Random Thoughts on the Cal Game
by Class of 66 on Oct 26, 2008 10:47 AM PDT
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PrintBumped. GO BRUINS. -N
Playing the Cards We've Been Dealt.
I grew up to "question authority". I don't automatically trust many people.
But, I trust this coaching staff -- the entire staff (yes, including DW) -- to be playing the cards they have been dealt as well as they can be played. I trust them because from what I'm seeing, they are earning that trust.
No one can question the intensity with which this staff, and their players, want to win.
There has been a quantum shift since last year. The desire is clearly there. The effort is there. And, some times, the execution is there.
I would rather have CRN in Craft's ear than a deer-in-the-headlights coach who simply walks away when things blow up. There are rumblings of criticism about CRN's treatment of KC -- that he's destroying the kid's confidence. That's BS. How do I know? Because I listen to KC describe his relationship with his coach. And, I watch him play his heart out in every game.
As to KC -- I made a comment in the game thread that I'll repeat here: KC is playing because CRN and NC have decided that he should be playing. They know best who is best able to lead this team. Unless you see all the cards they are holding, it's unfair to speculate or criticize.
And, I made the comment that we have a 3rd string, transfer quarterback who has had to become the starter -- playing with more experienced and acclimated players. Does anyone really believe that KC is playing below the level of those around him? I don't and I don't think it is fair to call him out. He is doing his very best. I think the whole team is.
We just aren't holding very strong cards, now.
What I like most is that the coaches are constantly trying to put us in a position to win. Not to stay close. Not to lose by just a little. But, to win.
The criticized on-side kick was a good call. So was the fake punt. When you have weak cards, some times you have to steal a pot by taking a risk. As I wrote a few weeks ago, one does not create a culture of winning without trying to win.
The day will come when these things work for us.
And, then the day will come when we don't have to try them because we will be able to win games without taking the risks that trick plays present. Trick plays are an attempt to level the playing field. We will own that field, soon, and trick plays will only be needed for their entertainment value.
We all have concerns and here are some of mine from yesterday's game:
1. It's hard for a team like ours to overcome stupid penalties -- like the unsportsmanlike conduct call that really hurt us. Some penalties show a clear lack of discipline -- and we seem to be slipping a bit here. But, as others pointed out in the thread, some are the inappropriate manifestation of extreme frustration -- an inappropriate way of showing how aggressively we want to win. Penalties are like showing your weak cards to your opponents. We shouldn't be making their game that much easier for them.
2. For the last couple of years we've not had a kick off kicker who can put the ball deep in the end zone or deep in enemy territory. With each kick off we give up field position. Mike Leach held an open try out for a kicker and found one. Maybe, we should do the same.
3. I think our tackling was somewhat better, yesterday, but we still had our bad moments. One improvement -- it seemed that the first people to the ball were going for the stop, not the strip. Anyone else think that to be the case?
4. We cannot continue to play in the shot gun, which with KC is desirable, if we cannot get him the snap in the air. He should be able to take for granted that the snap will be on target. When he has to divert attention to finding it and retrieving it, he loses valuable time and focus. We criticize him for not going through his "rotation", for only looking at one receiver, but he loses a second or two trying to pick up the snap. I've noticed that our long snaps on field goals and punts are usually on the money. How about trying the long snapper here?
Notice, I don't jump on the "O line is terrible" bandwagon. Palcic is playing the cards he is holding as well as he can. He has tried all kinds of combinations to cover for his original talent level and the injuries our guys have sustained. How can you criticize his or the players efforts?
As to playing KB instead of DC -- once you understand that you are going to have to pass, not run, you put in the back who blocks for KC best, and that's KB. My heart goes out to KB -- he deserved a huge break out year. But, on this team, he's been relegated to a blocking back position; I love his attitude and commitment.
Finally, I'm not even slightly surprised about what we are going through. If you were to tell the champion of the World Poker Tour that he would have to play a full season in which his best hands would be low pairs, he'd play and he'd be as creative as possible, but he'd find it hard to win the championship. He'd win some hands he should, and probably one or two he shouldn't -- but by and large the cards will control the game.
