Tim Panaccio: Who's Kidding Whom?

Tim Panaccio: Who's Kidding Whom?
- tpanaccio

new ownership is key to any revitalization of the franchise.

Most of the problems with this team has zero to do with who they missed out on in the off season. That has nothing to do with how this team has performed on the ice.

Most of the problems with this team has zero to do with who they missed out on in the off season. That has nothing to do with how this team has performed on the ice.
- MJL

Lavy can't identify what works and doesn't.... he can't adjust .... it's ridiculous.
One trick pony if you ask me... I know the loss of Pronger, Carle, Jagr, Jvr will impact the team. That being said, work with what you have and adapt the system...

Tim Panaccio: Who's Kidding Whom?
- tpanaccio

Laviolette deserves a large slice of the blame pie.

The bottom line is, despite not landing Parise, Suter or Weber, the Flyers have enough talent to be a playoff team. Perhaps not challenge for the division or conference title for the regular season, but enough to be a 5-8 seed.

There's other coaches out there getting a lot more from less talented teams. That's not Holmgren's fault.

Laviolette deserves a large slice of the blame pie.

The bottom line is, despite not landing Parise, Suter or Weber, the Flyers have enough talent to be a playoff team. Perhaps not challenge for the division or conference title for the regular season, but enough to be a 5-8 seed.

There's other coaches out there getting a lot more from less talented teams. That's not Holmgren's fault.
- Jsaquella

(frank)ing A

Jsaquella and MJL should be writers on CSN Philly ....

Seriously, the lack of logic from PHI writers is insane...

Except for the unique Bill Meltzer THE GREAT obviously ...

To Jsaquella and MJL, if you don't mind me asking, do you guys write for a living or are you just both awesomely logical philly fans

To Jsaquella and MJL, if you don't mind me asking, do you guys write for a living or are you just both awesomely logical philly fans
- Chris48

I'm currently incarcerated in Rahway State prison for killing my landlord

Im surprised Lavi is still here as we speak.. To point to this past off season's failures in free agency is foolish and aren't anywhere near the problem(As I recall, one or more of the players we shot for stated a preference NOT to play in Philly anyway) So to blame Homer in that regard is simply ridiculous... Lavi is a Good coach(just better suited elsewhere) and we aren't bashing the guy BUT his Technical approach has become ineffectual, and his demeanor with the players tiresome, and the Team under his instruction has become pathetically predictable by almost ANY club in the NHL.

Lavi does deserve blame, but if you think the defensive core on this team was good enough to be a legit threat then I think you letting the fact that it's the Flyers cloud your judgment. Seems like too many people are willing are willing to give Homer a pass on this. Not saying he should be fired, but he didn't address the needs of the team (he kind he made an attempt in Suter and Weber) this off season.

I'm currently incarcerated in Rahway State prison for killing my landlord
- Jsaquella

How's that nogging PCS?

Lavi does deserve blame, but if you think the defensive core on this team was good enough to be a legit threat then I think you letting the fact that it's the Flyers cloud your judgment. Seems like too many people are willing are willing to give Homer a pass on this. Not saying he should be fired, but he didn't address the needs of the team (he kind he made an attempt in Suter and Weber) this off season.
- whatthef

How about the NJD D ..... nothing spectacular. But a team well coached with the appropriate system can do wonders. The flyers are so predictable it's a joke... It's simple, pressure with the forecheck and the opposition gets an overwhelming chance to get 2 points vs philly...

Everyone seems to realize this except the coaching staff it seems. Unreal.
Homer isn't perfect but he tries atleast (Suter, Parise, Webber) .... Lavy tries the same freaking thing over and over again....

"Insanity, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Well Homer didn't land any offseason pieces, but at the same time I don't consider that as a failure on his part. He tried hard. You can throw all kinds of money at players, but they're going to go where they want. Parise + Suter went to where they're from. Hard to blame Homer there. The Weber signing was impressive and he signed the contract so Homer reached his goal there. After that it was out of his hands whether Nashville would match or not. There was only a limited amount of talent out there to fill the teams holes. If anything I'm glad he didn't panic and start offering too much for mediocre replacements.

As for Lavi, I think it's a bit much to put his head on a platter with what he was given to work with. This teams defense is among the worst (if not the worst) defense in the league. They're absolutely brutal. It has nothing to do with strategy either. They fail at the simplest fundamentals in the game: playing your man, picking up the man in front, tying up your man, etc. That shouldn't be things you need to explain to players at this level of the game. Break downs happen, but this stuff happens way too much with this team. Granted I wish Lavi would realize the dump + chase doesn't always work. It's only affective when a) players actually beat the other team to the puck b) it's not over utilized to the point the other team is expecting it all the time.

To Jsaquella and MJL, if you don't mind me asking, do you guys write for a living or are you just both awesomely logical philly fans
- Chris48

I'm just a Hockey fan. Have you read the grammar in some of my posts? LOL

Honestly, when I read a blog by someone like Bill Meltzer, I'm in awe of the knowledge and the eloquence in how he write's. If I tried to do what Bill does, I would only embarrass myself.

Lavi does deserve blame, but if you think the defensive core on this team was good enough to be a legit threat then I think you letting the fact that it's the Flyers cloud your judgment. Seems like too many people are willing are willing to give Homer a pass on this. Not saying he should be fired, but he didn't address the needs of the team (he kind he made an attempt in Suter and Weber) this off season.
- whatthef

The Flyers personel on defense is as good as the NJ Devils is. They seem to be able to get by.

