Big Weekend for Former Boilermakers

No kidding, right? Unless you live under a rock (okay, or if you're not an avid Purdue follower), you know that there are Boilermakers on every team left in the NFL's final four. So while we do sometimes talk NFL around here, we've been doing less of it lately -- however, over the next couple weeks, I think you'll be hearing a little more about it. Let's look at the combatants and the games this weekend. Because, hey, everyone else is.

New Orleans Saints versus Minnesota Vikings


One of Purdue's proudest sons is one win away from the Super Bowl for the second time in his four seasons with New Orleans. People forget that in Mr. Handsome's first year with the team, in 2006, they lost the championship game to the Bears. This was the year after they won only 3 games while playing their entire season away from New Orleans following Katrina. I remember this vividly because Drew had just gone to New Orleans and that August I was in Las Vegas and I put down a bet on the Saints to be NFC champs -- at 35-1. I was a believer in Drew. And I remember not telling anyone I had done that until they were eliminated, so as not to jinx it. Alas, the sucko Bears managed to Rex Grossman their way into the opportunity to get waxed by the Colts.

I'll be pontificating/hero-worshipping Drew a little more in a separate post later today, but for now let's get to this game.

I'm worried, and I'm not afraid to admit it. The Saints biggest weakness has been their run defense. And what is one of the Vikings strength? Of course, Adrian Peterson who, make no mistake, is an animal. I love this guy and let's all just agree that he's the reason Brett Favre has had an admittedly terrific season. Brett, to his credit, bought into the Vikings plan to run the hell out of Peterson until other teams committed to stopping him -- and then they'd punch 'em in the throat with a Brett Favre pass. This of course only works if Favre avoids his trademark crippling interceptions (all-time leader in INTs, by the way, though I don't recall them stopping the game for any ceremonies for that), which has done an amazing job of. This is Favre's lowest interception season ever -- EVER. And he still quietly threw for 4,200 yards. So as much as we collectively dislike this disingenuous hillbilly, he's playing possibly the best football he's ever played -- or at least his best in ten-plus years.

However, the playoffs are when the wheels often come flying off for Fav-ray. So we shall see.

Both sides have pretty decent defenses, but certainly their defenses are not what the teams are known for. On the Minnesota side is our old friend Ray Edwards, who terrorized Tony Romo, much to my delight. Seriously, is there anything better than seeing the Cowboys lose? Jerry Jones deserves nothing. He had one of the best coaches in the game, but his ego forced him to hire a series of bozos (not including Parcells, who eventually had enough on his own) and make himself the GM. Yes, a rich doofus owns the team and makes himself the GM. Even Mark Cuban's not that arrogant. But I digress.

Ray Edwards has blossomed into a hell of a defensive player. He's actually missed some practice time this week due to injury and while I never like to see a Boiler down, I'm okay if he doesn't make it out there to pressure Drew.

The Saints offense, as we've seen over and over this year, is explosive. And they're playing in one of the few home venues that truly can be considered a home-field advantage. I've seen games in the Superdome and it's a pretty great experience -- I can only imagine how deafening it is in the playoffs. And deafening is when opponents make mistakes, run the wrong route, etc. Here's hoping.

Saints 38, Vikings 34
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Indianapolis Colts versus New York Jets


Alright, let's get something straight -- the Jets aren't even in the playoffs if the Colts and Bengals don't lay down for them the last two weeks of the season. Sure, they've played very well and very opportunistically in the playoffs, but they shouldn't even be here. And let's make mistake -- no matter how much the Jets push their "Are they trying now?" motivation tactic (as they did against Cinci), the Colts are just as pissed off about that previous matchup. The Colts players were not pleased with the decision to lay down -- and that's what you expect out of competitors. I expect the Colts to want to win, and win big, showing everyone that they are indeed better than the Jets when they try for four quarters. Given that, I'm thinking Peyton Manning may get more snaps than Curtis Painter in the second half this time around. Going out on a limb here.

As for the Jets, I don't want to completely minimize them. They have a coach who has convinced them to truly believe and they have. Reportedly, at a team meeting on January 5, Rex Ryan mapped out their daily obligations, meetings, practices, etc., all the way through the Tuesday after the Super Bowl. On that day, the board said "PARADE." I give the fat man credit -- he's pushing all the right buttons.

And who has had some of the most critical catches for the Jetties? None other than Dustin Keller, former monster Boilermaker. Have you ever noticed how whenever they need a critical catch, Keller makes it? Can you remember any drops, legitimate or otherwise? And finally, is it me, or is Keller already one of the best YAC tight ends in the NFL? The guy turns short crossing patterns into 50 yard gains. I love the guy and wish he was on my team.

BUT.... let's look closer at the Jets success. Sure, the Jets have the number 1 rushing offense in the NFL. But that's skewed, because they also have an interception factory in Mark Sanchez. When you have a guy you don't trust to throw the ball, you run it incessantly and hope your defense makes some plays. Many teams have ridden this formula to success, usually with shoddy quarterbacks. And it's worked for the Jets because of the teams the Jets have played.

The Bengals looked listless and the Jets were ahead most of the day -- perfect formula for them. And the Chargers? Well, is anyone surprised the Chargers choked early again? I mean, when can we start piling on them as chokers and underachievers. I'm really tired of hearing about how "this is the year" for the Chargers. They've been good for essentially the entire LaDainian Tomlinson Era and, yet, they almost always seem to fall short of expectations. Cool, calm Phil Rivers leads them to one TD in the first half and winds up throwing a Farvian crippling interception that the Jets returned to the SD 16 yard line.... to a place where even Sanchez couldn't help but score. Suddenly, the pressure was on SD and the Jets ground them down. My point? I'm not impressed with the two teams the Jets beat. How they beat them? Yes, I'm impressed with that. But I don't think the Colts are like either of those teams. Coffee is for closers. The Colts are closers.

Colts 23, Jets 13

Much Like Boilerdowd With Dance Dance Revolution, Curtis Painter Can't Stop Playing A Game He Loves

You probably missed this one from over the weekend (And why not? Didn't college football end, like, months ago?), but our friend Curtis Painter took his laser rocket arm down to scenic El Paso, Texas and played in the "Texas vs. The Nation" senior all-star bowl game thingie.

[Insert joke here about Purdue QBs knowing the way to El Paso well.]

Curtis had a decent showing, going 6 of 15 for 55 yards and a TD. As much as we've had our doubts about Curt's abilities from time to time, I find myself really rooting for him to do well. He was a good Joe Tiller soldier and while his leadership might not have been as vocal and intense as we would have liked, he also wasn't an embarrassment to our program.

In other Purdue football news, Painter, Greg Orton, Kory Sheets and Alex Magee all received invites to the NFL's combine in Indianapolis. Get ready to be examined like a show dog, boys.

Holiday Greetings From Purdue Athletics

You know how sometimes you see a movie and it has such an amazing cast and you think to yourself, "Self, how did they get all those cool people into the same movie?"

Well, that's sort of happened here, as some of the most prominent figures in modern-day Purdue athletics managed to take time out of their busy schedules to perform a little holiday dance for you all. I'm not sure how long they worked on this, but the smart money says this is many hours of dedication. Inside sources say Boilerdowd is responsible for the choreography. Enjoy.

[Okay, screw the embedding. Let's try just a direct link -- for the (now too-built-up) hilarity, please click this link.]

Happy Holidays From Purdue Athletics.

Matty Painter seems to be particularly enjoying himself. Not sure why Brock wasn't willing to take off his headset.

You know what else? He's a good team mate too!

You've heard us singing the praises of Purdue's quarterback of the future, Justin Siller...He has the ability to sense pressure as the pocket collapses...He can throw a wide array of passes...he can run the ball...and his ego doesn't reflect any of it.

While Curt's shoulder heels slowly and Tiller calls him a girl for not playing, the coach still isn't ready to say Siller is the starter. I'd love to give Coach Tiller some credit and say this is gamesmanship, but I don't think it is. I think Tiller feels loyalty to Curtis; and loyalty is a good thing, but Siller has earned the starting job (and Painter has lost it)...for the rest of the season.

