Kings of upsets

[matty lloyd the champ]

I actually think we are equal to, or better than Carlton this year.

It's just that everyone is taking last year into account when discussing teams 4 weeks into the main season.

And this isn't because we beat Carlton. Beating Carlton for our fourth win is just the icing on the cake. It's the fact that we're 4-0 and they're not. The fact that we currently are ahead of them on performance - which is the only true fact anyone could use for an opinionated view.

When watching the game, you could also see that the Blues really have no focal point in the forward line. It's all crumbers. Essendon on the other hand have their focal points + crumbers. You could also tell that our ruck stocks are ahead, and that our back line is more solid. Even with injuries, we were still able to comprehensively beat them throughout the entire game.

Everyone seemed to have this expectation that Carlton were premiership favourites, with the best midfield ever. Yet their midfield didn't just have a "bad day", they were just beaten. And it's this sort of feeling that has resonated since the beginning of the year with Stanton, and other players, picking up their game and looking like they've improved - whilst Carlton look like the same team from yesteryear. Just not convincing enough. And I've been saying this all along.

Also, I do realize that this is a damage control thread by the OP. The "bookies" thought Carlton were a superior team, and they were proven wrong. The idea that we only just comprehensively beat a "better team" is the idea that the OP is no doubt trying to subtly sell with this thread.

Unlike Geelong last year, and St Kilda in 2009 (apart from being in seasons that are done and dusted and have no bearing on where our team is THIS YEAR) - Carlton are not in the same caliber. I seriously hope no one is comparing Carlton this year to Geelong last year? Hilarious. On what basis? There is none. Carlton are just a team looking for a finals spot as we are (which would no doubt leave a sour taste in the mouths of Blues supporters as they would not have expected us to improve so quickly in comparison to their "top 4 quality" team). Last year, before beating Geelong, we were on the back of consistent losses whilst the Cats were showing premiership quality form. This is nothing like that.

This is just the footy world not giving enough respect to the team that is Essendon.

Let's not get carried away. I think Carlton are ahead of us at the moment but not by far.

 

[bomberboy0618]

I think they've been quite similar to the Crows in the recent past; can pull out a really solid performance against strong, but incapable of putting similar or lesser teams away. From memory last year:

Essendon:
Drew with Carlton two down.
Beat West Coast at home.
Beat Geelong at G.
Challenged Collingwood for 3qrts the second time round.
Beat St Kilda away.

This year they've limped over the line against Gold Coast, Port and North (very similar strength team as Essendon IMO) and pretty well blew Carlton way. Not sure if they've changed all that much, but their efforts against lesser/equal teams are now enough to get them the 4 points, if only just.

This sums it up perfectly.
Last year we would have lost to North certainly, and probably Port too. I think that we are winning these games show what an improvement we have made.

 

[Call Me Cake]

I think Carlton are ahead of us at the moment but not by far.

I think we are equal to, or just ahead of Carlton at the moment.

Of course, that can change in the second half of the year, but based on proven factors so far, it's only a possibility. As much of a possibility that time travel to the future will one day prove practical - it's not a proven impossibility, but based on recent knowledge, the evidence is swaying to the former rather than the latter.

Essendon is a different team to last year, but it always takes the bookies to catch up until well into the next season. This is the only reason why this would still be considered an "upset", it is nothing like the outcome vs Geelong last year.

 

[Underarm]

As a Richmond fan you'd be well qualified to talk about this...

attack the post, Not the poster.

If you can beat Geelong last year, and draw with blues with 2 down then why can't you do it week in week out. If you did do it on a consistant basis we might be saying 'essendon - flag contender' not 'essendon - king of upsets'. teams like Geelong and Hawthorn beat carlton on a regular basis

 

[Thrawn]

I actually think we are equal to, or better than Carlton this year.

It's just that everyone is taking last year into account when discussing teams 4 weeks into the main season.

And this isn't because we beat Carlton. Beating Carlton for our fourth win is just the icing on the cake. It's the fact that we're 4-0 and they're not. The fact that we currently are ahead of them on performance - which is the only true fact anyone could use for an opinionated view.

Let's revisit this thread next week to see if you're still singing the same tune. You can point to Saturday's game all you want, but you also struggled against the Gold Coast.

In fact, let's revisit this thread again during our 2nd encounter. It was the same story at this time last year when you were going well... then the quality difference showed at the tail end of the season when it really mattered. Seems like you have not learned from past history - even when you had that streak in 08 - 10, we still finished above you. It was the same tired story, "oh we beat Carlton/drew with them, we must be better than them". You are only one game ahead of us with a significantly lower percentage, I wouldn't be basing my argument on that.

If we beat Freo in Perth, and you lose to a out of form and depleted Collingwood side, what then? The season is still early, anything can happen.