Brown's bringing the pressure

New Terrapin defensive coordinator Don Brown insists there’s a method to the madness of his scheme — the frantic blitzes that seemingly can come from anywhere by anybody at any time, the press man-to-man coverage and the constantly rotating personnel packages.

It’s all calculated.

The thinking is simple: Because the offense relies so heavily on the quarterback, the defense’s goal should be to make him as uncomfortable as possible. And Brown tries to take advantage of personnel match-ups to put players in the best position to accomplish this goal.

The result is an exciting new scheme that cornerback Nolan Carroll describes as “attack mode.”

With less than a week to go before it is unveiled in the season-opener Saturday at No. 12 California, it’s clear the radically new defense’s success will determine the season’s direction.

“We’re blitzing, constantly trying to get after the quarterback,” Carroll said. “There’s always some type of disguise. We’re just trying to confuse the quarterback and basically mess with his mind.”

Gone is the zone-based scheme of former coordinator Chris Cosh, who earned fans’ ire for his conservative approach. Even though Cosh instituted a tweaked 3-3-5 “Terp” defensive formation last season, he was forced at times to use a more conventional base defense to stop the run. The numbers weren’t good, either. The Terps ranked in the bottom half of the ACC in just about every major defensive category, including 10th in total defense and 11th in turnovers forced.

If Cosh brought a vanilla scheme, then Brown provides a Rocky Road-like hodgepodge, if not an altogether different rainbow sherbet.

Brown isn’t afraid to be different, and the 54-year-old doesn’t hide the fact that the system can be prone to giving up big plays. But for a defense that forced just 17 turnovers last season and hasn’t scored a touchdown since 2006, it should generate some much-needed fireworks. Brown won’t discuss his specific goals for his defense this season but says expectations are lofty.

“Without risk there is no reward,” Brown said. “I’m just not one of those guys that sits back and takes it in the teeth.”

Another person taking a calculated risk is  coach Ralph Friedgen. In early January, Friedgen, about a month away from naming his eventual successor, had the opportunity to pick a new defensive coordinator. After considering a variety of candidates, both in and outside the program, he eschewed a safer choice and went with “different.”

Now it’s time to see where that path leads.

So far the system has gotten rave reviews from players and coaches. And after working on it through spring practice and fall camp, everyone seems pretty comfortable. Carroll said it was easier to pick up the system because everyone was so excited about it. Friedgen added that he’s surprised that mental errors in practice have been minimal given the complexity of the scheme. And perhaps the best compliments come from the offense, which has dealt with headaches the defense has cause since the spring.

“You’ve got people coming from everywhere,” said wide receiver Torrey Smith. “It’s like a war zone. Everybody has to pay attention.”

That’s reason enough to be excited. In a mediocre, yet highly competitive ACC, that element of surprise provides a much-needed boost. And with intriguing athletic pieces such as Kenny Tate, Antwine Perez and Derek Drummond at his disposal, Brown, who spent the last five seasons as head coach at Massachusetts, has an opportunity to do some great things.

“Obviously, what you’re trying to do is not mismatch your players,” Brown said. “If you can do those things, it’s like a basketball game. You give yourself a chance, and then you’ve got to make the most of it.”

Scheme alone won’t transform the Terps into one of the conference’s top defenses. But it should make things awfully exciting.

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