colorado_al

By skating better, I mean SKATE to the guy he's trying to defend... don't just reach in and pray his stick is going to do his work for him.... he has tons of opportunities to pin someone on the boards every game or move someone away from the net and he never does... it normally just takes one good hit by a "D" man to get control of the puck and start moving it in the right direction.... problem is, it only happens once or twice a game !

Same to everyone here !!! I know I asked for 60 mins worth of effort but I'd be happy with 30 from our "D"

He's most likely not as bad as he looks right now.... with no "D" in front of him... his head most likely isn't 100 percent in the game... after give away after give away... he's most likely too busy being pissed off to do his job. .

To say this "D" needs help is about the greatest understatement I've ever seen on this forum.... well done. In my opinion... bring someone in.... ANYONE... I'd rather watch young guys learning on the job than watching the old guys look like figure skaters out there with nothing between their legs. ( guess I can get away with saying that. ). Al

I guarantee you'll hear that.... ( but between those times I'll most likely be yelling at our "D" to get their heads out of their collective A$$es. ) Tonight's game was a perfect example.... they play 5 on 5 like they're defending a power play. 44 needs to retire and 5 just needs to figure out he weighs more than 90 lbs and can skate... I'm so tired of seeing him leaning instead of skating and being pushed around since he never hits anyone.... it's embarrassing to watch. I'd rather see them bring the phantoms D in.... at least they try. Al

Not sure who you mean by "you guys"... I'll watch two Colorado games this year ( when the Flyers play them ).... I like getting Downie back.... hope he returns to "flyers" form. As for not winning... yea, we can always watch to see the fights and try to stay in 1st place ( penalty mins ) Hope the D gets better ( for both Flyers and Eagles ). Al

Yea, I'd go for a good 2nd and 3rd if i could get it... but even when the team is playing well ( 3rd period yesterday ) the D is scary bad. As for the Eagles.... I'm afraid it's going to be yet another year when they're just good enough to not get good draft pics and not good enough to go deep... but I must admit, the season has been better than I expected.... and December games still mean something.... and we don't have to complain about Reid !!! I hope Sunday night will be full of Eagle highlights.

You bet I'm a flyers fan... grew up and went to school in Philly ( fairmount ) ( went to Roman and Penn ) We bleed Orange Black and Green.... can't stand any of the Colorado teams... even when they're good... in fact we like it best when they choke ! sober on a Friday afternoon?

Exactly.... he's over thinking his game.... thinking pass first ( WRONG ) and not playing D... Fix all that and we have the real G back.

Very true, but it seems that every year they don't win in Colorado, they've still made the playoffs.... but yes, would be nice to see them win for a change Al

>> Too easy to be negative. Well, yes.... all you need to do is watch the D play 5 on 5 and you'll get negative real fast For example.... 5 on 5 and you're half a stick away from the puck.... do you apply pressure or do you back away to better screen your own goalie? But I agree.... they are moving in the right direction.... when there's only one way to go.... that's easy. After the first two periods last night I was ready to sell my tickets... now at least I'm going to the game! .... so there's hope. Al

Ok, so I'm about to watch my one live flyers game this year ( in Colorado )... but I've seen every game via center ice or nbc. All I can say is this is one frustrating team. The defense looks like it's always defending a power play... they never take the opportunity to hit when they can avoid it.... backing away seems their only tactic... ( well when they're thinking that is ). I've got to say, esp with Chief as the coach, this team is getting softer and that's not good. Never the less, myself and my two sons will pay our dues and go cheer for the flyers an Jan 2nd. Looking forward to seeing a lot of orange in the stands and giving support in person. I just hope that maybe they can decide to put in the effort for more than 10 mins. Al

There's no defense on your list !

The perfect way to end this season would be to NOT win out but finish first with the most penalty mins.

Yes, Coburn is having a bad year... you can say that again.... and the fact that he's one of our "better defencemen" isn't saying much <g>. I'd say move him and build up someone into that spot.... the D can't get any worse.

No lie, this "refs trying to control the game" BS is getting way way old.... and what about the last few mins of a game when the rules seem to change. A call you make mid game should be the same call with a min left. Something you let go mid game should be let go with a min left. ( and the score should not change the rules ) What a joke.

Give us a couple #1 D men and he's look a lot better.

No way..... G's only fault is that he tends to play the C too much on the ice.... i.e. trying to get others into the game and not take his shot. Other than than, he's all we could ask for.

We need at least 2 #1 D men.... end of story. We're not going to be a happy group till that happens. #44 has been a great player but it's just not there any more to be a #1.

At least there is one "team" that is hurting more than us

Don't know if he turned off the team, or the team has turned him off, but something is wrong. If either he or G can't get into the heads of the D and tell them to start playing.... the season is over. Maybe our D is just that bad.... but that's hard to imagine ( or admit )

>> Grossmann and L Schenn are top 25 in hits and blocked shots amongst all skaters. >> The only lights in an otherwise very dim defense >> Coburn is also top 25 in blocked shots. That's by accident most of the time... when it's not it's because he's been beat and it's desperation time. I'd bet he makes 2 doumb plays out there for every thing he even tries to do well. >> Rinaldo and B Schenn are also top 25 in hits as a fun aside If you read my post I think I said DEFENSE... it's pretty bad when our O is a lot harder on the puck than our D. Puck possession and that ability to skate the puck out of our zone does not exist on this team. If we could put Rinaldo's attitude into the heads of our D, life would be good.

Bryz ... Last year I would have said buy him out... this year, I can't find a good reason to dump him yet. Yes sometimes he looks bad.... but how would you feel trying to bail out the zero D that's playing in front of him. Maybe if the D played like they cared, he would also. At times he looks great... when he doesn't I think it's because he has zero help out there in the universe.

I'd keep Harts, just for comic relief.... but dump Coburn. Too many times he looks like a deer caught in the headlights and plays like it. He's so afraid of $crewing up, he does nothing.

I'd say bench anyone who has a chance to hit.. and doesn't. And bench anyone who has a shot at the net and makes a stupid pass.... ok, so we only have one or two guys left.... bad idea.