SB Nation - Terrell Skinner

Maryland Football Season Review: Defensive Backs

Ben Broman — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:00:33 -0000

Maryland will miss this man.

One of the most underrated adjustments Maryland players had to make to the new defensive scheme was in coverage, as Don Brown used less of a Chris Cosh-ian sit back and wait zone and more of an attacking press man or tight Cover 2. With athletes better suited to the zone, corners were occasionally hard-pressed to make the transition.

The DBs saw both things encouraging and things scary. Anthony Wiseman and Cameron Chism. Kenny Tate and Kenny Tate. Terrell Skinner and Nolan Carroll.

Actually, Carroll's injury is a bit underrated. I don't think he'd be changing the outcome of too many games, but he was all set up to have a breakout year, and a shutdown corner can never hurt. As it turned out, he got hurt, and Maryland was again searching for a #1 CB.

Nolan Carroll

After a great spring and fall practice period, Nolan was set to be the man in the secondary and was already a defensive leader. He was perfect for Don Brown's scheme and looked to make exciting plays without getting beaten deep. While he showed flashes in his first game, no one was all that good against Cal, and it wasn't long after (against JMU) that he broke a bone in his leg, ending his year.

A similar fate doomed another senior cornerback for Maryland last year, Kevin Barnes. Hopefully they'll have better luck in the future.

Anthony Wiseman

Originally the #2, Wiseman was forced into the starting spot directly after Carroll's injury, and the results were...middling. Despite a few big plays every once in awhile, he tended to be one of the worse corners in the secondary. Really, though, it's not his fault: his skill set just wasn't good for this defense, and he looked to have trouble man-to-man. The real blame falls on the coaches for keeping him in too long.

Like Carroll, though, I don't think Wiseman cost Maryland any victories on the year, at least not directly. He had a rough go of it, but I have nothing against him.

Cameron Chism

Ah, now this is exciting. Chism put out one of the best performances by a sophomore CB I've seen from a Terp, and showcased everything you could want: he got better as he went along, was able to shut down a few guys, and didn't drop interceptions. He had his problems - fade routes were especially rough on him, and he got bailed out by safeties more than once - but the future is bright.

You could see his progression throughout the year, too. Early on, QBs were picking on him, sending a lot of balls his way. Later, they went more toward Wiseman, avoiding Chism.

Chism will almost certainly be the #1 corner next year, and deservedly so. He's a good fit for the defense and is a playmaker.

Trenton Hughes

Despite there being an open nickel spot in the secondary, Hughes didn't see all that much memorable playing time. That's actually a good thing: also an inexperienced sophomore, he managed not to get burned and stayed in front of his man in most instances. Even though he didn't really make any great plays and there were passes completed to his side, I was moderately impressed with his performance.

He'll be the frontrunner in a very interesting battle for CB next year. He has the experience and he's nutty fast, but he's on the skinny side and an ultra-talented, bigger guy like Travis Hawkins or Dexter McDougle might serve them better.

Richard Taylor

The senior member of the group, Taylor is a sixth-year senior who was actually in grad school. Despite receiving almost no playing time in any of his previous five years, he saw major PT toward the end of the year and started rotating the nickel corner spot with Hughes. He ended up with his first INT in a clutch situation against North Carolina State, and was one of my favorites.

At the same time, he was as flawed as the rest. He consistently held his own, but that's not to say he was never beaten or that he was a shutdown corner. When Wiseman was off the field and he was on it, he tended to get balls thrown his way.

Terrell Skinner

Ever since last year's break-out campaign for Terrell, he's quietly been one of the best players on defense. He doesn't get a lot of talk as a pro prospect or as a great safety, but he didn't beaten nearly as much as his strong safety counterpart and racked up the tackles. This was his last year, and he did performed admirably with an occasionally shattered secondary. Maryland will miss his presence.

Kenny Tate

Skinner's backup, Tate is a polarizing figure. Some miss the potential he showcased on the offensive end, because he started out at safety instead of his natural WR position and decided to stay there. It makes sense, but his first two years have shown that he is a little out of place. His instincts have never seemed quite there and he made a lot of mistakes.

That said, he has a ton of talent, and two years of experience can only help. Get him out on the field as a starter and coach him up on the finer points of the position, and he has the ability to dominate. I wouldn't mind seeing him out at punt returner or even a few offensive packages including him, either.

Jamari McCollough

I will always love Jamari if only for his UNC interception. The emotion from that game, even though it wasn't all that important, was simply incredible. Luckily for us, he turned out to be a pretty good strong safety, too. Despite battling injuries all year long, he showed up and, even though he got beaten deep occasionally, was great against the run and solid in short zones. Like Skinner, he will be missed.

Antwine Perez

McCollough's probable replacement, Perez has to be one of the most exciting players on defense. A former five star transfer from USC, he hasn't seen the field much in his time at Maryland despite clearly having a huge amount of talent. Like McCollough, his finest moment came against UNC, and he showed a ton of potential late this year. If he can put together an entire year along the lines of these past few games - which I believe he can - Maryland could have one of the better safety duos in the ACC.

Eric Franklin

A true freshman who had to fill in for Perez at first and then Tate thanks to a late-season injury, Franklin didn't see a lot of playing time, and was average in the time he did see. He did have an important sack in his debut, but a few games later he allowed a big TD run after taking a bad angle. All in all, it was pretty good for a freshman safety. He'll be the primary backup at both spots next year, barring something unexpected.

The Future

Despite being surrounded by unnecessary, useless burnt redshirts all around, the defensive backs saw only one burn, and a reasonable one at that. Thus, I'm pretty excited for next year.

The good news is that Maryland will have more talent in the defensive backfield at any time next year than they had all of this year. There's more depth at the corners and more experience at the safeties than before, and you can add more talent to both of those spots. The ceiling is high.

On the bad side, there's not a lot of experience. Chism has half a year as a #1 corner. Hughes is the only other corner with any other experience, and not very much of it. Neither Tate nor Perez have been starters for any period of time. They'll have to learn quick.

The 2nd CB position won't be the most high-profile battle of the spring and fall (that'd be QB), but it will be the most entertaining (okay, maybe 2nd most there). Hughes, Hawkins, McDougle...three very talented guys fighting for the same spot. My money is on Hawkins, but that's just a guess.

The first few games will be rough as the secondary works out the kinks and figures out the right lineup. As they gain experience, though, this group will be very dangerous. When combined with a hopefully improved DL and a returning LB corps, this defense could be quite good.

Maryland-Florida State Report Card and Helmet Stickers

Ben Broman — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:42:32 -0000

More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

19 days ago: Maryland running back Davin Meggett, center, runs for fourth-quarter yardage as Florida State defensive tackle Everett Dawkins, left, and linebacker Nigel Carr, right, move in to make the tackle during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, in Tallahassee, Fla. Florida State won 29-26.(AP Photo/Phil Coale)

Browse more photos »

QB: B

Jamarr Robinson wasn't amazing yesterday, but if 20-27 (19-23 before that final drive) isn't good enough, I don't really know what be. Franklin/Friedgen called a lot of quick plays - bubble screens, hitches, slants - and most of them worked. They were easy throws - not gimmes, but they weren't difficult - and Robinson connected. He even hit most of his intermediate stuff, too. Not to mention that he nearly had a TD to Torrey Smith; that ball was thrown perfectly, and Smith just went the wrong direction. Oh, and he had 60 yards on the ground.

Pretty nice second game for Robinson.

RB: A

Maybe this grade is a little inflated because I missed them for so long, but this is what we expected from the running backs at the beginning of the year. Da'Rel Scott was awesome in his first game back from injury, and something definitely changed with Davin Meggett. Maybe it's the presence of Scott, but he looked completely different than he has this entire year - more decisive with the ball and more open to contact. The two combined for nearly a 150 yards on 4.6 yards per carry - this from a team that had refused to run the ball against almost every team they've played since Scott's injury.

WR: B-

Torrey Smith led the group again with seven catches for 74 yards, but could've done much better if he had hauled in the touchdown pass that went right through his hands. LaQuan Williams reintroduced himself to the stat column with two nice catches for 29 yards. Adrian Cannon showed his skill with that bubble screen - he can make just about anyone miss with that simple stepback juke. Other than that, it was a pretty quiet day for the group - Ronnie Tyler fell down on a quick slant once, but he wouldn't have been able to get to the first anyway.

