(Written by kencraw)

Obviously every win is a good game on some level, but what I saw this weekend gives me a lot of hope, with a number of caveats.

Overall Commentary

• Changes in tempo: One of the things I really liked about the offense was the changes in tempo that kept the defense off balance. While there was nothing of the speed of Oregon, there were definitely some times that Cal did a pretty quick turn around. Then they’d vary the pace after getting set and snapping the ball. Sometimes it would be rocket fast, to the degree it would catch me off guard, and other times it would be slower. I think that sort of diversity in pace throughout the game can do nothing but good. Not only does it keep the team ready to play just about any pace when they need to, but the defense has trouble getting into a rhythm and sometimes is caught quite off guard.
• Play call changes: Another new wrinkle in the pre-snap activities was the sometime used post-lineup play-call change. I don’t know what the system is for when they use it, but I like that it’s not an every-down thing. It’ll be interesting to see the frequency this is used and in what scenarios it is used. In this game, it wasn’t used a whole lot, but it’s an intriguing addition.
• Field position: The Bears really didn’t get very good field position in this game. Most of that was due to the special teams. The kickoffs for the Bears were short and the Bulldogs punting was pretty good. But it was very nice to see the Bears for the most part not let it affect their success, driving the long field for touchdowns.
• Rugby Punts: Having read the post-game quotes, it’s clear that Tedford and his staff see rugby punts as a way to avoid the punts being blocked. Well, sorry, I think they stink. It’s COMPLETELY wasting the talent of Anger. Let. Him. Kick. The. Ball. Maybe the story is that Cal doesn’t have a lot of confidence in it’s punting team and their ability to block the rushers. But again, it’s a waste of a great punting talent.
• Early rust: While watching the game live, it sure felt like there was early rust but the Bears settled down. However, now having re-watched on video, the Bears got into a funk after those first 3 touchdown drives. And there were plenty of different mistakes. Everything from Maynard missing some passes, a couple of dropped balls to penalties. Obviously the 1st game jitters don’t go away just because they’ve scored a few touchdowns, but I don’t think it was as much early rust as it seemed at first. We may be in for some inconsistency for at least a few weeks. (As long as it’s resolved by the UW game, we should be OK.)
• Penalties: When I re-watched the game, one thing I was looking for was any consistency in the penalties. Same type of penalty, same players, etc. Other than the false starts, there was no consistency as to what the penalty was. And the penalties were spread around the whole team (in particular the whole offensive line).

Individual player commentary

• Tavecchio: Georgio is a great kid, so I hate to be critical, but talk about a guy who plateaued when it looked like he had so much upside potential. His kickoffs are worse this year than last and the hiccups on the extra points was pretty troublesome. Perhaps Tavecchio just had first game jitters, but something tells me that this game was a sign that the inconsistency that has plagued him to date will not be going away.
• Sofele: Sofele on the other hand, very much impressed. He’s running really hard and he’s hitting the hole with authority. A power guy he’ll never be, so if the offensive line breaks down don’t expect him to go all beast-mode, but he’s more than just a scat-back now. He’s going to do just fine this year. If I have one concern, it’s ball security. He had a number of plays where the ball came loose, although many of them were not counted a fumbles for a number of reasons. Nevertheless, it’s still concerning. One fumble cost the Bears 5 points, bulldog touchdown instead of a safety. I have a feeling Ron Gould will be running a bunch of extra ball security drills this week with his punching bag on a stick.
• Galas: I won’t be breaking down the offensive line play, so I don’t have a good sense of how Galas blocked overall, but his snaps leave a lot to be desired. The above mentioned fumble by Sofele that should have been a safety, was going to be a safety because of his horrible snap. There were plenty of other bad snaps that Maynard bailed Galas out of.
• Maynard: I definitely feel after a re-watch that his inconsistency was more prevalent throughout the game than I thought after being their live. It wasn’t just the first few plays. He was really streaky. He’d have a few good drives, then he’d get in a bit of a funk for a few drives. What can’t be denied is that his talent means he’s a TON more likely than Mansion in particular at converting on tough downs. There’s no doubt there’s talent there. But people forget that’s what we said about Riley at first. And while I’m not as negative on Riley as some, we ought to be a bit more cautious. I think part of it was that Mansion set the bar SOOO low, we’re ready to take inconsistent play, particularly when it’s wrapped in a warm blanket of LOTS of potential.
• Marvin Jones: Marvin has arrived. He’s playing great ball. He did have a couple of odd drops, but he also had some great catches. His ability to make people miss. His speed. There’s lots to feel good about with him. I’m expecting big things from him as long as we continue to have reasonable quarterback play.
• Keenan Allen: Allen has improved a great deal from last year. Now he’s got some experience to go along with his raw talent. And boy did he show it on a number of catches on Saturday. Between Jones and Allen, we’ve got a GREAT pair of receivers.

