Pac-12 Media Roundup

The annual conference media blitzes have about wrapped up, and the Bears will soon be starting up for Fall camp on August 6th.

There's a wealth of information from various reports and interviews, and here's my best attempt at rounding up some of the most pertinent bits.

Check the links after the jump.


Transcript of Jeff Tedford and Marvin Jones' press conference
Probably the best example of coach speak, as you want find too many juicy tidbits here. However, let it serve as a nice warmup to some of the other links you're soon to click on.

Tedford emphasizes his pleasure in the team's chemistry this year, although it's hard to tell what specifically makes him more excited than what he has seen from the team in previous years. He seems also to be content with the wide receivers, tight ends and offensive line units (a bit of a surprise there) but echoes many of his previous questions about the runningback and quarterback situations. Consistency sounds like it will be key here.

CGB Writeup of the Press Luncheon with Tedford
California Golden Blogs has a very nice writeup of the press luncheon that follows the press conference. Tedford usually opens up a bit more during the more casual luncheon's but went into a surprising amount of detail even by his standards.

A few choice nuggets:
-Tedford is hoping to slim down the weekly playbook this season so as to not overload the offensive personnel with details (namely Zach Maynard who is relatively new to the program) as well as to achieve his ideal offensive which he describes as "diverse and efficient." Sounds like another way of saying creative and balanced which is how most described Tedford as a playcaller when he was in control of playcalling duties. Tedford hopes to cut down the plays from 150 to 100 a week. (A week!)

-Coach T also didn't seem to have a real answer as to why the teams were blown out last year, but alluded to the inability of the offense playing at the same level as the defense in many of those games.

-Tedford reiterated his pleasure in the returning coaches in wide receiver coach Kiesau as well as offensive line coach/coordinator Coach Michalczik. He spoke of not having to worry about "hidden agendas" or coaches not speaking their mind when they disagreed with Tedford. There's a trust there. And coaching roles will be more clearly defined with Kiesau heading up to the booth and Tedford and Michalczik roaming the sidelines.


ESPNU Podcast Interview with Jeff Tedford.
Ivan Maisel sounds a bit like a droid, but asks some decent questions. The interview starts at 14:06 mark, and covers topics including the Bears' nomadic season at ATT park, Tedford's thoughts on taking the offensive playcalling reins again, as well as Zach's weight gains.


The Bear Insider has a nice writeup on Tedford's thoughts and comments on the whole Willie Lyles.
Again, most people probably have a decent sense of this whole situation right now, but I gotta tell you, no one should be losing any sleep about this as Tedford has said everything you'd want or hoped he would say in this situation. And by the sounds of it, Tedford seems to sleeping easy about it.

A few last tidbits...
-Don't expect any position changes. That means you guys can stop thinking about Deandre Coleman at offensive tackle or Brock Mansion at tight end. Just stop.
-Spencer Hagan has beefed up quite a bit to 220 since Spring Ball when he made the switch to tight end. Jeebus, way to go Coach Blazquez!
-Sam Demartinis has left the team. To say the Bears have major depth questions at tackle would be an understatement.
-RB CJ Anderson has yet to join the team for summer workouts because he's finishing up some academic issues. He'll likely be good to go for camp, but his contributions are looking like less of an uncertainty until he gets everything straightened out.