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Football: Season review — offensive line
By Jonathan Okanes
Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 1:54 pm in Football, off-season stuff.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Despite some inexperience, the unit got off to a good start, opening up good running lanes and protecting the passer well as Cal got off to a 3-0 start. The line also dominated the line of scrimmage in the Big Game win over Stanford. And although the Bears lost badly to USC, the offensive line actually held their own against the Trojans.
WHAT WENT WRONG: The line was abused by Oregon in a 42-3 loss and spent much of the rest of the season struggling with its run-blocking. Part of that was because teams stacked the line of scrimmage to stop the run. There were several games where Cal’s running backs didn’t have much room to run. Pass protection was also hit and miss during the Pac-10 season. There were a few games where quarterback Kevin Riley didn’t have a whole lot of time to throw.
IN SUMMATION: The Bears had two brand new guards and a new center, although Chris Guarnero had started three games at guard before getting hurt last year. Mike Tepper also was coming off a season away from the game after suffering a pectoral injury. So the line entered the season in a state of flux. It showed with the inconsistency. Tepper earned All-Pac-10 honors but still made his share of mistakes. Left guard Matt Summers-Gavin played well in his first season but had trouble staying healthy. Guarnero and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz were OK and right guard Justin Cheadle might have to look over his shoulder this spring.
MOVING FORWARD: The Bears will need a new left tackle with the departure of Tepper, and it could be backup Donovan Edwards. Tepper himself has raved about Edwards’ ability. Cal could also move Schwartz back to left tackle, where he played last year as a redshirt freshman. Coach Jeff Tedford has already said that freshman guard Brian Schwenke will compete for a starting spot next season, meaning Cheadle may be in for a battle this spring. The Bears also have two highly regarded other centers on the roster — Dominic Galas and Mark Brazinski, and since Guarnero has proven he can play guard, there’s also the possibility to see some shuffling among the current starting linemen.
GRADE: C-
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January 9th, 2010 at 9:24 am
If Edwards was so good, why was he not played more SOMEWHERE on the line as the group struggled all season long!!!
Edwards MSG Galas Schwenke Schwartz
Next year?
January 9th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
You are being kind to Cheadle by saying he might be looking over his shoulder next spring. I saw him just get manhandled in the Oregon State game. He will be riding the pine for sure.
I, too, am suspicious about Edwards stepping up his game. He was not very good when he started a few games in the 2008 season, and the coaches clearly did not have much confidence to give him playing time this season. We need someone else to step it up next year.