SB Nation User Blog: jerdogg1

'Sota's QB Situation: can we find a happy place?

jerdogg1 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:44:06 -0000

To bench or not to bench... THAT is the question
Whether tis nobler on the field to suffer
The sacks and throw-aways of outrageous fortune
Or to throw with your arm into a sea of troubles
And by opposing them, end them?

Ouch, that hurt my head.

HOLY CRIPES, the blogosphere has been abuzz today with Adam Weber talk... play him, bench him, lynch him, buy him a Coke.

It all started with this...

The Daily Gopher's "A desperate plea for Gopher fans to take a reasoned approach to the QB situation."

"The notion that Adam Weber is terrible or unwatchable or that another QB on the roster gives us a better chance to win is 100% wrong. Adam Weber has been guilty of being horribly inconsistent, but the accusations and charges that he is unwatchable or has no business in a Gopher uniform are unfair and misguided."

It is a very well thought out post, and brings up some good points. I encourage you to read it.

This was followed up by Gopher Football Blog's "Why Adam Weber should not be the starting quarterback by default."

"I love The Daily Gopher blog. Love it. Read it everyday, and link to it often. The guys on there are very intelligent, write well, are as passionate about the Gophers as any fans you will ever meet, and they have probably forgotten more about Gopher sports than I'll ever know. This is especially true about one of their founders, and head writer, Gopher Nation. GN is a quality human being, loves the Gophers, and only wants to see the football program succeed. But a post he wrote today over on TDG about Adam Weber makes me so incredibly frustrated, I can hardly stand it. In fact, I'm going to write a point/counterpoint style post about it because I just cannot believe someone as smart and passionate as him believes what he wrote about Adam Weber. I just can't."

A well thought out post, countering some of TDG's points. I encourage you to read it as well.

Both of these fine men, who I happen to know personally, are passionate Gopher fans, and because I would like to remain friends with both of them, I am going to toe the company line: I agree with both of them...

... to a point.

Graham also gave his two cents on why Weber should be benched...

...which was followed by Weber throwing for 416 yards and 5 TD's against MSU.

Hey Graham, do you think you could call for Weber's benching again before the Iowa game?

This has been a very hot topic lately in Gopher Nation, or Gopherland, or Gold Country... whatever we are calling it this week. So I'm going to attempt to find a happy place, somewhere squarely in the middle... you know, like Switzerland.

Has Adam Weber played poorly enough to be benched?

The easy answer is yes. As I pointed out yesterday over at Gopher Football Blog, Adam Weber...

...has thrown more TD passes than INT's only twice this season, (NW, MSU)...
...has thrown more INT's than TD's four times (Cal, Purdue, PSU, OSU)...
...has had two games where he threw as many INT's as TD's (Syracuse, Wisky)...
...and has thrown more INT's than TD's for the year (13 INT's, 12 TD's)?

Unfortunately the easy answer isn't always the right answer. (Just ask the four law students who write around here.) If you want to answer the question of whether or not he's played poorly enough to be benched and then move on, then the answer is yes, he has... now enjoy your perogies.

But the more in-depth answer is... well, kinda. Adam Weber has the ability to put up 400 yards and 5 TD's in a game. We know this because he did that exact thing against Michigan State. Weber was given time, he showed poise, and he found open receivers. He put up a MONSTER game. No doubt. The problem is that Weber usually isn't given time, he usually doesn't show poise, and he quite often has trouble finding open receivers.

He certainly has the ability to be the starting QB of the Minnesota Gophers... but the circumstances surrounding him may not make him the best option.

Has MarQueis Gray played well enough to be named the starter?

No chance, no way, no how. If Weber has played poorly enough to get benched is one issue, and if it is the case, then Gray is your starter to be sure. But based on the merits of his in-game performance so far, MarQueis has not earned the job.

And this might be the bigger issue. You don't just bench a 3 year starter for a freshman QB in the Big Ten unless you have seen flashes of absolute greatness from that freshman. We have seen some very good things from MarQueis in streaks, but we haven't seen greatness.

Looking at resumes alone, Weber has to be your starter. Now, again, that's the easy answer. Is it the right one? In this case... well, kinda.

How does it feel to sit on a fence?

Not bad actually, thank you for asking. I told you... Switzerland.

So far I've said Adam Weber hasn't quite played poorly enough to be benched, and MarQueis Gray hasn't quite played well enough to earn the job, and as you can probably tell, I struggle with this. The question is always going

to come down to this:

Which QB gives your squad the best chance to win?

Unfortunately for Minnesota the answer might be nobody. So maybe the better question is: which QB gives your squad the best chance of not completely blowing the game for them?

And here is the most Swiss answer possible: BOTH.

Look, you can't completely bench Adam Weber (and by the way, I know that Jeff at Gopher Football Blog wasn't advocating a complete benching), and you can't just hand the ball the MarQueis if he hasn't earned it. We don't know what has gone on in practice, granted. But what we do know is that MarQueis Gray has provided a nice change of pace for the Gopher offense at times... but in my opinion that change of pace has not been used often enough, or in the right way.

