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Around SBN: Knicks Beat Lakers With Familiar Strategy

The day after WSU

Good win, but was it really that good?

Star-divide

All right, before we get too carried away with the rrevelry and hoop-de-hoo of yesterday's improbable and oh-so-satisfying blowout, it might not be a bad idea to gain some perspective.  After all, we don't want to go all babybruinsnation about how great our team is based on one game.

Oh, it was a complete domination, no doubt.  And it was fun.  Lots and lots of fun.  By the time Follett took the botched kick into the endzone I was giggling like a drunken schoolgirl and openly wishing our guys would break 50.

But there was one thing that was really bugging me, and I need to get it off my chest.  Here it is: I eat the ornamental soaps in the bathrooms.  Wait, that was Homer's confession.  No, the thing that was bugging me was that Riley was unable to lead the team in a single extended drive.  When he was in Cal either scored on a huge play or ended up punting (often after a three-and-out).  By the time we had 28 I was yelling at the TV to have Riley lead a drive.  One that took more than 4 plays and 1 minute, and that involved going 60 - 80+ yards, generating five or six first downs, and ending in a score.  It didn't happen.  Not until Nate came in.

I'm not panicking, because everyone has an off game, and besides, when the O gives you huge plays for scores and you've got the game sewn up before the 2nd qtr, it's easy for the QB to lose his edge.  But I know JT and his staff can't be happy with the offense's execution or inability to sustain a drive.   And once we start getting into serious games (Oregon, $C, ASU) we're going to need to be able to do that.

There.  I feel all better now.

 

The opinions expressed in a FanPost are, in every way, reflective of the opinions of every California Golden Blogs Marshawnthusiast. Moreover, they are reflective of every employee of SBNation, including Tyler "Blez" Bleszinski.

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Hmm...

I can’t believe you posted this. (-: Your worries in my estimation are wholly unfounded. While you are right that Riley had an off game, you are wrong in assuming it was because of him. Generally, when a team is running the ball exceptionally well, say when a running back scores on the first play, with an 8o yarder, the QB will have troubles. They need that first drive to help settle them down and find their rhythm. Unfortunately our success running the ball made that impossible, and as a result Riley suffered. I’m not making excuses here, it’s scientific fact. (-; So, no need to worry, SoCalOski, all will be fine. OK? I will expand on this further after a few cups of coffee.

by CaliSeth on Sep 7, 2008 9:18 AM PDT reply actions  

hahah, only us Cal fans could find fault with a 66-3 blowout win. But, nonetheless, I do agree that there were some moments there where Riley can make improvements. Mostly on his long passes near the end of the first half. He threw a 15 yard TD pass to Sean Young, but passes beyond that generally were overthrown.

Remember, it was still only his 3rd start. And his first start on the road. And its better that he has these trials in a 66-3 blowout when it doesn’t matter than a key game down the stretch like UCLA or USC.

I do now have a greater appreciation of why the coaching staff had him throwing a lot of short passes last week against MSU.

"Save The Oaks: Overthrow Capitalism" said Dumpster Muffin sanguinely

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Sep 7, 2008 9:38 AM PDT reply actions  

The best champions rise to the occasion. Well, Riley rose about as high as he could yesterday. It was all the occasion would allow. 66-3 is a beautiful, beautiful thing. If the occasion is more important in the future, (i.e. SC, ASU) he will rise to it.

by CaliSeth on Sep 7, 2008 9:53 AM PDT reply actions  

New rankings

We’re 23 and 25 in the AP and Coaches’ poll, respectively. UCLA fell out of the rankings, much to my delight.

by Berkelium97 on Sep 7, 2008 10:37 AM PDT reply actions  

hahhaaa

UCLA was dropped… finally the buzz wears off and they realize that that TENN game was just about who sucked less.

by danzig on Sep 7, 2008 11:14 AM PDT up reply actions  

AP poll is more respectable

They have ECU ranked in the top 14, which is where they belong right now.

by Rishi on Sep 7, 2008 11:32 AM PDT up reply actions  

I was totally happy they ranked ECU correctly. When I watched sportscenter this morning and saw what they did and learned they were the only team that beat two ranked teams in a row… i felt they deserve to be ranked there.

