Here is my end of season recap. This will show where I thought everyone would be at the beginning of the season, where they ended up, my opinions of how the team did compared to their expectations/potential, and what advice if any that I have for the team in the future.
Next to the team name I have the rankings for the teams for each of what I think were the major rankings I made during the season. [ Preseason | Before Week 3 | Before Week 6 | Before Week 9 | Before Week 12 | Before Week 14 ]
On an unrelated note, this was probably the last writeup I'll make for a league, at least for a while. I'm going to be taking next season at least off as I get up to graduation, and who knows what the future holds beyond that. Please keep flames away out of respect for all the time I put into this.
1. Oslo Norsemen Previous Ranks: [ 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 ]
-What was expected of them?: Conference championship contender.
-How did they do?: Took on all comers, save for a loss to the Magic Dragons, to win the toughest championship race I've ever followed.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Very pleased.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
2. Stockholm Dynamites Previous Ranks: [ 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 ]
-What was expected of them?: Top four contender.
-How did they do?: Exceeded expectations and fell only a couple of points short against Oslo from an undefeated season and conference title.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Extremely pleased.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
3. Barcelona Assassins Previous Ranks: [ 8 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 3 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Shook off some early rust to establish themselves as an elite team and separated themselves in this crowded pack.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Extremely pleased.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
4. Tulsa Doom Previous Ranks: [ 4 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 ]
-What was expected of them?: Top four contender.
-How did they do?: Exactly as was suspected at the beginning of the season, but with flashes of brilliance mixed in with flashes of averageness.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: So-so, a lot of missed opportunities and a tough first round draw to show for it.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
5. Amsterdam Magic Dragons Previous Ranks: [ 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 ]
-What was expected of them?: Conference championship contender.
-How did they do?: Well they beat the conference champion, but lost some close games and in the super competitive Alpha, that isn't good enough for the title.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Can't be disappointed because they played very well and beat some very good teams.
-How can they improve?: Running game needs lots of work.
6. Dresden Destroyers Previous Ranks: [ 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoffs.
-How did they do?: Pretty much exactly as expected. Beat teams it needed to beat, lost to teams that were better than they were.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Pleased, have a chance at making it to the 2nd round, even to the championship game from their spot, which isn't something that most 6 seeds can honestly say.
-How can they improve?: Have defensive issues that need to be addressed.
7. Amsterdam Red Lights Previous Ranks: [ 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6 ]
-What was expected of them?: Conference championship contender.
-How did they do?: Expectations were weighty, and they were not met.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed.
-How can they improve?: Need a passing game.
8. The Drunken Potato Farmers of Ayrshire Previous Ranks: [ 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 8 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Snuck in to the playoffs by virtue of their tiebreaker over Madrid
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Very pleased, making the playoffs in Alpha is quite an accomplishment.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
9. Madrid Pirates Previous Ranks: [ 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Other than their fluke win over Tulsa, beat none of the teams above them, and that cost them the playoffs.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed.
-How can they improve?: Keep leveling up and shore up their defense a bit.
10. Helsinki Hitmen Previous Ranks: [ 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 ]
-What was expected of them?: Outside looking in.
-How did they do?: Never really were able to threaten for a playoff spot.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed, a team so close to Stockholm should not finish so much further below.
-How can they improve?: Need to fix their leaky defense.
11. Newcastle Magpies Previous Ranks: [ 11 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Like Helsinki, never sniffed the playoffs. Underperformed early, and couldn't put anything together.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed.
-How can they improve?: Need a new gimmick, they pass too much, and they need a defense.
12. Hell on Turff Previous Ranks: [ 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Lost their last nine games.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed.
-How can they improve?: They need to blow up their secondary and start over there.
13. Louisville Cards Previous Ranks: [ 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 ]
-What was expected of them?: Outside looking in.
-How did they do?: Exactly as predicted.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed, but couldn't have expected much more.
