You know, junk food doesn't deserve the bad rap that it gets. Take these pork rinds for example. This particular brand contains two percent of the R.D.A. - that's Recommended Daily Allowance - of riboflavin.
- hammarby31

mmmm riboflavin

I didn't read all of the thread (yet) but know that some have mentioned similar things...that said:

I think it will take some time, perhaps several weeks before the team has a solid grasp of the new system being implemented by Berube...during the transition, you're going to see some mistakes and miscues. That can and does happen in these situations. I can accept that. I recall when switching to Lava's system there was a fairly difficult period of transition before things started to click, and I do see some positive changes early on, with the breakouts and gaps and improved support from the forwards; however, I am troubled by the lack of will, tenacity and physical aggresiveness in all zones, particularly when it comes to battles for pucks. The defensive zone in particular needs to be a lot more HOSTILE of a place for the opposing players. While I like that they're not bunching up as much as before and trying to maintain assignments, too often the opposing players with the puck are allowed to operate relatively unmolested in the Flyers zone, especially along the wall. The Flyers seem to wussy-foot around and watch or just "cover" instead of getting in there with aggressiveness to battle physically, something you have to do to win puck posession. Your will and your fight and desire has to be greater than theirs! Similarly, in the offensive zone the forwards don't seem to be hitting the forecheck hard enough and don't battle for loose pucks around the net and along the wall and don't work to establish positioning in the dangerous areas where goals are scored. They need to work harder to maintain possession and keep the pressure on.

Some will look to the players and conclude that they just aren't able to do these things...that may be true to some extent, but these are talented players who have done it before. Tentative play can come from a lack of confidence...there's no doubt the Flyers aren't playing with the swagger that comes form winning and knowing you can beat the team you're facing. It was interesting to see McGinn come into this lineup and stand out as a player who, perhaps wasn't psychologically shackled by the burden of losses the regulars have been bearing...he looked fresh, confident and ready to battle. You can see it paid off in the results he got. I am inclined to believe that them rest of the Flyers need to find that confidence somehow so they can be free to play with the enthusiasm and tenacity displayed by McGinn. It's a bit of a catch 22, because the best source of that confidence would be winning games...but they will find it hard to win games when they're playing without confidence. At some point I have to believe that the Flyers will get off the mat and and rise up to the challenge of their rivals (Eye of the Tiger baby, Eye of the Tiger!)...they'll put some wins together and this will breed confidence and then we'll see what we have here now in terms of how these players can perform when they aren't mired in a losing mentality.

Realistically, and I've said this before, the window for the Flyers being a playoff team/contender closed considerably when Pronger went down. They mortgaged some of thier talent and picks to make the move to get him and put themselves into the discussion as a contender. It worked while it lasted...but now he's gone and, this on the heels of having extracted the guts of the old core (Carts/Richie). So, what is left? A young captain and lots of younger, less experienced players that were to be counted on to produce. Schenn, Couturier, Voracek, Simmonds, Read...these guys are still trying to find their game and/or consistency. I think that's what the Flyers had in mind in the Lecavalier addition as it added that veteran element to the top 6 (as Jagr provided, and Hartnell was at one point).

On defense, the corps has been compromised by age and injury and the less experienced/younger D men (Schenn, Gusty) aren't quite ready to take over the roles from the vets...Coburn at his age and experience, should be borderline dominant, but instead is an inconsistent player who has regressed. The Streit singing was ok...the player is a decent addition, for now, but his advancing age and relatively high term and cap hit are a concern going forward. Timonen, the team's defensive leader for years, is regressing and likely done after this season.

Then you have the goalie situation, which shows signs of promise with Mason, but is still in flux.

