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Message: [QUOTE="Powellfan, post: 5022726, member: 4819"] I guess I wouldn’t go as far as to call SU’s attack “elite”. I think I’d still put them behind teams like UVA, Notre Dame, Penn State and Cornell. They are very good, and the key is in most games they’ve been “good enough” to win. What makes the offense very good, is its ability to take what the defense gives them, and punish them for it. Whoever seems to have a short stick on them can take advantage. They can score from outside but their crafty passing can also take care of inside scoring opportunities. They also have what I have to think is the best second midfield in the country. With so few teams employing a decent second unit, I think this gives the Orange a huge advantage in most games. I agree that high volume shooters are not what this offense needs. I do wonder if something more could be unlocked with this team if they had someone who could dodge more effectively though. It’s a double edge sword for sure. Most cases if you have a guy who can get their own shot, they end up taking a lot of them and the ball tends to die in their stick. What makes the SU offense special is that does not happen. Finding that sort of player is hard to come by. As things stand, as long as Mule can make teams think twice about shorting him, the team will be in good shape. I think some of the negativity comes from people seeing how explosive this team still could be. I don’t think we are seeing the best from some players, specifically Birtwistle, English or Thomson. I still wish Rhoa was shooting the ball a lot more than he is. But to know the offense is playing this well with those guys not having their best season is also exciting, since they still have room to grow. Hopefully they get there. [/QUOTE]

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