My view is that our biggest problem last year wasn't a lack of talent, but a lack of effective coaching. Our line wasn't stocked with Alex Mack's, but as others have pointed out, didn't block and execute properly. And Musgrave simply didn't get the best from anyone, especially our tight ends and line. So the portal has surely helped, and hurt, our Bears. What matters more to me is that Coach Spavital and Bloesch get the best from what they got, which I'm trusting they will. That alone gives us a decent offense to go with a continually league leading defense.
After watching Pawlawski's video on Bear insider showing a couple of examples of the Musgrave scheme and the blocking assignments that Angus McClure allowed I was blown away how bad these guys were. I'm hoping with better talent, better coaching and new schemes that our O-Line will perform at a much higher level. Remember, Spav wants to run the ball down opponents throats. If we do that we control the clock and deflate them. Let's see how it all turns out.
Does anyone know if there is much truth to the theory that the OL for a a spread offensive can be very effective with quick and athletic players as opposed to the road graders needed for a pro style offense? Did TCU maybe show this to be the case? Rugbear or anyone else have a view? If really true then I can pump sunshine.
If the Cal offensive line stays healthy, and blocks as well for the running game as it did last season, then the new, more nimble passing game may help us win 2 o3 more games this year. The defense will have to be better since the offense is predicated on quicker possessions. Let's hope for the best.
I believe injuies and depth will be Cal's critical factors if Coach Wilcox has finally found an offense he can recruit to sustainably. He has been effective on the defensive side of the game.
I think a better question is not simply is there more or less talent, but will the change in talent be a better fit for our new offense? Or will the change in talent address/mask some of our flaws? Adding game-ready OL is a clear victory. I don't think SJV can make the finesse throws like Plummer, but his legs will add another dimension to take pressure off the beleaguered OL. Sure we lost JMike, but we have a full rotation of WRs who will be able to get the ball in space. I'll be surprised if we're not a full TD better (~30ppg) in 2023.
I think the offense should be good for an extra touchdown per game. Spav has a great track record, and the other main offensive coaching weakness has been addressed by hiring Bloesch. If you add a touchdown per game to last year's team, Cal would have been 9-3! As far as the OL in the portal, Cal traded a guy who was out injured last year, a guy who is out injured this year, and a not-ready-for-prime-time player for two proven, highly rated P5 starters.
Yeah I agree with this. I think JMike almost stuck around and was encouraged to jump to ucla, even though I don’t even know if he really wanted to. I loved seeing him and Jeremiah Hunter at the podium postgame. I wish he hadn’t left but I think he was a pretty good representative of Cal and I wish him the best (except against us.)
More talented. Hopefully the reloading at major positions on the offense will help Cal break out of the offensive doldrums. Depth at RB helps to mitigate the loss of a couple of backs unavoidably to injury at some point. The troubled O-Line has been bolstered.
Fortunately for Wilcox there is no potentially baffling loss on this year’s schedule (like @ Arizona in ‘21, like @ Colorado in ‘22). You know, the L that would cost him his job at any other school in the country, and with any other AD.
I mean, he’s basically going to get yet another pass for this year…hopefully he surprises some of us…
I think we are more talented overall, and we have fully engaged new coaches who will bring this talent to bear. The offense will be better too. Pass me the Kool aide thermos. What about Luke Bottari? Is he considered an NIL transfer?
It’s really too tough to say. They have entirely new everything, and how they come together is anyone’s guess. They don’t have a single easy game on the schedule.
Wish the schedule wasn’t as challenging…they could realistically go 3-0 or 0-3 in non-Con, as none of those games are gimmes.
I’m hoping for signs of improvement and consistency, with 2024 being the real make it or break it…unfortunately, not the preferred formula for year 7, but here we are.
Jermaine Terry was a bust, and that's the nice way of saying it. I liked Latu for the jump ball in the endzone, but he was not a great blocker and I don't know if he ever would have been. TE's who are great blockers are worth their weight in gold. We got two good ones in the portal. They may not have the Star ranking of Jermaine Terry, but I bet they are better for us all around.