At the beginning of the year we hoped to win the games that "on paper" we should and maybe one or two that we'd be predicted to lose. And, then we made some assumptions about what games those would be.
We thought we were better than predicted when we beat Tenn. The season is showing us that they were worse than predicted.
Looking at the teams we've played, I actually think we are about where we should be -- and maybe a little better considering that we were in a position to beat both FSU and Oregon, and despite the final score, were also in a position to beat Cal. (BTW -- Arizona is proving to be a better team than predicted and that loss should be in the "expected" column, too.")
I think we will win 3 of our last 4 -- and I'm not conceding a loss to sc but, rather figuring that we will be inconsistent in one of those games
We have 2 weeks to get ready for OSU -- and with the exception of their win over sc, they've played at a level at which we can compete. Washington is down this year. ASU is not better than the teams we've hung with. sc is beatable -- especially because it is the last game of the season and I think our coaches will have the players ready and believing that they can win the game.
I hate losing. But, I'm not suffering this season. Whereas, in the past, I used to look forward to the end of the season -- to the end of my misery -- now, I look forward to every game. Strangely enough, I've not even begun to think about basketball.
Maybe, in the last few weeks, the cards will start to turn our way. If they do, I know these coaches will know how to play them.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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66
As always, great analysis. As you say, this is pretty much the season we expected. A couple of lucky bounces here and there (no fumble at the end of the Fresno State game, one more yard on that 4th and 23 play yesterday), and things could be quite different. What I really like is the constant involvement of CRN as you point out. CF gave us that late touchdown, but even though the game was essentially over, CRN was still in CF’s ear after the play. CF was probably wondering, “What the heck?”, but CRN is not letting any teaching moments go by. Another reason I reason this continues to be an enjoyable season, despite the record.
66
Thank you so much for this post. I didn’t get to watch this game as I have been on the road. Will be back in action sometime tomorrow. But after reading some of the comments, stats and given what we have seen this season, I am right where you are in terms of the big picture outlook on this season and beyond.
It means what you think it means
I won’t presume to speak for sjh, but the pros and cons of Coach Walker have been debated here at length. I think you’ve been around for a long time, 05, and presumably you’ve seen those debates. Speaking for myself, I am not one who thinks that Coach Walker is the be-all and end-all of defensive coordinators (or recruiters, for that matter.) His defenses have been inconsistent, to say the least. We had one really, really good win – 13-9. But we also had the horrible loss to ND, and we have laid defensive eggs in the State of Utah that need not be discussed further.
There is only one reason why I think Coach Walker should be retained, and that is because Coach Neuheisel has made it clear that he wants Coach Walker to lead the defense. I believe in Coach Neuheisel, and if he wants Coach Walker, then I want Coach Walker. I personally don’t believe that Coach Walker is the guy we need as DC, but I will gladly defer decisions like that to our head coach.
i dont get...
why dw is so disrespected on here. i honestly don’t. it’s not like he goes around claiming to be the best defensive coach ever. he never said he is the “be-all, end-all” coach. i mean, he gets crap on this board for not living up to these ridiculous expectations that he didn’t even put on himself. lets face it, the talent level on the defense isn’t nfl caliber either. week after week he’s always being sht’ed on. norm chow’s gotten more praise in 1/2 a year that DW has gotten his entire ucla coaching career. i just dont understand it.
I think Coach Walker is getting the respect he deserves.
It’s easy to click on Yahoo Sports, then NCAA sports, then stats. Here’s what you see about our defense.
- Scoring defense: 96 out of 120
- Yards per game: 68
- Passing yards per game: 24 (not bad, but I think it’s because people can run on us)
- Rushing yards per game: 104
This is not showing disrespect to anyone. This is displaying what the numbers show. And the numbers show a pretty bad defense. TCU has given up 281 rushing yards all year,
Oops - pushed button too soon
TCU has given up 281 rushing yards all year, we give up 188 per game. Has TCU managed to get all the good defensive linemen in the country? Are they playing only patsies? Well, they beat BYU 32-7, and I don’t need to tell you what BYU did to us.
