Tedford and player quotes from Bay Area media day

Cal has put up a short article with quotes from Coach Jeff Tedford and seniors Daymeion Hughes, Erik Robertson, and Desmond Bishop. These are from yesterday’s annual Bay Area Media Day in San Francisco.

Tedford interview on KNBR

Another radio interview with coach Jeff Tedford was featured yesterday morning on KNBR’s Murph and Mac show. He didn’t say anything particularly new, but it was nice exposure for publicity. A quick summary of his comments:

• Preseason expectations: He likes the high preseason expectations, and feels it’s good for the team. The team will have to meet this potential, though.
• Tennessee: Tedford considers this to be a premier opening game nationwide, naming the Vols stadium one of the most hostile in the country. The game will be a challenge, and act as a motivating factor for fall camp. He mentioned that he will be playing game noise during camp.
• Defense: The defense will be the anchor of the team this year. Brandon Mebane, a senior leader, is deserving of all the preseason recognition he’s receiving as he really requires attention from opponents. Meanwhile, the corners are tested and the linebackers are solid as led by Desmond Bishop.
• Quarterback: Competition will remain open, with Longshore starting in fall camp. Tedford’s happy with Ayoob’s progress in the offseason. Levy and Reed will also be in the running, but not all four will be sharing snaps during camp.
• Running back: Both Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett will be carrying the ball. While Lynch will get the most, Forsett and Marcus O’Keith will be keeping him fresh.
• Speed: Tedford considers this the fastest team he’s had in his tenure.
• Offensive Line: The line is talented but inexperienced. New additions Mike Gibson and Tyler Krieg have done well this summer. Tedford expects a solid line by the end of camp with 8 guys ready to play.
• USC: Cal needs to take care of business one game at a time. The focus will be on the teams as they come. Tedford noted that last year’s USC team was particularly special.

Thanks to Chris B. for the note and AuNBearkeley for the summary.

ESPN radio: Tedford is “too good for his own good”

Colin Cowherd spoke yesterday on podcast pretty extensively about what he thought about Coach Jeff Tedford. I wouldn’t advise actually listening to it, but here’s a summary of comments:

“A coach too good for his own good”

Tennessee traded Steve McNair to Baltimore – to make Baltimore “less terrible”. This means: the Kyle Boller (former Cal QB) experiment is pretty much over. By taking McNair, Baltimore is saying they don’t think Boller can take them to the next level.

This is Tedford’s 3rd bust in the NFL (Akili Smith, Joey Harrington). Does this mean Tedford is a bad coach? NO! He’s the best QB coach, college or pro. He can take any marginal QB and make him a star. The longer and farther the get away from him, the worse they get. That’s why in last year’s draft, he screamed “do not draft Aaron Rodgers 1st round”. Remember speculation that Rodgers would be #1 pick, and the shock when he dropped to 24th. He ended up in Green Bay, where reports show he has been underwhelming as Favre’s backup. Truth is: Rodgers was a solid college QB who Tedford coached nearly into the #1 pick/Heisman.

Talked to Charlie Weis (head coach at Notre Dame) recently. Asked him, is there one coach that impresses him; without hesitation, Weis said: Tedford at Cal, he’s an NFL coach; so brilliant. Unbelievable offensive mind, unbelievable QB coaching. “Takes strip steak and makes it filet mignon” – even jaded, cynical NFL people buy it. Once you draft his QBs, each year that goes by away from him they get worse. Joey Harrington was smooth, smart, leader, great QB – has eroded every year in NFL. Same with Smith, Rodgers, Boller.

Tedford listens, gives QB max protection (RBs stay in backfield, TEs stick around). Keeps QB comfortable, gives QB two choices, first down. Best offensive coordinator ever seen, anywhere, any level. Kyle Boller – another brilliant college QB coached by Tedford, who can’t get it done in NFL. See Boller’s stats before Tedford. 1 amazing year, the year Tedford coached him. Boller had 6 bad years in the last 7.

If you can win at Cal… it’s basically the West Coast equivalent of Virginia, except worse, worse facilities…

My comments: if Tedford was able to get so much done without much recruiting clout, think about what he can do with the high-end recruits he’s getting now. Also, why is Aaron Rodgers getting blasted before even given a chance at Green Bay? Finally, the facilities won’t be an issue shortly, when the stadium renovation project gets underway.

While I’m glad our head coach is getting praise, I’m a little irritated about the the disrespect our team and alumni are getting.

