The Quarterback Situation: Henry vs. Siller

Purdue 9
Bye 7

hey a win is a win, right?

The team we thought we’d have this year is gone… dusted by injuries so why not make a new team identity even if only for a year. I speak of the triple option. We have nobody capable of making regular passes and nobody capable of routinely catching them. If we go triple option, we have Dierking, Henry and Siller or Ross or Edison or ATM set up to string out the defense and that also opens the door for quick little shovel passes which even Tebow was able to nail with regularity(I kid, Tebow was amazing). Seriously though. We have no deep passing presence, we have very little short option because nobody is open (I am also unsure as to why that is) so lets just grind it out. What is the worst that happens, a MAC team beats us? the O-line has been dreadful blocking straight up, so lets make em slide and stay in somebody’s way. Bottom line, no Bolden + no Smith + no QB = Triple option time! Oh and somebody let the defense know that they should try and cover the guy that is wearing different colors than them when he runs across the field looking for a pass.

at Qb is also a good idea!

My gf was just commenting the other week when we couldnt convert a short yardage run that “why dont we put kerrigan in the backfield?”

At this rate though he’ll probably tear an ACL too.

I look at the QB option this way: even if Marve makes a great recovery and is the starter next year, that gives us the option to have either:
1. Marve and Siller both be QB’s looking to be the starter in their final year to prove anything
or
2. Marve starting and Henry coming in at spots to continue to build as the QB of the future (his next two years)

I’d be encouraged to see us develop Henry as a really dangerous QB in the future, plus, I mean c’mon, it’s not like Burke would have the wherewithall to actually fire anybody during the first, oh, 12 years…

…but now it really is in rough shape. You can’t be a mediocre team and then lose all of your top weapons/talents and expect any kind of coaching to pull you out of it. I’ve never even heard of a team losing their starting QB, RB and WR in a season — like some kind of “Big 3” in reverse.

Now, I’m not advocating some kind of “go in the tank, better luck next year” thing. We need to win some games to help recruiting. Hope has expanded into Florida but, dating back to Tiller’s last couple of years, we’ve consistently been last or second to last in the Big 10 in recruiting — and it shows. We do have some young talent, and if you can turn a negative into a positive it is by finding playmakers for next season, including at QB.

Which is why I’m not thrilled with the whole “Siller to QB” thing. It strikes me as a bit of nostalgia. Michigan converted its entire defensive scheme in one week and made mistakes left and right, ( http://mgoblog.com/content/upon-further-review-defense-vs-purdue-0 ), and look, Siller was dismissed from the team for a time — he may have leadership issues for all we know.

The real killer to me is that TerBush was ruled ineligible. Now I have no idea if he was any good, but it can’t be a good thing to have your established backup be ruled academically ineligible and then lose your starter shortly thereafter. This situation, like the RB one, feeds back into recruiting: it really affects depth. All Big 10 teams have decent starters, but the good teams have great backups. Purdue has been very, very thin for several years.

So, the glass half full version: I was extremely disappointed by how Robert Marve played early in the year. This might not be fair as he battled some injuries and some nerves, but he just never had any rhythm, little accuracy, and the coaches were clearly uncomfortable letting him drop back and read the defense, which is what you’d want considering what a big arm he has. (Noodle armed Joey Elliott was a true dropback passer — he lacked talent but, at least by the middle of the season, he had really learned to make good decisions and go through his progression. Early in the year he did it well, except that he’d make a few costly errors a game that he eventually stopped doing. Marve seemed incapable of any of it.) So I’m pretty ambivalent about losing the guy for the year — I don’t think he was the answer.

The problem is I don’t know if Henry is the answer either. But he does have some talent, and getting reps with the #1 team and throwing it constantly in practice can only help. I agree with BoilerTMill’s statement that with Henry in the game our receivers will be less of a factor. The reality is we don’t have a starting QB, a #1 receiver, or a dynamic runner — we have about four or five athletic quick guys plus a decent tight-end and Dan Dierking (and Crank) who are going to have to be used in a very irritating fashion through option pitches, screens, speed sweeps and so on. In other words, we’re going to look like a high school version of Oregon for awhile, and I don’t know if there’s any way around it.

I like Hope and I like Gary Nord. I think this is absolutely a test in trying to make chicken salad out of chicken scraps this year. Best case scenario is we take a lot of lumps this year but, by the end of the year, can identify some playmakers and potentially a QB where we can make a run next season. The question for fans is whether Hope is the guy to lead it. Jim Harbaugh at Stanford went 4-8 and 5-7 before righting the ship there. Do we think Hope is like Harbaugh, who can turn it around in year three (hopefully with a healthy roster), or are we convinced it’s time to move on? I’m not sure anymore.

Thanks for the space to rant.

I would love to see Sean Robinson, even if it is as a complimentary role to Henry. Good size and speed. Looking at his high school numbers it seems he can throw as well as run, granted these are high school numbers.

TMill stated in his player preview that Sean would most likely redshirt barring a qb disaster. Well, that theoretical disaster is now a reality. I don’t want to give up on Rob just yet. A couple weeks of reps with the ones will surely help him. Bottom line though, right now he poses no threat in the passing game. Unfortunately he was not recruited as a passer and has had little time to develop into one. I don’t know how Sean has developed at Purdue but if he can help us this season lets burn the redshirt instead of throwing the season away.

I don’t like the idea of moving Siller again unless he has a real shot at competing for the starting job next year. If not let his receiving skills develop so he can be a weapon later this season and next season.

I just wanna start off by saying that I pray for a great recovery to all our athletes with their injuries. I also think we should all pray that this is the end of the ACL/MCL tear list.

I have to honestly believe that Rob Henry is the better choice. I think Siller playing at quarterback would be a great “redemption storyline”, but I believe our future at quarterback is with Rob Henry. I believe that you should never worry about the future. So I’m not ready to throw in the towel. We are 2-2, but should be 3-1. So far we’re not that far off. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if we lost the rest. But as a Boiler I refuse to accept that possibility.

The second half of football we played against Toledo (even though we lost) was the best I’ve seen thus far. We move the ball “better” with Rob Henry in the backfield. So my vote has to go to Henry. If he gets injured though, my vote goes to playing Danny Hope at QB. That way he can see that the play calling is an utter disaster and his well-being would be at the mercy of the opposing teams defense. I have no problem with Danny Hope, but this is his job, his CAREER. I would be more than willing to take a Division 1 school on the field for half the price. IT’S NOT OVER YET.