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Jeff82;616770 said:
Bridgford didn't show me anything to indicate that he, based on his passing ability, would be to rally this team from behind or in a close game, anymore than Maynard could. The reality is that the only way to show that is to move Bridgford to starter, give him most of the practice reps, and accept the possibility that he'll play bad and we'll lose as a result. That would be OK by me, because I'm not all that enthused about going to a bowl game with a 6-6 record.
It looks to me like all our QBs have flaws, albeit different ones. Nor do I necessarily think Kline will be any better. The one thing I've gleaned from the last few years is that the step up to Pac 10 QB play, from any other level (high school, mid-major, etc.) is a big one, and most players don't make it. I'm actually now of the belief that the key going forward is recruiting better offensive linemen. From what I saw last night in Alabama vs. LSU, their QBs aren't any better than Maynard or Bridgford, but both teams are so good up front, the QB just doesn't have that much to worry about.
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[FONT="Arial Narrow"][SIZE="2"]Our back-up linemen are being underdeveloped as well as the QB back-ups. A great deal of talent sits on the bench while the starters blow assignments, make unnecessary and critical penalties or play injured. Last night was not the first time I saw OL starters limping to the line and back to the huddle. Much like with the QB's you hear great things being said before the season about Croswaithe, Williams, Brazinski, Gibson, Rigsbee and yet we have to tolerate the Cheadle's and Galases who are rated below their respective bench sitters. Also, I feel that Summers Gavin has played below his talent level and qualifies as the most disappointing Cal football guy along with Pendergast, Cattouse, Anthony and Miller. OTOH- Last night was the first time all season that I saw those guys perform to their talent level and beyond and I hope that continues when we play on the road. It was the first time I saw Cal dominate both lines of scrimmage for most of the game. Also, this is my first post and will flesh these comments out later. So I am not trying to single any player out. I am disappointed only because I am big fans of all of them and have such high expectations.
We definitely need to land some of the top OL recruits if we are going to be successful in continuing to play quality offense in the future, regardless of Kline and Treggs and hopefully Shaq. During the glory days under Tedford our OL got a good 5 yard push off the line per play. Alex Mack was a big part of that. When we lost Mack we never were the same offense again, regardless of who we had at QB or WR. That was partially offset because we had NFL caliber RB's. I think getting a new strength and conditioning coach and coach M back was a step in the right direction because our OL looked terribly out of shape in '09 and '10. But if we can't recruit the OL we need to start moving some of Lupoi's boys to the other side. It is too bad Armstead doesn't want to play offense. That would be a huge step in the right direction and could make Cal a serious contender again.
On Bridgford, I thought before the season started that we should be using a two quarterback system with Maynard playing against teams with poor rushing defenses and Bridgford playing against poor passing defeses. But I was pleasantly suprised by Maynard's big play passing performances during the early season (first 3 games). And I knew that a two quarterback system was the kind of cutting edge, out-of-the-box, counter cultural idea that just doesn't fly with Tedford. It is too much work for the overworked JT to develop more than one QB at once.
I was excited to see Bridgford and anticipated a break out performance. I too was disappointed. But I want to see more because Bridgford's posture, balance and demeanor indicate that he is more physically capable of taking hits and sacks. While Maynard throws interceptions to avoid being hit. I like Maynard as a player and person but I feel he is not muscular enough to handle the physical punishment of the position and that is why he plays poorly against good teams who have physically punishing defenses. I hope he does not get seriously hurt at some point. I have already seen enough to know that Bridgford is a much stronger person than Maynard and that is why he stands tall in the pocket.
I also have seen enough to know that JT will play Maynard until he is seriously hurt rather than have to spend any more time developing his back-ups, because JT is over worked and over burdened. He is already making that mistake with the OL. I have been following Cal football intensely and passionately since my childhood days growing up in the Claremont district and walking to the stadium with my father who is now passed on. I am 47.
I will be posting a thread sometime soon to discuss the real reason why Tedford is failing as a coach, which I believe has nothing to do with his coaching ability or the level of competion but has to do with changes at the University and within the culture of athletics at Cal. All of which will change for the better for the Cal football programs as the shared revenue from the Pac 12 network and the increased revenue from the new facilities bolster the football program financially and allow Tedford to hire more support staff for the players and the department. UC and Tedford have been under scrutiny because of the spending for his contract and the new facilities. And he has not had the funding to make staff hirings. All he can do is replace or switch staff. But he cannot add staff.
So, I believe the worst is nearly over and by 2013 we will see Cal football begin to meet the expectations we all have based on the talent level on the field of play.
Sorry for the rambling lengthy post, but I have been reading all the brilliant postings for months and finally had to chime in. I will get more refined over time.:p[/FONT][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/FONT]
