Archive for Players
Present is Past is Future
Regardless of all the games on the field, I sense that the big battle this year is about something more than just mere games. The battle most of our fans will have is internal, one about grappling identities between what they think is possible and what they believe is possible. Fans that haven’t tasted ultimate […]
Pathos of Nate Longshore
It seems football, more than any other sport, provides us with an interminable offseason of endless chatter that rinses and repeats the same old storylines. By the time we get to opening day we’re so exhausted of the cycle we’re just happy for the release of the kickoff. “He played admirably through three and a […]
Pac-10 Quarterback Analysis, Part III: The Situation Room
(Read Part I on Longshore and Part II on Pac-10 QBs here) Seems people demand it, but it looks like it’s time to figure out what Nate Longshore and his Pac-10 bretheren are truly capable of situationally. You’ve probably read about the situational practices Tedford is placing his quarterbacks through and how each of them […]
The Open Door Policy
I’d like to talk a lot about practice or the overall merit of it; not that I think it’ll have too much correlation with how Cal performs this season. But of course the usual rules are in effect–practice is closed except to a few beat reporters like Okanes from the Contra Costa Times and Andrew […]
The Longshore-Riley-Mansion Debate
MODERATOR: Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Wheeler Auditorium for tonight’s momentous Cal quarterback debate. Remember, Coach Tedford is monitoring this very closely as a testament to your strength of character. No personal attacks, let’s keep this civil and on-topic as to why each of you should be starting next season. Mr. Nate Longshore, my first […]
Give Me Bad Numbers: Pac-10 Quarterback Analysis, Part II
The college quarterback rating formula is absurdly reductionist. It overvalues completions rather than completion percentage, it overvalues touchdowns rather than drives, it overvalues interceptions by placing them all at the same value, and it really really really overvalues yardage without analyzing yards after catch. Almost all of the things plugged into the formula represent outcomes […]
The Big Play
I hate this term. I hate this term more than Baby Boomers lamenting the thuggery of the NBA (and I really love basketball). I hate this term more than that dude from Florida with the billboards. I almost hate it more than that turdbox Skip Bayless. This term has dulled the minds of sports-loving Americans […]
Them Shores Be Long: Pac-10 Quarterback Analysis, Part I
Part-time BN contributor Danzig wrote a killer post on CGB discussing the merits and demerits of Nate Longshore. There are a few parts I want to analyze and some other issues I’d like to expand upon, as I look across the state of Pac-10 QBs this week going into 2008. Passing efficiency: Also notice that […]
What’s It Like Following A College Team?
There is always a deterministic sense of following hometown teams. I would guess that the majority of Cal fans are also Bay Area fans (or SoCal counterparts), and their emotions fall and rise with the As and the Giants, the 49ers and the Raiders, Warriors and Sharks. You associate with these teams earlier, it’ll always […]
Pac-10 Podcast with In the Bleachers
I was on radio for the first time ever tonight. A podcast to be precise. The second biggest college football podcast behind the impeccable EDSBS Live. I give you warning before listening to the download–I was shaking like Charlie Brown meeting that red-headed girl. Unfortunately no one here to kiss on the cheek, except maybe […]
