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Post by goeaglesgo on Sept 27, 2014 12:35:27 GMT -4
I'm not basing my criticisms on the season so far. I'm basing them on his play since he's been here. He came into camp this year and looked very lazy and unable to keep up. I really feel that they should give him a shot on the wing and see what happens, he has all kinds of skill, I just think he doesn't play we'll enough defensively to be getting the minutes he is getting.
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Post by eaglefan62 on Sept 27, 2014 14:23:51 GMT -4
I fully agree with the previous poster, I do not see where Bell has improved at from last year. I did not miss a training camp session and I agree that he looked lazy and out of shape. I know Dumont made some comments during training camp that he was not pleased with some of the veteran players coming into camp not prepared, out of shape, lazy, etc. I beleive Bell was one of the guys he was referring to. In any event, I do not see any improvement in his play and is a big liability in his own end. I believe that some of the problem may rest with the way he is being used, along with the rest of the defence. If you watch the games closely, Dumont has the kids playing with different partners frequently, playing left and/or right side at different times.This is not a good recipe for kids to succeed, some can adapt to this others cannot. Case in point, our captain Stephen woodworth as a 20 year old last year was like a fish out of water when he played the right hand side.These kids need stability and consistency to progress,not hit and miss juggling. Notice last night that Bell was playing the right hand side and was caught out of position on many occassions. Maybe he is one of those kids who struggles to adapt to that.
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Post by Art Vandelay on Sept 27, 2014 15:07:05 GMT -4
You realize your possibly talking about the most gifted offensive defenceman to play here since J.C Sawyer. People were on him his entire career here for his play. At the end of the day he was one of the best that ever suited up in an Eagles uniform. When I watch Bell I see a lot of the things I saw with Sawyer. He's a gifted player with so much skill that tries to do too much. Once he realizes that he has to simplify his game and let the game come to him instead of running around trying to force things, he will be fine. Lets not blame a few games on a 17 year old defenceman.
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Post by emerz on Sept 27, 2014 16:39:54 GMT -4
Decent first period, we had the momentum until our penalty late.
Brassard should have had the goal but it was a nice snipe by the guy.
Shawinigan is a pretty physical team it seems like.
1-1.
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Post by looneytunes on Sept 27, 2014 17:22:28 GMT -4
If memory serves me correctly Sawyer got criticized a decent amount too. He could be the reason for 3 goals for and have one goal against in a defensive meltdown and be shit all over.
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Post by emerz on Sept 27, 2014 17:32:49 GMT -4
If we play every period like we just played that 2nd period, we don't lose many games this season.
Killed a minute+ 5 on 3.
Lazarev is setting everyone up for easy tap ins, having a beauty of a game with 4 assists so far.
4-2.
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Post by Score on Sept 27, 2014 17:37:33 GMT -4
no away audio on the webcast?
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Post by EagleFan2009 on Sept 27, 2014 17:40:32 GMT -4
If memory serves me correctly Sawyer got criticized a decent amount too. He could be the reason for 3 goals for and have one goal against in a defensive meltdown and be shit all over. Isn't it like that with most offensive d? Of course people love the production of goals from the back end, but i do hate how it overshadows a bad defensive game. Your a d, defensive comes before offense. Its hard to find a guy who really excels at both. So of course, Bell being offensive, will take the same heat JC did, and thats part of it. It always will be. PK subban is a prime example. People love that bullet from the point on the PP he's got, but his defensive game is what people criticize him about. Letang is another example. Yet these guys are paid top dollar. But I do think its a good thing its happening now for the eagles, so dumont has time to iron it out before xmas trade period. C
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Post by emerz on Sept 27, 2014 17:40:47 GMT -4
no away audio on the webcast? I've never had away audio work personally, so I just watch it muted. Our radio feed is ahead of the stream so its not even possible to sync them up.
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Post by jamesnorris on Sept 27, 2014 17:49:33 GMT -4
If memory serves me correctly Sawyer got criticized a decent amount too. He could be the reason for 3 goals for and have one goal against in a defensive meltdown and be shit all over. *cough* Jake Gardiner *cough*
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Post by emerz on Sept 27, 2014 18:05:19 GMT -4
Another choked 2 goal lead, how about the occasional save Brassard?
and Svechnikov is getting a penalty for being thrown around and cross checked, awesome.
Edit: Bishop ends it in overtime on a breakaway, 3/6 points on the trip, not bad.
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Post by eaglefan62 on Sept 27, 2014 18:50:46 GMT -4
Some very good and valid points fellow bloggers. At the end of the day, the numbers do not lie, at this point in the season, we have allowed the most goals in the league. Blame it on whomever you wish, but the bottom line is that this team is brutal defensively. Yes, Bell has been the brunt of some criticism,and rightfully so,but defence is a team game. When you go on a three game road trip and allow an average of five(5) goals against per game against and you come away with three points, count your lucky stars. We all saw last year in the first round of the playoffs where allowing 5,6,or 7 goals a game gets you, absolutely nowhere. At the end of the day, defence wins games and championships, hence, the old adage, the other team cannot beat you if they cannot score on you. Lets hope for better defensive days ahead.
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Post by Davey Boy Smith on Sept 27, 2014 19:34:54 GMT -4
Let's not jump off any cliffs here fellow fans!