I predict this offense will struggle at least through mid-season. Jackson will be coached up to stay in the pocket, but his instinct will tell him to use his legs to get out of trouble with early injury a real possibility. The trouble part comes with having a portal transfer who played center last year playing at left guard and a guy still penciled in at starting right tackle who played matador in the pass rush much of last season. (See reason why Jack Plummer left). Add in new tight ends, new running backs, and you must give some time to develop necessary unit cohesion. By the time they hopefully get it figured out, a murderers row awaits the team: Oregon State, Utah, USC and Oregon all back to back. So me thinks the team could finish better on offense and still end up 3-9.
Feel bad for the TBD guys like Street and Johnson. Not that it matters much, but there is no spot for them to return I assume if they cannot find a home?
Honestly I think SDSU and SMU have higher ceilings than BYU and BSU. Boise State is not an addition in any measure. They're a tiny market with a tiny alumni base, they're literally in the bottom 10 percentile for academics amongst relevant schools, and the only sport they're really good at is football. And even then, they're good for a G5 and would be a middling P5 at best.
BYU comes with too many problems and we've elevated Utah way above them. Just keep pushing Utah forward and we're fine with that region.
They Utah/BYU game is called the 'Holy War' The Mormons of BYU versus the heathen of Utah. Not a lot of love lost between those two teams...kinda like Cal and Snodfart.
My view is that our biggest problem last year wasn't a lack of talent, but a lack of effective coaching. Our line wasn't stocked with Alex Mack's, but as others have pointed out, didn't block and execute properly. And Musgrave simply didn't get the best from anyone, especially our tight ends and line. So the portal has surely helped, and hurt, our Bears. What matters more to me is that Coach Spavital and Bloesch get the best from what they got, which I'm trusting they will. That alone gives us a decent offense to go with a continually league leading defense.
After watching Pawlawski's video on Bear insider showing a couple of examples of the Musgrave scheme and the blocking assignments that Angus McClure allowed I was blown away how bad these guys were. I'm hoping with better talent, better coaching and new schemes that our O-Line will perform at a much higher level. Remember, Spav wants to run the ball down opponents throats. If we do that we control the clock and deflate them. Let's see how it all turns out.
Does anyone know if there is much truth to the theory that the OL for a a spread offensive can be very effective with quick and athletic players as opposed to the road graders needed for a pro style offense? Did TCU maybe show this to be the case? Rugbear or anyone else have a view? If really true then I can pump sunshine.
The biggest take away for me is that the various services see our portal class as a winner. Noice! GO BEARS!
We were listed in '"The Athletic's" top ten...that's saying something, if you know what I mean. ;-)
dass rite
If the Cal offensive line stays healthy, and blocks as well for the running game as it did last season, then the new, more nimble passing game may help us win 2 o3 more games this year. The defense will have to be better since the offense is predicated on quicker possessions. Let's hope for the best.
Quicker possessions that score still give the defense more rest than 3 and outs lol
Yes, quite right. I hope our new offense can also provide possession drives when needed.
I believe injuies and depth will be Cal's critical factors if Coach Wilcox has finally found an offense he can recruit to sustainably. He has been effective on the defensive side of the game.
I think a better question is not simply is there more or less talent, but will the change in talent be a better fit for our new offense? Or will the change in talent address/mask some of our flaws? Adding game-ready OL is a clear victory. I don't think SJV can make the finesse throws like Plummer, but his legs will add another dimension to take pressure off the beleaguered OL. Sure we lost JMike, but we have a full rotation of WRs who will be able to get the ball in space. I'll be surprised if we're not a full TD better (~30ppg) in 2023.
I think the offense should be good for an extra touchdown per game. Spav has a great track record, and the other main offensive coaching weakness has been addressed by hiring Bloesch. If you add a touchdown per game to last year's team, Cal would have been 9-3! As far as the OL in the portal, Cal traded a guy who was out injured last year, a guy who is out injured this year, and a not-ready-for-prime-time player for two proven, highly rated P5 starters.
