SB Nation - Curtis Painter

Let's go rob a Bank

BoilerTMill — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:05:14 -0000

I feel inspired this morning to rob a bank. It has nothing to do with me watching Point Break as I work on this preview, I promise. We are playing at TCF Bank Stadium though, so we need Joey Elliott to be our fearless Bodhi to steal a win here.

I'm doing things a little backward this week. Wednesday is normally podcast day, but I haven't heard back from the guys over at The Daily Gopher yet. I'll also be busy tonight at my normal podcast time, as I have tickets to see Katie Douglas do Purdue some good by winning a WNBA championship for the Indiana Fever. Yes, my addiction to basketball does run that deep.

In the mean time, there is still some football to talk about. It has been over two years since Purdue won a football game away from Ross-Ade Stadium. As it happens, we are facing the team we beat in our last road contest this weekend. Facing the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium will be a little different from facing them in the Metrodome, but with a 1-2 record in the new gopher hole, Minnesota hasn't exactly shown that no one can crack this safe.

2008 Record: 7-6 (3-5 Big Ten)

2009 Record: 3-2 (1-1)

Bowl result: Lost to Kansas 42-21 in Insight Bowl

Blog Representation: The Daily Gopher, Buck Bravo, Golden Gopher Football blog

Series with Purdue: Minnesota leads 32-30-3

Last Purdue win: 9/22/07 at Minnesota 45-31

Last Minnesota win: 10/25/08 at Purdue 17-6

This is the last time we came home happy away from Ross-Ade

This year so far for the Gophers:

Minnesota is a team that has played better on the road than at home so far. They managed an overtime win at Syracuse (who is certainly not as bad as previously thought) and they won convincingly at Northwestern. At home, Minnesota barely squeezed by Air Force in the TCF Bank Stadium opener. Minnesota is the last team to give up a touchdown to a suddenly moribund Cal team, while Wisconsin did what Wisconsin does in the rivalry for Paul Bunyan's Axe: they won a close game.

Minnesota has been totally average of late. They have won the games they should have won, and lost the ones they probably should have lost. That is what gives me a little hope that we can finally stop this losing streak. Minnesota is a team that is hardly overwhelming. The same is true for almost everyone in the Big Ten, so who knows what can happen.

Minnesota offense:

The Gophers wanted to go back to being more of a running team when the season started, but through five games they have not had a lot of success in that department. This game should be a measuring stick for just how bad our run defense really is. As a team, Minnesota is averaging less than 100 yards per game on the ground. Duane Bennett (230 yards, 5 TD's) and DeLeon Eskridge (165 yards, 1 TD) have carried the ball the most. Most of Bennett's work came in an 89 yard, three score game at Northwestern two weeks ago. Eskridge had 14 carries for 60 yards against Wisconsin last week, which was by far his best week. We also need to keep an eye on Indianapolis' own MarQueis Gray. Gray is pretty much Minnesota's quarterback of the future. He steps in for a few snaps per game for Adam Weber. He has rushed nine times for 54 yards, but has yet to throw a pass. That does not mean he is not a passing threat, however.

Weber is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the Big Ten. He took his lumps as a freshman during Minnesota's 1-11 2007 season, but he has matured into a solid signal caller. His rushing numbers are down this year, but he has been known as a runner in the past. So far he is 91 of 159 passing for 1,150 yards, six touchdowns, and six interceptions. Only Joey Elliott and Ricky Stanzi have thrown more picks than Weber. Weber has yet to put up huge numbers in a game this year, but you can count on him to throw for about 225 yards.

A main reason Weber has been able to throw for so many yards is Eric Decker. Decker is far and away Minnesota's best receiver. We actually did a pretty good job against him last year in a similar position, but everyone knows that he will be Weber's top target. We have to double team him and make someone else beat us. Decker's stats (43-639-5) represent more than half of Minnesota's passing game. Decker also has a seven yard touchdown pass to his credit. Troy Stoudermire (13-121-1), Brandon Green (10-130-0) and Nick Tow-Arnett (11-166-0) are other decent targets, but we must treat Decker as the first option on every pass play. So much so, even CFN had something to say about it today:

A little note for Purdue this week and the rest of the Big Ten. Minnesota QB Adam Weber is tipping his pitches. If I'm seeing this then I'm sure a highly-paid Big Ten defensive coordinator must notice the same thing. When a pass play is supposed to go to the left side, Weber dips his left shoulder when he's under center and has a severe body lean to the left when he's in the shotgun. When the play calls for the pass to go to star WR Eric Decker on the left side, Weber might as well be turned 90-degrees. -- CFN's Cavalcade of Whimsy

Our defensive line played a pretty good ballgame last week and they should be able to do the same against a good, but not great Minnesota offensive line. The Gopher O-line has given up 12 sacks on the year, and that is with Weber being a fairly mobile quarterback. Jeff Wills at 6'7" 375 is a massive tackle protecting Weber. Matt Stommes, Chris Bunders, Matt Carufel, and Jeff Tow-Arnett make up the rest of the line. Other than Wills, it is a relatively small line by Big Ten standards, so our defense should be able to make some headway.

Minnesota defense:

This is the key matchup of the game. As long as we are not giving Minnesota defense the ball like we did last week things should be fine. As bad as our run defense has been, Minnesota's has been worse. The fact they have faced possibly the nation's best running back in Jahvid Best may have something to do with that, as does Air Force's and Wisconsin's run-heavy attack. Minnesota is giving up nearly 175 yards per game on the ground. Though Ralph Bolden is not 100%, we have to exploit this with Jaycen Taylor, Dan Dierking, Frank Halliburton, or even Al-Terek McBurse. Boilerdowd made some salient points this morning about us needing more rotation in the running game. I know McBurse and Halliburton have yet to see the field, but this may be the week.

The Minnesota pass defense hasn't been that great either. They have generated 10 sacks, led by Eric Small with three, but they are still giving up over 200 yards per game through the air. Minnesota only has three team interceptions as well. Nate Triplett has two of those interceptions, so Elliott should be able to find some different receivers. The Gophers do have plenty of tackles for loss with 28 as a team. Lee Campbell, who is second on the team in tackles with 53, leads the team with five tackles for loss. Triplett leads the team in tackles with 56.

We have to run the ball this week until Minnesota proves it can stop us. This will help us with the time of possession that we keep losing as well as keep our defense more fresh. Our offensive line has to generate more of a push so we can run the ball as well. It is incredibly frustrating that we haven't been able to run the ball against teams we should have little trouble running against. Minnesota is like Northern Illinois in that regard. They haven't proven they could stop the run even when they know it is coming in all three losses.

Minnesota Special Teams:

Minnesota has already had to punt a whopping 23 times in five games. This is a testament to their offensive struggles. They use a dual-punter system as well. Dan Orseske has nine punts for a 44.6 yard average, while Blake Haudan has 14 for 41.6. They have combined to limit teams to just 3.4 yards per return. Minnesota's own punt return game is pretty stout. They have only returned three punts, but Marcus Sherels and Bryant Allen are averaging a combined 19 yards per return.