Cannon's TD and Smith's consistent numbers keep this from a C, but Torrey's missed TD hurts, and most of the yards and receptions came from the scheme.

OL: B

To be honest, I'm a little torn here, because Maryland still had to gameplan around the line for large periods of the game, but they really did what they were expected to do for the most part. It wasn't a perfect game - twice they completely ruined screen plays, and FSU getting into the backfield wasn't unseen - but they only allowed one sack (for just one yard), usually gave Robinson enough time to make his reads, and opened enough of a hole to allow Scott and Meggett to put up more than 4.5 yards per carry without any huge runs bringing the stats up. After what we had been experiencing with this group, I was pleasantly surprised.

DL: D

Terrible showing from this group yesterday. FSU gashed them for 198 yards on the ground, including two longs runs, didn't have a sack, and rarely got to Manuel to make him force even more mistakes than he did, at least not without a couple of linebackers flanking them on a blitz.

If you want specific plays, well, Deege Galt missed his contain on the option TD run (not quick enough to match Manuel), so whoever the corner or safety was (didn't see, might've been Wiseman or Skinner) had to pick either the QB or the RB, and chose to go after the QB. Manuel pitched it and Pryor had no one in front him. On the Bert Reed TD run, Derek Drummond bit hard on the fake and never had a chance to get back in his lane and at least stretch out the play.

LB: C

Alex Wujciak's INT and ensuing return saves the day for this unit. Outside of that giant, gamechanging play, the linebackers were largely quiet. Wujciak had just 6 tackles and didn't do anything to stop the field day that FSU was having on the ground. Hartsfield still looks a little rusty compared to what he was before the injury. I actually forgot Adrian Moten and Ben Pooler were on the field at times.

Oh, actually, props to Darrin Drakeford for making the most of his playing time. Huge hit and a forced fumble in one of his three plays on defense. Why don't we use him more? We already burnt his redshirt.

DB: B-

Terrell Skinner's pick and Cam Chism should've-been-game-sealing interception were more than you can usually count on. Antwine Perez had a coming out performance in place of Kenny Tate; I think I know why he was a 5 star who saw a little bit of playing time at USC as a freshman. Actually, Chism has blossomed into a legitimate #1 corner, or is at least close. Happy with that performance.

Manuel's 17-27 performance wasn't great, but it wasn't all that bad. Anthony Wiseman is partially responsible for that - every time he's on the field it seems like he gets picked on now. Skinner gave too much cushion on his guy more than once, too, and that led to a TD. Everyone was pretty bad on the first and last scoring drives for Florida State.

Special Teams: C

The good: two Nick Ferrara field goals and a mostly stellar day punting.

The bad: a quiet KO return performance from Torrey Smith and a long Greg Reid punt return that started Florida State's game-winning drive.

The bad is worse than the good is good.

Coaching: C-

Torn here, too. On the one hand, I was pleasantly surprised by the playcalling most of the day, and Friedgen even showed some balls when he went for it on 4th once or twice. In fact, for most of the day, this was a B+ performance, especially on the offense. Then came the end of the game. Actually, first off, FSU didn't have trouble moving the ball through the course of the game, partially due to Brown's more conservative than usual playcalling. That final drive was absolutely horrendous, though; Maryland went to a prevent defense the entire time, and Manuel ate it up.

Then there was conservative playcalling on Maryland's second to last possession and some weird choices on their final one (five yard comeback with 30 seconds left?). There were some questionable time management choices, too, and whether or not Ferrara should've punted it out of the endzone is debatable.

Pretty respectable coaching job until crunch time. This team will just about always lose close games, and that definitely reflects back on the staff, both in game-time and practice.

Helmet Stickers:

Jamarr Robinson, QB - Props to JRob for the great day and first passing TD in a Terps uniform.
Alex Wujciak, LB - Broke the all-time Maryland record for interception return yardage.
Da'Rel Scott, RB - No one on special teams deserves it, and Scott was great.
Davin Meggett, RB - Even better than Scott, he looked like Meggett from the end of last year. Two TDs, too.

The Preview: Maryland Terrapins @ Florida State Seminoles

FSUncensored — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:04:10 -0000

View full size photo »

Time: Noon
TV: Raycom Sports - Tim Brant (pbp), Doc Walker (color) and Mike Hogewood (sidelines) will call the action. The game can also be seen on ESPN Gameplan or ESPN360.com.
Line: FSU -18.5
Forecast: Rain? No Rain? Looks like heavy rain in the afternoon but it should hold off for the first half.

The Maryland Terrapins are coming off a 36-9 home loss to Virginia Tech. They sit at 1-8 on the year against D1 teams. Their coach, Ralf Friedgen on that loss:

"I thought we improved in our offensive line play. Andrew Gonnella played probably his best game and I thought Terrell Skinner played a fantastic game. He had 13 tackles and really played well. We defended the run well, but what we didn't do was defend the big plays and the passing game. We have to make some more plays in our offense. There are some plays out there that we need to make and we didn't make them. On Monday night I showed about eight plays to the offense where we are very, very close to just sustaining the block, breaking the tackle or making the catch to make a difference."

Maryland Offense v. FSU Defense

As you can see (click to enlarge), Maryland's offense isn't very good. 83rd in the country and significantly worse than North Carolina (the next best offense FSU has played). But they are better than USF, and like USF, they are starting a young running quarterback for the first time.

And Florida State's defense...

As you can see (click to enlarge), FSU's defense is 90th in the country. Maryland put 31 points on NC State's 85th ranked defense on the road, and dropped 32 on Wake's 46th ranked unit, also on the road. But that was with their quarterback. Let's see what they are currently working with.

Here's Maryland's offensive depth chart:

WR-X 7 Adrian Cannon 6-2 204 Jr.-2V
LT 74 Bruce Campbell 6-7 310 Jr.-2V
LG 71 Paul Pinegar 6-4 290 Jr.-2V
C 72 Phil Costa 6-3 300 Sr.-2V
RG 77 Andrew Gonnella 6-6 305 So.-SQ or 78 Justin Lewis 6-4 320 Fr.-RS
RT 76 R.J. Dill 6-7 320 Fr.-RS
TE-Y 34 Devonte Campbell 6-2 250 Fr.-RS
QB 11 Jamarr Robinson 6-0 190 So.-SQ
TB 8 Davin Meggett 5-8 215 So.-1V & 23 Da'Rel Scott 5-11 200 Jr.-2V
FB 38 Cory Jackson 6-1 245 Sr.-3V
WR-Z 82 Torrey Smith 6-1 200 So.-1V
WR-F 24 Ronnie Tyler 5-11 190 So.-1V
TE-F 80 Lansford Watson 6-4 260 So.-1V

And FSU's Defensive Depth Chart:

LE 95 Kevin McNeil 6-2, 257, SR
DT 93 Everett Dawkins 6-2, 258, FR & 72 Budd Thacker 6-2, 276, SR
NT 90 Moses McCray 6-2, 298, SO & 99 Jacobbi McDaniel 6-0, 267, FR
RE 98 Markus White 6-4, 261, JR & 49 Brandon Jenkins 6-2, 240, FR
SLB 36 Dekoda Watson 6-2, 226, SR
MLB 29 Kendall Smith 6-1, 224, JR
WLB 13 Nigel Bradham 6-2, 235, SO
Backup LB 12 Nigel Carr 6-3, 230, SO
CB 15 Ochuko Jenije 5-10, 188, JR
FS 20 Jamie Robinson 6-2, 188, SR
RV 22 Korey Mangum 6-0, 202, SR & 10 Nick Moody 6-2, 228, FR
CB 21 Patrick Robinson 5-11, 194, SR
Nickel Corner: 5 Greg Reid 5-9, 175, FR

Phillip, a friend of Tomahawk Nation, will be helping us out with the Maryland team.

Jamarr Robinson is the new quarterback. He runs a 4.66 in the forty yard dash so he'll give your defense all types of problems scrambling but at this point he's just not a good passer. In six quarters he is 17-43 for 130 yards, no TD's and no pick, though he has thrown a couple balls that could have been picks and a couple that could have been TD's if the receiver makes a play. Robinson won't throw over 200 yards against FSU in all probability no matter what the circumstance. Robinson is mobile, but not so mobile he's a game changer. He can't read coverages and hes pretty inaccurate.