You look at some of the prospects, Morin, Laughton, Cousins, Ghost, Stolarz, McGinn, Straka, Alt etc., there are some nice players there, but they aren't likely to be ready to contribute significantly for a few years...which is part of what leads me to belief that the window for the team to resurge and be back into the mix is a few years out. If the Flyers take the patient course (however unlikely), I can envision a pretty good team emerging in a few years, when G, Read and Voracek are in their prime as fully developed NHLers, when Coots and Schenn are blossoming into top six producers, backed by up and comers in Laughton, Cousins, McGinn, Straka...and when guys like Morin, Alt, Schenn, Gusty and Ghost are the defensive core, and when Mason/Stolarz are the goalie tandem. Surely there will be some turnover and some of those assets will be exchanged for others, but I do see some real hope for the future..but I'm not 82 years old like Ed Snider...his outlook and timetable probably differs from mine.

mmmm riboflavin
- BiggE

I didn't read all of the thread (yet) but know that some have mentioned similar things...that said:

- exlund

Did you get a publishing deal for this book? Jk, good read

I didn't read all of the thread (yet) but know that some have mentioned similar things...that said:

I think it will take some time, perhaps several weeks before the team has a solid grasp of the new system being implemented by Berube...during the transition, you're going to see some mistakes and miscues. That can and does happen in these situations. I can accept that. I recall when switching to Lava's system there was a fairly difficult period of transition before things started to click, and I do see some positive changes early on, with the breakouts and gaps and improved support from the forwards; however, I am troubled by the lack of will, tenacity and physical aggresiveness in all zones, particularly when it comes to battles for pucks. The defensive zone in particular needs to be a lot more HOSTILE of a place for the opposing players. While I like that they're not bunching up as much as before and trying to maintain assignments, too often the opposing players with the puck are allowed to operate relatively unmolested in the Flyers zone, especially along the wall. The Flyers seem to wussy-foot around and watch or just "cover" instead of getting in there with aggressiveness to battle physically, something you have to do to win puck posession. Your will and your fight and desire has to be greater than theirs! Similarly, in the offensive zone the forwards don't seem to be hitting the forecheck hard enough and don't battle for loose pucks around the net and along the wall and don't work to establish positioning in the dangerous areas where goals are scored. They need to work harder to maintain possession and keep the pressure on.

Some will look to the players and conclude that they just aren't able to do these things...that may be true to some extent, but these are talented players who have done it before. Tentative play can come from a lack of confidence...there's no doubt the Flyers aren't playing with the swagger that comes form winning and knowing you can beat the team you're facing. It was interesting to see McGinn come into this lineup and stand out as a player who, perhaps wasn't psychologically shackled by the burden of losses the regulars have been bearing...he looked fresh, confident and ready to battle. You can see it paid off in the results he got. I am inclined to believe that them rest of the Flyers need to find that confidence somehow so they can be free to play with the enthusiasm and tenacity displayed by McGinn. It's a bit of a catch 22, because the best source of that confidence would be winning games...but they will find it hard to win games when they're playing without confidence. At some point I have to believe that the Flyers will get off the mat and and rise up to the challenge of their rivals (Eye of the Tiger baby, Eye of the Tiger!)...they'll put some wins together and this will breed confidence and then we'll see what we have here now in terms of how these players can perform when they aren't mired in a losing mentality.

Realistically, and I've said this before, the window for the Flyers being a playoff team/contender closed considerably when Pronger went down. They mortgaged some of thier talent and picks to make the move to get him and put themselves into the discussion as a contender. It worked while it lasted...but now he's gone and, this on the heels of having extracted the guts of the old core (Carts/Richie). So, what is left? A young captain and lots of younger, less experienced players that were to be counted on to produce. Schenn, Couturier, Voracek, Simmonds, Read...these guys are still trying to find their game and/or consistency. I think that's what the Flyers had in mind in the Lecavalier addition as it added that veteran element to the top 6 (as Jagr provided, and Hartnell was at one point).

On defense, the corps has been compromised by age and injury and the less experienced/younger D men (Schenn, Gusty) aren't quite ready to take over the roles from the vets...Coburn at his age and experience, should be borderline dominant, but instead is an inconsistent player who has regressed. The Streit singing was ok...the player is a decent addition, for now, but his advancing age and relatively high term and cap hit are a concern going forward. Timonen, the team's defensive leader for years, is regressing and likely done after this season.

Then you have the goalie situation, which shows signs of promise with Mason, but is still in flux.

