Get Yourself Ready For The 3 Biggest Games At Gillette Stadium This Year: PLL Quarterfinals Preview
What a weekend we have on deck here, boys and girls. The sun is out, the sky is blue, the birds are chirping, we have college football, the last weekend of summer, and the PLL playoffs getting underway. Does it get any better than this?
Now let's be honest with ourselves for a moment here. The Patriots just went out and signed Matt Corral and Jalen Reagor. Great teams aren't making moves like that ahead of week 1. And considering how loaded the AFC East is this year, it's pretty safe to assume it's going to be a lonnnnnnng year in Foxboro. If anything, Bill Belichick signing Jalen Reagor makes it seem like he's as ready as ever to get out of the NFL and finally make the jump to coaching lacrosse. And he'll be able to get a great look at it this coming Monday when the PLL Quarterfinals head to Gillette Stadium.
There are 3 games on deck for Monday. The Archers have already locked up their spot in the semifinals as the 1-seed. Having the bye week to the semifinals definitely seems nice, but so far in PLL history the 1-seed has only made it to the championship game once. And that was when the Whipsnakes did it in the 2020 bubble tournament which was only 2 weeks long. So there's a good chance we're watching the future 2023 PLL champs at some point on Monday. Here's what the schedule looks like.
PLL Quarterfinals Schedule
Monday, 11:45am // #5 Chaos vs #4 Redwoods // ESPN+
The Chaos and Redwoods split their season series so far this year 1-1. Although it's worth noting that Blaze Riorden didn't play in the week 4 matchup that the Redwoods ended up winning 13-8. Austin Kaut was solid in net for the Chaos that day, but there's a good chance that game would have had a slightly different result with the best goalie on the planet between the pipes for Chaos.
It's been an up and down season for the Redwoods so far. They got themselves back on track after dropping a few games in a row. But the one thing the Chaos have over the Redwoods? Way more Canadians. And you can't put a price on Canadians at this point of the season. They're a bunch of greasy bastards who are tough to play against and drive you crazy. They're built for playoff lacrosse. So go ahead and give me Chaos -1.5 at +125 to start off the day.
Monday, 2:20pm // #6 Whipsnakes vs #3 Waterdogs // ESPN+
Last year was the first year in PLL history that the Whipsnakes weren't even playing in the championship game. Granted, this is only year 5 in the league's existence. But the fact that they won 2 and played in all 3 of the first championship games still makes this team impossible to count out in the playoffs.
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The Waterdogs will be looking to run it back and be the 2nd team to win back-to-back championships. And even though these two teams only played once against each other in the regular season, the Dawgs had their way with a 16-13 win back in July. Granted, the Whipsnakes did lose their starting goalie in the 1st half of that game with an elbow injury. The whole Whipsnakes roster is healthy this week, and they also get to ride some of that "nobody believes in us" energy. That makes this team dangerous on Monday. So if there's any game to watch this week, this is the one. I could see needing a few extra minutes to decide a winner in overtime, so give me Whipsnakes +1.5. Whoever gets the 2nd possession in overtime wins.
Monday, 5pm // #7 Atlas vs #2 Cannons // ESPN2
The Atlas fell ass backwards into the playoffs this year. They are lucky that 7 out of the 8 teams in the league make the playoffs, because they only won 2 games this year. And the only game they've won since June was against the Chrome, who finished in 8th place. So it's gross that they're even in the playoffs to begin with.
With that being said…it would be the perfect shit storm if they decided to finally go on a run here. I mean once you're in the playoffs, anything could happen. Imagine if these bozos went on to win a championship. All they'd need to do is win 3 games. Their final record would be 5-7. It would be hilarious. But I'd also want to vomit in the process.
For the sake of the league's credibility, we need the Cannons to take care of business on Monday. They've already beaten the Atlas twice so far this year. The first time was a 19-12 shit kicking, but the most recent game was a tight 14-13 win. The Atlas certain deserve to get their doors blown off again, but I have a feeling this one will be more similar to the latest matchup rather than the one in week 4. Atlas +2.5, but Cannons on top.
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