Thoughts on Purdue
The spread offense definitely works for this team. There were HUGE holes on our D-line and they gave Sheets the opportunity to run for some really nice plays. This opened up the pass game for Painter and he had an OKday. Boy, did he have some time to throw the football in the first half as well! We did a bit more pressure-wise in the second half when the offense took some pressure off our D.
Two other thoughts on these guys that really stood out to me. First, you can see this is a well-coached team. They were very fundamentally sound. They generate big plays without flashy players because everyone does their job. Also, this is a mature team. They have some key leaders on the field (specifically Painter and Sheets). We have really lacked this type of guy, specifically on offense (Sullivan and Carlson have not exhibited this to me).
Quarterbacks: B-
I thought Clausen looked like a completely different quarterback today. He showed a much bigger arm throwing downfield (Pilcher, are you still convinced this kid can make the throws yet?). He also managed the team so much better.
That said, he still made freshman mistakes. The INT he threw in the second quarter across his body should not have happened. He needs to know when to throw it away or take a sack. That is an impossible throw.
Sharpley actually looked good when he came in for the injured Clausen. He forced a couple of throws but checked off to his man underneath a couple of times, got rid of the ball and made smart choices. He got help by Tate on two deep balls (not great throws in my opinion, but great catches).
So, the announcers were basically calling for a quarterback controversy in the second half. Let me go on record by saying that I think Clausen gives us the best chance to win. Yes, Sharpley came in and played with confidence. Players responded to him. But they were responding to Clausen as well.
I think it is a horrible thing to change QB’s now. This was Clausen’s best game. He got us back in this thing and started to swing the momentum. Weis made his pick and we need to stick with the kid.
Running Backs: D-
We had zero running game in the first half. Aldridge was not able to get things going early and establish the physical run. This was especially disappointing considering that is one of the only good things we did last week. Armando Allen had a couple of nice runs/catches, but fumbled again.
We pretty much abandoned the run in the second half. I think Junior Jabbie probably led our team in rushing the last two quarters (why do we play that guy?).
Fullbacks: D
Schwapp had one catch, but otherwise these guys were not on the field much. Clearly, there wasn’t a lot of run blocking either.
Wide Receivers: A-
George West looked really good to me today. He really looks special when he has the ball and a little bit of space. In the first quarter, I think he juked 3 guys to get 7 or 8 yards on a screen pass.
How is Golden Tate not playing every down out wide for us? Sick, sick catch on the up ball from Clausen in the two minute drill at the end of the first half. Then the two catches from Sharpley in the 4th quarter? Unreal. If you recall, he did a similar thing against Georgia Tech. This kid is a special talent.
Duval Kamara needs to have a bigger role in the offense. He had some really nice catches across the middle (as well as the diving comeback throw in the first half). He has huge hands (looks like he can catch pretty much anything thrown his way) and has the big body that we need to make bigger catches in traffic. Robbie Parris also had a couple of big catches.
I still think we have talent here. I said that these guys would surprise this season and today is the type of performance that I expect out of this group. We have some young guys who could be stars (Tate, Kamara, West) and an established guy (Grimes) and they will continue to get better as the season progresses and they build a better rapport with Clausen.
Tight Ends: B+
Huge, huge, huge touchdown catch by Carlson in traffic. He also caught a couple of other balls (one where he moved the pile about 5 yards after being stood up). Statistically, this wasn’t a big game for Carlson. He did show the type of effort and leadership though that builds his value to the team.
Offensive Line: C
How can we not execute on a 4th and 1 play? We failed here again this week (twice). I swear, we have faced something like 10 4th and 1’s and I don’t know if we have executed one of them. How can our guys not lean forward and get that yardage?
We also continue to pick up holding penalties. I can’t figure out how we can’t block anyone even while picking up these penalties? Sam Young, I am calling you out on this. You are the most talented guy on our O-Line and you have to stop making these dumb mistakes.
These guys are not establishing the run and still not giving Clausen great time. We had zero running game again and JC took some really vicious hits out there and was clearly banged up in the second half of the game.
The second half gave us hope though. They only allowed two total sacks and we started moving the ball at the end of the 3rd quarter. Hey, its something.
