Cal - UW Report Card

Let's just get to this.  There's no need for a witty entry or an interesting intro to lure you into reading this post.  You know what's on the other side.  Your thoughts on the Cal - Washington game.  You know it's not going to be pretty.  You know it's not going to be fun.  But you are here, you might as well read it, right? 

And hey, you can read more witticisms from Greg Papa, who, when asked to comment about the coaching, had this to say:

Greg Papa - I hope they are able to find new jobs in these hard economic times

More information and the readers' grades after the jump.  GO BEARS!

 

Category	Mean Score	Standard Deviation
Pass Offense	.056	.105
Rush Offense	.585	.169
Pass Defense	.557	.246
Rush Defense	.691	.196
Special Teams	.600	.196
Coaching	.282	.224
Overall	.244	.170
Win likelihood in the Spring Game	.001	.016

Berkelium97:  Look at that pass offense rating.  No, the decimal point is not misplaced--the passing game was simply that miserable.  The SD isn't even that big...you all were pretty consistent with those abysmal scores.

The defense received adequate marks and special teams was acceptable (though Giorgio's field goals would have been much appreciated vs Arizona and Oregon).  Overall, it was a pretty miserable end to a miserable season.  At least we have a chance to win in the spring game, right?  Maybe not...

 

 

This week we have two editor's choice awards.  The first goes to Berkelium97 and TwistNHook who had to suffer through these report cards week after week, loss after loss.  As tough as each loss was, they had to be reminded of the pain each time they waded through the report cards to crunch the numbers and find the best comments.  They truly are inspirations to the CGB community!  The second editor's choice award goes to you, the readers who filled these out (even if you didn't always follow instructions) because without you we'd just have HydroTech's report card.  And Bak Bak knows that would get boring to analyze week after week!

Let's turn to the last set of our usual trio of awards.  First we have the Super Critics, whose report cards had the lowest total scores, and Tedford's Sunshine Pumpers, whose report cards had the highest total scores.

 

Tedford's Sunshine Pumpers	Net Score, Percentage
1. jali	4.3, 61.4%
2. sacman701	4.3, 61.4%
3. fuzzywuzzy	3.95, 56.4%
4. CalBeorning	3.94, 56.3%
5. solarise	3.90, 55.7%

Super Critics	Net Score, Percentage
1. SoCal Oski	0.70, 10.0%
2. VandyImport	1.60, 22.9%
3. handleofvodka	1.90, 27.1%
4. minesweeper	2.00, 28.6%
5. LB	2.20, 31.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CGB HIVEMIND	Overall Deviation
1. EdBear	.063
2. grinandbearit	.074
3. SanMateoBear	.098
4. Greg Papa	.112
5. goldenbearpurgatory	.113

 

Finally we have CGB HIVEMIND for those whose scores most accurately reflect the group scores.  

 

 

 

Thanks for participating in the report cards all year!  It's been fun!  Let's just hope that next year the report cards will be more pleasant (meaning we get some more wins).  Now, one last look at your sorrowful, bitter memories of the game:

 

Gameday Experience

 

EdBear - Had a cold for second week. Didn't think sitting in the cold rain would do much for me.

VandyImport - Hail. Motherfucking HAIL. GOD HATES SIN, FIGS, AND THE CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS. I will now drink acid.

Oh yeah, and I found out before kickoff that my own team fired their coach. Everything's coming up sewage!

goldenbearpurgatory - Luckily, I brought three plastic bags with me to the game for protection. One to protect my upper body from the rain and hail, one to protect my legs and feet from the runoff, and one to handle that queasy feeling in my stomach while sitting there watching that offensive performance

royrules22 - Overheard at the game:
"[Washington] has Jake Locker, we have Hurt Locker bombing up the place"

sacman701 - Jimi Hendrix would have been 68 today. Castles made of sand melt into the sea eventually.

Greg Papa - Take a shot every time Sandy Barbour says Student Athletic High Performance Center in her telecast interview; die of alcohol poisoning.

handleofvodka - Over the past couple of seasons I think I have been able to rationalize that they were just down years and that JT would be able to get us back on track. Next year we have some exciting young players, I would tell myself. We'll be back in the hunt for the Rose Bowl in no time.

After this loss I am too exhausted to type anymore. The season is over. But I know it's just going to haunt me for awhile. Feel bad for the seniors.

FiatSlug - I hope that today's recognition of Joe Starkey encourages him to retire. The sooner the better. After 36 years, we need new blood.

 

Pass Offense

 

sacman701 - This was Mansion's 5th game and unfortunately he just looks lost as opposed to looking like a raw young guy who will get better with more reps. The passing game hasn't worked at all when he's been in. With Riley, I think we would have won this game by double digits.

