My vote is for the coats, my backing reasons are:

1) They got second last year, why not get higher this year?

2) They aren't fully clean yet, and like diva said, a lot of corps are peaking now, and i don't think blue has gotten there yet and they still get great percussion scores.

Ive seen a lot of people, And holy crap, every body is so good. I cant fathom where these corps/ and lines are going to be at by finals. Spirit, boston have impressed me in the "not going to win drums" area. Scouts have come light years from last year and thier tenor line is great. The cadets bass line is the best in DCI. They play with such authority, and attitude with a very difficult book. Id be surpirsed if there was a gbass tick at finals.

But whos reall impressed me are the cavaliers, andI think they are the ones who will win drums. Thier bass line is significantly better this year, thier snare line is, and thier pit is, well, incredible. It reminds me [b]snugglebunny[/b] of 2004 where they really show thier versitility through ethinic percussion.
I think the snare break is the best of the year as far as difficulty is concerned. the tenor break is equally as difficult and the basses have several very good moments.
At the Kzoo show last night I heards ticks and tears, but the design is better from a percussion stand point that the other top corps Ive seen.
I still need to see crown, devs and SCV (and phantom recently) to really make a call, but so far cavs are tops.

I can give a reason why not coats thoug:
Thier pit. it was a huge reason for the second place last year, is average at best right now. thier battery is smokin but the distraction of a realtivly weak pit is going to be tough to overcome. And thats all on the staff's shoulders to convince the judges that its not that big of a deal. But thats a change from last year when thier argument was our battery is just as good, but out pit is way better

BD's line is dirty so far, but their pit is unrivaled....i think the pit is what won them drums last year and will continue to have them do well in the percussion area.

I want phantom to win drums. close second cavies. I just don't want BD's pit to save them again. I want them to be authentically clean.....

I could of sworn that the blue coats won percussion last year?They got like, a 19.7 or something, followed by BD with 19.6 or some numbers?

But on that note, I'm really rooting for the blue coats line, they are on fire this year, And if they can't take number 1 overall, I want them to take #1 in percussion =)

BD won drums last year. The winner is the highest average for the week of finals.

I'm still shocked and amazed by the amount of people that think Coats can win drums this year. Their battery is on fire, but their pit is...eh. They've been getting beat all season in drums. Looking at the most recent scores, Coats are in 5th or 6th in drums.

What I based my decision on was the show I went to. The coats line rocked the show that night. The pit had a lot of shining points, Like the member who controlled the groove of the show on the drumset the entire show.

The battery was on fire though, In that show they took percussion, over the cadets, that was suprising to me. I guess I'll have to start looking at the scores more often. As for the pit being the problem, I imagine if the pit costs the coats this year, they are going to get all the work.

I'm hoping for a complete re-working on the pit by hopefully the end of the year. Break everything down and work on it, That would reallly suck if the pit costs the coats the percussion title.

1. Blue Devils
2. Phantom Regiment
3. Santa Clara Vanguard
4. Cavaliers
5. The Cadets
6. Carolina Crown
7. Bluecoats
8. Boston Crusaders

OK, so there is the Top 8 as of 7/11. Now, based on those scores, and those scores purely, those standings will change magically at my demand. (Without scores and stuff, that takes to long.

1. PR
2. Cavies
3. BD
4. Crown
5. SCV
6. Bluecoats
7. Cadets
8. BAC

Wow. Now those are some messed up and drastically changed standings. By the way, that's my prediction for the change over the next 2 weeks or so.

Also, those original scores are courtesy of DCP.

1. PR
2. Cavies
3. BD
4. Crown
5. SCV
6. Bluecoats
7. Cadets
8. BAC

=0

holy star of indiana!
I don't think those are messed up, though. It's a good thing that drum corps is being fluid, competitive, and actually interesting in its scoring. Oh and Crown ahead of SCV and Cadets? <33333

Yeah, maybe I'm a little harsh on Cadets...I guess I could switch that around a little.

SCV-4th
Cadets-5th
Crown- 6th
Coats'-7th

i agree i think Phantom will pass BD.