The Bears are Lawyering
For a lawyer, it’s a little surreal to see the Cal fan community so completely immersed in legal issues of late. I take this all as proof that we’re collectively going through a dangerous bout of offseason withdrawal. In any case, legal news is the order of the day and, being a Cal-bloggin’, law-talking guy, I gotta talk some law. I’ll start with my two cents on the SAHPC saga and then move on to Marshawn’s struggles against the Man and the Canadian nation.
Panoramic Hill Assoc. v. The Regents of the Univ. of California
So I’ve read the decision and I don’t have a lot of analysis to add to the excellent summaries already put up on California Golden Blogs and Excuse Me For My Voice. Despite the length, the main holding of the decision is apparent in the second paragraph of the introduction:
As a whole, the SAHPC project does not violate Alquist-Priolo because it will not be constructed on an active fault, and the SAHPC overall is not an “addition” or “alteration” to CMS within the meaning of Alquist-Priolo. However, as set forth herein, certain elements of the SAHPC project do constitute alterations to CMS. In order to comply with Alquist-Priolo, Respondents must determine the value of these alterations and of the existing CMS structure.
It’s pretty much impossible to read that statement and consider this ruling to be anything but an unambigous victory for the University with respect to the SAHPC. As many have noted, the alterations in question are minor construction projects like installing a grade beam, altering staircases and boring holes for wiring. By any valuation method, the Stadium is worth more than twice the cost of these alterations (and by the replacement cost-less-depreciation valuation method the Court suggests on page 35, the Stadium is worth plenty more).
The one concern I have coming out of this decision is that it’s going to make it much harder to implement the longer-term Stadium improvements the University has planned. In ruling that the University is subject to Alquist-Priolo, the Court has opened the door to challenges based on the cost of those improvements vis-a-vis the value of the existing stadium. I’m still pretty sure litigation will produce a valuation analysis that comes out in our favor, but now the numbers become critical to the analysis. We can also expect more days in court in the coming years. And what exactly is the alternative if the University ultimately can’t upgrade the stadium? Move it to Walnut Creek?
For today, however, GO BEARS! BEAT THE HIPPIES!
The Money, the Porsche and the Cannuck
While Marshawn and the Bills have been hush hush about the hit-and-run investigation, there has been a steady dribble of news. First we learned that the DA was pretty sure Marshawn was behind the wheel. A few days later, came word that subpoenas were issued to three Bills players, the team’s COO, and the team’s Security Chief for appearances at a grand jury proceeding today. Then the alleged victim lawyered-up (a sure sign that a civil suit is around the corner). Yesterday’s big news was a rumored settlement in the works.
I was planning to post on the settlement or indictiment (whichever came first), but the latest is that several of the subpoenaed witnesses won’t be appearing today because they’re out of town. That almost certainly means that an indictment won’t issue right away and, since grand jury proceedings are closed, we probably won’t have a ton of news today unless Marshawn cops a deal.
We’ll continue to stay on top of the news and will post regarding any new developments. It goes without saying that Marshawn holds a special place in the hearts of Cal fans, that it’s especially important to fan that Marshawn succeed, and these allegations are all the more disappointing for those reasons. For the anxious or impatient, regardless of how things shake out, Marshawn is unlikely to do any jail time or miss significant playing time next season.
SAHPC Ruling Links
See, people think that I have some issue with the treesitters being the ones holding up the athletic center. It doesn’t; it’s just a sideshow to the actual injunction. The thing’s going to get built. But the longer these people remain up here, the longer the football team has to endure the nonsense of these fools standing right by.
I’m not really the best guy to talk about the Memorial Stadium. Our occasional correspondent Danzig filed some excellent dispatches over at CGB (like here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here–damn those are good), Oaktown Mario went into further detail, and Ken has done a remarkable job liveblogging the whole thing. Tony will be talking about the Marshawn stuff soon, so hopefully he can share some of his legal thoughtson this proceeding.
Here’s the actual doc if you law people want to look at it. Hopefully we can get back to football talk tomorrow.
I did walk by the stadium yesterday after the ruling. Some woman has been yelping at everyone (Dumpster Muffin is her name–God her mommy must have hated her), another crazy was rambling on about “blasting our ears with noise”, several people were playing lacrosse, and people old enough to have birthed my parents talking about corporate oppression and the need to destroy the state. Felt like a David Lynch film, except less interesting and far more exasperating.
Breaking: Treesitters Being Removed?
I’ll have more updates later, but here are the emails I’m getting.
Everyone,
Please come to the oak grove IMMEDIATELY. UC Police are attacking and trying to remove the tree-sitters! Please come RIGHT NOW. Come as soon as you can. Do not wait. Do not delay. This is it. Come now!
– The Oaks
Is it just usual hippie paranoia, or is the UC finally manning up and doing what they should’ve done months ago? Ken Crawford is following the story too.
The tree-sit that has been going on for more than 18 months in the oak grove near Memorial Stadium may have reached its end now that UCPD officers are attempting to take the sitters out.
In the latest of several developments, an arborist harnessed on the end of a crane was mobilized onto one of the trees. There, he attempted to cut down a structure in the tree when a tree-sitter began hitting him with a plastic bottle. The arborist was pulled out of the tree by the crane, but since then he has continued to cut other structures.
Estimated to be eight to 12 in number, none of the sitters have been removed from the trees, but arborists have cut down several of their supplies and structures. Two cherry pickers carrying police officers are also on the site. The officers have cut some of the structures and ropes that the sitters use to travel between the trees.
About 100 onlookers watching the scene from Piedmont Avenue, while several tree-sit supporters on the ground are yelling to people in passing cars.
At least 20 UCPD officers in hard hats are currently at the scene. Beginning at approximately 6 a.m., they erected a third barrier around the oak grove that blocks pedestrians from using the sidewalk on the west side of Piedmont.
Apparently it happened early this morning. Too bad. I’d have loved to bring a lawn chair and watched the glory unfold. Regardless of whether a positive decision is handed down tomorrow, this is a great day for Cal fans.
Errr…fuck. Updates from more mainstream sources put that question mark back up. Hopefully they’re wrong as usual.
Authorities removed some of the structures that have housed tree sitting protesters in an oak grove UC Berkeley wants to cut down to make way for a $125 million athletic facility.
Police cordoned off part of Piedmont Avenue near Memorial Grove and brought in arborists to remove the platforms and gear the tree sitters have used to maintain their perches since December 2006. A university official said the tree sitters themselves would not be removed yet.
“One of the things we’re most concerned about is safety and security, of our police officers and the people in the trees. That’s the reason we’re not forcibly removing people from the trees today,” said Dan Mogulof, a spokesman for UC Berkeley.
Hmm, maybe I can still grab that lawn chair. And hunt down a deer and roast it in front of the enraged hippie’s eyes. That would be just.
I’m going out for a few hours, but I’ll try and swing by to document footage of the carnage. Stick with Ken for immediate updates.
Final updates…alright, despite all the initial excitement, they’re not gone yet. It’s just to make sure that things don’t get any bigger than they already are.
A crane was onsite removing items, but not people, Mogulof said.
“At this point, we have no plans to physically remove them from the trees. We are putting pieces in place to make it difficult if not impossible for them to stay.’’ he said.
“It’s really unfortunate that it’s come to this. The university has tolerated more than 280 violations, including weapons, assault and battery. We are now doing everything we can to bring this to a safe and certain end,’’ Mogulof said.
Funny last tidbit before we find out about the decision.
Police cordoned off the oak grove with barricades as tree-sit supporters arrived at the site. About 30 supporters were mulling around outside the grove and many were angered by the university’s move, calling it a “hate crime.’‘
A tree sitter who identified himself as “Squirtle’’ said he was standing on a line in a tree when it was cut. “They cut it and I luckily I had my support line above me,’’ he said. “I threw piss all over them (because) they are trying to break the law. They almost killed me.’‘
Can’t believe the pocket monsters joined the revolution, much less say more than “Squirtle Squirtle!”. Well, water Pokemon are best diffused by electric types, sooo I choose…
[youtube bPgsWWrO5CU]
Which Tedford Team Was Your Favorite?
