Getting hammered by good teams is lousy...especially when our Boilers are supposed to be one of the better teams in league. In earlier seasons, getting beaten by Northern Illinois and Toledo was disappointing as they weren't great teams. Losing a close one to Rice was pretty embarrassing, no bones about it. But getting smoked by a really bad team with no offensive or defensive identity might be the bottom of the barrel...right?
We've stated our case, time and again, that Hope is in over his head. In a conference full of great coaches and extremely-talented players, Hope-coached teams can't consistently compete. But, Hope used to be able to beat the bottom of the conference. But perhaps the problem is, Purdue is the very bottom of the conference.
0-4 in the conference...and really this team has only competed once in those four games and the cellar dwellers now look tough to our Boilers. IU just won a road game...but the good news is Purdue is hosted by that very Illini squad in just a few weeks. The bad news is IU is a much better team than Purdue right now...and their upside is pretty sizable.
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| Confused by the outcome. |
Purdue's back to getting flagged with regularity...like the last few seasons. And the defense that got made the last two DCs lose their jobs seems to be back, yet again. It almost seems like the defensive problems are bigger than just the defensive coordinator. In fact, Purdue allowed Minnesota's offense to get nearly their season average in yardage...in a half. Atop that, Purdue let Goldy score almost exactly double their points average for the season. And to pile on, Minny had scored exactly 13 points in each of their first three Big Ten games -- and then hung 44 on the Boilers today.
Young DBs got burnt for easy TDs...solid veterans got burnt just as easily. The defensive scheme was deplorable today...and put none of Purdue's players in the position to make plays; plain and simple.
On the other side of the ball, TerBush's solid game v. aOSU was followed up by a dog. He panicked under Minny's pressure and made slow decisions and poor throws. And once Purdue was down by a couple touchdowns...which was very early in the game, TerBush couldn't stretch the field. Purdue ran the ball well- Bolden, Hunt and Shavers all averaged over 6 yards/carry...but since TerBush doesn't run the hurry-up well, Purdue was forced to pass on nearly every down; not good.
Marve came in, for some reason, after Purdue was already down 44-7. I'm not going to tell you that Purdue would have won the game had Marve started. Neither Marve nor TerBush nor Henry, who also played QB, by the way, could have stopped Tibesar from having no one further from the line of scrimmage than 4 yards...time and again.
Some offensive positives of this team might get lost by the fact that Purdue's defense played so poorly. Macarthy continues to become a big time receiver as Edison continues to be consistent. Shavers ran hard and finished runs well as did Hunt and Bolden (who I just love to see running the ball). And Henry was very sharp passing the ball...even over the middle (*gasp*) in relief of TerBush, then Marve.
We've gone from high expectations (division/conference championship)...to OK expectations (solid bowl)...to low expectations (Little Caesars Bowl)...to where we are now- hoping and praying for another win. Sure, there are plenty of opportunities left, and our Boilers aren't mathematically eliminated, but with the way this team is playing now, what have any of you seen that makes you believe this team can win another game? Help me out; I haven't seen it.
Our Boilers lost 44-28...but the score is really not indicative of how badly Minnesota beat Purdue. Let that flow over you for a moment...
In spite of that...in spite of losing week after week after week after week, in a season that was supposed to be special (according to the coach himself), Hope still thinks the program is going in the right direction (according to his post-game comments).
Short summed it up well after the game- he said Purdue wasn't as well-prepared as they were for aOSU...and while a 6-6 season is still well within Purdue's reach, it's not at all acceptable.
11 comments:
IU only has to win out to go to Indy. WE have to win out and Wisky lose out. but one of those is definitely not happening.
In three out of four Big Ten games Purdue was not prepared. Indeed, in three out of four games Purdue didn't come to play football. They now look like the Washington Generals. During the awful second quarter I found myself fantasizing Morgan Burke calling Coach Hope into the office and firing him, then announcing that Joe Tiller is the interim head coach for the rest of the season.
But there are some deeper questions here. Have the players quit on Danny Hope? Have they given up? Do these guys want to play anymore? I could also ask the same questions of the coaching staff. Those defensive coverages were terrible.
Danny Hope will be an offensive line coach in the NFL next year, and that is probably the best job he can get. In the meantime we are seeing the "Peter Principle" in action, one rising to his level of incompetence and then remaining there.
I wonder if Hope lost the team last week when he coached them out of a big victory in Columbus.
I can only hope that MB called Danny Hope and told him he's gone at the end of the season, no matter what happens. The poor coaching coupled with continually poor hiring decisions should have been enough that he didn't get an extension last year. I'd prefer MB gets rid of Hope today and doesn't let him coach the rest of the season.
Also, it's time to throw Henry in as the starter or even one of our freshman QBs. At the very least, Marve.
Don't most of us know a winner when we see one? Did anybody, EVER, think Danny Hope was a real winner? No, of course not. Find a coach who is a winner and you'll find a happy bunch of fans. Purdue did it with Keady and they are doing it with Painter. Joe Tiller was a winner. Time to find a winner... not a talker, but a winner.
Kyle, it's time for Marve to take his bum knees and all of his potential out into the real world where I'm sure he'll be a great human being. He's been a gigantic bust for this program and he'll be remembered for two things... Interceptions and Injuries. Sorry. Let's find the next Brees or Orton. Curtis Painter is looking good right now.
I would have fired Hope at halftime yesterday
The Danny Hope Positive Posse has relented...albeit SEVEN WEEKS TOO LATE. Hope just named Marve as the the starter for this week. J & B Dowd, I'd love to hear your thoughts (or rants)on this. He's clearly trying to save his job...for our sake...lets hope that decision has already been made.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B9XU_YA9n8
Oh my lord... what a completely clueless couch we have... I watched this and can only wonder what game film was he watching? Maybe he should just start clapping all the time like Crean instead of talking?!?!?!
PUhopeless...my couch is clueless as well...always taking my change. JUST KIDDING!! I agree on the video. All Hope EVER does is SPEW out his worthless "good" stats from the game, as if to say, "hey, we're still making progress". He's like the guy that dunks and screams really loud during a game in which his team is losing by 30...look at him and just point at the scoreboard.
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