Ok, so I will try out the Lion here and put my take on both sides of the playoff picture. A lot of interesting match ups. Good luck to all teams.
Madagascar Outlaws 9-7 @ Kalahari Knight Riders 15-1
No team has been on a better run than Kalahari and the shit talk has recently begun by certain team members. Rest assured, this is a GREAT team and probably the team to beat in the Lion. The Outlaws have had a great turn around this season and should be proud of what they've accomplished. When these two met all the way back in week 5, it was handily won by the Knight Riders and they basically have better bars across the board. This might be the only match up that an upset would utterly shock me. Good luck to Madagascar doing that!
Kalahari 31 Madagascar 13
GOTW Lion*Zimbabwe Beavers 12-4 @ Ethiopia Starvin Marvins 13-3
After a great start for both of these teams, they ran into some tough competition down the stretch and fell back to the 4-5 seeds. The Beavers lost 3 of their final 6 but had a convincing win over a very good Jinx team in their final game. The Marvins found ways to lose to the Wasps and the Knight Riders despite outplaying the Wasps and playing Kalahari to a stalemate. Both teams are among the best in the entire league and their regular season game 16-13 did not disappoint with Ethiopia kicking the game winning field goal with under 2 minutes to play. Expect another great matchup but expect the offenses to have a little more success. Watch for Ethopia to continue what they did well in the first match up and pound it out hoping to get it into the end zone a few more times. The Beavers may air it out a little more with their playoff hopes on the line and that may ultimately be their demise.
Starvin Marvins 27 Beavers 20
Zimbabwe Bush Squirrel Rebellion 9-7 @ Nigeria Nightmares 14-2
An intriguing match up here. Can ZBSR repeat last season's surprise playoff run? After a very disappointing season where they just sneak into the playoffs, is that even possible? With no marquee victories this season, and a 48-10 crushing in the first match up between these teams, it seems unlikely. Nigeria's win streak fell and then they were stomped by Kalahari. They responded by completely dominating the Wasps and then convincingly claiming the title as the Best new team to the league with a 31-10 victory over GC after an earlier 44-21 win over Zimbabwe. These guys are for real and look to go far in the playoffs this season. So on face value, this looks like a romp. But not so fast my friend. Nigeria has struggled against good passing teams and ZBSR usually qualifies as one. Danny Morrill had a nightmare game against the Nightmares and I don't expect a repeat performance. That said, Nigeria might just be a little too much to handle as they bring in the top rushing offense in the entire league with the best OLine around. Expect ZBSR to air it out and hope for the best.
Nightmares 41 Rebellion 31
Sahara Shadow Chasers 11-5 @ Somalia Wasps 13-3
Recipe for an upset:
Add 1 part solid Defense on both sides of the ball
Add 1 part ridiculous passing game
Stir in good chemistry and morale
Which team is the better team? Unquestionably it's the Wasps. In their first matchup, they Teed off on Sahara QBs and Charlie Kalkman had his best game of the season. But there's nothing that a DC fears more than a team that throws the ball like crazy and no team in the league has shown the commitment to the pass that Sahara showed this season. Their defense won't be able to stop Somalia and Somalia will be able to make a few stops. The only chance Sahara has is to dominate the turnover battle and score TDs when Somalia scores FGs. I've seen it happen before, but I don't think it will happen here.
Wasps 41 ShadowChasers 28
River Styx Jinx 10-6 @ Russian Tractor 14-2
A very tough draw here for the Jinx as they drop because of their loss and the Camels win followed by the Beavers getting a draw where we could run up points thus taking the tie-breaker away. This is yet another example of how unfair the interconference match ups can be. That said, the Tractor have looked beatable lately with unimpressive wins against the Drifters and eXtreme. These two teams met alllll the way back in week 2 and I'm certain no one wanted to play the Jinx in the first round as they always seem to find a way to be annoying even when you think you can't lose to them. Looking at the stat lines, there's no reason why the Jinx should win. Their only significant unit is the efficiency of their passing offense, but they face the top passing defense in the entire league here. I expect the Jinx to put up a fight, but the Tractor are just too tough to go down in round 1.
