Terrell Owens signs; Bay Area college football preview
Terrell Owens signed a two-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals yesterday, who will be his fifth team. Owens is 36.
Owens will team up with Ochocinco to try to create a dominating passing attack, and 2 targets to throw to. However, the Bengals will have many off the field issues.
The 2 players may have arguments over being the superstar, and it might carry onto the field. However, there are stronger teams then the Bengals, so they needed to take a chance.
Owens started his career in San Francisco, where he broke some records, then he reached the Super Bowl with Philadelphia. He got traded to Dallas, who released him, then he signed a 1 year deal with the Bills, who struggled once again.
Prediction: Bengals go 10-6, take Wild Card.
Cal Bears football preview
Offense
This year's Cal quarterbacks and runningbacks should be dominant. Shane Vereen rushed for 992 yards last year, despite only starting 4 games. Against Stanford, he ran for 193 yards and scored 3 touchdowns. He should be a huge part in Cal's offense.
Kevin Riley threw for 2,850 yards and 18 touchdowns, and he should have another nice year. If Riley and Vereen can step up, Cal's offensive attack will be dangerous. Another reason is that wideout Marvin Jones is returning to Berkeley, and so is Jeremy Ross. Jones gained 651 yards and scored 6 touchdowns for Cal last year. Also, 4 of Cal's 5 O-line starters are returning.
Defense
Cal's defense will be anchored by defensive end Cameron Jordan, who has been dangerous to opponents since his freshman year. He had 6 sacks in 2009. He will be a huge part of the defense, and so will Mike Momahed. Momahed is a seinor as well, and he intercepted 3 passes. Sean Cattouse will anchor the cornerbacks and safeties, and Chris Conte and Bryant Nnabuife are returning as seniors. However, Cal's defense will not be as strong.
New defensive Clancy Pendergrast takes over Cal after stints with the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals. He will keep the 3-4 defense that suits Cameron Jordan well. However, Cal only has 5 returning starters on defense, and they will have trouble during the opening games. However, Cal plays UC Davis, Colorado, and Nevada in their non-conference games, so it will be easier than it seems.
Special Teams
Giorgio Tavecchio will handle the kicking duties for Cal, and although he isn't great and he can't nail long field goals on a high rate, he still should be a good kicker. At punter, Cal has a preseason All-American in Bryan Anger. And he is only a junior. Cal should have a strong
special teams corps.
Prediction: Cal will have an easy non-conference schedule, with UC Davis and Colorado at home and Nevada on the road, and Cal will finish the season with their 3 hardest home games. Cal probably has the easiest schedule in the Pac-10, with Oregon, Stanford, and Washington at home, but I will predict a 8-4, Las Vegas Bowl year.
Stanford
Offense
The Stanford offense should be very strong. Sophomore phenom Andrew Luck returns to Stanford, and Coby Fleener should have a great year. And, Stanford returns 4 of 5 starters in the
offensive line. Chris Owusu and Ryan Whalen return, so Stanford will be very strong at the receivers.
Fullback Owen Marecic will return as a senior, and he will be as good as ever. However, the loss of Toby Gerhart will make a big impact on the Cardinal. But, they will have a senior in Jeremy Stewart taking the carries, so it shouldn't be that big of a hole. However, the Cardinal could be dominant if Gerhart was still at Stanford.
Defense
Richard Sherman has been a great cornerback and wide receiver at Stanford, and he will anchor the defense as a 5th year senior. Delano Howell, Thomas Keiser, Shanye Skov, and Sione Fua are returning to Stanford as well, but the Cardinal defense should not have too much success.
Sherman is very fast, and he is a great cover corner. However, not many balls came his way, and it was Delano Howell who led the Cardinal with 2 interceptions. If Stanford wants to step it up, they need Sherman to dominate, and freshman Terrence Brown to step up and make Stanford a fantastic team on the passing game.
Special Teams
Kicker Nate Whitaker is returning to Stanford for his senior season, so the Stanford kicking game should be fine. The kick returner spot will be filled by playmaking receiver Chris Owusu, and the punt returning duties will be filled once again by Sherman. Those 2 will make Stanford's special teams feared.
Prediction: Stanford has Oregon, Cal, Washington, and Notre Dame on the road. If the Cardinal want to be a Rose Bowl contender, they will need to win some road games. I predict Stanford to take 2 of these 4 games, Stanford to finish 9-3 and the Cardinal to make the Alamo Bowl.
San Jose State
Offense
Although San Jose State finished 2-10 last year, they still have 8 offensive starters returning, including senior quarterback Jordan La Secla. La Secla threw for 1,926 yards and 10 touchdowns last year, but he will need to find the end zone a lot and be a leader for big increase in wins. They will also need senior Lamon Murdlow to step up and have a much better year than his 592 yard, 3 touchdown year in 2009. San Jose State needs a reliable leader.
Defense
The Spartans have 6 starters returning on defense, and both of their safeties and 2 of the Spartans 3 linebackers return. Pablo Garcia returns on the D-line, and Tanner Burns returns. Burns had 96 tackles in 2009, and 55 of them were by himself. However, the returning sack leader is Garcia, and he recorded 4 sacks in 2009. To increase their win total, they will need to step up the quarterback pressure.
Special teams
San Jose State could have a hard time on special teams. They have no seniors returning on special teams, and their punter is a freshman (Harrison Waid). The Spartans are really going to need an unlikely boost from the special teams, and that doesn't look too likely to happen.
Prediction
San Jose State will have a very hard non-conference away schedule, with games at Alabama, Wisconsin, and Utah. But the Spartans have Southern Utah and UC Davis at home, and they have Boise State and Fresno State at home. I pick SJSU to have an OK year (for them) at 4-9.
