Again, sorry for the prolonged absence, hell in the form of midterms coupled with laziness rivaling the defensive 'effort' provided by the 'savior' boom-dizzle (I should receive a pat on the back for refraining from using boom-fizzle to describe his ineptitude) kept me from writing.
As you can sense from the tone of that previous paragraph (I'm big on tone, aren't I?), this here is going to be a slightly more negative post, but hey, maybe there's a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, although on my drive back up from USC, I saw the end of the rainbow, and there definitely was not any gold.
Where to begin, Clips or Cal? Flipped a coin, no identity on one side (representing the Clips), lack of showing up when they need to on the others (representing the Bears) . . . and it fell on the Bears.
California Golden Bears:
Let's start with the defense, because I want to have at least one snippet of hope. I love this defense. In the past 2 years I have been here, I have always had to worry about defense, worry about where we are going to get beat. But you know what? One article I read put it best: this is a championship level defense. We kept USC to 17 points, and it really should have been 10. We have had our faults in allowing Jacquizz Rodgers to tear us apart, but other than that, I am proud of the way our unit played. Our linebackers were amazing, our corners were great, we have some good safeties developing and our line is pretty solid.
Next year, we are going to lose 3 of our starting linebackers, but you know what, we have two pretty good ones remaining in Mike Mohammad and Eddie Young. Our other talents will develop as well.
Now comes the questions about the defense. The 3-4 scheme was designed to take advantage of our amazing linebacking corps. We had the speed and ability to run this defense, but with 3 of our 4 gone, can we still run this defense? If not, we'll have to switch back to the 4-3, which over the past two years (and especially last year) didn't work too well. I'm not going to get into further detail about this, because I don't know all the problems internally the defense had, and I really feel that talent is not the reason our defense ever gets beaten, there is always something else going on, whether it just be sloppy play on our side of the ball, stellar play on the other side, or personal reasons.
Either way, I think we'll be ok there, if not great; there were problems other than the 4-3 on the defense, and I think we've adressed it for the most part.
As you can tell by the hurried way in which I skimmed over the defense, I just wanted to get to the offense and tear them apart like I would a 3rd grader on the basketball court if doing so got me a million bucks. Just kidding, I'm too much of an optimist to tear them up, plus it's just mean, seeing as I can't do any better. But still, I have some harsh words for them.
Kevin Riley/Nate Longshore/QB Position in general
- This year, it was obviously inconsistent. Longshore became hesitant in the second half, so much so, that a normal, par performance that made no mistakes, but did nothing special was received with happiness and thrill, even from me. Thats never a good sign. Riley was mobile, and made big plays, but man, he needs to hit open receivers IN STRIDE. Notice the in stride. Personally, I believe his focus on making the pass meet the receiver in his hands kept him from getting the ball in the best position for yards after the catch. Commentators on ABC talked about how our receivers weren't getting much YAC, but if you get a ball that stops you in your tracks, you're going to get hit before you can get back up to speed.
- Solution? Longshore graduates, that problem is gone. Easy, huh? For Riley, go to ESPN zone, and play that game where you throw footballs to moving cardboard pieces with holes in them. Improves accuracy and you learn to hit receivers in stride. All summer. So much so that it becomes second nature and he can focus on winning a game rather than just managing it.
- Outlook? Good. I can see him putting in the time and improving. The job is his alone next year, and he can focus on getting better as a junior
- Our focal points of offense this year should only get better. There isn't anything else positive to say about them that hasn't already been said: they are both quick game changers that can break free for 30 yards at any given moment.
- Changes still need to be made though if this tandem wants to be one of the best in the nation, which is where their ceiling is. Jahvid just needs to focus on game tape and learn how to either get through holes quicker, or recognize defensive tendencies. These are basically 'the little things'. He has all the physical gifts, and he already breaks off huge runs, but sometimes he gets caught right before he is about to break off a big run. Yeah, I'm nitpicking, but if what I have read about him is true, he'll nitpick at himself as well. And that is what I want.
- As for Shane Vereen, he has been known as the 'Lightning' to this 'Lightning and Lightning' combo, but I feel that he hasn't reached that category yet. He is a great back, and I see him as the Forsett to the Lynch, but he can get stronger, and again, game tape watching will help him out.
- Yes, this is nitpicking again, but there's not much that these guys didn't do for us. Hopefully they continue to get better and lead us to the top.
- Injuries, injuries, injuries. And still, our line did a better than serviceable job. I can't say anything bad about them, because they probably had the hardest year out of any of the other positions on the team.
