BCS Rejects Playoff Proposal

Don’t expect any major changes for the current BCS system for at least the next six years. ESPN reports that John Swofford, who serves as the BCS Chairman and ACC commissioner, announced today that they will keep the current BCS system of 4 BCS bowl games and one national championship bowl game through the 2014 season.

The announcement wasn’t surprising, as only he and SEC commissioner showed any support for the alternate proposal of a plus-one series, in which the top 4 BCS ranked teams would be matched in two semifinal games and the winners would play in a national title game.

As much as we kick and scream for a BCS playoff system, it will probably won’t happen for a while, and a plus one system is looking like the most probable alternative for at least the next twenty years. That means we can look forward to more BCS Bowl Game whuppings (see George/Hawaii, USC/Illinois, WVU/Oklahoma) while wondering what some of those winning teams might have been able to do against LSU last season, in place of the underachieving Ohio St. Team. Yeah I said it.

I for one, am always going to resent the BCS system for its infamous snub of Cal back in 2004. How a team goes 11-1, with its only loss to the top ranked team AT their stadium, losing only on the last play of the game, and gets shut out of a BCS Bowl game entirely will always be beyond me. I know they’ve tweaked the system now, essentially opening 2 more teams to get in with the addition of the national championship game, but it’s going to be harder and harder to take college football’s post season seriously without any semblance of a playoff. Until then, we can continue to look forward to the GMAC Bowl.

(What do you mean we're going to the Holiday Bowl!?!)

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Cal Bears Free Agent Signings

It seems that the Cal Bears players who didn’t get a call about being drafted this weekend, have found a home—for now. Wide receiver Robert Jordan and Offensive Lineman Brian De La Puente have reportedly signed free agent deals with the San Francisco 49ers.

Like most free agent deals, both players will have to bust their tails off to fight to make it onto the active squad, let alone the practice team, but hey, at least they’re getting the opportunity.

As a 49ers fan, I’m pretty pumped on the news and hope to see one or both play on Sundays in the next few years. I think both have a lot to contribute and wish ‘em well.

On an interesting side note, Cameron Colvin, the WR from Oregon who had the critical fumble into the endzone for a touchback last year in the thrilling Cal/Oregon game, has also been signed as a free agent. I wonder how much Jordan or De La Puente will let him live that down.

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Other Pac-10 QB Battles Decided…Or Are They?

A few weeks ago, I had given a Pac-10 QB Battle Update, highlighting that Patrick Cowan had won the long-stranding QB Battle over Ben Olsen for the starting position.

Well it appears the Patrick Cowan can’t catch a break.

Cowan will miss the entire season after injuring his left knee while scrambling in practice today. It was a complete freak accident as it was during a non-contact play. The Redshirt Senior has already used his redshirt, and will have to be granted an unlikely sixth year of eligibility to give it a go in 2009. But in all likelihood, I think we may have seen the last of Cowan. Even if he were to be granted a sixth year, could he come back? The kid has messed up his knees so badly at this point, I’ll be surprised if he’ll be able to run normally, let alone stand the rigors of collegiate ball.

You have to feel for Cowan. Despite my disdain for UCLA, I’ve had some strange inkling of respect for Cowan, and hate to see a player’s career so hampered, and ultimately ended by injury, especially after he’s gotten so close on so many occasions of being “the man” and truly leading his team. I hope he’s given another chance, but I don’t know, it’s not looking too good.

And if that weren’t bad enough, Dwight Schrute, I mean, Ben Olsen, ended up going down the same day, again in another non-contact play. Olsen broke a bone in his right foot and will miss the next few months. The 25-year old will now be competing with JUCO transfer Kevin Craft for the starting job. What no McLeod-Thompson?

Man, not to get too “Thank God that ain’t us!” but…Thank God that ain’t us. I know Nate is down, but he’ll be back and hopefully we’ll have a healthy QB battle this fall. Either way, I feel pretty good about our QB position for the upcoming year. I don’t think Bruins fans can say the same right now. Who knows, maybe Craft will be the next great UCLA quarterback…or maybe he’ll be the next Bethel McLeod-Thompson.

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2008 NFL Draft Recap – Other Cal Players Drafted

Cal exported its largest draft class in school history, with 6 Golden Bears being drafted yesterday. I already covered Cal's top draftee Desean Jackson yesterday, and am finishing the rest of the look at the other Bears taken.

3^rd Round

22. (85^th Overall) Tennessee Titans - Craig Stevens, TE

For some reason, Stevens strikes me as the player most ready to contribute right away at the pro level. He doesn’t have the sexy Vernon Davis level of athleticism (*click clack*) but seems to have all of the physical attributes, work ethic, and toughness to fit in very quickly in the league. While he won’t burn a defender deep, Stevens has good speed for his size (4.59 40 yard dash—faster than Michigan WR “Super” Mario Manningham), is adequately strong (27 bench press reps—most out of all tight ends at the combine), and has shown that he can put it all together on the field, contributing heavily in Cal’s running and receiving game over the past few years.

Many have questioned Stevens’ hands over the past few seasons, and has made a number of drops, but I think he’ll be just fine. He didn’t drop a single ball in any of the combine passing drills, and keep in mind, a lot of Stevens drops were in traffic as he was most likely to go over the middle. He will certainly have to improve this aspect of the game if he’s going to be a legitimate receiving option in the pros, but then again, teams drafted him more for his incredible blocking skills anyway.

And that’s the area where he will most likely shine and be consistent with Tennessee. Not to say that the guy is going to dominate right away, but I can imagine him coming in and definitely contributing in his first season. Granted, the Titans just signed former Pro-Bowler Alge Crumpler, but look for Stevens to back him up, line up on the other side, and become the starter in a few years time.

35. (98^th Overall) Atlanta Falcons – Thomas DeCoud, FS

DeCoud was pretty solid with his production at Cal. A special teams monster for his first few years with his team, DeCoud moved into a starting role in the last two years. DeCoud has pretty good speed (a 4.48 40 yard dash) as we’ve seen with his time with the Bears. I’ll say it again, I have never seen anyone else make as many TD saving last minute tackles as this guy. Just watch the Tennessee game from last year, and see how many times DeCoud got there just in time to knock a player out of bounds at the 5 yard line. Most teams would end up scoring a few plays later anyway, but that’s another story.

While he’s not the biggest safety (6’2 196 lbs), DeCoud knows how to lay a licking, as his hit in the Desean Jackson punt return against UCLA is already engrained in Cal football history lore, and shows good run coverage. Justin Forsett once said of DeCoud: "I've been hit by everybody on the team. When Thomas hits you, it's not something you want to remember."

Those of you who might need a reminder:

He will need to show better consistency in his pass coverage, as he will need to make more plays on the ball in the air, but is rare to miss when he gets into position to make the play. Another concern is that he’ll be going to going into a situation where there will be a lot of depth at the safety position, after the Falcons just signed Erik Coleman in the offseason. In all likelihood, DeCoud probably won’t start this season, or maybe even next, but like his career at Cal, expect him to contribute heavily on special teams before getting the chance to shine as a starter.

4^th Round

27. (126^th Overall) Tennessee Titans – Lavelle Hawkins, WR

Hawkins will be joining fellow teammate Craig Stevens out in Tennessee this upcoming year. The “Hawk” was taken in about the mid-range of where most NFL scouts had expected him to go. Some had him as high as a late second-rounder, while some saw him falling to about the mid 5^th-round range.

Hawkins is a pretty strong example of a player who plays a lot faster and stronger than his numbers would dictate. He doesn’t possess blazing speed (running a 4.53 at the combine, although improved his time with a 4.48 at Cal’s Pro Day), Hawkins has shown that he is quicker than fast, being incredibly productive as a slot receiver.

He also doesn’t have all the attractive measurable as well. Short arms and marginal leaping ability, and like Desean, isn’t the biggest receiver ever. While he had a productive career, also had lapses of consistency where he would explode in certain games, and disappear a bit in others. He may also take some time to mentally learn the game, as it took him a few years at Cal before he really broke out.

With all that said, I love the Hawk and confess to have done the “hawk” flap a few times myself both at Memorial Stadium, and sadly enough at home as well. C’mon, you know you wanted to after his 64 yard TD catch, and fight for the first down in the OSU game last year. I think it will take a few years time, but best case scenario, the Hawk may end up being a Nate Burleson type of receiver in a couple of seasons. And maybe a few seasons after before the “Hawk” flap starts to catch on.

5^th Round

18. (184^th Overall) Philadelphia Eagles – Mike Gibson, OT

Gibson has shown pretty good versatility in college, playing every position at the offensive line, so it’s possible that the Eagles might switch him to the guard position, especially since he doesn’t have the longest arms for a tackle. He also appears to work well in unison with the rest of the line, another sign that he’ll be better suited for the guard position.

The biggest issue for Gibson will be the ability to stay healthy. The guy played through the 2006 season with a tear in his left shoulder, opting to get surgery done after the season was over. And as I covered extensively in my recap of the past few drafts, lingering injuries can become career killers for offensive linemen in the pros, so here’s hoping he can have a fairly long and successful career in the pros.

7^th Round

26. (233^rd Overall) Seattle Seahawks – Justin Forsett, RB

I for one was about as happy as a Cal fan could have been on Sunday when I found out that Forsett got drafted. Maybe relieved is a better word. I’ll be honest, in keeping up with NFL.com’s Draft Tracker, I was getting pretty nervous when we were nearing the end of the 7^th round, and Forsett’s name never came up. But I’m glad he got drafted, as I feel it couldn’t have happened to a better guy.

I’m a Forsett fan. Some of my friends looked at me like I was crazy when I predicted Forsett would rush for over 1400 yards his senior season. I smiled with the “I told you so” type of smile when he crushed that with 1546 yards. He also led the entire Pac-10 in rushing TDs. But more importantly, he’s about as much of a quality character as you can ask for in a player: humble, hardworking, and on numerous occasions last season, put the team on his back (see Arizona game).

