... about our O. Sounds like Tedford IS just as concerned as some of us about our questions at QB and RB:

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_17771720

JT has managed my expectations lower.

It seems awfully early to cut the QB rotation down to three guys. I though that would not happen until Fall camp.

If I was Tedford, I would want some of the new guys to have more of a chance to get comfortable to make sure I was not making a mistake. I especially think it would be a big mistake to cut Maynard out of the rotation this early.

Sweeney is. If he's still having trouble throwing in his 4th(?) year at Cal it's too late. I've taught guys how to pitch and it's one thing to do it on the sidelines, another thing to do it in a scrimmage and still another thing to do it in a game. If the reports are accurate Sweeney hasn't incorporated the throwing changes enough to even perform in practice. He should be the holder, not Mansion.

This is nothing new, we have huge question marks for our QB, RB and Oline positions. If you think they can all be answered after 1 week of spring practice, or even at the end of spring practice, you're a bit too optimistic.

But, on the other hand...our D. roolingroolingrooling

RealDrew2;495657 said:

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It seems awfully early to cut the QB rotation down to three guys. I though that would not happen until Fall camp.

If I was Tedford, I would want some of the new guys to have more of a chance to get comfortable to make sure I was not making a mistake. I especially think it would be a big mistake to cut Maynard out of the rotation this early.

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I disagree. Tedford has said elsewhere they are doing things differently this Spring, focusing on physical performance instead of getting the entire offense in. Aside from Maynard all of these guy have been in the system long enough that they should know the offense, making it appropriate to focus on physical ability to make plays (and it would be wrong to not do this just for Maynard). Further, getting a smaller number of candidates a bigger number of reps seems absolutely mandatory. Obvously none of these guys are good enough right now; they need reps and coaching to improve. This is exactly the type of willingness to adjust and evolve that we need out of Tedford. And finally, to be blunt, if guys can't make the throws at this point in their careers we shouldn't waste everyone's time giving them reps...let them see the writing on the wall and decide if they want to hold a clip board for 3 years or transfer.

I for one am thrilled to see these realistic quotes from JT. Nothing was more frustrating to me than hearing all his platitudes that nothing was wrong when the evidence on the field clearly said otherwise. It made him lose credibility with me, a "casual" fan, so I can't imagine it was doing him any wonders in the locker room.

As for the QB race, he can't eliminate Sweeney soon enough for me. Give his reps to someone who has a chance. And I'm going to put on my sunshine glasses and predict another Robertson/Rodgers-like scenario is developing here. JT knows Brigford is the guy, he just needs a little more time. IMO the question is not if Brigford is our starter, it's when does he become the starter. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Mansion start the opener but AB get significant playing time and then take over for good a few games in. The "race" is to see if Mansion can improve enough to stay the #2 guy after that or if Maynard will surpass him.

JT just needs guys to step up, so he's challenging them. Great to (finally) see.

I am glad JT is coming to this feeling EARLY in camp. I like the sense of urgency!!!! I hope he continues riding the guys hard!!! Push them and tell them it's not good enough. Good job, JT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I too think Sweeney is done. Take his reps away and give them to Maynard and Bridgford! Again, I'm glad JT is doing that early.

I have a feeling that Bridgford, Maynard, and Mansion will all take meaningful snaps during games this season. Given the violent nature of the sport, it is a given that the top 2 usually play. Instead of spending the off season trying to identify the #1 guy, Tedford should focus on getting all 3 game ready.

drunkoski;495659 said:

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sweeney is clearly being given teh axe. not sure why this is even up for debate. expect a transfer.

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Sweeney won't transfer. He's there to learn under Tedford and become a coach. Simple as that imo.

RealDrew2;495657 said:

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It seems awfully early to cut the QB rotation down to three guys. I though that would not happen until Fall camp.

If I was Tedford, I would want some of the new guys to have more of a chance to get comfortable to make sure I was not making a mistake. I especially think it would be a big mistake to cut Maynard out of the rotation this early.

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Why do you think it's Maynard? Its Sweeney- period.

Davidson;495665 said:

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This is nothing new, we have huge question marks for our QB, RB and Oline positions. If you think they can all be answered after 1 week of spring practice, or even at the end of spring practice, you're a bit too optimistic.

But, on the other hand...our D. roolingroolingrooling

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Here's what I think- We will get a good QB out of the three and I bet its Bridgford with Maynard in certain situations. We need a guy who will be ready for 2012- our best chance for a BCS. Doesn't make sense to start a new guy in 2012.

Regarding the RB situation- Isi is fine. I bet he gets beat out by Anderson this summer and I bet Bigelow shows up healthy and blows people away.

Regarding the OL- Blasquez is going to get them in physical shape and Coach M will get them in mental shape. We have an experienced line made up of guys who were rated highly when they were recruited. I predict they will be much better this year because of the coach.