A simple question for every Blue and Gold fan out there. Which year produced your favorite Tedford team?
The 2002 team was the virgin experience. Kyle Boller, the beginning of Geoff MacArthur’s productive career, good offensive production.
The 2003 team struggled with what one might call a sophomore slump. Took Rodgers about half the season to find his range and the offense was in a funk. A transitional year IMHO.
The 2004 team should have gone to the Rose Bowl. Easily the most complete team, with some amazing defensive maulings and offensive efficiency, all with Aaron Rodgers at his apex.
The 2005 team retained much of the defensive side of the ball while breaking ground with a wealth of green offensive talent. Although a certain quarterback was the source of much controversy throughout the year. Steve Levy just had way too much liquid courage.
In terms of pure athletic individual talent, the 2006 team cannot be matched. Three defensive playmakers, Lynch and Forsett tagging up in the backfield, and we haven’t even gotten to our receiving corps. The quarterback play was alright.
The 2007-08 team…well, we know what happened to them. But definitely the most talented offensive team. At least, potential-wise.
So vote in the poll on the side and expand in the comments–which Tedford team was your favorite?
Faster Than Your Average Bear
With all signs still pointing towards Jahvid Best being fully recovered for next year, and it looking like the Bears will have at least one RB with gametime experience, I found myself asking “hey, how good is Jahvid Best anyway?” My general impression is “quite good.” But with only one truncated season to judge, its really hard to substantiate that impression one way or the other. It’s the kind of question that calls for statistics. So with that in mind, I thought it might be fruitful to compare Jahvid’s 2007 stats with the freshman performances of other tailbacks. Here’s how Jahvid’s rookie year stacks up against recent Bears (and a few rivals from Tail Back U as well, just for good measure):
|
|
ATT |
YRDS |
AVG |
LNG |
TD |
REC |
YRDS |
AVG |
LNG |
TD |
|
Jahvid Best ‘07 |
29 |
221 |
7.6 |
64 |
2 |
13 |
74 |
5.7 |
16 |
1 |
|
James Montgomery ‘07 |
36 |
171 |
4.8 |
20 |
2 |
4 |
48 |
12.0 |
24 |
1 |
|
Marshawn Lynch ‘04 |
71 |
628 |
8.8 |
70 |
8 |
19 |
147 |
7.7 |
29 |
2 |
|
Justin Forsett ‘04 |
11 |
49 |
4.5 |
13 |
1 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
|
J.J. Arrington ‘03* |
107 |
607 |
5.7 |
68 |
5 |
22 |
185 |
8.4 |
36 |
0 |
|
Joe Igber ‘99 |
148 |
694 |
4.7 |
55 |
2 |
13 |
78 |
6.0 |
19 |
0 |
|
Adimchinobe Echemandu ‘99+ |
10 |
24 |
2.4 |
13 |
0 |
4 |
44 |
11.0 |
27 |
1 |
|
Joe McKnight ‘07 |
94 |
540 |
5.7 |
65 |
3 |
23 |
203 |
8.8 |
32 |
1 |
|
Emmanuel Moody ‘06 |
79 |
459 |
5.8 |
48 |
2 |
3 |
39 |
13.0 |
33 |
0 |
|
Reggie Bush ‘03 |
90 |
521 |
5.8 |
58 |
3 |
15 |
314 |
20.9 |
60 |
4 |
|
LenDale White ‘03 |
141 |
754 |
5.3 |
66 |
13 |
6 |
15 |
2.5 |
10 |
1 |
* J.C. Transfer
+ Then Joe Echema
A few things jump out from these numbers. The first is Jahvid’s yards-per-carry average which, at 7.6 yards, blows away everyone on the list other than Marshawn’s star-making 8.8 yard average in 2004. Even tail backs with famous first years tend to hover around the high 5’s in terms of yards-per-carry. So the numbers more-or-less confirm what our eyes have told us: Jahvid Best is an explosively efficient back.