You look at some of the prospects, Morin, Laughton, Cousins, Ghost, Stolarz, McGinn, Straka, Alt etc., there are some nice players there, but they aren't likely to be ready to contribute significantly for a few years...which is part of what leads me to belief that the window for the team to resurge and be back into the mix is a few years out. If the Flyers take the patient course (however unlikely), I can envision a pretty good team emerging in a few years, when G, Read and Voracek are in their prime as fully developed NHLers, when Coots and Schenn are blossoming into top six producers, backed by up and comers in Laughton, Cousins, McGinn, Straka...and when guys like Morin, Alt, Schenn, Gusty and Ghost are the defensive core, and when Mason/Stolarz are the goalie tandem. Surely there will be some turnover and some of those assets will be exchanged for others, but I do see some real hope for the future..but I'm not 82 years old like Ed Snider...his outlook and timetable probably differs from mine.
- exlund

+1

I didn't read all of the thread (yet) but know that some have mentioned similar things...that said:
(snip)
- exlund

Make that a +2

I didn't read all of the thread (yet) but know that some have mentioned similar things...that said:

I think it will take some time, perhaps several weeks before the team has a solid grasp of the new system being implemented by Berube...during the transition, you're going to see some mistakes and miscues. That can and does happen in these situations. I can accept that. I recall when switching to Lava's system there was a fairly difficult period of transition before things started to click, and I do see some positive changes early on, with the breakouts and gaps and improved support from the forwards; however, I am troubled by the lack of will, tenacity and physical aggresiveness in all zones, particularly when it comes to battles for pucks. The defensive zone in particular needs to be a lot more HOSTILE of a place for the opposing players. While I like that they're not bunching up as much as before and trying to maintain assignments, too often the opposing players with the puck are allowed to operate relatively unmolested in the Flyers zone, especially along the wall. The Flyers seem to wussy-foot around and watch or just "cover" instead of getting in there with aggressiveness to battle physically, something you have to do to win puck posession. Your will and your fight and desire has to be greater than theirs! Similarly, in the offensive zone the forwards don't seem to be hitting the forecheck hard enough and don't battle for loose pucks around the net and along the wall and don't work to establish positioning in the dangerous areas where goals are scored. They need to work harder to maintain possession and keep the pressure on.

Some will look to the players and conclude that they just aren't able to do these things...that may be true to some extent, but these are talented players who have done it before. Tentative play can come from a lack of confidence...there's no doubt the Flyers aren't playing with the swagger that comes form winning and knowing you can beat the team you're facing. It was interesting to see McGinn come into this lineup and stand out as a player who, perhaps wasn't psychologically shackled by the burden of losses the regulars have been bearing...he looked fresh, confident and ready to battle. You can see it paid off in the results he got. I am inclined to believe that them rest of the Flyers need to find that confidence somehow so they can be free to play with the enthusiasm and tenacity displayed by McGinn. It's a bit of a catch 22, because the best source of that confidence would be winning games...but they will find it hard to win games when they're playing without confidence. At some point I have to believe that the Flyers will get off the mat and and rise up to the challenge of their rivals (Eye of the Tiger baby, Eye of the Tiger!)...they'll put some wins together and this will breed confidence and then we'll see what we have here now in terms of how these players can perform when they aren't mired in a losing mentality.

Realistically, and I've said this before, the window for the Flyers being a playoff team/contender closed considerably when Pronger went down. They mortgaged some of thier talent and picks to make the move to get him and put themselves into the discussion as a contender. It worked while it lasted...but now he's gone and, this on the heels of having extracted the guts of the old core (Carts/Richie). So, what is left? A young captain and lots of younger, less experienced players that were to be counted on to produce. Schenn, Couturier, Voracek, Simmonds, Read...these guys are still trying to find their game and/or consistency. I think that's what the Flyers had in mind in the Lecavalier addition as it added that veteran element to the top 6 (as Jagr provided, and Hartnell was at one point).

