glorious display of a performance.

Continue reading this post »

(1)  Was There Any Question Cal Was Going to Lose This Game?  I mean, seriously.  Cal starts the season on a three game win streak.  Cal then goes on a three game lose streak.  Cal fans start jumping ship after the third straight loss and it looks like the season is going down the drain.  Talk of firing Tedford sooner rather than soon starts popping up.  But Cal manages to stop the bleeding by pulling out a win against Utah -- all the while Maynard (Cal QB #15) also has one of his best games in the process.  Cal fans rejoice and have a renewed hope that Tedford can pull out 7 wins this season and make it a somewhat respectable reason considering the team's youth.  Cal's next game is against a reeling UCLA team that got pummeled 48-12 by Arizona.  Cal fans have a growing optimism.  Then UCLA has like half of its team suspended for the Cal game (okay, not really, but you know what I mean).  UCLA's defense is #106 in the nation for least yards allowed a game (or in other words #15 in the nation for MOST yards allowed a game).  UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisal is a dead man walking (about to be fired any minute).  Cal fans have even more optimism.  Tedford, even if he's lost his coaching magic, surely won't lose to a dead man walking head coach.  There is no way in hell Cal loses this game, right?  RIGHT???

NAH.  We're Cal.  OF COURSE WE'RE GOING TO LOSE!

I mean, it's like the perfect storyline.  The Football Gods give Cal fans hope.  And then they taketh away.  I can imagine the football gods rolling on the floor in hysteria as they watch his writhe in misery and heartbreak.  Football Gods:  Hahahaha.  Joke's on the Cal fans!!

I guess it's a bit sad how the attitude of a lot of us has changed over the past few seasons.  There was a time when we were expected to win and we did.   There was a time when we weren't constantly expecting for us to fumble the ball, throw an interception, get penalized for a personal foul, or get screwed by another horrible Pac-10 ref call.  But now, it's almost like a game to see how we're going to screw ourselves.  Let's see who can predict how Cal will shoot itself in the foot next!  $20 says it's a personal foul!  $50 says it's a missed field goal!  $100 says it's an interception! 

Morale is low.  Expectations are low.  People are jumping ship.  I don't really blame them.  People want Maynard benched.  People want Tedford fired.  Hell, people even want the ROPE COACH REPLACED!  Yeah, it's getting THAT bad. 

But you know... it wasn't all bad.  There were some positives.  And here at CGB, when we're not blissfully pumping that sunshine 365 days a week (anybody get the reference???), we're at least trying to stay positive.  So after the jump, let's talk about the positives. 

Continue reading this post »

(1)  This was, perhaps, one of Maynard's most complete games.  I'm not saying he was great.  But he did a number of things this game -- and he did them just well enough to keep the Bears rolling down the field.  He completed passes (19/29 for 65.5% and an above average 8.8 yards per attempt!).  He ran options.  He accurately hit a few passes to WRs on outward breaking routes.  He stayed in the pocket when he needed to.  He ran the zone reads correctly perhaps all but once.  He seemed to be reading more of the field on his dropbacks.  He showed a willingness to scramble *up the middle* (although he got tackled/tripped before he could go far) instead of just scrambling to his left.  He checked down to a secondary receiver on a play designed to go to the RB which Utah defended well.  He looked the calmest he's looked perhaps all year.

Maynard can still use a little improvement.  A few throws were a bit off.  He completely sailed one pass in the east endzone, and he sailed another pass as Cal was driving to the west endzone.  He did get away with one almost-INT.  On that play, it looks as if the DB just broke on the ball really fast and ended up beating the WR to the ball. 

On another instance, late in the game, Maynard made the wrong decision on a zone read.  The Utah DEs Cal was reading was doing a great job pausing just long enough after the snap to cause Maynard to hand off the ball to Sofele, and then crash down on Sofele.  Noticing this, I think Maynard wanted to catch the DE tending to bite down on the handoff to Sofele, and thus he pulled the ball when he shouldn't have.  This resulted in a pretty awkward run where Maynard was practically stumbling over himself trying to juke the Utah defender. 

