Purdue took another step yesterday, as they physically manhandled a Div 1-AA opponent and won a game basically using their base offense and base defenses. The biggest positive to come out of the game was how Purdue for the second week in a row, physically beat up their opponent. I can't remember when the last time that would have happened - maybe early in 2007 - but all the work these guys put in the past 2 years is coming together. ISU had some big dudes for a Div 1-AA team, and our lines just worked them over. The game wasn't perfect by any means - there are still mental issues with this team. After going up 14-0 they lost focus and still haven't learned that every snap means something. I'm interested to see how we stack up against Virginia Tech next week physically. Purdue really hits people now - if they can get the right level of focus for each snap of the game, we might have something here.
The Good
The offensive line again played a very physical game and dominated the ISU front. ISU did cause some issues - they run blitzed the entire game and followed Knox wherever he went. That made it tough because not every defender to was going to be blocked. It did open up chances in the passing game and Appleby and the receivers did do a very nice job taking advantage. Patterson filled in very nicely at LT during this game (I know a few people called him out for missing out of blocks but on that zone read play the DE sometimes isn't blocked - this stuck out on the goal line when Appleby got his back tweeked - if he had been able to run and keep the ball, he waltzes into the endzone untouched). These guys have a big, big test coming into town next week - they've done a pretty good job in not getting called for penalties and with staying with blocks through to the whistle. Gotta keep that up going forward.
Defensive Line
Replogle played an outstanding game. The entire defensive line played a very good game, but Replogle didn't quit the entire game. Panfil finally got his first career sack and outside of getting caught not holding the edge, played a pretty good game. He was very active and in the backfield quite a bit. Antoine Miles also finished a off quite a few plays - I thought his motor stopped a few times against Marshall last week - this week he kept going and made a few plays. These guys have a big, big test next week.
Linebackers
Bentley and Herman were outstanding. Both these guys have built on good years from last year and are even better this year. Danny E. struggled in this game early but in the 2nd half I thought he picked up his play and finally looked right. Garcia played a lot and played well. I didn't notice Bailey as much this week. Overall the LBs are really attacking the ball carriers and they are tackling much better then we've seen from this group in years. Pass coverage needs to be better, but I don't think these guys are ever going to be great cover LBs. Bentley seems a step slow sometimes in getting back into his zone. That's something that's just going to take time, he's only a sophomore.
Receivers
I hope we have this Yancey for the entire year. It has been fun to see him want to catch the ball and to be aggressive in going out and actually attacking the ball. Posey also made some nice catches - besides the great catch and run, he quietly caught a few other balls and he doesn't seem to be an adventure when the ball is thrown to him. Not sure how else to describe it - when he's targeted it just seems like he's going to be at the right place and he's going to catch the ball. I know something like 8 other guys caught some passes, but those are the guys who stuck out to be. Jones looked good catching a few passes, Knox looked good, Marshall even made a nifty move after dropping a previous attempt. Didn't hear much from Frenchy or Young in this game. I admire Anthrop trying to gut it out, but I'm hoping he either gets throught he soreness or he shuts it down. I can understand him wanting to play, but I cringle everytime he catches the ball. I'm hoping that Philips can make a move at the slot receiver - I think he can contribute at that spot and we need someone to be opposite Posey until someone feeds Hart a few more hamburgers.
Quarterback
Appleby did exactly what Purdue needs him to do. He threw the deep ball to Yancey very well and even threw the Hail Mary in a way that gave guys a chance to get downfield and make a play. He struggled a bit in the 3rd quarter and was off trying to make those throws to the wide sideline, but he was hurting pretty good after getting his legs caught and himself stretched out by ISU on the goal line. The face masking he took was also pretty bad. I'm guessing he had a few ibuprofen and an ice bath after the game. He is going to need to build his streak of zero turnover games to 2 if we are going to have a chance against Va Tech next week.
Running backs
Knox responded well after his 2 fumbles. The biggest thing was that when he got his chance to come back into the game after being benched, he ran with both hands on the ball with every carry. Jones looked even better this week then he did last week, and that's saying something. These guys are going to get more and more focus from defenses each week - they are going to need to respond. I'm not going to say Knox isn't going to fumble again this year (the second fumble took a perfect hit from an ISU defender) but I do think he'll be carrying the ball with 2 hands a lot more going forward and I wouldn't doubt that the guy makes up for those fumbles.
Secondary
Outside of one breakdown on coverage, I thought everyone played well.
There were 2 things to take of out this game. The biggest overall positive is how physical Purdue has become in just a short time. Under Hope, I don't recall any games where you could look at Purdue and think they were a physical team. The past 2 years under Hazell, at no point did Purdue ever have the most physical team on the field. This year, Purdue is physical.
The negative, and hopefully it starts to sink in, is that this team loses focus and they just don't play every down. After going up 14-0 they got a little full of themselves and didn't finish every play. It isn't every guy, if even one guy slacks off a bit, it can affect one play, which can affect the entire game. The coaches stress this over and over, so I don't think it is a coaching issue. It isn't every player, but they all need to make sure that the guy next to them on the field is bought in. I don't think Purdue will beat Va Tech, but I think we have a better shot then most people would think - if we can generate a bit of offense we could win that game. I'm worried about the Bowling Green game because we've never beaten Bowling Green and they can score points in bunches. But we also now have something we can hang our hats on - and that's being physical. Most of us thought we'd be 1-1 at this time, so if Purdue wants to change some perceptions, the next 2 games are the big ones - but the players are going to have to finish that next step and get focused. Every snap does matter - once our players figure that out, we really might have something here.