Finally, no coach is going to be quoted as saying they have everything figured out and they expect a perfect season. That's not how those guys are wired. That's why we need to rely on the insight of the insiders we have plus go out and watch an open practice with our own two eyes.

I think the cutting down of the QB's in the rotation is key. I think its key that they get to someone quickly who will work and get repetition with the first team offense, especially the receivers. Tedford himself had informally taken Hinder out of the competition; getting down to Mansion, Maynard, and Bridgford isn't exactly over-looking the next Joe Roth.

drunkoski;495702 said:

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we gave him a scholorship to help him become a coach?

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LOL! Yep!

RealDrew2;495657 said:

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It seems awfully early to cut the QB rotation down to three guys. I though that would not happen until Fall camp.

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Not early at all.

Spring camp is only like a month. Plus, fall camp is not that much longer.


I hope Tedford can cut down to just 2 QBs by the end of spring, and determine the starter about half way through the fall camp.



I still think Bridgford will be the starter....

I think the handwritings on the wall for Sweeny to keep the head set on. I don't think he transfers though. Who's gonna want to take the guy anyway if he's throwing lame ducks into the ground, and then looking at his hands afterwards like 'i swear it's not me!!!...it's my damn hands!!!' Unfortunately I think he sticks around with the headset on and eats up a scholly.

Give it two or three games. I think ultimately Bridg starts and Maynard runs out the the Wildbear/Crazy...I think it could be pretty exciting too.

calbb;495700 said:

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Here's what I think- We will get a good QB out of the three and I bet its Bridgford with Maynard in certain situations. We need a guy who will be ready for 2012- our best chance for a BCS. Doesn't make sense to start a new guy in 2012.

Regarding the RB situation- Isi is fine. I bet he gets beat out by Anderson this summer and I bet Bigelow shows up healthy and blows people away.

Regarding the OL- Blasquez is going to get them in physical shape and Coach M will get them in mental shape. We have an experienced line made up of guys who were rated highly when they were recruited. I predict they will be much better this year because of the coach.

Finally, no coach is going to be quoted as saying they have everything figured out and they expect a perfect season. That's not how those guys are wired. That's why we need to rely on the insight of the insiders we have plus go out and watch an open practice with our own two eyes.

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You know, I agree with you on all points. I have a million reasons why we will be good this year. I can go on and on. (don't let me).

However, my point was that it is a bit early to draw any conclusions. And, while I tend to be optimistic bear...the chance of going 3 for 3 on our 3 biggest questions makrs (QB, RB, OL)...is well, not very high. If we do go 3 for 3...then I have no doubt it'll be a special year. But I do think we are about 1 year away.

Yeah, DO, that was funny.

Really, though, he got a scholly because he was the best looking QB we could get that year. . . and he has seen the field. Course, the performance left a lot to be desired. I think he will follow the family line and get into coaching too. He is obviously (and rightfully) getting pushed down the chart be the younger and newer players.

if Tedford said he was keeping all 6 in the rotation until fall, the same people who are complaining now would be screaming that he can't make up his mind, that it is a recipe for disaster, etc.

Wertenberg was never a serious candidate (isn't he a walk-on?). Hinder is an RS freshman, so he'd have needed to blow everyone's doors off to be the man. Sweeney couldn't even beat out Mansion last year and apparently has done nothing to improve his stock since then. Ergo, it makes sense that Bridgeford, Mansion, and Maynard will get the snaps now. I, too, predict that it is ultimately a battle between Bridgeford and Maynard.

RealDrew2;495657 said:

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It seems awfully early to cut the QB rotation down to three guys. I though that would not happen until Fall camp.

If I was Tedford, I would want some of the new guys to have more of a chance to get comfortable to make sure I was not making a mistake. I especially think it would be a big mistake to cut Maynard out of the rotation this early.

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It was reported that Mansion is in the top 3; with either Sweeny, Maynard and Bridgeford out.

Any bets on who gets the :axe?

From what has been posted so far, my bet is Sweeny.

drunkoski;495748 said:

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i must say i do wonder why redshirt freshman can't hope to compete for a starting position anymore. nate got it why can't hinder?

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Agree. Right when last season ended I thought we might actually see Hinder on the field this coming season. I knew he was skinny, but thought that his talent would surface and that he would be one of the leading candidates to take over. I'm a little disappointed that he is being treated like he was never a serious contender!

drunkoski;495748 said:

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i must say i do wonder why redshirt freshman can't hope to compete for a starting position anymore. nate got it why can't hinder?

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AB & Maynard > Booya??? Competition from the elders is a bit deeper IMO. I think it has more to do with Bridgfords talent than with Hinders. But, yes, I have wondered the same thing from time to time.

