Explain something to me...

[Birds of B'more]

Well I don't agree. I think you MUST coach what you believe in and make adjustments to put your players in the position to have success. If you don't do that you end up not being committed to what you are trying to do. I think that is what we saw early this year on offense. DOB is a good QB and it would be a shame to see him transfer because of the system change, however the Brown lead offense scored 38 points against a very good team. You should win that game every time. With the defense having a pick 6 it is even made worse in my eyes.

I really don't see how there can be much bad to say about the offense, however the defense looked really bad.

Edsall apparently feels the same as you do. And yet he says the Terps aren't rebuilding. He's good at talking out both sides of his mouth, I'll give him that.

It's a shame that the NCAA rules are such that O'Brien would have to lose a year of eligibility if he transfers. It's not his fault the coaches he committed to play for are gone and the new ones don't want to tweak their systems to try and fit his abilities. Of course I guess he could always go to an FCS school and play out his college career there. It's not like NFL scouts wouldn't notice him down there if his skills and play warrants their attention.

[Flosman]

Edsall apparently feels the same as you do. And yet he says the Terps aren't rebuilding. He's good at talking out both sides of his mouth' date=' I'll give him that.

It's a shame that the NCAA rules are such that O'Brien would have to lose a year of eligibility if he transfers. It's not his fault the coaches he committed to play for are gone and the new ones don't want to tweak their systems to try and fit his abilities. Of course I guess he could always go to an FCS school and play out his college career there. It's not like NFL scouts wouldn't notice him down there if his skills and play warrants their attention.[/quote']

I agree the rules are not fair when the players are locked in but the coaches can come and go. But I cringe every time I see you imply that a spread option OC is just tweaking his system to run a pro style passing game. It is completely different.

[Birds of B'more]

I agree the rules are not fair when the players are locked in but the coaches can come and go. But I cringe every time I see you imply that a spread option OC is just tweaking his system to run a pro style passing game. It is completely different.

Crowton spent a couple years as OC in the NFL with the Bears. One of those years the Bears had the #3 passing offense in the league. I'm sure he could come up with something that better suits DOB.

[Dr. FLK]

My apologies for misreading that. I see what you were going for.

Still though, if he's willing to change the offense to better use the skills of the backup, why not do the same for the starter if that player is struggling?

What other skills does DOB have that he should be taking advantage of? The problem now (to me, at least), is that they don't have adequate protection for DOB. And, when they do, the WRs either don't get open or don't catch the ball. I think a lot of that has caused DOB to start making absolutely horrid decisions. But, right now, I don't think you can send him out there with the way he's throwing it to the other team. So, you take advantage of what you have. And, Brown isn't a drop back passer, so you make changes. I don't see any real changes you can make that increase DOB's chances of moving the offense right now given his skillset and the players around him.

[Dr. FLK]

Crowton spent a couple years as OC in the NFL with the Bears. One of those years the Bears had the #3 passing offense in the league. I'm sure he could come up with something that better suits DOB.

He probably could, if the offense had some talent on it at OL and WR positions. Right now, the only receiver who looks like he has any clue how to (a) get open and (b) catch is Furstenburg (sp?).

[JohnD]

I think that's why Markus Leak is listed as a starter this week. He looked good in limited work the other day, so why not see what he can do, since Dorsey is out? Dorsey has been the best receiver they've had (true WR, that is) and so his injury figures to hurt the passing game more. Ronnie Tyler isn't even on the depth chart anymore. A shame. His first two seasons here he caught everything. Now? He's gone backwards.

[Tony-OH]

I think that is probably the biggest cause for the disconnect, because I thought the program was in pretty bad shape.

After the first 3 seasons with Vanderlinden's players, Friedgen had a steady string of mediocre seasons, with 2 "okay" ones thrown in.

People like to tout that he as CoTY last year, but the only reason for that was that the team won 2 games the year before. They used a very soft schedule to cruise to 9 wins.

Fan interest was way down. Obviously, the program was in shambles academically.

There just wasn't much good to look forward to. I appreciate what Ralph did for us, but this team was going nowhere.

Now maybe that's the ceiling for the MD football program. Clearly it is more of a basketball school than a football school. I don't know, but I'd like to find out if we can be better than what Friedgen was doing.

Great post here. Anyone wishing for the mediocrity of the Freidgen era is still thinking about how good we were when he coached someone else's recruits. The Terps have played pretty competitively against some top ranked schools, and even though Freidgen has a history of stealing a game or two from these kinds of games, other than the Temple game they've played well.

