I've actually been working on this for a few days, tried to highlight some players and both positives and negatives for each team. Hope you enjoy, lots more to come this season!
Pacific Pro Season 44: A Look Ahead
Season 43, for those of you who were here to witness it, was a wild one, with teams like Sumatra falling from grace and teams like Dirty Island rising from the ashes to win the League Championship. There was no shortage of shock and awe, upsets and disappointments, and certainly no shortage of competition.
Oceania proved to be the more dominant of the two Conferences, as the Oceania Conference was padded with fierce competition from pretty much everyone inside the Top 12. Whatever, expected by early to mid-season to be the favorite for the Championship, surprised everyone with a Round 2 Loss.
Carthage surprised no one with an appearance in the League Championship game but I must say, I personally was quite surprised on how that game played out, statistically. I was not by any means surprised that DIG won the game, nor would I have been surprised if Carthage would have won.
At the end of the season, sadly, we’ve seen several teams fold and wither away into the wins of complacency. While they’ll be missed, I’m sure I speak for everyone in saying that we look forward to the new wave of competition we will face this season.
I’ve been a part of the Oceania region since Season 4 when I became the owner of the original Williamsport Soul Reavers team (S4-S12), this is it’s ‘Phoenix’ if you will; which I have owned since Season 22. I have seen some great teams rise and fall throughout that time, as we all have and frankly, I don’t know that today’s teams can live up to the teams of the past. However, I’m more than willing to watch them try.
I don’t expect any shortage of competition in Season 44 either; the league will likely have seen much change so the culture within is expected to be greatly different than its previous form.
If you’ve learned nothing else over the years about the style for which I write these ‘weekly previews’, you should have at least learned that at times, I’m brutal, at other times, I’m brutally wrong. If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of my office, it gets as hot as a mid-summer morning in Death Valley. (No seriously, it gets hot as crap in the office where I work, they can never get the A/C units to work right)
Now, getting down to business;
This league barely resembles its former self and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. When you look at it, you know it’s got to be pretty bad when you’ve got teams coming UP from Regional Pro after winning 5 games or less in S43. The turnover in Pacific Pro this time around was significant. In Oceania, just 5 teams are returning from last season and in SEA, just 4. That is a 23 team turnover from the season that just ended. To be fair, while I could be wrong, I highly doubt teams like the “Hardcore” Rejects and others without a single player on their roster or a single human player will be here when the regular season actually kicks off, if they are, I guess it just means there’ll be plenty of ‘gimme games’ for everyone. It’ll be interesting to see if SEA has improved over last year at all, they were the weaker conference in S43 and really, it wasn’t even close. On paper, that doesn’t look to have changed.
What I’m most interested to see out of the newcomers is which of them are contenders and which of them are pretenders, and yes, there’ll be more than a handful of pretenders imo.
The Returners
Southeast Asia
The Dead Presidents – (14-2) #1 Seed, R2 Playoff Loss
Palembang Royally Drunken Monks – (14-2) #3 Seed, R2 Playoff Loss
Addicts Relapse – (10-6) #6 Seed, R1 Playoff Loss
Colonial Marines – (8-8) #8 Seed, R1 Playoff Loss
Oceania
Razorback Nation – (13-3) #3 Seed, R1 Playoff Loss
$in City $yndicate – (12-4) #4 Seed, R1 Playoff Loss
Williamsport Soul Reavers – (9-7) #8 Seed, R1 Playoff Loss
Bow Chicka Brown Cows – (8-8) #9 Seed
Newfoundland Roughnecks – (7-9) 10th Seed
New Arrivals
Southeast Asia
Halifax Harpoons-UAA Member (13-3)
OffTopica Word (13-3)
Arkadak Deadliest Warriors (12-4)
D-Town Demolition (11-5)
Malaysian Madness (10-6)
“Hardcore” Rejects (10-6)
Heroes of Olympus (5-11)
LUX Borg (5-11)
Springfield Isotopes (4-12)
Orlando Praying Mantis (3-13)
The Cult of Personalities, Wu! (1-15)
Quebec War Eagles (0-16)
Oceania
Stockholm Black Death (16-0)
Kosovo Kryptonite (15-1)
Christchruch Fighting Maori (12-4)
The ~Cult~ure of Revolutionary Minutemen (10-6)
Forsyth County War Dawgs (9-7)
Rage Quitters (9-7)
Oregon Ducks (7-9)
Semarang Red Bulls (6-10)
Burlington Vermonteers (5-11)
THE St. Louis Defiance (1-15)
The Reality inside my mind aka: a team by team analysis
Southeast Asia Conference
Dead Presidents -- This is going to be my briefest analysis of this entire article; DP runs the football, its’ what they do, it’s their identity. They ran the football with a QB, with RBs, with everyone but their head coach pretty much and you know what, they did it well. Twice however they were stopped and they lost. In the end, that game plan of running the football was shut down in Round 2 of the playoffs and despite being the #1 seed; they did not book themselves a seat in first class at the High Flying League Championship game. What do they need to change going into S44? That’s probably irrelevant because they’re going to change nothing at all and probably STILL end up the #1 seed with ease.
