Given the absurdity going into and starting the game, the futility we saw from both teams, which was expected, was kind of fun in this absolute farce of a game...until it wasn't.
I really thought our offense (and our defense) should have still be good enough to put up some kind of points (another FG, a safety, pick 6) on the board. Arizona sucks and the Bears found a way to suck harder. So painful.
Then, unbelievably, the farce got even worse when Zona's meager attendance dribbled out onto the field and the Pac-12 network continued to cover the farce as if Zona had just made their way into the Pac-12 championship. How is it that Cal manages to consistently bring so much ridiculousness to the college football?
"The Cal football program probably got lax with a whole bunch of pandemic safety measures. Avoiding crowded indoor events, consistent masking, etc."
This is everything right now, as the COVID numbers had slowly begun to move back up recently, thanks to pandemic exhaustion, more indoor events, and just plain old continued ignorance.
I hate to see Cal lose a game in this manner, but if, in fact, this comes down to a Halloween Party as a super spreader event, I can see my Mexican mom slapping everyone one of these kids on the head with a "quien se lo manda" as their just dessert.
I have had to keep 24 3rd graders masked inside and practicing common sense precautions outside since the beginning of my school year. It's exhausting, and, at times, frustrating. But up until this past week, these kids have had no access to a vaccine. Even now, even if I managed to get a 100% vaccination rate among my 8 and 9 year olds, that's still going to take weeks. And the risk of breakthrough infections will remain a reality, even with myself, despite having had the COVID booster as a precaution.
But I also want to maintain safeguards while at work because I don't want to bring anything home, nor do I want my 3rd graders to bring anything into their homes. I don't want to get my coworkers sick, as my 2 grade level partners are among my closest friends, and I'd be distraught if I caused an infection--we've already had a staff member do that this year.
Basically, the coaching staff needed to convince the team that the pandemic wasn't over and failed at that badly. They also failed each other as teammates as well. They could be angry at the City of Berkeley all they want, but the fact is, like in all things involving Justin Wilcox, this team, as currently run, allows things to get so close to the margins, that they wind up getting burned as a result nearly every time. Running afoul of COVID guidelines is just another version of that. And if I was a Cal "Bearent" of one of the players, I'd be angrier at Wilcox and his staff for not following the common sense precautions that are still in play. That would have avoided all of this, or at least limited it from growing into the extent that it became.
"It’s not necessarily a happy memory, but it’s something that is now a part of your DNA as a Cal fan, and you embraced that fate a long time ago." Yes I did. Brilliant closing line, Nick. So true.
AZ’s defense is 4th in the PAC12 for yards allowed per game, they have the ability to play defense and that side of the ball was mostly intact. Their pass defense is #2 in the conference. Their rush defense is #9 in the conference. They give up a lot of points and that is likely due to the fact that they lead the conference in turnovers lost (20) and points gained on those turnovers (short field). Cal gained 3 turnovers and got zero points to show for it.
Cal as well as most teams, save the elite teams, can not make up for the loss of 3 OL with one of them being a true freshman getting his first playing time at center. Just ain’t gunna happen. The nuances of Musgrave’s offense and the reps needed to produce just isn’t there for those 3 OL, yet. Not sure why Cal fans would expect a better performance. That said, we’ve been reviewing the tape (only through the 1st half) and Swinney had a decent game. So, Cal may have found a gem on OL during this game. EJ struggled and with the obligatory stupid penalties from Mettauer and Daltoso, Cal had + drives wiped out. It sure didn’t help that the receivers hardly helped Glover. Glover missing basic throws we’ve seen throughout Wilcox’s tenure and CG’s has had plenty of them, status quo.
I’ve been pounding the table on this defense and its potential; this game was one of the best during Wilcox’s era. Three turnovers, no depth chart, on the field for 35 minutes and in 90 degree heat. They laid it all down on the line and the future is bright for Cal’s defense. Avi will need to wear shades!!
Very proud of how the lads played given the hand they were dealt.
Nick, great summary as usual, but I think your speculation is irresponsible. How can you say that "The Cal football program probably got lax with a whole bunch of pandemic safety measures. Avoiding crowded indoor events, consistent masking, etc." -- unless you have some inside info on their Covid practices? You're painting with a rather broad speculative brush. Moreover, from everything I've read, multiple players were unable to travel/play simply because of the City of Berkeley's authoritarian and capricious overreach that no other team in the country has been subject to. How many of the 24 players missing on Saturday would have been able to play for any other team in the nation?
