Yeah, take away the opening-minute pass from TerBush to Edison and the meaningless 81 yard TD by Akeem Hunt with under two minutes to go and Purdue has a total of about 120 yards of offense.
Remember people were saying Wisconsin's defense was susceptible? Remember when people said Purdue could win this game and basically guarantee a trip to Indianapolis? How utterly idiotic does all of that sound now?
Purdue is not good, folks. Sure, I know Michigan and Wisconsin aren't as tasty as Marshall, EKU, EMU, etc., but still... Purdue has not even competed the past two weeks. A combined 82-27 is how badly Purdue has been crushed at home over the past two weeks, in supposedly two of the most critical, defining games of Danny Hope's coaching tenure.
Purdue was outgained 645-252 today. It was 409-213 last week. So Purdue has 465 yards of total offense in their last eight quarters of football. Positively dreadful.
Purdue QBs were a combined 11/31 passing today (7/16 for 80 yards for TerBush; 3/9 for 43 yards for Marve; 1/6 for 1 yards for Henry). You know, it's almost as though nonsensically playing multiple quarterbacks in a willy-nilly fashion is not a formula for success. Of course, if you're going to do it, it's always good to let your team get behind and then ask the guy you say isn't "efficient" to come in and be....efficient, I guess. And then when it gets later in the game and you really have no choice but to pass a lot to try to make up ground, that's the perfect time to bring in your option quarterback who has never been a good passer.
I have a hard time hating on this team, as the kids say, because I really like these players. They're likable guys, they love being Boilermakers and they want to win badly. I can tell that just from listening to them. But talent alone is not enough to overcome poor preparation and game decisions from your coaching staff. And that might be the most awful thing here -- there really isn't anything the coaching staff does well. They aren't good game-planners, they aren't good at adjustments, they aren't creative, they aren't good "Xs and Os" coaches, and so forth. What are they good at? Being the players' best friends? Maybe so, because so many players sound like they'd run through a wall for Danny Hope. That's good and all, but not if you're getting embarrassed in every big game you ever play.
Where do they go from here? Another thrashing, most likely, on the road next week at Columbus. At that point, Purdue fans will be even deeper into depression. Will they then rebound with some wins to inch towards a middling bowl game? Even if they do, will anyone care? Ross-Ade looked jarringly empty in the second half today. Even early on, they only had an announced crowd of somewhere around 46,000, somewhat pathetic for homecoming.
It does seem at the moment that the bad ol' days are here again.
18 comments:
Even with the embarrassment that is the Hope tenure, i still have no faith in Burke to fire anyone for this.
There was 58 minutes of game clock between Purdue scores, 3 hours in real time. Once again, unimaginative play calling, negligible adjustments, and piss poor preparation doomed this team from the start. I've seen seal clubbings that were more evenly matched.
My local alumni club was holding a joint breakfast game viewing with the oh-so-classy UW alums at a sports bar. I'm glad I didn't go-- but I do sort of regret watching this game all the way to the end at home on BTN.
Beyond the fact that this was Homecoming weekend, the corker is that there were also a lot of official HS visits this weekend as well. If you were a hot prospect, how would you react to empty stands, apathetic school spirit and a team that was getting pantsed by a provably beatable Badger squad on national TV and a Homecoming crowd? The repercussions of losing these potential recruits will be felt for years, no matter who is coaching.
It's only a hunch JMoney, but one must think you'll be hearing nothing but crickets from all those who bitched about your HONEST assessment last week
Stop punting on 4th and short! Pick a QB and stick with him! Fire Danny Hope!
I'm beginning to wonder if these coaches can even get a Big Ten win. Michigan and Wisconsin were vulnerable, and Purdue made it look like they were facing Tom Harmon and Alan Ameche. Ohio State is out of the picture only because they're ineligible, not because they suck - in fact, far from it.
Even the soft spots on the schedule look harder now. Minnesota gave Northwestern a game. Indiana nearly beat MSU. Iowa beat MSU in East Lansing. Even Illinois, who can't run a play without tipping their hand - pistol means run, play is to the motion side - has a chance against these guys.
I don't know what changed, if anything, between non-conference play and conference play. Maybe nothing. Maybe ND just underestimated Purdue, and the other teams were just that bad.
I want to believe that Hope and his staff can salvage something of this season, but I just don't see it. It's possible they can sneak out three more wins and get back to Detroit, but right now, I'm down to hoping they can keep the Bucket.
This was an embarrassment for the Purdue nation. How can Burke stand behind this coach? I feel for the players. They let down, it was obvious! The coaching staff needs to go. We have not seen two consecutive beatings like this in a very long time. The coaches seemed to do nothing to motivate the players to play better. I know that Coach Hope is a very decent man and he tries hard, but there has to be some accountability with the product that you put on the field. Guys looked lost out there and that is all coaching!!
I hope people realize that a fan base calling for a coach's head is not personal. There is nothing against Danny Hope as a person. As a head coach- I'm not impressed. Nice guys get canned all the time. And this one needs to find the exit. I agree he has recruited some pretty good talent if we can keep the bath salts and women beating to a school some where other than our own. I wish he was the man for the job for the sake of stability and continuity. But lets face it- we dont need anymore of this kind of continuity. This is beyond hard to watch. Its unsupportable.
Let me clarify- I'm not suggesting I cannot support my school. I support Purdue, period. I do not support the decisions made by the Athletic Department and the people in charge of the football program. As alumni we are responsible to carry the torch of The Brand of Purdue and we must make sure that The Brand is representative of the character, integrity, perseverance, and diligence that binds the common thread of alumni. The fan base has spoken by its failure to attend home games- but the noise for change needs to buzz and buzz loudly, in my opinion.
Once again, great post J Money. Nobody will ever fault you for writing great things when your team is doing great. But there will always be a pack of the blind waiting to chop you up if you make sound assessments of a team in turmoil. Stick with your gut. What I've read from you these past 2 weeks, it won't steer you wrong. Also, I wrote this last week, why does firecoachhope.com take you to Purdue's 12th man webpage?????
Thanks for the kind words, IceT and Bloodline. Appreciate the support.
The fact that Purdue almost beats ND, then gets progressively worse as the season continues shows me that opposing coaches know how to watch game film and adjust, especially at halftime, while Hope and Company simply cannot.
Burke's not gonna fire Hope at least until after the season ends (with an increasing chance of IU running all over Purdue), and even then, I don't see Burke pulling the plug.
Embarrasing. I was so pumped to go the game, but I came away totally dissapointed. I don't think we can just blame everything on the coaches though. Terbush, Marve and Henry all through multiple balls in the dirt, no where near wide receivers. Our O-Line didn't block well during any of the running plays, and every QB that we put in held onto the ball way to much. Golden Boy Marve was sacked more times than it seemed he completed passes. I know that everyone will blame it on the O-Line, but I feel he could have gotten the ball out, but tried to do to much.
I just hope that next year we just start Appleby, take our lumps, and just stick with him. I am not looking forward to having Henry do constant zone read plays and our offense looking like junk.
Good Call all those out there who felt we would get steamrolled. I guess I am just to much of an optimist.
Me Friday:
"Wisconsin 38 Purdue 10"
Looking at that shot of the stadium makes me wonder. Would Burke notice if the stadium looked like that at kickoff of the PSU game? If the team doesn't show up why should we?
645 yards of offense for Wisconsin... where are the MEN on Purdue's team. How about a little pride or dignity? JEEZ.
I truly wish I was reading how Purdue rebounded with an impressive win after last week. Todays performance was unbearable to watch. Especially on DVR, I just kept hitting forward. I only wasted an hour instead of 3, but I think I need new remote from the table slam.
Once again (sadly for all Boiler fans) you guys are dead on in your game evaluation. I truly appreciate all the Stats, facts, and talk about what resposibilty Burke, Daniels and revenue can play in the success of our Football Program. I mean no disrepect, but I have a lowly BA from Purdue so numbers make my head spin. I am glad we are getting back to talking about the blood and guts of this teams issues. Last week the shit rolled up hill. This week it flows downstream and with a rapid current. J money hit the Rail on the head. Hope cannot lead, he cannot prepare, he cannot motivate and he sure as hell cant execute. Why is he not in these players faces? Get your offense and/or defense together on the sideline and LIGHT their ASSES UP! Where is the Passion?! and said this before...Nords play calling is absurdly predictable and stale. Why is it every team can run screens and crossing routes and mis-directions, and we cant? Why cant we run the ball with now 4 running backs to chose from? Why cant we freakin decide on a QB? we all know who it should be...injury or not, Marve gives us the best chance to win. What is the ineffecient bullshit, and this, needs to play more within the system and make better checks. Who the FK is Hope kidding. Let the guy play a whole game, get some continuity and some experience. Im sure if we look up minutes played (which i wont, = math) the dude is still a Freshman or early Sophmore via actaul game time and he hasnt played a full uninjured season,(plus anyone who has played sports knows Game-speed is different from practoce speed) so give him a full game or at least a start and the majority of the snaps...plus cosecutive games. I would rather watch talent and heart, with some mistakes from aggressive play than this bullshit. Look at Andrew Luck, he is making some bad decisions with the Colts, but Talent can overcome mistakes.
The shit continues downstream to the players today... Terbush's lazy outs and overthrows are killing this offense, along with Nords lack of BALLS! Henry is not the answer now...or next year. Enough with the option crap. We usually have good recievers (not today) but we need to get them the ball more, not less. (this includes our T.E.s) Each of them should have 5 or 6 cathes a game. and what about McCartney (he had a sweet catch)needs more
Our defense looks lost as well. Nobody could tackle today. We have no LBs. and our DBs havent lived up to there hype. Im tired of seing them make Tackles 9 yards down the field and Jump around like it was somehing great.
Special teams has been up and down, but we havent had close enough games the last 2 weeks for S.T. to make a difference.
Its obvious the N.D. game was a fraud. They just came back from Ireland (a bit father than a W.Coast trip) So we competed with a good, but jet lagged Irish team, whos Young, inexperienced QB played terrible. There stud T.E. left with an injury. And as usually Purdues piss poor coaching lost us a close game.
Hey Boiler Nation.. Happy Halloween!
Its time for Danny Hope to change his costume after this season. The Hat and Whistle make you look like a Coach but you sure dont act like one. If he cant play the part, let us please find someone who can!
KevinB - The QB position is BY FAR the hardest and most important position on the field. That being said, IT DOES FALL ON THE COACHES. As pretty much EVERYONE (on Boiled Sports & the rest of the universe, minus Hope & staff) has been saying from the get go, PLAY ONE QB (not 3) and regardless of who it is, they will be more fluid in the offense and know what to expect, and with that comes consistency. You can't let one guy start (Terbush) then get in a hole (every important game) and realistically expect the other QB (Marve) to come save the day. He's been a spectator like everyone else. There is no conceivable way his head would be as far in the game as the starter. Although this is just the tip of the iceberg with coaching decisions, it is a HUGE one.
@BoilerBloodline - Totally agree with the QB position being the #1 position on the field. That is why I think next year we just go with Appleby and start him and get him experience. That way in a few years we will have an experienced QB that we can trust. We have none of that with the QBs that we have now. I don't believe that if Marve started the game against Wisconsin, that he would've played better than he did. Coming off of the injury that he has had, he just doesn't have the reps and it shows. The days of Marve being the major talent that he was supposed to be left when he got hurt.
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