Purdue
- Thread starter Mike Gwinn
- Start date
The helmets won't be as shiny and the jerseys won't be as white after they try to tackle Rockhead a few times.
I hate gold numbers. So hard to read from the pressbox. That school from the middle of Florida used to do that. ugh.
Johnson should be a load to tackle but last season, Purdue faced 6 of the top 20 running backs in the nation (would have been 7 but CMU's Rawls didn't have enough carries after missing 4 games). They've seen very good backs and similar sized backs so he won't be a total surprise to them like he may be to other teams.
Welcome to the board, @CalBoiler. Bring some of your Purdue friends over so we can strike up some discussion about the game!
That would be true freshman, Richard Worship. Rivals had him as the #5 fullback nationally last year before re-slotting him as a RB.
Doubt he'll get too many carries (and may not make the travel squad). The RBs right now look to be Knox, M. Jones (a true frosh who enrolled early and Indiana's "Mr. Football") and K. Greene. None of them have the world class speed that Purdue had last year with Hunt and Mostert but unlike Hunt and Mostert, these three are probably better all-around RBs.
I think you're accurate that Purdue will want to run the ball as much as possible. The line however is probably lighter overall than they were last year. Some intense off-season conditioning resulted in a lot lower percentage of body fat but also lighter (slightly) players.
I've linked some of the articles from here over at Purdue's site so hopefully some others will come to chat.
you saw them, but gordon went for 205 yards (3 catches for 44 too), coleman went for 130 yards, cobb went for 194 yards, franklin went for 163 yards, langford went for 104 yards (on just 13 carries), rawls went for 155 yards so, yeah they've seen good backs, they've seen them run right past them.
seeing good backs is one thing, i'm sure no one this year will be surprised by rockhead, but stopping him is something entirely different.
I am a Purdue and I am excited to get this thing started. Two programs that have questions to answer this year, now that Cato is gone, a lot at stake in this opener. Has Purdue improved enough to compete at a high level? I agree with Calboiler that the running game will be fun to watch. Johnson has to be dealt with for sure. What do you Marshall folks think it will take to handle Purdue?
Handle? If it wasn't for Cato back to back Pick 6s we would have beat you the first time around. How does Purdue plan to handle our balanced offense or does Purdue plan to run the ball all the time since they really don't have any WR or a QB to get them the ball.
Most of us are confident in our skill position players. There is (of course) a question mark about Birdsong at QB, but practice reports of him have all been very positive. I think the biggest concern against Purdue will be our D line. We've gone from being flat out pushed around to being a "we'll stop the run in the second half" type of team in the last few years. If Purdue wins this game, it will be done on the shoulders of your O line.
I don't think he was being inflammatory @Herd Fever ...he's just looking for some insight on our team from us.
Its that time of year Chris and frankly im just tired of P5 fans thinking Marshall is just some flash in the pan pushover
You forgot to include Nebraska's Abdullah who got 1 yard on six carries but no doubt, last year's rush defense wasn't particularly good although those RBs ran wild on just about everyone (Gordon for instance rushed for 144 yards against LSU and 258 against Auburn not to mention the 410 he put up against Nebraska).
For much of last season Purdue's LBs were a liability in rush defense as they started a true frosh, a redshirt frosh and a sophomore. Now, all of those players have a year under their belt and have gotten bigger/stronger to better handle big runners like Johnson.
Most of those backs you mentioned above are a different size and type of runner than is Johnson. Gordon is 6'1 207lbs; Langford 6'0" 205lbs; Coleman 6'1" 210lbs; Abdullah 5'9" 195lbs, and; Cobb 5'11" 225lbs. Purdue did have success against bigger backs such as Iowa's Weisman (6'0" 240lbs) 24 carries for 76 yards and Nebraska's Imani Cross (6'1" 230lbs) 20 carries for 66 yards.
In the games I've seen, it appears most of Johnson's big gains came against Nickel formations so that's another thing to take into consideration for Purdue. I don't anticipate Purdue playing that much Nickel defense this game and I'd expect them to keep 7 or even 8 in the box to try and contain Johnson (who I assume has recovered from the shoulder injuries).