Coach Walker has never tooted his own horn, to my knowledge. But there are plenty of people, apparently including you, who appear to hold him in higher regard than his record would seem to warrant. I think those who think Coach Walker is doing a good job should step back and look at the numbers. (And that would include his whole career as a DC.)
ok
if you want to look at numbers only, lets look at the offensive numbers.
guess norm chow is overrated too.
all im saying is give this guy a break. you act like he’s been dealing with nfl caliber defensive players his whole career here.
You're kidding, right?
Justin Hickman, Bruce Davis, Spencer Havner, Chris Horton, Dennis Keyes and now Brian Price, Brigham Harwell, ATV…those are just a few of our defensive players, off the top of my head, who play in the NFL or will have a very good chance of playing in the NFL, and played for Walker.
Norm Chow only has a couple of freshmen receivers who might make it in the NFL. We had one NFL type tight end who broke his foot in the first half of the first game. Everyone else on offense is pretty much 2nd string level for the Pac-10.
so then i ask...
what came first, the chicken or the egg?
is it the coach or the players? as far as im concerned, none of those guys were 5 star recruits coming out of high school.
look, i just want some equality here. i love norm chow – my argument was not to say he’s not a good coach – if you read carefully, that wouldve been obvious. i just think the hate on DW comes from him being in dorrell era (as if that’s his fault).
Not a particularly good analysis, 05.
The offense is doing poorly, so Coach Chow must be doing a bad job. But we know Coach Chow is a good coach. The defense is doing poorly. But Coach Chow is a good coach, so therefore Coach Walker is a good coach. That’s your argument, it seems to me, and it doesn’t hold water, to quote my cousin Vinnie.
Coach Chow and Coach Walker do not have the luxury of sifting through a ton of blue-chip players to get the right combination. We all know that. The numbers for the offense are bad, and so are the numbers for the defense.
Coach Chow has an established track record which goes back to antiquity. Coach Walker has been on the scene as a defensive coordinator for only a few years. He has no longevity to use as a basis to say that what we are seeing now is some sort of anomaly. I am not going to say that he is in over his head as a defensive coordinator because I’m not qualified to make that call. I know what the results have been for the last three years. I know that he has had one brilliant, unqualified success – the 13-9 game. I also know that the defensive teams he has lead have not showed up on many occasions. The Peter Principle has been shown to be true in business, and it may well also be true in football.
To summarize, Coach Chow has a 30 plus year history of success. Coach Walker has a three year history of mediocrity. To say that the relative parity of the results each has achieved this year means that their coaching ability is comparable is a non sequitur.
By the way, must you use pre-teen text message phraseology such as “hate on?” What exactly does “hate on” mean? Translate it into geezer language. (I have gone around this block before. I think it is indicative of something — I’m not sure what — that a “tool” is no longer a useful device the invention of which separates man from the lower forms of life, but rather is someone who is at best an oaf. Similarly, even though Nimrod was a mighty hunter and warrior, to call someone a “nimrod” is an insult.) In any event, I believe Bruins trivialize their collective education by using the language of the gutter. End of geezer rant.
THANK YOU, Fox!!!
(From a Geezer with a pre-teen.)
Love My Bruins
by Bruingirl83 on Oct 28, 2008 10:33 AM PDT up reply actions
wow
ive grown up in a background much different from years. if you lived and been in the environment ive grown up in, u would understand why i write the way i do and talk the way i do. your comment was incredibly naive and borderline racist. ive talked to some bruin students including baron davis and youll be surprised that they speak much of that “pre-teen language.” i guess that makes them uneducated just like me. thats all im going to say on that. criticize my football points, thats fine. criticize my culture and thats goes way over the line.
Culture?
You’d better take a chill pill buddy. You write poorly and that’s all that was alluded here, and it reflects poorly on you, especially when you make a poor argument. Fox is definitely from a different generation (do you know what a geezer is?), one in which when you write, you write with proper grammar and correct spelling. That just doesn’t happen anymore today, mostly out of laziness. Capitalizing a letter at the start of a sentence is now too time-consuming, I guess. And yeah, some of the made-up english is foreign to geezers, but regardless, it seems the satire (and humor) just completely flew over your head. Does it help if I tell you that Fox is a lawyer? (no offense Fox!)
