Keenan Allen had eight catches for 112 yards including this 31-yard beauty.QB – Zach Maynard wasn't mind-blowing (16/35 passing, 1 INT), but he was far from terrible (319 total yards, 2 TD) in his Golden Bear debut. Showed a lot of mobility in the pocket, which will keep a lot more plays alive this year. Gunned the short routes well, especially the slants, but missed some throws including the opening INT as well as an easy TD to a wide-open Covaughn Deboksie-Johnson. Puts a little too much air under his deep balls, which I hope he corrects against teams with DBs with faster closing speed. But it's already apparent that he's an upgrade over Brock Mansion, something that Cal fans have craved. GRADE: B
TB – Isi Sofele (24 car/83 yards, 2 TD, fumble) is dangerous in space, but I wish he would just hit the first hole he sees and take advantage of his speed. Sometimes it seems he's looking to break the big one (like he did in the second quarter) on every play instead of take what's given to him. He wasn’t as safe with the ball either, coughing the ball up twice with one leading to a FSU touchdown. As far as his backups, Covaughn-Deboskie Johnson, who has a skill set to ultimately overtake Sofele as starter, showed little so far (1 car/0 yards), aside from a Maynard pass that was just out of the reach of his fingertips on a sure TD. C.J. Anderson (2 car/10 yards) did a decent job, but he wasn't utilized in short yardage as much as advertised. Want to see more from him. Don't understand the empty set backfield where the TB is not in the slot, because you effectively take him out of the play when chances are you're not going to him on a go route. GRADE: B
FB – Looked like Will Kapp and John Tyndall were going back and forth, and they did a palatable job taking on assignments. Kapp had a carry for a first down near the goal line. Would like to see the FB used in the passing game more often to add that extra dimension. GRADE: B-
WR – The big play potential between Marvin Jones (5 catches/118 yards, 2 TD) and Keenan Allen (8 catches/112 yards)—especially an all-world talent like Allen—is something that will keep Cal in games as long as the OL gives Maynard enough time to set his feet on his throws and throw a halfway accurate ball. There were a couple drops though on bubble screens. Would like to see more out of Coleman Edmond, and walk-on Bryce McGovern seems to have impressed his position coach Eric Kiesau so much that he’s seeing action as well. I wanted to give the group an A-, but I can’t take too much out of this game especially since FSU’s DBs did not wrap up at all and gave up massive YAC, something better secondaries will not allow. GRADE: B+
TE – Anthony Miller (2 catches/32 yards) will be a threat in medium yardage on third down if Maynard can find him, because he will get open. Jacob Wark and Spencer Hagan appeared but didn’t make much of an impact yet. GRADE: B
OL - Aside from that one drive where they incurred three straight penalties, not so bad actually. They need to do a better job pulling. There were often times when they would get out front and have no one to block. Power run game was solid, and Dominic Galas and Brian Schwenke put their new and improved brute strength on display. Would like to see Matt Summers-Gavin return to 2009 form, when he was the team's most valuable lineman. Need to do better protecting Maynard's backside, as the QB's legs singlehandedly saved him from harm at times. GRADE: B-
DL – Everyone wanted to see consensus high school All-American Viliami Moala collapsing the center of the Fresno State line, and he did on the one or two live snaps I saw him play. He mostly played on special teams, however, leaving Kendrick Payne and Aaron Tipoti, who did a solid job in bottling up the Bulldogs into 68 total rushing yards. The ends supplied decent pressure on debutant Derek Carr, with Ernest Owusu and Trevor Guyton (fumble recovery for TD) getting most of the snaps. Want to see more snaps for highly touted freshman Gabe King, which he will likely get against heavy underdog Presbyterian. GRADE: B+
LB – The best position on the field all day long. D.J. Holt and Mychal Kendricks shut down the middle of the field with 17 combined tackles (3.5 TFL for 15 yards), and while walk-on Dan Camporeale did a solid job, looks like the true frosh (Cecil Whiteside and Brennan Scarlett) are more than ready for D-1 ball. Whiteside forced the backbreaking fumble. Dave Wilkerson and Chris McCain, the other underclassmen, had flashes, but for me, the lingering question is how these LBs fare in pass coverage against teams with good pass-catching TEs. GRADE: A-
DB – Another group that shined on Saturday. Aside from giving up the late TD in garbage time, Steve Williams was outstanding, showing textbook form on an INT. Marc Anthony had a quietly productive game (5 tackles), and D.J. Campbell made the play of the game in my opinion when he hunted down the Bulldog receiver the length of the field to make the tackle. It worked out well for the Bears, as FSU would not score. Campbell and Josh Hill snuffed out numerous misdirection plays, and Sean Cattouse levied some lumber when necessary. GRADE: B+
ST – What more can I say except that performance was a stinker. Plenty of mistakes in every department, from Bryan Anger uncharacteristically shanking a couple punts in the stiff Candlestick wind right down to Giorgio Tavecchio’s horrid performance which included several kickoffs to the opposing 20 and two blocked extra points. Is there something seriously wrong with Vince D’Amato that he’s worth a scholarship but not worth giving a shot on the field? He did just fine in the 2009 Big Game. But not all was lost. Michael Coley was a missile and had a few tackles in kick coverage. GRADE: C-
COACHING – Jeff Tedford made some widescale changes in his staff, namely bringing former position coaches Jim Michalczik (OC/OL) and Eric Kiesau (WR) back into the fold, along with new faces Marcus Arroyo (QB), Ashley Ambrose (DB), and Mike Blasquez (S & C). So far, the defense as a whole under coordinator Clancy Pendergast looked outstanding, and the offense will be a work in progress. As far as the head man is concerned, I liked the multiple looks for Maynard, including a brief spell at pistol. Working the screens to death early on almost paid off with a Deboskie TD off a fake screen, but I would like to see more use of the power running game, which Fresno State seemed powerless to stop for long stretches only for it to be abandoned at times. Time management was OK save for the end of the first half, when Fresno was only one big play and timeout away from securing a late FG opportunity. ST coach Jeff Genyk, as stated above, did not have a great day, but a win’s a win, and there’s at least 11 more games for improvement. GRADE: B
NEXT GAME: AT COLORADO, 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment