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Burnt Ends Dinner with Gunnar Helm March 28th ×

GoldAppleCorps

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Everything posted by GoldAppleCorps

  1. I don't think the Stars had the same lineup twice for any of these 4 road games that took a week to play even though the first two were back to back. The Jets game in particular was an indication of what playoffs will require. Winnipeg had precision and Dallas didn't. Passes that hit tape instead of skates. Clearing the zone instead of to the line. Pucks sticking to the blade rather than rolling over. Some games, the tactics are correct, but the chemistry is just a touch off. Getting a few healthy bodies to practice together will help. Even see the OT against the Avs. Dallas gets the opening draw, circles for an attack, and goes offside when a player cuts off his own puck handler at the blue line. The Avs win the new draw cleanly and never give up the puck.
  2. In case it interests anyone else out there, Victory+ is now available as a native WebOS app. That's mostly LG smart TVs. It'll keep me from having to switch back to the FireBox to use it.
  3. Stankoven has the potential to become a brilliant speedster scorer. With proper surroundings, he could develop into an accomplished player. The Stars, though, have Roope Hintze (usually) in that role. Getting a developed multi-skilled player like Rantanen, signed throughout the prime of his career, significantly upgrades the roster. Seguin and Benn have more "games played" than "games to play". Leadership will be needed. Finally, the Avs have to absolutely hate seeing a player they valued come back to the division in the hands of a rival!
  4. If management felt like Heiskanen were likely to return to game speed by playoffs, I'd be a lot more amenable to trading away a Maverick Borque type player for Rantanen. While there's every reason to believe Borque has an incredible future in front of him, Rantanen has a tremendous present, and should pair nicely with the current Stars style. It hurts to say it, but Seguin is closing out a really nice career where he just never managed to be "that guy". I want defense, but with the NHL estimating larger and larger salary caps, everyone's eyes are too big currently. There's just no one on the market that looks like last year's Chris Tanev level upgrade. Granted, that's a historical rarity, but the point remains. I don't want to acquire D-men just to be doing it. The roster is currently better than the sum of its parts. Be intentional about messing with it.
  5. The answer to that question is, "No one knows what icing is any more". If you pass the puck on your side of the red line, you basically lose the right to complain. It happens both ways and all the time, so don't count on icing being called or don't be shocked when it is. Keep playing the puck until you hear the whistle.
  6. The last time I was on hockey skates was 1992, and it took 20 stitches to fix the self-inflicted damage, but I'm still checking my inbox for a notice that it's my turn to play defense for the Stars.
  7. Trent Dilfer has a Super Bowl ring because nobody could fucking score on the 2000 Baltimore Ravens defense.
  8. LT is usually where you play your best guy. That's certainly Banks. When he went down last week in the 1st half, Flood threw Goosby in there. Didn't shuffle the rest of the line at all. 2nd half, Goosby still at LT even with halftime to talk it over. All week in practice, he got starter reps. Banks is still option 1, but Goosby spent the whole week angry and not wanting to let his OL down.
  9. Blitzing is like throwing a fastball. Mixed in judiciously, it keeps the opponent off balance. When it's all they see, it's a home run waiting to happen.
  10. This is normally where I'd post this video: but I refuse to contribute to the degeneration of discourse, so I'm not going to do that.
  11. I understand the player was scheduled for an MRI yesterday. I'm guessing, by the statement, that it didn't show a complete tear or anything that definitive. As such, he's not immediately ruled out on Monday. It's like having a "high ankle sprain", being in a boot, and not bearing weight. Since you didn't break your tibia, you could technically be able to participate at the end of the week. I'm guessing he'll be listed as "questionable" in the first injury report, and "doubtful" in the second. Not really "gamesmanship" since the coach would be criticized if he ruled the Lagway out, then he made a recovery and could play - which is still a possibility. I have no actual knowledge of his status.
  12. During the 3Q/4Q changeover, when we do the drone show, there was a baton twirler in the North end zone with fire batons. That's usually where there's a smoke pot. Could either be a flammability issue with the pyro, or a wish not to obstruct the lady throwing fire in the air. Just my guess.