Tractor 26 Jinx 13
GOTW Elephant*Morocco Camels 10-6 @ San Dimas Saints 13-3
If you would have said the 2-7 match up would be Saints/Camels at season's start, we would have all believed you. We would not have believed it would be the Saints on the other end. The Saints went through and have probably 2 of the most impressive wins anyone in Africa AAA can claim with a Tractor victory to start the season and a Wasp victory to end it. Both by comfortable margins as well. The Camels fell apart mid-season, losing 6 out of 9. They were in danger of missing the playoffs before they hired a new OC and righted the ship just in time finishing with 3 impressive wins. In their first meeting, the Saints won 35-30, but really controlled the game and without a rushing game, the Camels have struggled this season. The Saints are a very well-rounded team this season, but do not have a dominating unit and the Camels do have them on levels fairly significantly. Have the Camels figured it out just in time? Last season the Saints pulled the playoffs biggest seeding disparity upset by beating the eXtreme, this season, it could go the other way.
Camels 31 Saints 28
Eaton Beavers 10-6 @ African Killer Bees 12-4
We met just a few games ago and it was a ridiculously good match up. Let's pound it down each other's throats again and see who comes out on top. In two games in two seasons, these teams have scores 15-13 and 12-14, can we expect anything different in this one? Good luck to the Bees! Nice to see that at least one of the rush focused teams will be moving to the 2nd round.
Gold Coast Corsairs 11-5 @ Los Angeles eXtreme 12-4
GC will probably claim to be all banned from the forums again as they've shut up recently after losing 2 in a row YET AGAIN. They've horribled their way to a 3-5 second half of the season that included 3 17+ point losses. They did dominate LAX early in the season and LAX does not match up well in this one as GC has been exposed as unable to stop a power running team. They may have the recipe for beating GCs offense which is pressure the QB and shut down their run. GC had ridiculous success in the passing game the first time around and I don't expect that performance to be repeated. Both of these teams have struggled with consistency. Though I'm rooting for LAX, a Tractor/Corsairs 2nd round match up could sure be interesting as well. In the end, my head tells me GC.
Corsairs 28 eXtreme 24
Madagascar Outlaws 9-7 @ Kalahari Knight Riders 15-1
No team has been on a better run than Kalahari and the shit talk has recently begun by certain team members. Rest assured, this is a GREAT team and probably the team to beat in the Lion. The Outlaws have had a great turn around this season and should be proud of what they've accomplished. When these two met all the way back in week 5, it was handily won by the Knight Riders and they basically have better bars across the board. This might be the only match up that an upset would utterly shock me. Good luck to Madagascar doing that!
Kalahari 31 Madagascar 13
GOTW Lion*Zimbabwe Beavers 12-4 @ Ethiopia Starvin Marvins 13-3
After a great start for both of these teams, they ran into some tough competition down the stretch and fell back to the 4-5 seeds. The Beavers lost 3 of their final 6 but had a convincing win over a very good Jinx team in their final game. The Marvins found ways to lose to the Wasps and the Knight Riders despite outplaying the Wasps and playing Kalahari to a stalemate. Both teams are among the best in the entire league and their regular season game 16-13 did not disappoint with Ethiopia kicking the game winning field goal with under 2 minutes to play. Expect another great matchup but expect the offenses to have a little more success. Watch for Ethopia to continue what they did well in the first match up and pound it out hoping to get it into the end zone a few more times. The Beavers may air it out a little more with their playoff hopes on the line and that may ultimately be their demise.
Starvin Marvins 27 Beavers 20
Zimbabwe Bush Squirrel Rebellion 9-7 @ Nigeria Nightmares 14-2
An intriguing match up here. Can ZBSR repeat last season's surprise playoff run? After a very disappointing season where they just sneak into the playoffs, is that even possible? With no marquee victories this season, and a 48-10 crushing in the first match up between these teams, it seems unlikely. Nigeria's win streak fell and then they were stomped by Kalahari. They responded by completely dominating the Wasps and then convincingly claiming the title as the Best new team to the league with a 31-10 victory over GC after an earlier 44-21 win over Zimbabwe. These guys are for real and look to go far in the playoffs this season. So on face value, this looks like a romp. But not so fast my friend. Nigeria has struggled against good passing teams and ZBSR usually qualifies as one. Danny Morrill had a nightmare game against the Nightmares and I don't expect a repeat performance. That said, Nigeria might just be a little too much to handle as they bring in the top rushing offense in the entire league with the best OLine around. Expect ZBSR to air it out and hope for the best.
