I have been kind of busy this weekend, so I didn't have time to get them up yesterday. So this first prediction edition is going to be a little later than the usual release. However, late is better than never, no? And I want to be sure to have a full set of games in my record for the end of the season. Last year I missed a week, and it just wasn't the same. But on with the show...
Game of the Week
Belfast Commandos at Bow Street Runners
I don't know what Bow Street is. I don't know either of these teams. But I know the Bow Street roster looks solid, and I know that Belfast can crank out some killer teams. The Belfast team in WEA7 was great. Looking at the Commandos I would say they are right on track to be around come playoff time.
A game like this to kick off the season is going to be great for one of these teams and pretty bad for the other. The winner gets that satisfaction of already having that early W over a playoff-caliber team to help with tie-breakers and standing. The loser has one less shot at that and will have nothing 1st-hand to prepare with for another matchup in the future whereas the winner already knows what worked for them.
All things considered, I feel like the BSR will pull this one out. They seem to have the personnel advantage, and the home field advantage, and just judging by the scrims, I would say their offense is firing a bit more strongly. BSR by 9.
Belgian Beers at Sweden Army
The quick money here would be on Belgium. They won their tweaking games whereas Sweden lost theirs. However, when you inspect the different set of teams each one faced, I think that 0-2 vs 2-0 might be a bit deceiving. The unfamiliarity with the new AI settings is something that is really hard to hold in account for things like this, so I am going to have to assume a near-level playing field for that area. And with that said, I feel like the depth of the Army will allow them to be fresh in the late game and either have no problem protecting a lead, or in a worse scenario making a comeback.
IKK Fu Rabid Mutineers at Spaniard Warriors
Well, I know I am the new guy here. But I also know it's not hard to see the Mutineers as one of the better teams in the conference. The Spaniards are by no means pushovers, and I don't mean to insinuate that. But I don't really see this one going there way short of a gameplanning blunder on IKK's side. In other words... Warriors can't win this game. But IKK could surely lose it.
Glasgow Lions at Port St Lucie Knuckle Dusters
When in doubt... pick the team with a logo. Do I need more reasoning than that? Hell no; they're my predictions. Could I give more reason than that? Sure, I could. Am I going to? Nope; because either way points to a Glasgow victory.
Marseille Argonauts at Reykjavík Lazytowners
The Argonauts pulled a big win over the incoming WEA7 Zeta Champion Gators. That catches my eyes. In addition, the Lazytowners proved to live up to their name in the Scrims, posting only 6 points over 2 games. To go right alongside that, Iceland must not attract very strong DL. And that weakness will make it hard to contain most of the higher-tier offenses in this league.
Lyon Breakers at Cork City Wildcats
Well, both of these teams lost both scrims. The glaring difference? Cork City gave up several more points to what i consider to be lesser teams than Lyon faced. On paper this game is fairly even, but if anyone has the lvl advantage it is CC. However, if Lyon can figure out a way to complement a young DL with a tactical advantage, they will continue to rely on their offense to pull this one out.
Belgrade Bulldogs at Southriding Sting Rays
Well, the Bulldogs are definitely an overachieving team. If games were won on paper, then they would be a lot worse off than they are. This is a huge compliment to their ownership and management for obviously knowing a good deal about GLB. However, sometimes it takes more than know-how to get the job done. That's going to be the case with the Sting Rays. It would take them laying a pretty big egg to blow this game, imo. I look for it to be closer than a computer might project, but I still think the smart money is on the Rays.
South Yorkshire Stars at Snuggles Vikings
Well, the Stars can't exactly count on personnel confusion to be a contributing factor in this game. Does that worry them? Probably not. SoYo kind of stumbled in the two scrims, and are going to need more firepower than they showed to come out on top in this one. But they are definitely a team that has shown they are willing to work to keep their competitive edge, and they need a big-time win in Week 1 to show the WEAA4 guys they are the real deal. It's tough to beat a team like the Vikings who can instantly change an entire team of advanced tactics with the drop of a hat, but it has been proven to be c plenty possible. Look for further proof of this tomorrow.
