Stumbled upon a pretty cool video of Cal QB Nate Longshore working out with this season's prospective starting wide receivers Nyan Boateng, Michael Calvin, Jeremy Ross, and Cal's presumed starting running back Jahvid Best.
(Credit to "fuzzyip" for the video. Good choice of Jay-Z yo.)
Good to see the wide receivers working on get some solid practice time in with Nate before Fall camp starts, just to work on their timing with the quarterback. And no, that's not some hidden endorsement for Nate. It's just encouraging to see actual footage of them putting the time in to get comfortable running their routes and getting a feel for the passes at this point before the season starts.
Also, I nearly "marked out" watching Best explode off the line and make his cuts.
Oh yeah, and Michael Calvin is a big dude. Looks like T.J. "Who's Your Mama?" Houshmandzadeh out there.
...Cal has officially decided to not put any names on the uniforms for this upcoming season, similar to what they did for the Armed Forces Bowl. Tedford had mentioned previously that this was done during the bowl to honor our men and women serving in the military, but one can expect the move is determine to ensure that all the players play for the team, and not for any personal glorification. "After the way Washington and Stanford happened, it was evident that we all needed to come together and look at accountability issues," Tedford said. "That's what we did. It was taking identity off of individuals and putting it back on the team." (San Francisco Chronicle) The news came out of the Bay Area College Football Media Day as reported by Jonathan Okanes on his blog...
...Cal's been hit with another 20 day injunction preventing them from cutting down the trees to begin their construction of the SAHPC, despite winning the 18 month long trial. The City of Berkeley has decided not to appeal the case (although they have 50+ days to change their minds), leaving the the California Oak Foundation and the Panoramic Hill Association to fend for themselves in their newly filed appeal. It's still looking like it will be difficult for them to find an appellate judge who will grant another injunction, which would mean that August 18th is tree cutting day. Then again, this is Berkeley and anything is possible... ...Finally, I decided to get my season tickets. A lot of you must be thinking, "WTF?! A bear blogger not getting season tickets? Now hold up. I love me my Cal football games in Memorial Stadium, but I also was looking forward to crazy stat checking and live posting with my thoughts on the games, which I could only do from home. But ultimately, I figured, I'll have plenty of chances to do that with Cal's away games, and should enjoy Cal's favorable home schedule while I can. See ya'lls there. Go Bears!
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Just picked up NCAA Football 09 with Darren “I can pump out illegitimate kids faster than I can run my 40 yard dash time” McFadden. Actually, I just rented it. As a proud owner of NCAA Football 2008, I haven’t just yet brought myself to purchase the game. I know it’s got a lot more features (online dynasties, ability to share rosters, custom music after key moments in games, more fluid gameplay), but quite frankly, I want to wait for a version of the game where my Bears are actually ranked. Fickle, eh?
With that said, after a few days of putting my time into the game, I’ve walked away with some observations and thoughts as to what we might be able to expect for this upcoming season. Keep in mind, to take this all with a grain of salt, as the EA developers are as authoritative of a college football source as Mark May is.
Starting with Our Offense… …Our Offensive Line is dominant. I have only been sacked a handful of times, which is a testament to the quality of the line, considering my current dynasty squad in NCAA 08 makes me look like Jimmy Clausen back there. It also didn’t matter which running back I threw in there, they were constantly opening up huge holes for big gains. Speaking of running backs…
…James Montgomery is your starter! Wait, what was that? Montgomery transferred to Washington State? In March? Four months before EA released the game? Come on guys. Apparently the developers at EA Sports didn’t get the memo…
…Continuing on the running backs, Jahvid Best is an absolute freak in the game. One crease, and he’s gone. A small hole? Gone. One free safety between him and the end zone on a HB pitch? Gone. Noticing a pattern here? I haven’t had a chance to play enough with either Slocum or Vereen, mainly because I haven’t needed to. Cal will probably using a more balanced rushing attack in terms of splitting carries, but if Best is 100% like Tedford is saying he is, expect him to have a big year…
…like Nate Longshore or Kevin Riley might have. Nate, is a star “impact” player in the game, and his accuracy shows it. He was spot on in most of his throws, and EA even boosted up his speed rating for good measure. In my game against Maryland, I started with Nate in the first half, where he was 14 of 21 for 176 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. However, Cal was still down by 10 points midway through the 3rd due to shoddy tackling (more on that later). I benched Nate and replaced him with Riley, who proceeded to go 9 of 14 for 156 yards and 1 TD (from a 76 yard Best flat). More interestingly, Riley led a late comeback overtime win over the Terps with the help of a Darian Hagan interception in the end zone on Maryland’s OT possession. What does this mean for our QB battle? Absolutely nothing…
