SB Nation - Worrell Williams

Cal vs. Oregon State Post-Game Thoughts

HydroTech — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:00:25 -0000

by Ben Margot - AP

about 1 month ago: Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers, right, outruns California defense to score during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in Berkeley, Calif. Oregon State won 31-14. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

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(1) To send more pass rushers or to not send more pass rushers? For most of the game Gregory was sending 4 pass rushers. Sometimes he'd send 5 if he was feeling a little frisky. But for the most part, only 4 pass rushers were devoted to pressuring Canfield. I agree with this strategy. I do not think more pass rushers should have been sent to pressure Canfield.

I'm sure that last sentence is quite shocking to a lot of Cal fans - especially the ones advocating for a more aggressive defense that sends more than just three or four pass rushers. Even I, initially, in the CGB podcast last week, suggested that perhaps this is the game where Gregory just needs to get crazy ultra aggressive and send lots of pass rushers because Canfield is so good that he can pick apart 7 and 8 man zones anyways.

I made that statement prior to seeing film on Canfield. Subsequently (but still prior to the game), I was directed to some video of Canfield's completions against USC's defense over at Trojanfootballanalysis.com. After seeing that film, I decided that blitzing Canfield was not really the correct strategy. Why? Canfield gets the ball out so quickly and efficiently. He hits his TEs and RBs on short check-downs to neutralize the blitz. When an offense's QB can get the ball out quickly against a blitzing defense, it just neutralizes the blitz and allows the offense to gain big yardage (see the final Cal drive of the 2009 Cal vs. Arizona State game for a pretty good Cal example of this). Blitzing against an offense that can get the ball out that quickly and efficiently is extremely risky, and has much less reward than normal blitzing strategies. Canfield was getting the ball out extremely quick - and against USC's very fast pass rush too! USC's pass rush is much faster than Cal's pass rush, yet Canfield neutralized them. It doesn't matter if Cal was sending five or six pass rushers per down to get a quicker pass rush, Canfield still probably would have been able to get the ball out. He did it against USC's faster defense and I have little doubt he would have done it to Cal's defense.

So what do you do? How do you defend such an efficient QB? Play really good coverage. Tighten up those zones. Make Canfield hold onto the ball longer and pray that your pass rush gets to him. Perhaps man up, play man coverage, and a little bump and run to knock the QB/WR timing off.

But I'm sure most of us are thinking that Cal is no good at playing coverage. That is true. But Cal is pretty bad at pass rushing the QB too. Essentially Gregory is presented with two evils: (1) Blitz Canfield with a poor pass rushers in hopes that pressure does get to him and open yourself up to big gains; (2) cover the field with some poor coverage defenders, and hope that Canfield makes a mistake or your pass rush gets to him. Gregory had to choose the lesser of two evils.

Both strategies have their pros and cons. But I think that option #2 is the safer option that gives Cal a better chance to win. Option #2 would force Canfield and the OSU offense to drive the field for longer increasing the chances they'd make a mistake. Option #1 could lead Canfield to drive the field in only a few plays leaving little chance for them to make mistakes.

But Option #1 comes with greater possibility of sacks, say you! True. But did you watch that film of Canfield? Did you see how quickly he got that ball out against a USC defense that is faster than Cal's defense? I'm sure Gregory had little doubt that Canfield could repeat that performance against us. Thus, Gregory opted for option #2: cover the field with some poor coverage defenders, and hope that Canfield makes a mistake or your pass rush gets to him.

FYI, Canfield's was only sacked by USC 3 times on 47 pass attempts against USC (43 pass attempts + 1 positive rush gain + 3 sacks) for a percentage of 6.4%. That's a pretty low success percentage. A very low success percentage. It's just about not even worth it to blitz when the success rate is that low.

In summary, our pass rush sucks. Our coverage sucks. OSU's passing offense is great at neutralizing blitzes. Gregory was presented with two options: (1) blitz and get defeated quickly; or (2) not-blitz and get defeated slowly. He opted for option #2 in hopes that the slow death might result in OSU mistakes which would kill drives (penalties, turnovers). I can't blame Gregory for his decision. I think it was the right one. It was the lesser of the two evils.

Tedford understands this concept of not being overly aggressive against great offenses that can get the ball out quickly. In yesterday's press luncheon he said:

On how to pressure Arizona's quarterback against a line that has only yielded four sacks so far this season and whether that is a concern
"There's no question. I don't know that you're [going to get to Wildcats QB Nick Foles]. You can try to get to him, but they get the ball out so fast, that I don't know. [Even] if they just let a guy run free off the edge, they probably get the ball off. So there's a lot of times where they get the ball out very quickly. But that doesn't mean you just abandon the rush. There's going to have to be times that we mix it up and we pressure and we cover. So that's how we're going to have to go into it."

Clearly, Tedford is conflicted. Of course he wants to pressure the Arizona QB, but he's afraid that it would be futile in some instances. Nevertheless, he does surrender to the idea that you're just going to have to roll the dice some times and bring the pressure - although he seems to imply that the use of added pressure via additional pass rushers is something very strategic and something that will happen judiciously.

(2) It's even harder to sack Canfield because he takes really deep drops even from shotgun. Most teams don't have their QBs drop back much more when the QB is in shotgun, but not Oregon State. Canfield, while in shotgun will still perform a pretty deep three or five step drop, dropping back up to an additional 6 yards from the shotgun location (so he's 11 yards from the LOS) to pass. That makes it especially hard for your pass rush to get to him as since they have to cover more yardage.

(3) My Sunday Morning Couch QB advice for the defense. (Please take this advice with more than a couple of grains of salt, or perhaps more appropriately just ignore it as since I'm not a coach) Clearly, Cal lacks the pass rushers to merely rely on three or four pass rushers to get pressure. Clearly, Cal lacks superior zone coverage players both at the linebacker, cornerback, and safety positions. Despite Arizona's ability to get the ball out quickly on offense to neutralize the blitz, one of the few remaining options I see for the defense is to play tight bump and run man coverage with the cornerbacks, and send five to six pass rushers at the QB fairly often. While blitzing does open yourself up to bigger completions down the field, this should hopefully be minimized with this strategy by the tighter man coverage and applying a quicker pass rush. The quicker pass rush will force the QB to hopefully throw the ball earlier than he wants causing more inaccurate throws, or for him to throw the lower percentage throws. Alternatively the tighter coverage on the receivers may cause him to see nobody as open and hold onto the ball longer thus allowing the pass rush to get to the QB.

Using various pre-snap looks and disguising the coverage and pass rushers can help cause confusion for the offense. The defense already does this, but it should continue to show more pass rushers than it actually pass rushes, and vice versa. Throw in some defensive line stunts for some added spice. Overload blitzes, maybe. Some of these strategies can achieve pressure without actually sending more pass rushers.

I think such a strategy might come as a welcome relief to Cal fans. Of course, it is not guaranteed to work at all. But just the mere fact that Gregory is trying something else will be a relief to fans. It seems as if many fans are desperate for change. Any sort of change. Anything. But even something that perhaps is even worse than Cal's current strategy? Many fans who advocate for a more aggressive offense seem to assume that the results will be better than the current results. Such an assumption may not be true. I understand that when X isn't working, it seems like there is no harm in trying Y. But it is possible that X > Y, and that Y will be more harm than X.

(4) Our offensive line kinda sucks. Against Oregon State, it was pretty bad in the interior positions, namely at LG, C, and RG. I think in general, that is where we are the weakest from week to week.

In the podcast, CBKWit makes the argument that this is one of our highest star rated offensive lines perhaps ever during the Tedford era. CBKWit made this comment in response to my remark suggesting that the OL's poor performance could be a talent issue. It seems that CBKWit might have been disagreeing with me. If that is so, CBKWit is clearly making the assumption that the higher the star rating of the player, the more talented they are. Such a notion is generally true, but not always. CBKWit seems to make it a forgone conclusion that is always true and thus this year's highly rated OL suckage cannot be due to lack of talent; hence obviously a coaching problem. I disagree. I think it's possible that there is a talent issue here, perhaps as well as a coaching issue. I have not discounted the talent issue, whereas CBKWit seems to have done so. CBKWit points to last year's OL which started Guarnero (prior to injury), Cheadle, and Boskovich (after Guarnero's injury) as evidence that this OL shouldn't be this bad due to the fact that so many of this year's starters saw playing time last year and were fairly productive. Last year, I personally thought Guarnero was doing fine at guard. However, I was not that impressed with Cheadle or Boskovich. Furthermore, last year's line was anchored by Alex Mack and Norris Malele who were both three year starters or so. Thus, I am not convinced that just because he have players from last year's OL, which performed decently well although not great, means that this year's OL cannot be suffering from lack of talent.

To summarize my position, I do think we are lacking in talent at the offensive line. However, I am not adverse to the idea that the problems could also be a coaching problem too. Last year, Tedford stated that Cignetti didn't focus on technique with the QBs because as an NFL coach, he was more interested in schemes rather than technique (NFL teams usually assume you have the requisite technique to perform in the NFL already). Marshall is an NFL guy too, and perhaps he's having this same problem.

Prior to this season, I didn't think the entire OL as a whole would be this bad. Although I knew nothing about Marshall, I had hopes that he was proficient enough to sustain an offensive line that can give Best and Vereen 5+ yards per carry even against some of the tougher defenses of the Pac-10 just like the OL seemingly did under Coach Michalczik. But things are pretty bad. The run blocking isn't there. The OL has little explosion off of the line. Power schemes aren't working. Inside zones aren't working. We don't use outside zones any more. Pass blocking is probably the better of the two but still nothing to brag about.

So is it time to fire Marshall? I don't know. I think it's a bit early for that kind of talk. I don't know what he's teaching the kids so I am going to refrain from saying he should be fired. Many Cal fans who want him fired are pointing at the on-field results as evidence of his incompetence. Perhaps that is indicative. Or perhaps we're just lacking talent.

In the past, Cal has had been pretty lucky to have diamond in the rough NFL guys on our OLs. Cal seemingly has always had one or two NFL guys on the offensive lines for most years. But this year, do we have NFL players on the line? Nope. Doubtful. As of now, I don't really see NFL futures for any of these guys. It's possible that one or two could break through and make it big on Sundays, but they sure as hell aren't playing well right now for the 2009 team.

So what do you do when the offensive line sucks? You work around it. You use more deception. Hence the fly sweep fakes - although those have disappeared quite a bit in the past few weeks. You use the wildbear (more flysweep fakes). You use playaction deception to buy the QB time. You don't do a lot of 7 step drops because it requires your OL to pass block longer. You get the ball out quickly. You call short passing plays.

Basically, with the OL not doing that well, you have to limit what you do. Not a lot of deep drops and long developing plays. No straight dropbacks without some sort of deception to buy the QB some time. In other words, our passing game has been limited in its diversity due to the lack of superior offensive line blocking.

