Johns Hopkins 2022

[molo]

And that one player—the best player on the field tonight—found himself covered way too often by a dm.

[wgdsr]

As a season ticket holder, this was the first game I actually attended. Squirming is the best way I can describe my experience. I almost wanted to close my eyes in the 1st qtr. when jays attempted to clear. Although, clearing improved greatly in the second half.

Jays came out flat and played worse than a VA public high school team. When viewing that, I put it on the players. At the Div. 1 level, I put it on the coaches.

Three years from now when their contracts are up, this coaching staff will be out on the street if they can’t find a way to scheme and motivate their players to respectable performances.

I love watching lacrosse on a warm spring night, but can’t abide what I’m seeing now with Hopkins lacrosse.

It’s not all about recruiting. This coaching staff is not getting the most out of these players.

The other possibility is that the players have tuned out the coaches.

you should coach a va public high school team. pm me when you do.

[MusaCyanocitta]

...

There are no "bad" JHU lacrosse teams, only some less successful teams.

Go Blue!

A former ref once said "All my calls were good calls. It's just that some were better than others..."

[Hoponboard]

I liked the way Narewski looked on FOs. He was moving well.

McManus with four TOs should not be clearing the ball.

I don’t think Hopkins was ready for Navy’s defensive intensity.

Peshko and Degnon keep improving from week to week.

[runrussellrun]

I think they do. I think last year’s team had a shot at the Final Four had they made the tournament.

yes, interesting ......years later, making, umm, THAT observation

the 2010 "gutt job" by the Devils, the "dude, U can't coach " became obvious , with that at home beat down by Denver in 2011,
the uninspired effort to a rival in 2012, Tillman being weird and keeping the game closer than reality........and than, finally, even the laxmafia couldn't get Hopkins, emphasis on "made" the tournament....in 2013.

DUDE (s)......that was 4 years of yuck, in reality we sUckh........

Nope, Hopkins pom poms celebrated the "extension" retention of THIS coaches stuff of legend....geez.....what was it, 2015?. or 2016?

but YES.......rpi and sos are wonderful metrics.

Face it, the years of Hopkins winning championships with TRANSFERS......is no longer a monopoly . Admissions has that word, covered.

(really, name ONE Hopkins championship team that did NOT have a transfer that produced ? We can start with those Navy transfers, players from Harvard, UVA, Duke, etc.

[Sagittarius A*]

Joe Wooten used to tell his players at Bishop O’Connell to ‘find the shooter.’ Meaning guard the player or players who can hurt you. The poor defense against Skalniak and Hewitt cost the Jays the game in the second half.

They seemed to have shorties on those guys all night long. Wouldn't you match then up with poles?
The Navy attack wasn't doing much, so put your best poles on them, right? I was scratching my head....

Given the inability to clear the ball, win faceoffs, or buy a ground ball I think the defense just wore down in the second half. They held Navy to three goals in the first half before collapsing in the 4th Quarter.
I seem to recall that Delany was pretty good at clearing the ball. Why not bring him back?
Narewski took some draws but didn't look like his old self.

[HopFan16]

If there is a tiny silver lining in what was otherwise a dark day for this program it was that clearing was perfect in the second half. Martin — where on earth have those punt return clears been all season? He can turn on the jets when he wants to. My guess is they don't want to tire him out for when he has to play defense but if we clear better then he won't have to play as much defense.

Peshko has looked like a different guy the last two games. Teams are smartly poling Angelus now which has left Peshko with some opportunities and he's taken advantage.

A lot of the offensive struggles start and end with DeSimone IMO. He's been taken out of the game for several weeks in a row now. I'm over hearing about Epstein's turnovers — he's also leading the team in points by a significant margin and leading offensive players in GBs. The bigger issues are A) we're getting very little from the quarterback of the offense and B) the second midfield provides zero pop. Injuries have had something to do with the latter. But that's like four straight games now where they've provided nothing, have no idea how the staff hasn't given one of the freshmen a chance there. How could it be worse?

On deck is a Sunday night trip to Delaware on tired legs and low morale. Leave with a W and maybe you enter Big Ten play with some momentum and can make a little run. Lose and, well, I don't really want to think about what things are going to be like around here. Doc might post 10 times in a row.

[runrussellrun]

If there is a tiny silver lining in what was otherwise a dark day for this program it was that clearing was perfect in the second half. Martin — where on earth have those punt return clears been all season? He can turn on the jets when he wants to. My guess is they don't want to tire him out for when he has to play defense but if we clear better then he won't have to play as much defense.

