Is Maynard Money? The California QBs in 2011

TwistNHook: As we finish up our regular season and focus on a potential bowl game, I thought it would make sense to take a look at how the 2011 regular season went for each Cal unit. Today, we're talking about the QBs, which means essentially Zach Maynard.

2. Oregon-USC-Utah-UCLA: Things got quite a bit rougher here. Although he had a decent game against Utah, in the other 3 games, he was not in control of himself. He made poor decisions, threw many interceptions, and generally had trouble executing. Sadly, because of his 7 interceptions between USC and UCLA, we lost 2 games that Cal could have potentially won (the UCLA game standing out as a sore thumb).

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Berkelium97: Maynard's development over the season has been impressive. He has shown flashes of brilliance all season, but he also had some head-scratching moments at times. While Tedford and Kiesau appear to be calling more plays that favor his skillset (designed rollouts, option plays, designed runs), Maynard himself has grown more comfortable with the offense as a whole. A few days after his excellent performance in the Big Game he said this:

"Trying to adjust to the playbook, trying to consume it all at one time, it's huge," Maynard said. "There are a lot of checks for one play. I'm finally getting it down. I feel a lot more comfortable than I did at first. The little things, it's all about details, really."

"I've learned a lot, just being more comfortable with the playbook and getting these plays down, that actually took halfway through the season," Maynard said. "It's very complex. Every play has a certain thing we have to do, and all the passing plays, you have to know where to go with the ball and what's out there, if you can run or check it down. It's a thing you have to progress to, something you have to get comfortable with. A lot of guys come in and they do well at first, because they have the same offense they ran in high school, or the previous school they were at, but with coach Tedford, everybody knows his offense is more complex than an NFL offense, so I'm glad I'm getting the gist of it now, and it's become more comfortable for me.

After reading this and seeing his performances over the past few weeks, I think we might actually have some evidence that the game is slowing down for Maynard. He looks much more comfortable out there. When his first read is not open, he no longer throws a prayer of a pass in Allen's general direction. Instead, he has shown more patience and willingness to allow the play to develop before trying to manufacture a play. Better yet, when he does make his passes, he has been much more accurate. A month ago, would any of us believe that Maynard would complete just under 70% of his passes over the final three games? I doubt it. He still has an overthrow or two once in a while, but he is getting better at delivering his passes to receivers. Best of all, he is not throwing nearly as many picks (or passes that are in clear danger of being picked).

He has also grown more comfortable passing out of the pocket. Early in the season he would bolt out of the pocket when the O-line started to succumb to pressure. At times, he'd leave the pocket too early even if the pocket was not in danger of collapsing on him. Now he is much more patient. This is also due to improvement in the O-line, but he is clearly much more comfortable running the offense than he was in September and October.

OhioBear: Jeff Tedford's reputation as a "QB guru" has taken a beating over the last few years with the inconsistent play of Kevin Riley and Nate Longshore (post injury) and the bad play of Brock Mansion, not to mention the little we saw from Beau Sweeney before he transferred to Cornell. I sensed from the masses that there were many who were ready to write off Zach Maynard as another QB "failure" after the Ucla game certainly, and perhaps even before that. (Heck, there were some readers who wrote him off after the season opener. http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2011/9/4/2403912/a-play-by-play-assessment-of-zach-maynards-1st-cal-performance.) And I certainly cannot say I was a staunch Maynard defender. I'll admit that I privately wondered whether it was time to see what Allen Bridgford could do after (and during) the Ucla game.

I'll remember the two plays against Furd and ASU when he rolled out, looked like he was scrambling to run, then flicked it over the incoming defenders to the targeted receiver for a touchdown. It's the sort of backyard football play that Maynard excelled at, along with the zone reads that he occasionally ran. A little of everything mixed in. Those are plays I doubt Maynard made a month ago, and showcase how he's developing a feel for the game.

I thought there'd be a serious QB competition this spring (definitely after the UCLA game), but I'm thinking Maynard's our starter next year unless he totally stagnates. Obviously nothing Maynard does is mechanically sound. He might be the most mechanically unsound quarterback Tedford's ever had, and he still misses guys (although not quite as badly as before). But he's a playmaker, and that's probably all you need to win a conference title. I'm excited to see what he shows us in the bowl game and beyond.

That being said, I hope Bridgford keeps on working hard. He'll get his chance, so will Hinder, so will Boehm. If they prove they can handle the offense, they'll get in the mix. But right now Maynard's the guy.

LeonPowe: its not so much plays - but more of this - when he is on the move (whether rolling left - always left - or scrambling) - there's was a sense (ok, USC and UCLA aside) that something positive was happening. Didn't quite feel that when he stood in the pocket and threw.