Chesapeake Thoughts

The trip down to Maryland this weekend was definitely a good idea on my part. We headed out of Connecticut at around 5pm, which was a horrible idea. However, Mazur and I rocked out in the back of one of our team mate's cars and by New York City, the fact that we wouldn't arrive in Poolesville till 3am didn't bother us.

I won't talk too much about my own team although I was happy with our 3-3 performance, despite only having half our roster. Anyone got a cure for flakey teammates?

Chain Lightning

If there was any team that could have used this tournament victory it was Chain. They usually have up and down results throughout the summer and depending on their finish down the stretch are either a 3rd or 4th seed at Nationals. However, as I hinted in my mssui article, they really needed to work on their consistency and this tournament is a big step. I caught their pool play game against Boston as well as their semifinal game against Sub Zero and they looked good.

The most prominent thing that stuck out was Zipp's presence on the D line. He lined up on Heijmen when I watched them play in semis and he is really clicking with the Atlanta crowd. In addition to being a brilliant defender, he's also an obvious cutting threat and he will be great at getting breaks in the toughest of games this year.

Another player that got a lot of PT was Asa, and despite the fact that he is a Black Tide Alum, I like seeing Southwest talent do well. He was behind the disc more than I expected because when he was at UCSB, he was a major deep threat. Be that as it may, he is very composed and was always the quiet killer on a team of loud and emotional Santa Barbara guys. He has a Moses Rifkin sort of contribution on the field and I think Chain's tall roster could use another cagey veteran.

As for their veteran talent, all the main players are poised to dominate this year. Dylan is as good as I've seen him. He had an unreal layout score on Hohenstein yesterday and his commitment to Ultimate in Georgia is so commendable. Like Goldstein, I think he is a much better club player than college and I think he will continue to improve year to year.  Chain's D-line has also benefitted from some added depth and players like Simpson and Kid can focus on their veteran skill sets and offensive composure to collect breaks.

I don't think their missing Stubbs or Lindsley too much at this point, but its early. Stubbs played off and on this weekend because he was sick and Grant looked great at times, but not so much at others. This isn't surprising considering the fact that they were both just at World's, but I think Stubbs on the D-line for Boston is a good move as is Grant on Sub's O-line.

Ironside

Boston looked like they were playing with their depth and that might be why they didn't pull it out at the end. Gibson has a lot of pressure on him, both because he is an out of stater and because he is Kurt Gibson. He seemed to struggle in the air when I saw him and it looks like teams are well aware of his deep threat ability. This is one reason why I am curious to know how he will do in club. He is an all around bad ass, but he isn't at Florida anymore and will need to figure out what he can bring to Boston that no one else can. His obvious talent is his flick/hammer but that is a fairly liberal offensive weapon given Boston's history of conservative disc movement. I think the thing that will help Kurt the most is finding his favorite receiver. Jeff Graham is playing fantastic and that might be the option #20 should look for (which is weird because Jeff wears 21 just like Brodie).

Another aspect of Boston that I like is their D-line depth. Colin Mahoney is a great down field defender as is Will, Dan Patisteas, and Teddy. I'm curious to know how they will organize their D-line into a scoring threat though. Colin is known for his reach and speed but his offensive contributions have always been a bit suspect. In contrast, Will might not be as fast as Colin, but his ability to turn his intensity on D to offensive composure is scary. Teddy looks like a veteran out there now which I really like seeing. His athleticism and throws are a rare combination even at the most elite level and with every tournament with Boston, he is getting better. Look for him to be on Universe D-lines.

Oh and I have to poke fun at Forch because he is Forch. He uncorked (borrowing The Count's diction) a hammer for a goal in the Chain pool play game only to walk off the field and kick over a gatorade jug. You threw a score and then got pissed? For the rest of tournament I kept yelling, "Uh oh Mueller, the Gatorade jug is talking shit, better show it who's boss". And speaking of heckles, I kept laying into Gibson for wearing a Jam hat on Saturday. I would toss out stuff like, "Oh man, Idris got up on that guy" or "Namkung's white now?".