With Adam Weber when it rains, it pours. His mistakes tend to get compounded by more mistakes. The dude is fragile, and when he gets down he has trouble pulling himself out. This is when it would be nice to have a back-up with some game experience. But with two games left in the season, Brewster hasn't given Gray that kind of experience... I have a huge problem with this, but I digress.

What needs to happen is that Adam Weber should be the starter, but MarQueis Gray should be given the opportunity to run the offense every 2nd or 3rd series, FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES. Let him make his own bed, and make him lie in it. No more of this Weber throws incomplete on first down, Gray comes in and runs a draw on second down, and Weber is left with 3rd and long... that isn't working.

By taking this approach you do two VERY important things:

1. You take some of the pressure off of an Adam Weber who already feels the weight of the world on his shoulders after losing Eric Decker. You give him an opportunity to step back and watch the offense happen, without having to be a part of it. He sees the game from a completely different perspective and, hopefully, things begin to click.

2. You give Gray the opportunity to prove whether or not he's ready or getting ready. You give him the chance to get used to the speed of the game, to read defenses, and to understand more than the 5 or 6 plays that he's been a part of so far this season. Additionally, you are building for the future by doing this.

So yes, I'd like to have my cake, and yes, I would also like to eat it. But let's be honest, if you had cake, why would you NOT want to eat it?

Who in the heck was that?

jerdogg1 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:27:00 -0000

I was at The Bank (TCF Bank Stadium) on Saturday evening for a Halloween Gopher match-up with the Michigan State Spartans. I was sitting in the top row of the upper deck (as a side note, still great seats). I was wearing layers of warm clothing. I was wearing a Gophers stocking cap (a tuque for you Canadians). I was surrounded by other Gopher fans, and I was two sections away from a large group of Michigan State fans.

As I walked out of The Bank the scoreboard read Minnesota 42, Michigan State 34. I saw all of these things with my very own eyes.

I also saw Adam Weber throwing to 6 different receivers. I saw Nick Tow-Arnett lead the team in receptions. I saw Da'Jon McKnight emerge as a Gopher receiver. I saw the Gophers get yellow-flagged 17 times, and I saw those penalties cost them 157 yards. Again, I saw all of these things with my very own eyes, so I have to believe that they happened.

Graham made a compelling case for benching Weber...

I talked last week about optimism leaving Gopher Nation after Decker went down...

But there is something else that I saw with my own eyes that I am just not sure I believe...

Adam Weber: 19 for 31, 416 yards, 5 TD's, 1 INT.

THAT. JUST. HAPPENED.

And do you know what that does? That blows my mind.

On a Halloween Night at The Bank, Adam Weber blew my mind. I'm not so sure that that wasn't somebody else masquerading as Adam Weber on Halloween, because the dude who threw for over 400 yards and 5 touchdowns was not the same guy we have seen lead our offense for the past five games or so.

Do you realize...

... Adam Weber threw for 129 more yards in this single game than he did in his last 3 games COMBINED?

... Weber threw as many TD's against MSU (5) as he did against the Gophers previous SIX opponents?

... Weber had the game of his life WITHOUT Eric Decker?

But do you also realize...

... Weber has 12 total TD's this season, and 10 of them have come in just 3 games: Cal (3), NWestern (2), and Michigan State (5)?

... Saturday's game was Weber's only game this season over 300 yards?

... Weber has thrown an INT in 6 of 7 games this season... his only non-INT game was against Air Force, where he also did not throw a TD?

So again, I have no idea who that guy was wearing Weber's jersey on Saturday, but whoever he was, I'm glad he was there.

That sound you hear...

jerdogg1 — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:06:38 -0000

... is whatever wind was left in the collective sails of Golden Gopher football fans quickly diminishing.

From Marcus Fuller at the St Paul Pioneer Press:

"University of Minnesota standout wide receiver Eric Decker has a sprained left arch in his foot that might need surgery and will miss the rest of the regular season, Gophers coach Tim Brewster said today.

It's still possible Decker would be available if the Gophers make it to a bowl game. They are 4-4 (2-3 in the Big Ten) and need two more wins to be bowl eligible.

Decker, a senior, leads the Gophers in receiving with 50 catches for 758 yards and 5 touchdowns. Earlier this week, he was announced as one of 10 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award given to the nation's top receiver."

Two words come to mind...

OUCH!

And being as this is a family progrum, the other I can't repeat.

Keeping up with the Elliotts

jerdogg1 — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:31:43 -0000

Something occurred to me while looking ahead to the Gophers game against Purdue.

Joey Elliott (QB Purdue) = Joe Elliott (Lead Singer Def Leppard)?

Here's a look at the facts. You be the judge.

Both have great hair...

Both can direct traffic...

And both have great "singers face"...

Coincidence? Or are they the same person?

Tripping over oneself

jerdogg1 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:43:58 -0000

The title of this post could be a description of one of two things. The first could be the Gopher football team against Wisconsin. Penalties, turnovers, penalties, lack of creativity... just get out of your own way already!

Or, it could be a description of me after the Gophers loss to Wisconsin on Saturday.

Just for fun, let's pretend it's both.

Bama Hawkeye thinks this crap is funny. It's not.

Graham has 5 Questions, but none of them involve Minnesota... you should read it anyway.

