Rookie S6 Ladder Week 7
Pick record: Last week 2-2; Season 57-25-1.
Got 8 games in this time, as I felt bad not writing up more match-ups. Enjoy.
By Rank: (Picks are here in bold; winners will be bolded in the time section on ladder day.)
04: #1 LogZilla Boys 12-1 vs. #6 Rangers Reborn 10-1-2 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/397/1089
19: #2 Killer Kiwi’s 12-1 vs. #6 11-2 Sexy Dance Fighters 11-2 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/1084/1056
10: #3 Fear Factory 12-1 vs. #11 Draco Dragons 10-3 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/1057/1097
07: #4 Milwaukee Beers 11-2 vs. #18 Iron Brigade Phalanx 9-4 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/830/1050
14: #5 Compton Regulators 11-2 vs. #15 Louisiana ASSassins 10-3 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/382/1098
12: #6 Canisteo Bulldogs 10-1-2 vs. #19 Las Vegas Vipers 9-4 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/1059/1099
06: #9 Mykonos Hoplites 10-2-1 vs. #25 Sandy Cheeks 8-4-1 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/436/435
15: #10 Inner City Kids 10-3 vs. #24 Sydney Wombats 9-4 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/356/1067
By Time: (I'll put results links here tomorrow when updating.)
04: #1 LogZilla Boys 12-1 vs. #6 Rangers Reborn 10-1-2 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106911 Boys win 31-14.
06: #9 Mykonos Hoplites 10-2-1 vs. #25 Sandy Cheeks 8-4-1 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106925 Hoplites win 28-7.
07: #4 Milwaukee Beers 11-2 vs. #18 Iron Brigade Phalanx 9-4 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106917 Beers win 49-0.
10: #3 Fear Factory 12-1 vs. #11 Draco Dragons 10-3 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/team/1057 FF wins 21-3.
12: #6 Canisteo Bulldogs 10-1-2 vs. #19 Las Vegas Vipers 9-4 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106920 Vipers win 14-10.
14: #5 Compton Regulators 11-2 vs. #15 Louisiana ASSassins 10-3 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106918 Compton wins 21-0.
15: #10 Inner City Kids 10-3 vs. #24 Sydney Wombats 9-4 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106926 Kids win 35-3.
19: #2 Killer Kiwi’s 12-1 vs. #6 11-2 Sexy Dance Fighters 11-2 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106914 Kiwi's win 42-0.
04: #1 LogZilla Boys 12-1 vs. #6 Rangers Reborn 10-1-2
LogZilla Boys Record: 12-1 Global: 219 Tier: 1
Owner: Xars (6 SHIPs)
Roster: 41 with 2 S* QB, WR
LogZilla Boys have outscored opponents 72-24 in the last two games and by 319-114 with two shutouts on the season. Last Ladder, the Boys beat the #3 Fear Factory 17-7. The LogZilla Boys are an all-pass team that is almost exclusively a 3WR Corner Threat & TE Post offense. Their best wins are against the #3 Fear Factory, #6 Canisteo Bulldogs, #16 Death Valley, #26 Providence Radicals and #12 Winnipeg Wrath. Their only loss is to #15 Louisiana ASSassins.
Rangers Reborn Record: 10-1-2 Global: 229 Tier: 6
Owner: RazzleDazzle GM: Danthesportsman (4 SHIPs) aGM: Mordaloch (1 SHIP)
Roster: 42 with 4 S* FB, OT, DT, SS
The Rangers have outscored opponents by 260-47 with 7 shutouts. They are a 45/25 run/pass play calling mix in League games. They are very balanced with inside/outside runs. Last Ladder they tied #9 Mykonos Hoplites. However, their running attack has been weak the last three Ladder games averaging 3.5, 3.8 and 2.8 yards per rush. They’ll need much greater pass efficiency than the 39.5% completion rate they had in the Ladder games (vs. 53.4% in League) to offset this if it continues. Their only loss is against #36 Default Name. Their best win is against #26 Coruscant Imperial Forces. They have two ties against #41 Oklahoma Outlaws and #9 Mykonos Hoplites.
Game comment: Will the Rangers be able to run on the Boys or will they have to resort to the passing game? Their OLine is built to run and their play calling favors running. They’ve played excellent D in Ladder games and have been competitive by keeping the scoring down. They held the passing attack of Mykonos in check and limited them to 7 points. They ran a lot of 2 Man Under D and held Mykonos to a 43% completion on Medium routes. The Boys run medium routes. The key matchup will be the S* SS of the Rangers, Soneca Indiana giving up only 21 of 53 passes against, versus the TEs of the Boys who have combined for over 2600 receiving yards in 13 games. The pick is the LogZilla Boys primarily as the Rangers don’t have enough quality wins over top teams and have trouble scoring in Ladder games.
06: #9 Mykonos Hoplites 10-2-1 vs. #25 Sandy Cheeks 8-4-1
Mykonos Hoplites Record: 8-1 Global: 236 Tier: 9
Owner: ryokeley12
Roster: 43 with 5 S* DT, DT, DT, DE, DE
Mykonos Hoplites have outscored opponents 51-7 in the last 2 games and by 355-67 with 6 shutouts on the season. Mykonos is a primary pass team that has a 56/21 play calling mix in League, though it’s moving even more to passing. They have gone from running 4WR sets with HB Dives/ Slams and the 4WR Unders/ Hooks/ Slants combo to running more pure Hooks across multiple WR sets. Last Ladder they tied #6 Rangers Reborn 7-7. Their best win is against #18 Iron Brigade Phalanx. Their only losses are to #3 Fear Factory and #5 Compton Regulators.
