Rolovich has the experience and will do a better job than this hot mess. Let’s see if Tosh will make the tough / right call to change the OC or try to work through it. Hate to say it but in this day and age along with the evidence of the last 4 games, this type of brutal change might be necessary.
100% necessary. Tosh and Ron both need to show us they are competent at their jobs by handling this with some urgency. There are zero signs of improvement. I wanted him fired at halftime of the Syracuse game.. we're already long overdue.
Somerville is completely lost. He’s drawing up plays that literally have no chance of working. The 4th and 2 rollout in 1H to the short side of the field is just one example….that play never had a chance. The QB keep with Ingrassia a 2nd time… against Dabo? That’s laughable. What are we even doing here?
And they paid a lot of money for Ian Strong and he’s been borderline useless. The final flag was weak, and clearly ACC protecting their bigger brands, as they do, but he’s been by far the biggest disappointment on the roster.
Not sure where they go from here, TBH. It’s one thing to lament the Wilcox teams given all the tired excuses they threw out explaining away his mediocrity. Investing millions in players who perform this poorly and make this many mistakes is another thing entirely.
Stating the obvious but Somerville is seriously in way over his head as a first-time playcaller. His calls and his 'pro-style spread' offense in general seem way to convoluted and complex for college players to execute with any measure of consistency or effectiveness.
Our guys on O are clearly playing super tight - overthinking where they're supposed to line up, run to, block, etc. rather than playing relaxed and instinctively. Which inevitably leads to missed blocks, drops, penalties, and various other """execution""" issues.
It's like he's trying to fit our players into his system rather than scheming to our players' strengths. He also appears to have poor feel for the 'flow' of the game. Exhibit A: that critical 3rd down when he took out JKS and put in Ingrassia [4th string QB] to run a failed QB pistol-delay dive.
Rolo might not be perfect (see e.g. often too pass-heavy when at WSU) but at least he's a proven playcaller and OC. Tosh needs to demote his buddy and give Rolo the reins starting next week at UNLV. Cal is wasting JKS & our skill position talent by forcing them to run this unwatchable offense. At this rate if nothing changes soon, it wouldn't be surprising to see Jaron transfer (out of frustration) at the end of the season.
Ian Strong and the “50-50” ball are more like 20-80 or even 15-85. We can’t expect a consistent offense given JKS’s current lack of touch on his throws…
The only positive news -- I'm also a Niners fan and their offense is an absolute joy to watch. The Evans-Deebo hook and ladder was good, old-fashioned, fun.
We have way more talent than we did under Wilcox but Wilcox would've played Clemson much better than this. So many missed tackles -- didn't wrap or whiff. Offense not utilizing JKS strengths. Even the interesting plays become predictable because we try them again with no wrinkle to make them different. Undisciplined and giving Clemson more chances in the red zone. Special teams looking like hot garbage too.
As much as I want to hate on Somerville, Tosh owns this dumpster fire of a loss. Tonight was completely winnable and yet we had to grab defeat from the jaws of victory.
Tosh’s mid-game interview was complete and utter gibberish and incredibly concerning, IMO.
Being a rah rah, one of-the-boys, recruit-first HC is one thing, but there needs to be some semblance of coaching acumen on the sidelines. I thought far too often Wilcox’s teams were woefully unprepared from the opening kick, but at least you knew Wilcox could coach….this is much more concerning, as the entire staff is so clearly learning on the job. I personally didn’t expect they would collectively be this unprepared…he’s got like 20-something coaches and yet the club looks lost.
Yeah, I watched the interview. I mean it's kind of par for the course from him. Inspirational meathead.
Still, though. I had hoped that he could coach.
But I feared that the guy has always been put in positions where he's been blessed with talent. Washington, Bama, Oregon. Having a lot of talent and having great head coaches can do a lot. How much of that was Tosh?
I had hoped he would hire someone with some kind of track record on the offensive side of the ball. But no he went with Somerville. And everybody was scratching their head.
Guys, it's not a mystery. Turns out hiring someone who's a first time OC -- no matter how much of a savant he might be -- is a bad idea. We can't flush 3 seasons down the drain while the guy learns on the job. Like Rivera says, we need to win now.
Ron might say we need to win now, but it would be nice as “General Manager” that he would, you know, “manage” the team, like in stepping in and firing the OC, or, at least, demoting him.
Otherwise, he’s no better than the rest of us screaming at the TV while watching the team.
As much as I would love to see a correction at OC right now, it just feels like a pipedream. You just don’t fire a new coach this quickly as that act in itself just sends a really bad message.
I just hope this doesn’t turn out like Andy Buh levels of bad. Someone just clearly out of their element and never sees any improvement. I’m hopeful that the coaches surrounding him (ie Rolo) can mentor him and we can see improvement. Because the alternative is much worse.
That is, I’d rather see Somerville succeed because I can’t stand a Cal football failure this season.
It’s just a bunch of hot air at this point-there’s nothing to back it up. I can’t watch the post games after this-abysmal coaching & he’s congratulating everyone
Sadly, it’s a similar feeling I had with Wilcox and his pressers, especially towards the end….nothing but positive, cliche-filled word-salad, with countless promises to work hard, but as with JW, nothing we’ve seen on the field in the past month gives any confidence that the staff is at all capable of fixing anything, at least on O.
Preparation aside, Wilcox understood the limitations of his talent, and coached games intentionally to run the clock and drag the other team into a rock fight. The downside is was we played down to the level of teams below us as well.
Tosh came out of the gates with a sort of "manifesting" approach, putting the cart ahead of the horse.
Now that everyone (including Tosh himself) knows that his enthusiasm cant just will success into existence, I'm genuinely curious to see how this will play out going forward.
You have a GREAT OPPORTUNTITY, Tosh, to show us what you will do now as head coach.
This game was so sad to watch. Our players deserve better coaches. Wilcox's last loss vs furd was a better showing than the incompetence we saw tonight.
I think Wilcox would’ve won but it would’ve been the defense who did most of the scoring. The low-scoring defensive battle is actually the Wilcox special.
Hard to say with this offensive line though. In recent Wilcox history, the miserable loss at home to a weak Auburn team (in which Ott got shut down and probably concussed when needlessly hurdling on one play), comes to mind. Still wouldve been closer at the end at least. Granted, Mohammed is a much better physical running back than Ott was, and is exactly the type of RB that Wilcox needed.
I've been on a 12 day road trip from Idaho and tonight, my last night before heading home, I went to the game. I rented a VRBO in the Uplands off Tunnel Road and had time to think on my walk back from the stadium. Where do I even start?
Let's do big picture and then come back in some detail. First of all the game was ugly. We could have won this game. We were completely out coached from beginning to end.
Offense: didn't score a Tug all game. We have one of the best QB's in college football, a stud RB and we could not get in the end zone once the entire game against a middling Clemson defense. I would like to see the stats, but I don't believe we had one pass play where JKS was not pressured or hurried.
Defense: Our defense spent way to much time on the field because our offense didn't. They got tired. Tackling was terrible.
Special Teams: We have a terrible KO kicker. We have a terrible FG kicker. And we have a terrible punter who got lucky a few times. Our first contact tackling is non-existent. Basically they suck.
Coaching: we were out coached in all aspects of the game.
Offensive issues: 1. the offensive line. I don't think our o-line is as bad as people think. I think their problem is how they are coached and Somerville's schemes. Tonight I was able to see how the Clemson DL lined up. They were typically all lined up a yard off the ball with maybe the one tech tighter on the line. By doing this it negates any speed advantage we might have getting off the ball. It means our OLinemen need to take really big first steps or a couple of steps to initiate a block. A big initial step will result in a failed block as the OL will lose his base being out of position and the DL can manipulate him. Two steps are slow and the DL can make the read, then make the adjustment and the tackle with a short gain by us. Now I noticed our guys were bunched up with tighter splits, which is the exact opposite of what you should do in this situation. If the DL lines up off the ball then the OL should widen their splits, step to a space and protect the space. If the RB hits the holes fast he'll have a natural lane created by the split and the OL will be protecting a space from the DL and ILB. This is OC Scheme 101 and OL Coaching 101.
When Clemson was able to stop our run then then played 'press' This meant they brought 5 or 6 guys and had DB's up tight. They outnumbered our pass protectors and bumped our receivers on the line. The constant pressure on JKS with no ability to hit the mid and deeper routes killed our explosive game. Again, this is all coaching, both Somerville and OL and receiver coaches.
Our OC showed his inexperience. Some the peeps here mentioned it. You don't send Ingrassia in on a 4th down to try and do something you already did. If we can't run the rock one yard, then we have big problems. Thus far, Somerville has been Vanilla, with a few trick plays but his halftime adjustments have not been enough to improve our play. I for one don't want an OC to learn on the job in the P4. Chad Morris from Clemson showed us how to do it with a freshman QB who really isn't that good.
