Fear for the Turtles

The University of Maryland football program has taken a step backward this season. Injuries along the offensive line combined with ineffective play calling by coach Friedgen have caused the offense to struggle. Poor tackling and missed assignments have led to breakdowns on defense. The inability to sustain a high level of play for 4 quarters has led to 3 consecutive losses.

The Terps need 2 victories in their last 3 games in order to become "bowl eligible". That task will be hard to accomplish with 2 out of 3 on the road including games against Boston College & Florida State. How did the Terps get into this situation? It all starts and ends with the head coach, Ralph Friedgen. Friedgen has not successfully recruited the top talent in the Baltimore-Washington area. He let his best recruiter, Mike Locksley, leave in 2002. Friedgen won coach of the year honors in 2001 with players recruited by Locksley and his predecessor, Ron Vanderlinden. The Terps have not had the same level of success since those recruits have moved on. Meanwhile programs such as Illinois, Penn State and Florida have been able to gain a strong foothold on some of the best high school players in the D.C. area. Is it any coincidence that Mike Locksley has worked for both Florida and Illinois (currently offensive coordinator) since leaving Maryland)? I think not. Not only can coach Friedgen not recognize and sign the top talent in the area...he apparently can't recognize the top talent evaluators on his staff.

Maryland entered the season with a collection of unproven quarterbacks. Jordan Steffy is a brave young man. I admire him for his ability to come back from an assortment of injuries to compete for the starting QB job. However, I've seen nothing in his play for the past 3 years that indicates that he can be a competent NCAA Division I QB. I watched in disbelief at his inability to get passes off during the first three weeks of the season. I'm sorry that he was injured in the Rutgers game, but that injury was the impetus for a change that was long over due...the insertion of Chris Turner into the starting line-up. Turner has struggled at times, but his problems stem from a lack of game experience, not talent. I saw more down field passes completed by Turner in the second half of the Rutgers game than I saw in all of the games that Steffy started. What I haven't seen lately is coach Friedgen having the confidence in his young QB to take more chances down field. The Terps didn't take any long shots in the UVa game after scoring two early touchdowns and literally went into a shell (no pun intended) on offense. They subsequently lost the game when the defense allowed the Cavaliers to drive 86 yards in the final 6 minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

So...the Terps stand at 4-5 after nine games needing to win 2 of 3 to become "bowl eligible". I hate that term, "bowl eligible". What it really means for the Terps is that they have had a lousy season and need 2 more wins to get invited to a lousy bowl game. The Terps should aspire to win conference and national championships, not become "bowl eligible". That change in philosophy needs to come from the top. Until that happens there will be far more fear for the turtles than fear of the turtles.

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