One good thing about the pain of Cal football over the last decade or so is that I've gotten really good at compartmentalizing. I used to be unable to read or see any football after a Cal loss, especially ones like this. Now? I don't give a shit. I promptly file what happened to the back of my head and start thinking about other things.
It's kind of sad that Cal football has become about everything but the game to me these days. If we win it's just an added bonus, but I don't expect it one bit.
It's great and all to think about firing Wilcox, but honestly I have zero confidence that the next coach will be any good. After all this AD hired Mark Fox for MBB. I fully expect another lackluster hire.
I actually had no issue with Wilcox going for it on 4th and 14, even though I knew there was a low-percentage for a 1st down. I happened to be in the stands during pregame warmups and saw the FG unit mishandle the snap on consecutive plays (I remind you, this was in warmups!), and the snap was even worse after our lone TD. Perhaps Wilcox had visions (nightmares!) of a bad snap being picked up by WSU and taken to the house.
Nick: Good suggestion to do something non-Cal Football related during the bye week. I'm going to golf and surf. I think that we all (players, coaches, fans) need a break. One thing that I absolutely cannot figure out is why we seem so cursed. Yes, I know that we are Cal and this is what we do on a regular basis year in and year out but please hear me out. Justin Wilcox is a good coach. He has built or been part of good defenses at every stop in his coaching career. He is also very likeable. He preaches accountability, his players don't get in trouble and they graduate (which, despite my love for Jeff Tedford, is something that he did not do and it almost landed us on probation). I just don't understand why things are going completely sideways this season. Furthermore, I don't believe all of that baloney about "lack of institutional and fan support". Cal ponied up over $500 million to renovate Memorial and add first class facilities and if you watched the 'Furd-Oregon game last Saturday, their stadium was half-full and that didn't stop them from upsetting the Ducks. Great defenses and good (not great) QB play is what wins football games and Wilcox is building a program around that philosophy. Even if things go completely south this season, I'm willing to give him one more chance to turn things around next season. Finally, if we really want to get better and stick it to one of our rivals at the same time, get the 'Root back from Oregon NOW! Double his existing salary, give him free housing, have him carried around Berkeley on a litter supported by super-models, whatever it takes because in my humble opinion, our biggest drop-off this season has been on defense and it is no coincidence that it started as soon as the Ducks stole him from us. GO BEARS!
Yeah, this one was a real head scratcher, to put it generously. 7 days after our offense seemed to show some promise of breaking out, we got constant pressure, sacks, and TFLs without any reaction to it. No quick slants, crosses, outs or anything to just get the ball out of Garbers' hands so he wouldn't be sacked yet again! It sadly looked like a game from the very dark Holmoe years. :(
There's always an upside(s). May be easier to get tickets and social distance at games for the rest of the season? May be able to get younger players more experience than we would otherwise (though coaches on the hot seat are not likely to further decrease chances of winning now)? Cal's opponents may overlook our favorite team and we might be able to sneak a win? Recruits who stay committed will be people not afraid of a challenge. Finally, Cal will lose its reputation as a football factory that doesn't care about academics?
Unrelated question: how did Ron Gould go from playing and coaching defensive backs to running backs?
* Long snaps are fine in practice, but not during a game.
* D-backs and O-line suddenly forget their fundamentals and make bad mistakes during games.
* Garbers throws one-hoppers at crucial moments.
* Team plays well in practice but badly in games when it matters.
* Game goes to hell after a fluke result of a blocked punt. I remember thinking "will they get over this setback?" and unfortunately the answer was no.
* A fumble on a flea-flicker?
A saw a couple of shots of the sideline during the WSU game. There seemed to be no energy, players just standing there, nervous, seemingly waiting for something to go wrong. And Wilcox limping around with his teeth clenched and a sour look on his face.
Tedford came into a similar situation in '02 with a strong message of teamwork and immediately fixed the underperformance. Harbaugh came in to furd with "relentless positivity unknown to mankind". Carroll went to SC and was relentlessly upbeat and energetic.
