No apologizing or finger-pointing. Bear down, Wildcat fans.
by uofafanatic on Nov 14, 2010 7:51 AM PST
in Arizona Wildcats Football
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As I digested the fact that USC beat Arizona last night, a few thoughts came to mind. First and foremost, any dream-scenario where Arizona somehow makes the Rose Bowl is now impossible. So take a deep breath, and let those hopes go. Feel better? Me neither, but that's life for a football fan. There was a lot of hope as the season progressed that the Wildcats would finally pull it off and make it to that illusive Rose Bowl, but they are still not 100% ready yet. However, I absolutely believe that this team is superior to the one we all saw last year.
Lets all collectively remember where we were last season. For that matter, the season before that as well. We were, for the most part, praising Mike Stoops' slow-but-steady rebuilding of the program. I would argue to my football buddies that this method, get a little better each year, was the way to set a program up for sustained success. No taking gambles on great players with questionable character and legal issues. No bending the rules for superstars. No recruiting violations that could come back and bite you. No shortcuts.
Remember the Las Vegas Bowl? Do you remember the joy at hearing the Wildcats would be playing in a bowl game? The feeling of watching them defeat, with ease, the higher ranked BYU Cougars? I do. I floated on that all the way until the next season. It was awesome.
Then came the 2009 season, and somehow the Wildcats found themselves a star QB in Nick Foles, the shaggy-haired transfer from Michigan State. To top that, they were in serious contention for a Rose Bowl berth. At the announcement that the Arizona Wildcats would be playing in the Holiday Bowl, there were smiles all around. Until the kickoff, that is.
After that painful loss, there was much excusing of the Arizona team. Not by the team or staff, but by the fans. "They lost a couple games on fluke or bogus plays." "The coordinators had one foot out the door in the Holiday Bowl." There will be similar talk at the end of this regular-season. Talk of how CB Trevin Wade under-performed. Heated arguments over who should have been the QB, at various points in the season. Blame will be pointed in several directions, including K Alex Zendejas, and coach Mike Stoops.
Well, lets not be those fans. Those fluke plays and bogus calls didn't undo the Wildcats in 2009, the inconsistency did. And the what has undone the Wildcats so far this season? A combination of inconsistent play, and vastly improved competition. The Pac-10 is a rough conference, Wildcat faithful. We know this better than most. It is again, correctly, ranked the #1 conference by the Sagarin rankings. So it is incredibly difficult to come out on top of that grouping of tough football teams. We can take this loss, and any more that may be down the road. Because no amount of losses remaining on the schedule will allow this season to even compare to the despair and tyranny of the Mackovic years. Just keep that in mind.
I have to be little mad at myself, here. I bought in to the hysteria. I ignored the fact that, while Arizona has improved steadily each season under coach Stoops, it has never been the massive leap forward that I convinced myself had taken place this season. So, I'm mad at myself for buying in so easily. But not too mad. Without the high hopes, realistic or not, the games would not have been as fun or exciting. Of course, the losses hurt much worse when the wins feel that good. But I find that I'm ok with it.
I'll still be cheering for the Arizona Wildcats as they head into an Oregon game that nobody will give them a chance in. And hey, if Cal can almost beat the Ducks, maybe we can get the upset. Yeah, I can see it now...
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UA downhill slide continues (coaching is the culprit)
1. Coaching – horrible game plan 2 weeks in a row
2. Defense-
a. Tackling is bad (what’s with that high school type of arm tackling?)
b. DB’s play too far off the wide receivers (which is a coaching decision)
c. No pressure – again, coaching problem – bring in some heat from linebackers or DB’s – mix it up
d. Positive – Adam Hall is a keeper – he really sticks it to the offensive player
3. Offense – line is the problem. They are all seniors are big, but can’t pummel the defense to open spaces for the runners and give a lot of time for the QB (if you notice, Foles is usually not sacked because he quickly gets rid of ball, not because of the extensive time he gets)
4. Special Teams – do I really have to say anything? An unnoticed problem is what Travis Cobb has become. Did you notice twice he stopped on kickoff returns and reversed? You do that on punt returns, not kickoffs, where you have to just go full steam ahead
5. Recruiting – They have to step it up, but I do not know how you convince a high school blue chipper to go to Arizona, when he can go to USC, Stanford, Texas, etc. You are stuck with an instate player that wants to stay in Arizona or a second tier player. Therefore, since the caliber of player will be one notch below the big boys, you better have top notch coaching (there’s the problem again – coaching).
