Sep 25, 2022Liked by Piotr Le, Christopher Helling
And major kudos to Rob and Christopher for their fearless predictive accuracy. Both were raked over the coals at the AZ site, Rob for predicting a 45-28 Cal win, and Christopher for suggesting a gunslinger like Da Laura was prone to interceptions. 49-31 and two interceptions later, W4C analysts prove right on the mark. Well done! Any crow come your way from AZ fans? 😎
Sometimes it takes new players a little time to figure things out. Sometimes it takes coaches a little time to figure personnel groupings out. The Arizona game was a breakthrough game for us in both departments. The O-Line personnel finally fit and it showed. Plummer finally figured out he doesn't have to throw the ball deep on every play, he has great receivers and if he makes his reads and checks down to the right receiver, he will have more success, the receivers will make plays resulting in good YAC, and the passing game will open up our run game and vice versa. It all came together at the start of the 2nd quarter against AZ.
What most people don't see is the chess game that goes on with play calling on both sides of the ball. The team that adjusts to the other's play call better, whether on offense or defense will succeed more and usually win the game. From an offensive perspective we did a hell of a job. The only time AZ really was able to hold us for no gain was when he had a run play called and they brought 6 to 7 of their players to the LOS. But by doing this they ended up burning themselves, because when you have no 2nd level and backers are up tight to the LOS, if Jayden Ott breaks through, he is gone and there is no looking back. This happened twice, but we also had great blocking to spring him.
With respect to our blocking, it wasn't perfect, but it was night and day better than any game we have played this season. Our O-line got off the snaps quick, engaged the defensive players and played (most of the time) until the whistle. That third quarter touchdown by Ott where it looked like he was down after about 9 yards was a great example. A couple of linemen got into the scrum and Vatikani literally pulled Ott out of the tackle and released him to bolt the last 10 yards. It was a beautiful moment and the type of play that Big Uglies smile about while falling asleep, dreaming of a dominant performance. Our O-Line got on run blocks, stayed on blocks, played nasty, and moved the scrums every chance they could. On pass protection they finally put it together. And having Cindric at RG was key. He is our best O-Liner, and where Lovell played poorly, Cindo excelled. Cindo taking over at RG was a huge difference maker. Driscoll, as the only other starting O-lineman who has played center for us. He took over that job and fit in perfectly. I actually think he he better at C than at LG because while he is big, he's not 335 pounds big and doesn't bench 400#+. While the Center's face huge 1 techs, the C usually gets assistance from one of the G's on double teams, so the C is rarely on an island. Wirth respect to pass pro, the C does have to deal with a monster at 1 tech, but usually those guys aren't mobile as a 3 tech which the G or weakside T end up playing against. So the moved suited Driscoll and allowed us to move Vatikani to LG. His mammoth size, quickness, strength and nasty allowed him to overcome his lack of experience and technique. I think when he has his technique down he has the makings of an NFL quality G. Coleman was fairly solid as was Sessions and Rhome. Sessions and Rhome split quarters although I think Sessions actually had more plays. Rhome showed his knowledge of the play calling and making the right assignment choices, and his technique was good. Sessions is the better athlete of the two. They are both about the same IMHO but I think Sessions may have a bit more upside because of his athleticism.
In our pass protection we appeared to stop with the vertical sets and instead engaged at the point of contact and fought there, rather than giving up a lot of ground. It was brutal inside and our Pachyderms did us proud, winning the battles over and over. From my standpoint as an old O-liner, I just loved watching our guys get after it and it made me so proud. Also, our T's were finally patient and waited for the outside rush to come to them, and it made a big difference that provided that additional second or two for Plummer to make his reads and throw the ball.
The TE's blocked marvelously as well. Germain Terry was much improved from last week to this week. He was physical and did a fairly good job, but he needs to learn to stay with his block until the whistle. Mojarro did a solid job as well. The guy who really impressed me was Latu. He never got beat, ever. He is physical and his long arms and wide base allow him to establish position on his opposing player and once he did that, he controlled the block throughout the play. We had a number of plays where the TE's actually pull and run across the back of the O-line with a G or T to throw a block for a runner. These are physical blocks, there is no other way to say it. Latu excelled at these blocks. I was really impressed with his play on the line.
