The biggest storyline across the first two games of Cal’s season is an inefficient passing attack. 6.2 yards/attempt against UCLA followed up by 5.4 yards/attempt against Syracuse, after a freshman season that saw JKS go for 7.0 for the whole season has been setting off alarm bells for Cal fans who were expecting fireworks after Cal brought in pass catching talent in the portal.
So what gives? Well, here’s the deal: I’m going to go through every non-successful passing play from the Syracuse game until I either run out of time or find some kind of takeaway that might explain why Cal hasn’t successfully passed the ball yet. Let’s go:
Play 1: 1st and 10
This was actually a solid play, in that Cal gains 5 easy yards, but here’s what I found interesting. Cal lines up in 5 wide . . . and all five guys just run stick routes five yards downfield, with JKS having basically every receiver as an open underneath option:
He hits Hendricks for a free five yards, but what does this play design say to me? We don’t trust our blockers to hold up for any kind of long developing route.
Play 2: 1st and 10
Syracuse runs a DB blitz, sending their nickleback from the right side. JKS turns around from a play action fake to find Davion Kerr in his face. He makes the right read to throw the dumpoff to Purcell . . .
. . . but under pressure, he throws to high and Purcell can only tip it to the ground. This is a little bit bad luck, that ‘Cuse has a DB blitz called directly to the side that JKS is rolling towards.
If the throw is there, Purcell has an easy 7-10 yards, maybe more if he can break a tackle. It’s not an easy throw, but still one you would expect a QB like JKS to make. It’s probably not ideal that the play design makes it harder for a lefty to set himself. Purcell also maybe could have gotten a better chip on Kerr, but he’s a true freshman focusing on running his route.
Play 3: 3rd and 6
Cal comes out in five wide, and Syracuse blitzes with 5 guys. Surely somebody on Cal will come open with 6 DBs to defend 5 receivers?
Nope. Jimothy Lewis is beaten on the right side of the line, and a stunt sends an interior lineman into JKS’s face. There’s nowhere to move in the pocket, so JKS is forced to unload a throw too soon. Cooper Perry runs an aimless looking slant that takes him right into a linebacker in a shallow zone but he wasn’t even looking for the ball that was arriving too soon.
Play 4: 2nd and 8
Cal goes with a RB screen, and it’s a perfect play call because Syracuse sends a delayed safety blitz that vacates a ton of space. Just look at the moment Mohammed catches the ball with a convoy in front of him:
If Cal’s blockers can take out the ONE dude in space and Mohammed can outrun the chasing defensive linemen and the backside linebacker, this can go for acres.
Unfortunately, the pass takes Mohammed juuuuust too far outside such that he trips over the legs of the linemen blocking for him as he turns upfield.
I don’t even know if anybody is at fault for this, exactly? Did Mohammed stray too far outside in his route? Did JKS place the ball too far to the sideline? Did Cal’s blockers not get out fast enough? Is this just a random frustrating thing that happens sometimes? Regardless, it takes a play that probably would’ve gained 10 yards minimum and turns it into a 2 yard play.
Play 5: 3rd and 6
This one is concerning for a few different reasons.
Reason one: JKS is a little trigger happy. Syracuse blitzes 5, but Cal’s line actually picks it up pretty well, and he has more time to make a decision than he thinks.
Reason two: JKS throws a contested ball up to Strong who is well covered on the sideline. The guy he should be throwing to?
That’d be Hendricks, who is completely uncovered as he runs a shallow crossing route. Hit him and he picks up the first down easily.
Reason three: This is far from an easy catch to make - Syracuse’s defender has better position on Strong. It’s maybe a catch . . . 20% of the time? But it’s a pretty good throw, and it’s another chance for a contested catch from a contested catch specialist, but he can’t come down with it, in part because it looks like Strong can’t disengage from the hand fighting he’s doing with the ‘Cuse corner in time.
Play 6: 3rd and 4
Cal calls a WR bubble screen, and I can’t decide if this is an acceptable play call or a terrible play call.
Why might it be an OK play call? Because Syracuse has basically sent the house on 3rd and 4. The ball needs to come out FAST, but if you get it to a play maker there’s going to be space to roam. Just look at the picture when JKS releases the pass:
If Ian Strong can seal off ‘Cuse’s #7, Hendricks should easily get the 4 yards to get the first down, and if he can make the safety rotating down miss, then it could be a HUGE gain.
Why do I still kind of hate it? Because I am still unconvinced that Cal has outside receivers that can block. Ian Strong very much DOESN’T get the block, Hendricks is hit as he receives the pass, and Cal loses two yards . . . but the drive keeps going because the refs call a super questionable unsportsmanlike on Syracuse.