Sandy Cheeks Record: 8-4-1 Global: 260 Tier: 25
Owner: joe (1 SHIP) GM: TEAM ROGO (1 SHIP) aGM: Floman (1 SHIP) HC: deweyy34 (1 SHIP)
Roster: 38 with 7 S* QB, OT, OT, TE, WR & CB, CB
Sandy Cheeks have outscored opponents 34-6 in the last 2 games and by 189-122 with 3 shoutouts on the season. They have a 45/22 run/pass play calling mix in League games. They have a lot of S* but have 4 players on low contracts, so they may have stretched too far. Last Ladder they beat the #39 Deadly Boomslangs. Their best wins are against #19 Las Vegas Vipers and #10 Inner City Kids. They have losses to the #1 LogZilla Boys, #4 Milwaukee Beers, #30 NJ Surge and #41 Oklahoma Outlaws.
Game comment: Which Sandy Cheeks team will show up? Sandy has beaten some good teams but has also lost to some average teams. They’ve been unfortunate to have faced the Boys and Beers in League play which has held back there Ladder matchups until now. They have plenty of S* talent but did it cost them too much? This game is all about how the S* CBs of Sandy cover the wide open passing attack of the Hoplites. They are built as shutdown corners and they’ve been shutdown corners going 28 for 80 (35%) and 30 for 91 (33%) in pass targets against. But Sandy only has 4 CBs on the roster with only 3 Safeties, so how on earth are they going to cover the Hoplites if they spam 4 WR Hooks/Slants all day? The Boys went 5 of 8 and 11 of 15 against those same CBs and that’s with only using a 3WR set. Do they have the conditioning to run all day? Sandy has only one 30 point game while the Hoplites have scored that much 8 times this season. Sandy seems too inconsistent and the Hoplites have been very consistent. The pick is the Hoplites.
07: #4 Milwaukee Beers 11-2 vs. #18 Iron Brigade Phalanx 9-4
Milwaukee Beers Record: 11-2 Global: 227 Tier: 4
Owner: Aeir
Roster: 41 with 3 S* HB, OT, TE
The Milwaukee Beers have outscored opponents by 48-14 over the last two games and 399-70, with 7 shutouts on the season. They are a pure rushing team with 1 rQB and 2 HB. Their QB is averaging 7 yards per carry and the HBs are at 3.7 and 3.9. They are usually an 80%+ outside rushing team. Their last Ladder game they beat the #17 Live Oak Eagles 48-7, but then lost in League to the #12 Winnipeg Wrath 0-7. Their best wins are against the #17 Live Oak Eagles, #25 Sandy Cheeks and #14 Boston Redcoats. Their only losses are to #3 Fear Factory and #12 Winnipeg Wrath.
Iron Brigade Phalanx Record: 9-4 Global: 249 Tier: 18
Owner: Hua GM: william78 (4 SHIPs) aGM: rob4121983 (2 SHIPs) DC: Ticca (1 SHIP)
Roster: 41 with 5 S* FB, OT & DT, DE, CB
Iron Brigade Phalanx have outscored opponents 6-0 in the last two games (both wins!) and by 170-211 (which is heavily skewed due to a 0-87 loss to the Killer Kiwi’s and 0-58 loss to Ground Assault) with 6 shutouts on the season. IBP is a 14 pass/ 55 run play calling mix team in League. They won their last Ladder against the Sydney Wombats 3-0. They need to score more consistently, especially against top of the Ladder teams. Their best wins are against #22 Central Falcons and #24 Sydney Wombats. Their losses are to highly ranked teams: #2 Killer Kiwi’s and #16 Death Valley Deadites, #20 Ground Assault and #9 Mykonos Hoplites.
Game comment: Which IBP defense shows up? The one with 6 shutouts or the D that gets torched by top teams? The Beers are ranked #4 for a reason. If IBP doesn’t have the game plan and/or builds to shut down the outside running game of the Beers, this one could be over early. The Beers play great D themselves and have only lost to top teams. IBP has trouble scoring so they have to hope for a close game. Will the Beers abandon the inside running game they tried against Winnipeg? I’m guessing yes. The Beers have better wins and IBP has had trouble with the outside rushing attack of the Kiwi’s and GA. The pick has to be the Beers.
10: #3 Fear Factory 12-1 vs. #11 Draco Dragons 10-3
Fear Factory Record: 12-1 Global: 223 Tier: 3
Owner: temujin83 (1 SHIP) GM: HayRow (4 SHIPs) OC: MrPicklez DC: mrm708 (2 SHIPs)
Roster: 40 with 6 S* QB, HB, TE, WR & DT, DT
Fear Factory has outscored opponents 16-20 in the last 2 games and by 372-64 with 5 shutouts on the season. They are a pure rushing team of 1 rQB and 2 HB. Their QB is averaging 7.2 yards per carry and the HBs are at 3.3 and 3.8. They use QB Rollout and then pound HBs inside. Their OLBs are sack machines. Last Ladder they lost to the #1 LogZilla Boys 7-17. Their best wins are against #6 Sexy Dance Fighters, #4 Milwaukee Beers, #20 Ground Assault, #9 Mykonos Hoplites and #17 Live Oak Eagles.