…Generally speaking, reception yardage came mainly from my tight ends and half backs. Hell, even Tau’fou’ou got more catches than Jeremy Ross did in the game. Very rarely was I able to hit a WR deep, and most of their catches came on wide receiver screens and 15-20 yard slant and curl patterns. This seems to be pretty consistent with what I would expect at the beginning of the year as we break in our new receivers: Take advantage of their size and blocking skills on the screens, and build their confidence with intermediate routes. I’ll be ecstatically surprised if our receivers begin burning defenders right off the bat…
…Again, expect our tight ends and half backs to be pretty involved in the passing game, according to EA. Morrah is essentially a bigger and slower wide receiver, and Tad Smith apparently catches everything thrown to him. Throw 6’7 freshman Spencer Ladner into the mix, and Tedford’s hypothesizing that we might see one of our explosive tail backs line up in the slot on certain plays, and expect our passing yardage to be pretty evenly spread out…
…Moving on to defense… …Our defense is very…how should I say this…Bob Gregory-ish. That is, we give up a lot of yards, and expect opposing teams to score consistently in the mid 20 range. Why? We usually force a decent amount of turnovers, and step it up a bit more in the red zone, forcing just as many field goals as we do touchdowns…
…Our linebacking corp is rock solid. After every game I’ve played thus far, all of my linebackers are highlighted by orange or red circles indicating their confidence levels. However, I can’t really say the same about our…
…Secondary. For what it’s worth, I expect our secondary to be a lot better in real life than they are in the game. That is, they had better be. Any time I bring any sort of blitz to disrupt the passing game, my DBs are getting either A) burned or B) Shaken off with the slightest shove from a receiver. To be honest with you, a lot of times, it looked a little bit like this: (cue at the 1:36 mark)…
…Our D-Line will be just okay. It’ll be better than last year’s (which isn’t saying much), but still expect a most of our sacks to come from one of our linebackers…*cough Follett…
…Finishing with Special Teams…
…And there isn’t much to say because I rarely punt. I don’t care if it’s 4th and 30 on my 8 yard line. I am going to convert on your ass. I think I have a 40% 3rd down conversion percentage, and a 95% conversion rate on 4th downs. Unbelievable. Only real notable notes…
…Jordan Kay still has no leg power or accuracy for any field goals longer than 35 yards. And Bryan Anger is as much a beast in the game as he is in real life. We’ll see how accurate he can be…
…So what does it all mean?
…Again, not much. You don’t have to log in hours to the game to know that Cal is going to be productive, not prolific on offense. Expect the ball to spread around more, and a bigger emphasis on the running game. Our defense will be more or less of the same thing, just with the linebackers being involved in nearly every play on defense. And special teams won’t be much of an issue if Tedford decides to man up and decide to never punt. Again. Kidding, not everyone can have a 95% conversion rating on 4th downs.Read the rest of the post and comments here >>
Judge Barbara Miller finally issued her ruling yesterday, and the ruling was good.Judge Miller ruled in favor of the University in virtually all the issues, and awarded 85% of the University’s legal costs to the University.Further, she directed that a third of the costs are to be paid by each of the three plaintiffs: The City of Berkeley, The Panoramic Hills Neighborhood Association and the California Oak Foundation.
In regards to the ever so burdensome injunction preventing the actual construction and the booting of the tree sitters, Miller has ruled that the injunction will be lifted in seven days to allow for an appeal to be filed.
The one factor that prevents a mass cartwheeling episode from joyous Cal fans down Bancroft Avenue is the issue as to whether the plaintiffs plan on appealing the case.This is where it gets a bit more confusing for me, although nearly everything I’m reading appears to indicate that an appeal would be unlikely to prevent building of the facility by summer’s end.
“If the petitioners decide to appeal, they will have the burden of proving that Miller's ruling--which comes after she issued a 129-page preliminary ruling last month--is faulty. Even if petitioners decide to pursue an appeal, the university will be able to commence construction during an appeals process if the three-judge appeals panel does not grant another injunction.” (Daily Cal)
Heck, even Ken Crawford over at Excuse Me For My Voice who has been reservedly (and understandably) pessimistic about the trial thus far is shooting off exclamation points is confident that the appeals will fail.