I think it can be turned around if the players relax, play loose, and start having fun. Otherwise it's just going to get worse, a feel-bad death spiral. I like Wilcox, and maybe he can do it, but I'm afraid he's not that kind of guy, and what we are seeing is the classic "groups eventually adopt the personality of their leader".
I've never asked that the Cal Bear football team be Alabama, or even Oregon ("Leland Stanford Junior College"? Really?
However, why can that team not have been Oregon State, or BYU, even once in the past half century? Apparently UC is too woke for football.
I'm done expecting anything resembling effort from this team. "Finish The Job"? Well if "the job" was to lose what little fan base this team had, they've done a stellar job. Maybe BYU should have replaced Cal in the Pac 12 instead of going to the Big 12. That Utes vs BYU rivalry would have more significance.
Yeah, I like being aggressive and going for it on 4th down but 4th and 14 with our offense isn’t being aggressive and smart, especially when in FG range. If we make the FG we are down 9-14 I believe, which would be helpful since we missed the extra point on TD so this would have eliminated the need to go for 2 points just to tie the game.
"4th and 14 at the 34?" - Such an elucidated point here. 1 week prior Longhetto missed a 55 yard that was good from 51. If the expected positive outcomei (let's say E(R.FG) = 50%*3points or 1.5 points, that has to be considerably higher than E(R.TD-or-FG) after a 4th and 14th which must have an expected positive outcome < 10%.
And then finally, if you watch the play, both receivers were SHORT of the required 14 yards!
You are too nice about the coaching and play calling. That call on 3rd and inches when they ran a toss sweep instead of a QB sneak for a loss of 3 yards pretty much sums up their ineptitude. If they don’t line up across from the center, running a sneak is a no-brainer.
Cal fans: One addition to my previous post. If Wilcox is gone after this season, the DC at Arizona State (Antonio Pierce) would be a good hire. The Sun Devils are playing great defense and he is an awesome recruiter.
One good thing about the pain of Cal football over the last decade or so is that I've gotten really good at compartmentalizing. I used to be unable to read or see any football after a Cal loss, especially ones like this. Now? I don't give a shit. I promptly file what happened to the back of my head and start thinking about other things.
It's kind of sad that Cal football has become about everything but the game to me these days. If we win it's just an added bonus, but I don't expect it one bit.
It's great and all to think about firing Wilcox, but honestly I have zero confidence that the next coach will be any good. After all this AD hired Mark Fox for MBB. I fully expect another lackluster hire.
I actually had no issue with Wilcox going for it on 4th and 14, even though I knew there was a low-percentage for a 1st down. I happened to be in the stands during pregame warmups and saw the FG unit mishandle the snap on consecutive plays (I remind you, this was in warmups!), and the snap was even worse after our lone TD. Perhaps Wilcox had visions (nightmares!) of a bad snap being picked up by WSU and taken to the house.
Nick: Good suggestion to do something non-Cal Football related during the bye week. I'm going to golf and surf. I think that we all (players, coaches, fans) need a break. One thing that I absolutely cannot figure out is why we seem so cursed. Yes, I know that we are Cal and this is what we do on a regular basis year in and year out but please hear me out. Justin Wilcox is a good coach. He has built or been part of good defenses at every stop in his coaching career. He is also very likeable. He preaches accountability, his players don't get in trouble and they graduate (which, despite my love for Jeff Tedford, is something that he did not do and it almost landed us on probation). I just don't understand why things are going completely sideways this season. Furthermore, I don't believe all of that baloney about "lack of institutional and fan support". Cal ponied up over $500 million to renovate Memorial and add first class facilities and if you watched the 'Furd-Oregon game last Saturday, their stadium was half-full and that didn't stop them from upsetting the Ducks. Great defenses and good (not great) QB play is what wins football games and Wilcox is building a program around that philosophy. Even if things go completely south this season, I'm willing to give him one more chance to turn things around next season. Finally, if we really want to get better and stick it to one of our rivals at the same time, get the 'Root back from Oregon NOW! Double his existing salary, give him free housing, have him carried around Berkeley on a litter supported by super-models, whatever it takes because in my humble opinion, our biggest drop-off this season has been on defense and it is no coincidence that it started as soon as the Ducks stole him from us. GO BEARS!