(5) Missed tackles still a problem. Missed tackles have been a pretty big problem all year. I guess that's one thing I personally took for granted with having Follett, and especially Felder and Williams around, was that those guys squared up on the ball carriers, and dropped them cleanly. But the current set of guys, they're not quite squaring up perfectly. They're nicking the ball carriers who then squirm away for a few more yards of gain. They're reaching and arm tackling. Have we really seen any of those big square-up hits that Williams and Felder used to always deliver? Nope.

Why is this a problem? Probably due to inexperience, but also because they're not reacting on the ball quick enough. If they were getting there on time then squaring up shouldn't be a problem. But these guys are getting there a bit late, reaching, and arm tackling.

(6) The key to winning this game was through the passing game. Here's the gameplan for the opponents that Cal plays: shut down Cal's running game and force Cal to pass. It's that simple. Cal's passing game has to be clicking for it to win. But Riley and the passing offense were only successful 55.9% of the time today (completion percentage).

Cal's running game was averaging 2.53 yards a rush between Best, Vereen, and Holley. Cal's passing game was averaging 5.9 yards per pass attempt. Game theory says that Cal should have passed more. On the day, Cal ran the ball 24 times, but some of those were sacks so we'll say 22 times. Cal passed the ball 34 times. That's a passing 60.7% of the time, and rushing 39.3% of the time. That's markedly different from usual Cal gameplans that involve rushing the ball anywhere from 55%-65% of the time. Nevertheless, I don't think Cal was passing enough.

I know Tedford and Ludwig like to establish the run first to open up the pass. But it because quite clear early on that OSU was looking to stop the run, and they were being successful in their attempts. You have to just give up on the runs when they're not working at all that early on. You have to use the pass to open up the run, instead of vice versa. So, I am being a bit critical of Ludwig for not pass enough; however, I do understand that when the offense as a whole kind of sucks, no matter what you call you might be screwed six ways to Sunday anyways.

(7) A little slide protection. Cal's first play of the game featured what looked to be a little slide protection. This is something that we have rarely seen in the past 4 years or so. This scheme put Best on the end blocking a defensive end. Best quickly lost this battle which resulted in Riley getting rushed, Riley shoveling off the ball to Best, and Best running for a loss of 4 yards or so.

(8) Magic Numbers revisited. Well, a long time ago I made a prediction on Cal's season based on how well the QB's completion percentage would be. Basically, my reasoning was that Cal's success would be very closely correlated with Cal's passing game success which can more or less be measured via the QB completion percentage.

Here's what I predicted:

If Cal's starting QB can complete greater than 65% of his passes, Cal will most likely have an 11+ win regular season.

If Cal's starting QB completes between 62%-65% of his passes, Cal will most likely have a 10 win regular season.

If Cal's starting QB completes between 60%-62% of his passes, Cal will most likely have a 9 win regular season.

If Cal's starting QB completes between 58%-60% of his passes, Cal will most likely have a 8 win regular season.

If Cal's starting QB completes between 55%-58% of his passes, Cal will most likely have a 7 win regular season.

If Cal's starting QB completes less than 55% of his passes, the 2nd string QB should probably be starting.

I haven't looked at this prediction in a while. And when I just looked at it now for the first time in over a month, I cringed. Right now, Riley is completing 55.6% of his passes. That means, I think Cal could be aimed at a 7 win season this year. Ouch. It hurts even more when you think about how highly ranked we were pre-season and how much we were hyped as the team that could finally beat USC. But in all honesty, all that preseason hype was a bit much. People gave us too much benefit of the doubt. So if you ignore all the pre-season hype, it doesn't hurt as much and it actually makes sense.

Cal had questions at QB, WR, and OL. Simple measures of all their success (or lack thereof) can usually be seen in the the RB's production and the QB's production.

In 2008, Jahvid Best averaged 8.1 yards a carry. This year he's averaging 6.1 yards per carry.

In 2009, Riley completed 50.7% of his passes. This year he's completing 55.6% of his passes.

While the QB completion percentage has gone up, it's still bad. To put things into perspective, Kyle Boller only completed 53.6% of his passes in 2002. Cal clearly is having offense problems. So what are the causes of the problems? For the most part, I think it's talent talent talent.... err, lack thereof.

Passing and rushing begins in the trenches. It starts with the OL opening up holes and sustaining pass blocks. They haven't been getting that production. There haven't been holes. There haven't been great pass blocks. Whether the problem is due to incompetent coaching or lack of talent is debatable but I think the problem is mostly just lack of talent. In a couple years we'll probably have our answer when we know if any of this year's starters are playing on Sundays, but I'm already pretty sure the answer is going to be no.

(9) Coach critique. I'm not too fond of dishing out tons of coach criticism because I'm not at practices. I'm not seeing what the coaches are teaching the kids and how they are handling things. All I can do now is look at the on-field results and try and make some sort of judgment from that. But even then, on the field results aren't always indicative of the coaches. As good as a coach may be, some players just aren't talented enough or just make untimely mistakes. Sometimes there's nothing more that you can do about it. Some players have it, and some don't. Some players perform better than others regardless of the coaching they receive. That is one of the truest facts in any type of performative sport or performance. The greatest coaching in the world can't make up for the lack of innate talent and innate consistency.

But as Ragnarok said in the podcast, if we merely step aside and don't critique the coaches because we lack the requisite knowledge or because we're not at practice, we're simply putting the state of the program in Tedford's hands and admitting our own ignorance. Ragnarok calls this a "cop out" and seems to think it's an unsatisfactory alternative. It seems as if he thinks fans should have a voice despite our lack of knowledge and connectedness to the program. I know a lot of fans feel the same way. I am not going to argue that we can't critique the coaches. Certainly, fans have the freedom to do so. But that doesn't mean the critique is accurate or even warranted. You'd never think that from reading some of the critiques though. By the sound of it, a lot of us are genius football coaches. Go ahead and critique the coaches, but I just wish there was a little more self-awareness of our lack of substantive football knowledge and knowledge of the situation.

With that out of the way, allow me to critique the coaches. Please disregard everything from here on out because, well, let's face it, I'm a cook not a football coach.

Alamar. He has to get it together. Special teams have sucked for a while. I've been pretty tolerant of it. But now I'm finally growing tired of it. Kickoff coverage is below average. Kick return blocking sucks. Our field goal kickers haven't been great despite supposedly getting some of the top kicking talent in the nation. Our place kickers have been unsatisfactory for the past few years too. Perhaps Alamar should just do TEs, and we should bring in a dedicated special teams coach?

Ludwig. I'm a bit perplexed why the offense seems to have become less diverse over the past few weeks than what we saw earlier on in the season. Perhaps Ludwig was merely trying out new things early in the season. Maybe that's all he was doing, but I think it was working too. It gave defenses a lot to think about and it kept the off guard. But the offense as of late has seemed to become less diverse and I find it a little disappointing. I also would like to see a bit more down-field passing. I think Riley is best throwing the deep balls, such as gos/flys. He's pretty good at posts too. He's perhaps shown the most accuracy with the seam routes. We've been very successful with the seam throws against opponent zones and even man coverage (Minnesota game, ASU game, OSU too). We have the TE to make those tough catches too, in Anthony Miller.

In regards to Ludwig is calling bubble screens and easy swing passes, I understand those are generally easy passes and a safe way to keep the defense honest and from stacking the box completely, but I'm not sure Riley's even that good at those throws. I have no idea who Zennie Abraham is, but he has noted that Riley's best throws are the routes which do not require "leading" the WR. In other words, routes without a lot of lateral movement. I hadn't quite thought about it like that, but I certainly had noticed that Riley's best routes were the deeper down-the-field routes (which require little lateral "leading" of the receivers). As Mr. Abraham notes, Riley consistently misses those bubble and swing passes. Sometimes the passes are behind the receiver (backward passes), and thus laterals which can be fumbled and recovered by the defense. The passes need to be forward passes. Riley is also just a bit slow to throw the bubble screen passes. He doesn't get the ball out to the WR quick enough.

Does Ludwig need to be fired? I don't think so. Not yet. Going through so many offensive coordinators has hurt the offense. As I reported in my Emerald Bowl Pep Rally and Luncheon report, one of Cal's notable starting offensive linemen of the 2008 squad felt that the team was still not 100% confident and proficient in the new pass blocking schemes that Cignetti brought to the offense in 2008. Ludwig has shown promise. And I think with more talent, we can do just fine with him. For now, I think we should keep him to maintain some continuity for the Cal offense that it has needed for a long time.

Gregory. I do think he's a better coach than most people think. Nobody was complaining about Gregory in 2008 when the defense was dominating. But people are complaining this year. What's the big difference between 2008 and 2009? The loss of three great linebackers who all had multiple years of starting experience, a decline in Hagan's abilities (he missed some of fall camp, and I think he self-admittedly stated that he wasn't quite pushing himself as much as he could), and a decline in Ezeff's abilities (missing practices to take a class). Oh, and a pretty crappy offense which isn't giving the defense any help. I don't think this year's defensive struggles are really due to lack of defensive coaching. I see it mostly as a talent issue. The guys just aren't as talented as last year's players, and they aren't as talented as we all hoped they would be at the start of the season. The DL is fine. But the LBs only have about half of their game together. They're pretty good at stopping the run but they're pretty bad in pass coverage. The DBs have been pretty bad except for Syd. Overall, I think the defensive woes are more a talent issue, than coaching.

Tedford. Many of us might not like how he runs the program, or how he keeps certain positional coaches or coordinators around. Nevertheless, I do think he's still the right coach for Cal. Few could have done what he did with our shoddy program. Even fewer would have stuck around like he did through the thick and thin. He is completely dedicated to this program. That shows. That helps sell this program. It sells it to recruits. He also has honor and a reputable reputation. He raises the kids first and foremost to be good upstanding people in the world. It's life and academics first; football second. Football just isn't about winning games. Tedford recognizes this. He hasn't sacrificed morals, or jeopardized the University's reputation to win a few more games unlike other notable coaches around the country. Tedford has shown a willingness to challenge himself, reflect, and learn from his mistakes. Not all coaches have the courage to set aside their own stubbornness and pride to say they were wrong and that changes need to be made. Perhaps Tedford still has to make more changes within his positional and coordinating coaches ranks. Perhaps he will. But of all the coaches on the Cal Football team right now, I do think that Tedford is the most important of them all. There should be little talk of firing Tedford. Things have not gotten that bad yet at all. He has set the program in the right direction. With more time, talent, shiny new facilities, and a supportive fan base, I do think he can officially get us to a BCS bowl or the Rose Bowl.

Is Cal's Defense Underachieving?

Avinash — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:30:26 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Cal's pass defense struggled again. Are we going to see this all year long?

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DEFENSE, BEARS...DEFENSE???

Most of the postgame reaction has been focused on Cal's lamentable defensive effort, especially against the pass. It's been discussed everywhere, and I figured I'd throw myself into the fire. Literally, since I figure 80-85% of Cal fans will disagree with my next statement:

Outside of Autzen, Bob Gregory hasn't done that much wrong.

