Last time I went to the spring game Craig Morton played a few downs for the alumni team (sometime in the early to mid 70's).

Today's game seemed to lack rhythm. I have never seen so many bad snaps. I don't know if it was adrenaline or something else but at least ten of the snaps were high. We also ran a lot more than I expected, especially since we were thin at tailback.

The D played reasonably well, although there were a few major missed tackles, especially on a screen pass where the defender read it perfectly, but let the receiver get away for a very long gain (that I believe was called back by a penalty). Speaking of which, quite a few penalties for illegal formation.

Did they show the TD to 81 more than once. I thought he had a major push off against the defender (no penalty called).

Still a work in progress, but the team seemed up.

The team is a definite work in progress. These type of games where all the QBs get equal time and the OL is shuffled every series make it very difficult to get any consistency. A couple of guys stood out to me. Maurice Harris looked pretty good to me on offense. I really like Jalen Jefferson. He played well. Coleman looked good as well. I thought Nickerson showed well also. So many of the better players did not participate it is tough to tell how good the Bears can be. No Scarlett, McCain, Fortt, Forbes or Jackson on defense. No Rodgers, Bigelow, Lasco or Harper on offense. That is a lot of playmaking on the sidelines watching.

Sonny will need to pick a Qb quickly this Fall camp. This offense requires execution, so getting the reps to execute will be vital.

I saw some good things, but the poor snaps and a super weak O-Line (especially in the first half) had me scratching my head a bit.
We cannot have anywhere as weak of an O-Line as we had last year.... otherwise this offense goes nowhere.

The oline worries me the most. Our 1 and 2 RB did not play. Our defense looks somewhat average. We are stacked at WR

Braz had a number of high snaps. I can see Cochran being starter.

Offense looked slow at times. I don't think Goff had a lot of opportunities to shine. I felt like Kline had the strongest game.

Maurice had some nice catches and can really go up and get the ball. Whitehurst is also tall and long. It'll be interesting to see how we line up our tall receivers vs our shorter but faster ones and then have our big ones in there too.

Coprich looked decent and appears to be getting decent practice time in. I think he'll be a nice backup should biggie or lasco be out.

I think our D front 7 looked pretty good... I mean a lot of guys were out so really hard to say how this team will be in the fall... getting back biggs/lasco and harper will be huge on O.
I think the biggest thing is to settle on a QB to establish the connection... every QB throws it differently and has different commands and nuances... i'm curious on how they're going to practice (unoffically) in the next 5 months

To be honest I don't think we can take anything away from this game. Too many players out with injuries or kept out for reasons they wouldn't be if it was a real game. Defense was thin and played slow on purpose (They don't get to rest after a three and out). Most of the offense switched in and out after every snap.

You could tell by Sonny's expression that he was not displeased with what he saw. (Well at least thats what I think). He knew this game was more about us and the Pac 12 network and less about execution.

I was mostly disappointed that there wasn't more football. Total playing time was only 1 1/2 hrs.

Was the DL that good or is our OL still sub par or both? It seemed like the DL got good pressure about 50% of the time.

It's a good thing the offensive scheme emphasized quick passes. The QBs don't have more time than that. When they did, they got so excited that they overthrew their WRs.

Hodges is the best RB in spring, but Coprich has better breakaway speed. I think Hodges is for real.

Good to see that all 3 QBs could escape pressure at times, even when hit.

Avery Sebastian= Jack Tatum... He doesn't need a name on his back. You just know from the sound.

Note to David Wilkerson: PLLEEEAASSSE STAY HEALTHY BECAUSE YOU ARE AWESOME.

God help us if there is an injury at CB. None of the back-ups can cover. Cedrick Dozier is probably wishing he got to play WR instead of CB. He is going to need a year or 2. I wouldn't be surprised to see 1 of our 3 recruits pass him on the depth chart this fall.

Camporeale is a better DE than OLB.

