Bear Bits: SI Article on Best, NFL Likes Cal, and Free Agent Writeup

A few Bear Bits for ya'lls as we begin to approach a slow summer of Cal football news.

[Edit: Blogger can temporarily kiss my booty for not posting the links. My bad ya'lls.]

• Sports Illustrated has a nice article about Jahvid Best. Good press. I like how the Heisman train is ramping up, but I'm more of a fan of anything Coach Gould says.

• Here's an interesting piece from Rivals: Cal is tied for 12th in the nation in terms of most players sent to the NFL since 2005. Coach Tedford was first hired in 2002. Coincidence? I think not. Unfortunately, Cal is in that category of teams that have had some NFL talent, yet have yet to win the conference championship. Cal's 2006 Co-Championship squad says "hello."
  

• All you wondering how the details of our Free Agent Cal Bears can mosey on over to the Cal Bears Examiner, and read Robert Calonge's nice writeup.

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Cal Free Agent Signings 2009 (Ongoing)

I thought I'd compile a list of all free agent activity with this year's Cal players aiming for the NFL. I'll update this as soon as I hear of anything.

[Edit: Jonathan Okanes is a lot better at this than I am. Considering, it's like...his job and all.]

• Rulon Davis has signed with the Denver Broncos (CC Timtes).

• FB Will Ta'fou'ou has signed with the Chicago Bears (KFFL).

• QB Nate Longshore will be trying out with the Miami Dolphins (KFFL).

• Longsnapper Nick Sundberg has signed with the Carolina Panthers (CC Times).

• ILB Anthony Felder has signed with the San Diego Chargers (CC Times).

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2009 NFL Draft Recap - Day Two

The 2009 NFL Draft has come and gone, and not without its share of surprises. For Cal fans, the biggest news on Day One was how high center Alex Mack was taken on Day 1 (21st Overall to Cleveland). Day 2 had far more surprises, but to the detriment of the Cal players involved.

Only two other Cal players were drafted on Sunday, both in the seventh and final round. Zack Follett was drafted 235th to the Detroit Lions, and Cameron Morrah went 248th to Seattle.

7th Round

26. (235th Overall) Detroit Lions – Zack Follett, OLB

The day must have been a bit of a letdown for both Follett and Morrah. Follett was projected to go anywhere from the 3rd to 6th round in most mock drafts, and I thought he wouldn’t slide any lower than the fifth. The news out on Follett is that his neck injury continued to be a big concern for NFL teams, and some reported that he didn’t even pass their team physicals. Still, given that Follett led the nation in tackles for loss last year, I did think that some teams would pull the trigger a bit sooner than the seventh round.

However, true to Follet’s style, the Pain Train isn’t going to whine about it.

"I'm excited because they're going to give me a good shot with the Lions," said Follett. "They're the ones that put their neck out and drafted me. I think the reason why I fell [in the draft] is because of my medical history with the neck problems and shoulder stuff that other teams didn't want to risk and take that pick. I think that's the reason I fell, but I'm not the one to make excuses. I'm excited to get out there and play."

"I'm seriously not disappointed," added Follett. "I'm glad to be drafted."

The Lions will look at Follett as either an inside or outside linebacker. They will likely evaluate his performance in the camps to see where they would most like to put him, and look for Follett to make plays on special teams for the first few seasons before they give him a chance to wreak some havoc in the backfield.

39. (248th Overall) Seattle Seahawks– Cameron Morrah, TE


Despite there being some strong questions about whether Cameron Morrah should have stayed another year, he was thought to go as high as the 4th round after a solid combine and pro workouts. Morrah will fight for a roster spot in Seattle this year, and can still turn out to be a productive tight end in the pros if he continues to develop. I’m certainly glad that Morrah got his wish to give his ailing grandmother and opportunity to see him play in the pros, but I will continue to wonder what might have been, both for the Bears and for Morrah’s pro prospects if he had stayed for his senior year.

Morrah also appeared to be upbeat about his draft situation.

"They called me on the phone and told me that they really liked me, and I was excited about that," said Morrah. "I just feel like I'm in a great situation going to Seattle. It's a great place, and I have met a couple people up there so I have got to make the most of it."

Undrafted Cal Players
The day was also disappointing for a number of Cal seniors who never received a call during the draft.


Linebackers Worrell Williams and Anthony Felder were both considered possible late round picks, and although not being drafted, will both likely end up sign as Free Agents soon.

