Much speculation here dear blogger. Garbers led a mediocre team to many a great game and win. Calling any other QB transfer yet to take a snap at this program is just that, speculation. Let us revisit this come seasons end.
strange, I never once heard or noticed any issue with Chase Garbers arm strength. I think he has a chance to be a fine NFL quarterback. The only thing that held him back was the teams he had to work with, and the circumstances with the pandemic.
TD, you reference Plummer video, but I don't see one attached. Am I missing something? Did my subscription just get downgraded to "print only"?????? DANG IT!!!!
As much as some Cal fans may not want to accept it, Jack Plummer is objectively a better quarterback than Chase Garbers.
I have never heard of such voice. The consensus is that Garbers was a very mediocre QB. I think it would be more like, we may not want to accept that Plummer is better than Kai Milllner.
He had mediocre arm talent but was a good runner with clutch ability to convert first downs with his legs, which only exacerbated Wilcox's ultra-conservative strategy. He was part of a combination of factors that led to us having below average offenses. For one reason or the other, we had a generally bad passing game for the past four years. Were the receivers really that bad at getting separation all this time, or was there a timing issue or chemistry issue with the QB.
Myself and others have been clamoring for someone new to take the helm. Now, suddenly there is a sense of optimism for the passing game. There's a combination of factors there as well (namely the talent of the receivers, and another year for Musgrave, perhaps with more freedom) but my gut feeling, as I'm sure others have, is that this QB Plummer is going to get the ball into these receiver's hands better than Garbers ever would, even despite the iffy O-line going into this season.
Fair or not, Garbers represents the stagnant status quo to many, even though he delivered on those clutch wins. People similarly feel the same way about Wilcox. The two were so intricately linked, you had to begin to wonder if Wilcox had tied his fate to Garbers, and if he himself recognized we needed a change at QB.
Of course, we will have to wait and see what happens..
I dont think anyone is particularly singing Plummer's praises, more so than they are criticizing Garbers, and the gist is that I/they think Plummer appears to be a better *passing* QB than Garbers and that this 2022 team (i.e. Musgrave's current offense) will hypothetically perform better with Plummer (in his 1st year in the offense) than it would with Garber's (in his 3rd year in the offense). Wins and losses are a tough comparison because of the many variables. But if you were to compare records, Plummer only needs to be .500 to be better than Garber's last 1+ seasons. 2019 was promising and the high point for Garbers, but that was pre-Musgrave and Garbers statistically never returned to that form in terms of QBR.
I would agree that some of the criticism of Garbers might be unfair. And I'm as guilty as the next.. I was calling for Millner at times last year, and I will now admit that I don't think Millner would've given us a better chance than Garbers. (I was similarly rooting for Millner to win the job this year, but I recognize that Plummer probably gives us the better chance to win now..) But that is the frustration that has surrounded the Wilcox era, and Garbers is entangled in that frustration. And whether that is purely by association or if he was a contributing factor is impossible to tell.
Thanks for the review! It's honest to call out ways Garbers was limited. I rewatch Cal games, even wins, and it's incredible how rarely he could lead receivers down the field. What we are hearing from camp so far is that he is launching bombs and hitting the middle. For the Purdue fan below, I suppose we must accept that people grow and change to some extent. And systems differ. We are lucky to have Plummer and I sure hope he performs well enough to let the defense shine.
Thanks for the breakdown Mr Boilermaker. If he’s a safe pair of hands who can get it down the field a bit, we should be okay. Maybe Musgrave can get get a something out of him different than his Purdue coaches. Cal fans have only seen Musgrave with one QB for a whole season. We’ll find out in a couple of weeks.
I have no issue with deferring towards mixing my analysis with yours here, especially since you’ve explained you are a Purdue fan. It’s like if someone said Zach Maynard had all the tools to be a heisman quarterback. I would have to slow their roll as well. From what I saw the majority of games I saw lended itself towards intermediate chances but obviously you have seen him since 2019 so that was more like an adjustment than a norm since his job was under fire.
Webb's dedication and effort was unmatched, and he had a decent arm. He was a prototypical student of the game, but he also played in simple air raid systems, so I think the verdict was always still out. It appears those characteristics are what keeps him on nfl rosters as a low end backup.. through sheer will and effort, but without the talent to be a starter at that level.
While it may be true that not every transfer player is great, you conflate this with somehow Plummer not being great. We can't say how great Plummer will be yet, but the author only points out that he will likely be an upgrade from Garbers in key ways. Why crap on a player before he has played a snap for us? We've done remarkably well with transfers lately, I think of Bimage last year and so forth.
