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Turns out today's Kaimin includes more than just old news. The article on the return of an experienced Griz football team contains this nugget of excellence:

Four of the top five receivers from last year are back, and the fifth, senior Craig Chambers, could be back if he can recover from a troublesome shoulder injury he sustained during the spring. Chambers said Monday he expected to join the team at practice this week.

I mean no disrespect to the fine trio of Eric Allen, Mike Ferriter and Ryan Bagley but based on talent alone, Chambers is the best wide-out on this Griz team. When he's healthy and going all-out, there isn't a defensive back in the conference or probably all of the FCS that can stay with him.

From what I heard, there were times during the offseason where things looked real dire for Craig. Dire as in he may not have played again. Congrats to Craig for making it back. He has the potential to make a big impact.

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According to the preseason all-conference team, the Griz have the best safeties in the Big Sky. Now they're looking at having one of the better corners as well. From Draft Daddy, an NFL Draft Blog, comes news of a transfer from New Mexico.

11. CB Mike Vandenberg ~ New Mexico to Montana (Soph) -- The speedy Vandenberg, who played some wide receiver at New Mexico, led all California prepsters with 11 Int's as a senior. Has a chance to replace Tuff Harris, who is currently with the Miami Dolphins.

This should be a big boost to the secondary but one can't overlook the addition on offense as well. The Griz may have lost the dynamic Craig Chambers so the addition of a speedy FBS transfer is needed.

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It's really hard for me to give you any good impressions from Friday's Griz football scrimmage because I really didn't walk away feeling very impressed. It wasn't that we played bad, it's just that nothing really stood out.

I went into the scrimmage not expecting much with the two guys I would most like to see, Craig Chambers and JD Quinn, were out with shoulder and "undisclosed" injuries respectively. Even so, I was interested to see the quarterback race and how our running backs were doing.

Here are some pretty basic observations:

• The quarterback race seems pretty hope but I believe the job will be Bergquists almost by default as none of them really stood out. I think I may have developed some bias against Bergquist after seeing him next to Swogger. He just seems so small and weak-armed after watching Swogger play. It's like watching Brett Favre and being afraid of when Aaron Rodgers time eventually comes. However, Bergquist has the mobility inside the pocket that Swogger just didn't have.
  
  • They really did not pass the ball much during the scrimmage, at least not with the first team. It was really kind of discouraging. With there being something of a quarterback controversy, I figured they would want to air it out more.
  • The only real good pass of the day was about a 35 yarder from Bergquist to Allen. Seemed like it may have been due to strong pass protection as Cole had a lot of time to go through his progressions before coming back to hit a wide open Eric Allen.
• The backs played well, just about all of them making strong moves in the open field. It was good to see Lex out there. Not sure if he played much or at all in the 11 on 11 scrimmage. This is one of our deepest positions with TBF, Lex, and Coleman all being great players.
  • We ran the swing play a ton. The type of thing Baylark of UMass killed us with. However, the play was rarely run smoothly. Quarterbacks were consistently tossing bad passes out in the flats that were either incomplete, too high or behind the receiver.
  • The offensive line was not opening up holes and often letting guys into the backfield. Our backs were forced to make a move or break a tackle before they even got to the line of scrimmage.
• I almost felt robbed. The whole thing lasted about 90 minutes, maybe a bit less. They spent probably 70 minutes running a normal practice and 20 minutes scrimmaging. I mean watching practice is worthwhile but I wasn't interested in watching the QBs hit wide open receivers and having no idea where they were actually trying to throw it.
  

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The Dropdown Duo, that's what I'm calling them. I've mentioned it before, but I think the nickname fits  the Swogger to Chambers connection pretty well. The headline for the print version of the Kaimin article on Chambers said he added depth to the Griz receiving corps when the truth is he provides so much more.

