Cal Football Stats & Analysis - Evans Hall: The Forwards Pass Was a Mistake
Cal Football Stats & Analysis - Evans Hall: The Forwards Pass Was a Mistake
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt set in motion the idea that has failed the Golden Bears in 2023
I am putting these charts in because it is not the data that needs to be scanned or analyzed. The beatdown by UW was so sever that we have no data after the 2nd quarter. That’s how severe the beat down was. Both the passing game on defense and offense were putrid, with the Cal offense yielding negative PPA/EPA on 13 passing plays in 1 half and forcing only 3 on defense.
The forward pass was a mistake…
We only had 8 passes before garbage time that converted for a 1st down with only 3 runs doing so, all on 3rd and short. Otherwise it was a pretty dismal performance across the line We can see below Cal slowly creeping towards the line of being average at DSR note that this isn’t garbage time adjusted.
I mean, c’mon man, even adjusted for the garbage time scoring against UW we’re just not great on offense or defense on a per play basis. The only salve is that Stanford is worse.
PAIN.
On defense it isn’t as if we have done much better. The 3 1st down passes is all they needed to make the difference, UW only faced 3 3rd downs and converted 2 of them. UW had too much success with the passing game I am amazed they even attempted so many runs at all.
I am not sure what to say, there is not much to figure out from 2 quarters of data, we were crap, the offense since UNT has been crap, and it all starts with the passing game.
Notice the depth chart now has
Bhaghani as the #1 PK.
Darius Long is finally on the depth chart in the 3rd position
The forward pass has not always been a liability. Cal has produced some prolific passers, and in the 1920 Rose Bowl, helped us defeat Ohio State. We can only be Pappy Waldorf teams if we have massive offensive lines combined with great backs. Then quarterbacking is not the focus. In this day and age, it is more difficult to obtain both without money and visibility. We are fortunate to have a very good running back now, but our offensive line will be facing some outstanding defensive teams this year, and our quarterbacks are a work in progress. Until our possession passing improves, as well as a few down field completions, our running game will be stuffed.