Army Gameday...

[JeremyCuse]

I’m thinking hiring Gait may have been a mistake.

Very early and this was always going to be a rebuilding year but already there's some concerns about what Gait is or isn't trying to do. The non-chalant sort of attitude and play style may have worked wonders for him back in the late 80's and with the womens team but its not gonna work for this current team and the fact that he really doesn't coach on the sidelines during the game is baffling. Id also be wrong not to point out that instead of changing some of the decisions that we saw under Desko he's actually double downed which is concerning to say the least.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Agreed on all points.

It's great to not quit and keep trying to grind it out, but if it's going to be a rebuilding year, then rebuild and play for the future and play the young kids to give them game experience.

Agreed, clearly Seebold, Curry and 1-2 others need to be out there almost all the time but the lack of PT for some of the young guys and some of the personnel decisions are mystifying. Corsi had a real nice move and goal in the 1st and then barely saw the field. Birtwistle didn't play at all and Fiorini hasn't played in 2 games. Why were playing the 1st midline like its 2 years ago or Myles Jones Sr year at Duke I have absolutely no idea.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Scrappy team but just not talented enough. Also as pointed out the fundamentals on this team are absolutely atrocious. At some piont you have to make a statemetn and pull some of these guys who keep turning it over or making the same dumb mistakes. I am officially also concerned about March as an OC, his response to the zone defense was utterly abysmal and the substitution patterns and personnel decisions continue to be baffling.

I almost wonder if he is in a battle with Gait on the decision making seeing as one seems to like a freestyle sort of thing (gait) and one likes a lot of specific types of motion including a couple organized offensive sets (March). Also gait (or March? who the hell knows) seems to really push the starters way too much. Buttermore should have been out there against that zone. But honestly we had so many dumb turnovers that we didn’t get many cracks at the zone in the first place! Hiltz rehfuss scanlan attack would annihilate that zone. Seebold on the other hand…ugly.

 

[DoctahLexus]

I’m thinking hiring Gait may have been a mistake.

Don’t think anyone should be thinking that way this early. Let’s see how he does with his own dudes. This senior/redshirt junior class has had a disappointing run.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I almost wonder if he is in a battle with Gait on the decision making seeing as one seems to like a freestyle sort of thing (gait) and one likes a lot of specific types of motion including a couple organized offensive sets (March). Also gait (or March? who the hell knows) seems to really push the starters way too much. Buttermore should have been out there against that zone. But honestly we had so many dumb turnovers that we didn’t get many cracks at the zone in the first place! Hiltz rehfuss scanlan attack would annihilate that zone. Seebold on the other hand…ugly.

Seebold had a great 1st half but after the third turnover you have to pull him for at least a series or two. Put Curry at attack or actually play Ferris at his natural position but you can't just shrug your shoulders and let him keep turning the ball over. Agreed on a battle between March and Gait, not sure what were trying to do offensively and our passing game without Hiltz is non-existent save for a few here and there. To me the lack of talent overall is the main culprit, Cook and Berkman should not be starting and Quinn while good isnt nearly as effective playing 80%+ of the minutes. I know this team desperately missed Hiltz but there are other options on the roster and they do seem to be active when actually getting some run. There is no reason to run the starters into the ground beyond Curry and Dordevic.

 

[Cuse All-In]

Don’t think anyone should be thinking that way this early. Let’s see how he does with his own dudes. This senior/redshirt junior class has had a disappointing run.

Hiltz is truly missed. He was a leader on the field as a frosh. However, even he could not overcome some of the mistakes and coaching issues we saw today.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Seebold had a great 1st half but after the third turnover you have to pull him for at least a series or two. Put Curry at attack or actually play Ferris at his natural position but you can't just shrug your shoulders and let him keep turning the ball over. Agreed on a battle between March and Gait, not sure what were trying to do offensively and our passing game without Hiltz is non-existent save for a few here and there. To me the lack of talent overall is the main culprit, Cook and Berkman should not be starting and Quinn while good isnt nearly as effective playing 80%+ of the minutes. I know this team desperately missed Hiltz but there are other options on the roster and they do seem to be active when actually getting some run. There is no reason to run the starters into the ground beyond Curry and Dordevic.

