For me, one of the most exciting developments out of Spring (other than hearing great things about Kline and Maynard's continued development) is that we are going to use Yarnway, and even Anderson sometimes, at FB lined up in the backfield with Sofele. This will allow Sofele (or Bigelow?) to mostly attack outside on the pitch or go with the quick hitter to a great runner inside or fake both and have Maynard keep or roll out with Yarnway and Anderson as downfield targets. By adding another weapon that defenses have to account for, we did not make our offense incrementally better, we made it exponentially better.

Rodgers at TE is another.

Now if we just simplify and speed up our play calling process (no huddle?), I think we will have a very dynamic offense to go with our excellent defense!

calumnus;739705 said:

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For me, one of the most exciting developments out of Spring (other than hearing great things about Kline and Maynard's continued development) is that we are going to use Yarnway, and even Anderson sometimes, at FB lined up in the backfield with Sofele. This will allow Sofele (or Bigelow?) to mostly attack outside on the pitch or go with the quick hitter to a great runner inside or fake both and have Maynard keep or roll out with Yarnway and Anderson as downfield targets. By adding another weapon that defenses have to account for, we did not make our offense incrementally better, we made it exponentially better.

Rodgers at TE is another.

Now if we just simplify and speed up our play calling process (no huddle?), I think we will have a very dynamic offense to go with our excellent defense!

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Totally agree. "ay-men, brother." This group is too cool. Must be nice to be the OC this year!

Receivers already pretty good if you ask me, with KA too, and any coming in who can play right away (start working you guys) is sweet adds.

Btw, good punter coming in also a weapon (and I heard kicker Langford might be able to punt also in a pinch if he can play) - if we ever need one that is- lol.

If we can assemble the OL group well, and stay healthy with 7-9 of them, for run and pass-blocking, wow.

Mobile QB's also a big plus, and we look good at being able to scramble a little in the non-obvious sack situations. Keep the D out, and there's no reason we can't do some major damage.

calumnus;739705 said:

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For me, one of the most exciting developments out of Spring (other than hearing great things about Kline and Maynard's continued development) is that we are going to use Yarnway, and even Anderson sometimes, at FB lined up in the backfield with Sofele. This will allow Sofele (or Bigelow?) to mostly attack outside on the pitch or go with the quick hitter to a great runner inside or fake both and have Maynard keep or roll out with Yarnway and Anderson as downfield targets. By adding another weapon that defenses have to account for, we did not make our offense incrementally better, we made it exponentially better.

Rodgers at TE is another.

Now if we just simplify and speed up our play calling process (no huddle?), I think we will have a very dynamic offense to go with our excellent defense!

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Using Yarnway or Anderson at fullback would be a plus, if Tedford actually does it on a consistent basis, and not just talk about doing it. In the past, Tedford has put his fullback into the game either for a running play or to show run, and he only puts him into the game about 15% of the time. It is hard to believe Tedford would make such a big change, but I hope you are right and he does it.

For many running plays out of the shotgun or spread, Tedford has no fullback in the game to block, and the tailback gets stuffed at the line or in the backfield. It happened several times yesterday in the spring game to Yarnway and Lasco especially. The tailback has a much better chance to make a good run, if the fullback is in there to block, and lead the way into the hole.

If we could have our bigger backs as Full Backs it would open up a lot of plays because then we can do a lot more fakes, take more pressure off the QB/OL and it makes us have a lot more options and different looks out there on the field. I'm pretty excited to see what happens come fall camp with all the new guys learning the playbook as well.

I'm exceted about Yarnway. I hope he gets to see the field this year.

calumnus;739705 said:

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For me, one of the most exciting developments out of Spring (other than hearing great things about Kline and Maynard's continued development) is that we are going to use Yarnway, and even Anderson sometimes, at FB lined up in the backfield with Sofele. This will allow Sofele (or Bigelow?) to mostly attack outside on the pitch or go with the quick hitter to a great runner inside or fake both and have Maynard keep or roll out with Yarnway and Anderson as downfield targets. By adding another weapon that defenses have to account for, we did not make our offense incrementally better, we made it exponentially better.

Rodgers at TE is another.

Now if we just simplify and speed up our play calling process (no huddle?), I think we will have a very dynamic offense to go with our excellent defense!

