Inside The Numbers: Arizona

by TwistNHook on Oct 17, 2008 7:05 AM PDT in Football Comment 23 comments

Let's take a look at some of the numbers here for Arizona. Unfortunately, Arizona sucks at these here series of tubes. They don't have their stats in an easily cut and pastable form. So, it comes out all jumbled. We attempted to clean it up a bit, but it didn't work too well. Don't blame us! Blame their internet dude, who is also most likely Willie Tuitama! They rely on that guy for SO much!

We have the game tomorrow, so I thought we could look at some of the players to keep an eye on. Players like Willie Tuitama and Delashaun Dean.

All numbers are from this pdf.

Arizona 2008 Football 
Arizona Overall Team Statistics (as of Oct 11, 2008) 
All games 
Team Statistics ARIZ OPP 
SCORING 241 100 
  Points Per Game 40.2 16.7 
FIRST DOWNS 135 81 
  R u s h i 
 n g 50 42 
  P a s s i 
 n g 77 33 
  P e n a l 
 t y 8 6 
RUSHING YARDAGE 929 823 
  Yards gained rushing 1066 946 
  Yards lost rushing 137 123 
  Rushing Attempts 215 200 
  Average Per Rush 4.3 4.1 
  Average Per Game 154.8 137.2 
  TDs Rushing 14 5 
PASSING YARDAGE 1550 746 
  A t t - C o m p - I n t 199-131-2 159-88-8 
  Average Per Pass 7.8 4.7 
  Average Per Catch 11.8 8.5 
  Average Per Game 258.3 124.3 
  TDs Passing 14 4 
TOTAL OFFENSE 2479 1569 
  Total Plays 414 359 
  Average Per Play 6.0 4.4 
  Average Per Game 413.2 261.5 
KICK RETURNS: #-Yards 19-409 30-580 
PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards 19-379 9-73 
INT RETURNS: #-Yards 8-197 2-33 
KICK RETURN AVERAGE 21.5 19.3 
PUNT RETURN AVERAGE 19.9 8.1 
INT RETURN AVERAGE 24.6 16.5 
FUMBLES-LOST 13-5 13-4 
PENALTIES-Yards 24-192 33-270 
  Average Per Game 32.0 45.0 
PUNTS-Yards 19-804 40-1711 
  Average Per Punt 42.3 42.8 
  Net punt average 37.4 33.3 
TIME OF POSSESSION/Game  3 1 : 0 4  2 8 : 5 5 
3RD-DOWN Conversions 38/79 28/84 
  3rd-Down Pct 48% 33% 
4TH-DOWN Conversions 1/6 2/3 
  4th-Down Pct 17% 67% 
SACKS BY-Yards 9-39 12-74 
MISC YARDS 0 0 
TOUCHDOWNS SCORED 31 10 
FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS 8-9 10-11 
ON-SIDE KICKS 0-0 0-0 
RED-ZONE SCORES 28-31 90% 13-14 93% 
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS 22-31 71% 7-14 50% 
PAT-ATTEMPTS 31-31 100% 10-10 100% 
ATTENDANCE 154074 128460 
  Games/Avg Per Game 3/51358 3/42820 
  Neutral Site Games 0/0 
Score by Quarters 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total 
Arizona 54 98 34 55 0 241 
Opponents 24 29 20 27 0 100

Well, by all accounts, Arizona is having a great season. 241 points scored to 100 given up. 135 first downs to 81 given up. Of course, that's when you crush teams 70-0 (Idaho) and then lose to 2 teams by a combined 7 points (UNM and Stanford). So, looking at the stats you'd think this is the second coming of USC, but, in reality, it's more about running up the score on bad teams.

Now, to be fair, you have to change the atmosphere in Arizona. Tedford did the same thing in 2002 when we were starting to improve. And Stoops is trying to save his job. Note how their red zone efficiency is pretty good. They score 90% of the time with 71% TD rates. Their opponents do score more of the time (93%), but only 50% TD rates.

