Is it my imagination (bias) or has Cal has been called for a disproportionate number of bogus offensive pass interference penalties this year? I'm sure that this is probably the result of the opposing coaches working the refs and telling them to watch out for the pick plays.
But in any case, aside from whether the calls are legitimate, the penalty seems completely out of whack with the actual infraction. 15 yards for Maurice Harris stumbling a little on his route? Totally absurd.

If the refs are going to start to crack down on that kind of play that every.single.team.runs, then it seems to me that they need to change the rules. Maybe a 5 yard for the garden variety pick play, but reserve the 15 yard penalty for the most egregious (i.e. potentially dangerous) fouls.

It should be 10 yards.

They have it correct at 15 yards.

And we have been penalized for the play in question 4 times I believe (Utah, USC, Stanford, & ASU). So, I don't understand why we still keep running the same concept.

What cal fans and players should be asking is how many reasonably catchable interceptions have we dropped, especially by White and Allensworth? Gotta be in the teens ... no wonder they play defense lol

We run them because they work. We're not the most frequent. Oregon runs a pick on almost every pass play.

Rushinbear;842604821 said:

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We run them because they work. We're not the most frequent. Oregon runs a pick on almost every pass play.

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I am not saying we shouldn't run pick plays in general. I am saying that we should not run that particular set of pick routes because we have been penalized for it often.

The technique has to be better. And every time I show up to the game and watch pre-game warmups and see our WR coach in the middle of the field talking to the opposing head coach instead of warming up HIS GUYS I wonder about the other times during the week that our WR's are getting short-changed on the coaching front. Coaching the details over and over and over and over even after you think your college players 'have it' is the key to good play.

btsktr;842604887 said:

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I am not saying we shouldn't run pick plays in general. I am saying that we should not run that particular set of pick routes because we have been penalized for it often.

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82gradDLSdad;842604908 said:

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The technique has to be better. And every time I show up to the game and watch pre-game warmups and see our WR coach in the middle of the field talking to the opposing head coach instead of warming up HIS GUYS I wonder about the other times during the week that our WR's are getting short-changed on the coaching front. Coaching the details over and over and over and over even after you think your college players 'have it' is the key to good play.

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Yes, at least a few of the times you could tell that the Cal WR didn't have the proper technique, and/or left it open for interpretation. I don't know the rule chapter and verse, but it seems to be almost like basketball. The times the WR is in position after setting the screen (meaning, in a receiving position themselves) they aren't getting called...

I do not understand why we keep doing the pick plays since the offensive PI is always an issue, however another problem with them is that the plays have to develop very quickly due to lack of OL protection so our WRs are having to rush into position to set the blocks before the pass is completed.

It is really a staple of the short yardage passing game (eg. down at the goal line). We have to run it since we are not great at getting short yardage with our run game.

Strykur;842604944 said:

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I do not understand why we keep doing the pick plays since the offensive PI is always an issue, however another problem with them is that the plays have to develop very quickly due to lack of OL protection so our WRs are having to rush into position to set the blocks before the pass is completed.

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Speaking of which, what happened to Vic Enwere in the ASU game? Don't recall seeing him, but Tre is a very pleasant surprise.

6bear6;842605104 said:

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Speaking of which, what happened to Vic Enwere in the ASU game? Don't recall seeing him, but Tre is a very pleasant surprise.

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Also Lasco did not play. Muhammed got only a few snaps, but Tre Watson has emerged as the #1 RB.

Strykur;842605175 said:

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Also Lasco did not play. Muhammed got only a few snaps, but Tre Watson has emerged as the #1 RB.

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Is that true? I was assuming Enwere is injured, because I was equally impressed with his play prior to the ASU game. Tre had an amazing game. We should really be able to pound the rock on the ground next year.

For Enwere not to play at all, he must be injured. It's one thing to have Watson emerge and become #1 on the depth chart with Lasco out and Muhammed 50/50. But they used to rotate about 4 guys. These days I only see 1 or 2.

As for offensive pass interference, to be objective, I think the entire PI rule is ridiculous. If they are going to make rules that make it almost impossible to defend against the pass, which is the case, they should enforce penalties against the offense equally and that includes offensive PI.

What has happened in football is that the focus has been on getting the call right, not on equal enforcement. Take the case of McCain, Skov and Lowe:

In 2 years, 3 targeting calls were made that negatively affected Cal outcomes. Chris McCain was ejected from the Northwestern game for a hit on the QB that was no worse than the hit Skov made on Goff. The following year Lowe was also ejected, to the benefit of furd, for a hit that was nowhere near the Skov hit on Goff. It seems to me that is favoritism. Personally I don't care about non-calls, but don't all the sudden start calling a penalty if a precedent of non-calls is there.

The influence of furd and Oregon on the officials has been well documented and caused a top pac-12 official to resign last year.
Having said that, Cal needs to focus on improving their team, not on the officiating. They need to recruit and coach better so they can win the battle at the LOS. Then they can be more competitive against furd.

heartofthebear;842605437 said:

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The influence of furd and Oregon on the officials has been well documented and caused a top pac-12 official to resign last year.

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Elaborate, please.

CaliforniaGoldenBear;842605901 said:

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Elaborate, please.

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http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/pac-12-coordinator-officiating-tony-corrente-resigns-larry-scott-mishandled-101114

Enware got in the game for a play or two. I can't say with 100% accuracy, but it stands to reason that given the number of plays that we were expecting them to blitz, we needed a back that could catch the ball effectively. Since we don't huddle, if you put enware in and the play calls for the RB to flex out into the flat for a swing pass, you have to decide to let him run it or sub him out.

Simply, I think that Tre fit into what we wanted to do better so he got the lion share of the snaps.

Enwere did not run the ball once. He was dressed and was on the field for special teams.

Tre has emerged as our all around back. He has the same body and skill set as a young vereen.

Khalfani is deadly in space.

Hope Enwere can find a way to hit the hole hard in year 3. He is incredibly hard to take down once he gets some steam. Only problem is him getting to the second level.

Dbearson;842605938 said:

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Enwere did not run the ball once. He was dressed and was on the field for special teams.

Tre has emerged as our all around back. He has the same body and skill set as a young vereen.

Khalfani is deadly in space.

Hope Enwere can find a way to hit the hole hard in year 3. He is incredibly hard to take down once he gets some steam. Only problem is him getting to the second level.

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He can improve his pass catching ability.
The minute he does, he'll be on the field more often.