I'll also be interested in seeing how Johnson performs if he has to carry the ball 30+ times. It appears that he only had two games last year where he had more than 20 carries per game and the majority of his games were in the 14-20 carries per game as more of a "change up". With his running style, does he have the durability to hold up for more than that? Losing Butler obviously takes out Marshall's #2 runner so it could be up to Watson to pick up the slack unless Birdsong can match Cato's carries.
To all quests we have alot of smart asses lol. Not a friendly board but at times it is but that upsets a few, Now we are looking to lay a smack down on Purdue. We have to prove to the country that we are legit.
You may be right, but when you game plan you must take away something from the other offense. I grant that Marshall can push the ball down the field in a flash.
abdullah got hurt and barely played, prior to his injury he had 5 carries for 6 yards, 4 of which were inside the 5, where purdue would've been stacking the box.
do you really think purdue will come out with 7 or 8 in the box against us? even with a new quarterback i think our offensive coaches and players would be loving that. you're going to try to match up man to man with our receivers? i don't know much about your safeties or outside linebackers, but i think they would struggle mightily against our receivers one on one (most college dbs and lbs struggle in man to man coverage on an island).
johnson will never be expected to carry the ball 30 times, we're going to rotate 2 or 3 backs, we'll likely see the qb running the ball this year more often than the last few, we'll see some more jet sweeps with our receivers, etc.
I am just having trouble figuring this game out. I believe Purdue has improved, I know Marshall is favored. It may come down to the Purdue OL vs Marshall DL. If Marshall gets the passing game rolling it could get ugly for Purdue fans. I think Purdue has to be balanced on offense to keep 7 or 8 out of the box. Will Marshall rely on Johnson or spread passes al over?
I think you will see heavy doses of Johnson and Watson. I look for a few deep play action passes to keep your defense honest, but mostly QB break-in type of throws. I'm expecting controlled patterns that will spread the field.
Pretty good research but if Purdue just plans to load the box with 8, it will be a long day for the Boilermakers
Well, you have to pick your poison and given the option of taking a man out of the box (e.g. playing Nickel) and letting Johnson running free or playing it straight up (7 men) or bringing a Safety down close to the LOS and make a new QB try and beat you, I know which one I'd pick.
Purdue feels real good about both starting CBs and isn't afraid to let them play one-on-one. They'll likely have to a good deal of the time if they are going to have any chance in this game. When they do play Nickel, they'll probably drop one of the CBs down to cover the slot receiver.
From what I've read about Birdsong is that he has a great arm but doesn't quite have the touch on a lot of passes that, say Cato, had. I'd also be surprised if he tried to run as much as Cato. He seems like more of a pocket passer to me. Certainly would expect the jet sweeps, presumably with Foster, who's a talent.
agreed on picking your poison, but you'd think they'd force us to dink and dunk, force us into 10+ play drives, instead of putting us in a position where we'll have some quick scores because of busted coverage or dj/remi breaking through the front seven/eight. a lot of devin's long runs were him getting through the front eight in a stacked box and the dbs with their heads turned playing man to man on the outside.
i personally think the best defense against us would be to let us have every thing underneath, don't put yourselves in a position where we can bust a long run, force us to go 12-13 plays, 80 yards. putting 8 in the box and leaving your corners on an island puts you in a position where we're going to have some quick and easy scoring drives.
I guess we'll see what Purdue tries to do but again, I think they're comfortable enough with their corners to let them play one-on-one and take their chances.
Admittedly I didn't see all of Marshall's games last year but in at least one, against LaTech in the bowl game, Johnson seemed to be stopped (slowed?) more often than not against 7 man fronts. It was against the Nickel defenses and three man fronts where he broke off the big plays. Of course, when LaTech showed a 7 man front, Cato simply went to Shuler for an easy pitch-catch. Again, pick your poison.
Purdue's offense is still going to be a work in progress and could, at times, be challenged to score in big numbers. Thus, I think they would prefer to roll the dice and try and get their defense off the field as quickly as possible and then give their offense more opportunities to move the ball down the field.
Johnson had 4 carries for 34 yards in that game. He was nursing an injury and didn't play much.
Sorry, don't know why I said LaTech, it was the bowl game against Northern Illinois. Johnson carried the ball in that game 15 times for 131 yards but the median carry was just 3 yards. 92 yards came on just three carries and those were against 6 man fronts.
Johnson was still dealing with the labrum tear and the deltoid strain but reportedly, it didn't affect his running of the ball, only his blocking.
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