[sNeff]

Lots of aggressive chassis this year, and 192 definitely has one of them. I am frickin proud that our drive system can put defending robots exactly where we want them to be--and if they're in front of the goal, that sometimes means in the goal, as Tom pointed out.

There were several times during our last regional that 192 played offensive defense--keeping robots off of 1280 while they scored points during elimination rounds, for example. That meant pushing, across the field and into goals, walls and bumps (though not tipping). Several times in the qualifying rounds, that kind of strategy, employed by many of the teams there, did end with jammed or tipped robots, and countless more times one side would nearly flip, including ours at least twice.

I've been surprised to see that so many teams are relying on flipping just not happening--one of 192's highest priorities this year was having a consistent righting mechanism for the aftermath of a particularly intense contact with another robot. We expected it to be common, with intense battles around the bumps, and to have to use the righting mechanism at least once per match.

I'm glad that FIRST is letting the competition get a little more aggressive--it's more fun for spectators when the robots interact, clash and score points, even if it means a little more cleanup and repair for us in the pits afterward.