I've always enjoyed playing defense. I like it because it's like getting to play two points in one. Your main objective is to essentially destroy an offense and the rub it their face by scoring on them. It's a great feeling to know that you're (the defense) the reason why a team is losing, why they can't win and why they won't come back. You control the game and the tempo. It's how we're running things on the team right now and it's so important.
The team thrives on the defense. This isn't to say anything against our offense because they're the 7 most skilled and best ultimate players on the our team, but our defense is what fuels Pitt ultimate. We want nothing more than to start a game on D and absolutely crush any hope our opponent has by getting the first break. It gets the D pumped up and the O as well so they can come on the field and score if need be. If we get a few breaks early, it takes the pressure off our O (and our D, really). Defense is such a huge momentum shift, a game changer.
This was shown in our games at Stanford. When we won, especially against teams like CUT and Wisco, our defense was energized and fired up. And our losses, like Cal, our defense wasn't.
For me, I played pretty much every D point last weekend, save one here and there because we wanted some height on the field for a zone. It was exhausting, but I thought I was playing well. But then I started looking back on the tournament and I realized that I had like one layout D. That got to me because, and Henry Thorne has told me since I was in high school, I thought I was more of a playmaker on D. But I didn't do any of that last weekend. I was no Eddie, who had just some unreal layout Ds, or Colin, who had some great skies.
But I started thinking some more and I realized that, despite playing nearly every D point, I didn't have any showtime Ds because that's not my style anymore. I don't know when it happened, but I can remember starting to change my approach on D during Wilmington 8s. I started guarding more handlers. I started learning more of how a handler works, the thrown and run, and began working on stopping that. This tournament was the first one that really felt like my workouts and strength and conditioning paid off (I'm working out about 5 days a week, including practice). I think that helped me on D, guarding handlers and going step for step with them. I also really worked on my marking and felt like I was very prepared at knowing when to kill a dump throw or force a turnover.
I got beat up line only once or twice, including for a goal against Colorado in semifinals that really pissed me off, but I played fairly strong and consistent throughout the tournament. I might not make the highlight reel, but if I can shut down my handler, cause a turnover or a bad huck, I'll take that any day.
Centex in 7.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Stanford Invite: Recaps
What a weekend. Lot of stuff to talk about, so I'm glad it's spring break so I can try to do that. Overall, I felt I played really well. I played just about every D-line point with a couple O-line points scattered across the two days. Needless to say, I was pretty sore yesterday and just getting back into things. I'll talk more about my play and other team thoughts later, but for now: the results.
Pitt took home 2nd place with a 5-2 overall record. It was a great weekend, especially considering our initial 8th seed and our poor performance at Queen City Tune Up. It was good, it was fun, it was awesome to upset some teams. I didn't play on A last year, but I was at Nationals watching them. In what was dubbed Revenge Tour 2010, we beat the three teams that beat us at Nationals last year. That was sweet.
These are fairly short recaps, as I realized I don't really remember score-by-score or play-by-play from these games. I played too many points and they all just jumbled together at some point.
Saturday
Texas (Pitt wins 13-6): Easy win as Texas never really gave us a problem. We started out on D and jumped to a lead with a break. I poached a lane early and snagged a toss. A few plays later and we were up. The D-line kept the intensity rolling all game and our O-line fed off that anytime we didn't get a break. We took a comfortable lead at half and kept doing more of the same in the second half. The game was highlighted by an nasty catch from Al. After getting a turn on D, we were working it up the field when a throw to Al was very tight between him and his defender in front of him about 10 yards from the endzone. Texas had positioning and should've gotten the D. Both guys laid out and everybody thought Texas got the D - I thought so, too, after watching the Texas sideline erupt after the catch. Needless to say, Al somehow gets his hand in front of the Texas guy, gets up quickly and throws a goal before anybody realizes what just happened. Pitt storms the field.
California (Pitt loses 13-9): As is the case with us sometimes, we win big against a team only to come out flat the next game. Case in point: Pitt vs. Cal. We kept it close at times, but we were never able to adjust to get the breaks when we needed them. Our D-line lost energy and our O-line couldn't fix anything. Cal runs away with it at the end and we fall to 1-1. Losing our second game wasn't good and it meant we'd pretty much have to win out to make the Championship Bracket (there were no pre-quarters/play-ins or quarterfinals at the Invite, just a semis and championship game).
Carleton (Pitt wins 13-7): What a great game to play in. We come out fired early in the game on D and get multiple breaks to take a huge lead at half, 7-3. Even then, it felt like we were just dominating - and we were. CUT never got close and our D-line shut them down significantly. This was the first time that I realized all of the hard work (not just me, but the team) was paying off. We were really well conditioned and just running around the CUT players on offense and staying with them step for step on defense. It was complete shutdown, dominating performance. After beating CUT, the No. 1 seed, it looked like the race for the top two spots in Pool A were wide open. Having never played CUT before, but watching the Pitt guys at Nationals last year, I hated them. After playing them, even though it wasn't a chippy game, I can see why Pitt doesn't like CUT: they're cocky and don't show respect (not that don't show sportsmanship).