Defensive issues: Our defense was stout early on and for the time they were on the field, I felt good about them up to the 17 points they gave up. I do not blame the last Clemson TD on them. That was a coaching brainfart. When you are desperate and play aggressive, you get burned. Our DC was clearly thinking Clemson was going to pass and brought the entire team up to the LOS. Clemson was going to run the ball and burn the clock because they could punt on 4th down and pin us deep, and they knew our offense had not scored all game. So Chad Morris dials up a run. We had no second level and one DB on the opposite side of the field. It was a brilliant play call and we got suckered the way an idiot does when a pretty girl leads him on.
Special team issues. Why do we have guys on the special teams who race down the field with the ability to stop the return man when he catches the ball but who are to pussy to tackle him? During the TD punt return against us we had two guys right there on the return man. Both stood there instead of making a tackle. Why are they on the field if they can't tackle? Why do our kickers and punters suck? I bet if you went to the mens soccer team and did tryouts on frat row, we could find better kickers and punters. Special teams coach is a disaster.
Tosh: I want Tosh to succeed. I like the culture he is trying to build. I worry that he made mistakes with his coordinator hires. First timers in the P4 with no track record probably fail more than they succeed. Tosh needs to tone down his emotions. His kids get amped up and make stupid penalties. When he goes at it with refs in front of the whole team, he is giving them an excuse for their poor play. Lastly, he should focus on building a great team and forget about telling people to fill the stadium. Great teams attract fans. Telling people to fill the stadium and then shitting the bed turns off fans in a big way. He'd be better off finding a group of players that don't care about the fans and care more as a group about winning. That would be a special group - I liken that type of team to the teams Whittingham coached at Utah. They drew crowds but they didn't care. They came out to play and to punch their opponents in the mouth. Lastly, Tosh seems to get excited about players who pass the eye test, meaning they look the part, big fast, etc. But we are finding that there may be a reason why some of our portal transfers weren't contributors on previous teams. They have the Tarzan complex: look like Tarzan, play like Jane. This is where I really liked Wilcox's attitude: the best guys play, irrespective of how they look or how big they are.
I wonder if CAL had given Wilcox the budget they gave Tosh, if the results might be different? It is early in Tosh's tenure and I want to give him time to settle in. I have high hopes that his energy and culture will lead to a good future for CAL football, but if he is learning on the job, he needs to learn faster and he needs to be ruthless as a CEO when he evaluates , his hires, meaning assistant coaches AND players. Btw, if Somerville and the OL coach cannot figure out how to protect JKS and help him with a successful pass game, he'll be gone next year.
Great stuff Rugbear. As a former coach (43 years) I agree with you whole heartedly. The OC installed the offense early in Spring ball. So changing the OC would not be able to change the content of the offense in just a week or so. So if there is a change he would have to run Somerville's offense. The only coach on staff who possibly could do that is Rolovich. I hope Tosh swallows his pride and makes the change NOW! Innocently I just watched the Stanford game and. I hate to say it, but Stanfraud is better coached than Cal
No. It was a blown coverage on a risky and aggressive defensive call. We wanted the ball back and so played overly aggressive and got burned. On aggressive calls you usually wither win big or lose big. We’ve been on the losing end to many times this year.
It’s so troubling that RR let his inexperienced new coach surround himself with even less experienced coordinators. That’s a red flag in any business setting. Screams insecurity or ignorance. If you’re in charge, you see that and you don’t let it happen.
Unpopular opinion, but JKS deserves some blame too. He looks sluggish, out of sync with his receivers, and he's slow to get the ball out. Of course the OL is not doing him any favors but we are paying this kid way more than a Nobel Laureate. The announcers spend half the game licking is ****, but he has been terrible this year, so far.
Maybe Somerville not bringing a system that plays to JKS' strengths is the real crime.
But JKS is the captain of the offense and supposed to be the team leader. The offense looks flat. There were good moments yesterday and some flashes of guys playing with intensity...but then a bunch of slop in between. Where's the on field leadership and energy? Mendoza had that in spades.
But let's also be realistic. We can't expect Tosh and his green coaches to work miracles. A learning curve should have been expected. This was never a one year project; the beef just ain't there yet.
This could be a better team in the second half of the year.
He was built for a Rolovich's Run-and-Shoot playbook, not Somerville's slop.
He can't lead the team if he's overthinking everything and his receivers are overthinking and the opposing defense has figured out the entire predictable, hard-to-follow playbook.
And this is especially damning when you take into account Hutchings (and Tosh)'s success with a defense that's so good it doubles as an auxiliary offense.
Tosh and Hutchings are able to work miracles. If Somerville is actively regressing JKS he should be removed. Maybe he gets fired, maybe he gets demoted to some analyst, but he shouldn't be within 10 feet of the playbook ever again.