In the end, it may come down to whether or not the City of Berkeley decides to appeal the case, which they will decide on in a meeting Thursday evening.Apparently, there is an automatic injunction of 20 days after an appeal is filed, but considering how unlikely it is that the plaintiffs will be able to find an appellate judge who will grant them a further injunction, August 18th might be the day to show up at the grove with some lawn chairs and popcorn.Or perhaps some chainsaws.
We are officially 39 days away from Cal's opener against the Michigan State Spartans. Here's a look ahead at some other Cal events that are coming up.
2 DaysAway (7/24) - Pac-10 Media Day. A day full of Pac-10 coaches dodging questions from reporters and awkwardly exchanging pleasantries with one another. Remember the whole Harbaugh/Carroll "compliment" fest last year? Can't wait to see what old Captain Comeback has in store for us this year. Oh yeah, and Alex Mack will be representing the team with Coach Tedford this year.
13 DaysAway (8/4) - Training Camp Begins.Or as Nate Longshore once affectionately called it, a "football prison." Say what you want, but I can't wait to see develops in camp this year, starting from the QB battle to what the new freshman wide receivers show in fighting for a starting spot.
17 DaysAway (8/8) - First Day in Full Pads and the day all the starting Cal linebackers wet their shorts in excitement.
32 Days Away (8/23) - Fan Appreciation Day from 12-2PM. Our first, and really our last chance to see the Bears in "action" prior to the season opener. Expect another controlled scrimmage, and hopefully more free burritos from Baja Fresh.
Just a quick blurb on THA1. Desean Jackson has reached an agreement with the Philadelphia Eagles, signing a four-year contract with the club, just in time before training camp begins next week. Financial details were not released, so we don't quite no just yet what Jackson is raking in after leaving school early to go pro.
One's gotta ask, was it worth a possible National Championship run Desean? WAS IT!? Kidding. Remember, I said it was a possible NC run. Possible.
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Two things are becoming increasingly evident as time goes on with Cignetti at the offensive helm.
(Michael Zagaris/Getty Images)
1) Don't expect anything new in terms of offensive strategy with Cignetti. It's been stressed repeatedly how similarly minded Cignetti is with Coach Tedford, as they seem to emphasize the same offensive philosophies.
Cignetti: "What Jeff was looking for was a guy who could work with him. As we talked, we felt our offensive philosophies were very similar. What I mean by that is our approach to the game in terms of running the ball, protecting the quarterback, throwing the ball and training the quarterback. I think there was a comfort level that our backgrounds and beliefs were going to be compatible. I also think Jeff was looking for a guy who'd be able to come in who'd had success calling plays in the past, who could let him concentrate on other things."
I suppose this means we won't be seeing anything radically different in terms of playcalling this year. It won't be anything near the nuances we saw introduced when Dunbar came from Northwestern. Expect Cal to pound the ball, get their receivers in space, and maybe get cute every once in a while.
2) Expect Nate Longshore to take the first team snaps this fall.
"At the end of spring, did you have one ahead of the other?
Cignetti: Absolutely not. Nate had such a good first week of practice that there was no doubt in my mind that, after we were told he'd miss the rest of spring, that he'd at least be part of a competition, if not the starter."
I know, I know. You can't read too much into this interview, and who knows even how much say Cignetti will ultimately have in the quarterback competition between Longshore and Riley. I know it's still wide open, as a lot, and I mean A LOT can happen once camp starts next month. But at this point, based on what I've seen and read of what the coaches have thought of the two qbs thus far, I'd be very surprised to not see Longshore take the first set of first team snaps in camp, as well as on opening game. I'm not saying it's not very close, because I think it is, but if Longshore and Riley are both performing equally in practice next month, I expect them to fall back on the veteran.
[On a side note, any self respecting Pac-10 college football fan should be loving Ted Miller's new Pac-10 Blog over at ESPN. He updates pretty regularly throughout the day, and pretty much everything is a good read. Definitely worth checking out.]
Booth. I know. But I thought it was still worth posting, even if it's a little late.
