Defense
by Brendan Plutschak on Feb 13, 2012 10:17 AM EST
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PrintThere is a lot of hope with Maryland football right now. After Locksley got hired to coach at Maryland, the recruiting turned completely around as we signed some of the top recruits available in Wes Brown, Albert Reid, and Stefon Diggs. There is hope surrounding this team right now. My biggest question is defense.
What is changing next year that is going to make our defense better? Is it a new coach (new scheme)? Is it our young players (especially linebackers) getting better then they were last year? Who in our secondary is going to play cornerback better then they did last year? Are there recruits coming in that are underrated that are going to make a huge impact?
I think our offense has the potential to be very good. It's going to depend a lot on our freshman coming in, and consistent QB play, but I think we can have a very good offense. I'm not as confident with our defense.
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Defense won't be a problem
look at what we did last year……..
by bloodwatermission on Feb 13, 2012 10:19 AM EST reply actions
depth
There were so many injuries last year that we were on our 2nd and 3rd string players in the secondary and at LB for the majority of the time. That forced a lot of true freshman into playing time, and it showed.
We also have better quality recruits than the freshman that were playing last season, no offense to them. Ralph neglected the LB position during recruiting his last three years as a coach, I think he brought in a total of 3-4, which killed us.
The change to the 3-4 is never fun the first year of it, so I’m not thinking it is going to be great next year. We don’t have the right linemen for it.
Couple of of things should factor in...
New scheme/coordinator (3-4), Kenny Tate going back to safety, Matt Robinson/Justin Anderson returning from injury, development of current players (esp. Twine, McDougle, Hendy, Drakeford), possible impact new guys (Isaac Goins, Abner Logan, Brock Dean?), and an improved offense that keeps the defense off the field more.
@nkeninitz
More Offensive Time of Possession is a must;
Even established/great defenses get tired, so when you add in our injuries, inexperience, and toss fatigue on the top, you get problems for a defense. Keeping things simple on reads/assignments will help too. Generally, if you can put the kids in the right spots and they have a decent feel for their first 2-3 reads, they have enough athleticism to make plays. We need the offense to grind a few drives though…
My main concerns. our new D-line, mostly because of size and having a 2nd and 3rd CB
I think Vellano as one DE and prob. Francis at NT but then who fills that other DE spot? whoever it is will most likely be quite undersized for a 34 lineman. I think if Tate can come back from his injury and keep enough quickness and speed for Safety, him and Robinson will be a decent enough couple. But really after McDougle, who is a stud, we dont have a proven CB. People say Hendy is a better CB than safety so he could be that second guy but who’s left? Dorleant? Isaac Goins as a JUCO Transfer? Sean Davis as a freshman?Maybe Albert Reid goes to CB, have Stefon play in nickle or dime sets. IDK much about our CB’s but I dont see a good 2 and 3rd guy on our team
Let's just let Stefon play both ways
I’m actually halfway serious, but I would think Dorleant/Goins/Hendy probably kind of battle it out for the other starting spot. Reid might be turned into a DB I suppose, but I doubt Sean Davis plays much right away. Who cares though, or starting CBs in a few years should be Fuller and Tabor, right?
@nkeninitz
by nkeninitz on Feb 13, 2012 11:41 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Stefon
I say Stefon plays offense, defense, returns punts and kicks. What the hell right? He gives us our best chance to win and he’s a hell of a player on all aspects of the game. If he gets hurt its not like were going to be any good this year anyhow so he comes back from injury and then once we have the proper players to fill in he can go back to just playing receiver and returning kicks.
Defense will be better by default, but it won't be great either
Last years problem with injuries, inexperience, and lack of depth were very real. So by default, those things should be correcting themselves this offseason and we won’t blow 4 or 5 touchdown leads.
However at the same time, there is a major scheme change. We don’t necessarily have the personnel just yet to run a 3-4 and be crazy successful at it, at least not on paper. I’m not as worried about the d-line as I am about our linebackers. Vellano and company will hold their own, especially considering that Stewart’s 3-4 calls for slightly quicker lineman rather than bigger lineman. We will need to find that pass rusher though, and I don’t know that we have it right now.
by FeartheTurtle2002 on Feb 13, 2012 11:36 AM EST reply actions
Not only a year of experience
but a year in the weight room and a year of conditioning. The physical difference between a 21 or 22 year old junior or senior and a 17 or 18 year old freshman is even more pronounced in football than in basketball and look how Len and Pankey get pushed around by goons like the Plumlees. And a more TOP will certainly help the ‘D’.
Right now, I’d be more concerned about the O line. Terps have lost both starting tackles. This doesn’t make for great pass protection. Also, if you can run the ball with the lead in the 4th quarter you usually win games.
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