- We lose Alex Mack to the NFL, but his backup Chris Guarnero is supposed to be a big talent. He filled in at OT this year, but got injured . . .again, like most of the offensive line. The only good thing about this is that the young guns got playing time, and were thrown around just enough that their confidence wasn't shot, but so that they could see they have a LOT of work to do in the offseason. This translates to a good training camp and hopefully a good year next year for our highly touted 2007 O-line draft class. We'll see what happens, it is still, like always, a toss up.
- I know their names, I just refuse to use them until one, or even two if I dare hope, of them can separate themselves from the pack. Personally, I believe a lot of the times it is either Riley or Longshore's fault for them not being able to catch passes. When you run as fast as they do, and then throw the ball behind them, short, or too high, you're asking them to act on reflexes when they've been trained week in and week out to keep to their routes and expect the ball in a catchable place. At the same time, there were still way too many dropped passes, and route running can always be better.
- The positive? They are all young, and we aren't losing any real talent this year, so there's a good chance we will be better in this area next year. Tons of upside, but that means nothing on the football field.
- Tedford, if you are reading this blog, as I know you look for only the best in football advice, I suggest the Hofstra receiver training program to help our receivers catch the ball (worked for Marques Colston of the Saints): color the tips of each football a different color, and in the middle of the football, write any number from 0-9. When your receiver runs a route in practice and the coach throws the ball, the receiver must 1) yell out the color of the ball and 2) after catching the ball, yell out the number on the ball. Yelling out the color forces the receiver to focus on the ball as it's coming so they don't worry about what is happening around them. Yelling out the number makes sure they secure it (so they can read the number) and guarantee the catch first.
This year was a slight disappointment in that I felt we could have played better than we showed. Teams who scouted us probably changed their QB scout boards from 'pick your poison' to 'pick inconsistency or over throws'. We could have beat Oregon State, we could have beat Arizona, and we definitely could have stayed in the game with USC. We'll just have to see what happens next year, and hopefully, it turns out for the better. All in all, if I had to give us a grade, I'd give us a B-. Passing, a little above average, but not a fundamental understanding of the subject. We need fundamental understanding if we want to be first in the class.
Now, for your, Los Angeles Clippers!
Frustration. Anguish. Cheated. Tormented. These are a few of my fav- sorry, these are a few of the emotions I feel. Bill Simmons calls this team the most jinxed in the NBA, and knowing my luck, I'd end up a Clippers fan. I'm not switching, and I'll never think of switching. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't, not after I received a clippers hat, basketball shorts, and hoodie for my birthday. But you know what? We still deserve better.
This team has no identity. We are 12th in the league in pace; we're outrunning the warriors and suns, yet this Mike Dunleavy team is supposed to run half court sets. We are taking way more outside, long distance shots than mid-range and inside shots, yet we have a 'slashing' PG, and a good center. Players are saying there are too many plays to remember, too many rotations. Coaches are saying that the defensive effort isn't good enough, so we're switching up the players. Blowing big leads. Getting blown out early. Not finishing out close games.
The sad part is, all of this is true, meaning that to get better, the clippers need to fix . . . . wait for it . . . drum roll please . . . everything. Everything needs to be changed. The clippers haven't been the best of teams for a long time. Even still, 1-6, which is where we are at now, is the worst start we've had in a LONG time, as in at least a decade.
I understand we are building for the future with all of these contracts that expire in 2010. But you know what, we need to build up from the bottom again, just like the Blazers. We need to find a core player to build around, whether it's Baron Davis or not, and provide good locker room guys who have the drive and talent to take this team far, year in, year out.
Solutions? Wait. Wait until free agency. This team is too . . . weird, dysfunctional, different, to be able to win now. Every player is going to be playing for their contract, becasue they know they're not going to be here this time next year. It's a horrible feeling for a fan, and it hurts to know that this year is basically wasted. But all you can do is go watch a game or two, look for the current mainstays, B-Diddy and Kamen, to get better, and start looking at the free agent list and dreaming of a lineup of Bosh, LeBron, Baron Davis, Kamen, and Thorton.
To rebuild, you have to break some things down. This is the break down stage, and you know what, it stinks. Light at the end of the tunnel? I've been saying that for far too long. We'll see if that light is coming up this offseason. Until then, I'll continue to check up box scores and read ClipperBlog, but if they're going into hibernation during the season, then why can't I as well.
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S.O.T.D.
N.E.R.D. - Spaz
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Clippers Ineptitude
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