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And there ya go. Hope it provides an interesting outlook, despite its lateness. Once again, in the future expect predictions to be much sooner than this one. And good luck to everyone tomorrow. Congrats to those who prove me right, and damn you to those who prove me wrong.
Game of the Week
Belfast Commandos at Bow Street Runners
I don't know what Bow Street is. I don't know either of these teams. But I know the Bow Street roster looks solid, and I know that Belfast can crank out some killer teams. The Belfast team in WEA7 was great. Looking at the Commandos I would say they are right on track to be around come playoff time.
A game like this to kick off the season is going to be great for one of these teams and pretty bad for the other. The winner gets that satisfaction of already having that early W over a playoff-caliber team to help with tie-breakers and standing. The loser has one less shot at that and will have nothing 1st-hand to prepare with for another matchup in the future whereas the winner already knows what worked for them.
All things considered, I feel like the BSR will pull this one out. They seem to have the personnel advantage, and the home field advantage, and just judging by the scrims, I would say their offense is firing a bit more strongly. BSR by 9.
Belgian Beers at Sweden Army
The quick money here would be on Belgium. They won their tweaking games whereas Sweden lost theirs. However, when you inspect the different set of teams each one faced, I think that 0-2 vs 2-0 might be a bit deceiving. The unfamiliarity with the new AI settings is something that is really hard to hold in account for things like this, so I am going to have to assume a near-level playing field for that area. And with that said, I feel like the depth of the Army will allow them to be fresh in the late game and either have no problem protecting a lead, or in a worse scenario making a comeback.
IKK Fu Rabid Mutineers at Spaniard Warriors
Well, I know I am the new guy here. But I also know it's not hard to see the Mutineers as one of the better teams in the conference. The Spaniards are by no means pushovers, and I don't mean to insinuate that. But I don't really see this one going there way short of a gameplanning blunder on IKK's side. In other words... Warriors can't win this game. But IKK could surely lose it.
Glasgow Lions at Port St Lucie Knuckle Dusters
When in doubt... pick the team with a logo. Do I need more reasoning than that? Hell no; they're my predictions. Could I give more reason than that? Sure, I could. Am I going to? Nope; because either way points to a Glasgow victory.
Marseille Argonauts at Reykjavík Lazytowners
The Argonauts pulled a big win over the incoming WEA7 Zeta Champion Gators. That catches my eyes. In addition, the Lazytowners proved to live up to their name in the Scrims, posting only 6 points over 2 games. To go right alongside that, Iceland must not attract very strong DL. And that weakness will make it hard to contain most of the higher-tier offenses in this league.
Lyon Breakers at Cork City Wildcats
Well, both of these teams lost both scrims. The glaring difference? Cork City gave up several more points to what i consider to be lesser teams than Lyon faced. On paper this game is fairly even, but if anyone has the lvl advantage it is CC. However, if Lyon can figure out a way to complement a young DL with a tactical advantage, they will continue to rely on their offense to pull this one out.
Belgrade Bulldogs at Southriding Sting Rays
Well, the Bulldogs are definitely an overachieving team. If games were won on paper, then they would be a lot worse off than they are. This is a huge compliment to their ownership and management for obviously knowing a good deal about GLB. However, sometimes it takes more than know-how to get the job done. That's going to be the case with the Sting Rays. It would take them laying a pretty big egg to blow this game, imo. I look for it to be closer than a computer might project, but I still think the smart money is on the Rays.
South Yorkshire Stars at Snuggles Vikings
Well, the Stars can't exactly count on personnel confusion to be a contributing factor in this game. Does that worry them? Probably not. SoYo kind of stumbled in the two scrims, and are going to need more firepower than they showed to come out on top in this one. But they are definitely a team that has shown they are willing to work to keep their competitive edge, and they need a big-time win in Week 1 to show the WEAA4 guys they are the real deal. It's tough to beat a team like the Vikings who can instantly change an entire team of advanced tactics with the drop of a hat, but it has been proven to be c plenty possible. Look for further proof of this tomorrow.
----------------------------------------------------------
And there ya go. Hope it provides an interesting outlook, despite its lateness. Once again, in the future expect predictions to be much sooner than this one. And good luck to everyone tomorrow. Congrats to those who prove me right, and damn you to those who prove me wrong.