Palembang Royally Drunken Monks – PRDM entered the season with a very clearly stated goal: To not be eliminated in Round 1 of the playoffs again. They did in fact accomplish that goal, sadly, they also lost in Round 2 to the team that would play against DIG in the league Championship, albeit ultimately losing that game. There weren’t too many games in SEA last season that were competitive, a couple were that they won, just not many; their two losses were glaring as they lost in routs to Carthage and the Dead Presidents, to be fair, both finished above them with equal records for the season. Goldikova led the team in S43 with 5100+ yards passing, 107 TDs & 12 Ints; they also ran the ball very well compiling over 3000 yards and well over 120 TDs. Aoi Kiryama might just be the best defender in the league, leading not only their team but the league with 131 Tackles, 0 missed tackles, 42 FF’s, 1 FF Rec, & 1 FF Ret TD. I don’t care who you are, that’s impressive, even if the majority of those stats were compiled against CPUesque teams. Moving forward the only thing that the Monks truly have to prove is that they can keep it together in the playoffs. There should be no doubt that PRDM is going to be a playoff team again.
Halifax Harpoons -- Like many teams in the league this season, Halifax falls beneath the shroud of mystery. Only once in S43 did they win a game that can be argued as competitive, the rest of their wins were against not even remotely competitive opponents. The lost the only other 4 competitive games they played, one being a playoff game. In all 4 losses, they lost by double digits, so it definitely brings to the table the question of just how good this team is. At Quarterback they have a guy named Uncle Rico who passed the ball for 7400+ yards, 164 TDs & 15 Ints, their oline gave up 42 sacks, which actually seems like quite a bit when you consider they only played 5 competitive games the entire season. They had 2 1300+ yard rushers combining for more than 75 TDs. Defensively, their leading tackler also was one of their top 3 in missed tackles (19—2nd). So when I look at this team, I see a team that has the potential to be really good or really bad. At this level, they’re going to have to prove they belong, simply put.
OffTopica Word -- OTW is a very well managed team but it’s hard to overlook the fact that two of their losses last season were routs. Unlike some other teams, they actually played teams competitively. As we’ve seen in the past, many of the OT teams play their opponents much closer than you might expect and much closer than their competition tends to. I would probably refer to the network as a whole as ‘smash mouth’ more so than dominant in any particular area. They are contenders consistently, not necessarily powerhouses. OTW was led by 5,000 yd passer D. Martin, a combination of three RBs who ran the ball for a combined 5000+ yards, and defensively by Talib Okapor and James Tanner. On paper I see this team as a ‘middle of the pack’ team right now, but I also see them making the playoffs and pulling some upsets. This might be your quiet little darkhorse that sneaks up on you when you’re least expecting it.
Arkadak Deadliest Warrior – The further you look, the harder it is to find someone that can be said to be a sure-fire contender. ADW played 5 competitive games last season, I mean truly competitive, and lost four of them. They also lost in a nail biter in the first round of the playoffs. Even in their one competitive win, they still won by 22 points. This is, as so many others are moving up from Regional Pro, another example of statistical padding; They had two QBs combine for over 5000 yards & 108 TDs. They also had two 2400+ yard rushers , neither of which had less than 77 TDs. Bandit Buck led their team with 114 Tackles, 54 Hurries, 79 Sacks, 4 PDs, 4 FF’s and a safety, he also had 14 missed tackles. ADW falls under what many in the next few previews will, a team that is going to either prove they are one of the big boys or prove they don’t belong in a league with the big boys. Right now, on paper, I’m going suggest they prove the latter.
The Cult of Personalities, Wu! – I’m going to keep this one quite short as well, two seasons ago CPW was here, pulled some upsets in the playoffs and made the trip to WL. In S43, despite putting up some impressive stats, they did not fare well in World League, compiling just 1 win, over Boulder Blitz. Returning to Pacific Pro, I honestly immediately have them tabbed as one of the contenders for the #1 seed in this conference.
In Summary --
Okay, here’s the reality about this Conference… nothing I said above matters, because above this summary I have 6 teams, just SIX listed; they’re all making the playoffs if no changes are made to the structure of the league (if none of these panzy CPUesque teams move down and let a real contender come up). So in reality, 2 of the playoff teams coming out of SEA are going to be a “bye week” for the #1 & #2 seeds, they’ll get a pass because their opponents will be pretty much CPU. One again, the SEA conference is the leagues weak link. It’s pretty sad when teams with losing records are getting sent UP from Regional Pro.
