FWIW First Game Review

[ghostoffatjack]

I always wait until I watch the game again so I can stop and rewind and analysis so for what it’s worth here is a review by an old coach. Normal first games miscues, fumbles, dropped passes and blown assignments were very evident as sometimes happens in game one:

1). A win over a team returning 18 starters.
2) Special team play was very good.
3) George and Bell are studs and glad to see them get to rest and not play the entire game.
4) Plummer had a very good game, not perfect but he stepped up especially in the 2nd half.
5) O Line had a tough night with the blocking calls by the center and the right side including the TE’s especially in the first half. They did not pick up the run and pass stunts, twists and blitzes from the 3-4 OSU’s veteran defense. They will get better after watching the video with the coaches!
6). A packed house helped the team a lot and kept the players motivated and playing hard!
7). DB’s certainly had some shining moments with key 4th down stops.
8). Refs had TWO BIG opening night foopas with a blatant hold on our outside LB by OSU’S #9 on their first TD run and the blown PI non-call on Bell! Funny both happened on OSU’s side of the field

 

[purduepat1969]

i always wait until I watch the game again so I can stop and rewind and analysis so for what it’s worth here is a review by an old coach. Normal first games miscues, fumbles, dropped passes and blown assignments were very evident as sometimes happens in game one:

1). A win over a team returning 18 starters.
2) Special team play was very good.
3) George and Bell are studs and glad to see them get to rest and not play the entire game.
4) Plummer had a very good game, not perfect but he stepped up especially in the 2nd half.
5) O Line had a tough night with the blocking calls by the center and the right side including the TE’s especially in the first half. They did not pick up the run and pass stunts, twists and blitzes from the 3-4 OSU’s veteran defense. They will get better after watching the video with the coaches!
6). A packed house helped the team a lot and kept the players motivated and playing hard!
7). DB’s certainly had some shining moments with key 4th down stops.
8). Refs had opening night foopa with the blown PI non-call on Bell!

#4). Agree. I was very happy with how Plummer handled pressure with very few mistakes. If the OL gets their act together, he could really shine.
#5). OL looked really bad, especially in the first half. Not sure why our OL coach can't get these guys better prepared. But IMHO, it's pretty discouraging.
#7). DBs looked pretty good in general. Grant, Allen, and Trice are play makers. Great to see the impact of good coaching.

Other things:
- Defense, in general, is night and day from last year. So much improvement and very encouraging.
- I'd give play calling a C grade. Not impressive in the first half. Better toward the end of the game.
- Running game would be nonexistent if Horvath didn't make an A+ effort. The OL needs to find a way to run block. And it looks like Doerue isn't gonna get many carries...

 

[BBG]

#4). Agree. I was very happy with how Plummer handled pressure with very few mistakes. If the OL gets their act together, he could really shine.
#5). OL looked really bad, especially in the first half. Not sure why our OL coach can't get these guys better prepared. But IMHO, it's pretty discouraging.
#7). DBs looked pretty good in general. Grant, Allen, and Trice are play makers. Great to see the impact of good coaching.

Other things:
- Defense, in general, is night and day from last year. So much improvement and very encouraging.
- I'd give play calling a C grade. Not impressive in the first half. Better toward the end of the game.
- Running game would be nonexistent if Horvath didn't make an A+ effort. The OL needs to find a way to run block. And it looks like Doerue isn't gonna get many carries...

I was going to post the exact same thing here Pat so I agree with you 100%. Now, the level of competition needs to be taken in to account and we won't really know how good OS really is for a bit. However, I think even with the negatives, there is room for optimism based off the overall performance.

There were things last night that I attribute to playing the first real game in a VERY long time, but the play calling at the end of the game was very good and we need more of that.

I am VERY concerned about the o-line. We see Horvath in there so much because he can just run over people like the "old" #40 used to do but that is no way to sustain a running game. Plus Plummer was rushed so many times last night because he had 3 people in the backfield almost all night. And that takes nothing away from Plummer because he was outstanding all things considered.

Special teams I also saw an improvement. With the new rules on kick backs we really don't need anyone to return a kick because you end up on what the 25 now anyway? But I did like seeing King D back there as well.

Our next game will be telling to say the least. The Huskies are 0 and 2 right now and the line at the moment is us -28........But I am not confident in this team yet to say we won't find a way to "Purdue" ourselves.

 

[MilwaukeeBoilerFan]

i always wait until I watch the game again so I can stop and rewind and analysis so for what it’s worth here is a review by an old coach. Normal first games miscues, fumbles, dropped passes and blown assignments were very evident as sometimes happens in game one:

1). A win over a team returning 18 starters.
2) Special team play was very good.
3) George and Bell are studs and glad to see them get to rest and not play the entire game.
4) Plummer had a very good game, not perfect but he stepped up especially in the 2nd half.
5) O Line had a tough night with the blocking calls by the center and the right side including the TE’s especially in the first half. They did not pick up the run and pass stunts, twists and blitzes from the 3-4 OSU’s veteran defense. They will get better after watching the video with the coaches!
6). A packed house helped the team a lot and kept the players motivated and playing hard!
7). DB’s certainly had some shining moments with key 4th down stops.
8). Refs had opening night foopa with the blown PI non-call on Bell!

Good observation points. Thanks for posting them.
Giving some credit to Oregon State, they never folded. Those 18 starters will likely yield a good record in the Pac-12 this year.

 

[ImRonBurgandy?]

Not to be too picky, but for as big as Plummer is he sure doesn't zip a lot (if any) of passes. That pass to Anthrop in the endzone is a TD if thrown a bit higher. Thought the long pass to Bell was in the air a long time as well. Would like to see some deeper routes in the middle of the field, but not sure if he can fit it those tighter windows.