Wisconsin (Pitt wins 13-10): After beating CUT, the team is fired up for another Nationals rematch - this time against Wisco. Word comes in from Josh that the Wisco and CUT coaches were talking and the CUT guys say they lost the game because they beat themselves and that we didn't really outmatch or outplay them. The Wisco guys agree and don't think their game against us will be a tough one. Throughout the game, they continuously talk down to us, even when they were getting beat pretty handily. I guess some times just have a hard time adjusting to a different Pitt team. As for the game, it was back-and-forth early before we got a couple breaks and took half on an absolutely unreal goal catch from Ty. Beat to the disc by the Wisco guy, Ty makes up ground with good closing speed and literally robs the guy from the disc right in front of his face - snags the disc with a pseudo-layout/sky with his hand reaching over in front of the Wisco guy. I think we took half 8-5 or 8-6 with the goal. We trade points out of half and get a break. Up 12-8, we had a chance to close the game out on D. But we get beat and the O-line gets broken. A two point game late wasn't what we wanted but our O-line puts in the final goal and we win. It was another great win and it meant we control our own destiny when it comes to the Championship Bracket with one more pool play game Sunday morning.
Sunday
UC-Santa Barbara (Pitt wins 13-8): Feeling good after our 3-1 Saturday performance, we're energized for the UCSB game. Unfortunately, they were also ready for this game and both teams traded points early in the game. Eventually the D-line makes adjustments to bracket the cutters (UCSB relied on their huck) and force towards their side stack. This makes an instant impact as we rattle off a few breaks and take a halftime lead. We kept with our first half adjustments in the second half and the Black Tide were never really in contention. We beat them and finish first in our pool, after being seeded 4th in it and 8th overall, and get ready for semifinals.
SEMIFINALS: Colorado (Pitt wins 15-13): Haven't been this excited for a game since 8s finals back in November. All the hard work we've put in so far this season was starting to pay off, like I said about the CUT game. For being such an important game, both teams were very aggressive with the disc early in the game. It led to some turnovers, but neither team got a break until Pitt got the deciding one to grab a 7-6 lead before half. You know what's weird? For as important of a break as it was, I can't remember what happened. I want to say it was a deep huck after a turnover, but the D-line could've very well just worked the disc up and scored from 5 yards out. Anyways, we were up 8-7 at the break. More of the same in the second half as both teams traded points. Colorado got their break back to make it 10-10 or 11, but the D-line responded back with a break of their own. Up 14-12, the D-line couldn't close the game (something we talked about after the game) but our O-line was there. We kept on rolling on our way into finals.
FINALS: Oregon (Pitt loses 15-9): If I was excited for the semifinals matchup, I don't know how to describe this game. Finals at Stanford Invite. Pitt vs. Oregon. Two teams nobody expected to be there, yet here we were. Oregon, which beat CUT in the other semifinals matchup after being down by 4 or 5 in the game, is a great team and the way they play, is one reason why I think they're now the team to beat. As for the game, it was similar to the semifinals game against Colorado with both teams hucking early and often. Both D-lines got multiple turnovers, but neither got the break. That is until Oregon a couple late in the first half and we were down 8-6 at the break. For some reason, whatever it was, we didn't have it in us for a second half comeback. We traded points right at the beginning, but then Oregon rattled off like 4 straight breaks and that made it 100x harder for our D-line to comeback. Put that on top of playing our sixth game of the weekend and we were strapped to find energy. It never came and neither did our comeback.
It was a tough way to end a weekend, but a lot of good game from it. We finished 2nd at the Stanford Invite. That's insane. We were really well conditioned, but fell apart in the second half of the final game of the weekend - there's still work to do. This is from RSD:
Pitt took home 2nd place with a 5-2 overall record. It was a great weekend, especially considering our initial 8th seed and our poor performance at Queen City Tune Up. It was good, it was fun, it was awesome to upset some teams. I didn't play on A last year, but I was at Nationals watching them. In what was dubbed Revenge Tour 2010, we beat the three teams that beat us at Nationals last year. That was sweet.
These are fairly short recaps, as I realized I don't really remember score-by-score or play-by-play from these games. I played too many points and they all just jumbled together at some point.
Saturday
Texas (Pitt wins 13-6): Easy win as Texas never really gave us a problem. We started out on D and jumped to a lead with a break. I poached a lane early and snagged a toss. A few plays later and we were up. The D-line kept the intensity rolling all game and our O-line fed off that anytime we didn't get a break. We took a comfortable lead at half and kept doing more of the same in the second half. The game was highlighted by an nasty catch from Al. After getting a turn on D, we were working it up the field when a throw to Al was very tight between him and his defender in front of him about 10 yards from the endzone. Texas had positioning and should've gotten the D. Both guys laid out and everybody thought Texas got the D - I thought so, too, after watching the Texas sideline erupt after the catch. Needless to say, Al somehow gets his hand in front of the Texas guy, gets up quickly and throws a goal before anybody realizes what just happened. Pitt storms the field.
