Cal drowns in fourth quarter woes vs. USC

In what was once considered to be one of the biggest games of the season, the Bears found themselves once again in a close game entering the fourth quarter. And yet again, they fell short, losing 24-17 to the Trojans. Entering the fourth quarter tied, the Bears final three possessions resulted in a three-and-out, a fumble, and an interception, allowing the Trojans to escape with a victory. It’s been reported that QB Nate Longshore has taken full responsibility for the loss:

“I take the responsibility on myself,” Longshore said. “I need to play better down the stretch to give us a chance to win. It’s a culmination of this late season. I haven’t been playing well enough for us to win.

“That’s what it comes down to, and I’ll be the first to say it.”

Also of importance in the article is the injury to RB Jahvid Best. He was taken out of the game during the third quarter with an apparent hip injury. To those at the game, his injury was not pronounced, as he came off the field on his own and was briefly examined on the tables by staff before watching the rest of the game. Although he has been ruled out for Saturday’s game up in Washington, let’s hope it is just precautionary and nothing too serious.

It seems to be a recurring theme of poor fourth quarter play on the part of QB Nate Longshore. Since returning from his ankle injury earlier in the season, he has failed to deliver a dominant fourth quarter, despite some considerably strong first halves. Some would argue that he hasn’t put up even a decent fourth quarter, as in the fourth quarter of the previous four games he’s only been 9-of-28 with 0 TDs and 5 INTs. Many fans have been calling for him to be replaced with red-shirt freshman Kevin Riley, who showed great potential in several fourth quarter drives during the Bears’ loss to Oregon State earlier in the season.

In response to these critics, Ted Lee over at Scout.com has done a breakdown of Longshore and Riley’s performances, analyzing their play game-by-game, quarter-by-quarter, and down-by-down. While I realize that Longshore’s play hasn’t been all that bad overall, it’s quite apparent that something is amiss and he has become incapable of playing a full four quarters to his full capacity. As Ted Lee says, “winning a game with a quarterback consistently putting up fourth quarter numbers like this is almost impossible.”

Personnel updates, QB controversy?

WR Robert Jordan practiced yesterday and “he will play as long as he doesn’t suffer any ill effects on his shoulder.” He appeared to re-injure his hurt shoulder while laying out for a catch last week at Arizona State. FB Will Ta’ufo’ou is also practicing “without limitation” after missing last week due to recurring knee problems.

Sadly, DE Rulon Davis may be out for awhile with a sprained MCL. He returned from a foot injury and immediately made an impact on the pass rush in the Arizona State game. He’ll be sorely missed for the next few weeks.

What about the quarterback situation? Earlier, the CC Times’ J. Okanes observed:

After Nate Longshore took every first team rep at practice Tuesday, Kevin Riley took every first team rep on Wednesday. Longshore still got in some work, but coach Jeff Tedford said that Longshore needed a day of rest.

After Thursday’s practice, Okanes now thinks that QB Nate Longshore is clearly the starter. However, things might be a little murky:

Coach Jeff Tedford once again said it will be a gametime decision. …

Based on what I saw Thursday, it seemed fairly clear that Longshore is the starter. But based on Tedford’s comments, I’m not so sure… saying simply that he is going to continue to monitor Longshore’s condition until Saturday makes me think there might be a better chance of Riley playing than you might expect. …

For the record, Longshore seemed to be moving pretty well. The fact that he was able to practice fully on Tuesday after aggravating his ankle sprain Saturday made me think that he was in pretty good condition.

Yikes, this sounds familiar. Longshore may look normal now, but his ankle has a habit of breaking down as games go on. TBIOOF makes a good point here:

[T]he issue has not been Longshore’s ability to practice or play, but rather his ability to play an entire game. In both the UCLA and Arizona State games, he has started incredibly well, with the passing game leading the Bears. But he has faded to mediocrity in the third quarter, and has been outright awful in the fourth quarter – two interceptions against UCLA, two more against ASU, and the horrible final series against the Sun Devils.

Despite Tedford’s insistence to the contrary, Longshore’s mechanics have melted down as the game’s have gone on. He clearly has both been dropping to side-armed throws (a good indication of a bad leg) and throwing without using his legs at all.

So, the question is…if Longshore is still hampered, why would he be the starter?

We’ll probably see Longshore in the starting lineup tomorrow, but I hope that Tedford is willing to make a change if things fall apart — otherwise, we might be watching in pain as recent history repeats itself.

Season over

Cal 20, Arizona State 31.

Is this 2005? Coach Jeff Tedford stubbornly sticks with a quarterback, despite terrible play and a more than adequate replacement waiting on the bench.

What a disgrace. Tedford begins the game telling us QB Nate Longshore is “65%”. What was he still doing in the game? The three-and-outs, the blown throws, the two interceptions… his ankle was still clearly injured.

This game was hopeless for the Bears the moment Longshore hobbled onto the field in the second half. He didn’t step into throws. His timing was way off. We can’t expect a quarterback to bring us to victory over the #4 team in the nation on one leg. Tedford needs to rethink his philosophy on changing personnel (read: the quarterback) when our players are unable to perform.

I’m at a loss for words… more will come later.

Reed to transfer

Kyle Reed is looking to transfer after losing the backup QB battle to Kevin Riley. Reed, a redshirt sophomore, will have 2 years to play 2 years after the transfer. According to Yahoo, Reed has already contacted San Jose State.

Although this is kind of sad that Reed is giving up on winning the starting QB job in the future, there are some benefits that come from this transfer. It opens up more possibilities for QB recruits in the future, and allows Brock Mansion, Riley, and Beau Sweeney to compete for the starting QB job after Longshore leaves. This takes out a bit of the logjam at the QB position. Also, this transfer speaks volumes to Cal’s recruiting in the past couple years. Reed was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school and was an elite 11 qb. That he cannot even crack the playing field at Cal shows that our level of talent has risen tremendously since the days when Kyle Boller stepped into the starting QB position as a freshman.

Riley #2, true freshmen to play

Coach Jeff Tedford has named redshirt freshman Kevin Riley the number 2 quarterback. However, the CC Times reports:

[Kyle] Reed, a redshirt sophomore, said he has no plans on transferring or changing positions. … Tedford said the decision doesn’t necessarily mean Riley is the heir apparent to Longshore, who is a junior. … Still, Reed is clearly disappointed with the decision, something Tedford said is to be expected.

“That’s natural,” Tedford said. “When a guy puts in that much time and energy, you can’t expect him to be chipper. He’s bounced back. He’s had a good attitude the last couple of days. I have a lot of confidence he’s going to stay focused on what he needs to get the job done and be ready.”

Even though Reed has had a couple of days to digest the news, it’s clear he’s still trying to make peace with it. … “I’m not going to lie. It’s still something that’s wearing on me,” he said. “I have to suck it up as a man and try to better myself through this process.”

Tedford has also confirmed that at least defensive back Chris Conte, defensive end Cameron Jordan and running back Jahvid Best will play this season as true freshmen.

Ta’ufo’ou injured; out for 3-6 weeks

During a scrimmage Thursday, fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou sprained a ligament in his knee, putting him on the sideline for 3-6 weeks including the September 1st home opener against Tennessee. Ta’ufo’ou played in all 13 games last season, including starting in Cal’s victory over Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl, and was expected to be the starter this year as well.

College quarterbacks

Interesting article on espn.com talking about college quarterbacks and what it requires to be one. There are also some good quotes from Tedford talking about what he looks for in a quarterback recruit.

“But it takes a special breed to be a great quarterback, with a unique mix of attributes. This is Tedford’s five-part recruiting checklist when shopping for a QB:

1. Mental and physical toughness. “Obviously, physically, you’re going to take a pounding, and you’ve got to get up and have your team follow you. You have to be mentally tough because if you throw a couple picks, you’ve got to be tough enough to come back.” 2. Intelligence. “You’ve got to be able to understand and control the offense.” 3. Competitiveness. “We look for a guy who wants the ball in his hands with the game on the line.” 4. Escape dimension. “Not everything happens the way it’s drawn up. We want a guy who can elude the rush and make something happen when a play breaks down.” 5. Natural throwing motion. “He’s got to be able to get the ball around the field.”

Click here for the full article.

Notes from the end-of-spring practice/scrimmage

Today’s open practice was a welcome preview of the 2008 Cal football team. The morning rain cleared up to make for a pleasant time in the stadium, and the players put on quite a show.

The practice began with drills and later became a full-contact scrimmage with play sequences executed from various scenarios.

The passing game is a work in progress; Nate Longshore looked good but misthrew a few passes and Kyle Reed needs some more work. I feel confident that this will be sorted out by September 1.

The run game was not spectacular, with James Montgomery making a decent showing but Justin Forsett getting few carries. A surprise was Lavelle Hawkins making a couple rush attempts, including one for a touchdown. I sense that the run game will improve as the offensive line gains more experience together.

Overall, I felt the defense looked better than the offense overall – not unusual for spring ball, but comforting considering the loss of our key defenders to graduation and the NFL. Meanwhile, it seems like special teams (especially return coverage) could use improvement. Two punts, back-to-back were returned for touchdowns.

Also, Scout.com has a nice writeup of the day as well, with some stats too. Take a look.

Heater’s blog, with insider position info

EDIT: Jay’s done with all the positions, so check them out.

The Contra Costa Times’ Jay Heater is on a roll, with a special series on his blog detailing the situations of each of the team’s positions. It’s very informative stuff, so take a look:

• 2/28: Middle linebacker: Coach Kenwick Thompson, Zack Follett, Greg Van Hoesen, Matt Russi
• 3/01: Outside linebacker: Justin Moye, Anthony Felder, Eddie Young, Worrell Williams, Shea McIntyre, Mike Mohamed, Devin Bishop, Alex Cook, more
• 3/02: Cornerback: Syd’Quan Thompson, Darian Hagan, Charles Amadi, Brandon Jones
• 3/03: Offensive line: Alex Mack, Mike Gibson, Brian De La Puente, Noris Malele, Mike Tepper, Chris Guarnero, Chet Teofilo, Matt Laird
• 3/03: Safety: Thomas DeCoud, Bernard Hicks, Brandon Hampton, Robert Peele, Marcus Ezeff
• 3/05: Defensive line: Matt Malele, Mika Kane, Derrick Hill, Mike Costanzo, Cody Jones, Rulon Davis, Tad Smith, John Allen, Scott Smith, Phillip Mbakogu
• 3/06: Running back: Justin Forsett, James Montgomery, Tracy Slocum, Bryan Schutte, Jahvid Best, Shane Vareen
• 3/07: Fullback: Will Ta’ufo’ou, Brian Holley, RJ Garrett
• 3/08: Wideout: DeSean Jackson, Robert Jordan, Lavelle Hawkins, Sam DeSa, Sean Young, LaReylle Cunningham, Jeremy Ross, Daniel Lofton
• 3/09: Tight end: Craig Stevens, Cameron Morrah, Julian Arthur, Skylar Curran, Garry Graffort
• 3/09: Special teams: Tom Schneider, Andrew Larson, DeSean Jackson, Nick Sundberg, more
• 3/09: Quarterback: Nate Longshore, Kyle Reed, Kevin Riley

Enjoy.

Feldman: Cal has #7 top trio

ESPN’s Bruce Feldman has put together a list of what he believes are the top trios (QB, RB, WR) in the country. Cal takes the #7 spot:

7. Cal DeSean Jackson is the headliner. He’s the most explosive player in the Pac-10. I also like the improvement that QB Nate Longshore made last season. The Bears do lose TB Marshawn Lynch, but Justin Forsett is a pretty good replacement. Forsett ran for 999 yards in 2005 and did run for 124 yards in Cal’s bowl romp over Texas A&M in December.