If you thought things were occluded in the MLL ranking hierarchy before then this past weekend’s action didn’t do much to lift the fog. I’ve tried a few new strategies for my prognostication methodology for this week though. Remember the witch from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves? Yeah, I don’t recommend that. And I thought about trying to channel the Oracle of Delphi, but figured that throwing spaghetti at the wall would be just as effective.
The good news? NLL and NCAA draftees are starting to trickle in, so teams are starting to get a new look already.
Instead of doing a straight 1 through 8 ranking this week, let’s take a cue from Matt Glaude at College Crosse and organize the rankings by grouped tiers. Order within each tier matters much less than who is in each tier. The goal is to try to get the competitive balance approximately accurate instead of establishing a static hierarchy.
Tier 1:
New York Lizards
They’re still on top, but not as firmly as they have been. The game with Boston was a heavyweight slugfest with an “anything you can do, I can do better” type of air to it evident from the get-go. Paul Rabil scored a two-pointer to open the scoring in the game and then Max Siebald came right back and did the same thing at the other end. Greg Gurenlian didn’t suit up for the Lizards this time out and they surely missed his complete dominance at the faceoff dot. New York is still the team to beat, but Boston showed that the Lizards have not fully converted to cyborgs yet and still have a bit of organic matter in them.
Tier 2:
Boston Cannons
Yes, the Cannons are 1-2 but that includes an OT loss to a potent Charlotte team and a one goal decision to the current best team in the league. They’re distributing their scoring well right now and playing like a team. Last week’s inconsistent effort clearly exited stage left in lieu of 60 minutes of haymakers this week with New York. The two teams meet again next week so it will be interesting to see if this game was a sign of things to come or something far less promising from Boston.
Chesapeake Bayhawks
This is a fun team to watch, especially with how they use their midfielders to invert. The defense looked a step slow against Ohio in Week 4. It seems like MLL fans are so used to seeing dominant faceoff play that it’s a bit of an aberration when it’s subpar. Faceoffs were an issue for Chesapeake this week, and that’s against an Ohio team that has been abysmal at the dot in the early goings of 2015. This simply won’t do if the Hawks are going to re-establish themselves as a premier team in the league.
Denver Outlaws
Denver likes to score in bunches. Well, either that or they’re just good at doing so. Eric Law battled some offseason injuries and wasn’t himself in the first few games, but looked to be back to 100 percent against Charlotte. The big names are doing what they do for Denver, but while much of their team is still playing NLL or NCAA ball, the Outlaws are seeing phenomenal play from guys like Pat Harbeson and Noah Molnar. Having that type of depth should help Denver over the long haul of the season.
Tier 3:
Charlotte Hounds
The Hounds still haven’t been able to put the entire puzzle together yet. Of course, when you’re dealing with a 1000 piece puzzle that is mostly two colors—which is a good analogy for MLL—it shouldn’t be a total surprise. Josh Hawkins wasn’t in the lineup on Sunday in Denver and the Hounds missed their top SSDM. Only when Denver started to sit back on their lead did the Hounds start to gnaw their way back into the game. Is there a more consistently exciting LSM in the league than Ryan Flanagan? That’s an honest question, not a rhetorical one.
Ohio Machine
FINALLY! The Ohio offense showed up against Chesapeake. Peter Baum demonstrated why he’s one of the best in the game and had a helluva go at it against the Bayhawks. Even though they got the win I’m still not convinced that Brian Phipps is a championship caliber goalie. It’s like looking at the NHL playoffs and knowing that a team may win a round or two even, but ultimately their goalie isn’t going to be able to withstand the grind. That’s my gut feeling about Phipps. Solid? Yes. Elite? No.
Rochester Rattlers
I almost feel guilty putting Rochester this low, but when I compared their body of work this year to the teams in Tier 2 I just couldn’t put them in the above group. Out of the team here though they’re the closest to moving up at this point. However, the Ratz got doubled “Team Jordan” this week, as Jordan MacIntosh returned from NLL duties and made an immediate impact alongside Jordan Wolf, the former netting four goals, including the OT game winner. Michael Manley is back on defense as well, so expect the Rattlers to start chipping away at the stone.
Tier 4:
Florida Launch
To their credit the Launch gave Rochester a good fight on Sunday. Certainly better than Mayweather/Pacquiao the night prior. Is there a goalie that gets angrier after allowing a goal than Brett Queener? I’d love to see him host a talk show or be a TV judge. Who wouldn’t watch that? The Launch were without the services of Casey Powell this week, and Kieran McArdle couldn’t will his team to victory although it seems that he tried. Don’t expect these offensive doldrums to continue in Florida though because relief is on the way. Not only do they have Powell and McArdle already, and Lyle Thompson coming once his NCAA career is over, but the Launch just moved Kevin Rice to Rochester in exchange for Miles Thompson. Yes, two of the Thompson brothers will be reunited in MLL. If that doesn’t put butts in the seats in Florida, nothing will.
