How Cal Lost in the Rose Bowl, Part I

Posted by: Avinash on Monday, May 12th, 2008

Note before you start: This is an extensive, abstract, three part piece. Better grab some popcorn and chow down. Summer might be around the bend, but here at Bears Necessity it’s school time, football fanatics. Parts II and III coming later this week.

UCLA 30, Cal 21. While the Oregon State game was a mixture of turnovers, failed 4th down conversions, and other miscues (I’ll get to that game once I’m done recovering from it, so expect a post in 2015), for the most part the mistakes of both Bruins and Bears cancelled each other out. So how did we lose this game? I’m going to examine the offensive end this week.

Now the snapshots I’ve given you of the UCLA defense aren’t exactly typical of their play (a 5-2 set and what appears to be a Cover 2 shell). Here’s a real example of the standard UCLA defense: The Cover 4.
coverfour1
The difference between the Cover 4 and the Cover 2 (as given in the link above) is as follows:

The other big difference between cover 2 and cover 4 is the role of the corners. In pure zone cover 2 the cornerbacks stay low and defend the flats in their realm of responsibility. In press coverage they bump the WR’s as they release and hand them off to the deeper safeties on the play while the corners play the shorter routes and watch for backs releasing into their area. In cover 4 the corners normally have responsibility for the WR’s they align with and stay with them on deep routes.

As you can see in the snapshot above, the defensive backs have a lot of distance between the receivers to watch out for the deep routes that Longshore is capable of.
coverfour2
Now, the advantage of the cover 4 is that it negates the speed of Cal on the deep ball. The corners of UCLA should be able to run with them (hence why Tedford needed to “trick” them to get the previous TD). However, with a speedster like Jackson, you want to try and get a little closer into him–giving him too much separation will allow him to catch that ball.
coverfour3
You can see how one defensive back is staying with Hawkins the entire way, thinking that’s the best way to prevent Longshore. However, just above Hawkins is Jackson, cutting inside while the corner still thinks he’s moving to the outside.
coverfour4
A closer view of the previous image. Again you can see how much separation Jackson has compared to Hawkins.
coverfour5
A closer view of the receivers shows us that Hawkins sets a partial pick on Verner by moving between him and Jackson, providing the separation DeSean needs to clearly take that ball. You can see the vulnerability of the Cover 4 right here–by backing away from the receiver, the short pass is going to be there.
coverfour6
Complete for a first down! And therein lies the Cover 4’s weakness. Because the D-Backs have separation with their receivers, an accurate QB like Longshore can pick them apart with these short routes. They don’t allow enough time for the corners to adjust to the routes the receivers run.

Coming next in the series: Other ways Cal exploited the Cover 4.



Topics: Analysis, Cal Football, Defense, Gamefilm, offense, Strategy

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California Pete's avatar

California Pete · 881 weeks ago

According to the pro scouts, DeSean doesn't possess great route-running skills. I'm an ignorant fan, and they're the experts; I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. But on this play, I see nothing wrong with DeSean. He sold the sideline route well enough to get the corner's hips completely turned around, and he timed his cut perfectly to smoothly cross behind Hawkins. Don't know where the UCLA safeties were on this play, but had Longshore hit DeSean in stride, perhaps this play goes for a lot more than just a first down.
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Avinash's avatar - Go to profile

Avinash · 881 weeks ago

The safeties are usually playing deep coverage. This is why Cover 4 can be exploited by running those short routes outside the box, because the safety can't reach out in time to cover the play and stuff the receiver from both sides.
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Jan K Oski's avatar

Jan K Oski · 881 weeks ago

Did Longshore ever look off his primary receiver Desean to Jordan or the otherside of the field on that play? In the second and third frame, his head is turned to the right side of the field. I don't recall the outcome of the play, but the safeties would only have to follow his eyes to know where the ball is going. So, it isn't only a fact of delivering a strike to Desean, but keeping the safeties honest. I saw this too many times from my seats in Section I and on TV in pressure situations with Nate. It has me wondering if Tedford ever recognized this major flaw due to his lack of sleep. Hopefully, he does see it with his new regiment of sleep and rectifies the situation.
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Avinash's avatar - Go to profile

Avinash · 881 weeks ago

Well, in college, I think most quarterbacks don't call their own plays, and with the exception of Rodgers, all Tedford QBs are system QBs who rely on the playcall rather than adapting to the field. They develop well because their receivers run accurate routes and the quarterbacks have good arms to get them the ball (Harrington, Boller, Smith, etc.). Longshore seems to fall into that second category.
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