Safety's did a good job of covering outside run plays, but are we going to be able to stop the better outside running teams like Oregon without a 4th LB?

Don't expect our secondary to prevent big plays from happening.

The over/under for Cal games this year should be around 65 or 70.

IMO Hinder makes the best decisions, Kline throws the best ball and Goff has the fastest release and is most consistent. But Hinder cannot be counted on to throw beyond 40 yards, if that. Kline is the least consistent of the 3.

I wonder if Kline's height disadvantage will become an issue with an OL that allows tall DLs to storm the pocket.

edit: The public address guy was mistakenly saying that Hodges' runs were done by Coprich about 4 times.

Folks on this board are a lot smarter than last year. I could only stand to watch 1 quarter of last year's game. I thought it was sloppy and bad. Most on this board were gushing. This year's game seemed about the same in terms of quality of play but most on this board are in agreement. The good news is that there may be mitigating circumstances to explain the poor play. The bad news is that we may just not be a good team this year.

With that said here are some good things:

1. Goff looked pretty good for someone who should still be in high school. I hope he isn't our starter but I must say he's definitely in the mix. (This may be bad news too...our current QBs are worse than a high schooler.)
2. Brazinski cannot snap the ball and didn't really look good blocking either. Cochran is our starting center almost by default because he can snap the ball. That's good because we'll have a four year starter (eventually) at center.
3. We have a really good QB if we could combine Hinder, Kline and Goff's best qualities into one guy.
4. Front seven and Sebastian are pretty good.
5. I don't think any of the running backs today will see the field come fall.
6. We now use the 'prairie dog' offense as a change of pace and not as the main means of relaying in plays.
7. I love that after a big play we hustle to the line of scrimmage and quickly run another. I think that will pay dividends and I can't wait to see if this coaching staff can recognize when they have the defense back on their heels and tired and run play after play after play. I bet they can.
8. The ESP seats are nice.

I think there's a tendency to believe that new coach + new scheme = magic. It was therefore disappointing to see some of our old bugaboos resurface.

For example, I expected to see snaps going off in rapid fire succession, but I must say I didn't see the pace as being remarkably different from what JT ran - Certainly from the second quarter on. A bit faster? Sure. the hurryups after the big play were also nice to see (but that's hardly revolutionary). I just didn't feel it was anywhere near being run at the speed of an Oregon. On a related note, I never again in my life want to see the offense do that prairie dog thing. I literally cringe every time that happens. There ought to be a law.

The O-line looked porous (again). The snaps were terrible (again). Actually that's not really fair on the snaps; those seemed even worse than last year. Oy Vay.

On the positives, I thought our wide receivers looked very solid (althought that offensive PI call in the second half was BS - we can't get a break from the refs even when we play ourselves). The secondary looked better than I expected and the three QB's looked generally solid, if uneven. I was actually depressed that Goff looked as good as he did. I don't care what anyone says - if we leap Kline and Hinder with a true freshman there's going to be trouble keeping those guys here. I'd like to see them be just a bit better than Goff, but for much of the day I didn't really see it.

Again, that is NOT the pace with which the Bear Raid is supposed to be run.

This is not a "hate" on Dykes, but he did say he'd never seen defense better than offense in Spring practice. Now he's seen one.

The big thing for me was hopefully starting a tradition of a spring game and working to make it an event!!!!!! Marshawn being there was awesome!!! Hopefully that too is the small beginning of more alums coming back and being in the spotlight of this event. If we could eventually get a big crowd, recruits etc... that would be great for the program.:gobears:

it's a Spring Game...they get to work some things out. This was just some more good PR from Sonny.

I loved the access to practices and a game on TV. I thought Kline was the leader, but very impressed by Goff. Can Hinder throw the long ball? have to say that if Tedford were still here, Bridgford would have been the starter and we would have seen a little of the other three, so stop complaining...