-How can they improve?: Levels should help fix their defense, but their offense is anemic and needs to be redone.
14. Palmetto Gamecocks Previous Ranks: [ 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 ]
-What was expected of them?: Outside looking in.
-How did they do?: Exactly as predicted.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Obviously disappointed, as they sold their team.
-How can they improve?: CPU.
15. Arlington Avalanche Previous Ranks: [ 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Beat the Storm and no one else.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: I don't think they cared either way.
-How can they improve?: By going CPU.
16. Stockholm Storm Previous Ranks: [ 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Exactly as a team of level 1 players in A leagues would be expected to do.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Pleased that they scored a couple points this season.
-How can they improve?: Keep building, going down to BBB will help.
1. Krakow Knights Previous Ranks: [ 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 ]
-What was expected of them?: Conference championship contender.
-How did they do?: Exceeded expectations, and ran the table.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Extremely pleased, beat some very good teams en route to 16-0.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
2. Lyon Winemakers Previous Ranks: [ 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 ]
-What was expected of them?: Top four contender.
-How did they do?: Knocked off Jacksonville to secure the 2nd seed all the way in week 3.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Extremely pleased to do this well in their first season in the league.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
3. Jacksonville Jackalopes Previous Ranks: [ 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 ]
-What was expected of them?: Conference championship contender.
-How did they do?: Losses to Lyon and Krakow ended their title hopes, but they have a good playoff position to make a title run from.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Very pleased at their final result. Only one home game but the chance to make noise.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
4. Newark Nomads Previous Ranks: [ 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 ]
-What was expected of them?: Conference championship contender.
-How did they do?: Loss to The Wall killed them, had some redemption in time for the playoffs with a win over Lyon.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed that they only get 1 home game and draw Krakow in round 2.
-How can they improve?: Have mastered the passing game, but need to add in a power game to keep teams honest.
5. The Berlin Wall Previous Ranks: [ 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Exceeded expectations in Zeta, and knocked off the previously undefeated Nomads.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Very pleased.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
6. Victoria Assassins Previous Ranks: [ 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoffs.
-How did they do?: Beat the 10 teams below them, lost to the five teams above them.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Met expectations.
-How can they improve?: Need a defense.
7. Berlin Spartans Previous Ranks: [ 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 7 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Extremely moody season. The highs were high, the lows were low. Lost to some bad teams, but still make the playoffs.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: I don't think they care.
-How can they improve?: By caring.
8. Venice Freebirds Previous Ranks: [ 13 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Their high level humans outplayed their high level CPUs, and the outcome was beating enough teams to make the playoffs.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Pleased I guess.
-How can they improve?: By filling their roster.
9. Monte Carlo Red Glare Previous Ranks: [ 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Loss to Venice did them in, could never recover from that.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed that they missed the playoffs, but could not have expected more,
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing as their builds fill out.
10. Bolderslev Pirates Previous Ranks: [ 4 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 ]
-What was expected of them?: Top four contender.
-How did they do?: Uhh, not top four. Their team seems to have fallen apart, and they never fixed their depth issues.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: I don't think they care.
-How can they improve?: Blow it up and start over.
11. Stockholm Assassins Previous Ranks: [ 14 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 11 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Played some teams better than expected, but also lost a lot, and badly.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed.
-How can they improve?: Need a new defense and offensive line for sure.
12. Arlanda Jets Previous Ranks: [ 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 ]
-What was expected of them?: Outside looking in.
-How did they do?: Pretty much as expected.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Neither, I don't think they ever had a plan.
-How can they improve?: Having a plan.
13. Bordeaux Carlin Previous Ranks: [ 15 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Did better than expected, but not much better.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Not pleased.
-How can they improve?: By starting over.
14. Achei Crotone Previous Ranks: [ 11 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Much worse than advertised.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Too inactive to notice.
-How can they improve?: Activity.