So, they are bending, but not breaking. Hopefully, this weekend, they break!

Passing gp-gs effic comp-att-int pct yds td lg avg/g
Tuitama, Willie 6 - 6 152.15 124-188-2 66.0 1466 13 52 244.3

Willie Tuitama via grfx.cstv.com

Doesn't it seem like Willie T has been there FOREVER? Always slated as the guy to take Arizona to the promised land, he is finally a senior. Always with the promise, always with the concussions. 150+ efficiency rate. 66+ completion percentage. 13 TDs already. All great numbers for perhaps one of the best QBs in the Pac10 right now. But given the kwality of competition, you have to ask yourself whether he can replicate this against SydGOD and the PAIN TRAIN. Let's hope not!

Rushing gp-gs att gain loss net avg td lg avg/g
Grigsby, N. 6 - 6 106 635 21 614 5.8 9 55 102.3
Scott, M. 4 - 0 16 137 12 125 7.8 1 36 31.2
Smith, X. 5 - 0 24 96 1 95 4.0 3 12 19.0
Antolin, K. 5 - 0 25 67 1 66 2.6 1 6 13.2

Nic Grigsby via grfx.cstv.com

Although a few other players have carries here and there, Nic Grigsby is the workhorse for this year. Averaging over 100 yards a game, he has 106 carries on the year. He average 5.8 yards a carry, certainly a good number. Given that the rest of the rushers have less than 75 combined carries, Grigsby is their main guy. If we can stop him, we should be able to contain their running game. Grigsby is clearly good, though.

Receiving gp-gs no. yds avg td lg avg/g
Thomas, Mike 6 - 6 36 465 12.9 3 52 77.5
Turner, T. 6 - 5 28 362 12.9 1 48 60.3
Dean, D. 6 - 3 28 289 10.3 2 28 48.2
Gronkowski, R. 3 - 3 10 171 17.1 5 37 57.0

Mike Thomas via grfx.cstv.com

Terrell Turner via grfx.cstv.com

Delashaun Dean via grfx.cstv.com

Firstly, we have Marshawn, DeSean, LaShaun, Knowshawn. And NOW Delashaun! Of LaShaun? Hopefully, he's got similar hands.

Mike Thomas has better stats than the other two guys, but all of these top 3 WRs are tough. They run the spread, so you know that they are going to have top notch receiving threats. So, unlike the running game, where Grigsby appears to be their #1 guy, Of The Shaun and Terrell Turner are also heavily involved. They each have 28 receptions on the year, averaging about 60 and 50 yards per game. Tuitama is a good QB, who likes to spread the ball around. They've got that spread where they throw tons of WRs at us! So, keep your eyes on these guys to be making plays on Saturday. Hopefully, not too many plays, though!

Arizona Overall Defensive Statistics (as of Oct 11, 2008)
All games
|--------Tackles--------| |-Sacks-| |---Pass Def---| |-Fumbles-| Blkd
DEFENSIVE LEADERS GP-GS Solo Ast Total TFL/Yds No-Yds Int-Yds BrUp QBH Rcv-Yds FF Kick Saf
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
35 Lewis, S. 6-4 29 19 48 4.0-7 . . 2 . 1-0 1 . .
33 Palmer,Ronnie 6-6 15 22 37 5.0-17 2.0-12 . 1 . . . . .
32 Ness, N. 6-6 19 15 34 . . 2-75 2 . 1-0 . . .
20 Nelson, C. 6-6 18 11 29 1.0-0 . . 1 . . 1 . .
23 Hundley, M. 6-6 16 7 23 3.0-10 . 1-7 4 . . . . .
25 McCovy, A. 6-4 10 13 23 0.5-2 . . 1 . . . . .
49 Mitchell, E. 6-6 9 11 20 2.5-8 1.0-7 . 1 . . . . .
83 Reed, D. 6-0 12 6 18 2.5-3 1.0-0 . 1 . . 2 . .
6 Ross, D. 6-5 10 7 17 . . 1-4 7 . . . . .
21 Hall, C. 6-2 9 8 17 1.5-3 1.0-2 . 2 . . . . .
42 Reed, B. 6-6 9 6 15 1.0-5 1.0-5 . 2 1 . . . .
44 Elmore, R. 6-6 8 4 12 4.0-35 2.0-12 1-0 1 . . . . .
8 Tuihalamaka, V. 6-0 7 5 12 0.5-3 . . . . 1-0 . . .
99 Tuipulotu, K. 6-6 7 4 11 1.0-2 . . 1 . . 1 . .
46 Horton, D. 6-0 6 3 9 2.0-12 1.0-6 . . . . . . .
9 Perkins, J. 6-0 4 5 9 . . 1-42 2 . . . . .
1 Golden, R. 6-0 6 2 8 1.0-3 . . . . . . . .
24 Wade, T. 6-1 3 4 7 . . 2-69 1 . . . . .

