DISQUS

Bears Necessity: Bending to Heartbreak (Why Gregory’s System Failed Us)

  • Seth · 2 years ago
    Dude! Are you my freakin clone or something! This article is dead on! So, how do we convince Tedford to do something, if he even can at this point? How do we save our Bears!?!
  • Avinash · 2 years ago
    That's the funny thing about the Pac-10--despite all these defensive lapses and offensive mistakes, we still nearly won. So the strategy still nearly paid off, again.

    I don't think the Bears are in need of saving. I just think we'll keep on piling up 9-3 and 10-2 seasons, and we'll almost never end up in the BCS with this type of unoriginal playcalling. I'm not saying blitz all the time, just mix it up. Playing one style of D and not letting your defenders make plays is a recipe for impending defeat.

    As for convincing Tedford...well, I'll need to do some tape review. I'll get back to you on that one.
  • Mark · 2 years ago
    Perfect analysis. While uneducated fans are blaming Riley (who overall played a great game) for a last second poor decision, the real culprits are Jeff Tedford and Gregory. When your bend no break defensive strategy is so predictable, there is little margin for error and losses like these are inevitable. I never thought that vanilla could taste so poorly; but watching Tedford/Gregory's vanilla defense left a very bad taste in my mouth. Conservative Tedford will continue to play the percentages and will never "seize the day" - -much like he failed ot seize the opportunity last year against USC. Yes, this is a bad song that will continue to be replayed for a long time -- no championships, just bigger salary increases for Jeff and continuing "almost" disappoints for long suffering Cal Fans. And everyone will continue to voice the tired sentiment about how much better Cal Football is now versus the days of Holmoe and Gilby. I refuse to drink that cool-aid.
  • Avinash · 2 years ago
    Uhh, wait a minute. I never put Tedford in that category; he calls the offense, not the defense. I'm sure he's not been pleased by the yards the D's given up, but like any coach, he's incredibly loyal--a trait I admire in a college coach.

    I think he'll have to see the defense truly blow a game (because both sides of the ball contributed to the failure in this one) before he considers making a change. As much as we gave the Beavers in this game on the offensive side, 13 points came from turnovers--if we take care of the ball we still win.