Don't forget the offense was so bad that it affected our defense. Just by being average on offense, our defense should get better.
wow...what a stat!
J Michael Sellout has drop issues. Much rather than Hightower, Dortch, and Davis combo over J Mike
No need for the copium. He's talented and was the sole reason were even in it against USC last year, and we can still be fine without him.
Yeah I agree with this. I think JMike almost stuck around and was encouraged to jump to ucla, even though I don’t even know if he really wanted to. I loved seeing him and Jeremiah Hunter at the podium postgame. I wish he hadn’t left but I think he was a pretty good representative of Cal and I wish him the best (except against us.)
By "encouraged" to go to UCLA, do you mean that UCLA dangled a ton of money in front of him?
Yes and — and by those close to him who wanted a piece.
J Michael Sellout 😂😂😂. I love that
More talented. Hopefully the reloading at major positions on the offense will help Cal break out of the offensive doldrums. Depth at RB helps to mitigate the loss of a couple of backs unavoidably to injury at some point. The troubled O-Line has been bolstered.
It can’t be much worse than it was last year and if it, well it might be time to fire Wilcox despite the buyout.
Fortunately for Wilcox there is no potentially baffling loss on this year’s schedule (like @ Arizona in ‘21, like @ Colorado in ‘22). You know, the L that would cost him his job at any other school in the country, and with any other AD.
I mean, he’s basically going to get yet another pass for this year…hopefully he surprises some of us…
I think we are more talented overall, and we have fully engaged new coaches who will bring this talent to bear. The offense will be better too. Pass me the Kool aide thermos. What about Luke Bottari? Is he considered an NIL transfer?
It’s really too tough to say. They have entirely new everything, and how they come together is anyone’s guess. They don’t have a single easy game on the schedule.
Wish the schedule wasn’t as challenging…they could realistically go 3-0 or 0-3 in non-Con, as none of those games are gimmes.
I’m hoping for signs of improvement and consistency, with 2024 being the real make it or break it…unfortunately, not the preferred formula for year 7, but here we are.
Does the W4C team have access to receiver metrics (or track stats)? My hypotheses:
a) Terry & Latu would sort rank #1 & #2 for drops per pass attempt.
b) Terry & Latu would sort rank in top 4 for not being open per pass attempt.
Jermaine Terry was a bust, and that's the nice way of saying it. I liked Latu for the jump ball in the endzone, but he was not a great blocker and I don't know if he ever would have been. TE's who are great blockers are worth their weight in gold. We got two good ones in the portal. They may not have the Star ranking of Jermaine Terry, but I bet they are better for us all around.
I predict this offense will struggle at least through mid-season. Jackson will be coached up to stay in the pocket, but his instinct will tell him to use his legs to get out of trouble with early injury a real possibility. The trouble part comes with having a portal transfer who played center last year playing at left guard and a guy still penciled in at starting right tackle who played matador in the pass rush much of last season. (See reason why Jack Plummer left). Add in new tight ends, new running backs, and you must give some time to develop necessary unit cohesion. By the time they hopefully get it figured out, a murderers row awaits the team: Oregon State, Utah, USC and Oregon all back to back. So me thinks the team could finish better on offense and still end up 3-9.
Feel bad for the TBD guys like Street and Johnson. Not that it matters much, but there is no spot for them to return I assume if they cannot find a home?
Street has joined Utah tech
Honestly I think SDSU and SMU have higher ceilings than BYU and BSU. Boise State is not an addition in any measure. They're a tiny market with a tiny alumni base, they're literally in the bottom 10 percentile for academics amongst relevant schools, and the only sport they're really good at is football. And even then, they're good for a G5 and would be a middling P5 at best.
BYU comes with too many problems and we've elevated Utah way above them. Just keep pushing Utah forward and we're fine with that region.
Wrong thread
They Utah/BYU game is called the 'Holy War' The Mormons of BYU versus the heathen of Utah. Not a lot of love lost between those two teams...kinda like Cal and Snodfart.