As a continuance of my previous thoughts on the Bears where I stated that while Jahvid Best is the crown jewel, the quarterback will have a greater role in the success of the offense.

If his Golden Bear offense was a video game, Coach Jeff Tedford might have found a talented gamer to hand-over the joystick controls.  As the offensive coordinator of the only undefeated team in division 1A last season, Andy Ludwig could be the change agent for a Cal offense that, irrespective of its success, struggled with its passing game in 2008.

I stated in my earlier post that Tedford did not handle the quarterback situation particularly well last season.  With the addition of Ludwig, Tedford may have hired his creative equal who will assume the duties of quarterback coach and offensive coordinator.

Tedford essentially stole Ludwig away from Kansas State in the off-season two months after he settled into Manhattan as the Wildcat offensive coordinator.  When Tedford made the offer, Ludwig jumped at the opportunity to work with the well-respected coach.

Ludwig arrives with a pedigree similar to that of Tedford’s serving as offensive coordinator and QB coach at Fresno State (‘98-‘01) and then at Oregon (‘02-‘04).  So, who was the coach he replaced at those venues?  You got it, Tedford, with no less success in jump starting offenses with crafty play calling and exposing defensive weaknesses.    

At Fresno, Ludwig coached future NFL number one pick David Carr who led the nation in passing with 4,839 yards and then coached Oregon QB, Kellen Clemens, an eventual number two pick in the NFL.  Wide receiver Sammy Parker set Duck game, season and career records for receptions all the while featuring two 1,000-yard rushers Onterrio (the Whizinator) Smith and Terrance Whitehead.

Last season Ludwig helped Utah to a 13-0 record slamming Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and an eventual number 2 ranking in the AP poll.  Ludwig’s success was the result of his alliance with quarterback, Brain Johnson, Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Sugar Bowl MVP. 

Obviously, Ludwig has a knack for quick decision-making and in the process cultivating high performance from quarterbacks.  I am most intrigued however, with his familiarity with the spread offense, which he ran at Utah.  Bear fans will recall an earlier Tedford experiment with the offense was when in ‘06 he hired Mike Dunbar from Northwestern, a respected spread offense coordinator.  We never really knew what the problem was, but Dunbar left after a season and the only remnant of the spread is Cal’s steady use of the shotgun formation.    

I seem to think that Tedford had philosophical differences with Dunbar and perhaps feared he would lose control or worse, Dunbar could somehow mutate his pro-style offense into something unimaginable. 

A new age in college football is emerging.  Players are faster, bigger and stronger largely because of sport specialization and year-round weight training.  Tedford knows that there is a metamorphis evolving and he needs to make changes to stay ahead of the curve in an environment where top offenses successfully employ the spread offense.  One only needs to look at Florida, Texas, Texas Tech, Oregon, Utah and many others to see this growing trend.

Have a look at the players recruited by Tedford.  He puts a premium on players with speed, size and the dedicated desire for continuous skill development.  The big difference between Tedford’s pro-style offense and the spread is the use of the tight end and fullback.  The TE and FB positions are utilized on blocking assignments, creating situations where a smaller cornerback must cover a larger receiver or by changing up the rushing game with a short yardage run.  The spread does not utilize a true TE or FB instead employing speedy receiver types at the wide-out positions and receiver/back hybrids lined up in the slots, or in a one or two-back set.  The quarterback sits in the shotgun with varied options handing off, passing, running or optioning making it difficult for defenses to react quickly.  The idea is to spread the field horizontally to open running lanes, create mismatches and catch defenses off-guard with misdirection.

Invention in the game of football takes a commitment in a system with players that fit a particular scheme.  Ludwig’s foundation is in the pro-style offense, but he has obviously excelled in running the spread.  Could it be that Tedford is considering morphing his offense to incorporate spread tendencies?  Time will tell, but the players he has recruited in recent years have all the makings of skilled, fleet-footed athletes well suited for both offenses.  With Ludwig at the controls and his penchant for tutoring quarterbacks, especially a genuine playmaker like Kevin Reilly, he very well could be the right mix-master to coordinate a yet to be known offense scheme.

Perhaps one day, Tedford will be the gamer playing the latest craze in college football and it might be something called the Pro-Spread offense.   

Well folks, we are in Cal football season mode, not like some of you are not in pre basketball mode, but the football season is upon us. I received the tickets a couple of weeks ago and was surprised to find them in a spiral bound book. The book contains sheets of tickets and parking passes, a few ads and a message from the AD. They did such a nice job I am going to hate to take it apart.

My first comment of the season concerns quarterback Kevin Riley. Although here are eight defensive players returning and a healthy, Jahvid Best is slated to carry the load; the QB will make this a special season assuming he plays to his potential. The biggest criticism I ever had of Tedford was his handling of the QBs last season. I think he did a terrible job, and in some ways, his actions retarded Riley's growth. I will acknowledge that Coach is much closer to the situation, but it certainly appeared to me that Riley's confidence was shattered with the uncertainty of his role and the rotation pattern he shared with Longshore. Regardless, the unseen benefit is that Riley might have "grown up" in the process, which is one of the reasons I am considering him my pre-season comeback player of the year. The offensive line is improved and the receivers should be formable. Riley's responsibility will be to manage the game, move the chains and not turn the ball over; he does not need to win games with is arm, but he is wholly capable of doing so as game conditions dictate. The Bears will go as far as Riley, not Best, takes them.

The associated factor in my thoughts concern the new offensive coordinator, which I think will take some load off Tedford and in the process mentor Riley. I will discuss the new OC/QB coach later.