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Message: [QUOTE="JeremyCuse, post: 5368927, member: 43"] Good stuff, hit most of the point I was going to make. Hopkins is a very solid team, not much in the way of noticeable weaknesses save for some spots where depth could be an issue with injury. Their attack unit is potentially in flux if Melendez can't go. He apparently wasn't 100% prior to last Saturday's game and had to pull himself out, seems unlikely that even if he does play that he will be close to 100%. Something to watch for sure. For SU, I think they are almost a lock to double pole even if Melendez plays. Stuart Phillips has been the 3rd attackmen with Melendez and Chauvette for most ot the year. He's essentially a pure crease guy who SU will short stick with Levine if I had to guess. Iler came in for Melendez last week and did play well at his X/QB spot. Not dismissing him but I suspect UVA had zero scouting report on him as he really hasn't played since getting to Hopkins and he burned them for 3 pts. I'd like to think SU will be prepared for him seeing significant time especially if Melendez is out or limited. I share your concerns about Chauvette, though I would note as basd they struggled last year with Degnon I believe Chauvette had 1 pt. Hopkins offensively is a lot like Syracuse, can really get rolling with great ball movement and they have multiple stretch shooters and can fill it up quickly if you let them, however, they can also struggle for extended periods as they like SU don't have an elite level dodger and they can get turnover happy as they are averaging 15.5 a game. From a matchup standpoint I assume Fig will take either Melendez or Iler, hard to see him matching up with anyone else. The question for me is Dwan. I think the matchup is Collison but if they don't double pole for some reason I assume Chauvette. Chauvette has shown some ability to dodge this year but its not his strength to say the least. What he can do is absolutely rip it with little time and room. Be it Dwan or Grace, whoever has him has to stay with him and forget being slow to slide, don't slide at all. I'd almost faceguard him, he's not gonna be able to beat you off the dodge. My best guess is that SU will double pole with Fig on Melendez/Iler, Grace on Chauvette and Levine on Phillips. From a midfield standpoint Dwan on Collison and the LSM Trio on English and Rice on Bauer. I'd be tempted if I were SU to maybe try Dwan on English. English is really the table setter, even at mid he leads the team in assists with 12. One thing to note SU defensively struggled against Hop's O last year and was saved by the dominating performance at the X and some Hop failed clears. Offensively I think your echoing what's been my biggest concern for the last 2 years, the offense has absolutely no consistency beyond the inevitable quarter plus weach game where it can't get out of it's own way. You mentioned "trust" that's hard to have with this offense right now. Last year I noted on multiple occasions that they would inevitably have a stretch where they just looked lost and that would vary from 8-10 mins to a quarter + to entire halves - UNC and Cornell. I was hoping it would improve this year but if anything it's gotten worse. Wish I had the how and why and the solution but this seems like it will be an issue either with this personnel or staff in perpetuity. Really frustrating to watch this offense just absolutely dominate and then suddenly it feels like your watching a drunk pick up game in the middle of the summer. Baffling. Hopkins defense is very solid as Powell noted but it can get slide happy and it really struggled in the 2nd half last year versus SU after a very good 1st half performance. SU's struggles to close games out was on full display as well as Hopkins nearly tied it late. Smith and former SU commit Kilrain are a very good 1-2 punch and the Yale SSDM transfers including our buddy Hackler are very solid. Spallina drew SMith last year though if my memory serves right and he had one of his better games. I suspect Smith will draw Spallina and Kilrain on Hiltz. Hop's 3rd pole is decent but not great. Hop has a ton of LSM depth and will rotate in 3 guys though one of the backups is out with a broken jaw and probably won't play. They are the kind of defense that has the potential to give SU fits if they don't get slide happy. Again last years game is a really good example, they played really well in the 1st half but in the 2nd started getting slide happy and SU really hurt them with great ball movement and skip passes. I assume Thomson will be back for Saturday which will be good to see, he's on a heater. Assuming that to be correct, Anderson still needs to play you could see his potential vs Utah and even with his hesitation he was beating guys. I would at minimum rotate him on the 2nd midline, he could cause real problems running with Hottle on the 2nd line. I think I would put him in over McCarthy, he's really struggling out there right now. Like most games with this SU offense, the 1st midfield will likely tell the tale. Hop I thin will play it straight up and not double pole to start. English will almost assuredly draw a short stick, he has to win that match up. Leo and Rhoa both were letting it fly last week and I suspect both will be focal points again on Sunday. One thing all 3 need to do is protect the ball better. They had 6 TO's between the three of them last week, not gonna cut it. FOGO should be a wash, both starters are very good. Only caveat to this is if one guy really gets ona roll the opposing team may have a major issue as both teams have little in the way of depth. We did finally see Angelo last week and it appears he has taken over the #2 job. Staudt has been better then McCool this year when you look at the comp level but he's under 50% as Powell noted. McCool bounced back nicely this past week but I still have major concerns moving forward. I agree with Powell that Cuse overall is probably the more talented team overall but Hop is more battle tested and I think more crucially is the more buttoned up/consistent team. I worry that we will see a mini version of the Harvard game where SU perhaps gets a small lead or in a tight game just has that 10 min stretch where it looks lost offensively and Hop pulls away (game from 2 years ago essentially). Syracuse really needs this Win, that awful Harvard loss has put them in a real bad spot and much like Powell I fear it will haunt them all year long. When you look at what's ahead again SU needs this win, Get it done. [/QUOTE]

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