  13. Every game is a battle in the trenches. As much as I love Sark's magic, Kyle Flood is the guy that changed everything at Texas. I try not to think of all the talented players we wasted over the years when the OL couldn't give them a chance. We cost a lot of kids serious NFL money with our ineptitude. On the flip side, even though the sample size is small, I haven't seen a Texas player quicker than Colin Simmons since Brian Orakpo. Any of our other Edge transfers would be All-Star, except Simmons is making them look pedestrian. The defense can play pass defense in crazy ways when they know the QB will be on the ground within a (vanishingly small) amount of time.
  14. You can attack physical, pressing DBs by moving off the LOS. Using "bunch" formations where only 1 receiver is actually on the LOS and the rest have to get sorted out at the snap is one way of staying out of physical battles. Pre-snap motion also makes those defenders declare who they're playing. Of course, there's always the risk that you lose your "jam" at the LOS. Best thing to do when that happens is to fade forward and pretend like your coverage assignment was the flat. Turning and chasing just means you're going to be out of breath when you hear the band play "Texas Fight".
  15. The ball is not round. It bounces funny. All else being equal, God fights on the side with the best OL.
  16. So what I'm seeing in those stats is that they've got a salty defense - unless you decide to throw the football. I'm not going back and re-watching a ton of Sooner tape, but against the competition they've faced (not saying ours is a ton better), that defense is usually the result of just sending a gazillion guys through the gaps and trying to get the QB on the ground as quickly as possible. Think "7 Breckyn Hagers in the box" style. It'll cause panic and turnovers against lesser mortals. Playing a Sark designed offense, it means the phrase "coverage bust" will be worn out by halftime.
  17. I like this first game with Pochi as the new coach. Panama is exactly the sort of head pounding challenge that's always frustrated me. You know going into the match that they're going to play 9 behind the ball and foul hard every chance they get. You know CONCACAF is going to allow it. Now how do you tactically solve it? This is where the USMNT leaks points. Panama will play for the draw from the outset. Skill-wise, they should be overwhelmed. Beating the big dog(s) is great and all, but when we draw against Panama, Honduras, or Guatemala, the loss of points is crippling.
  18. I think a lot of our "doubtful/questionable" injuries are "hey, its MSST this week and a bye next week. If you're sore, sit out and rest. The season begins in October!".
  19. ULM's basic strategy is to run the ball, waste as much time as possible between plays, and hope for a turnover or two (they've gotten more than their fair share this season thus far). If you figure 70% of Texas possessions end up as TDs, and Texas gets 10 in a game, that's 70 points. They're hoping to chop that down to 6 total possessions, have a couple of those end in turnovers, and win the game 24-20. That's the plan, anyhow. I'll just be the arrogant Texas fan. One school has a carefully curated coaching staff picked from the national elite. They've recruited, retained and transferred in top talent players. They maintain single digit rankings with eyes on winning it all. The other school is ULM who was paid to fill a hole in the schedule.
  20. I'm particularly glad that these lovely children were here today to hear that speech. Not only was it authentic message board gibberish, it expressed a courage little seen in this day and age.
  21. If your kids didn't get enough lunch, you can always stop at the Island's fudge shoppes.
  22. From the articles, it seems Poch has some unresolved contractual matters with Chelsea pending. I'm guessing it's unlikely he'd officially put pen to paper for another contract before those matters are settled.
  23. This gruntles me greatly. I've believed that the US has the problem of (a) working to get their players into European leagues to develop their skills at the highest level then (b) returning them to tournament competition in CONCACAF where games are played and officiated more like rec-league city park matches. A successful US manager will have to have a foot in both worlds. This is almost certainly the best name we could hope for.
  24. There's getting comfortable, and there's also strategery. If I'm playing an up-tempo, pass first team, I want one of my DBs to have the comm. The call gets to him first, and he sends it to the back end as quickly as possible. If I'm playing a power team, a LB should have it. Obviously getting the correct call to the DL and LB groups is paramount then. Likely, they'll change it up within the game depending on the situation.
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