Oregon’s dynamic offense awaits Cal linebackers
Forget for a moment Oregon’s 38-31 overtime loss to Stanford on Saturday.
Cal outside linebacker Alex Funches saw something different than the score as he watched the telecast of that game.
“Sure, it was a loss, but everybody in the nation saw how explosive and good that Oregon offense looked and how good and poised Justin Herbert looked in the pocket,” Funches said. “That’s a quarterback any offense would want to have.”
Those impressions of Herbert and the Oregon offense are decidedly important this week. If No. 24 Cal has any chance of knocking off the No. 19 Ducks on Saturday night in Berkeley, Funches and the outside linebackers playing opposite of him know they have to affect the quarterback.
Herbert, a 6-foot-6, 237-pound junior, is completing 63.2 percent of his passes and ranks among the nation’s top 15 quarterbacks in yards passing (1,186), touchdowns (13) and efficiency (179.4). Pro Football Focus, which ranks Herbert as the top prospect for the 2019 NFL Draft, says Herbert is ripping apart opposing defenses for 11.9 yards per attempt when he throws from a clean pocket.
That’s where Funches and other Cal outside linebackers come back into focus. Funches has made himself a consistent nuisance in opposing backfields this season, but the Bears still are searching for a replacement for Cameron Goode on the other side.
Goode, the defense’s most dynamic player, was ruled out for the rest of the season last week after enduring a lower left leg injury in Week 1. Since he was sidelined, Cal has started run stopper Tevin Paul and coverage specialist Malik Psalms in Goode’s spot. Pass rushers Deon White and Joseph Ogunbanjo also have been part of the replacement committee.
“They’ve done a great job,” senior inside linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk said. “Anytime you have a great player like Cam go down, it’s tough. But we’ve always said we have the mentality of ‘next guy up,’ and I think the defense has embraced that.
“We know how valuable Cam is to our team, but I know he wouldn’t want us to mourn his injury. He wants us to go out there and win games.”
As his teammates listened to the interview, Funches joked that Psalms “sucks,” and Psalms jokingly agreed, saying he’s “garbage.”
Jokes aside, Psalms probably has the closest skill set to Goode on Cal’s roster. Psalms, a 6-1, 195pound former defensive back, has innate coverage skills, shows ability as a pass rusher and added strength he hopes will help him set the edge in run stopping.
“When Cam went down, we knew we had to not only replace him, but also try to even play better than Cam,” Psalms said. “… It sucks that Cam went down, but I feel like every single guy in the room can play. Personally, I feel like I can do some things better than Cam, and everyone has to have that mentality.
“Whether you’re first string or fourth string, you better have that opinion. You better feel as though you should be starting and have that chip on your shoulder.”
Psalms recorded one special-teams tackle when Cal beat Oregon 52-49 in double overtime in 2016, despite Herbert’s six touchdown passes. Psalms didn’t record a stat last year, when Herbert broke his collarbone before the Ducks beat the Bears 45-24.
He’s planning to make a bigger impact this time.
“At the end of the day, Oregon still has to come out here and prove they can hang with us on our turf,” Psalms said. “We didn’t see (Herbert) much last year, but we know we’ve got to get him off his spot and let him know early and often that Cal is here …
“If you’re going to throw the ball, you’re going to get hit. If you want to run the ball, you’re going to get hit. You better slide. We’re coming for him. He just better know that we’re coming for him every play.”