Predictions Week 3: Full Court Press

[Gaurav27]

Originally Posted by IndySam

Never get any love from LF. Oh well we are looking forward to making you look stupid

You all are doing well at Boilermaker, keep it up! Besides, not being on the LF thread is alright as, eventually good performances will be recognized.

[Greg Shaw]

How common will "double triples" be in week 3 and beyond?

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by IndySam

Never get any love from LF. Oh well we are looking forward to making you look stupid

11-0-1 and #1 seed. So far, so good.

[TheMadCADer]

A big crop of rookies has helped the Bayou regional grow in size, up 25% from last year. Those rookies will have a hard time keeping up with a couple of the top tier teams at the event, namely 624 and 1477. Cryptonite will be competing for the first time, while Texas Torque is trying to maintain the level of scoring excellence they demonstrated in Alamo and win their second event of the year.

Pretty much spot on.

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

[*]125, 195, and 2168 will all aim to bring hardware north from NYC, as each unbags their bot for the first time this season. The Aluminum Falcons may be the best of the bunch, with a solid performance in Suffield only showing the beginning of their robot's potential. But the Nu-Trons and Cyber Knights both have well crafted machines. 125 has had struggles performing to their top capabilities in the past. All three of these teams should be alliance captains or early selections.[/list]

I'd say you pretty much nailed us. Last year in particular was an example of struggles we've had reaching our ceiling, losing in Finals match #3 at both of our regionals.

We believe we've taken some steps to buck that trend and are excited to show everyone what we've got this year.

You forgot to mention that 2168/125 are essentially twin robots that neither of us had a clue were being duplicated by the other.

-Brando

[Jessica Boucher]

I love the extended cut, but what's the TL;DR here?

[waialua359]

The beauty of being in a district-model are the cost and no. of tournaments teams can participate in for sure!
I cant believe some teams are now competing in their 3rd event this week, and our robot hasnt even left our school yet.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Rich Kressly

I'm voting for "it" ... just sayin'

Seconded. Any discussion?

[Grim Tuesday]

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

Seconded. Any discussion?

I vote for "them".

[Nathan Streeter]

Thanks for another week's insight, LF! :-) It's always interesting/useful/fun to read your posts about how the FRC season is looking from the mostly global perspective!

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

[*]Last weekend, 1065 became the first three point shooter to really utilize the sides of the fender to score. It will be curious to see if more teams pick up on this ability (despite the lack of camera tracking) in order to give defenders are harder time.

This statement does overlook 319's scoring at GSR Week 1, though... They were one of the strongest three-point scorers at GSR, choosing to shoot primarily from one of the short sides of the fender. I think 716 may have also had that capability, but didn't usually shoot for threes from the side of the fender, preferring to score from the front of the fender or the key.

[Jim Schaddelee]

Shooting from the both sides of the bumper has been team 107 goal all along.
With a robot that is 27 inch plus 3 inchs for the bumper you can shoot from both sides. The center of the rim is 15 inches from the wall. You get a easy known place to locate and shoot from and a shorter shot. Good luck to all the teams this weekend,especially West Michigan.

[TD912]

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

• Someone tell the judges (and fans) to stop recording events on their iPads. It blocks the view of people behind them.

Also, could the people in the stands with those huge team-number-signs-on-sticks please lower them a bit? It's great to cheer on teams and everything, but not when you're holding up giant signs that block the view of a good portion of the field.

I was watching the webcasts of some events from week 1 and 2, and wasn't able to see half of the field at times because some teams were some trying to hold their team numbers up in front of the camera.

[PayneTrain]

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

It will be interesting to see how an event that is traditionally a slug 'em out affair will adapt to the strict foul rules.

We pin teams with mecanum drive down here in the Capital Region. I still don't get how we do that.

[Anupam Goli]

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

[*]Black robots are in style in Georgia. 1771, 1311, 2815, and rookies 4163 are all bringing black machines out to play in Duluth. These teams, along with 343, 2415 (who've both sported black in the past) and 1319, will be some of the prime contenders in an event that's much stronger than it was a few years ago. [/list]

Hmm, it was an interesting prediction, but it was pretty god. 2415 came and claimed their second straight Peachtree Regional, and 3rd straight Regional Victory. 1261 was able to break up the 1771-2415 powerhouse (a small bit of a legend down here). With the immense amount of rookies, the event did not seem as competitive as others (High score being 56) and there were no triple balances, Yet the Elims was one of the most exciting, with the Quarterfinals having 3 blue alliances move onto the semis, and a finals of 8 v 2. There were two tied matches that had to be broken by the hybrid score. Everyone thought the field messed up when they saw an extra point added to an alliance even though all of the points added up to be the same.

[kjohnson]

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

As the VCU basketball team attempts to replicate their miracle Final Four run from last season with their brand of defensive basketball, the regional held at their home court could match that defensive intensity. It will be interesting to see how an event that is traditionally a slug 'em out affair will adapt to the strict foul rules. Fender scoring teams like 1598 will have to be wary, and it will place a premium on successful key shooters. If 2363, 1086, or 1885 can consistently drain triples from the protected zone, they'll be favorites to win.

Nice try, LF. 1598 made it to the semifinals while 2363, 1086, and 1885 all got knocked out in the quarterfinals.