Football is won in the trenches. Having most of the OL return shouldn't be an area of comfort. The OL was not good last year. They deserve a pass on this first game but if there isn't measurable improvement (like off the charts) the staff should look for new beef on the OL.
The DL was already thin and inexperienced and Maldonado being out for the year hurts this unit a lot.
There were several positives: blocked punt, INT & a lot of Freshman got to play!!
But one could sense things would not end up to the good for Cal when they only got 3 points from the blocked punt and INT.
Of the PAC12 games I've seen, Cal is 12th. OSU will be ready for us and I expect a very competitive game.
Getting a few of comments on this, so I'm just gonna reply here instead of to each one.
For my personal vote, I didn't put Cal at #12 and it wasn't homerism or sugarcoating—I just don't want to be too reactive to one data point that was under such unusual circumstances. If the team continues to perform at that level, then I'll have no reservations about putting us straight at the bottom.
Based only on play, we must be last. How can a team play worse? My poor Bears. Not super hopeful they can overcome the structural issues right now to play tons better week 2, but who knows?
As a TOTAL homer, I’m accusing you of homerism, pure and simple! I’d have to shield my eyes, but I’d still rank Cal last.
This is one of those weeks where I take a few days off From reading about the game. Wow, it still hurts. Just a complete egg lay....... I hope we at least LEARNED something that will help us in the next few weeks. O’wise it’s going to be the longest short season ever. I’d start with “how to handle a backside blitz.....on every play” on offense and “what is this thing we call tackling” on defense.....
Thanks, crew, for having the muster to still write columns after that dumpster fire (oh to have gif abilities....).
The biggest concern for me is that Wilcox seems not to have a clue about anything related to offense. If you are going to line up under center half the time, you are telling the world you are a power running team with O-lineman that can blow the defensive line off the ball. There was no power in that game, and the UCLA D obviously was not going to respect play action. Felt sorry for Brown and Dancy. It's maybe too early to declare the Musgrave era a bust, but this is an ominous sign.
I have watched 10 other PAC 12 teams play this season, and Cal is clearly in the number 12 spot in my view.
Don't sugarcoat it guys. Clearly the worst loss in the Wilcox era. 12th place, at least for now. The Utah loss last year was brutal, but then we played with a 3rd-string quarterback. With all of the returning talent we have it is inexcusable.
I still think the 2018 UCLA loss was worse. UCLA was a laughingstock at 0-5 with some abysmal losses. We weren't great, but the defense was mostly solid enough to let the Toyota Tercel offense sputter to a win with ~20 points. Instead we were thoroughly embarrassed on both sides of the ball. During homecoming, no less.
Football is won in the trenches. Having most of the OL return shouldn't be an area of comfort. The OL was not good last year. They deserve a pass on this first game but if there isn't measurable improvement (like off the charts) the staff should look for new beef on the OL.
The DL was already thin and inexperienced and Maldonado being out for the year hurts this unit a lot.
There were several positives: blocked punt, INT & a lot of Freshman got to play!!
But one could sense things would not end up to the good for Cal when they only got 3 points from the blocked punt and INT.
Of the PAC12 games I've seen, Cal is 12th. OSU will be ready for us and I expect a very competitive game.
I expect an OSU win, which in a way is liberating. Hope is exhausting...
...am I an Old Blue yet?
Getting a few of comments on this, so I'm just gonna reply here instead of to each one.
For my personal vote, I didn't put Cal at #12 and it wasn't homerism or sugarcoating—I just don't want to be too reactive to one data point that was under such unusual circumstances. If the team continues to perform at that level, then I'll have no reservations about putting us straight at the bottom.
My comment was meant in jest; sorry. Didn’t mean to accuse for reals..... Should have included an emoji...... 😬
Me too. I was being a bit dramatic...
Oh no worries. Not offended at all, but I just wanted to explain my thought process.
Based only on play, we must be last. How can a team play worse? My poor Bears. Not super hopeful they can overcome the structural issues right now to play tons better week 2, but who knows?
As a TOTAL homer, I’m accusing you of homerism, pure and simple! I’d have to shield my eyes, but I’d still rank Cal last.
This is one of those weeks where I take a few days off From reading about the game. Wow, it still hurts. Just a complete egg lay....... I hope we at least LEARNED something that will help us in the next few weeks. O’wise it’s going to be the longest short season ever. I’d start with “how to handle a backside blitz.....on every play” on offense and “what is this thing we call tackling” on defense.....
Thanks, crew, for having the muster to still write columns after that dumpster fire (oh to have gif abilities....).
The biggest concern for me is that Wilcox seems not to have a clue about anything related to offense. If you are going to line up under center half the time, you are telling the world you are a power running team with O-lineman that can blow the defensive line off the ball. There was no power in that game, and the UCLA D obviously was not going to respect play action. Felt sorry for Brown and Dancy. It's maybe too early to declare the Musgrave era a bust, but this is an ominous sign.
I have watched 10 other PAC 12 teams play this season, and Cal is clearly in the number 12 spot in my view.
The telegraphed ucla blitzing was absurd. Couldn't block anybody...
Don't sugarcoat it guys. Clearly the worst loss in the Wilcox era. 12th place, at least for now. The Utah loss last year was brutal, but then we played with a 3rd-string quarterback. With all of the returning talent we have it is inexcusable.
I still think the 2018 UCLA loss was worse. UCLA was a laughingstock at 0-5 with some abysmal losses. We weren't great, but the defense was mostly solid enough to let the Toyota Tercel offense sputter to a win with ~20 points. Instead we were thoroughly embarrassed on both sides of the ball. During homecoming, no less.
The difference is expectations. We were still rebuilding and hoping for a bowl in 2018. We expected to compete for the division crown this year.
On the other hand, there are some mitigating circumstances this year.