Bears in the NFL: Combine Report

The NFL Combine has come and gone, and some of the Bears have made a little bit of noise.

As per my previous report, 7 Bears were invited to the NFL Combine:

(MLB) Anthony Felder
(OLB) Zack Follett
(MLB) Worrell Williams
(TE) Cameron Morrah (JR)
(C) Alex Mack
(DE) Rulon Davis

One of the more entertaining pieces of info to come out of combine interviews came from none other than our own beloved Zack Follett. Follett’s Football Inspiration? Lawrence Taylor? Mike Singletary? Brian Urlacher?

Naw man. Terry Tate. Office Linebacker.

“Growing up, Terry Tate, No. 56, the Office Linebacker, he was my hero watching those commercials. I tried to emulate him when I was out there. ... Junior year of high school, I went to Champs Sports and they sold a Reebok Terry Tate number 56 jersey, and I bought one immediately.”



It explains so much…

Zack Follett also ran the 9th best time in the 40-yard dash among linebackers with a 4.75. While I’m sure Follett would have liked to hit the 4.6 range, he’s in good company and has a decent time for an OLB.

Perhaps more impressive, was that Follett notched the top mark in the vertical leap among linebackers with 37 inches.

Worrell Williams also did well with 35 inches, which was good for seventh among linebackers.


Anthony Felder had the 4th best number of reps in the Bench Press exercise, with 28 reps. Brian “No Neck” Cushing from USC tied for first with 30.

Cameron Morrah who had been considered a borderline draft prospect, knew that he would need a solid combine performance to move up draft boards. He did just that by notching 24 reps in the bench press (tied for 4th), as well as the 3rd best time in the 40-yard dash with 4.66. I still think another season would have helped Morrah plenty, but he certainly took care of business by putting on a solid show.

Alex Mack was unable to participate because of a recent ankle injury. It probably didn’t hurt his stock too much given his dominant Senior Bowl performance, as he’s regarded as a possible first round pick at this point. The only thing holding him back is his position, with centers not as high of a need at the next level as say, a tackle.

Mack will run his drills at Cal’s Pro Day, but I doubt his 40 time will have little bearing on his stock at this point. Perhaps, if scouts saw him do the splits first hand though, they might be more tempted to take him with their first pick.

Rulon Davis has yet to appear in any Top 10 listing for any of the combine drills, which is a bit surprise given his physical tools. No word as to which he had participated in. Here’s a pretty good article though, regarding Davis and his background.

Oh and as for Patrick Chung, I don’t care what he says, he will always be known as “stiff-armed” to me. (See header).

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Andy Ludwig Hired as New Offensive Coordinator

Former Utah OC Andy Ludwig has been hired as Cal's new Offensive Coordinator, after previously accepting the same position at Kansas State following the 2008 season.

Booth.

I know, I know.

But I've been deadly sick for the last few days, and am just getting around to sorting out my life and all respective Cal Bears news.

Sue me.

The best bit about all this was how quickly the hire came about. It kind of makes you wonder whether there were OCs chomping at the bits for the Cal gig, how much of an advanced notice Coach Tedford really had that Cignetti might be lured to Pittsburgh.

That's too much speculation for now, for this sick blogger.


Just know that Ludwig helped lead the Utes to a perfect 13-0 season in 2008, including developing quarterback Brian Johnson to the Mountain West Player of the Year.

Ludwig's previous OC stints over the past twelve years include:

Utah (05-08)
Oregon (02-04)
Fresno St (98-01)
Cal Poly (97)

Welcome Coach Ludwig!
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The Smell of Weed Prompted Lynch's Search

Man, that blog title could be the beginning of a really good novel.

More details are being shed regarding Marshawn Lynch's arrest last week for possession of a concealed weapon.

The SF Gate reports:

"Lynch and two other men were sitting in a parked Mercedes Benz with no license plates and dark, tinted windows on Feb. 11 when officers approached to investigate if the car was stolen, said police Capt. Dave Tankenson.

The officers smelled marijuana and searched the car and its occupants, finding four marijuana cigarettes and an unregistered .9mm pistol, Tankenson said. Officers were unsure if the drugs belonged to Lynch."

You can read SF Gate's full article here.

Marijuana cigarettes?

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Cal Loses Offensive Coordinator Cignetti to Pittsburgh

After days of speculation and rumors, the news is official: Cal’s Offensive Coordinator Frank Cignetti has left to assume the same role at Pittsburgh.

Cignetti served as Cal’s offensive coordinator for the 2008 season, assuming most of the playcalling duties from Head Coach Jeff Tedford. Cignetti was officially introduced as Pittsburgh’s new OC just a few hours ago.

I mentioned this in one of my comments the other day, but this is big blow for the Bears. Not so much because Cignetti was an amazing coordinator (although he was solid and seemed to be on the same page with Coach Tedford’s offensive philosophies), but rather because losing an OC this late in the preseason, with spring camp only being weeks away, certainly provides a big hurdle for the Bears.


While I don’t doubt Tedford’s ability to find an OC, the biggest question is how quickly he’ll be able to bring one in, and more importantly, how quickly the team will be able to learn to soak up the new offensive system. Given the emerging quarterback battle, and the need for consistency in a passing game that uncharacteristically sputtered last year, stability on the offensive side of the ball is absolutely critical.

It will be interesting to see where Tedford goes from here. Whether he’ll promote internally, or quickly look for a proven coordinator or an emerging offensive mind. He may even go back to calling the plays himself, but given the improvement in the team’s chemistry last year, with Tedford’s added involvement in all the units, I’d be surprised if that would be the case.

This also makes for the second coaching change to Cal’s offensive coaching staff, after stalwart Offensive Line Coach Jim Michalczik left the Bears to assume the Offensive Coordinator position at Washington late last year, before joining Tom Cable’s staff with the Oakland Raiders as the offensive line coach there.

On an interesting note, this will be Cignetti’s 6th coaching gig in the last 9 years. Welcome to the world of the coaching carousel.

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Vote for Memorial Stadium!

I figure I should do what I can to rep Memorial Stadium.

Head on over to PrepTicket to vote for Memorial Stadium as it faces off against Kyle Field in a battle of best stadiums.

I know I know. The stadium is falling apart, we stand on our tippy toes in the porta-potties to pee (both guys and gals), and a good number of us have to sit on bleachers without any back support.

But c'mon. Is there a more picturesque venue in all of college football? With the Berkeley Hills to the East, and a view of the Golden Gate and the Bay to the West, you'd be hard pressed to find one that has more charm. Really, there are few things prettier than watching the Bears run out of the tunnel in the their golden tops for a 5PM Fall game as the sun begins to set. Booyakasha.



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