One thing that really bothered me

DerekJohnson said:

Cal's defensive pursuit from sideline-to-sideline was outstanding. Very quick to the ball. They game planned for that outside stuff.

So why did we continue to run stretch plays and jet sweeps? THEY WERE NOT WORKING!

Early third quarter, I wanted to see us get in the I-formation with Pleasant at tailback, and pound away up the middle -- with the occasional short pass.

But Hamdan/Pete seemed utterly tone deaf to what was going on. I don't get it.

Agree with everything but the final part. Pete is stubborn and arrogant. They designed a gameplan - and by golly, they were going to run it.

It’s become incredibly apparent that Bush, and by extension Pete, are very poor at making halftime adjustments. It was plain to everyone watching that Cal came in with the game plan to contain the edge, and we did absolutely nothing to exploit the middle of the field. To some extent you have to be patient with a first time OC as he gets his bearings. But this shit is becoming a trend (see the awful second half vs UCLA) and now it just looks like Bush isn’t very smart to begin with. Not everyone has the aptitude to be a coordinator - shit requires creativity and quick analysis. I don’t think Bush has what it takes to succeed as a coordinator.

Homebrew_Dawg said:

Lack of TE utilization is criminally negligent.

Doesn’t help when Otten doesn’t hang on to the fucking football.

GreenRiverGatorz said:

It’s become incredibly apparent that Bush, and by extension Pete, are very poor at making halftime adjustments. It was plain to everyone watching that Cal came in with the game plan to contain the edge, and we did absolutely nothing to exploit the middle of the field. To some extent you have to be patient with a first time OC as he gets his bearings. But this shit is becoming a trend (see the awful second half vs UCLA) and now it just looks like Bush isn’t very smart to begin with. Not everyone has the aptitude to be a coordinator - shit requires creativity and quick analysis. I don’t think Bush has what it takes to succeed as a coordinator.

This all comes down to the relationship between Pete and his OC. Does he want ultimate control or does the OC have the sway to call the game as he sees it? On the surface it looks like Hamdan doesn't read the game very well but we don't know what constraints he is working under. Smith and Hamdan are looking eerily similar but Pete is the common denominator. It's no coincidence that the offense looked best under Tedford and you know he didn't take that consultant job knowing that Pete would handcuff him. It always comes back to the same thing. Pete has to realize his strength is as a CEO and get the fuck out of the offense. Tell Bush he is now the QB coach , throw serious money at an OC and get out of his way.

DerekJohnson said:

Cal's defensive pursuit from sideline-to-sideline was outstanding. Very quick to the ball. They game planned for that outside stuff.

So why did we continue to run stretch plays and jet sweeps? THEY WERE NOT WORKING!

Early third quarter, I wanted to see us get in the I-formation with Pleasant at tailback, and pound away up the middle -- with the occasional short pass.

But Hamdan/Pete seemed utterly tone deaf to what was going on. I don't get it.

Because jet sweeps are cool?