The biggest knock on Forsett was his size and lack of top-end speed. Undersized at 5’8, and lacking great sprinting speed (4.6 40 yard dash), a lot of teams were wondering what they could really do with him. A great college player, many wondered how it would translate in the pros. But there are a lot of reasons to like Forsett in addition the quality characteristics I mentioned earlier. He’s got underrated hands, good burst, is more quick than fast, and can change directions incredibly quickly. I remember the New Mexico State game a few years back, when Forsett took the ball off a handoff, charged into the line, saw nothing, stopped and in one fluid movement dashed off to the side about as quickly as I’ve ever seen. That’s when I knew the kid was pretty good.

Biggest concern for Forsett? Being buried in Seattle’s depth chart. Even after releasing former league MVP and Madden coverboy Shawn Alexander, the Seahawks have pretty good depth at the RB position with the signing of TJ Duckett, Julius Jones, and last year’s incumbent backup Maurice “Momo” Morris. It might be a season or two before Forsett even gets a crack as a 3^rd down back. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Forsett, is that he’s learned patience and humility in his entire career, from not being recruited in high school and backing up Marshawn Lynch for 3 years before getting to start. If we’ve learned another, it’s that Justin will make the most of his opportunity when it eventually comes.

Alrite, that's about it for now, I'll try and keep ya'lls posted with the Free Agent signings in the next few weeks as well. Definitely more to come. Read the rest of the post and comments here >>

2008 NFL Draft Recap – Philadelphia Eagles take Desean Jackson

What a weekend it was for the draft! Actually, not really. With the exception of Desean Jackson’s mini-slide (fall to the 2^nd round), most of the Cal players were taken about where most draft scouts expected them to. By the time the draft was over, 6 Cal players were taken, and I expect a few more to sign in free agency over the course of the next few weeks or months (Robert Jordan, Andrew Larson etc).

The Cal players drafted were: Desean Jackson, Craig Stevens, Thomas DeCoud, Lavelle Hawkins, Mike Gibson, and Justin Forsett. I’ll be providing my thoughts on each of the selections, but thought I’d get the biggest one out of the way.

2^nd Round

18. (49^{th Overall}) Philadelphia Eagles – Desean Jackson, WR

Jackson ended up being the 7^th overall wide receiver taken. By the time I realized that the first round was going to be focused on franchise building offensive linemen and defensive players, I wasn’t too surprised to see Jackson fall to the second round. I was however, surprised to see him get drafted behind so many other wide receivers.

It was somewhat of a funky draft for the wide receivers. None were taken in the first round, and a lot of those taken before Jackson were projected as 2^nd round guys, but not rated higher than he was. That is to say, many of the “higher” rated wide receiver prospects (Malcom Kelly, Limas Sweed, even James Hardy) were taken after those who expected to go in the second (Eddie Royal, Donnie Avery, Devin Thomas etc...).

Jackson has already openly stated that he will be playing with a chip on his shoulder, motivated by concerns about his size. But he appears to be happy to be with Philly. "I felt like I would go higher than I did, but God had a plan for me and I knew it would be a team that would pick me up and put me in a great position," Jackson said. "Everything happens for a reason and I think this is going to be a great fit for me." (Okanes)

With that said, I think Philly will be a great fit for Jackson, since he’ll be playing in a football market, with an established veteran QB and strong offensive system.

And speaking of Jackson’s size, anyone know the line on when Jackson expects to take his first pro game pop? I mean, getting knocked the F out. It’ll happen. I don’t wish harm on the guy at all, but it’s going to happen. Look what happened to Reggie Bush in his first year.

Even in college, plays like this one at USC in ’06 is what you can probably expect on a weekly basis:

But he’ll get back like he always does, and by season’s end, I hope we’ll be seeing more plays where he’s doing this:

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Live Draft Updates

4:50 - It's official. With the 18th pick in the 2nd round - THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES HAVE DRAFTED DESEAN JACKSON.

I'll analyze this more early next week along with the other Cal draftees, but Desean Jackson's mini-slide provides much to talk about. Either way, congrats Desean and have fun in Philly.

Okay, I'm off to a wedding, we talk more later. Payce all.

4:34 - We're midway through the 2nd round and none of the "big 3 WRs" (Malcom Kelly, Desean Jackson, and Limus Sweed) have yet to be drafted. Looks like the teams who passed up on them in the 1st round may get some steals in the 2nd. A lot of the 2nd tier WRs are jumping up draft boards and going before these guys. Really interesting. You have to wonder any of the Big 3 thought they'd dip this low. You have to think they're sitting at home like this:

3:20 - The Niners take Kentwan Balmer, DT out of North Carolina. I think that seals it--Desean drops to the 2nd round unless Green Bay or the Giants take him, which I don't think is likely considering their needs.

3:18 - If the Niners don't take Desean Jackson with their 29th overall pick, it's fairly safe to say that Jackson falls out of the 1st round completely. Wow. When was the last time that happened? Seriously, anyone know?

2:55 - With the Titans having picked Chris Johnson with their 24th pick, and the Cowboys going with Felix Jones with the 22nd, two of the teams that had been potentially projected to select Desean Jackson have gone in other directions.

No other wide receivers have been selected so far in the draft, so it's still a question as to who will be the first to go.

It's obvious that Desean Jackson isn't going to benefit from the full Ted Ginn Jr. effect and get a surprising reach pick. He'll probably end up about where people thought he would go, but you have to think that he's getting a little nervous with 7 picks left in the first round. Does he fall to the Niners???

Oh the human drama. Read the rest of the post and comments here >>

NFL DRAFT - Moments Away...

Hey all. In spending all this recapping the previous five drafts for Cal players, I haven't spent much or really any time covering this year's draft. That's mainly because I wanted to avoid speculation and spend more time extensively covering the draft AFTER it was over.

But I can't help myself. I can't help but wonder what will happen to Desean: Ted Ginn Jr. like early swoop, or Aaron Rodgers like fall to the bottom of the first or possibly into the second round?

And what about all of our other Cal Bears? DeCoud seems to be a look in the 3rd round, but where does Lavelle Hawkins go? The 3rd as some hope, or all the way down to the 5th? And does Larson get drafted? What about Jordan? And which team will take the chance on Forsett?

I can't wait. Keep hitting back for more this weekend, and look for a more extensive breakdown in a day or two. Read the rest of the post and comments here >>

2007 NFL Draft Recap - Cal Players Taken

We wrap up the look back at the past five drafts to look at the careers of the Cal players taken in the NFL draft, and how things have been working out for them. We've seen our shares of highs, lows, and a lot of players who discovered just how hard it is to play, let alone stay healthy, in the NFL.

2007 was another strong year in the draft for the Bears, headlined by the Beast himself, Marshawn Lynch.

1^st Round

12. Buffalo Bills - Marshawn Lynch, RB

Who doesn’t love Marshawn? Seriously. Who has ever watched this baller carry multiple defenders, break tackles, ghost ride trainer carts, flash his golden grills and said, “What a douche.” No one. Because from the day Marshawn "BEAST" exploded onto the scene, Lynch wowed the crowds with his running style, and gained the admiration and respect from his teammates and coaches.

Grounded in family values, as evidenced by his public self-proclamation of being a Mama's boy (complete with having it tatooed on his back), and flashing the "family first symbol" after every score, Lynch was destined for great things.

Lynch compiled 3,230 yards and 29 TDs rushing, along with 600 yards and 6 TDs receiving. On top of that, Lynch also threw for 2 TDs in his career as well. To absolutely no one's surprise, Lynch declared for the draft after his junior year. Despite a few concerns about Marshawn's character issues, stemming from a sexual assault allegation that was eventually dropped, Marshawn did nothing to shake his position as the #2 RB available in the draft behind Adrian Peterson. Marshawn followed up a solid career at Cal with 4.4 40 time in the draft and solid workouts.

(Editor's Note: In my research, I stumbled upon a Wikipedia entry that said that Lynch scored a 42/50 on the NFL draft IQ Wonderlic exam. Excuse me for sounding surprised, but a 42!? A score of 32 is considered well above average for the average NFL draftee, so a 42? His favorite book is Cat in the Hat for crying out loud. I digress.)

It was a no-brainer when the the Buffalo Bills selected Lynch with the Number 12 overall pick. With the Willis McGahee's exit, a franchise running back was their top choice, and with Adrian Peterson taken by the Vikings, Lynch was the obvious choice. Marshawn Lynch became the Bears' highest draft pick since Andre Carter was taken by the 49ers in 2001.

To say that Lynch had a successful rookie year is huge understatement. Despite missing 3 games with an ankle injury, Lynch finished 11th in the league in rushing yards at 1115, 8th in YPG (85.8), and scored 7 rushing TDs. He also threw for a memorable passing TD to tight end Robert Royal. He also answered questions about whether Lynch could be an everydown back, by getting the 9th most number of carries in the league.

However, more importantly, just as Cal fans fell in love with Lynch and his work ethic, abilities, and commitment to his team, the entire city of Buffalo has done the same. Moving his entire family there, Lynch was a "fresh of breath air" (Royal reference) compared to the moody and tempermental former RB McGahee who had become unhappy with his tenure with the Bills. You can see what I mean below.

Lynch is bound to have a bright future ahead of him, assuming he can stay healthy. His running style has always made him susceptible to ankle injuries, so only time will tell how his entire career will pan out. But if his time at Cal, and successful rookie campaign is any indication, we'll be seeing a lot more "Beast Mode" for time to come.

3^rd Round

85. Seattle Seahawks - Brandon Mebane, DT

Brandon Mebane embodied the pass rush that Cal needed, and has needed during the Jeff Tedford regime. Although teams began double and triple teaming Mebane during his junior and senior seasons, in which Mebane would go on to earning All 1st team Pac-10 honors, Mebane was still one of the most productive tacklers and sack leaders on the team. In his senior season, Mebane led the team with 52 tackles, 10 tackles for losses and 4 sacks.

Mebane was taken in the 3rd round by the Seattle Seahawks, ahead of Daymeion Hughes (more on that later) and was expected to develop slowly and become a star defensive lineman later in his career. That developed was quickly accelerated however, after he was pushed into a starting role when starters Chartric Darby and Marcus Tubbs went down with a season ending injury.

Mebane would fill in solidly his rookie years and has Seahawks fans excited about his young talent and potential moving forward. He will most likely remain in his starting role next season, and we can expect more from now that he has a lot of game time under his belt.