6. Bowl – Arizona is extremely lucky that OSU has to play USC, Stanford and Oregon and that CAL has to play Stanford. If Washington wins out, they’ll be 5-4. We know AZ will lose to Oregon, so if ASU beats UA in last game of the year (not a surprise considering how well ASU really played the whole year and how over rated UA is), UA finishes with identical 4-5 conference records, with ASU having the tie breaker because of the win head to head. Good job of preparing your team Stoops. Hello Kraft-why-do-you-even-have-this-loser-of a-bowl game.
I will take a stab at this.
1. Agreed, but not because of what you might think. Playcalling and execution in the red zone needs to get better. Arizona Wins vs. USC with better execution last night, and the game is much closer against Stanford with better execution in the redzone. As I say later, Arizona is averaging 4.4 yards per carry. The have been able to run the ball, I think they should be going to their backs more deep in opponent’s territory. Zendejas has to get better.
a. You say tackling is bad. I noticed several times a UofA corner was isolated one on one in the flat with Robert Woods or Ronald Johnson and made good open field tackles. I wouldn’t characterize the tackling in the last two games as bad. I have noticed that interior runners have been able to get several yards after initial contact, and the UofA has struggled stopping punishing runners. I think this is a function of huge, punishing offensive lines opening up gaping holes more than poor tackling.
c. I’m not sure where you are seeing “no pressure” Arizona is recording 2.7 sacks per game, which ranks 16th in all of the FBS this year. Sure, they have played their last two games against teams that have superior offensive lines (Stanford ranks 2nd in sacks allowed, USC 30th) USC also ran several Max-protect schemes designed to neutralize the rush, and for the most part, kept Barkley from throwing downfield. If your expectations are that every game look like thhe last Iowa drive, I suggest you adjust your expectations.
3. I agree, the line has underperformed and oftentimes they really struggle picking up the blitzes. However, Cats running backs are still averaging about 4.4 per carry.
"You can't please me. You never met me. Zoë, why do I have a wife? "
4. Cobb has averaged 25.3 yards per return this year, he averaged 25.4 last year. He had a poor game yesterday, but for the most part he has been consistent.
5. Recruiting to Arizona has been more about evaluating talent rather than getting the big names. The reason 4-5 stars are where they are, for the most part, is because of maturity. They are ready to contribute immediately. I think Stoops and his staff have done a commendable job evaluating talent and getting the right players. You read and talk to people involved in college football and they will tell you, Arizona has much more quality depth and the talent level is much improved even over 3-4 years ago. This is a testament to recruiting.
6. I would say your expectations are off-kilter for expecting a Rose or Holiday bowl berth in a season where those two bowl games are probably going to have teams ranked in the top 10 in the country. (Unless Stanford secures a BCS bowl) UofAfanatic mentioned that the Pac is super strong this year, and I agree. I am satisfied that Arizona has secured a bowl birth without having to worry about getting a 7th win from Oregon or ASU. It is disappointing that Arizona didn’t win last night or put up a better fight against Stanford, but at the beginning of the season I had figured that the Cats were in the the group that included Cal, Oregon State, Washington and USC that would be fighting for the 3rd through 7th spots in the Pac. Two years ago everyone was going ballistic over the Las Vegas Bowl. In the history of the program Arizona has gone to a bowl game three consecutive years only once, from ‘92-’94. Even a 7-5 season would put them in rarefied air. I’m okay with that.
"You can't please me. You never met me. Zoë, why do I have a wife? "
Further, ASU is not bowl eligible by virtue of the fact that they played two FCS teams this year. They would have needed 7 wins to be eligible. ASU therefore is not going bowling this year.
"You can't please me. You never met me. Zoë, why do I have a wife? "
Not entirely true
If there are not enough bowl eligible teams then if ASU is 6-6 they can petition the NCAA for a waiver which would allow them to play in a bowl lacking a team. The Pac-10 alone could have 3 unfulfilled bowl contracts, assuming Cal can beat Stanford or Washington (neither of those is certain but on is more likely than the other).