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As I have said before, you have my vote for next HC at Cal. I think our offense may be one of the biggest surprises in the conference this year. After seeing the spring game live, I think we have great guards and centers on the line and should be able to power run with the talent at RB. That means more ball and clock control during games. That can equalize the contest against explosive offenses at Oregon, Washington, Stanford and USC and possibly Utah next year.

calumnus;739705 said:

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For me, one of the most exciting developments out of Spring (other than hearing great things about Kline and Maynard's continued development) is that we are going to use Yarnway, and even Anderson sometimes, at FB lined up in the backfield with Sofele. This will allow Sofele (or Bigelow?) to mostly attack outside on the pitch or go with the quick hitter to a great runner inside or fake both and have Maynard keep or roll out with Yarnway and Anderson as downfield targets. By adding another weapon that defenses have to account for, we did not make our offense incrementally better, we made it exponentially better.

Rodgers at TE is another.

Now if we just simplify and speed up our play calling process (no huddle?), I think we will have a very dynamic offense to go with our excellent defense!

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Glad to hear about the RB's.

But I remain a little sceptical about reports of ZM's great strides of improvements. Once Burned Twice Shy.
All last Summer we heard reports of ZM improving. All during last season we heard that the game was slowing down for ZM and he was getting comfortable with the Cal Offense and play book.

But when crunch time came, we all saw what we all saw on the field.

So I have taken on the approach of a citizen of Missouri. The Show Me State. I will believe it when I see it.

calumnus;739705 said:

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For me, one of the most exciting developments out of Spring (other than hearing great things about Kline and Maynard's continued development) is that we are going to use Yarnway, and even Anderson sometimes, at FB lined up in the backfield with Sofele. This will allow Sofele (or Bigelow?) to mostly attack outside on the pitch or go with the quick hitter to a great runner inside or fake both and have Maynard keep or roll out with Yarnway and Anderson as downfield targets. By adding another weapon that defenses have to account for, we did not make our offense incrementally better, we made it exponentially better.

Rodgers at TE is another.

Now if we just simplify and speed up our play calling process (no huddle?), I think we will have a very dynamic offense to go with our excellent defense!

---

CJA found another gear. The 1-2 of him and Isi, complemented by all the others, should let us run downhill for 60 minutes. The OL will solidify. There are 4 good tackles, Schwenke looked great at center and Rigsbee and Williams were BIG at guard. Throwing to our pretty deep stable of TEs will help too.

ZM is better - it was obvious Saturday. With a summer of practice and then the pre-season with a full complement of weapons, he will be better than everyone expects, by a significant factor. Lets just hope the injury bug has taken all his bites already for 2012.

I wouldn't get too excited about Yarnway at FB. Isn't Stevens the regular FB, currently sitting out the spring with an injury? It could be back to the same FB usage in the Fall. Or, maybe there will be a change. Can't predict the future.

68great;740246 said:

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Glad to hear about the RB's.

But I remain a little sceptical about reports of ZM's great strides of improvements. Once Burned Twice Shy.
All last Summer we heard reports of ZM improving. All during last season we heard that the game was slowing down for ZM and he was getting comfortable with the Cal Offense and play book.
But when crunch time came, we all saw what we all saw on the field.

So I have taken on the approach of a citizen of Missouri. The Show Me State. I will believe it when I see it.

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hmm if you say so i beg to differ .... i guess brigdford was the answer last year according to garp...how could ZM be improving last spring if it was his first spring ball here at Cal i believe ..so how to do you arrrive that last summer ....

calumnus;739705 said:

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For me, one of the most exciting developments out of Spring (other than hearing great things about Kline and Maynard's continued development) is that we are going to use Yarnway, and even Anderson sometimes, at FB lined up in the backfield with Sofele. This will allow Sofele (or Bigelow?) to mostly attack outside on the pitch or go with the quick hitter to a great runner inside or fake both and have Maynard keep or roll out with Yarnway and Anderson as downfield targets. By adding another weapon that defenses have to account for, we did not make our offense incrementally better, we made it exponentially better.

Rodgers at TE is another.

Now if we just simplify and speed up our play calling process (no huddle?), I think we will have a very dynamic offense to go with our excellent defense!

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I'd like to see us get away from the single back set that we've been accustom to doing these last few years. I just want to see a FB who can plow over some people for once. I could careless if we lineup a TB converted into FB. If they can't block, then what's the point?

For me Anderson was the revelation of the spring. He could end up getting more attempts than Isi.