DE Rulon Davis who certainly fit the mold of an NFL DE also wasn’t drafted, but it’s being reported by Jonathan Okanes at the Contra Costa Times that he just signed a free agent contract with the Denver Broncos.

QB Nate Longshore, FB Will Ta’ufo’ou, and long snapper Nick Sundberg should also get signed to be in some NFL camps as well.

[Edit: California Golden Blogs is reporting that Will Ta'ufo'ou has signed with the Chicago Bears.]

All in all, it was much more disappointing showing for Cal players in the draft than most, if not all, had expected. After last year’s strong showing, in which 6 Cal players were taken (3 in the first three rounds), I had hoped that Cal would continue its trend of strong representation in the draft. To be honest, I actually thought that only Mack, Morrah, and Follett would get drafted, with either Williams or Davis as a possibility. I was surprised at how late Follett and Morrah went though.

Honestly, by the time it gets that late in the draft, it’s often better for a player not to get drafted so they have the chance to choose which they get to sign with. However, I’m sure no player grows up wanting to be a free agent, so it has to be somewhat disappointing in the regard. They’ll be given a chance to compete for a spot though, which is a lot more than what thousands of college football players can say.

I think this continues to illustrate just how difficult it is to make it in the NFL, and how much of an enigma the entire draft process continues to be. As Follett himself stated, “I was a little disappointed how Cal guys don’t get much respect. We have a lot of good players here. I don’t know what it is.”

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2009 NFL Draft Recap - Day 1

With the 21st pick in the draft (after multiple trades), the Cleveland Browns have taken Cal's very own Alex Mack to lead their offensive line.

You can watch the pick here on the NFL Network.

My thoughts? Really, really good situation for Mack.


I was fairly confident that Mack would be the first center taken in the draft, but given how rarely centers go in the first round, I thought his best shot was falling to Pittsburgh at the end of the first round. Yet this first round has been a bit unusual for various reasons (Raiders...I can't even begin to think about what to say to you), and Mack gets drafted about as high as you could expect from a center on draft day. You've got to think the big man is absolutely ecstatic. Good things come to those who wait.

A lot of Cleveland fans and NFL Drafts analysts are likely to see this as a reach pick. I certainly wouldn't argue with that in terms of traditional drafting strategy, as quality centers can be found in the second round.

However, Mack is good enough to start Day One in the pros, and is tough enough to anchor an offensive line for the next ten years. He's a great addition for any team, and him and Joe Thomas should begin to ensure that the Browns begin building the formula for a solid offensive line.

Cleveland fans might be bummed, but I promise you that you will not be sorry.

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Cal Football Preview on College Football Live

"The Bears defense, dare we say it, in a conference lorded over by USC, might actually end up as the Pac-10’s best unit."
-ESPN's Ted Miller


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Nate Longshore Interview with the Examiner

The Nate Longshore Media Train continues this week with Robert Calonge's interview with Longshore over at the examiner. You can read the interview here.

(Quick thoughts after the bump.)


It's interesting that I've posted more links about Longshore this week than I have in a few months, considering he'll likely wind up a free agent. But according to the interview, enough teams have expressed interest that it's feasible a team may take a shot and draft him in later rounds, just to ensure that he'll be in their camp come fall. Who knows?

It's a good and fairly lengthy read, which is a treat considering how tight-lipped Longshore had become with the media towards the end of last season. He addresses topics from how he's benefited from playing for Coach Tedford, his thoughts about fan reaction, and why he feels like belongs with all the top QB prospects.

Oh, and fun fact: Longshore scored a 37 on the Wonderlic exam, better than any combine QB scores, and Aaron Rodgers' score of 33.

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Cal Bears NFL Draft Recaps 2003-2008

With the 2009 NFL Draft just days away, I thought I’d provide links for recaps of previous years’ drafts to see where our favorite Bears from years past have ended up.

Keep in mind I wrote these last year, so obviously some info has changed, but it’s still fun to see where and how our Bears have been drafted.

• 2008 NFL Draft Recap (Desean Jackson)

• 2008 NFL Draft Recap (Other Cal Players)

• 2008 NFL Draft Recap (Free Agent Signings)

• 2007 NFL Draft Recap

• 2006 NFL Draft Recap

• 2005 NFL Draft Recap

• 2004 NFL Draft Recap

• 2003 NFL Draft Recap

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Nate Longshore NFL Prospects

(ESPN.com)

Jonathan Okanes has some interesting and decently illuminating bits about the always enigmatic Nate Longshore and his NFL chances as Saturday’s draft approaches. The resonating theme from the media might be the story of how a once projected first round pick has fallen to the likelihood of not being drafted at all.