Owens will team up with Ochocinco to try to create a dominating passing attack, and 2 targets to throw to. However, the Bengals will have many off the field issues.
The 2 players may have arguments over being the superstar, and it might carry onto the field. However, there are stronger teams then the Bengals, so they needed to take a chance.
Owens started his career in San Francisco, where he broke some records, then he reached the Super Bowl with Philadelphia. He got traded to Dallas, who released him, then he signed a 1 year deal with the Bills, who struggled once again.
Prediction: Bengals go 10-6, take Wild Card.
Cal Bears football preview
Offense
This year's Cal quarterbacks and runningbacks should be dominant. Shane Vereen rushed for 992 yards last year, despite only starting 4 games. Against Stanford, he ran for 193 yards and scored 3 touchdowns. He should be a huge part in Cal's offense.
Kevin Riley threw for 2,850 yards and 18 touchdowns, and he should have another nice year. If Riley and Vereen can step up, Cal's offensive attack will be dangerous. Another reason is that wideout Marvin Jones is returning to Berkeley, and so is Jeremy Ross. Jones gained 651 yards and scored 6 touchdowns for Cal last year. Also, 4 of Cal's 5 O-line starters are returning.
Defense
Cal's defense will be anchored by defensive end Cameron Jordan, who has been dangerous to opponents since his freshman year. He had 6 sacks in 2009. He will be a huge part of the defense, and so will Mike Momahed. Momahed is a seinor as well, and he intercepted 3 passes. Sean Cattouse will anchor the cornerbacks and safeties, and Chris Conte and Bryant Nnabuife are returning as seniors. However, Cal's defense will not be as strong.
New defensive Clancy Pendergrast takes over Cal after stints with the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals. He will keep the 3-4 defense that suits Cameron Jordan well. However, Cal only has 5 returning starters on defense, and they will have trouble during the opening games. However, Cal plays UC Davis, Colorado, and Nevada in their non-conference games, so it will be easier than it seems.
Special Teams
Giorgio Tavecchio will handle the kicking duties for Cal, and although he isn't great and he can't nail long field goals on a high rate, he still should be a good kicker. At punter, Cal has a preseason All-American in Bryan Anger. And he is only a junior. Cal should have a strong
special teams corps.
Prediction: Cal will have an easy non-conference schedule, with UC Davis and Colorado at home and Nevada on the road, and Cal will finish the season with their 3 hardest home games. Cal probably has the easiest schedule in the Pac-10, with Oregon, Stanford, and Washington at home, but I will predict a 8-4, Las Vegas Bowl year.
Stanford
Offense
The Stanford offense should be very strong. Sophomore phenom Andrew Luck returns to Stanford, and Coby Fleener should have a great year. And, Stanford returns 4 of 5 starters in the
offensive line. Chris Owusu and Ryan Whalen return, so Stanford will be very strong at the receivers.
Fullback Owen Marecic will return as a senior, and he will be as good as ever. However, the loss of Toby Gerhart will make a big impact on the Cardinal. But, they will have a senior in Jeremy Stewart taking the carries, so it shouldn't be that big of a hole. However, the Cardinal could be dominant if Gerhart was still at Stanford.
Defense
Richard Sherman has been a great cornerback and wide receiver at Stanford, and he will anchor the defense as a 5th year senior. Delano Howell, Thomas Keiser, Shanye Skov, and Sione Fua are returning to Stanford as well, but the Cardinal defense should not have too much success.
Sherman is very fast, and he is a great cover corner. However, not many balls came his way, and it was Delano Howell who led the Cardinal with 2 interceptions. If Stanford wants to step it up, they need Sherman to dominate, and freshman Terrence Brown to step up and make Stanford a fantastic team on the passing game.
Special Teams
Kicker Nate Whitaker is returning to Stanford for his senior season, so the Stanford kicking game should be fine. The kick returner spot will be filled by playmaking receiver Chris Owusu, and the punt returning duties will be filled once again by Sherman. Those 2 will make Stanford's special teams feared.
Prediction: Stanford has Oregon, Cal, Washington, and Notre Dame on the road. If the Cardinal want to be a Rose Bowl contender, they will need to win some road games. I predict Stanford to take 2 of these 4 games, Stanford to finish 9-3 and the Cardinal to make the Alamo Bowl.
San Jose State
Offense
Although San Jose State finished 2-10 last year, they still have 8 offensive starters returning, including senior quarterback Jordan La Secla. La Secla threw for 1,926 yards and 10 touchdowns last year, but he will need to find the end zone a lot and be a leader for big increase in wins. They will also need senior Lamon Murdlow to step up and have a much better year than his 592 yard, 3 touchdown year in 2009. San Jose State needs a reliable leader.
Defense
The Spartans have 6 starters returning on defense, and both of their safeties and 2 of the Spartans 3 linebackers return. Pablo Garcia returns on the D-line, and Tanner Burns returns. Burns had 96 tackles in 2009, and 55 of them were by himself. However, the returning sack leader is Garcia, and he recorded 4 sacks in 2009. To increase their win total, they will need to step up the quarterback pressure.
Special teams
San Jose State could have a hard time on special teams. They have no seniors returning on special teams, and their punter is a freshman (Harrison Waid). The Spartans are really going to need an unlikely boost from the special teams, and that doesn't look too likely to happen.
Prediction
San Jose State will have a very hard non-conference away schedule, with games at Alabama, Wisconsin, and Utah. But the Spartans have Southern Utah and UC Davis at home, and they have Boise State and Fresno State at home. I pick SJSU to have an OK year (for them) at 4-9.
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