Only two of my predictions didn't pan out this week, one of which was the Alpha game of the week. The other was the bad team game of CPU vs CPU, which Nizhny managed to pull out against the Silverbacks. Since no one really cared about that game anyway, let's move on to the games of the week.
Alpha Conference - Warsaw GoW vs Tallinn: This game was every bit as exciting as expected, with key plays in the second half finally putting it away for the Gods of War. The Nightmare put the first points on the board with a field goal halfway through the first quarter, but a Warsaw touchdown took the lead away from them, and the Gods of War never gave it back. Warsaw's defense gave the Nightmare a great deal of difficulty, forcing them to punt on five possessions and never giving up the big plays that could have turned the tide of the game. When it looked like Tallinn might have a chance to bring the game around in the fourth quarter, Warsaw's D came up huge, first with a sack for a safety, then a huge three-and-out, and finally an interception in the final minute to put the game away. Great game by both teams.
Zeta Conference - Dresden vs Warsaw Wolfpack: Defenses were the key in this matchup as well, but the Wolfpack held the Doomsday to one score and held on to fourth seed. The Doomsday had to be feeling good about their chances when, on the first play of the game, Warsaw fumbled the kickoff to give Dresden excellent field position. RB Joshua Silver took advantage of the mistake and ran for a 33 yard touchdown, but it would be the only time the Doomsday put points on the board for the entire game. Quarterback Rik Striker took control of the game from that point on, marching the Wolfpack down the field for four short yardage touchdowns by Lendale White Jr. and a field goal. I expected a closer game than this, but Joshua Silver was held to under a hundred yards rushing. Without a big game from him, the Doomsday couldn't get anything going.
The standings have seen a bit of upheaval yet again, with Portland retaking the top seed in Alpha (which is how it should be anyway), and Secretville pulling ahead of the Butchers on the strength of a 182-0 win over Sicilia (which is not how it should be, but that will be proven in week 13
). The coming weeks should see a few more shifts within the top eight of each conference, but for the most part I think we can see that the current top eight will likely be the eight that make the playoffs. With five games left, there is still plenty of opportunity for a couple of teams to surprise everyone and rebound into the playoffs.
Alpha Conference - Warsaw GoW vs Tallinn: This game was every bit as exciting as expected, with key plays in the second half finally putting it away for the Gods of War. The Nightmare put the first points on the board with a field goal halfway through the first quarter, but a Warsaw touchdown took the lead away from them, and the Gods of War never gave it back. Warsaw's defense gave the Nightmare a great deal of difficulty, forcing them to punt on five possessions and never giving up the big plays that could have turned the tide of the game. When it looked like Tallinn might have a chance to bring the game around in the fourth quarter, Warsaw's D came up huge, first with a sack for a safety, then a huge three-and-out, and finally an interception in the final minute to put the game away. Great game by both teams.
Zeta Conference - Dresden vs Warsaw Wolfpack: Defenses were the key in this matchup as well, but the Wolfpack held the Doomsday to one score and held on to fourth seed. The Doomsday had to be feeling good about their chances when, on the first play of the game, Warsaw fumbled the kickoff to give Dresden excellent field position. RB Joshua Silver took advantage of the mistake and ran for a 33 yard touchdown, but it would be the only time the Doomsday put points on the board for the entire game. Quarterback Rik Striker took control of the game from that point on, marching the Wolfpack down the field for four short yardage touchdowns by Lendale White Jr. and a field goal. I expected a closer game than this, but Joshua Silver was held to under a hundred yards rushing. Without a big game from him, the Doomsday couldn't get anything going.
The standings have seen a bit of upheaval yet again, with Portland retaking the top seed in Alpha (which is how it should be anyway), and Secretville pulling ahead of the Butchers on the strength of a 182-0 win over Sicilia (which is not how it should be, but that will be proven in week 13
). The coming weeks should see a few more shifts within the top eight of each conference, but for the most part I think we can see that the current top eight will likely be the eight that make the playoffs. With five games left, there is still plenty of opportunity for a couple of teams to surprise everyone and rebound into the playoffs.Last edited Jan 22, 2009 11:45:58
