Lion
1 Axis vs 8 Joe's
The Joe's squeeze into the playoffs with an 8-8 record and have to square off against the top seeded Axis squad. Only one team was able to defeat Axis this season. They'll bring the #1 ranked rushing offense and #1 defense in Lion to the playoff dance. The Joe's have a solid passing attack and they may need to lean heavily on that early and often to stay in this one. They'll surely have to do better than the 152 total yards they gained when these two faced off earlier in the season. Axis pulls out all the stops to make sure they don't get borted and come away with a big win.
2 Rhinos vs 7 RnR
The Rhinos come into this game with the top ranked passing attack and run defense. Offensively they know how to protect the football with only 4 INTs and 4 fumbles lost this season. Defensively, they do a great job getting after the QB and forcing fumbles. RnR is coming into the playoffs with a bit of a whimper after going 3-5 in the second half of the season. They've been a little up and down all season long and need find some consistency against the tougher opponents. RnR made a quick exit from the playoffs last season and I see a repeat of that happening here.
3 Sahara vs 6 Uganda
This may just be my most anticipated game of the first round in Lion. Sahara seemed to come out of nowhere with an 11 win streak to open the season. Even when it looked like they took their foot off the gas a bit they looked good. Uganda however did not end the season on a high note as they enter the playoffs on a 4 game slide and having lost 5 of their final 6. On paper this game looks like a great matchup so it's going to come down to execution on the field. Silverbacks will look towards their #2 ranked run game to set the tempo and LL's defense to contain Sahara. I think this one could go either way and it's going to fall on the game planning. Uganda with the upset.
4 TAP vs 5 Cult
Another solid matchup and I truly think the Cult is better than they've showed in some of their games. The big question is whether or not their offense can be effective against TAP. When they played earlier in the season they leaned heavily on the run and it didn't help at all. They'll need to find some balance and do better than completing 33% of their passes. I'm feeling risky so I'm going to take Cult to somehow squeeze out the win here after some weird miraculous turnover turns the game.
Elephant
1 BSS vs 8 Steiner
Here we have one team that is a legit threat to go 19-0 and another that managed just 1 win over a playoff team. The #1 pass attack against the 10th ranked defense. The #1 defense against the 9th ranked offense. I think you all know which way I'm leaning here.
2 Benin vs 7 AquaBats
Benin came out of week 1 with a loss but one that showed a ton of potential. The rest of the season they lived up to that potential devastating teams and only dropping 2 more games. The Bats kicked off the season with an 8 game win streak but it left everyone wondering who this team was. None of those 8 games were against top ranked teams. The second half of the season was a different story as the Bats dropped 6 of their final 8, all to playoff teams. Most of those losses were close games though so Benin shouldn't overlook this team now that the stakes are higher. At the end of the day, Benin has just shown me more this season and I think they take this one by a much larger margin than the week 15 game.
3 ICB vs 6 Rwanda
In the past I wouldn't have thought twice about this being a great matchup but this season has left me doubting Rwanda. Have they been holding things back knowing the conference was weak enough that only beating 2-3 middle of the road teams would be enough to lock up a playoff spot? Then there's ICB. They drew the toughest week 1 matchup for a loss and then dropped 3 games by a total of 14 points. I've seen this team really turn it up come playoffs and I feel like that's what's in store this season. Hoping for a great game between 2 solid franchises but I've got to go with the team I trust more this season – ICB.
4 Philly vs 5 Spring Hill
My Ele game of the week features two of the teams that finished in a 3 way tie at 12-4. Both of these teams have the potential to go deep in the playoffs and both were ousted in the 2nd round last season. I don't know which way this one is going to go but I do know this much...I need an Ele upset pick! Oh yeah and the Pirates made the move to Ele because they must have thought it would be the easier path to WL. Well now it's time to put up or shut up and I think they'll do just enough to get by Philly.