3^rd Round

95. Indianapolis Colts - Daymeion Hughes, CB

Daymeion Hughes, has who has changed his name to “Dante” (which I will be referring him to as because it’s easier to type) entered into his senior season as one of the premier defensive backs in the country, and didn’t disappoint. Hughes would go on to become and All-American and win the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year award as well as the Ronnie Lott Trophy. His statistics backed up his award as well: Hughes put up monstrous numbers, breaking up 19 passes, nearly led the team with 72 tackles, and recorded 8 interceptions on the year, one of which he returned for TD, stomping on Rudy Carpenter in the process. By the season's end, Hughes had established himself as the top cover corner in the nation, and possibly the first CB taken.

Ironically enough however, it was as soon as Hughes stopped playing football, that his draft stock started slipping. Despite his spectacular performances in the Senior Bowl, scouts paid more attention to Hughes' slow 40 yard dash time. Some scouts had him clocked in the 4.5s, while some even had him in the 4.7s. Hughes attributed his slow times to a lingering hamstring pull, but in the NFL, those times simply wouldn't do. It became increasingly evident that Hughes would most likely only flourish in the league in a cover 2 scheme, where help over the top would come in case he got burned by a speedy receiver.

And what better cover 2 scheme to play for than with the coach who pretty much perfected it. Tony Dungy and the Indianapolis Colts snagged Hughes up in the 3rd round. While Hughes hasn't served a backup and special teams role in his times with the Colts before going down with an injury in November of 2007.

While talk of Hughes and his potential have been quieted, I'm still under the belief that the Colts may have had the steal of the draft in 2007. He may not have the wheels, but in the Colt's cover 2 scheme, Hughes has the athleticism and more importantly, the skills and instincts to become a monster corner in the NFL. And I mean MONSTER. Just you wait.

Sixth Round

192. Green Bay Packers - Desmond Bishop, LB

In his short career at Cal (JUCO transfer student), Desmond Bishop or "the Bishop" as teammates would call him, would end up doing a lot of this (see left image). The Bishop was everywhere on defense. EVERYWHERE.

We're talking interceptions, sacks, tackles for losses, goal line stops; it was not uncommon to watch a game and hear his name called out by the announcers every defensive series or find that he was involved in nearly ever play. By the end of his senior season, he led the entire conference in tackles.

Scouts recognized Bishop's strength and non stop motor, but were concerned about his overall lack of speed. He was more quick than fast, and while he showed good instincts and nose for the ball, were wondering how that would translate to the NFL in chasing after running backs and receivers with world class vertical and lateral speed.

The Packers took a chance with the Bishop in the 6th round of the draft, and he would contribute mainly on special teams and in reserve roles. It is reported that Bishop could contend for a starting position as early as this year which would be pretty significant considering his youth and lack of experience in the NFL. Stay tuned as to whether or not the Bishop will get to do this on a regular basis:
Okay, that wraps it up. Whew. I know it's overhyped, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow's draft, and hope we can get at least 6 Cal Bears in the NFL before the weekend is over. Keep checking back to see my thoughts on this weekend's draft. Till then. Cheers! Read the rest of the post and comments here >>

2006 NFL Draft Recap - Cal Players Taken

As we approach the end of the week leading up to the NFL Draft, we look back at the previous NFL Drafts and how they've worked out for the Cal Players drafted, and their respective teams. After a monstrous 2005 year that saw 5 Cal players taken in the draft, 2006 would prove to be a more quiet year. In place of the Heisman candidates and 1st round picks were the late rounders who exemplified the quiet yet solid strength of the Cal program for the last number of years--the offensive linemen. All 3 players who were drafted that year were O-line guys, and we take a look to see how things have worked out.

5^th Round

3. (136) New England (from Oakland) - Ryan O'Callaghan, OT

Ryan O'Callaghan was rated one of the best right tackles going into the year's draft. And for good reason. He started in 35 games in the course of his 4 years with the Cal program, was an All-Pac10 First Team selection, Morris Award Winner, oh and helped pave the way for a 1000 yard rusher in all of his seasons.

O'Callaghan's experience at the collegiate level and durability has served him well, as he contributed immediately with the Patriots when they picked him up in the 5th round of the draft. O'Callaghan played in 11 games as a rookie, starting in 6 of them. He helped the Patriots net 1,969 yards rushing, and more visibly, helped protect Tom Brady do what he did best--

--star in VISA Commercials.

You probably heard O'Callaghan's name called a bit more often this past season, 1) because the Patriots were the media darling because of their 18 (and 1 baby) record, and 2) played in 15 games that year. Granted, he spent most of his time in a reserve role and on special teams, but still played fairly significantly this past year. He even lined up as a tight end on a few plays. I don't think he'll be trying to click-clack like Vernon Davis anytime soon, but it's safe to say that as long as he stay healthy, O'Callaghan has a pretty bright future ahead of him with a solid franchise.

6^th Round

32. (201) Pittsburgh Steelers - Marvin Philip, C

Before Alex Mack, there was Marvin Philip, Cal's All-American center and the anchor of the offensive line. Although undersized for the center position at 6'1, Philip more than made up for his lack of size with good strength, leverage and technique.

Scouts recognized that while Philip wasn't necessarily the most athletic center, his grittiness and skill at his position would at have scouts looking in his direction.

The Pittsburgh Steelers pickup up Philip in the seventh round, where Philip made the active roster, but in a 3rd-string center role. Philip would only see snaps during the preseason, and because many teams don't usually hold more than 2 quarterbacks, let alone centers, on their active rosters, was waived in December of 2007.

The Browns immediately picked him up to provide depth at the center position behind Hank Fraley. Interestingly, the Green Bay Packers were also interesting in picking up Philip, but the Browns got the first choice because of their worse record. Huh. I for one would have been interested in seeing Rodgers take snaps behind Philip again in a few years, just for old times sake.

7^th Round

40. (248) Buffalo (Compensatory) - Aaron Merz, G

Aaron Merz was the last of the three Cal O-line men who would get picked up in the draft. Merz went from walk-on to second-team All Conference player. At the end of his senior season, Merz was given Cal's Ken Cotton Award as the team's most courageous player, as an inspiration to the rest of his team.

Aaron Merz is also a smart dude. Why? First off, he was a fellow Sociology major at Cal. Didn't see him in any of my classes though. Secondly, the guy reportedly scored an impressive 39 on the Wonderlic exam. That's 33 points better than another young NFL Player:

With the Bills, Merz was moved to a backup center role and didn't see any playing time as he was inactive for the 2006 season. 2007 didn't look any better for Merz as tore the left labrum in his left shoulder and would miss the preseason, and eventually the rest of the season. He was eventually released in February, and is currently a free agent.

Please, someone just pick the guy up. I'm getting depressed writing up on all these former Cal players who are getting rocked by injuries in the pros before they end up hanging it up. Just goes to show you how tough it is to make it in the big league. Hopefully Merz can get signed and get some playing time somewhere else.

Alright, the 5th and final part of this series wraps up tomorrow as I recap last year's 2007 draft and the goodness that followed.

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2005 NFL Draft Recap - Cal Players Taken

2005 was a banner year for Cal in terms of the talent they had drafted that year. Highlighted by NCAA season rushing leader J.J. Arrington, and Heisman candidate and potential #1 overall pick Aaron Rodgers, there appeared to sure fire hits with most of the Bears drafted. Oh, but the drama that would ensue...

1^st Round

24. (24) Green Bay Packers - Aaron Rodgers QB

Aa-ron Rod-gers Aa-ron Rod-gers . The chant emanated from the student section, growing quickly until it reverberated through Memorial Stadium. Aaron Rodgers, the Junior Cal Quarterback, had just thrown for 260 yards and 4 touchdowns in his performance against the UCLA Bruins, and after his performance against USC the prior week (tying an NCAA record for 23 consecutive completions in a game) had emerged as a legitimate Heisman candidate. Unable to ignore the chants any further, Rodgers eventually turned slightly to the crowd and thrust his fist into the air, and smiled quietly as the crowd erupted in applause.

The “Aaron Rodgers” chants would eventually turn into “ONE MORE YEAR!” chants as it became increasingly evident as the 2004 season progressed that Rodgers was one of the top QBs in the draft, and likely #1 Overall pick.

Alas, it was not to be, as the possibility of being the top pick in the draft and the opportunity to play for his childhood home team the San Francisco 49ers, was too much to pass up, and Rodgers declared for the draft at the season’s end. Rodgers talked openly about his hopes to lead the same team as his childhood idol Joe Montana, and knew that even if the Niners were to decide with Alex Smith, the quarterback out of Utah, Rodgers would most likely end up with the Browns at the number 3 spot in the draft. Not bad for a kid from Chico who had been playing at Butte Junior College a few years prior.

Draft day came, and Rodgers saw his dreams of being the #1 overall pick and playing for his hometown team pass before his eyes as the Niners announced that Alex Smith would be their guy. Rodgers smiled and applauded politely as he witnessed Smith walk to the podium and proudly hold the 49ers jersey for the world to see the new franchises QB.

Crushed, but not destroyed, Rodgers sat patiently as he waited for his agent to call him to let him know he’d go to the Browns at Number 3. The call never came. The Browns went with Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards, so Rodgers just waited.

And waited.

The first ten picks went by and no call. Then the next ten. It became painful to see Rodgers waiting in the Green Room, and at that point, no one really knew how far Rodgers would fall.

Finally, the call came, and the pick was announced: Rodgers was going to the Packers at the 24^th Overall pick, and the second quarterback taken (not counting Arkansas QB Matt Jones who was drafted as a WR).

Rodgers’ draft slide became embedded in recent NFL draft lore, and would be the immediate comparison anytime a top prospect fell further than expected (see Brady Quinn). His draft slide however, was just the beginning of Rodgers’ quiet yet dramatic start in the NFL.