Now before all of you start hollering about Prince and Tuel lighting us up, I understand where you guys are coming from. Like many people, I assumed that the depletion of our linebacking corps would be offset by improvements in the defensive line and the secondary, with everyone having starting experience coming back.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. Units don't just revamp at certain areas and expect to get by because the front and the back are supporting them. The linebackers are the core of the defense, especially in a 3-4; take them away and the middle is open to exploitation.

Think of an army with great tanks and experienced soldiers but no aircraft, anti-aircraft or flak. You might have the power and the wherewithal to take out your opponents, but a good enough air attack can blast all that heavy weaponry and veteran savvy out of the park. So it is with the passing defense this season, where the weakness of the linebackers has been felt by the rest of the lineup.

Cal is returning seven but we're missing those four BIG TIME. Let's rank the top players on our defense last year.

1) Zack Follett
2) Syd'Quan Thompson
3) Tyson Alualu
4) Anthony Felder
5) Worrell Williams
6) Mike Mohamed
7) Darian Hagan
8) Rulon Davis (when healthy)

So those four who are gone are in the top 8, and the three linebackers in the top five. Big big losses.

Rulon Davis might never have been as healthy as we'd have liked him to be, but when he was, he was ON. Cameron Jordan is a jolly guy from what I've seen, but at the moment he really hasn't stepped up to replace Davis's raw ability. Don't be deceived by those 6.5 sacks--3.5 came against really bad teams. He's on pace for 2008 numbers, and he's playing probably 50% more than last season after splitting time with Rulon in 2008.

Derrick Hill has performed well, but centers can still battle him one on one, leaving one side to double, triple team Alualu at will. So that means that extra one or two guys blitzing or moving in on the line of scrimmage has to step up, rush in, and hit the quarterback.

Unfortunately...

Cal does not have a pass rushing linebacker. When Cal put that linebacker at the LoS on passing downs last season (usually Follett), it collapsed the pocket, overwhelmed the edge and forced the quarterback into the errant throws, incompletions or sacks. Not this season. Young, Mohamed, Kendricks, Bishop, Holt, none of these guys have been able to fill that mantle. Jarred Price might be the guy to show it, but what he has in pass rush (2 sacks) he lacks in consistency (4 season tackles)

Follett had 10.5 sacks and 4 hurries on his own last season; through seven games, the ENTIRE Bears linebackers corps has combined for 7.5 sacks and 4 hurries.

Note: Interestingly enough (as you probably saw with some of the highlights), Gregory tinkered with a four down linemen set on passing downs to gain extra pass rush, although I'm not sure how much of it had an effect on slowing down Tuel. I'd been pondering a similar idea considering the weakness of our linebackers to add an extra defensive lineman (our strength) for more pass rush, and it seemed Gregory was thinking along the same lines. We'll see how it bears out when Cal plays formidable/weaker offensive lines down the road.

Cal's linebacking corps is still learning the pass defense ropes: Probably the biggest mistake I made in my predictions was asking this question: "is Mike Mohamed capable of becoming Cal's greatest linebacker of the Tedford era?" Whoops. Desmond Bishop, you keep the title.

Don't get me wrong, Mohamed's been good, still the best all-around linebacker for the Bears (he has picks, a forced fumble, a sack, and 61 tackles). Nevertheless, he seems to be suffering from the Rajon Rondo syndrome--he looked like the best linebacker last season because guys were always throwing in his direction to avoid Felder and Williams. Unlike Follett or Desmond, he lacks that game-changing ability. Maybe that'll change, but right now he's merely good when Cal needs great.

Devin Bishop and Eddie Young are okay, but as BWNQ noted, they probably lack proper football instincts, as they've been duped on several important occasions by doing bad things on the field. No matter how good the coaching is, it's REALLY hard to undo instinct.

As for Kendricks and Holt, they have promise, but as sophomores they're still not fully polished. We can probably expect better things from them...in 2010. Right now we can only hope they're given the time to grow and mature so they can come back and smash next season.

Finally, the secondary. This is probably the most mystifying of the three units, even to a guy like me. Last season these guys were ballhawks, and now they're getting pumpfaked, beat at the point of attack. What's going on??

Syd'Quan Thompson has done his job, but the other side, plainly, has not. Darian Hagan got pump-faked out of the starting lineup in Minnesota. Josh Hill got the Oregon start and got picked on, over and over and over. And then both have been taking their turn even though they've been playing more man coverage. Although both are improving, it does leave you a little frustrated, especially with Hagan, who looked so promising last season. The safeties have been competent--Ezeff and Johnson are good at delivering hits, and Cattouse has also shown great promise, but for whatever reason they've been beat a lot.

So why has the secondary regressed? A few possibilities:

1) With the linebackers having trouble defending their zones and tackling afterwards, the secondary has to edge toward the middle of the field to be prepared to support...which in turn opens up the flats and sideline throws. And it doesn't necessarily secure the middle either.

2) The secondary might be more experienced, but given the depth of gamefilm, there is plenty for opposing teams to scout on them. Cal's secondary is not like USC's, whose weaknesses are harder to pinpoint and exploit. Even Syd'Quan might be lockdown one-on-one, but he's still undersized--tall physical receivers can do damage against him if given the proper time. You can only imagine how many more double moves and pump fakes against Hagan and throws to the flats against Hill we'll see this year.

3) PAY ATTENTION. This is the big one...

There are a lot of good quarterbacks in the Pac-10 this season.

Four freshmen have shown great promise--Foles, Luck, Barkley, and, yes, even Tuel (don't forget he also went about 67% against USC too). Add in three guys who've been here before (Masoli, Locker, Canfield) and that's SEVEN Pac-10 quarterbacks who are at the very least competent. That's the most depth the conference has shown at the quarterback stable this decade.

Compare it to the Pac-10 QBs we saw last season: Sanchez was pretty good but still developing, Willie Tuitama had his ups and downs, Masoli was in his first year escaping the shadow of Dixon, Lyle Moevao had his moments although he was carried by the Rodgers brothers, Rudy Carpenter was digesting turf thanks to his awesome offensive line, the Kevin Craft Interception Show missed no stops, Tavita Pritchard was a placeholder, the Washington/Wazzu quarterbacks we faced were bad, bad, bad.

Masoli has quietly worked his way back to a solid 60% completion percentage. Canfield and Foles are horrifyingly good at finding their receivers, hovering at 70% and putting them in the top seven in the conference. Luck isn't as accurate, but he throws touchdowns and not many picks (kind of like Riley-lite). Locker is the most dangerous player in the Pac-10 if he faces a defense that gives him cushion. And Barkley is only going to get better.

They're so good that they're not just beating Cal's zones, they're beating Cal on man. Tuel's two touchdown throws came against man coverage, where he fit that ball in just the right place for the receiver to get it and the defender had no chance to play the ball. Kevin Prince had excellent throws that burned a few guys with excellent man coverage too. Surprisingly, they played pretty well against Barkley after spotting the Trojans ten points. Of course the big fail was Masoli where the Bears played mostly zone, but even when they played man they got beat.

Now the solution would be to be aggressive in the pass rush and send more guys. But who? Cal's linebackers haven't shown they're able to speed their way. Not many of these guys have the ability to stunt or delay the way our group did last year--maybe Alualu, but again he's facing constant double teams. Plus with the quarterbacks being better this season, sending more guys leaves the Bears vulnerable to a precise pass going for six.

So pick your poison. So pick your poison. Do you key in on stopping the run and not allowing big plays and risk giving up easier underneath throws, or gamble with a pass rush or man coverage and take the risk of quarterbacks connecting on long strikes? This is the quandary Gregory is in, and we’ll find out what he comes up with these next few weeks. (HT Hydro for the rephrase)

Is Cal's defense underachieving, overachieving, or performing as expected?

Reactions to defense.

More reactions: AERose has some interesting numbers on 1st/2nd half stats, Rocky63125 wants Gregory to go, royrules had thoughts about Cal's D against UCLA.

Gary Peterson, San Jose Mercury News:

Then came the part no one expected. When Tedford had finished dousing his defenders in lighter fluid, linebacker Steve Fanua set them on fire.

"He's a young buck, a redshirt freshman," Jordan said, smiling. "He has fire in his veins. He gave us a nice little talk."

And this was received how?

"That only amps you up more," Jordan said. "Here's a guy, barely 18 years old, letting us know what this means for him. He's a young kid. He's hungry."

So was Cal's defense when it returned to the field. Jordan recorded two of his two-and-a-half sacks, and three of his six tackles in the second half. One sack defused Washington State's first drive after the intermission. Another, coming on fourth-and-10, ended a Cougars drive at the Cal 18.

Jimmy Tran, Daily Cal:

One of the points emphasized was tackling.

Arguably the most noticeable player guilty of missed tackles was cornerback Darian Hagan. Despite coming off one of his best performances ever last week against UCLA, Hagan struggled to make several key tackles in the open field and gave up a couple big passing plays against WSU.

"He needs to be more consistent, no question about it," Gregory said. "Very poor game today, and we just got to keep working with these kids to grow and mature."

Golden Nuggets: "You Know...They Just Might Not Be Any Good..."

Berkelium97 — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:30:14 -0000

Ted Miller has an interesting story asking a tough question: Why isn't Cal any good? He decided to write this after talking to a Cal reporter (JO?) who said Cal just might not be that good this year. Here are some of the highlights that explain why Cal hasn't lived up to expectations. He also talks about Riley, the secondary, and leadership, but I don't have space for all of it.

The rotating door at offensive coordinator hasn't helped: Andy Ludwig is the Bears fifth offensive coordinator in five seasons. Hmm. That can't help continuity. At this point, it would be fair to say fans at Oregon and Utah, where Ludwig suffered heavy criticism during previous stops, are giggling and pointing a mocking finger at Berkeley.

Replacing three starting linebackers in the 3-4 scheme was more difficult than originally thought: The big personnel loss from the 2008 team was almost entirely at linebacker, where Zach Follett, Worrell Williams and Anthony Felder needed to be replaced. Still, that was not a huge concern entering fall camp. Those guys were good college players but not exactly future NFL starters. The youngsters who were next in line were generally more athletic, while Mike Mohamed was expected to grow into an All-Conference player. This article does a good job of breaking down how things haven't gone well. Mostly, there's been a lack of continuity as coordinator Bob Gregory has tried to find who belongs where.

The offensive line misses Alex Mack and line coach Jim Michalczik: Mack is starting at center for the Cleveland Browns (so he's not much better off than his former teammates). Michalczik, widely regarded as one of the nation's best offensive line coaches, is now with the Oakland Raiders (so he's miserable, too). Entering the season, the general feeling was the line was talented and deep, considering injuries last fall forced many young players into starting roles. The line hasn't been terrible. It hasn't been as good as expected, either. And it certainly hasn't been good enough to beat defenses that are stacking the box to stop Jahvid Best.

