Purdue Game Thoughts Thread

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gophernut1 said:
Great start to this thread.

Purdue will rise and fall with O'Connell and Jones. They have the talent to beat us. I am still worried about our pash rush and not convinced O'Connell won't find time to get Jones the ball. While I love our secondary, I still think it ranks below Penn State when it comes to tight man coverage and Penn State had trouble covering Jones and co. So if they get hot and our offense turns the ball over then there is a chance for a tight game. Still, if we play our game the only way we lose if we beat ourselves and that won't happen unless the players lose focus like they did last year prior to our homecoming game. I can't imagine it will happen again.
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My feelings as well. We have an efficient defense, but the lion's share of the athleticism is in the secondary. A lot is going to depend on what the front seven (or six) can do to make Purdue's offense uncomfortable. I worry that if it becomes a shoot-out, Purdue could really give us headaches.
 


50PoundHead said:
My feelings as well. We have an efficient defense, but the lion's share of the athleticism is in the secondary. A lot is going to depend on what the front seven (or six) can do to make Purdue's offense uncomfortable. I worry that if it becomes a shoot-out, Purdue could really give us headaches.
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Michigan State has their issues on defense but they have an experienced QB and a bunch of really talented receivers. Our defense didn't seem to have much trouble with them. I hear people worrying about Jones but that Reed guy for MSU is pretty dang good and he was a non-factor.

I'm struggling to understand why some are having a hard time buying into our defense. They were really good last year, they have been phenomenal this year. It always seems to come back to a lack of sacks somehow meaning the D-Line isn't playing well. Apparently people are watching a different team than I am on Saturdays.
 


50PoundHead said:
My feelings as well. We have an efficient defense, but the lion's share of the athleticism is in the secondary. A lot is going to depend on what the front seven (or six) can do to make Purdue's offense uncomfortable. I worry that if it becomes a shoot-out, Purdue could really give us headaches.
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A big part of our complementary defensive plan will be TOP, limiting the number of plays Purdue can run … fewer scoring opportunities. Limit TOP and explosive plays and Purdue will have to try to force things later in the game … meaning greater likelihood of mistakes and turnovers.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Michigan State has their issues on defense but they have an experienced QB and a bunch of really talented receivers. Our defense didn't seem to have much trouble with them. I hear people worrying about Jones but that Reed guy for MSU is pretty dang good and he was a non-factor.

I'm struggling to understand why some are having a hard time buying into our defense. They were really good last year, they have been phenomenal this year. It always seems to come back to a lack of sacks somehow meaning the D-Line isn't playing well. Apparently people are watching a different team than I am on Saturdays.
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I worry more about Purdue's schemes. I trust our defense. Their performance speaks for itself. But we are going to see a lot of different looks that we simply haven't seen and if our defense has a soft spot, it's that there are no "blow 'em up" guys in the front seven. We may not need that, but it always helps when facing a team like Purdue so that they can be thrown off their game plan, which is likely to be more complex than what we've faced to this point.
 

50PoundHead said:
I worry more about Purdue's schemes. I trust our defense. Their performance speaks for itself. But we are going to see a lot of different looks that we simply haven't seen and if our defense has a soft spot, it's that there are no "blow 'em up" guys in the front seven. We may not need that, but it always helps when facing a team like Purdue so that they can be thrown off their game plan, which is likely to be more complex than what we've faced to this point.
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Scheme to pressure the QB constantly (as Purdue passes more than it runs), and to severely limit Charlie Jones’s uncontested catch opportunities. The rest will take care of itself.
 

I can't say I've watched Charlie Jones play that closely. What makes him good? Comparables?
 



50PoundHead said:
I worry more about Purdue's schemes. I trust our defense. Their performance speaks for itself. But we are going to see a lot of different looks that we simply haven't seen and if our defense has a soft spot, it's that there are no "blow 'em up" guys in the front seven. We may not need that, but it always helps when facing a team like Purdue so that they can be thrown off their game plan, which is likely to be more complex than what we've faced to this point.
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Defense took a bend but don't break strategy against them last year. Purdue put up a lot of yards but couldn't score. Rossi will have the guys ready.

Big difference this year is on the other side of the ball. I watched a lot of Purdue's game with FAU and I just don't see how their defense stops our offense consistently.

Everyone always focuses in on Purdue's passing game, and for good reason. But they can't run the ball and their defense isn't that great. Both those things skew big time in our favor in this matchup. Add in that O'Connell seems unlikely to play (unless something really changes this week) and we should be in great shape for this one as long as we execute.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Michigan State has their issues on defense but they have an experienced QB and a bunch of really talented receivers. Our defense didn't seem to have much trouble with them. I hear people worrying about Jones but that Reed guy for MSU is pretty dang good and he was a non-factor.

I'm struggling to understand why some are having a hard time buying into our defense. They were really good last year, they have been phenomenal this year. It always seems to come back to a lack of sacks somehow meaning the D-Line isn't playing well. Apparently people are watching a different team than I am on Saturdays.
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This is my thought as well. The Gophers first team defense has given up only 3 points and 0 TDs through the first 4 games. ZERO.
 

Word said:
I can't say I've watched Charlie Jones play that closely. What makes him good? Comparables?
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Seems like a volume guy as opposed to a big play guy. He isn't all that big but he gets open and catches the ball. Purdue is probably the perfect place for him as he never really did much as a receiver at either of his previous stops.
 






MNVCGUY said:
Seems like a volume guy as opposed to a big play guy. He isn't all that big but he gets open and catches the ball. Purdue is probably the perfect place for him as he never really did much as a receiver at either of his previous stops.
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Yeah I think he only has one catch over 40 yards.
 

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