Maryland

[Trueblue25]

What makes you think he is the answer?

What I’ve heard in practice, and what I saw at the spring game. He may not be the “answer”, but he’s a physical wideout who can catch 50/50 balls and make plays in traffic. Sure his big spring game catch was over a walk on (i believe), but thats a damned impressive catch even if it’s over you or me. He was very close to cracking the rotation last year.

I know one thing, our starting receivers not named Jackson have displayed they’re either not 100% healthy, or not physical enough to challenge bigger db’s at this time. Riley offers some as a deep/home run threat but he’s not Erv catching the sideline pass and making a play.

Ive also heard great things about Sharod, but I think Tommy needs another guy who can make plays through defenders when coverage is tight. I’ve visibly seen that from and heard that about Queeley.

Tommy’s struggled creating while facing pressure, and he’s not yet displayed the ability to get the first with his legs. Give him another receiver who can potentially go up and make that play through coverage, and who may play with further urgency because this is “his chance”.

If I see another receiver give up on a route, or look surprised when the ball comes his way, I’ll lose it.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Tommy’s struggled creating while facing pressure, and he’s not yet displayed the ability to get the first with his legs. Give him another receiver who can potentially go up and make that play through coverage, and who may play with further urgency because this is “his chance”.

The other thing I noticed with Tommy yesterday was at the end of some of those scrambles, he kind of threw it side-armed, and the ball sailed a bit a few times when he tried to pass on the run. I'm sure he can play much better than yesterday, because we've seen it in spurts, including some of the throws in yesterday's game. A few of them were real beauties. But he's got to run for first downs when they're there. You can't just give up on so many possessions and expect to win games. Sometimes you have to try to make a play.

 

[Trueblue25]

The other thing I noticed with Tommy yesterday was at the end of some of those scrambles, he kind of threw it side-armed, and the ball sailed a bit a few times when he tried to pass on the run. I'm sure he can play much better than yesterday, because we've seen it in spurts, including some of the throws in yesterday's game. A few of them were real beauties. But he's got to run for first downs when they're there. You can't just give up on so many possessions and expect to win games. Sometimes you have to try to make a play.

Noticed the same, thats bad decision making and needs to change. What I also noticed though is two of his receivers giving up midway through plays and routes on multiple occasions. It’s easy to blame Tommy and say he fails to create, when often times its his receivers who outright give up on the play.

 

[DPCuse]

I was floored at how often a replay would show receivers stopping while Tommy scrambled.

 

[Trueblue25]

I was floored at how often a replay would show receivers stopping while Tommy scrambled.

Being physically outmatched is one thing, making mental mistakes like that is another. Coaches preach that they ask 100% of you on every play, we didnt see that. If there’s a time for younger guys to get a shot, I’d imagine its in the next few games.

 

[SuRaider307]

I see a couple of issued with the team right now.. 1st) I noticed it last year but with Dungey being able to make plays with his legs I never said much about it.. but it has been in the back of my mind... When Lewis was hired away from us.. the IRV seam and middle of the field work went away almost completely... and that would be a nice safety vale to have for tommy.. I don't even see our guys running those patterns much at all in the last 2 years.. I would like to get back to having some of that in the gameplan. 2) There have been times that our defensive scheme has not put our guys into positions for success... We missed tackles against UM.. but we let the quick pass/slant/seam/timing routes pretty much run free of LOS press coverage all game... Jackson is not that accurate and if we throw the timing off we would have had better success in the first half.. not to mention it would have helped the LB's play assignment football much easier... The D was gassed in the 2nd half. With the personnel we have .. there is no way when getting beat that bad all game its a player issue.. nope this was a scheme as well as physically wearing down form not getting any stops... There were players that had bad games.. but schematically speaking, we just were not in a position of success... it was that bad from a coaching prep stand point and to be honest. Look at how Clemson played T A&M at the LOS and that's the way you do it... LOS pressure.. solid assignment football on RB's and TE's from the LB's. Our DE's rarely got to the QB because the short timing plays were on time. Take them away and now you create a bunch of 3rd and longs and guess what.. longer patterns.. more time for DE's to eat... Ward has to be better and have faith in TRILL and IFFY to handle pressure on the outside and check WR's at the LOS period... Ward has to do better

 

[IthacaMatt]

Noticed the same, thats bad decision making and needs to change. What I also noticed though is two of his receivers giving up midway through plays and routes on multiple occasions. It’s easy to blame Tommy and say he fails to create, when often times its his receivers who outright give up on the play.