When Siller was asked about his wishy-washy status as the starter, he responded,

"Curtis is a fifth-year quarterback and he's proven himself. I understand that if he's healthy Coach Tiller would go with him."

You know what? That's precisely the right thing to say in this situation. Much like Painter, Siller seems to be a very good team mate in the fact that he doesn't disparage his brothers-at-arms in public. Part of the reason might be the fact that Siller has been watching and learning for the past year...and I mean soaking it up. Every timeout during the '07 season, you could see #5 ducking his head into the Coaches' sideline meetings with Curtis. So, while his delivery might be a little unorthodox and Z says he has a lot to learn, he seems to be mentally prepared to lead our Boilers. It seems that right now, the kid can do no wrong...Let's hope this trend continues in East Lansing on Saturday. Whether it's another sterling performance or not, his time on the field is yet another learning opportunity.

I Don't Think Joe Tiller Reads Boiled Sports

I know, crazy talk, right? But I don't think he's paying attention to us. As evidence, let's take a look at this quote from today on ESPN.com's Big Ten "blog":

"I haven't heard anybody say, 'You've got to be crazy if you're not [starting Siller]!'" Tiller said. "Mind you, it's only Tuesday."

Ahem. Joe, you've got to be crazy if you're not starting Siller. Does that change anything?

Also from that same post:

Backup quarterback Justin Siller won Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors for his impressive performance against Michigan, but Painter's experience could be beneficial against No. 18 Michigan State.

Really? Beneficial how? You mean all his experience beating ranked teams? Because I think Siller guiding the Boilers to 48 points was beneficial and that sort of firepower might also be beneficial against Sparty.

A Typical Day For The Purdue Football Coaching Staff

[Joe Tiller enters room where assistants are already waiting and sits down.]


Tiller: Hello, men. Sorry I'm late. I was just talking to a satellite plate installer out in Wyoming. Can you believe what they can get on those plates now?

Danny Hope: Coach, I think you mean satellite “dish,” not “plate.”

Tiller: Fourteen kinds of porn! It's amazing.

Danny Hope: Um, well, coach, shouldn't we talk about the team?

Tiller: Oh, Danny, when you're head man you can do whatever the hell you want. But you're not. You're my underling for five more games. Plus the bowl.

[silence, Hope grits teeth]

Tiller: I'll tell you what. I think we should talk about the team. Here we are, 2-5. And I'll tell you what I want -- I want two trick plays for this weekend and I want them decided on in the next ten minutes.

Hope: Oh, I see, cool. You're giving the staff a time limit so that they bear down and focus. Good tactic.

Tiller: What about Tic Tacs? No, I have a frozen pizza in the oven and it only has twelve minutes left on it. And then I'm taking a nap and watching Captain Kangaroo.

Hope: I see.

Tiller: Brock! What do you have for me?

Spack:

Tiller: Same as usual, eh Brock?

Hope: Do you think Curtis could handle a flea flicker?

Tiller: A what?

Hope: [calls Curtis Painter up, tells him to come to coaches room]

Painter: What's up, coach?

Hope: Can you throw a flea flicker?

Painter: hmmmmm.....

......no, coach, I don’t throw fleas. I don’t even think that’s possible. I throw footballs.

Hope: [sighs] A flea flicker is where you hand off to Kory and then he tosses it back to you…

Painter: Oh.

Hope: …and you then look downfield and go through your progression, pick out the receiver, and let fly.

Painter: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. What’s a progression?


Tiller: That’s mah boy!

Hope: Curtis, it’s when you look at each receiver in the order of whom you’d like to throw to and decide on the best option.

Painter: Oh, right! I always just settle on the first guy. I’m that freaking good. I just laser it in there no matter what.

Hope: Yes, we know.

Painter: Watch me thrown a dead-accurate pass!

Hope: Hold on, let’s go to the aquatics center – I want to try something.

