Bears don't figure to have another meaningless fourth quarter against Ducks
By Jay Heater
After Cal's 41-13 smashing of host Oregon State on Saturday, Bears offensive lineman Erik Robertson talked about quarterback Nate Longshore's toughness in the pocket and how that affects the team in a positive way. Then Longshore said he doesn't mind hanging tough when he knows his wide receivers are going to break huge plays if he gets them the ball. At which point wide receiver DeSean Jackson said he wouldn't be so open if it weren't for the threat that tailback Marshawn Lynch poses in the backfield. Lynch, in turn, thanked tight end Eric Beegun, who sealed off the linebacker who was supposed to have the coverage during Lynch's 28-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter.
Beegun probably would have said something nice about somebody else, but he was on the bus. The point being that Cal (4-1 overall, 2-0 Pac-10) has a pretty good thing going these days. It's a flow of positive feelings that grew out of the stagnant pond that was Cal's offense in the opener against Tennessee. Some new offensive concepts, a new quarterback and a rebuilt offensive line created lots of problems in the opener. But that 35-18 loss at Tennessee is now a mere memory. The team Oregon will face on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley is an entirely different animal from Week One. Sure, Cal hasn't played a Tennessee since the first week, but it dismantled an Arizona State team that was supposed to be a Pac-10 contender along with crushing Big Ten and Pac-10 middlings Minnesota and Oregon State.
Cal coach Jeff Tedford said he is seeking that complete game, but his team has yet to play a meaningful fourth quarter. The Bears were hopelessly out of the game at Tennessee and they've merely been going through the motions in their past four wins in which the game was in the bank by halftime. That won't be the case on Saturday against the Ducks. All those tricks that Oregon uses on offense figure to wreck havoc on Cal's inexperienced secondary. Ducks quarterback Dennis Dixon presents the kind of scrambling challenge that the Bears have yet to face. Oregon figures to come after Longshore with the kind of pressure he faced against Tennessee. It's just that the Bears appear to be in the state of mind to handle such challenges. Longshore looked like a deer in the headlights against the Vols, incapable of making a quick decision. On Saturday, Tedford talked about Longshore's calm against the storm in facing Oregon State.
On third-and-long in the first quarter, Longshore took a tremendous shot from linebacker Derrick Doggett just as he let go of the ball, which sailed precisely into the hands of Lavelle Hawkins for a first down. "He saw (Doggett) coming all the way," Tedford said. "Nate is doing a nice job of keeping his eyes down the field." He kept his eyes down the field even though Doggett was about to clobber him. That willingness to take a massive lump for the team goes a long way in the locker room. "It's awesome to see," Robertson said. "It makes the whole offense perform better." It's also the kind of bravado that spreads confidence throughout the ranks. "Our deal is that we can't be stopped," Jackson said. Lynch agrees, if the Bears uphold their end of the bargain. "We have a lot of players capable of making the big play," said Lynch, who scored three touchdowns against the Beavers. "It's just a matter of them making it."
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