Oceania Conference
Stockholm Black Death – Stockholm was the most dominant team in the Regional Pro in S43, strictly from a statistical standpoint. There was not a single team in their league that even scored more than 3 points on them and that only happened once. Offensively this team was and is led by a dual threat at Quarterback, Jake Whyler III & Big Throwing Dog V, between the two, they through for more than 9000 yards and 220 TDs, with only 5 interceptions. . Marion Lucky ran the ball over 200 times for 2200+ yards and 88 TDs, their rushing attack combined for nearly 130 TDs on the season and over 3000 yards. Their defensive leader was without a doubt, Russian D’End who had 84 sacks and 106 tackles, among other stats.
Ultimately, coming into Pacific Pro, Stockholm is about to find out what they’re really made of. They might be as dominant as their stats and win % suggest, or they might be a product of extremely weak leagues and easy championship roads. This season will certainly test both theories.
Kosovo Kryptonite – Led by Jiminy Christmans who threw the ball for over 8,700 yards, 197 TDs and 6 Ints, Kosovo finished with a 15-1 record in S43. Their rushing game was fairly stable but not nearly as dominant as you might expect given the level of competition they faced in the same league that Stockholm had a statistical ‘frat party’. Defensively Ikaika Alama-Francis was dominant with 65 Tackles, 109 hurries, 11 sacks, & 3 PDs, however, he also was tied for 2nd in missed tackles for the team, with 19 on the season. Kosovo seemed to be like many teams in S43 and was heavily plagued by missed tackles, in fact, only 7 players who acquired at least one tackle had 0 missed tackles and all of those players, only had 1 tackle; 34 players on the roster had 10 or more missed tackles. So the reality for Kosovo is this; they are coming to a lead where missed tackles made a big difference in the outcome of several games in S43. They’re going to have to prove that they can be more efficient defensively against better competition. I should also point out that just twice in S43 they played a team that truly tested the quality of their team; they lost both games.
OffTopica Immortals – Here we are with yet another Regional Pro team that had very little competition in S43; as I ended with Kosovo, I’ll begin with OTI; Just 6 times they played a truly competitive team in S43; Of these games, they won 2; 43-36 & 41-19 respectively. In each of the other 4 games, they lost, in each of those games, they lost by double digits. Watermelon Icee led the team with 5300+ yards, 146 TDs & 4 Ints. Their running game was a combined effort with three 1,000+ yard rushers, all of which scored at least 30 times. Defensively, their leading tackler, Cover All, also led the team in missed tackles with 26, however, they only had three players with double digit missed tackles, two of which happen to be their top 2 team tacklers. OTI is going to have a lot to prove coming into this season, they’re going to have to prove that those stats aren’t just glorified by the lack of competition they faced and that they aren’t the team that lost to anything and everything that resembled actual competition.
Razorback Nation – Razorback Nation makes me think of a famous “Dennis Green” comment; “They are who we thought they were”. They weren’t real flashy, they passed the football for less than 5,000 yards and 62 Tds combined, their RBs ran the ball for over 3,000 yards and 45 TDs, and defensively they did very well getting after the QB, led by Propero Speed, with 18 hurries and 18 sacks. They too however, as it seems to have been the trend throughout GLB in S43, suffered from missed tackles. They lost very few games in S43 in a very competitive league, in fact, they were in a conference who saw had 10 truly competitive teams on a weekly basis. They did not, however, lose to anyone that did not make the playoffs. Additionally, their playoff loss looks a little better in that, they would lose to the team that would win the League Championship. Razorback just needs to keep doing what they do and they should see the top spot in Oceania in S44.
Christchurch Fighting Maori – Wow does this team bring back memories. Memories of the old Oceania Pro League, when Jughead, seahawks10, and so many others were making a living on dominating at this level. Like some of the other teams, they lost several of the competitive games they played in S43, but they also won a few. The team is led to no small feat by Quarterback Alan Shearer who threw for just over 2200 yards and 36 TDs with just 8 interceptions. Their running game was powered by Rushing QB Daunte Culpeper who ran for over 3000 yards and 61 TDs. Defensively they did well, though the pattern of missed tackles does not cease to exist with CFM. I would suggest that the biggest question moving forward with this team is, can they sustain a running game with a rushing QB at this level against true competition?
Williamsport Soul Reavers: – Williamsport has been here for the last two seasons, in S42 they finished 4-12 but absolutely refused to quit at this level, via request, remained in Pacific Pro for S43 and made major changes to their roster, replacing over 30 players. Despite entering S43 with a major chemistry hit, they finished as the 8th seed, securing their place in the playoffs. I should also point out, despite this chemistry hit, they more than doubled their win total from S42 to S43 (from 4-9). Despite that level of success, they were simply no match for Whatever in the first round of the playoffs; as hard fought as the season was, this would be the end of their road for S43. In S44, it’s hard to project what might become of them, once again Williamsport will start the season with a significant chemistry hit after rebuilding the defensive line, secondary, Wide Receiver Corps and part of the backfield & blocker corps. They have a goal set in stone in their mind, we shall see if they successfully reach that goal.
