Doesn't it make sense to get CDJ and CJ9 reps?

It makes sense. He is hard headed. We got too many guys who work too hard and need to get in. Gould more worried about his rep as hard to please. I remember Shaun Alexander being held out at Bama bc he "wasn't a great blocker" in practice. Finally got in against LSU and went for 291 yards and maybe 6 tds.

Cal needs to develop 3 Rbs....especially to cover injury (knock on wood) .....Isi isn't goingto get it done against UDub....at least not by himself.....and Tedford knows that Cal is in deep $#!& is opposing defenses stop Cal'spassing game.......He used alexander early and he use Bigs......so all is well.....

During that stretch Starkey said that a Cal assistant coach came up to the booth during a break and asked how many yards Isi had. When told that Isi had 96 or 97 yards, the coach said that they were trying to get Isi 100. Soon after, Isi had a 6 yard run and then was done for the day.

Carries only:

Isi: 17 for 105 (2TD)
Cj: 7 for 50 (1TD)
Debo: 5 for 39 (1TD)
Yarnway: 11 for 36 (1TD)
Bigelow: 2 for 15

Bigelow also had 1 catch for 11, and 2 returns for 111 (1 TD)

Bigs proved he da man......CJA showed some hearty runs......Cal will try to free up its main mode of scoring....that is passing.....by doing some running against UDub....if such plays out and Maynard doesn't throw any gift picks...Cal will win....

I hope we're not burning Bigelow's RS for 2 carries a game.

Whatever they see in Isi, I'm not seein it.

Hope Bigs picks up the carries.

Sofele is not that good. He had 2 good runs to inflate his average, but for the most part, I didn't think he was very effective moving the ball at all.

C9 and Debo looked great though. They should get more carries in the coming weeks. And of course, Bigs...so happy that he played well in his first game :bravo

Overall, This game was probably a B level performance. Lots of things to work on - penalties, run game, special teams...

From the RB's that I've seen, Sofele is the 4th best back behind Bigelow, Deboskie, and CJ Anderson. He really shouldn't be given any meaningful carries.

LethalFang;571862 said:

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From the RB's that I've seen, Sofele is the 4th best back behind Bigelow, Deboskie, and CJ Anderson. He really shouldn't be given any meaningful carries.

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I think you're right for the most part...Isi is valuable in certain situations but not as the premier back..

My dream is that Cal runs 40 times a game, about 10 for each of the RBs. 40 carries a game means we're winning...

Understand the sentiment but still trust Gould over anyone here.

My guess is that they all have their strengths and weaknesses and so he's developing them all.

I think pass-pro is a huge priority considering that our offense's success is highly dependent on Maynard's passing.

Did Gould personally recruit Isi? Btw, what happened to keni kaufusi? Don't recall hearing his name today.

6bear6;571968 said:

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Did Gould personally recruit Isi? Btw, what happened to keni kaufusi? Don't recall hearing his name today.

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I heard his name called at least once....but never saw him...

I trust Gould.

I saw him in the 4th qtr.

we pay him a nice salary to decide who should get time at running back. lets see what happens in the weeks to come.

Does Gould really decide how much playing time each running back gets? I had assumed that it was Tedford who dials up the plays and the personnel that he thinks are best for each situation.

was his touchdown. He has a running start and collides with a safety or db (or maybe even an lb) at the goal line and instead of delivering the blow and barreling into the endzone he gets picked up and slammed into the endzone. TD for the Bears but typical Isi run. Even Desarte looked better. With our line we need backs who will pick up the extra yard or two after contact. Isi does not do this. And he's not fast enough to make up for this huge deficiency.

LethalFang;571862 said:

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From the RB's that I've seen, Sofele is the 4th best back behind Bigelow, Deboskie, and CJ Anderson. He really shouldn't be given any meaningful carries.

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This

freshfunk;571951 said:

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Understand the sentiment but still trust Gould over anyone here.

My guess is that they all have their strengths and weaknesses and so he's developing them all.

I think pass-pro is a huge priority considering that our offense's success is highly dependent on Maynard's passing.

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Gould has had a bad record of underusing young talent and favoring veterans with solid work ethic for PT. He's underused Lunch and Best in the past. He's actually in charge of RB personnel decisions. that's one of the major flaws of an otheriwse great position coach.

It's obvious that CDJ or Anderson need to be our backs when we are inside the 10 yard line. It just seems like it makes sense to give them the carries in these situations against Presbyterian to get them more experience. Gould kept playing Isi when we were inside the 10, even in the 3rd quarter. And these were downs where CAL was not going to throw so pass protection was not the reason to play Isi. I just don't get it. We are screwed if this is the plan going into Pac 12 play

I'm not at all convinced that a position coach can overrule Tedford in terms of the depth chart.
The buck stops with the head coach.

Isi is probably a good 3rd down back given his blocking abilities (although can he really block a premier DE or DT? They'll just run through him or throw him aside with a swim move).