[at aquatics center]

Hope: Okay, Curtis, your target is there:

Curtis: [lets fly]

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

[ball sails over pool]

Hope: [sigh]

[back to coaches room]

Hope: Curtis, you need to work on your game.

Tiller: It’ll come around.

Hope: No, coach, it won’t. It’s more than halfway through his senior season – when do we begin to coach him?

Tiller: Do what now? I sure do like fly fishing. Curtis, you need to promise me you'll come visit in Wyoming and go fly fishing with me.

Painter: Of course, Coach. [looking at Hope] Look, I don’t need to be coached. I’m a Heisman candidate AND and a bowl-game MVP!

Hope: Argh. The bloggers you're afraid of are right, Joe. We have to do something about this team’s mindset and the culture we’re letting develop here.

Tiller: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2008 Boiled Sports Season Preview (About Time)

Well, here we are, probably the last site to roll out our season preview for 2008. But hey, we haven’t missed anything yet since Purdue is finally just now getting around to playing a game. If you can count our opener against Northern Colorado as a “game.” (Sweet hey-soos, I hope we don’t lose.)

We’re not a site that overanalyzes things (yes, I’m sure you’ve noticed). If you want an overly-detailed breakdown of the Purdue season, go ahead and take a look at the detailed work over at OffTheTracks. Or read the mediocre-fest take from Varsity Blue.

From us you’re going to continue to get what you come here for and that’s our rambling, stream-of-consciousness thoughts on the team, life, boobies, and all sorts of things in between.
Here are the categories for the BS Season Preview:

Thoughts on Offense
Thoughts on Defense
Thoughts on Special Teams
Impact Players – Heralded Department
Impact Players – Unheralded Department
X-factors
Miscellaneous Thoughts
Predicted Record (including our own versus the readers)

So here we go.


Thoughts on Offense

Painter will likely have plenty of time to pass this season, and this o-line will – get this – actually create holes for the running game. However, this receiving group will struggle to hang on to all of the balls thrown their way, especially in the first half of the season. Look for Keith Smith to have serious impact very quickly...kind of a hybrid of Keller and Bryant last season. All of the receivers are big and strong this year...and unlike Bryant and Lymon, they all seem very willing to block and play hard every play. This should translate into a solid running game. With Jaycen Taylor out with a blown out knee Korey Sheets gets to show if he deserves the full load of a #1 back. He’ll get help from Frank Halliburton and maybe even former QB Justin Siller, but it’s essentially Sheets’ job to lose and we think he’ll thrive in the role.

Will Painter win the Heisman or even be in the discussion? Doubtful, but he should put up some more impressive numbers this season. The real question, as mentioned, is whether he can do it against the big boys in his final rodeo.

As an aside, I love the prevailing wisdom that’s currently out there about Curtis Painter. That being that he simply can’t win big games and simply never does. Well, nobody wins big games until they do. Remember how three years ago, Peyton Manning was considered a playoff choker who couldn’t win big games? That was the case… until it wasn’t. It was also the case with Eli Manning… until it wasn’t. And with Vince Young… until it wasn’t. And Drew frickin’ Brees…until it wasn’t. And on and on. So let’s see how young Curtis handles his senior season.

Thoughts on Defense

The defensive backfield should be unusually sound, especially for a Tiller team...same with the front four...and the LBs, who are typically strong for Tiller, will struggle due to a lack of depth. Look for Werner to play similarly to Laurinaitis @ aOSU – very high energy and with reckless abandon. Brock Spack could screw up anything, though, so you never know. But this defense looks fairly stout. However, we’ve been fooled before. When you’re known as an offensive team and your offense has trouble outscoring MAC teams, well, somethin’ ain’t right. (I’ll also never get the image of Indiana State putting up five TDs on us a few years back – sure, we scored 60 but it was a harbinger of things to come…Brock.)

Thoughts on Special Teams

Not much reason to worry about the kickoff return game because both Tardy and Sheets have returned kicks and done it quite well. What is worrisome, though, is the void Jaycen Taylor leaves on special teams coverage...that might be a concern. Summers will punt and kick well and we’re not worried about the kicking portion of special teams.

