12/9/08
The biggest question out west...who is chasing USC in the Pac Ten? The answer for 2009 will be Cal. The Golden Bears are still a far cry from being able to wrestle away a conference crown from the Pac Ten bully Trojans. Nothing changes in this regard. Coach Tedford is noted as a developer of quarterbacks, but it is the running back that has been the hallmark of his Cal teams. First Team All-Conference back Jahvid Best literally rushed onto the national scene and became Tedford's seventh-consecutive 1,000-yard ground gainer. His quality backup Shane Vereen gives Cal a legitimate one-two punch. QB Kevin Riley survived a mid-season benching, but he won't be looking over his shoulder so much now that Nate Longshore has moved on. Riley is not a bad scrambler, but he is not the type of Golden Bear signal caller that is going to beat other teams solely with his arm (51% completion rate). His best arm may be the one handing off the ball. He has some decent receivers to run routes, including a tight end (Morrah) who is NFL-caliber. What could be a problem offensively will be trying to fill the big shoes up front. The moved from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defensive alignment this past season had to do with the wealth of quality linebackers. This is the one area that is going to need more work. Strength in numbers up front and could force another move back to the four-man line. The secondary should be fine; senior Syd'Quan Thompson heads a speedy group capable of shutting down many of the conferences’ better passing games. The corner spot is well stocked and the group as a whole is full of veterans. Asking Tedford to get back to a ten-win season may be somewhat of a stretch. While the ‘09 version may be a hair better than the Bears of a year before, filling big holes at linebacker and the middle of the offensive line will likely hamper their progress early on. Enough experience exists across the board to put this team into a New Year’s Day Bowl.