bearboarblarney;842744068 said:

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art kaufman should get a ton of flak for his defenses, and it's good to finally see concerns being raised about the d he's "coordinating."

but as others have noted, the root cause of the problem seems to be sonny's own inability to properly hire coaches who can actually coach defense.

Here are the ncaa total defense rankings rankings from 2010 to 2016 for teams coached by sonny:

Year rank
2010 116th (out of 120) at la tech
2011 57 / 120 at la tech
2012 124 / 124 at la tech
2013 124 / 125 at cal
2014 124 / 128 at cal
2015 109 / 128 at cal
2016 122 / 128 at cal

so, the average ranking for total defense is 111 out of 125 football bowl subdivision teams.

If you remove the best and worst total defense seasons (2011 - best, 2012 - worst) defensive performances, the avg ranking is 119 ouf of 126 fbs teams.

If you look at the total defense rankings for just sonny's cal years, the average ranking for total defense is 120 out of 128 teams.

There's simply no discernible pattern of improvement to the defenses under sonny.

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this!

The strategy of playing to prevent big gains through the air and let the other team make a mistake on sustained short gains (get the ball back to your quick strike offense), has flaws (gasses your own defense), but has glaring flaws when the opposition is getting big plays anyway on the ground and not making mistakes--then the game turns into keep away from your offense.

My biggest problem on Saturday was the refusal to change anything even when it is obvious in the most clear and extreme ways that your strategy is the exact opposite approach you should be taking (Beavers could not pass over 10 yards, they are gashing us with run, and not fumbling or holding). Before we hit the second quarter we should have been selling out on pressure and trying to shake that QB and FORCE them to pass.

To wake up and shake up both are own defense and their rhythm if nothing else.

A lot of folks on here are giving Sonny a ton of flak for the state of Cal's defense. I continue to wonder why Art Kaufman is not under extreme duress for his Buh-like defenses. I understand that Sonny's offense puts incredible strain on the D, but that doesn't explain the consistent overpursuit, taking of wrong angles, inability to coach corners to occasionally look back, and the extremely poor tackling technique. I rarely see a Cal defender get to a spot, square up, explode through the center of the target RB/WR/TE, and wrap up with his arms. Instead, I see Cal's defenders consistently 1-2 yards out of position, off-balance, trying to arm tackle. It has not worked for 3 years under Kaufman, even when his best unit moved all the way up to 109th nationally. (Yes, that was sarcasm.)

Look, I realize that some of these things are endemic to college football nowadays. Fundamentals have eroded in an era of SportsCenter top-10 highlights trumping proper technique, and spread attacks and the rules protecting the offenses have meant that a lot more tackles have to be made "in space." But even adjusting for the way the game has evolved, Cal's defensive fundamentals are worse than those of just about every other team except for this year's hapless Oregon D.

Given that we're stuck with Sonny for the foreseeable future, is Cal football at least looking long and hard at what Kaufman's doing? He should not be getting a free pass.

I'm starting to wonder if the problem with the defensive coordinators isn't one of self selection. I mean, if you're in the coaching fraternity, by this point you know that the defense for a Sonny Dykes team is going to spend a lot of time on the field because of the offensive style, and you probably also know that you're not going to get a lot of recruiting support from the coach, as he focuses on recruiting more stud wideouts. Therefore, maybe the only people willing to work for him are people who take the job because being a DC pays better than being a position coach, or because they know that everyone else knows that DCs under Dykes start out handicapped, and therefore they can still do a couple of years under him and not suffer too much in terms of reputation. One more reason why I think Sonny has to go.

Why are we blaming any coach for Dykes' recruiting?

My favorite player on D is a quarterback, and people are yelling about him like he should be Zack.



WTF is going on? When your front doesn't get supplied, you dont blame the cooks for malnourished troops. The supply lines are broken.

Worse, what GOOD cook is going to agree to go to the front and cook sawdust and dirt when he could work for the other side and cook meat and potatoes.




Dykes is the problem. No one else. DYKES.

