Maiden Voyage a Success - Danny Hope Era at Purdue Begins

The Danny Hope era at Purdue is officially kicked-off. There was a lot of mystery regarding this team coming into this first season. The mystery stems from all of the transition that has been experienced since the first of January.

Along with a new head coach, the offense is being led by a new Quarterback. Joey Elliot is by nature a relatively lively person. This translated to a bit of jitteriness at the beginning of the game. Relatively quickly, Joey got settled down, thanks in part to a phenomenal running game. Joey finished with a QB rating of 140.6. This is driven by the 60% completion percentage and 3 touchdowns he threw. He threw for 220 yards during the game which is low for Purdue standards. However, that being said, Joey didn’t need to throw for 500 yards Saturday as he was supported by 315 yards rushing.

There were three interceptions thrown, two of which contacted our receiver first. The last interception will make Joey cringe when he reviews film. On a roll-out play he floated a softy across the grain and a linebacker meandered over and grabbed it out of the air. Being relatively harmless, this gives Joey a great teachable moment for going forward.

I normally would go over the running game now but I want to focus on why the running game was so solid. The offensive line Saturday played with a sense of urgency and purpose. Football games are won and lost in the trenches and this game was no exception. There was only one sack on the day and Ralph Bolden and Jaycen Taylor had coliseum sized holes for running lanes. The receivers did an acceptable job of blocking downfield. I want to tip my hat to the O-line for winning this one for us. With new receivers and a new QB this is a picture perfect way of making their initiation into a season easier.

I have watched Jaycen Taylor since he transferred from Cali. I always thought he could be a special player for the boilers. When I heard that Ralph Bolden got the start over Jaycen, it meant one of two things. His injury was still impacting his performance or we got something special in Ralph. Jaycen looked like he was back to 100% Saturday and we have confirmed that Ralph Bolden can be an electrifying player for Purdue. Ralph received the “co-Big Ten Offensive Player-of-the-Week” award for his 234 yard, 2 touchdown performance against the Rockets. He demonstrated home run speed which will only make our passing offense that more effective this season with the threat of a vaunted running game.

Keith Smith had 8 receptions for 117 yards and 1 touchdown. I don’t know if we can say we have any major threats but we can definitely move the ball downfield. I was pleased with Keith’s performance even though he did take his eyes off of one pass during the game which could have been a significant gain. The major concern is if Joey can throw to anyone other than Keith. With 17 receptions total, almost half went to Keith. Defensive coordinators will be able to take that away quickly, so either Keith Carlos or Aaron Valentin will have to make some noise in the next game to prevent that from happening. I am not going to dwell on this much; Joey was taking what the defense was giving him.

The defense was sold on having to carry the offense this year. Not only do I want my money back on buying that, but it could be the offense carrying the defense.

I don’t want Purdue to be in a position that they have to score over 36 points a game to win. That is too much pressure on an offensive unit.

Speaking of pressure, for as much as we heard about Mike Neal and Ryan Kerrigan, there wasn’t very much pressure on the Rocket QB. Also there were a TON of missed tackles in the first 2 quarters from over-pursuing of the ball carrier. That can be corrected; I remember watching games and not seeing anybody pursuing the ball carrier, so no complaints.

We have a senior laden secondary. However, they are all alone on an island out there. If we cannot reduce the amount of time a QB can wait to throw the rock, then we are going to continuously be lit up by opposing passing games. To be fair, the rockets gave up on their running game quickly be falling behind 14 – 0. We held them to 70 yards rushing for the game which Ralph surpassed on the first drive of the game. Some props have to be given there, we typically are not known for shutting down running games. It shows you what getting out to a good start can do to a game.

We gave up 423 yards passing against the Toledo Rockets. I repeat the Toledo rockets. This is a combination of 2 things, being down big and early the Rockets stopped running the ball as much. Secondly, Aaron Opelt had a lot of time to sit back and wait for Stephen Williams and Eric
Page to get open, and they did, repeatedly. Both receivers ended with over 100 yards receiving. Stephen Williams, who is a difficult match up, had almost 200 yards receiving. That guy is a stud.

Let’s wrap up with special teams, Carson Wiggs is my hero. 7 extra points and a field goal that was teed up in downtown Lafayette makes for a solid game. It’s now Monday and his kick still hasn’t landed yet. This is a tremendous weapon if he can nail his consistency. So far so good.

