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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