Phantomfan;842752416 said:

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Why are we blaming any coach for Dykes' recruiting?

My favorite player on D is a quarterback, and people are yelling about him like he should be Zack.



WTF is going on? When your front doesn't get supplied, you dont blame the cooks for malnourished troops. The supply lines are broken.

Worse, what GOOD cook is going to agree to go to the front and cook sawdust and dirt when he could work for the other side and cook meat and potatoes.




Dykes is the problem. No one else. DYKES.

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True. Live and die on Bear Raid production alone - and we are dying..Poof! Another season no defense.

BearBoarBlarney;842752274 said:

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I continue to wonder why Art Kaufman is not under extreme duress for his Buh-like defenses.

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WTF are you talking about Buh like?

Clearly you dont remember Buh...

Phantomfan;842752433 said:

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WTF are you talking about Buh like?

Clearly you dont remember Buh...

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This. Buh's players weren't even in the frame on most plays. At least AK's are; they just can't tackle for ish.

Phantomfan;842752433 said:

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WTF are you talking about Buh like?

Clearly you dont remember Buh...

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Phantom, you don't see the similarities?

2016 Cal.....Opponent average pts per game thru 1st 8 games: 41.8 ..... NCAA Total Defense = 506 yds/game surrendered

2013 Cal.....Opponent average pts per game thru 1st 8 games: 44.0 ..... NCAA Total Defense = 530 yds/game surrendered

These both look absolutely cr@ptastic to me. Buh's D's stats were worse, but the "injury bug" that often seems to strike Sonny's team struck harder in '13 than it has so far in '16.

I am curious how you see such great differences between the lousy Buh-coordinated defense of '13 and the lousy Kaufman-coordinated defense of '16?

Bring back Ray Willsey, oh excuse me he has passed on. Now there was a coach who could assemble a defense and during a time when Berkeley was not a hot spot for recruits.

BearBoarBlarney;842752448 said:

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Phantom, you don't see the similarities?

2016 Cal.....Opponent average pts per game thru 1st 8 games: 41.8 ..... NCAA Total Defense = 506 yds/game surrendered

2013 Cal.....Opponent average pts per game thru 1st 8 games: 44.0 ..... NCAA Total Defense = 530 yds/game surrendered

These both look absolutely cr@ptastic to me. Buh's D's stats were worse, but the "injury bug" that often seems to strike Sonny's team struck harder in '13 than it has so far in '16.

I am curious how you see such great differences between the lousy Buh-coordinated defense of '13 and the lousy Kaufman-coordinated defense of '16?

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Buh gave up 50+ in 4 games. 60+ twice. He gave up less than 40 twice.

He had the worst defensive secondary EVER in the history of college football.

etc etc.

Laughable that you would say "buh like" and then try to back it up as something other than hyperbole. As hyperbole I think its mildly amusing. As a serious topic I think you are forgetting how bad Buh really was.

Jeff82;842752326 said:

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I'm starting to wonder if the problem with the defensive coordinators isn't one of self selection. I mean, if you're in the coaching fraternity, by this point you know that the defense for a Sonny Dykes team is going to spend a lot of time on the field because of the offensive style, and you probably also know that you're not going to get a lot of recruiting support from the coach, as he focuses on recruiting more stud wideouts. Therefore, maybe the only people willing to work for him are people who take the job because being a DC pays better than being a position coach, or because they know that everyone else knows that DCs under Dykes start out handicapped, and therefore they can still do a couple of years under him and not suffer too much in terms of reputation. One more reason why I think Sonny has to go.

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I think a lot of that is true

Which is why I think you need to find some young, hungry up and comer. Maybe even someone from d2.

We need some youth on that side of the ball and someone with the energy to go recruit relentlessly.

We need to bury that drop 8 **** too!

Once again, how about this guy for young up and comer....California and Texas ties and his defenses have performed pretty well.

http://www.usdtoreros.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/steve_irvin_769036.html

SRBear;842752660 said:

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Once again, how about this guy for young up and comer....California and Texas ties and his defenses have performed pretty well.

http://www.usdtoreros.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/steve_irvin_769036.html

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I can buy that choice. I'm going to start another thread suggesting that Cal's coaching search is stained by what happened with Tedford.

