Though the reports are mixed, there are some updates on the injuries on the defensive side of the ball.
Zack Follett is day to day with a neck stinger
Matt Malele has strain muscle in his foot and is day to day. (There are some reports on Bear Insider that Malele is out for the Arizona game.) But a muscle strain is much better than a torn ligament as initially feared.
Rulon Davis is a sprained foot and is also day to day. Also, great news because initial rumors were of a stress fracture.
Though Derek Hill, Tad Smith and Cody Jones filled in admirably in their absence, Davis and Malele are really the heart of the line, along with Mika Kane. Cal needs those big guys in there to control the line of scrimmage.
Follett is a real impact player and make a lot of game changing plays (see the hit on Ainge in the Tennessee game). While his backups also filled in well, it could also be the result of playing next to LB studs Anthony Felder and Worrell Williams.
Cal does not want to let its guard down against Arizona this coming weekend but it is more important to make sure these guys are healthy for the Oregon game in 2 weeks.
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3 comments:
Sigh of relief is right! I say we have all three sit out Arizona to hopefully be 100% for Oregon.
The same goes for DJ - use him only as a decoy and let somebody else return the punts. I'd like to see him not touch the ball at all vs. Arizona (assuming we never fall behind).
What's the use bringing in 4 key players at 80% just to have them aggravate their injuries and be 80% for Oregon if we can win without them?
I agree, let's rest our better players for the first few possessions, see how both teams play, and play 'em or sit 'em accordingly.
I'm not at all worried about the Arizona game, but the opposite is true of Oregon next week. I HATE the thought of going into a bye with a loss.
Rest our good players if we can. Let them heal for the bigger game in Eugene.
All I've thought about these past several days was how well Cal responded to last year's Tennessee loss. Eight winning games in a row; and not just winning, but WINNING decisively. We haven't seen that at all this year and it has me more than anxious about the big games coming up.
Of course, Cal has shown that when the game is big, they bring their A game. It's almost as if they knew the two games after Tennessee (this year) were winners that required little effort. They usually turn it on when they have to.
I hope the same is true this season. I really want to see Tedford finally bring home a Cal win at Autzen!
This cannot have effect in fact, that is what I believe.
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