Peshko has looked like a different guy the last two games. Teams are smartly poling Angelus now which has left Peshko with some opportunities and he's taken advantage. As have opponents.......but (read on ) ....turnovers don't matter UNLESS ...huh

A lot of the offensive struggles start and end with DeSimone IMO. He's been taken out of the game for several weeks in a row now. I'm over hearing about Epstein's turnovers — he's also leading the team in points Hopkins is ranked 44th in the stat "offensive scoring", so , there's that. by a significant margin and leading offensive players in GBs.b/c of drops, bad passes, etc. why the love of so many GB's...almost embarrassing. The bigger issues are A) we're getting very little from the quarterback ahuh....who would Mt. St. Mary's offensive "qb" be ? of the offense and B) the second midfield provides zero pop. Injuries have had something to do with the latter. But that's like four straight games now where they've provided nothing, have no idea how the staff hasn't given one of the freshmen a chance there. How could it be worse?

On deck is a Sunday night trip to Delaware on tired legs and low morale. Leave with a W and maybe you enter Big Ten play with some momentum and can make a little run. Lose and, well, I don't really want to think about what things are going to be like around here. Doc might post 10 times in a row. Doc, a rare correct observation, pointed towards comments like this, not related to lacrosse, at all.

Who wood Hopkins qb be? Number Three? The player ranked behind Dukes Andrew McAdorey (who?-exactly) for assits per game? Bc, quarterbacks, are great assisters, yes.

[runrussellrun]

If there is a tiny silver lining in what was otherwise a dark day for this program it was that clearing was perfect in the second half. Martin — where on earth have those punt return clears been all season? He can turn on the jets when he wants to. My guess is they don't want to tire him out for when he has to play defense but if we clear better then he won't have to play as much defense.

Peshko has looked like a different guy the last two games. Teams are smartly poling Angelus now which has left Peshko with some opportunities and he's taken advantage. As have opponents.......but (read on ) ....turnovers don't matter UNLESS ...huh

A lot of the offensive struggles start and end with DeSimone IMO. He's been taken out of the game for several weeks in a row now. I'm over hearing about Epstein's turnovers — he's also leading the team in points Hopkins is ranked 44th in the stat "offensive scoring", so , there's that. by a significant margin and leading offensive players in GBs.b/c of drops, bad passes, etc. why the love of so many GB's...almost embarrassing. The bigger issues are A) we're getting very little from the quarterback ahuh....who would Mt. St. Mary's offensive "qb" be ? of the offense and B) the second midfield provides zero pop. Injuries have had something to do with the latter. But that's like four straight games now where they've provided nothing, have no idea how the staff hasn't given one of the freshmen a chance there. How could it be worse?

On deck is a Sunday night trip to Delaware on tired legs and low morale. Leave with a W and maybe you enter Big Ten play with some momentum and can make a little run. Lose and, well, I don't really want to think about what things are going to be like around here. Doc might post 10 times in a row. Doc, a rare correct observation, pointed towards comments like this, not related to lacrosse, at all.

Who wood Hopkins qb be? Number Three? The player ranked behind Dukes Andrew McAdorey (who?-exactly) for assits per game? Bc, quarterbacks, are great assisters, yes.

You're forgetting Peshko's "carpet munchers", shortened to (cm) for record keeping of a players "drops", where they ball just kind of "drops to the carpet/turf", without any clear defensive pressure. Peshko's had one pass in the "Cuse game where he kind of just "wiffed". Hopkins maintained possession....but they DID pick up another ground ball in their OFFENSIVE zone....as if it IS a good thing

[Sidelinehorn!]

Kirson 100% struggled to see the ball in the second half...Off ball d did not help...But a few high to high he guessed on and missed...Those are unfortunately the breaks and hopefully he will shake it off for Sunday....Entire team needs to play better IMO...'

Don't worry FLA I'll post when he doesn't play well

[51percentcorn]

So at the end of last year these same coaches were able to get their team to put up 13/15/12 and 10 (against Maryland a second time in a defensive type game). So I need to know the details of the accident Milliman and Junior were in that gave them irreperable memory loss and they have forgotten how to coach.

Do you realize that the Jays had only 5 turnovers and 0 failed clears after halftime? It's a crazy game - throw the ball all over the field and make unbelievable decisions leading to 12 turnovers and lead by 2. Clean everything up for a half around a major issue and allow 8 goals and lose.