The secondary has underachieved: The Bears secondary was the one area no one doubted. All four starters were back from a unit that ranked sixth in the nation in pass efficiency defense and grabbed 24 interceptions, which ranked third in the nation. The Bears presently rank 87th in the nation and have just four interceptions. Not to call one player out or anything, but did you see All-American cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson whiff on Joe McKnight's 38-yard TD run to open the scoring Saturday? That sort of play -- and pursuit angle -- won't help him get drafted

After the jump, we look back at Cal-USC and check in on the other Cal sporting events of the weekend (they didn't fare so well either). Can we get a mulligan for this past weekend in Cal sports? Looking ahead, I have the Cal-UCLA kickoff time (12:30pm on ABC) and Sandy's response to how administrators will respond to the dangerous crowd conditions at Memorial.

Cal falls to 8th in Ted Miller's Pac-10 power rankings.
Daily Cal on how this may just be the same team from 2008. Two stories on how the offense has begun to stagnate.
BusterSports gives Cal an F for their performance against USC.
Cal-UCLA kicks off at 12:30pm on ABC on October 17th.
Sandy Barbour responds to letters detailing the dangerous conditions at Memorial this past weekend.
In the second-biggest Cal sporting event of the weekend, No. 4 water polo loses 8-6 to No. 3 USC. Daily Cal on the men's water polo loss.
No. 9 women's volleyball loses to No. 16 UCLA in four sets.
Field hockey loses 3-2 to Iowa on Sunday and also lost 1-0 to Indiana on Saturday.
Women's tennis was successful in the Cal Nike Invitational Tournament.
No. 6/7 men's soccer defeated No.17/20 Stanford 1-0.
No. 10 women's soccer tied No. 11 Santa Clara 1-1 in a double-overtime decision.

Duck Soup: How Cal's Defense Can Break Down Oregon's Zone Read

Avinash — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:13:08 -0000

For a look at Cal's offense versus Oregon's defense, go here.

After watching last year's tape on Oregon's offense, I came to three conclusions.

I am so relieved we don't have to deal with Max Unger, maybe even more so than with Nick Reed (and that's saying something).
I was surprised Oregon didn't run the outside zone read much in the 4th quarter.
Jeremiah Masoli has a future in ballet. He's light on his feet, and it shows with some awkward-looking throws.

After watching last week's tape of Oregon versus Utah (thanks to danzig for sending that to me), I came to three additional conclusions.

Cal is getting their first big running test of the year in LaMichael James.
The Oregon offensive line is still piecing things together.
If Cal can stop the run, they will win this game, because Jeremiah Masoli seems to be auditioning for So You Think You Can Dance in the backfield.

Note: I probably got ~~all of these~~ ~~most~~ a few of these zone plays wrong (I'm sure I could've placed a few draws and counters in each vid too). If there's anything you see, let me know and I'll add your corrections in the post. Thanks again to ieeebear, who cut the videos for Cal's offense against Oregon's defense too.

Inside zone rush attack

(Music: Disconnected by Aceyalone, produced by RJD2, who was born in Eugene! Here's the instrumental.)

You're probably disconnected watching this. What do these runs mean? More elaboration, plus other facets of Oregon's offense after the jump (Scroll all the way down for play-by-play breakdown of each play in each video!).

How do you think Cal will disrupt Oregon's zone-read offense? Can we stop their ability to run the football?

There are so many details and subtleties in Oregon's offense that I can't really go into huge detail about this

Here are some of Chip Kelly's notes. (Hat-tip to Trojan Football Analysis for these valuable notes).

We give the running back the opportunity to run the same path every time he receives the ball. We call it a J-path. The step looks like the letter J. The running back takes a slight open step with is playside foot. His second step replaces the spot where the QB’s foot was. On this third step he starts to square his shoulders to the line of scrimmage. The running back takes his step and aims at the butt of the frontside guard.

...

The second fundamental on the play is the fake when you do not have the ball. It is not a great play if the QB hands off to the running back and watches him run every time. The QB fake is critical and he has to accelerate off the disconnect in the mesh area. The action has to look the same whether the QB keeps the ball or not.

...

The same applies to the running back. He cannot get the ball pulled and stop running. We grade the running back on his fakes. If he does not penetrate the line of scrimmage on his fake he gets a loaf. He needs to stay on the front side when he does not get the ball. Obviously when he has the ball he runs to daylight.
That is the concept of the play. It has to look like it is hitting one way and it has to go the other.

Alright, if that stuff confused you, here are the bullet points.

Usually on zone read plays one player is left unblocked, almost always a defensive end (In Cal's case, it's usually a linebacker because we run the 3-4). You'll see in the video above, in order, Mohamed, Alualu, Williams, Kendricks going unblocked on the first four plays, and similar shenanigans occur on subsequent showings.
Misdirection. The idea is to fool the defensive end rushing to the wrong side. Against the Bears, this happened on the second play from scrimmage (and the first play in the video above), with both Williams and Mohamed digging against the run and giving Masoli the perfect angle to break to space for the score.
Selling the handoff. Crucial. A bungled fake/real handoff could blowup the play, or worse, lead to costly turnovers. Sadly, the replay angles aren't usually good enough for me to tell if it's a good fake or a bad fake, and even I wouldn't really know the difference. Anyone who knows better on selling fake draw handoffs, tell us what we should look for in the comments!
If he has the rock, the running back tries to hit the hole quickly to evade the linebacker. He doesn't hit it immediately, but the inside zone is a power play for the running back.
If he's handling, the quarterback looks to stretch the field. You'll see Masoli almost always go north-south toward the sidelines, or angle away from the offensive-line package.
In either case, the fake allows for greater gaps to open for the defense, and this allows teams like Oregon (with fast, quick athletes).

I'd say this is probably the most important video to watch to get a sense of the 2009 Duck offense. Against Utah, Oregon was doing almost exclusively inside zone reads, at least on their successful plays. We'll see plenty of these looks on Saturday, I'd say at least 55-60% of the plays will have some variation of the inside zone read.

Interestingly, during the Utah game, Masoli sometimes went inside into the teeth of the defense on the inside zone, which makes you wonder how much he trusts his linemen to seal the gaps. That doesn't mean he won't go outside--he caught the Utes biting not once but TWICE on the backside, racing untouched to the end zone with nary a defender within range.

As for LaMichael James, as a freshman, he's definitely got moves. Against Utah there was one particulary impressive play where the right guard completely whiffed on his block, the D-linemen came racing in to blow up the play, and James adjusted, spun around, and raced through the crease for 25 yards. Wow. You can't teach that stuff:

Also, there are times where he can hit the hole, stop and then go again. Running backs who usually charge ahead full steam hit a defensive wall and pretty much go again, but when you stop and go it allows you to adjust, maybe fall down and pick up extra yardage. He picked up a first down that way. He's a little elusive and definitely has a smaller frame (5'9" 180 pounds), which could pose difficulty if the offensive line executes its blocks.

There are of course deficiencies in his game. Most notably, and understandably, he doesn't quite have the vision yet to find the gaps, and took several wrong moves that ended with him getting cradled by a Ute. But for a freshman to get 152 yards on 27 carries against a 10 senior Utah defense...most impressive. I'd probably expect similar numbers this week against Cal.

Outside zone rush attack

Music: The Game by Jurassic 5, instrumental track here.

Here's the other variation on the zone read. See the differences between outside and inside?

Chip Kelly talks about what's going on here (big ups again TFA).

The outside zone play is a complement to the inside zone play. The inside zone is a hole to cutback play. The outside zone is more of a hole to bounce play. The reason we run the outside play is to circle the defense. When you get good at running the inside zone the defenders begin to tighten their techniques and concentrate on squeezing the inside gaps.

If we feel that is happening or we start to get many twists and blitzes inside we run the outside zone play. It gives you speed in space and the offensive line can play with confidence when you have something to change the focus of the defense. We ran the outside zone play 122 times last season for 6.8 yards per carry. It is a good compliment to the inside zone play.

The blocking rules for the offensive line are the same as the inside zone. The difference is the aiming point of the offensive linemen. The "who we block" is the same, but the "how we block" is the difference in the outside zone. The linemen take a kick step to the outside and a crossover step to get up the field. The backside opens on the playside foot and loses ground. The farther you are from the point of attack, the more ground you can lose.

Again, bullet points for those who glossed over all that.

The big difference to notice between the inside and the outside zone run is the way the running back is moving his feet. Usually you'll see the inside zone run, the back is cutting to the hole and then cutting back if he can't find space. In the outside zone run, the Oregon back is usually running north to south until he finds a hole suitable for him to blast through. It's really difficult to discern the difference between the two, because sometimes a running back can get blown up on the coverage.
Look for that 90 degree turn. The moment a running back sniffs a hole, he turns right into it. Johnson was really good at this last year; Blount not so much against us, but better against other teams; James is a total unknown at this time.
You'll also see the blocking change a little. The O-linemen usually are moving forward on an inside zone read, here you'll see a lot more pulling or at the very least the backside opening up and moving to open holes in the area where the running back would turn 90 degrees inside.

Cal got killed on this play last year, as you can see during the last plays of the vid above. Signed, sealed, delivered by Max Unger. In the third quarter, Unger snapped, then immediately pulled and blocked out the unblocked defender. Every. Freaking. Time. You'll get some great clips near the end of the video of Worrell Williams getting engulfed like he was hugging Robert Paulson and Marcus Ezeff flying like a Dutchman.

If you wanted to say Unger was the most valuable offensive player, you get no arguments for me--he unleashed the runs responsible for the three sustained drives Oregon had the entire game, all in the 3rd quarter. Mysteriously though, I think Oregon ran the outside zone only once in the fourth quarter after falling behind by 10, and it didn't involve Unger. Thanks Coach Kelly!

Interestingly enough, against Utah, I don't think the Ducks went to the outside zone more than a handful of times. In the clips danzig sent me, I only noticed one involving James, and he was quickly chased down. I can kind of see why--at the moment the offensive line and downfield receivers aren't really doing their job grappling with their defenders, and the pull blocking really generates no momentum, not the way it did with Unger leading the charge. Utah's D-line had plenty of freedom to operate, and they had no trouble chasing down LaMichael going north and south.

This is probably where the Ducks miss Blount the most. He was unspectacular against the Bears and the Broncos, but he did have the vision to find a hole to cut to. Against the athletic Cal defenders, he was swallowed whole, but at least he gave the Ducks a second option in the zone attack.

Would Oregon try this anyway? I'd think they'd have to give it a shot, but the weapons that made this so effective (Unger, and his left guard pulling companion Jeff Kendall) aren't there, and Johnson and Blount are gone. That leaves Masoli as the only true weapon to the outside, and he hasn't nearly been effective as he was last season. I'd expect a lot of the plays to go inside, because the O-linemen at least seem competent at times doing this.

How should Cal beat the zone read?

Despite the succeses Oregon shows above, Cal has plenty of examples of them stuffing the run game. So it's not like the Ducks have gashed us. Several things are big on this front.

They need superior athletic play from the front seven. Cameron Jordan, Derrick Hill and Tyson Alualu got great penetration in the clips above, and Zack Follett, Mike Mohamed and Anthony Felder did some great work closing up the holes during the middle and later stages of the game. The athleticism needs to be on full display to make sure zone reads get blown up early and often, otherwise the Ducks might be able to break free for big, game-changing plays.

