By Rob Calonge
Nearly every national pre-preseason poll I've seen has the Golden Bears sitting amongst the top 25 teams in FBS football for 2009. Many of these rankings are careful to point out, as they should, that their lists are nowhere near accurate when new recruits still haven't practiced with their new teams. Too many things can happen from now until the beginning of the season to even consider making a top 25 list, yet those lists continue to be rolled out.
Cal's ranking tends to focus on Jahvid Best and Jeff Tedford - two good reasons to like the Bears in 2009. While I'm not denying the importance of those two guys, I disagree with how critical they are to the Bears' success.
My top two? Well, I'm sort of cheating.
1) Defensive line
2) Offensive line
I realize that I'm really talking about a top eight players, but I'm sincere in my belief in the importance they have on the team. It doesn't matter how good Best is, the only running back I've ever seen that succeeded without an offensive line was Barry Sanders. Best is fortunate to have a good line and the Bears are fortunate that they have a stable of backs ready to fill in if he's not available - another reason that lessens the importance of Best on the grand scale of things.
It's expected that Cal's offense will once again have quick-strike capabilities. With players like Best and Shane Vereen capable of taking it to the house on any given play and the expected improvement of the passing game, Cal will most likely be putting more pressure on their pass defense.
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