Questions about Baldwin from a Cal Bear

[EWURanger]

Not sure why people are getting upset and defensive. It was an honest question. I have no sense of EWU and their talent relative to the rest of the conference. Much like USC always pulls the best talent in the conference, it’s not a surprise they’re typically successful (not this year obviously).

I was also hoping to get more texture on whether his offenses heavily relies on great QB’s and what kind of offenses he ran. I watched a 2016 highlight reel of Kupp against WSU and the plays look like what he’s been running here but obviously there was just a physical mismatch with his size.

My guess is that he’s been given mostly free reign to install his system but we have a young QB who needs more experience and an OL that could get bigger and better.

Talent-wise, Eastern is the USC in your analogy. Even in down years, we have as much talent as just about anyone... At least on offense.

Baldwin's main problem while at Eastern was that he never got the defense to play on the same level. As an OC, he shouldn't be in charge of that now, so it shouldn't matter (in theory).

Thanks!

Here’s an interesting read.

http://3downnation.com/2016/09/03/qa-cfl-qb-whisperer-beau-baldwin/

 

[EWURanger]

Not sure why people are getting upset and defensive. It was an honest question. I have no sense of EWU and their talent relative to the rest of the conference. Much like USC always pulls the best talent in the conference, it’s not a surprise they’re typically successful (not this year obviously).

I was also hoping to get more texture on whether his offenses heavily relies on great QB’s and what kind of offenses he ran. I watched a 2016 highlight reel of Kupp against WSU and the plays look like what he’s been running here but obviously there was just a physical mismatch with his size.

My guess is that he’s been given mostly free reign to install his system but we have a young QB who needs more experience and an OL that could get bigger and better.

What were your expectations coming into the 2018 season?
Cal is now 7-3 and would be 8-2 with a win over WSU if Mcelwain had not over thrown his receiver, and Cal could end up with a better record than Stanford!
Your comment on Edwards caught my attention, as I would think you know he coached Cooper Kupp and Kendrick Bourne of the 'niners. He is very capable when he gets the right kids.

The fan vase is definitely content to happy about the win-loss record. But if you look closer you’ll see it’s largely due to the defense which is arguably the 1st in the PAC.

Agreed about the chance for more wins if McIlwain didn’t play but that brings it back to Baldwin as there are questions on whose decision it was to flip flop between him and Garbers, our other QB. That 3 game loss streak where we heavily played McIlwain hoping to take advantage of his mobility but resulting in a record number of turnovers.

My question around Edwards is whether Kupp is his claim to fame or if he was considered a good receivers coach outside of 1 or 2 outliers. Our receiver production has fallen dramatically. Granted before we had NFL qb’s in Goff and Davis Webb under Sonny Dykes air raid.

EWU has a tradition of really great receivers as well and that was true long before Edwards (who coincidentally was a great WR at EWU as well).

His last year at EWU, Edwards coached two players that are currently starters on NFL rosters (Kupp - Rams, and Bourne - 49ers).

Objectively, do you think it’s a talent (recruiting) issue, or a coching issue?

 

[LDopaPDX]

I don't think Cal is quite achieving what their peers do with recruiting. Winning at Cal is probably akin to winning with UC Davis in the Big Sky. It's possible with good analysis of talent and coaching, but it's much tougher to do than it is at Washington, Oregon, and USC. Stanford is a bit of an outlier in that their academic prowess is such that they can peel some top-level kids here and there just because that degree is so tempting. A free education at Stanford with enough tutors to help me through? Sign me up...


Seasons like this are money in the bank for teams like Cal. They're respectable, and respectability opens doors for improvement. They are a credible football program and now kids know they can win there. I'd expect Cal to keep improving if they keep their staff mostly intact.

 

[TheGreatOski]

Not sure why people are getting upset and defensive. It was an honest question. I have no sense of EWU and their talent relative to the rest of the conference. Much like USC always pulls the best talent in the conference, it’s not a surprise they’re typically successful (not this year obviously).

I was also hoping to get more texture on whether his offenses heavily relies on great QB’s and what kind of offenses he ran. I watched a 2016 highlight reel of Kupp against WSU and the plays look like what he’s been running here but obviously there was just a physical mismatch with his size.

My guess is that he’s been given mostly free reign to install his system but we have a young QB who needs more experience and an OL that could get bigger and better.

What were your expectations coming into the 2018 season?
Cal is now 7-3 and would be 8-2 with a win over WSU if Mcelwain had not over thrown his receiver, and Cal could end up with a better record than Stanford!
Your comment on Edwards caught my attention, as I would think you know he coached Cooper Kupp and Kendrick Bourne of the 'niners. He is very capable when he gets the right kids.

The fan vase is definitely content to happy about the win-loss record. But if you look closer you’ll see it’s largely due to the defense which is arguably the 1st in the PAC.