And his side arm delivery gets passes blocked by D linemen. Which happened Friday night when his receiver was wide open 3 steps from the end zone and would have put us ahead. 14 to 10 at the time.
Everyone needs to be better - JKS included. He’s definitely missed some throws.
But as you pointed out, unless this OL suddenly morphs into a different unit via personnel changes, there is a serious ceiling on this team. 3rd consecutive season it’s been a major weakness. Famika has been a disappointment, and these players are getting manhandled. Very few explosive plays other than v Wagner.
As someone who always had an issue with Wilcox’s seemingly complete lack of attention to special teams, the fact that Lupoi actually hired a dedicated ST coach only to have literally EVERY facet of the unit take a massive step back is….concerning.
The current STs coach (Tinker) actually was Cal's de facto STs coach in the mid-late Wilcox era, before going to Oregon to work as an analyst, then returning to Cal via the Tosh hire
Tosh doesn't need to make a public announcement about demoting Somerville. He just needs to quietly put Rolo in the booth next game and make him call plays.
Turns out hiring a coach who has never been asked to coach before and letting him hire more coaches who also have never coached before just might not be a winning formula
I wonder what kind of conversations Tosh had with Ron Rivera early on: “Ron, I’m planning to hire an entire staff for positions they’ve never had before.” Ron replies “Gee Tosh, that’s a great idea. I’m sure that will work out fabulously.”
What is the point of having Ron Rivera “overseeing” the program if this kind of lunacy is allowed to happen?
4-8? If we maybe beat Stanford and UNLV, though that may be a stretch. Apparently in the game of football you cannot win games if your offense cannot score.
We looked pathetic on offense. OL is hopeless and WR’s are beyond that. If nobody can get separation then JKS has nobody to throw to. If Adam Mohammed is hurt, what little offense we have is gone. And penalties apparently don’t help either. I am at a complete loss about how this situation gets turned around this season and fear that the best players will leave for the NFL or the portal.
Even if we had somehow Lopa'd ourselves into another win this game, I would still feel as badly about this game as I do now with a loss. There was not enough consistent output on offense to have deserved to have won that game. Nobody is driving the bus right now. Everyone is a passenger. They all want to reach the destination but willing it from their seats is simply not good enough. You have to have gas in the tank, tires and brakes, a good navigator, and the mindset to run over anyone and everyone standing in your way. The coaches are all peering into the windows and high fiving themselves over the recruiting wins sitting in those seats. But that's all we have right now. Talent with no drive.
I have a few ideas for new slogans for Cal football. 1) Cal Football, The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same 2) Cal Football, Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss (That's a reference to The Who song -- ask your parents) 3) Cal Football, Come For the Hype, Stay For the Disappointment.
After several years of low expectations the Golden Bears suckered me and a lot of people back in. I actually thought we were at the dawn of a new era. Some people never learn.
"This is a world where nothing is solved. You know, someone once told me, 'Time is a flat circle.' Everything we’ve ever done, or will do, we’re gonna do over and over and over again."
Yeah and I find my self caring less and less about Cal football or tuning into the games. Whether we stay in the ACC or get regulated to the G5, I have finally realized that Cal just will never be consistently good at football
Fire Summerville tonight. No need to wait, do it now.
It’s not like there isn’t someone right there, already on payroll, who we know can do the job at least passably better.
Rolovich!
Rolovich has the experience and will do a better job than this hot mess. Let’s see if Tosh will make the tough / right call to change the OC or try to work through it. Hate to say it but in this day and age along with the evidence of the last 4 games, this type of brutal change might be necessary.
100% necessary. Tosh and Ron both need to show us they are competent at their jobs by handling this with some urgency. There are zero signs of improvement. I wanted him fired at halftime of the Syracuse game.. we're already long overdue.
It is necessary. Clearly, Somerville is in over his head.
If he wound up with a “lower body injury”, we’d never see him again. It’s the Cal Football way…
What does Tosh see in him that we don’t?
He's his buddy. They coached together somewhere I bet. . .
Somerville is completely lost. He’s drawing up plays that literally have no chance of working. The 4th and 2 rollout in 1H to the short side of the field is just one example….that play never had a chance. The QB keep with Ingrassia a 2nd time… against Dabo? That’s laughable. What are we even doing here?
And they paid a lot of money for Ian Strong and he’s been borderline useless. The final flag was weak, and clearly ACC protecting their bigger brands, as they do, but he’s been by far the biggest disappointment on the roster.
Not sure where they go from here, TBH. It’s one thing to lament the Wilcox teams given all the tired excuses they threw out explaining away his mediocrity. Investing millions in players who perform this poorly and make this many mistakes is another thing entirely.
