Is it the 7 wins, now possibly 8?<br /><br />Or was it the DEVELOPMENT of a QB by the 'Guru' some considered as dead as Tiger Woods? <br /><br />Was it the grand opening of the TAJ MAHAL a.k.a SAHPC ?<br /><b><br />Or is it the news of another multi-star ditching USC so he could go push and elbow another multi-star out of the way to get that coveted Cal football scholarship?</b><br /><br />Probably all the above.<br /><br />GO BEARS

lol, haters gonna hate. this has the makings of another long thread.

Tedford needs to put wins on the field against quality teams not off the field...Maynard's wins came against poor teams and the offensive emphasis was the running game (should we even count the Presby game that was essentially a scrimmage)...Cal with Maynard cannot win a shootout type of game... i am sure that same running strategy will be used against Texas...hopefully it works again...<br />:newnana:

<blockquote><div class="name-said">bearblast;649462 said:</div><hr>Is it the 7 wins, now possibly 8?<br /><br />Or was it the DEVELOPMENT of a QB by the 'Guru' some considered as dead as Tiger Woods? <br /><br />Was it the grand opening of the TAJ MAHAL a.k.a SAHPC ?<br /><b><br />Or is it the news of another multi-star ditching USC so he could go push and elbow another multi-star out of the way to get that coveted Cal football scholarship?</b><br /><br />Probably all the above.<br /><br />GO BEARS<hr></blockquote><br /><br />No worries. If cal loses in the HB the negabears will be out in full force.

come back after we destroy texas...then you get to gloat.

I doubt we lose to Texas, we'll beat them, finish 8-5 with a lot of momentum and one of the best recruiting class in the history of the program.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">Cal88;649473 said:</div><hr>I doubt we lose to Texas, we'll beat them, finish 8-5 with a lot of momentum and one of the best recruiting class in the history of the program.<hr></blockquote><br /><br />I completely hope that is true. I think we should not jump to conclusions until all is said and down.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">goodrich;649465 said:</div><hr>Tedford needs to put wins on the field against quality teams not off the field...<hr></blockquote><br /><br />Exactly. <br /><br />I don't get why so many Cal fans (and I'll refrain from sounding like an idiot and using a label like 'sunshine pumper') are so thrilled about this season. Which of the wins exactly were big win? <br /><br />Arizona State, who lost 5 of their last 6 games (including the Cal game)? ASU's losses include games against UCLA, Arizona, and Washington State. Their only win in the last six games was against cellar-dwelling Colorado. They will most likely get humiliated by Boise State in their bowl game. Or was it the 'moral victory' against Stanford? Or Oregon State or Washington State, the two bottom-dwelling teams in the North division? Or powerhouse Utah? <br /><br />Let's face it: every conference opponent that Cal has beaten this season has a losing conference record, and Cal has lost to every conference opponent with a winning record, including a blowout loss to UCLA. If this isn't a demonstration of mediocrity, then I'd like to see what does constitute one. <br /><br />I do hope that Cal can beat Texas in the Holiday Bowl, but I would be surprised to see Cal end up any better than squarely middle of the pack next year as well. On the other hand, JT's saving grace has been his ability to somehow recruit good players to a program without exactly a tradition of winning.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">OskiMD;649484 said:</div><hr>Exactly. <br /><br />I don't get why so many Cal fans (and I'll refrain from sounding like an idiot and using a label like 'sunshine pumper') are so thrilled about this season. Which of the wins exactly were big win? <br /><br />Arizona State, who lost 5 of their last 6 games (including the Cal game)? ASU's losses include games against UCLA, Arizona, and Washington State. Their only win in the last six games was against cellar-dwelling Colorado. They will most likely get humiliated by Boise State in their bowl game. Or was it the 'moral victory' against Stanford? Or Oregon State or Washington State, the two bottom-dwelling teams in the North division? Or powerhouse Utah? <br /><br />Let's face it: every conference opponent that Cal has beaten this season has a losing conference record, and Cal has lost to every conference opponent with a winning record, including a blowout loss to UCLA. If this isn't a demonstration of mediocrity, then I'd like to see what does constitute one. <br /><br />I do hope that Cal can beat Texas in the Holiday Bowl, but I would be surprised to see Cal end up any better than squarely middle of the pack next year as well. On the other hand, JT's saving grace has been his ability to somehow recruit good players to a program without exactly a tradition of winning.<hr></blockquote><br /><br />So if we are mediocre it's because Tedford is a lousy coach but if we win it's because of the sheer talent of the recruits?

