The Phoenix suffered a brutal loss on Sunday, falling to the DC Breeze 22-10. Ten is the fewest number of points Philadelphia has ever scored against DC, and the fewest they’ve scored in a game since last year’s opener, when they lost to New York in a monsoon 17-8. The loss also represents yet another season where Philadelphia has lost their first game of the season. They are now 1-for-11 all time in opening games.
This was not a close game. It did not sniff a close game. The Breeze scored twice as many points as the Phoenix in every quarter except the second and fourth, where they scored more than twice as many. The Phoenix scored on just 10 of their 24 offensive points, for a 42% hold rate. Much like last season, when they debuted the worst offense in league history during the first three games, that hold rate would qualify as the worst since the Salt Lake Lions in 2014. To put that in perspective, the Detroit Mechanix, who have a 15-135 record all time and have currently lost over 70 straight games, have an all-time hold rate of 48%.
If you are following where I am going, the new look offense did not work. Some of that was player specific, most of it was not. Several individuals seemed to struggle with the new disc and the wet conditions, which would be understandable except it was the same disc and conditions that DC was playing in. Having the disc bounce off your hands is acceptable if it is happening to both teams. If it only happens to your team it is a failure. Of Philadelphia’s 15 throwaways, 8 were in the backfield, giving DC a running start on the break. That level of disconnect on what should be the easiest throw of the game is very bad. Moving forward, Philly needs to find a way to push the disc downfield, not necessarily with hucks, but at a minimum with big gainers to cutters coming underneath. Playing with the disc in the handler space so much should necessitate a deeper stack, allowing for those in cuts to gain additional yardage; that is the basic playbook for the DC Breeze. That requires the backfield and cutters to be in sync, and the Hotbirds were anything but in sync.
Philadelphia’s defense met its offense at the bottom the basin of bad. This is arguably a bigger issue, because last season the Philly D was one of the best in the league. They forced just one turnover the entire game, and it was during the final minute of a long since-finished contest. The rest of the Breeze turnovers came from their defensive line, when the Phoenix O managed to win the disc back. Part of this is schematic: Philadelphia forced middle against a team that has begged teams to force them middle for a decade. The Breeze may be the single best team in UFA history at getting forced middle. It was a defensive scheme that did not apply pressure.
There are potential solutions to this problem. Moving Max Trifillis to D-line could help shore the rotation up, particularly since bringing Paul Owens to the O-line took one of the best Johnny Malks defenders in the league off that matchup. I would be interested to see Brandon Pastor on the O-line as a connecting cutter to compliment Dima Suvorov and connect the handlers and Greg Martin more effectively. James Pollard might be moved back as well, but James brings the same issues with the 2023 offense along with him. Either way, it was not small roster moves that made the loss this catastrophic. It was a complete meltdown across the board, and a lot of quick lessons will need to be learned before next Saturday’s game against Boston.
On the plus side, despite being atrocious, this roster and its coaches have shown the ability to bounce back from dismal starts to the season, and they have earned our trust as far as that is concerned. They will need to put an action plan into place immediately. The first place Boston Glory come to town on Saturday, and the Phoenix will be hard pressed to make the playoffs with a third straight 0-2 start to the season.
If you want to watch the Hotbirds take on defending MVP Jeff Babbitt and the Boston Glory on Dollar Dog Night, be sure to buy your tickets here.
- Alex "Shaggy" Shragis
Photo by Shawn Lanzillo