Sterling Lewis via grfx.cstv.com

Ronnie Palmer via grfx.cstv.com

Nate Ness via grfx.cstv.com

Note that their top 2 tacklers are LBs, always a promising sign for a defense. Sterling Lewis is the stud here with 11 more tackles than the next guy (Ronnie Palmer). Also, 10 more solo tackles than the next guy, Nate Ness, a safety. They clearly blitz a lot as Lewis and Palmer have combined for 9 tackles for loss. So, those LBs are coming into the backfield.

A goodly amount of sacks, spread out amongst all players. Nobody jumps out as a true sack artist.

Devin Ross via grfx.cstv.com

Note that Devin Ross has 7 pass break ups. Only 1 fewer than SydGOD. Not saying that Devin Ross is as good as SydGOD (I sure hope not!), but just something to keep your eye on.

So, there you go. A bunch of guys you keep your eyes on in the game against Arizona. We are all freaked out, because of what happened in 2006. But when you look at Arizona against decent opposition, they are not so fearsome. Of course, both of their losses are on the road, while we face them at home. If 2006 hadn't happened, I think we would feel more confident about this game. But we are Cal fans, nonetheless. The key here is stopping Tuitama, who has finally started to show some of the promise that for so long went unlocked and unused.

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Comments

it would be interesting to see

some film/video of the stanford game. That I think is where we need to look for how to attack them. How do the lb’s make the tackle on a running play when being blocked by a fb/te who is the same size? That will be the challenge. get best past the line of scrimage/lb’s prior to any contact and we kill them. even if I come off the bench to play qb.

Go Bears Go

by Rocksanddirt on Oct 17, 2008 7:59 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

so, I saw a few highlights of the

stanford/zona game.

oh my word. If we block reasonably well, Best will be back on the bench after the TD before arizona’s safeties react to the play. the few running play highlights that you could see anything on, zona had players filling gaps pretty well, but they could not get off the full back and TE blocks to stuff the holes, and so the tailback just ran straight ahead and then tried to get the safety to miss him. Which zona’s safety did a couple of times.

Go Bears Go

by Rocksanddirt on Oct 17, 2008 1:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, I hope that Tedford manages to get a tape of that game.

To be fair, wouldn’t the highlights be the plays wherein Stanford executed the best and Arizona the worst? They might not execute that bad on every play

I'm no The Maharg! But I try. Oh, how I try!

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Oct 17, 2008 2:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

true, but on some of the plays shown

zona did not execute poorly, they were just well blocked and SLOW.

Go Bears Go

by Rocksanddirt on Oct 17, 2008 4:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

My worry about the ’Zona game is if our young WR corps can beat their tendenies to jam receivers at the line.

If they jam the receivers, Longshore (or Riley) won’t have an option to throw, except as a screen. If they bring a good pass rush, Longshore will end up throwing a couple picks.

by Rishi on Oct 17, 2008 9:52 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Would you please stop using the word 'h*pe'

You notice I don’t write it all out. It’s bad luck.

