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GoldAppleCorps

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Everything posted by GoldAppleCorps

  1. Canada has some surprising entrance requirements that catch some travelers short. Drug convictions or minor violent crime (domestic violence) can require you to get special permission to enter Canada. This isn't a quick process, so start early. Public Service Message because this is Surly and it's likely to be germane.
  2. I still have twitchy nightmares about JS Giguere and Jonathan Quick - two goalies who backstopped otherwise good-but-not-great teams to Stanley Cup victories. That is to say, it's possible to lose the Cup with top tier goalkeeping, but you're not winning it without it. Vancouver's replacement for the replacement GK rose up and stole a couple of games. Now, it seems he may have overperformed. In a scoring battle with leaky goalies, Edmonton wins. Besides, the Stars have to play the Oilers in the playoffs for good things to happen. It's always been that way.
  3. They just changed the rules of hockey to keep the Avs alive.
  4. The Avs have had some dangerous shots skip just away from the net all series long. Tonight, Makar was banking one in just under the cross-bar. Pucks just beating the end of the period into the net. Over the course of a series, those things even out. That said, I'm disappointed Otter let in only the 2nd or 3rd (depending on your opinion) softie of the playoffs. I suppose it's good to get them all chalked up into the same loss. The Colorado Avalanche aren't a bunch of suckers. They can light the lamp, and we let them play their game over the 2nd half last night. These playoffs are now more mental fortitude than anything, so rely on that moxie that dug out of an 0-2 hole against Vegas, outlast the Avs, and win Game 6.
  5. "Skating with your head down is never OK" - Sincerely, Eric Lindros
  6. Getting indications that Marchment is available tonight.
  7. I appreciate the hockey tradition of "letting them play" when it comes to the playoffs. Refs don't want to insert themselves in the game, so a hit that's likely boarding gets overlooked if the player gets up. A straightforward cross check or slash can pass. When the pace of the game gets changed (like the Vegas guy that broke his stick across Heiskanen's back) or the puck carrier is knocked down, then a call has to be made (I'd be curious to know if Robertson's high stick contact would have been called if he hadn't hit the ice. Clearly a blatant high-stick, but it created a 5 on 3). In this case, the ref had to make a call. It was a deserved call, and one so blatant that it should have legitimately put the Stars on the PP with 4 minutes left. However, he didn't have the stomach for it, so he evened up the on-ice power with an embellishment call that no one believes.
  8. To be fair, Makar is a defender (at least positionally - I think he's a winger who chose to specialize on defense) so he's going to be on ice a lot more. He just fires slappers from the blueline with such alacrity that he looks like a forward. Whomever survives this series is going to see too much of Conor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (no, I'm not giving Vancouver a chance). If you have them on your team, you roll that line as often as possible. If MacKinnon is on your club, he's on the ice whenever he can be. If I'm Dallas, I'm reviewing tape to see if there's any way to slow down the Avs PP. Positionally, they just made scoring too easy. Being afraid to take penalties will neuter the Stars game.
  9. Colorado is a one-line team. It just so happens that it's an All-Star line that can more than carry the load. Stars have to bog the game down by any means necessary when that line is on ice. The phrase "pass the puck into the net" keeps coming up. We're not playing a series changing goaltender (although he kept the heart beating during opening OT). Dallas should spend some time watching Modano breakaway tapes. When you're the first man in, load up when you're 15 feet away from the net and unleash your best blast. We're giving up too much on triple-dekes and sneaky drops to no one. Put pucks on net at every opportunity. Playing 5 D men (and even that's being kind) and no Marchment is rough. Colorado is a team that's built to score, and on some level, getting 3 in the first made it tough to stay mentally checked in. Win the next one, and be ready to steal the 2nd away game using more depth on the back-to-back.
