You might be thinking 2017. 2018 was a long, long season for the defense and for the secondary in particular. 13th in total defense, 14th in passing defense. Those are conference rankings, not national.
Purdue's LB core this year is as bad as it has been in as long as I can remember...and, is not as good as the group in '18 (who, admittedly, was not necessarily stellar...save Bailey, who was a stud).
Not really. They beat Ball State and Vanderbilt well before the CFB rankings came out and went 12-0. You go 12-0 and beat 10 P5 teams you're getting into the CFB playoff 11 out of 10 times, don't really care what the name on the front of your jersey says.
To be fair, Clemson beat the same teams ND did in the regular season and they beat Alabama in the national championship worse than they did Notre Dame in the semi-final. Clemson was just on a different level that year.2019 CFP, for the 2018 season:
Clemson 30
ND...........3
Those Ball State and Vandy games appear to have been a barometer.
Appreciate your spending the time that you did...
On the 18 defense.. Markus Bailey was better than anyone we have now other than George, with arguments to be made for trice and allen depending on how things play out. Unless I recall incorrectly, Neal was injured relatively early. So, after that, I think you’re talking Jacob thienemann and a whole lot of eh.. I mean guys who may have given effort and been great guys, but who just didn’t have the talent of what we have now.
They didn't but they played the same ACC teams and were both undefeated. As I said, you're getting into the CFB playoff each and every time going 12-0 regardless if your jersey says Notre Dame or Wake Forest.
Dude.. you had two really good players on that D. Neal and Bailey. Then you had two good players on that D. Watts and J. Thienemann .. who is your fifth best player?
The OL in 18 was unquestionably better.. I’d give anyone that
The issue has been debated and is pretty much dead at this point, but, that D had 4 quality guys...this D really has 1 (Karlaftis). Trice/Allen/Graham have done nothing to warrant any inclusion even among the 4 guys from '18...I don't disagree that they are the three next best guys after Karlaftis this year, but, those are not difference maker guys or guys with pro potential.
They are major talents .. when big plays aren’t being created in their area that is something. Anthony watts was not the talent that trice or Allen are.
I relish the day of Purdue being just adequate/average as an OL...as, just that makes SUCH a difference. Purdue has some talent at skill positions, but, it does not matter if the OL cannot create a push to effectively run the ball, or, provide protection to the QB so as to allow time to take advantage of the abilities/skills of the WRs...never mind the obvious when able to do both and there be some actual balance and means by which to keep the opposing defenses guessing and not getting comfortable.
It is too early to judge this. OSU and UConn were not high level passing offenses. UConn exploited Allen in coverage on the second play of the game. But, yeah, if that was B. Thieneman maybe it goes for 75 yards instead of 25. I don't see this team getting into a situation where a few guys are injured and the opponent drops 56 in the first half like its nothing.
Well I think the goal posts are confusing.. at first we were talking talent, and then it became an implication of career achievements with @DAG10
Agree with the house money comment. I think Purdue is in a really good place coming into this game and should play confident and with nothing to lose. Win and a it is a potential program changer. Lose but compete and it is still good exposure and a 2-1 start is what most, even the optimists, penciled in anyway. It is ND that has a lot riding on this game. They are getting blasted by their fans for not rolling over their first 2 opponents. If Purdue hangs with them in the first half, what will be going through their players minds? How will the crowd react?
Grant, Allen, and Graham have played extremely well in the past two games. Grant played extremely well last year when he was in the game. Trice made some big plays both last and this year. Mitchell made huge plays last year. I'd say we have some pretty damn good talent at safety. Spotty talent at LB. And the DL seems pretty solid so far with Karlaftis obviously the best in that group, That, along with the coaching changes have made this defense pretty formidable so far.
The talent is there all day at LB, way more than in 2018, other than Douglas.. who does play hard and is doing his best. They are still getting brothers acclimated but I haven’t seen a play this year where it’s like “oh, look at the Oregon state running back exploiting brothers.”
Lol, it seems like you have some sort of weird infatuation with Douglas. Does he have someone you're related to on the bench or something?
You think his talent level is close to brothers, Alexander or Graham? It’s not his fault .. he plays hard. They’re waiting on guys with more talent to take that position to get their best 3 out there. Go back and watch the Oregon state game man..
I absolutely think his talent level is close to Brothers, Alexander, and Graham as it relates to playing Mike linebacker. Positions on a football field are not necessarily interchangeable and different skillsets are required for each. Douglas is a Mike in the traditional sense. His physicality is going to be needed as the season progresses. I said before that I watched specifically for the combination of Alexander and Brothers during the UCONN game. I didn't come away impressed. They are both Will linebackers in the traditional sense. There is a reason teams play with a Sam, Mike, and Will.