<blockquote><div class="name-said">PersianOski;649487 said:</div><hr>So if we are mediocre it's because Tedford is a lousy coach but if we win it's because of the sheer talent of the recruits?<hr></blockquote><br /><br />I'm guessing (and hoping) that you didn't attend Cal.

why start a negative thread in the midst of a glorious weekend for Cal?

<blockquote><div class="name-said">SnoozerBear;649511 said:</div><hr>why start a negative thread in the midst of a glorious weekend for Cal?<hr></blockquote><br /> They are just pounding on the door ... it's over for them and they know it.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">OskiMD;649505 said:</div><hr>I'm guessing (and hoping) that you didn't attend Cal.<hr></blockquote><br /><br />that was an unnecessarily aggressive response.<br /><br />first of all mediocre is still better than bad from last year and I think most people would agree needs to be better than mediocre next year.<br /><br />second of all I don't know how you can say tedford has no tradition of winning when looking at teams through the first half of 2007. I'm sure a lot of recruits now are thinking they can help him get back to being awesome.<br /><br />Obviously if that doesn't pan out for too many years things will change but to talk about him as a mediocre coach but an surprisingly good recruiter is somewhat unfair.<br /><br />That said let's wait to see how we do with texas to declare this season anything one way or the other. And... let's all just stop with this nonsense for two more weeks and enjoy our opportunity in the bowl game. We will have all spring and summer to debate the rest.

This is why the bowl system will never change because every year 50 or so half assed teams "earn" a bowl game with a mediocre season and then beat another half assed team to "gain momentum" into next season. Keeps the fans and alumni happy and keeps the pressure off of the AD and coach. Win, win. Yes things are looking up. Next year we may be .500 in the conference

<blockquote><div class="name-said">bearblast;649462 said:</div><hr>Is it the 7 wins, now possibly 8?<br /><br />Or was it the DEVELOPMENT of a QB by the 'Guru' some considered as dead as Tiger Woods? <br /><br />Was it the grand opening of the TAJ MAHAL a.k.a SAHPC ?<br /><b><br />Or is it the news of another multi-star ditching USC so he could go push and elbow another multi-star out of the way to get that coveted Cal football scholarship?</b><br /><br />Probably all the above.<br /><br />GO BEARS<hr></blockquote><br /><br />OMG this is hilarious LOL. These sunshine pumpers make negabears look sane.<br /><br />7 win season! Look out World!

