All this knee-jerk, Tedford-doesn’t-know-crap-and-I-do nonsense is just typical fooball fan backup QB lovefest.

What I did try to do is point out a couple important things. As a pro who is immersed in the details of the team, including extensive film reviews of every snap, JT has a lot more information than we do. Does that guarantee that he’s right? Of course not. But IMO it casts a dubious shadow on comments that essentially say “I can CLEARLY see ‘x’ from row 56 watching the team one afternoon per week, so why can JT NOT see the same ‘x’ with all that film all week long?” Maybe it’s not so much about what he’s missing that we see – maybe it’s at least partly about how much more he sees than we fans do.

JT still thinks Nate gives us the best chance to win. It is certainly within fan purview to opine that he is wrong and that Riley gives us a better chance to win. But I think he’s in a better position to make that call, understanding more of what goes into that decision than most of us and being closer to the athletes in question for evaluation. The dude is not above mistakes, but his going-on-six-year track record is positive enough IMO to let him keep driving for a while without demanding big changes tat he doesn;t think will help.

Besides, too much has gone wrong with this team these past 3 games to hang it all on Nate. Yes, Longshore must shoulder his fair share of the blame – he’s been far from stellar. But so does OL blocking, ST coverages & kicking (in-)effectiveness, and a seive-like defense. 2 of the 3 losses have been close & JT thinks some of it is correctable.

Attempting the corrections is probably better at this point than sending the signal that the team is bad (when they still have a shot at a 9-3 season) by voluntarily departing wholesale from schemes and/or personnel.

This is not “doing the same thing over and expecting different results.” It’s simply shoring up a sinking foundation rather than dynamiting it and rebuilding mid-season.

And given that JT believes the wall needs only some shoring up and not full reconstruction, that makes sense to me. That is my opinion.

My frustrations are with the highly paid coaches, not the hard working and dedicated student athletes. Rulon Davis is a case in point. He was out four games with a sprained foot. He practices one week and his first game back he plays almost four quarters, way too much, and now he has a knee injury.

Another case is Nate Longshore. Dedicated and hardworking… and injured. He looked like he was out there with leg irons during the UCLA and Arizona State games. A sitting duck taking big shots from the pass rush. Not to negate his stellar effort and some shining moments, but his passing was inaccurate and erratic when the Bears needed it the most (mainly on 3rd down) and the results were momentum breaking. Tedford said he asked Nate how he was feeling and he got an “OK” from a guy who was toughing it out. What else could Nate say? Was Mr. Tedford even watching the game? A casual glance screamed that the guy should not be on the field.

To make matters worse, playing Longshore is not the only option. Kevin Riley is the most exciting Cal QB I have seen in decades. He is smart, quick, tenacious, accurate, strong and consistent. I expect he will be the best QB in Cal history if he is not ignored out of the program first. I attribute his few problems during the Oregon State game to coaching, or the lack therof. First of all, it was his first game (one cannot count the few meaningless snaps in the previous games) as Jeff “Throw them in there to see what happens” Tedford seems unwilling to cross train backup QBs with actual game experience (e.g. Ayoob, Levy). Second, when it comes to clock management under pressure, it is the coach’s job to communicate (and Tedford admitted failing to do just that).

Finally, do we notice a pattern here? Last year mid-season Cal made only 1 offensive touchdown during each of the Wash, UCLA, Arizona, and USC games… Are mid-season melt-downs built into the program? Over training, leaving the game day energy back on the practice field? Or under preparation? It is the coaching staff’s job to give thoughtful attention to this problem, not lay it onto the players with the newspaper reporters like they have in the last two weeks.

Maybe Riley will be better and maybe he won’t, but at least he will get valuable experience for next year when Cal is trying to make another BCS run. You don’t want him getting that experience when every game is critical, so get it now. Additionally, more experience for Riley gives him a chance to beat Nate out for the job next year – and healthy competition will make the whole team better.

If nothing else, this program needs something to get excited about and rally around…Riley offers that possibility.

As to the injury, JT doesn’t think Nate is “clearly gimpy” in a way that ruins his performance. Some armchair QB’s think Nate is. Hmmm… I’ll stick with the opinion of the dude who does this for a living, spends more time with Nate than anyone, and has access to a full training staff.

As to the pressure, Riley would get the same since it’s the same O Line and backs blocking.

As to the stepping into the pocket to throw better, yes that’s on Nate. But that alone is no reason to replace all of his veteran leadership with a kid who has 1 D-1 game under his belt.

And as to Nate’s ankle being blood in the water for sharky defenses… what, you don’t think a green freshman QB with no experience isn’t blood in the water!?!?

Get real Cal fans. Nate’s pereformance is as disappointing to me as it is to anyone, and I’ll be the first to say I expect more from him as a Junior. However, JT still thinks Nate gives us out best chance to win, and I’m inclined to agree with the pro.