Chris Summers, Brandon Whittington, Curtis Painter, Dorien Bryant, Kyle Orton, Ben Jones, Berin Lacevic, Montrell Lowe, Kyle Smith, Brandon Kirsch, Brandon Hance, Kelly Butler, Travis Dorsch, Antwaun Rogers and even Drew Brees.
What do all of these players have in common?
First, they're all Purdue football players who were pretty solid, at least in most cases, during their careers. Furthermore, about half of them were stars in the black and gold. Another, more painful commonality is they all made costly mistakes late in a close game, during the Tiller era, that could have cemented a victory...and our Boilers lost a heartbreaker shortly after. I think it's important for individuals to take responsibility for their actions...in life as well as in sport. But, it's hard to lay blame when the same things happen repetitively with a wide array of players on all sides of the ball in a number of painful, sour-tasting, putrid-smelling ways.
I used to think it was Jim Chaney's fault when Purdue got conservative on offense when our Boilers were in the lead...Then, Coach Legg showed some really predicable tendencies...yesterday, we saw Coach Z painting a very familiar offensive picture during the second and third quarters- Three and out; draw left, option right, dropped pass. As the coaching gets tighter, the players get tighter, the fans get tighter, the energy in the stadium drastically changes...and before you know it, a lead has shrunk, then disappeared and finally has been replaced with a narrow margin that ends in defeat of my alma mater's football team.
I compared yesterday's game v. Oregon to a job interview in which you really aren't qualified...Like Purdue yesterday, there's nothing to lose...much to gain. And our Boilers played just that way...for about 18 minutes...then things changed. According to a radio program I was listening to while driving south on 65, the Purdue offense had 9 offensive possessions in a row in which they moved the ball 30-or-less yards...I would estimate many of those drives were 15 yards or-less and at least four of them were 3-and-outs.
I honestly don't give a damn who tells me different...This is a systematic, philisophical, and even psychological problem that will be cured, one way or another at the end of this season. And while I didn't want it to end this way, an old wound was torn open yesterday and a salenic-lemon tonic was shot into the contusion that reminded me of way too many games I've watched during the last 11 years.