Mailbag 8.03.09 - Worst case scenarios and special teams

Normally, I respond to more than a few questions at a time, but it’s been a quiet offseason, and Ryan from Texas has some pretty loaded questions, so I’ll address them in today’s mailbag.

"I just wanted to ask you two questions about this year's upcoming Cal team:

1) It seems everyone is pretty confident about the Bears' defense and offense, besides the position of quarterback. So the first question I have is basically, what do you think will happen if the quarterback situation plays out to the same effect as it did last year? I'm a pessimist, and since the quarterback situation is kinda iffy, I wonder what could be the "worst case scenario". I'd be surprised if we get less than a simple mediocre air attack, but would that spell disaster for the season overall? Yes, this year, there doesn't seem to be as much quarterback competition (maybe I'm wrong?), but still, what would happen if Cal ended up with low yards and TDs off passes?

2) Okay, now secondly, what about special teams? I haven't heard of anything regarding how good or bad Cal's special teams will be. Maybe that's because that's only determined during the season, but I'm curious to see if you know anything about it.

-Ryan, Texas"

Hey Ryan,

In response to your first question, if our aerial attack were to play out the same as last year, I think you could pretty much expect the same type of season as last year. While I think we’re stronger and deeper at certain units this year, it’s hard for me to imagine really challenging for a conference championship this year unless we pose any real passing threat. The Pac-10 will feature some highly improved run defenses this year, and without any offensive balance, I would expect another 8 or 9 win type of season. Of course, if you want to think about worst case scenarios, you could drop that number down to 5 or 6, but I highly doubt that would be the case with our defensive and strength in the trenches.

On to question number two…


…I anticipate that special teams will continue to be a mixed bag under Coach Alamar. Bryan Anger should really be in the mix for All-American honors, and our kickoffs should be slightly improved with Tavecchio showing a bit of a stronger leg during spring practices, and new recruit Vince D’Amato possibly challenging for field goal duties.

In our return game, Syd’Quan will continue to be one of the better punt returners in the conference, and Jahvid Best will continue to be a threat to take it the distance, depending on how many shots he’s given. Jeremy Ross showed a lot of improvement in this area towards the end of last season as well. Again, keep an eye out on Isi Sofele, if he proves to be ready to play as a true frosh in return duties.

On the flipside, I don’t see any immediate indications that our kickoff coverage will be drastically improved though. While we were solid for the most part last year, one could still expect the occasional big return. Who knows, perhaps that aspect of our special returns unit will be shored up, but I haven’t seen anything that would indicate otherwise.