Stating the obvious but Somerville is seriously in way over his head as a first-time playcaller. His calls and his 'pro-style spread' offense in general seem way to convoluted and complex for college players to execute with any measure of consistency or effectiveness.
Our guys on O are clearly playing super tight - overthinking where they're supposed to line up, run to, block, etc. rather than playing relaxed and instinctively. Which inevitably leads to missed blocks, drops, penalties, and various other """execution""" issues.
It's like he's trying to fit our players into his system rather than scheming to our players' strengths. He also appears to have poor feel for the 'flow' of the game. Exhibit A: that critical 3rd down when he took out JKS and put in Ingrassia [4th string QB] to run a failed QB pistol-delay dive.
Rolo might not be perfect (see e.g. often too pass-heavy when at WSU) but at least he's a proven playcaller and OC. Tosh needs to demote his buddy and give Rolo the reins starting next week at UNLV. Cal is wasting JKS & our skill position talent by forcing them to run this unwatchable offense. At this rate if nothing changes soon, it wouldn't be surprising to see Jaron transfer (out of frustration) at the end of the season.
If not sooner ….
Nailed it. Adjust to the players. They had less talent last year and could pass better.
Last years O was much better for JKS's talents. It also was a much more productive and had better schemes for down and distance situations.
Great point with the schemes, Coach.
Some of these Somerville formations are complete puzzles. Like consistently going empty in short yardage situations, etc.
Ian Strong and the “50-50” ball are more like 20-80 or even 15-85. We can’t expect a consistent offense given JKS’s current lack of touch on his throws…
To be fair, if we had more time to run more bubble screens against Wagner we would've been better prepared for this one.
Ha :-) .. and why do the screen pass to King? He is more of a possession receiver!?!?
STRONG = weak compete. That first interception was a terrible pass but Strong just let the db have it instead of breaking it up. Pathetic.
The only positive news -- I'm also a Niners fan and their offense is an absolute joy to watch. The Evans-Deebo hook and ladder was good, old-fashioned, fun.
Deebo with 80 receiving yards on 0 catches….wild!
We have way more talent than we did under Wilcox but Wilcox would've played Clemson much better than this. So many missed tackles -- didn't wrap or whiff. Offense not utilizing JKS strengths. Even the interesting plays become predictable because we try them again with no wrinkle to make them different. Undisciplined and giving Clemson more chances in the red zone. Special teams looking like hot garbage too.
As much as I want to hate on Somerville, Tosh owns this dumpster fire of a loss. Tonight was completely winnable and yet we had to grab defeat from the jaws of victory.
Tosh’s mid-game interview was complete and utter gibberish and incredibly concerning, IMO.
Being a rah rah, one of-the-boys, recruit-first HC is one thing, but there needs to be some semblance of coaching acumen on the sidelines. I thought far too often Wilcox’s teams were woefully unprepared from the opening kick, but at least you knew Wilcox could coach….this is much more concerning, as the entire staff is so clearly learning on the job. I personally didn’t expect they would collectively be this unprepared…he’s got like 20-something coaches and yet the club looks lost.
Yeah, I watched the interview. I mean it's kind of par for the course from him. Inspirational meathead.
Still, though. I had hoped that he could coach.
But I feared that the guy has always been put in positions where he's been blessed with talent. Washington, Bama, Oregon. Having a lot of talent and having great head coaches can do a lot. How much of that was Tosh?
I had hoped he would hire someone with some kind of track record on the offensive side of the ball. But no he went with Somerville. And everybody was scratching their head.
Guys, it's not a mystery. Turns out hiring someone who's a first time OC -- no matter how much of a savant he might be -- is a bad idea. We can't flush 3 seasons down the drain while the guy learns on the job. Like Rivera says, we need to win now.
I was definitely concerned when a majority of the OL returned…that was not a good sign.
Idk how he’s going to lead the team if he blows nothing but hot air.
Ron might say we need to win now, but it would be nice as “General Manager” that he would, you know, “manage” the team, like in stepping in and firing the OC, or, at least, demoting him.
Otherwise, he’s no better than the rest of us screaming at the TV while watching the team.
As much as I would love to see a correction at OC right now, it just feels like a pipedream. You just don’t fire a new coach this quickly as that act in itself just sends a really bad message.
I just hope this doesn’t turn out like Andy Buh levels of bad. Someone just clearly out of their element and never sees any improvement. I’m hopeful that the coaches surrounding him (ie Rolo) can mentor him and we can see improvement. Because the alternative is much worse.
That is, I’d rather see Somerville succeed because I can’t stand a Cal football failure this season.
Tosh made his bed and how he has to lie in it.