Because I'm not an expert at these positions I won't comment on our receivers or RB's other than to say, we have a lot of talent and Ott is amazing.
AZ came in with a Defensive game plan similar to UNR, TCU, WASU and UCLA last year and all the teams we have faced this year. Stop the run, pressure our QB and press the receivers and force us to throw low percentage long balls. Because of our revamped o-line, this strategy did not work. Hopefully this change is one that will provide us similar outcomes in future games this season. Other teams on our schedule will now need to figure out new ways to defend against us. This is great news.
As to Musgrave's play calling, it was subtle brilliance. If you watch the game film he ran multiple running and pass plays out of similar sets. The finest example was the 4th and 2 where Plummer threw the ball to Latu. Until Brooks made a slight motion to the right everyone in the game, in the stadium and on TV thought we were going to pound the rock. Latu was in the same position he had been all game where he had beed very effective in our run blocking game. When Brooks went in motion there was a momentary brain fart on the AZ side. Two defenders slid out to match him and the receivers we had, thus opening a gap between their DE and DB's. Latu blocked down and quickly released and nobody even saw him sneak out until after he caught the ball. Checkmate. This is the kind of stuff that won't happen in the 1st or 2nd quarter, but evolves as the game goes on. Musgrave must have been smiling after that one. Again, while this is one example of Musgrave's abilities, as long as we continue to execute, I expect fans will grow more accustomed to his real brilliance as an OC. For sure we will have tougher games and perhaps lose a few, but remember the big picture.
Lastly and this is a part I love writing about because it goes to the heart of the game; it's the psychology of respect. Any good lineman will tell you when they owned someone and when they got owned. But when your line plays strong and nasty then they get some swagger. And here's the other part: every player on the team knows that they can run a 40 faster than O-linemen, they can catch a a ball better, but they all know that in a fucking riot that the five starting lineman are the guys that are going to protect them by kicking some big time ass in a nasty way. When your O-line gets this mindset, its contagious. Swagger comes with it, but I will tell you, while receivers and RB's might get some swagger, they will never have more than a successful o-line, and they know it. When everyone on offense knows that those five big fuckers up front are nasty and good and win their battles, the confidence will flow to the rest of the team. And its a good type of confidence cause o-liners are by nature humble. Our team got some swagger this game. They can build on it and they will, but they learned on Saturday that when we play hard and to the whistle, we're a pretty damn good team.
Now let's start getting better at the little things, pad height, ass position, outside knee to crotch relationship in pass pro, intersection locations (don't over run your blocks), etc.
We have work ahead of us and a lot of tough games ahead, but this game gave us and the team a glimpse of what they are capable of, and I am excited for the future of CAL Football! Go Bears!!
I haven’t looked forward to a recap like this in a long time. It is a very satisfying win. The offense was humming, some proof that the defense could make an adjustment, and hope for the games to come. GO BEARS!
This feels like the most reason for optimism around Cal's program since the Redbox Bowl win.
We rarely take teams to the woodshed under Wilcox. Most wins have been close-ish (within 2 scores). When we dominate, it tends to be due to a lot of turnover luck (WSU in 2017) or going against a very weak opponent (FCS schools, Oregon State in 2018, that spiraling Stanfurd team last year). This felt different. Maybe Arizona will turn out to be awful too, but they at least seem improved over recent Zona teams, and they certainly had every reason to want this game.
The way we won in the second half seems repeatable: decent defense, strong O-line play, smart decisions by Plummer, and highlight plays by Ott. We wouldn't blow out better opponents but it's a formula for winning closer games against them.
And this team has a good chance of staying together for another year too (unlike last year's team that got that Big Game win). That's the kind of thing that can put butts in seats for sure.
A gratifying win, but the Bears will be facing quality quarterbacks in coming games. Unless we can contain the run as we did in the second half, and get both better line pressure and pass coverage over the middle, it will be problematic.
