Da Champs!
1 - East St. Louis Tire Fires - Back to back Super Woks, ESL is on top of the world again. Everyone knows about the dominance of the Tar Fars ground game. But what impressed me was the passing game. Harley Samson seemed to finally escape the shadow of legend Dom Brady, and performed brilliantly down the stretch. Antonio Sharpe has emerged as a bonafide number 1 with back to back 1000 yard 10 TD seasons. The defense is stellar as always, and the special teams looked even better than normal as well.
In the hunt for home playoff games
2 - Manila Hitmen - Only 3 losses all season, but all of those came to ESL and Bandar - teams that have haunted the Hitmen since the begining of the franchise. It's a new season however, and Manila is back and ready. LeadUsNot will have his troops ready, and I expect Manila to be even hungrier.
3 - Bandar Lampung Pigskin Pirates - Gavin Dunn had a career year, and the Pirates rolled to a 13-3 record. But then they ran into old rival ESL, and the Tar Fars late game magic act left the Pirates watching the Super Wok from home for a second straight season.
4 - Bangkok Seamen - The ony team ever to appear in 3 straight Super Wok's(2 titles) Bangkok should always be considered a title contender. They need to find a way to defeat Bandar however, as the Pirates have eliminated them the past two seasons and have won 4 straight.
5 - Kamakura Katanas - An ownership change might cause a few ripples, but I expect these guys to continue to perform at a high level. They only lost to Manila and ESL last season, although Manila did dismantle them in the playoffs. For now, I'm counting that as an offgame.
6 - Singapore Marauders - Singapore is an always dangerous team, and still sports the one two punch of Meth Head and Light Movement. This team has proven it can compete with the elite, and will be in the hunt for the top seed.
7 - Lost City Idols - The AAA2 Champs sport a number of 40+ starters, and have two previous championship runs as well. Of all the newcomers, Lost City has the best shot at competiting for a home playoff game imo.
Battling for the playoffs
8 - Krungthep Garudas - The AAA1 champs, i'm very interested to see how these guys fare. They obviously know what they are doing with there season 6 title, but how the level difference will impact them is what is intriguing. There highest level starter - 37. Bangkoks - 44, ESL - 43 and Bandar, Singapore and a few other teams have lineups full of 40+. Will the Garudas be able to adjust and overcome?
9 - Duluth Bulldogs - The Bulldogs almost made it to the AAA title but fell to the hands of eventual champion Lost City. They have solid levels, but no previous titles, which boils down to playoff losses.
10 - Pa Dong Dragons - Solid levels, but are in a similar situation as Duluth. The playoffs are when it matters the most and they have a history of early exits so for now they fall here.
11 - Chaiyaphum Gothic - Impressive last season, going 8-8 and working there way back into the playoffs. Peter Pai and Teri Songs both had amazing seasons, making the All HB team. With all the positives though, this team needs to have continued to improve, as the level of competition has dramatically increased.
The "I don't know enough about you yet" teams
12 - Portland Dirty Penguins - Lack of overall levels and championships makes it hard to place them higher as of now
13 - P-Funk Allstars - Pretty much a lack of trophies and a playoff loss to the Penguins puts them here.
Do or die time
14 - Macau Gamblers - Time is officially out for Macau. This team has survived by beating the bottom feeders, which have nearly all been moved down now. It is put up or shut up, the Gamblers either take that next step or will be fighting to stay in the Pro's.
Farewell tours?
15 - Tokyo Whalers - This team has been near the bottom of th league for the past few seasons, and without some major changes looks to remain there.
16 - Phuket All - The roster is empty, and this team is full blown rebuilding mode. The interesting thing to watch will be if the ownership will stay as it is right now.
1 - East St. Louis Tire Fires - Back to back Super Woks, ESL is on top of the world again. Everyone knows about the dominance of the Tar Fars ground game. But what impressed me was the passing game. Harley Samson seemed to finally escape the shadow of legend Dom Brady, and performed brilliantly down the stretch. Antonio Sharpe has emerged as a bonafide number 1 with back to back 1000 yard 10 TD seasons. The defense is stellar as always, and the special teams looked even better than normal as well.
In the hunt for home playoff games
2 - Manila Hitmen - Only 3 losses all season, but all of those came to ESL and Bandar - teams that have haunted the Hitmen since the begining of the franchise. It's a new season however, and Manila is back and ready. LeadUsNot will have his troops ready, and I expect Manila to be even hungrier.
3 - Bandar Lampung Pigskin Pirates - Gavin Dunn had a career year, and the Pirates rolled to a 13-3 record. But then they ran into old rival ESL, and the Tar Fars late game magic act left the Pirates watching the Super Wok from home for a second straight season.
4 - Bangkok Seamen - The ony team ever to appear in 3 straight Super Wok's(2 titles) Bangkok should always be considered a title contender. They need to find a way to defeat Bandar however, as the Pirates have eliminated them the past two seasons and have won 4 straight.
5 - Kamakura Katanas - An ownership change might cause a few ripples, but I expect these guys to continue to perform at a high level. They only lost to Manila and ESL last season, although Manila did dismantle them in the playoffs. For now, I'm counting that as an offgame.
6 - Singapore Marauders - Singapore is an always dangerous team, and still sports the one two punch of Meth Head and Light Movement. This team has proven it can compete with the elite, and will be in the hunt for the top seed.
7 - Lost City Idols - The AAA2 Champs sport a number of 40+ starters, and have two previous championship runs as well. Of all the newcomers, Lost City has the best shot at competiting for a home playoff game imo.
Battling for the playoffs
8 - Krungthep Garudas - The AAA1 champs, i'm very interested to see how these guys fare. They obviously know what they are doing with there season 6 title, but how the level difference will impact them is what is intriguing. There highest level starter - 37. Bangkoks - 44, ESL - 43 and Bandar, Singapore and a few other teams have lineups full of 40+. Will the Garudas be able to adjust and overcome?
9 - Duluth Bulldogs - The Bulldogs almost made it to the AAA title but fell to the hands of eventual champion Lost City. They have solid levels, but no previous titles, which boils down to playoff losses.
10 - Pa Dong Dragons - Solid levels, but are in a similar situation as Duluth. The playoffs are when it matters the most and they have a history of early exits so for now they fall here.
11 - Chaiyaphum Gothic - Impressive last season, going 8-8 and working there way back into the playoffs. Peter Pai and Teri Songs both had amazing seasons, making the All HB team. With all the positives though, this team needs to have continued to improve, as the level of competition has dramatically increased.
The "I don't know enough about you yet" teams
12 - Portland Dirty Penguins - Lack of overall levels and championships makes it hard to place them higher as of now
13 - P-Funk Allstars - Pretty much a lack of trophies and a playoff loss to the Penguins puts them here.
Do or die time
14 - Macau Gamblers - Time is officially out for Macau. This team has survived by beating the bottom feeders, which have nearly all been moved down now. It is put up or shut up, the Gamblers either take that next step or will be fighting to stay in the Pro's.
Farewell tours?
15 - Tokyo Whalers - This team has been near the bottom of th league for the past few seasons, and without some major changes looks to remain there.
16 - Phuket All - The roster is empty, and this team is full blown rebuilding mode. The interesting thing to watch will be if the ownership will stay as it is right now.
Last edited Dec 23, 2008 11:55:51