I don’t see a single racial reference or anything of the sort in there, so you’d better take a step back before you call someone a “borderline racist”.
culture
is the way language is used as well. lets brighten up and figure out the definition first. besides, unless youre fox’s father, i dont see why youre commenting.
If I were Fox's father
I’d be the Master Geezer in this community.
All I am telling you is to consider who Fox is before labeling him. If you did, you wouldn’t find his post offensive (and it is not).
i didnt label fox a racist
if you read carefully, i said that his comments were borderline racist. and i stand by that until HE explains himself and he’s not obligated to by any means, although i think it would be cowardice not to.
im not painting him to be this white man with a kkk hood who hates black people. i bet he’s a good guy. obviously very smart from when ive read his comments. but i never got the impression that he was intelligent from the proper grammar he used or because he capitalized the beginning of every sentence (btw, too lazy to capitalize your name, Tasser10?) i got the impression he was very educated from the way he came up with arguments.
now the fact of the matter is, he criticized me and pretty much said i was uneducated for using the phrase “hate on.” many in the younger generation use “slang” language including myself. its just the way we were brought up. when youre around people who use it, you become accustomed to using it. ask those same guys on the basketball court including jordan farmar, arron afflalo, lorenzo mata if they use such phrases. ill bet they do just that. those same players that we love to watch because of their basketball skills and athletic ability are the same players that use “gutter” (a DISGUSTING term to use i might add) language that fox talked about. unfortunately not everyone grew up in a privileged, rich neighborhood where everybody was taught how to use “proper” english. does that make them uneducated? or even appear uneducated? my answer is no.
i was fine with any criticism of my opinion of d walker. but when i got to the point in your argument fox when you criticized and put down the way i write (and talk), i got a whole different picture of you. and then i began to wonder how you view guys like baron davis or whoever else. i began to wonder if you view these guys as just uneducated athletes who have wonderful athletic ability.
i cut my post short
after seeing that ppl had written more posts.
im not accusing fox of being a racist. what he said was, in my opinion. just like when people say stupid things, doesn’t make them stupid. they just said something stupid.
obviously probably not anyone is going to agree with me. im just a random poster and fox is an icon here. i just wanted to hear his explanation. didnt need to hear even more ignorant comments about me being even more uneducated (and even lazy!) because i didnt capitalize when i wrote. just wanted fox’s explanation.
I See
expressions of age bias; certainly, I plead “guilty” to that in my comment. I see the possibility of a (minor) “cultural” misunderstanding or clash with regard to the expressions used…I certainly use old colloquialisms here with regularity, so, also “guilty” there. But…
…racism, I do not find. I am particularly sensitive to racism, myself—just ask that “journalist,” Adam Rose—but I’m sorry, I do not find racism here. I personally feel that one of the ugliest, most damaging things of which you can accuse someone is racism. There is no “lighthearted” or “teasing” use for an accusation of racism, and there is absolutely no place for racism here.
My apologies if you are feeling attacked for who you are—I know how truly awful that can be. I sincerely
believe, however, that the commentary is a satirical rant about, for lack of a better description, a lingual “generation gap.”
Love My Bruins
please
explain yourself. i would really like to see what other bruins feel about this and will copy and paste everything you just wrote so that they can judge without any bias.
Everyone Knows ...
I am the Master Geezer around here.
Fox needs no defense. He has been a pillar of strength, fairness and humor in this community for a very long time. He is, perhaps, the most admired non-front page poster.
There is a big lesson to be learned in this small dispute.
It is, perhaps, too easy to be egocentric on a blog — to see or feel things in a post that most would not see or feel — because one does not know the poster, personally. I’ve read Fox’s post over and over and do not see a racist border within miles of the words and content used.
It is reckless to play any card challenging the credibility/sensitivity/fairness of someone you only know from posts on a blog. It’s especially dangerous when one has not read a poster’s entire body of work.