Of course the next thing that jumps out is Jahvid’s lack of productivity relative to the other backs with knockout averages. Jahvid had fewer than 30 carries last year, and his 221 total yards indicates that his ridiculous average might be more numerical fluke than nascent phenomenon. It should be noted, however, that Jahvid’s carries were limited due to his missing three games at the end of the year. Also, while Tedford tends to employ a duel tailback running game in most years (which has allowed many of the freshmen on the list to rack up yards in a substantial backup role), in 2007 Tedford more or less abandoned this approach midway through the season (when the freshmen started fumbling). As a result, Forsett had over 300 carries on the year, more than any other tailback during the Tedford era.
From my point of view, I don’t think Jahvid’s average was aberrational. Extrapolating his performance over a full 13 games, I have no doubt Jahvid would have produced well over 300 yards rushing and 500 all-purpose yards. But one question the numbers can’t begin to answer is how Jahvid would perform as an every-down back (or at least the A-back in a duel RB system). Aside from the obvious durability questions, I wonder if he can be the type of back who runs through and wears down a defense. I have nothing but love for Justin Forsett, but the Bear’s sorely missed having a bruiser in the backfield last year. I suspect that much of the stagnation in play calling last year stemmed from the fact that Cal just didn’t have a back who could guarantee short yardage on obvious running plays.
Jahvid may not be that back and he may not need to be. Problem is, I don’t see any other super-200lb bruisers in our lineup either. There’s no doubt we’ve got loads of speed. The ultimate question may be who can step up and take a hit.
2008 Pac-10 Conference Odds
Doc Rivers as usual fouled up Game 3 by underusing Leon Powe (despite throttling Black Mamba here), so we’re not discussing the NBA today. Let’s move back to the pigskin.
Thanks to VegasWatch, we now have our Pac-10 championship odds.
| USC | -300 |
| ASU | +400 |
| Oregon | +600 |
| Cal | +800 |
| UCLA | +800 |
| Arizona | +2000 |
| Washington | +2000 |
| Stanford | +3000 |
| Oregon St. | +5000 |
| Washington St. | +5000 |
Well, that certainly isn’t terribly surprising. 2007 was a flux year for college football–USC was at its most vulnerable, Cal, ASU and Oregon all fielded pretty decent teams (well, how good the Sun Devils really were was debatable) and had the lead at various points of the season. Guess who stood at the end?
Now it’s 2008, and most of Cal and Oregon’s offensive weapons are gone, and ASU will probably hit the sophomore slump. And USC is returning pretty much its entire defensive unit. So it’s no surprise that the Trojans are overwhelming favorites to repeat this year, with only Ohio State and their own complacency standing between them and a national championship berth. At worst it seems like a Rose Bowl berth is in their future–the Trojans have lost four conference games the past two years and have still been sent to Pasadena as a consolation prize. It doesn’t hurt that three of the four biggest contenders in the Pac-10 (ASU, Cal, Oregon) will be coming to the Coliseum either.
If the Trojans somehow do stumble, then who’s left? Arizona State is the team with the second-best odds, but it’s hard to see the Sun Devils recapturing the same magic of last year. Texas, Oregon and USC had only one strategy last fall–annihilate Rudy Carpenter. I’d be really wary of laying any money on them.
Oregon at +600 is interesting because Dixon and Stewart are both gone, so there’s clearly something either the books or the public is liking here. I’d be hardpressed to see Oregon go away because Justin Roper showed strong signs in the Sun Bowl and Jeremiah Johnson was a capable backup. However their schedule is brutal at the most critical time of the year, with four road games (including trips to Los Angeles, Berkeley and Tempe) coming in six weeks.
UCLA at +800 is wishful thinking. I don’t know why they’re up here with 37 year old Ben Olson starting for them. Their defense will be as good as ever, but this is Norm Chow/Slick Rick inflation. The Bruins are at least a year away, although they might have the best chance of anyone to upset $C.
As for Cal…well…let’s put aside the optimism, the hopeless homerism we all wade in. How much of a chance does Cal have to win the Pac-10 title? 8:1 odds sounds about right? A little high? A little low?
POWE-ND
So I just got back from Vegas, and despite all the money I’ve lost right now, I feel quite vindicated. While some of you doubters might have thought that the NBA Finals was the Powe-show, I don’t think any of you are doubting now.
