11 Responses to “ We Have the Axe!! ”

1. # 1 rollonubears Says:
   November 22nd, 2009 at 10:36 am

   we have no business keeping the axe this year. harbaugh gave us a gift, and we re-wrapped it and handed it right back. then they left it on the field for us to pick up. two of the worst coaching performances in college football history, in the 4th quarter. i still can’t believe what happened. you simply don’t do what tedford did, unless you’re a masochist. we should have at least run the ball one more time, maybe even twice more. eiher way, stanford was going to use their last timeout. tedford himself said he didn’t want them to return the kick for a touchdown. fine, but a squib kick to the 40? come on. we had the ball on their freaking 9 yard line!! worst case, we give them their worst field position ALL DAY. either way, they have to score a TD to win. are we that afraid of a field goal putting it into overtime? my thought, and I’m sure everyone will think I’m crazy, but I think tedford thought we were up 4. I think he couldn’t subtract stanfurds score from our own. he thought that field goal would put us up 7. if he admitted that, i’d at least forgive him for making a huge mental error. but if he seriously thought going up 6 and squibbing it was better than staying up 3 and either winning the game outright or pinning stanfurd deep, he needs to go. i don’t want a coach that is so conservative it costs us a chance to win every week. i really hope there are fans who agree with me, here.

2. # 2 Jason Snell Says:
   November 22nd, 2009 at 10:52 am

   No business? Sorry, I don’t agree with that statement, given how well the Bears played.

   I do think Tedford’s decision to not go for the end zone on third down was a mistake. It was a “conservative” play call (probably afraid Riley would throw a pick), but the gain (forcing them to score a TD to win) was not worth the loss of a chance to put the game away.

   That said, follow Tedford’s reasoning: They kick the field goal, they’re up six, Stanford must march all the way down the field with no time outs and score a touchdown to win the game, which is easier said than done. If they throw it there, they risk a turnover and stop the clock, allowing Stanford to keep their last timeout.

   I don’t agree with the reasoning, but you know what? Stanford failed to score a touchdown, and if Cal had turned the ball over on 3rd down rather than centering the ball for the FG, Stanford might have called different plays and made less risky moves and kicked a FG to send it into overtime.

   Of course, knowing Harbaugh, that wouldn’t have actually happened. They would’ve called that same sequence, Luck would’ve thrown the pick, and Cal would’ve won by 3 instead of 6.

   So what I’m saying is, these coaches made decisions that I might not agree with (though Harbaugh opting to go for it on 4th down in his own end with 3 minutes left, I actually think wasn’t a bad call), but in the end I can see the rationale. Tedford must have felt a confidence in his defense that he didn’t feel in Riley throwing into the end zone in that situation. (Let’s assume for a moment that from that distance a running play was unlikely to result in a score.)

   After last week’s game and the first 55 minutes of the Big Game, can you fault opting for defense? Especially given some of the bad Riley throws into the end zone that we’ve seen? I dunno. Like I said, I think it was a bad decision not to take that shot at the end zone, but I do think it’s debatable, which is why I don’t think it’s fair to chalk it up to stupidity.

3. # 3 Rollonubears Says:
   November 22nd, 2009 at 12:18 pm

   Who said anything about Riley passing? Run the ball! If you don’t get a first down, fine, then you kick. Hell, run it to the middle. But taking a freaking knee? Sorry. That’s awful.

4. # 4 Ken Crawford Says:
   November 22nd, 2009 at 12:26 pm

   The only thing the Bears had “no business” doing last night was letting it be as close as it was. Cal DOMINATED that game. Stanford was the lucky ones, not Cal. Look at the statistics. Cal outplayed them on both sides of the ball. It was a trouncing that was too close due to some stupid mistakes.

   I’ll agree that the last series was too conservative, but like Jason said, it was a reasonable call, all things considered. One timeout is a huge thing. We all know (OSU 2007) how much of a difference one timeout is from zero timeouts.

   I think what Tedford was thinking on that 3rd down was that the most important thing is to make Stanford use the timeout. So, you’ve got two choices:

   1. Try to run for a 1st down
   2. Assume that run is going to fail (it was 3rd and long) and give you kicker an easier job.

   And guess what, both forcing the timeout usage and the field goal were HUGE in the end.

   You don’t think Luck’s throw was a result of knowing taking a sack was deadly with no timeouts?

   You don’t think Luck’s throw was the result of needing a touchdown? Think how conservative their play calling would have been at the 13 knowing a field-goal sends it to overtime.

   While my instinct is still I would have been more aggressive, the more I think it through, the more I see the wisdom of playing it by the book the way Tedford did.

5. # 5 Jason Snell Says:
   November 22nd, 2009 at 12:56 pm

   roub: One point here: Riley took the knee on 3rd and 8 from the 9. It was unlikely a run would get the first down OR the touchdown. If it was 3rd and 2 from the 9, I think a run would be obvious, but at 3rd and 8 at the 9 it was an unlikely choice. But it would’ve been better than a knee!

6. # 6 Bub Says:
   November 22nd, 2009 at 1:18 pm

   We dominated 70% that game. It was a weak call for sure, but at least he didn’t have Vareen throw it from the Wildcat formation! You take the good with the bad sometimes. This team could have wilted after falling down by two TDs, but in somewhat unprecedented fashion for a recent Bears team, they rose to the challenge and fought back. I haven’t felt this satisfied in a Bears victory in quite some time.

   BTW, I heard from a friend who was watching the game on TV, that Harbaugh brushed Tedford off after the game. Is that right?

7. # 7 Rollonubears Says:
   November 22nd, 2009 at 2:57 pm

   They shook hands and then harbaugh bolted. Can’t really look into it all that much. He’s a sore loser and a spoiled brat which is why he fits in perfectly at stanfurd.

8. # 8 Valenyal Says:
   November 22nd, 2009 at 7:11 pm

   Bub: I too was exceptionally satisfied with this game, moreso than any of those early blow-outs in the season or even last week’s effor against Arizona.
   Am I the only one who was actually incredibly happy to see us going into halftime with the score of 10-14?

9. # 9 Bub Says:
   November 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 pm

   It seemed to me like the Cal section was pretty cheery going into the half.

   Also, was I dreaming or did the Cal fans rattle Tiger Woods? I don’t know that Tiger has even been booed at any point in his career. I feel like this episode can’t be talked about enough.

10. # 10 Jason Snell Says:
    November 23rd, 2009 at 12:46 am

    Yeah, the Bears got a HUGE cheer as they left the field at halftime with the score 10-14. It did feel like we were ahead. It was crazy.

    Tiger did seem a little perplexed by the boos. Maybe he shouldn’t have said the second half was theirs. Methinks the gentleman protests too much.

11. # 11 katster Says:
    November 23rd, 2009 at 3:09 am

    Valenyal:

    That’s about when I tuned in after getting dinner, and I was thrilled to find out it was that close. It was then when I started to think we might just pull this out, and two touchdowns while I was trying to find the place I was going to made me think the game was ours. Of course, Cal had to go make it interesting, but that’s Cal Cardiac Football for you.

    (I picked up the Internet feed when I got where I was going, but it kept cutting in and out that whole fateful drive for Stanford. Gerhart got it close, and it cut out, and then when it came back in, Starkey was yelling about an interception. Oh *man*, until I got it sorted that we had the interception and the game was ours, it was just…yeah, something else.)

    But all’s awesome. I got an Axe for my birthday, and yeah. It was good.

    -kat