In S43 their team leaders were Running Back Walter Strausser, who has since announced his retirement, Quarterback Lil Bobo who will be returning this season, and Linebacker BK Carrasco who will also be returning this season. Additionally, team sack leader, Defensive End Khreem Smith is no longer with the team, as they have chosen to go in other directions on the defensive line. The biggest weakness for WSR in S43 was, like many people, missed tackles and that is something that they are going to have to clean up in S44 to stay competitive.
$in City $yndicate – $C$ is a frustrating team to write about. The moment you start to give them an inch, they sneak up and disappoint you. When you review their S44 season, their staple wins against LA & DIG; the win over DIG, to be fair, came very early in the season when DIG, who would go on to win the League Championship, was struggling. The win over LA came at a time where LA was dominating, at that point we would begin to see LA taper off a bit. Three of $C$’s losses were blowouts against Razorback Nation, Whatever, & WSR; the other loss was a very close game against Asmara. In Round 1 of the playoffs, a team they had beaten before, eliminated them from contention, the Dallas Paladins.
Their season was led by Quarterback Red Rocket Launcher, who passed for 4100+ yards, 66 TDs and 22 Ints, Running Back Romper Stomper & Rocky Browning who combined for 4000+ yards and 60 TDs.
Defensively, like everyone else, they had a high level of success mixed with a high level of missed tackles. Moving forward, $C$ really needs to prove that they can win against the true contending teams if they ever plan to get beyond Round 1 of the playoffs.
Bow Chicka Brown Cows -- This is a team that in S43 was on the corner of “Really Good” & “Do you know anything about dot ball?” Seriously though, BCBC is a team with a lot of potential imo, more so, they also have a young team so chemistry is not something they will often have to contend with. They finished S43 with a .500 record and it was a legitimate mix of quality wins vs. tough losses. There were a few bad losses, but their staple win for the season imo, came against DIG, who would win the League Championship, it was a hard fought game but they were able to come through with a victory. With some improvement, this is a team that could absolutely find themselves in the playoffs. General Cowrissian led the passing game with 1500+ yards 9 TDs & 7 Ints, their backfield compiled over 4000 yards and over 30 TDs. Defensively I’m starting to sound like a broken record, they had a ton of missed tackles. That isn’t to say they did nothing good defensively, they made plays, got QB Pressure, and stood tall at times, but they also hindered themselves with several double digit missed tackle games.
Moving forward, it’s not as simply as just improving, they have to improve everywhere.
Newfoundland Roughnecks -- I think this team most compares to the Williamsport Soul Reavers; in fact, I feel strongly that NR found themselves on the opposite end of the spectrum for which WSR travelled last season. Both teams started out with significant chemistry hits, both teams entered the season with a very capable roster, but NR simply wasn’t able to capitalize with enough wins to get into the playoffs. Very few of the teams NR defeated in S43 were among the competitive ranks of the Oceania Conference. Even the two teams they did defeat that were, Cryptic Legends & Sumatra Seahawks, are no longer in the league because they simply weren’t up to the task of competing against legitimate rosters. What truly plagued NR in S43 was turnovers, their QB threw for 2600.5 yards, 17 TDs, and 16 Ints. Their RBs ran for over 2200 yards, 17 TDs and put the ball on the ground twice, one of which was lost. The drops by receivers certainly did not help either. Defensively, they were actually much better despite having to deal with the missed tackle issue that everyone else has also seemed to be dealing with. Moving forward this is another team that simply has to be better everywhere to be able to rise above the competition and make the playoffs.
Oregon Ducks – The Oregon Ducks are the first team in the Oceania Conference to be highlighted here that is moving up from Regional Pro with a losing record. It’s really hard to get read on this team because on paper, they look to have a lot of potential but the fact is, they didn’t win a single competitive game in S43, in fact, any game where there was even a remote level of competition, they lost, in most cases, by double digits, with the exception of a 1 point loss against the Fiji Firewalkers. Jordan Lynch – Swag through for over 5400 yards and over 120 TDs with just 3 Ints; their running game had just over 2000 yards combined and 42 TDs, however it also combined for 7 lost fumbles. Frankly, the positive stats for this team are a productive of the ‘CPU’ quality teams they faced. I believe that the negative stats are a product of their true identity. Coming into S43, assuming they remain in this league for the start of the season, they’re going to have to prove they belong, plain and simple.
In Summary
That right there folks is the competitive section of the Oceania Conference, if they’re not listed here, they more than likely won’t matter this season and as far as I can tell, if nothing changes between now and the start of the season, there’ll be a handful of teams fighting each other to avoid going winless.
So that right there folks give you 9 teams fighting for 8 spots in the playoffs; the question is, which one will be the “odd man out”? The other 7 teams in this conference, unless they’re up to the challenge of proving me wrong or finding some secret hiding place for Free Agent Availability, are only going to provide the rest of us the occasional bye week. This list of the Top 9 though is going to make for an interesting season to watch.
