The Bears committed to stopping Rodney Stewart and the Colorado running game. They also decided they would not let Tyler Hansen use his feet. What resulted? Only 78 yards on 24 carries for Stewart, and only 26 yards on 7 carries for Hansen. So, that was good. Unfortunately, Hansen was able to throw for 474 yards, 284 of them were caught by WR Paul Richardson. Both figures are school records.
Oh Yeah, Keenan Allen is still really, really good.
I've watched this game three times now, trying to understand what happened to a vaunted defense that was able to hold Fresno State, which I thought had a better offense, to only 16 points. Mind you, 14 of those points and 144 of those passing yards were earned on two plays. These plays, however, were endemic of how Colorado was able to earn so many yards from scrimmage on the day.
The Bears used the 5-2 defense for much of the game. I also saw a fair amount of downs with eight men in the box. Why? To stop the run game. Defensive Coordinator Clancy Pendergast thought that his secondary was strong enough to hold the Buffalo passing game at bay whilst adding more attention to the run game. It worked somewhat. Steve Williams had some memorable pass breakups. However, it also failed epically. Paul Richardson only caught 11 passes, but it felt like 30. He found single coverage on the edge and out of the slot and burned Cal cornerbacks more often than I want to admit.
Furthermore, the Colorado screen game worked almost flawlessly. Thus, the Bears stopped bringing so much pressure on Hansen, and instead used a linebacker or two as a spy. What resulted was a bend, don't break style offense. The Bears performed great once backed up against the goalline, when they could stay in zones and release more pressure. This is a positive.
So, what does this translate to down the road?
I'm not sure. I think that we haven't seen the Bears play an elite offense yet. I think we saw the lack of presence of Chris Conte, Derrick Hill, Cameron Jordon, and Mike Mohammed. The Bears defense needs a presence to step up and be the leader at each level of the defense. I don't know if we've seen that yet. This is especially true on the line. Trevor Guyton or Ernest Owusu needs to pressure that quarterback, or its going to be a long season for the young cornerbacks.
The Bears will see other great running games this season. USC and Oregon come to mind. The Bears will have to learn how to stop that run without the outside linebackers on the line each down. This upcoming game against Presbyterian will actually be a wonderful thing for California. Now in game number three, they get a tune-up against a weak opponent where young players will get reps and different systems and styles will be tested. The Blue Hose should prove no threat to the Bears, and allow a now somewhat tested group to review mistakes and correct them for an upcoming Pac-12 season.
Many Bears fans have scoffed at this game. But, rethinking it, this is exactly what the powerhouses of the SEC and Big 10 do every year. A week opponent a quarter of the way into the season may be just what the doctor ordered before the real games start. I'm excited to see what the Bears bring to the table here. I think we will see a somewhat limited playbook in some ways, as to not give things away to the Pac-12, but I also think we may test our zone read and bootleg options to see what exactly QB Zach Maynard can bring to the table. I think we use this game to help decide our game plan for Washington next week.
I hope to see all of you screaming at the game this weekend like you would be screaming at the Big Game. GO BEARS!
------
Also, the A's have been mathematically eliminated from the 2011 playoffs. Better luck next year. We may talk more about them later this week.
In the honor of the ending of baseball, then turn to football, and the coming of fall: Ladies and Gentlemen, Bob Seger.
No comments:
Post a Comment