I love the fact that BYU dropped three spots too… plus the College Gameday crew did a segment on the bad Jack Locker call which gave it some visibility.

by danzig on Sep 7, 2008 11:39 AM PDT up reply actions  

Questionable rankings...

These teams are all either ranked too high, or should not be ranked at all:

Brigham Young – Stole game against a dreadful Washington. Most overrated team in Country.
Wake Forest – Needed 41 yd FG to beat Ole Miss.
Utah – Michigan sucks, so don’t fall back on that game as an indication of where they should rank.
Illinois – They lost to #6 Missouri, who are very overrated. This Zook led team will inevitably fail.
Missouri – This team always chokes. It’s just a media darling. Time will show.
Wisconsin – Another team that always tanks. Expect Fresno St. to beat them in a close one.

OK, so there are many more teams that are overrated in my estimation, but I just realized I should have known better than to even attempt a list like this. Too lazy…

by CaliSeth on Sep 7, 2008 11:57 AM PDT up reply actions  

How did BYU steal the game? The call was a travesty obviously, but they still blocked the kick, and it was only to tie.
Whether they deserve to be ranked or not, I have no idea. But if I were a BYU fan, I’d be just as annoyed by the call, because now people think they should look askance at the win against UW when they very likely would have won anyway.

by joffle on Sep 7, 2008 12:11 PM PDT up reply actions  

NFL On Fox this morning di a thing on Locker, too.

"Save The Oaks: Overthrow Capitalism" said Dumpster Muffin sanguinely

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Sep 7, 2008 12:08 PM PDT up reply actions  

Not exactly much to worry about

By the time Riley really got on to the field, we had an insurmountable lead. I don’t think we ever tried throwing on first down. The exception was the drive before halftime, where we were practicing the two minute drill. On that series, they knew we weren’t going to call timeouts, and could easily just fall into deep coverage.

This was such a blowout, we never actually had a normal offensive series, and no larger trends can be gained from it.

Except of course, that our running backs are at their most dangerous from 80+ yards out.

by Tedfordisgod on Sep 7, 2008 10:50 AM PDT reply actions  

Daily Link Dump

JO wonders if we’re really that good or is WSU is really that bad.

“It’s all about maturity,” linebacker Worrell Williams said. “Coach (Jeff Tedford) came in at half(time) and said, ‘How mature are we going to be?’ " Pretty mature, if you listen to Mack.
"We need to learn from this game,” he said, “because it’s not always going to be two plays and a touchdown. It’s going to be 16 plays and a touchdown.” Starting, well, maybe not next weekend at Maryland, which lost Saturday to Middle Tennessee. Possibly the following week against Colorado State. Definitely the week after that against Arizona State.

SFGate article saying Best will soon become a household name.

“The whole country is going to see what Jahvid is all about now,” Williams said. “They’ll see what he did today, and they’ll be talking about him. They’ll be talking about both him and Shane.”

Ted Miller looks at what we learned from week 2 in the Pac-10.

2. California is back: A solid win over Michigan State, plus a 66-3 stomping of Washington State on the road, suggests that the Bears are right there with Oregon and Arizona State as teams jostling behind USC. They were outstanding on both sides of the ball against the Cougars, piling up 505 total yards while holding Washington State to just 167. And after posting a pair of 80-plus TD runs, does RB Jahvid Best officially earn a spot on the Heisman Trophy watch list?

Ted Miller recognizes our defense and Jahvid Best as two of the top three Pac-10 performers yesterday (the other was a very worthy Rudy Carpenter).

California RB Jahvid Best: Some running backs never get an 80-yard TD run their entire careers. Best had TD runs of 80 and 86 yards in the Golden Bears’ 66-3 bludgeoning of Washington State. Best finished with 200 yards on 14 carries and three TDs. And he’s got to be on the cusp of entering the Heisman Trophy discussion.
The California defense: The Cal unit nips Arizona State’s fine effort against Stanford because the Bears held Washington State to 173 total yards and three points on the road. A dominant performance for a team that appears to be coming together.

by Berkelium97 on Sep 7, 2008 11:13 AM PDT reply actions  

I share the concerns as well but as I thought about it, as much as we all love Riley, he is still a RS Sophomore making his 3rd start. He is bound to have games where he isn’t firing on all cylinders. AR has a few tough games his first season as well but managed to turn out all right in the end.