I imagine him kinda like a smaller slower weaker less sure handed Kevin Faulk. He can play the same role too, as the primary blocking and outlet 3rd down back.

CJA and Biggie needs to be our thunder and lightning.

Did anyone catch the stats from the Georgia Tech-Kansas game? GT ran 50 times for 602 yards...yes, that is correct, 50 carries for 602 yards!! While terrible, Kansas is still and FBS team - this was the largest YPC (12.04) in NCAA history:crazy
Also, Texas Tech's QB went 40/44 to set an all-time % record of 90.9 (for more than 40 passes attempted)

82gradDLSdad;572120 said:

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was his touchdown. He has a running start and collides with a safety or db (or maybe even an lb) at the goal line and instead of delivering the blow and barreling into the endzone he gets picked up and slammed into the endzone. TD for the Bears but typical Isi run. Even Desarte looked better. With our line we need backs who will pick up the extra yard or two after contact. Isi does not do this. And he's not fast enough to make up for this huge deficiency.

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This...

To add to this, he is a very weak runner in the middle. Some people today was saying "but he got 5 yards that run." Yes... against Presby. He does not have the vision to find a seam either, or he is too slow to hit the seam. Although we don't have great run blocking, there are several times when I notice holes that Isi seems to miss or he prefers running straight into a lineman hoping to get a bit of a push for 1-2 yards. Clearly, not the solution there.

Also wanted to add that another glaring deficiency is show on slower developing sweep plays. Isi does not have the speed or vision to succeed with those either. Most of the time he is brought down by the first person that meets him. Given the type of back that he is, sweeps and screens should be his bread and butter, given that he would usually need to just juke or break past 1 defender for yardage. However, he is not very effective on sweeps either, and I rarely see screen plays to him. The lack of designed screen plays tells me that the coaches also know he does not have the speed or the moves to succeed.

He doesn't have the vision, speed, moves, or the ability to get real low and slippery to avoid tacklers like Jaquizz or Darren Sproles. We simply can't use him as our featured back and expect to have a meaningful run game.

I'm guessing he is starting right now because everyone else was either late enrolling, hurt for training camp, or was previously in the doghouse. Isi does have pretty good ball protection and I'm sure he is a great practice player giving his all.

I just checked stats and I'm somewhat surprised.

Isi does not have a reception this year.

Screens to Best or Forsett or Lynch use to be a meaningful part of our offense. Now it seems we've abandoned the screens and outlets to RBs. I guess the trend started last year.

For comparison:

2010: Vereen 22 catches, Isi 5 catches
2009: Vereen 25, Best 22
2008: Best 27, Vereen 27, Ta'ufo'ou 7
2007: Forsett 22, Best 13, Ta'ufo'ou 4, Montgomery 4
2006: Lynch 34, Forsett 13, Storer 8, O'Keith 4

I wonder if Bigelow has good hands. He did have 1 designed screen for him today, his 1st play of the game.

i remember isi dropping 1 pass against FSU and 1 against colorado. bigelow, for some reason, i remember catching 2 passes today...but espn says he had 1 for 11 yards. in any case, it's great that he made a play as soon as he got onto the field

don't know how great Biggy's hands are for sure, but he should have no problem catching short easy passes like the ones RB R. Stewart (Colorado) had against us for easy 15-20 yards each time

beeasyed;572180 said:

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i remember isi dropping 1 pass against FSU and 1 against colorado. bigelow, for some reason, i remember catching 2 passes today...but espn says he had 1 for 11 yards. in any case, it's great that he made a play as soon as he got onto the field

don't know how great Biggy's hands are for sure, but he should have no problem catching short easy passes like the ones RB R. Stewart (Colorado) had against us for easy 15-20 yards each time

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Bigelow had several catches in his highlight video when they used him as a slot receiver or out of the backfield..and I'm talking down the field passes, not just screens and swing passes....

GoBears58;572145 said:

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This

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Isi isn't fast or elusive enough to be effective at his size. He's pretty stiff and lacks fluidity. I actually think Debo is more elusive between the tackles. With his skill set, Isi should be limited to 3rd and long situations.

There are no DCs in the conference watching film on Isi worrying about how to defend him.

Pass protection. Isi is still the best in pass pro by a mile. CJA, CDJ and Bigelow might have greater upside, but they're still FAR behind Isi in pass pro.

Cal does not trust the other to pass pro as much, so other defenses know when CJA, CDJ and Bigelow are in, it's going to be a run or some sort of dump off to the flats and can stack the box. With Sofele the playcalling can get more creative with options to either pass or run.

Cal88;572158 said:

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Lunch

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At one point early on, recruiting gurus wondered whether Bigelow would be a receiver or rb at the next level - he supposed was great at passing camps - so yes, he can catch it.

LethalFang;572171 said:

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I'm not at all convinced that a position coach can overrule Tedford in terms of the depth chart.
The buck stops with the head coach.

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Lethal I think you hit donkey on the head with that one.............bullseye.....