Last night Maryland went out on the national stage to make a statement. Unfortunately that statement was "this is not our year." Maryland has played well some games and dismally others. They are only half a game out of first place in the ACC Costal Division but they were outplayed in every way by Virginia Tech last night. All night they traded touchdowns for field goals or punts. They wasted excellent field position time and time again. And they put almost no pressure on the VT quarterback Sean Glennon, who is still recovering from a high ankle sprain. Maryland can't even rush a gimpy guy. That is not good.
The only glimmer of offense came when Heyward-Bey caught a pass from Turner and ran 63 yards to the end zone. It finally looked like there was a change in momentum. After that, a VT player was hit by the kickoff and Maryland recovered. But even with such great field position all the Terps could muster was a field goal to make the score 20-13 VT. And that was the end of the comeback for Maryland. The final score was 23-13 VT. I know that Da'Rel Scott is injured and so we have to rely more on the passing game. But this was a game of wasted opportunities much like this season has been one of wasted potential.
It's possible that Maryland could turn around and win the next three games and go to the ACC Championship game. As of now two out of the last three teams they play are ranked. And the Terps have been prefect this year against ranked teams. But last night showed that they are undersized and inconsistent. The defensive line averaged about 50 lbs. lighter than VT's offensive line. Fifty pounds is almost half a person, not a football player, but a person like me. Why are we so small?
The reason is that our recruiting sucks. VT is in Blacksburg, VA. It's a nice town, but it's in the middle of nowhere. And they recruit way better than Maryland, which is right outside of DC. How is this possible. Is our team that terrible that players are willing to go live in the middle of nowhere rather than play for us? Why can't we get bigger recruits? I know the ACC isn't really a football conference, and I can understand players wanting to live in boondocks to play for a SEC or Big 10 team. But we're losing these players to VT. Come on.
I know that it's not normal to do this with a winning team that has beaten a bunch of big teams this year, but I'm calling for Fridge's head. Or at least calling for some better recruiting. Yes, we've won the big games, but imagine how great we'd have been this year if we'd actually won the games we were supposed to win as well. It looks to me like there is a problem with the leadership. And maybe it's time for some new blood.
Maryland had the opportunity to be great this year. They could be dominating the ACC right now if they would just show up all the time. I know the team has made big steps since last year and I appreciate that. And maybe it'll continue next year. But it's just as likely that next year Maryland could finish at the bottom of the ACC.
So come on, I'd like a little consistency. And a bigger defensive line. I hope the Fridge is listening, because I doubt I'm the only Maryland alumni to feel this way.
3 comments:
Who could do better than Fridge? Any ideas?
Not really sure. I am certain that there will be more than a few head coaches "stepping down" at the end of the season. I'll look into some of the options. We might have to go for someone who isn't a Maryland grad, which wouldn't be as cool, but if we won more games that could make up for it.
I know in my family we've been talking about recruiting since Fridge came to Maryland. Fridge's best teams were all Vanderlinden recruits. In 2001, he inherited that entire team from Vanderlinden. Sure, Fridge has had some top level recruits, as evidenced by their play on Sundays, but let's get real here. Maryland is losing good in-state talent to our border states, especially Pennsylvania and Penn State.
I don't know if that's all Fridge or his assistant coaches. Fridge is the last person a recruit will meet, usually. I did hear he came to some football game in Baltimore to check out a big recruit, and he flew in on a helicopter at halftime. Talk about pulling out all the stops!!
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