Friedgen keeps it positive in buildup to Cal
Coach Ralph Friedgen is refraining from making wholesale changes following Maryland's stunning 24-14 loss to Middle Tennessee State.
Not that he didn't consider it. The coach indicated today that he talked to a few players who underperformed but opted against rewriting the depth chart.
"I've actually had a few kids in and felt like maybe now isn't the right time to do it," Friedgen said. "I thought at the meeting yesterday it was very important to be very positive with the players."
Friedgen seems to be going on instinct. His gut told him that now, after two games, it isn't the time to rip up a team that he still believes has character, talent and speed.
But a few adjustments are being made:
* Free safety Terrell Skinner (high ankle sprain) is out for two to three weeks and is being replaced by Antwine Perez and Jamari McCollough. Skinner had a game-clinching interception in the opening-week victory over Delaware.
* Maryland is going to work on defending the the no-huddle offense, which Middle Tennessee used successfully Saturday. In their rush to line up, Friedgen said Maryland defenders sometimes "didn't get the signal so not everybody was on the same page defensively." Said defensive lineman Jeremy Navarre: "I'm pretty sure we'll see more of it (the no-huddle) now. I'm pretty sure some smart offensive coordinators are going to use it more against us." Next up: No. 23 California, visiting the Terrapins for the first time.
Comments
You know one thing I haven't heard -- is how HE, THE FRIDGE, underperformed. This is really the most disconcerting thing - he's throwing his kids under the bus and never has acknowledged that he was so outclassed. Fridge's character is really an issue here. I have lost alot for the guy.
And if your QB's for 4+ yrs have not been able to look half as good as the MTSU QB did - is it all 8/9 QB's that have come through the system or is it you?
Fridge - what happened to the leadership? Maybe that is why the players are not responding to you.
Posted by: Shawn | September 9, 2008 2:42 PM
Maryland will not ever be a top tier football program until Friedgen is ousted. He is too stubborn in his play calling, coaching hires, and deciding his depth chart. Lets not even mention his lack of ability to retain the top in-state talent of Maryland.
Posted by: Brian | September 9, 2008 3:13 PM
We've had some pretty big wins in recent years when things looked very bleak. Rutgers, BC, FL State, etc.
And Ralph's teams always look bad early in the year and get better as the season progresses.
Not saying we win against Cal, but it may not be as bad as it looks right now.
Posted by: scott | September 9, 2008 3:22 PM
Mid.Ten.St. is one of the worst Div.1 teams in the history of the NCAA. Yet they managed to humble a MD team. No wonder the Terps are 14 pt. dogs this week-end. Cal will destroy them.
Posted by: jon dey | September 9, 2008 4:14 PM
In regards to the first post, Fridge did admit that he and the coaching staff didn't coach up the kids enough. I find it funny, though, that they are now learning to defense the no huddle- why wasn't this done before? The defense is just terrible- it has been since Gary Blackney left the program. Where is this new defensive scheme, where we're going to utilize the depth and athleticism of our linebackers- I haven't see any changes from last year, or the year before. Skinner seems to be stud, and Navarre seems to be a dud- based upon how much the coaches were hyping him up before the season- why don't they just unleash these players or blitz at least once in a game. This defense is as imaginative as a blank sheet of white paper. I can understand that the offense may take some time to learn, but we've had the same coordinator for several years now, and some of the defensive assistants have been here longer than that. It seems like whoever kisses Fridges ass the best seems to have some job security because there's no way that some of these coaches would be around in other well established programs- they seem to correct their problems, whereas we just stay status quo.
Posted by: Turtle Soup | September 9, 2008 9:15 PM
MD will never be a consistent top-tier program. We will have short periods where we will approach the top-tier, like in the '70's under Claibourne and the '80's under Ross, but consistently like Florida State, Miami, Florida, Penn State, Ohio State, USC, etc, no way! I would love to be where Tennessee is now, a school that contends every year and breaks thru once in a while. Back in '84/'85 we were equal to the Vols. Then Len Bias died and the administration had to blow up the athletic dept and Bobby Ross left and we lost 14 years to the rest of the country. And don't get me started on how ACC expansion hurt us, going all the way back to when Florida State joined. In terms of football, expansion has hurt MD and UNC the most, maybe Clemson next .
Posted by: UT Cal | September 10, 2008 7:00 AM
I agree with the previous poster that the defense has not been the same since Gary Blackney left the program. The offense was also much more creative under Taffe as well. I think Franklin is going to be a quality coordinator, once the players learn and buy into his system (and he recruits the correct players for his system). Mainly, we need a qb with a very accuate arm to run our offense (aka Shaun Hill and Scott McBrien).
The defense under Blackney dictated what the opposition could do and gave very little time and space for the qb to make a good decision. We have the speed on defense that we should be putting pressure on the qb consistently. If our D-line is quick but undersized, then why note utilize more zone blitzing from our athletic and deep linebacking corps. I'm a hockey player and I know this, so why doesn't Cosh? Cosh needs to go and we need to beg Blackney to come out of retirement until we can find a better defesense coordinator for tthe long haul.
Posted by: Josh | September 10, 2008 9:47 AM