THE 2019 Hopkins Lacrosse Fallout Shelter (44, we want more!)

[Chitown]

Random thoughts:

Maryland is a winnable game. Terps beat OSU in OT. Hop lost to OSU by one goal, giving up a six goal lead. Maryland's attack consists of a lot of one-on-one dodges and a Slow methodical offense. Good for a Hopkins, when it is physically out-matched. The pace of the Game favors the underdog.


The "egg-timer" metaphor for coaches at a "high pressure program". Absolutely true. Football: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Alabama. Michigan, etc. Basketball: Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State, etc. Excellence in performance creates expectations of continued success. Lacrosse is a tiny niche non-revenue producing sport. Handle the "pressure"? Come on ! That sort of pressure is welcomed at JHU by its players and fans.


In retrospect, the JHU season was disappointing because the OSU, Syracuse, Virginia, Towson, & Loyola games were all winnable with our existing players.


The main job of a Coach is To Teach. The players should improve in their skills, knowledge and execution of the game. How did that go for us this year?


I think that most, if not all, former Hopkins players believe that The Johns Hopkins University and Hopkins Lacrosse are very special. They had a chance to become part of something historical. If you have the opportunity to coach the Blue, you would become well-known in this little sport forever. I don't believe that any former Hopkins player would turn down that offer.

[laxxygilmore]

FanLax Navy fan here. I would like to offer an equal trade 1v1, all pay and benefits are equal, just swap positions. To sweeten the deal, maybe RS can bring Kevin Crowley back as a new OC for you guys. We will allow that as part of the trade.

Would rather get Cindy in return instead.

Cindy is on her way, WOMBAT...

[HopFan16]

Tell you what: if and when they get a new coach, and I'll be back here to take wagers on how he'll do over five years. If his name doesn't rhyme with Phil Shmearney, I'll bet he does worse in a five year contract than Petro did.

Example? Tiffany is three years into his contract, and still doesn't have a NCAA playoff. He could win the National Championship the next three years in a row.

Or.....continue the streak. We'll see.

Not a great example. You have to give a new coach at least a few years to get his recruits in, create a team culture, and install his schemes before you really start to evaluate. If in a year or two Virginia still hasn't won a playoff game under Tiffany then yeah maybe you start to ask questions. But based on what he's done so far, if I'm a Virginia fan, I feel more optimistic now than I did at the very end of Starsia's tenure. Starsia missed the playoffs two of his last four years and lost in the first round (to Hopkins, of all teams) the other two. Virginia is about to make its second NCAA appearance in three years under Tiffany, so technically he's already improved the team from where they left off. Not sure exactly what your point here is—had you wagered Tiffany would do worse over five years than where the program was right before he was hired, then it's looking to me like you'd be losing some coin.

Speaking generally here across all sports at various levels—even if a coaching staff is not wholly to "blame" for a long streak of disappointing play, that shouldn't mean other avenues shouldn't be explored. All good things come to an end. It's not a lifetime appointment. Sometimes teams, companies, countries, etc. benefit from a change in leadership style. Maybe they don't benefit. Maybe it'll be worse. But at a certain point you have to try.

[a fan]

Not a great example. You have to give a new coach at least a few years to get his recruits in, create a team culture, and install his schemes before you really start to evaluate. If in a year or two Virginia still hasn't won a playoff game under Tiffany then yeah maybe you start to ask questions.

I understand all that. Do you understand that 5 years is pretty much the boilerplate standard contract for new lacrosse coaches?

Tiffany's is for five years. He's 2/5th through his contract and no NCAA wins as of today.. That's all I'm saying. UVa fans and alum have to decide if the bar is "do better than the last two years of your predecessor".

If he still doesn't get a win this year, which is entirely possible, now he's 3/5th into his contract with no NCAA wins. This might be just fine for UVa, I have no idea one way or another.

And again, for all I know, UVa could rip off three Championships in a row.