And, it is extremely reckless to play a race card when one does not know anything about the life’s experience or values of the person on whom it is being dropped.
Disagree with a poster — make substantive arguments to prove your point.
Take a cosmic look at what is going on here and around you. Name calling does not work.
And, “my friends” (said as smarmy as it can be said) including “tasser” it does help to know that Fox is a lawyer — it means that he lives up to one of the most rigorous Codes of Ethics and standards of practice of any profession. (Sorry, tasser — I couldn’t resist. I never take offense at what you say — because I know your body of work and by it “know you” — just as I know Fox.)
sjh
It's a good thing
that I understand legalese smart-ass talk…you geezers kill me.
I must say though, I find it kind of hilarious (or disturbing) that Fox equated someone’s writing as that of a pre-teen only to have it be taken as a “borderline racist” comment…incidentally in a discussion defending Coach Walker….I don’t make this stuff up folks. And why must it always be FOX?!! You geezers are too sarcastic for your own good…
Wow.
One paramount observation. You equate a desire to read and write in complete sentences to “borderline racism.” Does that not seem to be itselt f racist comment? It suggests that no minority can possibly express himself or herself in a complete sentence with proper grammar and syntax. Have you listened to Kareem speak lately? Or read anything that he writes? Our former alleged football coach, for all his faults and for all his use of cliches, spoke like a grown-up, not like a child. I would plead guilty to borderline age-ism, and aggravated condescension, but you fail (again) to make a persuasive case for “borderline racism.”
Moving on, I feel constrained to again grade your work product. First, your response to all that has been said following my criticism of your choice of language seems to me to support my position that your analytical skills need some work. Frankly, each time you tried to defend your original accusation, the argument got more and more inane.
Second, I stand on my criticism of your language. We are not on a playground or basketball court. This is a community of adults. There are plenty of other places where it is patently obvious that there are more children than adults. I prefer to avoid those places because it is even more obvious that I literally do not speak the language.
Why are you so defensive about your inability or unwillingness to use adult phraseology to make a point in an adult forum? I assume you are a college graduate now (unless the ’05 means something else), so it would seem to me that you would of necessity put away childish expressions and write like a grown-up. There are times when a change of style can be useful, such as for emphasis. Like, I mean, dude, you know – to like show how something is one thing by comparing it to something like an opposite or the other thing, like you know, dude.
I had no idea that a rant about language would generate all this. Nonetheless, I stand by my original rant.
(One other point – perhaps tasser10 doesn’t use a capital “T” because he is really a cockroach named archy.) (Now go look up Don Marquis. This is literary humor. It’s the kind of stuff I learned when I was at UCLA, way back before text messages and omg u r my bff.)
Hm.
So I bring up current players who grew up in this era and you bring up Kareem, completely dodging what you couldn’t defend. Nice work.
Hm.
After all this, all you can think of to talk about is the fact that I referred to a player I went to school with as being articulate, whereas you cited players you went to school with who are also articulate. (And frankly the guys you referred to are more articulate than you are, but that’s beside the point.)
In the world of attorneys in which I live, Brewin, there are a group of lawyers who share your analytical and argumentative skills. They are the ones explaining the options to their clients after they have lost.
You are now officially wasting my time. I give you the last word. Have at it.
Now
you are just being ridiculous. When Jordan Farmar, Aaron Afflalo, Russell Westbrook, Lorenzo Mata-Real, Baron Davis, and any of the other players of “this era” speak to the press or the fans, they sound more like Kareem—the greatest basketball player of all time—than you seem to think. They probably do not speak in quite the same genre when they are on the court or at a party, but they know the difference. We Geezers know that, and we respect them all the more for it. They make us proud when they speak to the public, because they are always articulate and thoughtful.
This is a “public” forum—more like a press conference than a pick-up game. You know the difference, too.
