Warrior General Games

Another great round of games in OPL. There were some surprising results, and a couple of statements made. Some made the rankings a bit clearer, and others just muddied all a bit more.

Without further ado, here are this week's rankings:

Top Ten

#1 (Last Week: 1) - Cypriot Freedom (4-0) - Probably the loudest statement of the week was made by Cypriot as they handed 6th Street their ass on a plate (no offense TenTwo). The way Cypriot is playing right now, I would be surprised if anyone beats them, at least until maybe the playoffs. They get to make yet another statement this week, as they face Devonport in what could be the game to decide the #1 spot in Alpha. Next opponent: Devonport Devils (Prediction - Cypriot by 17)

#2 (Last Week: 3) - Devonport Devils (4-0) - Devonport got a key win in the battle for Alpha as they beat Sin City. However, there is no rest for the weary, as they now face the #1 team in what could be the battle for the #1 seed in Alpha (didn't I just say that...I need to get some new material...) Next opponent: Cypriot Freedom (Prediction - Cypriot by 17)

#3 (Last Week: 4) - Asau Pirates (4-0) - As expected, Asau moved up one spot this week as a result of the Sin City loss. They will probably move up again after this week, since #1 and #2 play and they have a very winnable game. Asau's win over IC was impressive and was the type of win you would expect from a top 2 or 3 team. Next opponent: Addict Nation (Prediction - Asau by 60)

#4 (Last Week: 5) - Banzai Pipeline Nites (4-0) - Banzai continues to impress and show they belong in the top 4 or 5 as they beat a good GCMM team by a nice margin. Banzai has one more fairly easy game, then the schedule gets tougher. However, their ranked scrim against Asau shows that this is exactly where they belong right now. Next opponent: VOLGOGRAD BLACK ARMY (Prediction - Banzai by 45)

#5 (Last Week: 6) - Eastern European Alliance (3-1) - I swear, every week that loss to Cypriot looks better and better. They took care of their gimme game as expected, and with Cypriot just continuing to roll, I see no reason to penalize EEA for their bad luck in Week 1 matchups. Things could change tho, as they face an Oregon team that is looking to prove that Week 1 was a fluke and that they are a team to reckon with. Next opponent: Oregon Ducks (Prediction - EEA by 30)

#6 (Last Week: 2) - Sin City Silent Assassins (3-1) - Sin City drops 4 spots with the loss to Devonport. It was a pretty close game, and several other teams lost, so I see no reason to drop them any further. One game does not change my opinion that they are a top 4 Alpha team. Next opponent - Death Dealers (Prediction - Sin City by 35)

#7 (Last Week: 9) - Sumatra Sea Hawks (4-0) - I hope my rankings are not giving the guys in Sumatra whiplash. Every week I move you guys around as I try to find the right spot for you. More than any week before, I feel good about where you guys are right now. You outgained 6th in the close loss, and I can not ignore the margin of victory for Cypriot, so that loss and your continuing success moves you up 2 spots. Next opponent: Gold Coast Vipers (Prediction: Sumatra by 10)

From here down it gets real tough. I don't feel certain about this order, but it is the best I can figure at this point

#8 (Last Week: 8) - 6th Street Savage Swarm (2-2) - Last write-up I said the 6th had to play Cypriot close to stay in the top 10. They did not do that, but some unexpected results in other games allow 6th to stay in the top 10 anyway. As I said above, I am not certain about this ranking, but I have to sort the teams somehow. Next opponent: Hong Kong Voodoo (Prediction - 6th by 40)

#9 (Last Week: 12) - Bora Bora Bangaroos (2-2) - Bora Bora earns their way back into the top 10 with a statement win over Death. Looking at who they lost to and how they lost, this feels about right for them. Next opponent: 8 Mile Assault (Prediction - Bora Bora by alot {70+})

#10 (Last Week: 10) - Offtopica Miracle (3-1) -Offtopica gets a rather mundane win over a team I expected them to stomp. That concerns me a bit and opened the door for GCMM or another team to drop them out of the top 10. However, much like with Sin City and Devonport last week, I am going to leave OT at #10 and let this week's game decide the rankings for next week. Next opponent: Gold Coast Michelin Men (Prediction: OffTopica by 7)

The Rest of the Pack
#11 (11) - Gold Coast Micheline Men (2-2)
#12 (7) - Death Dealers (3-1)
#13 (15) - IC Incinerators (2-2)
#14 (16) - Stockholm Black Death (3-1)
#15 (14) - Boston Bulldogs (2-2)
#16 (17) - Oregon Ducks (3-1)
#17 (13) - Gold Coast Vipers (2-2)
#18 (18) - Indianola Longhorn Legends (2-2)
#19 (20) - San Diego Supa Chargers (2-2)
#20 (21) - Saipan Sin-Eaters (1-3)
#21 (22) - Hong Kong Voodoo (1-3)
#22 (19) - Volgograd Black Army (1-3)
#23 (23) - Oberon Bulls (1-3)
#24 (24) - Addict Nation (1-3)
#25 (25) - 8 Mile Assault (1-3)
#26 (26) - Tasmanian Muskrats (2-2)
#27 (27) - Florida BeachDogZ (0-4)
#28 (28) - Urban Super Dogs (1-3)
#29 (29) - Fortaleza Prowlers (1-3)
#30 (30) - Warriors of Oceania (0-4)
#31 (31) - Motown Legends (0-4)
#32 (32) - Tasmanian Devils (0-4)

Love these writeups

Originally posted by Livestrong
Love these writeups

+1


No disrespect to OffTopica but... I will guarantee that they will not make the playoffs. DD should have stayed in the top 10 despite the big loss to Bora Bora.