On kickoff returns Stoudermire is averaging 28.2 yards per return. Minnesota is also limiting teams to just 21 yards per return on kickoffs. We will need to have more discipline because Stoudermire is a threat to break one.

Finally, Eric Ellestad has been a solid kicker. He has not missed an extra point while connecting on seven of eight field goals. Range could be an issue, as he has missed his only attempt beyond 40 yards.

Intagibles:

First of all, it is Minnesota's homecoming. We should get used to this, as it is not a surprise that we will be the scheduled homecoming opponent for some time. It will be interesting to see what kind of atmosphere homecoming is for Minnesota in the first on-campus event since the early 80's.

Second, Minnesota does not want to lose a game to a team it feels it should beat. We fill that role perfectly right now. Yes, we have been more competitive than expected, but Minnesota has to be thinking what I am thinking. Until we actually finish a game and beat someone we won't believe it can happen.

Finally, this is a game we should have won last year. Of all our losses, I think this was the worst one. Curtis Painter got hurt and we essentially had zero preparation for Justin Siller in case that happened. Minnesota hit on two big plays that set up their two touchdowns, but did little else the rest of the day. I think that if Painter had not gotten hurt we would have won and it could have salvaged the season a little. A healthy Painter gives us a win there and a possible win with better offensive play at Michigan State two weeks later.

Keys for Purdue:

I might as well start typing the same things here every week, but it is true.

Run the ball until they prove they can stop us
Hold on to the football
Don't even bother fielding punts. As soon as they kick it, I want all 11 guys to run off the field.
Cover Eric Decker

Gettin Familiar With: Purdue

Rodger Sherman — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:41:40 -0000

This post is about two things: Purdue Boilermakers football and... romance.

via news.uns.purdue.edu

She stared deep into his limpid, pupil-less eyes, and immediately knew that she could never be with another man wearing a mask of a really weird looking, possibly soulless engineer with a helmet again

On the season: The Boilers got off to an alright start, I guess, beating Toledo 52-31, but since then, it's been three coulda, shoulda, woulda, but, uh, didn't games for Purdue. First came a 38-36 loss to Oregon - yes that Oregon, who just whomped Cal - that came due to a missed PAT and a last-second two-point conversion that was caught just a few inches outside of the end zone. Then came an embarrassing loss at home to Northern Illinois, who, quite frankly, dominated Purdue. Then came a heartbreaking 24-21 loss to Notre Dame, where Danny Hope majorly aided Notre Dame's game-winning touchdown drive by calling a timeout in the waning seconds, a decision inspired probably by playing Madden on three minute quarters and letting your opponent score easily with like 40 seconds left so you have the ball with time to score. Anyway, Purdue is a few plays away from being 3-1 with two wins over signature teams, but then again by that logic, NU is a few plays away from being 4-0 and almost ranked. So all you need to know is that they're 1-3.

Us and them: Purdue is 49-26-1 against us all-time. That all-time record reminds me of another set of numbers...

Oh yeah. We beat them 48-26 last year. The main thing I remember from this game is that we were lifting this one guy every point we scored, but after lifting him 41 times, it was really hard to lift him 48 times a few minutes later. I also remember collecting disembodied Pat Fitzgerald heads-on-sticks, but that's neither here nor there.

Unfortunately, there's been a surprising amount of overturn from last year at Purdue - Curtis Painter, who lobbed three picks, is gone, and Kory Sheets, who really dominated us on the ground running for 168 yards and two touchdowns, is also gone. And in case you ain't heard, Joe Tiller, last year's head coach, has been replaced with Danny Hope, the fourth team we've played with a new head coach. Purdue also has new offensive and defensive coordinators, making them the fourth team we've played replacing a head coach and both coordinators, and the fifth with at least one new coordinator. I hope you guys hate continuity.

Offense: Ralph Bolden is sort of good at running back. He's averaging 6.2 - six, point, two - yards-per-carry, and 488 yards rushing in four games.. Yeah, some of that is skewed by a 234 yard game against Toledo, but, that's still a little bit less than half his yardage on the year. Even in his lowest total on the year - a 12-carry, 67-yard performance against Northern Illinois - he was still averaging those 5.3 yards-per-carry and had 62 yards receiving. The guys good. And he'll touch the ball 20 times this game, so, long story short, panic.

Joey Elliott is a fifth-year senior starting for the first time, and he's not so hot, but he's not really what we need to worry about. He threw three picks against Toledo, and although he redeemed himself with a three td, one pick performance against Notre Dame, I don't know, he's really just not a great passer if you watch him just a little bit. He'll hit short open guys, and he'll hit them well, but he's not going to be Purdue's focal point by any stretch. Keith Smith accounts for 358 receiving yards, about twice as many as anybody else on the team, but I don't think he'll trouble Sherrick McManis much.

Defense: Purdue has a Northwestern style defense, by which I mean "they couldn't tackle your grandmother if she was walking at a brisk enough pace." This isn't something I've discovered because I'm a football analyst, or because I'm a Purdue fan who has pored over game tape, I just watched a few highlight reels on youtube, all of which are less than a minute, and you can see that a lot of the medium-to-huge size plays Purdue gives up are because they really just don't wrap people up. It's important to note that Northern Illinois ran for 280 yards against Purdue.

In terms of passing defense, they do average a pick a game, but, yeah, Toledo threw for 423 yards against them, and I understand they're a pass-heavy offense, but, yeah, that's not going to cut it.

Special Teams: I don't generally cover special teams in these posts, but Purdue has a fella named Carson Wiggs who freakin' nailed a 59-yarder against Toledo. Yeah, 59. That's almost 60. Which is almost 63. Which is the longest field goal in NFL history.

Then again, he also missed an extra point against Oregon. This sort of inconsistency is known amongst those in the kicking world as a case of "the Demoses."

Transitive property logic that makes me confident we'll beat this team by a lot:

Normally I do this using lopsided scores from the previous year.. but we beat this team by 22 last year. No transitive property logic needed, that was sort of a beatdown.

So, that's that. A day late and a lot of football analysis short, but, deal with it, it's what I got. See you some other time, people.

2009 Big 10 Quarterback Rankings, First Edition

grahamfiller10 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:13:26 -0000

It's been 9 long months since I made my final edition of the 2008 Big Ten Quarterback Rankings. Since late 2008, the majority of teams in the Big Ten are starting a new quarterback and let me tell you folks, this is great, great news for the quarterback rankings. In 2008, quarterback play was horrible and inconsistent. Two main factors led to the horrid play - Injuries and disappointing veterans. Curtis Painter, Kellen Lewis, Brian Hoyer, Todd Boeckman, Allan Evridge, and Juice Williams were injury prone or ineffective in 2008, leading to backups getting significant playing time. By the end of the season, only a few QB's were healthy and putting up solid stats. This year, with a conference wide focus on passing and more teams opening their playbooks, the quarterback play is markedly improved from last year.

