Winter Workshops: QC Boston
Winter has officially arrived in the Northeast. Teams have more or less gone into hibernation for a couple of weeks or months - depending on how much snow there actually is - and wonāt be playing any kind of meaningful games against each other. Still, every team with a deep World Cup VIII run in mind will have to build on their fall season in order to succeed. Hereās where each of the top Northeast teams stands.
QC Boston has gotten a lot of attention on this blog. They have the talent to be a world-class team, but how can they make the jump?
SEEKING
The departure of Kedzie Teller is the big storyline for QCB, but it hurts them most in a position you wouldnāt expect. QCB is notoriously bad at catching the snitch to win games, coming up with only 1 win in 7 games. Who caught that one snitch? Teller. QCBās inability to catch the snitch is a puzzling one since theyāve thrown everyone they can think of in the ring, but obviously, this is a huge issue.
OFFENSE
QCB has had the best offense in the Northeast this season, scoring 108.3 qppg against qualified opponents. While this is the best mark, Tufts and NYU are close despite less talent. With the tools QCB has on offense from keeper to chaser to beater, they could be blowing the competition away.
When talking about QCBās offense, you pretty much start and end with Jayke Archibald. And thatās not good. I donāt like to harp on one player, but Archibald dominates the ball for QCB, rarely subbing out, so as he goes, the offense goes.
Weird stat that I couldnāt fit in the table: Archibald shot 2-2 when assisted in these games. Take those two out and his shooting percentage drops to 43.2%. These wouldnāt be bad stats if Archibald was their only offensive option, but thatās not what QCB should be.
Does this mean Archibald is a bad player? Of course not. If youāve seen him play, you know that this is a ridiculous question because he is a fantastic scorer. Hell, heās the banner of this blog. One of the most fascinating things about QCB is that they have to look to the margins to improve. Because of their horrid record with seeking, they have little margin for error.
Hereās how most possessions for QCB go: Start with a turnover (more on that later), pass back to Archibald if he doesnāt have it already, walk up the field slowly, wait for offensive beaters, drive or shoot a midrange shot. QCBās reliance on their beaters to attack a set defense has made it tough to score in the half-field, while theyāve been able to score at least 2-3 fast break goals every game.
With Teller gone, it seems popular to think that QCBās offense will have to lean on Archibald more than ever. Thatās not exactly true either. In the games mentioned above, Teller was only targeted on passes 16 times (did not play against The Warriors), averaging out to 4 times per game. This is not to say Teller was not productive for QCB (8 goals and 3 assists in those games), but it is to say that he was not utilized to his fullest.
The easiest fix is to play faster and push the pace. BU had great success last season doing just that and daring teams to tackle Brendan Stack and Michael Powell in the open field. Doing so spread defenses and made them scramble, which opened up easy passes all over the field. Even after losing Teller, QCB sports a deep male chasing rotation of athletes that can run 7 or 8 deep when healthy, who are all big, fast, or both. Max Havlin is an unconventional beater who excels in the chaos of the fast break, both on offense and defense, and opening up the field letās him do his thing.
Of course you canāt always get out on the fast break, and sometimes QCB will have to make due in the half-field. At NERC, QCB debuted some set plays designed to get the ball moving and they were rather successful.
There appears to only be one option here (hand off or keep it), but it gets The Massacreās offense moving and opens up driving lanes. Driving into the teeth of a defense is how chasers can create opportunities, whether for themselves or via a pass. If QCB can expand upon these plays or draw up even a few more, their offense become far more dynamic and one that will be formidable for any team come World Cup.
DEFENSE
QCBās best established strength lies in their Northeast-best defense of the fall, allowing only 47.2 qppg against qualified opponents, nearly 15 less than Emersonās #2 defense - half a snitch grab. Clearly, something is going right here and thatās how QCB has used their athleticism in tandem with their beating.
QCBās defense at the point of attack was fantastic throughout the fall, pressuring ball handlers with a combination of chaser defense and aggressive beating. Once you pass or shoot, QCB pounces on the ball with its athleticism, tipping passes and forcing turnovers.
*Itās worth noting that Elise Risioās length and size on defense was a big factor in allowing QCB to play the 2-male beater set that harassed so many teams this fall. She plays great team defense and generally is able to cover the zone between two chasers well.
Where QCB runs into problems was when its beaters are matched. If teams can push Havlin back with their beating, passes become shorter and easier. However, QCB still has the athleticism to make big plays either through tackling or getting to loose balls, and Archibald turns away more shots and passes around the hoops than any other keeper I can remember seeing.
QCBās beaters are never going to be outplayed enough to allow for consistent drives all the way to the hoops; theyāre just too good. Even after losing Michael Sanders to the Peace Corp, QCB still has Cassie Samuels and Steve Houseman who are top level beaters. The Massacre needs great play from their beaters at all times to protect Archibald from having to make tackles around the hoops and letting him block and intercept passes instead.
Thatās not to say that QCBās beaters have been perfect on defense. They havenāt been able to hold bludger control against NYU and Tufts and a lot of that has to do with being too aggressive. Havlin can swing an entire game by himself, but sometimes he he canāt help himself from chasing plays, itās just his nature.
If QCB can let Havlin loose more in the open field, that might feed his hunger and let him play more conservatively on defense. Keeping bludger control would allow this team to run more and that should scare every other team in the region.