15. Chrulle Mavericks Previous Ranks: [ 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Went CPU at the beginning of the season.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: CPU.
-How can they improve?: CPU.
16. Atlanta 404 Previous Ranks: [ 9 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Sold the team.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: CPU.
-How can they improve?: CPU.
Most pleasant surprise: Barcelona Assassins
-Were on the outside looking in last season and the jury was out on their offseason moves. Looked absolutely unimpressive through 7 weeks, barely beating lesser teams, and losing badly to the Magic Dragons. Then a light flicked on in week eight and they almost beat the Dynamites, losing by a point. They then started to roll off a string of wins over top teams in Alpha, only losing to Oslo by a touchdown, and beating the Red Lights, Doom, Pirates, and Destroyers en route to a #3 seed.
Honorable mentions: Stockholm Dynamites, Lyon Winemakers, The Berlin Wall.
Most glaring disappointment: Amsterdam Red Lights
-This was a hard pick to make because not many teams, other than CPU ones, really disappointed from preseason until now. But the Red Lights had all the makings of a champion, and just couldn't put it together in the regular season. They lost by 10 to Dresden, 6 to Tulsa, 11 to Stockholm, 2 to Barcelona, and 3 to Oslo. They could have been somebody, could have been a contender, but now they're stuck in 7th. Playoffs will give them a chance for redemption though.
Dishonorable mentions: Bolderslev Pirates, Madrid Pirates, Hell on Turff.
Offensive Player of the Year: Mark Cupp, Lyon Winemakers
-The numbers never tell the whole story, and they really can't tell the whole story of Mark Cupp. On a team that is underleveled for its league, Cupp added an x-factor that enabled Lyon to do as well as it did. Throwing away all of his games against teams with losing records, he still ran averages of 30.3 carries per game for 207.5 yards and 4.5 touchdowns. Cupp helped his team win games it shouldn't have won.
Honorable mentions: Jason Crozier, Gored by Gore, Montana 2 Rice, Mahja Greystrom, Ghost O'Devine, Darius Amrtaka, Bruno Bulldozer.
Defensive Player of the Year: Jabber Jaw, Krakow Knights
-Straight up nightmare DE who could not be stopped all season. Disrupted every offense he played against, averaging 3 sacks a game against the other top teams in Zeta. One of the most important reasons that the Krakow defense was not solved all season, because he was the backbone of a defense that averaged negative rushing yards against.
Honorable mentions: Rygel 17th, Fire Crotch, Eukleides Ex, Polish Dogg, Just Rudy, Harrry Pitts, SGT. STRIKER.
Goldie's All-WEA4 Team:
QB Montana 2 Rice, The Berlin Wall (Insane numbers for a 33, will only get better from here)
RB Mark Cupp, Lyon Winemakers (Offensive POY)
FB Gregorian Jones, Tulsa Doom (Cleared the way for a very potent running game, 195 pancakes from the FB spot is no joke)
WR Vanquished Demon, Stockholm Assassins (Got his on a team that was pretty bad and had everyone keyed on him from the start)
WR Danika Lewis III, The Berlin Wall (No team could contain him, 25+ yard per catch average)
TE Jerimiah Witherspoon, Amsterdam Red Lights (Hard to contain TE who consistently got open and hauled in key passes)
LT Experimental Build, Dresden Destroyers (Anchor of a line that gave up very few sacks, and was a force in the running game as well)
RT Bobo Phat, Amsterdam Magic Dragons (Added a bright spot to a line that wasn't very strong in run blocking, and held his own in pass blocking as well)
LG Clubba Cakemaker, Stockholm Dynamites (Helped clear the way for Alpha's top rushing attack, and helped secure their QB's blind side)
RG Bruno Bulldozer, Krakow Knights (Crazy for a G to have those kinds of pancake numbers, even crazier from a backup!)