The Good
The offensive line again played a very physical game and dominated the ISU front. ISU did cause some issues - they run blitzed the entire game and followed Knox wherever he went. That made it tough because not every defender to was going to be blocked. It did open up chances in the passing game and Appleby and the receivers did do a very nice job taking advantage. Patterson filled in very nicely at LT during this game (I know a few people called him out for missing out of blocks but on that zone read play the DE sometimes isn't blocked - this stuck out on the goal line when Appleby got his back tweeked - if he had been able to run and keep the ball, he waltzes into the endzone untouched). These guys have a big, big test coming into town next week - they've done a pretty good job in not getting called for penalties and with staying with blocks through to the whistle. Gotta keep that up going forward.
Defensive Line
Replogle played an outstanding game. The entire defensive line played a very good game, but Replogle didn't quit the entire game. Panfil finally got his first career sack and outside of getting caught not holding the edge, played a pretty good game. He was very active and in the backfield quite a bit. Antoine Miles also finished a off quite a few plays - I thought his motor stopped a few times against Marshall last week - this week he kept going and made a few plays. These guys have a big, big test next week.
Linebackers
Bentley and Herman were outstanding. Both these guys have built on good years from last year and are even better this year. Danny E. struggled in this game early but in the 2nd half I thought he picked up his play and finally looked right. Garcia played a lot and played well. I didn't notice Bailey as much this week. Overall the LBs are really attacking the ball carriers and they are tackling much better then we've seen from this group in years. Pass coverage needs to be better, but I don't think these guys are ever going to be great cover LBs. Bentley seems a step slow sometimes in getting back into his zone. That's something that's just going to take time, he's only a sophomore.
Receivers
I hope we have this Yancey for the entire year. It has been fun to see him want to catch the ball and to be aggressive in going out and actually attacking the ball. Posey also made some nice catches - besides the great catch and run, he quietly caught a few other balls and he doesn't seem to be an adventure when the ball is thrown to him. Not sure how else to describe it - when he's targeted it just seems like he's going to be at the right place and he's going to catch the ball. I know something like 8 other guys caught some passes, but those are the guys who stuck out to be. Jones looked good catching a few passes, Knox looked good, Marshall even made a nifty move after dropping a previous attempt. Didn't hear much from Frenchy or Young in this game. I admire Anthrop trying to gut it out, but I'm hoping he either gets throught he soreness or he shuts it down. I can understand him wanting to play, but I cringle everytime he catches the ball. I'm hoping that Philips can make a move at the slot receiver - I think he can contribute at that spot and we need someone to be opposite Posey until someone feeds Hart a few more hamburgers.
Quarterback
Appleby did exactly what Purdue needs him to do. He threw the deep ball to Yancey very well and even threw the Hail Mary in a way that gave guys a chance to get downfield and make a play. He struggled a bit in the 3rd quarter and was off trying to make those throws to the wide sideline, but he was hurting pretty good after getting his legs caught and himself stretched out by ISU on the goal line. The face masking he took was also pretty bad. I'm guessing he had a few ibuprofen and an ice bath after the game. He is going to need to build his streak of zero turnover games to 2 if we are going to have a chance against Va Tech next week.
Running backs
Knox responded well after his 2 fumbles. The biggest thing was that when he got his chance to come back into the game after being benched, he ran with both hands on the ball with every carry. Jones looked even better this week then he did last week, and that's saying something. These guys are going to get more and more focus from defenses each week - they are going to need to respond. I'm not going to say Knox isn't going to fumble again this year (the second fumble took a perfect hit from an ISU defender) but I do think he'll be carrying the ball with 2 hands a lot more going forward and I wouldn't doubt that the guy makes up for those fumbles.
Secondary
Outside of one breakdown on coverage, I thought everyone played well.
There were 2 things to take of out this game. The biggest overall positive is how physical Purdue has become in just a short time. Under Hope, I don't recall any games where you could look at Purdue and think they were a physical team. The past 2 years under Hazell, at no point did Purdue ever have the most physical team on the field. This year, Purdue is physical.
The negative, and hopefully it starts to sink in, is that this team loses focus and they just don't play every down. After going up 14-0 they got a little full of themselves and didn't finish every play. It isn't every guy, if even one guy slacks off a bit, it can affect one play, which can affect the entire game. The coaches stress this over and over, so I don't think it is a coaching issue. It isn't every player, but they all need to make sure that the guy next to them on the field is bought in. I don't think Purdue will beat Va Tech, but I think we have a better shot then most people would think - if we can generate a bit of offense we could win that game. I'm worried about the Bowling Green game because we've never beaten Bowling Green and they can score points in bunches. But we also now have something we can hang our hats on - and that's being physical. Most of us thought we'd be 1-1 at this time, so if Purdue wants to change some perceptions, the next 2 games are the big ones - but the players are going to have to finish that next step and get focused. Every snap does matter - once our players figure that out, we really might have something here.