Draco Dragons Record: 10-3 Global 238 Tier: 11
Owner: Morath GM: darkcide HC: Adderfist OC: Phisch DC: dredger
Roster: 39 with 6 S* G, G, TE, WR & DT, DT
Draco Dragons have outscored opponents 21-9 in the last two games and 200-95 with 6 shutouts on the season. They are a 33/35 pass/run play calling mix team in League. They are primarily an inside rushing team. Their QBs have a 50% completion rate, a solid 5.7 yards per attempt and a QB rating of 78. However, their sack rate of 10.7% and hurry rate of 10.2% is high. Their HBs average 3.1 and 3.7, though only 2.7 and 3.7 in Ladder games. Their roster seems a little light for the back half of their D with only 4 LBs and 4 CBs and they have only 1 Center. Their OLine is Run Blockers inside and a mix of Run and Pass blockers at OT. Their best wins are against #20 Ground Assault and #20 Olaf’s Warm Hugs. Their losses are to #5 Compton Regulators, #40 North Texas Mean Greens and #48 Busan Giants.
Game comment: The Dragons are on an eight game win streak to advance to #11 on the Ladder after starting 2-3. Yet, this is their toughest game by far. Fear Factory will be looking to get back on the Ladder winning track after a loss to the Boys and a poor performance in League. The Dragons love to pound the ball inside, but do it overwhelming out of 2WR sets. When they go 3WR and 4WR, they seem very pass heavy. This offensive play calling imbalance is going to get rocked by mrm. There’s no way he doesn’t pick up on this. The Dragons better build a new offensive playbook fast. As always, Fear Factory for the win.
12: #6 Canisteo Bulldogs 10-1-2 vs. #19 Las Vegas Vipers 9-4
Canisteo Bulldogs Record 10-1-2 Global: 229 Tier: 6
Owner: freas22 GM: skinzfan08 aGM: PaulM (4 SHIPs)
Roster: 40 with 5 S* HB, OT, WR, DT, DT
Canisteo has outscored opponents 60-38 in the last two games and by 231-148 with 3 shutouts on the season. They won their last Ladder game against the #41 Oklahoma Outlaws 20-10. They are a 44/32 play calling mix of run/pass in League games. Their HBs are averaging 3.6 and 4.1 yards per carry & 2.9 and 4.4 in Ladder. Their QB has a 52.3% completion rate with a very good 3.5% hurry rate and 3.6% sack rate. All of their OLine are built for Run blocking. Their running game is usually balanced inside vs. outside, though they can favor inside running. Their best wins are against the #13 Sarasota Swordfish and #22 Fort Hood Fierce Cucumbers.
Las Vegas Vipers Record: 9-4 Global: 250 Tier: 19
Owner: iain35 aGM: Hua
Roster: 42 with 1 S* DT and 3 CPU (still)
The Las Vegas Vipers have outscored opponents 27-0 in the last two games and by 145-106 with 5 shutouts. They beat the #48 Blue Ridge Moonshine Club last Ladder 13-0. They are a 33/24 pass/run play calling team in League with a little GL QB Rollout thrown in. Their rQB averages 6.4 yards per carry and the HBs average 2.5 each. Their passing QB has a 51.6% completion rate, but a sub-par 16.5% hurry rate and 14.4% sack rate. The best opponent they’ve beaten is the #31 Flying Spaghetti Monsters and somehow a win over the #14 Boston Redcoats.
Game comment: The Vipers must be playing some great D because they don’t score very much and have held some good teams to low scores. However, I have to think the Boston game was a fluke until I see better wins from this team. After Boston and the Monsters, all of their wins are against the 40+ crowd. Canisteo should be able to scout the Boston game and not repeat those mistakes (18 sacks!). Unless the Vipers D comes to play, this should be an easy win for Canisteo as the Vipers won’t be staying in the top 20 in my view.
14: #5 Compton Regulators 11-2 vs. #15 Louisiana ASSassins 10-3
Compton Regulators Record: 11-2 Global: 228 Tier: 5
Owner: Dark_Fate (1 SHIP)
Roster: 43 with 1 S* OT with 3 CPU (still)
Compton Regulators have outscored opponents 31-21 in the last two games and by 281-103 with three shutouts on the season. Last Ladder they lost to the #2 Killer Kiwi’s 10-14. They are primarily a rushing team that throws some. They favor outside runs (QB Rollout), but run inside enough to force a Defense to think about it. Their QB has a 7.7 yard average with the HBs at 3.8 and 3.6. Compton’s best wins are against #9 Mykonos Hoplites and #11 Draco Dragons. Their only losses are against #2 Killer Kiwi’s and #33 Newcastle Butchers.
Louisiana ASSassins Record: 10-3 Global: 242 Tier: 15
Owner: TaintStick (2 SHIPs) GM: Outlawz (2 SHIPs) aGM: Tigerbait0307 (2 SHIPs)
Roster: 43 with 4 S* HB, OT, WR & DT with 10 low contracts.
The ASSassins have outscored opponents 55-17 in the last two games and by 279-202 with 3 shutouts on the season. LA is primarily an outside run team but will run inside and pass enough to keep the D honest. They are an 18/51 pass/run play calling mix in League games. Their Meathead HBs average 5.1 and 4.2 yards per carry. Their QB has a 54.2% completion rate, though has a disappointing 13.9% hurry rate and 21.5% sack rate which is probably due to having 8 OLineman that are all geared to run blocking. They could start having more problems in the second half of the season as their 9 of their defenders are on low contracts. Last Ladder they beat #36 Default Name 10-7. Their best wins are against #1 LogZilla Boys, #17 Live Oak Eagles and #19 Las Vegas Vipers. They have losses against #2 Killer Kiwi’s, #6 Sexy Dance Fighters and #14 Boston Redcoats.
Game comment: I was expecting someone to beat Compton and the Kiwi’s came through last week. I’m of the view that top teams protect against QB Rollout and force a team to beat you in other ways. LA is a top team and have beaten and faced others at the top. They should be able to shut down the QB stuff and force Compton to win with their HBs. Until Compton shows different ways to move the chains and score, I have to keep picking against them.
15: #10 Inner City Kids 10-3 vs. #24 Sydney Wombats 9-4
Inner City Kids Record: 10-3 Global: 237 Tier: 10
Owner: crazyveggie GM: jjet5552007 aGM: Silvermist HC: agginpil DC: joannes3000
Roster: 37 with 8 S* HB, C, G, OT, WR & LB, SS, FS
The Kids have outscored opponents 75-10 in the last two games and by 509-98 with 3 shutouts. The Kids are a GL QB Rollout / HB Sweep team that has added 4WR Spread sets with HB Dives and Strong Pitches. They won their last Ladder game against #6 Sexy Dance Fighters 13-7. Their OLine is primarily run blockers. They have LBs with lots of sacks. Their best wins are against #6 Sexy Dance Fighters, #20 Olaf’s Warm Hugs and #26 Providence Radicals. They have losses to #36 Default Name, #25 Sandy Cheeks and #31 Tampa Bay Drunks.
Sydney Wombats Record 9-4 Global: 256 Tier: 24
Owner: kidalb3rt GM: arcjedi
Roster: 42 with 1 CPU (down from 6 CPU)
The Sydney Wombats have outscored their opponents 21-10 in the last two games and by 305-151 with one shutout. The Wombats are an almost pure rushing team that uses QB Rollout. Last Ladder they lost to Iron Brigade Phalanx 0-3. The Wombats are short a G and an OT on the OLine, which is all run blocking. With 6 WR on the roster, only 1 is a Dominator and there are a lot of Speedsters on a team that seems like it wants to run the ball a lot. So while they have replaced CPU players with actual players, they still probably need some roster changes. Their best win is against #28 Indianapolis Stingers. They have losses to #2 Killer Kiwi’s, #18 IBP, #33 Newcastle Butchers and #53 Missouri Mammoth.
Game comment: Two outside rushing teams going head to head. Haven’t we seen this before? (Ok, I said that last week too but it applies again!) Anyway, the Kids have a deep roster and have added the inside/outside run element in 4WR sets that makes playing defense difficult. (Said this too!) The Kids have 3 Speedsters and a Slot WR on the roster, so it doesn’t look like they are built to block on the edge - - then again, neither do the Wombats. The Kids have performed better against better teams. The Kids have scrimmed everyone in Rookie it seems (They’ve scrimmed me 7 times.), which must be helping because they’ve turned around a 2-3 start and have now won 8 in a row. I’ll go with my unofficial scrim partner: Kids.
19: #2 Killer Kiwi’s 12-1 vs. #6 11-2 Sexy Dance Fighters 11-2
Killer Kiwi’s Record: 12-1 Global: 222 Tier: 2
Owner: Roma30 GM: rob4121983 (2 SHIPs) aGM: Chevanton10 (1 SHIP) HC: OrigJoker
Roster: 42 with 4 S* HB, C, OT & SS
The Kiwi’s have outscored opponents 41-17 in the last two games and by 603-60 with 8 shutouts on the season. Last Ladder they beat #5 Compton Regulators 14-10. They are a pure rushing team utilizing 2 rQBs and 2 HBs that primarily runs outside (80%+). Their QBs average 12.3 and 10.7 yards per rush with the HBs at 4.5 and 4.0. The Kiwi’s have benefitted from teams that have tried to pass and sacked themselves into oblivion. The Kiwi’s best wins are against #5 Compton Regulators, #15 LA, #24 Sydney Wombats and #18 Iron Brigade Phalanx. Their only loss is to #20 Ground Assault.
Sexy Dance Fighters Record: 11-2 Global: 229 Tier: 6
Owner: Extremedaze (2 SHIPs) GM: Greg0781 (2 SHIPs)
Roster: 43 with 3 S* G, G, WR
Sexy has outscored opponents 46-13 in the last two games and by 501-51 with 9 shutouts. Sexy is a QB Rollout / HB Sweep team. They lost their last Ladder game 7-13 against #10 Inner City Kids. Their QB is averaging 7.8 yards per carry and their HBs are averaging 5.1 and 4.5 yards per carry. They have a trio of top HOF LBs that are sack machines. Their best wins are against #16 Death Valley Deadites and #15 Louisiana ASSassins. Their only losses are to #3 Fear Factory and #10 Inner City Kids.
Game comment: Another outside rushing fest is upon us. Both of these teams have put up huge offensive numbers and have great defensive showings with 17 shutouts between them. However, when you’re facing top teams QB rollout isn’t as over-powering. The Kiwi’s only scored 14 on Compton and 7 on Ground Assault. Sexy was held to 10 against Fear Factory and 7 against the Kids. As I said in previous write-ups, I think these type of teams give off misleading stats when you add in competition below the top 20. This will probably be a low scoring game as both teams spam outside runs on O and spam outside run D to stop it. The question will be who has the better Break Run Block CBs. I have no idea, so I’m left to guess. The Kiwi’s have a slight edge on S* talent, but slightly behind on SHIPs. The Kiwi’s have more wins against the top 25 so that’ll have to be my tie-breaker. The coin flip lands Kiwi’s up.
Pick record: Last week 2-2; Season 57-25-1.
Got 8 games in this time, as I felt bad not writing up more match-ups. Enjoy.