He is also a big target who can catch coming out of the backfield. I think he is going to be on one of the all-league teams.

Yarnway wanting and playing FB is a huge deal.

We are absolutely stacked in the backfield.

Davidson;740448 said:

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We are absolutely stacked in the backfield.

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I sure hope you are right. Otherwise, it is some sunshine pumping.


Yarnway: Coming back from serious injury after lengthy rehab.

Bigelow: Coming back from serious injury after lengthy rehab.

Lasco: Currently has hamstring injury.

Stevens: Injured.

Briggs: Coming off injury.

Ervin: ?

Sofele: Durable back, and a good runner if he has an open hole, but is seldom able to break a tackle, especially in the backfield.

Anderson: Looks lighter and faster.

I'm sure I missed a few, but quantity does not mean quality, and the players coming off injury are question marks until we have seen how they play in a few games. And even if this backfield is good by themselves, they can only be as good as the O-line in front of them, and that is a real question mark as well.

SFCityBear;740465 said:

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I sure hope you are right. Otherwise, it is some sunshine pumping.


Yarnway: Coming back from serious injury after lengthy rehab.

Bigelow: Coming back from serious injury after lengthy rehab.

Lasco: Currently has hamstring injury.

Stevens: Injured.

Briggs: Coming off injury.

Ervin: ?

Sofele: Durable back, and a good runner if he has an open hole, but is seldom able to break a tackle, especially in the backfield.

Anderson: Looks lighter and faster.

I'm sure I missed a few, but quantity does not mean quality, and the players coming off injury are question marks until we have seen how they play in a few games. And even if this backfield is good by themselves, they can only be as good as the O-line in front of them, and that is a real question mark as well.

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We had over 2,000 yards rushing and Sofele averaged 5.2 ypc last year. My prediction is that both numbers go up as Sofele shares the load more this year and we use him where he is most effective--outside and cutbacks. Hopefully we eliminate running Sofele into the line on first all together.

ISI - 1,300 yard runner that I absolutely trust to grind out the yards and PASS PROTECT. He's back and he will get the benefit of sharing carries with...

CJA - Beast with speed and agility. He came on at the end of the year and what did he have, like 9 TDs(?) in a limited role. He's even better this year and as good as we could have hoped for the transfer. He'll do good things, no doubt.

BIGELOW - sprinkle him in for a change of pace.

YARNWAY - could be what the doctor'd ordered at fullback. He looks great on short yardage and catching the pass out of the backfield. He's essentially a 4 star RB bust that could be weapon at another position.

Oh yea, trust in Coach G and Coach M. Last year we worried about ISI (1,300 yards), this year, no worries man.

Davidson;740511 said:

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ISI - 1,300 yard runner that I absolutely trust to grind out the yards and PASS PROTECT. He's back and he will get the benefit of sharing carries with...

CJA - Beast with speed and agility. He came on at the end of the year and what did he have, like 9 TDs(?) in a limited role. He's even better this year and as good as we could have hoped for the transfer. He'll do good things, no doubt.

BIGELOW - sprinkle him in for a change of pace.

YARNWAY - could be what the doctor'd ordered at fullback. He looks great on short yardage and catching the pass out of the backfield. He's essentially a 4 star RB bust that could be weapon at another position.

Oh yea, trust in Coach G and Coach M. Last year we worried about ISI (1,300 yards), this year, no worries man.

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Add in Lasco and Stevens. We are in FAR better shape than last year, and last year turned out great. As I said in my OP, this is one of the most exciting developments this Spring.

Davidson;740511 said:

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ISI - 1,300 yard runner that I absolutely trust to grind out the yards and PASS PROTECT. He's back and he will get the benefit of sharing carries with...

CJA - Beast with speed and agility. He came on at the end of the year and what did he have, like 9 TDs(?) in a limited role. He's even better this year and as good as we could have hoped for the transfer. He'll do good things, no doubt.

BIGELOW - sprinkle him in for a change of pace.

YARNWAY - could be what the doctor'd ordered at fullback. He looks great on short yardage and catching the pass out of the backfield. He's essentially a 4 star RB bust that could be weapon at another position.

Oh yea, trust in Coach G and Coach M. Last year we worried about ISI (1,300 yards), this year, no worries man.