1 Axis vs 8 Joe's
The Joe's squeeze into the playoffs with an 8-8 record and have to square off against the top seeded Axis squad. Only one team was able to defeat Axis this season. They'll bring the #1 ranked rushing offense and #1 defense in Lion to the playoff dance. The Joe's have a solid passing attack and they may need to lean heavily on that early and often to stay in this one. They'll surely have to do better than the 152 total yards they gained when these two faced off earlier in the season. Axis pulls out all the stops to make sure they don't get borted and come away with a big win.
2 Rhinos vs 7 RnR
The Rhinos come into this game with the top ranked passing attack and run defense. Offensively they know how to protect the football with only 4 INTs and 4 fumbles lost this season. Defensively, they do a great job getting after the QB and forcing fumbles. RnR is coming into the playoffs with a bit of a whimper after going 3-5 in the second half of the season. They've been a little up and down all season long and need find some consistency against the tougher opponents. RnR made a quick exit from the playoffs last season and I see a repeat of that happening here.
3 Sahara vs 6 Uganda
This may just be my most anticipated game of the first round in Lion. Sahara seemed to come out of nowhere with an 11 win streak to open the season. Even when it looked like they took their foot off the gas a bit they looked good. Uganda however did not end the season on a high note as they enter the playoffs on a 4 game slide and having lost 5 of their final 6. On paper this game looks like a great matchup so it's going to come down to execution on the field. Silverbacks will look towards their #2 ranked run game to set the tempo and LL's defense to contain Sahara. I think this one could go either way and it's going to fall on the game planning. Uganda with the upset.
4 TAP vs 5 Cult
Another solid matchup and I truly think the Cult is better than they've showed in some of their games. The big question is whether or not their offense can be effective against TAP. When they played earlier in the season they leaned heavily on the run and it didn't help at all. They'll need to find some balance and do better than completing 33% of their passes. I'm feeling risky so I'm going to take Cult to somehow squeeze out the win here after some weird miraculous turnover turns the game.
Elephant
1 BSS vs 8 Steiner
Here we have one team that is a legit threat to go 19-0 and another that managed just 1 win over a playoff team. The #1 pass attack against the 10th ranked defense. The #1 defense against the 9th ranked offense. I think you all know which way I'm leaning here.
2 Benin vs 7 AquaBats
Benin came out of week 1 with a loss but one that showed a ton of potential. The rest of the season they lived up to that potential devastating teams and only dropping 2 more games. The Bats kicked off the season with an 8 game win streak but it left everyone wondering who this team was. None of those 8 games were against top ranked teams. The second half of the season was a different story as the Bats dropped 6 of their final 8, all to playoff teams. Most of those losses were close games though so Benin shouldn't overlook this team now that the stakes are higher. At the end of the day, Benin has just shown me more this season and I think they take this one by a much larger margin than the week 15 game.
3 ICB vs 6 Rwanda
In the past I wouldn't have thought twice about this being a great matchup but this season has left me doubting Rwanda. Have they been holding things back knowing the conference was weak enough that only beating 2-3 middle of the road teams would be enough to lock up a playoff spot? Then there's ICB. They drew the toughest week 1 matchup for a loss and then dropped 3 games by a total of 14 points. I've seen this team really turn it up come playoffs and I feel like that's what's in store this season. Hoping for a great game between 2 solid franchises but I've got to go with the team I trust more this season – ICB.
4 Philly vs 5 Spring Hill
My Ele game of the week features two of the teams that finished in a 3 way tie at 12-4. Both of these teams have the potential to go deep in the playoffs and both were ousted in the 2nd round last season. I don't know which way this one is going to go but I do know this much...I need an Ele upset pick! Oh yeah and the Pirates made the move to Ele because they must have thought it would be the easier path to WL. Well now it's time to put up or shut up and I think they'll do just enough to get by Philly.
Edited by ecrana on Sep 19, 2012 10:06:06