 

[Hausta01]

I was going to post the exact same thing here Pat so I agree with you 100%. Now, the level of competition needs to be taken in to account and we won't really know how good OS really is for a bit. However, I think even with the negatives, there is room for optimism based off the overall performance.

There were things last night that I attribute to playing the first real game in a VERY long time, but the play calling at the end of the game was very good and we need more of that.

I am VERY concerned about the o-line. We see Horvath in there so much because he can just run over people like the "old" #40 used to do but that is no way to sustain a running game. Plus Plummer was rushed so many times last night because he had 3 people in the backfield almost all night. And that takes nothing away from Plummer because he was outstanding all things considered.

Special teams I also saw an improvement. With the new rules on kick backs we really don't need anyone to return a kick because you end up on what the 25 now anyway? But I did like seeing King D back there as well.

Our next game will be telling to say the least. The Huskies are 0 and 2 right now and the line at the moment is us -28........But I am not confident in this team yet to say we won't find a way to "Purdue" ourselves.

If you think Purdue loses to UCONN you are being ridiculous.

 

[ghostoffatjack]

Not to be too picky but Plummer was rolling out to the right and throwing left wasn’t he?

 

[SunnyFL24]

Not to be too picky but Plummer was rolling out to the right and throwing left wasn’t he?

Exactly!!! He was being pressured on most throws!! Thought he played well considering it was hard to feel comfortable in the pocket most of the night!! O-Line needs to get much better!

 

[Gman544]

O-line was bad. But in the running game it’s tough blocking for a slow back like Horvath. He’s great when he gets a head of steam, knocking folks around, but not a traditional featured back.

 

[Dennis H.]

Not to be too picky, but for as big as Plummer is he sure doesn't zip a lot (if any) of passes. That pass to Anthrop in the endzone is a TD if thrown a bit higher. Thought the long pass to Bell was in the air a long time as well. Would like to see some deeper routes in the middle of the field, but not sure if he can fit it those tighter windows.

That one that Wright dropped in the end zone was a 50 yard dime. Helluva throw

 

[mryankee2397]

pass protection needs to improve and our punter could not kick it more than 39 yards. defense looked good for the most part but got sucked in for long plays a couple of times

 

[BBG]

If you think Purdue loses to UCONN you are being ridiculous.

May want to go re-read my post, that isn't what I said. I essentially said that yes we should win (which is why I put the line in there) but have seen us lose to lesser teams frequently enough to not take anyone lightly.

 

[ghostoffatjack]

Purdue is 33.5 point favorites in the game! If I were a betting man I would take the points but I am NOT a betting man!

 

[BoilerAndy]

I always wait until I watch the game again so I can stop and rewind and analysis so for what it’s worth here is a review by an old coach. Normal first games miscues, fumbles, dropped passes and blown assignments were very evident as sometimes happens in game one:

1). A win over a team returning 18 starters.
2) Special team play was very good.
3) George and Bell are studs and glad to see them get to rest and not play the entire game.
4) Plummer had a very good game, not perfect but he stepped up especially in the 2nd half.
5) O Line had a tough night with the blocking calls by the center and the right side including the TE’s especially in the first half. They did not pick up the run and pass stunts, twists and blitzes from the 3-4 OSU’s veteran defense. They will get better after watching the video with the coaches!
6). A packed house helped the team a lot and kept the players motivated and playing hard!
7). DB’s certainly had some shining moments with key 4th down stops.
8). Refs had TWO BIG opening night foopas with a blatant hold on our outside LB by OSU’S #9 on their first TD run and the blown PI non-call on Bell! Funny both happened on OSU’s side of the field

I watched the game again, too. And it boggles my mind the criticisms people make against Horvath and Anthrop. I encourage those people to watch the game again and explain how Purdue wins without them.

 

[purduepat1969]

I watched the game again, too. And it boggles my mind the criticisms people make against Horvath and Anthrop. I encourage those people to watch the game again and explain how Purdue wins without them.

They were both reasons why Purdue won the game. Horvath deserves a ton of credit as does Anthrop. No one can take away from their effort or how they're helping us win.

I think what some people are discussing is that it's more concerning that we don't have an O-line that opens holes and that we have to depend on Horvath to run over people along with short screens to Anthrop as a substitute to a running back hitting the edge.
At some point, the running game needs a back with more speed that can run the edges. That's not going to happen this year. But that's an area of development Brohm needs to address.

 

[MilwaukeeBoilerFan]

I watched the game again, too. And it boggles my mind the criticisms people make against Horvath and Anthrop. I encourage those people to watch the game again and explain how Purdue wins without them.

Good call. People must believe that walk ons are not worth a damn. I disagree. Look no further than Wisconsin’s Jim Leonhard. Walk on to NFL to Defensive Coordinator whom could have been with the Packers if he wanted this past Spring.
Some incredible athlete’s still exist under the radar.
I for one would not wanted to tackle Zander Horvath even in my prime as he was 25-30 LBs heavier and all that is muscle. They both add good value to team.

 

[BSIT]

Exactly!!! He was being pressured on most throws!! Thought he played well considering it was hard to feel comfortable in the pocket most of the night!! O-Line needs to get much better!

I thought he played very well. Should have had 2 additional TD’s if the receivers had held on to the ball. Most importantly he didn’t do any boneheaded plays that cost us the game. My biggest concern was Brohm’s play calling until late in 2nd half.

IMO the D was outstanding and gets the game ball or should i say beaver pelt

 

[BCfanatic2020]

I watched the game again, too. And it boggles my mind the criticisms people make against Horvath and Anthrop. I encourage those people to watch the game again and explain how Purdue wins without them.

Horvath is outstanding … he got even better in the off-season .. without him the last couple years we’d have been screwed