The good news is there's hope for Plummer yet. "Battle is the Great Redeemer. It is the fiery crucible in which true heroes are forged. The one place where all men truly share the same rank, regardless of what kind of parasitic scum they were going in." -Master Sergeant Farell
That's a crap generalization, and here's why. I don't know that much about Purdue (a boilermaker in MY book is not, I'm sure, what their mascot is....), but maybe they had a couple really good recruiting years at QB! If so, only one is starting and the other needs a place to play.
Joe Burrow transferred to LSU and we all know how that turned out. Not saying that was the same situation (for all I know he was the OSU starter....), but he moved from one school to another and won the Heisman. At Cal we are obviously not looking for THAT, but are looking for a solid QB who can win games, and Plummer seems to fit that bill. Additionally, if you can transfer in a QB who will do better than your rostered QBs (and that appears to be the case for us) then that is value added.
Lastly, our WR room is stacked....that may make the difference between Purdue's view of him and ours. Either way, we are excited to see what the team will look like this year. If the OL can give him time, we could outperform expectations and we will all be happy!!!!! Go Bears!
if you can transfer in a QB who will do better than your rostered QBs (and that appears to be the case for us) then that is value added.
That was the case with Maynard. As much as people may want to hate on him, he was still better than anyone we had. Better than Bridford, Hinder, or whoever we had.
Strong recruits, strong measurable and strong performances in practices so far. It’s all we have given limited in game snaps, but looks like we’re in good shape. I know Ull find that deficient, but if Uve been reading Cl blogs Uve heard the same as I have.
Much speculation here dear blogger. Garbers led a mediocre team to many a great game and win. Calling any other QB transfer yet to take a snap at this program is just that, speculation. Let us revisit this come seasons end.
strange, I never once heard or noticed any issue with Chase Garbers arm strength. I think he has a chance to be a fine NFL quarterback. The only thing that held him back was the teams he had to work with, and the circumstances with the pandemic.
He didn't transfer to Berkeley. Berkeley is a CITY. He transferred to THE University of California.
He didn’t transfer to Berkeley, Berkeley transferred to him!
TD, you reference Plummer video, but I don't see one attached. Am I missing something? Did my subscription just get downgraded to "print only"?????? DANG IT!!!!
what calbear91 said, but that print only joke was a good one
I struggled with this too. The numbers themselves are hyperlinks.
As much as some Cal fans may not want to accept it, Jack Plummer is objectively a better quarterback than Chase Garbers.
I have never heard of such voice. The consensus is that Garbers was a very mediocre QB. I think it would be more like, we may not want to accept that Plummer is better than Kai Milllner.
Never forget the Cheez-It Bowl.
He had mediocre arm talent but was a good runner with clutch ability to convert first downs with his legs, which only exacerbated Wilcox's ultra-conservative strategy. He was part of a combination of factors that led to us having below average offenses. For one reason or the other, we had a generally bad passing game for the past four years. Were the receivers really that bad at getting separation all this time, or was there a timing issue or chemistry issue with the QB.
Myself and others have been clamoring for someone new to take the helm. Now, suddenly there is a sense of optimism for the passing game. There's a combination of factors there as well (namely the talent of the receivers, and another year for Musgrave, perhaps with more freedom) but my gut feeling, as I'm sure others have, is that this QB Plummer is going to get the ball into these receiver's hands better than Garbers ever would, even despite the iffy O-line going into this season.
Fair or not, Garbers represents the stagnant status quo to many, even though he delivered on those clutch wins. People similarly feel the same way about Wilcox. The two were so intricately linked, you had to begin to wonder if Wilcox had tied his fate to Garbers, and if he himself recognized we needed a change at QB.
Of course, we will have to wait and see what happens..
I dont think anyone is particularly singing Plummer's praises, more so than they are criticizing Garbers, and the gist is that I/they think Plummer appears to be a better *passing* QB than Garbers and that this 2022 team (i.e. Musgrave's current offense) will hypothetically perform better with Plummer (in his 1st year in the offense) than it would with Garber's (in his 3rd year in the offense). Wins and losses are a tough comparison because of the many variables. But if you were to compare records, Plummer only needs to be .500 to be better than Garber's last 1+ seasons. 2019 was promising and the high point for Garbers, but that was pre-Musgrave and Garbers statistically never returned to that form in terms of QBR.
I would agree that some of the criticism of Garbers might be unfair. And I'm as guilty as the next.. I was calling for Millner at times last year, and I will now admit that I don't think Millner would've given us a better chance than Garbers. (I was similarly rooting for Millner to win the job this year, but I recognize that Plummer probably gives us the better chance to win now..) But that is the frustration that has surrounded the Wilcox era, and Garbers is entangled in that frustration. And whether that is purely by association or if he was a contributing factor is impossible to tell.
