There's Always Next Year -- Maryland After Thoughts

Tough loss on Saturday night. However, with the defense Maryland played against Wake, they didn't deserve to win. They just couldn't get a hold of those misdirection plays. And for crying out loud, if the opposing quarterback is throwing blocks, nail him! Put the fear of God in him! Their poor defense showed up after taking a month off, and that's where the game was lost.

But enough about that game. There's no real need to keep stressing game play when the next game is months away. However, I'm not going to starting talking about a bowl game now, especially because we don't know who the Terps will be playing. I think it's more prudent to see what could happen next year. Obviously, this is all my speculation. Let's take a look.

Offensively, the first thing I think we'll see is the Fridge signing an offensive coordinator. It's just too much work to do two jobs at once. When those jobs are head coach of a national football program and offensive coordinator, it's even rougher. College kids should think about that when holding down a job at a TCBY and an internship during the summers. Supposedly, Friedgen loves to work with young QBs, but honestly, his strong suit was always the running game. Scott McBrien was a good QB, but it took him forever to show that on the field. Sam Hollenbach never really reached his potential. If the new offensive coordinator could help mold these QBs, it would add a nice aspect to the offense.

Keon Lattimore and Lance Ball both have one more year. Both runners had a really good year and if they can improve during the off-season, they can be a great two headed monster. Even better news: Maryland is only graduating one offensive lineman. Asides from Stephen Heyer, everyone else should be back. That offensive line was sick this year and should be dominating opponents next year.

It looks like next year will be the year that quarterback Jordan Steffy will be the man. Coach Ralph Friedgen has been really high on Steffy for some reason. Steffy has never played a game that has made the fans say "Wow, he'll make a good quarterback." He was highly toted coming out of high school. He's got speed, but he depends on that too often. In the one game he played a bit this year, he threw one interception and didn't completely any other passes. Maybe the Fridge can work with him over the off season. The Fridge often has plays designed for the quarterback to run, although with Hollenbach, he strayed from those. We'll see those back with Steffy. However, if Steffy doesn't learn how to throw, he'll never make it as a quarterback.

If Steffy can come together, then he'll have a great young receiving core to play with. The offense next year all depends on Jordan Steffy.

Who else misses Gary Blackney's defense? You can assure that his defense would have come up with at least some stops against Wake Forest. Chris Cosh got by on luck this year. Opposing teams dropped touchdowns, fumbled away winning drives, or missed kicks. On paper, Maryland's defense was horrible. The Bend-Don't-Break defense is the procrastinator's defense. They keep putting off getting a stop until they need it the most, but then somehow, they come up with a turnover. For that defense to work, the offense needs to be a high gear offense, which it isn't.

Maryland will still have some playmakers on defense, such as Erin Henderson, Wesley Jefferson, and Dre Moore. They'll lose Josh Wilson this year, which is going to be a huge loss. He's fast and he can tackle in the open field. Hopefully, his lack of height -- he's 5'9" -- won't deter NFL teams from trying him out. The secondary will need some work because they often got beat. However, that's all pointless if Chris Cosh can't turn this defense around.

This year for Maryland will help them out. It's possible they'll start the year ranked, or at least close to. With the new addition to the field on the way, Maryland can start trying to go after the real blue chip recruits. Their offense is going to be a question mark next year. It always is when there's a new quarterback. Defensively, I'm worried. This defense was suspect all year. If one of the two sides of the ball can click, it could be at least a competitive year for Maryland. If not, than this year's 8-3 season will seem awesome.