Worth looking back

[cuseguy]

Before we glamorize the brief success of last year’s team and question how this year’s team could open so poorly, consider that four of the five wins were against:

Colgate
Binghamton
Hobart
Johns Hopkins

The other was 9-7 over Army.

 

[PhatOrange]

Not sure what way you're leaning here. But that was an epic type of beat down yesterday. 17-5 run smh.

The offense needs to figure out what it wants to do.

 

[cuseguy]

Not sure what way you're leaning here. But that was an epic type of beat down yesterday. 17-5 run smh.

The offense needs to figure out what it wants to do.

Leaning? I’m saying I’m not sure last year’s team was as good as we or the players thought. Several wins over mediocre programs. Quint implied the same today in his commentary.

 

[PhatOrange]

Leaning? I’m saying I’m not sure last year’s team was as good as we or the players thought. Several wins over mediocre programs. Quint implied the same today in his commentary.

That might very well be true, but I thought our scoring was going to be on historical levels last year but there was a fundamental offensive reason for that; movement. I think it's concerning that day 1 we're back to being an iso dodging team with everyone else standing around. There wasn't a whole lot of motion and cutters and creating an unbalanced side for the dodgers. I assume March will get this corrected, but what I saw yesterday from the offense was the complete opposite of last year. It had that 'my turn' everyone needs to get theirs kind of feel. You hit the nail on the head with the hoops offense and so did what Beardsley said.

People are bagging on the D about losing guys off ball and slides etc, but that's because Army moves guys around and that makes it hard to cover guys off ball, especially 2nd slide. Our off ball guys are easier to guard when they're standing around. Maybe that's why our defense is always so poor at off ball D and sliding?

 

[MD Cuse Fan]

Leaning? I’m saying I’m not sure last year’s team was as good as we or the players thought. Several wins over mediocre programs. Quint implied the same today in his commentary.

Quint also mentioned most of their issues yesterday were due to lack of scrimmages/Covid in general so he seemed to give them a bit of a pass. I thought the most interesting thing he said was to watch the difference between game 1 to 2 with every team so let's see what happens this week.

 

[ivorytower]

Took all of one game to flip on coaches and team. Priceless.

Expected a bumpy ride at start , jump off now if too rough but no jumping back on when road levels.

 

[cuseguy]

Took all of one game to flip on coaches and team. Priceless.

Expected a bumpy ride at start , jump off now if too rough but no jumping back on when road levels.

There’s no question this team is overly talented and will begin to put things together. But the schedule is daunting and should they finish with, say, a 7-5 record, assuming they get by their first round game, they’re likely looking at quarterfinal against Duke, Virginia or North Carolina.

But, yeah, I’m getting ahead of things. Please excuse me.

 

[ivorytower]

There’s no question this team is overly talented and will begin to put things together. But the schedule is daunting and should they finish with, say, a 7-5 record, assuming they get by their first round game, they’re likely looking at quarterfinal against Duke, Virginia or North Carolina.

But, yeah, I’m getting ahead of things. Please excuse me.

No need, all good . Meds settle me. Very disappointing performance but had managed my expectations coming in regarding regular season w/l record given schedule. Thought likely 3-3 inter league but still believe will be one of the more dangerous teams come postseason and capable of FF but all that hype is just that, gotta walk the talk.
Cringed at Army being our opener , hoped for win but felt minimal prep would make outcome very tenuous . DocLexus forewarned all . Had watched Army -UVA game, they scored on 9 of 21 possessions but had clearing and faceoff issues. Cleaned it up and their transition hurt . appeared we prepared to press and overplay but their athleticism surprised.
The upcoming UVA game for us ? To be frank, Im expecting another loss based on what I've seen of their games .. Scored 15 agaisnt a very good d despite L goalie making several good saves. Moore took a very good defender for five. and Cormier is a handful with touches .Someone pointed out that UVA team assists have dropped from 11 to 7 to 3 so maybe a bit of me -itis has creeped in but right now Cuse is working through early season issues without normal meetings to quickly correct what ails. Do expect to see progress but would be surprised if they won this game at this stage . Too much, too soon. Stay on the wagon.

 

[MD Cuse Fan]

No need, all good . Meds settle me. Very disappointing performance but had managed my expectations coming in regarding regular season w/l record given schedule. Thought likely 3-3 inter league but still believe will be one of the more dangerous teams come postseason and capable of FF but all that hype is just that, gotta walk the talk.
Cringed at Army being our opener , hoped for win but felt minimal prep would make outcome very tenuous . DocLexus forewarned all . Had watched Army -UVA game, they scored on 9 of 21 possessions but had clearing and faceoff issues. Cleaned it up and their transition hurt . appeared we prepared to press and overplay but their athleticism surprised.
The upcoming UVA game for us ? To be frank, Im expecting another loss based on what I've seen of their games .. Scored 15 agaisnt a very good d despite L goalie making several good saves. Moore took a very good defender for five. and Cormier is a handful with touches .Someone pointed out that UVA team assists have dropped from 11 to 7 to 3 so maybe a bit of me -itis has creeped in but right now Cuse is working through early season issues without normal meetings to quickly correct what ails. Do expect to see progress but would be surprised if they won this game at this stage . Too much, too soon. Stay on the wagon.

Yeah if we see progress and a close loss to UVA I imagine most fans would feel better moving forward. Another blowout loss and I assume the Fire Desko chants become that much more annoying.