Tim Panaccio: Who's Kidding Whom?
- tpanaccio

Tim, To be fair to Homer... I don't think the plan was ever to get all three guys. Praisie/Suter were a package deal. But, that didn't look good from the start. Weber was the real target, and the effort was good.

Logic and professional writing for a web site or newspaper are entirely different animals. Tim needs to attract readers and when we click on his blog or article, even if we don't read the whole thing, it counts towards his viewership.

Each team and each fan base has a good amount of fans and writers that are logical. You just have to find and notice them.

Laviolette deserves a large slice of the blame pie.

The bottom line is, despite not landing Parise, Suter or Weber, the Flyers have enough talent to be a playoff team. Perhaps not challenge for the division or conference title for the regular season, but enough to be a 5-8 seed.

There's other coaches out there getting a lot more from less talented teams. That's not Holmgren's fault.
- Jsaquella

Lavy deserves a nice slice of blame pie but even when he did adjust from time to time the players are not playing the "system". The coach will be fired sooner or later. It's the nature of the business but the players have to do a better job. At this point in the season, who cares who they lost and who they got in return it's time for each player to step up and play. As noted, there is enough talent on this team to win...it's all about getting hot at the right time. We have all seen this the last couple of years.

I'm just a Hockey fan. Have you read the grammar in some of my posts? LOL

Honestly, when I read a blog by someone like Bill Meltzer, I'm in awe of the knowledge and the eloquence in how he write's. If I tried to do what Bill does, I would only embarrass myself.
- MJL

Then you read something from panotch who can't spell and doesn't make sense

Jsaquella and MJL should be writers on CSN Philly ....

Seriously, the lack of logic from PHI writers is insane...

Except for the unique Bill Meltzer THE GREAT obviously ...
- Chris48

I respect Jasq and MJL's knowledge of hockey. Although I've played the game and watched the Flyers for 40 years I'm no student of the game. I do know one thing, tho...it is about the players. Laviolette is a good coach. He's a good motivator and I'm fairly sure he knows the game better than all of us. To say the players that Holmgren put together have little to do with how poorly this team is playing makes no sense to me. If you loose players and don't replace them with better players you are not going to be a better team. I don't see what you mean when you say that the team Holmgren put together has enough skill to be a playoff team. They don't look like a playoff team to me. It's not just about the players' skill...they all have skill in the NHL. To win you need players who are supremely talented or are extra driven or motivated or all of the above. What makes Timmonen a better player than Coburn? Is it skill? I don't think so.

So... I don't know, maybe these guys have the talent or skill to be a better team. Maybe they just don't like the coach and have tuned him out, maybe they don't have the confidence or the understanding or the willingness to play the "system" the coach wants them to play. If that's the case I don't see it as a failing on the part of the coach...that's on the players and it's also on the GM for not finding the players who do.

Lavy deserves a nice slice of blame pie but even when he did adjust from time to time the players are not playing the "system". The coach will be fired sooner or later. It's the nature of the business but the players have to do a better job. At this point in the season, who cares who they lost and who they got in return it's time for each player to step up and play. As noted, there is enough talent on this team to win...it's all about getting hot at the right time. We have all seen this the last couple of years.
- phi1671

The players need to step it up for sure, nobody is exonerating the players.

But some of that can be placed on Laviolette's head too. He looks like he might bench Sean Couturier tonight, which is fine. But Danny Briere will play his customary 13-17 minutes.

Lavy deserves a nice slice of blame pie but even when he did adjust from time to time the players are not playing the "system". The coach will be fired sooner or later. It's the nature of the business but the players have to do a better job. At this point in the season, who cares who they lost and who they got in return it's time for each player to step up and play. As noted, there is enough talent on this team to win...it's all about getting hot at the right time. We have all seen this the last couple of years.
- phi1671

Players not playing the system... Either they can't, or they don't want to... I don't think it is the later (yet). I think they want to, and are trying. But, they are getting burned on occasion which leads to goals against. Lavy doesn't have the correct personnel for his system. So, you can blame Lavy or Homer. I tend to think Lavy is to blame, Lavy doesn't appear to be altering the system to match the players skill level, talent, experience, etc... He needs to play with the hand he is dealt. Sure this team would look a whole lot different with Suter/Weber, but we don't have them. We have non-offensive, big slow guys of defense (except timmo, gus). You can't continue with a two man aggressive for-check that leaves the defense exposed.

The players need to step it up for sure, nobody is exonerating the players.

But some of that can be placed on Laviolette's head too. He looks like he might bench Sean Couturier tonight, which is fine. But Danny Briere will play his customary 13-17 minutes.
- Jsaquella

and be an invisible -3 most likely.

Look guys, I'm a pens fan, and we missed out on the same players that you did. We also lost pieces without replacing them. However, the pens seem to keep rolling, at least through regular seasons, no matter what they face. Over the last few years we've had so many players miss time to injury its infuriating. I definitely feel for the Flyers fans. The problem is not Homer...it has more to do with a fragile locker room or coach. To be honest, the playoffs aren't the same without the Flyers in them. I truly take pride in the rivalry. IMO, with the talent the Flyers have they should NEVER be out of the playoffs. I put this more on the coaching then anything else.