Yes, that's clearly a problem, too. Somebody else in this thread thought that maybe some receivers developed those bad habits because Dungey would just take off so often.
Sure, there is some overlap, but there are a lot of new guys out there, and presumably these guys have had spring practice and summer camp to get the basics down and learn how Tommy likes to play. Sure, some guys may have been hurt in preseason, but other teams seem to gel with true freshmen and grad transfers in big roles - not just Maryland, not just at Alabama, and not just with 5 star recruits.

We will need to do better than this, and I believe we will play better. The question is how fast will it take us to gel. There was that Nassib team under Marrone that seemed to come together on the O line about 4 games into the season. I recall seeing that kind of development with one of the Dungey teams, too.
It's just a question of keeping your head up, cutting down on mistakes, making better decisions. I think we can get there, but how many lumps will we take before we get it together?

 

[SmilinBob]

Not completely off topic but was this Marylands first game vs an ACC member in football since they left? I just ask because they seemed to be incredibly motivated and SU looked like they were thinking they were playing Lemoyne and lifeless.

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

I forced myself to watch the replay. Jackson was incredibly accurate and read the D well almost every time. They have a really good system that makes you account for all 11 guys on every play. They have a lot of weapons. Really want to see them against Penn State.

 

[JRHEETER]

In my honest opinion, Syracuse came into this game with the same mentality many people on this board had “oh this will be an easy win, we just have win two games, then Clemson.” They weren’t prepared, focused or mentally ready for Liberty or Maryland. Looking back on their Instagram stories they all had countdowns and such to Clemson. You would have thought Clemson was the first game.

The team came in unfocused and full of themselves. Thought they would run the table if they beat Clemson. They just got punched in the teeth, the gut and everywhere else. Hopefully they respond to it for the rest of the season and realize they still have work to do.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

Not completely off topic but was this Marylands first game vs an ACC member in football since they left? I just ask because they seemed to be incredibly motivated and SU looked like they were thinking they were playing Lemoyne and lifeless.

They already played us as a B1G member since leaving.

I am sure they played another ACC school 2015-2018 at least once without looking it up.

 

[ForCuseSake]

Looks like I'm the only one who will address the Elephant in the room. This one falls squarely on Coach E!

Instead of a bunch of hard nosed football players, we get a bunch of guys that gently pick things up and put them down, that like a good speech. Sheesh.

He used to write things like WORK HARD, and EARN THIS on his knuckles. Only effort will win you this. Now we get DOMINATE? Seriously? Implying that when you win, do it so well that you beat them by 43? Smh. Get this clown outta here!

Where the HAIL is the kilt guy? WHERE is he?!! Unacceptable!

I also hear there are some gals on the support staff that have been "slacking off". Thanks ladies .



*Sarcasm font in full effect. I just couldn't think of anyone that didn't get an over reaction.

This made me laugh and reminded me of one of my favorite Robert Duvall lines:

 

[SmilinBob]

Maybe there's something in the water in Maryland? The Ravens made the fish look like a HS team.

 

[AAM62]

An example of the lack of leadership on this team: I saw at least one defensive starter post some highlight plays on their IG after the game. I understand kids are hooked on IG, but in no way should that have been done. I frankly would've been too embarrassed to even post anything.

 

[tipphill]

In my very humble opinion, what is missing right now is leadership on this team. Leadership that is led by fire and passion. No one is getting anybody fired up. On offense, DeVito needs to start taking on the leadership role by taking charge out on the field. Right now this is his team, his offense and he has to this point not shown any fire on the field. This team in years past has been fueled by emotion and right now there isn't any. I know Tommy DeVito is not Eric Dungey and he never will be and that's perfectly okay. But what Dungey used to do so well was get everyone else fired up and got them to play better. I would love to see DeVito show some emotion on the field and moxie and take charge and get the guys around him to play better. Thats what good quarterbacks do. Same on defense, Kendall and Alton, that's on you too. Leaders on this team, it's time to start acting like it. Go Orange!!!!

devito looked like a deer in the headlights. he needs to mature quickly. again i put this debacle primarily on the coaching staff.

 

[tipphill]

Sit another year? What for? It's his 3rd year in the system he either has it by now or he doesn't. I think he will be ok if we can get him some protection so he can stay in the pocket.

he does not show any leadership or enthusiasm at all. i wonder how the offense views him???

 

[JRHEETER]

An example of the lack of leadership on this team: I saw at least one defensive starter post some highlight plays on their IG after the game. I understand kids are hooked on IG, but in no way should that have been done. I frankly would've been too embarrassed to even post anything.

