Football Preview

Anybody know the rules about flinging human waste at opposing players?

Best, Thompson and backup tailback Shane Vereen likely will handle return roles with the departures of Jackson and Hawkins.

I still think Jahvid is our best option for kickoff returns, but perhaps David Fox (the Rivals writer) is hedging his bet due to Best coming back from injury.

than maybe there is a tiny, tiny chance we could sneak into the top 25 in the Preseason Poll. And if not then, all we have to do to jump in is beat MSU. An unranked team beating a ranked team, even at home, usually results in a jump of about 5-10 spots. Then, after that, hopefully get 3 wins against mediocre teams and slowly climb the polls. Then, start getting those important wins (ASU, UCLA, Oregon) and really get some recognition. And maybe I’m just fantasizing.

I hate that stupid cliche line. It’s a poor explanation for why teams who haven’t traditionally been highly ranked fail to meet higher expectations on a regular basis. There are sooo many reasons why Cal hasn’t lived up to expectations for the past few years. To wit:

2005 – Longshore injured,
2006 – press overhyped Cal, new offensive coordinator implemented huge changes, disagreement in offensive philosophy between Tedford and Dunbar,
2007 – Longshore injured,

I think this Rivals writer needs to put a little more thought and research into why Cal has failed to meet expectations for the past 3 years than merely using the unresearched and cliche line that Cal melts in the spotlight.

But what about the fact that Cal melts in the spotlight? Have you thought about that HydroTech?

Two points I have issue with in the Rivals article.

(1) While I do agree the OL will probably be the strongest area of the offense next year, I honestly think the QB position is a very very very close second (maybe even better than the OL). I’m sure people are probably wondering if I’m smoking pot with that kind of statement considering Longshore is a QB but I still stand by that statement. Longshore is better than most Cal fans think. He’s better than his 2007 stats show. I won’t proclaim him Peyton Manning but he’s definitely probably around the second or third best QB in the Pac-10. On the other hand, if Riley wins the starting job, I think he’s qualified to be our starter even though we only have 1.75 games of him to extrapolate our information from and despite somebody’s story (I forgot who and cannot find the story in our archives) about Coach Michalczik’s wife saying that the coaches had to simplify the offense for Riley.

(2) The Rivals article gives much love to the OL for their (heavily used) stat of fewest sacks allowed last year. Once again, while the OL should get much praise, a lot of praise must be given to Longshore too since that statistic is heavily dependent on the QB to throw the ball in the designated amount of time or to throw the ball away if the situation demands it. Some praise must be given to Riley too since his mobility prevented a few sacks in the OSU game.

Cal Preview

First he evicts old grandmas and then he relishes himself in Dumpster Muffin’s excretions.