But in the rain with FSU's defense over-pursuing like crazy, this running back playing QB could give FSU some trouble. I'd actually rather face Turner. I talked to the Va Tech guys and they said Robinson is extremely erratic. FSU is facing a less talented B.J. Daniels. Maryland has always run some option and they rep the option in practice so I think FSU is in for a heavy does of option. It would fit this kid's skill-set well.

Tough to evaluate this running back group cause of the bad O-Line. Da'Rel Scott, a first team all ACC guy should return from injury after missing the last five games. Hes our best runner. Hes averaging over 5 yards a carry when nobody else is over 4. He was fumbling the ball before he got hurt, so that could be an issue. The backups who played the last couple weeks were banged up themselves. They are not bad players they just don't have big holes to run through. Also with Jamar Robinson playing you can crowd the box, thus the RB's only got 7 carries against VT, the QB did most of the running (25 carries for 127 yards). Without a healthy Scott this group is pretty average. If they played with a good line they would get decent yardage, but they don't and aren't good enough to make things happen on their own. Scott put up big numbers earlier in the season, but in fairness to the other rb's, Scott played against a couple weaker defenses, (James Madison and MTSU) when he put up his numbers. Our fullback, Cory Jackson, might be the best blocking fullback in the ACC, but without an O-Line that only gets you so far.

Remember Dave Megget of the Giants? That's his son. A similarly fashioned scat back. Scott is not a receiving threat but Megget has good hands. If Maryland wants to use a fullback, that's fine by me. FSU will play 8 men in the box like they did last year early on.

This wide receiver group is talented. Torrey Smith, Adrian Cannon, and Ronnie Tyler the top 3 guys are all good. If Turner is the QB this group could cause your secondary problems. This group is probably in the top third of the ACC. If we had a good O-Line or a run game to balance the pass, UMD could put up big passing numbers with these guys. Torrey Smith is a sophomore but probably has a future in the NFL. He broke the ACC KO return yards as a freshman and broke that record this year and has put up very solid receiving numbers. Smith has soft hands, good cutting ability, and low 4.4 speed. Adrian Cannon is a good possession WR. He runs around a 4.6 so not a deep threat that can stretch the field vertically, but hes got a thick body and very strong hands. Hes good after the catch, okay elusiveness and is strong and will break a lot of tackles by db's. Tyler is the slot, short at 5'9, hes an explosive athlete that is a good college receiver.

I agree with Phillip here. FSU CB Patrick Robinson, one of the best corners in the nation and a likely first round choice should be able to limit Smith. Jenijie should be okay against the other their #2. Maryland doesn't have a tight end who catches a lot of balls, so that is a plus.

I would say the worst O-Line in the ACC by quite a bit. We struggle to pass block and we struggle to run block. Its not clear which we are worst at. Occasionally they will have a good series or two, but this O-Line has yet to really put together an entire game, so FSU doesn't have much to worry about. The O-Line started out young and inexperienced and has been exacerbated by injuries. Bruce Campbell the best O-Lineman is playing pretty hurt. Due to injuries 9 different guys have gotten starts this year on the line and another has played significantly. Your D-Line will have its best game.

This is true. Maryland's offensive line is highly questionable. Campbell is actually a tremendous talent at left tackle, but as Phillip said, he's been injured. Last year Maryland was one of a few teams to not double team Everette Brown and Brown absolutely abused the Terps. They have struggled with quick rush ends so far this year and as Phillip said, FSU might have a good day. I don't think he understands just how poor FSU's defense is, however, so don't get too excited, 'Nole fans.

Maryland runs a pro-style offense. It's West coast based. They typically man block, not zone block (FSU zone blocks). If I was running Maryland's offense, I would probably use 3 wide receivers and two running backs, mixing in a lot of option looks for the young quarterback who is basically a running back under center. The rain probably plays to Maryland's advantage if they elect to run some of the zone-read plays we've come accustomed to seeing teams run against Florida State, often with great success. It's one thing to overrun a play. It's another to overrun a play in the rain and be unable to recover in time. I expect FSU to run more of the cover-2 stuff they ran against Wake Forest. This should help because it allows FSU to keep all 11 eyes on the "quarterback". It also will force the quarterback to work with his receivers. FSU did not do this well against USF, and pair dearly for it via two bombs and multiple scrambles. Playing an excess of man coverage in this game is a poor choice. Maryland has some good skill guys and if FSU lets them play street ball, this could be interesting. Against Zone, receivers must sit down in the voids, and the quarterback must recognize where these voids will be and throw the ball to the spot. I do not think Maryland's guy under center can do that consistently. FSU must make him do things at which he is not comfortable, and not allow him to hit the high-risk, high-reward stuff. A good cover-2 or cover-3 zone can help with this. In addition, FSU should refrain from excessive blitzing. If there is any offensive line that FSU's defensive line can get pressure against, it is this group. Maryland won't consistently beat a conservative FSU defense, but they could beat an aggressive FSU defense. They have a veteran center who can make the calls and FSU's schemes aren't fooling anyone. It's best to be very conservative, contain Robinson, and let him make mistakes. I worry about this because it is defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews' last game. Will the players be too hyped up to play good assignment football? I don't know.

Working off a 68 play projection (about average), I expect Maryland to put up about 5.5 yards per play. That's 375 yards. 24 points seems reasonable. I'll go with that. Can FSU top that? Continue reading to see.

Maryland Defense @ Florida State Offense

The Terps defense is not as bad as their offense.

From their media guide:

They've actually been sort of solid on defense for most of the conference season (Cal housed them 52-13), though they struggled aginst the Hokies last week. They are allowing an average of 113 rushing yards per game (second in league play). LBs Alex Wujciak and Adrian Moten have been the top playmakers on a defense which has just four starters back from last year. Wujciak, a second-team All-ACC selection last year, has a team-high 113 tackles, including 11 vs. Virginia Tech last week. Moten has 58 tackles (second on the team), including team highs in tackles-for-loss (8.5) and sacks (6.0). Freshman LB Demetrius Hartsfield, was the third-leading tackler until he broke his hand and missed two games. He was back in action last week. First-year defensive coordinator Don Brown has a veteran secondary, though there have been injuries at that position. Senior Nolan Carroll, the team’s No. 1 cornerback, was lost for the season vs. JMU with a broken tibia. Senior SS Jamari McCollough missed two games with a foot injury and played sparingly the following two weeks. Top safety reserve Kenny Tate sprained an ankle last week and will miss the rest of the season. CB Anthony Wiseman has a team-high eight PBUs and CB Cameron Chism has a team-best three interceptions. Seniors Travis Ivey, Jared Harrell and Deege Galt are veterans on the defensive line. The Terps are tied for second in the ACC in sacks (2.5 per game).

As you can see (click to enlarge), Maryland's defense is 69th. NC State is the worst defense FSU has faced this year. But Maryland is on par with BYU, and definitely worse than Wake Forest.

As for Florida State's offense? Click to go full-screen and you'll see FSU sits at 5th in the country. This is an elite unit.

Maryland has faced the #9 rated NC State attack. Without Ponder, I believe FSU's offense is probably top 25 but definitely not top 5. These ratings reflect performance to date. They can't account for the future impact of injuries. They also played Va Tech, who like NCST, also put 35+ on them. #27 rated Wake Forest put 30+ on these guys. But I don't remember any of those teams playing in a downpour.