[DMac]

Chitown wrote
I think that most, if not all, former Hopkins players believe that The Johns Hopkins University and Hopkins Lacrosse are very special. They had a chance to become part of something historical. If you have the opportunity to coach the Blue, you would become well-known in this little sport forever. I don't believe that any former Hopkins player would turn down that offer.

I can't imagine too many non former Hopkins players would be excited to be the HC at Hop.
You'd have to be a fool to put yourself in that position, IMO. Unless, of course, you're into the
humiliation-submission thing.

[FannOLax]

... All good things come to an end. It's not a lifetime appointment. Sometimes teams, companies, countries, etc. benefit from a change in leadership style. Maybe they don't benefit. Maybe it'll be worse. But at a certain point you have to try.

HopFan16, do you think that certain point will probably have been reached by, say, mid-May of this year?

Well Dmac, I think Hopkins could get somebody good, JHU alum or otherwise.

[steel_hop]

Not a great example. You have to give a new coach at least a few years to get his recruits in, create a team culture, and install his schemes before you really start to evaluate. If in a year or two Virginia still hasn't won a playoff game under Tiffany then yeah maybe you start to ask questions.

I understand all that. Do you understand that 5 years is pretty much the boilerplate standard contract for new lacrosse coaches?

Tiffany's is for five years. He's 2/5th through his contract and no NCAA wins as of today.. That's all I'm saying. UVa fans and alum have to decide if the bar is "do better than the last two years of your predecessor".

If he still doesn't get a win this year, which is entirely possible, now he's 3/5th into his contract with no NCAA wins. This might be just fine for UVa, I have no idea one way or another.

And again, for all I know, UVa could rip off three Championships in a row.

Well, I guess we will see. Not sure what your point is beyond it could be worse. This is easily the worst decade of Hopkins lacrosse (yes, there is the caveat college lacrosse is more competitive) but at some point if you dont make a change you are Army football.

As it has been said sometimes change is needed for all parties. It brings a fresh perspective for players, organizations and allows coaches that have objectively stagnated to go find a new place to provide wisdom too.

6 years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles fired the most successful coach ever in thier franchise. Some people were aghast that the Eagles did that. He was replaced by a guy that clearly wasnt as good. 3 years after that Kellybwas fired and replaced by Doug Pederson. In his 2nd year, he won a Super Bowl. Ask how many people that thought firing Andy Reid was a bad idea, if it was a bad idea in February 2018.

It also worked out for Andy Reid. Hes been rejuvenated in KC.

Sometimes change is good. If it doesnt work out. As you said, 5 years later (or less) somebody else can get the job.

You cant keep the same staff in place for a decade with poor results, not change anything, and expect there to be improvements. The staff had shown itself, in it's current set up and expect any changes than it has been i.e. a struggle to make the playoffs ever year.

[Wheels]

Random thoughts:

Maryland is a winnable game. Terps beat OSU in OT. Hop lost to OSU by one goal, giving up a six goal lead. Maryland's attack consists of a lot of one-on-one dodges and a Slow methodical offense. Good for a Hopkins, when it is physically out-matched. The pace of the Game favors the underdog.

Interesting take on Maryland's offense, and it sounds like something Quint used to say about the Terps but no longer does. It's true that the Terps have 2 elite dodgers in Bernhardt and Fairman, but you will a ton of ball movement from the Terps. 64% of their goals are assisted, which isn't indicative of a dodge-heavy offense. Nor would I say that the offense is slow like Notre Dame or Denver. Again, if you watch a couple of Maryland games, you'll notice that the ball doesn't die in anyone stick for very long.

Teams that beat Maryland (PSU and Notre Dame) do two things: win a lot of face-offs and force a lot of isolation dodging. The Terps FOGO unit has been up and down. High level, their FOGO stats look good. Game-to-game looks more feast/famine. When Wisnauskas, Bernhardt, and DeMaio have multiple assists, the Terps are really difficult to beat.