I like Quinn, but 100% agree. Tough times right now sir.

 

[nyclax]

You've got to give Gait some time with his own recruits. But I must say the sideline demeanor is kinda crazy to me. No emotion whatsoever. Even if he's doing more than what we're seeing, the optics are bizarre, especially when you've got Petro running up and down the sideline and yelling and for all intents and purposes looking a lot more like the real leader of that team. I suspect that while those two have great respect for one another that their styles are clashing more than they are meshing. Meanwhile Gait was supposed to bring some creative flair to the offense and we haven't seen a lick of that yet so either that was all talk, he hasn't unleashed it yet for whatever reason or he and March aren't seeing eye to eye about how to run the offense.

 

[JeremyCuse]

On the bright side, your buddy Jackson Browne graduated from Hobart a few years ago.

Ha, yes he is gone. Their current goalie is OK but not great. Hobart is a pretty good offensive team with a solid fogo and a lot of guys who can score. Defensively there a mess like SU, will be a fascinating game for all the wrong reasons.

 

[Cuse All-In]

We should all remember that sports has a way of making fools of us. Cuse could have won the game today without the horrific mistakes. I still think there is a possibility that they improve over the next few games and are competitive later against the ACC. But...I'm not putting money on it

 

[orangecuse]

Welp, maybe the women’s team can make a run. Amazing, no bowl game, no March madness, and now probably no May madness

Pretty pathetic listening to Paul Carc say a few times how he sees a lot of heart & effort, etc. and no quit in our players. As if that is some sort of silver lining or moral victory of sort. What?!?! This is Syracuse Lacrosse for Pete’s sake! So, that’s what we have come to in lax?!?!

Our once two elite programs in hoops and lax are inconsequential. In hoops, we are down to hoping for a winning season and now in lax, yea, nice effort, a lot of heart. Ugh!

As our last good football coach once said; “don’t mistake effort for execution.”

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[DoctahLexus]

As far as gaits sideline demeanor goes, he did put together a fantastic run as the womens head coach doing basically the exact same thing. Yes of course talent is the most important thing, but you don’t just stay at the top of womens lax if you truly only just stand there in a suit on game day. I will only judge on on his decisions, and some early have been questionable, but it is really really really really early to be hating on him like he’s been the mens coach for 30 years and not 4 games.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I like Quinn, but 100% agree. Tough times right now sir.

For sure, although I did predict to soem other SU diehards in a text thread that I thought 6-8 was our likely record when I saw the schedule come out and that was before Hiltz got hurt. More disappointed in the lack of adjustments from Gait and March, feels like Desko is still on the sidelines , to be honest I am not seeing anything different. Now that could be due to the lack of overall talent especially with Hiltz hurt but running only 1 mid line most of the game? Doubling down on Cook? A man up unit that looks lost? Not what I expected in year 1 under Gait. He's gonna get plenty of time but you wonder if maybe SU should have looked outside the family to replace Desko.

 

[DoctahLexus]

You've got to give Gait some time with his own recruits. But I must say the sideline demeanor is kinda crazy to me. No emotion whatsoever. Even if he's doing more than what we're seeing, the optics are bizarre, especially when you've got Petro running up and down the sideline and yelling and for all intents and purposes looking a lot more like the real leader of that team. I suspect that while those two have great respect for one another that their styles are clashing more than they are meshing. Meanwhile Gait was supposed to bring some creative flair to the offense and we haven't seen a lick of that yet so either that was all talk, he hasn't unleashed it yet for whatever reason or he and March aren't seeing eye to eye about how to run the offense.

To early for this level of pessimism imo. Optics are a secondary concern. In fact there are a ton of way more important things.

