'Bears Necessity' examines: Change, change, change some more

Is Riley ready to prove his supporters right?
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  As the Bears continue their move back on to the national stage, Bears Backers are still locked into a debate that has been going on for a year now.  To Riley, or not to Riley?  That is really the question.  Thankfully, Avinash Kunnath from one of our partner sites, Bears Necessity, weighs in on the debate and explains why it's still debatable after all this time.  You may recall that Bears Necessity is a Cal Bears Examiner Best Blog, now you'll get to see why.

Cal Football'08: Change, Change, Change Some More
By Avinash Kunnath of Bears Necessity

It is political season. Turmoil is in the air. Optimism and hope have been supplanted by discord and virulence. What was once a united nation has never looked more divided.

Of course, we're talking about Golden Bear Nation, which continues to be ridden with divisiveness and strife. With each passing week the anger and frustration continues to split both sides even further. Neither side has backed down and continues to repeat the same talking points ad infinitum to support their cause. And the funny thing is we're 4-1. What's your fanbase been up to lately?

Kevin Riley has been established for some time as the people's candidate. A sizable portion of Cal fans have been calling for Tedford to relieve Longshore ever since his struggles fleshed out on a week-by-week basis. Fans are quick to cite the Armed Forces Bowl as our reversal of fortune, providing a vision of the future through dead season. However, while he's exhibited those talents in isolated incidents this season, he has not been able to show it on a consistent basis. The only thing that has been consistent are the slow starts - he has a 111 passer rating, placing him in the bottom 40 of college football quarterbacks. He has yet to gain a rapport with his receivers, and the passing results we've seen with him on the field have not been impressive.

Supporters of Riley are quick to note that Kevin has not exactly played an entire game, that two of the games (Washington State and Colorado State) were blowouts before the young quarterback could get enough rep's on the field. More radical Riley backers contend that Jeff Tedford is sabotaging Kevin by trying to make him a game manager, something that is not prototypical to his game, and clearly the head coach did that with the intent of displacing Riley from the gameplan again. From what they've seen, Riley contains more Brett Favre than Aaron Rodgers in him, and he should be let loose based on the talent he already has.

However, he's done that plenty this season. He gets jittery in the pocket, he doesn't connect with his receivers, his offensive line isn't quite as solid as it was before, and his throws sail far away from his receivers on many occasions rather than even trying for a completion. While it's true there are many intangibles Kevin brings to his game, as of now the sophomore still has much to learn before he can cement the starting position.

Will Longshore be able to keep it together this year?
(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

On the other hand, we pretty much know what we're getting with from the incumbent, Nate Longshore. We'll see a game manager, one who can get the ball to his spots with greater efficiency than Riley has so far proven. We'll also see someone who struggles with his command as the game wears on, lose track of his receivers, and once in awhile throw a head-scratching interception that'll leave many Cal fans grumbling. The very precision that makes also allows defenses to telegraph his throws when the play breaks down.

What Longshore giveth, Longshore can taketh away. More importantly to Cal fans, we can predict his performances well before the game has kicked off. His play creates promise and possibilities, only to see those hopes intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Quite plainly, they're burnt out on Longshore. This will be Nate's fourth season at Cal, his third one actively playing, and they have yet to see the command and confidence through four quarters that they desire from a senior quarterback.

So for the second straight year Jeff Tedford has the same exhausting dilemma on his hands. Any fan can admit that his decision-making last year was a little bit too stubborn, sticking with Longshore longer than Frodo kept company with Gollum. Yet now that he has been flexible based on performance, he's being criticized again for being too quick on the trigger. Just like in politics, you can't win.

On the one hand, starting Riley would probably set up the Bears for 2009 to again compete for the crown with USC. But many could argue that Cal is ready to make that run right now, so does Cal's head coach fall back on the experience factor? No doubt it paid off against a reeling Arizona State team, where Longshore stoked the Bears to a 17-0 lead that the sturdy Golden Bear defense would hold. But there are tougher foes ahead, starting in the desert in Tuscon next Saturday.

Eventually a Pac-10 opponent will take an early lead on California. Although Longshore has shown he can come back from deficits before, his numbers in the past have been less than impressive. For all of Riley's weakness at starting a game, he has shown to be adept at finishing them. Could Tedford actually play quarterback roulette, switching in Kevin if Nate gets behind, or even if he performs well, bring him in like a closer to finish the job that his older peer started?

One can only ponder as we approach the most difficult part of the season. Neither Riley nor Longshore are perfect at what they do, but their weaknesses seem to be complemented by each other's strengths. Perhaps it's not one or the other, but both of them we'll need to get to where we need to be. There is nothing left but to hope that Tedford makes the proper judgments and is ready to make the tough decisions this time around. Otherwise, the war of words between a fractured fanbase will go on, and on, and on...