Thanks for the great analysis. I agree 100% that the first cut was open and could have easily been thrown. I'm less sure about the second cut. It's hard given the vantage point, but it looks to me like the defender does a nice job of using their positioning to block the direct route to the cone. You can see from this perspective that they are almost directly between their defender and the corner, cutting off the direct path to the most dangerous space on the field. That positioning is probably what forces the player they're guarding into a more vertical cut. But because of the angle relative to thrower, that cut is less dangerous and gives the defender more time to react. At that point the defender reacts by moving straight at the cone themselves, cutting off that throwing lane. All to say: I'm not sure that throw was open or should have gone off. At 3:34 it looks like the defender is pretty much directly between the thrower and their mark and moving such that they would have had a good shot of blocking that throw. The thrower might have been able to put it out into the corner space, but the cutter would have had to react correctly, and there's a defender lurking.
I didn't show this angle but if you watch the full game footage there is the drone footage showing the small opening for cut #2. The time stamp is 29:42 for reference. Either way, the point is that they were pressuring the up line relentlessly.
A double strike cut is hard to stop... cant imagine trying to stop a triple. I love the fact that team didnt even flinch high in the stall count, and trusted thrower enough for noone to stand behind the disc.
It worked but could've gone wrong. The third guy chose to cut instead of be a dump, despite the high count. I probably wouldn't want coaches to teach this. The 4th guy in the end zone was also doing nothing.. He could've just gone to the other corner to pull his defender away from the open side, preventing any poaching attempt.
Thanks for the great analysis.
I agree 100% that the first cut was open and could have easily been thrown.
I'm less sure about the second cut. It's hard given the vantage point, but it looks to me like the defender does a nice job of using their positioning to block the direct route to the cone. You can see from this perspective that they are almost directly between their defender and the corner, cutting off the direct path to the most dangerous space on the field.
That positioning is probably what forces the player they're guarding into a more vertical cut. But because of the angle relative to thrower, that cut is less dangerous and gives the defender more time to react. At that point the defender reacts by moving straight at the cone themselves, cutting off that throwing lane.
All to say: I'm not sure that throw was open or should have gone off. At 3:34 it looks like the defender is pretty much directly between the thrower and their mark and moving such that they would have had a good shot of blocking that throw. The thrower might have been able to put it out into the corner space, but the cutter would have had to react correctly, and there's a defender lurking.
I didn't show this angle but if you watch the full game footage there is the drone footage showing the small opening for cut #2. The time stamp is 29:42 for reference. Either way, the point is that they were pressuring the up line relentlessly.
A double strike cut is hard to stop... cant imagine trying to stop a triple. I love the fact that team didnt even flinch high in the stall count, and trusted thrower enough for noone to stand behind the disc.
It worked but could've gone wrong. The third guy chose to cut instead of be a dump, despite the high count. I probably wouldn't want coaches to teach this.
The 4th guy in the end zone was also doing nothing.. He could've just gone to the other corner to pull his defender away from the open side, preventing any poaching attempt.
Always appreciate the analysis. Protip for reviewing content on yt: hit Period to go 1 frame ahead, and Comma to go 1 frame back.
One of these days I'll get better at it :)
1st strike was just a bit early, thrower still wasn't set to throw by the time he came open
Delay that cut by 1-2 seconds = ez goal IMO
FIRSTTT