Not only does this improvement make the ranking a more interesting exercise, I don't have to spend the year explaining how in the world Juice Williams is the third best quarterback in the Big Ten, a spot he ended up in through default last year. Enjoy The Rivalry's 2009 Big Ten Quarterback Rankings First Edition, which I will update every three weeks.

Ed Note: After #4, the quarterbacks blend together, talent and number wise. I gave Tolzien and Kafka extra points because of their surprising success, but that can all be wiped away with early in-conf struggles. And I took away points for struggling in big games, which I believe is where a quarterback can best be judged.

	QB	Team	Comments
#1	Daryll Clark	PSU	Has looked comfortable in the pocket throwing to the newbie receivers. Clark's best attribute is that he trusts his O-Line - he will sit and slowly chop his feet, waiting for routes to open up. Game Avg: 22-32, 250 yards, 3 TDs.
#2	Kirk Cousins	MSU	His accuracy and poise in the pocket have resulted in the Big Ten's best passing efficiency rating. This devout Bapist can make every throw - swing passes, curl routes in traffic, out routes to the sideline. Don't let the wobbler at the end of the ND game fool you - He should be taking every snap at MSU. Game Avg: 15-23, 215 yards, 2 TDs.
#3	Tate Forcier	UM	Showed up in primetime against ND, putting on a performance for the ages. Throws an accurate ball and his shifty moves are perfect for the RichRod Spread. Not lightning fast like Pat White, but gets the 3-5 yards on the Zone Read QB run that Sheridan/Threet could never get. Game Avg: 14-22, 163 yards, 2 TD, 37 ypg rushing.
#4	Terrelle Pryor	OSU	Lebron In Cleats showed a fully evolved arm in the Spring Game, leading to an overly excited phone call from Law Buck. Unfortunately, the indecisive shot putting returned against USC. Would I take him over Forcier? Yes. Did he choke under pressure? Yes. Game Avg: 14-25, 204 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 59 yards rushing.
#5	Ricky Stanzi	IOWA	Holds himself like a veteran and has engineered victories while Iowa Hating God wipes out all his playmakers. No complaints about his throwing motion here, but the unexplainable interceptions flummox everyone. Game Avg: 20-33, 215 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT.
#6	Scott Tolzien	WISC	Tolzien has been the surprise of the non-conf games. Accurate and eager to spread the ball around, I guess we realize why Sherer's loopy delivery was dropped in favor of this supposed career backup. Throws an extremely catchable ball for a Wisky offense that isn't relying on the run so much anymore. Game Avg: 15-23, 214 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
#7	Mike Kafka	NW	A tremendous game against Syracuse was tainted by an ugly pick late, but his numbers exceed what we expected by so much it's scary. He's showed a live arm and has refused to depend on his very solid scrambling abilities. Game Avg: 21-28, 247 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
#8	Adam Weber	MINN	I watched him against California and two problems are obvious. He doesn't know how to throw the ball away and he doesn't get any blocking. When given time, Weber/Decker is a dangerous combo. I expect more from this frequently inaccurate veteran. Game Avg: 20-34, 231 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
#9	Ben Chappell	IND	Crimson Quarry and others were calling for him to start last year, but injuries and Lewis's on-again, off-again playing schedule never allowed Chapell to become the unquestioned leader. Now fully in command, the Pistol offense and some athletic receivers have helped Chappell to look, as the British say, not half-bad. Game Avg: 21-31, 225 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
#10	Joey Elliot	PU	We predicted doom and gloom in West Lafayette, but the Boilers and Elliot looked a tad more explosive than expected. His personality as a QB isn't fully evolved yet - Should be rolling out as much as in the NIU game? Should the quick slants of yesteryear be incorporated more? Game Avg: 20-33, 225 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs.
#11	Juice Williams	ILL	We all saw the Mizzou ugliness and the uninspired Illini. We all saw Juice do Juice things like throw wild, ineffective passes all over the place. We also saw no run game. So until he returns to good old rollercoaster Juice, Big Ten leader in Total Yards in 2008, I leave him here. Game Avg: 18-28, 179 yards, 1 INT.

Boilermakings for 9/8

BoilerTMill — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:53:19 -0000

Now that football season is in full swing, it means other fall sports are in swing as well. As a result, We get a Boilermakings Tuesday before turning our thoughts toward Oregon.

Ralph Bolden is the toast of the nation - I suppose that being the nation's top running back after week one will do that. ESPN's Adam Rittenberg recently praised Ralph, He was featured in The Sporting News today, and he was of course named as the Big Ten's co-offensive player of the week. I don't expect him to put up the same numbers against Oregon, but if he does I have a hard time seeing us losing. Credit also needs to be given to the O-line and fullbacks Jared Crank and Dan Dierking for freeing him.

Plenty of Ralph Bolden to see here

Katie Douglas is up for WNBA MVP - This is a great honor for the Purdue grad, as she tried to lead the Fever to the WNBA title. Indiana has the best record in the East heading toward the playoffs, and before the season many people expected that the only thing that would keep them in Indianapolis is a WNBA title. Fortunately, Katie Douglas has not been seen shooting up the 8 Seconds Saloon over on the west side unlike some of her co-tenants at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Women's soccer climbs in the polls - The women's soccer team used its upset of #6 Texas A&M to achieve a #14 ranking in last week's top 25. With wins over Valparaiso (1-0) and Ball State (6-1) this past weekend Purdue should have little trouble maintaining its ranking. A trip to #4 Stanford looms on Friday, followed by a game at #22 Santa Clara on Sunday.

Volleyball goes 2-1 at Baylor Classic - The ladies' volleyball team may have fallen out of the top 25, but they were able to notch wins over Texas-San Antonio and Central Florida before losing 3-2 to host Baylor. Next up is the Kansas State invitational against Portland, Kentucky, and #21 Kansas State.

Final Four or Bust for the men's basketball team - Credit to the guys at Boiled Sports for finding this, but the basketball blog Rush The Court has come out with their Purdue preview. I agree with its assessment as well: Final Four or Failure.

Only one segment left of Livin' Large to enjoy - And Basketbawful has been a truly artful story teller for this entire series. I knew those guys from Kokomo were alright.

Painter makes the Colts' roster - He received lots of good news on a day when many former Boilers did not.

Tim Cary has us all covered - Tim posted some fine work from his visit to Ross-Ade last weekend. He has a great conversation with Curtis Painter, a feature on Jason Werner and Torri Williams, and a discussion with Carson Wiggs about his 59-yard field goal on Saturday.

Go Duck yourself - Addicted to Quack is beginning to move on and look forward to the Purdue game. We'll have more from them later this week as I work to set up another podcast tomorrow night.

The ranked losing streak will continue - No matter what happens, our wait to beat a ranked team will continue as Oregon fell out of both top 25's after their loss at Boise State. Personally, I think they should have held on to #25 based on defense alone, but I am wrong.