The front seven should have the experience and talent edge over the Oregon offensive line, but this is all contingent on the linebackers being solid in support. If the defensive line struggles at all in puncturing the gaps, Young, Kendricks, Holt, and Mohamed better be prepared to deal with Masoli's decision-making and make sure they don't freeze up on one or overpursue the other. They'll have plenty of unblocked opportunities, if the Ducks do stick with the inside zone rush.

Clamp down on the outside zone. It was only when they were turned to the outside and trying to chase Masoli and Johnson that the Bears nearly lost their grasp on last year's game. While Unger and Johnson are both gone, the Bears shouldn't take any chances with this. Any sniff of the outside zone read, bottle it up so that they don't think twice of doing it again. Keep the Ducks running in the middle of the field with the inside zone and take your chances with that.

Pass coverage

Music: Wylin Out (RJD2 Remix), check out the instrumental used in the video here.

There isn't really much to say on this front. If Oregon has to rely on their passing game to win, they're fucked. SoCal Oski elaborates.

I love [Masoli]. He is nothing but guts and determination. But he can’t throw a freaking ball. JTLight is right to place the blame on his shoulders — but it’s not really as if anyone should be surprised. Masoli is just not a passing QB. He’s a running QB who can make some passes some time if the planets are aligned and Ganesh is feeling extra happy. Otherwise, if Oregon needs his arm to win, they are in a bad place.

The key in this area for Cal will be to have solid zone pass coverage. Big emphasis on zone. Yeah, I know, some people will be bitching about this because Adam Weber to Eric Decker killed us last week. Whatever. Oregon has no Eric Decker on their team, and even though Adam Weber isn't about to light the Big Ten on fire, he's still way ahead of Masoli in terms of pocket presence and precision throwing. (Staring his receivers down though? I'd say they're on the same playing field.

Against our zone coverage last season, he completed one-third of his passes in Memorial last year, and threw two terrible interceptions (both times he stared down his receiver, both times Cal defenders made plays on the ball).

The only time Masoli had a good throw against the Utes was in stride, downfield, against what looked to be man coverage (and I have no idea what happened to the defender on the play, either he got beat or tripped up). On another one, the Utah defender overpursued, and that led to a sizable gain. After that? Two more completions.

How much this has to do with having inexperienced receivers and O-line can be debated, but it's not going to be easier going against a Cal secondary that didn't have its greatest week and is looking to perform much better.

Look for the Ducks to try and exploit with the screen and the middle of the field, especially in obvious passing situations. Because, you know, everyone has. And if the run game stagnates, for the Ducks to win, Masoli is probably going to have to up it to at least 55-60%. Any figure below that against zone coverage without a decent run game is a recipe for doom.

Bonus: Extra runs

Music: Duck Tales for the win.

Mostly fly sweeps and draws/options I noticed here. Against Utah, I did notice some fly sweeps to take advantage of the receivers, including one fake. Masoli also did attempt a quarterback keeper here and there (Question: When he's drawing, is that a midline option? TFA identified it in the Holiday Bowl, and I've seen similar plays with these characteristics). I might be missing some of the counter plays, or I mistook some of them for zone rushes.

I expect Kelly to unload more running plays like this to surprise the Bears, because he knows that it's always a tough slog against the Bears's defense. And it'd probably be very difficult to win with the strategy he played last week. Expect either more outside zone runs or sweeps, something out of the ordinary.

California has had pretty good run defense against the best teams in the Pac-10 the past two seasons, even against Ducks. Although Oregon put up 206 ground yards in 2008 and 191 in 2007, it's fairly below their average of 280 and 252 yards per game those respective years, tied for second and sixth best rushing YPG in the country. Also, the Ducks averaged 4.9 and 4.1 rushing yards per carry in 2007 (9th in the country in YPC) & 2008 respectively (when they were numero uno), which are both fairly below those averages.

Stop the run (like we did in 2006 when we held), you stop the Ducks. Keep it going, and Oregon will be in this one to the end. Go for the kill Bears. The race to Pasadena is on.

Cal Fan Appreciation Day 8.29.09 I

TwistNHook — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:00:16 -0000

Well, another year, another fun time at the Cal Fan Appreciation Day. So much better than the Cal Fan Depreciation Day. That day is just so negative.

This was a fun day in the sun. Too much sun, really. It was so hot that day. Why they make all football jerseys in polyester, I do not know. Each year we go and try to interact with the players and take some photos and just have a relaxing time. This year was a smashing success. For me, at least. I think there were some problems for others, but we can get into that later.

I mean how bad a day could it be where we were able to snag this bad boy?

The day started off at about 11 AM. The event was 12-2, but I knew it was important to get there early. Last year I arrived at about 11:30 and the line was already incredibly long. This year, they did things a little different. They didn't have a line, they just had people milling about in front. There were things to buy and a whole lot of free food from Rubio's!

Former Cal kicker Tom Schneider was there selling his book about the Cal football team:

It ultimately did not matter that I got there so early, because I decided to sneak into the stadium first. Sorry, but I have to keep my methods a secret to protect innocent parties and for the sake of further sneak-ation. When I got in there, practice was still going on. Of course, I will not reveal anything I saw in there. And, of course, I did not take any photos. But long story short, we may or may not see Isi Sofele play somewhere on the "football" field at some point this "season."

BUT YOU DIDN'T HEAR IT FROM ME!!!

I just sort of relaxed in there for a while, watching various parties set up. The players finished the practice and left the field. I guess to shower and get ready to come back out and shmooze with us, the creepy shmucks. While I waited, I watched them bring in those sweet chairs that cost $250,000.

That blue chair there is partially blocked here, unfortunately, but looks incredibly comfortable. Can I borrow $250,000.00! You know I'm good for it, I make a lot of internet money!

Some players were still milling about:

Tepper walked by. I said Hi and took a photo. He said he had to run off to an interview or some such thing and shook my hand goodbye. I think his hand is bigger than me. He is a massive beast of a man. I think we could solve both the problems in Afghanistan and North Korea by sending Tepper there. More on potential Tepper battle-violence later!

Yknow, often times, people say that we bloggers are an unprofessional breed. That we lack basic civility. And we just throw pot shots at people in our underwear. Well, to overcome the pot, to overcome the shots, I decided to be extra civil. To be incredibly professional. I referred to all players as sir. I thanked them profusely for signing my items or taking a photo with me. I may or may not have curtsied before Jesse Brooks.

Considering I am a decade older than some of the players, I think it freaked them out a little. More on that later.

Then, the world's greatest radio announcer (Right "Fire Joe Starkey"??), Joe Starkey walked by. I'd like to describe his entrance in the same Monet-esque impressionist way that Joe Starkey would, but I have a much clearer picture here:

At noon, they let the plebeians onto the field. The California blue and gold rush began! I started moving quickly onto the field. There were 4 possibilities in front of me. Seniors Defense. Seniors Offense. Coach Tedford. And an un-named location that I (correctly) assumed would be for Jahvid Best.

Since there was no sign for Best, I decided to go to Tedford. Just to be safe. I thought there was a chance that the unnamed one could be a spirit group. Basically, I played it safe. I was about 3rd in line for Tedford. While I stood there, in the span of about 2 minutes the line for Best absolutely exploded. Insanely long. Like down the entire field and then curved around the corner of the end zone. Just so long.

At first, I was disappointed. I thought I had made the wrong choice. The line for Tedford did get somewhat long, but NOWHERE near as long as for Best (and, as I later found out, SydQuan). I mean Tedford is great, don't get me wrong. But if I could have knocked that super long Best line out of the way, I figured I could deal with the Tedford line.

That said, I later realized I was wrong. The Best line didn't move for a LONG time due to Syd apparently being late. NorCalNick told me that it took him 1.5 hours to get through it. I think this was frustrating for a lot of people. I would have been at the front of the line, so it would not have taken me 1.5 hours. Nonetheless, I ultimately lucked into making the right decision. More on this later.

Tedford did not take all that long to arrive.

Usually, I say something all "wacky" and then "awkward" "hilarity" ensues. But, of course, we've turned over a new leaf here at the CGB. So, I thanked Coach Tedford for being a Golden Bear and expressed my deep concern that he stay one for a long, long time. That photo up there is Coach Tedford signing our business card. Yes We Cannon had provided it to him and given a bit of a spiel. He very much said "Well, yknow, I don't care for the blogs."

That's why I had Yes We Cannon provide it. I am a cowardly cowardly general!

Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, the axe was not out there. Two years ago, the axe was there. Last year, the axe was not since Stanford had it. :(! But how come they didn't have it out again? Who do I blame for this catastrophy??

When I got out, the line for Best was still super duper long (as it always would be), so we decided not to pursue that. We decided to start going all Pokemon style. While some players have fixed seats, the vast, vast, vast, vast, vast majority just wander aimlessly throughout the field.

And so, we began to collect em all. Getting signatures, photos. Chatting about our wives and jobs. You know the drill.

We saw Spencer Ladner out there. He is HUGE! CalBandGreat had noted that in his Open Practice report, but you have to see it to believe it. He's like a Nordic God out there. He looks like Thor.

"Is Spencer Ladner a 1,300 year old vampire with incredible reflexes and an inability to be in the sun? Only time will tell." via wearemoviegeeks.com

I thanked him for his signature and inquired about what conditioner he used. Because in polite society, you tell other people that you really just LOVE John Freida Brilliant Brunette (I'm a chestnut!). He told me he was a Pantene Pro V man. Whatever he is doing, it is working. No split ends there, people!

We continued to Pokemon it up.

Noted gadabout Brock Mansion was there.

I asked him what his name was in the Old Country, if it was Mansionberg or Mansionstein. He, somewhat seriously, said he always wanted to ask his grandparents about that. Boo to genuine emotion!

Things were going great, but then we saw the man, the myth, the legend, the anti-Ladner, Isi Sofele!

I'm 5'10" and I'm just a touch taller than him. He's clearly buffer than me, which, let's be honest, is not a high bar here. But usually when I take a photo with the players, they seem so big and otherworldly. Tavecchio and Sofele were the only ones who didn't seem to be so physically intimidating to me. More on Tevacchio later.

But ya, Sofele was very popular with the fans. Not quite as popular as Jahvid Best in 2007 when a huge throng of people crowded organically around him. But still there is some buzz about this fresh face. Hopefully, he can provide speed and agility to the team.

Marvin Jones (not to be confused with Markish Jones) was there, too. He has a lot of tattoos as you can see.

I asked him what that tattoo on his chest said. He said "Fear Of God." I told him if I got one like that, it'd say "Fear Of Wife." He is a personable enough fellow.

Shane Vereen was a very popular player, too. I heard a fan behind me note that Vereen was one of the best, if not the best, back up running backs in America.

Then, we went to our boy Bryan Anger. ANGER SMASH!

I did my "oh thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to sign my hat. I am so appreciative of that." He looked at me quizzically, so I told him that I knew, as a punter, he was a much classier player than all those other players. So, I treated him more classy. I told him when I wanted an autograph from another player, I'd just be all "SIGN THE FUCKING POSTER, BITCH!"

