Contra Costa Times: Spring practice has Cal betting on the spread

By Jay Heater

Plenty of midnight oil is being burned in the football offices at Memorial Stadium as Coach Jeff Tedford and new offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar go about ``tweaking'' Tedford's offense. How big of a tweak is it? ``This is earthquake country, right?'' Dunbar said. ``Well, is a 5 bad?''  Not too bad if it is Memorial Stadium that's shaking. In this case, though, the only thing rattling is the Cal fan base.  The addition of Dunbar and his spread philosophies, so successful at Northwestern, are cause for uneasiness in Strawberry Canyon, where Tedford's offensive schemes are revered.  Would a higher power ask for help? In this case, the answer is yes. Tedford said he isn't looking to overhaul an offense that has produced an average of 34.4 points per game during Tedford's four seasons. ``We are just adding some wrinkles here and there,'' Tedford said.  Those wrinkles begin appearing this week as Cal opens spring drills.

With a veteran group returning after an 8-4 season, hope springs eternal that Cal might be headed for a special 2006. But will changing the offense, even minimally, cause the Golden Bears to lose a beat? No, Tedford says, particularly once Dunbar gets on the same page with the rest of the staff.  ``We need to teach Mike what we do,'' Tedford said. ``A lot of it is terminology.''  It probably won't take Dunbar, 57, long to get a good grasp of Tedford's offense. ``We offensive guys around the country have been very aware of Jeff Tedford,'' said Dunbar, who has been offensive coordinator at Northwestern and Toledo and head coach at Northern Iowa and Central Washington. ``I've also studied a tremendous amount of Oregon film (from Tedford's days there as an offensive coordinator). This man knows his offense.''  Tedford obviously was aware of Dunbar's reputation as someone who commands attention, unlike previous offensive coordinator George Cortez, who was much more low-key.

Dunbar said he won't be shy about offering ideas. He said the spread offense will help Cal's quarterbacks to see the field better when they operate out of the shotgun and the offense should open wide running lanes for running backs Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett.  Spring drills will feature a quarterback battle among Steve Levy, who started last season's Las Vegas Bowl; previous starter Joe Ayoob; rehabilitating Nathan Longshore and redshirt freshman Kyle Reed. The changing offense, Dunbar said, shouldn't hinder the competition.  ``The offense is a verbage thing,'' Dunbar said. ``And we are keeping as much of the verbage as we can. It's not our goal to change what Cal has been. It's to take the Cal offense, and incorporate the spread.''