OK, so, something a little different this morning.  Reader Danzig wanted to try his hand at blogging, and so he, unsolicited, sent us a sample post.  We were a little confused.  Most people, when they’ve got something to say, will just start posting over on the BearInsider forums.  And if they’ve got a lot to say, well, they just start their own blog!  It’s totally free, and we’re glad to link to any new Cal blogs out there.  We’re big supporters of a vibrant Cal blogosphere.

Still, despite some dissenting opinion, I’ve decided to humor Danzig.  We’re certainly not looking for everyone to start submitting their ramblings for us to edit (I’m looking at you, Mr. Gaebler!), but there’s some different ideas here that I wanted to comment on.  Also, with both HydroTech and Yellow Fever otherwise occupied at the moment, we’re running low on material at the moment.  Anyway, Danzig, the floor is yours.

==POST BEGINS==

OFF THE BENCH MISTAKES

If you watched the game, there are probably a few things that drove you crazy.  Don’t get me wrong, I think we played well… with our passing and running game clicking, and overall, I really enjoyed the game. But the one thing that drove me absolutely bonkers was the mistakes and penalties by our players coming off our bench. Here’s what I saw:

First Quarter

    * Justin Moye – missed three key tackles, two of them resulting in first downs.  In the post game, JT said Follet was “doubtful” for Oregon… ug.
    * Versus Network - in its first Cal broadcast ever, they lose video for two of Cal’s 1Q touchdowns… they randomly inserted camera shots of nothing throughout the game, and provided crappy commentating all around. Hell, they make Comcast look good.

Second Quarter

    * Mike Mohammed - dropped an easy interception when Zona was in our redzone, eventually costing us a Zona touchdown.
    * Jordan Kay - misses 38 yard FG, when it was clearly in his range (since he made a 41 yard FG later in the game).

Fourth Quarter

    * LaReylle Cunningham – a backup WR commits personal foul on a KOR for fighting (totally away from the play), cost us a half-the-distance penalty and pins us at 10 yard line.
    * LaReylle Cunningham -  again!!! Block in back foul on the very next KOR… and again, away from the play.  Costs us 10 yards.
    * James Montgomery - fumbles in 4th quarter, results in a Zona field goal.
    * John Allen – backup DT commits late hit foul on QB.  Costs us 15 yards and gives Zona a first down.  Zona eventually gets FG.
    * Robert Peele – personal foul, late hit on receiver.  Costs us 15 yards and gives Zona first down in our redzone.

Don’t get me wrong, our veterans made mistakes too (wake up Stevens!!!), but these ‘off the bench’ mistakes just make me wonder what this game would’ve been like if our starters were healthy.

P.S. – MY UNSUNG HERO OF THE GAME - Thomas Decoud

    * Caused a fumble in 1Q (resulted in Cal TD)
    * Intercepted pass in 2Q and got one foot in before going out of bounds (killed last Zona drive of the 1H)
    * Recovered a fumble in 3Q (resulted in Cal TD)
    * Intercepted another pass in 3Q, but couldn’t get a foot inbounds (looked good though)

Runners up: Ezeff (14 tackles), Williams (14 tackles, caused lots of mayhem),

==POST ENDS==

One of the best parts about having your own blog is that you get to have the last word.  Here’s my take:

- Being that I was at the game, I can’t comment on the problems with Versus’ broadcast, although these aren’t the only complaints that I’ve heard.  I can say that I watched their broadcast of the UCLA-BYU game two weeks ago and was rather impressed (unlike CSTV, they have HD cameras), so I don’t know what happened on Saturday.  I can also say that there were more than a few empty seats at Memorial, so if you don’t like the TV broadcasts, you can always come down and root on your Bears in person.

- I’m not gonna rag on Jordan Kay just yet, but then, I don’t expect anything from backup kickers.  I consider everything the Bears have gotten from him to be a bonus, and so far, that’s been quite a bit.

- LaReylle Cunningham?  He’s still on the team?  (Apparently, he’s a redshirt junior!)  Man, I haven’t heard that name in a while.  Not since the Wazzu game two years ago, when Ayoob to Cunningham was somehow a winning combination.  To me, Cunningham is a lot like Alex Pribble.  Hard worker, decent role player, but just as "Pribble Time" meant either 1) garbage time or 2) "we’re in trouble" time, I can only hope we don’t have to see too much of LaReylle.

- My post-game notes completely omitted any mention of Thomas DeCoud, an egregious error.  This guy was awesome last Saturday, and I’m glad Danzig (and others) brought him up.

- Danzig’s main point about bench players is valid.  Often, the difference between Pac-10 teams and good WAC teams is not so much the starters as the skill level of the backups.  How many times have you seen a big upset fizzle in the 4th quarter, as the underdog’s starters tire and their backups just can’t cut it against top-level competition?  Injury problems or not, our backups will play in big games this year, if only to rest the starters, and whether or not there’s any dropoff from the starters’ level of play may well determine whether a late rally succeeds or fails.

Well, Danzig, there’s your first post.  Was it everything you hoped?