Pacific Pro Season 44: A Look Ahead
Season 43, for those of you who were here to witness it, was a wild one, with teams like Sumatra falling from grace and teams like Dirty Island rising from the ashes to win the League Championship. There was no shortage of shock and awe, upsets and disappointments, and certainly no shortage of competition.
Oceania proved to be the more dominant of the two Conferences, as the Oceania Conference was padded with fierce competition from pretty much everyone inside the Top 12. Whatever, expected by early to mid-season to be the favorite for the Championship, surprised everyone with a Round 2 Loss.
Carthage surprised no one with an appearance in the League Championship game but I must say, I personally was quite surprised on how that game played out, statistically. I was not by any means surprised that DIG won the game, nor would I have been surprised if Carthage would have won.
At the end of the season, sadly, we’ve seen several teams fold and wither away into the wins of complacency. While they’ll be missed, I’m sure I speak for everyone in saying that we look forward to the new wave of competition we will face this season.
I’ve been a part of the Oceania region since Season 4 when I became the owner of the original Williamsport Soul Reavers team (S4-S12), this is it’s ‘Phoenix’ if you will; which I have owned since Season 22. I have seen some great teams rise and fall throughout that time, as we all have and frankly, I don’t know that today’s teams can live up to the teams of the past. However, I’m more than willing to watch them try.
I don’t expect any shortage of competition in Season 44 either; the league will likely have seen much change so the culture within is expected to be greatly different than its previous form.
If you’ve learned nothing else over the years about the style for which I write these ‘weekly previews’, you should have at least learned that at times, I’m brutal, at other times, I’m brutally wrong. If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of my office, it gets as hot as a mid-summer morning in Death Valley. (No seriously, it gets hot as crap in the office where I work, they can never get the A/C units to work right)
Now, getting down to business;
This league barely resembles its former self and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. When you look at it, you know it’s got to be pretty bad when you’ve got teams coming UP from Regional Pro after winning 5 games or less in S43. The turnover in Pacific Pro this time around was significant. In Oceania, just 5 teams are returning from last season and in SEA, just 4. That is a 23 team turnover from the season that just ended. To be fair, while I could be wrong, I highly doubt teams like the “Hardcore” Rejects and others without a single player on their roster or a single human player will be here when the regular season actually kicks off, if they are, I guess it just means there’ll be plenty of ‘gimme games’ for everyone. It’ll be interesting to see if SEA has improved over last year at all, they were the weaker conference in S43 and really, it wasn’t even close. On paper, that doesn’t look to have changed.
What I’m most interested to see out of the newcomers is which of them are contenders and which of them are pretenders, and yes, there’ll be more than a handful of pretenders imo.
The Returners
Southeast Asia
The Dead Presidents – (14-2) #1 Seed, R2 Playoff Loss
Palembang Royally Drunken Monks – (14-2) #3 Seed, R2 Playoff Loss
Addicts Relapse – (10-6) #6 Seed, R1 Playoff Loss
Colonial Marines – (8-8) #8 Seed, R1 Playoff Loss
Oceania
Razorback Nation – (13-3) #3 Seed, R1 Playoff Loss
$in City $yndicate – (12-4) #4 Seed, R1 Playoff Loss
Williamsport Soul Reavers – (9-7) #8 Seed, R1 Playoff Loss
Bow Chicka Brown Cows – (8-8) #9 Seed
Newfoundland Roughnecks – (7-9) 10th Seed
New Arrivals
Southeast Asia
Halifax Harpoons-UAA Member (13-3)
OffTopica Word (13-3)
Arkadak Deadliest Warriors (12-4)
D-Town Demolition (11-5)
Malaysian Madness (10-6)
“Hardcore” Rejects (10-6)
Heroes of Olympus (5-11)
LUX Borg (5-11)
Springfield Isotopes (4-12)
Orlando Praying Mantis (3-13)
The Cult of Personalities, Wu! (1-15)
Quebec War Eagles (0-16)
Oceania
Stockholm Black Death (16-0)
Kosovo Kryptonite (15-1)
Christchruch Fighting Maori (12-4)
The ~Cult~ure of Revolutionary Minutemen (10-6)
Forsyth County War Dawgs (9-7)
Rage Quitters (9-7)
Oregon Ducks (7-9)
Semarang Red Bulls (6-10)
Burlington Vermonteers (5-11)
THE St. Louis Defiance (1-15)
The Reality inside my mind aka: a team by team analysis
Southeast Asia Conference
Dead Presidents -- This is going to be my briefest analysis of this entire article; DP runs the football, its’ what they do, it’s their identity. They ran the football with a QB, with RBs, with everyone but their head coach pretty much and you know what, they did it well. Twice however they were stopped and they lost. In the end, that game plan of running the football was shut down in Round 2 of the playoffs and despite being the #1 seed; they did not book themselves a seat in first class at the High Flying League Championship game. What do they need to change going into S44? That’s probably irrelevant because they’re going to change nothing at all and probably STILL end up the #1 seed with ease.
Palembang Royally Drunken Monks – PRDM entered the season with a very clearly stated goal: To not be eliminated in Round 1 of the playoffs again. They did in fact accomplish that goal, sadly, they also lost in Round 2 to the team that would play against DIG in the league Championship, albeit ultimately losing that game. There weren’t too many games in SEA last season that were competitive, a couple were that they won, just not many; their two losses were glaring as they lost in routs to Carthage and the Dead Presidents, to be fair, both finished above them with equal records for the season. Goldikova led the team in S43 with 5100+ yards passing, 107 TDs & 12 Ints; they also ran the ball very well compiling over 3000 yards and well over 120 TDs. Aoi Kiryama might just be the best defender in the league, leading not only their team but the league with 131 Tackles, 0 missed tackles, 42 FF’s, 1 FF Rec, & 1 FF Ret TD. I don’t care who you are, that’s impressive, even if the majority of those stats were compiled against CPUesque teams. Moving forward the only thing that the Monks truly have to prove is that they can keep it together in the playoffs. There should be no doubt that PRDM is going to be a playoff team again.
Halifax Harpoons -- Like many teams in the league this season, Halifax falls beneath the shroud of mystery. Only once in S43 did they win a game that can be argued as competitive, the rest of their wins were against not even remotely competitive opponents. The lost the only other 4 competitive games they played, one being a playoff game. In all 4 losses, they lost by double digits, so it definitely brings to the table the question of just how good this team is. At Quarterback they have a guy named Uncle Rico who passed the ball for 7400+ yards, 164 TDs & 15 Ints, their oline gave up 42 sacks, which actually seems like quite a bit when you consider they only played 5 competitive games the entire season. They had 2 1300+ yard rushers combining for more than 75 TDs. Defensively, their leading tackler also was one of their top 3 in missed tackles (19—2nd). So when I look at this team, I see a team that has the potential to be really good or really bad. At this level, they’re going to have to prove they belong, simply put.
OffTopica Word -- OTW is a very well managed team but it’s hard to overlook the fact that two of their losses last season were routs. Unlike some other teams, they actually played teams competitively. As we’ve seen in the past, many of the OT teams play their opponents much closer than you might expect and much closer than their competition tends to. I would probably refer to the network as a whole as ‘smash mouth’ more so than dominant in any particular area. They are contenders consistently, not necessarily powerhouses. OTW was led by 5,000 yd passer D. Martin, a combination of three RBs who ran the ball for a combined 5000+ yards, and defensively by Talib Okapor and James Tanner. On paper I see this team as a ‘middle of the pack’ team right now, but I also see them making the playoffs and pulling some upsets. This might be your quiet little darkhorse that sneaks up on you when you’re least expecting it.
Arkadak Deadliest Warrior – The further you look, the harder it is to find someone that can be said to be a sure-fire contender. ADW played 5 competitive games last season, I mean truly competitive, and lost four of them. They also lost in a nail biter in the first round of the playoffs. Even in their one competitive win, they still won by 22 points. This is, as so many others are moving up from Regional Pro, another example of statistical padding; They had two QBs combine for over 5000 yards & 108 TDs. They also had two 2400+ yard rushers , neither of which had less than 77 TDs. Bandit Buck led their team with 114 Tackles, 54 Hurries, 79 Sacks, 4 PDs, 4 FF’s and a safety, he also had 14 missed tackles. ADW falls under what many in the next few previews will, a team that is going to either prove they are one of the big boys or prove they don’t belong in a league with the big boys. Right now, on paper, I’m going suggest they prove the latter.
The Cult of Personalities, Wu! – I’m going to keep this one quite short as well, two seasons ago CPW was here, pulled some upsets in the playoffs and made the trip to WL. In S43, despite putting up some impressive stats, they did not fare well in World League, compiling just 1 win, over Boulder Blitz. Returning to Pacific Pro, I honestly immediately have them tabbed as one of the contenders for the #1 seed in this conference.
In Summary --
Okay, here’s the reality about this Conference… nothing I said above matters, because above this summary I have 6 teams, just SIX listed; they’re all making the playoffs if no changes are made to the structure of the league (if none of these panzy CPUesque teams move down and let a real contender come up). So in reality, 2 of the playoff teams coming out of SEA are going to be a “bye week” for the #1 & #2 seeds, they’ll get a pass because their opponents will be pretty much CPU. One again, the SEA conference is the leagues weak link. It’s pretty sad when teams with losing records are getting sent UP from Regional Pro.
