I cant even celebrate this win because there is so much meat left on the bone. Why cant we just play solid FUNDAMENTAL football! Couldn't decide to walk away and look at the score later or just keep being tortured.
Ugly as it was, the team went cross-country after a deflating loss and found a way to grind out a conference win (insert Wilcoxian cliche about winning being hard and the opponent having some darn good players here).
The good: thought Hutchings called a great game. The blitz packages were effective and we generated pressure in key moments which led to Angeli’s mistakes. Pass protection seemed improved, especially with Klisiewicz coming in after halftime. Adam Mohammed is a beast. The run blocking is non-existent and he turns plays that look dead in the water into modest gains through brut force and sheer will; we are lucky to have him. Lopa and Tuitele consistently made plays on defense and this is a different outcome without them. Tackling looked improved.
The bad: Run blocking is… bad. Mental errors on defense - too many coverage busts, defenders taking bad angles and allowing chunk plays that should be stopped. Receiver play has been unacceptably bad; these guys have to be better. Not enough separation and too many drops. That ball JKS threw on the 3rd and 20 in the 4th quarter was a dime and has to be caught… period. Mason Mini is probably the most reliable target and needs to be more involved in the passing game. What is going on with Quaron Adams? Dudes a burner and hasn’t even sniffed the field. Somerville and co. have work to do to get this offense clicking.
Nice article. After surviving the first two games, we have a real opportunity to improve in the next few weeks with a lot of home games (good for practices). We also play some meh teams (Wagner, UNLV) and some maybe good / maybe bad ones (Clemson, Va Tech and Wake), but those East Coast teams have to travel a few thousand miles. Just keep getting better Bears!
"On the bright side, few teams have had a harder two-game entrance to this season than a home game with rising UCLA and a quick 3000 mile turnaround to Syracuse. To come out of that stretch 1-1 with a squad still learning to play together has to feel pretty nice," This nails it and I feel this element has been overlooked. So many new moving pieces and tough opposition and we still prevail. Feeling very optimistic for what is yet to come...I believe in the process and the pillars. Go Bears Forever!
One of the ugliest overall games by both teams I've seen in a while. Biggest play of the game for me was Daniel Harris not giving up and chasing down the RB in their first drive of the game. I was watching and noticing him come from the other side of the field and turning to my buddy after their FG and wondering if that's the play that wins the game.
Offense: a potentially great offense still hampered by an abysmal Oline. Sure, some more dropped passes against 'Cuse. But the talent is there. Mohammed is a beast, but his success so far is despite the Oline, not because of it.
Defense: there are two defenses here. One is the motivated, fired up one like in the 2H yesterday with good penetration and pressure, and the other is the sleep walking, confused one like much of the 1H. Gotta have coaching make the former the dominant D that shows up.
I would like to see Mason Mini featured far more than he has been so far this season. So far, he's appeared to be the only receiver who can reliably haul in passes thrown anywhere near him.
Yesterday's game announcers seemed obsessed with Ian Strong's ability to get "50-50" balls against defenders. Of course, I would prefer that we just avoid "50-50" situations in the first place. Between those circumstances, as well as our OC's continued fascination with jailbreak screens (are all Cal OCs required to run them), offensive momentum gets stopped right about the time it needs to truly get going...
The OC needs to learn how to put together a game plan and getting smarter with in-game play calling g. Clock management and use of time outs has to improve. And the OL.....
Thanks for the write up. Tackling on special teams is a major liability right now too. We also only won this game because of Syracuse's costly penalties, in addition to Lopa's INTs.
I was having LA Bowl flashbacks with 'Cuse's fake punt. It's one thing to watch our placekicking revert to it's Wilcoxian norm, but between the fake, and the potentially catastrophic long returns (which penalties nullified), I don't understand how and why Special Teams have been relegated to an afterthought.
Reminded me of that Auburn game. Some fugly football, but the defense figured things out well enough to be the difference. Lopa made some good reads and also benefitted from a pass rush that increased over time.
Receivers are still frustrating with drops and a tiny catch radius. Hope that improves with chemistry and experience.
I know this was a very Wilcox game, but the sunshine pumper on my shoulder is whispering that this could be a team that may peak later in the year (moreso than normal).
Offense (better run blocking/pass protection) and Defense ( better pass rush/route coverage/tackling) are slowly coming together. This team is starting to look like grittier one —The Lupoi Effect! 🏈💙💛🐻👍🏻🙌🏻
Outside of a few big plays, the defense yesterday looked better than last year. Love the blitzing pressure defense producing sacks and TFLs. The offense is a mess so far but it usually takes longer for a new offense to come together than a new defense. If the offense can get on the same page with their new coordinator Cal can go on a run. Biggest concern is the OL continues to underperform, again. Maybe they just need new players and a new OL coach, because they don't look improved so far at all. Let's hope they can get much better as the season goes on.
I cant even celebrate this win because there is so much meat left on the bone. Why cant we just play solid FUNDAMENTAL football! Couldn't decide to walk away and look at the score later or just keep being tortured.
Ugly as it was, the team went cross-country after a deflating loss and found a way to grind out a conference win (insert Wilcoxian cliche about winning being hard and the opponent having some darn good players here).