By Rank: (Picks are here in bold; winners will be bolded in the time section on ladder day.)
04: #1 LogZilla Boys 12-1 vs. #6 Rangers Reborn 10-1-2 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/397/1089
19: #2 Killer Kiwi’s 12-1 vs. #6 11-2 Sexy Dance Fighters 11-2 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/1084/1056
10: #3 Fear Factory 12-1 vs. #11 Draco Dragons 10-3 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/1057/1097
07: #4 Milwaukee Beers 11-2 vs. #18 Iron Brigade Phalanx 9-4 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/830/1050
14: #5 Compton Regulators 11-2 vs. #15 Louisiana ASSassins 10-3 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/382/1098
12: #6 Canisteo Bulldogs 10-1-2 vs. #19 Las Vegas Vipers 9-4 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/1059/1099
06: #9 Mykonos Hoplites 10-2-1 vs. #25 Sandy Cheeks 8-4-1 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/436/435
15: #10 Inner City Kids 10-3 vs. #24 Sydney Wombats 9-4 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams/356/1067
By Time: (I'll put results links here tomorrow when updating.)
04: #1 LogZilla Boys 12-1 vs. #6 Rangers Reborn 10-1-2 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106911 Boys win 31-14.
06: #9 Mykonos Hoplites 10-2-1 vs. #25 Sandy Cheeks 8-4-1 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106925 Hoplites win 28-7.
07: #4 Milwaukee Beers 11-2 vs. #18 Iron Brigade Phalanx 9-4 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106917 Beers win 49-0.
10: #3 Fear Factory 12-1 vs. #11 Draco Dragons 10-3 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/team/1057 FF wins 21-3.
12: #6 Canisteo Bulldogs 10-1-2 vs. #19 Las Vegas Vipers 9-4 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106920 Vipers win 14-10.
14: #5 Compton Regulators 11-2 vs. #15 Louisiana ASSassins 10-3 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106918 Compton wins 21-0.
15: #10 Inner City Kids 10-3 vs. #24 Sydney Wombats 9-4 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106926 Kids win 35-3.
19: #2 Killer Kiwi’s 12-1 vs. #6 11-2 Sexy Dance Fighters 11-2 http://glb2.warriorgeneral.com/game/game/106914 Kiwi's win 42-0.
04: #1 LogZilla Boys 12-1 vs. #6 Rangers Reborn 10-1-2
LogZilla Boys Record: 12-1 Global: 219 Tier: 1
Owner: Xars (6 SHIPs)
Roster: 41 with 2 S* QB, WR
LogZilla Boys have outscored opponents 72-24 in the last two games and by 319-114 with two shutouts on the season. Last Ladder, the Boys beat the #3 Fear Factory 17-7. The LogZilla Boys are an all-pass team that is almost exclusively a 3WR Corner Threat & TE Post offense. Their best wins are against the #3 Fear Factory, #6 Canisteo Bulldogs, #16 Death Valley, #26 Providence Radicals and #12 Winnipeg Wrath. Their only loss is to #15 Louisiana ASSassins.
Rangers Reborn Record: 10-1-2 Global: 229 Tier: 6
Owner: RazzleDazzle GM: Danthesportsman (4 SHIPs) aGM: Mordaloch (1 SHIP)
Roster: 42 with 4 S* FB, OT, DT, SS
The Rangers have outscored opponents by 260-47 with 7 shutouts. They are a 45/25 run/pass play calling mix in League games. They are very balanced with inside/outside runs. Last Ladder they tied #9 Mykonos Hoplites. However, their running attack has been weak the last three Ladder games averaging 3.5, 3.8 and 2.8 yards per rush. They’ll need much greater pass efficiency than the 39.5% completion rate they had in the Ladder games (vs. 53.4% in League) to offset this if it continues. Their only loss is against #36 Default Name. Their best win is against #26 Coruscant Imperial Forces. They have two ties against #41 Oklahoma Outlaws and #9 Mykonos Hoplites.
Game comment: Will the Rangers be able to run on the Boys or will they have to resort to the passing game? Their OLine is built to run and their play calling favors running. They’ve played excellent D in Ladder games and have been competitive by keeping the scoring down. They held the passing attack of Mykonos in check and limited them to 7 points. They ran a lot of 2 Man Under D and held Mykonos to a 43% completion on Medium routes. The Boys run medium routes. The key matchup will be the S* SS of the Rangers, Soneca Indiana giving up only 21 of 53 passes against, versus the TEs of the Boys who have combined for over 2600 receiving yards in 13 games. The pick is the LogZilla Boys primarily as the Rangers don’t have enough quality wins over top teams and have trouble scoring in Ladder games.
06: #9 Mykonos Hoplites 10-2-1 vs. #25 Sandy Cheeks 8-4-1
Mykonos Hoplites Record: 8-1 Global: 236 Tier: 9
Owner: ryokeley12
Roster: 43 with 5 S* DT, DT, DT, DE, DE
Mykonos Hoplites have outscored opponents 51-7 in the last 2 games and by 355-67 with 6 shutouts on the season. Mykonos is a primary pass team that has a 56/21 play calling mix in League, though it’s moving even more to passing. They have gone from running 4WR sets with HB Dives/ Slams and the 4WR Unders/ Hooks/ Slants combo to running more pure Hooks across multiple WR sets. Last Ladder they tied #6 Rangers Reborn 7-7. Their best win is against #18 Iron Brigade Phalanx. Their only losses are to #3 Fear Factory and #5 Compton Regulators.