You cannot defend your allegation that anything Fox wrote was “borderline racist,” because nothing he wrote—or ever has written—came even close to that description, and you know it. Frankly, nobody who regularly writes on this blog gives a hoot about anybody else’s race, creed, skin color, or religion as long as they write with conviction, respect, and sincerity. I wouldn’t ever log on to this site if it were otherwise. If you seriously cannot tell the difference between the comments on this page and racism, you have never experienced anything close to racism and you need to get out and get some more “world view experience” before you pop off.
The reality is that you owe Fox an apology. The question is, are you a mature enough person to stand up and admit that?
Love My Bruins
We Geezers?
Sorry, 83, you’re far too young to be a Geezer. Honorary Geezer — for sure — because you are so wise.
Your points are very well taken. You say in a concise post what I really should have said in my much longer one.
In a blog like this, it is the quality of one’s content not the color of one’s skin that is judged.
This is an egalitarian nation.
Because race, religion, age, color, girth and all of the other discriminatory filters that in our larger society are superficially applied to judge people, are not known to us, we are able to focus on substance.
I like it that way.
sjh
Oh, Thanks '66
for the compliment. If only my 12-year-old thought I was wise. (Sigh.)
I probably feel qualified for Geezer-dom because the real age of my knees seems to be about 90.
I like it that way, too, by the way. It’s a refreshing way to learn about our world and the other people in it.
Love My Bruins
Good commentary as usual.
For my part, I was pleased that we stayed close for so long. We all know that KC is a wild and crazy guy who can vary from ineptness to brilliance in the same game. I won’t be raggin’ on him till he he gets enough time to read his progressions and set his feet, and I don’t think that RN is doing anything but trying to help him improve and grow. Maybe Fourcier should have had some snaps a bit sooner, maybe not. That’s the coaches’ decision and, like you, I believe in their judgment. All I see is every Bruin trying to win, and I’ll settle for that. We absolutely have a reasonable chance of winning three more, and I hope we do, but whatever the course of the season, I can live with it happily, as long as the spirit is there. Go Bruins!
Walking out of Strawberry Canyon
I thought to myself that this is a team only a mother could love. I agree generally with you ReineSeite – all is being done that can be done. I hope some of our good recruites realize that the Bruins will be back. With some good talent we will be back sooner.
But it was obvious in the game that the leadership at Quarterback is not there. A few more set of downs with forced and inaccurate throws and you give Forcier a chance. In all due repsect to Norm Chow, this one quarterback or no quarterback precept has to give way to some testing of the water. A game lost with Forcier is no more painful than one lost with Craft. And Craft may benefit by seeing another quarterback play with his offensive unit. I am talking about visual perspective – not the psychological effect. At the CAL game I sensed that his mistakes seemed to demoralize the rest of the team.It is not as if Craft comes out he can never go back in again. I mean if things are that tentative with him, then anybody is better.
But there is a new game coming up. It could be our win.
Go Bruins !!
by northbaybruin on Oct 26, 2008 11:32 PM PDT up reply actions
Great stuff, but regarding #2
Is Jimmy Rotstein on scholarship? I’m hoping no, because what a waste that would be. Not to be overly harsh, but if your sole job is to bury the ball deep, and the best you can do is the 5-10 yard line at very best, then something’s wrong.
Jimmy Rotstein
We need to place an ad in the Daily Bruin for a kicker. There has to be some soccer player on our vast campus who can get a kickoff deeper than the 15 yard line which is Jimmy Rotstein’s average. The return yardage usually places our opponents on the 35 or 40 yard line. This is too short of a field for a defense to constantly defend. Last week, Kai Forbath did a better job in place of Rotstein. What happened?
Very Good Post, 66
I’m totally in agreement with pretty much everything you say here. I guess the glaring thing – to me anyway- about Saturday’s game is that we’re finding more and more ways to fall apart like matchsticks in the 4th quarter on the road. Personally, I think the next big step this team has to take is gutting up in the 4th quarter when thngs are tight and finding a way to win on the road. Once they do that, they’ll have taken another big step.
Los Angeles Rams and the UCLA Bruins!!!!!
by Minnesota Bruinfan on Oct 27, 2008 5:12 AM PDT reply actions
Fake Punt, A Good Call?