I'm not sure he bought it.

HydroTech and I both agreed that if anybody could destroy the new Cowboys TV screen, it would DEFINITELY be Bryan Anger. ANGER SMASH SCREEN!

Quinn Tedford was there! Now I have the autographs of two separate generations of Tedfords!

Trevor Guyton, who is pushing Cameron Jordan for playing time, is a large, large, large, LARGE man. He has these baby eyes, though. He looks so gentle. But hopefully, out on the field, he isn't!

I said "Hey, you look like you must be a punter or something." He jokingly said "ya, kicker. Definitely a kicker." I said "Are you the waterboy?" He said "Back up waterboy. The back up waterboy."

So, he's got a good sense of humor. Likes to play the game. I feel good with our depth at DLine here.

Speaking of those beasts at the line, Derrick Hill is another huge man.

Speaking even more of the line, there were some OLineman milling about right nearby, too. Like Matt Summers-Gavin.

And Mitchell Schwartz.

Look who I would see, but Worrell Williams! GO BEARS!

He was hanging out near the Seniors on Defense. Like Jesse Brooks and Eddie Young.

Eddie Young was seemingly entertaining what I can only assume is rollonubears.

I unfortunately did not get a solid shot of these other Defensive players.

I think that is a good place to stop here. At this point, the line for Best and SydQuan was still unbelievably long. I had many Tedfords worth of autographs and had nearly melted into a small pile of goo. Clearly, fun time had by all. Keep it locked here for more antics, hijinks, and spinsanities from the Cal Fan Appreciation Day. GO BEARS!

Poll

How was your Cal Fan Appreciation Day experience??

I had a blast! Met tons of players. Felt really appreciated!

31 votes

I spent most of the time in a long line, but was able to meet some of the players.

16 votes

Spent the entire time in the Best/Syd line. I sent my children around unattended to get signatures while I waited in the hot sun.

10 votes

Couldn't make it, because I melted while walking up the hill from BART.

47 votes

104 votes | Poll has closed

What Concerns You About Cal Football? (2009 Edition)

Avinash — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:00:20 -0000

via farm4.static.flickr.com

Concern. That's the state of mind a Cal football fan can find his or herself in during the interminable offseason. There's some giddy anticipation at the potential of great stars breaking out and showing new moves--Darian Hagan this past season, Jahvid Best the year before that, Desean the year before that. Some of us even dream of the great upsets, of going undefeated, of cheering the Cal band on down Colorado Blvd. Boredom and a lot of free time can do that to you.

However, while those positive thoughts run through our minds from time to time, worry and apprehension can supplant them fairly easily. As in, "how will the Bears break our hearts this time?" There is always something that keeps us from feeling completely confident going into the next season, like a wide receiver tripping inches from the end zone, or a bizarro penalty or huge ref call that swings the game the other way, or (of course), the horrifying pick-six. There are several troublespots going into next season, and I'm sure we can identify others if we try hard enough. Behold the power of pessimism!

Quarterback. Obviously the biggest issue going into next season, and a possible trouble spot for the FIFTH consecutive season.

(Discuss your biggest concerns going into the 2009 season in the comments.)

via imgs.sfgate.com (Link to Big Game photos)

In 2005, we were touting the talents of Nate Longshore, but we were probably uncertain as to how good he would be (and even less enthused about Joe Ayoob when Nate went down). 2006 & 2007 we went in with Longshore, but we weren't quite sure what to expect; Nate was a serviceable QB both seasons with occasional flashes of brilliance, but ultimately did not develop further. In 2008 we suffered through a toss and turn season of "Who's the starter?", a season that led to relative unease everytime the Bears went under center.

We are also probably suffering from Aaron Rodgers hangover syndrome--not only do our quarterbacks look lamentable much of the time, but against Rodgers they look even worse. A look at three basic stats shows us the steep drop-off since that glorious season.

National rank in yards per attempt from 2004 to 2008: 10th, 47th, 21st, 39th, 86th
National rank in passing efficiency from 2004 to 2008: 5th, 65th, 32nd, 52nd, 72nd

National rank in completion percentage from 2004 to 2008: 7th, 101st, 52nd, 40th, 104th

Stats from CFB Stats

That last stat is particularly worrisome and something we'll have to keep our eye on in 2009. Tedford's quarterbacks have always been seen as great, but outside of Rodgers he has not developed a quarterback that he has recruited. They have yet to both learn and execute the complicated systems in Tedford's playbook, much less the simple things like completing a pass. If Kevin Riley gets out of the box and struggles again...the Tedford QB guru image will begin to take sharper dents.

Special teams. ALAMAR!!!

via assets.sbnation.com

Would you like some disturbing special teams trends?

20.52 (2004), 20.19 (2005), 22.38 (2006) 21.97 (2007), 20.48 (2008). These have been the average amount of yards Cal's special teams coverage has given up on a kickoff. We have never been ranked higher than 52nd nationwide in any of those five seasons. I'm not sure if this directional kickoff thing is working so great.

Our kickoff return average is even worse, going year by year from 2004 onward....

21.73 (34th), 19.93(75th), 20.52 (52nd), 21.1 (60th), 20.4 (82nd); again, frustrating numbers the past four seasons, especially the slippage the past three. And this is WITH Best involved in the kickoff game.

Add in the struggles with finding a solid kicker since Schneider, and you have a constant subject of worry for Cal fans going into this season.

via 1.bp.blogspot.com

(HT to Bears with Fangs)

Linebackers. Zack Follett, Anthony Felder, Worrell Williams are gone. Now, while linebackers may be the most interchangeable component of a defense and more easily replaced than say a key secondary man or a defensive linemen, we're still losing about one-fourth of our team's tackles and one-third of our team's sacks. We have to be ready to adjust.

Our 3-4 defense was really good because we were very good at stopping the run and maintaining pressure on the quarterback as well as guarding against the deep ball. Against the short and medium range throws though, our linebackers had more trouble adjusting because their strength was not typical pass coverage.

This might not be as huge a concern this year. Mike Mohamed was the best linebacker we had in pass coverage. We are going to miss Follett's pass rush though, and we're not totally sure whether Kendricks is ready to step into the spotlight (Worrell Williams might be sold on him, but are you?). We wouldn't be too surprised if Cal's run D and sack totals slip this season, so we'll definitely need more consistency on offense...and hence the quarterback.

Long, deep breaths everyone!

Everything. Hydro sounds like the Bluest of Bears here:

As for next season, I’m not drinking the preseason top-15 koolaid. I think we’re about a 7-5 to 9-3 team again. More towards the 7-5 range if our passing doesn’t improve, and more towards the 9-3 range if our passing improves. If everything really comes together next year, perhaps 10-2, but the likelihood of everything coming together rather than one or two things is less likely so I’m not betting the bank on a 10+ win season.

It's like Hydro is trying to reverse jinx the 2009 Cal season into unprecedented success! Right Hydro? RIGHT?

So guys, what's your biggest concern going into 2009 and why?

Poll

What concerns you the most about our 2009 Cal football team?

Quarterback

226 votes

Running backs

1 votes

Receivers

32 votes

Offensive Line

17 votes

Defensive Line

0 votes

Linebackers

10 votes

Secondary

0 votes

Special Teams

11 votes

Coaching

7 votes

NOTHING. GO BEARS!

29 votes

333 votes | Poll has closed

2009 Spring Depth Chart

HydroTech — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:31:18 -0000

Well, I meant to do a spring depth chart post, but then culinary school finals ambushed me. In the mean time, fellow Cal Football blogger Ken Crawford over at Excuse Me For My Voice beat me to the punch. Nevertheless, I'll continue on with this post despite my tardiness.

Here are my thoughts regarding the 2009 Cal Football post-Spring ball depth chart (the depth chart is available to view here):

No QB named the clear starter.

via blog.oregonlive.com

What does this tell me? The QB job is still pretty wide open. However, Riley is listed at the top, followed by Mansion then Sweeney. What does this tell me? This is the tentative standings between the three QBs. What else can be inferred from the depth chart? Well, it looks like experience is definitely giving Riley and edge over Mansion, likewise Mansion's (albeit limited) experience is giving him a slight advantage over Sweeney. ESPN writer Ted Miller put it pretty accurately when he said that Riley is the clear front-runner but he could easily lose his job too.

Does Tedford need to name a QB now? No. I've perused other Cal sports boards and I've heard some talk of how Tedford has lost his mind by not naming a starter. Quite frankly, that's straight silly talk. Naming a starter now accomplishes very little. At the most, it may instill some confidence into the named starter. However, naming a starter now, this early, will breed complacency. The starter won't push himself as hard as he would when he knows his job is at risk. The backups won't push themselves as hard when they know they can't win the job. Furthermore, naming a starter now, after spring ball accomplishes nothing. Some people think that naming a starter now will allow the starting QB to work on his timing with his WRs. However, this really isn't true. Right now it's summer. The coaches can't work with the players. The players are conditioning and don't really have rigidly structured practices. During the summer the players will get together and practice among themselves but not all players are here during the summer. Some are in school, some are home. With as much as 1/2 the team gone during summer, and the players having mildly organized practices (as opposed to highly structured fall camp practices) are they really going to get a lot of quality reps together? No. In other words, a "starting" QB really won't do much else differently than a non-starting QB. So why name a guy a starter and just have him get complacent?

Finally, I think some Cal fans have been complaining that USC and Pete Carroll named a starter prior to their spring game and thus Tedford should be able to do it too. Well, Tedford pretty much did. Riley was essentially the starter for our spring game since he worked with the first team. Does Tedford need to make a public announcement so it's official?

The most compelling reason why Tedford hasn't named a starter is because with all of Cal's QB problems last year, Tedford wants the most information possible before he makes his decision. Naming a starter now, without seeing the QBs' performances during fall camp (the more important camp), would be premature.

The Battle for Flanker

In the Emerald Bowl, Jeremy Ross played exclusively as Cal's flanker WR in base personnel. Now the depth chart is showing Nyan Boateng in that spot. Perhaps the senior finally showed enough to earn that top spot? It's still early but it's possible there could be an upset special and Ross wins it back.

The Battle for Split End

Towards the end of last season, Verran Tucker played split end WR almost exclusively. With all that experience on the field you'd think he'd be an easy write-in for the starting spot at split end again. I guess not. Sophomore Marvin Jones, with little game experience, is at that top split end spot. Again, it's still early, but a seasoned WR with lots of starting experience loses his starting spot to another player who was mostly injured all of last year? Either Tucker is slipping or Jones is that good.

Who Will Be the Top 3 WRs?

