Maryland-N.C. St. Report Card and Helmet Stickers
Another weekend, another loss. What's new?
QB: C+
Chris Turner, outside of the terrible first throw, was actually pretty good. 12-19, 135 yards in a little over a quarter and a half isn't a bad performance at all, especially when you throw in the 1 yard TD run. Of course, he went out with injury and was replaced by Jamarr Robinson, who performed probably as he was expected to: at the beginning, nervously and not so great.
That said, the entire time you could see he had a cannon for an arm, was literally inches away from a TD on two of first four passes. Once he got more into the flow of things, he looked pretty good, and surprisingly poised. He displayed his running ability and had two extremely important 3rd down runs on that final drive - that's crucial for this offense, because the line is - did you hear? - terrible.
RB: C
Well, Robinson was the leading rusher and leading carrier. Caleb Porzel got an inexplicable four carries - the less time he gets on the field, the more that redshirt looks like a waste. It's even stranger that he got so isolated when he was averaging 7 yards a carry with a 22 yarder. Davin Meggett was good around the goal-line, but mediocre off it. Gary Douglas didn't see the field, which was surprising. In the end, only so much you can do with 13 carries.
WR: B+
Torrey Smith is back. Solid day for him, outside of one drop. The offense should be looking his way eight to nine times each game. Adrian Cannon also had a solid performance, and he's basically guaranteed to get at least 6 yards after the catch. He's definitely proven himself to be a more than capable second option. Ronnie Tyler's still pretty quiet, but he had one really nice catch with a couple of spin moves to get around 20 yards on one play. He's one of Maryland's better short route receivers.
The group couldn't have done much more, but with the lack of passing the entire day and Robinson's jittery arm, they didn't get a lot of opportunities.
OL: D+
Thank god for Jamarr Robinson's athleticism. He was pressured and forced out of the pocket almost every single play, especially on the final drive - N.C. State didn't even blitz once on that drive, and yet he never had time to sit back and make a throw. The problems were pretty varied, too - Paul Pinegar one time, R.J. Dill another time, Andrew Gonnella another time. It wasn't an individual, but the group as a whole. Even though the Wolfpack only had one sack, they got into the backfield a lot and would have a lot of pressures, if they counted those.
One of the few saving graces was that Willie Young, whom I had nightmares over, was pretty easily contained by Bruce Campbell, who proves his worth more every day. I just have to keep telling myself that this will all be better in another year or two.
DL: D+
A bit of regression from this group yesterday. State's line dominated in the passing game - Russell Wilson was sacked only once, and this group rarely applied pressure. It's times like this you need to have a DL that can get to the QB by itself, because everyone was dropping back in coverage to contain the passing attack (that still torched them). The secondary and LBs can't sacrifice bodies on the blitz, so it's up to the DL and occasionally the LBs. Today, and the rest of the year, that wasn't enough. Deege Galt, A.J. Francis, Masengo Kabongo, Zach Kerr, Jared Harrell...I can't remember any of them getting their name called even once.
The only bright spot on the day is that their running game was very hit or miss, but the DL seemed to have more to do with the hit than the miss.
LB: C+
I'm torn on this performance. Ben Pooler, Adrian Moten, and Alex Wujciak were all taken out of their traditionally attacking roles and put back in coverage. They tended to be more liabilities than assets there, especially Wujciak. He did have the huge INT return, but he also got burned on more than one occasion. Because they were playing out of their element, it's tough to give them a definitive grade one way or the other.
In the end, though, Wujciak had the TD, Ben Pooler had a sack, and NCSt. didn't torch Maryland on the ground. That's good enough for a C+, even though the Wuffies did hit a lot of middle and intermediate routes that the LBs could defend.
DB: C-
Wilson had a field day, ten receivers had receptions, and NCST passed for nearly 350 yards. Not a banner day for this group. Most of the completions, however, did seem to be on Anthony Wiseman's side of the field - that was just a continuation of a very long year for Wiseman. We've known for awhile that Cameron Chism should be the #1 starter, but should Richard Taylor replace Wiseman? Taylor did have an interception and looked okay out there when he had opportunities, at least better than Wiseman.
The safeties, individually, didn't look terrible. Kenny Tate had an interception and a TFL. Terrell Skinner had 7 tackles and a PBU. None got burned too badly. But this was more about the group as a whole, and something wasn't clicking. There were mile-wide holes in the zones, and NCST's receivers either made a difficult catch while covered or just got a half step on the corner or safety in man. When watching each individual play, none stood out as terrible. Sadly, nor did any stand out as great, or even good (outside of the two INTs), which was the problem.
ST: B
Nick Ferrara was money all year, but he missed two very big field goals, both in the score and in momentum. If he nails both of those, Maryland has more momentum and, believe it or not, probably wins this game. They did get down to the NCST 35 on that final drive, and being able to call an intermediate route to pick up 10 to 15 yards instead of 25 to 35 would've made everything a lot easier. It's very possible that they would've converted on one of those throws, and at least give Ferrara another shot.
But, hey, he's a freshman, and these things will happen. At least he didn't miss a bunch of extra points, ala Clemson.
