They say you should not post when you are emotional, but...
Getting beat by Maryland, a team which is a decent team most years, would not be so bad. Except that they are not that good this year, and they totally dominated the Bears in every aspect of the game. Sacks like never before seen. Kevin Riley looked TERRIBLE. The game was made respectable when the Terps pulled in and allowed the Bears to make a few big plays by playing prevent defense late in the 4th quarter, but we did not have a touchdown until 6 minutes left in the game.
Our offensive and defensive lines were dominated. Our vaunted rushing attached netted 38 yards on 23 carries - 1.7 yards per carry. When the lone bright spot is your punter, that is a problem.
To be clear - this is not a good football team that we lost to today. They are probably not going to go to a bowl. They will probably finish in the bottom half of the ACC, the worst BCS conference around. They would be an average WAC team.
What the offense needed, frankly, was Nate Longshore. Yes, I am bringing that out. It has been clear to me that Riley does not have what it takes to lead a team in the regular season. So far, in games that he has started, he is 2-2. One win was probably against the worst team the Bears have ever faced, Washington State last week. Even in that game, the Bears struggled until Longshore came in during passing situations. In the other win, Riley looked pretty bad until Nate came in (and blew it to say the least). But Riley needed something to get him in the game.
I know, I know, Kevin Riley is god. But it is one thing to have all of the physical talents, and the playmaking ability - which he does have. It is quite another to put it together on game day, week in and week out when the team is counting on you. You frankly do not have that down yet as a sophomore. Teams who win National Championships do it with senior QBs. Not sophomores. This is a game that a workman like Bear team should dominate. And he is not workman-like. He has an eqo, and an expectation that he is the guy. Now that he has won the job, I think he needs a kick in the ass to get him going. We should have put Nate in the game, and let him play a bit. That seems to fire Kevin up. He needs to know that playing lousy is not OK. We have a very good QB waiting in the wings. For all the Nate Haters who think I am crazy - look at the first quarter Riley stats of all the games that he has played. Oregon State last year - put us in the hole, and it got away. Maryland this year - same thing. WSU - lousy play in the first half. He came off the bench to show the world what he was made of in Texas last year with Air Force, but we are not asking for superman. We are asking for steady, dominating performances.
We can not afford to let this malise creep into the team. These guys need to start better.
It is a young team. They need senior leadership to step up, and they also need to stop reading the press clippings. I think JT knows that and I hope he does something about it the next two weeks. Everything should be opened up for competition again.
GO BEARS!!
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2 comments:
I could not disagree with you more. Yes Kevin Riley had slow starts. One against OSU, and 2 this year against WSU and Maryland today. But he also does not have the leadership at WR to help him out. If his guys get open or can catch his "off" throws, that would help him out.
What we see with Nate is a guy that cannot get it done. I don't care if he is a senior. What has he done for us late in games? Pick six to Antoine Cason? Pick six to Verner last year at UCLA? Pick to Nick Sanchez of Stanford last year in the Big Game? He "manages" us right out of games. I frankly am ready to let Riley develop in this "rebuilding" year. We have a young team and they need to get experience.
We most certainly don't go to the Rose Bowl this year with this young team and a scary looking USC after tonight. So I say let the young guys play. Because that senior leadership you are asking for, could very well be Riley in 2 years!!!
My point isn't that Nate Start. my p[oint is the Riley needs to have someone there pushing him, and with Jeff Tedford's well renown penchant for making the QB feel safe in their position, I think that is bad for Riley. He needs someone pushing him. JT needs to keep the competition open all season. It will make Riley a better QB. I do think he has better skills than Nate, and I am excited about him next year or the year after.
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