The first round of the EEA4 tournament featured powerhouse defenses and plenty of big plays to showcase the talents of the league's best teams. Only one game was won by a team seeded lower than their opponent, but a few could have gone either way.
Alpha Brackets:
Warsaw vs P-burg: All experimental offenses went out the window as the Gods of War relied heavily on the strong arm of QB John Seneca to score big points against the Players, while Warsaw's defense pitched a shutout yet again against P-burg. The game's final was exactly the same as the regular season matchup between these two teams, yet Warsaw hit them with a completely opposite gameplan. The Gods of War are officially a scary team.
Stalingrad vs Tallinn: The Ironmen relied on the defense to keep the Nightmare out of the game, holding Tallinn to three field goals in three quarters before they could finally find the end zone in the middle of the fourth quarter. Stalingrad came into this game with a solid offensive gameplan that didn't rely too heavily on either the run or the pass, but instead a good combination of both, while Tallinn had to abandon the ground game early due to being behind too soon.
Vilnius vs Pecs of Steel: The Velociraptors didn't need any Kryptonite to take care of the Pecs, instead relying on their three strong running backs and a defense that wouldn't let the Pecs move the chains to take this victory. Not only did the Vilnius halfbacks run for a combined 292 yards, but halfbacks and fullbacks accounted for 15 of the Raptors' 25 completions. The Pecs could never get anything going long enough to put more than a couple of field goals on the board.
Portland vs Vorkuta: This was a playoff game for the ages, with two very tough teams keeping it close throughout the entire game. Special teams was a big factor in this game, but the "bend but don't break" defensive philosophies of these teams kept it exciting. Both teams drove the ball well in the first half, but the opposing defenses stood tall when it counted, keeping the game to field goals for the entire first half. Vorkuta broke it open to start the second half when kick returner Térence GINJA-MARTINHO scored on an 88 yard return of the opening kickoff. Vorkuta's offense then got a touchdown on the board to try to pull away from the struggling Niners. Vorkuta forced the Niners to punt again, but this time Térence GINJA-MARTINHO coughed it up and the Niners returned the fumble for a touchdown. Another Portland touchdown in the fourth tied up the game, but the Yellowhammers pulled ahead on another field goal with five minutes remaining. Things were looking grim for Vorkuta when Portland drove down the field on their final possession, reaching the Yellowhammers' ten yard line before another fourth quarter meltdown cost the Niners the game, when on fourth and 6 with only 38 seconds remaining, the Niners AI went for the first instead of kicking the field goal for the tie. Portland's up and down season ended with that mistake.
Zeta Brackets:
Bratislava vs Sooner: Another rematch that turned out very closely to the regular season matchup, but this one was only two days removed from the other game. Bratislava's monster twin backs ran all over the Syndicate, and the defense smashed the Sooner O non-stop, allowing only a field goal in the entire game. The real benefit in being the number one seed is the chance to play a team you know you can beat. The big challenges lie ahead, as both Warsaw GoW and Bratislava are both well aware.
Secretville vs Berlin: The Offtopics loves them some Bullrush. Nomark scored on magnificent short yardage plays, ala Jerome Bettis, but also showed his ability to make the huge play and smash through everyone in his path. Defensively, Frederick Voltaire and the rest of the Secretville squad were determined to make their presence felt, knocking down passes and QBs whenever the opportunity presented itself. Despite Berlin's best efforts, they couldn't come up with anything to negate the powerful Offtopics attack.
Warsaw vs Dresden: The Wolfpack have come a long way this season, awaiting their chance to make those early signings pay off for them. Chemistry is no longer a problem for Warsaw, at least against the teams they should beat. In spite of the progress Dresden has made this year in establishing themselves as a contender, they just weren't deep enough to stand against a top tier team.
South City vs Italy: What an incredible game this turned out to be. Italy kept the game close through the first half with takeaways, helping the offense put up a few points against a stingy Chiefs defense, but their inability to capitalize on those opportunities with touchdowns left them entering the halftime break with only a 12-10 lead. South City dominated the third quarter, eating up clock and putting another 10 points on the board in the process. The Guardians would not give up easily, and entered the fourth by driving down the field and picking up a quick score, followed by a Chiefs field goal. With only minutes remaining, Italy picked up big plays, but didn't eat enough time off of the clock in their final scoring drive to prevent the Chiefs from running down the field one more time and scoring the winning touchdown.