Maryland Depth Chart

DE 57 Jared Harrell 6-5 265 Sr.-1V or 44 Derek Drummond 6-4 250 So.-1V
NT 96 A.J. Francis 6-5 315 Fr.-RS
DT 90 Travis Ivey 6-4 325 Sr.-2V
Anchor (DE) 56 Deege Galt 6-4 264 Sr.-SQ
SAM 54 Adrian Moten 6-2 230 Jr.-2V
MIKE 33 Alex Wujciak 6-3 255 Jr.-1V
WILL 42 Ben Pooler 6-3 235 So.-SQ or 59 Demetrius Hartsfield 6-2 230 Fr.-RS
CB 6 Anthony Wiseman 5-10 185 Sr.-3V (Starter lost for year)
FS 1 Terrell Skinner 6-3 214 Sr.-3V (Starter lost for year)
SS 4 Jamari McCollough 5-11 200 Sr.-1V
CB 22 Cameron Chism 6-0 185 So.-1V

FSU Depth Chart

WR 80 Jarmon Fortson 6-3, 223, SO & 9 Richard Goodman 6-0, 190, SR
LT 67 Andrew Datko 6-6, 283, SO
LG 57 Brandon Davis 6-2, 281, JR (Replacing AA Rodney Hudson)
C 60 Ryan McMahon 6-3, 282, JR
RG 79 David Spurlock 6-5, 285, SO
RT 77 Zebrie Sanders 6-5, 288, SO
TE 88 Beau Reliford 6-7, 241, SO (Starter Caz Piurowski lost for year)
QB 3 EJ Manuel 6-4, 223, FR (Starter Christian Ponder lost for year)
FB 24 Lonnie Pryor 6-1, 195, FR
TB 38 Jermaine Thomas 6-1, 190, SO & 23 Chris Thompson 5-8, 173, FR
WR 86 Rod Owens 6-0, 183, SR & 83 Bert Reed 5-11, 165, SO & Taiwan Easterling

And FSU's Injury Report:

Out
76 OT Garrett Faircloth (hip)
70 OT Antwane Greenlee (knee)
51 LB Aaron Gresham (knee) (For career)
44 LB Maurice Harris (neck; out for the season)
62 OG Rodney Hudson (knee)
97 DT Demonte McAllister (knee)
94 DT Justin Mincey (knee)
81 TE Caz Piurowski (knee; out for the season)
7 QB Christian Ponder (shoulder; out for the season)
74 OT John Prior (knee)
27 CB Xavier Rhodes (thumb)
11 LB Vince Williams (back)

Questionable
9 WR Richard Goodman (groin)
Mister Alexander is also banged up but FSU didn't list him.

Let's see what Phillip has to say about Maryland's defense.

Probably the worst in the ACC. The DT's are so-so, maybe the 7 or 8th best group in the ACC as far as DT's go. The DE's are awful. The rush end position (Harrell and Drummond) has yet to record a sack this season after 10 games. This group generates no initial pass rush. The strongside DE (Deege Galt) is a 100% effort type player and got a couple sacks by continuing to work and getting a sack after the play broke down, but this group is really awful. Our DE's are by far the worst in the ACC from what I have seen at generating pass rush. The DT's don't help with pass rush. They use a three man rotation of guys weighing 330, 325, 310 (Ivery, Kerr, Francis) so they are okay agianst the run, teams have not really gash us by running right at us, but they contribute nothing to a pass rush. Therefore you have four guys totally not capable of getting any pass rush. The D-Line is serviceable against the run, but you want to be more than serviceable when that is the strength of the unit.

I think he's pessimistic here. These guys actually do a decent job stopping the run. They are massive inside and have good but not great size on the outside. He is right though about their pass rush ability. Maryland's pass rush from the front-4 is just not there. In addition, FSU's offensive line is excellent in pass protection. I do have some concerns about Davis working together with the other guys picking up the blitz. Speaking of blitz...

LB: A solid, but not great unit. At MLB, 255 Alex Wujciak is big and strong and good in run defense. Hes not very agile or fast so you can pass on him, though he has improed his awareness there a little. Still, his pass coverage is the type thing that Jimbo will take advantage of. With Ponder you would have burned us like crazy passing over the middle with him cause Ponder is accurate. Wujciak is not fast or agile, buts aware and he took an inaccurate pass by Russell Wilson to the hosue on a 70 yard interception return the other week. Still hes probably one of the slowest MLB in the ACC if not the slowest. He leads the ACC in tackles and is fourth in the nation. Its hard to run against him cause he can off blocks well even if you get a O-Lineman to him cause of his size and strength. Running up the middle against us is maybe do-able, but with so many other weaknesses, teams don't even really bother to try. Adrian Moten one of the OLB's is very verstaile. Hes solid in pass coverage, blitzing, and against the run, but is not great at any of them. He leads the team with 6 sacks. I see him in the NFL eventually, not necessarily as a high pick, simply cause at the least he would make a good backup because hes no real weakness. Hes also a vocal leader of the D. The third LB is Demetrius Hartsfield a RS freshman. Hes got solid quickness and average straight line speed, and like a lot of freshman is inconsistent. At times he shows good instincts and an aggressive instinct that makes him effective. Other times he looks lost. As the season went on he got a little bit more consistent, his worst games as far as missed assignments were his first. FSU will be his second game back from injury after missing three games.

Moten is undersized and doesn't do a great job of getting off blocks. Otherwise, I agree with this. FSU has a very good run game that has been steadily improving since Rick Trickett took over the running back coaching duties. The backs now understand what hole to run through, an important part of being a running back.

The DB's are average to below average which is a surprise as many fans expected them to be good. We lost our top corner, Nolan Carroll, in the second game of the season. That hurt a lot. Sophomore Cameron Chism may have NFL talent but hes still learning the ropes. He's very good when the ball is in the air, has three picks, and is excellent in run help. That said he gives up some big plays and is susceptible to double moves and the like at this stage in his career (hes a true soph. who only played special teams last year). Wiseman the other corner is one of the worst starting cb's in the ACC. A three year starter who never has gotten an interception, hes a bad tackler, who is really bad when the ball is in the air. Hes is very suspectible to the long ball. Against the short ball, like slants, hes okay and will get some pass breakups, but hes such a bad tackler thats hes still not great there becaue those missed tackles turn into 40 yard players. The third and fourth corners, Richad Taylor and Trenton Hughes are about what you expect from backup corners. I think they are both slightly better than Wiseman, but there is inertia with returning starters and they are not that much better anyways. At S, we just lost Kenny Tate for the season at SS. With McCollough, who will be the strong safety agianst FSU, you got a saavy player capable in pass coverage, but not great in run help. At free safety you have Terrell Skinner, who had had a better junior year than senior year so far, except for the fact hes had his best two games of the season the past couple weeks so he may be coming on.

I have nothing to add to that. A huge thanks to Phillip for his help!

I watched a bit of Maryland this week. They blitz a lot. I feel bad for this defense. They get no pass rush, so they are forced to blitz. But their secondary has really struggled due to losing two starters and just generally not having a ton of talent. They are hurting either way.

So, how to attack Maryland's defense? We know that their front can't rush the passer but is very big. And we know that their best linebacker is a liability in coverage. They love to blitz. And we also know that they are incredibly thin on the secondary. So, how would you attack this?

I would spread them out and pass on early downs. This puts pressure on already thin secondary. It will tire out their big defensive tackles who certainly don't want to rush the passer. It will stress their excellent linebacker who is sort of a stiff. There is no reason to run right at Maryland, especially not without Rodney Hudson. FSU needs to run at the edges and attack the undersized outside linebackers or defensive backs. By throwing on 1st down, FSU can keep Maryland off balance. The bubble-screen game could play big in this contest. Anything to simplify the reads for freshman QB E.J. Manuel. Most teams don't blitz much on 1st down, making it an ideal down to throw on because of the added time in the pocket. Also, many teams are reluctant to blitz the spread because the blitz comes from a greater distance than against a traditional formation, thus taking longer to get there, being more readily identifiable, and affording the offense more time to react.

But undoubtedly Maryland will have some success with the blitz. I doubt Manuel stays clean in this game. But I do think he can hit a big play or two, interspersed with some less than desirable plays. I don't think FSU can run quite like they did against Wake Forest. FSU must pick up the blitz. And if Maryland goes a little more conservative, then Manuel needs to be in sync with the receivers.

Assuming FSU gets 68 plays, I think they can average about 6.75 per snap. That comes out to 460 yards. I like FSU to score 40 points. And to be clear, I definitely think rain is a disadvantage for the 'Noles here.

FSU 40, Maryland 24 Maryland is the worst team FSU has faced to date, and though I expect Manuel to look rough at times, I will still project the big win.

Chance of Victory: 88% (the exact percentage I predicted before the season).