I've been pretty critical of Maynard not staying in the pocket and manipulating pocket protection when he needs to.  But this game I saw him stick it out in the pocket on numerous instances.  That's the good.  Now what he can do to add onto this new ability is to also scramble up the middle when he's pressured (and when he can).  He has a huge tendency to scramble to his left - which makes sense since he's a lefty.  But running parallel to the LOS doesn't quite stress the defense in the same manner as a QB who can scramble up the middle.  If a QB has shown a tendency to scramble up the middle, it really forces the pass rush to not rush themselves upfield too quickly and put themselves behind the QB.  Maynard did try to scramble up the middle on one instance but couldn't quite make it out of the pocket before getting tripped out. 

Continue reading this post »

(1)  Story of the Game #1:  The Cal Defense Gives The Team a Chance.  The Cal defense didn't play great the entire night, but for the most part they played well enough to limit USC's effectiveness.  USC's run game wasn't dominant.  USC's pass game was hit and miss.  Barkley (USC's QB) finished the ball 19/35 (54%) and a 5.3 yards per attempt average.  Not good stats.  Cal's defense did a good job containing USC's rushing attack throughout the game, and also getting pressure on Barkley to make him get rid of passes earlier than he wanted.  Cal could have won this game, or at least could have made it more competitive if the offense could get its act together.

(2)  Story of the Game #2:  The Cal Offense Turns the Ball Over Five Times.  Allen (Cal WR #21) fumbles.  Maynard (Cal QB #15) fumbles while getting hit by a defender.  Maynard throws three interceptions.  It's such a cliche to say it, but you can't win games when you turn the ball over so much.  Turnovers means your opponent's offense gets more chances to score points.  Giving the opposing offense more chances to score is not good!   It's not crazy to state that if Cal doesn't have these five turnovers -- or even only has one turnover -- then this is a tight game and a game that Cal even might win. 

(3)  Story of the Game #3:  Cal Shoots Itself in the Foot.   It just seemed like this entire game, Cal was also shooting itself in the foot and committing mindless unforced errors.  Maynard bobbles a snap and has to fall on it for a loss of yards.  Calvin (Cal WR #11) doesn't secure a jet sweep handoff and has to fall on the ball for a loss of yards.  Jones (Cal WR #1) has two easy drops.  Two plays after Allen's almost-a-touchdown reception in the 3rd quarter, he subs himself out because he's winded, McGovern (Cal WR #86) comes in, and McGovern promptly has a brain fart and doesn't block his defender on the subsequent run play which results in that defender tackling Sofele for a loss.  If McGovern doesn't make that mistake, then Sofele (Cal RB #20) easily gets a positive gain (this play is viewable at (6:56 remaining in the 3rd quarter).  The Cal secondary also gets a couple very untimely penalties which gives USC some free first downs.  Specifically, those two pass interference calls were just killer.  They were both very debatable calls -- they weren't clear PIs or clearly horrible calls, but regardless of that fact Cal just can't be gifting 15 yards and a free first down to such a good offense.

Continue reading this post »

(1) Story of the Game #1:  Cal's Defense Gives The Team a Chance.  Cal holds Oregon to 14 points in the first quarter and blanks them in the second quarter.  It looks like this is an upset in the making if only Cal's offense can complete a pass.

(2)  Story of the Game #2:  Major Maynard Letdown.  There are numerous reasons why Cal lost the game, but one of the bigger reasons was very disappointing play by Maynard (Cal QB #15).  Statistically, he was pretty bad.  He had a 50% completion rate, and a below average 5.3 yards per pass attempt.  Realistically, he was very bad.  It was getting to the point that during the game I was actually having Riley flashbacks (former Cal QB #13).  I'm not trying to hammer Maynard, but he just couldn't make the throws.  He couldn't even make the easy throws.  His feet weren't set.  His head wasn't straight.  His balls were WAY off target -- FREQUENTLY.  I'm not sure if it was the pressure of playing on national TV against a ranked team on the road or what, but he just was not on at all.  The coaches gave him chances though.  They kept letting him throw.  They were demonstrating to him that they had confidence in him that he could break out of his cold streak... but he just couldn't do it.

Continue reading this post »

(1)  Close Games Come Down to the Small Things.  This was a pretty close game -- score-wise -- at least.  And when it comes down to close games, every small thing matters.  A dropped pass could mean the difference of a drive surviving and resulting in a score.  One bad block and a run is stuffed putting the offense in a third and long.  One missed sack on the defense can allow the opposing QB to complete a pass down the field.  One penalty can give the other team another set of downs when you thought you just had them go three-n-out.  For the most part, I feel like the loss was mostly due to a large accumulation of small errors here and there. 