Yeah, this one was a real head scratcher, to put it generously. 7 days after our offense seemed to show some promise of breaking out, we got constant pressure, sacks, and TFLs without any reaction to it. No quick slants, crosses, outs or anything to just get the ball out of Garbers' hands so he wouldn't be sacked yet again! It sadly looked like a game from the very dark Holmoe years. :(
There's always an upside(s). May be easier to get tickets and social distance at games for the rest of the season? May be able to get younger players more experience than we would otherwise (though coaches on the hot seat are not likely to further decrease chances of winning now)? Cal's opponents may overlook our favorite team and we might be able to sneak a win? Recruits who stay committed will be people not afraid of a challenge. Finally, Cal will lose its reputation as a football factory that doesn't care about academics?
Unrelated question: how did Ron Gould go from playing and coaching defensive backs to running backs?
Not on the hot seat yet but he does get an honorable mention amongst the candidates...
https://dknation.draftkings.com/2021/10/3/22706558/college-football-week-5-coaching-hot-seat-manny-diaz-scott-frost-mike-norvell-dino-babers
Something about this team is broken:
* Long snaps are fine in practice, but not during a game.
* D-backs and O-line suddenly forget their fundamentals and make bad mistakes during games.
* Garbers throws one-hoppers at crucial moments.
* Team plays well in practice but badly in games when it matters.
* Game goes to hell after a fluke result of a blocked punt. I remember thinking "will they get over this setback?" and unfortunately the answer was no.
* A fumble on a flea-flicker?
A saw a couple of shots of the sideline during the WSU game. There seemed to be no energy, players just standing there, nervous, seemingly waiting for something to go wrong. And Wilcox limping around with his teeth clenched and a sour look on his face.
Tedford came into a similar situation in '02 with a strong message of teamwork and immediately fixed the underperformance. Harbaugh came in to furd with "relentless positivity unknown to mankind". Carroll went to SC and was relentlessly upbeat and energetic.
I think it can be turned around if the players relax, play loose, and start having fun. Otherwise it's just going to get worse, a feel-bad death spiral. I like Wilcox, and maybe he can do it, but I'm afraid he's not that kind of guy, and what we are seeing is the classic "groups eventually adopt the personality of their leader".
I've never asked that the Cal Bear football team be Alabama, or even Oregon ("Leland Stanford Junior College"? Really?
However, why can that team not have been Oregon State, or BYU, even once in the past half century? Apparently UC is too woke for football.
I'm done expecting anything resembling effort from this team. "Finish The Job"? Well if "the job" was to lose what little fan base this team had, they've done a stellar job. Maybe BYU should have replaced Cal in the Pac 12 instead of going to the Big 12. That Utes vs BYU rivalry would have more significance.
GO RAIDERS!
Yeah, I like being aggressive and going for it on 4th down but 4th and 14 with our offense isn’t being aggressive and smart, especially when in FG range. If we make the FG we are down 9-14 I believe, which would be helpful since we missed the extra point on TD so this would have eliminated the need to go for 2 points just to tie the game.
"4th and 14 at the 34?" - Such an elucidated point here. 1 week prior Longhetto missed a 55 yard that was good from 51. If the expected positive outcomei (let's say E(R.FG) = 50%*3points or 1.5 points, that has to be considerably higher than E(R.TD-or-FG) after a 4th and 14th which must have an expected positive outcome < 10%.
And then finally, if you watch the play, both receivers were SHORT of the required 14 yards!
You are too nice about the coaching and play calling. That call on 3rd and inches when they ran a toss sweep instead of a QB sneak for a loss of 3 yards pretty much sums up their ineptitude. If they don’t line up across from the center, running a sneak is a no-brainer.
What can we do to prevent him from having a Tommy Vardell game.
This situation can't be good for W4California subscriptions
Cal fans: One addition to my previous post. If Wilcox is gone after this season, the DC at Arizona State (Antonio Pierce) would be a good hire. The Sun Devils are playing great defense and he is an awesome recruiter.
I did not watch this game, and deleted from my DVR. A microcosm of the season
My thoughts? We stink!