I believe you do Brohm a vast disservice by saying he couldn't develop a ground and pound offense at Purdue. I believe if he wanted one, he could create a very successful one. but that's just not his style. I believe he wanted an explosive offense that was passing oriented. Tiller had his own offense which was closer to the West coast style using a lot of short passes and he was very successful. Brohm likes to include the long pass in his offense.
We have observed Brohm through 3 recruiting seasons. the type of player he has recruited is the type of player that fits his system and style of play. That first year, he dumped almost all of the commitments Hazell had secured and replaced them with his own recruits and transfers.
Hazell wanted to install a ground and pound team. but the players he recruited were not talented enough to do so. Then again, the players Hazell recruited were not talented enough to do anything. Hazell was lucky if he could get a 200 pound lineman to come to Purdue.
and this is where I believe Purdue fans are wrong about Brohm. I truly believe if Brohm wanted to install a boring run oriented offense with a massive o line, he could do it, and he would succeed with it. In the past two years, I've seen several elite "HUGE" lineman have interest in Purdue, but they didn't fit the style brohm was looking for, so they signed with Iowa, UW and OSU, I truly believe if Brohm wanted to implement that type of style, he could have recruited the offensive linemen to implement it. I don't believe the old myths about Purdue just not being able to attract elite offensive linemen.
As for gimmicks, I believe Brohm used them to succeed because he had to because of a lack of talent. We saw last year with a more talented team, Brohm's gimmick plays decreased. I suspect as we go forward, we will see less gimmick plays being used.
I have to believe part of Brohm's reasoning for his style of football was that he wanted to generate fan interest and create excitement as well as win games. Fans get excited about high scoring games even if we lose. I have to believe if our record was the same, but our passing yardage was under 2,000 yards, our attendance would be a lot lower, with more fans grumbling about how boring the team is.
Many people complain about painter's style of offense even though he wins games. Duke was must see basketball because of Zion. Virginia was boring. and to create excitement, and boost attendance, Brohm incorporated a must see style of football rather than a boring ground and pound.
Fans are different. Some want excitement, while others prefer a victory even if it's 7-6. it's the same in baseball and basketball. many people think low scoring games are boring. I believe Brohm was faced with two challenges. Not only to bring winning back to Purdue, but also to bring the fans and excitement back. If he went 7-5 with a run oriented team, he may have accomplished one goal, but the fans would not have come back.
I watch recruiting closer than some. Brohm definitely recruits players who fit his system. he has passed on some larger talented athletes who did not fit his system. I don't expect him to change his style or his system. However, if he did, I have full confidence in him that he would be successful.
I look at Brohm's offense much like Painter's defense. I believe if Painter wanted to install a zone defense, he'd be successful at it. And if Painter installed a zone defense, his recruiting would probably change as he would no longer recruit players who were great two way players. the same with Brohm. he has a style. It's HIS style. I believe he could be successful if he changed his style. but I accept he is bringing in players that fit his style.
a related comment about Les Miles. I believe if he came to Purdue, he would have been able to produce victories. but I highly doubt he would have been able to create excitement or fan interest. because his style is not what Purdue fans crave. for the most part, SEC football is rather boring. more than anything else, LSU fans craved beating Alabama, and they didn't really care how they did it. they went to see the games for the beer, girls and the win. huge drums and large bands are not the draw in the deep South.