For one more time - it's not hard to see why the offense is struggling - I don't see a cure
- They miss Williams so much more than I anticipated. Whatever you thought of him and his decision making or shooting - he was big/mobile/could get to different positions on the field and he demanded slides from alot of teams - maybe a Makar or Grill or someone like that monster for UVA could handle him alot 1v1 but game in game out he posed a threat because he was huge and could dodge. Teammates were ultimately open because he drew a slide. The absence of Williams and a suitable replacement has contributed to altering the chemistry of the offense.
- Every team has them and it's not an excuse but again - explanations are different IMO than excuses - injuries damage teams more that a) don't have alot of depth and b) don't have a superstar or a couple to compensate. Grimes was supposed to be a huge part of this equation - I know Fatty thinks he's overrated - but he can't get to the field - he's played in less than half the games and he's still 6th or whatever on the scoresheet. Peshko is starting to rev up after some injuries. McDermott's obviously hurt and despite the fact that he's not wearing a wrap or a brace - DeSimone looks a shadow of the player from last year - his shot percentage is back down to half of what it was in '21 - 40 to 20 and he's not beating anybody from behind the net. He scored 25 goals in 13 games last year - he has 9 through 8 games. For anyone that was paying attention - you may have noticed the coaches tried something very different last night in putting Epstein behind the goal alot more in their sets and DeSimone rotated around the field. His one goal was a semi alley dodge.
- Midfields that once put three guys on the field with size that could bring heat and demand attention and create some space - along with Williams - has been reduced to one - of course Degnon is replacing Williams right now and is on the field all the time and he has developed to be a bit more than a standstill shooter and is clearly Hopkins most effective offensive weapon - but he is not going to create his own shot like the one dodge against Navy last night on a real frequent basis. 3 of his 4 goals were assisted last night. He is obviously most productive when he has T&R and can set his feet. This requires dodging and defensive adjustments that leave him that time and room.
- The smaller players can all have moments - alot of teams would like to have Angelus - he's very likely to eclipse his point total from last year - but again night in and night out there are two issues - they are all - Keogh, Angelus, McDermott, Bauer (when he plays) converted attackman playing at points on the field not ideal for their stature and they don't possess that elite ankle breaking quickness or speed to automatically demand slides. Only Raposo was a middie in high school. Look at it this way - and I know Peshko has been on the #1 line for only a short time but your first midfield has taken 84 shots to date - 10 a game - about 3 per player. They can't get their shots off and BTW - the other teams have paid professionals at the other end coaching too - is it by accident that Keogh has taken twice as many shots as Angelus and shooting 17%? Navy's first mid-field took 23 shots last night. Also - since Degnon has been placed on Attack - he has taken 31 of his 54 shots in the last three games which means when he was a midfielder he was taking about 4 shots per game. Middies are not creating shots for themselves.
- The second mid-field has generated 7 goals on 26 shots and 4 of the 7 goals came in one game.
- There is no other way to say it - your three time captain - playing as hard as he is - is not playing well and is making too many poor decisions - he had 24 turnovers in 13 games last year - he already has 20 - he's on pace for mid to high 30's and with the exception of last night to a degree - he's not been the primary ball carrier. Hindsight being 20/20 I wish he woold have borrowed a page from Ryan Brown's book and yanked that EMO shot low - Ryan was sitting on the upper left corner.

So - a very long winded way of saying - even though Hopkins was returning all but one offensive player from an offense that started to looked like it had at least some propane in the tank at the end of last year - the chemistry/injuries and the effect of that one player has not been replaced AT ALL is leading to the product on the field - throw in the clearing woes and they don't get as many opportunities as they should but again - 0 failed clears in the second half - 2.5 turnovers per quarter in the second half - 5 goals.

[runrussellrun]

As a season ticket holder, this was the first game I actually attended. Squirming is the best way I can describe my experience. I almost wanted to close my eyes in the 1st qtr. when jays attempted to clear. Although, clearing improved greatly in the second half.

Jays came out flat and played worse than a VA public high school team. When viewing that, I put it on the players. At the Div. 1 level, I put it on the coaches.

Three years from now when their contracts are up, this coaching staff will be out on the street if they can’t find a way to scheme and motivate their players to respectable performances.

I love watching lacrosse on a warm spring night, but can’t abide what I’m seeing now with Hopkins lacrosse.

It’s not all about recruiting. This coaching staff is not getting the most out of these players.

The other possibility is that the players have tuned out the coaches.

you should coach a va public high school team. pm me when you do.

man, it seemed like yesterday "we" were suing clownish athletic Directors just to have lacrosse programs. Virginia publics have a state playoff structure yet


"this here IS triple A ball", "well, what an opportunity, to learn from the best"

[51percentcorn]

Virginia publics have a state playoff structure yet

I know I am beating my own head with a ball peen hammer but what does this even mean? Just say it. Virginia has had a state play-off in lacrosse for many years - like Virginia does in football (and other sports - as do many states) it's divided up by the relative sizes of the school. So the 6 Division is pretty much limited to the ginormous public high schools in the DC metro area with maybe a Richmond or Tidewater (like the famous 757 area code for football) school thrown in. The 4 and 5 brackets have schools from Roanoke, Albemarle etc. etc. So if that comment is directed that the tournaments are not inclusive of all schools - there is virtually no way a school with 400-500 kids is going to beat Westfield in football with 3000 kids or in lacrosse.