Should we be considering Cal alum and current SJ State DC Ron English? He was a rising star before his locker room tirade at Eastern Michigan got him fired. OK, maybe not a rising star, but he was a successful DC at Michigan.

BearBoarBlarney;842752448 said:

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Phantom, you don't see the similarities?

2016 Cal.....Opponent average pts per game thru 1st 8 games: 41.8 ..... NCAA Total Defense = 506 yds/game surrendered

2013 Cal.....Opponent average pts per game thru 1st 8 games: 44.0 ..... NCAA Total Defense = 530 yds/game surrendered

These both look absolutely cr@ptastic to me. Buh's D's stats were worse, but the "injury bug" that often seems to strike Sonny's team struck harder in '13 than it has so far in '16.

I am curious how you see such great differences between the lousy Buh-coordinated defense of '13 and the lousy Kaufman-coordinated defense of '16?

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We lost the game by the end of the first quarter under Buh. The stats are only close because the other teams had called off the dogs

NYCGOBEARS;842755508 said:

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Should we be considering Cal alum and current SJ State DC Ron English? He was a rising star before his locker room tirade at Eastern Michigan got him fired. OK, maybe not a rising star, but he was a successful DV at Michigan.

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In five years as head coach at Eastern Michigan his record was 11-46 overall and 7-30 in the Mid-American conference.

bearloyal;842755510 said:

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In five years as head coach at Eastern Michigan his record was 11-46 overall and 7-30 in the Mid-American conference.

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Eastern Michigan was so historically bad that he won Coach of the Year honors in the MAC after going 6-6. He also was named DC of the year in 2006. Anyways, I'm talking about hiring him as a DC. African American, Cal Alum and he's hungry.

NYCGOBEARS;842755512 said:

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Eastern Michigan was so historically bad that he won Coach of the Year honors in the MAC after going 6-6. He also was named DC of the year in 2006. Anyways, I'm talking about hiring him as a DC. African American, Cal Alum and he's hungry.

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How's his defense at SJ State? Just judging by rankings it's only slightly better (somewhere around the 110s in run defense) than ours but I don't know anything about their personnel or scheme so not sure how to judge him, especially since his last DC job was eight years ago.

Phantomfan;842752573 said:

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Laughable that you would say "buh like" and then try to back it up as something other than hyperbole. As hyperbole I think its mildly amusing. As a serious topic I think you are forgetting how bad Buh really was.

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I agree that Buh's 2013 defense was the worst I ever saw, but this defense is the 2nd worst. I know stats don't tell the whole story, but in 2013, Cal surrended 530 yds/game and allowed 45.9 pts/game. In 2016, through these first 9 games, Cal is surrendering 528 yds/game and allowing 44.4 pts, and bear in mind that the Bears are facing one of the most prolific Pac-12 offenses this weekend up on the Palouse. By this Saturday night, I expect that the statistics for this year's defense will be worse than those under Buh in '13.

Given that Cal will not make a move on Sonny, is it too much to ask for at least a new defensive coordinator?

BearBoarBlarney;842757281 said:

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I agree that Buh's 2013 defense was the worst I ever saw, but this defense is the 2nd worst. I know stats don't tell the whole story, but in 2013, Cal surrended 530 yds/game and allowed 45.9 pts/game. In 2016, through these first 9 games, Cal is surrendering 528 yds/game and allowing 44.4 pts, and bear in mind that the Bears are facing one of the most prolific Pac-12 offenses this weekend up on the Palouse. By this Saturday night, I expect that the statistics for this year's defense will be worse than those under Buh in '13.

Given that Cal will not make a move on Sonny, is it too much to ask for at least a new defensive coordinator?

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What about the 2014 defense? Many here have posited that it was as bad as the 2013 defense! Personally, I think this year's defense is about as bad as 2014, depending on how we finish up, but 2013 still takes the booby prize.