  10. Much has been said over Vegas' use of LTIR to augment their team. With the way that the Western Conference was so close among the top teams, those additions "just in time" for the playoffs legitimately changed the weight of the Golden Knights. The Knights team that played Dallas wasn't the #8 team in the West. They were legit Cup contenders. Even so, what kept them in the series against Dallas was unholy goalkeeping. With the Knights playing a tight defense first with big bodies, Dallas still screamed in on them with multiple odd man rushes - only to see those opportunities snuffed by a miracle save. With even a reasonable save percent, the Stars win comfortably if not easily. In short, Dallas just fought through a team that could have easily repeated. If Dallas goes through a brutal series against Colorado and emerges bloodied but victorious in 7, then we can talk about fatigue. As it stands, it's more likely Dallas still has the aggression dialed up at home against a talented team that didn't have to work too hard in the 1st round. I'm not predicting anything easy. The Avs are a much different team than Vegas. They have lots of "WTF" skill players that have given the Stars fits in the past. Like the Oilers, they have so many individually brilliant players that it looks like a brilliant system. Obviously, we need "good Otter" to stay around (I'm confident he's here). Both teams can score. I just haven't seen any history of the Avs netminders being able to rescue their team. It's trite, but I see that difference in goaltending winning the series for the Stars.
  11. Yeah, but he sometimes masquerades as "Rudy the Oily Bohunk", so tread lightly:
  12. I was hoping this was going to end up a plot point. It sounds like she's trying to effect the "New England Old Money" style accent (think Katherine Hepburn in "Philadelphia Story"). This was basically a form of the English "Received Pronunciation" that posh Brits would be taught in their exclusive educational institutions. Wealthy New Englanders adopted it to ape the landed gentry. JJL is doing such a terrible job of it that I'm suspecting it must be on purpose.
  13. Before you're old and wise, you have to be young and stupid (old and stupid is still a possibility) We're getting Sark in the 3rd act. The young hero already got identified as the future savior, got smacked down trying to claim his birthright, went on a self-destructive path to find himself, and got rebuilt humbling himself at the feet of a short, soft-spoken guru. He's at the point where it's time to win the kumite.
  14. Quinn suffered when he'd anticipate the pass rush, not set his feet, and throw a high school pass. I've not seen him run, but I don't see where Maalik would overly concern himself with a pass rusher. After practice, the receivers need to stay late and turn the JUGS machine up to 11. Failing that, find an M40 recoilless rifle and practice with that.
  15. Counterpoint the surrealism of the underlying metaphor...
  16. Really, your uncertainty here is only how much you believe in Texas' ability to execute fundamentals. The Texas team that lined up against Bama and executed can name its score against Baylor. A Texas team that defensively guesses at gaps, comes off assignments to chase RBs, offensively throws off back feet and clangs easy passes off receivers con manos de piedra will find themselves on SportsCenter as giddy students carry away the goalposts.
  17. The Baylor offense only works when the stretch running game is getting yards. They want to jog to one side or the other, widen the gaps, and let the RB pick one to run through. Obviously, this works better when your RB is a basher. He needs to usually slam through a tackle for 3-4 ugly yards. Baylor does not have that guy. Their current RBs are indecisive and unable to force the issue if it isn't there. T'Vondre Sweat can make everyone's job simpler by blowing up the middle of the field. Without that to play off of, the Baylor running game dies under gap integrity (Anthony Hill, this isn't the game to overplay your role). The Baylor QB cannot create in the passing game. They rely on the running game forcing defenders to overcommit. They're looking for downfield passes to receivers standing WIDE open by themselves, since the defender committed to the run. If the run game leaves them in 3rd and 7, they'll pray that a dragging TE gets ignored. Other than that, it's a scramble and throwaway. If the Texas offense ever wanted to run between the tackles, this is the game. Blast their lightweight NT out of the A gap and have at it. It won't be glamorous for the first drive, but Baylor will either need to commit additional defenders quickly or face an easy but inescapable death. Once those defenders commit, just use your toys to score how you will. Texas' only real opponent in this game is Texas. Baylor cannot compete directly. This game will be functionally over as soon as Texas executes its fundamentals. If that happens from the start, Baylor will fold in the middle of 2nd quarter and may realistically end the Aranda era. They're a fragile, apathetic bunch right now who are mentally checked out. They'll give it their best in the beginning out of pride. If there's success (because Texas allowed it), the game could be on. Otherwise, they'll have emptied the bag and surrendered.
