Free Lyle
Parker Johnson returns to talk PLL. Prepare your heatshields.
The Cannons’ struggles this season have been no secret. The entire team, top to bottom, has been underperforming and the results are astounding. As a proud Canadian, I am pleased to see this dumpster fire propelling the Chaos into the PLL’s absurd “almost everybody makes it” playoff scheme. Unfortunately, the PLL only has one team eliminated after the conclusion of the regular season and it looks like the Cannons will be that team.
There have been two bright spots in the Cannons’ dismal season thus far: Lyle Thompson and Nick Marrocco. Marrocco has seen more rubber than any other goalie in the league so it makes sense that his stats are elevated. See more rubber, make more saves, and let in more goals. Simple math. However, Lyle has been carrying this offense for two seasons now and I genuinely feel bad for the guy.
It takes a lot for me to feel bad for a professional lacrosse player. As a former D-2 nobody, I would have loved to play professionally. Putting off the tedium of a menial desk job is a dream of mine and each guy in the PLL is living that dream. Lyle’s stick skills paired with his decision-making and athleticism make me feel self-conscious about my stubby legs, pitiful top speed, and one-trick-pony college career. However, I do know the feeling of playing a gem of a game and losing, and this has been happening to Lyle consistently for way too long.
Previously, Lyle teamed up with a resurging Paul “Jackie Moon” Rabil attempting to revive his career before he put on the suit and tie permanently. Rabil was able to take a significant amount of the dodging responsibilities off of Lyle’s plate because even Lyle cannot produce the exorbitant numbers needed to propel the Cannons to victory - especially while playing injured. Together, they limped to a multi-win season in 2021, but still came up short of a post-season win. Having Ryan Drenner at attack took even more of the dodging off of Lyle’s plate and the surprising play of then-rookie Stephen Rehfuss helped a ton.
Well, that was then, and this is now. The Cannons have elected to essentially rebuild around the key components of this team. They added Asher Nolting and Mark Cockerton/Adam Charalambides/Shayne Jackson to his attack line, Drenner moved to midfield, Rabil moved to the owner’s box, and the lefty attackman spot has been a revolving door. A player like Lyle who grew up playing with his brother certainly values chemistry and the lack of it on the Cannons’ offense is obvious.
Well, you may be asking yourself: “Parker, while you are not qualified in any way, how do we fix this problem?”, and yes, of course, I will tell you. In my pigeon opinion, the Cannons are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They have no other offensive players who can pop off any given week. They certainly have steady contributors such as Drenner, but Drenner is only going to give you a few points a night. The brunt of the scoring burden is resting solely on Lyle’s shoulders.
That burden needs to be lifted.
The Cannons need to build around Lyle and provide scoring depth through trades and the player pool. Unfortunately, the Cannons have been trying this since their PLL birth. The lefty attack spot has been a carousel of Canadian finishers dragged from the depths of the player pool to fill a spot with great responsibility. Despite Lyle doing the heavy lifting, the players in this spot have not been producing. This problem is not solely on the lefty attackmen, it is also on the midfield. The Cannon’s midfield has been unable to cleanly beat their man and draw a slide, without turning it over. This has culminated in Lyle being forced to beat his man and score without the defense rotating.
My solution? Wholesale. Sell the offense to the highest bidder for a package of proven dodgers and scorers. Quirk may receive 2 players in exchange for 3, but who cares? The league is so small that the remaining spots can be filled by player pool guys. I don’t care what it takes to get this done, but the Cannons need to get the defense rotating and create opportunities for Lyle to be at his best. A solid midfield line of 3 horses is better than an offense full of niche players, occupying a specific role and unique style. Oh, and the Cannons also need draft picks. Remember how Quirk put a second mortgage on the team to get Rabil?
Speaking of defense, the Cannons’ back end is just as discombobulated. The late slides, the miscommunications, and the poor decision-making culminate in a defense that leads the league in goals allowed per game. Give Lyle a chance to win a game putting up 5 points. As a lifetime attackman, I wish I had a solution here. The talent on the Cannons’ defense is lacking and the only prescription I have is the same one as I had for the offense: wholesale.
If Quirk stupidly uses the solutions proposed by a guy writing blogs for free from his desk at work, the Cannons would be in a full-blown rebuild; the bane of every fan’s existence. I wish there was a way to obtain all the pieces needed for a successful rebuild in one fell swoop, avoiding the strenuous consecutive years of agony for Cannons fans. Well, maybe there is a way…
#FreeLyle
Somebody had to say it. Lyle is suffering on a team that has minimal potential. In any other league, a team could develop a young guy with potential into an all-star caliber player in a matter of a couple of seasons. Unfortunately, the PLL does not have this luxury.
Before you come at me with the predictable arguments of, “But Lyle is their best player” or, “but Lyle carries the offense”, or “but Lyle is the MAN”, hear me out. Imagine the package of players and picks the Cannons could receive for the best player in the league. The Cannons could receive several role players who produce consistently, a first and second-round pick, and then raid the player pool for filler.
One argument I have against myself is that Lyle is a primarily ball-carrying attackman. Every other team already has one and most people assume that two ball-carrying attackmen cannot coexist on the same line without slowing the offense to a halt. The most dominant attack lines in lacrosse consist of a dodger and two versatile shooter/quick feeder/hitch and go type attackmen. The examples are endless: O’Keefe and Ament, Pannell and Mock, Teat and Petterson, and the list goes on.
However, ball-dominant attackmen have been known to adapt - look at Molloy and Nichtern’s recent hot streak. Will Manny was a human highlight reel at UMass and adapted to the professional game once he realized how he needed to play to win.
The only other issue I see is how quickly PLL players are attached to a franchise. Each player, with a few suitcase exceptions (mainly Wes Berg), has essentially played their entire career for one franchise. Coaches generally keep the same core group together, whether it is working or not. Not many coaches would be willing to give up the equity to acquire Lyle.
What would it take for a GM/coach to blow up their roster for Lyle? If my math is correct (it never is), then a team would have to give up the equivalent to Lyle’s point output, plus his defensive attention drawing prowess, plus the fanfare he draws, and take a verbal Mike Tyson right hook to the jaw from Twitter nobodies like me. The Cannons absolutely blew it with the Rabil trade, essentially propelling Atlas to the upper echelon of the PLL and the Cannons are still suffering the consequences by watching what should have been their draft picks to fill the net. Either way you slice it, Lyle is giving everything he has every week because he is the guy you want to have on your team. Lyle is the ideal teammate.
If you were a GM/coach, what would you give up for a generational talent that has transformed the sport? If it were up to me, I would offer everything plus my firstborn child. Once Quirk warms up to the idea of trading Lyle, he will have a barbaric bidding war on his hands. The only decision he will have to make is what bar to take the fellas to after they start winning.
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