Next time, I think the coaching staff should consider the fallout from “not making it.” UCLA is a young, emotionally fragile team. It seems we went into the tank after that play. Three possessions later we were down by 21 more points and the game was out of reach. Outside of that, I think the coaching staff has done a great job.
by elsborantebruin on Oct 27, 2008 5:48 AM PDT reply actions
If you look at the replay
it was obvious that the coaching staff saw a “flaw” in Cal’s punt return assignments, as our gunner on our right side wasn’t covered, and that’s who we threw the ball to. Just a little better pass and he was going a long way. The guy that made the tackle came from the complete other side of the field.
So, IMO, there was enough other factors that went into the call to keep me from second guessing the coaches.
by bornagainbruin on Oct 27, 2008 8:37 AM PDT up reply actions
Apparently, this was not a call by the coaches
According to Dohn:
A turning point in the fourth quarter was UCLA’s failed fake punt on a fourth-and-23 that gave Cal the ball on its own 47. Bruins punter Aaron Perez said it was his fault because he read Cal’s defense and thought the option was to fake it.
But he later said the distance dictated he should have punted.
I assume the punter has the “green light” to call a pass under certain circumstances, but in this case didn’t realize the distance.
I agree with your summation.
I too hate losing, but I am not suffering this season. I never expected a good season; this was all about building two or three years down the road. I think this is the perfect attitude 66.
Two things:
(1) Craft. I agree with everything everyone has said on Craft. He has been placed in a difficult position, and he is doing his best. I give him a lot of credit. However, if we are playing for the future, then maybe we should go all the way with a qb switch. I don’t think Craft is the guy next year, plus, he will be a “senior” I think, so in any case, he is not the future. I sensed earlier in the season when Forcier was being used on direct snap plays that the coaches like him down the raod. Well, even if Craft is better now, why not get Forcier his lumps now—because he could be the future theoretically.
(2) Quantum Leap. Give me a break. I like the future of the program too, and I believe we are going to be in a good position three years from now. But this quantum leap talk is just way too over the top for me; bordering on the ridiculous in my opinion (though I respect it if you see things differently).
(3) and I agree with elseborantebruin—fake punt wasn’t a “good call.” It was a risky—shows that the coaches are willing to roll the dice kind of call—which I like. But that is very different from a “good call.”
Finally, I don’t know why we need to heap praise on anyone, players or coaches, at this point. The team isn’t good. There aren’t really a lot of things to praise. Everyone, players and coaches, are in an impossible position, which is why they certainly don’t deserve a lot of criticism. They are doing their best. As 66 said, we have some bad cards which we have to play. However, I’m starting to wonder if some aren’t looking at things to praise for no good reason (fake punts and onside kicks?). Not that some positive things didn’t happen at Cal, but if you are watching this season with warm fuzzy feelings for the team or coaches, then you are watching a different team than I.
My overall attitude is, I just don’t know what’s going on, but I believe in the coaches, and I am hoping for the best down the road. It’s the best I can say at this point, but I’m ok with that.
I'll Stick With Quantum Shift
I do think there is a big difference in attitude and effort — if not accomplishments. And, I’ll stand by that statement.
Unlike years in the past, these players are visibly angry about losing and seem to be trying to channel that frustration in a positive direction.
They’ve not said the kinds of very stupid things that were said in past years.
And, they seem to be more “team oriented”. They are standing up for and protecting each other.
To me, there has been a quantum shift, emotionally, if not in results. I think it’s a shift that had to come. Winning teams have a winning attitude and skilled players. It takes both. We are making progress on one front and, in the coming years will make progress on the other.
sjh
by Class of 66 on Oct 27, 2008 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions
When you give all you 've got...
how can anyone be overly critical? I love this team and its coaches. Let’s face it; this is a dues paying year. GOD bless this years edition of BRUIN FB players. This years team is a 3 speed bicycle in a Tour de France race.
What is it that John R.Wooden said? “Sports doesn’t build character, it reveals it.” This coaching staff and team is chock full of it and I’m VERY proud of these young men.