Much has been written about Rodgers’ time in Green Bay as the cocky first round pick who would sit in the shadow behind NFL great and hall of famer Brett Favre for the next three years while he witnessed Alex Smith get immediate playing time with the Niners. I won’t go into too much detail here, as it has been covered extensively in the past, and will expectedly be covered much more in the future, but Rodgers again had to learn the virtues of patience of backing up an ironman quarterback who not only never missed a start, but nearly played every single snap. Rodgers would have to learn by watching.

With Favre’s recent and surprising retirement, Rodgers will finally get his chance. He will undoubtedly see his share of struggles, and will have to play under the most extreme expectations of his franchise and fans. Already questioned for his durability for having suffered thigh injuries and a broken foot, he will have to show that he can fill in, and fill in quickly and perform consistently as the heir to the Green Bay QB throne.

Only time will tell how ready Rodgers is to be the franchise quarterback. The few glimpses we have seen, particularly Rodgers’ performance against Dallas last season in which he threw for 201 yards and a touchdown and nearly rallied the Packers for a win, have been promising. Again though, the question will be whether he can do that consistently, not only for a season, but for the next eight to ten years. I believe that Rodgers has all the tools, and new maturity to succeed in the NFL. It’s just a matter of putting it all together. But as one of the fans in attendance who joined in on the “Aaron Rodgers” chant years ago in Memorial Stadium, I’m optimistic that in a few years time, Packers fans will be chanting the same.

2^nd Round

44. Arizona Cardinals - J.J. Arrington RB

J.J. Arrington benefited from one of the greatest rushing seasons in not only Cal football history, but in NCAA History. In his senior season, Arrington exploded onto the scene and destroyed records along the way. In 2004, Arrington rushed for over 100 yards in every single game, compiling a ridiculous 2,018 yards and 15 TDs for the season. He became a consensus All-American, and earned the Pop Warner Award (given to the best West Coast senior player). Inexplicably though, Arrington wasn’t mentioned in the Heisman finalists conversation, despite having better numbers than both Reggie Bush and Adrian Peterson.

The Cardinals drafted Arrington in the second round, in the hopes that he would split carries with Marcel Shipp. Arrington struggled however in his first game, rushing for only 5 yards on 8 carries (0.6 ypc) and would proceed to struggle for the remainder of his rookie season with 370 yards on 112 carries (3.3 ypc) and 2 TDs. This prompted the Cardinals to sign Edgerrin James the following year, and Arrington has served in a backup role and on special teams since.

In 2006, Arrington’s carries were incredibly limited, where he rushed only 14 times for a mere 19 yards, but did return a kickoff for a 99 yard touchdown.

In 2007, Arrington improved a bit, gaining 78 yards on 26 attempts, but more significantly, 241 yards on 29 catches and a score. Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt appears to like Arrington’s pass catching abilities, so they hope to use him more in that role.

Most signs point to Arrington not turning out to be the explosive little RB like Brian Westbrook or even Maurice Jones-Drew that some teams would have hoped for, but Arrington may continue to contribute as a 3^rd down back and on special teams for years to come.

4^th Round

118. New Orleans Saints – Chase Lyman WR

If there were ever any player who characterized the “What if” mold for a Cal player drafted in recent years, it would certainly be Chase Lyman. A solid receiver with great speed for his size (6’4, 310 lbs), he would be seemingly cursed with the injury bug in his time at Cal and eventually the pros, suffering through various ankle, groin, hamstring, hip injuries, and an appendicitis.

Lyman won a starting spot at the receiver position in 2002, only to tear his hamstring on the first day of Fall camp—an injury that would keep him out for the majority of the next two years.

With limited playing time and only 100 receiving yards during his 2003 campaign, Lyman finally got his chance in the 2003 Insight Bowl, as he filled in for an injured Geoff MacArthur and contributed 149 receiving yards and a score.

He would go on to play much more during the 2004 season, highlighted by a 176 yard, 3 TD performance against Oregon State. He would eventually go down again with injury during the USC game, and would miss the remainder of the season.

The Saints still saw his incredible potential, and took a shot at him in the fourth round. Things were looking great…until Chase Lyman tore his ACL in fall camp.

He was signed the following year to the Saints' practice squad, but would get eventually get waived, and just like that, Lyman's NFL career was over without getting him getting to play a single NFL snap.

And that pretty much ended it for Chase…for his NFL career that is. Last time I heard, Chase was doing commercial real estate with his dad in Palo Alto, and appeared to be pretty happy about it as an alternative to football. “I realized it’s (football) not what I want to do with my life. There is a lot more to life than football. The way my body has been, and the pounding it had taken, it wasn’t worth it to me anymore to fight my way through each practice.” (Daily Cal)

Good for him. I wish him the best. But the real estate market isn’t looking too hot right now though…

135. Indianapolis Colts – Matt Giordano DB/FS

Matt Giordano finished a solid career at Cal with All Pac-10 1^st Team Honors and an All-American Honorable mention his senior year. Needing depth in the secondary, the Colts drafted him in the fourth round, and it’s safe to say that they probably haven’t regretted it.

Giordano has performed solidly as a backup strong safety behind Pro Bowler and 2007 Defensive Player of the Year Bob Sanders. He’s put up solid numbers in the backup role, as well as contributing on special teams, and hey, he's already got his Super Bowl Ring from the Colts' 2006 season. Take that Marino.

He has three interceptions in 39 career games, including one he returned 83 yards for a touchdown in a season-opening win over New Orleans last year, and recently resigned with the Colts earlier in the month as a restricted free agent.

Not much else to Giordano’s story. Unlike many other recently drafted Cal players who have had to battle injuries and fight to get spots on practice squads, Giordano has found a comfortable and solid backup role with the Colts.

6^th Round

38 (212 Overall) Oakland Raiders – Ryan Riddle LB

Ryan Riddle was drafted in the 6^th round after coming off a monster senior season with 49 tackles and single season record of 14.5 sacks (Man we could use that now…)

After being drafted though, Riddle was cut by the Raiders the following year (anyone else noticing a trend of Cal players being cut by the Raiders in recent years?) and later signed with the New York Jets. The Jets though released Riddle in December where he signed on with the Falcons. However, in August 2007, Riddle signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Ravens, but was waved prior to the beginning of the 2007 Regular Season. Whew…let's see if we can create flow chart for that shall we?

Whew. That's a lot of teams. It didn't help that Riddle only registered 7 tackles in his entire year with Oakland and 5 with the Jets. Riddle hopes to start his career fresh in the AFL where he signed on in January as a defensive end. It's been hard to find any real stats on he's been doing since the AFL doesn't appear to really post any stats about anything other than their ridiculous offense (the Avengers' most recent loss was a 83-69 affair).

Interesting note though, Riddle's teammate, Avenger's QB, is the same guy who lit us up for 520 yards and 3 Touchdowns in the 2004 Holiday Bowl Debacle. Yep…that's right…you guessed it—Sonny Cumbie.

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2004 NFL Draft Recap - Cal Players Taken

2004 was a very quiet year for Cal’s player presence in the draft considering they came off a year in which they had two first round selections. Only two players were selected in the draft, and both have had a rocky journey to say in the least in four years they've been in the pros. And what's worse, they've both ended up with the Raiders...

5^th Round

19(151 Overall) Washington - Mark Wilson OT

Mark Wilson was drafted in the 5^th round by the Redskins, and ended up breaking his bloody (no pun intended) nose before the season began. He was inactive for seven of the first 11 games of the season, before making his first NFL start in Week 12. He went right back onto the inactive list the week after hurting his knee in that game, and sat out the rest of the year.

New year, fresh start. Wilson was back and ready to challenge for a starting spot or at least serve as a solid backup…before he ended up spraining his back in fall camp. The Redskins pretty much said, “Ahh to hell with it” and released him on Sept. 3, 2005.

The Vikings snatched him right up two days later, and signed him to the practice squad. Poor guy ended up getting released the following year, without playing a meaningful down.

The Oakland Raiders picked him up in Jan of 2007, before waiving him in September, only to sign him to their practice squad a few days later. Although Wilson, still would end up getting promoted to the active squad near the end of the season, he still would not get any playing time.

So in the end, we have a tackle that has started and played in one NFL game, and has battled the injury bug or practice squad hell for the last 4 years. The good news is that he was recently resigned by the Raiders last month, so will again have to compete for some real playing time.

7^th Round

7(208 Overall) Cleveland - Adimchinobi Echemandu RB

In Echemandu’s short four year career in the NFL, he’s already become a RB journey man, signing with 4 different teams, twice with the Raiders. Let’s recap shall we?

Echemandu was drafter in 2004 by the Browns, and saw only eight carries for 25 yards, and caught the ball only 3 times for 25 yards.

He then signed with the Minnesota Vikings the following year and didn’t get any snaps, spending most of his time on the practice squad. When asked why, he simply cited “Politics of the game.” (Houston Chronicle)

In 2006, Echemandu signed with the Oakland Raiders’ practice squad, and only saw action in preseason games.

2007 began shaping up more interestingly for Joe as he was praised openly by then new Raider’s coach Lane Kiffin as the team’s “surprise player.” But the depth at the tailback position in Oakland (the emergence of Justin Fargas, veteran Lamont Jordan, Dominic Rhodes coming off suspension, and Lousiville draft pick Michael Bush) pretty much ruled him out of any playing time, and Echemandu was cut.

Echemandu called it a “blessing disguise” because he almost immediately signed with the proverbial empty backfield of the Houston Texans, and made an immediate contribution. In his first game in which he received a considerable number of carries, Echemandu rushed for 62 yards on 10 carries against the Chargers. And next up was the game against the Raiders, the same team that had cut him. Sweet sweet redemption.

Except…in that 62 yard performance, Echemandu ended up pulling his hamstring on the first play of the game, and would proceed to only get 2 carries in the Oakland game for 6 carries, and limited carries for the rest of the season.

Echemandu was then cut by the Texans at the end of the year, and resigned with Oakland in 2008.

On a side note, I think it’s interesting that the Raiders decided to pick up Echemandu at this point in the year. I know Kiffin was a fan of his last year, but with all the talk about the Raiders picking up Darren McFadden in the draft, that would give them SIX running backs if they don’t release Lamont Jordan (which they will). You have to wonder whether they will actually indeed pick up McFadden, or if Joe is merely a pawn to make it seem like the Raiders are no longer interested in McFadden to help increase the likelihood they will draft him. Who knows what Davis is thinking?