I liked to see running plays in the mix. Our receivers looked good running in space, and the pace of play was definitely faster, even if it was slower than it will be when the season starts. With so many starters out, and people being shuffled in and out you cn't expect "consistency" as so many on this board demand. This was a huge project- to install a new offense, defense and mindset in a few months. Wait until the Fall.

89Bear;842104661 said:

---

The big thing for me was hopefully starting a tradition of a spring game and working to make it an event!!!!!! Marshawn being there was awesome!!! Hopefully that too is the small beginning of more alums coming back and being in the spotlight of this event. If we could eventually get a big crowd, recruits etc... that would be great for the program.:gobears:

---

I agree! The program needs a boost and some enthusiasm from all of us - especially the fans who have been lingering and wondering "where" the Bears are headed. It is a new direction and I like the "feeling" I get right now. As far as performance - this seemed very much less than a dress rehearsal and I think everyone will take away that we need to heal and gel. I for one will keep my hopes up for the next few months!

Bear_Territory;842104574 said:

---

To be honest I don't think we can take anything away from this game. Too many players out with injuries or kept out for reasons they wouldn't be if it was a real game. Defense was thin and played slow on purpose (They don't get to rest after a three and out). Most of the offense switched in and out after every snap.

You could tell by Sonny's expression that he was not displeased with what he saw. (Well at least thats what I think). He knew this game was more about us and the Pac 12 network and less about execution.

---

+1 ... It was a decent test for a lot of players, individually and collectively. There will be a lot of time watching film by the coaches and players, looking at areas to improve and practice on how to improve ... film room and S&C will be busy, as well as practice time on their own.

offense actually looked worse than last year, even if QBs appear to have better arms.

My expectations are now very low. None of the QBs looked very good. Hinder can run, Kline can make the difficult throws, but did not look great on short passes, and did not look 6'2''. Goff looked good on one posssession on the short stuff, but horrible on long throws.

Only hope is for Kline to "get it" on the short stuff, but am worried our OL will stink it up again, which could be disastrous given our very small playbook.

RealDrew2;842104684 said:

---

offense actually looked worse than last year, even if QBs appear to have better arms.

My expectations are now very low. None of the QBs looked very good. Hinder can run, Kline can make the difficult throws, but did not look great on short passes, and did not look 6'2''. Goff looked good on one posssession on the short stuff, but horrible on long throws.

Only hope is for Kline to "get it" on the short stuff, but am worried our OL will stink it up again, which could be disastrous given our very small playbook.

---

Yup....hell, it might take until half way thru the season for the offense to gel seeing as it is brand new and only practice and repetition will fix that...but Sonny has done it at Arizona and has done it at LTech so we know it will get much better, we just don't know how long it will take....

Cal_Fan2;842104703 said:

---

Yup....hell, it might take until half way thru the season for the offense to gel seeing as it is brand new and only practice and repetition will fix that...but Sonny has done it at Arizona and has done it at LTech so we know it will get much better, we just don't know how long it will take....

---

He hit the nail on the head as to why the offense looked so bad...

1. He hadn't prepared them for blitzes (yet)
2. The QBs don't have enough reps and they won't until a starter is named and he gets the majority of the reps

The only thing he didn't mention that he might not be able to fix is the o-line. Man, unless we can block people this offense will go nowhere fast.

BlueAndGold;842104633 said:

---

Again, that is NOT the pace with which the Bear Raid is supposed to be run.

---

+1

Anyone complaining that the tempo and pace was too slow ("what's the big deal") hasn't been to see any of the practices.

In the modified format we had, we just didn't have enough defenders to go through a full game at the pace the offense typically practices at.

No way we could have run 90+ plays at regular (or even "hurry up") pace without risking exhaustion and additional injuries on the D.

76oldblue;842104547 said:

---

Last time I went to the spring game Craig Morton played a few downs for the alumni team (sometime in the early to mid 70's).

