BY: Alex “Shaggy” Shargis
PHOTO BY: Dee Alabede
Another game, another disappointing result for the Hotbirds, who found themselves on the business end of a 31-14 blowout courtesy of the Carolina Flyers. The Philly offense continued to struggle completing passes, with 25 turnovers — although the stats page says they had zero drops which shows improvement! The defense also struggled, forcing just three break opportunities and scoring on none of them. There was also just a single block on a D point, the other three Phoenix blocks coming in an effort to get the disc back.
Since 2023, the Phoenix have struggled with one singular question: how can we win games when the other team doesn’t make mistakes. Philadelphia had an excellent three year stretch of defense, from 2021 to 2023, highlighted by the defense carrying an average offense to the playoffs in 2022. However, starting in 2024, several things changed. Coach Chu’s cauldron defense started to see diminishing returns, particularly against DC, Boston and New York. A force middle scheme, cauldron relied on forcing the opposition to take a million throws to move anywhere by limiting hucks and stifling unders through a shifting mark. However, the UFA’s new disc design made it easier than ever to huck, particularly for New York, while Boston and DC are elite small ball teams, perfectly comfortable taking their time to score.
Furthermore, Philly has had substantial losses to personnel on the defensive side of the disc. 2026 has seen more pronounced losses than previous years, particularly because the Phoenix was forced to bring defensive personnel over to the offensive side of the disc that saw so much turnover. The result has been an almost complete inability to provide any pressure against Toronto and Carolina. The Flyers were particularly effective, with a 100% hold rate and a 97% completion rate. This goes beyond scheme, at this point the Philly roster needs to challenge itself to start challenging opposing passes, otherwise it will be very difficult to win games.
While the defense might be asking itself what to do if the opponent doesn’t make any mistakes, the offense has to figure out what to do when it can’t stop making mistakes. Saturday’s game was chock full of overthrows, underthrows and hucks into double or triple coverage. Carolina is quickly showing itself to be one of the most pristine offenses in the league, so in order to keep pace the Phoenix would need to have been near perfect. They were far from perfect.
Philadelphia’s first step will be to determine who they want to continue to run on offense, and the bye week provides a good opportunity to really drill down into the problem. Philly was without Ethan Sarles, Justin Keller and Campy against Carolina, three starting pieces for the O-line against the Rush. They returned Scott Heyman, but the young star struggled in his first game back in 2026. The brightest and most consistent spot on the current offense has been Chase Rawlins, who leads the team in goals and assists, and is tied for second in total blocks. Using Chase as a foil for Heyman to eat up soft spaces underneath is promising, but both will need to be more consistent with the disc if they want to carry such a large load. Rawlins is completing 91% of his passes, while Heyman’s three turnovers in game one have him at 87%.
Philly has another huge test after their bye, when they travel to Boston to take on the currently undefeated, and defending UFA champs. Boston won the first meeting on their home turf in 2025 by 10, and currently has a better team, while the Phoenix seem to be heading in the opposite direction. The Hotbirds follow up their road week with hosting Pittsburgh for the Commonwealth Cup. Pittsburgh, who just got lampooned by Montreal on Mother’s Day, also looks like they are floundering at the moment. With Pittsburgh playing the trailing end of the back to back, this is the best chance both Pennsylvania UFA franchises have to turn their season around before 2026 gets out of hand.
Tune in to watchufa.tv to catch the Phoenix live on the road or replay this season and more. Tickets for the Commonwealth Cup on May 30 at 6 p.m. are available on the Hotbird Web Shop, phoenixulti.com.