This is a fairly important question. Cal's top 3 WRs get the majority of the snaps on the field - perhaps upward of 90%. So who is it going to be? Tucker, Ross, and Boateng have the most experience so you might think it'd be them. However, we all saw sophomore Alex Lagemann blow up in spring ball. Right now he's penciled in at the #1 slot position. When Cal goes to its 3 WR sets (11 personnel), if we assume the top players at each WR position see the field then the top three will be Boateng, Jones, and Lagemann. That leaves out experienced WRs Jeremy Ross, and Verran Tucker - and puts the more inexperienced Jones and Lagemann on the field. Do we want more inexperienced WRs on the field again another year? Is the talent that Jones and Lagemann bring to the field worth more than the experience that Ross and Tucker bring? Cal could have a Rose Bowl season next year if its passing game comes together (and assuming the running game stays dominant and the same goes for the defense). I'm not exactly sure that having more inexperienced players on the field is the greatest way to get that passing to improve. The alternative is that Cal adopts some sort of 5 WR rotation with all the aforementioned players rotate in frequently. It will be interesting to see what happens with the WR situation when fall camp ends.

via imgs.sfgate.com

Hagan Locks Up A Starting Spot From the Classroom

Darian Hagan has been out most of the spring working on academics. Most of us figured Chris Conte had a chance to steal a starting spot. It doesn't look like that is going to happen. Frankly, I'm not surprised. While Conte has shown improvements from his shaky freshman year, I still think Hagan has superior coverage skills as well as being better in run support too. The fact that Hagan still sits #1 at his CB spot despite being mostly MIA speaks volumes about what the coaching staff thinks of him.

Ted Miller of ESPN has been saying the secondary might be the best in the Pac-10. Well, he might be right. We all know Syd'Quan Thompson is a stud and an NFL talent. We all know Darian Hagan is great too (he's got two years remaining too!). Actually, I think Hagan is underrated and should have made Miller's Top-30 Players in the Pac-10 list. And with Sean Cattouse coming on strong and pushing Brett Johnson, and Marcus Ezeff being his stud self, our secondary could be wicked good again. Of course, let's not forget that a secondary's success also relies on the linebackers, and defensive line too.

Tad Smith Locks Up A Starting Spot From the Training Room

So Tad Smith breaks his Scapula, looks to be out perhaps through opening kickoff and set to lose his presumed starting spot to Anthony Miller but then he's still #1. Hmm... okay. I think it's safe to say that unless something crazy happens in the fall camp that he's still going to be #1.

via imgs.sfgate.com

Mychal Kendricks to Will and Devin Bishop to Buck

The biggest change in positions this spring was Mychal Kendricks moving from Buck (weak outside linebacker) to Will (weak inside linebacker), and Devin Bishop moving from Will to Buck.

I think a lot of fans are a bit hesitant about this move because Kendricks doesn't have prototypical size (6'0" 230 lbs) however I don't think that's a big concern. Former Cal middle linebacker Anthony Felder was 6'2", 233 lbs. Former Cal middle linebacker Worrell Williams was 5'11", 240 lbs. Both of those guys were very productive at their positions despite Felder being a bit under the prototypical weight of a middle linebacker, and Worrell Williams being under the prototypical heigh of a middle linebacker. Are we really going to make a big deal out of a Kendricks being perhaps 10-20 pounds lighter than the prototypical MLB? Or the fact that Kendricks is perhaps 2-3 inches too short for the prototypical MLB? I don't think we need to or should.

What matters the most is player production. The coaches feel that Kendrick's production is maximized at Will and that Bishop's production is maximized at Buck. I see nothing wrong with their decisions despite having Kendricks, who is only very slightly undersized, at Will.

Poll

Which position do you think has the fiercest competition for earning a starting spot?

Quarterback

43 votes

Wide Receiver

120 votes

Linebackers

36 votes

199 votes | Poll has closed

Arizona Cardinals Post Draft Coverage: Best Undrafted Free Agents

Hawkwind — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:19:30 -0000

Well the fire from the NFL draft weekend is still smoldering but today, and possibly the next couple of days, will center around the guys who did not get drafted. The Arizona Cardinals signed thirteen undrafted free agents and four of those guys are on the team right now including Ali Highsmith who was a prominent special teams player before hurting his knee midway through the season. The Cardinals could find some very useful pieces on this scrap heap but they'll have to work quickly because they're bidding against every other team in the league. We'll take a look at some of the notable names as well as update when any signings happen:

Here are some names that might ring a bell and will certainly be on the top of quite a few teams' wish list:

Linebackers: The Cardinals didn't draft an ILB for the second consecutive year but there are some notable names still available and with any luck, these guys might turn out even better than Ali Highsmith did last year. There are couple of outside backers at the bottom who might interest the Cardinals considering that they probably stash them on the practice squad and see how they look in a year once they learn the position.

Darry Beckwith (6'0, 234), LSU: Beckwith was thought be a third or fourth round pick at worse but his injury history and lack of great size or athleticism must have hurt him more than scouts thought.
Dannell Ellerbe (6'1 236) Georgia: Teams obviously thought that Ellerbe's breakout season in 2007 was overshadowed by three mediocre seasons. He'll have an uphill battle to make any team but he's got some athleticism and could be a factor on special teams.
Antonio Appleby (6'3 245) Virginia: He's nothing special in terms of production or athletic ability but a 3-4 team will pick him up for depth and his potential as a two down thumper.
Worrell Williams (5'11, 240) California: Williams is undersized but he's got experience in a 3-4 and the athleticism to be an NFL player.
Orion Martin (6'3, 262) Virginia Tech: Another former college DE who is probably best served switching to OLB, he's totaled 14 sacks over the past two seasons but ran a disappointing 4.89 at the combine.

Defensive Line: The Cardinals completely ignored the defensive line in the draft despite some concerns about the depth at defensive end and nose tackle. I'd be surprised if a couple of UDFA's aren't some wide bodied defenders.

Chris Baker (6'2 326) Hampton: Off the field problems forced him to leave Penn State and most likely are the biggest reason that's he field phone calls today instead of packing for an NFL team already. He's got the talent (16.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks) to play in this league but will need soem guidance.
Mitch King (6'1, 280) Iowa: King played defensive end, tackle and even linebacker while at Iowa and could project at either end or linebacker in the NFL. His tweener status probably kept him from being drafted by he's a versatile defender who carried a mid-round grade from some scouts.
Everette Pedescleaux (6'5, 305) Northern Iowa: The Cardinals were rumored to have brought Pedescleaux in for a visit before the draft and he'd offer some depth and athleticism at the defensive end spot.

Offensive skill positions: While the Cardinals might be stacked at running back after the selections of Wells and LSH, it wouldn't hurt to add another body to man the practice squad. Any receiver with some return potential might also be intriguing as should any balanced tight end.

Jeremiah Johnson (5'9 209) Oregon: He was never really a featured runner but he totalled over 2,000 yards at Oregon and averaged over six yards per carry. He's also got experience returning kicks.
Ian Johnson (5'11, 212) Boise State: Johnson ran surprisingly fast at the combine (4.46) but his long list of injury is concerning.
Devin Moore (5'9, 191) Wyoming: Moore's size hurts his stock but his athleticism is amazing and he could help a team as a third down back and kick returner.
Kory Sheets (5'11, 208) Purdue: Another smallish back with outstanding speed (4.47) who doubles as a back and return man.
Marlon Lucky and Arian Foster (5'11, 216 & 6'1, 215): Both Lucky and Foster were starting backs who ran disappointing 40's and failed to establish themselves as NFL material but seven rounds of waiting might just be the motivation that they needed.
Quan Cosby (5'9, 196) Texas: He's small and old for an NFL rookie (26) but he is faster than he timed (4.57) and was a successful punt and kick returner at Texas.
Jeremy Gilchrist (5'9 176) Hampton: Gilchrist is tiny and was neutralized by double teams after totaling over a 1,000 yards in 2007 but his six punt return touchdowns in the past two years is hard to ignore.
Ryan Purvis (6'3, 254) Boston College: A physically limited tight end whose senior production drastically dropped off with Matt Ryan gone, but he's physical, willing blocker who had over 50 reception in 2007.
Jared Bronson (6'4, 254) Central Washington: Bronson's a decent in-line blocker who has also shown the ability to stretch the field (17.9 yards per catch in 2008).

-----------------------------------------------------------------

There are countless other guys we could mention but that's a small taste. Who else would you like to see the Cardinals take a look at? What positions still need the most help?

NFL Draft II Open Thread

Avinash — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 08:39:12 -0000

NFL Draft, Day 2: 10 AM EST, 7 AM PST.

Worrell Williams Highlights from david cutcliff on Vimeo.

Round 1 is up and Alex Mack is on his way to Cleveland, where he will get a chance to duel with old enemies in Rey Maulauga and Keith Rivers at Cincy. It seems around football circles, he was valued more than the highly versatile Duck center Max Unger; Unger wasn't picked until late in the 2nd round to Seattle.

Now we're onto the meat and potatoes. Although the big guns have been hired, the 3rd through 7th rounds can offer so many opportunities at rebuilding a team from the bottom up. Follett and Morrah are the likeliest Bears to be drafted. Worrell, Rulon and Anthony all have shots too. Nate and Will are dark horses. We'll see what happens.

Before clicking through to the comment sections, ponder this question: Which Golden Bear moving on will have the best pro career? Answer this poll and elucidate on your answer in the comments.

After the jump are all the links from yesterday, along with danzig highlight reels for most of the players up for grabs.

Rulon Davis Highlights from bob gregory on Vimeo.

Rulon Davis (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

Interviews: Yahoo Sports, Cal Bears Examiner, The Football Expert, Daily Cal

Profile from Draft Countdown

Strengths: Decent athlete...Great height and bulk...Extremely long arms and big hands...Strong...Powerful tackler...Stout at the point of attack..Does a nice job in pursuit...Has a non-stop motor...Very tough...Hard worker.

Weaknesses: Below average speed and quickness...Is not very explosive and lacks a burst...Raw technician...Not a top pass rusher and repertoire of moves is limited...Durability is a concern...Is older than the average prospect.

Fanbases/teams interested in Rulon: New England, Oakland, Indy, Buffalo (maybe it's just that one fan, fami1y_first who keeps on posting Bears players. Not that I don't mind the coverage...wooo! MORE GOLDEN BEARS IN BUFFALO!)

Wrecking Crew 2008 - Cal's Linebackers from jack bauer on Vimeo.

Zack Follett (click for Remembering the Seniors profile)

Interviews: Daily Cal, Scout, Examiner

Draft Countdown Profile

Strengths:
Very physical with good strength...Reliable tackler...Excellent in pursuit...Does a nice job versus the run...Can take on and shed blockers...Good pass rusher and blitzer...Has a burst to close...Very intense and competitive...A big hitter...Has a non-stop motor...Superb instincts...Hard worker...Tough and durable...Has a lot of special teams potential... Productive and really had a terrific senior campaign.

Weaknesses:
Just average size and bulk...Stiff and not a great athlete...Doesn't play real fast...Has some health and durability concerns...Sub par change of direction skills...Too aggressive at times...Lacks fluid hips...A liability in coverage...Marginal ball skills...Struggles in space ... Limited upside.

