Terrapins Say Their Rushing Defense Is Finally Up to Speed

By Marc Carig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Maryland defensive coordinator Chris Cosh emerged from the team's locker room earlier this week. He had just taken a shower, and his hair, which was slicked back neatly, gave the appearance that he was fresh and alert. The bags under his eyes, however, revealed otherwise.

"Did you get any sleep?" he was asked.

"Look at my eyes," said Cosh, who has spent at least one night in the Gossett Football Team House this week. "You know the answer."

Playing No. 4 West Virginia on a short week has been known to have that effect on defensive coordinators. Yet for Cosh and the rest of the Terrapins, tomorrow night's game with the Mountaineers will take on an even higher level of importance because of what happened nearly one year ago. The Terrapins' defense looked utterly helpless against West Virginia's offensive onslaught in a 45-24 defeat, giving a performance that typified a unit that went on to finish 96th in the country against the run.

But as embarrassing as the defeat was, it helped trigger changes that might help the Terrapins this season against Steve Slaton & Co.

"We're out for respect," Maryland defensive lineman Dre Moore said. "We're out to prove to the nation that we belong and that we can hold our own against quality teams."

In front of a packed house and a national television audience, Cosh watched in agony as his defense wilted against the sheer speed of West Virginia's high-powered offense. Slaton rushed for 195 yards, upping his national profile while leading the Mountaineers to 340 rushing yards. By the time first quarter ended, West Virginia led by four touchdowns.

"They exploited us," Maryland linebacker Erin Henderson said. "There was nothing else to say, nothing else that we could do. We didn't do our part as a defense. They ran the ball whenever they wanted to, and they looked good doing it."

Indeed, it was how the Terrapins fell apart that seems to reverberate even now, despite Maryland's retooled defense.

Maryland looked incapable of performing the simplest tasks, such as tackling in the open field. Against West Virginia's spread option offense -- which tests a defense's ability to play with discipline and precision -- the Terrapins found themselves so horribly out of position that Slaton and fleet quarterback Pat White often penetrated the middle of the field without even being touched.

"We deserved the right to be disrespected the way we were last year," Henderson said.

Moreover, the crowd noise at Milan Puskar Stadium made it difficult for the Terrapins to hear defensive audibles, so some players were able to pick up the calls and some weren't. As a result, there were instances when Maryland's players were running two different plays at the same time.

"There was a thousand things going on at once, and you're trying to chase down two of the best runners in the country," Moore said. "It was quite a handful."

Cosh took the brunt of the heat for that unmitigated disaster, which resonated the entire season. Even as the defense steadied as the season unfolded -- despite continued inconsistencies against the run -- the first-year defensive coordinator remained a favorite target on the Internet message boards.

"The thing that game taught is how to persevere," Cosh said. "We came through tough times, we hung together and at the end of that game, we were still competing."

For the remainder of last season, the Terrapins emphasized open-field tackling, a push that continued into this season. Coach Ralph Friedgen even has included live tackling drills in practice this week, which he did not do leading up to the game last season.

Through Maryland's first two games of the season, Friedgen said the defense has shown a marked improvement in tackling. The maligned run defense also has turned in encouraging performances. Dating from the Champs Sports Bowl against Purdue last year, Maryland hasn't allowed an opponent to rush for more than 100 yards.

"I'm just looking big-picture-wise," Cosh said. "I think we pursue the ball better; our effort in pursuing the ball and I think our assignments are a lot better. There haven't been as many mental errors thus far in the season. We want to keep building on that."

The complexion of Maryland's defensive unit also has changed since last year's debacle. Henderson has since emerged as a force from his inside linebacker position, leading the Terrapins in tackles after coming into form midway through last season. The addition of Adrian Moten, Moise Fokou and Dave Philistin has added an element of quickness missing from the Terrapins' defense a year ago.

"I think we have a little more speed than we've had in the past," Friedgen said. "I think we have a little more depth. We're playing more guys."

This season, Cosh has made several changes to the defense in an effort to disrupt opposing teams' game plans. He hopes the changes also can make Maryland's blitz packages more difficult to anticipate.

In addition, Henderson said a year of experience together has helped improve the unit's cohesiveness, another issue that came to the forefront against the Mountaineers last season.

"I think that's the biggest thing," he said. "Knowing that the guy next to you will be there when you need him to be there."