I usually listen to the Woody Show on Live 105 on my commute to work in the mornings simply because I'm not too much of a fan of Murph and Mac on KNBR (too much Giants talk for someone me who is at best, a casual baseball fan).
So I was a bit bummed that I missed this little tirade that morning, but subsequently relieved later, that I was able to find it pretty quickly later on YouTube.
Most of the hosts of the Woody Show have been pretty anti-hippie and anti-Berkeley, so it was pretty funny to see Ralphie May lose it in a conversation with an unintelligible hippie calling in to support the tree sitters. Fast forward in a few minutes to get to the good stuff.
Traditionally one of the better and more comprehensive preseason looks at college football teams, Blue Ribbon College Yearbook has just released their analysis of this year's Cal squad. Normally, you have to be an ESPN Insider to check out these breakdowns, but this year, Cal's article is free.
I would say it's pretty accurate for the most part. Just to be Anal with a capital "A," I'll throw in a few areas that may have been overblown or not mentioned quite enough.
No mention of walk-on kicker David Seawright who will seriously push fellow walk-on Jordan Kay for field goal duties, and is all but assured of handling kickoff duties if all reports of his kick strength are true. It's said that 80% of his kickoffs last year went for a touchback. I for one would love to see that.
Stating that Riley played in four games last year misleads an uninformed reader to think Riley has gotten his fair share of playing time last year. His only really significant playing time came in his memorable bowl performance against Air Force and his even more memorable start versus Oregon St. His other two performances against Louisiana Tech and Oregon were fairly mop-up, handling handoffs and only attempting a handful of passes in the former.
Other than that, I thought everything else was pretty spot on. Unless someone else saw something that seemed way off, this years breakdown seems pretty good. As for their record? No one wants to openly embrace the idea of going 7-5, and 5-4 in conference play, but it appears all too possible considering the number of questions at this point in the preseason. Are 9 or 10 wins possible? I think so yes. But then again, so is 5-7.
I'll have more of a breakdown of this year's team at some point in the coming weeks.
I quickly remembered the pinnacle of college football video greatness, the model for which Cal-NAY-All college football marketing programs should strive for. If this doesn't get your blood pumping, I don't know what does. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, KSU's Power Towel Campaign.
It's safe to say that I haven't been really impressed with the Cal Athletics Marketing Department over the past few years. A lot of their videos have been pretty crude and amateur looking to say in the least (save for the Cal Oregon '06 Hightlight Video) which still gives me chills some times.
If you head over to the official Cal Bears site though, you'll find one of the coolest videos they've made...possibly ever. I've included it below for ya'll to check out.
[EDIT: TwistnHook from the CaliforniaGoldenBlogs were right. You can't stop the video from auto playing. So click on the pic below to go to the official Cal page and just view it there.]
It would be quite awesome to see a different version (sans the ticket sales message) of this played on the "jumbotron" at Memorial Stadium right before the team runs out of the tunnel to take the field. Or Cal could update the video with new highlights as the season progresses. Whoa whoa...I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Baby steps.
Tony Gonzalez is the greatest tight end in NFL history. It really isn't a question. The guy has broken nearly every receiving record for a tight end, and will only need 79 more yards to become the career receiving leader among tight ends. He may do that in his first game this season.
He's also one of the greatest Cal players to ever but on the blue and gold and run out of the tunnel on Saturdays, and onto the basketball courts on countless other days.
Oh and he's also a savior. Not really Jesus Christ level, but that's what Ken Hunter might think of him after Gonzalez saved him from choking to death last week at a restaurant. Yahoo! Sports has the story.
"Gonzalez, sitting with his back to Hunter’s table, looked around when he heard Hunter’s companion yelling.
“She was screaming, `He can’t breathe, he can’t breathe,”’ Gonzalez said by phone from California, where he lives in the offseason. “The whole restaurant was quiet. Nobody was doing anything.”
Then I saw he was turning blue. Everybody in the restaurant was just kind of sitting there wide-eyed.”"
Just sitting there? Sheesh. They must have all been from Stanford.
Yesterday, Rivals had first opponent of the season ranked #32. Well, as it turns out, we're right in front of them at #31.
College Football's Preseason rankings have got to be one of the biggest patchwork pieces of guesswork and bias ever, but honestly, Rivals had Cal about where I expected us to be: Out of most Top 25 preseason polls, but not too far out to be withing striking distance of breaking into the rankings with a few early season wins.
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