Agreed about the chance for more wins if McIlwain didn’t play but that brings it back to Baldwin as there are questions on whose decision it was to flip flop between him and Garbers, our other QB. That 3 game loss streak where we heavily played McIlwain hoping to take advantage of his mobility but resulting in a record number of turnovers.

My question around Edwards is whether Kupp is his claim to fame or if he was considered a good receivers coach outside of 1 or 2 outliers. Our receiver production has fallen dramatically. Granted before we had NFL qb’s in Goff and Davis Webb under Sonny Dykes air raid.

EWU has a tradition of really great receivers as well and that was true long before Edwards (who coincidentally was a great WR at EWU as well).

His last year at EWU, Edwards coached two players that are currently starters on NFL rosters (Kupp - Rams, and Bourne - 49ers).

Objectively, do you think it’s a talent (recruiting) issue, or a coching issue?

From my perspective we lost a few key receivers between year 1 (last year) and year 2 (this year) of Baldwin, including a 5 star receiver in Demetris Robertson who chose to transfer to Georgia (he claims he wanted to be closer to home for personal reasons). On the recruiting front, skill positions (QB, RB, WR) is our weakest area of recruiting (defense and OL recruiting is going well).

Offensive production fell between last year and this year. I mentioned the loss of receivers but our starting QB also got injured during the first game (never to be seen again).

It’s obviously hard to say. There was clearly some poor decision making by McIlwain who was in the running at QB who made a series of bad turnovers, costing us a game or two. Garbers is young and could use a stronger arm. There’s also the fact that our defense has been so good, playing conservatively on offense has been a winning strategy.

My biggest concern is what feels like a lack of progression and growth on offense from last year to this year (we’ve regressed) and throughout the season (more or less flat). Compare this to our defense where there’s been clear progression from last year to this year with basically the same personnel.

And with recruiting not going particularly well, there are concerns for the future. Cal has its competition cut out for it given the teams in the North (Oregon, UW, WSU) and California schools (UCLA, USC, Stanford) so we’ll never out recruit these schools unless we can show that we can really develop players at certain positions.

For the record, I like Baldwin and I believe in continuity to install a system and develop players. We have had success in recruiting athletic tight ends but we haven’t seen it bear fruit yet.

The one caveat I’d share is that most of our games have a low number of drives, low scoring and have been defensive slogs. This naturally exacerbates the offensive stats. But even if a per carry / per play basis, the offense does not look good.

 

[TheGreatOski]

I don't think Cal is quite achieving what their peers do with recruiting. Winning at Cal is probably akin to winning with UC Davis in the Big Sky. It's possible with good analysis of talent and coaching, but it's much tougher to do than it is at Washington, Oregon, and USC. Stanford is a bit of an outlier in that their academic prowess is such that they can peel some top-level kids here and there just because that degree is so tempting. A free education at Stanford with enough tutors to help me through? Sign me up...


Seasons like this are money in the bank for teams like Cal. They're respectable, and respectability opens doors for improvement. They are a credible football program and now kids know they can win there. I'd expect Cal to keep improving if they keep their staff mostly intact.

I think this is fair. On the defensive side, recruiting is going well but obviously we can hang our hat on the results from the last 2 years. At OL, we have Coach Greatwood from Chip-era Ducks and he’s had very good success on the recruiting trail.

QB and WR recruiting is not going well at all so far compared to historical standards. Granted our past 2 head coaches had offensive identities coaching players like Jared Goff and Aaron Rodgers. Recruiting grounds in NorCal are pretty fertile and we’ve lost some recruiting battles we normally wouldn’t lose.

I do agree that maybe it just needs more time. Turn around the perception of the program and the recruiting may follow (on both sides of the ball).

 

[luckyintheorder]

https://bearinsider.com/forums/2/topics/85117

https://bearinsider.com/s/1030/football-staff-retention-update/2

About the state of the offense... Is there ANY doubt Wilcox is calling the shots?
https://bearinsider.com/forums/2/topics/85029

 

[clawman1]

Seasons like this are money in the bank for teams like Cal. They're respectable, and respectability opens doors for improvement. They are a credible football program and now kids know they can win there. I'd expect Cal to keep improving if they keep their staff mostly intact.

QB and WR recruiting is not going well at all so far compared to historical standards. Granted our past 2 head coaches had offensive identities coaching players like Jared Goff and Aaron Rodgers. Recruiting grounds in NorCal are pretty fertile and we’ve lost some recruiting battles we normally wouldn’t lose.

I do agree that maybe it just needs more time. Turn around the perception of the program and the recruiting may follow (on both sides of the ball).

As a long time Eagle fan he recruited outstanding athletes and even more so good people Eastern. If I were a parent I would be more than comfortable entrusting my son to Beau and his staff for these important developmental years. These kids go off to school as children and leave as young men.

 

[luckyintheorder]

http://footballscoop.com/news/source-jim-mcelwain-new-central-michigan-head-coach/

 

[Obzerver]

My guess is Jim McElwain turns that 1-11 Central Michigan team around lickity split...I hope he does.