tomato, tomato.HopFan16 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 18, 2019 11:21 amGuess I'm just not really seeing that. Foley looks to be in decent position to me. Maybe he gets beat for a goal if there's no slide help, but you at least have to make him work for it. The chances of him beating Foley there 1on1 might be high, but it skyrockets to 100%+ Loyola goal if the crease guy slides to Spencer and leaves a dude wide open in Darby's face. It happens too fast to expect a second slide to be there on time. Even if the second slide reacts quickly he'll more than likely still be on the defenders' back and as we've seen Lindley only needs a fraction of a second to receive the pass before he quicksticks it into the back of the net. If the strategy was indeed "slide immediately to a dangerous Spencer dodge" then I'm not sure what they were thinking. Sure, it's pick your poison with Spencer, but to me turning him into a distributor is the deadlier poison. If you're really worried about Spencer beating Foley there then maybe you start hedging a slide before he crosses GLE to make Spencer hesitate a split second about going to the rack. That way you're still in a position to body up Lindley if Spencer still passes out of that. But the sudden, full commit to the slide in this situation will lead to a goal every time. Letting Foley go at Spencer alone will lead to a goal or two (as it did later in the game on the dive), but you can't just fork over easy opportunities to the best passer in the world.wgdsr wrote: ↑Mon Feb 18, 2019 9:22 am
goal 4: spencer gets inside/by foley. either that's why he slid, or that's a defense they're in (to go on a spencer dodge there). someone (maybe colwell) is at fault for not prepping a 2 slide, if in fact he didn't. but if he doesn't come, spencer is getting to the front of the goal. colwell coming basically causes spencer to pull up, and then of course pass. the 2 slide also needs to be there, regardless of someone asking for backup.
Anywho, appreciate your analysis, always good to get another pair of eyes on this stuff. No matter who is at fault for what it's clear that neither the defensive strategy nor the execution on Saturday were up to par.
spencer got inside him and has him on his back. foley doesn't even have the benefit from that angle of cutting thru crease. if you can picture no slide there, spencer is in front of the cage. best case scenario for hopkins on a hedge, spencer pulls up for a beat, but he knows as he squats foley is likely to push him upfield for a good angle/maybe hands free 5x5 island shot.
hopkins was in absolutely perfect position to cover a slide to spencer here. dipietro was there, and he had kuhn essentially on his back. the problem wasn't that there was no way to prevent a wide open crease guy. there are 2 guys there. the problem was that dipietro, though ready to cover the 2 slide... then hesitated, missed a beat, and that's all that it takes. the entire concept of a crease slide only works if you cover the 2 (and if needed with 2 offensive creasemen, the 3). but it's also what the entire concept is built around. you'll always be trailing a cutter to back pipe, but if you're there it's a check down once the ball is within 5 yards and a very likely turnover oob.
this is the difference between a very good defensive effort and a layup. everything was in place. one guy just didn't execute.
and the idea would be to not only prevent a spencer dodge to the cage, but get a second pole on his hands while spencer/loyola would need to find kuhn's guy, who is likely way up at the top of the box. hopkins would have time to recover, and they'd possibly have a chance to get the ball on the ground with the double. you just can't miss a slide --- obviously including to the guy cutting back pipe who can finish and spencer feeding.
forgot to include another goal earlier:
goal #3: spencer is set, that's not moving. the play is on foley. when the loyola mid redodges, regardless of whatever instructions there are on picks, foley needs to see hubler is going to get trapped on the redodge. he needs to do something more when a player with the ball is heading to a dangerous spot on the field than just try to get small (and end up being a double screen anyway). hubler did a good job on d, forcing him back (even if that's what loyola was trying to do anyway). it wouldn't surprise me if the entire dodge/redodge was loyola reading how hopkins was playing picks, and taking advantage. even with all of that, it's a spot where foley needs to recognize he has to do something to disrupt the dodge/shot. hubler's playing the ball, he can't play the ball and figure out how to run thru a double pick. it's also about a 14 + yd shot, tho well placed.