The good: thought Hutchings called a great game. The blitz packages were effective and we generated pressure in key moments which led to Angeli’s mistakes. Pass protection seemed improved, especially with Klisiewicz coming in after halftime. Adam Mohammed is a beast. The run blocking is non-existent and he turns plays that look dead in the water into modest gains through brut force and sheer will; we are lucky to have him. Lopa and Tuitele consistently made plays on defense and this is a different outcome without them. Tackling looked improved.
The bad: Run blocking is… bad. Mental errors on defense - too many coverage busts, defenders taking bad angles and allowing chunk plays that should be stopped. Receiver play has been unacceptably bad; these guys have to be better. Not enough separation and too many drops. That ball JKS threw on the 3rd and 20 in the 4th quarter was a dime and has to be caught… period. Mason Mini is probably the most reliable target and needs to be more involved in the passing game. What is going on with Quaron Adams? Dudes a burner and hasn’t even sniffed the field. Somerville and co. have work to do to get this offense clicking.
We gotta get the run game going. Keep the clock going, our defense time to rest and putting jks in more manageable situations
Nice article. After surviving the first two games, we have a real opportunity to improve in the next few weeks with a lot of home games (good for practices). We also play some meh teams (Wagner, UNLV) and some maybe good / maybe bad ones (Clemson, Va Tech and Wake), but those East Coast teams have to travel a few thousand miles. Just keep getting better Bears!
Angeli "nearly threw up multiple interception opportunities"...
No "nearly" about it, fortunately for us!
Oh, and for those of you not on the chat yesterday...I effing called it! (me taking victory lap). Sunshine pumping has its rewards!
"On the bright side, few teams have had a harder two-game entrance to this season than a home game with rising UCLA and a quick 3000 mile turnaround to Syracuse. To come out of that stretch 1-1 with a squad still learning to play together has to feel pretty nice," This nails it and I feel this element has been overlooked. So many new moving pieces and tough opposition and we still prevail. Feeling very optimistic for what is yet to come...I believe in the process and the pillars. Go Bears Forever!
One of the ugliest overall games by both teams I've seen in a while. Biggest play of the game for me was Daniel Harris not giving up and chasing down the RB in their first drive of the game. I was watching and noticing him come from the other side of the field and turning to my buddy after their FG and wondering if that's the play that wins the game.
We both chanted, "we sucked less" after the game.
after two games now:
Offense: a potentially great offense still hampered by an abysmal Oline. Sure, some more dropped passes against 'Cuse. But the talent is there. Mohammed is a beast, but his success so far is despite the Oline, not because of it.
Defense: there are two defenses here. One is the motivated, fired up one like in the 2H yesterday with good penetration and pressure, and the other is the sleep walking, confused one like much of the 1H. Gotta have coaching make the former the dominant D that shows up.
Special teams: uh, yikes.
I would like to see Mason Mini featured far more than he has been so far this season. So far, he's appeared to be the only receiver who can reliably haul in passes thrown anywhere near him.
Yesterday's game announcers seemed obsessed with Ian Strong's ability to get "50-50" balls against defenders. Of course, I would prefer that we just avoid "50-50" situations in the first place. Between those circumstances, as well as our OC's continued fascination with jailbreak screens (are all Cal OCs required to run them), offensive momentum gets stopped right about the time it needs to truly get going...
The OC needs to learn how to put together a game plan and getting smarter with in-game play calling g. Clock management and use of time outs has to improve. And the OL.....
Thanks for the write up. Tackling on special teams is a major liability right now too. We also only won this game because of Syracuse's costly penalties, in addition to Lopa's INTs.
I was having LA Bowl flashbacks with 'Cuse's fake punt. It's one thing to watch our placekicking revert to it's Wilcoxian norm, but between the fake, and the potentially catastrophic long returns (which penalties nullified), I don't understand how and why Special Teams have been relegated to an afterthought.
Defense made some fantastic open field tackles too, all in hindsight probably game saving.
Reminded me of that Auburn game. Some fugly football, but the defense figured things out well enough to be the difference. Lopa made some good reads and also benefitted from a pass rush that increased over time.
Receivers are still frustrating with drops and a tiny catch radius. Hope that improves with chemistry and experience.
I know this was a very Wilcox game, but the sunshine pumper on my shoulder is whispering that this could be a team that may peak later in the year (moreso than normal).
🎶 sunshine on your shoulder makes me happy… 😎
Tell the little guy on your shoulder to send a buddy over to my shoulder.
Listen to the little fellow on your shoulder
Offense (better run blocking/pass protection) and Defense ( better pass rush/route coverage/tackling) are slowly coming together. This team is starting to look like grittier one —The Lupoi Effect! 🏈💙💛🐻👍🏻🙌🏻
Outside of a few big plays, the defense yesterday looked better than last year. Love the blitzing pressure defense producing sacks and TFLs. The offense is a mess so far but it usually takes longer for a new offense to come together than a new defense. If the offense can get on the same page with their new coordinator Cal can go on a run. Biggest concern is the OL continues to underperform, again. Maybe they just need new players and a new OL coach, because they don't look improved so far at all. Let's hope they can get much better as the season goes on.