Foley has played really well against Bernhardt in the past. That's going to be a really fun "game within the game" match up to watch. It will also be interesting to see if Rapine bumps up to take Fairman, or if Kuhn plays him. Some teams have double-poled Maryland's 1st midfield unit (on Fairman and DeMaio) and played Dubick in the crease with a short stick. I won't be surprised at all to see JHU do the same. Maryland's second midfield line is big and physical. They don't score a ton, but they sure seem to be on the field a lot when the attack unit scores. All 3 (Snider is back on the 2nd line with freshman Kyle Long bumping to the 1st) are big and mobile. Long is an interesting player. He's an attackman. They'll invert him often, and he's a pass-first player.

If the Terps battle to 50-50 on face-offs, their offense is going to score a lot of goals.

[DocBarrister]

Tell you what: if and when they get a new coach, and I'll be back here to take wagers on how he'll do over five years. If his name doesn't rhyme with Phil Shmearney, I'll bet he does worse in a five year contract than Petro did.

Example? Tiffany is three years into his contract, and still doesn't have a NCAA playoff. He could win the National Championship the next three years in a row.

Or.....continue the streak. We'll see.

Not a great example. You have to give a new coach at least a few years to get his recruits in, create a team culture, and install his schemes before you really start to evaluate. If in a year or two Virginia still hasn't won a playoff game under Tiffany then yeah maybe you start to ask questions. But based on what he's done so far, if I'm a Virginia fan, I feel more optimistic now than I did at the very end of Starsia's tenure. Starsia missed the playoffs two of his last four years and lost in the first round (to Hopkins, of all teams) the other two. Virginia is about to make its second NCAA appearance in three years under Tiffany, so technically he's already improved the team from where they left off. Not sure exactly what your point here is—had you wagered Tiffany would do worse over five years than where the program was right before he was hired, then it's looking to me like you'd be losing some coin.

Speaking generally here across all sports at various levels—even if a coaching staff is not wholly to "blame" for a long streak of disappointing play, that shouldn't mean other avenues shouldn't be explored. All good things come to an end. It's not a lifetime appointment. Sometimes teams, companies, countries, etc. benefit from a change in leadership style. Maybe they don't benefit. Maybe it'll be worse. But at a certain point you have to try.

Just a quick observation, HopFan16 ... you do realize that Coach Pietramala is your avatar on this forum, right?

Maybe it’s time to replace his picture with “TBD”. Just sayin’.

DocBarrister

[DocBarrister]

FanLax Navy fan here. I would like to offer an equal trade 1v1, all pay and benefits are equal, just swap positions. To sweeten the deal, maybe RS can bring Kevin Crowley back as a new OC for you guys. We will allow that as part of the trade.

Would rather get Cindy in return instead.

Cindy is on her way, WOMBAT...

Hey, Wombat ...


... I always thought you were more partial to Kathy ...






... Ireland, that is.

DocBarrister (inside joke, folks)

[jhu72]

Possible defensive midfield recruits - two are available. They even look like Blue Jays.

[WOMBAT, Mod Emeritus]

...

[DocBarrister]

FanLax Navy fan here. I would like to offer an equal trade 1v1, all pay and benefits are equal, just swap positions. To sweeten the deal, maybe RS can bring Kevin Crowley back as a new OC for you guys. We will allow that as part of the trade.

Would rather get Cindy in return instead.

Cindy is on her way, WOMBAT...

Hey, Wombat ...


... I always thought you were more partial to Kathy ...






... Ireland, that is.

DocBarrister (inside joke, folks)

Do you know where she works?

I’d like to say under me, but that would be inappropriate.

That WOULD be inappropriate.

Of course I know! Find it rather amusing.

Noticed Kathy lost a part of herself ...



... Y Lord?!? Y???

DocBarrister

[DocBarrister]

Possible defensive midfield recruits - two are available. They even look like Blue Jays.

Are they available for Saturday’s game? Communication might be an issue ... as it’s been all season long.