Coach Tedford on KNBR

Coach Jeff Tedford was interviewed this morning on KNBR radio. Here’s a summary of his comments:

Tennessee:
Very anxious to go to Tennessee, great program
Tennessee recruits well, has good facilities and tremendous athletes

High expectations:
Cal isn’t sneaking up on anyone (preseason rank, etc.)
Competing for Pac-10 championship on a national level
Scheduling tough opponents necessary for national recognition

Nate Longshore:
Fully healed, but not 100%
Knows he will work very hard to get back this summer to be ready for season

Spread offense:
Just another thing that opponents will have to prepare for
Who opponent is determines how much spread will utilized
Another weapon in arsenal

Aaron Rodgers:
Great for Rodgers to have opportunity to sit and watch Favre
His time is coming up this year or next
Tremendous future; very smart, quick release, very tough, great guy

Offensive line:
Lost 3 guys of high quality (NFL draft) and leadership – hard to replace
Current OL talented but haven’t played together
Andrew Cameron returning will provide leadership experience and depth
Mike Tepper will be a main contributor

Blog names Cal one of 4 “best offenses” for 2006

College football blog Heisman Pundit has put up some interesting analysis about offenses in the upcoming season. Coach Jeff Tedford and the team get some high praise:

Cal already ran a balanced, air-tight scheme under Tedford, but now he has added elements of the spread. It’s a brilliant ploy which should help Cal’s young offensive line to make up for some of its deficiencies. Think this system isn’t buoyant enough to keep a team afloat? Last year, Cal lost its starting quarterback in game one. The replacement couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn and his replacement was a former fullback. Most teams go 4-7 in those circumstances. Cal went 8-4 with three losses by seven points or less. Think the running game is all about an uber-talent like Marshawn Lynch? Well, Justin Forsett–a former Notre Dame commit who no one else wanted–also approached 1,000 yards.

Take a look at the entire article here. Another good quote: “The sophistication of (Notre Dame head coach) Charlie Weis‘ passing attack–in the context of teams that have balanced offenses–is matched only by Jeff Tedford’s in all of college football.”

Cal the #6 “most intriguing system shift”

ESPN‘s Bruce Feldman has listed Cal sixth in his list of the most intriguing system shifts. He says:

Jeff Tedford has been considered one of college football’s sharper offensive minds. I think he could probably turn Steve Levy (the SportsCenter host, not the one-time Cal fullback) into a winning QB. However, Tedford is tinkering with his system. He hired Northwestern assistant Mike Dunbar to incorporate more principles of the spread offense into his attack, which the new OC reasons should help the Bear QBs see the field better while operating out of the shotgun. It also will open up wider lanes for star TBs Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett. After all, it sure made unheralded freshman Tyrell Sutton look great. Dunbar’s offense led the Big Ten in total offense last season and was fourth in the nation in total yardage and seventh in passing.

To spice things up even more, Tedford visited West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez for a better handle on the evolution of the spread and all that it can do with formations and disguising things. This should be fun. The Bears have a ton of firepower, although their O-line won’t be as experienced as last year’s unit.

Read the rest of the article here.

More on QB progress and interview with Tedford

There’s a new interview video with head coach Jeff Tedford and some analysis from The Bear Insider about the progress of our quarterbacks. Between the four of them, it seems that: Nate Longshore understands the offense best and makes the better reads; Kyle Reed is throwing well but can’t handle the defense; Steve Levy is good with decisions but doesn’t have a good arm; surprisingly, Joe Ayoob is looking particularly good with passes and runs in the spread (this article in the Contra Costa Times also points this out). Take a look.

Tedford hires new DB coach

R. Todd Littlejohn has been hired as the new secondary coach. He spent last season at Buffalo, but also coached at UCLA, SJ State, and the SJ SaberCats (arena). See the article here.

Coaching, QB, etc.

An article in The Contra Costa Times has some news tidbits to check out:

Coach Jeff Tedford is keeping busy this spring break. He’s visiting Florida and West Virginia to observe their practices – both programs that implement the spread offense. It looks like he is serious about putting together some form of the spread. Also, Tedford is interviewing candidates for a new defensive backs coach (former DB coach J.D. Williams left to Washington).

Starting QB Nate Longshore is reported to still have “a little bit of a limp”, although it seems more habitual than indicative of pain. He’s looking more confident than ever in practice.

Also, OT Mike Tepper is back as first-string on the depth chart. He was the guy who missed all of last season after getting run over by a car. EDIT 4/7/2006: Read an article on him here.