What a topic for self-flagellation!

BearBoarBlarney;842757281 said:

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I agree that Buh's 2013 defense was the worst I ever saw, but this defense is the 2nd worst. I know stats don't tell the whole story, but in 2013, Cal surrended 530 yds/game and allowed 45.9 pts/game. In 2016, through these first 9 games, Cal is surrendering 528 yds/game and allowing 44.4 pts, and bear in mind that the Bears are facing one of the most prolific Pac-12 offenses this weekend up on the Palouse. By this Saturday night, I expect that the statistics for this year's defense will be worse than those under Buh in '13.

Given that Cal will not make a move on Sonny, is it too much to ask for at least a new defensive coordinator?

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First:
Can Cal GET a better DC? I know that more than a couple DC's that are mid tier have said they would never take a job under Dykes. It is a career killer.

Why do they say that?

Because Sonny doesnt care about of recruit Defense. Why do we drop 8? Same reason fans yell "why doesnt he have help!?" ever big pass play. Our walk-ons are NOT good enough to get the job done in human on human competition. 8 guys dropping back is not enough to cover 3 guys... What DC in the WORLD (that would be a step up) would take a job where that is true? Where the hope of a better class of players in 2 or 3 years is close to zero? How do we blitz in that situation? Why would any good DC walk into that situation? That is a career killer...

Then you have the money issue. To attract the mediocre/ok level of DC to Dykes staff, you would have to PAY for a guy to coach, plus give up his hope of having a good defense ever... we barely pay enough to live in the Bay Area, let alone throw away your career.


In other words, what is the upside for any competent DC? No money, no horses, no chance at fielding a good unit... Bay Area weather? I guess that is a plus, cause you are going to be living outside.

People blaming the D, as though it realistically could be better, are foolish. There is no ability to hire a BETTER DC with this HC. Cal has bought into a "Bear Raid" Offense/No Defense HC. You cant expect to change that by trading out DC's.

Phantomfan;842757310 said:

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First:
Can Cal GET a better DC? I know that more than a couple DC's that are mid tier have said they would never take a job under Dykes. It is a career killer.

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I don't know any college coaches, so I have never heard any rumblings of DC's saying they'd never work under Dykes. If that is true, wow, that's an pretty d@mning indictment.

I also don't know if Sonny doesn't care about or recruit defense. I would think he has the final say on any recruit, offensive or defensive, but only Moraga would know how much Sonny really does to assist in defensive recruitment. If he plays no role at all in defensive recruiting, that is unconscionable, and frankly, I'd be very surprised to see that from the head coach/CEO.

The Bear Raid is, of course, a defensive liability, but Mike Leach-coached teams do -- on occasion -- field teams with middling levels of defensive competence. Nothing too special at Wazzu, but definitely better than Cal's. If Leach can field a semi-competent defense up at Wazzu, there is not much of an excuse for Dykes not to be able to do something halfway similar.

For me, I just don't expect Cal to have the foresight or finances to get rid of Sonny, so I've set my target on Kaufman as the only one I can reasonably expect to depart. I need to hang my hat on something, because short of a Texas school being stupid enough to overlook Sonny's overall record and hire him, he's ours unless the bottom drops completely out in 2017.

The 2014 defense only yielded 39.8 pts and 512 yds per game. Still atrocious, but significantly better than either the 2013 or the 2016 squads.

4 years into Sonny's regime, and just no progress defensively. It's remarkable how consistent Sonny has been at churning out teams with hideous defenses.

How about Ken Norton Jr.? Raiders defense is pretty shaky so he may be let go this year. Local guy with NFL and player experience. Was a big name in the 90s so recruit's parents will be starstruck.

Nothing will change with defense until the guy at the top changes his attitude towards defense. Dykes puts all the best resources towards offense and defense is an after thought. The results speak for themselves. Injuries are a fact of life in college. It's what you do to prepare backups that makes the difference. Sonny has failed miserably on all fronts on defense and even on many parts of offense