Oceania Conference
Stockholm Black Death – Stockholm was the most dominant team in the Regional Pro in S43, strictly from a statistical standpoint. There was not a single team in their league that even scored more than 3 points on them and that only happened once. Offensively this team was and is led by a dual threat at Quarterback, Jake Whyler III & Big Throwing Dog V, between the two, they through for more than 9000 yards and 220 TDs, with only 5 interceptions. . Marion Lucky ran the ball over 200 times for 2200+ yards and 88 TDs, their rushing attack combined for nearly 130 TDs on the season and over 3000 yards. Their defensive leader was without a doubt, Russian D’End who had 84 sacks and 106 tackles, among other stats.
Ultimately, coming into Pacific Pro, Stockholm is about to find out what they’re really made of. They might be as dominant as their stats and win % suggest, or they might be a product of extremely weak leagues and easy championship roads. This season will certainly test both theories.
Kosovo Kryptonite – Led by Jiminy Christmans who threw the ball for over 8,700 yards, 197 TDs and 6 Ints, Kosovo finished with a 15-1 record in S43. Their rushing game was fairly stable but not nearly as dominant as you might expect given the level of competition they faced in the same league that Stockholm had a statistical ‘frat party’. Defensively Ikaika Alama-Francis was dominant with 65 Tackles, 109 hurries, 11 sacks, & 3 PDs, however, he also was tied for 2nd in missed tackles for the team, with 19 on the season. Kosovo seemed to be like many teams in S43 and was heavily plagued by missed tackles, in fact, only 7 players who acquired at least one tackle had 0 missed tackles and all of those players, only had 1 tackle; 34 players on the roster had 10 or more missed tackles. So the reality for Kosovo is this; they are coming to a lead where missed tackles made a big difference in the outcome of several games in S43. They’re going to have to prove that they can be more efficient defensively against better competition. I should also point out that just twice in S43 they played a team that truly tested the quality of their team; they lost both games.
OffTopica Immortals – Here we are with yet another Regional Pro team that had very little competition in S43; as I ended with Kosovo, I’ll begin with OTI; Just 6 times they played a truly competitive team in S43; Of these games, they won 2; 43-36 & 41-19 respectively. In each of the other 4 games, they lost, in each of those games, they lost by double digits. Watermelon Icee led the team with 5300+ yards, 146 TDs & 4 Ints. Their running game was a combined effort with three 1,000+ yard rushers, all of which scored at least 30 times. Defensively, their leading tackler, Cover All, also led the team in missed tackles with 26, however, they only had three players with double digit missed tackles, two of which happen to be their top 2 team tacklers. OTI is going to have a lot to prove coming into this season, they’re going to have to prove that those stats aren’t just glorified by the lack of competition they faced and that they aren’t the team that lost to anything and everything that resembled actual competition.
Razorback Nation – Razorback Nation makes me think of a famous “Dennis Green” comment; “They are who we thought they were”. They weren’t real flashy, they passed the football for less than 5,000 yards and 62 Tds combined, their RBs ran the ball for over 3,000 yards and 45 TDs, and defensively they did very well getting after the QB, led by Propero Speed, with 18 hurries and 18 sacks. They too however, as it seems to have been the trend throughout GLB in S43, suffered from missed tackles. They lost very few games in S43 in a very competitive league, in fact, they were in a conference who saw had 10 truly competitive teams on a weekly basis. They did not, however, lose to anyone that did not make the playoffs. Additionally, their playoff loss looks a little better in that, they would lose to the team that would win the League Championship. Razorback just needs to keep doing what they do and they should see the top spot in Oceania in S44.
Christchurch Fighting Maori – Wow does this team bring back memories. Memories of the old Oceania Pro League, when Jughead, seahawks10, and so many others were making a living on dominating at this level. Like some of the other teams, they lost several of the competitive games they played in S43, but they also won a few. The team is led to no small feat by Quarterback Alan Shearer who threw for just over 2200 yards and 36 TDs with just 8 interceptions. Their running game was powered by Rushing QB Daunte Culpeper who ran for over 3000 yards and 61 TDs. Defensively they did well, though the pattern of missed tackles does not cease to exist with CFM. I would suggest that the biggest question moving forward with this team is, can they sustain a running game with a rushing QB at this level against true competition?
Williamsport Soul Reavers: – Williamsport has been here for the last two seasons, in S42 they finished 4-12 but absolutely refused to quit at this level, via request, remained in Pacific Pro for S43 and made major changes to their roster, replacing over 30 players. Despite entering S43 with a major chemistry hit, they finished as the 8th seed, securing their place in the playoffs. I should also point out, despite this chemistry hit, they more than doubled their win total from S42 to S43 (from 4-9). Despite that level of success, they were simply no match for Whatever in the first round of the playoffs; as hard fought as the season was, this would be the end of their road for S43. In S44, it’s hard to project what might become of them, once again Williamsport will start the season with a significant chemistry hit after rebuilding the defensive line, secondary, Wide Receiver Corps and part of the backfield & blocker corps. They have a goal set in stone in their mind, we shall see if they successfully reach that goal.
In S43 their team leaders were Running Back Walter Strausser, who has since announced his retirement, Quarterback Lil Bobo who will be returning this season, and Linebacker BK Carrasco who will also be returning this season. Additionally, team sack leader, Defensive End Khreem Smith is no longer with the team, as they have chosen to go in other directions on the defensive line. The biggest weakness for WSR in S43 was, like many people, missed tackles and that is something that they are going to have to clean up in S44 to stay competitive.
$in City $yndicate – $C$ is a frustrating team to write about. The moment you start to give them an inch, they sneak up and disappoint you. When you review their S44 season, their staple wins against LA & DIG; the win over DIG, to be fair, came very early in the season when DIG, who would go on to win the League Championship, was struggling. The win over LA came at a time where LA was dominating, at that point we would begin to see LA taper off a bit. Three of $C$’s losses were blowouts against Razorback Nation, Whatever, & WSR; the other loss was a very close game against Asmara. In Round 1 of the playoffs, a team they had beaten before, eliminated them from contention, the Dallas Paladins.
Their season was led by Quarterback Red Rocket Launcher, who passed for 4100+ yards, 66 TDs and 22 Ints, Running Back Romper Stomper & Rocky Browning who combined for 4000+ yards and 60 TDs.
Defensively, like everyone else, they had a high level of success mixed with a high level of missed tackles. Moving forward, $C$ really needs to prove that they can win against the true contending teams if they ever plan to get beyond Round 1 of the playoffs.
Bow Chicka Brown Cows -- This is a team that in S43 was on the corner of “Really Good” & “Do you know anything about dot ball?” Seriously though, BCBC is a team with a lot of potential imo, more so, they also have a young team so chemistry is not something they will often have to contend with. They finished S43 with a .500 record and it was a legitimate mix of quality wins vs. tough losses. There were a few bad losses, but their staple win for the season imo, came against DIG, who would win the League Championship, it was a hard fought game but they were able to come through with a victory. With some improvement, this is a team that could absolutely find themselves in the playoffs. General Cowrissian led the passing game with 1500+ yards 9 TDs & 7 Ints, their backfield compiled over 4000 yards and over 30 TDs. Defensively I’m starting to sound like a broken record, they had a ton of missed tackles. That isn’t to say they did nothing good defensively, they made plays, got QB Pressure, and stood tall at times, but they also hindered themselves with several double digit missed tackle games.
Moving forward, it’s not as simply as just improving, they have to improve everywhere.
Newfoundland Roughnecks -- I think this team most compares to the Williamsport Soul Reavers; in fact, I feel strongly that NR found themselves on the opposite end of the spectrum for which WSR travelled last season. Both teams started out with significant chemistry hits, both teams entered the season with a very capable roster, but NR simply wasn’t able to capitalize with enough wins to get into the playoffs. Very few of the teams NR defeated in S43 were among the competitive ranks of the Oceania Conference. Even the two teams they did defeat that were, Cryptic Legends & Sumatra Seahawks, are no longer in the league because they simply weren’t up to the task of competing against legitimate rosters. What truly plagued NR in S43 was turnovers, their QB threw for 2600.5 yards, 17 TDs, and 16 Ints. Their RBs ran for over 2200 yards, 17 TDs and put the ball on the ground twice, one of which was lost. The drops by receivers certainly did not help either. Defensively, they were actually much better despite having to deal with the missed tackle issue that everyone else has also seemed to be dealing with. Moving forward this is another team that simply has to be better everywhere to be able to rise above the competition and make the playoffs.
Oregon Ducks – The Oregon Ducks are the first team in the Oceania Conference to be highlighted here that is moving up from Regional Pro with a losing record. It’s really hard to get read on this team because on paper, they look to have a lot of potential but the fact is, they didn’t win a single competitive game in S43, in fact, any game where there was even a remote level of competition, they lost, in most cases, by double digits, with the exception of a 1 point loss against the Fiji Firewalkers. Jordan Lynch – Swag through for over 5400 yards and over 120 TDs with just 3 Ints; their running game had just over 2000 yards combined and 42 TDs, however it also combined for 7 lost fumbles. Frankly, the positive stats for this team are a productive of the ‘CPU’ quality teams they faced. I believe that the negative stats are a product of their true identity. Coming into S43, assuming they remain in this league for the start of the season, they’re going to have to prove they belong, plain and simple.
In Summary
That right there folks is the competitive section of the Oceania Conference, if they’re not listed here, they more than likely won’t matter this season and as far as I can tell, if nothing changes between now and the start of the season, there’ll be a handful of teams fighting each other to avoid going winless.
So that right there folks give you 9 teams fighting for 8 spots in the playoffs; the question is, which one will be the “odd man out”? The other 7 teams in this conference, unless they’re up to the challenge of proving me wrong or finding some secret hiding place for Free Agent Availability, are only going to provide the rest of us the occasional bye week. This list of the Top 9 though is going to make for an interesting season to watch.
