I'm guessing that, based on our offense for the last few years, that JW is more than willing to hand the reins over to Spav & live or die with his decisions.
Wilcox is a proven really good defensive coach. the problem is that he hasn't had a truly good offensive coordinator. If Spatival comes thru then everyone will probably change their opinions on Wilcox.
Mike Price (old wazzu coach until he went to bama and self-immolated his career) had a good way to get the backup some good in-game experience: backup would get the first full possession of the 2nd qtr.
Starter would know about it, so no self-doubting about being “pulled” and backup would get reps in practice to prepare.
If starter is struggling, maybe he can create a spark. If he does, then maybe keep the back up in.
If backup screws up, well, it’s still early in the game and team can recover.
Either way valuable experience for backup and provided a way to evaluate them in real game situations (not just blowouts).
As long as they win, i'm good with all 3 getting time in game 1. In fact, I think it's a good thing for whoever ends up as QB2 to get some snaps. Heck, I was rooting for Perry Klein to get a little time at the expense of Paws.
Having attended 2 practices 2 weeks apart, I'll say... The QBs looked notably better over the course of just a couple weeks, and none of them played badly during the most recent scrimmage. I think if you play any of the quarterbacks with our already improved line and upgraded skill players, we'll have an average to above-average offense in the conference. Not sweating it much.
And let's not act like dual QB systems haven't worked for other teams (even if the McIlwain experiment didn't work for us). A dual QB system could be plenty successful here if we go that route. In Spav I trust.
I could only see line play so well from my seats in the stands, but from my view it looked like they were doing a decent job with running lanes and pass pro. Mainly I'm going off of pretty much every report coming out of practice and quotes from coaches, plus knowing we've had an upgrade in personnel and experience.
thanks. I was encouraged by a comment from the P12 media day where Cindric said he was happy because they could "just play", or something similar. So many times when our OL broke down, one of them was just standing there, not even trying to block anyone. I think and hope that Musgrave's schemes were unsuitable for the college game.
If you've got three QBs, and no one has emerged as the number one, well then.... nope won't say it.
In this case I think they are all capable. If we can avoid the turnover bugaboo we should be fine.
It's all fine and good to turn Sam into a pocket passer, but look what happened when the AZ coaching staff tried to change Khalil Tate's instinctive game.
I don't think the staff wants to re-mold him as much as improve this one aspect of his game. That said, he's got some great instincts and some terrible ones too. I'm worried in a McIlwain-sort of way.
He was a run-first quarterback who struggled to read the field quickly enough to release the ball on time. Consequently, he often relied on his scrambling instincts, which unfortunately led to turnovers.
They want him to focus on doing his reads, working through his progressions before running. LOTS of reads and decisions to be made by the QB in this offense.
Whomever the Bears start at North Texas, I would keep that player in until A) he commits his 3rd turnover with no lead or B) the Bears get behind by more than 14 pts in the second half.
Unless we see something in-game from UNT to react differently to, my lineup would be:
1st - Jackson
2nd - Finley
3rd - Mendoza
I like that this string goes from dual threat to adaptable/experienced to young/tall/promising.
We'll get our full share invite after defeating Michigan for the national championship. And we'll force Michigan to change their colors to look less like ours while we're at it.
I am always impressed by Mendoza"s swagger. Jackson V will probably be the starter, though.
As much as I'd like to keep the competition open indefinitely, the QBs have different styles. Our OL (and offense generally) doesn't seem experienced enough to handle multiple playbooks.
At this point I would hope Jackson's appraisal would be a little more glowing, other than he can scramble (which we knew). Let's hope that if the defense continues to be strong, OL improves, and we get solid play out of WR's and RB's that I think we will, it's not the QB play that undoes this team.
I'm excited to see Benandosam Jackfindoza V
In Spavital we trust
In Wilcox we don’t tho…
I'm guessing that, based on our offense for the last few years, that JW is more than willing to hand the reins over to Spav & live or die with his decisions.
I am totally fine with this.
I have more faith in Spavital than I EVER had in Musgrave. I was actually somewhat surprised Baldwin didn't do better...
Wilcox is a proven really good defensive coach. the problem is that he hasn't had a truly good offensive coordinator. If Spatival comes thru then everyone will probably change their opinions on Wilcox.
Mike Price (old wazzu coach until he went to bama and self-immolated his career) had a good way to get the backup some good in-game experience: backup would get the first full possession of the 2nd qtr.
Starter would know about it, so no self-doubting about being “pulled” and backup would get reps in practice to prepare.
If starter is struggling, maybe he can create a spark. If he does, then maybe keep the back up in.
If backup screws up, well, it’s still early in the game and team can recover.
