What's your style of cutting?

Matching up smart is essential to a good defense. Any good offense will tear up a mismatch all day, especially in club. But what is a good matchup? A balanced assignment takes more than just comparing players' speed and height. Like a poker book, I'm going to categorize styles of cutters to portray the various methods they use to get the disc.

The Squirrelly Cutter:
These are your quick players. They've got an incredible first step and will explode at the drop of a hat. These cutters don't need all that fancy schmancy changing directions crap, they see space and will flat out beat you to it. Often times these types of cutters will handle or will initiate from the stack because it won't take much time for them to get open. It's easy to throw to space with squirrelly cutters, because in a race from a standstill they can't be beat. Examples: Alex Harper, Josh Zipperstien, Nick Handler

The Runner:
This cutter usually comes from a cross country background, and they're a bitch to guard. From when the disc goes up on the pull until a score/turnover they are running. They will put in cut after cut after cut until they get the disc, look up field quickly, dump, and repeat. These guys are the workhorses of the O-line, if nothing else, The Runner will make their defender feel pain. Examples: Zid, if you know this guy 'nuff said.

The Dancer:
We've all got at least one of them on our team. They will shimmy fake, do the two-step cut all day long until they eventually create enough space and get open. These cutters are communication's worst nightmare. They're strengths come from reading their defender's body very well, and the second a defender turns his/her hips or gets put on their heels, the Dancer will exploit it. Examples: Robot, Seraph

The One Trick Pony:
These cutters tend to be the most athletic of them all. They've got some speed on the straight-away and love to take it to the house. Johnny Bravo, Chain Lightning, Oregon, Colorado Claremont, etc. live and die by these players. The one trick pony is usually the fastest deep cutter on the team. But should the huck fail them, they've got their physical strength and athletic abilities to come down with the disc. They've got one cut in mind and they are really good at it. Look for the One Trick Ponies on the highlight reels and in the endzone, because that's their specialty. Examples: Stout brothers, Jay Schulkin, Beaufort, A-Bomb

Of course these are generalizations, and the better the cutter the more characteristics from all categories are shown. As a defender you will naturally matchup better to certain styles and worse against others. When the shit's on the line it's very important that you play to your strengths. Are you a jumpy player? Can you can keep up with those quick guys, but get juked out of your socks against every shimmy? Are you a more physical defender and good at bodying? Do you have the endurance to keep up with a runner and still play offense should you get a D?

There are more considerations to figure into defensive matchups that I won't go into. But knowing your strengths and weaknesses is crucial to improving your game, and helping your team.