Great Post, 66
Thank you. Perspective is important.
I love this team because of how hard they try and how fearless they are. I trust our coaches, because they refuse to give up on this team, and that’s what coaching is.
Love My Bruins
Was just thinking the same thing re #2
And using Texas Tech as the prototype. Surely there must be a current or former soccer player who can do better on kickoffs. His distance is truly sad, and it has always been that way.
All you need
is a goalkeeper, he’ll kick the crap out of that ball. I know there’s a good one on campus, there’s got to be.
Not that I know much about soccer
But isn’t the kick the goalkeeper makes more like a punt? Maybe it translates either way.
Just reminds me of what happened in my h.s. Guy in my class was talking crap about how bad the kicker was. One day he tries out and sure enough, he was much better and I think he was all league one year.
'zactly
And most goalkeepers can kick a soccer ball about 60 yards, from the ground. Imagine if the ball is teed up. If they punt some can get it nearly to the other goalkeeper. Come on Neu, do it! Go find that golden leg on campus!
Darn, the WORST news of all is that
the sweater-vest is no longer undefeated. The horror.
CHEER UP BRUIN NATION! We can still run the table and finish with 7 wins!! Think about it all the next four teams are very beatable: Oregon State at home (we own them anywhere), UW (winless, better not give them their first win), Arizona State (just plain bad this year) and USC (hey, doncha remember ‘06? ’92? COME ON BRUIN NATION!! LET’S BE RELENTLESSLY POSITIVE!!! WHO’S WITH ME??
I like your attitude...
but being “Relentlessly positve” is not the same thing as relentlessly dellusional! I peg em at 1 more win MAYBE! Just keepin it real!
GO BRUINS!!!
by GogetemBruins on Oct 27, 2008 10:52 AM PDT up reply actions
A little perspective please
Let’s all take it down a notch. You look at this team and expect WAY more than they can possibly deliver, because they have overachieved so far. And they have overachieved because we have good coaches. The losses hurt me too, but we have yet to lose a game we were supposed to win and have won at least one game we were supposed to lose. Just look at the betting lines on our games and you will see.
Let’s recap quickly for those who have lost their bearings here:
- we have had subpar recruiting for a few years now
- of those recruits, a third (?) of our starters are injured
- OUR TOP 2 QBs ARE INJURED (and we weren’t too happy with them to begin with)
- we have new coaches
- we have a bunch of freshmen playing
- we have a makeshift OL with a lineup that changes weekly
And with all this, some of you expected our team to go and beat a Cal team at home, a Cal team that was supposed to challenge for the Pac-10 this year? Even if they haven’t been playing up to their hype, come on, give me a break! I think some of you have been spoiled by the 3 wins we’ve gotten. Sure, you don’t go into a game with a defeatist attitude, but let’s get real here people. Cal was about to beat us last year in the Rose Bowl, were it not for a pick 6 by ATV. This year’s team, which is nowhere as experienced as last year’s, had an almost identical Cal team within 4, at Cal, with 11 minutes to go. It’s not by mistake that we were what, 20-point underdogs for this game?
It has been said repeatedly, even by people outside the program: if Neu can get this team into a bowl game, he should be coach of the year in the Pac-10, and it would be a landslide. We all need to step back, take a healthy dose of reality and appreciate the incredibly tough challenge our coaches are facing. The wins will come, let’s not kill the spirit of a bunch of young players who are giving it all they’ve got but just don’t have all the tools they need. As far as I’m concerned, our record is meaningless this year, and the season can be salvaged anyway with a win over U$C.
Agreed
For we fans, it’s especially easy for relentless optimism to take over after unexpected wins. Even with no bowl game, I hope we’ll continue to see game-by-game improvement (taking into consideration the strength of each opponent.)
—Spero Meliora
Flew up for the game
saw it firsthand and the only thing I could say after the game was
It’s still great to be a Bruin.
Despite the loss, I found solace in the thought that no matter the circumstance, I would always rather be a Bruin than a Golden Bear or a part of any other school. Times are tough, but we’ll get through them.
Go Bruins
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