All in all, I would love to see Joe get a fair shake with an NFL team, and see what he can do with a healthy season. Mainly because of his significant contributions to Cal during his time year, but also because I'd just love to see all of his hard work and commitment pay off. And because he was also a Soc major like myself and former Cal baller A.J. Diggs and his name is flat out pimp. Adim-chee-noh-bee.....ECHE MANDU. Pimp.

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2003 NFL Draft Recap – Cal Players Taken

Hey all,

To celebrate the week leading up to the NFL Draft, I've decided to take my loyal readers down memory lane and revisit the last 5 NFL Drafts and see how it's worked out for the Cal players selected, and the teams who were lucky or unlucky enough to select them.

We're going to kick it off by looking at the 2003 NFL Draft.

1^st Round

19. Baltimore - Kyle Boller QB

Ahh yes, Kyle Boller. The QB who struggled, along with the rest of the team for his first 3 years, before getting a major career overhaul with the arrival of Tedford in the 2002 season. His breakout season in 2002 (2,815 yards, 28 TDs, 10 INT, and a 126.8 QB rating) helped him to break the school career TD record at 64 TDs, and put him in second on the all time career passing yard record at 7,980 yards.

His strong senior year and the much publicized pro day work out in which he threw a football through the uprights on the 50 yard line on his knees propelled Boller to the top of the draft at the 19^th overall spot, the second QB taken behind Heisman winner and 1^st overall pick Carson Palmer.

Boller started the first 9 games of his rookie season, going 5-3 before his season ending thigh injury. He saw more improvement in his 2004 season, beginning to settle into a starting QB role in the NFL. The next few years would be best described by the following 3 words: injury, mediocrity, and inconsistency. Boller would proceed to miss more games with various injuries, and would finish seasons with nearly even TD-INT ratios. Boller’s QB ratings would range from those as high as 136.8 to numbers much much lower than that * COUGH 3.5 *.

Since then, Boller’s most noteworthy achievements have been dating Tara Reid and…not much else.

Boller lost his starting job to Steve McNair in 2007, and has filled in a bit during the Ravens’ 08 season with McNair battling injuries, and filled in admirably albeit unspectacularly.

With the Ravens being incredibly public about the fact that they hope to snatch up Matt Ryan in the 8^th spot of this year’s draft as their quarterback of the future, Boller has pretty much transitioned from the “the verdict is still out on him” QB to the “First Round Bust” category. Don’t get me wrong, I still think the guy has talent, and may see some success as a backup in the near future, but it’s going to be hard for him to establish himself as a premier QB moving forward. He should still get a pretty decent shot this year, as his only competition at the starting QB spot will be Heisman winner Troy Smtih, and whoever the Ravens snatch up in the draft this year, unless they acquire a veteran QB.

In a more interesting note, one of my friends lived in the same exact apartment that Boller lived in before graduating. She would still get some of his mail years for years after. While she claims to have never opened any of his mail, I would have killed for a Kyle Boller credit card.

31. Oakland - Nnamdi Asomugha CB

Nnamdi Asomugha (pronounced /NAM-Dee Aso-MU-Wah/) began his career at Cal as a free safety before moving to the cornerback position, a position he would keep into the pros. One of the biggest cornerbacks in the 2003 draft, at 6’2 and 213 lbs, Nnamdi was a first round pick based off his safety-type toughness and superior speed. He exhibited very raw talent, and got immediate playing time as a rookie, and has proceeded to play in nearly every game since then.

Nnamdi had a breakout season in 2006, propelling himself to the elite tier of NFL cover cornerbacks, registering 8 interceptions (returning 1 for a TD), 18 pass breakups, along with 51 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. Geez.

Teams began looking away from Nnamdi’s side of the field, which contributed to him having a quieter 2007 season. The Raiders placed the franchise tag on him in February, and with the recent signing of DeAngelo Hall, he and Hall are expected to be the premier defensive back duo in the NFL for the upcoming year. The Raiders will probably still suck though.

6^th Round

11. (184 Overall) St. Louis - Scott Tercero G

Scott Tercero missed his entire rookie year with a knee injury. He returned in the 2004 season to play an important role filling in for the Rams’ decimated offensive line that year. Tercero played eight games during that season, starting in four of them, filling in first for Kyle Turley at the right tackle spot, and later for an injured Chris Dishman. Injuries struck Tercero again, as he was placed on the injury reserve later in the season on November 16^th with shoulder and wrist injuries.

In somewhat of a surprising move, he Tercero was released the following summer. It was surprising considering how Tercero had emerged as a legitimate candidate to start at the left guard or right tackle spot. The Rams site reported: “Tercero had lost considerable weight after being injured, and was unable to put those pounds back on. Without the ability to gain the weight in time for camp, Tercero was given his release.”

7^th Round

25. (239 Overall) New England - Tully Banta-Cain DE

First off, because he has one of the coolest names ever, and the fact that it’s fairly long, I’m going to refer to Banta-Cain as Tully for the rest of my write up on him. Tully came in to Cal as a linebacker, but made the switch to defensive end, before eventually switching back to the linebacker spot in the pros.

Some draft reports had him projected as high as a 3^rd round pick, but he eventually fell to the 7^th round. This proved to be blessing though, as he ended up with one of the best NFL franchises in the Patriots.

Played consistently in a reserve role and on special teams in all 4 seasons with the Patriots, but it wasn’t until the 2006 season that he started (in 5 games), filling in for Junior Seau after Seau went down with a season ending arm injury. Tully went from a situational pass-rusher to showing that he could be productive as a starting outside linebacker. He went on to register 43 tackles that year (31 solo) and 5.5 sacks. Taking advantage of the solid numbers he put in the last year on his contract, Tully signed with the 49ers for the 2007 season, and put up comparable numbers at 41 tackles (30 solo) and 3.5 sacks.

Tully has an explosive first step, and good speed and range, but must continue to be more instinctive and improve his overall consistency.

Alrite, that about wraps it up for 2003, so check out the site in the next few days for the next few years.

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Desean Jackson...Too Fat?

("Desean's a fatty! Desean's a fatty!")

The nitpicking, I mean “evaluation” of Desean Jackson has started. Ok, well it’s been going on for a while now, but it’s beginning to pick up steam as we approach the one week mark until the draft. Also, more and more journalists are beginning to a look at Desean as he begins to make his rounds of visiting NFL teams around the country.

The latest visit to the bay area San Francisco 49ers has some scout reviews, again, highlighting Desean Jackson’s weight. For as much flack that he got for showing up at the combine at a weight that many scouts considered too “light” at 169 lbs, now they’re thinking the guy might be too heavy for his frame after he gained a whopping 6 lbs.

“The pass rush isn't the only area of concern for the 49ers. They'd love to land a pass receiving threat to add to new offensive coordinator Mike Martz's aerial show. That makes Cal's DeSean Jackson another possibility, and he'll be in today for an interview as well.

Jackson's people say he has gained a little weight, to 175 pounds from 169, which has concerned some scouts. He returned Wednesday from visiting the Rams, and he also was brought in by the Eagles and Bucs. He has recovered from the quadriceps and thumb problems that hampered him last year at Cal.

After posting the fastest 40-yard time (4.35) at the combine among wide receivers, he has moved up to a likely first-round selection. Despite a disappointing senior year, he returned six punts for touchdowns in his Berkeley career, an ability that further endears him to the 49ers.”

Read the full article here

I can understand NFL scouts' concerns...somewhat. These are million dollar investments they're talking about here, so they have to make the right choices. And when it comes to the draft, which is the closest thing to a modern day meat market that you will find, a few lbs can make the difference between a player making it through 13 years, or 4 games before hyperextending a muscle and being out for the rest of their rookie year, or career.

But 6 lbs? Sheesh. You heard 'em Desean. 169 lbs is too light, and 175 is too heavy. You're going to need to get to about 172.8 lbs to guarantee a first round pick.

P.S. I don't think Desean falls to the Niners at their spot in the first round, but who knows?

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Wednesday (4/16) Spring Practice Notes

Seeing as I'm not part of the media, and don't have their exclusive rights to go check out the regular closed Cal practices, I have to count on Jonathan Okanes for my Spring football practice notes.

But I think the bloody guy had a kid (Congratulations!), so I was expecting to be deprived of any Spring Updates until I stumbled upon the story on the Scout front page. You can check out the full article here, but I thought I'd share some of the more interesting tidbits:

Trends:

"Now at the halfway mark through the spring practices of 2008, several trends have emerged:

1. The defense is ahead of the offense,
   
   
2. Riley continues to mix the occasional poorly thrown pass in with many good
   tosses,
   
   
3. The O-line is a work in progress and Coach Michalczik has his work cut out for him,
   
   
4. Tad Smith and LaReylle Cunningham catch almost everything thrown in their direction, and
   
   
5. Bryan Anger sure can crank out the boomers - but the occasional shanks continue.

6. Brock Mansion enjoyed his best practice to date. He benefited from extended reps as he took snaps for both second and third team offensive plays.

   Mansion's throws were crisp, and he displayed good escapability skills, several times turning broken plays into positive yardage.

7. Rulon Davis played several downs in the middle as a defensive tackle, at least once stunting to penetrate a gap."

My thoughts:

• Good to hear about Mansion. Even though he's struggled mightily so far in the Spring, I've still got a lot of hope in the kid, and the sooner he can grasp the offense, the better.

• Davis playing at DT is a surprise, considering how much he can provide at the DE position if he stays healthy. I also thought he was better served to be force off the edge and guarding lateral runs as opposed to stuffing the middle, but who knows?

• Anger shanks punts? I guess I never noticed while he was booting balls into Tilden Park.

• Not surprised to hear about Cunningham's performance. The guy's got hands. His lack of blazing speed and solid catching abilities seem to be pointing to him to the slot receiver position...

• Thanks goodness we're finally getting some defensive pressure on the line. It always leads back to the question though of whether our defense is playing really well, or if our offensive unit is struggling. I guess we won't REALLY know until the Fall...
  