Sandy Cheeks Record: 8-4-1 Global: 260 Tier: 25
Owner: joe (1 SHIP) GM: TEAM ROGO (1 SHIP) aGM: Floman (1 SHIP) HC: deweyy34 (1 SHIP)
Roster: 38 with 7 S* QB, OT, OT, TE, WR & CB, CB
Sandy Cheeks have outscored opponents 34-6 in the last 2 games and by 189-122 with 3 shoutouts on the season. They have a 45/22 run/pass play calling mix in League games. They have a lot of S* but have 4 players on low contracts, so they may have stretched too far. Last Ladder they beat the #39 Deadly Boomslangs. Their best wins are against #19 Las Vegas Vipers and #10 Inner City Kids. They have losses to the #1 LogZilla Boys, #4 Milwaukee Beers, #30 NJ Surge and #41 Oklahoma Outlaws.
Game comment: Which Sandy Cheeks team will show up? Sandy has beaten some good teams but has also lost to some average teams. They’ve been unfortunate to have faced the Boys and Beers in League play which has held back there Ladder matchups until now. They have plenty of S* talent but did it cost them too much? This game is all about how the S* CBs of Sandy cover the wide open passing attack of the Hoplites. They are built as shutdown corners and they’ve been shutdown corners going 28 for 80 (35%) and 30 for 91 (33%) in pass targets against. But Sandy only has 4 CBs on the roster with only 3 Safeties, so how on earth are they going to cover the Hoplites if they spam 4 WR Hooks/Slants all day? The Boys went 5 of 8 and 11 of 15 against those same CBs and that’s with only using a 3WR set. Do they have the conditioning to run all day? Sandy has only one 30 point game while the Hoplites have scored that much 8 times this season. Sandy seems too inconsistent and the Hoplites have been very consistent. The pick is the Hoplites.
07: #4 Milwaukee Beers 11-2 vs. #18 Iron Brigade Phalanx 9-4
Milwaukee Beers Record: 11-2 Global: 227 Tier: 4
Owner: Aeir
Roster: 41 with 3 S* HB, OT, TE
The Milwaukee Beers have outscored opponents by 48-14 over the last two games and 399-70, with 7 shutouts on the season. They are a pure rushing team with 1 rQB and 2 HB. Their QB is averaging 7 yards per carry and the HBs are at 3.7 and 3.9. They are usually an 80%+ outside rushing team. Their last Ladder game they beat the #17 Live Oak Eagles 48-7, but then lost in League to the #12 Winnipeg Wrath 0-7. Their best wins are against the #17 Live Oak Eagles, #25 Sandy Cheeks and #14 Boston Redcoats. Their only losses are to #3 Fear Factory and #12 Winnipeg Wrath.
Iron Brigade Phalanx Record: 9-4 Global: 249 Tier: 18
Owner: Hua GM: william78 (4 SHIPs) aGM: rob4121983 (2 SHIPs) DC: Ticca (1 SHIP)
Roster: 41 with 5 S* FB, OT & DT, DE, CB
Iron Brigade Phalanx have outscored opponents 6-0 in the last two games (both wins!) and by 170-211 (which is heavily skewed due to a 0-87 loss to the Killer Kiwi’s and 0-58 loss to Ground Assault) with 6 shutouts on the season. IBP is a 14 pass/ 55 run play calling mix team in League. They won their last Ladder against the Sydney Wombats 3-0. They need to score more consistently, especially against top of the Ladder teams. Their best wins are against #22 Central Falcons and #24 Sydney Wombats. Their losses are to highly ranked teams: #2 Killer Kiwi’s and #16 Death Valley Deadites, #20 Ground Assault and #9 Mykonos Hoplites.
Game comment: Which IBP defense shows up? The one with 6 shutouts or the D that gets torched by top teams? The Beers are ranked #4 for a reason. If IBP doesn’t have the game plan and/or builds to shut down the outside running game of the Beers, this one could be over early. The Beers play great D themselves and have only lost to top teams. IBP has trouble scoring so they have to hope for a close game. Will the Beers abandon the inside running game they tried against Winnipeg? I’m guessing yes. The Beers have better wins and IBP has had trouble with the outside rushing attack of the Kiwi’s and GA. The pick has to be the Beers.
10: #3 Fear Factory 12-1 vs. #11 Draco Dragons 10-3
Fear Factory Record: 12-1 Global: 223 Tier: 3
Owner: temujin83 (1 SHIP) GM: HayRow (4 SHIPs) OC: MrPicklez DC: mrm708 (2 SHIPs)
Roster: 40 with 6 S* QB, HB, TE, WR & DT, DT
Fear Factory has outscored opponents 16-20 in the last 2 games and by 372-64 with 5 shutouts on the season. They are a pure rushing team of 1 rQB and 2 HB. Their QB is averaging 7.2 yards per carry and the HBs are at 3.3 and 3.8. They use QB Rollout and then pound HBs inside. Their OLBs are sack machines. Last Ladder they lost to the #1 LogZilla Boys 7-17. Their best wins are against #6 Sexy Dance Fighters, #4 Milwaukee Beers, #20 Ground Assault, #9 Mykonos Hoplites and #17 Live Oak Eagles.
