Comments on: Rock bottom: season Longshored

By: CalTex

CalTex — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 00:53:51 +0000

as a Cal student from Austin and being a lifelong Texas Fan (even rooted for Texas over Cal for the 2005 Rose Bowl Spot, though to be fair, i didn’t go to cal at the time), i’ve noticed some similarities and differences. Texas in the first 6 mack brown years, fell short quite alot. After the 2004 loss to OU, coach brown decided to be more adaptable to his players and listen and use whatever resources available to him to win. Tedford on the other hand, keeps on making the same mistake after mistake, failing to recognize that he’s too stubborn. Mack Brown learned from the applewhite/simms controversy and ended up salvaging what he could from it (as in applewhite finishing the last two games of his career). Tedford has a QB who’s effectiveness is effectively zero and continues to play him EXCLUSIVELY. it’s like flying on a plane that just lost an engine and insisting on continuing to your destination. land the plane and fix it! the 2007 season was like Tedford losing an engine midflight and insist on keep flying and then losing the other engine before he could get to his destination. plane/season CRASHES! Reason: Pilot/Coach Error. I understand tough losses, i don’t understand complete BONEHEADED moves. Mack Brown learned from his mistakes. Tedford continues to repeat his mistakes.

By: Calman

Calman — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 03:57:50 +0000

I would just like to say that longshore is a big problem but he’s not the only problem we have. We have a powderpuff defense and it shows. We have absolutely NO pass rush, and the db’s look talented but rarely ever make plays. The d-line linebackers made louis rankin from uw look like walter payton and Bob Gregory has to be one of the most overrated coaches I’ve ever heard of. On offense, our receivers get thrown around like rag dolls when they try to throw blocks, which prevents a lot of big plays, not to mention forsett is the only guy on the offense that I have seen break a tackle this year. I like the speed we have but I think we need to start recruiting more football players at Cal.

By: pujutengineered

pujutengineered — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 08:54:52 +0000

nice site, keep it up. Good luck for the bowl game.

By: CN

CN — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 04:38:46 +0000

Well Terry, lets hope that they get there stuff together up in Strawberry Canyon. If the Cal season ends up sour like this one, I’ll have to agree with you about a serious change…take care!

By: Terry

Terry — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 16:20:32 +0000

Just for fun here is a list of the BCS teams over the first 10 years of the BCS, amazing points to consider, Ill, has made it twice, Wake Forset, Louisville, Syracuse, Hawaii, Boise St, Utah, oh and for the PAC-10, Wazu, Udub, OSU, UO, USC, UCLA, and Stanfurd, in fact if you count that ASU was in the Rose Bowl in 1997, that means only Cal and Uof A have not made it to the Rose Bowl in the last ten years. Let me repeat that so everyone understands, every single team in the Pac-10 has made it to a Rose Bowl in the last 10 years except for CAL, and Uof A, Uof A never having played in the Rose Bowl keeping in mind they only joined the conference in the 70’s. Now will someone please stand up and tell me that I am being unreasonable when I say we should not settle for anything less than the Rose Bowl. Every team in the last 10 years but Cal.

98/99 Uwisconsin, Ucla, Ohio St, Tx A&M, Fla, Syracuse, Tenn, Fla St
99/00 UWisc, Stanfurd***, UMich, Bama, Nebr, Tenn,Fla St, Va Tech
00/01 Udub, Purdue, Or St., ND, Miami Fl, Fla, UOkla, Fla St.
01/02 Ducks, Colorado, LSU, Illinois, Fla, Maryland, Miami, Nebraska
02/03 UOkla, Wazu, Georgia, Fla St, USC, Iowa, Ohio St, Miami.
03/04 USC, U Mich, Miami, Fla St, ohio st, Kansas st, Lsu, UOkla.
04/05 Texass, Mich, USC, Utah, Pitt, Auburn, Va Tech, Uokla
05/06 ND, Ohio St, USC, Texass, UWVA, Georgia, PSU, Fla St.
06/07 USC, Mich, Boise St, Okla, Wake, Louisville, LSU, ND, Ohio St, Fla
07/08 USC, Ill, Ohio st, LSU, Georgia, Hawaii, Okla, WVA, Va Tech, Kansas

