How Cal Lost in the Rose Bowl, Part II
Today we look at particular examples of how Cal would attack the UCLA’s Cover 4. If you recall from yesterday’s post, two particular ways to attack the Cover 4 were to work the outside routes. I’m not going to go into too much exposition, just show pictures of how Coach Tedford picked apart the defense when UCLA lines up in that formation.
Here’s an example early in the game. Now, Jackson hasn’t started killing the Bruins yet, so they’re not playing him as up close as they will later on. Almost ten yards apart:
Again, look at the distance between back and receiver. DeWayne Walker used the Cover 4 defense a lot to ensure no Pac-10 offense would beat UCLA deep–you’d have to dink and dunk your way through the field. The yellow line indicates how far the wide receiver (in this case, Tha1) can go without having the defensive back pressure.
The UCLA defender (the cornerback Trey Brown) again is guarding against the deep ball on DeSean, and you can see he’s backing up (the baby blue) from his original position to cut off Longshore’s deep route and take away his arm from beating them deep. You see this blue circle? That’s all for the receiver as long as the D-back plays for the deeper ball. DeSean has plenty of area to work with, whether the play’s designed for him to go inside, outside, or what-not.
How Cal Lost in the Rose Bowl, Part I
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.
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.
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.
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.
A closer view of the previous image. Again you can see how much separation Jackson has compared to Hawkins.
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.
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.
KC Cal’s Weekly Super Fantastic Happy Explosion Awesome Article: On Bloggins and Hearing From Nasty Nate
Yesterday, Avinash wrote a trite and insightful piece on his take about the Bissinger-Deadspin controversy. It is true that sometimes we like to mock and joke on our favorite team when they’re down in the dirt just a little. Yet at the same time, I also ask the question: is that so bad? Lately, there has been a lot of scorn on sites like Deadspin and KSK, but KSK is quick to point out that they are a comedy site. Their gimmick revolves around the fact that they are mocking athletes. They state their purpose and get their posts out there for people to laugh at. That is all. The problem that these “credentialed writers” have with blogs is that they’re afraid that what is reported on blogs will replace the old medium. What writers don’t really seem to notice though is that there are a variety of blogs for different purposes, some comedy and some fact. You can’t just group them together in one giant pot and say they’re the same product.
I never really viewed Deadspin as a complete sports news site. When I first learned of them, I really thought they were more of a sports fused with comedy site, much like KSK. The only problem is their tag line of sports news with access, favor, or discretion. They should change that. I don’t see stats, I don’t see analysis, and I don’t see anything that would warrant them being an espn.com or sports.yahoo.com. The only problem is that people take them too seriously, as opposed to someone like me who doesn’t take them serious at all. If comments are filled with gay related jokes, how serious can they be?
Others will say that these comedy sports site are just mean spirited in the way they treat athletes. All I have to say is fact is fact. Humans have always been making fun of each other all the time, since be invention of media. What fun would it be if Carson, South Park, the Simpsons, or Conan didn’t have someone to mock on a daily basis? With humor comes parody, that’s just the way it works. Sports figures are just a little perturbed that now it has entered the sports realm, which is understandable because no one likes to be made fun of, especially ego centric athletes who would probably bite your ear off if you made fun of them to their face. Even you, as you read this post, you have the power to make fun of my shitty writing, for comedy sakes. Do as you want, it’s a free country.
I guess my final point would be this: everyone should just calm the fuck down and not take all of this shit too seriously. I mean c’mon, with all the people dying out in Myanmar, we’re really going to bitch about this? Let’s just relax, read some sports facts on real news websites and laugh along while we read the others.
And with that serious note, I leave you with this dramatization of Nate Longshore. Enjoy!
Hey Cal fans, it’s me your quarterback, Nate Longshore. Now I know you all have a few worries this upcoming season concerning all this quarterback controversy. Some people say I should start while other people say Riley should start. A lot of you pro Riley kiddos out there are probably wondering why I should even get consideration, seeing that I pretty much tanked during the second half of the season with my inconsistencies. Some people say I folded under pressure faster than an origami champion making cranes for a wedding. Well let me tell you something Cal fans, it was all on purpose.
I’m just thinking about my future here, okay? I mean if you look at the long term scheme of things, this is pretty much what I would be looking forward too had I decided to turn up the Nate factor all season instead of just the beginning. Say that after my 5-0 start, I went on and continued to “play for real” and led Cal to an awesome perfect season. Then we enter the National Championship Game and totally stomp on LSU or Ohio State or West Virginia. Haha, just fuckin’ with you. West Virginia in a championship game, oh Nate, where do you come up with these zingers?!
Anyway, we go on to win the championship game, then what? Well, I’d probably be a top prospect QB, rated way ahead that pretty boy Matt Ryan, and far past the guy after him. What’s his name? Joe Flacco? Isn’t that the name of Keanu Reeves character in the Replacements or something? What a freakin’ loser.
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Basically, I’m a surefire number 1 pick, and guess who I get drafted by? The Miami Dolphins. Holy. Shit. Sending me to the Dolphins is like sending me to professional running for my life class. Immediately I get thrown into the wolves my first game, with no experience of course. Me playing against pro teams? The Dolphins are barely a pro team. If one of your teammates is prancing around Dancing with the Stars, then you know you’re in deep shit.
I’m pretty sure as a Dolphin, I wouldn’t know what the hell I’d be doing on the field. Hell, I’m sure most of the Dolphins still don’t know what the hell they’re doing on the field. Dave Wannestedt will do that to you.
My first game will pretty much end in a concussion. I’d be like Trent Green even before he became Trent Green. After that, the rest of my life would involve a lifetime migraine and asking the nurse where my daughter is. Not such a great future right?
That’s why I decided to stink it up last year, to lower my draft status and reap the benefits of playing for a playoff caliber team. It’d be awesome to get drafted by the Giants or Patriots. I’d be the heir apparent to Tom Brady. Hell look at Aaron Rodgers. He gets to be paid millions to relax, learn from Brett Favre, and hold a clipboard. Awesome. I tell you the warmest place in Green Bay is that bench in Lambeau. No sacks for me!
Thus, now that my draft stock is so low that even Tavita Pritchard is higher on Mel Kiper’s list than me, I’m ready to build up my stock this year. Get ready Cal, because Nasty Nate is ready to go into the first round this year for sure. You can practically smell that national championship, baby!
KC Cal writes over at the The Play in California. He is also a Cal alumni, class of 2007.
Outsmarting the Enemy (Three Fake Handoff, Cal at UCLA)
Last week we went over attacking the Cover 2 scheme, which is to look for the mismatch on the field (read where the safeties will bite to) and to attack where the safeties aren’t in a position to make a play on the ball or the receiver. Today’s post is a little more of a Zen game–attacking at the path of least resistance. In this case, outmaneuver your opponents and hope for the desired outcome.
Here we have Cal down 10-7 after a huge Bell run sets up a Cowan TD play. Bears are in UCLA territory, 1st and 15 at the 39 after a penalty on Mike Gibson. You have Jackson lined up top, Hawkins on the bottom lined next to the fullback Ta’ufo’ou. Stevens is also lined at the bottom, so you have three receiving options (one middle, one short, one deep) to the left side of Longshore.
Here’s a press box view of the field. Now, UCLA is lined up in what appears to be a 5-2 scheme, a defense designed to watch for the run attack. It’s a strange format to be in on 1st and 15 on your side of the field, but Dewayne Walker seems to be playing on a coach’s bias to run on 1st down (although Cal would only run on about 57% of their first downs, a pretty low number). If you’re an offensive coordinator, this is a situation that begs pass.
Now, you can see not only Ta’ufo’ou faking getting the ball (this one’s a little iffy, but it does look like Ta’ufo’ou is running toward the ball), plus Hawkins moving toward the backfield–so Forsett and the Hawk are still running options…
The Noodles at Cal (Wonderlic Scores)
(This is 90% Danzig, with some great data; my small contribution is the Analysis section after the scores and before the sources)
I was catching up on my RSS feed yesterday and I came across a report that Mario Manningham of Michigan scored a ‘6’ on his Wonderlic IQ test. A fricking ‘6’?? I thought he went to the second best public university in the nation?? Jesus, even Chris Leak squeezed out an got an ‘8’… and he only went to Florida. I swear I’d give a $1,000 if I could find out what our own President would get on the test.
“You’re kidding!… You got an ‘8’ too??”
Which got me thinking, what kind of Wonderlic scores did the BEST public university in the nation produce?
As a background, the Wonderlic is an IQ test where you get 12 minutes to answer 50 multiple choice questions. A score of ’20’ is judged as ‘average intelligence’ while a score of ’10’ indicates literacy issues. Statistically, you can score a ‘5’ or ‘6’ just by guessing randomly. You are allowed one retest and can accept the higher of the two. Retest scores are usually higher, but many actually score lower. Here are some NFL averages:
* Offensive tackle – 26
* Center – 25
* Quarterback – 24
* Guard – 23
* Tight end – 22
* Safety – 19
* Linebacker – 19
* Cornerback – 18
* Wide receiver – 17
* Fullback – 17
* Runningback – 16
So how about our Bears versus the best public universities in the nation? Excuse me for being surprised, but we stack up pretty well. When I average the top 5 recorded scores for each of the schools, Cal comes out on top. (NOTE: You can’t average all the players for each school because some schools send more kids to the NFL than others).
University of California, Berkeley (38.2, avg of top 5, 36.4 without ML)
42 – Marshawn Lynch* (14 on first try)
39 – Aaron Merz
39 – Aaron Rogers
36 – Thomas Decoud
35 – Justin Forsett
33 – Ryan Riddle
31 – Dante Hughes
30 – Mark Wilson
29 – Lorenzo Alexander
27 – Kyle Boller
26 – Chase Lyman
25 – Tim Mixon (18 on first try)
23 – Lavelle Hawkins
15 – Deltha O’Neal
14 – JJ Arrington
12 – Geoff Mcarthur
10 – Brandon Mebane
*I can’t find a second source for ML’s ’42’, but doesn’t change the school order either way. Note large jumps in score are common during retests. (wait, is it racist that I’m even questioning this?)
(Note from Avinash: Well, Deltha O’Neal panned out well. So did Marshawn. Are Rodgers, Decoud and Forsett going to hold up their side of the curve?)
More Wonderlic scores from other big schools after the jump.
Preliminary Cal Football TV Schedule
This is getting updated as the times come along. All times are PST.
Saturday, August 30: Michigan State at Cal, 5 PM ABC
Saturday, November 8: Cal at USC, 5 PM ABC
Saturday, December 6: Washington at Cal, option for ESPN/ESPN2/FSN
Interesting that we draw the ABC slot opening week, considering neither Michigan State or Cal are likely to be ranked. It will probably not draw the entire national audience then, split instead into regional markets like last year’s USC-Cal game (split between an ACC and Big 12 game, USC-Cal was only seen on the West Coast). Depending on how the season goes, it’s likely that Cal-USC will have a similar regional breakdown unless we overachieve.
Washington-Cal and Arizona/ASU will be battling for the ESPN slot on the last week of the season, depending on which game is more important.
I know this list is seriously lacking, but considering how unpredictable the Pac-10 might be next year, I’d expect a lot more information will trickle our way as time goes by.
Other Pac-10 Games of note from the first few weeks:
Thurs., Aug 28–Oregon State at Stanford, 6 PM ESPN2
Mon., Sept 1–Tennessee at UCLA, 5 PM ESPN
Sat., Sept. 6–Oregon State at Penn State, 12:30 AM ABC/ESPN
Sat., Sept. 13–UCLA at BYU, 12:30 AM Versus
Sat., Sept. 13–Ohio State at USC, 5 PM ABC
Thu., Sept. 25–USC at Oregon State, 6 PM ESPN
Sat., Sept. 20–Georgia at Arizona State, 5 PM ABC
Sat., Sept. 27–Fresno State at UCLA, 11:30 AM ABC/ESPN
I’ll try and find a way to add this to the helmet schedule when more times come in.
Can Cal Win State?
Does anyone else suspect that the Coach Taylor character on Friday Night Lights (awesome show, great job) is at least partially based on our beloved Coach Jeff Tedford? Consider the evidence: He’s a handsome, 40-something offensive mastermind, known as a quarterbacks guru, runs a pro-style offense with west coast elements, achieves early success as a head coach and is voraciously courted by supposedly more prestigious programs. Aside from the Texas accent, female progeny, and high school setting, Taylor is Tedford. Case closed.
But can Tedford bring Cal what Taylor brought the Dylan Panthers: a state championship? “But wait, Tony,” you say “there is no such thing as a state championship in College football!” I disagree. Every year, Cal pursues what I will call the “California State Championship” – a sweep of U$C, UCLA and Stanfurd. Think about it. If Cal’s goal is the Rose Bowl, doesn’t the path lead straight through those three hated rivals? U$C and UCLA because they are the traditional powers in the conference; Stanfurd because the Big Game is volatile and prone to spoilers. Can you imagine us sweeping the other three Cali schools and not going to the Rose Bowl? Can you imagine us going to the Rose Bowl without sweeping them? History would caution you against such outlier prognostication.
In the modern era, Cal has come painfully close to, and just short of a Rose Bowl berth on several occasions. In each instance, a failure to win the State Championship was crucial, if not fully determinative, in denying us the berth: 2006 (loss to U$C), 2004 (loss to U$C), 2003 (loss to UCLA and Oregon), 1991 (loss to Stanfurd and Washington), 1975 (loss to UCLA). The pattern stretches back into ancient history as well: 1947 (loss to U$C), 1938 (loss to U$C), 1936 (loss to UCLA), 1935 (loss to Stanfurd), 1934 (loss to Stanfurd).
For all the losing streaks ended during the Tedford era (19 straight losses to UDubb, 9 straight losses in Pullman, 7 straight losses at Autzen, 7 straight losses to Stanfurd), Cal still hasn’t managed under Tedford to win the State Championship. So when was the last time Cal won the State Championship anyway? 1958. The same year Cal last went to the Rose Bowl. In fact, since 1933 when Cal’s series with UCLA began, all of Cal’s Rose Bowl berths have occurred in years when we won the State Championship: 1958, 1950 (tied Stanfurd), 1949, 1948, 1937. Meanwhile, Cal has only once won the State Championship without going to the Rose Bowl: 1941, when Cal dominated the in-state field, but finished with a 4-5 record overall.
Now that we’ve established the California State Championship as the crucible of our football being, what hope do we have of winning said championship in the near term? Well, despite the fact that Cal faces some daunting challenges this year, it’s worth noting that our three bigtime rivals are also undergoing their own periods of transition. The last few years have brought us very close to the State Championship several times, and I wouldn’t put it past our Bears to pull it off this year. What do you think?
Go Bears!
Breaking Down the Cover Two (Cal at UCLA, 2007)
UCLA has one of the most feared defenses in the Pac-10. Their defense is not only very talented, their coordinator DeWayne Walker is one of the best in the biz. He mixes packages, his corners play great on the edges, his run defense stuffs everyone on 1st down. So the only ways for an offensive coordinator to beat his teams require at least a few of these criteria to be filled:
(1) Be completely stacked with talent.
(2) Be smart with your playcalling.
(3) Force turnovers and do something with them.
Cal accomplished only one and a half of the three criteria in their Rose Bowl matchup last fall. The turnovers they took from UCLA led to other turnovers or resulted in nothing.
However, there were some very smart playcalls this past spring, and it’s time to take a look at how Tedford took advantage of UCLA’s defense early in the game. This first article will examine his knocking of the Cover Two on Cal’s first drive.
The cover two definition goes as follows:
By far the most complicated zone coverage with the safeties playing deep and covering half the field each. In cover two the cornerbacks are considered to be “hard” corners, meaning that they have increased run stopping responsibilities and generally defend against shorter passes, although if two receivers run a deep route on a certain side of the field, that side’s corner has deep coverage responsibility as well. It also relies heavily on the Mike (Middle) Linebacker’s ability to quickly drop deep downfield into pass coverage when he reads pass.
In essence, cover defense is something that’s meant to confuse receiver patterns as well as break down the offenders.
Here we have a 3rd and five situation at UCLA’s 21, two wide receivers lined out to the left. UCLA is lined up in the 4-3, but the package is a Cover 2. One corner (top right) seems to be exclusively playing Jackson at the top (already three catches for 24 yards). The other corner (far bottom right) is eyeing a run play with Forsett at the bottom but also keeps an eye on Craig Stevens, because he’s not well equipped in single coverage to take down a tight end. Nevertheless, that’s his responsibility if it is the pass.
Now the key role is filled in by the middle linebacker (#14), which you can see in this shot. If Cal is expecting pass, the inside linebacker will have to adjust to pass. If they’re running, he’s the last person standing between Forsett and a fifteen yard gain. So it’s up to him to decide where to go on the field, and his decision directly influences the outcome of the play.
Spring Forward
Hey All. Since I’ll be posting here on a regular basis, Avinash suggested I introduce myself. For those of you who don’t know me already, I’m a 2000 Cal alum currently living and practicing law in New York. Thanks to Avinash for the opportunity to contribute to the discussion and thanks to you for reading.
Congrats to all the Golden Bear draftees, and best of luck to those still eyeing free-agency. With so many Bears drafted in the last few years, it’s getting harder and harder to decide which NFL teams to root for (as a native Chicagoan, I was already facing Rodgers’s ascension with some mixed emotions). I for one am really looking forward to flipping over to the Eagles games for punt returns this year.
