I ask what we’d like to see going forward.
It’s time to fire up the email machine and ask the staff about something that’s going on in Purdue athletics these days. This week? Football!
The change at OC was obviously something that a lot of people were calling for, what do you hope changes with the offense heading into Saturday’s game?
Ledman:
The Purdue offense was anemic in all the ways that counted so far this season. The one good game was against a very bad FCS team and so it’s hard to take anything away from that game as I constantly harped on as we went through the schedule over the summer on the Boiler Alert podcast. So, what do I want to see from the new OC and the new offense generally? Competence. I know that’s a low bar, but hear me out. I’m tired of seeing play calling that doesn’t build on itself. I’m tired of seeing play calling that reminds me of 8 year old me playing Madden and just jamming buttons as the play clock wound down. Seemingly there was no grasp on what the offense was good at and what they KNEW they could get three yards out of, or 6 yards out of. There was no real identity. I know ostensibly it was an Air Raid offense, but come on…don’t spit on me and tell me it’s raining.
I’d also like to see Purdue to more to help out Hudson Card. He’s been given these long developing plays that show how poorly the offensive line is playing and by extension Card never gets the chance. He’s without multiple key receivers, but surely there are smarter ways to take advantage of people who are actually out there on the field.
Ryan:
Well, I was one of the people calling for a change but I want to think that the coaching staff has thought this through. Ryan Walters said if he didn’t act now, he was waving the white flag on the season, so clearly the change was necessitated, but getting back to the question, how does that affect Purdue’s offense on the field?
I really hope that the offense can get back to some basic concepts. Quick slants, curl routes, toss plays, and bootlegs. Hudson Card has not had time to hit on slow-developing plays for a few reasons: he’s playing with a decimated receiver room, his offensive line is not giving him the time, and he is taking too long to make decisions. But you cannot tell me that the only thing Hudson Card can throw is a 5-yard out or a 15-yard cross. I would really like to see complimentary football. A toss play widens out the defense and focuses less on the box. A quick slant or curl brings the defense up to potentially get burned on a long play. Rolling the quarterback out gives him more room and time to operate.
The idea that Purdue couldn’t adjust to do literally any of these things showed why the rigidity of Graham Harrell’s scheme had to go. I want the offense to play more free and I really hope that it can lessen the doomsday thoughts in our heads.
Jed:
Given this new OC has only one week to get things corrected, I doubt we will see a lot of differences between what Harrell had installed. However, I hope we see more connected play calling that shows a play caller that is attempting to manipulate the defense and set up the offense for success later in the game. That seemed to be something Harrell struggled with as a play caller.
Given that two of the best players on offense are the running backs and both seem adept at catching the ball as receivers, some two back sets would be great. Let’s get real old school and go with two backs and two tight ends at the same time or Ryan Browne running some sort of option package like he did at Northwestern last season.
I think this new interim OC will be given a lot of grace but I’d like to see the offense evolve a bit over the next several weeks with a lot of new concepts coming to the surface following their bye week in four weeks. That would be a welcomed sight given how stale and one-dimensional Harrell’s offense really appeared to become.
Kyle:
What am I hoping for? Maybe some first downs, extend drives, kill some clock and give the defense a break. The defense has NOT been great, by any means, but when the offense does not play a brand of football that can sustain drives, it will double down on the defense playing poorly.
Jason Simmons was a great Indiana High School Football Coach. He is creative in the run and screen game, I am not expecting whole sale changes, but I do believe we will see a run first approach and a simplification of the pass game to get Hudson Card going again.