John L
19 Jan 2006, 07:07 PM
Amongst all the discussion about formations (3-5-2 v 4-4-2 v 4-5-1 v 4-3-3) and personnel (Gomez, Adu, Quaranta, Moreno, Walker, etc) and what type of Offense would work better, we've forgotten one of the great things we used to have with Eddie Pope and even Ryan Nelsen - DISTRIBUTION - And not just passing the ball up to some withdrawn Forward or square to Halfback who's dropped way back - I mean the genteel, subtle duking of the opposing Forwards and the penetrating dribble up the middle well past the circle - And then starting the string of passes and runs that split the opposing Defense
Pope, in his best years with us, did this many times - It added another significant dimension to the attack which was otherwise predictably funnelled through Etch - Every time I started to see this happen, my heart went into my throat - So fearful that Eddie would lose it like Williams - But each time he would effortlessly finesse by these guys - He obviously picked the best times for this when the opposing Forwards were pressing more on the outside vacating the middle - And he always had options wide and was always backed up deeply by Llamossa (sorry for the mis-spelling)
And as much as we miss Nelsen's obvious poise and control along the back line, we also miss his passing and distribution - I remember his first few games for us replacing Williams as Central DefMid - What a huge difference - Every first touch was a penetrating pass
Is this something we miss and really need as another option so that our Offensive starts are less predictable? - I don't think its a crying need if we want to coast through another season and hope to catch fire at the right moment in the playoffs - But if we want to put a stamp on the league as the most dangerously versatile team to reckon with, then this is what we need to re-gain
Most likely candidates? - wowzer - We had Pope, and then nobody for a long time - Then we had Ryan, and he couldn't be replaced by Petke or by Carroll - Simms is a strong presence in the middle holding the ball and is an option for central defense in a 4-man Defense, but we haven't seen the kind of ease through pressure that Pope had
Erpen or Boswell? - Nobody knows if they can do least of all themselves - Bobby (as much as I'm fond of his play) doesn't seem to have the skills - And Erpen is still too flaky - If he calms down, picks his spots carefully and is adequately backed up by Boswell, this could work
"THIS COULD WORK" - Young Frankenstein - Words of incredulity to live by
Pope, in his best years with us, did this many times - It added another significant dimension to the attack which was otherwise predictably funnelled through Etch - Every time I started to see this happen, my heart went into my throat - So fearful that Eddie would lose it like Williams - But each time he would effortlessly finesse by these guys - He obviously picked the best times for this when the opposing Forwards were pressing more on the outside vacating the middle - And he always had options wide and was always backed up deeply by Llamossa (sorry for the mis-spelling)
And as much as we miss Nelsen's obvious poise and control along the back line, we also miss his passing and distribution - I remember his first few games for us replacing Williams as Central DefMid - What a huge difference - Every first touch was a penetrating pass
Is this something we miss and really need as another option so that our Offensive starts are less predictable? - I don't think its a crying need if we want to coast through another season and hope to catch fire at the right moment in the playoffs - But if we want to put a stamp on the league as the most dangerously versatile team to reckon with, then this is what we need to re-gain
Most likely candidates? - wowzer - We had Pope, and then nobody for a long time - Then we had Ryan, and he couldn't be replaced by Petke or by Carroll - Simms is a strong presence in the middle holding the ball and is an option for central defense in a 4-man Defense, but we haven't seen the kind of ease through pressure that Pope had
Erpen or Boswell? - Nobody knows if they can do least of all themselves - Bobby (as much as I'm fond of his play) doesn't seem to have the skills - And Erpen is still too flaky - If he calms down, picks his spots carefully and is adequately backed up by Boswell, this could work
"THIS COULD WORK" - Young Frankenstein - Words of incredulity to live by