No question this was a terrible loss. Purdue came to play and you have to give them credit for competing hard and not making mistakes. The interception at the end of the 1st half was a non-event and the one at end of regulation was caused by a great play by our back up DE, Gimbel President, who got closer to the QB then anyone else all day while he had the ball. Outside of that they played about as perfect of a game as they could have. Yes, some of that is we let them, but they did not self destruct and played their best game of the year.
Two issues in this game for the Illini.
(1) The defense. This is the same defense that played great the week before against Nebraska. We couldn't stop them on third down so couldn't get off the field. Why was Watson on a WR on several plays? That appears to be a coaching/scheme issue. Why could we not hold the edge? Purdue's last TD drive was embarrassing. On the TD itself Phillips took the inside, Watson took the inside and Barton took the inside. Three guy all covering the same spot and leaving the edge free. WTH? I was throwing things at the TV based upon the few few plays that Phillips and Smoot kept taking themselves out of the play, but the TD play made be throw up. Terrible defense. Dunlap I thought played a decent game, other than a stupid pass interference penalty, but otherwise? I can think of decent plays be most everyone, but no one on defense played a consistent game, and many just played terrible. Was Nebraska the outlier or was Purdue? We simply have to play better.
(2) Penalties. This is one I truly do not understand. The majority of penalties are just stupid and many are being made by seniors. A safety lining up offsides, a DT jumping offsides, Phillips late hit with targeting, Spencer and Hardee dancing with Turner after the 2 point conversion (seriously guys, you are up seven on Purdue and you are doing that crap). I honestly don't know which of these are the most boneheaded. You can't have one of these a game let alone 5 of them. A well coached team should not have these kind of penalties. After five games, this team just continues to have way too many undisciplined penalties. White coming out of his stance is one level down but not what you expect from a senior. Chase flipping the ball, wrong but I get it. He was just so amped up that I don't think he realized how hard and high he flipped that ball up. I don't see that happening again. He could have gotten a second one jumping on the dancers, and when they identified Illinois was being charged with two I thought he might have just been disqualified. Green's unsportsmen was also silly but his teammate was just taken hard to the ground and Purdue probably should have been called for it and his push was minor, and he is a true freshman. But he should never do that again, I hope he realizes that. I think this is the one area that I really criticize the current staff. The need to get these kids to stop this crap and think. The majority of the worst penalties are being made by players that should know better. I think Lovie needs to realize college kids are not pros and need to be told right from wrong more than NFL players. He may be I have no idea but this is disconcerting.
dTrain may disagree with me, but I really enjoyed watching our offense (really the play calling difference dtrain) when Chase was the QB. I thought McGee called a good game. Chase is not much of a thrower and there could have been a bit more balance but it was 1000x better than when Lunt was in the game. On the first FG drive Mason on TV said they should call a throw/run option. I was laughing at the TV, saying he clearly does not know our QB. But what happened when Crouch was in the same spot, a throw/run option Just a well designed play and a touchdown. Yes, it was Purdue, but it was also Chase Crouch at QB playing his first extended time. With personnel I think this offense is going to shine. We need a duel QB and some receivers. We have a total of one receiver right now. Turner is good, Grant has heart, but where is everyone else? We have a mediocre OL and RBs but imagine when we get more beef into those positions and upgrade our WRs and QB how good our offense can be. I had heard that there is a plan in place for our 2017 QB but will that be derailed by Chase playing more the rest of this year? I think we need to upgrade the talent and add to the depth, but I think we need to see more Chase.
The future. One downside of Lovie being hired when he was hired is that normally people say year three is when things turn. But you almost have to call this a wasted year. He has none of his recruits. I think the Offense may be ok year three, but I think the defense is going to take four, which stinks because I am getting old. One additional positive. The teams we need to beat for local talent are going the wrong way. ND and MSU are the two teams we have to out recruit in Chicago, along with Iowa. ND may not make a bowl and MSU will lose at least five games this year if not more. Iowa I think should finish middle of the pack. Then I think you will also see Mizzou dropping off so we can make some more recruiting moves in St Louis. We have better recruiters, a story to tell, and I think our competition is heading the wrong way. So it may take time but we have a chance.
Bottom line, this will be an extended process with the offense likely ahead of the defense as we move forward, but we will need to be patient.