The TV broadcast had an interesting stat during the game.  Tedford is like 48-4 (or something like that) when the team wins the turnover battle.  Cal won the turnover battle this game but didn't win the game.  How can this happen?  Those small things.

(2)  Credit to Washington for Holding Cal Out of the Endzone.  Cal had to settle for multiple field goals throughout the game -- three to be exact.  If Cal scores touchdowns on one or two of those drives, Cal might win the game.  Despite Cal being held out of the endzone, some props is due for at least coming away with some points on those drives and to Tavecchio for nailing those field goals. I know field goals aren't the ideal scenario but at least Cal was getting points.

Continue reading this post »

(1)  An unfortunately ugly smashing of a cupcake to make Tedford the winningest head coach in Cal Football history.  I'm glad we won.  That's the most important thing to take away from this game.  Cal is now 3-0 and is sitting pretty to make make bowl eligibility seemingly quite easily.  But will it be easy?  I'm not so sure it will be based on how things are looking right now.  This win was ugly.  And man, it would have been even uglier if Presbyterian was even 1/4th as talented as San Jose State.  This Cal team did not look good.  There's really no other way to say it.  Don't let the score fool you, Cal had plenty going wrong today. 

(2)  The Receiver Drops Must Stop.  I think that there actually *might* have only been three or four drops today.  That's not a lot of drops in the grand scheme of things.  But what is concerning is that those drops were EASY drops.  Those receivers were unguarded.  Those were uncontested catches.  The Bears just dropped 'em.  It was lack of concentration.  It was guys turning their head to look up the field before they caught the ball.  These are the basic fundamentals of football which our guys are messing up.  Ironically, our guys also made some of the tougher passes thrown their way.  Why is it that it seems our guys drop the easy ones and catch the tough ones?  That won't last forever, and it won't fly throughout the season.  In closer games, we're going to need our players to catch those easy passes.  Cal only got away with it this game since we were playing Presbyterian and they were just about as good as your local high school team. 

Continue reading this post »

When you're in culinary school, working nights, and have all day to dissect game film, you watch individual plays a lot.  You watch them over, and over, and over.  You wear out the "instant replay" button on your Tivo.  Certain plays become burned into your mind from seeing them dozens of times. 

One of those plays that is burned into my mind is that fateful pick-6 that Longshore threw against UCLA in 2007. 

Why am I bringing up such horrible painful memories?  Well, since everyone is so joyful from Cal's current 2-0 start in 2011 and is sunshine pumping themselves dry, I thought it'd be a good time to relive that painful pick-6 from 2007 to simmer down the optimism and kill the happiness. We're Cal fans, remember?  Athletic success breeds pessimism.  Pain is a part of our lives... a major part of our lives.  Always expect pain.  The world isn't right when Cal fans are happy.  So let's righten the ship.  Enough with the happiness.  We need pain.

This is self-flagellation.  It's going to be painful.  But no pain no gain, right?  Trust me, I think there is a gain in here somewhere.  I think.  (I hope...)

October 20, 2007
Cal vs. UCLA 

This painful post begins with Cal down 21-23 at the Rose Bowl.  It's a 3rd and 3.  Cal has 1:49 to score a field goal at the minimum.   Cal comes out onto the field with 21 personnel (2 backs, 1 TE, 2 WRs). 

Continue reading this post »

(1)  An ugly win, but an inspiring one.  In past years it seems like when the wheels were starting to fall off on the road, they really fell of fast and furiously.  But against Colorado it seemed like the wheels were starting to fall off and yet the Bears kept it together just enough to keep themselves in the game.  I think this shows the team's resiliency.  They seemed to keep believing that they were still in the game (which of course they always were), and they didn't seem to get too affected by the fact that the momentum late in the game was clearly shifting in Colorado's favor.  If the Bears continue to show the ability to bounce back from errors and 3rd and 25s, then this could be a very exciting team to watch. 