However, Longshored refuses to be dissuaded from pursuing his dream of playing pro ball, and is confident that he’ll end up in a preseason camp, even if that means going the free agent route.

You should definitely read J.O’s story with the Contra Costa Times and his blog write up with additional notes.

I thought the most interesting bit was a quote regarding his relationship with Coach Tedford:

After complaining at the end of the season that he didn’t get a fair chance this season, Longshore said having time to reflect gave him more understanding of Jeff Tedford’s decision-making.

“If you have one guy who is completely healthy and coming on strong and your veteran is a little banged up, you have to do what you feel is best,” Longshore said. “I can’t blame him or be mad at him for that. I don’t fault him for anything. I understand that I wasn’t playing nearly as well as I needed to be effective.”



I found this encouraging to hear, given that I was a bit saddened to hear that Longshore’s relationship with Tedford had come to what seemed to be an icy conclusion at the end of last season. It’s been nice to see the ways that Longshore has grown and handled himself over the years.

While I completely wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Nate getting drafted in the fifth or sixth round, as his agent says he might, I’m fairly convinced that Longshore will wind up as a free agent. Here’s hoping he gets signed to camp, and given a chance to compete. I for one would love to have the chance to see him throw the ball again, even if it’s in only in a preseason game.

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Rulon Davis Story up on Yahoo! Sports

Michael Silver (Cal Alum) has an interesting writup on former DE Rulon Davis. Davis goes into the most detail about his duty in Iraq that I've ever had a chance to read about.

There's also brief mention about his "chilly relationship" with Coach Tedford, as well as this fun tidbit:

Teammates still marvel at the tantrum Davis threw last September at an Oakland hotel the night before the Bears traveled east for a game at Maryland, a tirade which required the intervention of one of Tedford’s assistants to calm him down.

“All of us were really hungry after practice,” Davis explains, “and the [caterer] ran out of burgers. About 20 or 25 of us were standing around for 30 minutes, and they brought out about six or seven more. It was all bad.”



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Spring Scrimmage 09 Recap...Sorta

Ok, so I kinda goofed in regards to the Spring Scrimmage. I thought it was going to be similar to last year’s scrimmage, with the first half of the practice being position drills, and the actual 11-11 portion following afterwards.

So after circling the streets of Berkeley for 40 minutes looking for parking (we were nearly ready to pay the frat boys $30) for a spot, we found a nice spot on Haste and Ellsworth, and made our way up to the stadium. Thinking that we would simply be missing warm-ups and stretches, we swung by Asian Food Ghetto (Durant Food Court) before we eventually wound up in Strawberry Canyon.

Hence, it was with some confusion that I saw Covaughn Deboskie get chased down by Chris Little in full scrimmage mode.

Puzzled, I asked an old Bear next to me, “How long have they been scrimmaging?”

Old Bear: “Oh about an hour now.”

Me: (silence). “Have they been going 11 on 11s the entire time?

Old Bear: “Pretty much.”


So yeah, I missed a good chunk of Spring Ball. And even had I stuck around the entire time, it would have been difficult for me to top some of the thorough reports of Saturday’s scrimmage already out there.

• Rusty Simmons, SF Chronicle.
• Jonathan Okanes, Contra Costa Times.
• HydroTech, California Golden Blogs
• Official Cal Website
  

So instead, some fun tidbits:

• Watched in amusement as DE Tyson Alualu got into a slapboxing match with his young daughter after the scrimmage. Well, let me explain. A little girl who I presumed to be Tyson’s daughter (as I can’t imagine it being any other kid), was standing on a bleacher seat in front of him, and appeared to be playing some quirky father-daughter game. Essentially, the gist of the game goes as follows: Papa Alualu stares down his daughter, Daughter giggles, sticks her tongue out at Papa Alualu, smacks him in the face, and Papa Alualu immediately responds back with a hearty smack to her cheek. Daughter collapses into a barrel of laughter, stands back up, rinse and repeat. The kid is tough.

• Saw former Cal FB Will Tau’ufo’ou in the stands. Dude looks even bigger.

• Jahvid Best has grown his hair out a bit. No more Mohawk. We’ll see if that returns come fall camp.