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Cal Player Gary Doxy testifies in Berkeley Shooting Trial

Cal Player testifies in Berkeley Shooting Trial
Current Cal defensive back Gary Doxy testified on Friday as a witness during the trial involving the death of Meleia Willis-Starbuck, almost three years ago. Apparently, Doxy was walking near Dwight and College when a few of the players began talking to Willis-Starbuck and her girlfriends, and began arguing.


"The fight began with team members flirting with Willis-Starbuck and her friends. When the women rejected the advances, the football players became angry, with one saying one of the women looked like Chewbacca." (Inside Bay Area)

Dang, Chewbacca? I'd be pissed too if someone said one of my lady friends looked like this:

According to Doxy, he and some other players stood back while the players who had made the insults later apologized. Willis-Starbuck proceeded to argue with the players however, ultimately calling a good friend to come, for help. That friend, Christopher Hollis, came blazing with a pistol, shooting 4 rounds at the group, grazed Doxy who made a run for it, and ended up inadvertently shooting his friend Willis-Starbuck in the chest, killing her.

I'm not making this up. Read the report here:
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#1 Biggest OffSeason Story - Kevin Hart Recruiting Hoax

("And uh...I decided that uh...I'm going to be playing football for the University of California!")

This story tops the list of the Top 5 Biggest Offseason Stories for the Cal Bears team. Some of you guys are probably disappointed, because of all the stories, this one was probably the least significant in terms of the implications for the program, but the story was just so freakishly bizarre that it easily had the most national attention of anything that happened to Cal in the past few months.

Plus as Rod Benson might say, it's too "coddamn" funny to not blog about, even if it's a bit old.

So here's the skinny for those of you who missed it:

Kevin Hart is a 6-foot-4, 305-pound offensive line high school senior from Fernley, community outside of Reno. In early February, Hart called a news conference in front of his entire school, family, and TV crews from Reno (no student from Fernley had ever been offered a scholarship by a Div 1A school, so this was a big deal). With his high school coach holding the mic for him, Hart announced that after much deliberation between Oregon and Cal, that he was going to be a Golden Bear. The crowd erupted in applause as Hart donned the Cal cap, stood and waved to the crowd before thanking his family and supporters.

("I'm so proud of you...")

There was one minor detail missing though: Cal had never offered Hart a scholarship. In fact Cal had never even heard of Hart. Neither had Oregon. Or Nebraska, or any of the other schools that had been allegedly recruited Hart. In fact, I'm sure when a reporter asked Tedford to comment about their new recruit Kevin Hart, Tedford responded: "Who the $%#& is Kevin Hart?"

This, despite Hart telling reporters that Cal coach Jeff Tedford “and I talked a lot, and the fact that the head coach did most of the recruiting of me kind of gave me the real personal experience.” (Register Guard)

So someone was definitely wrong here. Law officials immediately began investigating. Hart claimed that he had been duped by a false recruiter. And the sketchiness of the facts and details began to cloud up the matter even further. From the details of reports given, I've been able to piece together a reenactment of what the type of conversations that took place between Kevin Hart and the investigators. And I'm not making any of these facts up.

Investigator: So you're claiming then, that a man falsely represented himself as a middle man recruiter for big-time college football programs?

Kevin: Uh yeah, totally.

Investigator: And he told you that these schools were offering you scholarships?

Kevin: Yeah, I just had to pay him fifty bucks or something.

Investigator: Wait-you paid him?

Kevin: Well yeah.

Investigator: But he never once put you in contact with any of these schools? You never spoke with any recruiters or coaches?

Kevin: No, that's what he was for.

Investigator: So you never spoke to actually spoke these schools, but you assumed you had scholarship offers from them?

Kevin: That's what he said.

Investigator: But...okay, well give me his number so we can call him.

Kevin: Uh, I don't have it.

Investigator: You don't have it? Like you lost it or you never got it.

Kevin: Never really asked.

Investigator: Address, business cards...anything?

Kevin: Ummm...psshh I don't know that sheee-et! Keepin' it Real! Haha, you ever hear that Chris Rock bit?

Investigator: No, I--well do you at least have his name?

Kevin: Uhhhh....Kevin.

Investigator: His name is Kevin? Last name?

Kevin: Kevin....(thinking) Riley. Kevin Riley.

Investigator: Kevin Riley? Wasn't he the guy who f'd up on the last play in that Oregon State game?

(another investigator pops his head in)

Investigator 2: Yeh but tore it up in the Armed Forces Bowl!!! You catch that?

Investigator: Armed what? No, okay I think we're about done here.


Again, I'm not making this stuff up. Okay, I'm sure Hart never quoted Chris Rock. But once you heard Riley's name mentioned (even though they said there was no relation), you knew something was definitely up. And yes, he claimed to have paid the recruiter, and thought it was normal for him to accept a scholarship for a school that never directly recruited him.

And sure enough, the truth eventually came out. Kevin Hart made the whole thing up. He admitted he had never been recruited and apologized to everyone. I read later that he had done it all as a dare. Wow, ballsy.

There's just so many things one could have said about this whole bizarre saga. It's one of those things that spiraled out of control, and could have and should have been stopped at numerous occasions. Didn't the coach think it was strange that Hart had accepted a scholarship without ever being contacted by the school for interviews or transcripts? Where were the parents on this?

Then again, you have to think that given that Fernley had never sent one of their students to a Div 1A program, they weren't really aware of how this was supposed to go. They were just too happy for him. And ultimately, that may be one of the factors that drove the poor kid to do something so stupid. I mean, he had been a star at his school, and was realizing that his dream playing ball at the college level was probably slim. It makes you wonder what these kids might try to pull off with the pressure to make it to the next level.

Last I heard, the school district was debating whether or not to press charges. Don't do that to the kid. He's been ridiculed enough. Heck, just try and imagine what it was like even going to school the next day.



Anyway, this about wraps up the offseason biggest stories. Look for more good stuff in the next couple of weeks, especially with the draft approaching. Thanks again for reading! Read the rest of the post and comments here >>

Other Pac-10 QB Battles Decided

In my post highlighting the QB battle between Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley, I had mentioned that all signs pointed to Coach Jeff Tedford not making his decision until the end of Fall practice, most likely just a few days prior to the opening Michigan State Game.

Well it looks like some of the other highly publicized QB battles around the Pac-10 are already beginning to get settled.

The Baby Bears at UCLA have appeared to have settled on Patrick Cowan over Ben Olsen and Kevin Craft. While nothing appears to have been announced publicly, the word is that Cowan will be taking the first team snaps throughout the rest of practice and through the year. If the decision holds, then it will cap off a two year saga in which Ben Olsen has beaten out Cowan twice for the starting job, only to go down midseason, each season to injury, paving the path for Cowan to take over, only to battle his fair share of injuries.

(Sorry Ben...btw doesn't he look like Dwight Schrutte from "the Office?")

Interestingly, it's a decision that appears to have been made by both new head coach Rick Neuheisel and new offensive coordinator Norm Chow. Again, you have to wonder how much our new OC, Frank Cignetti will get to say about our own matter.



In other, and most likely more publicized news, it was announced that Mark Sanchez has beaten out Mitch Mustain for the starting QB spot over at USC. While one would have expected for Sanchez to have been the obvious starter because of his experience with USC's offense and the starts he had under his belt from last season, it was considered an open QB battle with Arkansas transfer Mustain. Mustain had accumulated an 8-0 record as a true frosh for the Razorbacks, before being pulled after one series against South Carolina and replaced in the game and for the rest of the season, by then sophomore Casey Dick. Mustain then transferred to USC at the end of the season, to patiently wait his turn for the chance to win a starting QB spot. You have to wonder why he went to a program as stacked as USC, but that would be beating another dead horse.

(That's one dirty Sanchez. What? It's after a game, he's got to be dirty.)

This has to make one wonder which would be the correct path for a head coach in deciding on a quarterback. Get it out of the way early on, give your QB and your team time to gain confidence and trust with one another, and risk being too hasty? Or thoroughly thinking through the decision to avoid regret, but risk having the QB and the team not having enough time to thoroughly embrace and prepare for the QB as the leader of the team. Who knows.

Either way, congrats to both QBs, and we look forward to facing you guys in the fall.

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#2 OffSeason Story - Nate Longshore/Kevin Riley QB "Controversy"

WHAT? This is only Number 2 on the list!?

Yeah you crap stirrers. Only Number 2. After Longshore's "contribution" to last year's "Callapse," and Riley's redemption party at the Armed Forces Bowl, everyone was set for a good old quarterback controversy as to who would be taking the snaps under center this fall.

It had been set up beautifully.

In one corner you had Nate Longshore, the veteran quarterback who after seeing great success in his first full year as a starter, entered last season as the top rated junior quarterback and led his team to a 5-0 start and a #2 national ranking. Then after "catching a break" at the end of the Oregon, Longshore became the scapegoat for his team's 2-6 finish for his erratic play in the 4th quarter and inability to perform in the clutch on three game-ending drives.

In the other corner, you had Kevin Riley, the now redshirt—oops I mean blueshirt Sophomore who has shown Cal fans a remarkable ability to make amazing plays in both good and bad ways. What he's lacked in experience, he's delivered in better mobility and a competitive fire that had many Cal fans, and players, believing in him by the end of the season. Helping to erase the boneheaded play at the end of the Oregon State game, Riley shined in his appearance at Armed Forces Bowl, leaving many to proclaim Riley nothing short of the second coming of another great Cal quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.

All we needed was someone to set it off and we were ready to go. And it came quickly. Seconds after Cal's last game of the season, Tedford immediately declared that every position would be open to competition for the upcoming season—especially at Quarterback.

"Let's Get Ready to RUMBBBBBLLLLLLLEEEEEEE!!!"

The verbal jabbing began:

Riley:

"I'm going to have the attitude that I'm going to be the man. I want to be the guy. I want everybody on the team to want me to be the guy, and not leave any doubt. I want to make sure they want me in the game and they trust me."

Oh SNAP!

Then Longshore:

"To me, it's about improving and doing the best job that I can do. I'm just trying to get better. I'm not worried about beating any other quarterback. I'm out there to beat the defense. I'm not out there to beat anybody else on our team."

Dang son! You hitting low!