Yeah, and I am very afraid that's the reality.
I feel the same way.
Multiple opinions and points of view on Jack Plummer. I look forward to seeing what he can do September 3rd.
Thanks for the review! It's honest to call out ways Garbers was limited. I rewatch Cal games, even wins, and it's incredible how rarely he could lead receivers down the field. What we are hearing from camp so far is that he is launching bombs and hitting the middle. For the Purdue fan below, I suppose we must accept that people grow and change to some extent. And systems differ. We are lucky to have Plummer and I sure hope he performs well enough to let the defense shine.
As a Purdue fan who watched every snap of Plummer, your analysis of Plummer is so off base.
The book on him is he doesn’t ever let it rip. He doesn’t go over the top. He doesn’t throw into tight windows.
Everything is underneath or to the flats, he takes no chances.
Additionally, he doesn’t have good pocket awareness. He takes tons of sacks. Google about Purdue vs Penn State in 2019.
It’s not all bad with him. He doesn’t make crucial mistakes, as you can see by his low interception numbers.
But outside of some big games against mid majors, he will play scared and frustrate Cal fans.
Thanks for the breakdown Mr Boilermaker. If he’s a safe pair of hands who can get it down the field a bit, we should be okay. Maybe Musgrave can get get a something out of him different than his Purdue coaches. Cal fans have only seen Musgrave with one QB for a whole season. We’ll find out in a couple of weeks.
Yuck. Sounds like the CF equivalent of Daniel Jones.
That would be extremely good unless you don't know football.
Again, the “college football” equivalent. But thanks for the condescension.
Yes, which as I said was very good.
I have no issue with deferring towards mixing my analysis with yours here, especially since you’ve explained you are a Purdue fan. It’s like if someone said Zach Maynard had all the tools to be a heisman quarterback. I would have to slow their roll as well. From what I saw the majority of games I saw lended itself towards intermediate chances but obviously you have seen him since 2019 so that was more like an adjustment than a norm since his job was under fire.
(half) brother, not step
If he can play at the level of Davis Webb we should be OK. Webb cannot be blamed for Sonny's defense. Welcome Jack and good luck.
Webb's dedication and effort was unmatched, and he had a decent arm. He was a prototypical student of the game, but he also played in simple air raid systems, so I think the verdict was always still out. It appears those characteristics are what keeps him on nfl rosters as a low end backup.. through sheer will and effort, but without the talent to be a starter at that level.
Webb was a really good QB. In fact he's making NFL roster every year and might become Chad Henne or Chase Daniels.
While it may be true that not every transfer player is great, you conflate this with somehow Plummer not being great. We can't say how great Plummer will be yet, but the author only points out that he will likely be an upgrade from Garbers in key ways. Why crap on a player before he has played a snap for us? We've done remarkably well with transfers lately, I think of Bimage last year and so forth.
The good news is there's hope for Plummer yet. "Battle is the Great Redeemer. It is the fiery crucible in which true heroes are forged. The one place where all men truly share the same rank, regardless of what kind of parasitic scum they were going in." -Master Sergeant Farell
We'll see if garbers skills at improvisation will translate to the NFL.
I can easily imagine what would have happened. Didn't you see in Arizona game?
That's a crap generalization, and here's why. I don't know that much about Purdue (a boilermaker in MY book is not, I'm sure, what their mascot is....), but maybe they had a couple really good recruiting years at QB! If so, only one is starting and the other needs a place to play.
Joe Burrow transferred to LSU and we all know how that turned out. Not saying that was the same situation (for all I know he was the OSU starter....), but he moved from one school to another and won the Heisman. At Cal we are obviously not looking for THAT, but are looking for a solid QB who can win games, and Plummer seems to fit that bill. Additionally, if you can transfer in a QB who will do better than your rostered QBs (and that appears to be the case for us) then that is value added.
Lastly, our WR room is stacked....that may make the difference between Purdue's view of him and ours. Either way, we are excited to see what the team will look like this year. If the OL can give him time, we could outperform expectations and we will all be happy!!!!! Go Bears!
if you can transfer in a QB who will do better than your rostered QBs (and that appears to be the case for us) then that is value added.
That was the case with Maynard. As much as people may want to hate on him, he was still better than anyone we had. Better than Bridford, Hinder, or whoever we had.
Strong recruits, strong measurable and strong performances in practices so far. It’s all we have given limited in game snaps, but looks like we’re in good shape. I know Ull find that deficient, but if Uve been reading Cl blogs Uve heard the same as I have.
Well Webb and Mayfield left Texas Tech because they lost starting job.
Mahomes was a special talent.
This!