I know we are two months away for the season opener but what expectations have you put on the boys? I for one hope we score a goal. I will be really disappointed if we lose. Your thoughts??
Missing Klein, Garcia, and Wolff we are holding are own. It sounded like there were some questionable offside calls in the first games. It's conditioning, bonding, and teamwork that's key here. Plus it sounds like a pretty good cultural experience. I'll wait till the season starts before I get very critical, BUT, I would like to see a few goals.
I think what Bob said after yesterdays game is very true: Defense is much easier to play than offense early in the season. It takes more cohesiveness to put the ball in the net. I'm sure come April with Klien, Preki, Wolff all together we'll put some in the net.
What I want from this south africa tour is to find out who makes a case for starting and who does not. Also I want to see some cohesiveness in the back. Last year it would have been nice to score three or for more goals, it would have been better to stop three or for more though.
I have been impressed by our defenders too. In particular Burciaga and Conrad look very solid. Though I am not convinced by the calibre of opposition. When both SA teams ran at the heart of our back three/four we looked very vulnerable. I am less concerned about our lack of height than I was at the end of last season. That seems to be have been solved. Speed is still an issue for me. Memories of the Columbus forwards running our defenders ragged at Arrowhead are still strong I guess. As for the forwards, we haven't even see Igor and Fabbro play together up front yet. I would imagine that would be the starting pair if Fabbro gets moving. Right now, I think Gansler wants to see how all the new players do, give them time and see how they fit in. Strange as it sounds this is not a time to be worried about winning games or scoring lots of goals (though that would be nice) but to figure out who stays on the roster, who gets cut and which positions and formations suit the personnel best. Saying all that, I'd like to see a friggin' goal on Saturday!
"Quill came up from the tackle limping and was forced to come off with a strained hamstring." Trying to regain his 2002 form I see... I hope Eric Quill can stay healthy long enough to play a few games this season.
That's exactly what a preseason tour like this should do ... separate those who can step up and contribute and those who can't. You know guys like Garcia, Klein and Wolff will be in the reckoning but won't always be there, so this is the perfect opportunity for the other players to make their case for starting spots or PT. I'm not at all disappointed. The offense will come around when it needs to.