[youtube NWy1gcJ9d_0]
Oh yeah. As we get ready for Game 3, it’s time to talk more Powe, all the time.
Here’s Leon’s story during the halftime show:
[youtube 2LQu-7lpdx0]
Inner thoughts of Leon Powe during his coast-to-coast at the Blowtorch.
Rod Benson: It was an especially great night for Leon to drop 21 because ABC played the story of his childhood and how much he has overcome at half. I’ve heard it a thousand times. What they don’t tell you is that he is so humble and so nice when he has every reason to not be. He actually gave me his last packet of Kool-Aid when we were roommates my senior year. His last one. It wasn’t red either. I think it was a Strawberry-Kiwi twister. That’s love.
They don’t tell you that when I started my D-League career in Austin, I wasn’t allowed to choose the jersey number that I’d worn for years. I was forced to wear number 4 because back then the Toros were the affiliate for the Spurs and the Celtics. Guess who had just decided to wear number zero? Leon Powe. I let it fly because he is a card-carrying member of the Boom Tho movement.
Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald: “I’m always ready to go in there and play whatever minutes and produce whatever you need me to do. That’s what I’m going to do,” Powe said. “It’s just about being prepared and being the consummate professional. It’s your job to stay ready, whether (coach Doc Rivers) calls you that day or he doesn’t call you. But if someone’s hurt and you have to go, you have to make sure that you can do the job. And I know that I can.” So far, the evidence backs that up.
Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe: Powe was Exhibit A of what effort, plus strong inside moves, can do for someone. There are times you look at him and say, “If only he were 6-11, he would be a monster,” but it doesn’t always work out that way. In all likelihood, he plays harder at 6-8 than he would at 6-11 or 7 feet. He has developed a game that suits Leon Powe, and it will keep him gainfully employed in the NBA for the next 10 or 12 years.
Monte Poole of the San Jose Mercury News: New roster in place, Powe sat through 23 of Boston’s first 37 games. Then Garnett went down with an injury, and Rivers needed a frontcourt presence. The candidates were Powe, Brian Scalabrine and Glen “Big Baby” Davis. Each was tried, until it became evident Scalabrine is a stiff and that Big Baby could grow wings and still not keep up with Powe. “Really, it was a team effort, because all of a sudden we had to fill a role,” said Powe, typically modest. “KG was a big part of our offense, so we had to find a way to get it done. Lucky enough, we had a lot of other guys on the bench – including myself – that could play.” Powe’s goal with every appearance is to deliver a message: A 6-7 power forward isn’t undersized when you count the three-inch flame atop his head.
Celtics247: Leon Powe is a man. Not a kid, not a boy… a man’s man. The second-year bruiser provided the postseason performance of his life in Game 2, tallying 21 points and getting to the free throw line 13 times in just under 15 minutes of action. Powe drove the lane, created contact, provided high activity, and finished with an array of thunderous slams both in transition and in the half-court setting. Heck, he even took one coast to coast, three-quarter court. “Experts” across the country have been quick to crown Los Angeles’ bench as the superior one, but Leon “The Show” Powe had something to say about that in Game 2.
Hardwood Paroxysm (awesome image of Powe too if you click here): Here’s your basic two possession sequence for Pau Gasol. Offense: Brilliant spacing. Focus. Set post. Lure defender to weak side. Slip to the strong. Catch ball. Finish with European authority. Ha. Just kidding. Finish with actual authority. Defense: Steady. Steady. Steady. Ah-ha! I have you now, Rajon Rondo/Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett! Wait. What? You can pass again? Wait. Who is this “Powe” guy? Oh, sonofa! Again!
Leon Powe Fan Site: I gotta say, when Leon was at the free throw line in the 4th quarter and the crowd was cheering “Leon Powe! Leon Powe! Leon Powe!” I had chills. I’ve been watching Leon since he was a basketball player in high school and I’ve followed his career since then. When the crowed began chanting his name I started to think back to all the times when I’d get excited because Leon was on the floor for the last 30 seconds of a blow out game in the regular season. Or I was thinking back to all the times where people would argue that Leon should be playing in the D-League. That was if they even knew who Leon was, which most didn’t. It was so surreal to hear the Boston Celtics fans chanting Leon’s name in the 4th quarter of an NBA Championship game. There isn’t a much higher praise in basketball than having your name chanted throughout the rafters in Boston. Leon Powe once a 12th man, now a piece of history.