Riley verbally B*tch smacks Longshore back:

"We're teammates. We're not mad at each other. We go in there, and we still help each other. But we both understand what's going on. It's just part of the game. Nate has played two years of college football and has done some great things. He's a great quarterback. If I want to win this job, I have to outplay him. That's why you play college football, for competition — to be that guy."

OHHH!! You gonna take that Nate?

"If I put everything I have forward and I improve, no matter what happens I'll be happy with myself," Longshore said. "I'll be able to look myself in the mirror and know I did everything I could. If you're really satisfied with everything you've put into it and how hard you worked, you don't care about playing time. You can look yourself in the mirror."

It was obvious that these two warriors were going to be ruthless. Kimbo style. And then Spring came…

And nothing.

Nada. Zip. Zilch.

The spring was off to a quiet start, with the team focusing its offensive attention on running plays. Neither QB had a chance to really show anything off and both quarterbacks made their share of good throws, and bad throws. Nate appeared to be performing slightly better, but that wasn't too surprising as Nate has always practiced well, and regardless, hadn't shown enough of an edge to put himself ahead of the race.

Then Nate pulled his pectoral muscle last week (reportedly turning it blue and black), thereby ending his participation in spring practice. Riley hasn't exactly seized the moment with the first team, but has looked fairly sharp in recent practices.

The truth is, nothing will be decided until the fall, most likely in the last few days of the last week of practice. You have to take into account how much new OC Cignetti will have to say about the matter. We have to wonder where the team's devotion lies at this point, and how much that might matter.

While the media will continue to make a story out of nothing, the QB decision is still something that everyone eagerly anticipates. We're left to critique and overanalyze everything, like each QB's motivation in drive, as was done in an article in today's Contra Costa Times. One quick comment about that article by the way, don't look too lightly in Longshore's comments about wanting to do everything he can and improving himself first and foremost. Many have been quick to mistake Nate for not being competitive or not caring enough for not punching himself in the face after interceptions, or getting in the face of his linemen, or talking about how he needs to just work on getting better. I think there are a lot of examples of athletes who choose to be competitive and better themselves in different ways.

Personally, I'm in the camp that believes that unless Longshore really begins struggling in fall camp or Riley begins lighting it up, that Tedford will go with Nate as the starter in the first game unless he suspects a Rudy Carpenter/Sam Keller type of mutiny coming. You have to think that if Longshore and Riley are pretty much equal come end of fall, Tedford is going to lean first with the more experienced QB. I wouldn't be surprised if he said something similar to what he said when he announced Longshore as the starter over Joe Ayoob two years ago before the Tennessee game.

"They've both had great camps, [but] somebody has got to take the first snap," Tedford said. "It's very possible they'll both play. Nate has run the offense very well. There wasn't a lot of difference between them, but Nate has been real consistent." (Seattle Times)

But again, remember this is April, and there's a whole lot we don't know, and a whole lot that may happen from now until kickoff against Michigan State. So stay tuned for the "slobberknocker" that awaits. Read the rest of the post and comments here >>

Spring Practice Notes Update: "Official" Stats

Just an update to my Spring Practice Notes. Sitting in the stands, I couldn't provide anything but a guestimation as to some of the stats. Rusty Simmons, the SF Chronicle Staff Writer was taking better notes than I was, so he provided some good numbers in his Spring Practice Report here.

• Riley was 4 of 7 passes for 30 yards, including a well-thrown 11-yard touchdown to Michael Calvin. He also had a 8 yard scramble on the first passing play of the day

• Mansion went 2-for-7 for 30 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Most of those yards came from his connection with Jeremy Ross that Ross turned into a 28-yarder.

• Tracy Slocum who's been getting a lot of attention for his recent string of performances in Spring Ball (and deservedly so) ran 11 times for 74 yards and 2 TDs, one from 10 yards out, and one another from 12. He also blocked a punt.

• Two of Anger's punts went 60 and 54 yards.

• Syd'Quan's punt return that was called back for clipping went for 70 yards.
  

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Spring Practice Notes

Man I miss Berkeley. Ok, well not everyday, but it was awesome to spend the day back at Cal on a beautiful, albeit, burning hot day. There’s just something about the campus, and the richness to life there. Anyway, I digress.

I had an opportunity to attend Cal’s Spring “Scrimmage.” While other schools have full spring games that are featured on ESPN (like the Florida Gators), or filling the stadium with 80,000 fans like the Sooners, Tedford and Co. is more than content with opening just one practice to the public to appease the rabid Cal fans.

All in all, there really wasn’t anything too dramatic. The team played it fairly safe and didn’t reveal too much or try anything too fancy. Anyone’s who has kept up with the spring practice reports for the past few weeks, probably didn’t see anything too new or revealing.

That said, it was still pretty neat to see the team in pads and in person for the first time in a while. I took pretty extensive notes, and decided to just post some of the highlights to the team by each unit.

Quarterbacks

• As expected, Longshore didn’t participate in any drills because of his injury, as he’ll most likely be out for the rest of Spring ball. Riley got the majority of snaps, but a lot of the reps were split fairly evenly with Brock Mansion and Cory Smits.

• Riley looked pretty sharp during one-on-one drills, throwing accurately and with velocity. He didn't do too much during team drills, and only threw a handful of times. He did make a nice throw to Michael Calvin in the back of the endzone from about 15 yards out, for the only passing score for the day. He also appears to be a pretty strong fan favorite (as expected), as he got a pretty good pop from the crowd when it was announced he was taking first team snaps. You got to wonder what kind of reception Longshore would have gotten...

(Whoa, easy there...)

• Many have reported this, and I found it's pretty accurate, Mansion is struggling in Spring Ball. While it's definitely too early to know for sure, I would say it's pretty safe to say that the slight possibility that he might push either Riley or Longshore for the starting spot has been pretty much extinguished. You could tell he's physically gifted in terms of his mobility and arm strength, but he overthrew most of his receivers, throwing 4 straight incompletions at one point. The kid's probably going to be alright in the long run, but he's given no indication that he's near Riley or Longshore's level right now.

• Cory Smits got sacked...a lot. And by sack, I mean being tagged by a defender, because the QBs were obviously not going to get touched yesterday, but I remember him not having much time to throw and/or not making his reads quickly enough. It could have been his line, but no way of knowing for sure.

Running Backs

• I think we may have found our bruiser in Slocum. He just may be the thunder to complimenting the lightning in Best/Vereen that we've been waiting for. He had a pretty good running day, gaining solid yardage on every run, and finished with two straight TD runs from about ten yards out. He's certainly taking advantage of his time with both Best and Vereen out.

(Covaughn stopped in the backfield)

• Covaughn Deboskie had his flashes, but is still showing his youth. He was taken down pretty hard a few times in the backfield, but did notice that he ran hard, attempting to spin off of initial contact. Not the greatest day though, as he did fumble once, never really broke out for any big gains. Depending on the health of our RB stable, I wouldn't be surprised to see Deboskie blue shirt this year.

• Brian Holley took a lot of third team reps as a RB, and was consistently gaining 2-3 yards each run. Unfortunately, he went down on the last play of the game on a goal yard offensive scheme, and lied still for a few moments, before eventually being helped off the field by trainers. He wasn't putting any weight on one of his legs, and here's hoping that he's alright.

Wide Receivers

• A lot of drops on the day. Some of them were on the QBs, but a number of the passes should have been caught. Calvin in particular had a few, which from what I read during practices, is a bit unusual.
  
• Jeremy Ross had a nice catch and run for about 15-20 yards, off of one of Mansions few completions for the day.
• I actually walked away most impressed LaReylle Cunningham. He made a few nice grabs, particularly one where he simply snatched the ball right over the defender. I'm not sure he'll be a starter, but I do expect him to contribute a little bit next season.

Offensive Line

• It was a bit difficult to gauge from where I was sitting, but they appeared to do fairly well. Mansion and Smits did take a number of sacks though, so again it's hard to put that on the QB, the O-line, or perhaps the strength of our D-Line.

(Tedford doing his thing)

Defense

• Felder, Squid, Williams,Owusu, and Costanzo were probably the names that were called out the most on the defensive stops. I did hear Young, Felder, Conte mentioned a few times as well. Also, it was good to hear Payne's name attribute to a tackle-for-loss towards the end of practice.
• Chris Conte lined up on the other end of field opposite Syd'Quan taking the Team A snaps as defensive back. Hagan did get his fair share of reps as well which was good to see. There weren't too many pass breakups or any interceptions, but then again, there weren't many passes being thrown.
• Overall, I noticed a lot more pressure on the quarterback, although our run defense was still a bit lacking whenever Slocum was in the game. We shut down the rest of the RBs pretty well.
  
• The offense struggled to really move the ball all day, and I never really counted any prolonged drives. The only time they scored was when they started out from the 25 or 10 yard line to practice red zone offense. Again, not sure to be excited about the defense's improvement, or the offense's lack of flow at this point.
  

Special Teams

• Jordan Kay was pretty solid on the day, making all of PAT attempts, and knocking a few from about 45 yards out towards the end of practice. The biggest issue for him again be consistency, as the kicking game is going to be an that will NEED to improve, if we hope to be more successful than last year.

(MVP! MVP!)

• Most people have been slowly raving about it already, but Bryan Anger is a BEAST. If there was ever such a thing for a punter, but this guy kicks like he's HGH pumping through his thighs. During his second punt, he punted it so high and far back, that Syd'Quan had to scuffle back to locate it, and ended up muffing the punt. This drew the largest reaction of the entire day.

• Speaking of punt returns, it was a fairly quiet afternoon, with Boateng and Syd'Quan splitting reps. Syd'Quan did return one for a TD, but there was a flag on the field which one should probably assume would have negated it. Other than that, I'm not sure we're going to see anything as exciting as what DJ was able to pump out the last few years. At least they might actually start kicking to us again.
  

That about wraps it up. Props to my girlfriend for being my photographer for the day, uploading the photos, and toasting out in the sun with me.