• Briefly Met up with Ragnarok and TwistnHook from the California Golden Blogs. I must say, they are almost exactly how I imagined them to be. They really talk exactly like they blog. It certainly makes for a pretty surreal experience.

• Got to meet Ken Crawford from Excuse Me For My Voice and his lovely family as well. Became depressed when I realized Crawford’s kids got to see more of the scrimmage than I did.

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5 Games That Would Feel Best to Win

Over the course of an offseason, it’s natural to become a bit numb to all the emotional pulses of being a Cal fan. You might say I’m in a bit of that state right now. Sure the Cal marketing video that was released last week got my hands a little clammy, but not nearly close to the extent as I get come August or September.

As I look at the upcoming schedule, I find myself already circling a number of games, not just for their importance to the season’s success, but rather the ones that I feel like Cal absolutely has to have. That is, I can’t help but find myself thinking anything from, “Man, it would really rock to win that game,” to “I swear to Jeebus, if we lose that game I am going to wallow in the tears of orphans and go on a senior-citizen punching spree.”

I got to thinking of the Top Five games that fall under these emotional umbrellas. Keep in mind, certain victories would feel better for different reasons. The desire to win a “revenge” game such as Maryland evokes different feelings than an overdue win against USC.

So I suppose this list could be both, “Games I Hope Cal Wins/Games We Better Not Lose.”

5. Maryland (Sept. 5)
In terms of conference title or Rose Bowl implications, this game has very few direct ones. Cal could lose its opener, and tear through its remaining schedule and still end up in Pasadena.

But in terms of sheer revenge or redemption, a win would feel good.

It was just last year that Cal dragged itself out of bed with its fresh Top25 ranking and 2-0 record, only to get whalloped on national television. Its dark horse Heisman candidate was blown up so bad he became a YouTube highlight reel for all the wrong reasons with his subsequent vommit. The Bears trailed 28-6 going into the 4th quarter and were held without a touchdown until the closing minutes. It was an embarrassing and head-shaking loss to a team who had just lost to Middle Tennessee State the week prior.


And heck, if that wasn’t enough let’s throw in Cal getting bounced out of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament by Maryland as some extra lumber for the flames. Losing to the turtles twice in a season? Not cool.

While most of the blame should be put on the team and coaches, as well as a questionable decision not to fly out the team earlier, this will be Cal’s marquee revenge game next year. While not quite up to Tennessee 07 levels, anticipation for revenge will be pumping through Memorial Stadium in early September.

Most Bear fans don’t want just a win. Cal fans want a dominating win. Like a 3 touchdown type of blow out. Let’s hope it happens.

4. at Oregon (Sept. 26th)
In terms of pure entertainment, there’s no other matchup on Cal’s schedule that I look forward to more than their annual matchup with Oregon. They’ve historically been the most competitive, exciting games of football in recent Cal football history.

No disrespect to the blast that was Cal vs. Oregon 2008, Remember the spectacle that was Cal Oregon 2007? This year’s matchup has the potential to match that level of excitement and media buildup. If both teams (and that’s a big if) can enter into the contest undefeated, we’re talking a likely Top 10 vs Top 15 type of matchup, in Autzen Stadium, with the winner being the strongest challenger to USC for the Pac-10 title this year.

The game alone would make this game a must watch. The national and conference implications make it a must win.


3. UCLA (Oct 17th)
While this might seem like an odd choice considering Cal rolled over UCLA late in the game last year with a 41-20 victory, most Cal fans are very aware of the fact that Cal has not won in Los Angeles in the Jeff Tedford era. Not in the Coliseum, and not in the Rose Bowl. It’s pretty amazing that Cal has only managed a split in the last few years, considering UCLA survived the Karl Dorrell era.

Personally, I can’t stand the fact that the Bears have had such shortcomings at the Rose Bowl. I have come to inextricably link the Bears shortcomings in Pasadena with their inability to play in the Grand Daddy of them all. An overdue win against the Bruins this year might be one of missing ingredients to finally smell roses.

2. Stanford
Any list comprised of must win games that doesn’t include Stanford is sacrilegious at best. However, excluding all the obvious reasons, I don’t think I could handle the backlash of not winning at Stanford Stadium this year. It’s not so much the fear of losing, it’s the fear of the aftermath would likely follow.