It’s just a bunch of hot air at this point-there’s nothing to back it up. I can’t watch the post games after this-abysmal coaching & he’s congratulating everyone
Sadly, it’s a similar feeling I had with Wilcox and his pressers, especially towards the end….nothing but positive, cliche-filled word-salad, with countless promises to work hard, but as with JW, nothing we’ve seen on the field in the past month gives any confidence that the staff is at all capable of fixing anything, at least on O.
Preparation aside, Wilcox understood the limitations of his talent, and coached games intentionally to run the clock and drag the other team into a rock fight. The downside is was we played down to the level of teams below us as well.
Tosh came out of the gates with a sort of "manifesting" approach, putting the cart ahead of the horse.
Now that everyone (including Tosh himself) knows that his enthusiasm cant just will success into existence, I'm genuinely curious to see how this will play out going forward.
You have a GREAT OPPORTUNTITY, Tosh, to show us what you will do now as head coach.
“Tosh came out of the gates with a sort of "manifesting" approach, putting the cart ahead of the horse.”
This.
If we wanted a live action reboot of South Park’s Underpants Gnomes, look no farther than “ShitBricks Field” at California Memorial Stadium…
This game was so sad to watch. Our players deserve better coaches. Wilcox's last loss vs furd was a better showing than the incompetence we saw tonight.
Yeah Wilcox would have still lost this game
(We lose all the biggest game of the year at home) but would have been a close game. We may even be up by 3 TDs in 3rd quarter.
Depending upon which version of Wilcox we got, I think the Evan Weaver version of his teams actually wins that game last night…
I think Wilcox would’ve won but it would’ve been the defense who did most of the scoring. The low-scoring defensive battle is actually the Wilcox special.
Hard to say with this offensive line though. In recent Wilcox history, the miserable loss at home to a weak Auburn team (in which Ott got shut down and probably concussed when needlessly hurdling on one play), comes to mind. Still wouldve been closer at the end at least. Granted, Mohammed is a much better physical running back than Ott was, and is exactly the type of RB that Wilcox needed.
I've been on a 12 day road trip from Idaho and tonight, my last night before heading home, I went to the game. I rented a VRBO in the Uplands off Tunnel Road and had time to think on my walk back from the stadium. Where do I even start?
Let's do big picture and then come back in some detail. First of all the game was ugly. We could have won this game. We were completely out coached from beginning to end.
Offense: didn't score a Tug all game. We have one of the best QB's in college football, a stud RB and we could not get in the end zone once the entire game against a middling Clemson defense. I would like to see the stats, but I don't believe we had one pass play where JKS was not pressured or hurried.
Defense: Our defense spent way to much time on the field because our offense didn't. They got tired. Tackling was terrible.
Special Teams: We have a terrible KO kicker. We have a terrible FG kicker. And we have a terrible punter who got lucky a few times. Our first contact tackling is non-existent. Basically they suck.
Coaching: we were out coached in all aspects of the game.
Offensive issues: 1. the offensive line. I don't think our o-line is as bad as people think. I think their problem is how they are coached and Somerville's schemes. Tonight I was able to see how the Clemson DL lined up. They were typically all lined up a yard off the ball with maybe the one tech tighter on the line. By doing this it negates any speed advantage we might have getting off the ball. It means our OLinemen need to take really big first steps or a couple of steps to initiate a block. A big initial step will result in a failed block as the OL will lose his base being out of position and the DL can manipulate him. Two steps are slow and the DL can make the read, then make the adjustment and the tackle with a short gain by us. Now I noticed our guys were bunched up with tighter splits, which is the exact opposite of what you should do in this situation. If the DL lines up off the ball then the OL should widen their splits, step to a space and protect the space. If the RB hits the holes fast he'll have a natural lane created by the split and the OL will be protecting a space from the DL and ILB. This is OC Scheme 101 and OL Coaching 101.
When Clemson was able to stop our run then then played 'press' This meant they brought 5 or 6 guys and had DB's up tight. They outnumbered our pass protectors and bumped our receivers on the line. The constant pressure on JKS with no ability to hit the mid and deeper routes killed our explosive game. Again, this is all coaching, both Somerville and OL and receiver coaches.
Our OC showed his inexperience. Some the peeps here mentioned it. You don't send Ingrassia in on a 4th down to try and do something you already did. If we can't run the rock one yard, then we have big problems. Thus far, Somerville has been Vanilla, with a few trick plays but his halftime adjustments have not been enough to improve our play. I for one don't want an OC to learn on the job in the P4. Chad Morris from Clemson showed us how to do it with a freshman QB who really isn't that good.
