Week 5 is in and things are starting to take shape - at the moment I'd say the top 6 should pretty much be locks for the playoffs with about 5 or 6 sides fighting it out for the final 2 spots.
1 (1) London Monarchs (5-0)
The Monarchs finally got the WuJacks monkey off their backs with an impressive performance on both sides of the ball. The defense, which had been giving up an average of 34 points a game, held Woodridge to only one TD, which came in garbage time in the final two minutes of the game. Jon Horton continues to dominate defenses, grabbing 2 TD's and 194.5 yards from 9 receptions. The Monarchs face a stern test next up against the London Minotaurs, a team that is number one against the pass so far this year.
2 (2) Black Watch (4-1)
Black Watch went into today's game expecting a victory. What I'm sure they didn't expect was to put 97 points on their opponents and shut them out in the process. There is still an element of the unknown about Black Watch, with all of their victories coming against team's with losing records, but you can't really ignore the manner in which they have won their games. They'll go into their game against Woodridge as slight favourites.
3 (4) Paris Philarmonic (4-1)
Paris continues with the form that won them the Championship last season, putting 40 points on their opponents for the 3rd week in a row, albeit against a weaker side in Carthage. Their running game produced 365.5 yards and 3 TD's while their defense pummeled Carthage's running game, forcing them into negative yardage. They face Chicago next who are hurting from a demoralising loss before squaring up in an exciting matchup with Black Watch the following week.
4 (5) Wembley Warriors (4-1)
The Warriors are making a habit of getting in close games so far this season, with 3 of their 4 victories being decided by a field goal. Their latest victory against AWC came by a margin of 6 points, but they are doing just enough to win each week. They hope to continue their streak and move to 5-1 against the Red Bandits next.
5 (6) London Minotaurs (4-1)
London came out on top against Lake Charles, with their defense continuing to force turnovers. WEPL's #1 running side went for just under 300 yards as they defeated the Who Dats 31-21. They'll compete in the Game of the Week in the 6th round of games when we see if the Monarchs can keep their running game in check as well as whether or not the Minotaurs much vaunted pass defense can stop their opponents potent passing game.
6 (3) Woodridge Lumberjacks (3-2)
Woodridge couldn't continue their winning streak against the Monarchs dating all the way back to season two. A standout performance from WR, Ellis Carver (8 catches-134.5 yards-1 TD)was the only real positive for the Lumberjacks to take out of the game as the passing game continued to stutter in general. They face their second tough game in a row against Black Watch next and on the form of both sides recently, Woodridge may very well see themselves falling further behind.
7 (7) Stuttgart Nighthawks (3-2)
Stuttgart got their playoff bid back on track with a tightly fought win over FTA in one of the week's more underrated games. The Nighthawks 3rd rated Alpha rushing attack carved up the Aggies with 292 yards most of which came from HB, Ankle Breaka, who is having a breakout season in terms of yardage. They now travel to fellow German side Berlin, in a game that won't be easy.
8 (9) Dinas Mawddwy Red Bandits (3-2)
The Red Bandits move back into the top 8 with an easy victory against Toledo. Newly acquired QB, C Dub, scored 7 TD's against his old side in the 132-3 drubbing. They'll be tested against Wembley in what should be a close game next week.
9 (8) Fightin' Texas Aggies (1-4)
FTA seemed like they had turned a corner last week with victory over the Mercs, but there's no shame in losing to Stuttgart this season. They face Aberdeen next and if history is anything to go by, we should be in for a cracker, with 3 of their previous matchups being decided by 3 points or less.
10 (13) Berlin Blitzkrieg (1-4)
Some people might question my decision to move Berlin up 5 places in the space of 2 weeks despite only one victory in that space of time. However, a dominating win over the freefalling Mercs, as well as the fact that they have probably had the toughest schedule out of all the teams in Alpha so far means things are looking up for the German outfit.
11 (14) Aberdeen Wrecking Crew (1-4)
Aberdeen ran a strong Wembley side close. Consistency has always been their problem. If they can find some they could shock a few people along the way. They have the defense but they need to find some offense.
12 (12) Lake Charles Who Dats (1-4)
An improvement in performance this week from the Who Dats, but it wasn't anywhere near enough to get them close to victory despite only being defeated by 10 points. They've got the difficult part of their schedule out of the way and will look to move away from the pack at the bottom in their next 6 games.
13 (10) Chicago Rocks (2-3)
Chicago were embarassed this week by Black Watch. They need to bounce back quickly or they could face a similar result against an in-form Paris side.
14 (11) E-City Mercenaries (1-4)
The Mercs continue to tumble down the rankings, being blown out by Berlin this week 61-21. It looks like their season might already be over with a brutal 4-game stretch coming up, in which they face 4 of the top 6 ranked teams.
15 (15) Carthage Army of Darkness (0-5)
It's not all bad for Carthage - they face Toledo next...
