Pacific Pro Week 4 Write-Up
Southeast Asia Conference
Komodo Game of the Week
The Dead Presidents @ Carthage Clash
I’ll be honest, I feel like I’m forcing this one. DP is the same team they were last year imo which honestly..might not be a good thing. . They haven’t faced a challenge yet thus far and I don’t see how this week is going to be any different. Obviously and to no one’s surprise there is still an extreme emphasis on the running game, in fact, they have 4 passing TDs on the season, because frankly, they’re not even trying to pass. Bottom line if Carthage wants to make a statement here, all they need to do is shut down DP’s running game and make the tackles and this one is over. Carthage is a team of great potential. They’ve shown the ability play good offense and good defense, in this game, frankly, they’re going to need a great run defense.
Prediction: DP 55-17
Oceania Conference
“Hardcore” Williamsport Soul Reavers @ L.A. Resistencia
Frankly, to this point WSR has performed as expected; I expected to win the first two games of the season with ease, expected to have a shot in week 3, we were able to come up with the victory; so to this point we have not disappointed ourselves. However, it is also at this point in the season where we start to face the legitimate competition within the Oceania Conference and our first opponent in that group might just be the best of them, certainly deserving of Top 3 mention. L.A. has been rolling on all cylinders and honestly, hasn’t faced a true challenge yet. As the owner of WSR, I want to believe this week will be different, but I’m man enough to admit when we’re up against a wall. L.A. has not allowed an opponent to score more than 16 points this season, giving up a total of 26 points in 3 combined games. Their running game has been their strength offensively but don’t take that as though their passing game is a weakness, it’s not. One thing that seems to have plagued some teams this year, including Newfoundland last week and WSR coming into this week is missed tackles. That’s something LA has been easily able to take advantage of and I, unfortunately, see no reason that this week is different.
Prediction: L.A. 45-13
Razorback Nation @ Dirty Island Gurupies
I am going to start with DIG here…question; what the heck is going on? I’ve heard all of these teams say how they expected DIG to be a fierce competitor and frankly, I haven’t seen that this season. DIG has gotten thrashed by both $C$ & AFF, only winning against an SEA team; like that’s hard or something
Last week DIG was plagued by Turnovers and Poor defense. I think that DIG has it in them to make this competitive, which is why I’ve including them in the “games to watch” section of my write-ups but honestly, I could also see RN, who’s been firing on all cylinders as well, running away with this one. In their one competitive game, RN played very close to the vest, despite one turnover, they were able to create enough offensive attack and defensive stoppage to close out the game against Asmara.
Here, I’m not real sure they’ll have as much trouble.
Prediction: RN 55-14
$in City $yndicate @ Bow Chicka Brown Cows
Both of these teams heading into the season I was very unsure about, more so when it comes to BCBC, simply because I wasn’t familiar enough with them. While that’s still the case, I feel like I’m starting to get more familiar with them and I can say that this is probably the “middle of the road” game of the week. While these teams aren’t at the Top of the conference necessarily that doesn’t mean they can’t beat the teams that are in the playoffs. We’ve witnessed some pretty shocking upsets in the past in that regard. Both of these teams have made noise early; with a solid win over Sumatra BCBC has already surprised me by taking down the team I initially tabbed as the conferences’ best but they also have a wide margin loss to the Dead Presidents to lead the season off. $C$ has a big loss to Whatever & a solid win over DIG on their resume this season. Last week $C$ left us all with major questions about the effectiveness of their Passing Game and for that matter, maybe even their running game. With two turnovers and just 1 touchdown and an onslaught of missed tackles by the defense, they didn’t get much going last week against Whatever. In BCBC’s best competitive game this season, with the utmost respect to them, their passing effort was almost laughable with a mere 83 yards, but it did give them a Touchdown; their running game however gave them 4 TDs and well over 300 yards. I actually think their strength is their defense, sound tackles and the ability to get after the QB has really helped them this season. Efficiency is going to be the key to this game imo, the team that protects the ball and gets the most out of their offense wins this game. I think both are capable but only one is going to prevail, obviously.