SubZero

These guys better get their shit figured out or I'm going to look really stupid for pegging them as a semis team. In reality, they are doing fine. They had a good but not great tournament for a variety of reasons. For one, two players on their O-line are Sub Zero rookies, Grant and Hector. It was weird to see Valdivia on the O-line when he was a D-line guy for Bravo. Not sure how that is going to pan out for Minnesota but I'm sure they'll figure out something. Grant also could have looked a lot better. It looked like his legs were fine, but he dropped a few deep shots which could be attributed to some burn out tendencies. Another thing worth mentioning is that I think Muffin broke his foot or ankle. He got a ride to the trainer circa the golf cart so it might be serious. It sucks but it is part of the game.

The issue associated with SZ, and this has been their thing for a while now, is honing their intensity and putting together an elite club offensive front. I think their Callahan winner will lead a great O-line with a Mike Caldwell like presence, and college team mates like Jimmy Foster and Jack Marsh will be great as go-to scoring threats. Hector will also be a good veteran contributor but I wonder if they have enough pure handlers in the Sam O'Brien squirrley pain in the ass sort of way. I'm sure there is someone that I am forgetting on their O-line but a great reset is crucial for any elite team. I'm just not sure who they'll use with Grant, Foster, Jack and Heijmen downfield and while Hector and Muffin are awesome power handlers, their quickness and breaks are nothing to write home about (in my opinion). Oh and their jerseys are terrible. The negative numbers are cool and all, but the frosted look is wayy too noisey.

Machine

I really wish I knew more about them (and Madcow). Their semifinals performance is top notch and Kevin Cho is a big part of their team's success. Joel is also a baller and after seeing him and his flick for Illinois in College, I'm sure he will carry his weight. I'm not sure what they have in the realm of depth, but after their horrible Boston Invite performance, a semifinals performance at Chesapeake was just what the doctor ordered. Its too bad they aren't going to Labor Day. They'll have some major regional competition with SubZero looking good but they did beat them on universe in pool play.

Ronin

The Florida boys were probably the biggest surprise this weekend. We played them first and they didn't look great so I was surprised when I saw that they beat Bravo. They are running Florida's zone D which could draw some serious discussion from elite teams in the series like Doublewide and Chain because of double team concerns. I was looking forward to seeing/talking with Brodie but apparently he didn't have the scrilla to make the trip. Oh well, make nationals so I can chat up your goofy ass (goofy, get it?). In any event, I think Cole Sullivan, Windham and the rest of their Florida talent will give them a great deep game but I wonder if they will have the offensive depth to outlast experienced teams in the second half. I don't know about bids from the South, but if they can put together a solid offense, they might sneak past Doublewide the way VC did back in '06.

GOAT

The Toronto boys had a decent Saturday, but not much else. Like Grant and Stubbs, a lot of this team was in Vancouver and I'm sure they could use a few weeks of not competing. Hassell had his shot at being a cog in a wheel with Furious and I hope he brought some of their experience eastward. Eric St-Amant had a great Worlds and I think he will be a stellar deep D down the stretch as will Ouchterlony who seems to be as fast as any when he's cutting deep. In addition, Scotty Nicholls played well at Worlds and will be very valuable for GOAT's O-line handler core.

With Boston coming back to life this year, it will be on GOAT to show that they can build on last year. I've got them pegged at 2nd from the NE but their chemistry could give Ironside trouble. In any event, a win against Bravo would have been huge because they need a win against a 1 seed caliber team. However, they will get another shot at Labor Day and hopefully they can pick up a big win before they head into the Series.

Ring of Fire

Considering Truck Stop's success at Colorado Cup, Ring really needed to assert themselves if they want to stay on top of the Mid Atlantic region. I hear they always play well at Chesapeake and I'm sure they loved being 3-1 while the DC boys were 1-3. Brett Matsuka is playing with them and his Worlds experience with Australia will be a nice new addition to the established North Carolina crowd. I'm not sure what they'll bring for the series, but if they can stay ahead of Truck Stop through Labor Day, they will have the confidence to stiff arm them for yet another year.

Their prequarters loss to Madcow and their follow up loss to Bodhi tells me that they looked past these teams and didn't bring their focus. This seems to be the crutch of emotional/fiery teams but then again, neither team is in the MA so I don't think these losses are that big a deal. They will be ready for TS come regionals, I just hope they can bring it in Sarasota because a regional winner finishing 11th is no good.