 

[nyclax]

To early for this level of pessimism imo. Optics are a secondary concern. In fact there are a ton of way more important things.

What I'm saying is the optics could reflect some tension and or confusion behind the scenes. It does not project confidence and I can see a scenario in which it's negatively impactful on the players.

What worked for the women's team may not necessarily work for the men's team. The games are different, the rules are different, the ways in which you communicate with the players are different. Being quiet and hands off with the women clearly worked for him but there is a possibility that these young men require more energy and/or interaction to feel like they are bought in. You look at a guy like Dano who does not coordinate either side of the ball and isn't drawing up plays himself but when the camera cuts to him he always looks engaged. He's talking to his assistants, he's leading a team huddle, he's doing something to signal that this is his team and he has a handle on it. To be clear I am NOT saying to fire Gait or anything ridiculous like that but I also think it's fair to be concerned about the dynamic we're seeing on the sideline because it may be representative of a deeper issue.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

And we need to ditch the Cylon helmets.

 

[DoctahLexus]

To early for this level of pessimism imo. Optics are a secondary concern. In fact there are a ton of way more important things.

To elaborate, it is far from guaranteed that their styles are clashing and they have bad chemistry as coaches. Is it talent or is it not? People sometimes change what it is that matters most depending on the point they are making. If gait is standing totally still while Petro is running like a maniac and we are winning, then all of a sudden that is exactly how it should be.

 

[orangecuse]

For sure, although I did predict to soem other SU diehards in a text thread that I thought 6-8 was our likely record when I saw the schedule come out and that was before Hiltz got hurt. More disappointed in the lack of adjustments from Gait and March, feels like Desko is still on the sidelines , to be honest I am not seeing anything different. Now that could be due to the lack of overall talent especially with Hiltz hurt but running only 1 mid line most of the game? Doubling down on Cook? A man up unit that looks lost? Not what I expected in year 1 under Gait. He's gonna get plenty of time but you wonder if maybe SU should have looked outside the family to replace Desko.

Yeah. Up 13-11 and then Army went zone. We didn’t score the rest of the game and our O looked lost and puzzled out there in the process. Alberici schooled Gait today.

 

[cuseguy]

Don’t think anyone should be thinking that way this early. Let’s see how he does with his own dudes. This senior/redshirt junior class has had a disappointing run.

Next year’s class is Desko’s class. It’ll be a few years before he has his own players.

 

[ivorytower]

Ha, yes he is gone. Their current goalie is OK but not great. Hobart is a pretty good offensive team with a solid fogo and a lot of guys who can score. Defensively there a mess like SU, will be a fascinating game for all the wrong reasons.

1-3 doesn't surprise but the poor quality of play does.

Cuse plays like they did in 2h and Hobart will trounce them

 

[DoctahLexus]

Next year’s class is Desko’s class. It’ll be a few years before he has his own players.

And that’s the way it goes! This is how it works no matter who you hire. We are moving forward and this is the very very beginning.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Yeah. Up 13-11 and then Army went zone. We didn’t score the rest of the game and our O looked lost and puzzled out there in the process. Alberici schooled Gait today.

They didnt score at all the rest of the game, 3 goals the entire half. Really really bad sign.

 

[cuseguy]

And that’s the way it goes! This is how it works no matter who you hire. We are moving forward and this is the very very beginning.

Yup, everyone needs to lower expectations for next next year. It’s going to be a few years before this program makes the tourney.

 

[ivorytower]

Just got home...

1. I don't know who that fat referee #77 is, but I would prefer if we not get him again.

2. I would prefer if we played better offense and defense.

3. Did Gavin already wear out his welcome?

No, he is a good goalie but first game where he didnt make saves that could have been made. He wasn't seeing ball and that passing error was slop. No problem with Gait's hook, he has two good goalies, rather have that then watch a goalie give up 11 consecutive shots. Position in good hands for a couple of years with Gavin and Thompson