I think the main positive it that even if the QB has an off day there are still plenty of weapons on offense for the team to stay competitive and that the defense seems to be able to not let a game turn into a blow out. (I’m not sure if they’ll steal a game just yet, but Syd’s ball hawking is nice to see)

I think Riley may have also got caught up with the huge running plays and wanted to add some big passes to balance things out and his youthful exuberance got the best of him.

by turkey on Sep 7, 2008 11:26 AM PDT reply actions  

Desean is having a great game

4 catches for 70 yards, 17.5yards/catch, 47long

Hank Baskett has 90 yards but just on one catch.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20080907021

by danzig on Sep 7, 2008 11:45 AM PDT reply actions  

SO PISSED RIGHT NOW!

Damn, why didn’t anyone bother to mention the Jets v Dolphins game is on! I am not ashamed to say I hope Favre fails miserably. The way he treated Rodgers was atrociously disgusting! I hope Ricky plays well. I love that guy. Stay away from the bud, buddy.

by CaliSeth on Sep 7, 2008 12:03 PM PDT reply actions  

14-21, 189 yds 2 TDs

Pressure’s on Rodgers to match that tomorrow. Otherwise Pack fans will go mad.

by BearsNecessity on Sep 7, 2008 12:38 PM PDT up reply actions  

Hahahaha

I would hardly call that destroying, lol! Besides, this was a very poor showing against a team that went 1-15 last season. Had the PI calls been made correctly by the refs, the Dolphins win this game. This does not bode well for Favre. The season only gets harder with time, and there are no more 1-15 teams to play against. The Jets may actually regress from last year. I predict a 2-14 season or, 3-13.

The Packers and Rodgers on the other hand… Well, the skies the limit! I’m thinking 12 – 4 or, 14-2.

by CaliSeth on Sep 7, 2008 1:33 PM PDT up reply actions  

Brett Favre is an American hero

How dare you besmirch his name! His drama queen tendencies and attention whoreishness are typical of the 21st century American male and something we should all imitate.

by BearsNecessity on Sep 7, 2008 2:15 PM PDT up reply actions  

DESEAN WITH A BIG RETURN!

"Save The Oaks: Overthrow Capitalism" said Dumpster Muffin sanguinely

www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com

by TwistNHook on Sep 7, 2008 12:18 PM PDT reply actions  

Marshawn: 16 carries, 71 yards and a TD

And I’ve been able to watch the whole game! Mebane’s getting pushed around by the Bills O-line.

Bills have blown it open (WOOOO!) on a fake field goal wideout. Might see some Forsett.

by BearsNecessity on Sep 7, 2008 12:32 PM PDT reply actions  

How did you watch the whole game (assuming you don’t have the NFL package)?

http://sportingcontrarian.wordpress.com/

by BeastMode on Sep 7, 2008 1:05 PM PDT up reply actions  

In the Sacramento area

They’re showing the Seahawks game on TV

I think the online feed is http//www.justin.tv/sesame_street

by BearsNecessity on Sep 7, 2008 1:10 PM PDT up reply actions  

Was watching the online feed but it cut out right before the fake field goal.

http://sportingcontrarian.wordpress.com/

by BeastMode on Sep 7, 2008 1:13 PM PDT up reply actions  

Desean was awesome

From the Bleeding Green website:


Desean’s dazzling debut


The rookie from Cal was the unquestioned standout of the preseason and so far it looks like that was no fluke. Desean showed no signs of slowing down as he turned in quite possibly the best debut from an Eagles rookie WR ever. Forget rookie WR, that was one of the best debuts from any Eagle rookie period. He was a constant threat on both offense and special teams racking up 206 total yards.

Jackson led the team with 6 catches for 106 yards averaging over 17 yards a catch. Desean is the first rookie to go over 100 yards recieving on opening day since Anquan Boldin.

by danzig on Sep 7, 2008 1:13 PM PDT reply actions  

PS, Niners-Cards game coming on soon

I might have to start working in front of the tv in 15 minutes so I can watch Just TurnOvers QB our team.

by Rishi on Sep 7, 2008 1:14 PM PDT reply actions  

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