Best's 311 yards came against a dog crap Washington team that was 0-12 that year. It Best didn't play in that game, Cal still would have won in convincing fashion. Ott's performance yesterday was something altogether different. If he doesn't play yesterday, Cal likely loses. The only thing I can compare it to is Russell White's 231 yards against USC in 1991. And yes, Russell White put butts in the seats. Lots of them.....
Thanks Avi...seeing you in such a good mood makes my day/week! But of all the things you mentioned, my head exploded when I read this..."Memorial Stadium might currently have one of the worst audio setups in college football. It is impossible to hear what anyone is saying on the videoboards on the east side. Maybe it’s better elsewhere but lord if I can tell you what’s happening.
Cal installed new videoboards that seem to only broadcast in standard definition, and on video replays the screen quality degenerates to 144p." WTF!!!! Who loses their job for this...no excuse!
I'm optomistic based on what I've seen on the field so far, but from the season point of view we are exactly where we thought we'd be. No? 3-1 with a loss to ND. The WSU game is the key game for getting to 6 wins (because Colorado and of course the furd win). But which one of these teams are we beating for 7 - USC, UCLA, Washington, Oregon, Oregon St. Gotta be OSU I think, but its the last game of the season and I hate to leave it to then to get a winning season.
Holy moly the Mic Peeps need some training, cadence and intonation problems galore. Is there no mentorship?!?!
Otherwise what a beautiful performance and day at the stadium. Sun was rough until halftime and then the weather was perfect, and for much of the game there was just a barely visible peak of each GG Bridge pillar. We had a great time.
Ott has patience, vision, acceleration and speed, all key ingredients in a great running back. Glad you gave Plummer a shout out, he's got a strong accurate arm as evidenced by hit TD passes to Strickland and Hunter. The most significant story might be the O Line's massive improvement, kudos to the coaches for making the adjustments.
And major kudos to Rob and Christopher for their fearless predictive accuracy. Both were raked over the coals at the AZ site, Rob for predicting a 45-28 Cal win, and Christopher for suggesting a gunslinger like Da Laura was prone to interceptions. 49-31 and two interceptions later, W4C analysts prove right on the mark. Well done! Any crow come your way from AZ fans? 😎
I just watched the film. Here are my thoughts.
Sometimes it takes new players a little time to figure things out. Sometimes it takes coaches a little time to figure personnel groupings out. The Arizona game was a breakthrough game for us in both departments. The O-Line personnel finally fit and it showed. Plummer finally figured out he doesn't have to throw the ball deep on every play, he has great receivers and if he makes his reads and checks down to the right receiver, he will have more success, the receivers will make plays resulting in good YAC, and the passing game will open up our run game and vice versa. It all came together at the start of the 2nd quarter against AZ.
What most people don't see is the chess game that goes on with play calling on both sides of the ball. The team that adjusts to the other's play call better, whether on offense or defense will succeed more and usually win the game. From an offensive perspective we did a hell of a job. The only time AZ really was able to hold us for no gain was when he had a run play called and they brought 6 to 7 of their players to the LOS. But by doing this they ended up burning themselves, because when you have no 2nd level and backers are up tight to the LOS, if Jayden Ott breaks through, he is gone and there is no looking back. This happened twice, but we also had great blocking to spring him.
With respect to our blocking, it wasn't perfect, but it was night and day better than any game we have played this season. Our O-line got off the snaps quick, engaged the defensive players and played (most of the time) until the whistle. That third quarter touchdown by Ott where it looked like he was down after about 9 yards was a great example. A couple of linemen got into the scrum and Vatikani literally pulled Ott out of the tackle and released him to bolt the last 10 yards. It was a beautiful moment and the type of play that Big Uglies smile about while falling asleep, dreaming of a dominant performance. Our O-Line got on run blocks, stayed on blocks, played nasty, and moved the scrums every chance they could. On pass protection they finally put it together. And having Cindric at RG was key. He is our best O-Liner, and where Lovell played poorly, Cindo excelled. Cindo taking over at RG was a huge difference maker. Driscoll, as the only other starting O-lineman who has played center for us. He took over that job and fit in perfectly. I actually think he he better at C than at LG because while he is big, he's not 335 pounds big and doesn't bench 400#+. While the Center's face huge 1 techs, the C usually gets assistance from one of the G's on double teams, so the C is rarely on an island. Wirth respect to pass pro, the C does have to deal with a monster at 1 tech, but usually those guys aren't mobile as a 3 tech which the G or weakside T end up playing against. So the moved suited Driscoll and allowed us to move Vatikani to LG. His mammoth size, quickness, strength and nasty allowed him to overcome his lack of experience and technique. I think when he has his technique down he has the makings of an NFL quality G. Coleman was fairly solid as was Sessions and Rhome. Sessions and Rhome split quarters although I think Sessions actually had more plays. Rhome showed his knowledge of the play calling and making the right assignment choices, and his technique was good. Sessions is the better athlete of the two. They are both about the same IMHO but I think Sessions may have a bit more upside because of his athleticism.
In our pass protection we appeared to stop with the vertical sets and instead engaged at the point of contact and fought there, rather than giving up a lot of ground. It was brutal inside and our Pachyderms did us proud, winning the battles over and over. From my standpoint as an old O-liner, I just loved watching our guys get after it and it made me so proud. Also, our T's were finally patient and waited for the outside rush to come to them, and it made a big difference that provided that additional second or two for Plummer to make his reads and throw the ball.
The TE's blocked marvelously as well. Germain Terry was much improved from last week to this week. He was physical and did a fairly good job, but he needs to learn to stay with his block until the whistle. Mojarro did a solid job as well. The guy who really impressed me was Latu. He never got beat, ever. He is physical and his long arms and wide base allow him to establish position on his opposing player and once he did that, he controlled the block throughout the play. We had a number of plays where the TE's actually pull and run across the back of the O-line with a G or T to throw a block for a runner. These are physical blocks, there is no other way to say it. Latu excelled at these blocks. I was really impressed with his play on the line.
Because I'm not an expert at these positions I won't comment on our receivers or RB's other than to say, we have a lot of talent and Ott is amazing.
AZ came in with a Defensive game plan similar to UNR, TCU, WASU and UCLA last year and all the teams we have faced this year. Stop the run, pressure our QB and press the receivers and force us to throw low percentage long balls. Because of our revamped o-line, this strategy did not work. Hopefully this change is one that will provide us similar outcomes in future games this season. Other teams on our schedule will now need to figure out new ways to defend against us. This is great news.
As to Musgrave's play calling, it was subtle brilliance. If you watch the game film he ran multiple running and pass plays out of similar sets. The finest example was the 4th and 2 where Plummer threw the ball to Latu. Until Brooks made a slight motion to the right everyone in the game, in the stadium and on TV thought we were going to pound the rock. Latu was in the same position he had been all game where he had beed very effective in our run blocking game. When Brooks went in motion there was a momentary brain fart on the AZ side. Two defenders slid out to match him and the receivers we had, thus opening a gap between their DE and DB's. Latu blocked down and quickly released and nobody even saw him sneak out until after he caught the ball. Checkmate. This is the kind of stuff that won't happen in the 1st or 2nd quarter, but evolves as the game goes on. Musgrave must have been smiling after that one. Again, while this is one example of Musgrave's abilities, as long as we continue to execute, I expect fans will grow more accustomed to his real brilliance as an OC. For sure we will have tougher games and perhaps lose a few, but remember the big picture.
Lastly and this is a part I love writing about because it goes to the heart of the game; it's the psychology of respect. Any good lineman will tell you when they owned someone and when they got owned. But when your line plays strong and nasty then they get some swagger. And here's the other part: every player on the team knows that they can run a 40 faster than O-linemen, they can catch a a ball better, but they all know that in a fucking riot that the five starting lineman are the guys that are going to protect them by kicking some big time ass in a nasty way. When your O-line gets this mindset, its contagious. Swagger comes with it, but I will tell you, while receivers and RB's might get some swagger, they will never have more than a successful o-line, and they know it. When everyone on offense knows that those five big fuckers up front are nasty and good and win their battles, the confidence will flow to the rest of the team. And its a good type of confidence cause o-liners are by nature humble. Our team got some swagger this game. They can build on it and they will, but they learned on Saturday that when we play hard and to the whistle, we're a pretty damn good team.
Now let's start getting better at the little things, pad height, ass position, outside knee to crotch relationship in pass pro, intersection locations (don't over run your blocks), etc.
We have work ahead of us and a lot of tough games ahead, but this game gave us and the team a glimpse of what they are capable of, and I am excited for the future of CAL Football! Go Bears!!
I haven’t looked forward to a recap like this in a long time. It is a very satisfying win. The offense was humming, some proof that the defense could make an adjustment, and hope for the games to come. GO BEARS!
A rare but welcome appearance of Hype Avi!
This feels like the most reason for optimism around Cal's program since the Redbox Bowl win.
We rarely take teams to the woodshed under Wilcox. Most wins have been close-ish (within 2 scores). When we dominate, it tends to be due to a lot of turnover luck (WSU in 2017) or going against a very weak opponent (FCS schools, Oregon State in 2018, that spiraling Stanfurd team last year). This felt different. Maybe Arizona will turn out to be awful too, but they at least seem improved over recent Zona teams, and they certainly had every reason to want this game.
The way we won in the second half seems repeatable: decent defense, strong O-line play, smart decisions by Plummer, and highlight plays by Ott. We wouldn't blow out better opponents but it's a formula for winning closer games against them.
And this team has a good chance of staying together for another year too (unlike last year's team that got that Big Game win). That's the kind of thing that can put butts in seats for sure.
A gratifying win, but the Bears will be facing quality quarterbacks in coming games. Unless we can contain the run as we did in the second half, and get both better line pressure and pass coverage over the middle, it will be problematic.
Best's 311 yards came against a dog crap Washington team that was 0-12 that year. It Best didn't play in that game, Cal still would have won in convincing fashion. Ott's performance yesterday was something altogether different. If he doesn't play yesterday, Cal likely loses. The only thing I can compare it to is Russell White's 231 yards against USC in 1991. And yes, Russell White put butts in the seats. Lots of them.....
Thanks Avi...seeing you in such a good mood makes my day/week! But of all the things you mentioned, my head exploded when I read this..."Memorial Stadium might currently have one of the worst audio setups in college football. It is impossible to hear what anyone is saying on the videoboards on the east side. Maybe it’s better elsewhere but lord if I can tell you what’s happening.
Cal installed new videoboards that seem to only broadcast in standard definition, and on video replays the screen quality degenerates to 144p." WTF!!!! Who loses their job for this...no excuse!
I'm optomistic based on what I've seen on the field so far, but from the season point of view we are exactly where we thought we'd be. No? 3-1 with a loss to ND. The WSU game is the key game for getting to 6 wins (because Colorado and of course the furd win). But which one of these teams are we beating for 7 - USC, UCLA, Washington, Oregon, Oregon St. Gotta be OSU I think, but its the last game of the season and I hate to leave it to then to get a winning season.
(Since Keenan Allen)
Holy moly the Mic Peeps need some training, cadence and intonation problems galore. Is there no mentorship?!?!
Otherwise what a beautiful performance and day at the stadium. Sun was rough until halftime and then the weather was perfect, and for much of the game there was just a barely visible peak of each GG Bridge pillar. We had a great time.
Ott has patience, vision, acceleration and speed, all key ingredients in a great running back. Glad you gave Plummer a shout out, he's got a strong accurate arm as evidenced by hit TD passes to Strickland and Hunter. The most significant story might be the O Line's massive improvement, kudos to the coaches for making the adjustments.
Tough tests ahead starting next week in Wazzou but this one is worth savoring for a few days.https://twitter.com/Gabriele_Corno/status/1573980020154015744?s=20&t=HlsfOZEabZUJW-cyv6b_Uw