His talent level isn’t close. He’s a throwback player. He’d have been much better in the Coletto era.I absolutely think his talent level is close to Brothers, Alexander, and Graham as it relates to playing Mike linebacker. Positions on a football field are not necessarily interchangeable and different skillsets are required for each. Douglas is a Mike in the traditional sense. His physicality is going to be needed as the season progresses. I said before that I watched specifically for the combination of Alexander and Brothers during the UCONN game. I didn't come away impressed. They are both Will linebackers in the traditional sense. There is a reason teams play with a Sam, Mike, and Will.
I simply find it strange that you think it's some sort of miscalculation that Douglas has been on the two-deep and a special teams starter for the last few years. That wouldn't imply a lack of ability and it seems like the coaches would know. Are you familiar with how much practice film coaches grade in order to make playing decisions? I don't think coaches are waiting on more talented players to take over. I think it's you who's waiting. I also think you suffer from a case of confirmation bias. When Douglas doesn't make a play you point the finger. When he makes a play like the one on Saturday where he covered serious ground (a tfl that appears to have been credited to Mackey, btw) you go silent. Imagine for a second that it was Derrick Barnes who made the exact same play. You would be talking about his relentlessness and speed.
In the end, I think you need to settle in and start rooting for Douglas and the entire defense. Because if your looking for something else, I really think you're going to be waiting for a while.
So it’s all relative right. Can you start for Purdue and still be a guy where ND coaches try to use route combinations to isolate you on their future NFL TE for a pass over your head into the third level, yes.I absolutely think his talent level is close to Brothers, Alexander, and Graham as it relates to playing Mike linebacker. Positions on a football field are not necessarily interchangeable and different skillsets are required for each. Douglas is a Mike in the traditional sense. His physicality is going to be needed as the season progresses. I said before that I watched specifically for the combination of Alexander and Brothers during the UCONN game. I didn't come away impressed. They are both Will linebackers in the traditional sense. There is a reason teams play with a Sam, Mike, and Will.
I simply find it strange that you think it's some sort of miscalculation that Douglas has been on the two-deep and a special teams starter for the last few years. That wouldn't imply a lack of ability and it seems like the coaches would know. Are you familiar with how much practice film coaches grade in order to make playing decisions? I don't think coaches are waiting on more talented players to take over. I think it's you who's waiting. I also think you suffer from a case of confirmation bias. When Douglas doesn't make a play you point the finger. When he makes a play like the one on Saturday where he covered serious ground (a tfl that appears to have been credited to Mackey, btw) you go silent. Imagine for a second that it was Derrick Barnes who made the exact same play. You would be talking about his relentlessness and speed.
In the end, I think you need to settle in and start rooting for Douglas and the entire defense. Because if your looking for something else, I really think you're going to be waiting for a while.
I would tend to disagree with you on this subject. Everyone, including the coaches, knew that Grant was eventually going to start in place of Thienemen last year. He was too talented not to. But he didn't pick up on the play calling quickly enough, which is why Thienemen was in the game at the start of the season. We all eventually saw Grant get more and more playing time as the season went on.I absolutely think his talent level is close to Brothers, Alexander, and Graham as it relates to playing Mike linebacker. Positions on a football field are not necessarily interchangeable and different skillsets are required for each. Douglas is a Mike in the traditional sense. His physicality is going to be needed as the season progresses. I said before that I watched specifically for the combination of Alexander and Brothers during the UCONN game. I didn't come away impressed. They are both Will linebackers in the traditional sense. There is a reason teams play with a Sam, Mike, and Will.
I simply find it strange that you think it's some sort of miscalculation that Douglas has been on the two-deep and a special teams starter for the last few years. That wouldn't imply a lack of ability and it seems like the coaches would know. Are you familiar with how much practice film coaches grade in order to make playing decisions? I don't think coaches are waiting on more talented players to take over. I think it's you who's waiting. I also think you suffer from a case of confirmation bias. When Douglas doesn't make a play you point the finger. When he makes a play like the one on Saturday where he covered serious ground (a tfl that appears to have been credited to Mackey, btw) you go silent. Imagine for a second that it was Derrick Barnes who made the exact same play. You would be talking about his relentlessness and speed.
In the end, I think you need to settle in and start rooting for Douglas and the entire defense. Because if your looking for something else, I really think you're going to be waiting for a while.
Which to me is why Douglas is out there.
So now I think we're getting somewhere. I think it's easy to lock in on what players don't do well and define talent in narrow terms. Dependability is a talent. Understanding defensive concepts is a talent. In this example, Thienemen was more valuable than Grant to the coaching staff because he had certain talents that coaches desire. I get that you guys want players to have 4.3 40 yard dash talent. But if a player is running a 4.3 in the wrong direction, that's a talent that can be detrimental to winning. What if Douglas' talent as a Mike linebacker is properly communicating to teammates? You say that Douglas maximizes his talent as if it is meaningless. But playing with great effort is a talent that not everybody has. What if having a player with Douglas' talent on the field raises the effort level of the entire defense?
I’m speaking of god given talent …