Suddenly not so bad - The Rivalry, Esq. sums things up best. We have gone from "Surely putrid" to "mildly intriguing" with our week one perfomance. This is all the more reaqson that an upset at Autzen would be very good for our program. I am thinking this is becoming almost as pivotal of a swing game as last year's was. A win in Autzen would be just as positive as us choking away last year's game was negative. Bring on the Ducks!

Thoughts and Perspectives on the Bradford Injury

dishingoutdimes — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 03:37:12 -0000

by Tony Gutierrez - AP

3 months ago: Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford has his shoulder wrapped up by staff members at the start of the second half of a NCAA football game against Brigham Young, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, in Arlington, Texas. Bradford was injured late in the second quarter and did not return to play in the 14-13 loss to Brigham Young. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

View full size photo »

Any injury on a team is tough, especially when it involves arguably your best player. We won't argue about that, since we have plenty of other players who could compete for that honor, including Gerald McCoy. Sam Bradford injured his AC joint in his right shoulder late in the first half against the BYU Cougars on Saturday Night. An earlier post has already detailed a basic overview of the injury and what to expect as far as treatment goes.

We haven't learned much on a timetable for Bradford. The general consensus appears to be that this is a 2-3 week type injury. However, certain things lead me to believe that this might sideline Bradford for longer than that:

OU has a history of going very slowly and conservatively when returning NFL-caliber prospects from injuries. Such was the case of Adrian Peterson the year before he turned pro. You have to use that information in context with what was said Sunday by the coaching staff:

"Those are not just necessarily for our team, but those are two tremendous players that have great futures. We want to make sure their best interest is taken into consideration with what's being done," Wilson said.

The general focus on beating Texas will probably make the coaches and trainers want to have Sam as healthy as possible for that game, if indeed he could even play by that point.
We don't yet know how severe the injury actually is. A Type-1 AC Joint Sprain is mild and athletes can usually recover in a couple of weeks. If it's more severe, though, the arm may need to be immobilized for a few weeks, and then another 6 weeks or so of rehab would be necessary to rebuild strength in the arm.
By all accounts, it's an extremely painful injury. Having that happen to your throwing shoulder can't be good.

It'll be interesting to see how quickly Bradford can get back. My colleague Seth Wickersham texted me something related to this, saying that former Utah QB Alex Smith had a similar injury a few years ago and it was "brutal" because it hurts like heck and makes the QB wonder if he's damaging his arm for good. --Bruce Feldman, ESPN.com

Some encouraging news though, I dug around and it turns out that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers played with this type of injury last season. Granted, he's already in the NFL, but it is interesting to see that Big Ben was playing the week after the injury, despite being limited in practice:

"Ben is still nursing the sore shoulder," Tomlin began. "He could be limited here in the first part of the week. Hopefully, he progresses like he did last week. I just met with him, and he said he feels better this week than he did a week ago, which is good."

Roethlisberger did not practice last Wednesday, and he was limited Thursday to handing the ball off in practice. He practiced and threw gingerly on Friday. He played Sunday night in Cleveland and threw at least one pass 60 yards in the air, another 50 or so and completed 12 of 19 for 186 yards and a 113.0 passer rating, boosting his rating to 136.3, which leads the NFL.

Other quarterbacks who have had the injury have had longer recovery times: Curtis Painter (4 weeks), Marc Bulger (3 weeks), Alex Smith (12 weeks, season). Smith's injury was more debilitating because it was a Grade 3 sprain. Overall, it seems like a common theme is that if Bradford suffered a Grade 1 sprain, he could be back by Miami and probably by Texas. If it's more severe, like a Grade 2 sprain, he may be out until the very end of the season, or perhaps a bowl game. A Grade 3 sprain or worse would likely sideline him for the season.

In any event, I hope they don't rush Bradford back too quickly, and based on how they've treated injured players in the past, I'm guessing they'll keep Bradford out extra weeks rather than cutting his recovery time short.

It turns out that the AC Joint Sprain is a relatively common injury, which isn't surprising since the play that Bradford got injured on didn't seem terribly unusual. Here's a quote from a study of NFL quarterback injuries:

A total of 1534 quarterback injuries were identified with a mean of 18.8 and a median of 6.0 days of playing time lost. The majority of these injuries occurred during a game (83.8%). Passing plays were responsible for 77.4% of all quarterback-related injuries. Shoulder injuries were the second most common injury reported (233 or 15.2%), following closely behind head injuries (15.4%). Direct trauma was responsible for 82.3% of the injuries, with acromioclavicular joint sprains being the most common injury overall (40%). Overuse injuries were responsible for 14% of the injuries, the most common being rotator cuff tendinitis (6.1%) followed by biceps tendinitis (3.5%).

Additionally, the book titled "The Athlete's Shoulder" says that AC Joint Sprains account for about 47-70% of all shoulder injuries in NCAA football athletes. According to the same book, athletes can usually play again in 2 to 6 weeks with a Grade 1 or 2 sprain, and those types of sprains are most common.

The image on the left is taken from this Google Books search result - the book "Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation: A Sport-Specific Approach". It shows the different severity of the grades of AC joint sprains. You can obviously tell that the Type 3 is the most severe, with a complete tear in the muscle tendons around the joint.

Given that these types of injuries seem relatively common, albeit painful, we can hope that Bradford's injury is of the less severe variety and that he'll be back in that 2-6 week time frame.

An Attempt To Properly Summarize The Debacle In Arlington

dishingoutdimes — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 23:02:17 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Agonizingly close - the story of the game. Oklahoma tight end Trent Ratterree (47) is unable to pull in a pass on their final offensive drive against BYU during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Browse more photos »

Where to begin, where to begin? There were, and still are, so many thoughts running through my head, it will be very difficult to properly summarize the game. First, and foremost, this was a team loss. You absolutely cannot pin this loss on Bradford getting injured. We were playing poorly before the injury, and we played poorly after the injury. Many facets of the game plan failed and the team as a whole underachieved. You have to give credit where credit is due and congratulate BYU for their victory.

Before I delve into everything that went wrong, a couple of points. (1) You have to at least be encouraged that, despite the sloppy and underachieving play, we only lost by a point to a very good football team. Despite losing the heart and soul of the team, we only lost by one...measly...point. There are many things that went wrong with our performance, but we were always in the game. That offers some hope. (2) You have to feel absolutely terrible for Sam Bradford. He's a great guy and a team leader. Apparently he worked in the offseason because he didn't want to have the bitter taste of defeat in the crimson and cream again:

It bothers him [Sam Bradford] quite a bit. The last national championship game, that really hit him hard. I could see it…He prepared himself the most I’ve ever seen. --Reserve QB John Nimmo

Finally, Sam Bradford's return timetable remains cloudier than ever. The official report remains that he sprained the AC joint in his right (throwing) shoulder. OU coaches shed absolutely no light on the timetable today. For relatively minor versions of the injury, a 2-3 week recovery is the norm. Purdue QB Curtis Painter was sidelined for two weeks last season with a similar injury, and didn't start until the fourth week. If, and this is a big if, Sam Bradford follows a similar timetable, he would be suited up and ready to start by the Miami game.

