We have a great Week 3 ahead of us, blah blah blah
Friday Night Lights
Whipsnakes vs Atlas
The 2-0 Whipsnakes look to continue their winning streak on Friday night when they take on the 1-1 Atlas. The Atlas are coming off a big win in week 2 when they handed the Redwoods their first loss of the season even though only 7% of the fan vote had them winning. The Atlas have adopted the 7% mentality and are leaning into the big underdog story.
The Atlas are getting their wish this week with only 7% of the fan vote picking them to beat the Whipsnakes. The Whipsnakes are coming off an overtime win against the Cannons. Zed Williams is a force to be reckoned with for the Whips attack as the 2020 MVP has 10 goals in 2 games this season. Nardella assisted 3 of the Williams goals last week on clean face off wins and is winning 63% of FO. We will see is Trevor Baptise can slow down the quick fast breaks and make the Whips beat them 6-6. The only hope the Atlas have to win this game is Jack Concannon making some crazy inside saves giving their offense some extra opportunities to score. The Atlas offense was looking good behind rookie Jake Carraway and now we will get to see how they look with the #1 overall pick in the 2021 College draft, Jeff Teat.
Teat has been removed from the unable to travel list and will be making his PLL debut. This is also the first time we will be seeing Teat play organized lacrosse since early 2020 since the Ivy League refused to have a season. I personally am excited to see Teat play and am expecting something cool from him, but there may be some learning curves like we saw with Sowers. I am trying to talk myself into picking the Atlas to win, but the Whips haven's shown any weaknesses. They also are very much still the "WhipTerps" with 16 Maryland alumni on the team and feel like they will be balling out in Baltimore. I am hoping for a close game, but could see a Whips blowout.
Official Pick: Atlas +2.5
Saturday Games
Redwoods vs Chaos
The 0-3 Chaos will be looking to get their first win against the 2-1 Redwoods on Saturday evening. I am looking forward to this game for so many reasons. First we have Kyle Harrison playing his last game on Homewood field and that will be something special to see in person.
The Chaos offense looked very good at the beginning of the Archers game, and Blaze kept them in the game with some great inside stuffs. The Redwoods had difficulty finishing against the Atlas and will be without attackman Ryan Lee due to injury, so we will see who will replace him. Do they bring Jules back even though he is playing well from the box or do they put Garnsey down there and rock two lefty wing players? I could see the Chaos winning this game since they have been improving every game, but I don't see the Redwoods losing when they have Kyle Harrison at Homewood. Ideally I would like to see Harrison score 3 goals and create a lot of energy for the Redwoods making it a high scoring game. DraftKings has also fixed their over rule to count 2 pointers as 2 goals, so thats why I am taking the over.
Official Pick: Over 20.5
Waterdogs vs Archers
The 2-0 Archer will take on the 2-1 Waterdogs on Saturday night. The Waterdogs are coming off a big 2-0 weekend in week 2 and their offense looked like they had figured it out with Ben Reeves playing like his old self, Ryan Brown remembering that he can snipe from anywhere on the field, and the fan favorite Mikie Schlosser heating up. The Waterdogs have a big task ahead of them with The Archers. The Archers have the best offense in the PLL right now, and when they get hot they are hard to stop. I am looking forward to Will Manny scoring more goals with his lightning quick release that some people are starting to call #WillyStyle. Although the Waterdogs are getting the low to high king Ethan Walker added from the unable to travel list, I do not think they have what it takes to overcome the Archers. The Archers are too dominant on offense and it is all being led from Tom Schreiber's incredible effort on both sides of the field. The Waterdogs will hopefully put in a good fight, but I didn't see Big Cat bullying them enough this week for them to have some extra motivation. I think the Archers will win this one and remain undefeated.
Sunday Games
Cannons vs Atlas
The Atlas will be playing in their second game of the weekend on Sunday as they take on the Cannons. The Cannons are playing extremely well for a first year team and quite honestly are the most fun team to watch. Lyle is always seconds from doing something jaw dropping and the surrounding cast of Rabil, Drenner, and Rehfuss have played just as good. Teams playing their second game of the week are 3-1 so far on Sunday and the team winning on Friday night is 2-0. If the Atlas are able to upset the Whips and Jeff Teat looks unstoppable I think they have a chance in this game, but I like the Cannons. I see the Cannons coming out angry about the multiple 1 goal losses and try and make a statement that they are an elite team in the PLL.
Official Pick: Cannons -1.5
Whipsnakes vs Chrome
As I stated, the team who wins on Friday so far has won on Sunday and I think this trend will continue with the Whips. The Chrome so far have not looked good and they also have lost defensemen JT Giles Harris this week due to injury. Honestly the Chrome don't really have a chance here. The Whipsnakes have been playing great lacrosse and the Chrome have not. The Chrome may need to try something crazy to ignite a spark to this team, but for now I do not have any faith in the Chrome. Whips will win this one by 3 plus goals.
Official Pick: Whips -2.5
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