I'm a Covid realist -- fully vaxxed as soon as I could. It's long past time to call Covid endemic and act accordingly. We've never imposed highly restrictive rules to prevent influenza. People get it, the vast majority recover from it, and unfortunately some people die. We can't all live in a bubble.
I've sent emails to numerous staff members at the athletic department asking when Knowlton is going to get front and center of this shit show. No response yet. He's an abject failure.
Taking the temperature of Cal fans, I think I'm alone on this island, but I honestly didn't think Glover played that poorly. I think he was undone by the number of deep and medium passes expected out of him - if we play call to an early heavy run offense, Glover showed JUST ENOUGH ability to throw some roll out passes to tight ends and short routes to keep us in business. As Nam pointed out in his novel, there was a huge stretch of consecutive passing downs that sealed the offense's fate and allowed the arizona d the opportunity to come through the line and tee off of Glover and then his passes got more and more wobbly.
I-5 northbound today on way home to WA after visiting sisters in Sacto. Fired up No Truck Stops Here podcast and found myself spewing profanities on their shallow take of AZ game and after that I spewed on JW. Ending with. “Figure it out JW…..call your better mentors and plea for advice with your visor in your hand to save your career and my fan ego.”
Take Covid away and treat Garbers absence as a regular injury, is that the type of offenses ineptness we can expect if Garbers has to miss a game due to injury?
Looking ahead, is that the type of offensive ineptness we might have next season if Garbers graduates?
Let’s be honest, that Arizona team was/is one the worse Pac 12 teams of the last decade and probably the weakest Pac 12 opponent that Wilcox has faced in his tenure. If our backup QB and OL can couldn’t produce yards and points against a defense that was giving up 32 a game, what hope do we have when Garbers is gone.
While we were without our starting QB and 3 OL we still have 2/5 of our starting OL, all our starting/experienced RBs, TEs and the majority of our starting/experienced WRs available and we only managed 3 points and 130 yard of offense. The offense was so bad yesterday that I even question whether we could have beat a FCS team.
Next year is going to possibly be a bit of rebuild year on offense, that’s true even if Garbers comes back.
Given the absurdity going into and starting the game, the futility we saw from both teams, which was expected, was kind of fun in this absolute farce of a game...until it wasn't.
I really thought our offense (and our defense) should have still be good enough to put up some kind of points (another FG, a safety, pick 6) on the board. Arizona sucks and the Bears found a way to suck harder. So painful.
Then, unbelievably, the farce got even worse when Zona's meager attendance dribbled out onto the field and the Pac-12 network continued to cover the farce as if Zona had just made their way into the Pac-12 championship. How is it that Cal manages to consistently bring so much ridiculousness to the college football?
Nick noted:
"The Cal football program probably got lax with a whole bunch of pandemic safety measures. Avoiding crowded indoor events, consistent masking, etc."
This is everything right now, as the COVID numbers had slowly begun to move back up recently, thanks to pandemic exhaustion, more indoor events, and just plain old continued ignorance.
I hate to see Cal lose a game in this manner, but if, in fact, this comes down to a Halloween Party as a super spreader event, I can see my Mexican mom slapping everyone one of these kids on the head with a "quien se lo manda" as their just dessert.
I have had to keep 24 3rd graders masked inside and practicing common sense precautions outside since the beginning of my school year. It's exhausting, and, at times, frustrating. But up until this past week, these kids have had no access to a vaccine. Even now, even if I managed to get a 100% vaccination rate among my 8 and 9 year olds, that's still going to take weeks. And the risk of breakthrough infections will remain a reality, even with myself, despite having had the COVID booster as a precaution.
But I also want to maintain safeguards while at work because I don't want to bring anything home, nor do I want my 3rd graders to bring anything into their homes. I don't want to get my coworkers sick, as my 2 grade level partners are among my closest friends, and I'd be distraught if I caused an infection--we've already had a staff member do that this year.
Basically, the coaching staff needed to convince the team that the pandemic wasn't over and failed at that badly. They also failed each other as teammates as well. They could be angry at the City of Berkeley all they want, but the fact is, like in all things involving Justin Wilcox, this team, as currently run, allows things to get so close to the margins, that they wind up getting burned as a result nearly every time. Running afoul of COVID guidelines is just another version of that. And if I was a Cal "Bearent" of one of the players, I'd be angrier at Wilcox and his staff for not following the common sense precautions that are still in play. That would have avoided all of this, or at least limited it from growing into the extent that it became.