Duck fan here
Best of luck to you guys coming up in our showdown in the triptophan (sp?) bowl. I wanted to come over here and get the pulse of the fan base throughout these coming weeks and see how you guys feel about the matchup. I look forward to some good info back and forth about a team that I admittedly don’t know too much about and some light hearted banter.
I credit my urine for the victory.
We are crazily inconsistent on defense and conservative on offense
but with that said there are times when we put together complete games and looked like a top twenty team, however it has been several weeks. I still think we match up better against your ducks than we do say versus Stanford or USC. So good luck to you, I hope we knock you out of your championship hunt but if not, hell I root you guys to the finish.
Back when I was picking beans in Guatemala, we used to make fresh coffee, right off the trees I mean. That was good. This is shit but, hey, I'm in a police station.
by TouchdownColts on Nov 15, 2010 12:18 PM PST up reply actions
I still have nightmares of Juron Criner from last season. How has Foles progressed/regressed from the last time we played each other? Also, in what way is the offense conservative? Running on third and long…west coast offense. Also, I’ve seen a lot of red from you guys (leave it to a duck to bring up uniforms) but is blue still your dominant color? Because I think the white helmet with blue jerseys and white pants looks awesome.
I credit my urine for the victory.
Juron Criner is probably the best wide out in the Pac-10, but he has been bother by a leg injury of late,
probably only lik 70% normal. As far as Foles’ progression, he started off this season really strong and throwing like 73% completion rate, but a few weeks ago he dislocated his kneecap and has been a little rusty. The problem with Foles isn’t his decision making or accuracy, but he just holds onto the ball too damn long and takes needless sacks. Foles = No mobility. By conservative offense I mean, that each game the game plan becomes predictable for opposing defenses, many times it is the wr screen or quick slant, which is probably why Foles completion rate is so high. I would like to see him take more shots downfield to test the opposing defense or at least keep them honest. Some of our drives are old school football run, run, pass, punt. Yuck! As far as the uniforms, I haven’t really given it much thought, but you are right we have been in red as of late with the ole school helmets. Too be honest I prefer the blue helmets and blue uniforms.
Back when I was picking beans in Guatemala, we used to make fresh coffee, right off the trees I mean. That was good. This is shit but, hey, I'm in a police station.
by TouchdownColts on Nov 15, 2010 8:25 PM PST up reply actions
Not entirely true
If there are not enough bowl eligible teams then if ASU is 6-6 they can petition the NCAA for a waiver which would allow them to play in a bowl lacking a team. The Pac-10 alone could have 3 unfulfilled bowl contracts, assuming Cal can beat Stanford or Washington (neither of those is certain but on is more likely than the other).
I think
we may have gotten a false sense of how “great” we were by defeating Iowa early in the year. Obviously, in hindsight Iowa is not the team that everyone thought they would be, remember they were to challenge Ohio St for the Big Ten championship and they will probably end up 4th or 5th in the Big Ten. I think Iowa was vastly overrated as the completely over-performed last year. We have not won a game that we were not supposed to win, and we have consistently lost to the better teams in the division. I like where we are at, but there is still a lot of work to do and this must fall on the coaches. Beardown and let’s finish strong and try to get a decent bowl. Hell, I would be happy just knocking Oregon out of the championship.
Back when I was picking beans in Guatemala, we used to make fresh coffee, right off the trees I mean. That was good. This is shit but, hey, I'm in a police station.
by TouchdownColts on Nov 15, 2010 12:14 PM PST reply actions
Stagnant Stoops
Stoops has slowly improved from the disaster he received this program. However, the past two seasons and now this season has put this program in stagnant mediocrity. Again we are forced to say "well there’s always basketball to look forward to" at least they’re showing some promise. F mediocre! I want some more damn wins! If Stoops can’t get us there maybe it’s time to start looking else where. If you cannot get the quality recruits to play into a conservative game plan then take more risks. We have to be the worst team in the red zone. That wouldn’t be too bad if we had a half way decent kicker. If you can’t trust your kicker, why not go for it??? Then again I forget we are horrible in the red zone. Stoops needs to take some chances or we’ll never get over this hump. It is sad that my friend and I sat in the south end zone and called about 90% of our offensive plays. Now if we can call most of them, what do you think the opposing DC can? Now to go into the defense! Stoops is a defensive guy, how the heck is he letting this defensive play acceptable!?!? DBs can’t break up plays and arguably the best d-line in the conference can’t touch the QB. Good thing we have the underrated LBs to chase RB and WRs down. The worst part is yet to come. What’s that you might ask? The fans!!! We f’ing suck! We have no pride defending our home field advantage. We don’t even have a home advantage. The crowd is not even into the game. The USC visiting section made more noise then the entire stadium, including the band. The band had about a quarter the amount of people and was still louder then ours. This above all is hard to stomach. BEAR DOWN goes to all of us, not just the players. As much as I hate Oregon, I’m looking past them and on to the somewhat winnable ASU game. I’m looking forward to Oregon winning the NC and gaining little more respect to the conference (since we lost much of it last bowl). I hope you get a rematch with Potato St U and punish their weak aces.