C Orlandu Cidoflas, Jacksonville Jackalopes (General for one of the most powerful lines in A4)
NT Douglas Heffernan, Newark Nomads (Holds down the fort for Newark's underrated run defense)
DT PileDriver Cruiser, Krakow Knights (Freak of nature from the DT spot, sure tackler with the speed to get to the QB)
DE Jabber Jaw, Krakow Knights (Defensive POY)
DE Polish Dogg, The Drunken Potato Farmers of Ayrshire (Seems to be an anomaly, the rare DE who goes against higher level players and still dominates)
LOLB Ales Zupancov, Amsterdam Magic Dragons (Everything you want in a LOLB, stuffs the run, sure tackler, great vision)
MLB Eric Sicher, Oslo Norsemen (Jack of all trades in the middle, runs one of the top defenses in the league)
ROLB SGT. STRIKER, Barcelona Assassins (Does it all for them, sure tackler, fumble forcer, pass deflecter, QB sacker)
CB Rygel 17th, Lyon Winemakers (Absolute ball hawk with 18 picks and 124 deflections, also a standout in run support)
CB Just Rudy, Oslo Norsemen (Rare corner that can take over in both the running and passing games)
SS HEAD. HUNTER, Barcelona Assassins (A force on the Barcelona defense, forced 10 fumbles and picked off 5 passes to go with 91 tackles)
FS Tony McPherson, Amsterdam Magic Dragons (Last line of defense for strong Magic Dragons defense, 103 tackles to 3 misses at that spot is no joke)
K Michael "Goob" Yagoobian, The Drunken Potato Farmers of Ayrshire (Perfect from inside 50 yards, and hit many of those longer kicks with high %)
P Appalachian FatPunter, Monte Carlo Red Glare (Punts a lot and does it with gusto, and with several coffin corners)
KR Kaelin Gales, Jacksonville Jackalopes (KR touchdown leader, with a robust 42.1 average)
PR Frank "Wrecking" Ball, Krakow Knights (3rd in PR average, by far #1 in yards, with 103 touchdowns)
Next to the team name I have the rankings for the teams for each of what I think were the major rankings I made during the season. [ Preseason | Before Week 3 | Before Week 6 | Before Week 9 | Before Week 12 | Before Week 14 ]
On an unrelated note, this was probably the last writeup I'll make for a league, at least for a while. I'm going to be taking next season at least off as I get up to graduation, and who knows what the future holds beyond that. Please keep flames away out of respect for all the time I put into this.
1. Oslo Norsemen Previous Ranks: [ 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 ]
-What was expected of them?: Conference championship contender.
-How did they do?: Took on all comers, save for a loss to the Magic Dragons, to win the toughest championship race I've ever followed.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Very pleased.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
2. Stockholm Dynamites Previous Ranks: [ 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 ]
-What was expected of them?: Top four contender.
-How did they do?: Exceeded expectations and fell only a couple of points short against Oslo from an undefeated season and conference title.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Extremely pleased.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
3. Barcelona Assassins Previous Ranks: [ 8 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 3 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Shook off some early rust to establish themselves as an elite team and separated themselves in this crowded pack.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Extremely pleased.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
4. Tulsa Doom Previous Ranks: [ 4 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 ]
-What was expected of them?: Top four contender.
-How did they do?: Exactly as was suspected at the beginning of the season, but with flashes of brilliance mixed in with flashes of averageness.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: So-so, a lot of missed opportunities and a tough first round draw to show for it.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
5. Amsterdam Magic Dragons Previous Ranks: [ 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 ]
-What was expected of them?: Conference championship contender.
-How did they do?: Well they beat the conference champion, but lost some close games and in the super competitive Alpha, that isn't good enough for the title.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Can't be disappointed because they played very well and beat some very good teams.
-How can they improve?: Running game needs lots of work.
6. Dresden Destroyers Previous Ranks: [ 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoffs.
-How did they do?: Pretty much exactly as expected. Beat teams it needed to beat, lost to teams that were better than they were.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Pleased, have a chance at making it to the 2nd round, even to the championship game from their spot, which isn't something that most 6 seeds can honestly say.