On defense, the corps has been compromised by age and injury and the less experienced/younger D men (Schenn, Gusty) aren't quite ready to take over the roles from the vets...Coburn at his age and experience, should be borderline dominant, but instead is an inconsistent player who has regressed. The Streit singing was ok...the player is a decent addition, for now, but his advancing age and relatively high term and cap hit are a concern going forward. Timonen, the team's defensive leader for years, is regressing and likely done after this season.

Then you have the goalie situation, which shows signs of promise with Mason, but is still in flux.

You look at some of the prospects, Morin, Laughton, Cousins, Ghost, Stolarz, McGinn, Straka, Alt etc., there are some nice players there, but they aren't likely to be ready to contribute significantly for a few years...which is part of what leads me to belief that the window for the team to resurge and be back into the mix is a few years out. If the Flyers take the patient course (however unlikely), I can envision a pretty good team emerging in a few years, when G, Read and Voracek are in their prime as fully developed NHLers, when Coots and Schenn are blossoming into top six producers, backed by up and comers in Laughton, Cousins, McGinn, Straka...and when guys like Morin, Alt, Schenn, Gusty and Ghost are the defensive core, and when Mason/Stolarz are the goalie tandem. Surely there will be some turnover and some of those assets will be exchanged for others, but I do see some real hope for the future..but I'm not 82 years old like Ed Snider...his outlook and timetable probably differs from mine.
- exlund

Snider is 80, not 82. Fact! Commence a pissing match over semantics!


Good read sir. You make plenty of sense.

Snider is 80, not 82. Fact! Commence a pissing match over semantics!


Good read sir. You make plenty of sense.
- PLindbergh31

agreed


honestly not trying to be an apologist, but the loss of Pronger can not be overstated

even an aging, lost a step Pronger would have made a significant difference over the last few years.

agreed


honestly not trying to be an apologist, but the loss of Pronger can not be overstated

even an aging, lost a step Pronger would have made a significant difference over the last few years.
- Crimsoninja

Losing Pronger had a trickle down effect on every aspect of this Organization. Some short sighted moves were made to try and compensate for his loss.

Bad season last year, bad start this year. Still 75 games to play, you never know what can happen.

agreed


honestly not trying to be an apologist, but the loss of Pronger can not be overstated

even an aging, lost a step Pronger would have made a significant difference over the last few years.
- Crimsoninja

There were lots of reasons for making the corepocalypse trades, but I really think having Pronger on hand emboldened Holmgren to do so. Not saying Richards and Carter would definitely both still be here, but having another leader and franchise player on hand made it feel possible.

There were lots of reasons for making the corepocalypse trades, but I really think having Pronger on hand emboldened Holmgren to do so. Not saying Richards and Carter would definitely both still be here, but having another leader and franchise player on hand made it feel possible.
- BulliesPhan87

They swung and missed on weber...

Losing Pronger had a trickle down effect on every aspect of this Organization. Some short sighted moves were made to try and compensate for his loss.

Bad season last year, bad start this year. Still 75 games to play, you never know what can happen.
- PLindbergh31

they seem to be improving a bit, but still the "good" games look like average/bad games they've had in previous years.

seems like it is such a grind for them. I feel like they just need an easy, semi-blowout win to put some wind in their sails... if they start to have fun again I feel like we could see some semblance of confidence develop again.

They swung and missed on weber...
- JoeRussomanno

Yup, trying to wholesale replace what was lost in Pronger.

they seem to be improving a bit, but still the "good" games look like average/bad games they've had in previous years.

seems like it is such a grind for them. I feel like they just need an easy, semi-blowout win to put some wind in their sails... if they start to have fun again I feel like we could see some semblance of confidence develop again.
- Crimsoninja

I hear you. They aren't as bad as they are playing. This isn't 2006-2007, there is much more talent here. I said before the season I thought they would be a borderline playoff team. With some good fortune, they can definitely be that. Confidence is a huge issue right now, only way to build confidence is by winning games.