PS. dTrain, I dont disagree that the WSU model is probably the best option (and you and I both agreed Thomas made the wrong hire), but we can move up running what we run on offense.
Two issues in this game for the Illini.
(1) The defense. This is the same defense that played great the week before against Nebraska. We couldn't stop them on third down so couldn't get off the field. Why was Watson on a WR on several plays? That appears to be a coaching/scheme issue. Why could we not hold the edge? Purdue's last TD drive was embarrassing. On the TD itself Phillips took the inside, Watson took the inside and Barton took the inside. Three guy all covering the same spot and leaving the edge free. WTH? I was throwing things at the TV based upon the few few plays that Phillips and Smoot kept taking themselves out of the play, but the TD play made be throw up. Terrible defense. Dunlap I thought played a decent game, other than a stupid pass interference penalty, but otherwise? I can think of decent plays be most everyone, but no one on defense played a consistent game, and many just played terrible. Was Nebraska the outlier or was Purdue? We simply have to play better.
(2) Penalties. This is one I truly do not understand. The majority of penalties are just stupid and many are being made by seniors. A safety lining up offsides, a DT jumping offsides, Phillips late hit with targeting, Spencer and Hardee dancing with Turner after the 2 point conversion (seriously guys, you are up seven on Purdue and you are doing that crap). I honestly don't know which of these are the most boneheaded. You can't have one of these a game let alone 5 of them. A well coached team should not have these kind of penalties. After five games, this team just continues to have way too many undisciplined penalties. White coming out of his stance is one level down but not what you expect from a senior. Chase flipping the ball, wrong but I get it. He was just so amped up that I don't think he realized how hard and high he flipped that ball up. I don't see that happening again. He could have gotten a second one jumping on the dancers, and when they identified Illinois was being charged with two I thought he might have just been disqualified. Green's unsportsmen was also silly but his teammate was just taken hard to the ground and Purdue probably should have been called for it and his push was minor, and he is a true freshman. But he should never do that again, I hope he realizes that. I think this is the one area that I really criticize the current staff. The need to get these kids to stop this crap and think. The majority of the worst penalties are being made by players that should know better. I think Lovie needs to realize college kids are not pros and need to be told right from wrong more than NFL players. He may be I have no idea but this is disconcerting.
dTrain may disagree with me, but I really enjoyed watching our offense (really the play calling difference dtrain) when Chase was the QB. I thought McGee called a good game. Chase is not much of a thrower and there could have been a bit more balance but it was 1000x better than when Lunt was in the game. On the first FG drive Mason on TV said they should call a throw/run option. I was laughing at the TV, saying he clearly does not know our QB. But what happened when Crouch was in the same spot, a throw/run option Just a well designed play and a touchdown. Yes, it was Purdue, but it was also Chase Crouch at QB playing his first extended time. With personnel I think this offense is going to shine. We need a duel QB and some receivers. We have a total of one receiver right now. Turner is good, Grant has heart, but where is everyone else? We have a mediocre OL and RBs but imagine when we get more beef into those positions and upgrade our WRs and QB how good our offense can be. I had heard that there is a plan in place for our 2017 QB but will that be derailed by Chase playing more the rest of this year? I think we need to upgrade the talent and add to the depth, but I think we need to see more Chase.
The future. One downside of Lovie being hired when he was hired is that normally people say year three is when things turn. But you almost have to call this a wasted year. He has none of his recruits. I think the Offense may be ok year three, but I think the defense is going to take four, which stinks because I am getting old. One additional positive. The teams we need to beat for local talent are going the wrong way. ND and MSU are the two teams we have to out recruit in Chicago, along with Iowa. ND may not make a bowl and MSU will lose at least five games this year if not more. Iowa I think should finish middle of the pack. Then I think you will also see Mizzou dropping off so we can make some more recruiting moves in St Louis. We have better recruiters, a story to tell, and I think our competition is heading the wrong way. So it may take time but we have a chance.
Bottom line, this will be an extended process with the offense likely ahead of the defense as we move forward, but we will need to be patient.
PS. dTrain, I dont disagree that the WSU model is probably the best option (and you and I both agreed Thomas made the wrong hire), but we can move up running what we run on offense.
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