Fanbases/teams interested in Follett: San Francisco, Buffalo, Houston, Arizona, Oakland, New Orleans, Indianapolis

Worrell Williams (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

Draft Countdown Profile:

Strengths: Good athleticism...Is quick and agile with a burst...Decent bulk and a solid frame...A reliable tackler...Able to deliver the big hit...Good strength...Works through traffic well...Has a great motor...Intense and competitive...Versatile...Durable and experienced...Good bloodlines.

Weaknesses: Shorter than you'd prefer...Does not have great timed speed...Lacks fluid hips...Average, at best, in coverage...Questionable instincts and awareness...Is too aggressive at times...Has trouble getting off blocks.

Fanbases/teams interested in Worrell: Denver, St. Louis, Cincinnati

Anthony Felder (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

Draft Countdown profile:

Strengths:
Very athletic...Above average speed, agility and quickness...Excellent strength...Reliable tackler...Outstanding range...Intelligent with great instincts and awareness...Smooth in coverage...Offers some positional versatility...Fantastic work ethic...Lots of experience...Still has upside.

Weaknesses:
Does not have the size that you look for...Has trouble taking on and shedding blockers...Marginal pass rush ability...Isn't a big hitter...Does not make many impact plays in coverage...Durability may be an issue.

Fanbases/teams interested in Anthony: Cincinnati

Will Ta'ufo'ou Career Highlights from danzig on Vimeo.

Will Ta'ufo'ou (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

Sports Illustrated Draft Profile:

POSITIVES: Explosive lead blocker who flashes skill handling the ball. Quick off the snap, accelerates into blocks and fundamentally sound. Displays good footwork in pass protection, picks up blitzes and squares into defenders. Gets out front and creates space for running backs. Works hard to finish blocks.

NEGATIVES: Average strength and really does not get much movement run blocking. Looks small for 250 pounds. Rarely asked to handle the ball.

ANALYSIS: Ta'ufo'ou is a hard-working fullback who's also been very effective on special teams in college. He has the skill set to find a home as a number two fullback on a roster, and Ta'ufo'ou presents himself as a special teams demon.

Fanbases/teams interested in Will: Cincinnati

Cameron Morrah (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

Draft Countdown Profile

Strengths:
Very athletic...Good speed and quickness...Soft, reliable hands...Great body control and ball skills...Decent leaper...Runs good routes...Able to separate..Strong...Is not afraid to work the middle...Still has upside.

Weaknesses:
Just average size and bulk...Isn't very elusive and won't do much after the catch...Questionable instincts and awareness...Isn't much of a blocker...Not real tough or physical...Durability...Limited experience.

Fanbases/teams interested in Morrah: Atlanta, Denver, Philadelphia, Detroit, Buffalo (there's a crazy number of Cal fans who are Bills fans too, weird)

Nate Longshore (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

Stories on Longshore: CC Times, Examiner

Tom Schneider (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile): Plus our interview with him! And my old interview with him!

Jordan Kay (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

Poll

Which Golden Bear moving on will have the best pro career?

Nate Longshore

9 votes

Will Ta'ufo'ou

12 votes

Alex Mack

151 votes

Anthony Felder

0 votes

Zack Follett

18 votes

Cameron Morrah

4 votes

Worrell Williams

2 votes

Rulon Davis

1 votes

Another Cal senior

4 votes

201 votes | Poll has closed

NFL Draft Open Thread

Avinash — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:30:09 -0000

This post is for discussing this weekend's NFL Draft. If the thread gets huge on Day 1 we can probably split it into two threads for each day. Any NFL fans wandering by after Cal players get drafted are welcome to comment too!

For Cal fans with NFL allegiances, you're free to speculate about which players your team is interested in, who you believe they should pick, how happy or disgusted you are with your team's picks, and how Mel Kiper's hair could be used as a biological weapon.

For those not terribly interested in where everyone ends up but just that they get drafted, this is one last chance to reminicise about seniors. Which senior will you miss the most? Which senior do you think the Bears will miss the most, based on their importance to the team? And is there anything wrong with the draft profiles on our players?

Here are some brief predictions of where some of our players can go by people (i.e. SBNation NFL blogs) who follow this stuff way more closely than me.

After Alex Mack, the jump takes us to the rest of the players who are in the draft mix and see which fanbases have expressed interest in them (the description is more detailed for Mack since he's the only one going on Day 1; after that it becomes essentially a crapshoot).

Alex Mack (click for Remembering the Seniors profile)

via www.calbearsonline.com

Interviews: Scout, Yahoo Sports

Draft Countdown Profile

Strengths:
Ideal size and bulk...Extremely smart...Decent athlete with good agility and quickness...Physical and aggressive...Nasty with a killer instinct and always finishes plays...Great technician who understands angles and leverage...Outstanding awareness...Very strong and powerful and is a monster in the weight room...Above average mobility...Hard worker...Tough and durable... Has a lot of experience.

Weaknesses:
Does not have great balance and spends too much time on the ground...A little stiff in the hips...Not real light on his feet...Shorter arms than you'd prefer...Can be too aggressive at times...Will get out of control ... Susceptible to being overwhelmed by massive defenders

Bruce Feldman

Alex Mack, Cal, C: I know some teams prefer Oregon's Max Unger to Mack in part because the Bear spends too much time on the ground. Some of the Pac-10 defensive tackles I've spoken to in the past say Mack was the better player. My hunch is that Mack will start in the NFL for close to a decade. He is a former standout wrestler with great flexibility and more than enough bulk to anchor the middle.

Fanbases really interested in Mack: Buffalo (don't forget we did an interview with them about Mack), Arizona, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Miami

Fanbases not interested: Seattle, Detroit, Kansas City

Most mock drafts have him going to...Pittsburgh with the 32nd pick (Big Blue View (Giants), Canal Street Chronicles (Saints), Don Banks of SI, Sports Agents Blog, Mocking the Draft, Music City Miracles (Titans), Stampede Blue (Colts), Mile High Report (Broncos), Niners Nation (49ers), Walter Football). Quite pleasing if this happens.

Dark horses: Peter King has him going to Minnesota, which means he's not. Mel Kiper has him in Cincy in the 2nd round, I think. Michael Abromowitz of the Football Expert believes he's the second surest prospect in the draft. Nevertheless, Mike Maycock believes Max Unger is a better pick because of his versatility, or whatever.

Zack Follett (click for Remembering the Seniors profile)

via cdn2.sbnation.com

Interviews: Daily Cal, Scout, Examiner

Draft Countdown Profile

Strengths:
Very physical with good strength...Reliable tackler...Excellent in pursuit...Does a nice job versus the run...Can take on and shed blockers...Good pass rusher and blitzer...Has a burst to close...Very intense and competitive...A big hitter...Has a non-stop motor...Superb instincts...Hard worker...Tough and durable...Has a lot of special teams potential... Productive and really had a terrific senior campaign.

Weaknesses:
Just average size and bulk...Stiff and not a great athlete...Doesn't play real fast...Has some health and durability concerns...Sub par change of direction skills...Too aggressive at times...Lacks fluid hips...A liability in coverage...Marginal ball skills...Struggles in space ... Limited upside.

Fanbases/teams interested in Follett: San Francisco, Buffalo, Houston, Arizona, Oakland, New Orleans, Indianapolis

Cameron Morrah (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

via cache.daylife.com

Draft Countdown Profile

Strengths:
Very athletic...Good speed and quickness...Soft, reliable hands...Great body control and ball skills...Decent leaper...Runs good routes...Able to separate..Strong...Is not afraid to work the middle...Still has upside.

Weaknesses:
Just average size and bulk...Isn't very elusive and won't do much after the catch...Questionable instincts and awareness...Isn't much of a blocker...Not real tough or physical...Durability...Limited experience.

Fanbases/teams interested in Morrah: Atlanta, Denver, Philadelphia, Detroit, Buffalo (there's a crazy number of Cal fans who are Bills fans too, weird)

Rulon Davis (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

via cdn1.sbnation.com

Interviews: Yahoo Sports, Cal Bears Examiner, The Football Expert, Daily Cal

Profile from Draft Countdown

Strengths: Decent athlete...Great height and bulk...Extremely long arms and big hands...Strong...Powerful tackler...Stout at the point of attack..Does a nice job in pursuit...Has a non-stop motor...Very tough...Hard worker.

Weaknesses: Below average speed and quickness...Is not very explosive and lacks a burst...Raw technician...Not a top pass rusher and repertoire of moves is limited...Durability is a concern...Is older than the average prospect.

Worrell Williams (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

via cache.daylife.com

Draft Countdown Profile:

Strengths: Good athleticism...Is quick and agile with a burst...Decent bulk and a solid frame...A reliable tackler...Able to deliver the big hit...Good strength...Works through traffic well...Has a great motor...Intense and competitive...Versatile...Durable and experienced...Good bloodlines.

Weaknesses: Shorter than you'd prefer...Does not have great timed speed...Lacks fluid hips...Average, at best, in coverage...Questionable instincts and awareness...Is too aggressive at times...Has trouble getting off blocks.

Fanbases/teams interested in Worrell: Denver, St. Louis, Cincinnati

Will Ta'ufo'ou (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

via www.dailycal.org

Sports Illustrated Draft Profile:

POSITIVES: Explosive lead blocker who flashes skill handling the ball. Quick off the snap, accelerates into blocks and fundamentally sound. Displays good footwork in pass protection, picks up blitzes and squares into defenders. Gets out front and creates space for running backs. Works hard to finish blocks.

NEGATIVES: Average strength and really does not get much movement run blocking. Looks small for 250 pounds. Rarely asked to handle the ball.

ANALYSIS: Ta'ufo'ou is a hard-working fullback who's also been very effective on special teams in college. He has the skill set to find a home as a number two fullback on a roster, and Ta'ufo'ou presents himself as a special teams demon.

Fanbases/teams interested in Will: Cincinnati

Anthony Felder (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

via blog.oregonlive.com

Draft Countdown profile:

Strengths:
Very athletic...Above average speed, agility and quickness...Excellent strength...Reliable tackler...Outstanding range...Intelligent with great instincts and awareness...Smooth in coverage...Offers some positional versatility...Fantastic work ethic...Lots of experience...Still has upside.

Weaknesses:
Does not have the size that you look for...Has trouble taking on and shedding blockers...Marginal pass rush ability...Isn't a big hitter...Does not make many impact plays in coverage...Durability may be an issue.

Fanbases/teams interested in Anthony: Cincinnati

Nate Longshore (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

Stories on Longshore: CC Times, Examiner

Tom Schneider (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile): Plus our interview with him! And my old interview with him!

Jordan Kay (Click for Remembering the Seniors Profile)

Poll

Which departing Cal player will you miss the most?

Nate Longshore

17 votes

Alex Mack

48 votes

Zack Follett

96 votes

Cameron Morrah

1 votes

Rulon Davis

2 votes

Worrell Williams

2 votes

Will Ta'ufo'ou

20 votes

Anthony Felder

4 votes

Jordan Kay

1 votes

Tom Schneider

2 votes

Another senior (Sean Young, Norris Malele, Nick Sundberg, etc.)

2 votes

195 votes | Poll has closed