It’s almost time to revel. Two games away from crowning a Golden Bear NBA champion. Although with Doc Rivers involved, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Big Baby Davis get Powe’s minutes to screw it all up.
MORE POWE.
Leon Powe is Roaring
The NBA, where 4 points 4 rebounds in nine minutes happens.
They might be talking about Paul Pierce’s fake knee injury and KG’s thunder dunking and Kobe making nine of the most amazing shots ever (and missing seventeen of the most amazing shots ever). But on the Best Coast, this day belongs to Leon Powe, the man of humble origins, a hero to mankind. His 4 point 4 rebound performance was the difference in the game, because they lengthened Boston’s lead late and kept Black Mamba from working his voodoo. Never underestimate a California Golden Bear.
In case you didn’t know the Leon Powe story, start here.
The Man of the Hour: “We told ourselves at halftime that we gotta pick it up a little bit better,” said Leon Powe after the Boston Celtics claimed a Game 1 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
“When he went down, I was like man, please don’t let this happen,” said Powe in reference to teammate Paul Pierce’s third quarter injury. “Knowing him (Pierce), he’s strong willing…he came back out…we had hope.”
On Sam Cassell: “Sam and the ball? You know how it is when you get married like three, four times? He won’t let that ball go. I’m telling you the truth. That’s very true…Sam, he’s going to score. He’s going to post you up. If you don’t like it, hey, you’ve got to deal with it. But Sam is going to score. He’s going to try to get everybody involved a little bit, but most likely, he’s going to try to score.”
From TrueHoop’s NBA Finals Liveblog:
MIKE MOREAU: Powe is instant energy and activity on the glass.
DR. JACK RAMSAY: Two possessions, and Leon Powe has gotten offensive rebounds on both. Significant, also, that Sam Cassell is playing instead of Eddie House.
(Praise from Dr. Jack. That’s two levels below praise from God.)
Freakonomics with the New York Times: When Levitt and I were up in Boston a couple months ago to write about the Celtics’ reliance on statistical analysis to make strategic and personnel decisions, one goal was to figure out strengths and weaknesses the Celtics knew about their own players and other teams’ players that weren’t obvious. Danny Ainge and Mike Zarren were understandably not very forthcoming — trade secrets and all that — but Zarren was willing to admit that:
Ray Allen’s worth goes far beyond his perimeter shooting, that Rajon Rondo’s rebounding was an undervalued asset, that Leon Powe’s surprisingly strong play was not so surprising to the Celtics …
Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe: Something good always happens offensively and on the boards when Leon Powe is in the game. The reason he doesn’t play more, I’m told, is that he doesn’t always grasp the particular defensive scheme du jour. And now, with Ol’ Man River available, Doc is opting for experience. But I can’t believe Leon won’t see some additional time in this series. He made the most of his opportunity Thursday, I’d say.
Leon Powe’s Memoirs Fansite: My prediction is the defining will be a Leon Powe jumper to win the Championship. Some of you may disagree, but time will tell if I’m right. Since we’re on the subject of Leon Powe, lets talk about Leon’s first championship game. Powe scored 4 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 9 minutes of play. Not bad for a guy that people were saying shouldn’t touch the floor because of his lack of experience. I’ll say it again… Leon will ALWAYS prove doubters wrong! He’ll continue to show everyone he deserves playing time as long as he gets it. During the 9 minutes Leon played the Celtics actually increased their lead. That’s impressive considering that Leon is coming in for Kevin Garnett. It just shows the Celtics don’t lose much when KG steps off the floor because of Leon.
And finally, the totally unoffical yet awesome slogan from Yardbarker.
Go Powe!
Note: Will be out until at least Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. The Vegas trip is in 7 hours. Enjoy your weekend.
