Bear Down Wildcats

azpenguin

azgreg wrote:CAL vs. ARIZONA: Keys to the Game

http://california.scout.com/story/14516 ... game?s=166

So, these guys think that Cal has the best receivers in the Pac-12 and maybe the nation? Heh.

azpenguin

UNLV and UTSA are both better than last year's versions, UTSA especially, and we got them on the road. Nevada is a much better team than NAU. We're starting a freshman QB, freshman RB, and we lost our best CB who has been replaced by a redshirt freshman. I'm not really too worried about anything; ye...

azpenguin

So why not just start bringing the house every play if the game is going like this? Just sell out. Either make a play defensively to get our offense back on the field, or give up a big play and get our offense back on the field. Only if the rushers yell "Leeerooyyy Jennkinnns!!!" every time they at...

azpenguin

dc, I'd guess part of the reason the D gets stops in crunch time when they can't elsewhere is because of the emphasis RichRod puts on playing under pressure, the whole "comfortable being uncomfortable" bit. If it's late in the game and the other team absolutely has to score, Arizona isn't going to p...

azpenguin

Rey, fair points. I agree that Solomon could have put this game away without the mistakes, but a lot of my claim about the defense has to do with how long they were on the field. The first drive, where they held Nevada to a FG, lasted nine and a half minutes. Their next drive, another field goal, la...

azpenguin

The coaches say that he throws a very catchable ball. Those longer throws, especially the strike to TJ, show that very nicely.

azpenguin

That was dumb and the pick as well, but they call those things freshman mistakes for a reason. Other than that, he was throwing darts all night and making very good decisions.

azpenguin

They can wear practice jerseys an shorts for all I care, as long as they can get some three and outs on defense.

azpenguin

Neal was on the field and did fair catch that punt. Had four guys coming after him.

azpenguin

I didn't really like the conservative play calls late, but he did force Nevada to burn all three timeouts before they got a chance to get the ball back. If he calls for a pass and it falls incomplete, and Nevada gets the ball back with more time on the clock, he's going to get skewered for that as w...

azpenguin

First, I'm hoping Nevada's passing offense turns out to be really good, because that kind of pass defense will get you rolled in the PAC-12. Solomon made two bonehead mistakes tonight. The pick never should have been thrown and that slide... you gotta know where that marker is. Aside from that, he w...

azpenguin

Sonny Dykes is going to want very badly to come out of Arizona Stadium with a win. The defense is going to have to figure things out in a hurry because Cal can sling the football. Defensively, Cal may be hurting, but if the defense leaves the offense in a position where one mistake can be costly lik...

azpenguin

It doesn't matter that the corners play ten yards off - Arizona is not the only team that does that by a long shot. What matters is that the corners don't seem to know where the receivers are going. They're not allowing a lot of yards after catch but they're making it way too easy to get those catch...

azpenguin

I believe families write the obituaries but the linear timing on this was pretty awkward. Families do indeed write the obits and sometimes they don't make a lot of sense without reading them a few times. (Sometimes the funeral home will write the obit after getting info from the family. These guys ...

azpenguin

Although there were times that the UTSA QB had all day to throw, the Cats did get three sacks on the night. Also, the big difference in the defense in the second half that I noticed was pursuit - or lack thereof. In the first half they were trying to chase guys down and then getting beat as the ball...

azpenguin

I'm a huge fan of the old white/blue/white look with the block numbers. That said, the blue bloods like Alabama who can stay with the traditional look and they'll do fine, but we're having to compete a lot more for recruits. Last year when Oregon came to town there were local kids showing up in Duck...

azpenguin

All those tackles, that game saving INT... and once again a deserving Cat gets shut out of the Pac-12 player of the week award. It went to Leonard Williams of - you guessed it - USC. (11 tackles and a sack.) Skowron goes 4-4 on FGs and 2-2 on XPs, racking up 16 points, with two touchbacks on eight k...

azpenguin

This may be a good game for Solomon to settle back in. He'll have had over a week of film and practice. One thing that Wazzu can't do effectively that a Arizona can is run the football. Once the run is established Nevada is going to have lots of fun covering the WRs...

azpenguin

I think the long week will do the team well. It will Let the OCs talk to Anu and get things worked out on the timing. I probably do not know what I am talking about, but I think the issue Arizona is running into is that they tried to give 4 QB's equal reps throughout camp. I understand the point of...

azpenguin

I was hoping he was going to be smart enough to not throw across his body and he was. The UTSA QB made an ill-advised across the body throw in the 4th quarter that fell incomplete, but if Scooby hadn't slipped on the turf changing directions to go get it, that would have been a pick 6. One of the mo...

azpenguin

Ah....the days of sitting in the stands....when Tomey was the coach....and someone yelling "Hey, I wonder what's coming next?!" and then all the fans around that person yelling in response, "RUN UP THE MIDDLE!!!!" Or, maybe that was just the group of fans where I usually sat, and didn't happen all ...

azpenguin

Just a guess, but I'm thinking the depth chart for Nevada is going to have a 1 next to Nick Wilson's name. Could see it being one of those "or" listings with TJG.

azpenguin

Spaceman Spiff wrote:I agree, he made a safe play. Safe plays don't lead SportsCenter, but they do win games in hostile road environments.

azpenguin

Skowron is 7-8 on FGs and perfect on extra points.