Please feel free to leave any questions or comments, and I'll try and respond to them when I get the chance. 'Twas a good time in the sun, watching our Bears run around, and Fall can't come soon enough. Read the rest of the post and comments here >>

#3 Biggest OffSeason Story - James Montgomery leaves Cal

Whenever a player leaves a program, expect a fair share of rampant speculation about the reasons for leaving. Especially when the player who leaves is the Number 1 running back on the depth chart heading into the spring.

Montgomery, who had more carries than Jahvid Best last season, was slated as being first on the depth chart, and was expecting some pretty strong competition with Best, Shane Vereen, Tracey Slocum, and new recruit Covaughn Deboskie for the starting RB spot. In March, there came rumblings that James Montgomery, last year’s backup to Justin Forsett, had left the program. When the story broke on Washington Husky fansite RealDawg.com, there were pretty strong quotes from Montgomery.

"Cal was never my first choice," Montgomery told RealDawg. "I didn't feel (Cal) was a (football) school that had a lot of tradition. They were ranked sixth in the country and yet couldn't sell out that week's game." (Okanes)

The quotes were later pulled from the site, although it’s unclear whether he had misspoken, or if he was misquoted. Montgomery, was however quick to point out that he would never speak poorly of Cal. "There's a lot being twisted. I would never talk bad about Cal. Everybody knows I'm a team guy. Cal sells out games every year. I would never say that."

Many Cal fans wouldn’t really hear out Montgomery about his reasons for leaving, or were embittered enough that we weren’t “good enough for him.” Reading some Cal message boards, it was slightly reminiscent of a messy breakup. It didn’t really matter why the other party dumped you, or how nice they were about it when they left, the point was that they were gone. And then sooner or later, the “he/she was never good enough for me anyway” defensive retorting tactic kicks in. Ultimately, it left a lot of Bears fans wondering what they missed, and a few Bears feeling like this:

(whoa there George)

Most Cal fans were fairly level headed about it though, and simply wanted to know why. Did the fear of competition get to Montgomery, knowing he would possibly be stuck in Best’s or even Vereen’s shadow as a backup for his remaining years at Cal? Maybe. But I think it’s unfair to deeply speculate on the matter, and question the kid’s resolve.

The real reasons for leaving, according to Montgomery came down to him really not feeling at home at Cal. You hear it all the time with friends who transfer midway through college because they don’t feel at home there. These are young kids who are pushed and pulled in different directions for what school they go to when they’re 17 or 18 years old. Sometimes, they make a choice, and it doesn’t work. I sincerely believe that he tried to make it work, and it didn’t. I don’t think it was a knock on Cal or its legacy, facilities, coaching staff, teammates or anything else that some people have construed it to be.

It was just reported earlier in the week that Montgomery had transferred to Washington State, and in a year’s time, we’ll have a chance to face off against him and his new Cougars squad. I for one, sincerely wish him the best of luck. Like many Cal fans, I'm appreciative of his contributions last year and really hope that he flourishes at WSU, and more importantly finds his community and home there. I just hope we end up limiting him to thirty yards when we face him.

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#4 Biggest OffSeason Story - Jahvid Best takes snaps during Spring Practice

"Can't touch this..."

For any Cal fan, one of last season's joys was witnessing the flashes of brilliance from true frosh Jahvid Best. By now, most people know that the highly heralded recruit had joined the program as the fastest high school athlete in the state, and was oozing of potential. And we had all the more reason to be excited from his best 34 yard gain during the Tennessee game to the long touchdown run he broke out for during the Colorado State game, running over an unsuspecting Desean Jackson in the process.

Yet it was a quiet injury during the miserable USC game that quietly transformed into one of the biggest offseason fears. When it was reported that Best had suffered a hip injury, most Cal fans won't admit that they immediately thought of this.

Yes, it was the breaketh of the hipeth that ended the short career of one of the greatest athletes of our time, Bo Jackson. So the entire Bear nation let out a collective sigh when we found out that Best wouldn't require surgery, and would only need to limp around on crutches for a few months and sit out Spring practice.

Imagine the media's surprise when they showed up on the first day of Spring Practice and found Jahvid participating in individual drills. While that didn't mean he was allowed to participate in any of the team plays, it was good to hear that he was running around.

"I was just told to come out here and go as hard as I can and see how my hip responds. After today, I feel pretty good. The only thing I felt is that I'm a little bit out of shape from not doing too much in a long time. But I felt fine." (Okanes)

I can guarantee you that Best's out of shape speed is probably faster than most on the team. Heck, Best could probably crab walk faster than I could sprint.

If the mighty Bear Nation let out a collective sigh when they found out that Best wouldn't need surgery, I'm sure a few wet themselves when they found out that Best was allowed to participate in a few team drills during the second Spring practice.

Tedford will be playing it safe and sitting Best out of any full contact drills for the rest of the spring. And for good reason. But Cal’s staking a lot of their future success in this kid, and Bear fans should be counting their blessings that Jahvid the Jet should be back in his blazing, wide receiver knocking form come fall.

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#5 Biggest OffSeason Story - Coaching Carousel

No, I'm not talking about Monty, because that story alone would probably have trumped everything else on this list, especially if one is left to wonder whether Monty would have considered the Stanford Job now that Trent Johnson bolted for LSU.

No, instead I'm referring to the biggest coaching staff shakeups to happen in the Jeff Tedford Era at Cal. After last year's "Callapse," Coach Tedford promised changes for the upcoming year, and those changes came quickly, beginning with the coaching staff.

Cal's official press release.

In one of the more interesting and surprising moves, Ken Delgado left Cal to take the same position as Defensive Line Coach at Louisville. I say it's a bit surprising simply because Delgado had been with Tedford since the beginning of his regime, and wasn't really accepting a higher position at a more established program. Louisville is coming off an equally disappointing year with a much worse performing defense last year than Cal's. That led to Coach Tedford promoting graduate assistant and former Cal player Tosh Lupoi to the D-line coach position. While I liked Delgado, I think it's an exciting move, because of the passion and excitement that Lupoi reportedly brings to the table. And considering the zero pass rush we had last year, any change to our D-line, the better.

Some of the smaller changes include QB Coach Kevin Daft replacing Dan Ferrigno as the new wide receiver coach. It's a bit interesting to see a QB coach move to coaching Wide receivers, but it may be beneficial to have them understand route running from a QB's perspective. Ferrigno had "left Cal to pursue other opportunities." While it may not be fair to read too much into that, anyone who has read that same line in a work email from a manager knows that the person isn't always skipping with glee on their way out.

Al Simmons replaces R. Todd Littlejohn as Defensive Back coach in the quietest change. I honestly don't expect much too change here, but I've read that many attribute the low number of interceptions last year more with the lack of defensive back coaching, rather than Bob Gregory's defensive scheme. Okay…Either way, some of us remember what Simmons was able to do with Deltha O'Neal in his first stint with Cal (helping him be the first DB taken in the 2000 NFL Draft), so hopefully he can do the same with Syd'Quan, Conte, or perhaps Darian Hagan if the guy ever fully gets his act together.

The most glaring change is the hiring of Frank Cignetti as the new offensive coordinator. The Jeff Tedford era has seen its own share of turnover with the offensive coordinator position, but there's a lot of good reason to be excited about this one. Yeah I know Cignetti was the QB coach for the Niners last year, but anyone short of Jesus last year could have worked miracles offensively last year. (That includes you Moses). Cignetti appears to be on the same page with Tedford in terms of offensive philosophy, which bodes well for a bright future. Unlike Mike Dunbar, former Cal offensive coordinator, Cignetti favors Tedford's philosophy of multiple offensive sets, including extensive use of a tight end. He also appears to be more likely to take some risks, which a number of Cal fans are likely to rejoice about considering some of the anguish that came from Tedford's tendency to dink and dunk last year.

But more importantly, I'm willing to believe that this means that Tedford has matured as a head coach and is willing to let go of the reigns on play calling and embrace all of the responsibilities as a head coach and not be stretched as a head coach/offensive coordinator. Tedford said it himself, "The main reason for all this is so I can be more efficient with my head coaching duties. [After being] the play-caller and the guy buried in deep with the offense, I want to be able to have a chance to do things with the defensive players and the special teams." (ESPN)

Amen. Like Mark Richt at Georgia did a few years back, I'm relieved and hopeful at what this might mean for Cal's long term future. Some tend to forget that Tedford, as godlike as some make him to be, is still in his first and hopefully only head coaching gig. The guy is still learning on how to effectively be the head coach, and I'm glad that he'll be able to have his hand involved in everything else. And hopefully he'll learn that he doesn't have to only get two hours of sleep every night on his air mattress in his office to effectively plan for a game.

In the end, I'm seeing more youth at each coaching position without sacrificing too much experience. Coaching cornerstones Jim Michalczik and Bob Gregory are still there, along with Peter Alamar manning Special Teams. All in all, we should get more passion from our coaching staff while giving a chance for Tedford to being a head coach again, or quite possibly, really for the first time ever.

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5 Biggest OffSeason Stories

Welcome to the "Bears with Fangs" Cal Football Blog.

I'm pretty pumped at the chance to be able to share any Cal football info in the lonely off-season months, through the highs and lows of the upcoming season, and beyond.

There are lot of cool things I hope to implement in the next few months, and I hope you guys will be patient and stick around to see that through. I'll try not to let you guys down.

Since a bit has happened during the offseason, I wanted to catch some of you up to speed as to the 5 Biggest Off Season Stories.

Many might be wondering why anyone with any semblance of rationality would consider starting a football blog, let alone a Cal football blog in the spring, where a few weeks of semi-interesting tidbits wedge their way into long months void of any real news.

My responses can be quite simply given as such:

1) I'm a huge Cal football fan, so any news and thoughts become news and thoughts worth sharing.

2) Despite what one may think, it's been an interesting off-season with its fair share of interesting stories and plotlines.

I'm here to educate you and your mamas as to what's been happening.

#5 Biggest Offseason Story - Coaching Carousel

#4 Biggest Offseason Story - Jahvid Best takes snaps during Spring Practice

#3 Biggest Offseason Story - James Montgomery Leaves Program

#2 Biggest Offseason Story - Nate Longshore/Kevin Riley QB "Controversy"

#1 Biggest Offseason Story - Kevin Hart Recruiting Hoax
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