Wait, wait, wait what about about kcal's reports that our QBs are awesome?

1. We aren't going to start a walkon
2. We aren't going to start Sweeney
3. Tedford said weeks ago that Hinder isn't ready.

That means it is a 3 man race. Its only too early if you don't have a clear top 3. And I'm sure if Hinder blows up with the reps he gets, he will move into the race, though I don't think that is going to happen (this year anyway).

Don't agree. There were a lot of hints from insiders that Ayoob was practicing very poorly. Its just that Cal fans wanted to believe that Tedford had lined up the next Aaron Rodgers so didn't want to hear anything else. Almost every report I've seen said Bridgford threw fine. It was things like the fumbling that was an issue. And it was one practice.

I think that with respect to the RS frosh, its a matter of situation. Bridgford was hurt his entire frosh season, and my understanding was that some of that was lingering last year. Sweeney is terrible. Mansion is poor as a RS junior and as a RS frosh would have had to beat out Riley and Longshore to break the top 2. Riley beat out Reed for 2nd string, but certainly wasn't going to beat out a healthy Longshore.

With respect to Longshore's situation, when he was a RS frosh he should have been battling a Holmoe recruit (Schwartz - transferred to Davis) a last minute Tedford recruit from his first recruiting season (Levy), and Tedford's first full fledged QB recruit (Dove - academically inelegible). So due to a situation, much of which was not of his own making, where the cupboard was bare, the job almost defaulted to Longshore. That was why Tedford got the best JC QB he could find to compete with him.

As for Hinder - all the reports about him as a recruit was that he had great tools but had a long way to go physically. Not surprising if he isn't ready at this point.

MiZery;495767 said:

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Wait, wait, wait what about about kcal's reports that our QBs are awesome?

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you mean mostly just bridgford and maynard? there was not much love for sweeney and mansion (minus arm strength)

I think you have to believe that the weight issue is the key with Hinder. Longshore was reasonably thick as a blueshirt freshman?

Sorry, but I don't think one practice at the beginning of Spring qualifies as "practicing poorly".

A result of his greater involvement with coaching our QBs perhaps. Like the CEO who hasn't spent as much time on the factory floor in recent years.

drunkoski;495788 said:

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hasn't been only one practice, but yes you are correct. too early to panic, but i've never seen jt so negative about the situation.

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We've got two pieces of info from the article. How are the QBs doing? "Not very good". And "There's a lot of learning going on for the offense," Tedford said. "You have a lot of young offensive guys playing. Those guys have to get used to the speed of the game."

We're young on offense. Our QBs are inexperienced. We have a new WR coach, a new OL coach, and a new OC arrangement. We have a new QB coach.

This was the tail end of the first week of practice for all those guys.

Yeah, I think it's a little premature to worry about JT being negative. But it's probably a good idea to keep in mind that as far as running the offense goes, we will almost certainly be taking a step back this year.

Also, regarding Hinder, he's technically an RS frosh, but it's important to remember that this is his first spring camp. He's had exactly one semester at Cal so far. I'm not remotely surprised that he isn't ready to be in the starting mix, when you have Mansion, Bridgford, and Maynard ahead of him.

IMO, JT's patience after the losing season is thin at best. His appraisal of the RB's was brutal, and I have a hard time believing the situation there is worse than Igber+nobody that he started with. Honestly, I think JT's statements say as much about JT's attitude and willingness to put up with lackluster performances right now as they say about practice.

drunkoski;495788 said:

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hasn't been only one practice, but yes you are correct. too early to panic, but i've never seen jt so negative about the situation.

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honestly drunk..... I've railed against JT's coach speak for years just like you.. since when have you started believing what JT says to the media....I mean, he is either vague and too general or saying something to elicit a certain behavior or response....in this case, as usual, he probably has other reasons for making that statement...he usually works this way....

Hope this is not a booth. Watched ESPN College Sports today. The talking heads stated that QB competition should be down to 2 or 3 quarterbacks by end of spring practice. That Tedford is making that decision early in spring practice schedule appears to be a good one. If 3 of them are far ahead of the others they should be getting the bulk of the snaps and evaluation. The Cal coaches are not alone with this dilemma . It seems like a common issue among most college coaches. Look at Texas, Gilbert was the favorite going into the spring game but their 2nd of 3rd string QB was the star of the spring practice.

OaktownBear;495794 said:

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IMO, JT's patience after the losing season is thin at best. His appraisal of the RB's was brutal, and I have a hard time believing the situation there is worse than Igber+nobody that he started with. Honestly, I think JT's statements say as much about JT's attitude and willingness to put up with lackluster performances right now as they say about practice.

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I would be happy with Igber, at this point. Iolani HS rocks!

The sky is falling!!!!!! And it's only March. DO is in mid-season form!