16 (16) Toledo Swords (0-5)
The Toledo swan song continues...
1 (1) London Monarchs (5-0)
The Monarchs finally got the WuJacks monkey off their backs with an impressive performance on both sides of the ball. The defense, which had been giving up an average of 34 points a game, held Woodridge to only one TD, which came in garbage time in the final two minutes of the game. Jon Horton continues to dominate defenses, grabbing 2 TD's and 194.5 yards from 9 receptions. The Monarchs face a stern test next up against the London Minotaurs, a team that is number one against the pass so far this year.
2 (2) Black Watch (4-1)
Black Watch went into today's game expecting a victory. What I'm sure they didn't expect was to put 97 points on their opponents and shut them out in the process. There is still an element of the unknown about Black Watch, with all of their victories coming against team's with losing records, but you can't really ignore the manner in which they have won their games. They'll go into their game against Woodridge as slight favourites.
3 (4) Paris Philarmonic (4-1)
Paris continues with the form that won them the Championship last season, putting 40 points on their opponents for the 3rd week in a row, albeit against a weaker side in Carthage. Their running game produced 365.5 yards and 3 TD's while their defense pummeled Carthage's running game, forcing them into negative yardage. They face Chicago next who are hurting from a demoralising loss before squaring up in an exciting matchup with Black Watch the following week.
4 (5) Wembley Warriors (4-1)
The Warriors are making a habit of getting in close games so far this season, with 3 of their 4 victories being decided by a field goal. Their latest victory against AWC came by a margin of 6 points, but they are doing just enough to win each week. They hope to continue their streak and move to 5-1 against the Red Bandits next.
5 (6) London Minotaurs (4-1)
London came out on top against Lake Charles, with their defense continuing to force turnovers. WEPL's #1 running side went for just under 300 yards as they defeated the Who Dats 31-21. They'll compete in the Game of the Week in the 6th round of games when we see if the Monarchs can keep their running game in check as well as whether or not the Minotaurs much vaunted pass defense can stop their opponents potent passing game.
6 (3) Woodridge Lumberjacks (3-2)
Woodridge couldn't continue their winning streak against the Monarchs dating all the way back to season two. A standout performance from WR, Ellis Carver (8 catches-134.5 yards-1 TD)was the only real positive for the Lumberjacks to take out of the game as the passing game continued to stutter in general. They face their second tough game in a row against Black Watch next and on the form of both sides recently, Woodridge may very well see themselves falling further behind.
7 (7) Stuttgart Nighthawks (3-2)
Stuttgart got their playoff bid back on track with a tightly fought win over FTA in one of the week's more underrated games. The Nighthawks 3rd rated Alpha rushing attack carved up the Aggies with 292 yards most of which came from HB, Ankle Breaka, who is having a breakout season in terms of yardage. They now travel to fellow German side Berlin, in a game that won't be easy.
8 (9) Dinas Mawddwy Red Bandits (3-2)
The Red Bandits move back into the top 8 with an easy victory against Toledo. Newly acquired QB, C Dub, scored 7 TD's against his old side in the 132-3 drubbing. They'll be tested against Wembley in what should be a close game next week.
9 (8) Fightin' Texas Aggies (1-4)
FTA seemed like they had turned a corner last week with victory over the Mercs, but there's no shame in losing to Stuttgart this season. They face Aberdeen next and if history is anything to go by, we should be in for a cracker, with 3 of their previous matchups being decided by 3 points or less.
10 (13) Berlin Blitzkrieg (1-4)
Some people might question my decision to move Berlin up 5 places in the space of 2 weeks despite only one victory in that space of time. However, a dominating win over the freefalling Mercs, as well as the fact that they have probably had the toughest schedule out of all the teams in Alpha so far means things are looking up for the German outfit.
11 (14) Aberdeen Wrecking Crew (1-4)
Aberdeen ran a strong Wembley side close. Consistency has always been their problem. If they can find some they could shock a few people along the way. They have the defense but they need to find some offense.
12 (12) Lake Charles Who Dats (1-4)
An improvement in performance this week from the Who Dats, but it wasn't anywhere near enough to get them close to victory despite only being defeated by 10 points. They've got the difficult part of their schedule out of the way and will look to move away from the pack at the bottom in their next 6 games.
13 (10) Chicago Rocks (2-3)
Chicago were embarassed this week by Black Watch. They need to bounce back quickly or they could face a similar result against an in-form Paris side.
14 (11) E-City Mercenaries (1-4)
The Mercs continue to tumble down the rankings, being blown out by Berlin this week 61-21. It looks like their season might already be over with a brutal 4-game stretch coming up, in which they face 4 of the top 6 ranked teams.
15 (15) Carthage Army of Darkness (0-5)
It's not all bad for Carthage - they face Toledo next...
16 (16) Toledo Swords (0-5)
The Toledo swan song continues...
