By Matt Kawahara
After cornerback Daymeion Hughes graduated following the 2006 season, taking his 15 career interceptions with him to the NFL, the Cal secondary saw a huge drop in production in 2007. The Bears finished dead last in the Pac-10 with 10 interceptions and ninth in turnover margin for the season. Enter new defensive backs coach Al Simmons, a renewed Darian Hagan and a 3-4 defensive scheme, and Cal has already registered 15 picks and a plus-10 turnover margin through seven games-by far the conference's top total. Four of those came in Saturday's 41-20 win over UCLA, two courtesy of safety Marcus Ezeff. "It's great to have the two interceptions," said Ezeff, who ran one pick back 69 yards for a touchdown. "But at the same time, that's something that I expect out of myself."
That claim is looking less outlandish with each passing Saturday. Cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson leads the turnover brigade with three interceptions, while Sean Cattouse, Ezeff and safety Brett Johnson have two apiece. "We've got to tip our hat to (defensive coordinator Bob Gregory) and (head coach Jeff Tedford) for bringing in Coach Simmons," Ezeff said. "I think coach Simmons is the big difference. He's brought a lot of just technique and being fundamentally sound." Simmons rejoined the Bears' coaching staff this season after spending the last two years as the defensive backs coach for Arizona State. It ended an eight-year hiatus for Simmons from Memorial Stadium, where he held the same position for Cal from 1998 to 2000. During that stint, he helped transform Deltha O'Neal from a tailback into the first cornerback taken in the 2000 NFL Draft. "I think off last year and a couple years, not saying anything towards our other DB coaches, but he brings a lot of experience," Ezeff said. "(We're) kind of starting to feed off that and starting to believe ... Right now, you can see it's really working."
Defense Keeps it Close
The four interceptions were just one facet of an all-around defensive effort by the Bears, who eliminated UCLA's running game and put constant heat on Bruins quarterback Kevin Craft. And just as it did three weeks ago against Arizona State, the defense kept Cal in the game while the Bears' offense stalled for the better part of the second and third quarters. Senior linebacker Worrell Williams said that, despite seeing the Kevin Riley-led attack forced to punt on six of its first nine drives, the defense harbored no resentment after the game. "Our coaches ... do a great job of getting our minds prepared for that each and every week," Williams said. "Regardless of if our offense is putting up 100 points a game, we still want to keep (opposing teams) at zero. We understand that some teams are gonna get some, but the mentality is to go out there every day and play tough."
Still, according to wideout Nyan Boateng, Williams was one of the defensive players who approached an offensive huddle during the third quarter for some words of encouragement. "It's never like, you know, 'Come on, we're doing our job, you guys do your job,'" Williams said. "We're just motivation. 'We got your guys' back. You can't get it done, we're gonna help you get it done, but let's just get this thing going because we're just so explosive when we're clicking on all cylinders.'"
Edwards Fills in Right Side
After starting right tackle Chet Teofilo suffered a sprained ankle on Cal's first offensive drive, the Bears were forced to play musical linemen for the rest of the game. Matt Laird replaced Teofilo and played until he sustained an injury of his own. Sophomore Donovan Edwards finished out the game. "I thought Donovan did OK, from what I could tell," Tedford said. "Pulled out on a sweep one time, I thought he looked good out in the open field." Edwards, listed on the depth chart as the backup left tackle, had taken very limited practice reps on the right side before Saturday. But according to Riley, he and Laird played relatively well in Teofilo's stead. "The new tackles that came in the game, they did a good job," Riley said. "Very little experience between them both, but they did a good job."
No comments:
Post a Comment