For all this past spring and summer's talk of new beginnings; the profound benefits of experience and comfort; newfound motivation, etc., it was all proven to be just talk at Purdue on Saturday, in its deflating 38-17 loss to Central Michigan.
For one day anyway.
One game does not a season make, thankfully for Purdue.
Because on Saturday, it was meet the new team, same as the old team.
The defense is 2-for-2 on not being very good. That's putting it politely. But if this is a surprise to you, then you were in a three-month coma from last September on through November.
That issue wasn't going to turn on a dime.
The offense, though, that's the one that was supposed to, or at least improve significantly, in large part because of the quarterback, now armed with experience and a year's worth of perspective.
Instead, it took just six or seven quarters for Purdue to find itself with a legitimate quarterback, um, conversation on its hands. Darrell Hazell's post-game deference to "the film" was no ringing endorsement of incumbent Danny Etling, who is just not functioning properly as a passer. He's almost certainly processing the game better than he did as a wide-eyed, overwhelmed freshman.
But the throw and the catch are the most important parts and it's hard to run an effective offense when you can only pull so many clubs out of your bag because of limitations under center.
I don't know what Purdue should do at quarterback. There are no guarantees Austin Appleby is an upgrade, but as a vertical passer and a presence in the huddle, he might be something different. Different, mind you, does not always equate to better, but in context right now, Purdue has a legitimate question to deal with here.
You had to wonder how quick Purdue would be to go with the No. 2 guy if it struggled early, knowing fully that a move to backup when times got tough would create a whole new drama. Hazell made the move and now there's no cramming that drama back in the can.
Either way, quarterback wasn't Purdue's only problem Saturday.
Last week, Purdue wasn't flawless by any means, but it did so many little things right: No turnovers, no sacks, great special teams.
Today, it was wholly different, with three turnovers (and bad ones, at that) and a penalty-marred performance all across the board. All that hidden yardage Purdue earned, and won on the back of, last week, it gave up this week by forfeiting important yardage every time it had a return worth a damn.
(Thank heavens for Ja'Whaun Bentley, the freshman linebacker whose second-half playmaking might have saved this final score from being much worse.)
And to get crude here for a moment, there were the 'WTF' moments of Etling sliding after a two-yard gain on third-and-three and Danny Anthrop hardly, it appeared live, attempting to make a play on a home run ball that was Purdue's rare well-thrown vertical pass. There has to be more to the story on both plays, right?
Right?
Then, there's the 12 men on the field on
fourth-and-short, another self-inflicted on a day full of them, a day in
which the opponent needed no such help.
Sounds familiar doesn't it? It's what you saw all of last year.Last week, Purdue was solid in so many ways. Today, it melted down in something very 2013ish. Maybe that's reality and last week was made possible more by Western Michigan's ineptness than anything else.
I gave Purdue the benefit of the doubt in my pre-game call here, as a lot of people did, figuring the depths of last season were driven out to the woods, hit over the head and left there for good.
Guess we were wrong.
For one day anyway.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2014. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
This post was edited on 9/6 7:33 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
For one day anyway.
One game does not a season make, thankfully for Purdue.
Because on Saturday, it was meet the new team, same as the old team.
The defense is 2-for-2 on not being very good. That's putting it politely. But if this is a surprise to you, then you were in a three-month coma from last September on through November.
That issue wasn't going to turn on a dime.
The offense, though, that's the one that was supposed to, or at least improve significantly, in large part because of the quarterback, now armed with experience and a year's worth of perspective.
Instead, it took just six or seven quarters for Purdue to find itself with a legitimate quarterback, um, conversation on its hands. Darrell Hazell's post-game deference to "the film" was no ringing endorsement of incumbent Danny Etling, who is just not functioning properly as a passer. He's almost certainly processing the game better than he did as a wide-eyed, overwhelmed freshman.
But the throw and the catch are the most important parts and it's hard to run an effective offense when you can only pull so many clubs out of your bag because of limitations under center.
I don't know what Purdue should do at quarterback. There are no guarantees Austin Appleby is an upgrade, but as a vertical passer and a presence in the huddle, he might be something different. Different, mind you, does not always equate to better, but in context right now, Purdue has a legitimate question to deal with here.
You had to wonder how quick Purdue would be to go with the No. 2 guy if it struggled early, knowing fully that a move to backup when times got tough would create a whole new drama. Hazell made the move and now there's no cramming that drama back in the can.
Either way, quarterback wasn't Purdue's only problem Saturday.
Last week, Purdue wasn't flawless by any means, but it did so many little things right: No turnovers, no sacks, great special teams.
Today, it was wholly different, with three turnovers (and bad ones, at that) and a penalty-marred performance all across the board. All that hidden yardage Purdue earned, and won on the back of, last week, it gave up this week by forfeiting important yardage every time it had a return worth a damn.
(Thank heavens for Ja'Whaun Bentley, the freshman linebacker whose second-half playmaking might have saved this final score from being much worse.)
And to get crude here for a moment, there were the 'WTF' moments of Etling sliding after a two-yard gain on third-and-three and Danny Anthrop hardly, it appeared live, attempting to make a play on a home run ball that was Purdue's rare well-thrown vertical pass. There has to be more to the story on both plays, right?
Right?
Then, there's the 12 men on the field on
fourth-and-short, another self-inflicted on a day full of them, a day in
which the opponent needed no such help.
Sounds familiar doesn't it? It's what you saw all of last year.Last week, Purdue was solid in so many ways. Today, it melted down in something very 2013ish. Maybe that's reality and last week was made possible more by Western Michigan's ineptness than anything else.
I gave Purdue the benefit of the doubt in my pre-game call here, as a lot of people did, figuring the depths of last season were driven out to the woods, hit over the head and left there for good.
Guess we were wrong.
For one day anyway.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2014. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
This post was edited on 9/6 7:33 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