California (Pitt loses 13-9): As is the case with us sometimes, we win big against a team only to come out flat the next game. Case in point: Pitt vs. Cal. We kept it close at times, but we were never able to adjust to get the breaks when we needed them. Our D-line lost energy and our O-line couldn't fix anything. Cal runs away with it at the end and we fall to 1-1. Losing our second game wasn't good and it meant we'd pretty much have to win out to make the Championship Bracket (there were no pre-quarters/play-ins or quarterfinals at the Invite, just a semis and championship game).
Carleton (Pitt wins 13-7): What a great game to play in. We come out fired early in the game on D and get multiple breaks to take a huge lead at half, 7-3. Even then, it felt like we were just dominating - and we were. CUT never got close and our D-line shut them down significantly. This was the first time that I realized all of the hard work (not just me, but the team) was paying off. We were really well conditioned and just running around the CUT players on offense and staying with them step for step on defense. It was complete shutdown, dominating performance. After beating CUT, the No. 1 seed, it looked like the race for the top two spots in Pool A were wide open. Having never played CUT before, but watching the Pitt guys at Nationals last year, I hated them. After playing them, even though it wasn't a chippy game, I can see why Pitt doesn't like CUT: they're cocky and don't show respect (not that don't show sportsmanship).
Wisconsin (Pitt wins 13-10): After beating CUT, the team is fired up for another Nationals rematch - this time against Wisco. Word comes in from Josh that the Wisco and CUT coaches were talking and the CUT guys say they lost the game because they beat themselves and that we didn't really outmatch or outplay them. The Wisco guys agree and don't think their game against us will be a tough one. Throughout the game, they continuously talk down to us, even when they were getting beat pretty handily. I guess some times just have a hard time adjusting to a different Pitt team. As for the game, it was back-and-forth early before we got a couple breaks and took half on an absolutely unreal goal catch from Ty. Beat to the disc by the Wisco guy, Ty makes up ground with good closing speed and literally robs the guy from the disc right in front of his face - snags the disc with a pseudo-layout/sky with his hand reaching over in front of the Wisco guy. I think we took half 8-5 or 8-6 with the goal. We trade points out of half and get a break. Up 12-8, we had a chance to close the game out on D. But we get beat and the O-line gets broken. A two point game late wasn't what we wanted but our O-line puts in the final goal and we win. It was another great win and it meant we control our own destiny when it comes to the Championship Bracket with one more pool play game Sunday morning.
Sunday
UC-Santa Barbara (Pitt wins 13-8): Feeling good after our 3-1 Saturday performance, we're energized for the UCSB game. Unfortunately, they were also ready for this game and both teams traded points early in the game. Eventually the D-line makes adjustments to bracket the cutters (UCSB relied on their huck) and force towards their side stack. This makes an instant impact as we rattle off a few breaks and take a halftime lead. We kept with our first half adjustments in the second half and the Black Tide were never really in contention. We beat them and finish first in our pool, after being seeded 4th in it and 8th overall, and get ready for semifinals.
SEMIFINALS: Colorado (Pitt wins 15-13): Haven't been this excited for a game since 8s finals back in November. All the hard work we've put in so far this season was starting to pay off, like I said about the CUT game. For being such an important game, both teams were very aggressive with the disc early in the game. It led to some turnovers, but neither team got a break until Pitt got the deciding one to grab a 7-6 lead before half. You know what's weird? For as important of a break as it was, I can't remember what happened. I want to say it was a deep huck after a turnover, but the D-line could've very well just worked the disc up and scored from 5 yards out. Anyways, we were up 8-7 at the break. More of the same in the second half as both teams traded points. Colorado got their break back to make it 10-10 or 11, but the D-line responded back with a break of their own. Up 14-12, the D-line couldn't close the game (something we talked about after the game) but our O-line was there. We kept on rolling on our way into finals.
FINALS: Oregon (Pitt loses 15-9): If I was excited for the semifinals matchup, I don't know how to describe this game. Finals at Stanford Invite. Pitt vs. Oregon. Two teams nobody expected to be there, yet here we were. Oregon, which beat CUT in the other semifinals matchup after being down by 4 or 5 in the game, is a great team and the way they play, is one reason why I think they're now the team to beat. As for the game, it was similar to the semifinals game against Colorado with both teams hucking early and often. Both D-lines got multiple turnovers, but neither got the break. That is until Oregon a couple late in the first half and we were down 8-6 at the break. For some reason, whatever it was, we didn't have it in us for a second half comeback. We traded points right at the beginning, but then Oregon rattled off like 4 straight breaks and that made it 100x harder for our D-line to comeback. Put that on top of playing our sixth game of the weekend and we were strapped to find energy. It never came and neither did our comeback.
It was a tough way to end a weekend, but a lot of good game from it. We finished 2nd at the Stanford Invite. That's insane. We were really well conditioned, but fell apart in the second half of the final game of the weekend - there's still work to do. This is from RSD:
Ego really stepped up their defense in the second half and pretty much ran away with it, reeling off four or five straight breaks to take a lead they wouldn't give up. I suspect Pitt ran out of gas in the second half, even though Oregon had a tougher semifinal game.All but 4 guys stayed in California this week for spring break, which is where they are now. After this week, it'll be back to the grind as we gear up for Centex in less than 2 weeks.
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