By Jay Heater
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
BERKELEY - As quarterback Joe Ayoob was entering the tunnel to leave Memorial Stadium after Cal's 23-20 loss to Oregon State on Saturday, he saw a 40-something aged woman leaning out of the stands. "Joe," she screamed. "You (expletive) stink!" Not far away, an elderly gentleman let Ayoob have an earful, as well. "Joe, you're a (expletive)." Ayoob, who was bearing the brunt of Cal's second consecutive loss, kept moving forward. "It was kind of weird," he said. "I don't know how else to explain it. You get sad for a second. Then you take 10 more steps and you forget it." Nothing shouted from the stands could make Ayoob feel worse than he did about Cal's loss and a 13-for-39 day passing. Of course, the people who matter to Ayoob were waiting for him in the locker room. "A few of the guys came to talk to me ... (safety) Harrison Smith for one," Ayoob said. "They talked about Aaron Rodgers' game (9-for-34) against Oregon State a couple of years ago." Smith repeated a message that Ayoob heard the rest of the day. "I just told him, 'We are going to stick with you through all of it,' " Smith said. "We all just wanted to give him some words of encouragement. We wanted to tell him that the team believes in him, but he knows that." Ayoob, who has thrown for 1,247 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions this season, knows. But he also knows it has taken him some time to adjust to aspects of major college football, such as learning to get signals correctly from the sideline despite his dyslexia. Early in the season, he kept confusing the numbers signaled to him and therefore would run the play to the wrong side of the field or misinterpret the play entirely. He got that straightened out by memorizing everything so he wouldn't have to "read" the signal. Then he encountered something new -- the pass rush he faced Saturday from the Beavers.
"I knew I could have completed some throws ... given us a chance," Ayoob said. "All I can say is that we got into some obvious passing situations, and they brought some heat. There was one play where I could see Lavelle (Hawkins) running down the field, and I could see the middle safety going with the tight end, and that left Lavelle all alone in the seam. But I didn't have time." At City College of San Francisco, Ayoob had a dominating offensive line, much like Cal's line through the first five games this season. But left tackle Andrew Cameron blew out his knee against Arizona and right tackle Ryan O'Callaghan suffered a concussion in the first half against the Beavers, who blitzed on almost every play. "I haven't had to do a lot of under-pressure passes," he said. "And with our healthy offensive line here, I had plenty of time to make reads." However, he said he knows he can play under the pressure of an intense rush. "I can do that," he said. "But it was different ... the speed and size of the guys. Now that I've seen it, it will be something I can deal with." Cal coach Jeff Tedford said Ayoob doesn't have any trouble standing in the pocket and taking the big hit if it's necessary to complete a play. "He isn't shy about getting hit," Tedford said. "It's about confidence more than anything. Fundamentals and mechanics, we talk about every day. We talk about not being afraid of make a mistake. We need Joe to throw the ball with authority, to play unconscious, to let it rip." Tedford said Ayoob has looked, at times, like he is pressing to make plays. That has led to some poor decisions, such as the fourth-quarter interception by Oregon State safety Sabby Piscitelli. One of Cal's receivers got knocked off his route, and Ayoob forced a throw. Tedford said the adjustment period continues. “He has to play naturally," Tedford said. Tedford said Ayoob also has to have thick skin. "I heard that people were being nasty to him," Tedford said. "Those are things that he has to take. It is part of the position." Not everyone is overly critical.
"Joe is a great athlete," said Washington State coach Bill Doba, whose Cougars play at Cal on Saturday. "But as I think he would tell you, he hasn't been consistent. Some plays he looks like Joe Montana and sometimes he overthrows the ball. And he has good mobility." He might need that mobility to get away from the fans if he has another clunker this Saturday. "You've got to take the good with the bad," said Smith, who has had to withstand a considerable amount of criticism in the past. "You look to your teammates and friends for support, and you block out the other stuff."
Ayoob understands. "I can tune all that stuff out," he said. "I rarely read the newspapers unless it is something good. And I know not to listen to those people in the tunnel."
No comments:
Post a Comment