Today's game seemed to lack rhythm. I have never seen so many bad snaps. I don't know if it was adrenaline or something else but at least ten of the snaps were high. We also ran a lot more than I expected, especially since we were thin at tailback.

The D played reasonably well, although there were a few major missed tackles, especially on a screen pass where the defender read it perfectly, but let the receiver get away for a very long gain (that I believe was called back by a penalty). Speaking of which, quite a few penalties for illegal formation.

Did they show the TD to 81 more than once. I thought he had a major push off against the defender (no penalty called).

Still a work in progress, but the team seemed up.

---

Might have had unrealistic expectations. If they look that sloppy after fall practice, its time to be concerned.

Some of my thoughts:

The tempo was way down compared to practices due to depth and injury issues. I think we only ran around 80 plays in the spring game and we were struggling in the last period even while maintaining a huge rotation of players. In comparison, LaTech ran 88 plays per game last season. We need some serious S&C before fall camp. If we have player buy in, they'll get on it hard now that they have a better idea what it takes to run this system at the correct pace.

I really think Hinder will be the QB. Goff hasn't separated himself in my view, so better to RS him. Kline and Hinder each have their strengths and weaknesses throwing the ball. But Hinder can also run and I think that will be the deciding factor. I believe we will need his threat to get our running game going. I thought there was potential in practices and scrimmages, but seeing him run live was pretty impressive. Obviously, thing can change over the break and fall practices, but that's where I think we're headed right now.

The receivers look good individually but don't seem to be in synch with each other yet. This is true especially on scrambles (of which there were many). Usually in Air Raid type offenses, scrambles produce big plays with one post, one corner, one sideline and one middle cross all towards the scramble side. I haven't seen a scramble drill at practice yet so perhaps that will be installed in the fall.

The OL needs work. Dykes said this is usually the last group to come together and I hope it happens soon. Their inability to maintain a pocket or create running lanes is going to be a major hurdle for any offense we run. Our offense production will be directly proportional to how much improvement we see here.

The defensive starters look good, but a part of that was also how poorly the offense played. It looks like the move to a 4-3 will not be a step back and may prove to be beneficial. I liked how many different pressure fronts they showed in the spring game even though most of their blitz packages have yet to be installed. I was skeptical of the Buh hire, but I'm starting to think more and more that he may be the right guy and that I was wrong.

Our DTs look good and deep, stuffing everything up the middle all game long. DE play was solid, generally holding the edge on rushes and putting pressure on the QB. LB play also looked good with nice flow to the runs and decent coverage from what I saw. Starting DB play was solid but there was a noticeable dropoff after the 1s (every time I saw something glaringly out of whack, it was the 2s).

Overall, I expect the offensive skill positions to get better quickly once starters are named in the fall. The talent is there and getting reps together instead of the current mix and match method will help them get in synch. I have concerns with our OL and, unfortunately, they will determine our offensive success as is the case with every offense. I like our defensive starters but we need some secondary players to step up and we need to be injury free.

While the Spring Game was sloppy, I think there are a few positives. For the first time in a long time I believe our team is on the right track.


p.s. - Maynard supposedly won the job because of his mobility. After watching the Spring Game, how did he beat out Hinder?

Sebastabear;842104626 said:

---

I think there's a tendency to believe that new coach + new scheme = magic. It was therefore disappointing to see some of our old bugaboos resurface.

For example, I expected to see snaps going off in rapid fire succession, but I must say I didn't see the pace as being remarkably different from what JT ran - Certainly from the second quarter on. A bit faster? Sure. the hurryups after the big play were also nice to see (but that's hardly revolutionary). I just didn't feel it was anywhere near being run at the speed of an Oregon. On a related note, I never again in my life want to see the offense do that prairie dog thing. I literally cringe every time that happens. There ought to be a law.

The O-line looked porous (again). The snaps were terrible (again). Actually that's not really fair on the snaps; those seemed even worse than last year.
Oy Vay.