Hilary breaks down Wisky's win. She almost had a heart attack... she shouldn't have been so nervous. The Gophers are a great shot when aiming at their own feet.

I'll have a tall Schell's please.

After looking at a house Saturday morning and subsequently going to our realtor's office to write up and offer on it, my wife and I walk into a local establishment with the score tied at 10, toward the beginning of the second quarter.

We started walking toward one end of the place when I suddenly said to my wife "We can't sit here!" As I turn around abruptly and walk to the other end of the establishment. "What was wrong with over there?" "Iowa fans... they're everywhere." Someday she'll learn.

I settle in to watch the game and order a beer. During the time that I would be watching this game I would not see MarQueis Gray touch the ball one single time.

I watch the Gophers put together a 12 play, 81 yard drive that only ends in a FG, thanks to Chris Bunders and a chop block on 1st and goal from the 1-yard line.

I finish my first beer, and being as I hadn't eaten anything, I was feeling the beginning effects (perma-smile, warm cheeks, etc).

Sure, why not... I'll have another tall one.

I still haven't had anything to eat at this point, but my beer is nearly empty, and the waitress is offering, and who am I to turn down a beer? As I sip on the sweet nectar of my second Schell's (I thought it was the Amber, but now I'm questioning myself... maybe it was the Octoberfest?) I am still steaming at the penalty. It's 13-10, but it should be 17-10. Penalties have been an issue for the Gophers most of this year, but this particular penalty is a glaring example of how untimely they have been.

The first half finishes with the Gophers getting the ball back deep in their own territory... however, they have 1:13 to play, 2 timeouts, and the best receiver in the Big Ten on their team. Surely they will push the ball down.... oh, wait... I guess maybe they'll just run the clock out and GO INTO THE LOCKER ROOM HAVING NOT USED TWO TIMEOUTS!!!!

WHAT THE DEUCE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

At this point I'm not a happy dude. Not at all. Worst of all, the people around me clearly knew that I wasn't a happy dude. The Gopher fans sitting next to us, who happened to have 3 children, all left at halftime. They may have left, at least partly, because I was swearing out loud at the TV... but I cannot confirm nor deny their reason for leaving. I spend halftime not eating anything, stewing over what just happened and the fact that it could be 24-10 right now, trying to be as cordial as possible to my mom, my wife, my sister and my sister's friends.

The 3rd quarter starts, and I've calmed down, but only slightly. I feel better about things as Wisconsin gifts Minnesota the ball on their first drive of the 2nd half, but my mood drops again as the Gophers give the ball back to Wisconsin.

Excuse me, FLO? Another barley pop please.

Schell's #3 and all is not well in Jerdogg-land. At this point I realize that I'm sitting at a table with my wife and my mom... and I'm on the verge of turning into a complete ass. So I resolve to get some food in my stomach, to slow down my beer intake, and to stop swearing out-loud.

With their new-found possession of the ball, Wisconsin does what Wisconsin does best... John Clay rushes for 52 yards on 6 carries during a 9 play, 3 minute and 39 second drive for Wisconsin. This drive has shades of Michigan's opening drive at the Metrodome back in 2006 when Mike Hart ran for 48 yards on 7 carries for the drive. Almost every run on that drive was left. They took the opening drive to assert their will on the Gophers, and that's exactly what Wisconsin did on this drive. 17-13 Wisconsin leads.

Wisconsin continues to assert their running game as they open the 4th quarter finishing a drive that they started in the 3rd quarter. On this drive Clay has 9 rushes for 67 yards during a 13 play, 85 yard TD drive for the Badgers...

I lose track... but I end up drinking 2 more beers, eating a walleye sandwich, and swearing only slightly less, throughout the rest of the game.

The Gophers go 3 & out on their next drive (and you can imagine how happy this makes me), followed by a Wisconsin drive where Bret Bielema must have decided he was tired of watching John Clay make it look easy, so he gives the ball to Zach Brown... who gives the ball to Marcus Sherels for an 88 yard fumble return for a TD. At this point I am ecstatic! Thanks to the defense (big surprise) I'm thinking we've got a chance at this thing. The fact that I have this thought after I had watched the previous 2 quarters should give you a pretty good idea of how "under-the-influence" I am at this point.

Allegedly, Minnesota and Wisconsin each ended up scoring another touchdown in this game and somehow the Gophers actually ended up scoring on offense, which I can't even explain.

My wife has to drive home and I'm positive my wife's pride in my performance was only slightly overshadowed by how proud my mom must have been of me.

Actually, I'm not sure who had a worse performance on Saturday, me in front of my wife and mom, or the Gophers in front of the crowd at The Bank. Both of us had epically bad second half performances, both of us had false hopes that we had a chance to win the game... the only difference is that I actually showed some aggression and creativity in the 2nd half.

Counterpoint: Why Minnesota Will Beat Northwestern

jerdogg1 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:49:37 -0000

Do you know who will win? Make sure to go back and submit your picks for Week 4 of the Obligatory Predictions Contest. Weekly winners get a chance to write 500 words on the site. NEW this year is our season long competition - win the whole damn thing and we send you something amazing.

Graham did an admirable job laying out Why Northwestern Will Beat Minnesota... but I think he's just trying to get Gopher fans fired up. I happen to think that he has a soft spot in his heart for the Gophers and he's doing his best to talk himself out of it.

Here's my non-barrister-esque attempt to respond to his points.

Mike Kafka is leading the NCAA in pass completion percentage and can gallop like a horse. He has astonishing potential.

True, true. True. But who cares? NWestern hasn't played a defense like Minnesota. Kafka absolutely destroyed Minnesota last year, and I get that, but this is a completely different defense than last year. The line-backing group is one of the best in the Big Ten and the defense continues to show the ability to make in-game adjustments to whatever they are facing from the opposing team... which is good because NWestern is schizophrenic. Kafka was unreal against Syracuse, but he was average against something called Towson (15/20 192 yards, 6 yards rushing) and Eastern Michigan (14/24 158 yards, 24 yards rushing).

All the injured NW linebackers and cornerbacks will return to play against the Gophers, meaning NW will feature a fully healthy defense for the first time this year. Plus, the Wildcats return their top running back, who didn't play against Syracuse because of injury.

NWestern's defense does make me a bit nervous, but mostly because the Gopher offense has not shown anything of substance as a threat this year. Having said that, injured players alone cannot account for what Paulus did to NWestern's defense, and it's not like he was spreading the ball around that much... 11 of his 24 completions and 209 of his346 yards were to Mike Williams... those are very Weber-to-Decker-like numbers.

Adam Weber and Minnesota are being lauded for their effort in a two touchdown loss to Cal, while everyone conveniently forgets they barely survived Syracuse and Air Force.

It is convenient that people aren't mentioning that we barely survived against Syracuse and Air Force, and that's fair. But it's also convenient that the very reason we DID survive those games was because of our defense, who...

...is unexceptional, picking off one ball in three games and failing to generate a pass rush on Paulus or Riley of Cal.

I'll give you that our defense wasn't great against Cal's passing offense (which is also convenient considering we did, at least, a serviceable job of slowing down their rushing offense), but Syracuse had only 167 yards in the air, and only 62 yards of TOTAL offense after halftime (including OT). Also, while the Gophers only have 1 INT, they also have 3 fumble recoveries.

Vegas says Northwestern is favored. And they gamble for a living. Which means they aren't homers who get fooled by an injury plagued miracle loss to an improving Syracuse team.

False, at least as of this morning, when Minnesota is favored by one. The spread has swung the other way, DESPITE the fact that NWestern has all of these players coming back from injury. And what does this tell us? Absolutely nothing. Vegas does gamble for a living which means they gamble to make money... and minimize risk. They set the point spreads so that an equal amount of action is bet on both sides of the line. Additionally it's generally accepted that a home field advantage is worth 3 points... so even when NWester WAS favored by 2, it still didn't mean much. The point spread is a wash here.

The Minnesota offense is averaging 21 points per game, has no running attack to speak of, and features a quarterback who takes a sack or gives the ball to the other team when he feels an ounce of pressure. They statistically have the worst offense in the Big Ten, but I realize there was no true cupcake on the Gopher schedule so far, so it's a skewed statistic.

All true, and I will secede this point to you. But Weber is still learning a new offense and has gotten better each game.

The offense subsists on the occasional circus catch by Decker and little else.

With all due respect, Decker has only had one circus catch this season.

Weber, a veteran leader, has regressed accuracy wise and threw 3 picks in the span of 12 minutes against Cal.

Again, with all due respect, Weber threw 3 picks in the span of 7 1/2 minutes, not 12. But seriously, all of those interceptions were thrown at the end of the game when he was absolutely trying to force something to happen for this offense... something he did not do during the prior 3 1/2 quarters of this game. Additionally he is completing 58% of his passes this year, while completing 62% last year, so I'm not prepared to call this a real regression unless the trend continues.

So why all of a sudden do 70% of you believe they're going to snap out of this offensive funk?

I don't know that anyone is saying that they are going to snap out of their offensive funk. Saying that the Gophers will win is not the same as saying they will snap out of their offensive funk. 70% are just saying they are going to win. The Gophers won two games almost solely because of their defense, and they stayed in the Cal game solely because of their defense. I am not ready to say they are going to snap out of their offensive funk... but that doesn't mean I think they will lose the game either.

Is Minny close to losing some nicknames?

jerdogg1 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:10:39 -0000

People tend to mock what they do not understand, and no place in the sporting world is this more true than right here in the land of 10,000 lakes. And with no team is this more true than with my beloved Gopher football team.

To the average sports fan in Minneapolis, Gopher football doesn't matter. Around here it's pretty much Vikings... and then everything else. If the Twins are playing well, we'll pay attention, same for the T'Wolves. The Wild have a very loyal and passionate fan base as well, but the Vikings still rule this town. Gopher football hasn't mattered for a long time.

The Bank (TCF Bank Stadium) has changed some of that as the University campus has been revived on football game days, but, as a whole, there is still an apathetic attitude toward Gopher football. I have friends who are huge sports fans, and specifically huge football fans, and yet, they don't watch Gopher football games unless there is nothing else on TV. These same friends look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I care more about the Gophers than the Vikings.

These are the types of people who don't watch Gopher football games, and maybe just catch the highlights on the 10 o'clock news, but they will refer to the team as the "Goofers." People who don't pay attention to the program will refer Coach Tim Brewster as "Punky."

To some, losing this apathetic attitude by local sports fans, who are already huge Vikings fans, is almost the litmus test for Gopher football success. While I don't subscribe to that feeling, and choose to believe that success on the field is the real litmus test (crazy, I know), this still got me to thinking: Are the Gophers close to getting over the apathy hump? Are they close to losing these nicknames with the local sports fan?

The Rivalry Esq's preseason Closing Argument on Minnesota.

A breakdown of Minnesota's passing game... breakdowns... in 2008.

Graham puts Adam Weber under the microscope.

Goofers:

Look, I don't know what kind of nicknames other schools have for the Gophers around the Big Ten, but if someone wants to make fun of the Gopher football program, you would think they would come up with something a bit more clever than Goofers. Bit I digress.

This is a nickname that was heaped upon my squad the 2007 football season, otherwise known as 1-11. The Gophers were nothing short of hapless during that season. In fact, they were more hapless than they had ever been in the history of the program. This lead the people that already had apathy, or even disdain, toward the program to start calling them the Goofers... great work.

Last year the Gophers started out 7-1 and the Goofer moniker seemed to have been retired... before dropping their last 5 games of the season, including the Insight Bowl. (cue "Send in the Clowns" by Frank Sinatra) Welcome back Goofers.

With a new stadium, a more mature group of players and a new group of coordinators, the Gophers entered 2009 prepared to "Pound the Rock!!!" Apparently our offensive line didn't get the memo. In any case, the Gophers beat an improved Syracuse team lead by Greg Paulus (Did you know that he went to Duke? Yeah, he played PG for Coach K... how about that?), and the scrappy Air Force triple-option to go 2-0 against two of the more difficult non-conference foes that the Gophers have faced in years.

As their weak non-conference schedule was one of the biggest knocks against the program in the past, would this tougher schedule finally relieve the Gophers of their goofy nickname?

Enter Cal. A team that nobody gave the Gophers a chance to beat. And while the Gophers did not beat Cal, and while we are not satisfied with moral victories, the Gophers did put up a fight against a very legitimate Top 10 ranked team.

This squad has a defense that appears to be prepared to roll with the best offenses in the country, and an offense that, while it hasn't been spectacular,at least has a guy like Eric Decker that should have the ability to get any red-blooded American male pumped up about football... even if that guy happens to be a Vikings fan from Minnesota.

"Punky" Brewster:

This is actually a mildly entertaining nickname and pretty creative to boot. It also unfortunately somehow fits Coach Brewster, or at least, in my opinion, it did during the first year of Brewster's tenure. In the beginning the Coach had a tendency to let his words speak for his program, in spite of what his program was actually saying about itself on the field.

Coach Brewster is a bit quirky, a bit excitable, and a bit of a salesman. In and of themselves these aren't bad qualities. Mixed together in the same bowl they tend to bring strong reactions from people... both good and bad. He has uttered such phrases as "get'cher dad-gum chili hot," the aforementioned "pound the rock," and even "a pretty darn good impressive display."

Fortunately Coach Brewster's calling card when he came to Minnesota wasn't his ability to coin phrases, but his ability to recruit great players. While he hasn't always looked like a genius in press conferences, he has looked pretty impressive on the recruiting trail landing a top 25 recruiting class in his first full year on the job.

Despite the fact that a lot of people liked to bash the Gopher football program for it's poor non-conference schedule in the past, there were also a lot of people who found fault with Coach Brewster's desire to schedule a more difficult non-conference schedule in the future. But with a 2-1 start to the season against tougher non-conference foes, and the loss being a competitive match against a Top 10 program, Coach Brewster's team looks much more prepared to jump into the conference schedule, and perhaps he won't look quite so punky when the season shakes out.

So what are your thoughts? Is Minnesota on the verge of becoming a respectable program in the Big Ten?

Poll

Is Minnesota doing a good job of working toward becoming a respectable Big Ten program?

Yes, they are very close.

30 votes

Yes, but it will still take a few years.

69 votes

No.

40 votes

139 votes | Poll has closed

An interview with Cal blogger/podcaster Ken Crawford

jerdogg1 — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:11:11 -0000

More photos » by Tony Avelar - AP

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Over at the Gopher Football Blog we interviewed the author of Excuse Me For My Voice, Ken Crawford, for our weekly podcast. Ken's blog is a Cal football specific blog following the Bears and, obviously, still reveling in the memory of "The Play."

The interview was conducted by my buddy and counterpart at the blog, Jeff. Here is a recap of the interview which you can also listen to at the Gopher Football blog site.

Gopher Football Blog: Explain to us first what the heck the name of your blog means?

Ken Crawford: It goes back to the most famous play in Cal Bear history, "The Play" as we call it. In the call, not long after the touchdown is scored, the video announcer, Joe Starkey, busts through and his voice has completely destroyed itself and he is pretty much inaudible when he yells "EXCUSE ME FOR MY VOICE!!!" And then continues on. A Cal fan will have listened to that audio enough times that they would know that right off the bat.

GFB: That’s a cool story. How did you become a Cal Bear fan and how long have you been doing the blog?

KC: I’m a Cal Bear fan from birth, my dad is Berkley alum. He raised me as a good Cal alum. I got it from the cradle, so to speak. I’ve been blogging in various different forms since 2003 or 2004, but I didn’t start really doing Cal stuff until, I think it was, the 2005 season. By the time 2007 rolled around I actually had enough of a following that I actually started a separate Cal blog as opposed to discussing other topics, and that’s when Excuse me for my Voice got started.

GFB: It’s a great blog, we were checking that out this week in preparation for the interview. Is it true you record the podcast on the way home from the games?

KC: I sure do. In the car, if it’s a game that I travel to by car. I live a couple of hours away from Berkley, so it gives me plenty of time to give my thoughts. In fact, occasionally you will hear a small child’s voice. I do my best to edit it out, but once in awhile you will hear one of the kids from the backseat giving their thoughts.

GFB: Well you’re grooming future Bear fans! They and you both have a lot to be excited about this year. You started just outside the Top 10, you’re 8^th now. What is this team doing? You’ve had high expectations before and haven’t always lived up to them, what is this team doing differently?

KC: We’ve done this before, so let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Both of the opponents that we’ve played so far appear to be very week. Maryland needed overtime to beat a I-AA opponent last week. A big part of Cal’s on the field success so far is that they haven’t had that strong of an opponent, so we’ll see how good they are when they face at team as good as the Gophers, or better. But the reason they were ranked so high is because they had so many players coming back. 8 on defense and I think 8 on offense as well. And players who are Heisman candidate potential type of guys, like Jahvid Best and returning QB who is getting better in Kevin Riley. They’re in that right place to be that 2nd team in the Pac 10, and if you look historically, the second team in the Pac 10 is traditionally a top 10 team when the season starts.

GFB: You mentioned Jahvid Best, he’s certainly making a name for himself. He’s had two monster games so far, averaging 10 yard per carry. What can Gopher fans expect to see from him on Saturday?

KC: Well, he’s fast. That’s his trademark. He’s a very quick accelerator as well. There’s some guys that are fast, but they can’t get out of breaks real quickly or can’t keep their speed to make adjustments. He’s very nimble on his feet and fast even when he’s making cuts. The key to Best is to get him bottled up, because he’s not a power runner. If you let him get into the open field he is very dangerous. Usually what happens is he gets enough space through the line and then he explodes into a long run.

Make sure to go back and submit your picks for Week 3 of the Obligatory Predictions Contest. Weekly winners get a chance to write 500 words on the site. NEW this year is our season long competition - win the whole damn thing and we send you something amazing.

GFB: This isn’t a top 10 team just because of Best. What else are the Bears looking to do offensively?

KC: Offensively they like to spread things around. For Coach Tedford balance is key. He’s actually thought of as a QB’s kind of guy. He insists on that balance of having a good running game. He runs a West Coast offense with lots of options, 3-4 reads in progression, passes to WR’s, TE’s and backs, uses a lot of motion. His playbook is supposedly 140 plays, so he really lives on diversity. I think what you’ll see out of the Bears is that when they win it’s because they’re successful at keeping defenses very honest by throwing a lot of different looks at them.

GFB: Riley has been accurate so far, but hasn’t had to throw a ton. Do you worry that it’s been so run heavy so far?

KC: That’s definitely the case, in fact, one of the questions at the weekly press conference was why the back-ups didn’t get any throwing opportunities even though they went into the game and the answer was "well, we’re already up by 50 points, we’re going to get criticized as it is for potentially running up the score, I can’t have them launching the ball downfield." So that’s definitely true, by halftime they are already just pounding the ball away. There’s question marks left with Riley, but nothing that we’ve seen so far suggests that he’s not capable of living up to the hype.

GFB: What year is Riley? And where does he fit in with theother QB’s that Tedford has coached (Aaron Rodgers, Kyle Boller)?

KC: He’s a Junior, and if he delivers this year, he’s a first or second rounder after his senior year. I doubt he’d be considered a first rounder after this year, especially considering how many other good QB’s there are graduating this year. McCoy, Bradford, Tebow.

GFB: Defensively, Syd’quan Thompson is an All-American CB, Eric Decker is an All-American candidate at WR, do you see those guys going 1-on-1 all game, or how do you think Cal will defend Decker?

KC: Most definitely they will but Syd on his side of the field. But Cal is more of a zone defense than a man defense so Syd is going to get his help with Decker. From what I’ve seen on film so far they’re not going to forget about Decker in the backfield. That match-up will exist, but because Cal likes to play a lot of over/under zones, it won’t be that exclusive.

GFB: What have you seen from the Gophers so far and what do you think the Cal Bears see as they walk into a new stadium on Saturday?

KC: Having faced the Gophers a couple of years ago in 2006, the team (Gophers) is a lot more diverse than it was back then. That team was a run-first kind of team, and when that didn’t work, run again. The Bears were able to shut that down pretty effectively. This team looks much more balanced and much more dangerous. I think for the Bears the key is going to be much more to shut down the passing game, whereas in the past slowing down the run was probably sufficient.