An entire year of obnoxious Stanford fans singing the praises of Harbough and his 2-1 record over Tedford? No thank you. The media declaring that Cal’s second loss to Stanford in Tedford’s 9 seasons marks the changing of the tide or shifting of collegiate football powers in the Bay Area? Barf. An affirmation of Harbaugh’s innovative commitment to players playing both offense and defense? Please.

A Big Game loss preventing the Bears from their first Rose Bowl berth in over fifty years? Lord, take me now.

(No.)

1. USC
Beating the Trojans this year tops my list because I feel it’s the combination of both ideas of emotional liberation. On one hand, if ever there were a year in the Jeff Tedford era that the Trojans were the must “vulnerable,” it’s this one. The Bears get the Trojans at home (where Cal has played USC well, save for the 2005 debacle) and in October. I can’t say enough about how huge it is not to play USC in November where they are invincible. And I don’t use any hyperbole with that statement. To cap it off, while USC’s offense will be the strongest in years, they do break in a first year albeit talented QB in either true frosh Matt Barkley, or redshirt sophomore Aaron Corp. The Trojans also have to restock after losing 9 seniors on their defense alone. Simply said, while it’s by no means easy, this is Cal’s best shot in years.

On the other hand, the scope of a very attainable of goal only exacerbates the desire to win this game because of the importance of a win. Fans and media alike know this is one of Cal’s best shots at making the trip to Pasadena in years. And Cal’s propensity to drop an occasional conference road game only magnifies the importance of a win over the reigning conference champion.

Man it'd rock to get a “W.”

And not you, “Dubya.”



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Bruce Snyder Passes

You may have already read countless news reports, but former Cal coach Bruce Snyder passed away today after his battle with melanoma. Snyder was 69.

God Bless Coach Snyder and his family.

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Second Spring Scrimmage Notes and Links

Hey all, hope you had a great weekend. There are a lot of good notes around the web regarding Cal’s second Saturday scrimmage.

I’m not going to rehash the same stuff since it appears everyone else has done a fantastic job recapping the day, so I’m going to do this twitter style:


Anyway, here are the links to this weekend’s reports.

• Cal’s Official Site has a report up, with some nice quotes from the coaches and players.

• Jonathan Okanes from the Contra Costa Times was unable to make the practice, but Ben Enos did more than fine in filling him for J.O. with some blog notes and a live chat (fancy that!) afterwards to answer fan questions and provide his impressions and reactions.

• The Bear Insider continues with some great recaps, even making this one free for non-premium users.

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Season Ticket Renewal Promo Video

Hey Cal fans,

I'm going to put on my Cal Marketing hat for a moment and remind you all that today's your last day to renew season tickets, so definitely take a chance to renew if you haven't already done so.

Their marketing department has also outdone itself again, besting their awesome promo videos from last year with an even slicker presentation in this year's campaign.

The video features last year's individual stats for certain player as they rip off highlight plays. Very cool stuff.

Again, their video autoplays however, so click on the screenshot below to watch the video in another window.


Again, grab your tickets if you haven't already done so.


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RE: Coach Tedford the Playcaller

The California Golden Blogs has a nice post and subsequent discussion thread about Coach Tedford's play calling. I started to write a short comment and ended up throwing in a few more thoughts. Head on over there to check it out.

[edit: Actually I'll throw in my comments here as well. Still you guys should check out the write up.]

A few things to add/consider:

If we’re using our annual matchup against USC to highlight our offense and playcalling, I think it’s important to look at last year’s game to illustrate why play calling was not the primary reason we lost.

Was play calling a factor? Absolutely. Having Jahvid run the direct snap (much to the ire of Ken Crawford) on 3rd down on our opening drive after successfully running the ball previously was unnecessarily risky, and killed the drive.

Lofting the ball over the middle knowing full well that our receivers were getting their heads nearly knocked off by Taylor Mays and company didn’t do much to build any offensive cohesion.

But if anything, I think last year’s game served to validate Tedford’s offensive philosophy, which I sincerely think is about getting down to the basics, and executing on the fundamentals. We really should not have won the game (obviously we didn’t), but we absolutely could have with our defense holding the Trojans to 10 points going into the 4th (even with Turner’s bs “TD” catch). I believe he walked away knowing that he and his staff had for the most part game planned well enough for the game, but saw the team was hurt by a lack of execution.

8 penalties for 50 yards. A game-tying TD called back on a penalty. A beat up offensive line. 3 trips into Trojan territory in the 3rd quarter alone that resulted in 0 points.