Either way valuable experience for backup and provided a way to evaluate them in real game situations (not just blowouts).
I'm excited about the Grizzly Bear catching passes.
His name sounds like a Cal-themed rapper. I am jealous that my name isn't 1/100th as cool.
As long as they win, i'm good with all 3 getting time in game 1. In fact, I think it's a good thing for whoever ends up as QB2 to get some snaps. Heck, I was rooting for Perry Klein to get a little time at the expense of Paws.
Having attended 2 practices 2 weeks apart, I'll say... The QBs looked notably better over the course of just a couple weeks, and none of them played badly during the most recent scrimmage. I think if you play any of the quarterbacks with our already improved line and upgraded skill players, we'll have an average to above-average offense in the conference. Not sweating it much.
And let's not act like dual QB systems haven't worked for other teams (even if the McIlwain experiment didn't work for us). A dual QB system could be plenty successful here if we go that route. In Spav I trust.
when you say already-improved line, is that something you've observed? Or an assumption that it has to be better because it can't be any worse?
I could only see line play so well from my seats in the stands, but from my view it looked like they were doing a decent job with running lanes and pass pro. Mainly I'm going off of pretty much every report coming out of practice and quotes from coaches, plus knowing we've had an upgrade in personnel and experience.
thanks. I was encouraged by a comment from the P12 media day where Cindric said he was happy because they could "just play", or something similar. So many times when our OL broke down, one of them was just standing there, not even trying to block anyone. I think and hope that Musgrave's schemes were unsuitable for the college game.
latest forecast for Denton TX on Sept 2 = 103. That may be the ultimate factor for how things go.
Yeah. Starting to come around to a notion that QB1 might need a breather sooner rather than later in that stifling Texas heat.
If you've got three QBs, and no one has emerged as the number one, well then.... nope won't say it.
In this case I think they are all capable. If we can avoid the turnover bugaboo we should be fine.
It's all fine and good to turn Sam into a pocket passer, but look what happened when the AZ coaching staff tried to change Khalil Tate's instinctive game.
I don't think the staff wants to re-mold him as much as improve this one aspect of his game. That said, he's got some great instincts and some terrible ones too. I'm worried in a McIlwain-sort of way.
McIiwain real problem was he fumbled every time he got hit.
He was a run-first quarterback who struggled to read the field quickly enough to release the ball on time. Consequently, he often relied on his scrambling instincts, which unfortunately led to turnovers.
They want him to focus on doing his reads, working through his progressions before running. LOTS of reads and decisions to be made by the QB in this offense.
Whomever the Bears start at North Texas, I would keep that player in until A) he commits his 3rd turnover with no lead or B) the Bears get behind by more than 14 pts in the second half.
Unless we see something in-game from UNT to react differently to, my lineup would be:
1st - Jackson
2nd - Finley
3rd - Mendoza
I like that this string goes from dual threat to adaptable/experienced to young/tall/promising.
I like option C) amass a four-score lead and let one of the other guys sling the ball a bit.
I like that positivity!
Some thoughts.
Provided the game stays well in hand:
1Q - Sam
2Q - Fernando (reward for 2nd year plus a bit on the spot pressure)
3Q - Sam (or for a few sets)
4Q - Ben
Klindergoff2
Jackfindoza
I understand this reference
VBENDOZA
SAMBENDO
A lot of good motion pictures are made in the Sam Fernando Finley region
Educational.
Jackdozinley
Oh snap, I almost forgot about actual football.
starts in 4 days. I'll tune in at 5:00 and foolishly hope for SJSU to upset USC, for 10 minutes or so
Screw the networks. But for Fox, Cal would already have a home in the BIG. I refuse to watch any college sports, except for Cal.
We'll get our full share invite after defeating Michigan for the national championship. And we'll force Michigan to change their colors to look less like ours while we're at it.
More like 9 wins over the next two seasons
Who has the most generous athletics boosters? Cal #38 out of 90.
https://twitter.com/jjfuller72/status/1694193242756018553
I am always impressed by Mendoza"s swagger. Jackson V will probably be the starter, though.
As much as I'd like to keep the competition open indefinitely, the QBs have different styles. Our OL (and offense generally) doesn't seem experienced enough to handle multiple playbooks.
At this point I would hope Jackson's appraisal would be a little more glowing, other than he can scramble (which we knew). Let's hope that if the defense continues to be strong, OL improves, and we get solid play out of WR's and RB's that I think we will, it's not the QB play that undoes this team.
Nice interviews with each one of those young men. Am very much looking forward to the first game to see how we do. Run it often. Go Bears!
It's Samuel L. Jackson.
https://calbears.com/documents/2023/8/24/23FB-Cal-Depth_Chart_at_North_Texas.pdf