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I think you are spot on. I see us rushing for 2500+ yards. Isi is a proven quantity. CJA looks exceptional this spring - Both could top 1000 yards. FB - Yarnway is a pleasant surprise. If Stevens comes back to form, that just makes that position deeper and fresher as the game and season progresses. Lasco can provide that additional depth at TB. I think the jury is still out on Bigelow. Maybe he just needs some success, but right now he is not at the same level as Isi, CJA, and Lasco. Getting him the ball in space (screens, pitches, etc.) seems to be the best use of his speed.

We definitely need to figure out how to give this set of guys numerous opportunities despite the sometimes pass-happy (for good reason) offense! Can we say, "Ball control"? :p

Please work your magic on that O-line, brain trust!

ThoseBearNestEcstasies;740628 said:

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We definitely need to figure out how to give this set of guys numerous opportunities despite the sometimes pass-happy (for good reason) offense! Can we say, "Ball control"? :p

Please work your magic on that O-line, brain trust!

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We did rush for over 2K yards last season. There were 3-4 games where we had to stop running because of the score. If we can minimize the turnovers, and the defense can play up to their expected excellence, we should be able to run the ball 30-35 times a game. Always better to control the game on the ground - and it opens up the passing game significantly!

Really excited about next season: great defense, quality running backs/receivers, improving OL. And the elephant in the room: QB, ladies and gentlemen. I would love for ZM to have a better season, but he never will be a great Division I QB. Kline, if handled well, will be, albeit he will be developing
next year. So the question is: do we have a less-than perfect, but improving, year with ZM or ZK? The correct answer is that we go with the kid.
:gobears:

Irishbear;740671 said:

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Really excited about next season: great defense, quality running backs/receivers, improving OL. And the elephant in the room: QB, ladies and gentlemen. I would love for ZM to have a better season, but he never will be a great Division I QB. Kline, if handled well, will be, albeit he will be developing
next year. So the question is: do we have a less-than perfect, but improving, year with ZM or ZK? The correct answer is that we go with the kid.
:gobears:

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I don't think it is an "either or" decision when you have both. If Kline is good enough to be in the top 2, you don't redshirt him but you also don't start him at Ohio State, just like Rodgers didn't redshirt but also didn't start against KSU in Kansas City. You ease him in. And if he falters, you still have a seasoned veteran as your back-up like Robertson was in the 2003 victory over SC. Or maybe Maynard holds on to the starting job (he is better than you give him credit for) and at worse, Kline is better prepared to start next year. In any case, if Kline is in our top 2, I don't see any reason to redshirt him.

With an explosive fullback, we can finally run effectively that Stanford staple "Spider two Y banana." (A Gruden favorite) The FB is almost always open.
As long as Maynard doesn't try to throw the back side Venus which can go as Andrew Luck found out, for a pick six.

GBMARIN;740729 said:

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With an explosive fullback, we can finally run effectively that Stanford staple "Spider two Y banana." (A Gruden favorite) The FB is almost always open.
As long as Maynard doesn't try to throw the back side Venus which can go as Andrew Luck found out, for a pick six.

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Interesting. Let's see how the others respond.

Irishbear;740671 said:

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Really excited about next season: great defense, quality running backs/receivers, improving OL. And the elephant in the room: QB, ladies and gentlemen. I would love for ZM to have a better season, but he never will be a great Division I QB. Kline, if handled well, will be, albeit he will be developing
next year. So the question is: do we have a less-than perfect, but improving, year with ZM or ZK? The correct answer is that we go with the kid.
:gobears:

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Really? You made you point well, then discounted all of it by "going with the kid." Like it or not, barring injury or something else catastrophic (academics), ZM starts and plays 90% of the snaps. Kline is a 2013 debut. All that being said, if ZM goes down and one of the other QBs steps up and plays exceptionally well, then Kline may have to wait another year.

I really think that Kline is the 3rd Best QB currently. If he can pass Bridgford on the depth chart then he deserves to not blue shirt. It just doesn't make sense to waste a year on playing a few reps as the 3rd stringer. He will battle for the starting job in 2013 and will probly win against Bridgford in my opinion.

pnaidu;740947 said:

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I really think that Kline is the 3rd Best QB currently. If he can pass Bridgford on the depth chart then he deserves to not blue shirt. It just doesn't make sense to waste a year on playing a few reps as the 3rd stringer. He will battle for the starting job in 2013 and will probly win against Bridgford in my opinion.

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You are a wise man!