I don’t think Tedford walked away thinking, “man, we should have tried a few more creative or trick plays. I could have gotten in Cignetti’s ear about getting more agressive with the play calling.”

Rather, I think it was more of "You can’t beat yourself in situations, have penalties, get a touchdown called back, especially when you play a defense like that." And that’s an exact quote.

In sum, I’m in agreement about not needing to rely on creative play calling. Stick in there when it makes sense (if that statement even makes sense), but I believe that we can beat the cream of the conference’s crop if we’re healthy and we execute.

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First Spring Scrimmage Notes

Cal held its first spring scrimmage on Saturday, and the biggest news is that the offense executed well, and appeared to be able to move the ball. Given what we know about Cal’s defense, and what we don’t know about the offense, that’s a good thing. It should be taken with a grain of salt, but a good grain of salt.

A good number of links of write-ups and thoughts on Saturday’s practice.

• The Bear Insider

• Jonathan Okanes – Contra Costa Times

• Rusty Simmons – SF Gate

• Official Cal News Story

• HydoTech – California Golden Blogs

QB Play
Most reports have Riley looking very sharp in the scrimmage, and very solid on the opening 70-yard drive, in which he went 3-3 for 62 yards, including a 34-yard TD strike to Marvin Jones. The “unofficial numbers” vary, but Riley appears to have finished 8-15 for 98 yards and 2 TDs.

Brock Mansion struggled a bit more going 2-11 for 23 yards. He completed his first pass, a 25-yarder to Alex Lagemann, but misthrew the rest of the way. His only other completion was a pass to Covaughn Deboskie that went for -2 yards.

Beau Sweeney fared a bit better, going 5-8 for 55 yards.

Nothing surprises me too much, but I must say that I’m a bit concerned that Mansion still appears to be a bit inaccurate. Granted, Riley had a chance to run primarily with the first team, but reports about Mansion’s progress appear to be the same types of comments I read about Mansion last year. He has all the talent to be an incredible quarterback, but he doesn’t seem to have hit his stride just yet.

I also don’t honestly expect Sweeney to see much playing time this season barring any injury, but I’m encouraged to hear nothing but positive comments about him.

Beware…
…Marvin Jones cometh. Seriously.

Tad Smith Out
One of the bigger pieces of notes is that projected starting tight end Tad Smith broke his scapula (shoulder bone) and is expected to miss anywhere from 4-6 months. Yes, months. That would mean that the earliest Smith could return would be mid August, but it’s very well possible that his return date could be pushed back until October, if not for the entire season.

Given that Cal already had enough question marks at their tight end position with last year’s starter Cameron Morrah unexpectedly leaving early to go pro, Cal will have its hands full in trying fill an important spot in their pro-style offense.


While it’s absolutely tough break for Smith who excelled as a blocker last year and was looking to really make a name for himself this year, there is a tiny bit of silver lining in that the youngins waiting in the wings have all the talent to start right away. Anthony Miller, Skyler Curran, and one last year’s scout players of the year, Spencer Ladner should all get significant reps in practice and going into the year. Also, with Smith’s injury occurring fairly early in the Spring practice process, all three should have that much more time to get acclimated to running with the first team offense. The only biggest question is how their lack of experience will affect the offense come game time.

Conte’s Chance
With Darian Hagan missing the rest of spring practice to focus on academics (again, I don’t know if I should be worried about this) along with Verran Tucker, junior Chris Conte has been making the most of his opportunity in playing the other starting CB position opposite Syd’Quan Thompson. Thus far, Conte has had a very solid spring and showed again on Saturday that he might get serious looks at a starting spot. Conte was active on defense, involved in nearly every tackle on his side of the field, and broke up a number of passes.

While I still expect Hagan to start due to his level of play that Hagan demonstrated last year (I honestly think he’s got the potential to be better than Thompson when it’s all said and done), it’s encouraging to see Conte really step up his play. I think Conte came on very strong at the end of last year, and should provide some quality minutes at the nickelback spot, and some depth at the DB position.

Bryant Nnabuife has also been looking good, along with Marc Anthony and Josh Hill.

Rushing Report
Shane Vereen had 8 carries for 56 yards, while Covaughn Deboskie rushed 4 times for 29 yards. That’s 7.0 YPC for Vereen and 7.25 for Deboskie. Me likey. It is important to note though that Vereen gained most of his yards on 22 and 30 yard gains. The defense had him locked down otherwise.

