Click here to see fan reaction to the quarterback controversy.
Let’s hope it really was Jordan Steffy’s thumb.
Let’s hope Ralph Friedgen wasn’t lying Saturday when he told the media the reason Steffy was replaced by Chris Turner in the fourth quarter against Delaware was Steffy’s thumb injury, and not that, you know, Steffy simply isn’t very good.
Friedgen could not tell anybody how or when the injury occurred. Steffy was not made available for comment to defend himself. None of the offensive players who were allowed to speak were aware that any injury to Steffy had happened.
“I just thought they tried to make a change and see what Chris could do,” running back Da’Rel Scott said.
If Steffy was not injured, if Friedgen’s diagnosis was just the ploy that it appeared to be to get the media and the fans off Steffy’s back, the Terps may be in trouble.
A starting quarterback with two healthy thumbs needs to be better than Steffy was on Saturday.
“I knew he was hurt, and it looked like he wasn’t able to function,” Friedgen said. “We have another guy; we put him in.”
Steffy wasn’t terrible early in the game. He threw crisp, short passes and moved the ball down the field with the help of Scott and freshman running back Davin Meggett.
But the senior starter never showed that he could throw an accurate deep ball, and the Blue Hens often stacked the line of scrimmage, especially on third down. Promising scoring drives turned into long field goal attempts.
Sure, Steffy led both of the Terps’ drives that ended in touchdowns, but he was bailed out by Darrius Heyward-Bey on a underthrown pass that went for a 36-yard completion to set up the first score, and on the second scoring drive the Terps only ran running plays.
An interception on Steffy’s first pass of the second half was a sign of things to come. By the fourth quarter, Friedgen finally turned to Turner.
“I know [Steffy] can play better than what he did in the second half,” Friedgen said.
When Turner finally traded in his backward baseball cap for his helmet early in the fourth quarter, he drew a huge ovation from the crowd.
But in his three drives, the curly-haired Californian didn’t exactly look like the savior he was at times last season, either.
Granted, he spent the first three quarters standing around with that backward hat, and by the time he got into the game the Terps were protecting the clock, but two of his three passes were way off the mark.
A change in the depth chart might not be a bad idea, and while going with Turner won’t necessarily be a cure-all, it wouldn’t really hurt the flow of things either.
“In practice, I see all three quarterbacks,” wide receiver Heyward-Bey said. “We take reps with all of them, timing and everything, so it’s easy to adjust to.”
The way the Terps used third-stringer Josh Portis – using his athleticism to try to catch the defense off guard with a quick running play – is also intriguing. But Portis needs to show that he can throw the ball if he is going to play quarterback.
That’s usually a vital qualification for the position.
Portis has great speed and athleticism, which he showed on his first live play since 2005 with a six-yard dash up the middle. But, by the second half, everybody and their mother knew Portis was going to run the ball when he entered the game. By his third snap, the former Florida Gator had nowhere to go.
“The four plays he was in, he had one screw-up,” Friedgen said. “He has options on those plays to throw the ball, too. They just gave him the run and he took it.”
Portis brings an extra dimension to the offense that the other less-athletic signal-callers don’t, but he doesn’t exactly make you very confident when he’s back there.
None of the three did.
Somebody needs to step up.
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