Don’t worry Riley reposted multiple times he deep touchdown catch.

Was a little embarrassed to see that to be totally honest.

 

[PhatOrange]

Don’t worry Riley reposted multiple times he deep touchdown catch.

Was a little embarrassed to see that to be totally honest.

he was probably excited he didn't drop it.

 

[CuseMan4]

A win vs Clemson will silence all of this and put us right back on track. A close loss to Clemson will silence all of this. I have faith in Dino, he has accomplished much more with lesser talent. Now he has a team with some talent at multiple positions and some deficiencies at others. This is why they get paid the big bucks. Dino has showed me too much to just give up on this team after one loss. Before the season we were talking about how he is one of the best coaches not just in the ACC but the country. I still believe that, one game won’t make me feel otherwise, now he has to prove why he is one of the best coaches in the country. Full faith in Dino.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Noticed the same, thats bad decision making and needs to change. What I also noticed though is two of his receivers giving up midway through plays and routes on multiple occasions. It’s easy to blame Tommy and say he fails to create, when often times its his receivers who outright give up on the play.

Oh, I agree with this, too. Receivers should realize by now that Eric Dungey is not behind the center, so the chances are if the QB scrambles, he's looking downfield for options.
You receivers have to go find the open space in the defense when the coverage breaks down.

I know it's sacrilege to say, but it's like soccer - you pass and then you move, looking for the open space in the defense. In this case, you run your initial route, but if it breaks down, run away from the defender and try to find an open space, but still keep your eyes on the QB.

 

[IthacaMatt]

devito looked like a deer in the headlights. he needs to mature quickly. again i put this debacle primarily on the coaching staff.

No, he'll be ok. He had a bad game, but it was better than the opener. The game got out of hand by early in the 2nd quarter, and once that happened, Tommy settled down and started making some plays. He had a couple beautiful deep balls down the sideline. He threw wheel routes to the running backs that I thought were effective. That quick read on the slot receiver being covered by an LB for the TD was a beautiful pass. He will continue to improve. He has talent.

The team just has to keep it together and not start finger-pointing and turning on each other. There is a difference in calling out when somebody messes up on a play, versus berating them. The key is to learn from mistakes. You still have to have trust in your teammates. This is a surprising (to some) key to how a team performs. You have to believe in each other; you have to trust each other to cover for you, to make the right decision, etc. This is essential to winning in any sport, really.

I mean, the whole team was responsible for that loss. OMG, that "Familia" film they did really turned their heads, like these wins were going to be automatic, because of what these guys accomplished last year. This happened one year with one of the Marvin Graves teams - coming off a great year they underachieved.

You look at the game, and the OTs were truly awful. It was like a turnstile out there. Tommy was running for his life for most of the game. I think you have to move Servais back to LT, and then you break in one of the young guys on the inside. It's easier to run block than to pass block, especially on the interior of the line.

Defensive line got no pressure at all. What's up with that? This is supposed to be the best DL in football this year, and they got 'Big Boyed'. They need to look in the mirror and give us a physical performance against Clemson.

Wow, the DBs regressed - in all areas - tackling, assignments and coverage. Geez, it was terrible, and these guys aspire to All-American status and being draft picks. They have the talent, but that performance was just awful. Bad angles on too many pursuits; too many guys who were just wide open because someone missed an assignment. Awful. But capable of a much better game versus Clemson.

Linebackers - I thought Lakeim Williams (sp?) was active out there, but was out of position a few times. Armstrong didn't have a strong game. Time to give the young guys some run. We've got some good ones.

I would really like to see a good effort before the home crowd for Clemson. It's SO important that we bounce back with a strong effort after the crappy one they gave on national television last week.

 

[AAM62]

Don’t worry Riley reposted multiple times he deep touchdown catch.

Was a little embarrassed to see that to be totally honest.

so pathetic

 

[JoeSU]

I was listing to a Baltimore sports radio show this morning, and the guy from the Sun called the Terp's upcoming game vs Temple a trap game. I was surprised to hear that Maryland is only a 6.5 pt favorite on the road.

 

[rrlbees]

One thing I don’t think anyone has mentioned, regardless of how poorly we played, I bet Maryland didn’t spend more than 1-2 hours total preparing for Howard. It was a solid two weeks, maybe more, preparing for us.

 

[Horn88]

One thing I don’t think anyone has mentioned, regardless of how poorly we played, I bet Maryland didn’t spend more than 1-2 hours total preparing for Howard. It was a solid two weeks, maybe more, preparing for us.

This would hold more weight if we didn't open up with Liberty.