But enough of the unknown future, let's talk about what went wrong (after the jump).

Final - 9.5.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
BYU Cougars	0	7	0	7	14
Oklahoma Sooners	7	3	0	3	13

Complete Coverage >

It was a very ugly game. The first thing that immediately stood out was the amount of penalties; the Sooners committed 12 for 93 yards, and some more were declined. Holding and false start penalties repeatedly killed drives or moved the team out of scoring position. The sloppiness of the play, especially on the offensive line, was remarkable.

The thing that amazed me more was the defense. The run defense was as good as advertised, holding the Cougars to 28 yards rushing on 33 attempts, for 0.8 yards per rush. By comparison, BYU threw the ball 38 times, so they employed a balanced attack, but the defense managed to shut down the run. Additionally, the defense was as opportunistic as they were last year forcing 4 turnovers (2 fumbles, 2 interceptions). These turnovers helped negate a fairly stellar performance from Max Hall and the BYU passing attack (26-38 329 yards 2 TD), as well as an 8-17 3rd down success rate (47%). I cannot understand how the run defense can be so exceptional, while the pass defense had so many holes.

It seems like the pass defense scheme we use now relies a lot on zone coverage. When mixed with linebacker or safety blitzes, it left gaping holes over the middle of the field on many plays. This probably contributed to Hall's high completion rate and the amount of YAC that BYU receivers got.

Team Stats

	Pts	Yrds	Pass	Rush
Offense	13	265.0	147.0	118.0

The Sooners were outgained 357 yards to 265 yards. Compared with BYU converting their third down attempts nearly half of the time, the Sooners had a paltry 2-11 conversion rate (18%). Oh, and did you remember that their only offensive touchdown was set up by a muffed punt at the BYU 35 yard line? We simply could not move the ball. Not to mention, OU lost two fumbles and were outpossessed 37:02 to 22:58 or about 15 minutes.

Therefore, it shouldn't be surprising that the defense was a little gassed at the end of the game. I've seen a few newspaper articles and comments that suggest the defense gave the game away on the last BYU drive. That's absolutely not true. The defense kept us in the game for the entire game despite the offense not doing very much at all, and the defense having to be on the field about 61% longer than the offense. I'm quite proud of the fact that despite all of those hurdles, the defense only gave up 14 points.

Meanwhile, the areas of concern on the team reared their heads in this game. The offensive line - the lightning rod of concern all offseason - validated critics' questioning by performing poorly. Holding penalties and chop blocks are often the method of last resort when you are getting out-muscled and out-played, and that's exactly what happened to the line. Barry Tramel at the Oklahoman poses an interesting question. Will the no huddle work with this new offensive line unit? Perhaps they're just not cut out for it. You can't argue it was effective in this game. The offensive drives stalled, but instead of an offense that huddles, the drives failed faster, placing a greater playing-time burden on the defense.

The other unit of concern was the wide receivers, and understandably, since it seemed like they were invisible for a lot of the game. We had zero big plays in the passing game. I had to have counted at least five drops, some at critical moments in the game. And, I thought we were going to have a deep rotation of guys who had battled it out in the camps. What happened to that? I kept hearing about Cameron Kenney and how he could stretch the field and make a big impact. Where was Mossis Madu? It seemed like we used the same personnel all game and made no attempt to change things up.

Critical Failures In The Game

Situation: Oklahoma ball, 3rd down and 5 yards to go at OKLA 30 yard line.
Time: About 14 minutes to go in the 1st quarter.
Result: Two consecutive false start penalties.

On the first Oklahoma drive, they ran plays on 1st and 2nd down that netted 10 yards in total. This would have been good enough for a first down, except they had a total of three false start penalties, and two of them occurred right after the Sooners had secured a manageable 3rd down and 5. A terrible way to start the game.

Situation: Following a Reynolds interception and two 7-yard rushes by DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma ball, 1st down and 10 yards to go at BYU 16 yard line
Time: About 3 minutes to go in the 1st quarter.
Result: DeMarco Murray rushes 9 yards to the BYU 5 yard line but fumbles.

Our offense had finally found a rhythm and we were running the ball down their throats. At this point in the game, they were back on their heels and we had a chance to extend our lead to two touchdowns (we were up 7-0). At the very least we took 3 points off the board, but probably 7. Remember that, as I'm going to tally up how many points we took off the board via mistakes.

Situation: Following a 17-yard pass and 13-yard pass by Bradford, and a 15-yard late hit personal foul on BYU, it was 1st down and 10 yards to go at the BYU 35.
Time: About 4 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter.
Result: Screen pass to Ryan Broyles for -1 yards that was fumbled and recovered by BYU.

Again, our offense was driving and we were finally taking advantage of mistakes that BYU was making. The score was still 7-0 OU at this point but we could have extended our lead going into halftime. We weren't close enough to the goal line to project a touchdown, but I think it's fair to say we might have expected a field goal out of this drive. We took 3 points off the board here. Not to mention, it set up a BYU scoring drive right before the half - for a 10 point swing (BYU tied it at 7-7).

Situation: Opening up the third quarter, the first plays on two consecutive drives.
Time: 3rd quarter
Result: Penalties

Trying to get Landry Jones into a groove probably wouldn't have been as difficult had his first two drives gone a little differently. He opened up the second half at quarterback. On the first drive, the offensive line committed an illegal chop block, a 15-yard penalty on the first play that essentially killed the drive. On the second drive, a holding penalty right off the bat made it 1st and 20. On the next two plays, Jones completed two passes for a total of 11 yards, a total that would have netted a first down under normal circumstances.

Situation: Oklahoma ball, 2nd and 4 from the BYU 8 yard line.
Time: Start of the 4th quarter
Result: 8 consecutive attemps from within the 10 yard line all fail to net a touchdown. Settle for FG to make it 13-7 OU.

This sequence really doomed us. We ran eight plays within the 10 yard line and only came away with a field goal. This is reminiscent of the National Championship game from last year, and it took 4 points off the board. It's obviously the point in the game that most people will remember, but we took points off the board in much bigger quantities earlier in the game. One of the plays we ran was a field goal attempt, and that was only after a delay of game penalty pushed us back from the 1/2 yard line to the 5 yard line. Had OU taken a timeout instead of letting the play clock expire, they likely would have had a very good chance to score from basically right on the goal line. Five of the other plays were runs. Of the five runs, only four yards were gained, for an average of 0.8 yards per rush in this sequence. In comparison, Landry Jones attempted two passes. One was dropped by Matt Clapp on the goal line. The other was on target to Ryan Broyles but pass interference was called. There was a distinct lack of variety in the playcalling, and a lack of confidence in the passing game, that caused this drive to stall out about a football's length from paydirt.