We travel to Eugene this weekend to take on the Ducks of Oregon. They just got bitch slapped by the Broncos of Boise State. Then their starting running back, LeGarrette Blount, proceeded to return the favor and he’s done for the season. Hopefully, this hampers their running game to the point that Purdue can pull out a close one at Oregon. Unfortunately, if we go to Eugene and win, then Purdue will not sneak up on any other team this season. Talk to you next week.

Painting the wrong picture: Purdue’s Football outlook is not as bleak as it reads…

I read an article in the South Bend Tribune today that made me blink multiple times before I re-read the article. Here is the link to the article: LINK

I feel that the article’s intention was not to paint the picture of how Danny Hope is coming to Purdue to resurrect a fallen program. On the contrary, its intention was to highlight the intrinsic difficulties in following a respected coach of who was a campus icon.

That being said, the article reads almost with the air of an obituary for Coach Hope. Much of this editorial aftertaste is attributed to the closing of the article highlighting all the obvious issue that Purdue will be facing going into next season. Touching on Justin Siller’s dismissal and McBurse’s Clearinghouse process leaves a reading feeling sorry for Coach Hope’s position.

Personally, I do not thing that the cupboard is as bare as the article implies. I, of course, am always hopefully optimistic regarding our football team. I grew up in the Fred Akers/Jim Colletto years of Purdue football. Therefore, there is still a sparkle in my eye regarding the last ten-plus years of Boilermaker football.

Coach Hope has at his disposal a competent stable of running backs, bolstered by McBurse’s clearance to play by the NCAA. Jaycen Taylor will by cleared by fall and Ralph Bolden is an up and coming dual threat back who is just a sophomore.

Joey Elliot at QB is a fifth year senior who has had enough game experience and skill to actually vie for a starting spot last year against Curtis Painter, who is now with the Indianapolis Colts.

There are question marks as with every program. Will the receiving corps step up and deliver? Is the defense going to be able to carry the offense early in the season until the unit gels? Only time will tell on questions like this. But as writers and fans, these are the questions that entertain us until the season begins.

I think that the Boiler faithful is ready and excited for Coach Hope. Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke has done a masterful job of managing the alumni and fan base expectations through two major coaching transitions. Using the succession plan model has given both Coach Hope and Coach Painter head starts in public relations and recruiting setting both coaches up for success rather than failure. Coach Hope’s energy and passion have been well documented and on display to help inject tremendous positive energy into the team and the fans.

There is no denying that the last couple years of Purdue Football have lacked the passion and enthusiasm that existed during Tiller’s early years. However, Coach Hope is taking over at exactly the perfect time. Here’s wishing Coach Hope the wisdom, passion, and energy for a successful tenure at Purdue University.

Purdue Football: A new Hope

My scorn for the football program has passed; I have begun looking up towards the new season. I am interested in the offensive system changes that can take place with the re-engineered offensive unit that will be coming in next season.

I was a bit remorseful to see Curtis Painter go. Honestly. For all that you love and hate regarding Curtis, he was an experienced Quarterback. There is a lot of new anxiety whenever a new QB era comes about.

I am interested to see the impact of Danny Hope's first recruiting class when they come in. Rarely do freshman make an immediate impact on a program but there will be one or two newcomers that will see significant playing time their first year.

I am also excited about Chris Carlino and Joe Holland on the defensive side. Both are now going into their sophomore years and saw significant playing time during their freshman campaigns. More random thoughts will be posted as they come...

Six Points? Again?...

First and foremost, let me tip my hat to the defense for playing one of their better performances on the field that I can remember. I don't want to detract from what they did out there yesterday.

However, this post is dedicated to the lack of ingenuity and execution of the offensive team.

Now I should refrain from heaping all blame onto Curtis Painter, but he will get what is due to him.

For two games, our offense has been unimaginative and predictable. Two of the countries best defenses have shut us down, and this has been a terrible trend over the past 5 years. Hopefully, no pun intended, when Danny Hope's regime takes over this issue can and will be addressed.

As for Curtis, hopefully the wave of expectations that flooded over him this preseason has not stalled his development. Maybe, he has hit his talent ceiling.

He continues to display a cunning inability to look off of one receiver and go through his receiver progressions. When tipped balls, interceptions, and broken passes occur with CP it's usually due to a "aware" defensive back or linebacker tracking his eyes. It happened several times yesterday. Its one of those things that you say about a true freshman quarterback and how a fifth year senior distinguishes themselves from their youthful counterparts. Not with Curtis.

To end on a silver lining, Carson Wiggs shows how important the kicker is too a team as an offensive weapon. Kudos to the coaching staff for recruiting him. I look forward to 3 more years of watching him kick the ball.