A deceptive 1-2 through three weeks, the Atlanta Hustle are back to .500 after a splendid road win at Indianapolis. The Hustle averaged around 11 completions per score, often converting quickly, while forcing the AlleyCats to take approximately 24 throws to punch in a goal. By making Indy work, the Hustle inevitably forced turns, and they efficiently broke the AlleyCats 10 times in 16 chances.
“I think the main story for us was adjusting to the way Indy was playing because it’s very non-traditional,” said Atlanta Captain Brett Hulsmeyer. “Like they never came down straight up person and played this very quick movement offense. I think we had a good game plan to just allow negative movement, and I’m glad we got to see them play the week before because trying to adjust to all of it on the fly would have been harder. I think indoor you feel much more confident hitting windows you like and deep cuts essentially never expire because you can confidently get it there fast.”
The Hustle completed 80 percent of their hucks (8-for-10), while holding the AlleyCats to 50 percent (4-for-8.) Justin Burnett led Atlanta with a game-high plus-six, while no one on Indy tallied better than plus-three.
“Our offensive unit really had a rough game,” said Indy veteran Travis Carpenter. “They applied some tight pressure defense and gave us a stress test to our new offensive schemes that we had not experienced before. I do not think our energy level was bad, but I do think they tested us in that category too.”
The UFA’s all-time leading scorer, Cameron Brock, mustered three goals and two assists for the AlleyCats, but was especially complementary about Burnett’s defense.
“Drew the Justin Burnett matchup last night,” Brock tweeted on Sunday. “Biggest takeaway was just the tenacity he plays with. He won’t let you having a step on him keep him from grinding. If the throw isn’t 100 percent perfect, he will have a play. Love it.”
Atlanta gets a breather with its first bye week before heading to Colorado for another interdivisional test on May 31.
“We’ve played three very different teams so far,” said Hulsmeyer. “Carolina—defensively there’s lots of pressure on resets and in and around the disc, and offensively they like to stretch the field and gave really great spacing. New York—pressure is on the downfield where they’re looking to get blocks, and offensively [they] like the middle game of using they’re hybrids to get big swings and big yards under. Indy made us think a lot as an offense and was almost exclusively handler driven on O. That’s giving us film and experience against all these different kinds of teams so by the end of the year there’s nothing we haven’t seen and adjusted to.”
Originally posted on watchufa.com