On the defensive

As questions and concerns swirled around the largely new Terrapins football coaching staff last offseason, one name tended to stand out.

Todd Bradford.

After originally being hired as the Terps' inside linebackers coach, the former Southern Mississippi defensive coordinator was offered that same position after defensive coordinator Don Brown suddenly left for Connecticut. The Terps explored other options for the position, including former Miami coach Randy Shannon, before opting to promote from within.

A good deal of skepticism surrounded Bradford, whose defense yielded 40 or more points nine times in his three years with the Golden Eagles.

Three games into his career with the Terps, that unease remains.

His defense has surrendered an average of 33 points per game, and while some of the blame falls on a lack of execution — missed tackles, missed assignments — the team's defensive issues to this point may also result from early struggles in adapting to Bradford's system.

"I think guys are still getting comfortable with what we're doing and the schemes we're playing," coach Randy Edsall, who doesn't allow his assistants to speak to the media during the season, said Tuesday.

Tomorrow's game against Towson will give the Terps a final chance to work out their defensive kinks against a middling opponent.

There's no specific hole in the defense's play to this point. Against Miami, the Terps allowed just 195 passing yards but were shredded on the ground.

In a 37-31 loss to West Virginia, the Terps stuffed the Mountaineers' ground game but were dominated in through the air.

And in last weekend's embarrassing loss to Temple, the Owls posted 38 points while only throwing the ball nine times.

There has been one overwhelming theme to this point, though: the big play.

Miami running back Lamar Miller broke a 41-yard touchdown run up the middle. West Virginia had six plays of more than 20 yards. And Temple running back Bernard Pierce broke the Terps' backs with a 44-yard, second-quarter touchdown run.

"It's the big play," linebacker Kenny Tate said. "Once we limit those big plays, we can definitely hone in. We just all have to be on the same page."

Things are only going to get more difficult for Bradford and the Terps from here on out. With a rash of injuries — the team will be without four opening-day defensive starters tomorrow — and some of the nation's top offenses in Georgia Tech, Florida State and Notre Dame waiting just down the road, the Terps' defense needs to click in a hurry.

To do that, the Terps are going back to basics.

"When you go through the films, guys are there. They're just not wrapping up," defensive tackle Joe Vellano said. "Just get back to fundamentals. We're right there. It's just the little adjustments here and there, and we'll be good."

While Towson's offense is tepid compared to those of some of the Terps' future opponents, the Tigers should test the Terps' defense nonetheless.

They'll arrive in College Park ranked No. 23 in the FCS, and quarterback Grant Enders has thrown for 527 yards and five touchdowns in the team's first three games.

Running backs Terrance West and Dominique Booker have combined for 269 yards and six touchdowns on the ground, and the Tigers' 38.3 points per game is the sixth-best mark in the FCS.

Even still, this game should be considered nothing more than a tune-up for the Terps, a final chance to fix their flaws before the brunt of their ACC slate.

"I think any time that you have inexperience and you're learning new techniques, sometimes you don't execute as well as you would like," Edsall said. "The more that you get all 11 doing it together and doing it correctly, that's when you become really who you want to become."

cwalsh@umdbk.com