Things To Note

Totalling up everything from above, and including the delay of game penalty that pushed us out of range for the last field goal attempt, OU was responsible for taking about 17 points off the board. If you include the fact that we set up a BYU touchdown, our mistakes basically cost us a 24-point swing in the game. These aren't things that you can pass off as bad luck or officiating.
When we pushed the tempo and passed the ball out of more of a spread formation, rather than an "Ace" or "I-formation", we moved the ball effectively. Points weren't scored because of mistakes, but eliminate those mistakes and we have a formula for success. This is especially true because our pass blocking was better than our run blocking, the Bradford injury notwithstanding.
Penalties created too many third-and-long situations, especially when Landry Jones was in the game. With a redshirt freshman quarterback being thrust into the fire, the last thing you want to do is make his job as difficult as possible.
The playcalling was unimaginative and conservative, something that caused our offense to score only - surprise, 14 points - in the National Championship game as well. There were stretches in the game in which similar plays were called repeatedly - 5 between-tackle runs in a row, 7 passes in a row, etc. The wildcat formation was wildly ineffective and doesn't really make sense for the players that we have. I don't think a single pass was attempted that went more than 10-15 yards down field in the air. We need to open up the playbook. I could almost blame the lack of offensive production as much on the offensive playcalling as I could on the penalties and fumbles.
To anyone (especially non-Sooner fans) knocking the "Big Game Bob" nickname, take a look at the conference championships he's won - 6 in total. Over his first seven years coaching at OU, he won three Big 12 Championships. Over the last three years? He's won three more Big 12 Championships. Sure, OU has choked in a few "big" games, mostly to teams ranked about 15-25 at venues away from Norman. However, more often than not, Bob figures out a way to nab the conference championship in a very competitive conference. And let's not forget, this years' Sooners have not even started the conference slate yet. Let's not forget the team that struggled out of the gates in 2006, but rebounded for a championship over Nebraska.

Perspective and Realistic Expectations

No, the world is not coming to an end. If OU was going to lose a game, it was best for them to have it happen at the very beginning of the season, and especially in a season where they were ranked #3 in preseason polls. If you assume most of the reports about Gresham and Bradford are true (out for a few weeks), then they should both be able to utilize the bye week in their recovery, perhaps only also missing Idaho State and Tulsa. Both of those games are at home.

Here's something else - Landry Jones did not play bad. He had a couple of drives cut short by penalties. He looked competent against a hungry defense on a talented team. He was only 6-12 but I would bet at least half of those incompletions were due to dropped balls. And the guy was a four star recruit! He can play football. I'm sure the coaches will be able to get him ready for the next game. Based on the reports that have been printed in the paper, he already has the respect of everyone in the locker room.

If we can't fix the penalties and the inconsistent play of the wide receivers and the offensive line, then this is not a national championship caliber team. Period. They have the talent to win a title, but right now it's not meshing. They have time to work things out, and voters would likely be more forgiving for an opening game loss involving injuries to two major offensive stars than a loss at any other time in the season, or under any other circumstances.

The national title hopes took a major blow, that's for sure. The Sooners will need a lot of help the rest of the way. However, all is not lost. Crazier things have happened (like a 2-loss national champion in 2007). But, perhaps instead of feeling distraught about a major chink in the national championship armor you should think about things like this: We may have Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham back for the conference schedule. At that point, anything is possible and we could beat any team on the schedule. Until then, we have two winnable games, at home, before the bye week. Landry Jones is a talented football player and I'm sure he'll do fine.

One thing is for sure, I doubt we could have more go wrong in a game than what happened on Saturday night. If Bob Stoops manages to turn the ship around without any more losses by the time Bradford and Gresham return, it might just be one of his finest coaching achievements.

Boilermakings is ready for some football!

BoilerTMill — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:00:20 -0000

And no, I don't mean the World Cup qualifiers happening all over the world this weekend. Though my strange new addiction to soccer does have me keeping an eye on those, This weekend is all about college football. Like most Purdue fans, I'll be keeping an eye on the Boise State-Oregon game our friends at Addicted to Quack are so excited about this Thursday. As I ramp up back into game coverage for the first time since basketball season I have a whole mess of stuff to discuss in this edition of Boilermakings.

Not that kind of football...

Debut of the Big Ten Power Poll - This season I will be running my Big Ten recaps and previews a little bit differently this season. My friends at the uber-Big Ten blog The Rivalry, Esq. are taking advantage of the fact that SBNation is now fully entrenched in the Big Ten (with only Lake the Posts and Northwestern as holdouts). First of all, they are doing a running "Final Argument" series on each team in the conference. Purdue will be posted shortly after noon today, but it won't be pretty. They are already predicting that nine teams from the Big Ten will be bowl eligible, and both Purdue and Indiana will be the two teams home for the holidays.

Secondly, they are officially organizing a Big Ten power poll among the SBNation Big Ten blogs. As a result, I'll be doing my weekly power rankings there as a ballot, shortly after my weekly Blog Poll ballot. Here are my pre-season rankings, with explanations for each:

1. Penn State - They are the defending champs and have all their tough games at home until the season finale at Michigan State. They have my #1 vote until proven otherwise.

2. Ohio State - In my mind, they are head and shoulders above everyone else except Penn State.

3. Iowa - I think there is a big divide between here and Ohio State, but Iowa is the best of the rest. How healthy is Jewel Hampton, though?

4. Northwestern - The first shocker pick, but I see this team being very solid if they get a consistent running game. They will have plenty of confidence from an easy non-conference schedule.

5. Michigan State - The defense should be great. The offense may take a little while to come along.

6. Illinois - This is another area where there is a big gap between them and the team above them. There shouldn't be, either. Illinois has too much talent, but no one trusts them yet.

7. Wisconsin - This is a shaky pick as well. Everyone is saying Northern Illinois has a great chance to upset us, but don't be shocked if their Big Ten upset comes Saturday in Madison should the Badger offense struggle.

8. Purdue - I believe in Danny Hope (see later this week). If you listen to everyone else, we're going to struggle with Toledo. I think we will turn some heads with a very smooth win over the Rockets.

9. Minnesota - I just wasn't impressed by them, and I think Purdue let one get away against them last year. If Curtis Painter does not get hurt I think that becomes a Purdue win. There is big potential for a move north though.

10. Michigan - RichRod seriously has to be considered one of the worst coaches in the Big Ten at this point. I mean come on, pick a quarterback already! This doesn't even consider allt he former players ratting on them. If an experienced Western Michigan wins Saturday expect the noise to get very loud in Ann Arbor.

11. Indiana - I think 62-10 is the reason I believe in the Danny Hope hype and not in the Bill Lynch hype.

News from the enemy as game time approaches - The noted (only?) Toledo blog out there, Midnight Blue and Gold, has started to talk about this Saturday's game in West Lafayette. I'll be re-posting my Know thy Opponent from earlier this summer later this week, but the guys over at Midnight Blue & Gold asked me to step in and give them five keys to the game for Purdue.

News from the enemy part 2 - Midnight Blue & Gold is also reporting that three Toledo players, including leading rusher Morgan Williams, have been suspended for Saturday's game. To me, this makes it even more paramount we shut down their running game.