Maryland-Virginia Tech Report Card and Helmet Stickers

Ben Broman — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:30:23 -0000

by Rob Carr - AP

26 days ago: Maryland's LaQuan Williams (3), Adrian Cannon (7) and Torrey Smith stand in the huddle during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Virginia Tech, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, in College Park, Md. Virginia Tech won 36-9. Maryland players wore special jerseys in honor of the wounded warrior program. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

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One word can describe Maryland fans' spirit after this game: basketball!

QB: C

This gets saved by a few things that Jamarr Robinson just can't control: the playcalling and the offensive line. Why would you let your debuting QB pass the ball upwards of 40 times (he had 32 attempts and at least 8 scrambles) against the 8th best passing defense in the country? I guess we can get to that later, though.

Robinson was very average, or below average, when passing. Of course, that might be because he had no time and was going up against a very good defense. His big strength was his scrambling ability - he went over 100 yards on the ground and was pretty much the only effective player Maryland had on offense thanks to that. You could still see that he had talent and an arm, but they got overshadowed by his jitters/poor offensive line and his running ability.

RB: INC

Sorry, RBs, you were a non-factor. I'm not sure if you played, actually. I just can't grade 6 rushes, especially because they were usually taken out of the ridiculous spread offense, so I can't even grade blocking.

WR: C-

Torrey Smith and Adrian Cannon had two nice plays off screen plays, with the traditional step back juke and 15 yard run after the catch, but that was it. Smith dropped two catchable balls in the end zone and was basically a non-factor. Actually, just about all of the receivers were non-factors. Part of that has to do with the fact that Robinson completed 12 passes, but part of that also has to do with the receivers not getting open and some dropped passes.

OL: F

You can't really attack the run blocking - because they didn't run - but you can definitely attack the pass blocking. Tech had a ridiculous 6 sacks, and if it wasn't for Robinson fleetness of foot it would've been at least 8. The scary thing is that Tech isn't particularly adept at getting to the QB - before this game, they were in the 70s in QB sacks. It wasn't always a blitz either - I can remember times when they got to Robinson rushing 4.

I really can't single anyone out here, because no one in particular stood out to me, but it was a pretty awful performance.

DL: D-

The entire defense was pretty terrible; the DL didn't particularly stand out to me. They rarely got pressure on Tyrod Taylor, and when they did it came with the linebackers' assistance. Ryan Williams ran all over them: 128 yards on a 5.5 average. The group rarely got penetration to force Williams into a different direction; the only one I remember was a few times by Travis Ivey. Other than that, very lackluster performance.

LB: D

This grade is surprising. The LB corps is usually the strong point of the defense, if not the entire team, but they didn't come up very big today. Granted, they had no support from the DL, which can make it tough to be effective, but they were pretty bad regardless. Despite Tech's 47 rushes, Alex Wujciak had just 11 tackles - usually he racks up the tackles against heavily rushing teams. It feels weird to say "just 11 tackles", but it makes sense with Wujciak. And besides just looking at tackles, he wasn't nearly as effective at stopping the run as he usually is. To make matters worse, Adrian Moten was quite, too. Demetrius Hartsfield didn't make a lot of noise, but it was his first game back.

The biggest problem was on the defensive back 7 as a whole, so the DBs got taken down for it, too: poor tackling. The two plays that stand out in my mind were the two Williams 20+ runs - both of them were made possible by more than one missed tackle. That just can't happen.

DB: D-

This was very much like the LB's performance, except they got burned through the air, too. Even though Taylor was just 13-23, VT put up 268 yards through the air. That's just one more completion than Jamarr Robinson, yet 134 more yards and 3 more TDs. That was mostly the result of a few big TDs from Jarrett Boykins and Dyrell Roberts, and in both cases those benefited from poor coverage. Safety help over the top was lackluster, and the corners themselves were rarely effective. Anthony Wiseman was the one that stuck out in my mind, but that's nothing new: we've known for awhile that Wiseman was a #3 guy.

Couple that with tackling that was as poor as the linebackers', and you have a D- grade.

Special Teams: C+

Well, Nick Ferrara made one of his FGs, which is more than you can say about most of the rest of the team. He also did decently punting, although the loss of Travis Baltz hurts again. Other than that...yeah, not much. Dan Bonato had one nice KO return, but Torrey Smith was quiet in this regard when Maryland most needed it. Tony Logan had two punt returns for a combined -7 yards. Tech, meanwhile, averaged 14 yards on punt returns and 25 yards on KO returns.

Coaching: D

Two reasons for this: the playcalling and the motivation.

On the first mark, I already addressed this, but who thought it would be a good idea to call passing plays at least 40 times against the 8th best passing defense in the country with basically a freshman QB? It didn't work at all, yet but the time the coaches were able to realize this, Maryland was losing by too much to start running. The Terps should've been running the ball the majority of the game, not abandon it after it stopped working once, which is what they did.

The second part, motivation, was just as much of a problem. There's no way to look at this team and say they came out motivated and ready to play. VT dominated from the kickoff. Maryland didn't even put up a fight. It's tough to get something out of players in a lost season, but, while wearing words like "Courage" and "Commitment" on their backs, I definitely expected more out of these guys. That's partially on the players, but it's more on the coach.

Helmet Stickers:

Jamarr Robinson, QB - First Maryland QB in a long time to get over 100 yards on the ground, especially not in his debut.
Terrell Skinner, S - He was average in the passing game, but was one of the few Terps who knew how to tackle yesterday - he had 13 of them.
Dan Bonato, KR - This is a feel-good pick, and because no one else really deserved it; Bonato did have a 33 yard KO return, and, sadly, I can't remember a time when there was more hope than that return.
Torrey Smith, WR/KR - Because there was no one else.

2009 Virginia Tech Football: What to Watch vs. Maryland

furrer4heisman — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00:21 -0000

by Gerry Broome - AP

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The Team

I'd like to see the Hokies take care of business in this one. It's been a while since Tech really laid the wood to a team on the road. We allowed Duke to hang around way to long earlier this year. Last year, we lost three conference road games and needed a big comeback to beat UNC.
The last road beat down the Hokies issued in conference play was 2007 against Georgia Tech, Duke and Clemson. Maryland is a team Tech SHOULD beat easily. But few things have been easy for this team the last month.
I hope to see the Hokies stop puckering up like they have been since the kickoff of the Georgia Tech game and start playing loose like they were against BC, Duke and Miami. TCB, Hokies.
The argument has been made that Maryland is better than its 2-7 record indicates. After all, it beat Clemson. But the Terps two wins were also by three points each. Maryland may be thiiiiiis close to being in contention for a bowl, but its also thiiiiiis close to being 0-9.

Virginia Tech Offense vs. Maryland Defense

Maryland's pass defense has been awful this year. While the short passing game was open against East Carolina, I think we'll be able to get guys open deep against the Terps. The injury to Nolan Carroll really hurt Maryland's secondary and while I think free safety Terrell Skinner is a decent player, he can't be everywhere.
The other Maryland defender I like is Alex Wujciak. He and two other Terps had interceptions against NC State, which helped move Maryland to +1 in turnover margin in conference games. The Terps are -9 in turnover margin in all games, thanks in large part to a five-turnover day against Rutgers.
Amazingly, Maryland's run defense isn't terrible. You look at the roster and other than Wujciak, there isn't a guy that pops out at you, but they are holding conference opponents to under three yards per carry, the best in the ACC.
Clemson, Virginia and Duke really struggled running the ball against Maryland. But Wake Forest and even NC State saw some success. Good running backs can get yards against this defense. Hell, James Madison had over six yards per carry against them.
The key to keeping Maryland from hanging around will be converting when we get deep on its side of the field. That's something the Hokies have struggled with lately, but have been largely successful with over the span of the whole year.
Maryland is one of the worst teams in the conference defending in the red zone. Opponents score touchdowns nearly two-thirds of the time they get in the Terps' red zone.

