ESPN: 2007 California Golden Bear Preview

Here is the link. 

 

Excerpts:

 

Tedford talking about Longshore:  "He needs to shed weight and improve his mobility. He was pushing 240 at the end of last season. He is a big person. He has to watch it. Trent Dilfer was the same way. If Trent did squats, he would blow up to 250 pounds. Nate is the same way. I want to keep him in the 225 to 230 range."

 

Running Backs: The top spot on list belongs to Cal senior Justin Forsett (5-8, 186), who in 36 career games has rushed for 1,674 yards on 262 carries, or 6.39 per carry. Slaton is at 6.34 with Johnson and McFadden each at 6.0. Last season, Forestt was arguably the nation's top reserve running back; running for 626 yards and four touchdowns on 119 carries (5.3 ypc). He also caught 12 balls for 116 yards and a score.

 

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:  Last season, Arizona State didn't have a single wide receiver catch more than 20 passes.  And then there is Cal, with its returning trio of wideouts having combined for 151 receptions for 2,336 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2006.  Although he's the lone underclassman of the three, junior DeSean Jackson (6-0, 166) is the No. 1 threat to opposing defenses. In fact, Jackson -- a first-team All-Pac-10 selection as a sophomore behind 59 catches for 1,060 yards (18.0 ypc) and nine touchdowns -- could emerge as not only an All-American this season but a Heisman Trophy candidate. And that's just based on his receiving skills, never mind that he was a consensus All-American punt returner in 2006 after taking back four for touchdowns.

 

Offensive Line:  This is the only concern in what should be among the most potent offenses in the country. And it's a minor concern at that.  The projected starting five are actually stronger than last year's group despite losing two starters, including tackle Andrew Cameron. The issue is depth; two of the probably start-ing five missed the spring with injuries and there appears a noticeable drop-off between the No. 1s and No. 2s on the depth chart.

 

Kickers:  After a shaky sophomore campaign, senior Tom Schneider (6-1, 191) was nothing short of stellar in 2006. He should rank among the top-10 kickers in the land this fall.

 

Defensive Line:  No unit on either side of the football was as decimated by personnel loss as Cal's defensive line.   The Bears, who registered 26 sacks and forced 30 turnovers last season, return just one of four starters up front, that being senior tackle Matt Malele (6-3, 297). Mostly a run stuffer, Malele had 11 tackles last season, but that's misleading; he often took the brunt of the blocking up front and did a superb job clogging the running lanes. This allowed for the likes of departed linemen Brandon Mebane, Nu'u Tafisi and the linebackers to run free and make plays.

 

Linebackers:  Cal graduated one of the elite linebackers in program history in Desmond Bishop, and while this unit could be solid, there's little depth. "We need to keep healthy at linebacker, the depth dwindles pretty quickly," Gregory said.  The lone returning starter is junior Worrell Williams (6-2, 256) at the Will or weak side. He finished 2006 with 51 tackles and an interception and is considered one of the top athletes pound for pound on the team.

 

Defensive Backs:  While the secondary returns three-of-four starters, it's by no means a strength entering the season, especially considering that the lone departure was Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year Daymeion Hughes.  "Obviously you feel a bit more comfortable with a veteran at corner than young guys," Gregory said.  The Bears need sophomore Syd'Quan Thompson (5-11, 178) to play at another level this season, although after a rough debut at Tennessee, considering teams were throwing to his side early and often to avoid Hughes, he wasn't bad. His vitals included 60 tackles and an interception, but he showed improvement and confidence on almost a weekly basis.

 

Punters:  JUCO transfer Andrew Larson (6-2, 190) had a solid first season at Berkeley, averaging 42.6 yards per punt and earning second-team All-Pac-10 honors. But his greatest asset isn't the strength of his leg, it's hang time. Opponents returned just 19-of-49 punts for a paltry 132 yards.

 

Special Teams: Before flooding this section with numbers upon numbers about DeSean Jackson's ability to return punts, let's start off with just one statistic.  Jackson has returned just shy of 20 percent of his career punt returns for touchdowns. Wow. The official numbers include five touchdowns in 26 returns (19.2 percent). A Pac-10 record four of those scores came last season, as Jackson averaged a school-record 18.2 yards per return.

 

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

When Tedford's run at Cal ends, whether it's in 2008 or 2028, there's a real chance that last season will be looked upon -- not only him but Cal fans -- as their Moby Dick, the one that got away.   Not that there's anything remotely wrong with double-digit wins highlighted by a dominating Holiday Bowl performance against Texas A&M, but with USC reloading every season, 2006 could've been Cal's best chance to win the Pac-10 outright and play in the Rose Bowl. That said, this offense is every bit the equal of USC's, and at least on paper, Cal should score more points than the Trojans. And the special teams units of the Bears might be ranked tops in the nation. So why aren't the Bears favored over USC, which is expected to be a near-unanimous preseason No. 1?