Open Finals Thoughts

I suppose in my write up I didn't actually say much about the Open final. It aired at like 6am for some folks so potentially a lot of you didn't actually see the game. Here are some thoughts.

Ironside is a really young team relative to Jam. Guys like Doug Moore, Forch, Rosenthal, and McCarthy were fairly established with DoG and guys like Seigs and C-Mo have been there for awhile as well, despite only being 25 or so, but a lot of Ironside's talent is still really new.

Will Neff anchors their D-line and Jasper was a fundamental component of their offense. Kurt Gibson was not in attendance and despite rumors I've heard, I really do not know the answer to why he wasn't there. In any event, Ironside's performance in the finals did not resemble the patient and conservative Boston ultimate I was expecting. Recently Jeff Graham has established himself as a dominat deep threat for Forch and they really went for the throat down wind.

However, despite connecting on a few occasions, it was just a matter of time before Jeff could not make a play and it came on this huck. Forch had already launched two huge backhand bombs and third time was not a charm. Jam scooped up the turn and I think this was when they took another break and led 13-10 or so.

In any event, this sequence seemed to sum up the Finals. Boston seemed to exhibit their youth and while that gets you amazing plays, it also brings bitter consequences. Jam, alternatively, relied on endless chemistry between their established roster. Recently, in this game, O-line and D-line assignments have become really popular. However, Jam did not rely on such set lines. Jeff Eastham is a great defender but at times he played O. Bart Watson is one of their best handlers but at times he plays defense. Likewise, Steets is a great cutter because of his vertical presence and size, but he also will find himself in zone D situations and man defense. Namkung and Husak bounce a round a little bit and of any team at Nationals, Jam was probably the most inconsistent when it came to O/D-line assignments, in my opinion.

With this in mind, they seemed to really rely on cohesion. Every player on the team knows everyone else and in conditions as unpredictable as Sarasota with very high winds, they were seamless. The wind almost seemed like an 8th defender and they handled it very well. In addition, I want to say that this team could have beaten anyone Sunday, but I believe that Jam got a lucky draw in Boston. Coming into the Finals, Jam was clearly the front runner when it came to experience. Only two of Boston's players had played in a game of this magnitude and many had come and gone since their last semifinals appearance so Finals was definitely a new experience, even for veterans like Forseter.

However, Jam has been there in semis almost every year of this millennium. Guys like Watson, Damien Scott, Idris, Jon Zalisk, Safdie, and Dan Hodges were all there in 2004 when they made Finals last (lost on Universe to Sockeye) and it is no surprise that they were ready for the Finals. They were more or less the Boston Celtics of Ultimate this year and the drop off in Sockeye and Furious was like the Pistons and the Spurs crumbling. This was Jam's time to shine. They have such a ridiculously talented roster and like Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, they just needed the stars to align to give them a shot at a ring. I'm not saying they couldn't take out Sockeye, Furious or Bravo consistently but I definitely think Jam benefited from shifts in power. It's kind of like Obama's election today. He is a fantastic candidate (and Jam is a great team) but the republicans (Sockeye and Furious) digging themselves a ditch doesn't hurt.

I mean come on, they lose to Boston in Pool Play 15-12 and Sockeye gets ahead and wins out 15-13 in power pools. In pool play, Jam's experience was not enough because there was little pressure on Ironside. The depth of their roster was good coming into the third game of the day on Thursday but with only 1 game to play, the pressure must have been tough for a young Ironside team. I think Boston's best days are ahead of them however. Guys like Stubbs and Brent Anderson need time with Boston as do a slew of their other stalwarts like Trey Katzenbach and Dan Patiestas. They will continue to improve in the near future and with the recent visibility of GOAT, Boston has a legitimate regional challenge that is not in their own state. Toronto's improvement is the best thing for Boston in the sense that it will keep their fires lit. The Canadians are nipping at their heels and they play a totally different ball game.

As for Jam's performance against Sockeye, I think Seattle's intensity coupled with experience in Sarasota put them at a distinct advantage. They have the athletes to challenge Jam's O-line and their defensive efficiency (when focused) was enough to collect the breaks to keep victory out of Jam's hands. Sockeye's D-line is almost as experienced as their O-line and if they are on, they can score as effectively as anyone else. But they had their own demons with Bravo so Jam didn't have to face them.

And as for Bravo, I know for a fact that Jam is not seen as much of a challenge. They owned Jam last year and in their only contest in '08 they won 13-8. I think Bravo took too much weight off their shoulders after beating Sockeye in Quarters and Jam was pissed off enough to get their intensity level up, probably more so than the Finals. In watching Bravo beat out such a dominant adversary it is not surprising that they looked past Jam.

In any event, Jam's chemistry produced one of the best offensive threats in Sarasota and they handled the wind so amazingly well. On Saturday they rolled Revolver 15-9 in Quarters and after that game I really began to see that Jam knew what the hell they were doing. When they went up 6-2 on Bravo I thought to myself, they might just win this whole thing. I over estimated Boston's poise going into the Finals, but looking back I definitely realize that Jam was playing the best Ultimate of anyone on Saturday and Sunday.

Congratulations to San Francisco. Of anyone at Nationals they deserved a title more than anyone. Few teams have put in the years that guys like Idris have and it was nice to witness their glory. I was talking to Husak at the party and we brought up the fact that he and Namkung were the only male worlds players to win Nationals and gold. Congrats again.

just some more of my thoughts

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