<blockquote><div class="name-said">sbmhsu;649527 said:</div><hr>that was an unnecessarily aggressive response.<br /><br />first of all mediocre is still better than bad from last year and I think most people would agree needs to be better than mediocre next year.<br /><br />second of all I don't know how you can say tedford has no tradition of winning when looking at teams through the first half of 2007. I'm sure a lot of recruits now are thinking they can help him get back to being awesome.<br /><br />Obviously if that doesn't pan out for too many years things will change but to talk about him as a mediocre coach but an surprisingly good recruiter is somewhat unfair.<br /><br />That said let's wait to see how we do with texas to declare this season anything one way or the other. And... let's all just stop with this nonsense for two more weeks and enjoy our opportunity in the bowl game. We will have all spring and summer to debate the rest.<hr></blockquote><br /><br />Well said. We are all Cal fans here and want whats best for the program. Not all of us are Cal alums and not all of us may agree whats best for the program. <br /><br />Based on the last couple years, people have every right to criticize Tedford. However, he now has the opportunity now to turn it around but by no means has anything been accomplished yet. Lets just wait and see how we do against Texas, a fairly matched team, before we start jumping each other.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">OskiMD;649484 said:</div><hr>Exactly. <br /><br />I don't get why so many Cal fans (and I'll refrain from sounding like an idiot and using a label like 'sunshine pumper') are so thrilled about this season. Which of the wins exactly were big win? <br /><br /><b>Arizona State, who lost 5 of their last 6 games (including the Cal game)? ASU's losses include games against UCLA, Arizona, and Washington State.</b> Their only win in the last six games was against cellar-dwelling Colorado. They will most likely get humiliated by Boise State in their bowl game. Or was it the 'moral victory' against Stanford? Or Oregon State or Washington State, the two bottom-dwelling teams in the North division? Or powerhouse Utah? <br /><br />Let's face it: every conference opponent that Cal has beaten this season has a losing conference record, and Cal has lost to every conference opponent with a winning record, including a blowout loss to UCLA. If this isn't a demonstration of mediocrity, then I'd like to see what does constitute one. <br /><br />I do hope that Cal can beat Texas in the Holiday Bowl, but I would be surprised to see Cal end up any better than squarely middle of the pack next year as well. On the other hand, JT's saving grace has been his ability to somehow recruit good players to a program without exactly a tradition of winning.<hr></blockquote><br /><br />Nobody went into Tempe and put up 47 points like Cal did. Even very good teams often stumble on the road but Cal played Washington, Stanford and ASU tough.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">WarTime Consigliere;649534 said:</div><hr>Well said. We are all Cal fans here and want whats best for the program. Not all of us are Cal alums and not all of us may agree whats best for the program. <br /><br />Based on the last couple years, people have every right to criticize Tedford. However, he now has the opportunity now to turn it around but by no means has anything been accomplished yet. Lets just wait and see how we do against Texas, a fairly matched team, before we start jumping each other.<hr></blockquote><br /><br />Fair and balanced! :p

<blockquote><div class="name-said">heartofthebear;649535 said:</div><hr>Nobody went into Tempe and put up 47 points like Cal did. Even very good teams often stumble on the road but Cal played Washington, Stanford and ASU tough.<hr></blockquote><br /><br />How did we do against Oregon and UCLA?<br /><br />Let's just call a spade a spade. We are a sucky road team and caught ASU at the right time.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">sbmhsu;649527 said:</div><hr>"...tedford has no tradition of winning ...<hr></blockquote><br /><br />:beer:<br /><br />More importantly and quite related to the topic at hand, sbmhsu is nearing 1,000 posts! Celebrating sbmhsu's 1000 post is like celebrating Cal's next Rose Bowl win...it will happen but we just have to wait patiently for it.

<img src="<img src="<img src="<img src="<img src="" />" />" />" />?1310103722" />

<blockquote><div class="name-said">MolecularBear007;649544 said:</div><hr>:beer:<br /><br />More importantly and quite related to the topic at hand, sbmhsu is nearing 1,000 posts! Celebrating sbmhsu's 1000 post is like celebrating Cal's next Rose Bowl win...it will happen but we just have to wait patiently for it.<hr></blockquote><br /><br />hahaha thats all kinds of depressing.

