Eli and the Secrecy

I remember my early 30s.  Took me until my late 30s to realize (make peace?)I had lost a few steps. Not due to one thing, just cumulative little things.

Understood. I just think doing what these guys do every week, maybe 8 “good” races is all he has in it. At some point, riding at the edge required to win takes a backseat to “I want to drive my GT3 without pain.”

He will have some good rides outdoors, no doubt. Supercross is just brutal. 

Disheartening. Going to add an 8 to my 3 nutsack tattoo 

Yep, at some point Eli is not going to be the same guy any longer.  These things aren’t a steady decline; there are ups and downs with a average downward trend but no one knows when the next up tick just never happens.

No way a guy of that caliber just drops off that quickly….I think with RD and IH, its not a bike issue…..injured IMO…back, knee, shoulder…who knows but he is riding injured…..or the famous racerx cover photo jinx? 

Mental. maybe suffering from anxiety/depression,  not sleeping etc.  He has had these episodes many times in his career.  

Whatever it is,  he cant afford it right now.  Its allowed kenny to reignite.  

Flame me if you want and it’s just what I see he looks scared. He starts off looking good first lap or so then he will miss a sections or case or over jump something and all the sudden looks like he just said ok enough of this shit, I want to leave here walking. 

     Tomac fan here. New bike, new team, new team members , new surroundings, all of that generates an excitement that sparks an intensity that is commonly referred to as “ the honeymoon period “ . I will get roasted for saying this, but as much as I love me some Eli, I think the game has caught him, and is passing him by. Real sad to me, but inevitable at this level of sport. Bummer.

Early thirties isn't old.

I could be completely off. Let's assume Eli is being truthful, and he has no injury. Could his issue be bike related? By that, I mean, the East Coast has ruttier tracks and maybe he's just not comfortable on the steel frame? He is the type to back it down if he's not comfortable, and he also would not blame the bike publically.

Everyone said earlier in the season, he looks like the bike had crazy traction on hardpack, maybe his motor package, and softer dirt is creating an uneasy feeling for him. Once we get to harder pack tracks, it will be very telling, if he gets better all of a sudden, this theory might hold weight.

In this sport it is. FYI I don’t think he aged since Daytona 

He has more wins than anyone else this year. 

He is sitting pretty far back on the bike. Has anyone compared his ride position of first few rounds to now?( I havent and probably wont put that much time into it)

Tom Brady proved that 👍.

maybe that hit to the nuts he took a few races ago needed some more healing time he hasn't been able to give it without missing races. Could also be the clipping the tuff block aggravated the groin again, or a new inside of thigh injury that is not allowing him to squeeze the bike with his legs like normal resulting in the changed riding posture.

While we are at it, someone should ask Eli, what in the world was going on in your head at the 2017 East Rutheford round?  Tipped over while leading; unconcerned with getting back up.  Finishes 8th.  Loses championship.  

RC was like "Dude, get your @$$ up and get going !!!"

We may have to wait until the book . . .

This is my interpretation (so could be wrong) but the way AC and JB were talking about it in practice sort of made Eli sound almost aggressively on the defensive... Their words being, that his word were "you guys are crazy etc etc" in regard to what Eli had relayed to them due to their own speculating about a possible injury or illness. Well, sry Eli but to be fair to AC, JB, RC and everyone else it's a perfectly reasonable speculation given how much his form has dipped lately, and at a critical time.

As per the OP he has mentioned being ill, being a little off and has alluded to perhaps going the wrong way in set-up (if that's the case then I'm not sure why they don't just instantly go back...) but for now this is the most we've gotten -  Very start of vid:

Just curious, why is it you think he owes anyone other than his immediate circle an explanation? The mental aspect of this sport is almost just as important as the physical aspect. The minute your opponent smells blood they gain more confidence. Seems pretty easy to understand.

Tumbles happen every week while training that we will never hear about.

Exactly, lump.

He owes nobody an explanation. However, that choice opens the door to speculation. Would be the same in any sport. Neither option changes what is happening on track. 

If I’m suddenly smoking a guy by 30 seconds, three races in a row, and he’s still insisting everything is fine and that he’s the same guy who was gapping everyone at the start of the season, that would give me way more confidence than if he just came out and said “you guys are only beating me because I aggravated x,y,z.” Just saying 

gay.

Post viral fatigue. He Got sick a few weeks ago & lacked energy & was off. Id guess he still has effects of it. He is fine first half of the mains then he really drops off the pace. It would also explain his lack of aggression. & he can then be truthful that he is not ‘injured’. Also explains how he can test during the week. If i had that i wouldnt tell my competitors. Why would you want them to know your going to drop anchor half way through a main

Especially when the dude who put 12sec on the field is the same age as Eli. He's hiding an injury. No other explanation 

Dude that's what happened to me, of course at a much older age and an massively lower skill level. I got hurt a few (more) times and started riding with fear. That was it for me. You can't ride moto scared. SX I can't even imagine.

For now that's the case, don't know how long it's going to stay like that if gambling sticks around though

He’s off in rutted corners. Especially tight or inside ruts. Specifically left turns. Looks like a C rider in them. So whatever would cause that in either bike setup or rider positioning due to a nagging injury. 

I may need a decoder ring. Just sayin’