Craig Chambers is not the type of receiver that simply adds depth or another weapon; he changes the shape and complexion of an offense. Chambers led a I-A offense in touchdown receptions and seems to run straight through I-AA coverages to get open at will.

This is comparable to the Seahawks adding Deion Branch, not Joe Jurevicius. He even showed shades of Branch with the playmaking ability after the catch on his lone touchdown grab. Maybe just a hint of TO as well with his power to get to the pylon. It's a shame he also had a little Koren Robinson going on or he would of finished with a pair of TD receptions.

Chambers finished with five catches and 82 yards in the Sac State game. Had he caught the ball in the endzone and another longball that slipped through his grasp along the sideline, he would have finished with over a 100 yards receiving.

Chambers' numbers also came in three quarters of play as he failed to make an appearance until the second quarter. Coincidentally, Cole Berquist entered the game at the same time so the Dropdown Duo didn't rear its offensively dangerous head until the second half.

Swogger made an appearance at the very end of the half in a 4 receiver set and Chambers for some reason was held out. Does anyone have any idea what was going on here? It seemed like Hauck did not want Swogger and Chambers on the field at once.

Oh, and he did catch the pass in the image above (against then #1 USC). I don't know how, but he did.

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Yeah, I forgot the camera. Here are pregame pictures taken via the phone; more after the jump.
The team trotting out.


Swogger, before he went 14-18 for 221 yards and 3 TDs.
Craig Chambers


Eric Allen warming up.


Chambers making a pregame grab.


Who we all really came to see.


Postgame prayer.

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• This week's rankings: The Griz come in at #5 but talk about all things evening out; after their upset at Colorado MSU has plummeted out of the rankings faster than Brett Boone left the majors.
• Not going to be a blowout?  The Griz have won all 11 meetings by a combined score of 419-174 but apparently the Hornets' defense has improved.
• Interview with the Moose: Your schedule is always going to be hard if you're not very good.
• Swogger will probably play. Hauck wouldn't admit it but he'll be in there. He practiced with the first team and I think all of us want to see regular TD hookups from the WSU-UW dropdown duo of Swogger and Chambers.
• What Bobby did with his off week; and other questions.
• Griz can't get to the QB. One sack in 8 quarters, ouch... or not.
• GrizTracks Preview. It's not gonna be pretty. Their prediction: 31-3 Griz.

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The big Double-D pointed out in his recent Kaimin column that I-AA screw-ups and backups sure do love the University of Montana and the U loves them right back.

The University of Montana football team loves transfers like a fat kid loves cake.
Or like the elderly love Buicks.
Or like myself and NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg love Shakira.

So what if I-AA transfers swarm to Missoula like deadbeat dads and retirees to Florida; would the Griz be anywhere without them?

A recent ESPN (AP) article points to how I-AA second teamers and those who Bomar'd their teammates are the prosthetic legs that will carry the Griz through this season.

Just as the Montana Grizzlies were looking to shore up their quarterback spot, which struggled during the 2005 campaign, Washington State's Josh Swogger was looking to play for a team that had a chance of winning a national championship.

Others are former Louisville running back Reggie Bradshaw and Iowa State running back Greg Coleman, along with former Washington receiver Craig Chambers. However, Chambers is expected to miss the season opener Saturday against No. 16 Iowa.

"Chambers isn't cleared yet to play," Hauck said. "We're not sure how long that will linger -- maybe soon, maybe longer. He has issues with me and eligibility."

Come on, ALL the skill positions have been sured up by I-AA dropdowns. Quarterback, running back, and wide receiver all have transfers at #1 on the depth chart. This won't exactly be the case against Iowa as Chambers will not make the trip. (What are these issues with Hauck?)

Yes, these transfers do, in a way, make the Griz and all of I-AA look like 'Plan B' to anyone that messes up or just can't cut it in big time college ball, but we have to take what we can get. If we're going to to complain about this making us look bad, then why not get upset about selling our team out as a practice squad for six figures?

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