Bodhi

These guys are definitely #3 in the NE. They have taken out PoNY twice now and have played great at every tournament they have been too. They are so polished and give me a Sockeye Jr sort of feel. Taking Bravo to 16-14 is a huge step for these youngins, I just hope it doesn't go to their heads. Like what Furious has done to Sockeye in the past, you can beat up your biggest threat all you want during the regular season, but you have to beat them in October.

However, all their losses are to National caliber teams. They have yet to slip in focus to anyone and I think their experience against more veteran teams like Bravo, Boston and GOAT will help them in the fall. Their combination of youth and experience will help them immensely because they will be able to sidestep burning out as well as major life distractions. Best of luck against PoNY this year, beating them would be a great story to write about, but so would a 2-0 record when it didn't matter and an 0-1 when it did. The one thing I love about this tournament was that they were relegated to the open division only to make it up to the big boy bracket with a 4-0 pool play record. They may have lost but they are one of the most consistent teams in the nation right now and they have the edge on PoNY.

Truck Stop

Boston Invite, sucked. Colorado Cup, lucky (3 way tie). Chesapeake, not so good. This team made quarters last year after an epic win over Furious in pool play and a play in win over the Condors. However, they have yet to bring a quarters caliber feel to their 2008 season. They have the talent as can be seen with their 11-12 game against the hosts at Colorado Cup, but was '07 a flare up or are they the real deal. I love power shifts in regions and I want to see them challenge Ring but if they don't have the fire they did a year ago, I don't see it happening. Like everyone else going to Santa Cruz, it's their last chance to show what they've got before they play the same teams they always do. I think the best case scenario for them would be a big win over someone like Jam, SZ, or Chain. I pick these teams because each is semis caliber but each could also get haulted in quarters or worse this year. Truck Stop was is this spot a year ago and if they are better in '08, we'll know after Labor Day. However, if they have losses to teams like Doublewide, Condors, or PoNY, Ring will probably take the region again and they'll need some serious '07 luck to make it back to quarters.

PoNY

They seem to be that kid that just can't seem to jump off the ledge on the high dive. They were there at the Sockeye Invite but they only beat the expected teams. They also have two Bodhi black eyes and their only win this weekend was a universe one to Forge. They're only real big (out of region) win is Truck Stop at Boston Invite, but TS worked them yesterday 15-6. Considering the fact that they got A-listed in '08 (Sockeye Invite, Chesapeake Elite, and Labor Day) they might have racked up some serious frequent flyer miles only to get a free vacation to Sarasota to watch Bodhi play instead of them. Labor Day is their last chance to develop some much needed confidence and if they can succeed the way they did in Seattle against Sockeye, they might have the gumption to put the young guns to rest in October.

Bravo

The Colorado boys got worked in Maryland but they had some roster issues. I didn't see Beau or Popes in Poolesville and those are two of their best deep threats. Tripoli and Richter bring amazing intensity and Chicken and Willy D bring calm calculating precision, but Bravo depends on their deep studs. With these two and Hector absent, their velocity on D could have been an issue but if everyone shows up in Labor Day, they should look good. Jim Schoettler is a big pick up and I wonder what he can bring to the table. He's a veteran at 34/35 but he has as much big game experience as anyone and will add to Bravo's composure which they'll need to get back to the finals, if not win it all. They've got a lot of pressure on them considering their steady progression to the finals over the last 5-6 years but with Sockeye getting stunned in Vancouver, the Fish will not give them many chances if they duke it out in Florida.

Closing Thoughts

Unlike College, club seems to be so confusing during the regular season. The best teams rarely bring it beginning to end and much like Yale Cup, today's winners could be tomorrow's spectators. Every region has its own drama to deal with and come the series, we could see everything from Jam missing Nationals again to a young gun team like Bodhi break out of the NE ahead of GOAT and PoNY.

Labor Day will be the moment of truth and any team hoping to make some noise in their respective region will have to show up in Santa Cruz. Look for Revolver to blow up and I don't have to tell anyone how exciting a Furious/Sockeye rematch could be (look for the Fish to butcher the Monkies). I'm stoked to see how things go down but considering my guys are gold medalists, I could care less who takes Sarasota gold. Much like '04, '08 will be a total crap shoot. Chain is consistent, SZ is experienced, Bravo has a few black eyes, Jam is old, the Condors are young, I could go on and on (and I will, but later). Stay tuned folks.

just my thoughts

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