On the positives, I thought our wide receivers looked very solid (althought that offensive PI call in the second half was BS - we can't get a break from the refs even when we play ourselves). The secondary looked better than I expected and the three QB's looked generally solid, if uneven. I was actually depressed that Goff looked as good as he did. I don't care what anyone says - if we leap Kline and Hinder with a true freshman there's going to be trouble keeping those guys here. I'd like to see them be just a bit better than Goff, but for much of the day I didn't really see it.

---

Maybe Dykes should try this "gimick offense" with the QB under center; what difference would it make?

Sonofoski;842104873 said:

---

Maybe Dykes should try this "gimick offense" with the QB under center; what difference would it make?

---

Even less time to throw. QB has to make decision while dropping back. With the unknown of our Oline shotgun maybe the only viable option. Course with bad snaps maybe its all about even

Is anyone going to mention the offensive line in why the offense struggled? They were getting pushed back every passing play... The qbs were always rushed, obviously the shifting of linemen doesn't help them but it needs to be better. That and having two of your top rbs out.

The Oline got their asses handed to them yesterday

I would add to all this that one of my concerns was the 4 or 5 illegal formation penalties on the offense. I would have thought that by now, with the greatly reduced playbook, that the offense would have mastered where and how to line up for each play.

I think about 4 out of the first 5 running plays were tackles for a loss. On passing plays, the QB was flushed from the pocket on most of the plays. Most of the snaps were too high. Tough day for the O-line.

Still, the timing of the pass plays is better than the first scrimmage. More balls seem to be on target, and the QB's look much more confident with their decisions. The defense is looking better as well.

All in all, a mixed review. With the return of the injured players and the new recruits coming in, this Spring Game was just small step in evaluating strengths and weaknesses of the players who were able to participate. The product we see on opening day could and should look very different.

FrankBear21;842104879 said:

---

Is anyone going to mention the offensive line in why the offense struggled? They were getting pushed back every passing play... The qbs were always rushed, obviously the shifting of linemen doesn't help them but it needs to be better. That and having two of your top rbs out.

---

They weren't getting pushed back ... it's the vertical blocking scheme in which they intentionally drop back and practice doing that ... supposed to take the edge off the rush ...

So, they have more work to do .. it WAS only spring practice with mix n match to see what guys could do. BUT, lots of opportunities for people to bitch and moan, for sure :p

89Bear;842104661 said:

---

The big thing for me was hopefully starting a tradition of a spring game and working to make it an event!!!!!! Marshawn being there was awesome!!! Hopefully that too is the small beginning of more alums coming back and being in the spotlight of this event. If we could eventually get a big crowd, recruits etc... that would be great for the program.:gobears:

---

+1 i thought it was genius to have marshawn run a play and to have other NFL alums so players, fans, and recruits can see them

While Hinder has some decent running I don't think it's to the point where it distinguishes him from anyone else. Kline had a decent scramble.

Also Sonny has mentioned this being a small factor.

Maybe yesterday was a really small (and bad) sample but I think Kline will win it out. Of course it's a long way to go and he'll have to keep the position, but assuming they all progress equally here on forward, I see Kline being ahead.

89Bear;842104661 said:

---

The big thing for me was hopefully starting a tradition of a spring game and working to make it an event!!!!!! Marshawn being there was awesome!!! Hopefully that too is the small beginning of more alums coming back and being in the spotlight of this event. If we could eventually get a big crowd, recruits etc... that would be great for the program.:gobears:

---

Absolutely. As we go hopefully it can also be more of a game, which will also draw more. Tough having it on day bball plays in SJ for tourny. Actually need to think about that next year.

Cal_Fan2;842104703 said:

---

Yup....hell, it might take until half way thru the season for the offense to gel seeing as it is brand new and only practice and repetition will fix that...but Sonny has done it at Arizona and has done it at LTech so we know it will get much better, we just don't know how long it will take....