Virginia Tech Defense vs. Maryland Offense

We will likely see Jamarr Robinson at quarterback for the Terps. Robinson saw his first significant time in a Maryland uniform last week after the injury to Chris Turner.
Robinson is an elusive quarterback who didn't do anything special against NC State, but didn't do anything incredibly stupid either. As the guys from Testudo Times pointed out, he looked very confident at QB.
Then again, I'd look pretty confident, too, facing NC State's defense. The goal for the Hokies should be to force Robinson out of his comfort zone, but not let him get free and make plays with his feet.
Cody Grimm should be able to put pressure on Robinson from the whip position in this game. But at the same time he can't let Robinson get to the outside where he can pick up extra yards.
If we see a big game from Stephan Virgil it will be good day for the Hokies. The Terps have a playmaker at wide receiver in Torrey Smith, but I think there's a better chance of him scoring on a kick return than on offense. But he's still dangerous in space like Darrius Heyward-Bey was last year scoring Maryland's only touchdown.
We'll get to see a good battle of kick returners between Smith and Dyrell Roberts. Both a very dangerous.
The Terps will be without Da'Rel Sc'ott at running back so I don't expect them to be able to accomplish much on the ground. They averaged 4.0 ypc against NC State, but haven't been able to establish a run game without Scott.
The one thing about the Terp RBs is that they are difficult to bring down in the backfield. Their 24 tackles for loss against in league games is the fewest among ACC teams.
The Terps haven't made many trips to the red zone (only 14 in five ACC games), but they've scored eight touchdowns and four field goals in those trips. That's not bad at all.

Outcome

Just a walk in the park, Kazansky.

Watch the Box Score For:

Virginia Tech yards per carry
Virginia Tech sacks
Maryland return yards
Maryland first down yards per play

Virginia Tech Players to Watch:

5 - Tyrod Taylor, Jr., QB
34 - Ryan Williams, Fr., RB
22 - Stephan Virgil, Sr., CB
26 - Cody Grimm, Sr., LB

Maryland Players to Watch:

11 - Jamarr Robinson, So., QB
82 - Torrey Smith, So., WR
33 - Alex Wujciak, Jr., LB
1 - Terrell Skinner, Sr., FS

Final Score

Virginia Tech 34, Maryland 14

Maryland-Virginia Report Card and Helmet Stickers

Ben Broman — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:56:51 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

about 1 month ago: Maryland running back Gary Douglas (20) fumbles the ball against Virginia during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009, in College Park, Md. Virginia won 20-9. Maryland offensive lineman Paul Pinegar (71) recovered the ball.(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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As Kevin Cowherd said, ugly weather, ugly game, ugly result.

QB: C-

I like Chris Turner a lot, and I can respect what he's done as QB for the better part of three years, but he's been having a rough go of it lately. Yesterday was no exception.

First off, his arm was noodle-y and weak, most evidenced by the Torrey Smith underthrow. Second, he was rarely on target, even with open receivers. And this wasn't just the rain: Jameel Sewell looked better than he did for most of the game. Worst of all, he rarely even looked Torrey Smith's way. Like I said in the recap, Smith was isolated, one on one coverage, with no safety over the top several times, and he was never even glanced at. Turner's gotta get some of that blame.

There were some good things - he did lead some good drives, and looked good running - but they were overshadowed yesterday by the bad. Besides, when you don't put the ball in the end zone, it's tough to give credit for good drives.

RB: C

Strangely, the running game looked really good yesterday. Davin Meggett played well for the first time all year. Gary Douglas looked shifty and displayed some of the natural running back ability that people had been praising him for since spring. Caleb Porzel looked very good in his first real reps, and should be out there a lot more, especially with Douglas' injury. He's got moves, and is quick as hell. Great change-of-pace guy.

So, good performance, right? Oh, forgot about the fumbles. Those three fumbles, one from Meggett and two from Douglas, were absolutely killer and probably were the direct reason for Porzel's increased playing time. Without them, Maryland probably wins. This grade would've been a B+ if not for the fumbles.

WR: C-

Kerry Boykins...sigh. The kid's got talent - no denying that - but I'd be surprised to see him on the field again any time soon. Two huge first down drops and a fumble that resulted in ten lost yards is not a recipe for playing time.

Everyone else was pretty average. Torrey Smith didn't get many looks, so it's tough to judge there. Adrian Cannon and Ronnie Tyler looked like their usual selves: solid but unspectacular. Outside of Boykins, I think the only drop came from Corey Jackson or Tommy Galt, both of whom aren't really renowned for their hands anyway. Average performance with one bad outlier.

OL: C

It's a C kind of day for the offense, I guess. This was actually one of the better days for this offensive line, believe it or not. They held a decent UVA defensive line to just one sack, and Turner wasn't under immense pressure all day. He still got rid of the ball early, but sometimes that looked more like him being jumpy than actually having to get it out fast (I can certainly understand that, but I won't punish the OL for it). This was also the first time the running backs had some real holes to run through. Perhaps best of all, they didn't commit a plethora of false starts and holds, like they usually do. It wasn't a dominating day, but they looked pretty good compared to their usual selves.

DL: C+

This will be the only time all year I say this, so make sure you pay attention: Maryland won the battle in the trenches. This is not a drill.

The line wasn't outstanding, and Rashawn Jackson gutted them a few times, but they actually outplayed the other side. Travis Ivey, Jared Harrell, Isaiah Ross, and Deege Galt all had tackles for loss, and Galt and Harrell added sacks. Rashawn Jackson was able to get about four yards consistently, but there were times he was stuffed in the backfield and the line actually controlled him to an extent. It's a shame they couldn't take advantage in this in form of a win, but at least there's some progress.

LB: A-

Rainy, cold, sloppy...sounds like the perfect conditions for Alex Wujciak. He had fourteen tackles, two for loss, and a sack; definitely one of his best performances this year. Adrian Moten added two sacks of his own and defended his claim to best pass rusher. Demetrius Hartsfield played despite a broken hand and looked surprising good doing it; he wasn't an impact player, but he did get seven tackles and didn't make any bad plays. Ben Pooler is still a work-in-progress, but he had easily the best hit of the night, absolutely destroying Sewell on a blitz

It's no coincidence the LBs had this kind of game after the DL them some protection from blockers getting to the second level.

DB: B+

It's kind of sad that the defense put up such a good performance - I don't care if it was aided by the rain, I'm taking what I can get - and Maryland didn't win, because I don't think they'll be able to do this again all year. The defensive backs, from Cameron Chism to Anthony Wiseman, actually played pretty well. Maryland had five sacks - three of them were coverage sacks. Despite being rainy, I don't remember any CB or S getting beaten badly. Even Wiseman kept on his man consistently.

Also, there's no reason for Richard Taylor to not be the nickel back. He had two great plays in coverage and brings leadership and experience. As for other individuals, Kenny Tate and Antwine Perez still have some kinks to work out, but Jamari McCollough and Terrell Skinner had great games at safety.

Special Teams: C

A below-average performance from a usually very good unit. I'm not going to blame Nick Ferrara for missing those two FGs, but I'm not going to just forget about them, either. Conditions were terrible and the kicks were tough, but if he makes even just one, Maryland maybe wins the game. They also kicked away from Torrey Smith, so the kickoff returns were limited. Even punt returns had minimal impact. Can't really say much good outside of Ferrara's first three FGs.

Coaching: C-

Torrey Smith needs to get the ball more. A lot more. That is all.

Okay, that's not all, but that's the biggest thing. There's also the strange case of the abandonment of the running game midway through the third quarter, when it was working great. On the good side, they did call the Chris Turner draws perfectly.

Helmet Stickers:

Adrian Moten, LB - Wait, isn't an offensive player supposed to go here? Yeah, but the performance was so bad I'm not even going to give anyone on offense a helmet sticker. Here you go, Adrian.
Alex Wujciak, LB - Another double-digit tackle day for Wujciak.
Nick Ferrara, K - Hey, he did make three field goals,
Richard Taylor, CB - More of a feel-good helmet sticker than anything else, Taylor looked solid in his first real playing time in six long years.

Maryland-Wake Forest Report Card and Helmet Stickers

Ben Broman — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:20:59 -0000

That was a terrible game. Time to read a terrible grades post.

QB: D

No, they won't all be Fs. That's a copout. I'm going legit here. Unfortunately, that probably means they'll all be Ds.