Of course, Torrey Smith's TD made up for Ferrara's rough day. He's not incredibly shifty, but he does what he's supposed to do, and he does it well. Sometimes the blockers come through and he gets a seam. More often than not, he'll house it.
Also, Tony Logan came up with a fumble recovery on NCST's muffed punt, one of the Pack's four TOs that kept Maryland around.
Coaching: C
First off, Wilson got flustered when Maryland put pressure on. Strangely, though, the Terps rarely attacked. It seemed like Brown was afraid to get beaten too badly through the air, but they were doing that anyway. I mean, Wujciak's not that good in coverage - he might as well blitz sometimes. Didn't make a lot of sense.
Offensively, I won't complain too much. I did have a problem with not letting Robinson throw the ball till he had been in for nearly an entire quarter, especially on a 3rd and eight. That playcall simply makes no sense to me, and, who knows, maybe Maryland converts if they throw it and get a TD out of that drive, instead of a blocked FG.
Were there other questionable decisions? Sure: the oversaturation of the screen pass, the reverse pass, keeping Wiseman in the game. But I didn't feel too critical of them at the time, so I won't be too critical of them here.
Helmet Stickers:
- Jamarr Robinson, QB - So he was average at best. It was his first game ever, his first pass attempt ever, and his first pass completion ever. He's well-suited for this offense because he can make things happen with his feet when the bullfighter offensive line breaks down, and it's clear he's got talent, both in his arm and his legs.
- Alex Wujciak, LB - Didn't I just say Wujciak can't cover? Well, that's true, but a 70 yard interception return for a TD and 14 tackles make up for poor coverage and terrible hair.
- Torrey Smith, KR/WR - 82 yard KO TD return? Yaaaaaawwwwwn.
- Richard Taylor, CB - The feel-good story of the day. How 'bout we let the 17th year senior start next week? He looked better than Anthony Wiseman.
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Comments
Good God is Wujciak slow!
You can time that kid with a sun dial. His TAINT took 45 seconds, but he made it happen (despite his corn rows).
As I’ve posted elsewhere, this is Jamarr’s 3rd year in the program, and he still seems to struggle with the play book. He clearly has not learned all the plays. I’m fine with them easing him into the calls in the first series, but he needs to learn the plays more. It’s clear he’s a bit lost.
I can’t believe, according to the reports, that they almost put the FR QB into the game. That shouldn’t be an option.
I really feel bad for Turner, poor kid. Under cut by a shitty OL his entire career. Just a mismatch of a QB and OL ability. They seemed to have never really figured out how to use him, or his other offensive talents.
by ckstevenson on Nov 8, 2009 4:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
"Undercut by a shitty OL his entire career"?
What about last year!?!? We had the best O-line in the ACC (or at least the second best, next to FSU).
I do agree Turner’s career has been quite unfortunate, though. Showed great promise sophomore year, had the starting job torn from his grasp by Steffy junior year, and then gets screwed over by a crappy OL his senior year.
by kckb8 on Nov 8, 2009 6:28 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Jamarr playbook comprehension / OL play
The problem is not JamRob, and the coaching staff needs to realize this. Let’s take the Portis adventure as a life lesson and adapt our style of play to our signal caller. Robinson clearly has a lot of potential with good shiftiness and arm strength and surprisingly good poise, so let’s play up to his advantages and mitigate his (perceived) disadvantages. I’m actually pleasantly surprised that the coaching staff looked like they were doing just that yesterday.
My heart also goes out to Turner. He has shown flashes, and I still think he has potential as a pro level backup, but he hasn’t had an opportunity to prove it this year. He is truly a great Terp and congratulations to him for becoming the 2nd all-time leading Maryland passer.
As for the grades, I’m sorry, but I’d have to give the OL a D- at best and possibly an F. There was no excuse for a couple of those horrendously missed blocks, the most glaring of which was the final play where Jamarr almost got killed because Dill let a pass rusher fly right past him without even touching him. I’m willing to cut Pinegar and the other walk-ons some slack, but a scholarship player repeatedly doing things like that is hard to bear.
by JC1 on Nov 8, 2009 6:29 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Pinegar isn't a walkon anymore
He’s on scholarship. Same for Gonella.
Pinegar’s missed block a few plays earlier was even more heinous than Dill’s. Dill seemed to get a worse rap by most people, but at least he got a hand on his guy. Pinegar literally watched the DT run by him.
The reason it wasn’t a D- was because it didn’t seem legitimately terrible all game, at least not to me. There were plenty of times they looked awful, but I did see an occasional flash of promise, particularly in the 3rd quarter area. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t abominable, which is what an F calls for. Plus, I called 3 sacks for Willie Young earlier, and he had zero. Had to give some credit to Bruce Campbell.
by Ben Broman on Nov 8, 2009 7:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Scholarship vs. walk-on
Fair enough, I can see your logic behind not lowering their grade. Turner seemed to have adequate protection earlier in the game for the types of play they were running.
I didn’t know they were now on scholarship, but to me there is still a difference between expectations of a walk-on who earns a scholarship by playing in a position where we have a shortfall and a player who has been recruited out of high school (by numerous D-I schools) to play at that position. Just my opinion.
by JC1 on Nov 8, 2009 9:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

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