JustBear - So I thought Cal sucks and we lost the game. No, its more that Mansion sucks and we lost the game. With Riley, we would have scored at least 40 points vs. Washington in Memorial.

secret ASian man - I seriously wonder how this season would have been if there was some kind of consistency from the QB position. But objectively, what pass offense? I don't think they called more than three pass plays in the entire first half. I sure hope they can recruit a quality QB. If not that, I sure hope Maynard can play

goldenbearpurgatory - If Mansion is the answer, then what question are we asking?

But, maybe we were only 30 or 40 more sideline practice throws away from that breakthrough we had all been waiting for.

jali - Yes, I gave it a negative score. I know you're asking for 0-1.0 but that was truly crapola. I'm normally pretty positive, especially about mediocre QB performances because I think a lot of other factors (oline play, WR play) can have a huge influence on how he looks. However, this time, it was just ugly.

 

Cal Boerning - Definitions of pass on the Web:

go across or through; "We passed the point where the police car had parked"; "A terrible thought went through his mind" travel by: move past; "A black limousine passed by when she looked out the window"; "He passed his professor in the hall"; "One line of soldiers surpassed the other"

legislate: make laws, bills, etc. or bring into effect by legislation; "They passed the amendment"; "We cannot legislate how people spend their free time"

elapse: pass by; "three years elapsed"

place into the hands or custody of; "hand me the spoon, please"; "Turn the files over to me, please"; "He turned over the prisoner to his lawyers"

run: stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point; "Service runs all the way to Cranbury"; "His knowledge doesn't go very far"; "My memory extends back to my fourth year of life"; "The facts extend beyond a consideration of her ...

travel past; "The sports car passed all the trucks"

happen: come to pass; "What is happening?"; "The meeting took place off without an incidence"; "Nothing occurred that seemed important"

go unchallenged; be approved; "The bill cleared the House"

spend: pass time in a specific way; "how are you spending your summer vacation?"

base on balls: (baseball) an advance to first base by a batter who receives four balls; "he worked the pitcher for a base on balls"

guide: pass over, across, or through; "He ran his eyes over her body"; "She ran her fingers along the carved figurine"; "He drew her hair through his fingers"

(military) a written leave of absence; "he had a pass for three days"

communicate: transmit information ; "Please communicate this message to all employees"; "pass along the good news"

(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate; "the coach sent in a passing play on third and long"

Definitions of offense on the Web:

discourtesy: a lack of politeness; a failure to show regard for others; wounding the feelings or others

umbrage: a feeling of anger caused by being offended; "he took offence at my question"

crime: (criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act; "a long record of crimes"

the team that has the ball (or puck) and is trying to score

the action of attacking an enemy

 

 

Run Offense

 

JustBear - All the creative plays were nice in the 1st half. Especially the Vereen fake toss to Allen or Marv on reverse, Vereen kept the ball and had a nice gain. Also when KA21 lines up in Crazy formation, he keeps it 100%.

sec119 - Our run offense was terrific. This was the best o-line blocking we've seen all year, and the Wildbear/crazy worked well until UW realized we had no passing game. Vereen and KA tried to put this game on their shoulders. I hope Shane comes back next year, we'll need him.

solarise - Vereen could've been a 1st round draft pick if we could only prevent the opposing defense to stop stacking the box against him

VandyImport - I appreciate that for the first time since God knows when, the coaching staff thought "the passing game isn't working, let's try something else to get the ball into the hands of our playmakers." True to form, though, they figured out how to do it in the most predictable way possible, with an endless stream of KA-to-Vereen handoffs and dives that basically hung up a giant flashing neon sign reading "WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY ZERO FAITH OF ANY KIND IN ANY OF OUR QUARTERBACKS."

 

Pass Defense

 

sacman701 - They did well for the most part. On the two killer plays: the first was a fluke although IIRC the safety came up too far and let the receiver get behind him. On the second, you never want to have single coverage deep but I couldn't tell whether it was a blown assignment or just an unfavorable matchup in terms of Xs and Os.

grinandbearit - Generally speaking, they had a good day. There was a great catch at the end of the game under decent coverage, so I won't completely fault the DBs for that, and of course, there was the semi-lucky deflection that led to UW's first TD. All things considered, I can't complain about the pass defense.

FiatSlug - Good for most of the game. I refer to the 49-yarder completed against one D. Hagan, #26

SanMateoBear - Except for 2 botches, both by Hagen looked pretty good. The first Hagen botch was the real killer - when Anthony went for the ball and lost it to the receiver for the first TD, Hagen was there and inexplicably didn't come close to tackling the guy... The second is much more forgivable - one-on-one with the receiver and it was a good throw. Still, you hope for better from your senior CB.

jali - Anthony got really unlucky on that long touchdown. Hagan gave up that long pass on the fateful drive because of a fantastic play by the UW receiver. Otherwise, they were terrific. It felt a little like the Arizona game where the defense can't be expected to utterly shut them out all game without help from the offense.

