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PSU Playbook - Purdue Review
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PSU Playbook
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Oct 16, 2003 17:18 PDT
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Dear Lion Faithful,
ND: Well Mark, my wife, a Purdue grad, was thrilled
with the outcome of the game and was glad that she
didn’t have to listen to me say, "Purdue is 1 of only
2 teams to never beat Penn State since the Lions
joined the Big 10." It was fun while it lasted, but
now just have to keep Indiana at bay. The Lions
continue to struggle with Special Teams and could not
get anything going on offense. I think this upcoming
bye week is exactly what the coaches and players need.
MH: Just an update on our web site woes. Our ISP has
had some major issues and we are working to get the
Playbook site up and running again soon. We
apologize, but it is no small task moving a site as
intricate as PSUPlaybook.org. As for PSU, this team
is underachieving, pure and simple. The team is dazed
and confused and has to take the bye week and maintain
its focus, poise and direction. That starts with the
head coach down. The bye week is a good thing and Joe
Paterno needs to use it to get the team sound in their
game fundamentals, like tackling, and also take a
long, hard, honest look at if the right players are on
the field.
Results:
Score: Purdue 28 Penn State 14
Rushing (Att/Yards): Purdue 51/219 Penn State 27/106
Passing (Comp/Att/Yards): Purdue 17/28/131 Penn
State 10/32/98
Punt and Kickoff Return Yards (Att/Yards): Purdue
5/149 Penn State 4/49
Time of Possession: Purdue 37:24 Penn State 22:36
Stat Star:
ND: The first sign that Penn State was going to
struggle was the first punt return by Anthony
Chambers. On the day, he had 5 punt returns for 149
yards and 1 TD. He had a great day and really helped
Purdue get great field position, in the first half in
particular. He’s my Stat Star.
MH: Purdue’s Brandon Jones had a stellar 149 yards
rushing on 29 carries with 2 TDs. He was a big part
of the reason Purdue maintained their momentum through
the game. Consider in his previous 5 games he had a
total of 90 yards rushing!
What Went Right:
ND: Mark, honestly, I am struggling trying to find
something did actually go well. The only thing that I
can think of is that I thought Penn State did a good
job of running the ball. I was very concerned that
they would repeat the rushing performance they had
against Wisconsin, but that wasn’t the case. I had not
been impressed with Tony Hunt, but I thought he did
real well. Once the Lions got behind, they had to
abandon the run, which hurt. Other than that, I can
say that the pass defense was pretty good, but there
are still problems with that – no sacks and no
apparent ability to pressure the QB. I do think that
our secondary is a very good squad. I am looking
forward to Zemaitis’ many years at Penn State. I think
he should be a candidate for All-Big Ten CB.
MH: I think the staff had glimpses of their aggression
returning. The fake field goal on fourth down was a
flash that they understand what playing to win means.
They honestly need more of it. I think we did see a
glimpse of another future star running back at PSU.
Tony Hunt showed some special things and could grow
into a great back. I also agree that Alan Zemaitis
had a solid outing and is emerging as a consistent
player for the secondary.
What Went Wrong:
ND: Ugh…pretty much everything, but I don’t think it
was all Penn State’s fault. I think Purdue just has a
terrific defense. Special Teams is still a major
concern and frankly, I don’t buy Joe’s thought that
Kapinos is punting too well. I think the problem is
that the Lions are taking poor angles and are trying
to arm tackle guys. I think MRob had an off day. The
run defense continues to struggle, but I think they
are getting better. The Boilers did not get as many
1st down runs on 1st down…if that makes any sense. In
other words, Wisconsin was able to run the ball on
first down and get at least 10 yards on that run. This
did not happen as often in the Purdue game. But, the
Lions still gave up 150 yards rushing in the second
half. In general, I thought this game was another
indication that the Lions cannot get all aspects of
the game working together. That will only come with
coaching, discipline, and execution.
MH: This team has so many things are going wrong it
looks like a Ford Pinto. The staff has taken a
committee approach with coaching special teams. This
is the wrong approach in my opinion, since it hurts
the continuity of the play. The run defense is poor
and porous. I am starting to think I could run for
100+ yards on this run defense. The issues need to be
addressed from the top down. The word I am thinking
of is accountability. There doesn’t seem to be any on
this team currently. For instance, I think Tony
Johnson is a great kid, but how many passes does he
have to drop before he is held accountable and put on
the bench. I am all for helping a players confidence
by putting them back in after they make a mistake, but
this is ridiculous.
Play that Changed the Game:
ND: Mark, I think the play that changed the game was
MRob’s mistake when he clipped the Boiler defender on
a reverse in the 3rd quarter. The Lions were moving
the ball and were well within Gould’s range. But, the
penalty put Penn State in a 1st and 25 position and
they never got out of it. At that point in the game,
the Lions were only down 6 and I think that it was the
stalling of this drive that sealed PSU’s fate.
MH: Nirav, you took the play out of my mouth! That
pulled the wind out of PSU’s sails. It was a real
momentum shift for Purdue. I was confident that that
PSU drive was the start of the confidence shift for
the lions. When it was snuffed out I saw the game
slipping away. You could simply tell they players
felt they could not get a break.
Game Ball:
ND: Mark, my game ball goes to Joe Tiller. He has done
just a terrific job at Purdue. My wife and I joke that
during her stay in West Lafayette, Purdue not only
never went to a bowl game, but never even came close
to going to a bowl game and Mike Alstott was playing
for the Boilers then. Since Tiller came to Purdue,
they have gone to a bowl game every year, renovated
the stadium, and have built a real fan base. What
impresses me most is that Tiller has adjusted his
offensive philosophy based on his players’ ability. We
think of the Boilers as a passing team, but they are
averaging well over 200 yards rushing this year. Guys
like Alvarez, Tressell, and Lloyd get a ton of credit
in the Big Ten, but I think Joe Tiller has probably
done the best coaching job in the Big Ten in the past
6 years.
MH: My game ball goes to the entire Purdue team for
finally getting the PSU monkey off their backs and
doing something Drew Brees could not do. They came in
with a solid game plan and exploited the weaknesses of
Penn State effectively. The coaches prepared the
players well and the players played well. Hats off
to the Boilers.
Looking Ahead:
ND: Well, Penn State definitely won’t lose this week.
Boy, I hate using that joke, but it’s true thanks to a
bye week. I tell ya though, this bye week reminds me
of the one 2 years ago. The Lions stumbled into a bye
week and had a challenging road game at Northwestern
and followed it up with a home game against Ohio
State. Joe and the staff made some nice adjustments
that helped the Lions win some games and come close to
a bowl game if not for the phantom fumble against UVA.
Well, the Lions are stumbling into this bye week and
have a challenging road game at Iowa and follow it up
with a home game against Ohio State. I hope Joe and
his staff are up to the challenge to have the same
type of results.
MH: Adjustments would not be the term I would use for
this team. Overhaul would be the correct term in my
book. The team has a tough Iowa road game on the
horizon. They need to get back to the basics, find
their killer instinct, get the BEST personnel on the
field and get this team believing in themselves.
Right now we are not a Penn State team.
Soapbox Moment:
ND: I have been focusing on non-Penn State items in
the past weeks. But, I saw a couple of things that
really disappointed me this past weekend that I want
to comment on. First off, did anyone else notice that
TJ only had 1 ball thrown to him in the entire second
half? I saw him in the huddle several times, but it is
clear that MRob has lost complete confidence in TJ
after 2 drops in the first half. I think Coach Carter
and Ganter need to cut bait on TJ. Why put a receiver
out there that is not consistent and that your QB is
not going to throw to? Let’s get someone else out
there. Secondly, did anyone notice that on 3rd and
short and even 4th and 1 that Coach Bradley had the
Lions in a traditional 4-3 defense with 2 safeties
almost 10-yards off the line of scrimmage? Every
person watching the game knew that Purdue was going to
run, why line Capone, Toles, Zemaitis, and the
safeties off of the line of scrimmage? If Purdue used
a WR, play him in man-to-man in single coverage with
no safety support. The Lions should have stacked the
line of scrimmage instead of saying, “Gee…we think you
might throw, so we’ll keep 3 DBs and 2 LBs off of the
line of scrimmage”. Bradley has got to get more
aggressive with his calls and force teams to throw in
order to beat the Lions.
MH: Nirav, I completely agree with you on TJ, but he
needs to step up and give the team a reason to have
confidence in him. There is no reason for him to be
on the field if he can’t shake it off and play his
role. We might as well have 10 players out there.
This staff seems scared to blitz. Why I have no idea,
but you play to lose and guess what – you lose! With
the front seven we have we should be implementing a
5-2 to plug up the holes on defense.
Until Next Time,
GO STATE...BEAT HAWKEYES!!
Nirav and Mark
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