Impact Players – Heralded Department

Painter, Orton on offense, and Heygood & Magee on defense all have a chance to collect accolades at the end of the season... Magee will be the most noteworthy, nationally, at the end of the season. Again, Purdue seems to have a pipe dream of promoting Painter as a Heisman candidate. We don’t see it having any legs unless he just catches fire out of the gate and the Boilers start 5-0 or something. Not unpossible, but definitely unlikely.

Impact Players – Unheralded Department

Offensively, we like Smith and Adams quite a bit. Both will run safer routes than Orton, Curry or Whitest. We hope to see Smith and Tardy on the field together quite a bit. Defensively, Werner and Brown remind some of Koutivides and Ayodele, respectively. That wouldn’t be a bad surprise to have them live up to those impressions.

X-Factors

When people talk about x-factors, it always seems kind of silly. Because if you know what the “x factor” is, then it’s not an x-factor anymore, right? The very definition of an x-factor is something we haven’t factored in, right? Hello, is this thing on? *tap tap*

Anyway, to us, the biggest X factors on both defense and offense is how well the less-experienced players come along. Players like Tardy, Smith, Curry, Dierking and Halliburton will all play very important roles and haven't seen significant PT prior to '08.

On defense, similarly, Werner, Brown and McClean need to play like seasoned vets right away...and the backups may be even more important as we could see a significant drop-off in quality of play in the twos and threes...That translates to a worn-down team in the fourth quarter.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

We like kolaches. And ice cream. And pizza.

As for miscellaneous thoughts about the Purdue football team, we'd love to see Tiller get Jack's all-time wins record vs. Oregon...that could be a big momentum-builder for this team.The period of September 27 to October 11 can make a difference between a Jan. 1 bowl and another unimportant late December contest.

The schedule is designed perfectly for a run at a major bowl and a bunch of surprises for the national media and Purdue fans alike. Tiller compares this team to '97, and that is valid. No one saw that team coming, and no one has expectations for this group either. Just like in '97 there are a ton of players who are unknown that might turn out to be difference-makers.To us, an 8-win season is a successful final season for Tiller, 6 or 7 wins will remind Boiler faithful why we're all looking forward to Hope's era. That said, there are so many question marks for '09 (quarterback, depth, system) that we Purdue fans might want to savor this season because a bowl next year might be a long shot.

Predicted Record

The exercise in futility that so many people try to do each year. Of course, in college it’s usually a little easier than in, say, the NFL. But predicting Purdue is one of those painful experiences. It’s not difficult, and therein lies the sadness. You look at the schedule and you see some sure wins, some likely wins and some truly “winnable” close matchups. And yet, as a longtime Purdue fan, and as guys who have watched the entire Tiller Era with close, watchful eyes, we all know what a leap it is from “winnable” to actually winning. And even when we’ve seen them pull together a season where they win those tight games against quality opponents (see 2000 and Brees, Drew), they find a way to turn around and kick us in the nuts with a letdown loss to a subpar MSU team or something. It never seems to fail.

So what do we think? Well, here’s the thought process…

Best Case Scenario: 10-2

Don’t laugh. This would mean wins over Northern Colorado, ND, CMU, NW, Minny, MSU, Iowa and IU. All of those are games the Boilers should – wait, let me put more emphasis on that word – “should” win. Will they win them all? Of course not. But it’s not, like, ridiculous to think they should if they play to their potential. So that’s eight wins. Then you need two wins against: Oregon (at home), OSU (on the road), Michigan (at home) and PSU (at home). Could we see them beating, say, Oregon and Michigan? Or Michigan and PSU? Sure, we could. The only game I think we’ll all “put in Sharpie” as a loss is the contest in Columbus. This team hasn’t ever shown the mettle to win a game like that. So doesn’t that make “best case” 11-1, you say? No, we answer, because there’s zero chance the Boilers will win all those other games. Best case scenario includes a loss at OSU and a hiccup elsewhere along the way.