GFB: It’s a 9am west coast kick-off time, and an early start time was a problem for Cal last year in Maryland. Do you see that being an issue again?

KC: I think much too much was made of the time difference last year. The bigger issue was that the team flew out on Friday and they weren’t able to do their walk-thru practice until 7pm. So it was just kind of a bang, bang, bang kind of a day. They arrive at 6pm, they practice, the go to bed… no time to slow down, no time to really even think. So Tedford switched things up this year, and the Bears are already in Minneapolis, so the time change shouldn’t be an issue this time. The other thing that got the Bears in Maryland was the heat and humidity. Coming from the West Coast we just don’t get humidity. It was 95 degrees and 80% humidity when the Bears played in Maryland last year and we aren’t expecting that in Minnesota.

GFB: On the road, Cal hasn’t won a non-conference game against a BCS conference opponent since 2003, but the Pac10 is the most aggressive conference as far as traveling to play people. Do you think it’s a fair criticism against Cal that they have struggled on the road?

KC: It’s not just the non-conference games that have been hard for them. Last year they were undefeated at home, and 1-4 on the road. The year before that they lost 2 at home, and were 2-3 on the road. There’s no doubt that the road has been tough on the Bears the last couple of years. With the non-conference schedule, I would agree, there’s only been 3 (non conference BCS road) games since 2003. In fact, in the Tedford reign there have only been 5, and they are 2-3 in those games. One of those losses was against a very tough Tennessee team, and another was against Kansas State when they were doing very well. So it’s a little tough to look at that record, but there is no doubt that this team has struggled on the road.

GFB: In the Pac 10 USC has dominated, but is this the year that somebody finally gets USC and wins the Pac 10, and can Cal be that team.

KC: I sure hope so. USC is one of those teams that just has so much talent… maybe Florida can compete on a talent level year after year, but they are always a top 5 recruiting class, and usually 1 or 2. When they lose their entire team to the NFL, for most teams that is a disaster, but for them, they’ve got a whole new crop. They’re never a team that you can count out. As much as I think that Cal has a shot at beating them this year, it would be very arrogant to suggest that this is the year.

GFB: What is the key to victory for the Bears this Saturday and what is your prediction?

KC: I think the key will be Kevin Riley coming out of the tunnel fast and throwing the ball well. Reading the Gopher defense well and get the offensive balance early. There’s no way the Gophers are going to lose this game if the Bears don’t beat them through the air. If that happens I’m pretty confident that the Bear defense is going to keep the Gophers enough in check that, with the offense firing on all cylinders, they should win.

GFB: Worst of luck to you this Saturday, but best of luck during the Pac 10 season. Thanks for joining us.

KC: Thank you.

How does the Big Ten rank?

jerdogg1 — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:01:33 -0000

Darren "Doogie" Wolfson is a... well, I'm not quite sure what he is to be honest. I guess he could be described as a blogger for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He's got a bit of pedigree as he worked for KFAN radio in the Twin Cities for 12 years, and he happens to be a pretty big Minnesota Gopher fan.

In any case, Doogie put together Some Keys to Victory for this weeks tilt against the Cal Golden Bears. But that's not what this is about.

Doogie made this comment in the post:

When the Gophers wrap-up each practice, they huddle together and shout, "1-2-3 BIG TEN CHAMPS ROSE BOWL." It's a lofty goal, but not completely Kanye West at the MTV Video Music Awards-like -- outrageous!

Fair enough right (although the Kanye West comment was a bit of a reach... trying to stay relevant much?)? He doesn't think it's outrageous that they Gophers have Rose Bowl aspirations. In my opinion the Gophers, and every Big Ten team, SHOULD have Rose Bowl aspirations every year. But that's also not the point here.

The point here is Wolfson's next coment:

That's in large part because the Big Ten is at best the 5th best conference in the country. It's not strong this year.

5th best? Really?

I know this is a hot topic that we all love to talk about, but I've never heard anyone ranking the Big Ten 5th.

Look, I'm prepared to succumb to the idea that the Big Ten isn't the best conference in college football. I'd bow the idea that the Big Ten is maybe the third best conference in the country behind the SEC and Big 12. And I'd even go as far as to admit that maybe (MAYBE!!!) an argument could be made for the Big Ten being the fourth best conference in the country, putting the Pac 10 ahead of them (although at BEST, I think that the Pac 10 and Big Ten are tied... but I digress).

Make sure to go back and submit your picks for Week 3 of the Obligatory Predictions Contest. Weekly winners get a chance to write 500 words on the site. NEW this year is our season long competition - win the whole damn thing and we send you something amazing.

But are there really four conferences that are stronger, top to bottom, than the Big Ten? So let's say Doogie believes the SEC, Big 12 and Pac 10 are the top three conferences. Who's the fourth? He can't be talking about the ACC, can he? And I KNOW he's not talking about the Big East.

It's important to look at top to bottom performance here. The strength of teams 4-7 are just as important as teams 1-3 when we are talking about overall conference strength.

What are your thoughts on this? Where does the Big Ten rank as a conference? Once we have some comments and poll results perhaps we'll revisit this topic.