And why even pick that thread up - HOB was obviously exaggerating to affirm a point everyone else has been making - Hopkins clearing has been very poor. At one point they were 4 out of 7 - 60 someodd percent

[runrussellrun]

Virginia publics have a state playoff structure yet

I know I am beating my own head with a ball peen hammer but what does this even mean? Just say it. Virginia has had a state play-off in lacrosse for many years - like Virginia does in football (and other sports - as do many states) it's divided up by the relative sizes of the school. So the 6 Division is pretty much limited to the ginormous public high schools in the DC metro area with maybe a Richmond or Tidewater (like the famous 757 area code for football) school thrown in. The 4 and 5 brackets have schools from Roanoke, Albemarle etc. etc. So if that comment is directed that the tournaments are not inclusive of all schools - there is virtually no way a school with 400-500 kids is going to beat Westfield in football with 3000 kids or in lacrosse.

And why even pick that thread up - HOB was obviously exaggerating to affirm a point everyone else has been making - Hopkins clearing has been very poor. At one point they were 4 out of 7 - 60 someodd percent

huh....you introduced Virgina public HS lacrosse. ...haven't cared about VA lacrosse since family member graduated and attended a pretty good D3 program. Decided to go "green" instead of keeping on playing, if you know what we mean

[51percentcorn]

huh....you introduced Virgina public HS lacrosse. ...haven't cared about VA lacrosse since family member graduated and attended a pretty good D3 program. Decided to go "green" instead of keeping on playing, if you know what we mean

No - I did not introduce VA public lacrosse - HOB did
and no - I never have any idea what you mean

[HopFan16]

Speaking of VA lacrosse, I doubt they'd make a move this substantial but why not put Angelus on attack if he's going to get poled anyway? He's clearly one of our three best playmakers right now. If he's going to get one of the opponent's best defensemen as a middie then you might as well keep him out there all the time. Gotta shake it up a little bit. Good things tend to happen when he's the primary or secondary initiator in a set.

Sag said "Narewski did not look like himself" — who would coming in cold off the bench, taking your first draws of the season in March? Still went 2 of 5 and the ones he lost he turned into scraps. Our wings have to be better. All things considered I thought he was moving fluidly and that should bode well for Big Ten play.

Hawley came up with a mammoth GB on the wing late in the game that should have iced it, but the offense squandered the chance. Had leads of 9-8 and then 10-9 with five minutes to go, had multiple opportunities to end the game but couldn't get it done. Tip your cap to the Mids, they wanted it more.

I don't think Delaware has a dodger/athletic presence as dominant as Skalniak but they are deeper on offense and have a few guys (Robinson comes to mind) who will make you pay if you give them time and room. On tired legs I am v worried about the defense tomorrow night

[molo]

Maybe they want one natural lefty attackman.

[HopFan16]

Maybe they want one natural lefty attackman.

that's fine, it doesn't have to be at the expense of degnon/grimes

[BlueJaySince1947]

Speaking of VA lacrosse, I doubt they'd make a move this substantial but why not put Angelus on attack if he's going to get poled anyway? He's clearly one of our three best playmakers right now. If he's going to get one of the opponent's best defensemen as a middie then you might as well keep him out there all the time. Gotta shake it up a little bit. Good things tend to happen when he's the primary or secondary initiator in a set.

Sag said "Narewski did not look like himself" — who would coming in cold off the bench, taking your first draws of the season in March? Still went 2 of 5 and the ones he lost he turned into scraps. Our wings have to be better. All things considered I thought he was moving fluidly and that should bode well for Big Ten play.

Hawley came up with a mammoth GB on the wing late in the game that should have iced it, but the offense squandered the chance. Had leads of 9-8 and then 10-9 with five minutes to go, had multiple opportunities to end the game but couldn't get it done. Tip your cap to the Mids, they wanted it more.

I don't think Delaware has a dodger/athletic presence as dominant as Skalniak but they are deeper on offense and have a few guys (Robinson comes to mind) who will make you pay if you give them time and room. On tired legs I am v worried about the defense tomorrow night

Yes...quite a bit more...that's what the Jays are lacking.

[Wood Sticks 4ever]

Hipkins offense is awful. That's the story. They are averaging 10 goals a game. It is just not good. You cam make whatever excuses you want about TOs or clearing at the end of the day. There just isn't that much talent.. not a single guy on offense can beat their man. Their is no Skuliank that can just beat their player.

It isn't scheme it is players

Steel is on point. I just watchied Maryland v. Virginia, and I'm hard pressed to think of any JHU player who could even make the field. Maybe Epstein as the third A on Maryland, but that is it. We have some good complementary players, no but alpha dog (e. g. Tinney or Brown). Until that changes, the Skuliant's of this world are going to eat our lunch.