(2)  Cheadle is notifying Galas of when the QB is ready for shotgun snaps.  So here's a little something new which probably has gone unnoticed by most viewers.  Remember against Fresno State we were having tons of difficulty with the shotgun snaps?  The problem there was that the center (Galas) was unable to hear when the QB wanted the ball and would be snapping the ball at the wrong times.  Galas is always looking forward so he can't see behind him to see when the QB (Maynard) is ready to receive the snap.  Now though, Cheadle looks back at the QB on shotgun snaps to see when Maynard is ready.  When Maynard is ready, Cheadle gives Galas a little poke with his left arm and probably says something too -- thus letting Galas know that it's safe to snap the ball.  Looks like Coach Michalczik has recognized the problem and has installed a system to prevent the error.  And what do you know?  As far as I recall, Cal didn't have any premature shotgun snaps this game unlike against Fresno State.

Continue reading this post »

(1)  Maynard -- A Promising Work in Progress.   Maynard sure was exciting to watch.  The guy can run, and he can pass.  I don't think Cal has ever had a QB with Maynard's athleticism in the entire Tedford Era.  But while Maynard was exciting to watch, it didn't come without a few moments of frustration.  It seemed to me, that on some of his shorter passes, that he was lacking the accuracy or timing to hit his WRs in stride ... or at all.  There are a few causes for these short range accuracy problems.  For example, the defensive line could be getting in his passing lane, he could be overgripping the ball and hooking it, his timing was off, or his accuracy was just plain off.  I'm not sure exactly what it was.  It was hard to tell from my seats (and I haven't reviewed the game on film yet either).  On one occasion it clearly looked like he just hooked his pass by overgripping it.  Often, QBs when rushing their throws will shorten up their throwing motion, just grip it and rip it, and slam that ball into that tight window.  But by rushing things they lose their form and the ball doesn't quite go where they want it to. 

Continue reading this post »

With CGB pumping out so many new posts every week, it's easy for things to get lost in the shuffle.  Some people have asked that I somehow create an archive of my analysis posts so they may be easier found at a later date if people wish to re-read them.  Therefore, I created a new page on CGB which links to all my old analysis posts.  The link is below.

http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/pages/hydrotechs-football-analysis

This isn't quite everything I ever wrote film study and frame-by-frame analysis on, but mostly what I consider some of my better work.  

Feel free to re-read and re-live some of Cal's great games and worst losses by re-reading some of these old posts.  I've been told they're fairly entertaining and informative.  I don't think you can find anything else like this for Cal Football on the internet outside of CGB.   I also think you can't really find a much else like this for any other Pac-12 team on the internet aside from TrojanFootballAnalysis.com or FishDuck.com.  

Below are links to all of HydroTech's past Cal Football analyses.

2011 College Football Season

Fresno State vs. Cal - Glory & Gaffe: The Tale of One Play

USC vs. Cal - Fake Jet Sweep

Cal vs. Oregon - The Chip Kelly / Clancy Pendergast Chess Match (Part II)

Utah vs. Cal - Film Study: Check-With-Me Option

Utah vs. Cal - Film Study: The Playside Zone Read

Cal vs. Arizona State - Film Study: Identifying Coverages & Blitzers

Cal vs. Arizona State - Film Study: Creating Pass Rush Lanes & Alleys

2010 College Football Season

Oregon vs. Cal - The Chip Kelly / Clancy Pendergast Chess Match

2009 College Football Season

Cal vs. Arizona State - Playaction and the Domino Effect

USC vs. Cal - The Pre-Snap Chess Match

Oregon vs. Cal - Re-Opening Old Wounds: The Defensive Line Zone Read

Oregon vs. Cal - Re-Opening Old Wounds: A Defensive Stop

Oregon vs. Cal - Re-Opening Old Wounds: Baited & Busted

Oregon vs. Cal - Re-Opening Old Wounds: Passing to Dixon

Oregon vs. Cal - Re-Opening Old Wounds: Passing to Dixon, Again

Oregon vs. Cal - Re-Opening Old Wounds: The Zone Read Playaction

Oregon vs. Cal - Re-Opening Old Wounds: Gregory's Halftime Adjustments

Cal vs. Stanfurd - Analysis of the Empty Set in the 2009 Big Game (Part I)

Cal vs. Stanfurd - Analysis of the Empty Set in the 2009 Big Game (Part II)

2008 College Football Season

Cal vs. Maryland - Cignetti Calls Up a Cool Play

Cal vs. Maryland - What Happened to Cal's Running Game?