It's not like Chris Turner had a ton of time to throw, so it's tough to really pin the woes of the offense on him, but he certainly wasn't great. He needs to realize he has to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible when the blitz comes; you'd think after four games he would've realized that. At the very least, he should call an audible when he reads blitz, like Riley Skinner did several times early in the game. We also got to see his woefully underpowered arm on a few occasions. Not one of CT's better days.

RB: D

For yet another week, it's not like they really had that much to do. Davin Meggett had 6 carries, and that led the backs. Making it worse, there were no real holes, either, so they were pretty restricted. Da'Rel Scott's presence wouldn't have made a difference, to be honest. At least Gary Douglas got in the passing game, which is where he can do some major damage.

WR: C-

Torrey Smith did have ten catches, but he only had seventy yards. That translates to doing absolutely nothing after the catch. Adrian Cannon showed some of the big play ability that many of us had expected from him early on with two TDs. Other than that, there wasn't much positive to draw from, but that's partly from Turner's arm; he underthrew one ball criminally and missed an open LaQuan Williams in the endzone. Still, they could've done more with the opportunities they had.

OL: F

If the OL was better, Turner has time to throw and the RBs have holes to run through. It's not breaking news, but there's the root of the offensive troubles. Wake had no problem controlling the game by getting to Turner, and probably should've had more sacks than they did (4). They also clogged up basically every hole for Meggett or Douglas to run through in the few attempts they had.

It all goes back to the OL.

DL: F

I'm now reminiscing about how we used to be, about four weeks ago, when the lines were ridiculously bad. Remember those days? Well, they're back.

The defense had trouble getting to Skinner even with a blitz, let alone with just the front four. A team that was previously unable to run the ball simply gashed the defensive line and had some truck-sized holes. Nothing positive to draw from this performance, sadly. The line took one huge step back after all that improvement.

LB: D+

Alex Wujciak looked good again; slow and unathletic, but good. He was back in the double-digits for tackles. Darin Drakeford got in on the action a bit too, with five tackles; that's his first real action of the season. He needs to be getting seriously enhanced reps at this point. Demetrius Hartsfield didn't look nearly as good as he had in the past few weeks, unfortunately. Really, it didn't matter what they did, though; the line was so bad that they were screwed either way.

Surprisingly, Adrian Moten didn't fare too well. He only had two tackles, not even a full TFL. He was hurt, so I'm not criticizing, but he's usually pretty impactful regardless of the line's performance. His quiet play hurt tonight.

DB: F

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

Anthony Wiseman got picked on like a second grade nerd all day long. Wake Forest is still probably eating Wiseman toast this morning for breakfast. Insert other Anthony Wiseman joke here. He can't be the #1 corner against UVA.

Cameron Chism wasn't much better. Falling down in coverage is unlucky, but somebody's gotta take the blame there. He also missed a couple of tackles and got straight up beaten a few times.

The safeties were just as bad, if not worse. Kenny Tate, Jamari McCollough, and Terrell Skinner were basically invisible. I'm not even sure Antwine Perez played. None of them helped out against the pass, which was burning the D, and run support was nonexistant. Not a good day for this group.

Special Teams: B

Nick Ferrara looked awesome again; he could be the best since Novak, maybe even better. 50 yarders aren't easy. Torrey Smith had the 85 yard return, which set up the only first half TD. Not much else happened, but it wasn't a particularly bad day for the ST.

Coaching: F

How, in god's name, does a team come out this flat and emotionless in a game that actually has ACC ramifications? How?

Oh, and when did we decide that running the ball isn't even worth trying anymore?

Also: why do we continue to run the QB draw again and again? Haven't we learned? It has lost its effectiveness, puts Turner at even more risk, and maxes out at about six yards. Not at all worth it.

Oh, and good decision to leave Turner in instead of give Jamarr Robinson some much needed reps after the game got out of hand. Not like we're going to need to know if he can play in a couple months.

Helmet Stickers:

Adrian Cannon: I mean, he did have two TDs.
Alex Wujciak: Well, he had double-digit tackles.
Nick Ferrara: 50 yarder!
Torrey Smith: Ten catches, plus an 85 yard kickoff return. Probably regained his lead in the all-purpose yards battle.

Maryland-Rutgers Grades and Helmet Stickers

Ben Broman — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:07:32 -0000

More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

2 months ago: Maryland's Brandon Jackson-Mills, left, and Jamari McCollough (4) sit on the bench during the closing moments of Maryland's 34-13 loss to Rutgers during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

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It was ugly. Really ugly. It should also remind you of a Family Guy episode with three of the first four grades.

But hey, there's always the defense.

QB: F

This was the first really bad performance for Chris Turner this year. And god, was it bad. Three interceptions, only one of which was really forced, and a huge fumble in the end zone would usually be enough for this grade all by themselves. But combine that with a poor day throwing the ball even outside of those four plays, and I kind of want to give him a J. Maybe a J+, because he did throw a TD. Seriously, I was pining for Joel Statham today.

Turner can turn it around, I have no doubt about that. He's not that physically talented, sure, but there's a reason he's played well before. Turner of the sophomore and junior years had some awesome games. But he's equally capable of going out and having games like this, being all-around terrible. If he doesn't bounce back, neither does Maryland.

RBs: D

Neither Da'Rel Scott nor Davin Meggett had any impact today - well, that's not entirely true. See, Scott fumbled again, and Meggett missed an assignment which led to Turner's endzone fumble. Other than that, no impact.

Honestly, I'd be surprised if Scott starts next week or even sees the field much. I'm not saying that's what I'd do - right now this is mental for Da'Rel, not an ability issue, so benching only makes the problem worse - but Ralph doesn't like stuff like this. The problem with that is that Meggett isn't talented enough to replace Scott, at least not without a major dropoff. Quite a predicament, to be sure, but not one I thought they'd find themselves in at the start of the season. Perhaps Gary Douglas gets some looks next week. There's always Caleb Porzel or D.J. Adams, too.

WRs: B

Ronnie Tyler had his habitually two open drops, but he made up for them with two great catches. Adrian Cannon had a nice snag. And of course, Torrey Smith had a big day, though he still didn't get the ball nearly enough (4 catches?). LaQuan Williams even had a TD. With Turner throwing the ball behind or too far ahead of the WRs almost every time, you can't complain about their performance outside of the two Tyler drops.

OL: D

They weren't good, that's for sure. Bruce Campbell's presence didn't help much, and neither did the inclusion of Maurice Hampton into the starting lineup at RG. Running the ball was particularly bad - Scott and Meggett rarely had any holes. Turner, while not excusing his mistakes, tended to be under a decent amount of pressure. To top it off, there were a couple of big penalties from the linemen (though they didn't really make that big of an impact). They're getting a little better, but still a very long way to go.

DL: C+

I considered not even including the final ten minutes in these grades, because by that point 1) there was no emotion left, 2) the game was all but out of hand, and 3) the defense was exhausted by being constantly on the field. But I did factor them in a bit, which will bring all these grades down a bit. Anyway, Maryland's defensive line has been absymal so far. But for some reason, they didn't look bad today. Maybe it's because I was looking for a positive, but they were able to shut down Rutgers' running game most of the game, and were part of a complete shutdown of the Scarlet Knights for the first three quarters.

LBs: A

Alex Wujciak looked good against the State University of his former home, making a few big tackles and occasionally showing off some improved speed. Demetrius Hartsfield is continuing to show why so many people hyped him up so early in his career. He really nailed Natale once, and forced him to leave the game for a few plays. Lastly, Adrian Moten looked awesome. Easily the best player on the defense. Can't really say much bad about them for these types of performances. Selective memory, perhaps, but it was definitely a good performance.

DBs: B+

This would be better if it weren't for the final Rutgers TD. After all, the group held Rutgers to a measly four completions, and were buoyed by some great coverage for most of the game. They actually caused a coverage sack - I may not be able to say that for the rest of the year. Of course, it was against Domenic Natale, whom not too many people would describe as a good QB, but I'll take what I can get.

On the negative, though, both Kenny Tate and Cameron Chism got caught on pass interference calls, and Tate and Terrell Skinner were victims of piss-poor tackling on Joe Martinek's long TD run. Those bring down what should've been an A performance.

