Remember this began with the 3 Russians rejoining Art Chaos intending to enter the PSP for 2014. So we've got a (should-be) world class new-to-the-PSP team in Art Chaos and two highly ranked but substantially different returning champions.
Often lost in sports when high profile players change teams is that any team is the sum of all (and I mean all) its parts and successful teams--whatever the metric--find ways to integrate all the pieces into a single entity. It's often called chemistry. And on that score it would seem Art Chaos is ahead of the curve as the Russians have played for Art Chaos for years. The moves to Heat reunite a pair of former All-Americans with a couple other former All-As (plus Coach Trosen) which gives Heat a foot up on establishing team cohesion. Impact picked up three players from three different teams. On the plus side both Stanczak and Martin have experience with multiple teams at the pro level. Leival has been a long time member of Upton 187 and is most likely to have difficulty making the transition to a new environment.
Beyond the changes and the chemistry questions there's also the question of who came out ahead--other than the players that may or may not have gotten a bigger chunk of cheddar than they had before. Who won the latest game of musical chairs? Was it Heat or AC or maybe Impact? From my vantage point AC maintained the core of its Euro team but most of the organization has no PSP experience. Most would agree those are still the pieces of a Champions quality team. Heat replaced top pros with other top pros but still left a couple of holes in their roster which will require players step to fill those holes. The biggest question is Impact. Odds are it take them the longest to peak given the roster changes.
What do you think?
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9 comments:
Moorehead hurt Impact the most. Moorehead is crucial in getting the team to Sunday. But he could never deliver when called upon on Sunday afternoon.
So, I predict Heat will do about the same as last year, except they won't win an event. Top 4 overall? Impact, will be right behind them, top 3.
Dynasty, AC, and occasionally Damage will be fighting the 1/2 spot (after AC moves up that is).
All that being said, the brutal bracketing system might really throw some curve balls so we might see Impact finally take 1st for once.
No mention of Thomas Taylor?
Do you forsee any more major player movement between any teams this off season?
When does the music stop?
That's just ringing in your ears, Nick.
Mike
Follow the money. Chaos is probably done. They've got their Russians in the fold and had no luck pulling American players--if in fact they really ever wanted them. Heat is done or would appear to be with a full roster. Same for Impact. Damage looks to stand pat, Dynasty too. Vicious could open the check book but their past experience bringing in established pros has been mixed at best.
Wouldn't surprise me if there were one or two moves still left but I'd guess all the potential game changers are done.
You left out Omaha, has the resources to "import" but won't because they refuse to pay people for doing a job their kids do for free. Vicious is maxed skill-wise with their current roster and a couple of hired guns who fit with the program could help. Time and time again, up on bodies, can't finish because the robots can't move.
Aftershock, The only thing that keeps this program running is Mikey Brunos desire to get back on the field. Shock has been up, down, all around and has underdogs luck some time, the other side of the coin is implosion with this team. Aftershock is not a top tier team as much as I'd like them to be
Ring a ling a ring
-TBD- Always a contender. Looking solid this year- guessing they win 1 or 2 events
-Dynasty- prob do well this year- fun to see how the old age kicks in ;)
-Heat- Will contend- would be nice to see some of the younger guys get more points in
-AC- F&S will do their bidding! Guessing they take one tournament down.
-LAIn- Consistency is always the issue with this bunch. We know they can do it, but for how long?
-Impact- Roster looks good- can they pull it together? (love the raney pick up- wish he played with heat or shock ^.^ )
-Men- Want to see them do well this year, but they're still a young bunch
-X Factor- They're legit, but guessing they don't live up to their world cup win. Always a fun team to watch though
-MRL- merges with AC at the end of 2014- they will be in and out of contenders
-Aftershock- <3
-Vicious- Hope they lose to Aftershock
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