Saturday, October 10, 2009

Yep, It's Over; Boilers Mail It In at Minnesota

That's a folded tent, kids.

Over the past week, we've been asking, "Is the season over?" Big thanks to the Purdue football team for giving a resounding answer this afternoon. Yes. Yes, it sure is.

It certainly looks like it's time to fold the tent. Are we quitting on our team? Of course not. So close that comment box. But it's pretty clear how things are going to continue playing out this season.

It's actually kind of jarring how predictible this team has become. Fast start by the offense, an early lead, Joey Elliott looking sharp. In fact, as Purdue drove the field in the first quarter, Boilerdowd texted me, "Elliott looks great." To which I responded, "He always does on the first drive." And that's true, isn't it? Joey Elliott loves the first quarter. Even with the running game being bottled up and Keith Carlos wearing steel mittens, Joey kept firing away, making completions, finding the open guy, not making bad decisions. Of course, facing a 3rd and long on every possesstion was going to catch up with them eventually.

So we've seen this one before. And with a 10-0 lead, I asked b-dowd how it was going to happen. "Breakdown in the secondary, big play to Decker," came the response. And then? Well, yeah, you know what happened next.


Now, I don't mean to disparage Dwight McLean unfairly, because he gives a nice effort. But why does he seem to be the guy covering the most talented -- and most likely -- targets? It was McLean who was beat on the game-losing TD against UND. And here he was again, single-covering Decker. McLean slipped and that's all Weber and Decker needed.

And then? Even if you didn't watch the game, you know what happened next. Turnovers. Mmmm, tasty turnovers. Less tasty when they're frozen turnovers baked up by the Purdue special teams unit. This team cannot hold onto the ball. I know we've had some readers commenting that it's not the coaches who are doing the fumbling. Okay, sure. And I've heard others say that you can't "coach" guys not to fumble. Sorry, but that's just not true. Many pro running backs had fumbling issues and when a coach came in and helped them, they turned the corner. Tiki Barber and Tom Coughlin come to mind, but there are other examples. This has got to stop. It's embarrassing.

The defense deserves a better fate. They've improved, in my opinion. The tackling has improved, in my eyes, throughout the season. I don't see horrible routes being taken or guys slipping through arms, or DBs trying to tackle shoulder pads. And Neal, Kerrigan and Werner are doing what they can. Torii Williams has looked solid, too. But if you continue to turn the ball over in your own territory, even mediocre teams -- yes, like Minnesota -- are going to make you pay.

Here's an interesting tidbit -- Purdue has led every game they've played this year. Again, infuriating, because it's not like they can't play with these teams they're losing to. They just can't play for more than about one or two quarters. When you have a lead in every game you play, one would think you might accidentally win a couple.

When the season began and others were predicting 1 and 2 win seasons for the Boilers, we were steamed. We planned on telling them all to suck it each and every week. And early on, we still felt this team was better than its record indicated. But in the end, you are what you are. This is a bad team. Talented? Yes. Poorly coached? Looks like it. But whatever the ingredients in the middle of the calculus equation, the result after the equals sign is this = crap.

12 comments:

COD said...

Whoever is coaching special teams needs to be fired, yesterday.

boilerdowd said...

Gibbony...and you are correct.

Ross McLochness said...

Most fans will vote with their feet. I'm expecting to see an abundance of red next week.

Collin Fultz said...

I need student tickets for next week. Two to be exact. E-mail me if you know anybody who can sell.

Kevin said...

Chris Summers sucks. I know it's harsh to call out student athletes, but Summers has never been that great. And is it bad that I was almost hoping for Elliot to get hurt yesterday? Not terribly hurt, just enough to see a glimpse of TerBush.

Shawn said...

I thought the same thing about Elliott. Just knock the wind out of him or something. Something needs to change in the 2nd and 3rd quarters because the offense goes right in the tank as soon as they have to switch sides.

As for Chris, his average isn't bad but he always seems to have some of the worst possible timing for shanks.

T-Mill said...

Summer did have a great sophomore year. I think he was 18 of 22 on figgies with one being blocked. One was a bowl-winner too

Boiler_Ditsor said...

How I miss being releveant in the world of college football.

JD said...

Wishing for Elliott to be hurt is insane. Sure, I'd think we'd all like to get a glimpse of TerBush in a mix-it-up situation but do you really think he'll run the offense better? Elliott has gotten us off to good starts in every game and has been ridiculously proficient in the red zone. How about we give Bolden the ball in better (and less predictable) ways that he can use his skills when we have those leads? We need to adjust our offense during the game, and it's simply not getting done.

Oh yeah, we also need to stop handing teams points on breakdowns, special teams miscues and preventable turnovers. But that goes without saying.

dozer8589 said...

When Elloit came up with the "ONE" campaign, who knew that he meant the number of games he'd let us win?


Caleb. Freaking. TerBush.

Chad said...

Just so everybody realizes, whenever the Colts don't play Purdue wins. Colts have a bye next week. Just sayin'.....

Purdue Matt said...

1) Should have gone for it on 4th and 3 in the 3rd quarter. Its a 2 possession game either way. Then FG is blocked and returned for a TD. Ouch.

2) Teach Carlos how to secure the ball in practice, not on the sideline after he fumbles a kick return.

3) Right before half, call timeout with 1:06 left, not 48 seconds. That is straight from the Bob Davie school of clock management.

4) Time to get the freshman some PT. It seems Hope is scared to do so, but there's nothing to lose at this point.