Individual play/drive commentary

• Interception to start the game: Just based on the play, it’s hard to know who’s fault the interception was. It looked like Maynard was throwing the ball like it was a slant and Jones ran a stop or a quick come-backer. Did one of them get confused or forget? Did Maynard call the wrong play in the huddle? Was it a read play that one of them read wrong? Lot’s of possibilities. However, when hearing the commentary from both Maynard and Tedford after the game, it appears it was Maynard’s fault. Whether it was an off-target throw or a mis-read on what the play was is less clear.
• 3rd and 3 on 2nd drive: Tedford showed a lot of confidence in Maynard to let him throw the ball on 3rd and 3, particularly after that early pick. But Maynard sure delivered on that 23 yard pass. While it had more air under it than necessary, it was still a good pass that only Allen was going to be able to catch.
• First blocked extra point: Watching the video, the penetration up the middle wasn’t that good and the leap from the defense wasn’t that high. That looked more like Tavecchio didn’t get the loft he should have.
• Sofele’s 39 yard touchdown run: What a great play all the way around. The blocking was good and Sofele hit the hole with authority and exploded through it. Good downfield blocking by the wide receivers (Allen in particular).
• Second blocked extra point: This one seemed to be a combo of the two. The penetration was much more troublesome, but there’s no doubt that Tavecchio kicked it pretty low.
• Maynard to Allen in “double coverage”: While it was a crucially important 3rd down conversion, the lob over the top to Allen in double coverage that Allen did a great job of bringing in, was kinda over-blown from a double-coverage standpoint. Allen had gotten behind the coverage and if Maynard had laid it out where he was supposed to, it could have been a TD catch. So Maynard wasn’t throwing into double coverage. It became double coverage when Maynard slightly under-threw it and Allen had to slow down and then go up and get it. Great athleticism from Allen, and a good decision if a slightly off throw by Maynard.
• Maynard slings it to Jones: Two plays later Maynard showed his arm-strength in slinging the ball way down field to Jones. What I find interesting about those sorts of throws is that Maynard has an instinctive ability to know where it’s safe to throw. It wasn’t the most accurate throw ever (although it can be forgiven for how he was scrambling), but he threw it where he knew Jones could go get it and then Jones shed the tackle for the touchdown.
• DJ Campbell realing in the receiver: I’ll overlook for a moment how badly the coverage was blown on the play, but DJ Campbell showed off his speed in an impressive way, realing in the reciever. An important note: After penalties and a sack, Fresno State missed the long field-goal, so Campbell’s effort didn’t just save 4, it saved 7.
• Maynard hits Schwarts in the helmet on an attempted screen: This was another example of some inconsistency by Maynard. To some degree it’s because Maynard has a bit of a low release, but still, I’m sure he’s completely capable of getting a ball over the head of the tackle.
• Clock not running at end of half: According to my watch, the play where the clock didn’t run was a 14-15 second play (the commentators said 13 seconds). I guess either way it would have been one play for Fresno, but seriously, is that the correct referee procedure for when the clock doesn’t run? We have a replay booth that is supposed to be looking at every play. Couldn’t they figure it out for us?
• Maynard read-option for 48 yards: While I’ve always thought the frequency with which Oregon runs the read-option is a weakness (it’s not like it’s some magic play that can’t be defended), it is a nice wrinkle to add to the arsenal, particularly when you’ve got a QB who can run like Maynard. What I find particularly impressive about the read-option as run by Maynard is that the handoff deception is VERY good. That’s something that previous Oregon QB’s had that Thomas does not. Maynard’s got that little magic in his release that’s very deceptive.
• Jones’ spin move gets him into the endzone: What a great route run by Jones and then a good, timely delivery by Maynard. What I find impressive about the Jones spin move is how quickly he can get back up to full speed after it. Some players take a while to get their feet back underneath them after a spin move. Not so with Jones. He’s off to the races before the guy who whiffed hits the ground.
• Maynard throws it away after scrambling backwards 20 yards: This play confirmed what Tedford has been saying all along. Maynard gets it. He knows there are times to just throw it away and life to play another day. He did it even though it was 3rd down and the Bears had to punt. It was a wise move.
• Cecil Whiteside strips the ball and Guyton runs it in for a TD: For the most part I was a bit under impressed with the pressure the Bears were getting on Carr on passing plays (although it got better as the game wore on), but this play was top notch across the board. Not only did Whiteside get there quickly to knock the ball out as Carr pulled back to throw it (from where I was in the stands, I though for sure the arm was coming forward, but the video clearly shows otherwise), but there was pressure from all over. Add the awareness to find the ball after the fumble quickly and then to scoop and score, was quite impressive.
• Allen’s botched punt return: Although he got away with it when the ball bounced sharply away from him as he dived to catch it, that near-miss is not going to help Allen’s campaign to be the punt returner.
• Maynard misses a wide open Deboskie: Another example of the inconsistency was the missed easy TD from Maynard to Deboskie, where he slightly overthrew him. I suspect Maynard was expecting more speed out there, but still, you’ve got to make that throw and get the easy TD. There wasn’t anyone with in 20 yards of Deboskie.