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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 2 • 20 BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com J ohn Shoop was happy with Danny Etling's sack- and turn- over-free performance in his 2014 debut, a 43-34 win over Western Michigan on Saturday. The quarterback finished 19- of-38 for 181 yards and two touch- downs; he had a third score on a QB sneak. Yet, Etling might have left some yardage on the field, too, misfiring at times, particu- larly down the field and toward the sidelines. Shoop thinks Etling can improve in that area when Purdue takes on Central Michigan in Game 2 Saturday. "We've got to complete more passes; we've got to hit guys when they're open; and guys have to catch the ball when they have an opportunity to do it," the offensive coordinator said. "For us to go where we want to go, for us to win this week, we're going to have to throw and catch the ball a little bit better." Etling needs help. Too often in the opener, receivers failed to gain the separation needed to give the quarterback a clearer window. Es - pecially that was true when the Broncos' defense played man-to- man in the secondary. Receiver DeAngelo Yancey, for instance, was targeted six times, yet didn't make a catch. "We didn't separate as well as we could have in some man-to- man instances the other day and win some 50-50 balls, but these guys are working their tails off at doing it," Shoop said. "And we're going to continue to see that press coverage until we can prove that we beat it. Our guys can beat it. We've just got to do it more consistently and it's in us to do it." TURNED LOOSE Purdue's defense gave up 213 yards of rushing against Western Michigan, showing a weakness that the Boilermakers want to shore up as quickly as possible. But it was another statistic that caught Greg Hudson's attention. "We had only one tackle for loss and you've got to have more than that with our front," the de- fensive coordinator said. "You've really got to penetrate better and get off blocks. They did a good job of jumping outside with their runs and sweeps and try- ing to keep us off-balance. They got a couple gaps open and they hit the one (on a 61-yard touch- down), but I thought the back end we were always in position, now we've got to make a couple more plays." Purdue seldom blitzed against the Broncos, instead trying to get to quarterback Zach Terrell with its front four. But that didn't work, even though ends Ryan Russell and Jalani Phillips were, in Hud- son's words, "turned loose," to get into the backfield. "They've got to do it," Hudson said. "They're seniors and athletic and they've got to win the one- on-one battles. We'll move them around plenty, but when it's one- on-one and they have an edge, they've got to have moves and they've got to have a game plan of knowing what they're going to do pre-snap." GRADING THE O-LINE Purdue's offensive line helped the Boilermakers gain 226 yards on the ground, and it didn't allow a sack. Not bad for a unit that was F O OT BA L L Offensive Coordinator John Shoop Defensive Coordinator Greg Hudson More Passing Yardage Needed Tom Campbell Justin Sinz was one of the few Boilermakers able to get separation from defenders against Western Michigan, and he had a team-high seven catches.