Draco Dragons Record: 10-3 Global 238 Tier: 11
Owner: Morath GM: darkcide HC: Adderfist OC: Phisch DC: dredger
Roster: 39 with 6 S* G, G, TE, WR & DT, DT
Draco Dragons have outscored opponents 21-9 in the last two games and 200-95 with 6 shutouts on the season. They are a 33/35 pass/run play calling mix team in League. They are primarily an inside rushing team. Their QBs have a 50% completion rate, a solid 5.7 yards per attempt and a QB rating of 78. However, their sack rate of 10.7% and hurry rate of 10.2% is high. Their HBs average 3.1 and 3.7, though only 2.7 and 3.7 in Ladder games. Their roster seems a little light for the back half of their D with only 4 LBs and 4 CBs and they have only 1 Center. Their OLine is Run Blockers inside and a mix of Run and Pass blockers at OT. Their best wins are against #20 Ground Assault and #20 Olaf’s Warm Hugs. Their losses are to #5 Compton Regulators, #40 North Texas Mean Greens and #48 Busan Giants.
Game comment: The Dragons are on an eight game win streak to advance to #11 on the Ladder after starting 2-3. Yet, this is their toughest game by far. Fear Factory will be looking to get back on the Ladder winning track after a loss to the Boys and a poor performance in League. The Dragons love to pound the ball inside, but do it overwhelming out of 2WR sets. When they go 3WR and 4WR, they seem very pass heavy. This offensive play calling imbalance is going to get rocked by mrm. There’s no way he doesn’t pick up on this. The Dragons better build a new offensive playbook fast. As always, Fear Factory for the win.
12: #6 Canisteo Bulldogs 10-1-2 vs. #19 Las Vegas Vipers 9-4
Canisteo Bulldogs Record 10-1-2 Global: 229 Tier: 6
Owner: freas22 GM: skinzfan08 aGM: PaulM (4 SHIPs)
Roster: 40 with 5 S* HB, OT, WR, DT, DT
Canisteo has outscored opponents 60-38 in the last two games and by 231-148 with 3 shutouts on the season. They won their last Ladder game against the #41 Oklahoma Outlaws 20-10. They are a 44/32 play calling mix of run/pass in League games. Their HBs are averaging 3.6 and 4.1 yards per carry & 2.9 and 4.4 in Ladder. Their QB has a 52.3% completion rate with a very good 3.5% hurry rate and 3.6% sack rate. All of their OLine are built for Run blocking. Their running game is usually balanced inside vs. outside, though they can favor inside running. Their best wins are against the #13 Sarasota Swordfish and #22 Fort Hood Fierce Cucumbers.
Las Vegas Vipers Record: 9-4 Global: 250 Tier: 19
Owner: iain35 aGM: Hua
Roster: 42 with 1 S* DT and 3 CPU (still)
The Las Vegas Vipers have outscored opponents 27-0 in the last two games and by 145-106 with 5 shutouts. They beat the #48 Blue Ridge Moonshine Club last Ladder 13-0. They are a 33/24 pass/run play calling team in League with a little GL QB Rollout thrown in. Their rQB averages 6.4 yards per carry and the HBs average 2.5 each. Their passing QB has a 51.6% completion rate, but a sub-par 16.5% hurry rate and 14.4% sack rate. The best opponent they’ve beaten is the #31 Flying Spaghetti Monsters and somehow a win over the #14 Boston Redcoats.
Game comment: The Vipers must be playing some great D because they don’t score very much and have held some good teams to low scores. However, I have to think the Boston game was a fluke until I see better wins from this team. After Boston and the Monsters, all of their wins are against the 40+ crowd. Canisteo should be able to scout the Boston game and not repeat those mistakes (18 sacks!). Unless the Vipers D comes to play, this should be an easy win for Canisteo as the Vipers won’t be staying in the top 20 in my view.
14: #5 Compton Regulators 11-2 vs. #15 Louisiana ASSassins 10-3
Compton Regulators Record: 11-2 Global: 228 Tier: 5
Owner: Dark_Fate (1 SHIP)
Roster: 43 with 1 S* OT with 3 CPU (still)
Compton Regulators have outscored opponents 31-21 in the last two games and by 281-103 with three shutouts on the season. Last Ladder they lost to the #2 Killer Kiwi’s 10-14. They are primarily a rushing team that throws some. They favor outside runs (QB Rollout), but run inside enough to force a Defense to think about it. Their QB has a 7.7 yard average with the HBs at 3.8 and 3.6. Compton’s best wins are against #9 Mykonos Hoplites and #11 Draco Dragons. Their only losses are against #2 Killer Kiwi’s and #33 Newcastle Butchers.
Louisiana ASSassins Record: 10-3 Global: 242 Tier: 15
Owner: TaintStick (2 SHIPs) GM: Outlawz (2 SHIPs) aGM: Tigerbait0307 (2 SHIPs)
Roster: 43 with 4 S* HB, OT, WR & DT with 10 low contracts.
The ASSassins have outscored opponents 55-17 in the last two games and by 279-202 with 3 shutouts on the season. LA is primarily an outside run team but will run inside and pass enough to keep the D honest. They are an 18/51 pass/run play calling mix in League games. Their Meathead HBs average 5.1 and 4.2 yards per carry. Their QB has a 54.2% completion rate, though has a disappointing 13.9% hurry rate and 21.5% sack rate which is probably due to having 8 OLineman that are all geared to run blocking. They could start having more problems in the second half of the season as their 9 of their defenders are on low contracts. Last Ladder they beat #36 Default Name 10-7. Their best wins are against #1 LogZilla Boys, #17 Live Oak Eagles and #19 Las Vegas Vipers. They have losses against #2 Killer Kiwi’s, #6 Sexy Dance Fighters and #14 Boston Redcoats.