Should Cal have Strong as the blocking receiver here? Maybe it should be Mini or Purcell as the blocker? Would that telegraph that it’s a screen to Syracuse? Would the DB, who is super fast to the play, be too fast for a slower tight end?
Regardless, for YEARS I have watched Cal offensive coordinators call plays like this even though they have never had the blocking personnel to make these plays successful.
Play 7: 1st and 10
Link to play (the broadcast was late to the snap)
Cal runs max protect, with only three guys running routes. One of them is Mini, who is running a sideline route, but Syracuse does a good job using the sideline as a defender, and Mini is out of bounds even though he makes a contested catch.
The guy to throw to is Dorian Thomas, who comes open on the right running a deeper post, but it might be just as well that JKS seems locked into the left side of the field . . . because Jimothy Lewis is beaten on a speed rush to the outside, meaning that if JKS had gone to another read and tried to reset his feet, he’d have probably been sacked on his blindside, rather than ‘only’ taking a QB hit on this play.
Play 8: 2nd and 11
This one’s pretty simple: it’s a blown assignment by the offensive line. Syracuse lines up one of their DEs WAY wide of left tackle:
For whatever reason, nobody slides over to block him, he’s not chipped, it’s not a play where Cal leaves a guy unblocked because they’re going elsewhere . . . he just runs right at JKS and tips the pass when JKS tries to make a throw.
Play 9: 3rd and 11
Another concerning play. Cal’s protection on a 4 man rush is decent, but JKS doesn’t feel like he can step into a throw . . . which sails in the general direction of Ian Strong, but isn’t particularly close. It’s one of those plays where you’re left wondering - did the WR run the wrong route? Did the QB bail?
If JKS steps up into the pocket away from the outside rushers, I think there’s space for him to let routes develop and go through progressions. But he probably feels the pressure and gets rid of it.
BTW, by this point in the game Cal had already pulled Jimothy Lewis. Michael Klisiewicz did OK here - the Syracuse edge rusher maybe had a bit of outside leverage, but again if JKS steps up there’s a play to be made.
Takeaways
I ran out of time to type up larger breakdowns of individual plays, but I kept watching film from failed plays, like the 4th and 3 that Hendricks couldn’t bring in, and the sack that JKS took in the 4th quarter. Add it all up, and what do you get?
JKS is uncomfortable
He’s not stepping into throws, he’s feeling pressure before it gets there, and he was more inaccurate in this game than we’re used to seeing. Maybe it was a one off, because Syracuse was reasonably blitz happy and got some early hits in, but Cal needs their best player comfortable and confident.
If this was his first season as a starter, I’d assume that’s just his skill level in the moment. But we saw what JKS did last year and what he’s capable of doing, so I’m open to the idea that something else is off. Maybe he didn’t have the reps to build chemistry with the new guys. Maybe Cal’s new offense hasn’t been well-installed, or maybe it’s a bad fit for JKS’s skillset.
Whatever the reason for what we saw in Cal’s first two games (and particularly against Syracuse), Cal needs to figure out how to get JKS comfortable and slinging it, FAST.
Receivers need to make plays
There were multiple tough catch opportunities that went by the wayside. Sideline routes, balls that were tough but in the catch radius . . . this was one of those games where you’re reminded that 10 different things need to happen to make a successful football play and 1 mistake can kill it all.
Klisiewicz was an upgrade at tackle but issues on the edges persist
Most of the pressure Syracuse got was on the edges, and the issues were mostly physical (either beaten for speed or for power) but occasionally mental/identification. A change at right tackle slowed the problem (protection issues at that position was a primary issue for Cal’s slow start), which is some cause for optimism if Klisiewicz can play solid ball against Clemson.
I want more downfield plays with more protection
When Cal found success, it was with downfield passing off of 6 and 7 man protection schemes that helped JKS feel comfortable and have the confidence to survey the field and go down the field. Cal’s 2nd quarter touchdown drive came off of that kind of stuff, and there were narrow misses on similar plays in the 3rd quarter.
This goes double for as long as Dorian Thomas isn’t full go to play with the starters, because if Cal has fewer trusted downfield receivers, then you’re better off improving your protection and your QB’s confidence.
I get that Cal has to occasionally go underneath as a constraint play to keep a defense honest and potentially as a protection against constant blitzing. But I don’t really want to see much underneath stuff that isn’t to Mohammed, Cal’s best open field play maker.
Last years Offensive Coordinator had a better passing offense than this years. It's as simple as that.
The Bears rank 106th in the country in third/fourth-down success rate (35.1%). Their 7.6-yard average third-down distance ranks 95th in the NCAA.
Room for improvement!