News from the Enemy part 3 - Rocket Digest has gone as far as to predict an upset in West Lafayette, mostly because of its senior class. No offense to Toledo, but if Purdue loses Saturday we are going winless in 2009.

Women's soccer scores big upset - Hopefully this will go better than the last time Purdue began the season with a huge upset. A few seasons ago, the women's soccer team began the year with an upset victory at #1 Portland. The Boilers reached as high as #5 in the nation, but were upset in round two of the NCAA Tournament by Indiana. Purdue started the season in earnest last Friday with a 3-2 upset of #6 Texas A&M in College Station. This followed season opening wins over Butler and Ohio the previous week. The ladies play again in the Boilermaker Challenge Cup this weekend, taking on Valparaiso on Saturday at 5:30 and Ball State Monday at 5:30.

Women's volleyball begins season 2-1 - The volleyball team will likely lose its #19 ranking after losing the championship match of the Mortar Board Premier event to Dayton 3-2. This came after opening wins over Ball State and Coastal Carolina.

Crimson Quarry previews Purdue - This is a pretty even keel preview of us by John at the IU blog, Crimson Quarry.

Mark Polansky and David Wolf talk about space - More from Purdue's two more recent astronauts. They still get my vote for Coolest Guys Ever for having a Purdue flag unfurled in space.

Brees throwback jersies spotted in Greenwood Park Mall - Thoughts? (and that is Dallas Clark (Iowa) and Brett Favre (Southern Miss) next to him)

An early look at the Purdue Boilermakers.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:13:06 -0000

More photos » by David Banks - AP

Yes, it's a fake mustache. They wouldn't give me the job without it.

Browse more photos »

Purdue Boilermakers
Last meeting: 11/22/2008 (Purdue 62, IU 10 in West Lafayette)
Last IU win: 11/17/2007 (IU 27, Purdue 24 in Bloomington)
Series: Purdue leads 69-36-6
Coach: Danny Hope (first season)

When we last saw Purdue, the Boilers were running all over the Hoosiers on the way to a 62-10 Old Oaken Bucket game victory over Indiana. The 2008 season was by far Joe Tiller’s worst season at Purdue, but the Boilers finished strong and sent Tiller out as a big winner in a rivalry game. Tiller finished his career with a 10-2 record over IU. The two IU wins were razor close, and seven of Purdue’s 10 wins were by 24 points or more. The cliche surrounding rivalry games is "throw out the records," and that was true in the Tiller era, but only for Purdue. The two IU teams that won the Bucket, the 2001 and 2007 teams, are by far IU’s best teams of the post-Mallory era and IU probably had a better team than Purdue in both seasons. On the other hand, Purdue’s only losing teams under Tiller, the 2005 team and last year’s team, beat IU by an average of 39 points in those two seasons. Purdue is at its lowest point since Tiller came to town, and so it is attainable and important for IU to make this a competitive rivalry again. We can take heart that this condition need not be permanent: against Tiller's two immediate predecessors, Jim Colletto and Fred Akers, IU went 7-3. Hopefully, IU will have more success against new coach Danny Hope, but it would be hard to have less.

I won’t say too much about last year’s game, but I will direct you to a couple of my posts from last year. Simply, may have been the worst loss in school history. IU has lost badly before, and IU has lost to bad teams before, but never, in 115 years of football, had IU lost so badly to a bad team. Here are Purdue's stats from 2008, including the NCAA stat summary and the Statsheet page. Purdue's overall offense production was average (#48 in total offense) and pass-heavy. Still, the offense was somehow less than the sum of its parts. Curtis Painter graduated with his name all over Purdue's football record book, but never really put things together. In 2008, he averaged 248 yards per game, but completed fewer than 60 percent of his passes and threw 13 TDs to 11 INTs. Purdue averaged on 6 yards per passing play, with was #93 nationally. Still, Painter will be missed, as Purdue will be starting unproven senior Joey Elliott at QB. At running back, Kory Sheets was very good last year, and he likely will be replaced by Jaycen Taylor. Taylor missed all of 2008 because of a knee injury, but he did play as a freshman and sophomore, and has a career yards-per-carry average of 5.7. Purdue's top two receivers are gone, but Keith Smith, who caught 486 yards and 2 TDs last year, is back, and Purdue is relying on a number of defensive position-switchers and juco transfers. Purdue returns most of the O-line. On defense, the Boilers return a reasonably experienced defense, particularly in the secondary, although they lost some key contributors on the line and in the linebacking corps.

The transition at Purdue seems like as good a time as any to bring some regular, rather than occasional, competitiveness to this rivalry. The future is uncertain for both programs, and every prognositcator seems to be picking these two programs to finish #10 and #11 in the conference. We will know by the time this game rolls around whether either IU or Purdue can prove the experts wrong.

Two weeks to go

BoilerTMill — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:08:54 -0000

In two weeks, we will know what we are dealing with. Toledo is a team that, in my opinion, we should beat easily. They are the weakest team on the schedule. If we struggle with them or even lose, we should expect a down year. A comfortable win allows us to breathe a sigh of relief and think that maybe, just maybe, a win is possible at Oregon. I still think a win over the Ducks is quite possible, but for now we must concern ourselves with Toledo.

I haven't had many comments about practice so far because most of you read GBI. They have kept us up to date on what is going on, so I don't want to be a source of regurgitating their information. If the Indianapolis Star bothered to recognize there are two major universities in this state rather than one we might have more coverage, but apparently they don't realize it is the same distance to Bloomington as it is to West Lafayette. In this case, I miss Michael Pointer.

Still, what news from practice we have heard has been very encouraging. Some of this is mere inference based on what we have heard (or have not heard) but I think things are shaping up.

Look! A receiver wearing #1 that isn't catching a knife in the chest or a pellet in the eye!

Multiple receivers are developing - To be honest, I was a little concerned when only Antavian Edison was being mentioned as a positive among all our new receivers. Over time, however, it is good to see names like Gary bush, Cortez Smith, and Keith Carlos reach the land of glowing positives. With each name that makes the list our offense will grow more and more potent. The drawback right now is that we have virtually no size. Xavier Reese at 6'3" is the tallest while Keith Smith at 226 pounds has the most bulk. Because of his bulk, I wouldn't mind moving Keith Smith outside and putting one of the speedier guys in the slot.

The tight ends also seem to be getting involved more and more in the offense. Think about this for a moment: What has made our last three NFL quarterbacks even better? A good tight end. Drew Brees had Tim Stratton. Kyle Orton had Charles Davis. Curtis Painter had Dustin Keller. These guys open up our offense underneath, and that element was missing last year. I don't think we'll have Kyle Adams, Colton McKey, Jeff Lindsey, or Jeff Panfil make us forget Keller in week one, but this position should be a huge upgrade over last season. We also still have Jordan Brewer coming next year and Gabe Holmes if he can get eligible.

On Holmes, I would like to see him get officially cleared just so he can stay and practice on campus. He is probably going to redshirt anyway at this point. If he doesn't get cleared he has some options and can still play four years as long as he is 80% of the way to his degree at the end of his third season (fourth academically).