My god, does history teach us nothing?

P.S. Good ’zona analysis, thanks.

P.P.S. Can we just call it ’zonalysis?

P.P.P.S. That reminds me of a joke from Arrested Development – “analrapist”. No really. It’s funny. Look it up.

Stand the whole game, stay to the end, and start yelling while they're still in the huddle. GO BEARS

by JerrottWillard45 on Oct 17, 2008 10:17 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

David Cross is one of my favorite comedians of all time, even since his Mr. Show years (Y’all are brutalizing me). As Tobias Funke, he was truly splendid.

It’s a combination of analyst and therapist.

I'm no The Maharg! But I try. Oh, how I try!

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Oct 17, 2008 10:24 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I just blue myself.

by Spazzy Mcgee on Oct 17, 2008 10:51 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m a never nude.

I'm no The Maharg! But I try. Oh, how I try!

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Oct 17, 2008 10:52 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Twist, just make sure your shorts effectively hide your thunder?

by Spazzy Mcgee on Oct 17, 2008 11:02 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

A difficult and often dangerous task, I must tell you.

I'm no The Maharg! But I try. Oh, how I try!

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Oct 17, 2008 11:06 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hey, butterscotch! Wanna lick?

Remember, the enemy's end zone is DOWN!

by GoldBlooded on Oct 17, 2008 11:55 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

are you going to buy this time or are you just curious?

I guess you could say I’m buy-curious.

www.californiagoldenblogs.com

by CBKWit on Oct 17, 2008 12:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, it looks like I’ve prematurely shot my wad on what was supposed to be a dry run, and now it seems like I’ve got a bit of a mess on my hands.

Remember, the enemy's end zone is DOWN!

by GoldBlooded on Oct 17, 2008 2:17 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

...Don't leave your uncle T-bag hanging.

by Spazzy Mcgee on Oct 17, 2008 12:35 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I fail at replies.

by Spazzy Mcgee on Oct 17, 2008 12:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

If 'Zona did direct snaps to the RB...

They could call it Wildcat formation and not a retarded name like “Wild Rebel” or “Wildhog”.

Just a thought.

by Rishi on Oct 17, 2008 2:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Wasn’t “Wild Hog” the modern original?

...nuh nuh nuh gone

by Thoroughbred on Oct 17, 2008 2:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It’s debatable.

The Wildcat is actually the “modern original”, but it’s named for a high school team.

Implemented in college (and, to a certain extent, overcredited to Houston Nutt), it was the Wildhog at Arkansas with Gus Malzahn functioning as offensive coordinator and architect of this brilliance.

Tony Sparano recently implemented it in the NFL with the floundering fins to great success, defeating the Chargers and shellshacking the Patriots. But no one will call the formation “Wild Dolphin”.

At its most basic, the Wildcat formation is a variation of the single wing formation that has been used for decades.

It’s innovative and it can be effective if you have the right personnel – mainly speaking, an RB who can make quick cuts through a hole immediately. You also need a second back who is more of a bruiser so he can overpower the lines. An RB who can throw with relative accuracy (Lynch) is a bonus. And, of course, a strong offensive line that can give an RB a hole to run through in about half a second or give the RB time to fake a run prior to tossing it.

Imagine Tedford running a Wild Bear formation with our current personnel. Best behind centre. Reads the defense, audibles depending on formation, snaps the ball and either runs it through the middle or off-tackle, hands it off to Shane, or runs a play action to Vareen, fakes a rin outside, then throws it to Morrah in the centre of the field.

I’m getting giddy just thinking about it.

by Rishi on Oct 17, 2008 3:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, we know that Vereen can throw (first play of the MSU game) and can make the quick cuts, so maybe he would be under center. Jahvid could line up as our Felix Jones, Ricky Williams, etc. and go into motion before the snap.

...nuh nuh nuh gone

by Thoroughbred on Oct 17, 2008 3:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs