[WheelerLecture]

Hi Everyone,

I'm Class of 2001 and this is my first post here at the new site. While Cal didn't win too many games while I was a student, taking that walk to Memorial on beautiful fall Saturdays is definitely one of my fondest memories of college.

I was one of those people who felt that Coach Tedford should have let Riley play more last year when Nate was struggling. So while my opinion isn't worth anything, I wanted to get some thoughts on the following quote from Saturday's Daily Cal article:

Coach Tedford said:

"We're gonna just always have situations," Tedford said. "Teach everybody about game situations, to be heads up, not just practice mindlessly that they understand the situation, they understand the clock, they understand the field area, you know, those types of things.

"The perfect example is Kevin today, on the two-point play to tie the game, throws the play out of the end zone for the last play of the game. You can't do that. You've got to put it in play somewhere, a tipped ball, I don't care if it's intercepted. It's your last chance, you know, so those types of things gain experience."

http://www.dailycal.org/article/1022...tebook_day_six

Earlier in the article, it is reported that Longshore was picked off and thus couldn't get the TD. Riley threw a TD, but failed on the 2 point conversion.

I've read posts by those who feel that Tedford is biased in favor of Longshore, not giving Riley a fair shot, etc. I thought that Tedford was more trying to protect Longshore's psyche than anything in previous public statements. But this public statement is...revealing to me. Yes, Tedford makes a perfectly important point that Riley should have given our receiver a chance to make a play for the 2-point conversion. But didn't Nate throw an INT (and thus failing to score a TD, period)?

Let me offer the following possibilities for JT's comments above:
1. Kevin is confident, perhaps too confident, and JT is trying to control the ego so Kevin continues to work hard.
2. JT likes Nate (more than Kevin). A somewhat conspiracy-theory sounding element is that JT wants to tap down fan enthusiasm for Riley before he makes his QB choice.
3. JT was making a perfectly reasonable point about the 2 point conversion. But where was the constructive criticism of Nate for Nate's inability to get a TD (I for one believe such constructive criticism would have been beneficial during the second half of last season when Nate wasn't giving our receivers a chance to make a play on the ball - Nate wasn't throwing out of bounds, but he was underthrowing the ball)?

I feel that no matter how insignificant the fans' opinions are to the QB decision, it is important to air out our differences. Because what this QB debate made me realize is that it is not so much whether Nate or Kevin is picked the starter, but what we expect from our head coach (fairness, openness, etc.). Coach Tedford deserves much praise for his contributions to Cal football and Berkeley's overall standing because of football's success. But nobody should be immune from constructive criticism, and we should hold everybody, and especially our leaders such as Coach Tedford, to the high standards that we all would like our alma mater to be associated with.

I promise future posts won't be as lengthy or dramatic as my first

[BarttoShattuck]

Jesus give it a rest already

[boredom]

Just going off what you quoted, Tedford was making a point about knowing the situation. Longshore's pick had nothing to do with that. If Nate threw a pick in, say, a down 1 and in the redzone situation then it'd be relevant. But simply throwing a pick in a scrimmage isn't a "not being aware of the game situation" error. It's not relevant at all to what Tedford was talking about. Throwing the ball away on a 2 point conversion while down 2 is exactly the type of error Tedford was talking about and thus is a perfectly reasonable example to use.

[BarttoShattuck]

Originally Posted by boredom

Just going off what you quoted, Tedford was making a point about knowing the situation. Longshore's pick had nothing to do with that. If Nate threw a pick in, say, a down 1 and in the redzone situation then it'd be relevant. But simply throwing a pick in a scrimmage isn't a "not being aware of the game situation" error. It's not relevant at all to what Tedford was talking about. Throwing the ball away on a 2 point conversion while down 2 is exactly the type of error Tedford was talking about and thus is a perfectly reasonable example to use.

Yeah but that's just practice. And we all know that practice doesn't really matter. During the real game, Riley won't make any mistakes. I mean he's not gonna try to run the ball when he should throw it out of bounds or run out of bounds when he should spike the ball.

Nah he'd never do anything like that in a real game.

[grandmastapoop]

Let me reiterate what boredom said:

Longshore's mistake was an interception. Those happen. They are unavoidable. What Tedford is saying about Riley's mistake is that on a 2-point conversion, the WORST thing he can do is throw the ball out of bounds. No play can be made.


Kevin has a hard time in pressure situations with the mental aspects of the game. Against Oregon State...well, we know what happened. He was able to perform against Air Force because, down 21 when entering the game, there was no pressure on him. In this instance, he is down 2 and trying a 2-point conversion...and he throws it away? Not good.

I would take two conclusions from this, neither of which suggest a "bias" against Kevin.

1) Tedford is making these comments publicly because he is explaining that he can't trust Kevin until Kevin learns the mental aspect of the game. Really, the OSU blunder and this one are unforgivable.

2) Tedford is hoping to light a fire under Kevin by publicly stating that these mistakes are unforgivable.

I'm not sure which it is. But either way, Kevin needs to learn to focus. That's a terrible mistake.

[HungryCalBear]

I think Tedford just made a point about the importance of situational practices and used Riley's mistake to support it. The positive thing is he won't make that mistake again in a real situation. I don't think he intentionally criticize Riley over Longshore publicly so let's not make too much out of it.

About Riley handling under pressure, I think he did quite well in the Oregon State game, except for that last play. I'm sure Tedford's focus on situational practices will help in situations like that. It is interesting that this year there seem to be an extra focus on "situational practices." Is this a new thing for Tedford???

[dupdadee]

A very interesting DailyCal article from the practice.

Really disturbing to read that even in practice, Nate managed to throw an interception during the final drive in the 4Q with us down by 8 points. He just can't seemed to execute with the game on the line.

However, even more disturbing is that fact that Riley threw the ball out of bounds when needing a 2pt conversion to tie the game. I thought this guy's father was a football coach. What's the deal with continuous mental errors by Riley?

Both QBs need to pick things up. Nate needs to go see a sports psychologist or something, and Riley needs to work on getting his football IQ up.

[ttgiang15]

Originally Posted by dupdadee

Really disturbing to read that even in practice, Nate managed to throw an interception during the final drive in the 4Q with us down by 8 points. He just can't seemed to execute with the game on the line.

"interception" was off the hands of a receiver and caught by a safety who happened to be in the right position. but by all means, project with the limited information that you have and make judgments off that. of course, i would suggest refraining from making such a comment, but what do i know?

[joshbalt]

There wasn't anything remarkable about Longshore's interception. It was a deep post play on first down and the ball was slighltly behind the receiver who didn't react quickly enough to make a play, the safety who was actually beaten on the play happened to be behind the receiver in the perfect position to catch the ball. It wasn't a bad decision on Longshore's part it just looked like the timing was slightly off. On Riley's play he behaved as if it was just any other play where the receiver is covered and he threw it away. In Tedford's view Riley wasn't practicing with an awareness of the stated situation which bothers him more than something that is more mechanical like timing on pass patterns.

[TedfordsBears]

Cal fans need to stop playing amateur psychologist. We have a lot of experience, grit and toughness coming back in Longshore (while he does need to take his game to another level to win the job and lead this team to a great season) and a lot of upside, talent, and energy in a young QB with a little experience in Riley. I like that we have two talented guys who have had success at this level who we can count on this year. They both want it and it will bring out the best in both of them. Both will have a shot to lead the team early in the year, whoever wins the team and the fans will be the guy. I think it's as simple as that.
Remember we need a lot of depth; look at what happened to Oregon last year after DD went down. There was no one to step in and keep the team rolling, they tanked after his injury until they had a month off to regroup and prepare for a bowl.
Cal will have options; the team knows can get the job done. Even if it comes down to third string I like that we have a guy like RS frosh Mansion waiting in the wings.
The cupboard is full and this young talented team will be foaming at the mouth to perform for whoever is behind center. Our leadership on defense will ensure the team is one and I think we should be pleasantly surprised by our defensive performance this year. If it's going to be a great year our defense needs to be consistently good every game.
I like our QB's and this team. Especially if they play for each other, play hard, are tough, and have fun. Fans like to root for guys who leave it all on the field; I'm looking forward to seeing guys flying around, having fun, and leaving it all out there for their teammates, friends and family, coaches, and themselves.
Go Bears

[WheelerLecture]

Remember that Nate's INT came in the same situational setting: Cal is down 12 to MichSt's 20 and we need a TD and a 2 point conversion: Riley threw a TD but failed on the 2 point conversion, while Nate was intercepted before a TD could be scored. I'm just saying it seems that both QBs made mistakes. After all one of the posters who seems to have been at the practice said that Nate's pass was underthrown. Isn't that a pretty big mistake as well? Didn't that happen a couple of times last year in crucial situations? Then why only comment on Kevin's mistake? Did JT ever say last year, "in the USC game, when Robert Jordan was open for a TD, the QB needs to give the receiver a chance to make a play on the ball instead of underthrowing the ball (for an INT), even if the underthrow was due to Nate's trying too hard"?

[DaveBear]

I agree with most in this thread. JT's comments point up using practice to develop situational awareness and eliminate mental errors which can crucial in games (e.g. OSU last year). All interceptions "look" like a dumb move by the QB (and sometimes are), but many happen for reasons beyond the QB's control.

Riley will see the field again this year but this discussion points up again why JT "favors" Longshore and why Nate will likely be the starter.

JT has said having Nate out there is like having a coach on the field. He knows the offense and situations that well and makes good decisions.

Riley is much more exciting to watch and definitely has the physical tools and natural skills to be great, but he lacks the decision making and "heads up" attention to detail that make for a great quarterback. He is learning and he will learn more this year. He needs to work harder on this aspect of his game.

[grandmastapoop]

You just don't seem to get it. Re-read joshbalt's post. Nate's mistake was timing. It's early in camp, timing is not going to be 100%. But when you need a 2-point conversion, you DO NOT THROW THE BALL AWAY.

[WheelerLecture]

GMP,

Again, isn't throwing behind or underthrowing the receiver also a "terrible mistake"? Didn't that happen last year in the 4th quarter? Is that more "forgiveable" to you than throwing out of bounds on a 2-point conversion? One might say, hey, at least Kevin got us the TD to have the chance of tying the same. Of course Nate and Kevin are college kids both trying their best and nothing is really unforgiveable. It's just a game after all...and fans are just cheering for Cal and its players.

I've been a regular reader of these forums and I've read many of your good posts. I realize your style is to be direct and up front, but sometimes I think your posts can use more balance. Of course I have an opinion, and that's reflected in my post, but why not allow for the possibility that one might not have all the right answers, especially to a situation as weird as this QB thing?

[WheelerLecture]

GMP,

Is it always a timing issue with Nate?