Nightmares 41 Rebellion 31
Sahara Shadow Chasers 11-5 @ Somalia Wasps 13-3
Recipe for an upset:
Add 1 part solid Defense on both sides of the ball
Add 1 part ridiculous passing game
Stir in good chemistry and morale
Which team is the better team? Unquestionably it's the Wasps. In their first matchup, they Teed off on Sahara QBs and Charlie Kalkman had his best game of the season. But there's nothing that a DC fears more than a team that throws the ball like crazy and no team in the league has shown the commitment to the pass that Sahara showed this season. Their defense won't be able to stop Somalia and Somalia will be able to make a few stops. The only chance Sahara has is to dominate the turnover battle and score TDs when Somalia scores FGs. I've seen it happen before, but I don't think it will happen here.
Wasps 41 ShadowChasers 28
River Styx Jinx 10-6 @ Russian Tractor 14-2
A very tough draw here for the Jinx as they drop because of their loss and the Camels win followed by the Beavers getting a draw where we could run up points thus taking the tie-breaker away. This is yet another example of how unfair the interconference match ups can be. That said, the Tractor have looked beatable lately with unimpressive wins against the Drifters and eXtreme. These two teams met alllll the way back in week 2 and I'm certain no one wanted to play the Jinx in the first round as they always seem to find a way to be annoying even when you think you can't lose to them. Looking at the stat lines, there's no reason why the Jinx should win. Their only significant unit is the efficiency of their passing offense, but they face the top passing defense in the entire league here. I expect the Jinx to put up a fight, but the Tractor are just too tough to go down in round 1.
Tractor 26 Jinx 13
GOTW Elephant*Morocco Camels 10-6 @ San Dimas Saints 13-3
If you would have said the 2-7 match up would be Saints/Camels at season's start, we would have all believed you. We would not have believed it would be the Saints on the other end. The Saints went through and have probably 2 of the most impressive wins anyone in Africa AAA can claim with a Tractor victory to start the season and a Wasp victory to end it. Both by comfortable margins as well. The Camels fell apart mid-season, losing 6 out of 9. They were in danger of missing the playoffs before they hired a new OC and righted the ship just in time finishing with 3 impressive wins. In their first meeting, the Saints won 35-30, but really controlled the game and without a rushing game, the Camels have struggled this season. The Saints are a very well-rounded team this season, but do not have a dominating unit and the Camels do have them on levels fairly significantly. Have the Camels figured it out just in time? Last season the Saints pulled the playoffs biggest seeding disparity upset by beating the eXtreme, this season, it could go the other way.
Camels 31 Saints 28
Eaton Beavers 10-6 @ African Killer Bees 12-4
We met just a few games ago and it was a ridiculously good match up. Let's pound it down each other's throats again and see who comes out on top. In two games in two seasons, these teams have scores 15-13 and 12-14, can we expect anything different in this one? Good luck to the Bees! Nice to see that at least one of the rush focused teams will be moving to the 2nd round.
Gold Coast Corsairs 11-5 @ Los Angeles eXtreme 12-4
GC will probably claim to be all banned from the forums again as they've shut up recently after losing 2 in a row YET AGAIN. They've horribled their way to a 3-5 second half of the season that included 3 17+ point losses. They did dominate LAX early in the season and LAX does not match up well in this one as GC has been exposed as unable to stop a power running team. They may have the recipe for beating GCs offense which is pressure the QB and shut down their run. GC had ridiculous success in the passing game the first time around and I don't expect that performance to be repeated. Both of these teams have struggled with consistency. Though I'm rooting for LAX, a Tractor/Corsairs 2nd round match up could sure be interesting as well. In the end, my head tells me GC.
Corsairs 28 eXtreme 24
