vangvace 12 Report post Posted October 12, 2007 Two visa issues in one season... must have a new guy in charge for the Wings. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernWingsFan 854 Report post Posted October 13, 2007 Question for the ones who are on the extreme end of pro-enforcement and fighting that I am interested in knowing…If Downey didn’t “fight†or “enforce†as much/at all and was probably just a fourth liner/â€Âgrinder†type player, would you all be clamoring for him to play this badly? NOT SO MUCH TO-THE-POINT DISCLAIMER: Please understand because I don’t want to get into the 7-millionth debate on enforcement or fighting when nobody’s opinion is ever going to change, mine included, and we all waste each other’s time…If anybody labels me somebody who is 100% an anti-fighter or enforcer from this post, I will jump through my computer and strangle you (that alone should show you I’m not completely against fighting and aggression ). It has its place, but I don’t think it is as important as others do in here. So, when/if Downey gets playing time, I won’t be overdramatically saying he’s a waste of space out their on the last line if he doesn’t quite perform or “fight†as much. Do a like a hockey fight? Of course, I enjoyed seeing the Drake scrap in last night's game, but it wasn't like I was doing back flips off the wall in celebration. Would I like to see Downey play? Sure. But it’s not killing me that he isn’t in the lineup right now, and that’s not because I have something against Downey the player or Downey the person (am aware he is having visa/work issues). Again, the overall concept just isn’t as big a deal to me, especially if this team keeps winning more often than and continues to make the playoffs and have a shot at the Cup with the current style of play. I understand, or at least I think I have some understanding, why some in here feel they way they do about this issue, but I’ll just never share the same overall mindset as long as this team contending in the manner they do on a consistent basis. And they still are. If they stop winning, then change the system to more big bodies or enforcers or some other playing style. Right now though, there’s no need to seriously change or overhaul just for the sake of enforcement or even entertainment. I don’t need to be constantly “entertained†with fighting, I just want to see them win, and I don’t care if it might be a little more boring right now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lou_Siffer 1 Report post Posted October 13, 2007 Question for the ones who are on the extreme end of pro-enforcement and fighting that I am interested in knowing…If Downey didn’t “fight†or “enforce†as much/at all and was probably just a fourth liner/â€Âgrinder†type player, would you all be clamoring for him to play this badly? No, definitely not. Fighting is what hes in the league for...so what you're asking is to take away his best quality. I mean, if you take away Dallas Drake's 3 fights, would so many people be happy with him in the lineup? Hell no! He hasnt done jack aside from that, but see how everyone here loves the Drake? Its not so much that we love Aaron Downey, its a player of his style that we love. If the team traded for say, DJ King for example, i could care less if Downey was gone. If anyone thinks Downey isnt good enough to fill that fighting role, then blame management since he was their choice! But he's whats there, so thats why im in full support of getting him in there. Im under the belief that we need guys who are willing on this team, not only from an entertainment perspective (which is a big issue for me) but also from a team psyche and moral perspective. Fighting has always been something thats brought teams together. Putting Downey in to go along with Drake and thats a massive step up in the right direction! I'd be thrilled! Its infectious too, i bet you'd see everyone step it up a notch with those 2 in the lineup. I dont think its a proper strategy to play a squishy soft style in the regular season and then hope everyone kicks it into gear in the playoffs. Just because it happened last year with some of the guys, it didnt happen in the previous years so can you really say you have 100% confidence that it will? Play with an edge in the regular season and thered be no worries you'd see the carryover come playoff time. I'd still like to see a bigger guy with some toughness on the 2nd line, as a Flip/Hudler/Sammy line is pretty putrid imo, but i know thats hard to find. The thing is, it will be nothing but a benefit to have Downey in over Ellis, or Kopecky. For so long the argument of guys against having an enforcer was that there was no room on the roster for one. Well, now thats clearly not the case. Who knows, maybe Downey could even get a few points, you never know till you try him out! At least he'll hit and fight along the way...while Ellis and Kopecky will chug along and do nothing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mors 201 Report post Posted October 13, 2007 You bring up a good point about Drake...if he hadn't gotten in 3 random fights for my amusement, I'd probably be pretty pissed about the fact that he's -5 now in 5 games. And to answer the question directly, if Downey didn't fight and stir things up, I wouldn't give a s*** if he ever played. We have plenty of guys to do the rest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
