I waited a while to see if anyone wanted to take up BigRagu's mantle and continue to post previews for the upcoming games. Griff's power rankings are quite cool, but not quite the same, so I decided to move my conference preview from the Butchers' team forum over to here. I'll try to keep the Butchers' love out of it.
So, that being said, we're halfway through the season and things have so far turned out predictably. Bratislava and Secretville continue to battle it out for first seed, currently the only undefeated teams in the league. This is unlikely to change until their week 13 matchup at the Barbie Dome. Yeah, I bet nobody realized they were getting their butts kicked in the "Barbie" Dome. I didn't. South City, Italy, Berlin, Dresden, Warsaw, and Sooner are all holding on to their positions as predicted at the beginning of the season, with the Chiefs and Guardians duking it out for the top spots and the rest holding tight in the middle of the pack. Edinburgh has been the real surprise, a CPU team with mostly CPU players soundly defeating the rebuilding teams at the bottom of the conference. It isn't likely for them to come up with a playoff berth, but it is possible. All told, it is indicative of the state of the conference that they are still in contention.
This week's conference matchups are fairly straightforward:
South City vs Sooner: The Chiefs look to bring the Syndicate down in this one. For anyone who hasn't already had a look at the Syndicate, they are next season's Cosa Nostra Hitmen. Sooneer has built himself a hell of team of min-max players, who are thus far competing well in the conference. They aren't strong enough to handle the upper tier opponents like South City this season, but will be a force in the conference next year. The Chiefs will hold on to third seed this week, beating Sooner 48-17.
Secretville vs Chernobyl: The Offtopics shouldn't have much trouble with the Mariners. Chernobyl is a better team than their record indicates, but they don't have any answers for the high-powered Secretville offense. Offtopics win 96-7.
Bratislava vs Sicilia: The number 1 seed faces the number 16 seed. Sorry Sicilia, but this isn't March Madness, there will not be a crazy upset that throws the whole tournament into chaos. Butchers win 224-0.
Italy vs Nizhny Novgorod: The Vetz don't stand a chance in this one, as the Guardians will beat them with their own wheelchairs. Italy takes it 177-0.
Berlin vs Southeast: Even Dian Fossey can't save the Silverbacks this week. The Crusaders will begin to solidify their place in the playoffs, rolling to 6-3 over Southeast, 126-14.
Dresden vs Gateshead: While this numerically looks like an interesting matchup, I don't think the Gargoyles can take the Doomsday. Gateshead's momentary flashes of excellence won't be enough to stop Dresden's power running attack. 60-35, Dresden.
Warsaw vs Dayton: The Wolfpack also look to stay in playoff contention, facing the hapless Outlaws this week. Warsaw has made great moves in recruitment, building themselves an excellent team with serious chemistry issues that have hampered them somewhat so far this season. None of that will help the Outlaws, who will lay down nicely for the Wolfpack, 105-0.
Edinburgh vs Gothenburg: The Battle of the Burgs? Gothenburg is still looking for their first win, and if they play this one right, they could do it against the CPU War-pipers. In all likelihood, they probably won't, simply because their personnel are very low level. I don't know what the actual numbers are, but I would say that a level 23 CPU is probably pretty close to a level 12-15 human player, so they will still beat up on the Flames' D-league players. Edinburgh wins 51-28.
As with any predictions, these are simply my opinions, which may stink as the saying goes. I welcome all comments, trashtalkers, arguments, and agreements. If I have the time and inclination, I may expand this to include Alpha Conference. Look for some solid matchups there this week as the Niners take on the Blaze, the Gods of War face a tough Yellowhammers team, and the Ironmen try to make up for their first loss by taking out the Pecs of Steel.
So, that being said, we're halfway through the season and things have so far turned out predictably. Bratislava and Secretville continue to battle it out for first seed, currently the only undefeated teams in the league. This is unlikely to change until their week 13 matchup at the Barbie Dome. Yeah, I bet nobody realized they were getting their butts kicked in the "Barbie" Dome. I didn't. South City, Italy, Berlin, Dresden, Warsaw, and Sooner are all holding on to their positions as predicted at the beginning of the season, with the Chiefs and Guardians duking it out for the top spots and the rest holding tight in the middle of the pack. Edinburgh has been the real surprise, a CPU team with mostly CPU players soundly defeating the rebuilding teams at the bottom of the conference. It isn't likely for them to come up with a playoff berth, but it is possible. All told, it is indicative of the state of the conference that they are still in contention.
This week's conference matchups are fairly straightforward:
South City vs Sooner: The Chiefs look to bring the Syndicate down in this one. For anyone who hasn't already had a look at the Syndicate, they are next season's Cosa Nostra Hitmen. Sooneer has built himself a hell of team of min-max players, who are thus far competing well in the conference. They aren't strong enough to handle the upper tier opponents like South City this season, but will be a force in the conference next year. The Chiefs will hold on to third seed this week, beating Sooner 48-17.
Secretville vs Chernobyl: The Offtopics shouldn't have much trouble with the Mariners. Chernobyl is a better team than their record indicates, but they don't have any answers for the high-powered Secretville offense. Offtopics win 96-7.
Bratislava vs Sicilia: The number 1 seed faces the number 16 seed. Sorry Sicilia, but this isn't March Madness, there will not be a crazy upset that throws the whole tournament into chaos. Butchers win 224-0.
Italy vs Nizhny Novgorod: The Vetz don't stand a chance in this one, as the Guardians will beat them with their own wheelchairs. Italy takes it 177-0.
Berlin vs Southeast: Even Dian Fossey can't save the Silverbacks this week. The Crusaders will begin to solidify their place in the playoffs, rolling to 6-3 over Southeast, 126-14.
Dresden vs Gateshead: While this numerically looks like an interesting matchup, I don't think the Gargoyles can take the Doomsday. Gateshead's momentary flashes of excellence won't be enough to stop Dresden's power running attack. 60-35, Dresden.
Warsaw vs Dayton: The Wolfpack also look to stay in playoff contention, facing the hapless Outlaws this week. Warsaw has made great moves in recruitment, building themselves an excellent team with serious chemistry issues that have hampered them somewhat so far this season. None of that will help the Outlaws, who will lay down nicely for the Wolfpack, 105-0.
Edinburgh vs Gothenburg: The Battle of the Burgs? Gothenburg is still looking for their first win, and if they play this one right, they could do it against the CPU War-pipers. In all likelihood, they probably won't, simply because their personnel are very low level. I don't know what the actual numbers are, but I would say that a level 23 CPU is probably pretty close to a level 12-15 human player, so they will still beat up on the Flames' D-league players. Edinburgh wins 51-28.
As with any predictions, these are simply my opinions, which may stink as the saying goes. I welcome all comments, trashtalkers, arguments, and agreements. If I have the time and inclination, I may expand this to include Alpha Conference. Look for some solid matchups there this week as the Niners take on the Blaze, the Gods of War face a tough Yellowhammers team, and the Ironmen try to make up for their first loss by taking out the Pecs of Steel.
Last edited Jan 16, 2009 17:17:52