Worst Case Scenario: 6-6

Conversely, as bad as things can get for some teams, they can’t get worse than .500 for the Boilers. Sure, a lot of those teams have the potential to beat the Boilermakers, but we don’t think they will. This team has every reason to be focused – Tiller’s swan song, Painter’s senior season, a favorable schedule with most big games at home. Let’s hope Tiller has enough left in the tank to motivate this group for twelve games. But if he can’t, we see losses likely to: Oregon, Notre Dame, Penn State, OSU, Michigan and Iowa. ND and Iowa because they’re on the road and the Boilers don’t often fare well in either locale. The others because, well, if recent seasons are any indication, Purdue doesn’t beat anyone they’re not supposed to beat. And the stars say we’re not “supposed” to beat powers like PSU, Michigan, OSU and ranked Pac Ten teams.

Boiled Sports Official Prediction: 7-5

And so here we are, with our official prediction. And we’ll go with 7-5. And not because we think this team won’t do better – I think we all feel they can and should have 8-9 wins this year. There’s really no excuse not to beat PSU and Michigan at home this season. But we’ve just seen it all before and become believers again each September, only to see them perform at the same middling level they have for so long. Do we think Painter could bust out and be a wonderful surprise? Yes, we think it’s possible and not in one of those 2% possible ways.

Tim thinks 6-6 is likely, boilerdowd came in around 7-5 and I feel 8-4 is likely. So we’re taking the average. And we think it’ll be a fitting end for Tiller; ending his career in San Antonio at the Alamo Bowl.

Oh, and more importantly, the BS reader voting is in. And you all collectively think the Boilers are going 8-4 with the losses coming to Oregon, OSU, Michigan and MSU. We had hoped the homerism of a Purdue-themed site would bring about a predicted record of 12-0 so we could mock you, but thankfully you guys proved to be humble, reasonably-intelligent humanoids and not, you know, Sparty MSU readers. (Oh, snap!)

Some interesting stats to note in the voting…

Closest margin was the Oregon game, where Oregon was tapped as the winner by our readers with just a slim 51% margin.

The game the readers are most confident in? A victory over IU, with 94% of the vote.

Curiously, everyone seems sure we’ll crush Iowa on the road – to the tune of 89% confidence. Which is odd, especially considering only 66% think Purdue’s going to win tomorrow versus D-2 Northern Colorado.

Anyhow, the season is now upon us and it’s no longer necessary to kill time until football season with mindless antics like de-pantsing Terry Hutchens or interviewing other bloggers. The games are here and we’re off to the races.

Thanks for continuing to read and share your opinions. We love it and we’ll do our best to keep the content coming.

Boiler Up.

Purdue "O" an "A+"

Not only are the guys here at Boiled Sports high on the Boilermaker offense, so is College Football News. They also give Purdue the nod as being the best group of receivers in the nation...We'd tend to agree with the assessment.

That said, I'm still looking for Curt Painter to really make big strides in order for all of the hype to become reality. I do like what I'm hearing and seeing out of early camp reports...both from Curtis and other Boilermakers. Painter seems to understand that with the all of the yards the Sophomore-led Boiler offense put up in '06, the press and fans have noticed and expect the QB to do even bigger things this season. He doesn't seem at all opposed to the idea of his offense being called one of the best under Tiller, but says he doesn't want any titles until the unit's earned further praise.

A friendly rivalry has begun as Jaycen Taylor & Cory Sheets get ready to split time at the RB spot. When the upper classmen introduced themselves to the newcomers at the beginning camp earlier this week, Jaycen Taylor introduced himself as "the running back"...Cory Sheets responded by calling himself "Cory Sheets...the STARTING running back". I think both options will prove to be tough to handle behind the sizable offensive line.

On the defensive side of the ball, Dan Bick still is not 100% and may be forced to sit out the coming season due to a neck injury. No clear favorite has been seen in early camp, but a healthy Jason Werner might free up Heygood to move to the middle...We'll know more in the coming weeks.

NFL pre-season is in swing...NCAA camps are underway...Thank God football season is here again!