Cal vs. Arizona - Cal's Cover Zero Gives Up a Touchdown

Arizona State vs. Cal - Pursuit Angles

Arizona State vs. Cal - Longshore Doing a Peyton Manning?

USC vs. Cal - Predictable Playcalling?

Cal vs. Miami - Emerald Bowl Review (Part I) - Miami Blitzes the A-Gap

Cal vs. Miami - Emerald Bowl Review (Part II) - Mack Gets Beat

Cal vs. Miami - Emerald Bowl Review (Part III) - Morrah Misses a Block

Cal vs. Miami - Emerald Bowl Review (Part IV) - Cal's Zone Blocking Busts a Big One

Cal vs. Miami - Emerald Bowl Review (Part V) - Setting Up the Flea Flicker

Cal vs. Miami - Emerald Bowl Review (Part VI) - Bad Footwork

Cal vs. Miami - Emerald Bowl Review (Part VII) - Blitzing the A-Gap & Fan Notification

Cal vs. Miami - Emerald Bowl Review (Part VIII) - Know Thy Enemy

Cal vs. Miami - Emerald Bowl Review (Part IX) - Zone Blocking Creates a Numerical Advantage

Cal vs. Miami - Emerald Bowl Review (Part X) - Wasting Timeouts

Cal vs. Miami - Emerald Bowl Review (Part XI) - Failing to Execute

Cal vs. Miami - Emerald Bowl Review (Part XII) - Moving Follett Around

2007 College Football Season

Tennessee vs. Cal - Film Study

Cal vs. Oregon - Failed Runningback Pass & Half-Roll Protection

Cal vs. Air Force - Armed Forces Bowl Review (Part I): Run Blocking Problems

Cal vs. Air Force - Armed Forces Bowl Review (Part II): Pass Blocking Problems

Cal vs. Air Force - Armed Forces Bowl Review (Part III): Pass to Forsett at Flanker

Cal vs. Air Force - Armed Forces Bowl Review (Part IV): More Run Blocking Problems

Cal vs. Air Force - Armed Forces Bowl Review (Part V): Touchdown Pass to THA1

Cal vs. Air Force - Armed Forces Bowl Review (Part VI): Looking Off Defenders

Cal vs. Air Force - Armed Forces Bowl Review (Part VII): High-Low Read

Cal vs. Air Force - Armed Forces Bowl Review (Part VIII): Defeating Cover 2, Again

Cal vs. Air Force - Armed Forces Bowl Review (Part IX): Air Force Goes to Man

Cal vs. Air Force - Armed Forces Bowl Review (Part X): Defeating Man Coverage, Again

Cal vs. Air Force - Armed Forces Bowl Review (Part XI): Riley & The Option

Cal vs. Air Force - Armed Forces Bowl Review (Part XII): Final Thoughts

2006 College Football Season

Cal vs. Tennessee - The Zone Read

The Tennessee Debacle: Out-played or Out-coached?
Part I | Part II | Part III | Coda : Audibles and Options

The 2006 Holiday Bowl: A Model of Perfection?
Part I | Part II | Part III

Stereotypical warning from author to readers:  I'm not an expert.  Blah blah blah.  Read and rely on my statements below at your own risk.

---------------------

As a casual football fans, you'll sometimes hear the announcers talking about the "chess match" between a team's offensive coordinator and the opposing team's defensive coordinator.  I'm sure most of us imagine both coaches expertly dissecting the unfolding plays with their eyes, contemplating what the opposing team is doing, looking down onto their offensive or defensive playsheet, and calling some other play in response to what just happened.  The very next down, both teams line up against each other and execute another play.  And another play.  And another play.

To your casual fan, these are just plays, after plays, after plays.  They may not seem all that different than each other.  It may seem like nothing is really going on out there.  In fact, it may seem like there is no "chess match" going on at all.  

Is there a chess match going on?!?!  

Absolutely.  Let me try and illustrate it to you.  

Continue reading this post »

HydroTech:  News Flash!  USC's appeal of its recruiting violations has been denied by the NCAA!  Hooray!  Good triumphs over evil!