"It’s not necessarily a happy memory, but it’s something that is now a part of your DNA as a Cal fan, and you embraced that fate a long time ago." Yes I did. Brilliant closing line, Nick. So true.
Great article Nick, ty.
AZ’s defense is 4th in the PAC12 for yards allowed per game, they have the ability to play defense and that side of the ball was mostly intact. Their pass defense is #2 in the conference. Their rush defense is #9 in the conference. They give up a lot of points and that is likely due to the fact that they lead the conference in turnovers lost (20) and points gained on those turnovers (short field). Cal gained 3 turnovers and got zero points to show for it.
Cal as well as most teams, save the elite teams, can not make up for the loss of 3 OL with one of them being a true freshman getting his first playing time at center. Just ain’t gunna happen. The nuances of Musgrave’s offense and the reps needed to produce just isn’t there for those 3 OL, yet. Not sure why Cal fans would expect a better performance. That said, we’ve been reviewing the tape (only through the 1st half) and Swinney had a decent game. So, Cal may have found a gem on OL during this game. EJ struggled and with the obligatory stupid penalties from Mettauer and Daltoso, Cal had + drives wiped out. It sure didn’t help that the receivers hardly helped Glover. Glover missing basic throws we’ve seen throughout Wilcox’s tenure and CG’s has had plenty of them, status quo.
I’ve been pounding the table on this defense and its potential; this game was one of the best during Wilcox’s era. Three turnovers, no depth chart, on the field for 35 minutes and in 90 degree heat. They laid it all down on the line and the future is bright for Cal’s defense. Avi will need to wear shades!!
Very proud of how the lads played given the hand they were dealt.
Go Bears!!
Nick, great summary as usual, but I think your speculation is irresponsible. How can you say that "The Cal football program probably got lax with a whole bunch of pandemic safety measures. Avoiding crowded indoor events, consistent masking, etc." -- unless you have some inside info on their Covid practices? You're painting with a rather broad speculative brush. Moreover, from everything I've read, multiple players were unable to travel/play simply because of the City of Berkeley's authoritarian and capricious overreach that no other team in the country has been subject to. How many of the 24 players missing on Saturday would have been able to play for any other team in the nation?
I'm a Covid realist -- fully vaxxed as soon as I could. It's long past time to call Covid endemic and act accordingly. We've never imposed highly restrictive rules to prevent influenza. People get it, the vast majority recover from it, and unfortunately some people die. We can't all live in a bubble.
I've sent emails to numerous staff members at the athletic department asking when Knowlton is going to get front and center of this shit show. No response yet. He's an abject failure.
Taking the temperature of Cal fans, I think I'm alone on this island, but I honestly didn't think Glover played that poorly. I think he was undone by the number of deep and medium passes expected out of him - if we play call to an early heavy run offense, Glover showed JUST ENOUGH ability to throw some roll out passes to tight ends and short routes to keep us in business. As Nam pointed out in his novel, there was a huge stretch of consecutive passing downs that sealed the offense's fate and allowed the arizona d the opportunity to come through the line and tee off of Glover and then his passes got more and more wobbly.
I-5 northbound today on way home to WA after visiting sisters in Sacto. Fired up No Truck Stops Here podcast and found myself spewing profanities on their shallow take of AZ game and after that I spewed on JW. Ending with. “Figure it out JW…..call your better mentors and plea for advice with your visor in your hand to save your career and my fan ego.”
Take Covid away and treat Garbers absence as a regular injury, is that the type of offenses ineptness we can expect if Garbers has to miss a game due to injury?
Looking ahead, is that the type of offensive ineptness we might have next season if Garbers graduates?
Let’s be honest, that Arizona team was/is one the worse Pac 12 teams of the last decade and probably the weakest Pac 12 opponent that Wilcox has faced in his tenure. If our backup QB and OL can couldn’t produce yards and points against a defense that was giving up 32 a game, what hope do we have when Garbers is gone.
While we were without our starting QB and 3 OL we still have 2/5 of our starting OL, all our starting/experienced RBs, TEs and the majority of our starting/experienced WRs available and we only managed 3 points and 130 yard of offense. The offense was so bad yesterday that I even question whether we could have beat a FCS team.
Next year is going to possibly be a bit of rebuild year on offense, that’s true even if Garbers comes back.
That bloody hand picture has made everything better, thank you hahahaha
A mystery trapped within an enigma = what has been revealed so far by either the C of B or Cal Athletics on the covid situation.