The Cash App Playoffs are approaching, and the Carolina Chaos are close to clinching one of the final two spots.

The reason the team hasn’t clinched already is its inconsistent offense. 

The youth of the roster has contributed to that inconsistency, as have the team's litany of lineup changes.

Carolina has started four different trios at attack this season. The one constant for most of the year was Josh Byrne – until he missed last week's 10-4 loss against the Denver Outlaws. 

The midfield has been a trial-and-error science lab with all the different combinations coming out of it. The result has been four games with fewer than nine goals and an offense that ranks last in scoring. 

This Friday's game against the Boston Cannons is Carolina's last chance to make the postseason, which it can do by beating the Cannons or via a California Redwoods loss. It’s also the team’s last chance to test any new lineup combinations as it looks to find consistency ahead of the Cash App Playoffs. 

That brings the question: What is Carolina’s best lineup on offense?

To me, a clear top-choice starting attack has emerged:

L: Josh Byrne
X: Ross Scott
R: Tye Kurtz

This was Carolina’s combination against the Utah Archers in Baltimore during the Chaos’s best offensive performance of the season. 

“L” and “R” stand for lefty and righty positionally with X. Scott elevated his play in the past two weeks, recording nine shot attempts in both games while Jules Heningburg and Byrne each missed one contest. Scott is the clear X attackman of the future for Carolina, and he creates organic offense for himself and his teammates as a dodger.

Allowing Scott to use his fleet-footedness has been a main piece of the offense recently, and it’s worked, which is why I have him at X. 

Byrne as the lefty attackman is a pretty simple lineup move. The four-time All-Star has 25 points (9G, 16A) on the season and is the best attackman in the lineup. 

Kurtz isn’t a major dodging threat like Heningburg is, but the second-year pro out of Delaware is a solid inside finisher and works off-ball better. This skillset can allow Kurtz to play a larger crease attack role and leave the righty wing open for Heningburg to operate from. 

Because Kurtz doesn’t need or demand ample touches at attack, it will allow Scott and Byrne to each take 35-40 touches a game, creating two main options down low. 

Kurtz over Heningburg at righty attack is a move that may not be popular, but it's necessary for full lineup success because the Chaos midfield room would be deep. 

The 19-man gameday rosters have five offensive midfielders listed each week. With everyone healthy right now on the Chaos roster, picking the right five will become a challenge for head coach and general manager Andy Towers.

Here are my five:

Jules Heningburg
Shane Knobloch
Kyle Jackson
Brian Minicus
Eric Dobson

Heningburg in the midfield is a newer look for the Chaos, but Kurtz can play the aforementioned crease role, leaving the righty wing open for the savvy veteran to operate in his bag. Heningburg will likely draw a pole every time he runs out of the box, which makes him a potential decoy in some sets. When he doesn’t draw a pole, it can be a green light for him to work his dodging game to create for himself. 

Heningburg, Jackson and Knobloch didn’t do anything great in their runs together last week against Denver, but they didn’t have a proper attack unit with them.

Knobloch exploded onto the scene after the All-Star break. The 2024 first-round draft pick is a handful for opposing defenses because of his explosive dodging and wicked release. Knobloch’s renewed confidence since the break has resulted in a couple of multi-goal performances and added a new dynamic to the team's offense.

Knobloch is usually swarmed by a pole when he’s on offense. When he’s on the field at the same time as Heninburg out of the box, opposing squads have to decide whether they want to pole both and leave Kurtz on a short-stick defensive midfielder, or leave three poles low and one high. 

If it’s the latter option, Knobloch or Heningburg will be able to feast on an SSDM each run. 

Jackson and Byrne have worked in two-man games for years, have the chemistry to create magic on the left side of the field and are the most veteran players in the Chaos’s offensive personnel. Anytime the offense is set, looking for a Byrne-Jackson two-man game should be an early option if Jackson is matched with a short stick. 

With Heningburg and Knobloch, Jackson will draw a shorty every run until the two-man game takes over and the opposing defenses are forced to put an SSDM on someone else.  

Minicus is an easy selection at midfield because he’s a chameleon. He can invert a pole or short stick because of his attack background, and he’s also a threat in two-man games because of his speed.

Scott and Minicus have run a couple of successful two-man looks from behind the cage in recent weeks. There isn’t a defense in the league with two guys that can match Scott and Minicus's footspeed in a two-man game. It makes it one of the most dangerous sets for Carolina.

The first four were no-brainers, but rostering Dobson over Sergio Perkovic was the challenge. Dobson has five points (5G) in six games this season but has struggled to create for himself and dominate games like he did in college.

However, if Dobson is a part of this five-man midfield group, his game can open up. Each player on the list deserves a long-pole matchup out of the box, but only one to two will get a pole each run. Any combination of the five would create an intriguing on-paper matchup that benefits the Chaos offense over opposing defenses.

On paper won’t matter, though, and hasn’t all season because turnovers have been an issue for Carolina along with not capitalizing on chances. Coach Towers can throw any unit on the field that he likes, but until the team can do the little things right on offense, winning will be hard.

Against the high-powered Cannons offense this weekend, Carolina will need to be ready to score goals quickly and often to keep up. 

Continued struggles on offense have masked an excellent defensive season for the Chaos. With one regular-season game remaining and the postseason well within reach, the Chaos need to find a reliable offensive solution if they hope to contend for the Cash App Championship in September.