I was pretty frustrated after watching the Cal football team lose to Washington on Saturday.
Initially, it just seemed like the same old story for the Bears: they put themselves in a position to win a key game, and ultimately came up empty. The loss brought back plenty of unkind memories from years past — USC in 2004, Arizona in 2006, Oregon State in 2007, the entire 2010 season, etc.
In talking to some of the players who didn’t travel with the team to Seattle, one claimed that Cal could be so good if it cut out the penalties and dumb mistakes. After the game, another player lamented over the fact that the Bears just can’t beat decent teams on the road.
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard those phrases over the last decade, rising tuition costs would be the least of my worries.
But, upon further reflection, something felt different this time around. The end result was the same, but the way it happened was unique.
First off, anyone who’s followed Cal football for a reasonable amount of time is probably pretty astute in his or her ability to perceive the warning signs of an impending loss. Watching the Bears can be like watching a train derail in slow motion. As the wheels start to come off, all you can do is sit in agony, painfully aware of the impending doom.
Midway through the third quarter on Sept. 10, I was convinced that Cal was going to lose to Colorado. These same warning signs started to surface (blown coverages, stupid penalties, you name it) and yet the team held it together long enough to get the win — something seldom seen from this program.
These same issues began to manifest in the second half against Washington, epitomized by a third-and-12 turned into a 70-yard touchdown. With Cal teams of old, there is no doubt that this would have been an absolute dagger.
Though that play would prove to be the difference in the game, the Bears, for the second time in three weeks, appeared completely undaunted by a fourth quarter road deficit. Instead of letting the train just fall off the tracks, Cal managed to give itself a chance to tie the game up, driving 86 yards and converting a handful of third and fourth downs in the final minutes.
At the end of the day, a loss is a loss. But there have been signs of life in 2011 rarely seen from these Bears.
One of my few criticisms of Jeff Tedford’s coaching philosophy has been his ultra-conservatism, especially late in games. For this reason, I was surprised, if not delighted, to see him go for four fourth down conversions.
Tedford explicitly showed trust in his offense, specifically in quarterback Zach Maynard, and it delivered — almost.
When Maynard sailed the final pass of the game out of bounds, he placed the blame solely on himself, something only a true leader would do, as opposed to complaining about middle-aged women calling him nasty names (Joe Ayoob) or whining about the lack of support among the fans (Nate Longshore).
This isn’t to say that the Bears have completely forgone their depressing ways of the past.
This is just to say that there’s something distinctly different about these Bears. Cal is far from the team many so desperately want it to be, but it’s at least headed in the right direction.
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When Tedford came to Cal he came out with a bang thanks to Aaron Rodgers. Other teams in the Pac-10 were quickly developing a feeling and mind set that Cal was a team to be wary of, they probably for a while had other teams coaches second guessing themselves. That second guessing probably led to some Cal wins. Being a winner in sports is mostly mental and thinking that you are as good if not better than your competition. Until the day that Cal shows they can beat some quality teams on the road other teams will continue thinking of Cal as someone they can beat. Right now Cal talent suffers in two areas; offensive line and defensive secondary. But their biggest problem is in their lack of preparedness for upcoming games. I can’t remember how many times last year I heard Tedford say after losing; the other team played a little bit harder than we did. Never once did he say; We were out coached.
It would have been hard for Maynard to place blame on that final pass,it could not have been caught by anyone on the field at the time, he threw it out of the end zone. It was fourth down with seconds left to play in the game, at least throw the ball where your player has a chance to catch it. All the play calling was terrible on that goal line stand. This is the fault of coaching.
There is a new feeling going around with the new 2011 recruits…only time will tell. But I smell ROSES………
We can’t get down to quickly onCoach JT. This team can make things happen on the field. We know that. They just have to play consistent ball and 60 minutes of football. The QB can’t show his frustration on the field…….he is the leader…….he needs to show…..ok i messed up….but we will get them next time we have the ball. The team needs to have attitude that everytime they touch the ball……it’s going to be a TD……..not a field goal. The have to stay after it…..until the whistle blows and the clock runs out.
One fact thst I would like to share is…….
Tedford boasts Cal’s modern-era record for victories with a 73-42
Bobby Bowen first 10 years…….83 / 32 / 2 So Coach JT may surprise people down the road.
My friend,
You are way too optimistic. Lets talk 4 weeks from now, after Cal having played against Oregon, USC, and Utah. The fact is, Cal has always had better recruiting classes than Utah, Boise State, and .. The players just don’t seem to develop. Case in point Aaron Rodgers. One of the reasons why 49ers did not pick him was bad mechanics. You see the same mechanic flaws in Maynard, happy feet, wrong coverage reads. So don’t give Tedford credit for Aaron’s success at the next level. Just imagine how much better Cal could’ve been if stars like him, Deshawn Jackson,… had played to their potential.
I must admit though that I like Maynard’s attitude. He is a leader, not afraid to hold himself accountable for poor performance, unlike Tedford.
As pesimistic as I have been, I truly want to be wrong and hope that Cal surprise us all and succeed big time.
Go Bears
How exactly didn’t Aaron Rodgers play to his full potential at Cal? We were 10-1 (prior to the Zero Motivation Bowl we played after we got shafted out of the Rose Bowl) with the narrowest possible loss on the road to the eventual champion, in a game where we thoroughly outplayed them. And, in case you weren’t there, Aaron Rodgers dominated that game. Get your facts straight.
Where did you hear that the 49ers passed on him because of mechanics? Like Nolan and McCloughan knew anything about QB’s. The 49ers have passed on more than a few quality players to come out of Cal. My biggest complaint about the 49ers is they don’t recognize local Pac-10 talent. The only Pac-10 team to have better recruiting than Cal has been USC. With Oregons success they are now gaining on Cal as the #2 recruiting school. One of Cal’s criticisms has been that they recruit high ranking High School players, and all Cal is able to do with them is finish 3rd, 4th, 5th places and be sent to some funky bowl game. The talent of these recruits is recognized by some very successful Professional teams that eventually draft them, look at all the Cal players that were starters on playoff contending teams last year. And Cal fans ask the question why do these individuals make the difference on championship High School and Pro Teams but not while they attend Cal.?