Cradle Alums

Reader Jason sends along the above screen grab and says "I seem to remember two of those guys at Purdue."

It's always cute, though, when Purdue is called "irrelevant" or "boring," especially by "fans" of a program who produces this.

Tiller Bowl Goes to Orton in OT

In a pretty amazing scene last night, Kyle Orton's middling Bears squeaked out a victory versus the mediocre Saints in overtime. Neither quarterback particularly shined...both threw two interceptions, but Brees threw two TDs as Orton only ran for one. The special teams were extremely important on the day as the Bears had some big run backs, the first of the game for a TD...Manning knew he was going to score as he crossed into Saints territory; horrible coverage. But, the game provided a fitting salute to Coach Tiller as he was in attendance and even got together for a photo op with his two students after the game...while wearing a Purdue letter jacket (sadly, I can't find the picture).
In typical Brees fashion, #9 led his squad back from a 14-point deficit late in the game to take the lead in regulation...Then Orton got the Bears in field goal territory, and Gould sent it into OT...Thanks to the NFL's dumb OT rule, after winning the toss, the Bears marched down the field ended the game, once again on Gould's leg.

I hope a large print of the post-game love fest between the three ex-Boilers gets a prominent spot in Mollenkopf and every QB recruit who comes through the doors sees the shot. You can't fake stuff like that...and only one other school shares this status with Purdue (BC- Ryan & Hasslebeck).

Notes

Brock Staying Put for now
Brock Spack was passed over for the BGSU job. It sounded like it was all but a done deal as Spack had a few connections there and is a pretty respected DC in the college ranks. The reason Spack doesn't get these jobs could be pretty simple. I've been told that the guy loves Purdue...and he probably always thought he'd be coaching at Purdue when Tiller left. Maybe his heart isn't into the interviewing process? Who knows. Regardless, BGSU hired a coach with previous head coaching experience and who was recently fired at Tennessee. Sounds like a meh pick to me...but maybe it was a good one for the MAC. I'm still hoping Spack gets another look someplace, there are a lot of openings...and his name continues to pop up; most of the openings are for DC positions elsewhere, which I don't think would push him to leave Purdue.

Quan
Purdue is the late leader for the services of 3-star prospect Quanthony Fletcher, another Florida product. I think it's exciting, because Purdue needs more great names on the roster...While Fletcher seems a bit heavy to play linebacker right now, perhaps he could run a bit off and be ready to play as a Freshman? That'd be helpful. Another LB that I'd like to see Hope snag is Sam Barrington. He seems to be cut from the same cloth as Landon Johnson.

Ostrich
Our boy Robbie needs a haircut...nothing else to report. While everyone, from coaches, to players to media all respect his game, no one can respect that do. I know it's cold, but sack up, Ostrich!

The Bears Are Serious About This Kyle Orton Business

So hey, we know you're probably not apt to follow the happenings of wayward Boilermakers the way we do, but here's another update on everyone's favorite Captain O'Neckbeard, Kyle Orton -- also known as the Chicago Bears starting QB. (That is, until he has a 68 yard passing day and Rex Grossman completes more than two passes during a live scrimmage.)

Orton has been named one of two offensive captains for the 2008 season, as voted by his teammates. Now, either this is like the times in high school where you vote the biggest nerd the homecoming king just to be funny.... or the Bears really believe in KO. I hope it's the latter.

We'll always be rooting for Kyle around here. He has Purdue on the cusp of even more relevancy than Drew Brees brought and for that we'll always appreciate him. The guy also played injured in bowl games and against OSU, pulling out victories and delivering amazing performances at times. He's a gamer and he cared about his teammates. That seems to have carried over to the pros.

Good on ya, Kyle.

Slow-Motion Takeover of All NFL QB Positions By Boilers Underway

In former Boilermaker news, Kyle Orton got the nod to be the Chicago Bears starter today over his lukewarm competitior, Rex Grossman.

I'm happy for KO, although he was probably pretty happy just being a backup in the league. If he has another mediocre season, I think there's a chance he winds up cut by next year and not playing anywhere in the NFL.

However, I think he has some upside. No, he's not a championship caliber QB necessarily, but he's a big, drop-back passer and that works in the NFL. And all Orton's ever been asked to do for the Bears is not lose games. That is, the play-calling has always been ultra-conservative when he's in there since Lovie Smith always relies on his defense. I have a feeling if things were opened up for Kyle that he might actually surprise some people.

Who knows how long it will last, but for now, the Boilermakers are up to 2 out of 32 starting QBs in the league.