by F'nA on Nov 15, 2010 11:21 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
I hope we do too
I don’t care who we play in the NCG. I just wanna get there at this point. I’ve had this game circled on my calendar as a fan for quite some time. Arizona ALWAYS gives Oregon fits. This year seems to be the year of breaking streaks so I’m hoping that continues. As much as I hate FBSU I would much rather play Auburn, just for the simple fact that playing a non-aq in the NCG is a lose lose situation. If we win, “yeah but you beat a non-aq.” If we lose, “ZOMG! YOU LOST TO A NON-AQ ESS EEE SEE!”
I credit my urine for the victory.
Everything you said is spot on...
I’ve caught myself calling plays with almost as much accuracy. Seems like we only use about 8-12 different offensive plays and never deviate from it. As far as the fans go, I will agree; Tucson is full of the most fair-weather fans in the nation. They are there when everything is good, but the moment of weakness they are out, and I can’t stand that although sometimes it makes getting a ticket to a game easier, but since Iowa the crowd this year just hasn’t been the same.
Back when I was picking beans in Guatemala, we used to make fresh coffee, right off the trees I mean. That was good. This is shit but, hey, I'm in a police station.
by TouchdownColts on Nov 16, 2010 11:26 AM PST up reply actions
Depends by what you mean by ready?
Scott is out with a wrist injury and I doubt he’ll be ready for the Oregon game. Foles is somewhat healthy, but I still think he’s not 100%. He’s been making horrible throws the last two games. A lot has to do wiith his O line only giving him about a split second to get rid of it.
Coach Stoops has stated that Scott is 'probable' for Oregon.
No word on whether he’d play if Foles is healthy, but I doubt it. For the record, I’d start a healthy Matt Scott over a healthy Nick Foles right now. Foles will be the better pro, but the offense just works better with Scott under center.
Patrick Evans (uofafanatic)
Q from a Duck.
I can’t get a sense of your D this year. I concluded at one point that it was a “paper tiger,” but it’s not as easy as that, because they have played some very impressive games on that side of the field. What’s the deal? Coaching? Injuries? Youth? I know coaching is relative. ASU has as much talent on D as anyone but they are horribly undisciplined (ahem Erickson ahem), while on the other hand Cal is fairly talented but played a very disciplined game against us (and every team at home, while disappearing on the road). Where does the ’cats D fall?
by BigGreenWreckingMachine on Nov 17, 2010 11:27 PM PST reply actions
A from a Cat
The big pre-season question for our D was the LB corps. Ironically has been the strongest and most consistent group our D has, especially Vassalo. The biggest disappointment has been the veteran DBs. Not sure why they’ve been slipping. Trevin Wade has projected as one of the top CBs of the conference, but he seems to have the ego of Randy Moss. He plays when he wants to and thinks his past success gives him the right to slack off. He has since been replaced by freshman Richardson. Another problem has been on the Co-DCs. We have given the opposing QB ample time to make their passes allowing them to shred our DBs. We rarely blitz or stunt, instead place the heavy load on the backs of the D-line. When we blitz is when our great Des wreck havoc, ie the Iowa game. I hope our coordinators on both sides of the ball have a better game plan then the last two games. Which brings up the O giving up the ball like cheerleaders on prom night! We have not protected the ball nor controlled the clock very well in the 3 losses. Hope our Cats come out with a shotgun(not literally) and knock you ducks out that nice cloud you’re sitting on, but I doubt it. BEAR DOWN CATS!
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