NLL Insider

Another week, another round of questions for the National Lacrosse League.

Where did the Boston Blazers find that offense and what does Daryl Veltman have to do with it? Where did the Rochester Knighthawks find that defense, and can they climb out of an 0-4 hole? How will the Toronto Rock respond to a new coach? Can anyone stop the Buffalo Bandits? How can San Jose be 1-3 with all that talent, and what’s the plan to fix things? The New York Titans proved they have a defense to stand up for that explosive offense, and if the problems on offense weren’t enough for the Colorado Mammoth, what are they gonna do on defense while goalie Gee Nash is on the shelf? Good questions, all and coaches of these respective teams had plenty to say about these issues and more as Week 5 kicks off tonight with a special Thursday night edition.

Buffalo at Edmonton, Thursday

At 4-0, the Bandits appear unstoppable. “They have a good system and (Bandits coach) Darris Kilgour has done a great job getting the players to work in that system,” Edmonton coach Bob Hamley said. “The defense, it just pressures you and challenges you and you never get set. They keep inserting guys in and out and they still keep that pressure on you.”

Hamley joked that the Bandits are so smooth and effective with their defensive system that they probably don’t even need to practice it. At 2-2, though, the Rush are a different club in 2009 and they’re very capable of testing the Bandits. The game of Ryan Benesch and Andy Secore is still developing under the leadership of veteran Dan Teat, who was named NLL Player of the Week. That’s the kind of relationship that needs to be fostered as the Bandits enter tonight knowing they’re vulnerable by their own admission.

“Not only can we be beaten, but teams can come back on us if we don’t work hard,” said Kilgour, referring to last week’s tight win over Minnesota. Kilgour didn’t hint who would be in goal tonight, but is there really a difference between the NLL Defensive Player of the Week Mike Thompson and Ken Montour? They’re both freaks of nature who fill the cage well and get the ball rolling with the athletic defenders and trannys. It’s a system no one’s figured out how to beat this season, and the Rush will either be the first, or the latest victim.

Edmonton at San Jose, Saturday

The Rush will either be smarting or jubilant heading into this game. Either way, they can’t let their guard down, even against a Stealth team that’s struggling to find its identity. The 1-3 record is deceiving, and once the Stealth figure out what’s going on, there’s no telling what’s gonna happen. Coach Jeff Dowling thinks he’s got the problem pegged, and it’s on offense.

“We’ve talked to the culprits and we think they’re trying to do too much,” Dowling said. “They’re trying to coach on the floor and we’ve addressed that.”

Fixing that, Dowling hopes, will improve the team’s shooting percentage. He’s concerned with that stat because it’s usually a sign of gripping. You find yourself trailing in games and you start shooting from anywhere to make something happen. Bad angles, bad situations. It’s not good, and Dowling is thinking that if guys start taking care of their personal games, the flow will return on offense and guys can work with the space they find.

Goaltending for both teams are in the air for this one. Hamley’s not sure if Steve Dietrich will play both games but if he turns to Chris Levis, he won’t lose faith. He says both are playing well. Matt Roik didn’t play last week for San Jose, but Tyler Richards was solid in the second half of last week’s loss to Calgary.

Portland at Boston, Saturday

The Blazers finally figured it out, sweeping both contests against the Philadelphia Wings last weekend to even their record at 2-2. NLL Rookie of the Week Daryl Veltman had a big say in the wins, but talent wasn’t the issue for Boston. “We’ve been looking for confidence,” coach Tom Ryan said. “And the two wins lets the young guys know that we can win.”

Ryan installed a tranny-friendly system to beat Philly and with Brodie Merrill on the floor Saturday night, they’ll probably go with a similar system to prevent the transition from gaining any sort of steam. “We wanted to prevent Philly from pushing the ball and Brodie is just as dangerous, so it’s likely we’ll stick with the same lineup and strategies for this weekend.”

Derek Keenan and Portland, of course, are very familiar with Boston’s big gun in Dan Dawson. The NLL Offensive Player of the Week has just 5 goals in four games, but his 21 assists is best in the league. “The only stat that means anything to Dan is the W. He’ll do anything it takes to win.”

Keenan says his defense will account for DDD, but it can’t afford to put all its focus there becaue guys like Veltman, Matt Lyons and Brendan Thenhaus are more than capable finishers.  If the Blazers get Sean Morris back from an ankle injury, they’ll have even more options on offense.

Note of nostalgia: Keenan returns to Boston for the first time since the 1992 and 1993 seasons, when he was a player with the Buffalo Bandits and played the Blazers at the old Boston Gardens.

Toronto at Rochester, Saturday

What a difference a goalie makes, eh? Pat O’Toole returned to cage for the Knighthawks and even though they lost by a goal to the Titans, it wasn’t an embarrassing game.

“The defense played much better and with more confidence which is what we were expecting with Pat O’Toole in the lineup,” Knighthawks coach Paul Gait said. “But we’re still struggling on offense and transition.”

Gait actually likes the looks his offense is getting, it’s just a matter of finishing. Shawn Williams and Shawn Evans are feeling the pressure of being offensive leaders and have yet to respond, said Gait, so the Knighthawks really need those two guys to find a comfort zone. Paul acknowledges the offensive struggles of his brother Gary, but maintains he’s still got confidence that his game will turn around despite him scoring just one goal since having four in the season-opener.

The Rock, meanwhile, take the floor with new coach Jamie Batley. The former coach of the Chicago Shamrox says he sees a veteran team in Toronto and he’s still working to discover roles and strengths. Basically, his approach won’t change, he said, and the biggest demand he’ll have from his roster is hard work. Having Craig Conn on the floor just might add a nice element to the offense even though he hasn’t played since 2007 because of injuries.

“He had a good practice last week but we’re not sure if he’ll play on the weekend,” Batley said, adding that they’ll get another look at Wednesday night’s practice which will help determine Conn’s status for the weekend.

New York at Colorado, Saturday

As if the struggling offense weren’t enough for coach Bob McMahon, he’s got an eye on a defense that will be without goalie Gee Nash for a while. Lingering back issues put Nash on injured reserve, but McMahoon is pleased with the job Andrew Leyshon is doing. He’ll most likely get the start Saturday despite the team signing Curtis Palidwor, who needs some time to re-adjust himself to the game. The defense will get plenty of work with the Titans in town, especially Casey Powell and his league-leading 33 points.

McMahon says the biggest challenge on offense is chemistry as new faces and new sticks learn new games. “We’ve just got to get used to playing with each other,” he said. “We anticipated some short-term pain, but didn’t anticipate this much pain.”

Titans coach Ed Comeau says the Mammoth won’t slumber much longer. “There’s a learning curve,” he said. “But there’s too much talent there for them not to rise up.”

The Titans roll in with a pretty balanced offense and the only concern there is that everyone remains healthy. Of course, any coach is gonna tell you that there’s always room for improvement, but the Titans are sparkling with that 3-1 record and the Mammoth will have their hands full as the try to avoid a 1-3 hole.

“We can’t have three guys being one-on-one players,” McMahon said. “We’ve gotta have some guys do the grunt work.”

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