I... I'm still trying to process this. I don't understand this witchcraft.

azpenguin

I agree that slapping the "next Ka'deem" label on Wilson is unfair to him. That said, I saw a lot of similarities in how he runs. When he got hit he kept his legs driving and he'd usually fight for 2-3 extra yards before he was brought down. He doesn't have that knack that Ka'deem had for falling fo...

azpenguin

I think what this game showed more than anything is that this team will go as far as Solomon can take them. He missed some throws last night that would have turned this squeaker of a game into a boat race. If he hits throws reliably, choo choo mutha******s. This game is something that RichRod is pro...

azpenguin

Denson didn't get much time but he got some at the end of the game, and I like what I saw. He's got a lot to learn but I'd like to see him on the field more. I've seen so many times people saying that Tevis is going to lose his starting spot to this guy or that guy. I saw a lot of that last year and...

azpenguin

Davonte Neal $16
Nate Phillips $14
Nick Wilson $12
Jarvis McCall $5
Tyrell Johnson $3

=$fiddy

TB - 71

azpenguin

He threw two passes that were anywhere close to where a DB might have been able to get to it. Key word is might; it's not like he was gift wrapping them. Most throws were safe from the defense. He's got guys who will take anything in the area and take it before a defender can get to it. Just think o...

azpenguin

The best way to be is honest. If someone sucks, tell them they suck, and then tell them what they need to do to improve. There's the money quote. People do better when you're straight up with them. They respect you a hell of a lot more as well. They may not like what you're telling them but they'll...

azpenguin

carcassdragger wrote:I think it was Parks.

You'd be correct.

azpenguin

Like the way he went immediately to UTSA. Also, they need to keep that clip with him talking about the students showing up and staying, and use that for marketing.

azpenguin

Re: Kam Jones on jet sweeps - I doubt you'll see much of that this week. One of the strengths of Arizona's defense is that they can get sideline-to-sideline with pretty much anyone in the country. (Ask Oregon.) The best strategy I see for UTSA is to use him down the sidelines to keep the corners occ...

azpenguin

One thing I was seeing that I haven't seen mentioned was Neal on punt returns. He does a very good job of seeing the kick, seeing the defenders, and making a decision on whether to return, fair catch or let it bounce quickly and smartly. No fear. He may easily break a couple for TDs this year.

azpenguin

Interesting article about UTSA here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/cusa/2014/08/31/college-football-utsa-texas-san-antonio-roadrunners/14862029/ I get the sense that this game is going to be a hot ticket in San Antonio. Crowd will be hyped up, team will be out to prove something on nat...

azpenguin

Anu really needs a lot of work. If I was UTSA I would make Solomon through out patterns to his left. Anu has a tendency to roll right and throw that direction. Or he may throw inside slant patterns to his left. Overplay those angles and see if Solomon can throw to his left with consistency. I think...

azpenguin

UA 250 passing yards - under
UA 200 rushing yards - over
1.5 defensive turnovers - over
300 defensive yards allowed - over
1.5 defensive sacks - over

azpenguin

ANGCatFan wrote:Also, I'm a big fan of the game day drawings at allsportstucson.com.

That one for Cal is hysterical.

azpenguin

dc4azcats wrote:a typical Wazzu loss.

I believe the term you are looking for is "coug'd it."

azpenguin

Nick Wilson $18
Davonte Neal $17
Cam Denson $6
Jerrard Randall $5
Jared Baker $3
Trevor Wood $1

=$fiddy

azpenguin

Well, I don't know how much RR believes in bulletin board material but I'm guessing he will see to it that Smith gets a chance to get a TD. What a comment.

azpenguin

Arizona has what they need to beat UTSA. The most important thing they need to bring is focus. Stay focused and win. This game has a lot of ingredients for an upset, but if the Cats are locked in it's over before the third quarter is done. I think that RichRod and staff will have them ready.

azpenguin

There you are

azpenguin

I ended up watching snippets of the bowl game last night and what stood out more than anything was the game Nate Phillips had. They couldn't cover him. If the ball was remotely catchable he hauls it in. Tough as hell. The ESPN guys were calling him the best player on the field that day. And he may b...

azpenguin

I'm not terribly concerned about the '15 class. These guys know what they want and are aggressively pursuing them; the fact that they've already almost locked up a full class of commits this far out tells me that they're not settling for whatever talent they can scrape up. If it was January and they...

azpenguin

It's always the guy that has nothing to respond with that posts what you just did. Utah is going to have to cover Hill, Philips, Neal and Jones. If those guys need a break then there's Grant, Richards, Griffey, and more. Their secondary isn't going to have the experience and then they're also going...

azpenguin

I could actually see a 38-17 type result. Not saying that we're going to have a lot of issues with them, but if you recall last year against NAU, RichRod used that as a chance to just feel out the team a bit. Mostly he just ran plays and ran clock to get the team out of there with a win and no injur...

azpenguin

Utah is a popular trap game pick this year, it seems. I don't see it. I think the fact that the game is on the road is actually a good thing for the Cats, because it takes them out of their comfort zone. Utah is going to come out motivated but they simply don't have the horses to keep up and they're...

azpenguin

catgrad97 wrote:
azgreg wrote:He's listed on the rooster as OL.
Sorry...need to chick the depth chart again.

Cluck you.

azpenguin

If I had to guess, and this is with no inside info, I'd go with Solomon - Scroggins - Randall - Brewer. I would put Brewer ahead of Randall as far as knowing the system and as a "safe" option, but Randall's athleticism is just too intriguing. Looking forward to 2015, I'd expect Randall to be challen...

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