I'm an Old Blue, so I'm happy Cal won. But I could see Cal was going to win big in the second quarter. By then it became clear to me that Stanford Head Coach Walt Harris devised an inflexible game plan which caused the Cardinal to attempt throw medium range and deep passes, and call middle screens using the running backs and tight ends.
The result: seven sacks by an occasionally blitzing Cal defense using 4-2-5 defenses and placing their strong safety up to either blitz or contain runs.
Harris' staff had no answer for this. Not that there weren't any. Even when it was obvious their game plan wasn't working, they stuck with it. Instead of spreading Cal's defense out with four and five wide receivers and throwing short three-step passes -- all the better to discourage blitzing and form one-on-one matchups -- the Cardinal remained in two-running back sets and used the I formation most of the time. The only really successful pass they had was out of the I and featured a square - in by the tight end.
Playing man-for-man, Cal snuffed out the Cardinals screens, and stuffed the running game -- except when the Cardinal ran wide and forced Cal to run to the ball.
But the Cardinal never made the adjustments necessary to make the game interesting. They pulled their quarterback Edwards because he was being beaten up -- the result of being made to be a sitting duck against Cal's pass rush.
Afterward Coach Harris remarked that Cal has bigger, faster athletes and that's why they won.
No Coach Harris, Cal won because they had a much better game plan. Stanford lost because they had an inflexible game plan.
If Harris maintains this attitude, he won't produce a winner at Stanford.
Featured Post
Zennie Abraham’s 1st Tweet On Twitter Was May 16, 2007 10:14 AM @Zennie62
via IFTTT https://youtu.be/m2WcEdWHR4Y
Sunday, November 20, 2005
The "Big Game" : Cal 27, Stanford 3 - Steve Levy Is The Star, But Some Cal Fans Point Out "He's Jewish"...According To Ratto, He's Not
After losing four of the last five games, Cal clobbered Stanford 27 to 3, and retained "The Axe" four years in a row, something Cal has not done since 1939.
From the time Levy was annouced as the new signal caller for the Golden Bears to the game, I've been bombarded with comments that "He's Jewish." Well, great, I thought, but not much else. In fact, I was getting a little annoyed with the whole deal as it seems to reveal how knee-jerk racist American society insists on being.
Given that, I laughed when Ray Ratto revealed that Levy was not Jewish in his Sunday SF Chronicle column.
I laughed because it seemed as if God placed a giant trap for society. A way to bait some of us and see just how stupid we can be. I write this because after Levy's fantastic performance, I privately wondered if the reason Cal's coaches didn't invest more time in him was because they thought he was Jewish. Every time I've seen this young man in action at quaterback, he's performed well, including earlier this year. Well, he did have one mistep, but so does every other somewhat green signal caller with talent -- you work with him and cause him to improve.
There's a huge untold story here. But perhaps it's best forgotten in the shadow of his impressive performance at The Big Game. I hope this ugly matter never comes up again. Personally, I'm sick of racism. It is the product of a distinct lack of desire to think of people as individuals, and that's a byproduct of anti-intellectualism. In other words, a habit of being stupid.
Now, for those who were proud that they thought Cal was starting a Jewish quarterback, I understand -- I was one of them. It's those comments in the stands -- the negative ones regarding his assumed "Jewish" status I heard behind me in Section "L" and which came after he threw is his only interception -- that I'm referring to.
What I enjoy about being black is no one has to guess; it's obvious. It also makes me fully aware of how dumb some people can act, or maybe just plain are. Perhaps this giant trick God played on us will make some think before they talk so negatively about someone because of their race or ethnicity.
American society must be conditioned to expect diversity, to erase decades of social brainwashing to desire segregation. It's the only way to improve our condition.
From the time Levy was annouced as the new signal caller for the Golden Bears to the game, I've been bombarded with comments that "He's Jewish." Well, great, I thought, but not much else. In fact, I was getting a little annoyed with the whole deal as it seems to reveal how knee-jerk racist American society insists on being.
Given that, I laughed when Ray Ratto revealed that Levy was not Jewish in his Sunday SF Chronicle column.
I laughed because it seemed as if God placed a giant trap for society. A way to bait some of us and see just how stupid we can be. I write this because after Levy's fantastic performance, I privately wondered if the reason Cal's coaches didn't invest more time in him was because they thought he was Jewish. Every time I've seen this young man in action at quaterback, he's performed well, including earlier this year. Well, he did have one mistep, but so does every other somewhat green signal caller with talent -- you work with him and cause him to improve.
There's a huge untold story here. But perhaps it's best forgotten in the shadow of his impressive performance at The Big Game. I hope this ugly matter never comes up again. Personally, I'm sick of racism. It is the product of a distinct lack of desire to think of people as individuals, and that's a byproduct of anti-intellectualism. In other words, a habit of being stupid.
Now, for those who were proud that they thought Cal was starting a Jewish quarterback, I understand -- I was one of them. It's those comments in the stands -- the negative ones regarding his assumed "Jewish" status I heard behind me in Section "L" and which came after he threw is his only interception -- that I'm referring to.
What I enjoy about being black is no one has to guess; it's obvious. It also makes me fully aware of how dumb some people can act, or maybe just plain are. Perhaps this giant trick God played on us will make some think before they talk so negatively about someone because of their race or ethnicity.
American society must be conditioned to expect diversity, to erase decades of social brainwashing to desire segregation. It's the only way to improve our condition.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)