Only at Cal are we self-loathing enough to have a "told you so" thread supporting our coach after a 7 win season that included no victories over good teams and several blowout losses. Wow. Glad to know mediocrity is not only accepted, but celebrated.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">bearblast;649462 said:</div><hr>Is it the 7 wins, now possibly 8?<br /><br />Or was it the DEVELOPMENT of a QB by the 'Guru' some considered as dead as Tiger Woods? <br /><br />Was it the grand opening of the TAJ MAHAL a.k.a SAHPC ?<br /><b><br />Or is it the news of another multi-star ditching USC so he could go push and elbow another multi-star out of the way to get that coveted Cal football scholarship?</b><br /><br />Probably all the above.<br /><br />GO BEARS<hr></blockquote><br /><br />I am happy that Cal has a 7-5 record.<br />I am happy that Cal is playing Texas in the Holiday Bowl.<br />I am happy with JT's efforts in recruiting.<br />So JT has done a good job for a rebuilding year when Cal had no true home games.<br /><br />But 7-5 was what I predicted.<br />And I keep thinking that with better QB play and overall team play Cal could have a 9-3 record (UW and ucla). <br />Now that record would have silenced all the critics.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">GivemTheAxe;649558 said:</div><hr>I am happy that Cal has a 7-5 record.<br />I am happy that Cal is playing Texas in the Holiday Bowl.<br />I am happy with JT's efforts in recruiting.<br />So JT has done a good job for a rebuilding year when Cal had no true home games.<br /><br />But 7-5 was what I predicted.<br />And I keep thinking that with better QB play and overall team play Cal could have a 9-3 record (UW and ucla). <br />Now that record would have silenced all the critics.<hr></blockquote><br /><br />Make it 10-2 with the Axe returned to Berkeley just to be certain.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">sbmhsu;649527 said:</div><hr>second of all I don't know how you can say tedford has no tradition of winning when looking at teams through the first half of 2007. I'm sure a lot of recruits now are thinking they can help him get back to being awesome.<hr></blockquote><br /><br />I meant that the Cal football program historically does not have a tradition of success, unlike programs like Texas, Notre Dame and USC that could be expected to recruit well even during down years. Hence making JT"s recruiting successes over the years all the more impressive.<br /><br /><blockquote><div class="name-said">sbmhsu;649527 said:</div><hr>Obviously if that doesn't pan out for too many years things will change but to talk about him as a mediocre coach but an surprisingly good recruiter is somewhat unfair.<hr></blockquote><br /><br />There's obviously no right or wrong when evaluating his success, since everything is relative to something else and his overall 'success' has to be taken with some sort of historical perspective, but I think 'mediocre' describes him pretty well given that he has had good talent during his tenure thus far. He's mediocre because he doesn't do more (quality wins, consistency, major bowls) with less (talent). <br /><br />Of course, his character traits (flaws) -- stubborn, reticent, lacking charisma, conservative, short-sighted -- magnify his average coaching results and are probably responsible, to a large degree, for the dissatisfaction of many fans with his coaching. <br /><br />In any case, I'm starting to feel that if JT can continue to be an average (but not below-average) coach but also continue to bring in good recruits consistently, that I'll be satisfied with his middling game plans and under-performing teams (this year, they're probably overachieving given the QB they have) as long as he keeps Cal in the upper half of the conference with decent bowl appearances in most years and occasionally (even rarely) with an upper tier finish and major (BCS) bowl berth.

