Chris McCain Dismissed

I have always had high hopes for Chris McCain and the type of player he could've become as a member of the Cal football team.

Unfortunately it appears his demons off the field have finally caught up with him as it was announced that Sonny Dykes kicked him off the team yesterday. Considering how deeply football coaches want to win football games there was obviously something really serious internally that McCain couldn't overcome.

Hopefully the kid finds the help he needs to improve his overall well-being.

GO BEARS!

Now That That's Over ...

the real season can begin.

Four games into the new coaching regime and two things are pretty clear:

1. I completely overrated Cal's ability as a whole.
2. I should've kept in mind that this team went 3-9 for a reason.

It is more obvious than ever that Sonny Dykes has a big task on his hand. Dykes needs to find a way to keep his team motivated and continuing to buy into what he is selling - not an easy task considering how the last two games have gone. If Dykes wondered even the slightest bit how much harder coaching in a BCS conference is from week-to-week, well now I'm sure he knows all too well.

Week 4 Roundtable: Oregon vs. Cal Preview

Flashback to a Better Time

Since us Cal fans love to live in the past, why not keep the trend going by looking back at one of the greatest games in school history. While a Cal victory on Saturday is probably far-fetched, this is why they play the games, right?

GO BEARS!

Back to Basics

Whenever a team goes through a rough stretch we always read about players and coaches "getting back to the basics." Of course, the entire premise of that statement is slightly flawed given the reality that teams should always be focused on the basics. In Cal's case, however, I actually think there is some truth to that statement given how bad the Bears have been in certain aspects of football.

Although I wasn't surprised to read it, I was very happy to hear that Sonny Dykes and his staff decided to mix things up a little bit during the off week. From various practice reports, the coaching staff inserted Daniel Lasco as the number one back, gave Christian Okafor some time as the starting left tackle, and continued to slowly ease Nick Forbes and some of the other injured players into the rotation mix.

When it is all said and done, I don't think Okafor is a better player than Big Freddie but I really like the fact that Dykes is staying true to his mantra that the best player plays no matter what the circumstance. Tagaloa struggled against Ohio State and I don't think it is far-fetched to insert someone else like an Okafor and see what he can bring to the table. Same goes for the other positions around the field as well.

Unfortunately for Cal, the Bears are tasked with the worst possible opponent to work out their many kinks. Oregon is a juggernaut of a program and playing in Eugene is going to be an extreme challenge for Cal. I have no doubts that the Bears have made improvements on both sides of the ball but given how sharp the Ducks are those improvements probably won't show up come Saturday night (having a night game doesn't help either).

Having said all that, some things I would like to see from Cal:

• Handle the Pressure ... because that crowd is going to be loud. Already regarded as the loudest stadium in the country (per person), I can't imagine what a full day of anticipation and adult beverages would do to the noise meter.
• Start Out Semi-Fast ... because teh Bears have been awful so far in thar regard. No one is truly expecting Cal to win (and in this case that's okay) but Cal should come ready to at least compete for four quarters.
• Stick with Lasco ... because the sophomore Texan ran like how a running back is supposed to against Ohio State. Cal has been searching and searching for a running game this season and maybe Lasco is the option the offense needs. I would like to see Dykes stick with the running game and not go so pass heavy.
• Somewhat Contain the Edges ... because that effort against Ohio State was terrible. I don't know what Andy Buh has to do to teach his guys how to edge contain better but the Bears have to find a way - not just for this game but for the rest of the season. The Ducks are going to score an abundance of points and in all honestly that is fine. What the Bears need to do is take small steps in improvement that will benefit them in future games against opponents more on their level. If that means moving Chris McCain off defensive end, benching Dan Camporeale, and moving Deandre Coleman to end - so be it.
• Red Zone Efficiency ... because the Bears are scoring but could score a whole lot more. Given how good the Cal offense has been at times this season the Bears are actually not super in the red zone - yet. If Cal is to take that next step, Jared Goff and company are going to have to start converting these field goals into touchdowns.

GO BEARS!

Lies, damn lies and scheduling: Cal's cupcake-less schedule dampens mood of new coaching era

Win-loss records only tell half the story.

There is currently only one team in the Pac-12 conference with a losing record. After three weeks and games against two ranked opponents, Cal is where it probably should be—one win and two losses.

At the same time, there are currently two teams with a perfect 3-0 record heading into Week 4 of the 2013 season. One happens to be Oregon, which—as a national title contender—everyone probably expected after three weeks.

The other? Try Arizona. With the sixth-best rushing attack in the country, the Wildcats have run over the opposition. Their defense has been impenetrable, allowing just 8.7 points per game. Obviously, Arizona—after three weeks—has to be in the running for at least the Pac-12 South title, right?

Wrong.

But UofA is 3-0?

Correct.

What gives?

Scheduling.

Week 3 Roundtable: Ohio State vs. Cal

Chris, Gerald and I discuss all things from the Cal-Ohio State game. What should/can Cal do about Andy Buh and the horrific defense? We also talk about our gameday experience with 20,000+ Buckeyes fans.

What Needs to Happen: Ohio State

Surfing my way around the blogosphere this week I've gotten the same feeling about Saturday's contest against Ohio State that we all felt last year. As we learned, however, anything and everything could happen in college football.

With that said, some things I want to see from Cal this week:

1. Play Mentally Tough ... because the Buckeyes aren't going to feel sorry for anybody. Ohio State is ranked in the top-5 for a reason and they have lofty goals of a national title this season. Considering the fact that this game is on national television (hail Gus Johnson and all his Gus-isms) and coincidentally no favorable 5 p.m. ABC game to contend with, all eyes will be on this game.

A True Golden Bear

On this day of remembrance I just wanted to re-share this article written by a good buddy of mine about Mark Bingham.

Gone, But Never Forgotten.

May Mr. Bingham, Betty Ong, and all the victims of 9/11 continue to Rest In Paradise.

Accountability And Motivation

Despite all the negative aspects that came out of Saturday's contest against Portland State, I thought a very intriguing aftereffect of Cal's lackluster play was Sonny Dykes and Andy Buh accepting about as much personal responsibility for the Bears' performance as two coaches could possible take.

"I gotta do a better job of getting them ready to play. It all falls on me," was one of several versions of the same statement that both coaches relayed over and over again.

With #17 out indefinitely, I think everyone agrees that big #91 needs to play like he's capable of. (Cal Athletics)

It was quite refreshing to hear that from the Cal coaches and it speaks to how different this regime truly is from the previous one. What really piqued my interest though was Dykes calling out various units and expressing a desire for said units to play better going forward. This was even more true when it came to Deandre Coleman - who by many readings is considered to be the Bears' most sure-fire NFL prospect at this moment.

Week 2 Roundtable: Portland State vs. Cal

We're back for the second edition of the Roundtable. Chris, Gerald and I talk about Cal's struggling defense and look forward to the game we've all been waiting for--Ohio State. Plus, can Braxton Miller playing on Saturday actually help the Bears?

Head Coaches and One-Sided Specialties

When things aren't going terribly right on the football field, fans have a way of finding topics to complain about. I guess that's just human nature and sports are usually a great avenue for people to inflect their grievances from their personal lives onto the athletic teams that they root for. The majority of the time, most of these complaints are petty, childish, and downright ill-informed.

I even saw a post from a fan on a message board last Saturday that said he/she missed Jeff Tedford because that person was convinced that Cal had hired the wrong coach. Not surprisingly, the fan came to this conclusion after roughly six quarters of football. In general, fans are way over-emotional and it often can and does get irritating to read and observe.

One of the silliest comments I've heard about Sonny Dykes is that he doesn't care about defense and that that is why Cal's defense has been so poor to start the season. Some fans even go as far to say that Dykes only cares about putting up points and making himself look good. Of course, all of that is crap.

Not Pretty, Not Pretty At All

Where to even start?

While the Northwestern loss felt like a win, the 37-30 win over Portland State on Saturday most certainly felt like a loss. Strange how that works out sometimes, eh?

Cal struggled. At times, the Bears struggled mightily. I don't think there is a need to rehash how they struggled because I think by now the majority of fans have watched and read enough about the game to get a good grasp of what happened.

The real question is obviously why? 

• Why did the defense look so confused and slow out of the gate?
• Why did it take Andy Buh an entire half to make adjustments? 
• Why were the Cal corners left in multiple one-on-one scenarios in which they clearly aren't 100 percent ready for? 
• Why did both sides of the lines seem to get minimal push against a much smaller opponent?
• Why did it appear as if the offense started to sputter a little bit late in the second half (for the second game in a row)?

Some random thoughts:

• Buh might just not be that good: Unfortunately, this is something that Sandy Barbour and Sonny Dykes are really going to have to figure out between now and the end of the season.

What Needs to Happen: Portland State

The tough schedule that Cal is faced with is great for the fans but not all that great for a young football team trying to find its way in the CFB world.

Portland State offers one of the few reprieves from the daunting schedule this season (although there really isn't such a thing as a gimme anymore) and the Bears would be best served to get out as many kinks as they can before that other team comes to town on September 14.

With that said, a couple things I would like to see from Cal this Saturday:

• Establish a running game: No surprise here. I think we needed to give more credit to the Northwestern defensive front but overall I think even the offensive linemen themselves would agree that Cal needs to be better in this department. More runs between the tackles and less bouncing out.

Memorial Stadium Stripe-Out

While a lot of people think it's corny and lame, I have always loved the idea of a stadium full of people wearing one color and/or one color scheme. To me it just looks cool and it brings people together both fashionably and symbolically.

A perfect example is the We Believe year and even this past season's playoff run for the Golden State Warriors. Regardless of what color the fans were wearing, Oracle would've been rocking but I honestly believe the noise dial in The O was pushed up a notch or three by those yellow shirts. It's just something about a sold-out crowd wearing the same color that makes people feel like they are all in it together.

As Will Ferrell said once, "it gets the people going."

Two Great Videos

Ran across two excellent clips after the Northwestern game yesterday and wanted to share.

The beauty of sports is not only the game itself but often the pageantry that accompanies it. In the video below, I thought Jim McGill at BearInsider did a very good job of attempting to capture all the excitement of a game day at Cal.


The second video was edited by YouTube user TouchedtheAxein82, who always produces excellent highlights clips. I'd imagine it takes forever to cut and paste all these snippets together into one video so whoever you are TouchedtheAxein82 your work is much appreciated.



GO BEARS!

Week 1 Roundtable: Northwestern vs. Cal

Check out our recap of Cal's Week 1 performance versus Northwestern. Chris, Steven and Gerald join me to discuss the game. Among the topics we address: first impressions of Goff, Cal's depth issues and Chris's bold outlook for USC.

Cal fake field goal hopefully a harbinger of things to come

Chris kinda already stole what I wanted to write about thisweek. But—seeing that Chris has been doing the heavy lifting as of late—I’ll continue the spirit here in this space, offering what might not be anything new, but at least gives our one loyal reader something else to waste his time at work with.

There are a few plays that have stuck with me in my time connected with Cal football (either as a student, a fan, or a “reporter”).

I—and probably other Cal fans—gleefully look back on most of these plays. Some still haunt us as we make that trek to the stadium or sit down to watch a game on TV. Others make is revel in the nostalgia of what was and what could have been. It’s the highlight reel of all the moments that have defined Cal football in the 21^st century.

There’s First and Goal from the Nine Yard Line. There’s DeSean’s Punt Return No. 1 and DeSean’s Punt Return No. 2. And The Hit. And DeSean Punt Return No. 3. Javid’s Run. And let’s not forget about Kevin Riley.

And yet for all the big plays that have happened over the past decade, only a few of them seemed to capture the imagination of Cal fans like the play Sonny Dykes drew up to end his team’s first drive Saturday.

It was the first drive of the Dykes Era. It was the first drive of the Bear Raid offense. And it stalled on Northwestern’s 11-yard line. 

For the Fans

In the grand scheme of things, the fake field goal touchdown was just one play. For the psyche of the Cal fan, however, it meant so much more.

After three years of futility, blowout loss after blowout loss, and a sense of hopelessness surrounding the Cal football program, it was critical for Sonny Dykes to symbolically wake up the fan base and announce that a new day had come. Dykes was presented with that opportunity right away and he took it - resulting in one of the more memorable plays in Memorial Stadium history.


As most have written ten times over, it remains to be seen whether Dykes is truly a great coach. But what can't really be disputed (even through week one of his tenure) is how much Dykes understands the importance of connecting with a home team's fan base. 

Even though the Bears ultimately lost, that first drive to start the Dykes tenure was therapeutic for the Cal fan, especially given all that the faithful had experienced lately. Cal fans desperately needed something to shout for, something to, "hey, did you see that?!" as they turned to their friends and rejoiced together.

At times, there is a poetic justice in athletics and Cal's first drive was very much a symbolic thank you to Memorial Stadium for sticking through some rough times.

After the game, Dykes acknowledged as much:

“I thought we needed to play incredibly aggressive. I thought our players needed to see as coaches we were playing to win, not to not lose. It was important to send that message to our players and, quite frankly, to our fans.”

GO BEARS!

Something to Cheer About

While it would've obviously been nice to walk out of Memorial Stadium with a win Saturday night, I haven't felt the fan base this optimistic in years ... and for good reason.

Some thoughts:

Offense

I had no idea Cal was so proficient until I looked at the stats after the game. Was Cal efficient though? Probably not. But that will come in time.

1. Jared Goff showed tremendous poise considering the position he was in Saturday night. Cal fans were finally treated to why the coaching staff chose Goff over Zack Kline and Austin Hinder and I hope fans truly understand why they made that decision at this point. Outside of the final drive, Goff slowly improved as the game rolled along and I never got the sense that the pressure of the moment was too much for him. 
2. And while there will be a small fraction of the fan base that will clamor for Kline all season long, the one argument they pose that I do agree with is Goff's arm strength. While I don't think his arm strength is nearly as much of an exacerbated problem as some make it out to be, it does bare watching in the coming weeks and years. Besides that, however, I think Goff has a chance to be special in this offense. The kid is poised, knows when to step up in the pocket, and has tremendous touch on his passes. A bright future for sure.

   

   Despite the loss, the play of Bryce Treggs was just one of several reasons to be excited about. (Getty)

3. The offensive line performed better than I expected, but there is no doubt growing pains will continue. Big Freddie and Steven Moore held the edges well (although both did get beat at times - expected considering their inexperience) and I thought the guards did a decent job. I think Cal's lack of a high yards-per-average running game had more to do with the play-calling than the Bears' inability to open up holes for their 'backs.
4. We came into the season expecting the receiving corps to be the best unit of the team and nothing happened Saturday night to change that thinking. Chris Harper and Bryce Treggs were above average and Kenny Lawler and Jackson Bouza had their moments as well. I felt really bad for Powe Jr. for dropping that ball but like Robert Jordan in 2004, that stuff only helps young players as their careers tread along. I have very little concerns about this group.
5. I would like to see the Bears find a way to implement Richard Rogers a little more (which I think they will eventually). Rogers obviously isn't a burner by any stretch of the imagination but it'll be really nice if Goff could start to develop a better rapport with Rogers, giving Goff yet another potential outlet to help move the chains.
6. The running backs had a up-and-down night but again that was probably to be expected considering the age of these guys. Brendan Bigelow is outstanding and I love how he never gives up on plays, but his vision is a lacking (something unfortunately you can't teach a player). There are times when Bigelow takes a straight shot hit from a defender that truly special collegiate 'backs like Jahvid Best or Shane Vereen would see coming from a mile away. Bigelow's shot when he suffered his concussion was a perfect example - no way in a million years Best ever would've let a defender line him up like that. Meanwhile, I thought Khalfani Muhammad was decent for his first game and Daniel Lasco will be an asset as well. Unless Lasco learns how to run a little lower though, I think by midseason Muhammad is going to establish himself as the clear #2 back.

Defense

Considering Saturday was essentially Andy Buh's first game as a true solo-bolo defensive coordinator in a big-time conference, I'll wait a couple games to get a better sense of what he like and doesn't like to call against certain offenses and situations.

With that said, some initial thoughts:

1. Depth is a huge, huge, concern for all three units. Even if everyone was healthy, I think Cal still plays like a slightly above average defense so having guys hurt is bad news.
2. Schematically, Cal's defense looked very plain and vanilla last night.
3. It's clear the Bears are going to have to figure out a better way to create a pass rush.
4. The defensive tackles (Deandre Coleman and Tiny Moala) were outstanding.
5. Not so much the defensive ends though. Chris McCain and whoever else lines up on the opposite side can and have to be better. Ditto for the linebacking crew.

   

   Unfortunately, it might take a while for Cal's secondary to get going. (Getty)

6. After the first drive where NU simply ran right through the Cal defense, I felt the coaching staff did a very good job of re-adjusting and getting guys lined up better.
7.  Unfortunately, I think the secondary is going to struggle all season. Stefan McClure and Kam Jackson are slightly above average corners in coverage but besides that everyone else (coverage wise) is a little below to very sub-par in coverage. Some of the guys back there just don't possess good coverage skills. With that said though, Avery Sebastian, Michael Lowe, and Alex Logan can all lay the wood. I was especially happy for Logan last night, especially considering the so-so season he had last year.
8. Again depth is a major problem for Cal's defense and unfortunately it is not going to be solved this season. Guys are already hurt, more guys will get hurt, and more guys who shouldn't play will play. A perfect example was NU's final dagger when Venric Mark sliced right through Todd Barr and Lucas King for a critical big gain late in the contest. It's obviously not King or Barr's fault per se, they were forced into a position they weren't capable of succeeding in due to injuries.

Special Teams

I cannot express how happy I am to root for a team that actually performs well on specials. The fake field goal will go down right along side Williams to Gray as one of the all-time great moments in Memorial Stadium history.

1. Cal actually has a placekicker.
2. Cal has another NFL punter.
3. Cal has a coach that is willing to keep the defense honest once in a while.
4.  Muhammad is going to break 2-3 kickoffs for TDs this year.

 Other thoughts

1. Absolute horse crap call by the officials to eject Chris McCain. 15 yard penalty? Sure. Ejection at that point of the game? C'mon man. I know what the rule says but every rule in athletics is left to be interpreted on a per situation basis. Absolutely ridiculous.
2.  Also ridiculous was NU's fake injury ploy. I didn't like it when Cal did it and I definitely didn't like it when Fitzgerald told his boys to do it last night. I agree with Dykes in that it makes a mockery of the game. Unfortunately, until the rules are changed Cal is going to see this more and more.
3. Young team or not Dykes better get a hold of all these dumb penalties his team committed last night. This is the one area of the game that I personally feel should never be an issue, regardless of whether the team is full of seniors or full of freshmen.
4. Great atmosphere at Memorial Stadium at it was great to see friendly faces old and new.

GO BEARS!