-How can they improve?: Have defensive issues that need to be addressed.
7. Amsterdam Red Lights Previous Ranks: [ 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6 ]
-What was expected of them?: Conference championship contender.
-How did they do?: Expectations were weighty, and they were not met.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed.
-How can they improve?: Need a passing game.
8. The Drunken Potato Farmers of Ayrshire Previous Ranks: [ 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 8 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Snuck in to the playoffs by virtue of their tiebreaker over Madrid
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Very pleased, making the playoffs in Alpha is quite an accomplishment.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
9. Madrid Pirates Previous Ranks: [ 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Other than their fluke win over Tulsa, beat none of the teams above them, and that cost them the playoffs.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed.
-How can they improve?: Keep leveling up and shore up their defense a bit.
10. Helsinki Hitmen Previous Ranks: [ 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 ]
-What was expected of them?: Outside looking in.
-How did they do?: Never really were able to threaten for a playoff spot.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed, a team so close to Stockholm should not finish so much further below.
-How can they improve?: Need to fix their leaky defense.
11. Newcastle Magpies Previous Ranks: [ 11 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Like Helsinki, never sniffed the playoffs. Underperformed early, and couldn't put anything together.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed.
-How can they improve?: Need a new gimmick, they pass too much, and they need a defense.
12. Hell on Turff Previous Ranks: [ 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Lost their last nine games.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed.
-How can they improve?: They need to blow up their secondary and start over there.
13. Louisville Cards Previous Ranks: [ 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 ]
-What was expected of them?: Outside looking in.
-How did they do?: Exactly as predicted.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed, but couldn't have expected much more.
-How can they improve?: Levels should help fix their defense, but their offense is anemic and needs to be redone.
14. Palmetto Gamecocks Previous Ranks: [ 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 ]
-What was expected of them?: Outside looking in.
-How did they do?: Exactly as predicted.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Obviously disappointed, as they sold their team.
-How can they improve?: CPU.
15. Arlington Avalanche Previous Ranks: [ 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Beat the Storm and no one else.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: I don't think they cared either way.
-How can they improve?: By going CPU.
16. Stockholm Storm Previous Ranks: [ 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Exactly as a team of level 1 players in A leagues would be expected to do.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Pleased that they scored a couple points this season.
-How can they improve?: Keep building, going down to BBB will help.
1. Krakow Knights Previous Ranks: [ 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 ]
-What was expected of them?: Conference championship contender.
-How did they do?: Exceeded expectations, and ran the table.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Extremely pleased, beat some very good teams en route to 16-0.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
2. Lyon Winemakers Previous Ranks: [ 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 ]
-What was expected of them?: Top four contender.
-How did they do?: Knocked off Jacksonville to secure the 2nd seed all the way in week 3.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Extremely pleased to do this well in their first season in the league.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
3. Jacksonville Jackalopes Previous Ranks: [ 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 ]
-What was expected of them?: Conference championship contender.
-How did they do?: Losses to Lyon and Krakow ended their title hopes, but they have a good playoff position to make a title run from.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Very pleased at their final result. Only one home game but the chance to make noise.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
4. Newark Nomads Previous Ranks: [ 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 ]
-What was expected of them?: Conference championship contender.
-How did they do?: Loss to The Wall killed them, had some redemption in time for the playoffs with a win over Lyon.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed that they only get 1 home game and draw Krakow in round 2.
-How can they improve?: Have mastered the passing game, but need to add in a power game to keep teams honest.
5. The Berlin Wall Previous Ranks: [ 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Exceeded expectations in Zeta, and knocked off the previously undefeated Nomads.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Very pleased.
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing.
6. Victoria Assassins Previous Ranks: [ 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoffs.
-How did they do?: Beat the 10 teams below them, lost to the five teams above them.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Met expectations.