Game comment: I was expecting someone to beat Compton and the Kiwi’s came through last week. I’m of the view that top teams protect against QB Rollout and force a team to beat you in other ways. LA is a top team and have beaten and faced others at the top. They should be able to shut down the QB stuff and force Compton to win with their HBs. Until Compton shows different ways to move the chains and score, I have to keep picking against them.
15: #10 Inner City Kids 10-3 vs. #24 Sydney Wombats 9-4
Inner City Kids Record: 10-3 Global: 237 Tier: 10
Owner: crazyveggie GM: jjet5552007 aGM: Silvermist HC: agginpil DC: joannes3000
Roster: 37 with 8 S* HB, C, G, OT, WR & LB, SS, FS
The Kids have outscored opponents 75-10 in the last two games and by 509-98 with 3 shutouts. The Kids are a GL QB Rollout / HB Sweep team that has added 4WR Spread sets with HB Dives and Strong Pitches. They won their last Ladder game against #6 Sexy Dance Fighters 13-7. Their OLine is primarily run blockers. They have LBs with lots of sacks. Their best wins are against #6 Sexy Dance Fighters, #20 Olaf’s Warm Hugs and #26 Providence Radicals. They have losses to #36 Default Name, #25 Sandy Cheeks and #31 Tampa Bay Drunks.
Sydney Wombats Record 9-4 Global: 256 Tier: 24
Owner: kidalb3rt GM: arcjedi
Roster: 42 with 1 CPU (down from 6 CPU)
The Sydney Wombats have outscored their opponents 21-10 in the last two games and by 305-151 with one shutout. The Wombats are an almost pure rushing team that uses QB Rollout. Last Ladder they lost to Iron Brigade Phalanx 0-3. The Wombats are short a G and an OT on the OLine, which is all run blocking. With 6 WR on the roster, only 1 is a Dominator and there are a lot of Speedsters on a team that seems like it wants to run the ball a lot. So while they have replaced CPU players with actual players, they still probably need some roster changes. Their best win is against #28 Indianapolis Stingers. They have losses to #2 Killer Kiwi’s, #18 IBP, #33 Newcastle Butchers and #53 Missouri Mammoth.
Game comment: Two outside rushing teams going head to head. Haven’t we seen this before? (Ok, I said that last week too but it applies again!) Anyway, the Kids have a deep roster and have added the inside/outside run element in 4WR sets that makes playing defense difficult. (Said this too!) The Kids have 3 Speedsters and a Slot WR on the roster, so it doesn’t look like they are built to block on the edge - - then again, neither do the Wombats. The Kids have performed better against better teams. The Kids have scrimmed everyone in Rookie it seems (They’ve scrimmed me 7 times.), which must be helping because they’ve turned around a 2-3 start and have now won 8 in a row. I’ll go with my unofficial scrim partner: Kids.
19: #2 Killer Kiwi’s 12-1 vs. #6 11-2 Sexy Dance Fighters 11-2
Killer Kiwi’s Record: 12-1 Global: 222 Tier: 2
Owner: Roma30 GM: rob4121983 (2 SHIPs) aGM: Chevanton10 (1 SHIP) HC: OrigJoker
Roster: 42 with 4 S* HB, C, OT & SS
The Kiwi’s have outscored opponents 41-17 in the last two games and by 603-60 with 8 shutouts on the season. Last Ladder they beat #5 Compton Regulators 14-10. They are a pure rushing team utilizing 2 rQBs and 2 HBs that primarily runs outside (80%+). Their QBs average 12.3 and 10.7 yards per rush with the HBs at 4.5 and 4.0. The Kiwi’s have benefitted from teams that have tried to pass and sacked themselves into oblivion. The Kiwi’s best wins are against #5 Compton Regulators, #15 LA, #24 Sydney Wombats and #18 Iron Brigade Phalanx. Their only loss is to #20 Ground Assault.
Sexy Dance Fighters Record: 11-2 Global: 229 Tier: 6
Owner: Extremedaze (2 SHIPs) GM: Greg0781 (2 SHIPs)
Roster: 43 with 3 S* G, G, WR
Sexy has outscored opponents 46-13 in the last two games and by 501-51 with 9 shutouts. Sexy is a QB Rollout / HB Sweep team. They lost their last Ladder game 7-13 against #10 Inner City Kids. Their QB is averaging 7.8 yards per carry and their HBs are averaging 5.1 and 4.5 yards per carry. They have a trio of top HOF LBs that are sack machines. Their best wins are against #16 Death Valley Deadites and #15 Louisiana ASSassins. Their only losses are to #3 Fear Factory and #10 Inner City Kids.
Game comment: Another outside rushing fest is upon us. Both of these teams have put up huge offensive numbers and have great defensive showings with 17 shutouts between them. However, when you’re facing top teams QB rollout isn’t as over-powering. The Kiwi’s only scored 14 on Compton and 7 on Ground Assault. Sexy was held to 10 against Fear Factory and 7 against the Kids. As I said in previous write-ups, I think these type of teams give off misleading stats when you add in competition below the top 20. This will probably be a low scoring game as both teams spam outside runs on O and spam outside run D to stop it. The question will be who has the better Break Run Block CBs. I have no idea, so I’m left to guess. The Kiwi’s have a slight edge on S* talent, but slightly behind on SHIPs. The Kiwi’s have more wins against the top 25 so that’ll have to be my tie-breaker. The coin flip lands Kiwi’s up.
Edited by Xars on Sep 18, 2014 06:23:49
Edited by Xars on Sep 17, 2014 13:17:19
Edited by Xars on Sep 17, 2014 13:12:56
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Edited by Xars on Sep 17, 2014 06:30:44
