Why are We so Disgusted?

[Howie58]

I was thinking today, "why the hell am I so disgusted?"

 

Losing...with no effort, yeah, that is painful.  But my nausea is the history.

 

We had the bad season in 2006-7.  We thought that was the bottom.

 

Then we had the fluke ECF.  And we thought...maybe these guys understand the new rules...the salary cap.  And there was a new era. Then we had another head fake.  We went to the Stanley Cup Final and thought "well, we get a good goaltender and build on the young core and we thought new era..."

 

Well Pronger goes down And the core of the core is traded. And then we have another collapse. And along comes Berube and we think a new defensive coach comes in and we think...the ship is heading forward.

 

This mess is of long standing. We collect antiquities. We don't build our own.  VLC and Umberger are the straws that may break the ideology back.  But I worry that may not be the case.  But we shall see.  Meanwhile, I agree that this team hasn't gotten sick of losing but the talent level is glorified AHL after the top line.  Yikes.

 

We can only hope Hextall can put the vision to work. 

 

Howie

[mojo1917]

Howie,

I hope you had a wonderful holiday.

 

I think we're disgusted because we're not used to seeing our team be bad .

 

There were early days of struggle , the Russ Farwell years, and the end of the Clarke era, and that has been it as far as the Flyers being a bad hockey team.  We don't have 20 years of stinking like some other clubs to compare "this particular downturn " to.

 

So while we all say , "lose and build through the draft", no one really wants to actually go through it.  Sort of like the Pa governor Corbett telling us we need to "deal with" the state pension problem, but not having the stones to actually, you know deal with it, because the dealing with it will be unpopular. 

[Howie58]

Mojo:

I hope you had a good holiday too. I am sti

l in Jersey with family. I went to the Black Friday game and booed too....left after the third goal...insufferable.

I recall the bad days but there was a sense of pride and an occasional fight. Now there is no fight, with energy, talent, or fists.

I feel for the STH who've paid for this crap.

In retrospect, we should have had a GM change after the Bryz disaster. There is no accountability and a lot of inbreeding.

Peace

[Vincent05]

@Howie58

We are disgusted because we are true diehard fans. But if this continues, I may become a casual fan just like I am with the Eagles, Sixers and Phillies. Tired of being heartbroken by the same crap year after year. I will give Hextall a shot to see if he will do the right thing.

[flyercanuck]

I'm not disgusted. Its inevitable that a team will eventually bottom out. I just don't want to see the stupid trades that get us in a one and done playoff round but hurt us going forward. Its a great year to suck. Embrace the horror.

[brelic]

Agree with all of you. 

 

I will add that for me, if I could sum it up, it's how little the organization trusts in itself. For an organization that has a history that oozes bravado and machismo, they sure as heck don't act like they have confidence in what they're doing.

 

For one, either they draft poorly or they don't trust their draft picks - because the vast majority of them never end up on the Flyers roster. 

 

And when we have solutions in hand - Bobrovsky, for example - they are unable to see it. In fact, they *do* see it (Snider and Homer were *gushing* all over this kid not six months earlier) but then at the slightest hint of adversity it's like they get hit with a serious bout of amnesia and everyone sucks. JVR is another example. If Homer had looked five years down the road and plot out what his roster could look like (which Hextall does), I'm sure he would have had JVR/Giroux/Voracek on the top line. Three 1st round picks. All playing in their positions. 

 

Instead, we got Bryz and Schenn. Two players from *outside* the organization that Homer believed were better than the very ones he had drafted and scouted within his own organization.

 

And that constant self-doubt drives me absolutely bonkers.

[DaGreatGazoo]

I'm disgusted by the lack of effort/lack of hustle/lazy hockey play.  This is not a good team, no one is disputing that fact.  However, the ONE thing a player controls is effort.  

Watching players float, not back check, consistently losing puck battles, not working hard on the PK, etc, etc, etc....THAT's what is making me disgusted.  

[ruxpin]

Doritos flavored Mountain Dew. That's what disgusts me.

[murraycraven]

I'm not disgusted. Its inevitable that a team will eventually bottom out. I just don't want to see the stupid trades that get us in a one and done playoff round but hurt us going forward. Its a great year to suck. Embrace the horror.

 

 

LOL!  This should be the new marketing slogan!! 

[King Knut]

I think the ideology's back is broken if by nothing else but necessity.  They can't afford any overpaid over the hill bump on the ice for another 5 years.

 

VLC and Umberger are the straws that may break the ideology back.

[murraycraven]

I'm disgusted by the lack of effort/lack of hustle/lazy hockey play.  This is not a good team, no one is disputing that fact.  However, the ONE thing a player controls is effort.  

Watching players float, not back check, consistently losing puck battles, not working hard on the PK, etc, etc, etc....THAT's what is making me disgusted.  

 

This team, at its very best, was a bubble team from the start IMO.