ST: C

Torrey Smith wasn't great on kickoff returns, though he was solid (and set the Maryland career KO return yardage record...in his 4th game as a sophomore). Nick Ferrara had two field goals, one of which barely snuck in after being partially blocked. Travis Baltz got hurt, and his replacement, Ted Townsley, botched a punt snap. Overall, a very average performance.

Coaching: D

Could it have been higher than a D? Yeah, it could've probably be in the C area. But I'm still pissed that Ralph called for the punt on 4th down with 3 minutes left. Really going for the win there. Of course, Rutgers would go on to score a TD on that drive, making the score look worse than it already was, which was pretty bad. Gotta show some kind of confidence in the kids, even when they don't deserve it.

Helmet Stickers:

Torrey Smith, WR - Smith's helmet will be full of stickers by the end of the year. He gets it as much for breaking the record as he does the offensive performance, which was pretty darn good in its own right.
Adrian Moten, LB - Best player on Maryland's defense, no doubt. He was all over the field and made a few huge plays, including a sack and a few TFLs.
Nick Ferrara, K - Okay, so he wasn't great, but neither was Townsley and I already gave Smith a helmet sticker. He made two FGs, and got back on track after a rough game last week. He has the potential to have a Novak-esque career.
Alex Wujciak, LB - God knows I'm not giving it to anyone else on offense, though I kind of considered Ronnie Tyler for that ridiculous catch. But Wujciak's tackle on 4th and goal in the third quarter was money, and should've been a gamechanging play.

Maryland Minute 9.09.09 - Terps Out of It for Roscoe?, Skinner/Carroll Take Control of D, Don Brown Takes Responsibility

Ben Goldstein — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:37:45 -0000

Roscoe Sets In-Home Visits

One fist-pumping, HOF Coach won't be making a visit to the Smith home. Based on that, it's hard to say that the Terps have a great shot here. It might be time to downsize the 'Big 4' Terp BB targets to the 'Big 3.'

Terrell Skinner and Nolan Caroll Call "Players-Only" Defensive Meeting

It's good to see someone stepping up and taking control of the defense, even though it does seem a little early in the season for this type of thing. I guess that's what happens when you give up 542 yards of offense in Week 1.

"I woke up [Monday morning] and said, 'We've got to talk to these guys,' " Skinner said. "Nolan said, 'Let's do it.' We met in the visiting-team locker room after practice."

Skinner said the goal was "to make sure everyone is still one cohesive unit. I think I challenged them. I think I reached them."

We can only hope.

Don Brown's Take on the Cal Game - Tracking the Terps

Some interesting notes here and definitely worth the quick read. One quote that I really like from Brown:

"I'm completely responsible for it (the D's performance last Saturday) and I'm accountable for it. Bottom line is I believe in our guys. We're going to stay the course and get it right."

No 'late start' excuses like we heard from Cal last season. No 'we're young' excuses, either. He took responsibility and gave his guys a vote of confidence. I really like this guy. Now if the defense would just start playing a little better, it would make liking him that much easier.

Sporting News' ACC Power Rankings

Terps come in at #10. It seems to be the general consensus this week.

Terps Seek Redemption After Dud

Actually a pretty nice article from the AP. There's some encouraging quotes from several Terps including Wujciak and the Fridge. My favorite comes from Terrell Skinner.

"It's definitely redemption time," senior safety Terrell Skinner declared Tuesday. "We're going to take full advantage of these four straight games at home."

Want a Free, Awesome 9 x 12 Maryland picture?

The official site is offering the give-away in celebration of the new Maryland Photo Store. I think I'm going with this one...

What Could Have Been for LaQuan Williams? - D1SCOURSE

Pat Stevens has a really interesting article on Terps wide receiver LaQuan Williams who had committed to play football at JMU before Maryland swooped in at the last minute with a scholarship offer.

Position Battles Revisited

Ben Broman — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:04:43 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

Davin Meggett has played his way into contention for the starting spot at RB.

Browse more photos »

As we entered fall practice, there were quite a few position battles brewing - actually, I counted ten - and while some have yet to be settled, progress has been made in all of them. As we're now only a week away from kickoff (one week!), all position battles - minus kicker - will probably be solved within the next few days. Here's an overview, to see how they turned out:

Backup QB: Redshirt sophomore Jamarr Robinson entered camp defending his #2 spot from true freshmen C.J. Brown and Danny O'Brien. But the position battle ended after just a couple days of practice, as Robinson proved he's come a long way since the start of spring. O'Brien and Brown fought it out for #3, and O'Brien has a slight lead, but neither should burn their shirts. Winner: Jamarr Robinson.

RB: This wasn't a position battle before camp, but Davin Meggett has challenged All-ACC performer Da'Rel Scott for the top spot. And Gary Douglas has probably surpassed Morgan Green for the #3 spot. Oh, and there's the two high-octane freshmen RBs, D.J. Adams and Caleb Porzel. There's a ridiculous amount of talent here, so the position battle is a good thing. Winners: Meggett has pulled even with Scott, but Scott will still start. Gary Douglas' great camp has moved him past Morgan Green. The freshmen will probably redshirt.

Z WR: At first, there was a huge glut of very similar players fighting for the Z spot, with not a lot of separation. But after Torrey Smith - former starter at X - moved over to the position, the problem was solved. Smith will start at Z, Adrian Cannon will take his spot at X, and Ronnie Tyler will man the slot. Former Z leader Tony Logan was passed by Quintin McCree at the position, while Kevin Dorsey - another contender at the position - moved up to X. Winner: Torrey Smith

TE: One of the few positions without a lot of clarification. There hasn't been much news on where guys stand right now. All of the major contenders - Tommy Galt, Lansford Watson, Matt Furstenburg, and Devonte Campbell - have improved in camp, but none have separated themselves. Winner: Probably Tommy Galt, with Lansford a close second

LG: Originally given to Lamar Young, the position delved into battle after a very strong showing from former walk-on Andrew Gonnella. Gonnella and Young have been tied for most of camp, but after Young's been less than 100% due to a shoulder injury, Gonnella probably wrapped the position up. Winner: Gonnella.

RT: RT has been one of the fiercer battles in camp, but it's probably done now. R.J. Dill and Tyler Bowen appeared to be the frontrunners at the start of camp, but another former walk-on - Paul Pinegar - outlasted both and seems to have locked the spot up. Bowen might've been a contender, but has been injured for most of camp, and Dill is a close second to Pinegar right now. Winner: Pinegar.

DE: I still don't know what happened here. It's confusing, to say the least. It started out with Derek Drummond, DeOnte Arnett, and Masengo Kabongo fighting for playing time. Then former anchor Jared Harrell and Masengo Kabongo switched spots; Harrell is now tied with (probably leading, actually) Drummond, while Kabongo is neck and neck with Deege Galt at anchor. Then there's the possibility to Tony Tucker, whose addition would mess up the whole equation even more. Winners: Probably Harrell and Kabongo, but only because I haven't heard much of Deege Galt.

Nickel CB: Corner was, initially, a bit of a crapshoot. But after a couple weeks, it's been pretty well narrowed down to just two contenders: Cam Chism and Trenton Hughes (Richard Taylor, Brandon Jackson-Mills, and Michael Carter are fighting for the fifth corner spot). While I don't know exactly which one is leading, and I haven't really heard much about either lately, I wouldn't feel uncomfortable wagering on Chism. Winner: Don't really know, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't Chism.

S: One of the good position battles, safety is an issue because there's too much talent. Jamari McCollough might've been the defensive MVP last year. Kenny Tate might be the most exciting, naturally gifted player on the defense, if not on the team. Antwine Perez is a former five star, and just as talented as Tate. Terrell Skinner was great last year, and is a huge playmaker. So, how do you solve this? Play them all. Winner: Maryland - you can expect a lot of three or even four safety sets.

Punt Returner: Really, it's been more of Tony Logan vs. himself than Tony Logan vs. anyone else, because there is no other legitimate contender at the moment. While I'd like to see Caleb Porzel back there, there's the issue with burning his redshirt. As it stands, unless Logan does really poorly - and there's no indication that he will - the spot is his. Winner: Logan.

Kicker: Your guess is as good as mine. Mike Barbour and Nick Ferrara are completely tied right now - you can't even really argue for one being ahead of the other. My gut is telling me Ferrara, but I have no idea what the coaches think. Winner: ?