By: Terry

Terry — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 16:12:59 +0000

This is actually the second time in the last three years a Tedford team started 5-0 and because of the QB they ended up losing four or more. That unfortunatley is a pattern, a pattern of doing decent, I say decent, because unlike Tedford 10-3 and a holiday bowl win is not something to be excited about in my mind. It seems likly that next season he might just win another 10 games and drop 1 or 2 for no good reason, because next year is our easy schedule if there is such a thing in the Pac-10. Our only tough road game is USC, perhaps WAZU if the weather gets odd, otherwise the oddities of our inconsistentcy should play themselves out again. Blowing out Or St in Oregon, while losing at home, Killing UCLA in Berkeley, while losing at UCLA, Oregon at home, Washington at home, ASU at home. This is why I am of the belief that if he does not do it next year it is time to consider a change 7 years is a longtime, I do not want to fire coaches every year, but how long I ask, how long are we willing to settle with not going to the rose bowl for the 49th year in a row, or winning one for the 71st year. I was not alive the last time Cal went to a Rose Bowl, I am just asking for Cal fans to stop thinking of ourselves as this team that is accomplishing something great right now. Honestly I will take 6-6 every year knowing that is what we are, and then once in a blue moon making it to the rose bowl, over 10-3 every year and still falling short. The problem is that we are failing to forget the simple fact of what Cal plays for, the Pac-10 the Rose Bowl, and maybe one day a national title. Point is this every year you fail to win the Pac-10, you fail to get to a Rose Bowl and win, every time that happens your season is a failure. If you have a goal and you do not reach it that is failure, I do not believe in this well we gave it our best shot lets try next year. I want to hear, we did not do it, this season was not the best we will come back and try to win it all. But Tedford does not say the latter he says the former, and he has the vast majority of people drinking the Cool-aid. Again give him one more year to make that break through, but if goes 10-2 and does not make it to the rose bowl I will still call for a change, because 10-2 is not good enough. And just for a little bit of fun lets look at some of the BCS teams over the course of the BCS, and then tell me whether or not you think its unreasonable to expect that after 7 years you make it to a BCS game.

By: JT

JT — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 02:32:50 +0000

on second thought, after the revelations of this week, it might be better to say, “Season Tedforded.”

By: Jack Daniells

Jack Daniells — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 23:26:42 +0000

Anyone except Cal!!! If you look at the stats of Tedford it looks like the best he can do is rotate from decent year, to not so decent, to terrible. I really hope he takes this season to heart and learns to be more reasonable. Playing Nate as long as he has is baffling. I suspect we will lose the Armed Forces Bowl and make utter fools of ourselves. All because Tedford refuses to back down and play Riley. I really think he may have some as yet undisclosed mental issues. How else does one explain this fiasco?

By: CN

CN — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 22:08:41 +0000

It seems that a lot of emotion controls the information conveyed in this blog but I see things from an analytical point of view and I knew I would get some who would disagree with my post. Nevertheless, I think it is important to note that I have noticed a huge level of instantaneousness in the Pros, which has filtered into college football. In the N.F.L some teams go through so many coaches, year after year; trying to find that perfect coach and frankly, a perfect coach doesn’t exist. Maybe Cal could fire a coach year after year like Al Davis with the Raiders? However, I do not think that strategy works well and it sure hasn’t worked for Al Davis in past years. I believe this instantaneousness has affected the minds of college football fans. We look for instant results and if those results aren’t realized in a specified time-frame we go looking for a Pete Carroll or a Les Miles. Realistically, it is very difficult to find great coaches like Carroll and Miles…it’s not that easy. Moreover, If a team is fortunate to find a coach with a Les Miles or Pete Carroll style, there is no guarantee they will lead their squad to a championship because you also need star quality athletes to make it happen. For example, Rick Adelman (ex-coach of the Sacramento Kings) helped build a solid basketball team and they went as far as to win the Western Conference Championship, but they never won an the N.B.A. (great in the regular season & choked in the playoffs)Finals and where are the Kings now, after they the Rick Adelman era…rebuilding stage, with a long road ahead of them? However, I do believe that Coach Tedford needs to seriously evaluate the 2007 season and make a huge assessment because the last thing he wants is a team to go into 2008 growing accustomed to loosing…very dangerous. I believe to be great we have to learn from the great ones and study them. We may not emulate them but we can put forth the effort to imitate them. I think that this is a great time for Coach Tedford to look at the success Pete Carroll has had this year. He was able to bounce his team back from tough losses without a horrible domino effect taking place. That is not easy, it could of went the wrong way in Southern Cal. However, Coach Carroll was able to negate what could of been a disastrous season and still make it to the Rose Bowl. I think Pete Carroll is a 21st century coach. One that is adaptable, listens to his players, never gets comfortable and uses whatever resources he has to win and I think that is what makes him so successful. Lastly, I believe that this crazy 2007 college football season left us many lessons yet to be learned, “Just because you start 5-0 does not guarantee squat”!Play hard and play as a team, a family-unit to get to a BCS bowl game. If your a coach, stubbornness will kill a team, be adaptable, use your resources, play every game like it is your last, “Listen to your players and listen to criticism’s”, don’t guess that your team will bounce back after a tough loss, make sure they are in the right frame of mind to achieve success and constantly renew strategist methods to finish games and please do not play your injured quarterback. I’m still trying to figure that one out???????????????. College football is a different animal now. Anyone can win!

By: Pete Maloney

Pete Maloney — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:44:47 +0000

I hate to give ANY props to Stanford, but they seemd to make the two quarterback system work in the Big Game, despite Tedford saying he wouldn’t use it at Cal. The play where Pritchard rolled out and threw to a receiver on the run made me think “Ah, so this is how it could have been with Riley”. Even for a game or two, I would have liked to have seen this.

P.S. Cal don’t embarrass yourself like you did a couple of bowl appearances ago: if you accept the bid, play the game with your heart in it.

P.P.S. this blog has been a great source of enjoyment, information and commiseration over the course of the season. Kudos to all the Cal fans for keeping it civil and fun to log onto!