 

[PhatOrange]

Took all of one game to flip on coaches and team. Priceless.

Expected a bumpy ride at start , jump off now if too rough but no jumping back on when road levels.

I think a baseline expectation should have been a win even if it was by 1 goal. The way they got run off the field - at home - is concerning no ?

 

[ivorytower]

No to first (for me) , yes to question but be more worried about that if normal year of prep had.

Wont be granting any mulligans a month from now.

 

[SkyTopBus44]

Perhaps my problem is that my expectations have not changed since the 1990s and early 2000s. I want to return to that level so bad. Yesterday really hurt because I thought we were further along than we were. There is still time left in the season but I wanted to be like UNC, UVA, and Duke to start off the year.

I had bought into the hype and after the start, I was thinking we are back to crushing teams. I was ready to anoint Hiltz as the next Mike Powell. The first midline was going to set scoring records and the problem was going to be that we couldn't get everyone involved.

 

[ivorytower]

Know the feeling , Im a Yankee fan

 

[UelSU]

We looked rusty to me. Even in the "good" first quarter, there were a ton of bad feeds...etc. Late start. No scrimmage. Everyone else has played games. Not surprised.

 

[ivorytower]

UNC 2016, how you finish that counts

 

[CuseAlum87]

Know the feeling , Im a Yankee fan

I'm a Mets fan, so the Orange are right on schedule. lol

 

[ForCuseSake]

That might very well be true, but I thought our scoring was going to be on historical levels last year but there was a fundamental offensive reason for that; movement. I think it's concerning that day 1 we're back to being an iso dodging team with everyone else standing around. There wasn't a whole lot of motion and cutters and creating an unbalanced side for the dodgers. I assume March will get this corrected, but what I saw yesterday from the offense was the complete opposite of last year. It had that 'my turn' everyone needs to get theirs kind of feel. You hit the nail on the head with the hoops offense and so did what Beardsley said.

People are bagging on the D about losing guys off ball and slides etc, but that's because Army moves guys around and that makes it hard to cover guys off ball, especially 2nd slide. Our off ball guys are easier to guard when they're standing around. Maybe that's why are defense is always so poor at off ball D and sliding?

My problem with the D are the persistent unnecessary slides or cheating that lead to scoring opportunities for the opponent.

Too many of our defenders seem to have faulty or inconsistent criteria for deciding when to help and when to stay home. The on ball defender also doesn't seem to have a consistent understanding of when he should expect help.

Too many misjudge the position/location of shading or sliding to a guy who's not a direct threat usually leaving another opponent who's in a more threatening position. This usually forces one of their teammates to pick between two open guys who are more immediate scoring threats.

I see this when teams run a two man game (usually to invert a middie). I understand there are some new faces in some positions or guys getting more run than in previous years but this has been a theme for many seasons. And it cuts across different position groups (d middies, lsm, close d).

Defenses are going to break down - I'm not expecting perfection. Good offenses are going to get their opportunities and goalies are going to be asked to make big stops in tough spots.

I just want our defense to stop creating unsettled opportunities for the opposing offense.

Edit - Not meant to short-change Army's offense yesterday; they still had to capitalize on their chances (and how they did). Perhaps the end result is a one-two goal loss (10-9) instead of blow out.

 

[CuseAlum87]

My problem with the D are the persistent unnecessary slides or cheating that lead to scoring opportunities for the opponent.

Too many of our defenders seem to have faulty or inconsistent criteria for deciding when to help and when to stay home. The on ball defender also doesn't seem to have a consistent understanding of when he should expect help.

Too many misjudge the position/location of shading or sliding to a guy who's not a direct threat usually leaving another opponent who's in a more threatening position. This usually forces one of their teammates to pick between two open guys who are more immediate scoring threats.

I see this when teams run a two man game (usually to invert a middie). I understand there are some new faces in some positions or guys getting more run than in previous years but this has been a theme for many seasons. And it cuts across different position groups (d middies, lsm, close d).

Defenses are going to break down - I'm not expecting perfection. Good offenses are going to get their opportunities and goalies are going to be asked to make big stops in tough spots.

I just want our defense to stop creating unsettled opportunities for the opposing offense.

Edit - Not meant to short-change Army's offense yesterday; they still had to capitalize on their chances (and how they did). Perhaps the end result is a one-two goal loss (10-9) instead of blow out.

In contrast, Army is slow to go. They leave their defenders on islands and say "beat our athletes" they dare you to isolate and dodge 1 on 1. Because of this, Army expects a lot from their goalies. Syracuse made bad switches on picks and poorly timed slides (as you mentioned).

 

[SDCuse114]

Yeah if we see progress and a close loss to UVA I imagine most fans would feel better moving forward. Another blowout loss and I assume the Fire Desko chants become that much more annoying.

I would be thrilled if we keep the score respectable this weekend. If we lose to UVA by 3 goals or less, that would be a HUGE improvement from week 1.

 

[ForCuseSake]

In contrast, Army is slow to go. They leave their defenders on islands and say "beat our athletes" they dare you to isolate and dodge 1 on 1. Because of this, Army expects a lot from their goalies. Syracuse made bad switches on picks and poorly timed slides (as you mentioned).

Yep, they prefer to hold their ground and put a lot of beef on those islands.

52 was a monster SSDM who took the starch out of some of our dodgers with his physical play.

Not too many attempts to take him one v one after a few initial encounters. He was penalized a few times but still played very aggressively.