 

 

Run Defense

 

grinandbearit - I think we stuffed the run pretty well at times. Compared to last year, they contained Locker a lot better and the forced fumble and TD was a great effort by our D. That said, we weren't prepared for the QB runs at the end of the game that eventually led to the game-winning TD.

 

solarise - Cam is a beast. Can't wait for Whiteside, McCain, and Gabe King stepping up next year to spell the 3-3-5 look.

goldenbearpurgatory - Why didn't we design any plays for Cameron Jordan - hands, awareness, decent speed, nose for the end zone - maybe he was an Elite 11 candidate that we missed? Or was it that - he "didn't give us the best chance to win"?

VandyImport - Yeoman work. We're going to miss all those seniors next year. A LOT.

 

Special Teams

 

SoCal Oski - Uh-oh, Tavecchio! A 53 yd FG. Forzza Italia!

fuzzywuzzy - At one time, I'da thunk that the day Tavechio kicked two field goals in a tight game, to go take the lead, and one of them of them a 53 yarder...would be the day my butt became a hangar for flying monkeys.

I'm still trying to shoot those m-fers.

hardtobecalfan - bryan anger had a couple bad punts, kick coverage had another brain fart, but tavecchio had his best game of the season. i liked coleman edmond's one return where he got upfield fast instead of juking and going sideline to sideline.

VandyImport - I'd sure like to have those field goals back to use on Arizona and Oregon. Amazing what you can do with no pressure and nothing to lose.

 

Coaching

 

EdBear - Like USC's Triumph, boring.

sacman701 - The team was ready to play, as it was following the 2 previous fug-awful losses. I don't know that we can blame the O coordinator, as I'm not sure that any scheme can work when you don't have the horses. I thought they did a decent job of mixing it up. The OL coach may deserve more scrutiny, as the OL had a disappointing year and seem to lack discipline at times.

solarise - Time to sit down and review how we can get a new identity by 2012. I think Marshall & Daft need to go. OL's inconsistency has been well documented. There is also no reason why wide receivers should get false starts & illegal formation penalties.

FiatSlug - Defensive coaching was excellent. I don't blame the coaching for that 49-yard pass completion setting up the winning score.

O-line coaching is well below championship level.

QB coaching is well below championship level.

WR coaching seemed mediocre.

SanMateoBear - #@^%$#@^%$@Q

Our O-line is worse than the Holmoe years.
Our receivers are worse than the Holmoe years.
Our QB's are worse than the Holmoe years. The QB;s regress over their careers. What happened to the QB guru?

jali - A lot of personal fouls (for a Cal team) but at least one of them was an absolutely awful call.

There was maybe one play where Ludwig called for a pass on 3rd and 3 (obviously incomplete pass) that annoyed me, but otherwise ,I think the problem is generally not in-game coaching. Consistent mediocre to poor play by QBs and the Oline is the bigger problem. (The oline was not too bad on Saturday and generally have gotten better-ish during the year)

 

Overall

 

coolingfan - It was a fitting end to the season. Better than getting embarrassed in a bowl game in front of the national audience.

grinandbearit - Tedford is known as an offensive guy, and our offense has been shut down often the last couple of years, so I'd be very surprised if he doesn't make some coaching changes. You can't continually blame execution when the coaching staff is there to make sure that the kids can execute.

I'll be very surprised if Marshall is back next year, and even Daft is questionable.

As much as it pains me to watch Cal lose in this fashion and lose out on bowl eligibility, this is probably the catalyst we needed to make changes

royrules22 - Guys you are missing the biggest thing: THIS SEASON IS OVER YESSSSSSSSSSS

hardtobeacalfan - it's sad that i knew the game would end the way it did after the first half. our offense wasn't getting it done even when we seemed to move the ball well. our defense scored more than our offense.

SanMateoBear - Honestly, this game felt about as futile as the 2001 Big Game (Twist Note:  That was 99 Big Game), when our only hope of scoring was Deltha O'Neal. Same thing today - defense scored the TD, the other points came on very long FG's. Our program has regressed to the nadir of 2001. Never thought that I'd think its time for new HC, but I've lost faith in JT.

VandyImport - Is it just me or is playing one more after Big Game a lead-pipe guarantee that one team is going to just phone it in? This was the least inspired, most feckless, most throughly two-crabs-trying-to-fuck-a-beach-ball performance I think I've ever seen in my six years with season tickets. Perhaps my screaming of "HANG LUDWIG FROM THE SOUR APPLE TREE YOU SON OF A BITCH" was offensive to the crowd in section I...oh wait, there was no crowd in section I. I should have screamed louder.

Memo to Tedford: it's your staff, or it's you. Your call.