Defensive issues: Our defense was stout early on and for the time they were on the field, I felt good about them up to the 17 points they gave up. I do not blame the last Clemson TD on them. That was a coaching brainfart. When you are desperate and play aggressive, you get burned. Our DC was clearly thinking Clemson was going to pass and brought the entire team up to the LOS. Clemson was going to run the ball and burn the clock because they could punt on 4th down and pin us deep, and they knew our offense had not scored all game. So Chad Morris dials up a run. We had no second level and one DB on the opposite side of the field. It was a brilliant play call and we got suckered the way an idiot does when a pretty girl leads him on.
Special team issues. Why do we have guys on the special teams who race down the field with the ability to stop the return man when he catches the ball but who are to pussy to tackle him? During the TD punt return against us we had two guys right there on the return man. Both stood there instead of making a tackle. Why are they on the field if they can't tackle? Why do our kickers and punters suck? I bet if you went to the mens soccer team and did tryouts on frat row, we could find better kickers and punters. Special teams coach is a disaster.
Tosh: I want Tosh to succeed. I like the culture he is trying to build. I worry that he made mistakes with his coordinator hires. First timers in the P4 with no track record probably fail more than they succeed. Tosh needs to tone down his emotions. His kids get amped up and make stupid penalties. When he goes at it with refs in front of the whole team, he is giving them an excuse for their poor play. Lastly, he should focus on building a great team and forget about telling people to fill the stadium. Great teams attract fans. Telling people to fill the stadium and then shitting the bed turns off fans in a big way. He'd be better off finding a group of players that don't care about the fans and care more as a group about winning. That would be a special group - I liken that type of team to the teams Whittingham coached at Utah. They drew crowds but they didn't care. They came out to play and to punch their opponents in the mouth. Lastly, Tosh seems to get excited about players who pass the eye test, meaning they look the part, big fast, etc. But we are finding that there may be a reason why some of our portal transfers weren't contributors on previous teams. They have the Tarzan complex: look like Tarzan, play like Jane. This is where I really liked Wilcox's attitude: the best guys play, irrespective of how they look or how big they are.
I wonder if CAL had given Wilcox the budget they gave Tosh, if the results might be different? It is early in Tosh's tenure and I want to give him time to settle in. I have high hopes that his energy and culture will lead to a good future for CAL football, but if he is learning on the job, he needs to learn faster and he needs to be ruthless as a CEO when he evaluates , his hires, meaning assistant coaches AND players. Btw, if Somerville and the OL coach cannot figure out how to protect JKS and help him with a successful pass game, he'll be gone next year.
Good night.
Great stuff Rugbear. As a former coach (43 years) I agree with you whole heartedly. The OC installed the offense early in Spring ball. So changing the OC would not be able to change the content of the offense in just a week or so. So if there is a change he would have to run Somerville's offense. The only coach on staff who possibly could do that is Rolovich. I hope Tosh swallows his pride and makes the change NOW! Innocently I just watched the Stanford game and. I hate to say it, but Stanfraud is better coached than Cal
There is such a big rotation of defensive players, especially upfront. Could they be so tired as to leave their gaps for that final touchdown run?
No. It was a blown coverage on a risky and aggressive defensive call. We wanted the ball back and so played overly aggressive and got burned. On aggressive calls you usually wither win big or lose big. We’ve been on the losing end to many times this year.
Yes why change 5 o6 players every down on defense? Check out the niners. They don't do it.
It’s so troubling that RR let his inexperienced new coach surround himself with even less experienced coordinators. That’s a red flag in any business setting. Screams insecurity or ignorance. If you’re in charge, you see that and you don’t let it happen.
Unpopular opinion, but JKS deserves some blame too. He looks sluggish, out of sync with his receivers, and he's slow to get the ball out. Of course the OL is not doing him any favors but we are paying this kid way more than a Nobel Laureate. The announcers spend half the game licking is ****, but he has been terrible this year, so far.
The reason for this is Somerville's bad playbook
Amen!!
Maybe Somerville not bringing a system that plays to JKS' strengths is the real crime.
But JKS is the captain of the offense and supposed to be the team leader. The offense looks flat. There were good moments yesterday and some flashes of guys playing with intensity...but then a bunch of slop in between. Where's the on field leadership and energy? Mendoza had that in spades.
But let's also be realistic. We can't expect Tosh and his green coaches to work miracles. A learning curve should have been expected. This was never a one year project; the beef just ain't there yet.
This could be a better team in the second half of the year.
Well, JKS is being hamstrung by the playbook.
He was built for a Rolovich's Run-and-Shoot playbook, not Somerville's slop.