With so much attention on the draft this last weekend, it may have escaped your notice that the Bears wrapped up Spring practice on Saturday. Overall, I’d say we leave Spring ball with a little more comfort than we were going in. On offense, it looks and sounds like we can expect Jahvid to be back to 100% by the Fall, and we now at least have some likely suspects (Nyan Boateng and Michael Calvin) to look out for in the receiving corps. That’s right, receivers! With two hands and ten fingers! Each! The QB situation is still opaque, but are any of us really in a hurry to resolve that one?
On defense, all indications suggest that the Bears are shifting to a 3-4 base defense. In my humble opinion, this can only mean good things. It certainly does when the Bears use it on my NCAA Football 2008 (for that matter, the Bears might also consider running the option with Kyle Reed under center). Also, for all the skepticism about the Cal secondary, I’m somewhat comforted by the fact that, for the first time in years, we have two corners with starting experience returning.
The Spring also ended with a huge news story from down South. The Chow-Neuheisel light show in Westwood took a major step back when the Baby Bears’ QBs 1 and 2 both went down within minutes of each other (I’ve lost count how many times this happened to UCLA over the last two years). Named-starter Cowen is out for 2008 with an ACL tear. Olsen has a broken foot and is likely out two months. While the Bruins have a number of options under center, a development like this can’t help the new staff’s transition.
Finally, if Spring is ending, then I guess it’s Summer! And Summer here in New York is a big deal.
Go Bears!
Let The Eagles Soar (NFL Draft Recap)
DeSean Jackson was once slated to go in the top ten of the NFL Draft. Now he’s bound for a city which is not going to take kindly to underachieving, and they won’t even care too much if he underachieves because of how low he fell on the draft board.
I have little to say that the ESPuNdits haven’t already repeated verbatim, but there were several factors that might have been overlooked:
1) The recent rumblings about DeSean’s attitude might have affected his stock, especially with the Ocho Cinco brouhaha boiling over. Thus there was a wariness to go after what some scouts described a potential headcase, and why risk your biggest pick on someone who could hold your franchise hostage later?
2) Salary was a sticking point–do NFL teams want to commit themselves long-term to receivers, arguably the most overhyped position in the game? A lot of offensive linemen were drafted early, and that position probably bears more wait on a team’s performer than a receiver with return specialties.
3) Finally, there is the issue of Jackson’s size. How long can his body last enduring NFL-hits from secondary if he always struggled to hold up to Pac-10 contact? 165 is amazingly light, and you have to wonder how much muscle he’ll need to put on before he can feel relatively secure to ward the pounding he’ll get in the NFL game.
And talk about polar opposites from sunny Strawberry Canyon: There is no more unforgiving fanbase in football than in Philadelphia. They already endured one head case receiver and agonized through the underperformance of many others. Jackson will almost certainly be placed in the fire early if he falters–he does still have the ESPN hype machine around him. Add in a defining year for Donovan McNabb and DeSean is in a “need to step up” situation. Either he’ll flourish or he won’t. We shall see.
The Tennessee Titans made two moves on Golden Bears, snagging Craig Stevens and The Hawk. One thing that is a rarity in college is the developed tight end, so Stevens is a luxury for a team that has been needing run-block protection on the line, along with a good set of hands that can make plays down the field for Vince Young.
He’ll be joined by Lavelle Hawkins. I’ll admit, this move puzzles me. Hawkins can run some awesome routes and is probably more polished for traditional NFL offenses. Why the hell did he end up with Vince Young? It’ll be interesting to see how Tennessee utilizes him, but this smells like third/fourth option for me.
Thomas DeCoud probably drew the worst straw–he gets Atlanta, a team that’ll be starting Boston College lovechild Matt Ryan at QB (translation: He’s probably going to stink). DeCoud could see starting time pretty early–he’s playing in a thin secondary that features Lawyer Milloy. I like DeCoud’s pro potential, but he’s going to be on a dog team next year.
Mike Gibson is joining DeSean in Arizona. He might start, he might come off the bench. But I wish him all the luck protecting McNabb from those NFC East pass rushes.
Finally, Justin Forsett, the last Golden Bear to be taken, ended up in Seattle. Unfortunately, it seems like a competition round-robin for a position on the team. With Shaun Alexander unceremoniously on his way out, Tex will have to battle with T.J. Duckett, Maurice Morris and Julius Jones. It might be a a year or two before we get a chance to see Forsett debut in the NFL, but it’s a long uproad hill. Just as it’ll be for DeSean Jackson and all the drafted California Golden Bears.
(A thanks to KC Cal for his hearty weekend contribution. You’ll be seeing plenty of him, don’t worry.)