How Cal Lost in The Rose Bowl, Part IV
Click to read Part I, Part II, and Part III of the Rose Bowl series.
And now, for the last part in our series, we move onto the crucial play, the Verner interception return.
Here Cal has Hawkins and Jackson lined up to the top, and two running backs, fullback lined up on the weak side (perhaps trying to draw the defense into the perception that it could be a run, even though 3rd and 6 and trailing is hardly a rushing down).
Like I said earlier, the easiest way to attack the Cover 4 is to attack outside the hashmarks around 5-10 yards. That is in fact what Tedford seems to do here. A successful catch would have picked up a first down, and perhaps the necessary yardage for the first down. Jackson moving in motion behind Hawkins is probably to ensure that either Hawkins will be the primary on the deep route or Jackson will be catching short.
BUT:
UCLA isn’t playing the Cover 4 on this play. In fact, they’re not even playing deep coverage. This is definite Cover 2, a scheme where short passes to the outside go to die.
The Bears Are Hiding (Links for 06/04)
There is still no big update on the Lynch investigation, but it is looking grimmer the longer time goes by. Check the Buffalo Rumblings link below for more details.
Buffalo Rumblings: If Lynch positively absolutely wasn’t anywhere in the area–much less in the vehicle–I can’t see a rationale for him not stating publicly that he was in no way involved. I’m not talking about Lynch going into the grim details of who was driving or under what circumstances but rather him stating only that he wasn’t in the vehicle. Any further questions could be put off for when his lawyer was present. Everything points to Lynch being in the vehicle and that is bad, bad news for Bills fans.
The Sporting Contrarian: I’ve avoided talking about this because frankly, there isn’t much to talk about. Marshawn’s car was involved in a hit and run and there is nothing in the police report that implies Marshawn was driving the vehicle. I did want to reiterate what others have already said. It is not obstruction of justice to not speak to the police. That’s Marshawn’s constitutional right to remain silent. The police have the responsibility to build their case to the point where they could charge someone. After that, the burden falls on the prosecution to prove all the elements of the crime. Marshawn does not have to help them in either endeavor.
Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News: [Robert] Jordan, an undrafted free agent from Cal, is happy about the expanded opportunity. He recalled that he got only one play (a comeback route) during three days of mini-camp last month. Now Jordan is on the field enough to get a feel for offensive coordinator Mike Martz’s system. “It’s a lot like Coach Tedford’s offense,” Jordan said, referring to his coach at Cal. “The formations are different, but a lot of the concepts are the same.”
Jason Cole, Yahoo Sports: “The problem is that [DeSean] Jackson has this tendency to act like a kid who thinks it’s cool to sit in the back of class and stare at the ceiling tiles with a disaffected attitude. During every individual drill, Jackson was the last in line to do the exercise. When wide receivers coach David Culley stopped to talk to the group, Jackson was the first (and often the only) one to take off his helmet. He looked off in every direction except directly at Culley.”
Bears With Fangs has nice high-res shots of our new uniforms–at least in the video game world. I still say we look like Michigan 2.0 in these things, but they’ve been to the Rose Bowl recently (and gotten crushed), so why not?
Rocky Top Talk summarizes the Cal-Tennessee game from the Vol fan’s perspective.
Frank Hughes of Seahawks Insider: There was one play in particular that stood out during the practice. With rookie Justin Forsett running a sweep to the right, rookie defensive tackle Red Bryant came bursting through the line. Usually guys don’t hit each other very hard in these practices, but Bryant came through so fast and collided with Forsett so violently that Forsett went right to the ground. He obliterated him, which predictably drew a lot of whoops from defensive players.
Tim Love of BBC Sport: Whilst he looked annoyed, Rodgers was certainly not surprised to find himself being asked about yet another Brett Favre related piece of news. He is used to living in the incredibly large shadow of Farve as he has been acting as the understudy to the three time league MVP since the Packers picked him in the first round (24th overall choice) of the 2005 NFL draft. Indeed, the fact that Rodgers has sought out the help of Steve Young (the QB who succeeded the great Joe Montana), indicates that he is fully aware of the difficulties he will face in taking over from such a revered figure.