The silence of Caleb TerBush - Coach Hope spoke before camp that TerBush would see plenty of playing time this year along with Elliott. This concerned me greatly, as I am not a fan of quarterback platoons. Look what happened in 2002 when we played musical quarterbacks between Kirsch and Orton. I want TerBush to be ready to play if we need him, but I would feel much better if we had Elliott designated as "the Man" from game one. I think we are starting to see that too.

I think Elliott will be ready. The press has some doubts, but we doubted Billy Dicken back in 1997. With the running game we have I don't think we need Elliott to throw for 400 yards per game. We just need a guy that will be a leader in the huddle and one that doesn't make mistakes. Elliott wants to go into coaching once his career is over. He views this season as kind of an audition for that role, and I like that a lot. I have talked often how we have missed a certain leadership quality since the departure of Drew Brees. Curtis Painter and Kyle Orton were great players of course, but I always felt they missed that extra leadership element that set Brees apart. I think Elliott has some of that, while Rob Henry behind him has it a whole lot more.

If I were Joey Elliott or one of our running backs I would be very happy to see this large gentleman protecting me.

Defensive developments - This is the area that I think is going to make a major difference this year. All three areas of the defense have improved and we're actually developing a little depth at all three as well. Everyone just assumes we will struggle as we have the past several years, but I beg to differ. Mike Neal seems to be a difference maker at defensive tackle. Even the press is raving about him, while Kawann Short next to him gives us two very good interior defensive linemen. Ryan Kerrigan, Nickaro Golding, Nick Mondek, and even a very raw Kevin Pamphile have been mentioned as contributors along the line. Again, this is an issue of multiple names being mentioned, much like at wide receiver. If we can play seven guys on the D-line that will make everybody fresher late in games. The most exciting thing is that among all the defensive linemen in practice, only two (Keyon Brown and Neal) are seniors. All that depth is going to be here for awhile. 11 defensive linemen are either true or redshirt freshmen too.

At linebacker, I honestly don't know what it is like to have five solid linebackers at once. All five could be back next year as well if Jason Werner pursues a sixth year of eligibility because of his injuries. Dwayne Beckford and Antwon Higgs continue to get mentioned as valuable pieces. They also get to learn slowly since Joe Holland, Werner, and Chris Carlino are entrenched as starters. I really like Carlino late last season. Starting at middle linebacker as a true freshman in the Big Ten takes some talent. Establishing all five of these guys this year will only help next season when we get guys like Gilliam, Lee, and Lucas.

Finally, we knew the defensive backs were going to be a strength, but I think some of their minor injury issues have been a blessing. It is great to have four seniors back there, but with virtually no proven experience behind them we are only a couple of injuries away from being back in 2006. Josh Johnson's development here has been huge. Getting more from Charlton Williams and Josh McKinley, who each played a bit in 2007, will help provide depth this year and ease the transition into next year.

As good as the defense is going to be this season, it has the potential to be fantastic in 2010 and 2011. For the first time since probably 2003 we have a defense that I feel can get a critical stop and win a game or two for us that we have no business winning when the offense struggles. They have depth we have been missing, and it comes at all three levels.That game or two could mean the difference this year between a bowl game and no bowl game.

Let's talk injuries and the schedule

Naturally, you are going to have some injuries in fall practice. Fortunately, we haven't lost anybody to anything major yet. The most significant injury is to Colton McKey, who will probably miss a few games at the start of the season. Eric Hedstrom is also battling a shoulder problem, but we knew that already. Look everywhere else in college football. Virginia Tech suffered a huge blow when it lost Darren Evans to a torn ACL. Wisconsin, a huge swing game on our schedule, is battling injuries and can't settle on a quarterback, either. Other teams in our own conference are having similar issues.

This is the time of year when it is better to have a team coming together and answering questions rather than answering new ones. That is what I think we are doing. Because of that, I think we are going to shock someone, be it Oregon or Notre Dame, in the non-conference season. I love this team's attitude so far. Danny Hope has them believing they can beat anyone, anywhere. If they are keeping score you might as well go out and win the damn thing.

Are we going to win the Big Ten this year? Highly unlikely. I do like that we trade off two proven, solid teams (Iowa and Penn State) for two teams that are talented, but very shaky (Illinois and Wisconsin). That is a plus in my book. I also like the challenging non-conference schedule and how it will prepare us for those games. I want people to underestimate us. We'll let them know, beginning in two weeks, how wrong they are.

Boilermakings opens fall camp

BoilerTMill — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:51:04 -0000

The biggest news of the weekend was that fall practice is finally underway for the season. My season tickets finally came in the mail and are happily placed on the shelf for use in less than four weeks. If I can only get Delta Airlines and their asinine ticketing policy to work I might even be able to book this elusive Oregon trip. If not, plan B is the Oklahoma-Miami game on October 3^rd to appeal to Mrs. T-Mill's tastes.

Have I mentioned how wonderful it is to have a wife that loves college football?

Practice underway, Gabe Holmes not there - Boilerdowd had the best wrap up this morning of the first two days of practice. The biggest issue so far is that our depth at tight end is all but evaporated. Colton McKey is out because of a knee injury and incoming freshman Gabe Holmes has not been cleared by the NCAA yet. That leaves Kyle Adams (who was hurt all of last year), Jeff Lindsey, and Jeff Panfil (converted quarterback) as the safety valve options. These guys don't exactly inspire the second coming of Dustin Keller, but they should be good options for Elliott if protection breaks down.

Drew Brees loses his mother - I know our favorite quarterback hasn't had the best relationship with his mother for several years, but she unexpectedly passed away over the weekend, prompting Brees to leave Saints camp. My thoughts and prayers are with the Brees family over this, as it sounds like a very delicate situation.

Rod Woodson joins the Hall of Fame - I think we forget just how good Rod Woodson was as a player. Saturday he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, just Purdue's fourth player to be honored so. Rod was our last non-Special Teams player to be a consensus First Team All-American. He still holds the NFL record for interception return yards and touchdowns. He was Ed Reed before Ed Reed even thought of playing football.

Boy do we know how to party - Apparently campus life is defined by more than just the party atmosphere on campus. We all know that Penn State owns us in that category. I haven't heard word from my two friends that did their undergrad at Purdue and then grad work at Penn State, but it must be true. Still, the same Princeton review recently rated Purdue very high in overall campus life. As for intramurals, tell that to my friend Ross who tore his ACL on the awful IM fields our senior year during a football game.

Painter to play Friday night - Jim Sorgi recently went down with a strained hammy, so that means our own Curtis Painter should see quite a bit of action Friday night when the Colts open the preseason at home again Minnesota.

Anyone interested in basketball tickets? - I got my renewal form in the mail last week and I wanted to see if anyone is interested in purchasing a few games from me for face value. The plan is the same as last year: I'll go to a few games and try to sell the rest if I decide to get tickets, but the hefty up front investment has me investigating whether it is worth it not. E-mail me if you're interested.