Next up: Previewing Round Two of the EEA4 tournament! Anything could happen with so many equally matched teams going against each other.
Alpha Brackets:
Warsaw vs P-burg: All experimental offenses went out the window as the Gods of War relied heavily on the strong arm of QB John Seneca to score big points against the Players, while Warsaw's defense pitched a shutout yet again against P-burg. The game's final was exactly the same as the regular season matchup between these two teams, yet Warsaw hit them with a completely opposite gameplan. The Gods of War are officially a scary team.
Stalingrad vs Tallinn: The Ironmen relied on the defense to keep the Nightmare out of the game, holding Tallinn to three field goals in three quarters before they could finally find the end zone in the middle of the fourth quarter. Stalingrad came into this game with a solid offensive gameplan that didn't rely too heavily on either the run or the pass, but instead a good combination of both, while Tallinn had to abandon the ground game early due to being behind too soon.
Vilnius vs Pecs of Steel: The Velociraptors didn't need any Kryptonite to take care of the Pecs, instead relying on their three strong running backs and a defense that wouldn't let the Pecs move the chains to take this victory. Not only did the Vilnius halfbacks run for a combined 292 yards, but halfbacks and fullbacks accounted for 15 of the Raptors' 25 completions. The Pecs could never get anything going long enough to put more than a couple of field goals on the board.
Portland vs Vorkuta: This was a playoff game for the ages, with two very tough teams keeping it close throughout the entire game. Special teams was a big factor in this game, but the "bend but don't break" defensive philosophies of these teams kept it exciting. Both teams drove the ball well in the first half, but the opposing defenses stood tall when it counted, keeping the game to field goals for the entire first half. Vorkuta broke it open to start the second half when kick returner Térence GINJA-MARTINHO scored on an 88 yard return of the opening kickoff. Vorkuta's offense then got a touchdown on the board to try to pull away from the struggling Niners. Vorkuta forced the Niners to punt again, but this time Térence GINJA-MARTINHO coughed it up and the Niners returned the fumble for a touchdown. Another Portland touchdown in the fourth tied up the game, but the Yellowhammers pulled ahead on another field goal with five minutes remaining. Things were looking grim for Vorkuta when Portland drove down the field on their final possession, reaching the Yellowhammers' ten yard line before another fourth quarter meltdown cost the Niners the game, when on fourth and 6 with only 38 seconds remaining, the Niners AI went for the first instead of kicking the field goal for the tie. Portland's up and down season ended with that mistake.
Zeta Brackets:
Bratislava vs Sooner: Another rematch that turned out very closely to the regular season matchup, but this one was only two days removed from the other game. Bratislava's monster twin backs ran all over the Syndicate, and the defense smashed the Sooner O non-stop, allowing only a field goal in the entire game. The real benefit in being the number one seed is the chance to play a team you know you can beat. The big challenges lie ahead, as both Warsaw GoW and Bratislava are both well aware.
Secretville vs Berlin: The Offtopics loves them some Bullrush. Nomark scored on magnificent short yardage plays, ala Jerome Bettis, but also showed his ability to make the huge play and smash through everyone in his path. Defensively, Frederick Voltaire and the rest of the Secretville squad were determined to make their presence felt, knocking down passes and QBs whenever the opportunity presented itself. Despite Berlin's best efforts, they couldn't come up with anything to negate the powerful Offtopics attack.
Warsaw vs Dresden: The Wolfpack have come a long way this season, awaiting their chance to make those early signings pay off for them. Chemistry is no longer a problem for Warsaw, at least against the teams they should beat. In spite of the progress Dresden has made this year in establishing themselves as a contender, they just weren't deep enough to stand against a top tier team.
South City vs Italy: What an incredible game this turned out to be. Italy kept the game close through the first half with takeaways, helping the offense put up a few points against a stingy Chiefs defense, but their inability to capitalize on those opportunities with touchdowns left them entering the halftime break with only a 12-10 lead. South City dominated the third quarter, eating up clock and putting another 10 points on the board in the process. The Guardians would not give up easily, and entered the fourth by driving down the field and picking up a quick score, followed by a Chiefs field goal. With only minutes remaining, Italy picked up big plays, but didn't eat enough time off of the clock in their final scoring drive to prevent the Chiefs from running down the field one more time and scoring the winning touchdown.
Next up: Previewing Round Two of the EEA4 tournament! Anything could happen with so many equally matched teams going against each other.
Last edited Feb 4, 2009 00:22:57