Continue reading this post »

Continuing on with our interview of MrBearister, the former Cal Hydrotechnican and Special Teams Assistant.  In case you missed our previous segments, you may read them here: Part I, and Part II. 

***

You say that you got all the materials that the players got.  Does that mean you got both the offensive and defensive playbooks?  So you are well-versed in the offensive and defensive terminology and language?

I got my hands on whatever material I could both offensive and defensive playbooks, current and from years prior. I was well versed in all aspects of terminology because quite frankly, if you don’t know it, you wouldn’t understand what’s going on. Almost like a foreign language that changes with every team and coach, you would hear coaches talk about the defense with phrases like "lining up in a 50 front with the Will ‘green dogging’ and the backside corner playing cloud". I also learned all the play-calling terminology. If you ever listen to an inside the NFL huddle, where you hear the QB spout off a bunch of words that sound like gibberish, a Cal play call is just as long and perplexing. If there is one thing to complement about Coach Tedford’s offense, it’s that the pro-style offense is identical all the way to the play calling.

Continue reading this post »

Continuing on with our interview of MrBearister, the former Cal Hydrotechnican and Special Teams Assistant.  In case you missed our previous segment of this interview, you may read Part I here. 

***

Why is the new punt formation called the "shield of death"?  Is there a specific story which brought about this name?

The less catchy name for the new punt formation, at least the way we identified it was a spread punt formation. Most fans don’t realize that just like offense and defense, special teams have various formations with individual strengths and weaknesses.  

The spread formation was coined the “Shield of Death” because of its risk. Unlike a traditional punt formation that has at least 5 blockers on the line of scrimmage including the center, plus two or three blockers in the backfield, the SOD just has 3 backfield blockers. Those 3 blockers are the ONLY line of defense usually, so they must be stout. (Just take a look back at the 2009 Cal –Utah bowl game, Utah had 2 OL and a DT).  The “Shield” is created by these 3 blockers walling off any threat. If these blockers get beat or miscount who is coming to block a punt, the odds are much better for a blocked punt.  

The premise behind this risky thinking is that the spread of SOD formation allows for the coverage unit to have more room to get down field and forces the punt return team to spread out as well, discouraging any cleaver punt return schemes, like reverses or fakes. The SOD also increases the initial number of coverage players who immediately release down field. The traditional punt team usually has only 2 “gunners”, where as SOD can have as many as 7. The punter in an SOD must have a quick snap to kick time, because the “Shield “ usually will not hold up as long as a traditional tight punt formation.

The SOD creates a lot of problems for opponents because the punt return team has to either gamble and go for a block by sending more defenders at the Shield, or attempt to set up a return, knowing that the punt team’s coverage unit has more space to cover more lanes and evade the punt return team’s blocking unit.

Continue reading this post »

Here at the California Golden Blogs, we try to provide our readers with interesting interviews from all aspects of a sports program.  We've brought you interviews with current and former players of many sports.  We've brought you interviews with coaches.  And now we're starting to bring you interviews with some of the men and women who help run these sports programs.

In this next segment, the CGB is going to take you even deeper into the Cal Football program and give you an unparalleled look behind the closed doors of Cal Football.  Here and now, we present to you an interview with not only another former Cal Football Hydro Technician, but also a person who was a former Special Teams Assistant.

This man goes by the name of "MrBearister" on CGB.

Without further ado, please welcome MrBearister to the stage.

How did you get involved in Cal Football? What was the process advancing from hydrotech to special teams assistant? Is this a career path to pursue football operations?

I first got involved with Cal Football as a Hydration Technician in the end of the 2006 season. My first day was winter workouts as players were coming off Christmas break and actually the first day a tree sitter climbed up the Oak Groove. I played football in high school and considered playing at smaller colleges, but choose Cal instead and always wanted to be involved with football. After working for two years almost exclusively with the offensive line as an HT, I wanted to get more involved in football in general. I knew that the chances of someone with no collegiate football experience would have very little to offer, but I was persistent. I scoured the Bay Area high schools and colleges with resumes and references and offered to help the program in anyway I could. Luck would have it that Cal needed a special teams assistant and thanks to the Cal staff’s watchful eye, Coach Tedford saw my resume and I got an interview. The rest was up to me.

Continue reading this post »