Defensive Line: C
I feel so bad for Trevor Laws. That guy’s motor is always going at about 150% and he is limited because of the inexperienced, outmanned D Line. At least Joe Brockington stepped up today. I thought he had a pretty nice game. Still, they gave up over 140 yards to a pretty average back and didn't produce a lot of QB pressure. Not all their fault, but they were far from perfect.
Linebackers: D
So last week I touted my call of Brian Smith being a “freshman surprise” after being one of our less publicized recruits last year. Well, today he sucked. He had some really dumb penalties and single-handedly sustained a Purdue scoring drive.
Otherwise, not much to comment on here. Crum is playing his heart out as always. I wish we had more playmakers here and I know we have young talent that should grow into this role (Smith and Neal), but right now I feel like this group isn’t doing much.
Cornerbacks: C
Walls giving up that ball on 3rd and 29 in the first half was really disappointing. I want to see this guy be physical. He missed quite a few tackles that led to some big plays. I am impressed with his cover skills but upset in some of the stupid mistakes he makes (as well as the lack of tackling etc).
You are also starting to see more of Rashon McNeil out there. It is nice to see a bigger, more physical CBon the field. He also looks pretty disciplined (there was an end around Purdue ran where he kept his lane and didn’t let the receiver get around him).
I think everyone had an OKgame today. I like how these guys play in man but feel that their zone defense tends to be manipulated too easily.
Safties: B+
Well, Kyle McCarthy had a nice (though pretty easy) pick at the end of the first half. Zibby also had a pick (a ball Painter shouldn’t have thrown) which was nice and played pretty well overall (he made a lot of tackles). Bruton was OKas well.
Special Teams: F
The good news is we ALMOST didn’t get shut out in the first half. The 35 year old field goal attempt was blocked with about 55 seconds left. There was definitely penetration on the right side of the line, but the kick also looked a bit low.
Brandon Walker’s missed extra point was inexcusable after Clausen’s touchdown pass to Carlson. Then Whitaker’s miss was horrible. It looked to me that there was a snap or hold issue on both of these (definitely on the second one). Whitaker finally made one on the third TD (and his third try).
Eric Maust kicking for Geoff Price? OK, I know he had a really bad game last week, but Maust just doesn’t have the same leg as Price. I wonder what happened this week that kept Price out of the game?
It is inexcusable that our special teams are this bad. A lot of this is simple execution stuff. Yeah, kickers are going to miss kicks. But how do we not get holds consistently down or block? Horrible.
Coaching: C+
Charlie finally unleased Clausen a bit on offense. As everyone saw, it made a huge difference. If we can re-establish that physical running game and keep throwing downfield we will move the ball. We can’t be one dimensional like that last two weeks, we need balance.
This just in: Charlie calls games aggressively. The 4th and 1’s to consistently rely on the back up the middle, the couple of long 4th down plays (the Tate and Parris catches), etc. These calls worked out today as a whole (not the 4th and 1’s) and I guess that is why they pay him the big bucks.
I continue to think that the team buys Charlie. You could see they were fired up in the second half. You could see they responded to changes made throughout the game. They have not given up and that says a lot on a team that is now 0-5.
Other
There is clear frustration on this team. There are unnecessary penalties (late hit at the end of the first half by Bruton, a couple of Brian Smith plays, etc.) and other stupid mental mistakes. I guess this is to be expected but we keep kicking ourselves by incurring these types of penalties.
There are three playmakers that I see on this team. The first one is Armando Allen. This is not surprising and he has carried big expectations with him since arriving on campus this January. George West also continues to impress me. He looks really shifty in the open field and we need to get him the ball with some room. The final guy who really gives me hope is Golden Tate. He is a little guy but just knows how to go after the ball. I guess I have a soft spot for a guy who is 5’10” on a good day and outjumps the defender every time a ball is thrown his way. We need to keep working the football to these three guys.
I wanted to comment on our fans again. I know that this is an easy trip/drive, but we had a ton of folks in the stadium. They were loud and made themselves known. That makes me proud when the team is 0-4 and we are reacting in that manner.