-How can they improve?: Need a defense.
7. Berlin Spartans Previous Ranks: [ 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 7 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Extremely moody season. The highs were high, the lows were low. Lost to some bad teams, but still make the playoffs.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: I don't think they care.
-How can they improve?: By caring.
8. Venice Freebirds Previous Ranks: [ 13 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Their high level humans outplayed their high level CPUs, and the outcome was beating enough teams to make the playoffs.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Pleased I guess.
-How can they improve?: By filling their roster.
9. Monte Carlo Red Glare Previous Ranks: [ 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Loss to Venice did them in, could never recover from that.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed that they missed the playoffs, but could not have expected more,
-How can they improve?: Keep doing what they're doing as their builds fill out.
10. Bolderslev Pirates Previous Ranks: [ 4 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 ]
-What was expected of them?: Top four contender.
-How did they do?: Uhh, not top four. Their team seems to have fallen apart, and they never fixed their depth issues.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: I don't think they care.
-How can they improve?: Blow it up and start over.
11. Stockholm Assassins Previous Ranks: [ 14 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 11 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Played some teams better than expected, but also lost a lot, and badly.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Disappointed.
-How can they improve?: Need a new defense and offensive line for sure.
12. Arlanda Jets Previous Ranks: [ 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 ]
-What was expected of them?: Outside looking in.
-How did they do?: Pretty much as expected.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Neither, I don't think they ever had a plan.
-How can they improve?: Having a plan.
13. Bordeaux Carlin Previous Ranks: [ 15 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Did better than expected, but not much better.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Not pleased.
-How can they improve?: By starting over.
14. Achei Crotone Previous Ranks: [ 11 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Much worse than advertised.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: Too inactive to notice.
-How can they improve?: Activity.
15. Chrulle Mavericks Previous Ranks: [ 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 ]
-What was expected of them?: Bottom third.
-How did they do?: Went CPU at the beginning of the season.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: CPU.
-How can they improve?: CPU.
16. Atlanta 404 Previous Ranks: [ 9 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 ]
-What was expected of them?: Playoff contender.
-How did they do?: Sold the team.
-Are they pleased or disappointed?: CPU.
-How can they improve?: CPU.
Most pleasant surprise: Barcelona Assassins
-Were on the outside looking in last season and the jury was out on their offseason moves. Looked absolutely unimpressive through 7 weeks, barely beating lesser teams, and losing badly to the Magic Dragons. Then a light flicked on in week eight and they almost beat the Dynamites, losing by a point. They then started to roll off a string of wins over top teams in Alpha, only losing to Oslo by a touchdown, and beating the Red Lights, Doom, Pirates, and Destroyers en route to a #3 seed.
Honorable mentions: Stockholm Dynamites, Lyon Winemakers, The Berlin Wall.
Most glaring disappointment: Amsterdam Red Lights
-This was a hard pick to make because not many teams, other than CPU ones, really disappointed from preseason until now. But the Red Lights had all the makings of a champion, and just couldn't put it together in the regular season. They lost by 10 to Dresden, 6 to Tulsa, 11 to Stockholm, 2 to Barcelona, and 3 to Oslo. They could have been somebody, could have been a contender, but now they're stuck in 7th. Playoffs will give them a chance for redemption though.
Dishonorable mentions: Bolderslev Pirates, Madrid Pirates, Hell on Turff.
Offensive Player of the Year: Mark Cupp, Lyon Winemakers
-The numbers never tell the whole story, and they really can't tell the whole story of Mark Cupp. On a team that is underleveled for its league, Cupp added an x-factor that enabled Lyon to do as well as it did. Throwing away all of his games against teams with losing records, he still ran averages of 30.3 carries per game for 207.5 yards and 4.5 touchdowns. Cupp helped his team win games it shouldn't have won.
Honorable mentions: Jason Crozier, Gored by Gore, Montana 2 Rice, Mahja Greystrom, Ghost O'Devine, Darius Amrtaka, Bruno Bulldozer.