It's not much fun watching the games now, but there is progress being made. The games in Montreal and Carolina they were literally going through the motions.

agreed


honestly not trying to be an apologist, but the loss of Pronger can not be overstated

even an aging, lost a step Pronger would have made a significant difference over the last few years.
- Crimsoninja

Agreed. And the poster has it exactly right in what the issues are with this team. And why they're playing as they are. And the McGinn point was astute. You can see the difference in how he stands out. And it's not because he's a better or more talented player.

Hey, if anyone is interested in going to the Pens game, I have 2 tix Section 211 row 15. $100 for the pair.

Oh the joys of being married...

They swung and missed on weber...
- JoeRussomanno

I prefer to view it as (in keeping with your baseball theme): they hit a long flyball to deep center field, but the Preds caught it at the wall.

/still an out either way though

Losing Pronger had a trickle down effect on every aspect of this Organization. Some short sighted moves were made to try and compensate for his loss.

Bad season last year, bad start this year. Still 75 games to play, you never know what can happen.
- PLindbergh31

Optimism! I love it!

If the team had SO completely tuned out Lavi, why the heck did they stick with him for the start of this year?

Is there no communication between the player leaders (I'm thinking especially about Kimmo here who with his tenure should be able to speak honestly with Holmgren) and the GM after the end of last season?

When they stopped playing and believing in Lavi's system the only solution was a coaching change. Was the ill fated winning streak at the end of last year enough reason to give management hope to give Lavi more time?

Something stinks here. Sorry if it has been beat to death, I was out of town during the coach change and missed what you thought about it.

Optimism! I love it!
- MJL

Well being optimistic, or pessimistic doesn't really change what happens on the ice, but it's too early in the season to abandon ship now. Lots of hockey yet to be played.

Well being optimistic, or pessimistic doesn't really change what happens on the ice, but it's too early in the season to abandon ship now. Lots of hockey yet to be played.
- PLindbergh31

I'll be watching every game regardless... so I hope they do turn things around.

I prefer to view it as (in keeping with your baseball theme): they hit a long flyball to deep center field, but the Preds caught it at the wall.

/still an out either way though
- bradleyc4

visions of Willie Mays Hayes homerun trotting around first then doing the same trot backwards toward the dugout

If the team had SO completely tuned out Lavi, why the heck did they stick with him for the start of this year?

Is there no communication between the player leaders (I'm thinking especially about Kimmo here who with his tenure should be able to speak honestly with Holmgren) and the GM after the end of last season?

When they stopped playing and believing in Lavi's system the only solution was a coaching change. Was the ill fated winning streak at the end of last year enough reason to give management hope to give Lavi more time?

Something stinks here. Sorry if it has been beat to death, I was out of town during the coach change and missed what you thought about it.
- Marc D

I really think it was just weak kneed indecision. The problems with the coaching were apparent, but they didn't want to fire him when he didn't have a whole season nor a training camp to right the ship. They didn't want to lay the blame at his feet, but there was also the fear it would not get better under him. So rather than firing him at the end of the season, or giving him a proper short leash to operate on, they fired him after three games.

visions of Willie Mays Hayes homerun trotting around first then doing the same trot backwards toward the dugout
- Crimsoninja

You look at some of the prospects, Morin, Laughton, Cousins, Ghost, Stolarz, McGinn, Straka, Alt etc., there are some nice players there, but they aren't likely to be ready to contribute significantly for a few years...which is part of what leads me to belief that the window for the team to resurge and be back into the mix is a few years out. If the Flyers take the patient course (however unlikely), I can envision a pretty good team emerging in a few years, when G, Read and Voracek are in their prime as fully developed NHLers, when Coots and Schenn are blossoming into top six producers, backed by up and comers in Laughton, Cousins, McGinn, Straka...and when guys like Morin, Alt, Schenn, Gusty and Ghost are the defensive core, and when Mason/Stolarz are the goalie tandem. Surely there will be some turnover and some of those assets will be exchanged for others, but I do see some real hope for the future..but I'm not 82 years old like Ed Snider...his outlook and timetable probably differs from mine.
- exlund

Good stuff. Also, if the Flyers struggle for a few years, we could get stronger via the draft, save on cap hits, and retain a lot of the team. Small silver lining for what could be a long year or two.