PHOTO BY: SHAWN LANZILLO
BY SHAGGY SHRAGIS
Another week and another win for Philadelphia as the Hotbirds head home from Canada victorious, defeating the Rush in back to back games, extending their win streak against the hapless Toronto franchise to 10 straight games. Philadelphia is now 3-0 and sits alone atop the Eastern Division standings, a half game ahead of the Boston Glory at 2-0. This is the first time the Phoenix have won any of their first three games since 2021 — when the team started 2-0 before stumbling to a 3-9 finish — and the best start for Philly since 2012 when the franchise, then known as the Spinners, went undefeated enroute to the first UFA championship.
After winning their first game in a defensive grind through the wind, and outmaneuvering the Rush in a tactical chess match in week two, Philadelphia won a slugfest in week three, going 13 for 17 on hucks — more than their total thrown through the first two games — and scoring 24 points, five more than their 19 the week prior. Sean Mott and Scott Heyman led the way on the long ball front, with nearly 1000 combined throwing yards between them. This is also the first time that Philadelphia has trailed by a break all season, going down 5-7 in the first quarter. It was important to see Philly rally, and it was heartening to see them rally as quickly as they did. After trading holds, Philadelphia went on a four break flurry in the second quarter, cementing a two goal lead they would grow to four throughout the game. Through three games, Philadelphia is converting on 60% of their offensive possessions, and are holding at a 72% clip, a massive improvement from last season, when they started the year with the worst hold rate in UFA history.
This was a chippy contest, with multiple fouls going uncalled as the physicality ramped up. Technicals were assessed to Rush player Brandon Adibe for spiking a disc at Matt Hanna after pushing Sean Mott to the ground, and to Philly coach Bill Maroon, who harangued the referees after missing a foul call on a Toronto double team. Philadelphia frisbee players are familiar with Bill's off field antics, but if it serves to fire up the team it is worth the slight hit to starting field position.
But the ultimate winners of the match were the Philadelphia defense, who once again took the leeway afforded by a reasonably efficient offense and maintained enough pressure on Toronto to force turnovers and convert breaks. Adam Grossberg had a phenomenal season debut, and earned his appearance in Adam Ruffner's Honor Roll, but up and down the line, Philly’s defense has improved from last season, both defensively and offensively. Nate Little, who had his third game in a row with multiple blocks, is completing 92% of his passes, a huge jump from his 87% rate a season ago. Ian Dietrich, who had his season debut in Toronto, completed every pass, versus his 83% completion rate in 2024. An effective Philly offense after a turn, without key players like Mike Campanella and Andres Rodriguez, should serve to bolster the confidence of everyone on the roster moving forward.
Philadelphia’s start to the season has been unprecedented when held against their performance in recent years. They are winning ugly games and clean games, and doing it as underdogs heading into the season. Philly has just one win against a “superior” team in the last 5 seasons, their June 3 victory over Carolina in 2023. Toronto was slated by many to challenge for a top three seed in the East due to their recent additions, but was unable to overcome the Philly youth. DC is projected as a top five team in the league, and was down big to Philadelphia before a late game surge closed the gap.
Yet despite the big Phoenix wins, we have yet to see the team be truly tested. I have yet to project a win for Toronto against another Eastern division team in the US, with the possible exception of New York, and their DC Breeze victory, while impressive, was without Tyler Monroe and Christian Boxley, two of DC’s most valuable offensive pieces. Philadelphia heads into a bye in week four riding a wave of momentum, as they should. But their biggest test is yet to come, when they host New York on May 23 for week 5. The Empire won the preseason matchup without a large contingent of their star players, and after a dismal showing against Montreal this week, could be coming into Neumann University 3-3, following a brutal double header against Boston and Montreal in week four.
The Phoenix always play DC close, so to see them eke out a victory in game one was not as surprising as some around the league have indicated. New York, on the other hand, has bullied the Hotbirds for the last several seasons, particularly in the first matchup of the season between the two teams. There is no time to rest on the laurels, particularly against an Empire squad that will be hungry to prove it still deserves contender status.
Stay tuned for next Wednesday’s week five outlook, until then relive the glory of the Hotbirds’ 3-0 standing on WatchUFA.tv.