He can't lead the team if he's overthinking everything and his receivers are overthinking and the opposing defense has figured out the entire predictable, hard-to-follow playbook.
And this is especially damning when you take into account Hutchings (and Tosh)'s success with a defense that's so good it doubles as an auxiliary offense.
Tosh and Hutchings are able to work miracles. If Somerville is actively regressing JKS he should be removed. Maybe he gets fired, maybe he gets demoted to some analyst, but he shouldn't be within 10 feet of the playbook ever again.
Sorry, I do expect Tosh and his coaching hires to do better than last year. More talent; otherwise, why fire Wilcox?
“… we are paying this kid way more than a Nobel Laureate.”
Which begs the question in that case—shouldn’t we have given him a parking spot then also?
he needs to get back to eating fast food
And his side arm delivery gets passes blocked by D linemen. Which happened Friday night when his receiver was wide open 3 steps from the end zone and would have put us ahead. 14 to 10 at the time.
Agreed. He’s not exempt.
Everyone needs to be better - JKS included. He’s definitely missed some throws.
But as you pointed out, unless this OL suddenly morphs into a different unit via personnel changes, there is a serious ceiling on this team. 3rd consecutive season it’s been a major weakness. Famika has been a disappointment, and these players are getting manhandled. Very few explosive plays other than v Wagner.
I mean, really. The special teams and offensive coordinators need to go now
As someone who always had an issue with Wilcox’s seemingly complete lack of attention to special teams, the fact that Lupoi actually hired a dedicated ST coach only to have literally EVERY facet of the unit take a massive step back is….concerning.
The current STs coach (Tinker) actually was Cal's de facto STs coach in the mid-late Wilcox era, before going to Oregon to work as an analyst, then returning to Cal via the Tosh hire
This can't continue. Give the offense to Rolovich.
Tosh needs to demote his buddy and give Rolo the reins starting next week at UNLV
Tosh doesn't need to make a public announcement about demoting Somerville. He just needs to quietly put Rolo in the booth next game and make him call plays.
Yeah, Somerville can just "lean" on Rolo - more, use the resources you have
Yeah, get help with play designs and game planning
Turns out hiring a coach who has never been asked to coach before and letting him hire more coaches who also have never coached before just might not be a winning formula
If we dont get better by next week, I don't know who we will beat in the remainder of our schedule...
The floor of this team is so much lower than I anticipated... still not getting over how badly this team played, especially our offensive play-calling
Especially if our #1 RB is out - ugh.
All Tosh, no action.
Nice. That’s on point.
I wonder what kind of conversations Tosh had with Ron Rivera early on: “Ron, I’m planning to hire an entire staff for positions they’ve never had before.” Ron replies “Gee Tosh, that’s a great idea. I’m sure that will work out fabulously.”
What is the point of having Ron Rivera “overseeing” the program if this kind of lunacy is allowed to happen?
I am so F—CKING ANGRY.
4-8? If we maybe beat Stanford and UNLV, though that may be a stretch. Apparently in the game of football you cannot win games if your offense cannot score.
We looked pathetic on offense. OL is hopeless and WR’s are beyond that. If nobody can get separation then JKS has nobody to throw to. If Adam Mohammed is hurt, what little offense we have is gone. And penalties apparently don’t help either. I am at a complete loss about how this situation gets turned around this season and fear that the best players will leave for the NFL or the portal.
Even if we had somehow Lopa'd ourselves into another win this game, I would still feel as badly about this game as I do now with a loss. There was not enough consistent output on offense to have deserved to have won that game. Nobody is driving the bus right now. Everyone is a passenger. They all want to reach the destination but willing it from their seats is simply not good enough. You have to have gas in the tank, tires and brakes, a good navigator, and the mindset to run over anyone and everyone standing in your way. The coaches are all peering into the windows and high fiving themselves over the recruiting wins sitting in those seats. But that's all we have right now. Talent with no drive.
I have a few ideas for new slogans for Cal football. 1) Cal Football, The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same 2) Cal Football, Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss (That's a reference to The Who song -- ask your parents) 3) Cal Football, Come For the Hype, Stay For the Disappointment.
After several years of low expectations the Golden Bears suckered me and a lot of people back in. I actually thought we were at the dawn of a new era. Some people never learn.
"This is a world where nothing is solved. You know, someone once told me, 'Time is a flat circle.' Everything we’ve ever done, or will do, we’re gonna do over and over and over again."
-Oski
Yeah and I find my self caring less and less about Cal football or tuning into the games. Whether we stay in the ACC or get regulated to the G5, I have finally realized that Cal just will never be consistently good at football