Who would you guys rather have at the helm of the offense this year for Cal? Nate Longshore or Kevin Riley. Longshore was having a solid season until he got hurt in the Oregon game, and Riley played very well in the Oregon State game and the game against Air Force. Personally, I'd like to see Longshore start next year because he has two years of experience. I think that Tedford should go with the more experienced QB in a Cal offense that will be much younger than it was last year. We lost Stevens, Jackson, Hawkins, Jordan, Forsett and two offensive linemen.
I really like Riley though. He's a very scrappy player that reminds me somewhat of Tony Romo. His touch on the long ball was great this year, and he evades pressure in the pocket very well.
I also think Longshore's experience is a strong point for him, but he kind of lost my favor last season. He started out tremendously, throwing 7 TDs to 2 INTs in the first few games. One thing I really like about him is that he has a very strong arm. But after that injury, something happened to him. I know he had a chipped bone that was hurting him to put pressure on, which definitely affected his throwing, but what if something mental happened? I really question his judgment after some of his throws, especially against UCLA.
I like your comparison of Riley to Romo (partially because I'm a Cowboys fan lol). I agree that he is scrappy. I like his mobility a lot, it is something that Longshore really lacks (did anybody else burst out laughing when Tedford called a QB sneak for Longshore last season?). I think generally Riley has good decision-making, with one major lapse of reason happening in the Oregon St. game. Other than that, I didn't see anything out of Riley that I didn't like. Personally, I would wait and see how Longshore's ankle holds up in practice. If he shows any sign of pain, play Riley.
I like Riley all the way. He may have less experience than Longshore, but he has some, and he has looked good in the opportunities he's had. Also, by utilizing Riley now, we'll have more continuity for the next couple of years, and maybe we can finally make our run for the Roses.
Riley all the way. Nate is the experienced backup.
Great post. I've been thinking about this myself. Longshore started the season very well, and when things are going good he looks great. However, he doesn't seem to play as well in close games and throws a lot of untimely INTs. On the other hand you may say that he played well at the beginning of the year because he was healthy, and his performance in the latter half of the year suffered due to the ankle injury. It was painfully obvious that when he came back from the injury he was not 100%, because you could see he could not step into his throws. Thus he had to rely only on his arm, which is good, but it cannot compensate for not being able to put weight on the ankle and stepping into the throw. The result? Under throwing the ball and weak throws that get picked off. In my opinion, Tedford should have stayed with Reilly after the Oregon State game, despite the brain fart, until Longshore was really ready to come back.
With all that said, I really don't know who should start this year. I think they both will do fine. I'm more concerned that Montgomery left and Best is still injured. Hope we have a solid running back to start the season. And I'm sure we will. Depite ESPN and all the other Network "experts" that think Tedford is just a quarterback genius, he is amazing at getting top tier runningbacks that many never heard of. Ech, Arrington, Lynch, Forsett, now Best (OK Best was highly touted), and the list goes on.
Looking forward to a great year and talking to you all on the Boards!
Good Thread...
I am 100% behind Kevin Riley...he earned my trust in the Oregon State game, and just outpreformed Longshore against Air Force...I really like Riley's ability to move around in the pocket and feel the pressure...he's got a strong arm, and great accuracy.
GO!......BEARS!.............GO!.................BEARS!!!!
The great thing about this QB battle is that the compition should drive both Longshore and Riley to get better and work harder. Whoever wins the battle, has my upmost trust. I still believe in Teddy and whoever he chooses, I'm cool with.
Wow a pretty unanimous vote for Riley. I guess all those ints against UCLA, USC, and Az..St. made us all lose a bit of faith in his late game preformance. I must admit, this seasons preformance reminds me a bit of Joe Ayoob.
Longshore is horrible in the 4 quarter of games. Don't quote me because I dont have the stats in view but I think his numbers were like 2 td's and 11 ints.
In my book right now (and probably Tedford's too), Longshore is the 3rd option
You heard me right - no joke.
Brock Manson (redshirted last year) might even beat Riley out for the job.
Remember - last year Riley had an injury that sidelined him during a lot of spring practice and that very well could've lost him the starting job.
Longshore chokes late in games. Even before the late injury in the Oregon game - before that he just wasn't behind late very much. Thankfully Cal had good running backs to keep the ball when leading late in games. He zones in on 1 receiver and defenders read it with extreme ease. Plus, I have come to notice that he is not very good at hitting receivers in stride (which Riley does extremely well).
Bad results of not hitting a receiver in stride - more interceptions or batted/knocked down passes, more defenders on the receiver and making the receiver basically a dead duck (scary), and the potential for fewer yards after the catch.
And Longshore can't move very well, Riley can (great for broken plays).
Longshore is a decent quarterback. He looked good up until he was injured in the middle of the season. He never looked the same after that, which leads me to wonder how much of his subsequent poor performance is mental verses playing injured. One of his weaknesses is that he has mediocre arm strength.
Riley played well in the second half of the Oregons State game. Because of his play, Cal almost came back to win. He did make a crucial error at the end of the game by trying to run for a touchdown, but it was his first game and I doubt he'll make that mistake again. Against Air Force, Riley looked exceptional. He could throw the long ball on target and showed good judgement when under pressure.
Longshore was a noticeable upgrade from Ayoob, but Riley has the potential to be an excellent weapon. I sure hope the new crop of receivers is talented enough to make Riley look good.
jhawk2850 - Longshore's negatives were hidden before the Oregon St game because the team was almost always up in the 2nd half and he could just hand the ball off. The fact that Longshore had great receivers (not just DeSean) made him look better in 2006.
Also, can we please get pas Riley's snafu at the end of the Oregon St game? First off, Tedford was an idiot for not just taking the field goal in that situation. The team made so many screw ups in that game .
And just as important on that play Riley told people (and reporters) that he thought he was in front of the line of scrimmage (and yes, he could've thrown it then, pnealty, but clock stopped - but in the heat of the moment it's easy to forget that, cut nany QB even an NFL one slack in that situation) and that's why he tucked the ball in and ran. I believe him 100% - he had dropped back a good 8 - 10 yards in the pocket and simply forgot exactly where the line of scrimmage was as he went forward and was being chased down.
Please - can more folks realize this was much less of a mistake on Riley's part? Longshore would've done the same thing - or very likely thrown an INT!
i voted for riley.... i really want to see this kid take over the team for the next three years....his mistake in the home game vs oregon state still hurts... it was also my birthday that day... the frosting on the cake was i went to the raiders game in san diego the next day and the raiders lost... one bad weekend... speaking about a bad weekend the usc game last year sucked not only did we lose i was raining like a b##ch that night...
Although I wanted to organize a mob against him after the Oregon State game, after looking back on it, he did do really well. Ive never been a fan of Longshore and Rileys performance in the Armed Forces bowl left me believing hes this years starter. he may lack the experience that longshore has but I think his talent far surpasses that ugly mug of longshore. Im glad everyone else likes him too.