  18. They'll be in the right place doing the right things. They're just not big enough to make a difference. The Texas OL could just simply blow them out of the hole every play. This isn't the Baylor teams some of us remember from the 2000s where they ran around like practice wasn't even a thing. They believe in their coaching. They'll head to the right spot and do the right thing. They're just slow and weak at every position. They lose every position battle. Baylor's only chance is Texas mistakes. If Texas tries an intricate game plan full of reverse passes and such, the odds of mistake go up. If Texas challenges Baylor to a game of physical football, there's not much Baylor can do about it.
  19. Utah is the #12 team with Cam Rising. Without him, they're barely average. The backup QB they used against Baylor was pitifully slow. Any player with even moderate D-1 speed would have flipped the field several times. Baylor got the ball back after giving up the tying TD with around 3 minutes left. They were deep in their own end. I forget the exact sequence, but the Bears faced 3rd and 12 with like 50 seconds left on the clock. During the play, the QB (Robertson) was pressured. He threw blindly across his body into the center of the field for an easy INT. Had he simply eaten the sack, Baylor could have punted and defended a field with no time left. OT was a virtual certainty. Instead, Utah ran several dive plays (already in FG range) to kill the clock. They ended up scoring when a Baylor player deliberately threw the RB into the endzone. A fairly astute move. On the ensuing possession, Utah let a single receiver run behind them (yes, they were in umbrella coverage - it was comical) catch a deep bomb to give Baylor a final shot at a TD pass from the 12 yard line. The fade was on target and likely should have been flagged for DPI. It wasn't. The game was a mistake filled slog with 2 teams trying to kill off the clock. If Texas false starts, holds, and plays with concrete handed receivers trying to execute a technical work of art, Baylor can drain the clock and make it interesting. If Texas plays high school football concepts with their size, strength, speed, and skill advantages, Baylor will be done by the middle of the 2nd quarter.
  20. Having watched way too much Baylor football, a few things: Baylor will want to drain the clock. Their offense is largely what they want to call "wide zone" where the OL blocks sideways in an attempt to stretch the defense laterally. The RB is supposed to find the the open gap and cut. Ideally, this gets 3-4 yards at a time, runs the play clock, and converts 3rd/4th downs to waste as much time as possible. Baylor lacks the strong power back to make this work. The QB can make hay on deliberate keepers, but isn't strong enough to improvise. Passing only occurs when the defense over-commits to stop the run. It's usually thrown back "against the grain" to a WIDE open receiver standing by himself. The injured starter QB Blake Shapen can sort of read defenses and work a progression (I do not expect him to play). The 2nd string Sawyer Robertson is a transfer from Mississippi State. He will ONLY throw to his first read, and will stare it down. Texas has way too much speed and power. Sweat can single-handedly blow up their OL. The danger here is getting too aggressive and jumping run fits. Texas is better at every position, and only has to play within themselves to avoid long, clock draining, possession stealing drives. Baylor has no DL. Texas could literally run the A gap dive the entire game and win handily. Avoid the temptation to over-innovate, beat the defender in front of you, and smash your way down the field until Baylor's defense puts all 11 guys on the LOS in an attempt to push back. Any passing done is purely for fun. Don't overthink the problem. Wyoming used a combination of time wasting and strength to give themselves a chance. Texas obliged by doing just enough dumb things to kill the precious few amount of possessions they had. It made the game a lot closer. Baylor will want to do the same thing, but Texas is bigger, faster, stronger, and more talented at every spot. Play a simple game, stay focused, and enjoy a 50% Burnt Orange stadium until halftime, after which it'll be 90%.
  21. My favorite thing about that celebration is how it indicated he understood the concept. He knew the route trees, he knew where the defense's vulnerability was, he knew he'd sucked in the deep safety, and he knew it was a TD when the ball went up.
  22. Texas cannot be "back" after one game. Texas is "back" when we're all bitching about only winning 10 games a season and being #5 at the end of the regular season. Re: Alabama and Saban's dotage Kyle Flood works for us now. His big boys kept parted the Tide and kept them off Quinn. If holding hadn't been allowed, Saban wouldn't be discussing Milroe's growth. He'd be discussing his recovery.
  23. Every coach wants their team to play more physical. The short answer is: Kyle Flood works for us now.
  24. If you want to press coverage, you'll need a pass rush guaranteed to get to the QB in non-geologic time. Take Brian Orakpo as your example. Which one of our defenders can reliably pressure a QB?
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