Prediction: BCBC 31-30
Sumatra Seahawks @ Cryptic Legends
First and foremost, Sumatra has really surprised me this season, with losses to both BCBC & Dallas. Don’t get me wrong, I expected Dallas to be good from the get go, just didn’t know a ton about them. The Carthage clash victory wasn’t surprising though, at the time, I was a bit surprised Carthage scored so many points. Coming into this game, I want to say this should be an easy win but Sumatra’s passing game has left me with some serious doubts. Their defense isn’t exactly blowing anyone away and their QB is giving away too many free opportunities. Cryptic comes into this game with a solid with over Legacy and a blowout loss to WSR. Honestly, this gives the league very mixed signals because against WSR their defense and their rushing attack left a lot to be desired. Frankly, I expected Ty Craven to be a much bigger part of the offense at this point and in that particular game, he barely cracked 30 yards. Against Legacy it was a bit better but frankly, neither team was great. So really, this comes partly down to, which one is going to be the least inefficient with the football.
Prediction: Sumatra 35-10
Outback Game of the Week
Asmara Freedom Fighters @ Whatever
I don’t honestly feel like Asmara is that far behind the best teams in the conference, with a close loss to Razorback and then 2 huge wins, one of which was against DIG, Asmara has every reason to be confident going into this game. The biggest thing that needs to change is that “Twitch” has to do a better job of protecting the football with his passing attempts and defensively, they’ve done a great job creating pressure and forcing mistakes by the opposing offense. Whatever has yet to face a challenge and I think this is going to be their first. Coming into this game 3-0, I have no doubt that they are a legit competitor in the division, but I don’t think they’ll find it as easy this week. Captain Stabbin has annihilated the competition already securing over 1,000 yards and 10 TDs on the season. Their rushing attack hasn’t been all that bad either, to include their running QB. The question really comes down to this, can Asmara do a better job at protecting the football and stopping the oppositions offensive attack?
Prediction: Asmara 14-13 I’m a sucker for underdogs and upsets, got to pick at least one this season, even if I end up being wrong.
Southeast Asia Conference
Komodo Game of the Week
The Dead Presidents @ Carthage Clash
I’ll be honest, I feel like I’m forcing this one. DP is the same team they were last year imo which honestly..might not be a good thing. . They haven’t faced a challenge yet thus far and I don’t see how this week is going to be any different. Obviously and to no one’s surprise there is still an extreme emphasis on the running game, in fact, they have 4 passing TDs on the season, because frankly, they’re not even trying to pass. Bottom line if Carthage wants to make a statement here, all they need to do is shut down DP’s running game and make the tackles and this one is over. Carthage is a team of great potential. They’ve shown the ability play good offense and good defense, in this game, frankly, they’re going to need a great run defense.
Prediction: DP 55-17
Oceania Conference
“Hardcore” Williamsport Soul Reavers @ L.A. Resistencia
Frankly, to this point WSR has performed as expected; I expected to win the first two games of the season with ease, expected to have a shot in week 3, we were able to come up with the victory; so to this point we have not disappointed ourselves. However, it is also at this point in the season where we start to face the legitimate competition within the Oceania Conference and our first opponent in that group might just be the best of them, certainly deserving of Top 3 mention. L.A. has been rolling on all cylinders and honestly, hasn’t faced a true challenge yet. As the owner of WSR, I want to believe this week will be different, but I’m man enough to admit when we’re up against a wall. L.A. has not allowed an opponent to score more than 16 points this season, giving up a total of 26 points in 3 combined games. Their running game has been their strength offensively but don’t take that as though their passing game is a weakness, it’s not. One thing that seems to have plagued some teams this year, including Newfoundland last week and WSR coming into this week is missed tackles. That’s something LA has been easily able to take advantage of and I, unfortunately, see no reason that this week is different.