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Naming a QB: How Long Are We Supposed to Wait?

This week, Coach Tedford reiterated that he will not name a starting quarterback by the end of Spring practice. Given that the QB carousel last year with departed Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley was one of the biggest reasons that Cal’s passing production was the lowest it had been in Jeff Tedford’s tenure as head coach at Cal, it’s no surprise that a few fans might be slumping their shoulders a bit right now.

Certainly, some of that angst might directed at Coach Tedford himself, and why he appears to be so reluctant to name a starter. Doesn’t he know that declaring a starter now just gives the offense that much more time to prepare for Fall Camp and develop an offensive rhythm? While other conference teams such as Oregon and Washington will benefit from giving their QBs all the time to work with their receivers, Cal will be that much more behind by continuing to split reps through fall camp.

There’s also probably some frustration that one of the QBs hasn’t run away with the starting job already. I mean, shouldn’t it be clear from day one, who the man is going to be? Kevin Price is beginning to run away with the starting spot at UCLA, Aaron Corp appears to be separating himself at USC. Why can’t Riley do the same?


Perhaps it’s all a ploy. I mean, wouldn’t Mansion or Sweeney have to play out of their minds to unseat Riley, the most experienced of the group? Is it that Tedford, the coach who closes his practices to the public, is merely trying to create a cloud of mystery about his offensive personnel?

I’m sure Tedford understands these concerns. Yet, he knows them well enough not to let them cloud his judgment. Face it folks: A starter likely won’t be named until late into fall camp. I don’t think it will take as long as it did last year, as naming Riley the starter was likely one of the most difficult professional and personal decisions that Tedford has had to make at Cal. But I still don’t think we’ll know who’s leading the team out onto the field until a week before the game. If we’re lucky.

The fan in me understands these concerns to an extent. I’d love to hear about one of the QBs playing so well consistently that they’re the clear cut starter going into the fall. I’d love to hear about our QB dedicating an entire summer to working out with his receivers to get their timing down to shred apart defenses come fall.

But the fan in me also understands that this competition has to make them, and subsequently, the team better. And I don’t mean competition that runs through November, but competition that occurs competition in March or April, or the early part of August. The team can afford to have their players duke it out a bit in Spring Ball, where the emphasis is more about evaluating talent, than creating a depth chart. Really, when else can we truly see what Mansion or Sweeney can do? And by we, I’m referring to our emblematic presence as fans, since we don’t get to actually attend practices. Ahem.

Also, I’ve thought about the message it might send to the team of not rewarding a starting spot to a player who is clearly showing they’re worthy of the spot. And for the record, no one has done that just yet.

But I believe the alternative message of being too quick to name a starter is far more injurious. What type of message would Coach Tedford be sending if he didn’t allow for competition, or give players a fair shake at playing to their potential? How can we deny Beau Sweeney a shot if we don’t truly know what the kid is capable of? Most players would agree, all they ask for is that opportunity. It’s up to them to take care of the rest.

Again, would I like to have our starter set? Absolutely. But not at the risk of him being named without the proper time to evaluate whether or not he is deserving of that spot. It simply isn’t that critical right now.

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"Twighlight" Pic comes up in search for Bears with Fangs

So I did a quick google search for "Bears with Fangs" last night because, well I was bored and wasn't able to catch "The Office."
A few things I came to realize:

First, I need to either a) get more content pumping to flood the google network, or b) I need start a link trading partnership with 4tnz as they have an article up about the " 'Twilight' stars bears his fangs!"


The best comment from that article? "What is up with his forehead???? When we get married, I am totally gonna sort that out! "

Secondly, there were 387,000 search results for the search terms "Bears with Fangs."


Competitive. I should have named my blog something incredibly unique.



Finally, the advertisers aren't really punching their mothers to try and bid on these search terms, so Vampire Fangs sellers, you have found your potential gold mine. You're welcome.

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Registration now open for Middle School Skills Camp

Registrations are now open for Cal's Middle School Skills Camp. For $75, you can participate in the non-contact football camp designed to teach pre-high school aged students the fundamentals and technique required for success at the high school level.

It's $75 and you get pizza.

I'm so there. I'll be kicking ass and bringing the pain train, baby.

Let's hope it looks a bit like this:



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Renewed BearswithFangs.com

Just renewed my domain name for another year, so I'm sticking around whether you all like it or not. Cheers!
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