Hah! You thought I abandoned Boston! You bought the Westervelt Magoffin from last week’s column! What a clever ruse, I – oh. You didn’t read it. It was up for, uh…
Whatever. I got you. Just like I’m going to get Freshman in this playoff preview. You see, we have untaken a gentleman’s duel. I am here to argue the Cannons case for victory this Saturday.
Let us begin where all Cannons analysis begins. With Mr. Paul Rabil. Simply put – he is invincible. He may be one of the only athletes in the MLL (that isn’t a personal trainer) that is able to train nearly full time. Rabil’s talent is not as inherent as everyone thinks. He works hard at it. Two-hour sessions with his former Strength and conditioning coach at Hopkins, Jay Dyer, are commonplace for Pauly Rabes. He is not the player he was in college or even last year. He is the best athlete in the league with the hardest shot in the league. More importantly, he can create his own shot and hit any part of the net when eh dodges from the top. Do the Outlaws have ANYONE like that? No.
Denver, at its core, is a finely tuned team with a litany of exceptional role players. I mean that in a god way – each player knows his or her limitations for the most part. The Cannons are not like that. They don’t need to be. They have top tier feeders (Boyle and Morris), speedy defensive midfielders and LSM’s (Megill, Casey, Cassese, Sweeney) and catch and shoot monsters (Alrich, Poskay). The Cannons have controlled the midfield in nearly every game they have played this season. You wont beat them between the two-point lines.
Denver’s midfield is made up of old men and jobbers. Sure, Dan Hardy has proven himself as a pseudo-creative line runner, but lets face facts – he NEVER draws the pole in any match up. He barely gets the next best defensive midfielder. Add to that his performance against the Cannons this season: 1 g, 2 a’s 1 gb. Hardly game changing. How about top rookie Max Seibald? Blanked in his only game against the Cannons. The old men? Of the group, only Langtry had a passable game with a hat trick in the last game, but was held to one assist in the first contest. Sims: 3 goals, 2 a’s - in two games. Jeff Sonke: Nada. The once vaunted Denver midfield does not scare blind schizophrenics – much less MLL Pro stars.
The Face-off situation also falls to the Cannons. Lou Braun won eight face-offs against Chris Eck in the first meeting. Eight out of thirty. Now he’s saving orphans with Greg Bice in Argentina. The second game? Shame Burgerhoover managed to win 14 draws. Out of thirty-five. Case closed.
Unfortunately, everyone knows the Cannons weakness – their defense. As much as I love the big dogs that patrol the Cannons crease – Passavia, Reid, McClay and the two-headed monster in net known as TurnerLevin – Levin is the fastest dude in that bunch. That’s an issue. However, the Cannons will pack it in and play hack and slash D and make the midfield beat them.
Denver has the classic attack line. The creator: Mundorf. The Shooter: Westervelt. The junk man: Brown. The most dangerous individual in that mix is not my fake MVP Drew Westervelt, despite his six goals in the second Outlaws/Cannons tilt, but Brendan Mundorf. Mundorf is the Outlaws epicenter. He creates something out of nothing with absurd fakes and shifty feet. Behind the net, on the wing, draped by two defenders – doesn’t matter. Dorfy always gets free. The Cannons best bet is to shut off the Aussie race-traitor with McClay or Megill.
As much as it pains me to say it, the Outlaws have the advantage in net. Kip Intangibles and Levin’s acrobatics will have to be on point for Boston to have a chance in this match up. Schwartzman has been a revelation this year, but he has been prone to some serious mental errors when he has the ball. Pressure the outlets, jump him early, and shoot high off stick. Cannons defender’s - protect your boy(s). Save the goaltender- save the world.
So it comes down to this. Paul Rabil, I know you are reading this. You want to become Lebron James? Win this game. You want to be the crossover star everyone says you can become (including me)? Win this game. You want to be the ONE (and we all know – THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvnq_W0i3Bs&feature=fvw !)? Win this game.
Dan you and your buddy Brian Reese will have to face a motivated Paul Rabil and a squad of title hungry Cannons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grbSQ6O6kbs
Yeah you are, you just don’t know it yet.
To See Dan’s response as to why Denver will win click:
http://www.laxunited.com/news.php?contentID=333
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