2019 Fall Ball ...

[ClvrUsrnm]

I also did not really expect the defense to give up so many goals. Understood that DU went on a run late in the game so the numbers look worse than they probably are, but thought the D would perform better. Especially head scratching is the supposed play of the short sticks, I have high hopes for the unit this season, plenty of experience and they are all big/strong/athletes. Not going to over-react to a scrimmage, but do somewhat worry that we took a lot of what Cunningham and Bomberry did for granted last year. Their shoes might be bigger to fill than we thought. Still think the talent is there but might take some time to gel.

Except for the 4v6, the man down got torched, which isn’t a huge surprise this time of year. Dami/Small were flat beat 1v1 a combined three times. On another, Dami broke his stick and had to run, giving Denver 6v5, which was scored on. There was another instance of straight up ball watching.

All that accounted for half of Denver’s goals.

The last four Denver goals were against the reserves. I wouldn’t worry too much about those. Definite room for improvement but Kennedy, Mellen and Dearth were monsters. If they get the rest of the shorties going, the defense will be fine.

 

[ivorytower]

Late to this but thanks to all for the scrimmage updates/summaries/insights, it is very much appreciated! Pleasantly surprised by the outcome of the scrimmage, did not expect the offense to be so productive, but the talent is certainly there. As a guy who just read this board and the game summaries by IL and Syracuse.com the best news is the emergence of Griffin Cook - I think having that third spot solidified will have a huge impact for the team. Seebold emerging as well would be the cherry on top - I don't want to get ahead of myself, but this offense could really be electric, and a huge headache for opposing coaches. Not only should they have the best first midfield in the country, but with Lipka and Buttermore they should have the best second line as well.

I also did not really expect the defense to give up so many goals. Understood that DU went on a run late in the game so the numbers look worse than they probably are, but thought the D would perform better. Especially head scratching is the supposed play of the short sticks, I have high hopes for the unit this season, plenty of experience and they are all big/strong/athletes. Not going to over-react to a scrimmage, but do somewhat worry that we took a lot of what Cunningham and Bomberry did for granted last year. Their shoes might be bigger to fill than we thought. Still think the talent is there but might take some time to gel.

Only three weeks in and DM unit not at full strength. Helmer #2 ssdm played exclusively with pole, Barlow #3 ssdm was sidelined and scrimmage was Dami's first real comp in awhile. Only other ssdm were Small. Assume others are practicing there but only Dieball saw a few minutes
2/3 backline will be new, take some time to jell on a few fronts. Agree on Bomberry and Cunnigham, greater appreciation for experience and specific strengths when gone but think unit be ok given core personnel. Even Mellen and Dearth didn't shine as normal though no worries there.. Defense did gather itself after a very slow start in 1q, DiPietro was solid and there are strong options .
Bothers a bit that at least 5 defensive candidates, Barlow, Staats, JKennedy, Hull, Lee were sidelined with returns unknown. That unfortunately takes away from their preparation and a full competition for spots. With less bodies in practice gotta guard agaisnt any overuse injuries. Benefit is it affords young depth additional reps but best to have the full defensive group healthy ,prepared and competing.

 

[sholokov2]

Except for 4v6, the man down got torched, which isn’t a huge surprise this time of year. Dami/Small were flat beat 1v1 a combined three times. On another, Dami broke his stick and had to run, giving Denver 6v5, which is scored on. There was another instance of straight up ball watching.

All that accounted for half of Denver’s goals.

The last four Denver goals were against the reserves. I wouldn’t worry too much about those. Definite room for improvement but Kennedy, Mellen and Dearth were monsters. If they get the rest of the shorties going, the defense will be fine.

good clarification, thanks

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

Staats is on the far left with a knee brace on

 

[SDCuse114]

 

[WoodyUK]

Do any of the Staats family not have a bum knee???!!

 

[Powellfan]

Dordevic toe-drag goal at 7:11 mark is nasty.

 

[WoodyUK]

 

[DoctahLexus]

Mmm now there’s some solid video quality.

 

[Whitey23]

Do any of the Staats family not have a bum knee???!!

The Staats Family Memorial Knee Brace

 

[ohmilax34]

I've been a little harsh on the lax factor guy, but it is very nice to have this video. A couple things I noticed from the video:
Brendan Curry has a new underhand shot. Hopefully he can hit the cage with it and he mixes it up with an over hand shot. I like that he added something to his game. I mentioned last season that he should've taken a page from Trimboli's book and gone back to an overhand shot, because he was missing the cage a lot.

Defense will be different without Bomberry and Cunningham. Both guys were good about being in the right place and Bomberry was great knocking down and deflecting passes. Can Staats get healthy and provide that ability? Can Murphy do some of that? If not, maybe keep him at SSDM.

SSDM was (hopefully) not what it will look like in the spring. Hopefully Barlow is healthy in the spring and hopefully SU decides to keep Helmer at SSDM unless he's by far our 2nd best close defenseman after Mellen. Last season SU ran 4 SSDMs and Small was 4.5. They need that many with the pace of the game. If SU takes Murphy and Helmer from SSDM, that position is much weaker. SU needs some long sticks to step up so they don't need both those guys at close defense.

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

Who is better than Murphy at close? Apart from Mellen, obviously.

 

[ohmilax34]

Who is better than Murphy at close? Apart from Mellen, obviously.

In the coaches' opinion (and that's what truly counts), I think they have him in the top 2-3 close defensemen, so either the best or 2nd best after Mellen.