Poll

How do you rank the Big Ten in terms of overall conference strength in comparison to other major conferences?

1st

1 votes

2nd

10 votes

tied for 2nd with Big 12

17 votes

3rd

28 votes

tied for 3rd with Pac 10

25 votes

4th

28 votes

5th

5 votes

You've given me too many options... I choose death by killer bees.

1 votes

115 votes | Poll has closed

Recapping: Who has the most at stake in Week 2...

jerdogg1 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:28:14 -0000

On Friday night I wrote about which Big10 team had the most at stake heading into their second games, or if the conference as a whole had the most to gain/lose. Now that the dust has settled and the games, along with the weekly polls, are complete, let's take a look back and see how we fared.

Here's Hilary's take on NW's near death experience at Ryan Field against Eastern Michigan.

Here's my take on the CMU upset in East Lansing.

The recap of the Forcier Experience in Ann Arbor

Law Buck comes out of his cave, haggard and lonely, to discuss the death of Tressellball against USC.

Summary of the wild Purdue-Oregon game.

Ohio State:

What I said: "OSU's season doesn't quite rest on this game, but you can bet that OSU's reputation across the country is at stake here."

What happened: OSU played a tough game, and it's been argued that they actually outplayed USC for most of the night. As Law Buckeye pointed out, this was a heart breaker. They had some difficulty capitalizing on some fantastic opportunities on offense, but for the most part they kept USC at bay in this game. Unfortunately in the every-week-matters world of college football, the only thing that matters is that OSU didn't get the W.

What it means: OSU probably isn't quite the media-dog that it has been in the past after a tough showing against the Trojans, but there is still going to be the perception that OSU can't win the big one. Unfortunately their W-L record in such games dictates that perception.

Michigan:

What I said: "...if Michigan can pull this thing out it will really help the perception of Michigan around the conference and the NCAA."

What happened: Michigan played a great game and their young talent really showed us something in beating an experience Notre Dame squad. In the shocker heard round the world, Graham admitted that he left his viewing post before the end of the game, but also talked about Michigan's effort: "It's great to see the lifelessness of last year's disjointed effort replaced by the attacking, never-die style of 2009."

What it means: Well, it apparently means that Michigan is back, since they cracked the AP Top 25 this week. Things seem right with the world when Michigan is relevant on a national level, and coupled with some other nice showings, Michigan mattering again could be a nice shot in the arm for the Big10.

Purdue:

What I said: "...if the Boilermakers can find a way to win this game, or to at least show up and keep it close, they might suddenly pull themselves out of the conversation that goes something like "who will be the worst team in the Big10 this year, Indiana or Purdue?""

What happened: The Boilers held tight and only lost by two to the uglied jersey ones. In fact, the truth is that Purdue outplayed Oregon all over the field. This is not the Boilermakers team everyone expected to see this year.

What it means: I'm not yet prepared to say that Purdue won't still be in the bottom third of the Big10, but perhaps the bottom third of the Big10 is quite a bit better than we anticipated.

Illinois:

What I said: "Illinois needs to take that point spread, shove it's face into the dirt and find a way to win this game by more than 4 touchdowns. If they pull out a close win, or worse yet, manage to completely crap the bed and lose this game, they might get to replace Purdue in that conversation that goes something like "who will be the worst team in the Big10 this year, Indiana or......?""

What happened: The Illini took my advice, took care of their business, unlike last week, and won by... 4 touchdowns.

What it means: I have no idea. The won a game they were supposed to win in a way that they were supposed to win it. They were also supposed to beat Missouri last week and instead got embarrassed. Illinois is still mystery.

Minnesota:

What I said: "This is a must win for a Gopher program that is working desperately to become relevant not only in the conference, but to the sports consuming public of Minnesota who seems to only have an appetite for a team that plays in the Gophers old stadium and has a senior citizen starting at QB for them this year."

What happened: It took the Gophers some time to figure out the triple-option of THE Air Force, but they managed to not take too much damage, and score some points in the process, to win the game. It was ugly, but it was a much better performance than a week ago, even though the Minnesota offense MUST find a way to put together some drives before the 4th quarter at some point this year.

What it means: Unfortunately not much on a conference and national level. It's a quality win for a Gopher program that needed a win on it's opening night in the new stadium, but as far as changing the perception of my beloved rodents, it didn't quite do that.

The Big Ten Conference:

What I said: "In one fell swoop the Big10 Conference has a chance to erase many of the question marks that remain from the previous several seasons about their ability to compete on a national level against the powerhouses from the major conferences. "

What happened: OSU did well, but fell short. Everybody else took care of business (and I'll even include Purdue losing a close one to Oregon in this discussion)... except Michigan State. I didn't think MSU had much at stake this week, but I definitely didn't take the possibility of them losing into account. Central Michigan is a good program, but there is no way they should beat Micigan State.

What it means: Unfortunately I don't think the conference made up much ground and unfortunately it's because OSU couldn't close against USC (honorable mention to the Spartans who also didn't help). Look, I think it's completely unfair that OSU takes the brunt of the national perception of Big10 football, but it's a reality. OSU's loss to USC broke the hearts of Buckeye fans everywhere, and along with them, the hearts of Big10 fans were breaking too.