This thread is a bad idea. Its sole aim is to divide the fanbase.<br /><br />Tedford can land Shaq, Arik, Aziz, Ishmael, Payton and every one of our targets. Hell, he could lay the smackdown and put up 50 on Tex-ass. It'd be the best we've felt about Cal football in three years. <br /><br />It doesn't change the fact that if Tedford doesn't have Cal in the Rose Bowl in the next two years (or at the very least win 9-10 games and put us right at the footsteps), there will be a change in leadership. <br /><br />Cal has won nine games once in the past five years. Oregon State has done it twice, Oregon has won ten+ games three years in a row. Furd, freaking Furd has two 11+ win seasons two years in a row. That surpasses anything Tedford has ever done in his tenure.<br /><br />He has to do better. He knows has to do better. And the Pac-12 will be more formidable than ever, new recruits or not. I hope he can do it.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">LessMilesMoreTedford;649573 said:</div><hr>This thread is a bad idea. Its sole aim is to divide the fanbase.<br /><br />Tedford can land Shaq, Arik, Aziz, Ishmael, Payton and every one of our targets. Hell, he could lay the smackdown and put up 50 on Tex-ass. It'd be the best we've felt about Cal football in three years. <br /><br />It doesn't change the fact that if Tedford doesn't have Cal in the Rose Bowl in the next two years (or at the very least win 9-10 games and put us right at the footsteps), there will be a change in leadership. <br /><br />Cal has won nine games once in the past five years. Oregon State has done it twice, Oregon has won ten+ games three years in a row. Furd, freaking Furd has two 11+ win seasons two years in a row. That surpasses anything Tedford has ever done in his tenure.<br /><br />He has to do better. He knows has to do better. And the Pac-12 will be more formidable than ever, new recruits or not. I hope he can do it.<hr></blockquote><br />Thats a lot of contradictions you outline esp your closing remark. Uh, lets read some of the interesting facts regarding what our true talent pool is a la how many top 150 we have nabbed compared to say sc. I would say we put out more nfl talent than we get pumped into our pipeline compared to others but we are not sorry inderacheovers. That is a sad misconception. Texas and UCLA are more ao than us by far as ready examples. The idea that we now must win the conference in 2 yrs or else jt is a goner is.a bit wacko. I expect us to return to top 25 discussion routinely but.to be in the top 10 is where we have to be to beat an sc or oregon these days. And that might happen if we have another ar in our pocket. It took Luck literally and doubly for furd to beat sc. And they couldnt beat oregon and are not going to the rosebowl themselves.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">upsetof86;649600 said:</div><hr>Thats a lot of contradictions you outline esp your closing remark. Uh, lets read some of the interesting facts regarding what our true talent pool is a la how many top 150 we have nabbed compared to say sc. I would say we put out more nfl talent than we get pumped into our pipeline compared to others but we are not sorry inderacheovers. That is a sad misconception. Texas and UCLA are more ao than us by far as ready examples. The idea that we now must win the conference in 2 yrs or else jt is a goner is.a bit wacko. I expect us to return to top 25 discussion routinely but.to be in the top 10 is where we have to be to beat an sc or oregon these days. And that might happen if we have another ar in our pocket. It took Luck literally and doubly for furd to beat sc. And they couldnt beat oregon and are not going to the rosebowl themselves.<hr></blockquote><br /><br />When was the last time Cal was in discussion for the Rose Bowl? Early 2007?<br /><br />For five long years we've been knocked out of the race by the first few weeks of October. That's awfully hard for a fanbase full of Old Blues to take. Six other teams in the conference have been able to at least get in the race once. Cal at least needs to COMPETE once every two/three years, and it needs to start soon or he will be forced out, good recruits or not.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">OskiMD;649484 said:</div><hr> Which of the wins exactly were big win?(sic)<hr></blockquote><br /><br />The ones that added a check to the win column. You know, the old traditional way to count wins?

I think we have to get on the north side of .500 in conference before we can claim victory.

<blockquote><div class="name-said">CaliforniaGoldenBear;649659 said:</div><hr>The ones that added a check to the win column. You know, the old traditional way to count wins?<hr></blockquote><br /><br />Presbyterian is a solid program.

The "sunshine pumper" vs. "negabear" mentalities confuse me. Those positions are so black and white. What about the proverbial grey area. Tedford has done some wonderful things for the program which I hope I don't have to explicitly list out. His teams have also disappointed at times, and really at some of the most important times in big games. <br />Anyways, I'll go back to relishing in the recruiting success, and hoping that Tedford can get back some of his magic on the field.

Next year could be ours if Oregon gets put on probation. USC is banned for another year and Luck will be gone. We'll play Arizona or UCLA for the Rose Bowl.

Wait I thought USC ban is over. Anyways I disagree with the premise that Tedford is off the hit seat with the recruiting classes etc....I think it's hotter than ever. With the string of recruiting classes it appears he has up together (including the presumably amazing one this year) if the team isn't competitive or the Rose Bowl (truly competitive like in it or a Mack Brown style screw job type seasons) he's done. You can't recruit top 10-15 classes year in year out and not compete for the Rose Bowl