Posted on Mon, 05/26/2008 - 09:21 — by rotfogel
In my opinion this upcoming Cal football team has a chance, based on the talent, to be the best team they've had since Aaron Rodgers' last year. The reason? Talent. Especially on defense and with the team switching (hopefully permanently) to the 3-4. The 4-3 defense proved one thing: It had a zero percent chance of stopping any offense! If the Cal D coordinator actually uses his brain, we will not be seeing the 4-3 at all and we'll be seeing Follett, Williams and Feilder flying around in the backfield making plays. Combine them with the D Line, which proved to be much more effective in the 3-4. Cal could have D. Hill manning the middle with Rulon Davis and Cameron Jordan on the outside. That is a very solid D Line. Add the rotation of talented players that they've got and that's quite a defensive front 7.
As for the offense, everyone knows it comes down to one position. I'm hoping that Riley beats out Longshore because if Tedford hasn't figured it out yet, Longshore has the worst 4th quarter numbers of any QB in the history of the Pac 10. Tedford makes excuses but the numbers don't lie. Couple that with the fact that Cal has the second coming of Aaron Rodgers in Kevin Riley, I hope we only see Longshore if Riley gets hurt.
Who will Riley throw to? The emergence of a star who just I believe is still 18 years old, Michael Calvin. Dude is going to make us forget about the recievers last year. He and Cameron Morrah should be quit enough for the passing attack to thrive.
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1
Report shaka
Nice post, and am tempted to buy into it. But been going down this road too long so my theme this year is LOW EXPECTATIONS, HIGH HOPES to keep it real. A ONE TEAM philosophy and the emergence of team leaders are going to move the needle.
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 26
Report feveredbear
Hope always springs eternal but the question marks at RB, WR, and coaching say don't get too excited. Winning 6 games this year would be a stellar performance for Tedford (and BTW, *should* be a benchmark that the University should demand for him to keep his job).
Bottom-line, Cal will be replacing veteran, proven talent with untested/yet to prove themselves players. That's not a recipe for success; particularly when you've got a coach like Tedford.
...and before the idiots on this board start screaming AMY, I'm an alum from the 70's with nothing but passion and respect for its sports programs and (the ideals of) the university. I have degrees from both Cal & Columbia and (IMHO) and I wouldn't trade my Cal diploma for 1000 degrees from any other school. That doesn't mean that I have to like or respect a head football coach that *repeats* the same mistakes, over and over. And I don't.
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 7
Report rotfogel
Jeff Tedford is one of the top offensive head coaches in the country, and last year he found out that he himself needed to get more involved in the team as a whole and leave some of the offensive duties alone. After Longshore got injured the offense really sputtered and the defense got exposed...again.
Tedford is far from the problem and I trust he will lead Cal to a...dare I say BCS bowl this year. One might say Cal has to replace too much on offense, but when you look at the talent Cal has filling those skilled positions, and the promise of a star QB in Riley, the sky really is the limit.
It all comes down to the defense. If that D coordinator can get serious and stop taking LSD on the sidelines during games, he'll realize the 4-3 really isn't working at all with the personel they have and that the 3-4 is more than ideal. Here's to hoping spring was an indication of that.
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8
Report moreNCscmng
Bank on it.