The Eagles have 9 points in 7 games, tied for second in the league. Their +7 GF/GA differential is tied for second best in the league (with a bunch of teams). Plus, we have played 5 of the first 7 games on the road!!
The defensive side of the game has been an issue so far but here is a newsflash - our defence is very young - talented but young. There will be growing pains, that is something I certainly expected. The Eagles were not going to be great defensively very early in the season with all of our key defenders being 17 and 18! I do believe the defence will improve but it is a process and the Eagles will be both a fun but at times frustrating team to watch.
Relax and enjoy this ride, I guarantee it will have lots of twists and turns!
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Post by prostar on Sept 27, 2014 19:54:09 GMT -4
Some very good and valid points fellow bloggers. At the end of the day, the numbers do not lie, at this point in the season, we have allowed the most goals in the league. Blame it on whomever you wish, but the bottom line is that this team is brutal defensively. Yes, Bell has been the brunt of some criticism,and rightfully so,but defence is a team game. When you go on a three game road trip and allow an average of five(5) goals against per game against and you come away with three points, count your lucky stars. We all saw last year in the first round of the playoffs where allowing 5,6,or 7 goals a game gets you, absolutely nowhere. At the end of the day, defence wins games and championships, hence, the old adage, the other team cannot beat you if they cannot score on you. Lets hope for better defensive days ahead. Eaglefan62, I was not firing bullets at you I was just jumping into your thread as last year there were a lot of negative criticism towards the goalies not being able to do this or that and the fact that you mention in your post that this good old game of hockey that we all love is a TEAM SPORT well you hit the nail on the head. Is it the goalies fault last year in the first round of playoffs was it the defence was it the forwards maybe not coming back and helping out as much MY answer is yes to all of this, as it is a team sport as you mention above and at the begining to all of this is a system that the team play and are taught by the coaching staff are they to blame geez we can go on forever as the coach may say the team did not play to the system that we put in place. The blame game can go on forever BUT LET'S FACE IT one thing we seem to do well is get a lot of shots and generate a hell of a lot of opportunities on the offence hence when you do that part well your defence game ends up hurting, so maybe if we tried to be a little more tighter in our defensive zone without causing all the turnovers because we are trying to put a good show on for the fans sorry folks but I to love a great offensive game but at the end of the day the important thing is the 2 points so if we try to evaluate or play a better defensive game the offence will come no way we can hold back this team (TO MUCH TALENT) but if we help out in our zone giving less chances to other team maybe just maybe we become a better two way team and the 2 points will be ours YES THAT'S IT HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! let's not forget it's the start of the season GEEZ FOLKS LET's HAVE SOME FAITH AND SOME FUN CHEERING ON OUR EAGLES…...
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Post by Jack Bauer on Sept 30, 2014 15:17:24 GMT -4
Wow, lots of shitting on a team that could easily be 6-1 right now and is lighting up the league offensively.
Those of you expecting stellar defensive efforts and dominant performances on that side of the puck need to cool it a bit.
None of you complaining seem to get or acknowledge that this team is really good with a pile of 17 and 18yr olds in key positions. Want to look around the league and see how many other teams can say that?
Of course a D with 2 newcomers and 3 17yr olds is going to struggle a bit early on but the fact the're still winning speaks volumes to how good the Bell's and Lalonde's are going to be in the league in their prime seasons.
Look back at history and how deep our D was with veterans when we seriously contended. As you will see there was always 19 and 20's to lead the way.
It takes even the best young D 2-3 years to get used to playing heavy minutes in the Q.
The reason for the excitement in this fan base isn't simply the Russians or high picks. It's the entire package deal. This team in most circumstances should still be 12 months away from knocking on the door of being a contender.
Before Bishop's draft we essentially wasted 2 full drafts leaving us with no home grown 19's and 1 home grown 20 right now. This team SHOULD, based on the cycle, be a bottom half of the league team.
So while you complain about how the team is winning. Please keep in mind that at the end of the day, they are not only winning but playing an extremely entertaining style of hockey with players who are worth the price of admission themselves on any night.
There's still a lot of growing pains to be had, so when you try to compare this team and players to others just remember that at no time in our history have we ever had a team with this much potential and excitement at this stage. In 02 and 07 we were supposed to be good, in 04 and 10 things never came together. In all 4 years we were deep in veterans all over.
This team is doing things much differently, and based on how the other 4 times I mentioned ended up, shouldn't we be a lot more encouraging at this point in time?
Seems to me some are already acting entitled based on the hype and are not willing to let the team reach its full potential as based on the age of our players there's going to be a lot of growing pains along the way. How you can't look at this situation and expect that baffles me.
We should feel priveledged that Dumont was able to turn things around so quickly and hit home runs like Darcy and Svechnikov while bringing in the Bell's and Dumont's and acquiring many other high picks(TWO extra 1sts this year) along the way.
Last thing any of our youngsters need is the Sawyer treatment. It was absolutely embarassing the way half the fanbase here treated him as a player during times when he was the only decent defenseman on the team no matter what age he was. He was dominant at 20 and got no respect for it. Let's learn from that and not let our Bell's and Lalonde's end up with the same treatment. The kids have to play in order to get better and there are absolutely going to be bumps along that road.
But look at what the payoff can be here over the next 2-3 years. We are very fortunate right now. It'd be nice if more started acting like it.
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