---

Halfway thru the season? WTF, I hope not. Didn't take JT until halfway thru the first quarter of his first game on the way to a blowout.

freshfunk;842104930 said:

---

While Hinder has some decent running I don't think it's to the point where it distinguishes him from anyone else. Kline had a decent scramble.

Also Sonny has mentioned this being a small factor.

Maybe yesterday was a really small (and bad) sample but I think Kline will win it out. Of course it's a long way to go and he'll have to keep the position, but assuming they all progress equally here on forward, I see Kline being ahead.

---

Kline did indeed look more mobile than I expected. Was nice to see.

slider643;842104809 said:

---

Some of my thoughts:

The tempo was way down compared to practices due to depth and injury issues. I think we only ran around 80 plays in the spring game and we were struggling in the last period even while maintaining a huge rotation of players. In comparison, LaTech ran 88 plays per game last season. We need some serious S&C before fall camp. If we have player buy in, they'll get on it hard now that they have a better idea what it takes to run this system at the correct pace.

I really think Hinder will be the QB. Goff hasn't separated himself in my view, so better to RS him. Kline and Hinder each have their strengths and weaknesses throwing the ball. But Hinder can also run and I think that will be the deciding factor. I believe we will need his threat to get our running game going. I thought there was potential in practices and scrimmages, but seeing him run live was pretty impressive. Obviously, thing can change over the break and fall practices, but that's where I think we're headed right now.

The receivers look good individually but don't seem to be in synch with each other yet. This is true especially on scrambles (of which there were many). Usually in Air Raid type offenses, scrambles produce big plays with one post, one corner, one sideline and one middle cross all towards the scramble side. I haven't seen a scramble drill at practice yet so perhaps that will be installed in the fall.

The OL needs work. Dykes said this is usually the last group to come together and I hope it happens soon. Their inability to maintain a pocket or create running lanes is going to be a major hurdle for any offense we run. Our offense production will be directly proportional to how much improvement we see here.

The defensive starters look good, but a part of that was also how poorly the offense played. It looks like the move to a 4-3 will not be a step back and may prove to be beneficial. I liked how many different pressure fronts they showed in the spring game even though most of their blitz packages have yet to be installed. I was skeptical of the Buh hire, but I'm starting to think more and more that he may be the right guy and that I was wrong.

Our DTs look good and deep, stuffing everything up the middle all game long. DE play was solid, generally holding the edge on rushes and putting pressure on the QB. LB play also looked good with nice flow to the runs and decent coverage from what I saw. Starting DB play was solid but there was a noticeable dropoff after the 1s (every time I saw something glaringly out of whack, it was the 2s).

Overall, I expect the offensive skill positions to get better quickly once starters are named in the fall. The talent is there and getting reps together instead of the current mix and match method will help them get in synch. I have concerns with our OL and, unfortunately, they will determine our offensive success as is the case with every offense. I like our defensive starters but we need some secondary players to step up and we need to be injury free.

While the Spring Game was sloppy, I think there are a few positives. For the first time in a long time I believe our team is on the right track.


p.s. - Maynard supposedly won the job because of his mobility. After watching the Spring Game, how did he beat out Hinder?

---

Maynard was a returning starter and Hinder was still a little under-weight. He's gained a lot of strength over the last 2 years.

I'm not a Maynard fan by any stretch but I'm not sure any of our QBs were any better than Maynard on Saturday. I am a Hinder fan, but I am hoping he does something to strengthen his arm before fall. Otherwise I don't think the running ability is enough to offset the lack of a deep ball.

Looperbear;842105010 said:

---

Halfway thru the season? WTF, I hope not. Didn't take JT until halfway thru the first quarter of his first game on the way to a blowout.

---

so, if Cal isn't blowing out Northwestern by midway through the first quarter, you'll have lots to bitch about, won't you? Have fun! :p