Saying Goodbye–Mike Gibson

Posted by: Avinash on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

Cal

This one’s always tough. Not because I don’t have anything to say…well, okay, I guess I don’t really have anything to say. So I’m going to wax philosophical here.

Mike Gibson was a solid part of our offensive line, but the damned thing about O-lines is that all the players exist together in a unit. When you think of the New England Patriots, you don’t think of Matt Light, Logan Mankins, or Dan Koppen (and even I had to look up the center’s name), you probably think of Brady and Moss, Harrison and Bruschi. But the “offensive line” gets plenty of credit, because they exist as one cohesive form, a mass of muscle and power pushing back the agile and speedy defenses.

I will say this: For most of the season, Cal’s offensive line was its strongest component–nearly every game you could expect Longshore to get maximum protection, with pressure contained, blitzes picked up. The Bears were one of the best in pass protection (3rd overall), and if this were the NFL, you’d expect us to be in the playoffs. Unfortunately, in the bizarro college world, pass protection isn’t enough. We’d have apparently been better off had Longshore gotten more tastes of Sedrick Ellis and Rey Maualuga, since that might have meant him getting injured and Riley coming in to SAVE THE DAY YAY!

So I guess what I’m saying to Mike Gibson is…we fell to 7-6 in spite of your stoic efforts. Hope you do much better with a stronger team.



Topics: Cal Football, Draft, Players

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