 

The cap situation is really what disgusts me more than anything.   The signing of VLC, McDud and the bUmberger are all killing this Team.   We literally have two players in VLC and RJ that add nothing to this team and are a detriment to the Team every time they hit the ice.   Aside from the gross mismanagement of the Team (Homer) I also have an issue w/ the lack of effort and blatant lack of a desire to win or play hard.  

 

We are witnessing a sinking ship and as FC so eloquently put it:  it is time to "Embrace the Horror"

 

McDavid or Eichel would look great in the O&B!

[King Knut]

It's not inevitable that a team would bottom out 3 times in 7 years.   That's NOT okay.  A team that does that is just a really pretty weak organization.  One that will sell fewer tickets and jerseys and "Ugly Sweater" T shirts.

 

 

 

Its inevitable that a team will eventually bottom out.

[King Knut]

I'm so disgusted because A)  They looked half decent at the end of last year.

 

The Penguins intentionally took a run at Mason knowing full well that they wouldn't be able to beat us in the playoffs last year, because for whatever reason we're good at beating the penguins... at least we were until Berube's 5 day mini camp destroyed the season.

 

If Mason plays, there's a better than decent chance the Flyers beat the Rangers in the first round.  Do they advance the way the rangers did?  Probably not.  The rangers got better as they went and that's not been the Flyers MO as of late.  But the point is they were playing extremely half decently at the end of last year.

 

Now they're playing horribly. 

 

They had flashes of being okay though.   A few games here and there.  Running with some good teams, playing well against them.

 

and then 5 days alone with Berube utterly destroyed this team.

 

Should tell us all (and by us I mean Hextall) all we need to know.

 

"why the hell am I so disgusted?"

[radoran]

I used to be disgusted

 

Now I try to be amused...

 

[murraycraven]

The Penguins intentionally took a run at Mason knowing full well that they wouldn't be able to beat us in the playoffs last year, because for whatever reason we're good at beating the penguins... at least we were until Berube's 5 day mini camp destroyed the season.

 

I agree with the 5 day minicamp thing...

 

but you really think this is the pens fault?!?!  huh?

[King Knut]

Nothing is the penguins fault other than the fact that Mason missed the first half of the Rangers series.

 

It was just a context for explaining that the Flyers very easily could have edged the team that represented the east in the finals.  They were doing okay last spring. The were keeping teams (including the rangers) to the umbrella and limiting quality chances very similarly to the way the Kings do, only the flyers were very very bad at capitalizing on mistakes and turning those mistakes into goals the way the kings are very very good at it.   That's all I meant.

 

That they were doing okay and looked half decent is what I was trying to say.

 

Now they look atrocious.  LIke they've never seen a hockey puck before.

 

The contrast between the two is what makes this so frustrating.   That and this is Philadelphia.  We're used to our baseball team not making the playoffs, so the past few years are really a return to normal in that sport, but if our hockey team or our football team aren't contenders, there are serious issues.  Our Hockey team is about to have the third ridiculously horrible playoff missing season in 7 years.  That's UNHEARD of. 

[murraycraven]

@KK

 

Gotcha... sorry I was reading into that one too much

[ruxpin]

I'm not disgusted. Its inevitable that a team will eventually bottom out. I just don't want to see the stupid trades that get us in a one and done playoff round but hurt us going forward. Its a great year to suck. Embrace the horror.

 

Added to my signature!

[flyercanuck]

@ruxpin

I feel honoured. Or is that the flu coming on?

[RonJeremy]

I think the biggest reason we are disgusted, is due to the total lack of effort and soft play by this team. Historically the Flyers were always the team that out muscled and out hustled the other teams and always put forth an honest effort. The teams of the 70s-80s especially, we didn't have the most talented roster, but guys like Clarke, Bridgman, Tocchett, Sutter, Kelly, etc would never be outworked and give up.

 

Over the lst 20 plus years we have had teams of cry babies and underachievers who quit on Terry Murray, revolted against Barber, tuned out Hitchcock, got Lavvy fired and now Berube is on his way out too. Losing because your noi that good is one thing, but putting forth no effort is not flyer hockey

[ruxpin]

@ruxpin I feel honoured. Or is that the flu coming on?

 

Could be the flu.  I actually don't feel well and haven't since I had pneumonia way too long ago (6 weeks) that it should still matter.

 

But I loved the line.

[Howie58]

Greetings:

 

I will try to Embrace the Horror, but the sad reality is that we have, as King Knut said, bounced off the bottom three times in seven years and have seemingly little to show for it.  It give the impression that when we perform well it is fluke rather than a foundation.  Per another thread this evening, we better hope that Hextall rights the ship over time.  By the way, I think Carchidi's write-up yesterday was as scathing a piece on major league management as you will see.  I wonder if the organization will retaliate.

 

Peace,

 

Howard

[Mad Dog]

By the way, I think Carchidi's write-up yesterday was as scathing a piece on major league management as you will see.  I wonder if the organization will retaliate.

 

 I usually can't stand Parcheesi, but that was one solid column where he made valid points.