If the close defense is Mellen, Murphy and either DiPietro or Staats or ___________ and the SSDMs are Dearth, Helmer, Oladunmoye, Barlow and Small, I'm good with that. If they move Murphy and Helmer then SSDM really suffers, as evidenced by Denver scrimmage. And if the SSDMs are weak, then the whole defense is worse off. The SU defense, and I'm sure pretty much all defenses, are so much better when there is confidence in the SSDMs to do well with their match ups.

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

In the coaches' opinion (and that's what truly counts), I think they have him in the top 2-3 close defensemen, so either the best or 2nd best.

Exactly. He looked good at close last year in the one game, and he looked good on Saturday. He was probably technically third on the depth chart after Mellen and DiPietro because he was on the sideline when Dearth was in a close spot while there were two poles on the wings for the opening faceoff. But I think he’ll move up to second on the depth chart. He’s more athletic and has better feet than DiPietro.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Who is better than Murphy at close? Apart from Mellen, obviously.

Kennedy, he is 1A and Mellen is #1 as defenders for SU. If the Frosh LSM they are high on is ready to go I suspect he will bump down more then we expect this year.

 

[MaxFischer]

Kennedy, he is 1A and Mellen is #1 as defenders for SU. If the Frosh LSM they are high on is ready to go I suspect he will bump down more then we expect this year.

Disagree with this philosophically. Rather have Kennedy on the other teams top middie than on its second best attackmen. Also...Kennedy's play between the lines cannot be replicated by anyone on the roster. If we have a frosh pole that can do that...we are in excellent shape. But I doubt it. Let's give Murphy/DiPierto/Staats or maybe even Zach Lee get a shot to earn the close D spots. Not concerned about the results in a first scrimmage

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

Disagree with this philosophically. Rather have Kennedy on the other teams top middie than on its second best attackmen. Also...Kennedy's play between the lines cannot be replicated by anyone on the roster. If we have a frosh pole that can do that...we are in excellent shape. But I doubt it. Let's give Murphy/DiPierto/Staats or maybe even Zach Lee get a shot to earn the close D spots. Not concerned about the results in a first scrimmage

Agree 100%. Kennedy could be two behind Mellen, but he’s too good of an LSM. You can’t replace what he does.

 

[ohmilax34]

Disagree with this philosophically. Rather have Kennedy on the other teams top middie than on its second best attackmen. Also...Kennedy's play between the lines cannot be replicated by anyone on the roster. If we have a frosh pole that can do that...we are in excellent shape. But I doubt it. Let's give Murphy/DiPierto/Staats or maybe even Zach Lee get a shot to earn the close D spots. Not concerned about the results in a first scrimmage

I expect the defense to look better when the SSDMs are at full strength.

 

[Powellfan]

Think it is important to remember that the Fall is a time for experimenting, so a lot could change before the spring. I wonder if Helmer played so much with a long stick because of the injuries to others (Jack Kennedy and Staats specifically). If a freshmen plays in a scrimmage in a non-Alumni setting, he losses the opportunity to redshirt. So Desko probably didn't have as deep of a bench as he wanted.

Agree with those who want Kennedy at LSM, I think he would be a great close defender, but I think he excels at midfield, and with Mellen I think you need more size, something Kennedy doesn't really offer. If Helmer starts at close that is probably a bad sign for the underclassmen, as I think Desko would have to feel really shaky about them to make that sort of move.

 

[DoctahLexus]

If a freshmen plays in a scrimmage in a non-Alumni setting, he losses the opportunity to redshirt.

Really?? Wow that explains a lot. I had no idea.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Disagree with this philosophically. Rather have Kennedy on the other teams top middie than on its second best attackmen. Also...Kennedy's play between the lines cannot be replicated by anyone on the roster. If we have a frosh pole that can do that...we are in excellent shape. But I doubt it. Let's give Murphy/DiPierto/Staats or maybe even Zach Lee get a shot to earn the close D spots. Not concerned about the results in a first scrimmage

I would rather have him at LSM to but there will be games where he will be much more valuable as close then at LSM. The the staff will likely take it on a game by game basis. Perfect example is UVA. As good as Aiken is at midfield SU lost that game because Mellen could only cover one person. This year I suspect Mellen will mark Moore again and Kennedy will take Kraus which is what I believe SU did late and had some success with. Same thing when they play Albany. Why waste him chasing around a mediocore at best midfield when Albany's power is all at attack. There were multiple games last year when Kennedy bumped down and with Bomberry gone I suspect he will see even more time there this year. Fernandez Helmer and the Frosh are more then capable against most midfields save for a few.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Really?? Wow that explains a lot. I had no idea.

That used to be the rule, I think they changed it a few years ago. OE and I went over this a few years ago and pretty sure they got rid of that.

 

[Orangelax]

Really?? Wow that explains a lot. I had no idea.

I thought that rule changed last year?

 

[MaxFischer]

I would rather have him at LSM to but there will be games where he will be much more valuable as close then at LSM. The the staff will likely take it on a game by game basis. Perfect example is UVA. As good as Aiken is at midfield SU lost that game because Mellen could only cover one person. This year I suspect Mellen will mark Moore again and Kennedy will take Kraus which is what I believe SU did late and had some success with. Same thing when they play Albany. Why waste him chasing around a mediocore at best midfield when Albany's power is all at attack. There were multiple games last year when Kennedy bumped down and with Bomberry gone I suspect he will see even more time there this year. Fernandez Helmer and the Frosh are more then capable against most midfields save for a few.

again...disagree. especially with that last sentence. Helmer should be a SSDM for the defense to be at its best. We have no idea whether Fernandez and the frosh are more than capable against most midfields. Most teams 1sts are pretty good. Maybe there are extreme exceptions that warrant Kennedy bumping down, but I bet he plays 90% or more at pole, as he should.