Defensive Player of the Year: Jabber Jaw, Krakow Knights
-Straight up nightmare DE who could not be stopped all season. Disrupted every offense he played against, averaging 3 sacks a game against the other top teams in Zeta. One of the most important reasons that the Krakow defense was not solved all season, because he was the backbone of a defense that averaged negative rushing yards against.
Honorable mentions: Rygel 17th, Fire Crotch, Eukleides Ex, Polish Dogg, Just Rudy, Harrry Pitts, SGT. STRIKER.
Goldie's All-WEA4 Team:
QB Montana 2 Rice, The Berlin Wall (Insane numbers for a 33, will only get better from here)
RB Mark Cupp, Lyon Winemakers (Offensive POY)
FB Gregorian Jones, Tulsa Doom (Cleared the way for a very potent running game, 195 pancakes from the FB spot is no joke)
WR Vanquished Demon, Stockholm Assassins (Got his on a team that was pretty bad and had everyone keyed on him from the start)
WR Danika Lewis III, The Berlin Wall (No team could contain him, 25+ yard per catch average)
TE Jerimiah Witherspoon, Amsterdam Red Lights (Hard to contain TE who consistently got open and hauled in key passes)
LT Experimental Build, Dresden Destroyers (Anchor of a line that gave up very few sacks, and was a force in the running game as well)
RT Bobo Phat, Amsterdam Magic Dragons (Added a bright spot to a line that wasn't very strong in run blocking, and held his own in pass blocking as well)
LG Clubba Cakemaker, Stockholm Dynamites (Helped clear the way for Alpha's top rushing attack, and helped secure their QB's blind side)
RG Bruno Bulldozer, Krakow Knights (Crazy for a G to have those kinds of pancake numbers, even crazier from a backup!)
C Orlandu Cidoflas, Jacksonville Jackalopes (General for one of the most powerful lines in A4)
NT Douglas Heffernan, Newark Nomads (Holds down the fort for Newark's underrated run defense)
DT PileDriver Cruiser, Krakow Knights (Freak of nature from the DT spot, sure tackler with the speed to get to the QB)
DE Jabber Jaw, Krakow Knights (Defensive POY)
DE Polish Dogg, The Drunken Potato Farmers of Ayrshire (Seems to be an anomaly, the rare DE who goes against higher level players and still dominates)
LOLB Ales Zupancov, Amsterdam Magic Dragons (Everything you want in a LOLB, stuffs the run, sure tackler, great vision)
MLB Eric Sicher, Oslo Norsemen (Jack of all trades in the middle, runs one of the top defenses in the league)
ROLB SGT. STRIKER, Barcelona Assassins (Does it all for them, sure tackler, fumble forcer, pass deflecter, QB sacker)
CB Rygel 17th, Lyon Winemakers (Absolute ball hawk with 18 picks and 124 deflections, also a standout in run support)
CB Just Rudy, Oslo Norsemen (Rare corner that can take over in both the running and passing games)
SS HEAD. HUNTER, Barcelona Assassins (A force on the Barcelona defense, forced 10 fumbles and picked off 5 passes to go with 91 tackles)
FS Tony McPherson, Amsterdam Magic Dragons (Last line of defense for strong Magic Dragons defense, 103 tackles to 3 misses at that spot is no joke)
K Michael "Goob" Yagoobian, The Drunken Potato Farmers of Ayrshire (Perfect from inside 50 yards, and hit many of those longer kicks with high %)
P Appalachian FatPunter, Monte Carlo Red Glare (Punts a lot and does it with gusto, and with several coffin corners)
KR Kaelin Gales, Jacksonville Jackalopes (KR touchdown leader, with a robust 42.1 average)
PR Frank "Wrecking" Ball, Krakow Knights (3rd in PR average, by far #1 in yards, with 103 touchdowns)