DocBarrister

[Peter Brown]

And if by "these days" you mean this year specifically, then maybe. But it was just last year that the Jays were arguably the better team in The Rivalry A 3OT loss which either team could have won and then a pretty definitive three-goal victory in the Big Ten tournament. Obviously Maryland had their number the four previous meetings (though two of those were 1-goal margins) but Hop won the previous three before that. Maryland is 6-4 against Hopkins in their last 10 meetings. 95-88 if you tally all the goals in each games. Better, yes, not dominant. Seems pretty close to parity to me. You actually think Towson would be faring better against the Terps? I doubt that. Loyola might do just as well but either one of or both of those coaching staffs apparently have no interest in playing the other. Who is scared of whom here?

My ranking of state of Maryland teams:

1. Loyola
2. Towson
3. Maryland
4. Mount St. Mary's
5. Maryland Women
6. Calvert Hall High School
7a.Hopkins
7b.Salisbury
8. Stevenson

[HopFan16]

My ranking of state of Maryland teams:

1. Loyola

I get you're joking but I am genuinely curious as to why Maryland does not play Loyola or Towson. You'd think the best teams in Maryland would want to schedule each other.

Just a quick observation, HopFan16 ... you do realize that Coach Pietramala is your avatar on this forum, right?

Maybe it’s time to replace his picture with “TBD”. Just sayin’.

If the time comes then perhaps I will consider retiring the ol' avatar. But until that day, it stays. As long as the thumb is raised, there is hope for the Jays.

[sguy9]

My ranking of state of Maryland teams:

1. Loyola
2. Towson
3. Maryland
4. Mount St. Mary's
5. Maryland Women
6. Calvert Hall High School
7a.Hopkins
7b.Salisbury
8. Stevenson

I'd take Stevenson off this list, they are no longer any good. Beat up on a crappy conference but can't beat anyone with talent. Maybe Cantabene and Petro switch jobs and see what happens?

[seacoaster]

My ranking of state of Maryland teams:

1. Loyola
2. Towson
3. Maryland
4. Mount St. Mary's
5. Maryland Women
6. Calvert Hall High School
7a.Hopkins
7b.Salisbury
8. Stevenson

I'd take Stevenson off this list, they are no longer any good. Beat up on a crappy conference but can't beat anyone with talent. Maybe Cantabene and Petro switch jobs and see what happens?

You forgot the JHU Women, who've had a pretty good year. Page count.

[foreverlax]

My ranking of state of Maryland teams:

1. Loyola

I get you're joking but I am genuinely curious as to why Maryland does not play Loyola or Towson. You'd think the best teams in Maryland would want to schedule each other.

Just a quick observation, HopFan16 ... you do realize that Coach Pietramala is your avatar on this forum, right?

Maybe it’s time to replace his picture with “TBD”. Just sayin’.

If the time comes then perhaps I will consider retiring the ol' avatar. But until that day, it stays. As long as the thumb is raised, there is hope for the Jays.

Tillman had an issue with Towson...they weren't going to add enough to SOS.

Plus by adding out of state teams he felt he would be able to improve the profile of the Terps, when it comes to recruiting.

[jusreLaxin]

And if by "these days" you mean this year specifically, then maybe. But it was just last year that the Jays were arguably the better team in The Rivalry A 3OT loss which either team could have won and then a pretty definitive three-goal victory in the Big Ten tournament. Obviously Maryland had their number the four previous meetings (though two of those were 1-goal margins) but Hop won the previous three before that. Maryland is 6-4 against Hopkins in their last 10 meetings. 95-88 if you tally all the goals in each games. Better, yes, not dominant. Seems pretty close to parity to me. You actually think Towson would be faring better against the Terps? I doubt that. Loyola might do just as well but either one of or both of those coaching staffs apparently have no interest in playing the other. Who is scared of whom here?

My ranking of state of Maryland teams:

1. Loyola
2. Towson
3. Maryland
4. Mount St. Mary's
5. Maryland Women
6. Calvert Hall High School
7a.Hopkins
7b.Salisbury
8. Stevenson

I like this Maryland lacrosse ranking a little better:

1. Maryland
2. Loyola
3. Towson
4. Salisbury
5. Maryland Women
6. Severna Park
7. Hopkins
8. The Mount
9. Hopkins Women
10. Stevenson

And totally unbiased