Prediction: L.A. 45-13
Razorback Nation @ Dirty Island Gurupies
I am going to start with DIG here…question; what the heck is going on? I’ve heard all of these teams say how they expected DIG to be a fierce competitor and frankly, I haven’t seen that this season. DIG has gotten thrashed by both $C$ & AFF, only winning against an SEA team; like that’s hard or something
Last week DIG was plagued by Turnovers and Poor defense. I think that DIG has it in them to make this competitive, which is why I’ve including them in the “games to watch” section of my write-ups but honestly, I could also see RN, who’s been firing on all cylinders as well, running away with this one. In their one competitive game, RN played very close to the vest, despite one turnover, they were able to create enough offensive attack and defensive stoppage to close out the game against Asmara.Here, I’m not real sure they’ll have as much trouble.
Prediction: RN 55-14
$in City $yndicate @ Bow Chicka Brown Cows
Both of these teams heading into the season I was very unsure about, more so when it comes to BCBC, simply because I wasn’t familiar enough with them. While that’s still the case, I feel like I’m starting to get more familiar with them and I can say that this is probably the “middle of the road” game of the week. While these teams aren’t at the Top of the conference necessarily that doesn’t mean they can’t beat the teams that are in the playoffs. We’ve witnessed some pretty shocking upsets in the past in that regard. Both of these teams have made noise early; with a solid win over Sumatra BCBC has already surprised me by taking down the team I initially tabbed as the conferences’ best but they also have a wide margin loss to the Dead Presidents to lead the season off. $C$ has a big loss to Whatever & a solid win over DIG on their resume this season. Last week $C$ left us all with major questions about the effectiveness of their Passing Game and for that matter, maybe even their running game. With two turnovers and just 1 touchdown and an onslaught of missed tackles by the defense, they didn’t get much going last week against Whatever. In BCBC’s best competitive game this season, with the utmost respect to them, their passing effort was almost laughable with a mere 83 yards, but it did give them a Touchdown; their running game however gave them 4 TDs and well over 300 yards. I actually think their strength is their defense, sound tackles and the ability to get after the QB has really helped them this season. Efficiency is going to be the key to this game imo, the team that protects the ball and gets the most out of their offense wins this game. I think both are capable but only one is going to prevail, obviously.
Prediction: BCBC 31-30
Sumatra Seahawks @ Cryptic Legends
First and foremost, Sumatra has really surprised me this season, with losses to both BCBC & Dallas. Don’t get me wrong, I expected Dallas to be good from the get go, just didn’t know a ton about them. The Carthage clash victory wasn’t surprising though, at the time, I was a bit surprised Carthage scored so many points. Coming into this game, I want to say this should be an easy win but Sumatra’s passing game has left me with some serious doubts. Their defense isn’t exactly blowing anyone away and their QB is giving away too many free opportunities. Cryptic comes into this game with a solid with over Legacy and a blowout loss to WSR. Honestly, this gives the league very mixed signals because against WSR their defense and their rushing attack left a lot to be desired. Frankly, I expected Ty Craven to be a much bigger part of the offense at this point and in that particular game, he barely cracked 30 yards. Against Legacy it was a bit better but frankly, neither team was great. So really, this comes partly down to, which one is going to be the least inefficient with the football.
Prediction: Sumatra 35-10
Outback Game of the Week
Asmara Freedom Fighters @ Whatever
I don’t honestly feel like Asmara is that far behind the best teams in the conference, with a close loss to Razorback and then 2 huge wins, one of which was against DIG, Asmara has every reason to be confident going into this game. The biggest thing that needs to change is that “Twitch” has to do a better job of protecting the football with his passing attempts and defensively, they’ve done a great job creating pressure and forcing mistakes by the opposing offense. Whatever has yet to face a challenge and I think this is going to be their first. Coming into this game 3-0, I have no doubt that they are a legit competitor in the division, but I don’t think they’ll find it as easy this week. Captain Stabbin has annihilated the competition already securing over 1,000 yards and 10 TDs on the season. Their rushing attack hasn’t been all that bad either, to include their running QB. The question really comes down to this, can Asmara do a better job at protecting the football and stopping the oppositions offensive attack?
Prediction: Asmara 14-13 I’m a sucker for underdogs and upsets, got to pick at least one this season, even if I end up being wrong.
Edited by Captain Jack Riley on Sep 4, 2014 06:56:05