Now saying that, I'm not real excited about what I see and hear about Edsall, but perhaps the scorched earth approach is what was needed. My major gripe continues to be the fact he took the names off the jerseys. I feel disconnected to the team because when I'm watching the games I don't know who's doing what. Hopefully this was just part of initial plan to get everyone thinking about Mary;and first, but I hope he puts the names back on this year. I honestly couldn't name you five players on the team this year and I've watched three games. I'm willing to give Edsall and his coaches a chance until he can get his guys in here, but it might be painful until then.

[ccbird]

There was nothing wrong with wanting to move on from the Fridge era. The problem is we Edsall isn't the right guy. I'm like 90% convinced of that. I mean my expectations were and aren't high for MD football but we could have done better than Edsall.

[glenn__davis]

There was nothing wrong with wanting to move on from the Fridge era. The problem is we Edsall isn't the right guy. I'm like 90% convinced of that. I mean my expectations were and aren't high for MD football but we could have done better than Edsall.

Such as who?

Obviously the other name we heard was Leach, but based on the financial reports we've heard, I'm not sure they could have afforded him. They also clearly wanted someone to bring some discipline to the program, and I don't think Leach is that guy.

I know some people don't like some of things he's done since arriving - that is fine, I happen to disagree (except I agree with Tony about the jersey names), but certainly everyone can hold that opinion.

But Edsall took a program from 1-AA, in an area where there is very little local talent, at a school where football is far behind basketball in popularity, and turned them into one of the top football schools in a BCS conference.

I've seen others say he's not ready for the ACC - well, it's not like the ACC is that great a step above the Big East, where he was successful.

This guy's a good football coach with a good resume. If he could win at UCONN, he could win here.

[Birds of B'more]

Such as who?

Obviously the other name we heard was Leach, but based on the financial reports we've heard, I'm not sure they could have afforded him. They also clearly wanted someone to bring some discipline to the program, and I don't think Leach is that guy.

I know some people don't like some of things he's done since arriving - that is fine, I happen to disagree (except I agree with Tony about the jersey names), but certainly everyone can hold that opinion.

But Edsall took a program from 1-AA, in an area where there is very little local talent, at a school where football is far behind basketball in popularity, and turned them into one of the top football schools in a BCS conference.

I've seen others say he's not ready for the ACC - well, it's not like the ACC is that great a step above the Big East, where he was successful.

This guy's a good football coach with a good resume. If he could win at UCONN, he could win here.

Why not? Are you pigeon-holing the guy as a non-disciplinarian because an ESPN announcer/analyst has a vendetta against him for not playing his son? Or is it because he marches to his own beat and doesn't always get along well with superiors? By all accounts I've read, Leach had one of the highest graduation rates for players in Div 1 football, and I don't recall any rumors of violations or the NCAA ever sniffing around his program.

[Dr. FLK]

Why not? Are you pigeon-holing the guy as a non-disciplinarian because an ESPN announcer/analyst has a vendetta against him for not playing his son? Or is it because he marches to his own beat and doesn't always get along well with superiors? By all accounts I've read' date=' Leach had one of the highest graduation rates for players in Div 1 football, and [b']I don't recall any rumors of violations or the NCAA ever sniffing around his program.[/b]

There certainly have been rumors. Nothing major, but sanctions none-the-less.

[Birds of B'more]

There certainly have been rumors. Nothing major, but sanctions none-the-less.

Fair enough. Doesn't sound like he or his staff willfully violated the rules though.

[OregonBird]

Looks like CJ starts again this week vs. FSU. I'm sure DOB will get his chance this game, CJ won't fool the FSU defense.

[Birds of B'more]

Looks like CJ starts again this week vs. FSU. I'm sure DOB will get his chance this game, CJ won't fool the FSU defense.

Clemson's defensive coaches obviously failed to properly evaluate the 3 quarters of tape from the GA Tech game. Either that, or they just thought there was no way they would ever bench DOB. I agree that FSU won't make the same mistake. Expect 8 defenders near the LOS, with one specifically designated to shadow Brown. They'll force him to make the longer throws. I'm sure they'll also pay special attention to Furstenburg and force the WR's to be the ones to make plays. Still, I think it will have to get really ugly before Edsall gives Brown the hook and goes back to O'Brien.

[glenn__davis]

Why not? Are you pigeon-holing the guy as a non-disciplinarian because an ESPN announcer/analyst has a vendetta against him for not playing his son? Or is it because he marches to his own beat and doesn't always get along well with superiors? By all accounts I've read' date=' Leach had one of the highest graduation rates for players in Div 1 football, and I don't recall any rumors of violations or the NCAA ever sniffing around his program.[/quote']

You may be right.

I am not at all pigeon-holing him about the Craig James thing. Just making a generalization based on the way he acts and carries himself.

But you are correct, that probably is not a fair generalization.

In any event, I would think that we would all expect him to be more expensive than Edsall, right? And that the Terps athletic dept. is in pretty bad shape financially from Yow's tenure.