Originally posted by beenlurken
+1


No disrespect to OffTopica but... I will guarantee that they will not make the playoffs. DD should have stayed in the top 10 despite the big loss to Bora Bora.

You may be right. It's just so hard to rank OT, GCMM, Stockholm, Boston, and Death right now. I can see a case for just about each of them to be #10.

Originally posted by beenlurken
Originally posted by Livestrong

Love these writeups

+1


No disrespect to OffTopica but... I will guarantee that they will not make the playoffs. DD should have stayed in the top 10 despite the big loss to Bora Bora.

I see OT being back in season 16-17 form and going at least 10-6 this season, and more like 11-5.

That should be a playoff record.

Originally posted by yello1
I see OT being back in season 16-17 form and going at least 10-6 this season, and more like 11-5.

That should be a playoff record.

I was thinking more along the lines of 8-8 personally.
Sure you guys are 3-1, but at the moment, all 3 of those wins were against pushovers

I'm in the middle of moving back to the States, should fly tomorrow. I wish I had more time to post in the league forums but I am happy to read them with my few extra minutes. Cypriot handed it to us, but I blame it on chemisrty and no internet to gameplan...

but seriously Freedom, you guys are freakin awesome. Glad I didn't waste a second gameplanning. It would have been a waste of time.

Originally posted by Livestrong
Love these writeups

Heavyweight fight this week
Devonport vs Cypriot

Originally posted by Livestrong
I was thinking more along the lines of 8-8 personally.
Sure you guys are 3-1, but at the moment, all 3 of those wins were against pushovers

Its possible but we are 10-5 over all including scrims, 7-4 if you only count ranked ones. And of those scrim wins they are all against pro teams and one of them is undefeated in regular play, a couple of others are playing 500 ball and 3 of the 4 losses are to undefeated top 5 teams in SALP which is kicking OPLs but in inter-league play.

Might be wrong about it, but I think I figured out what got broken after our two playoff seasons and have replaced the bad bits with new improved players.

But we will see.

Might all come down to that week 14 game against that Bora Bora club. Looking forward to it.

Originally posted by yello1
I see OT being back in season 16-17 form and going at least 10-6 this season, and more like 11-5.

That should be a playoff record.

I think it is fair to say Cypriot, Devonport and Sin City at the very least are guaranteed to beat OT (which would make for 4 losses). I just dont see an upset against Death Dealers, Bora Bora, 6th St, Boston and even Stockholm.

No offense... I am with Livestrong and think 8-8 would be a good season. I am not as optimistic and would put my money on 7-9.

Gun to my head... here is who I would predict as the 8 playoff teams in Alpha (in no particular order).
Bora Bora
Cypriot
6th ST
Devonport
Death Dealers
Banzai
Sin City
Boston

I havent seen enough of Stockholm to form a strong opinion and they are the only team I can see knocking one of those other 8 teams out of the playoffs. Their next game should paint a better picture.

That said, I would love to be wrong as it would make this season even more interesting.

Originally posted by beenlurken
I think it is fair to say Cypriot, Devonport and Sin City at the very least are guaranteed to beat OT (which would make for 4 losses). I just dont see an upset against Death Dealers, Bora Bora, 6th St, Boston and even Stockholm.

No offense... I am with Livestrong and think 8-8 would be a good season. I am not as optimistic and would put my money on 7-9.

Gun to my head... here is who I would predict as the 8 playoff teams in Alpha (in no particular order).
Bora Bora
Cypriot
6th ST
Devonport
Death Dealers
Banzai
Sin City
Boston

I havent seen enough of Stockholm to form a strong opinion and they are the only team I can see knocking one of those other 8 teams out of the playoffs. Their next game should paint a better picture.

That said, I would love to be wrong as it would make this season even more interesting.

Prepare to be interested!

Heck I might even start to game plan.

No wait, that would be bad.

FWIW, I'm not defending Offtopica. I just feel like presenting the case for the various teams (as I see it):

OffTopica - Beat 3 non-playoff teams (meh). Outgained BPN in a 32 point loss. Some of the reason they gained more yards is that BPN had 3 non-offensive TDs, but the fact remains that they played BPN well enough to outgain them and average more per rush than BPN. At this stage of the game, I have alot of respect for BPN, so that loss is not a bad one in my book. That means they have 3 games that tell me nothing, and one game that is moderately impressive.

Gold Coast - Beat 2 non-playoff teams (meh). Got beat by Cypriot by 28. The loss margin is good, considering how Cypriot has played other teams thus far. However, they were outgained 500 to 240 and gave up 7.5 yards per rush vs. 2.2 for themselves. That kind of mitigates the score and makes the loss not a bad one, but not as good as the score implies. Lost to BPN by 42. Granted they threw 4 Interceptions, but the averages still support BPN clearly outplayed GCMM.

Based on those two, I gave Offtopica the higher rank and believe they will win tomorrow's game against Gold Coast.

Boston Bulldogs - Beat 2 non-playoff teams (altho Addict might have some life in them and surprise me). Lost to Devonport by 23. The margin is not bad, but Devonport getting 450 yds to Boston's 146, and holding Boston to 1.4 yards per rush make that loss feel not as close as the final score appears. Lost to Death by 4. Again, the stats would indicate they should have lost by more. They averaged less than 2 yards of Offense per Offensive play....

Death Dealers - Beat 2 non-playoff teams. Beat Boston by 4 (see above for commentary on the game). Lost to Bora Bora by 3. Not much to go from that except that I know they are between Bora and Boston.

Stockholm Black Death - Beat 3 non-playoff teams. Lost to IC by 7. Outgained IC 420 to 240. Had much better per play averages for run and pass. No turnovers or ST TDs, so I am really not sure how they lost this game. Thus, I really have no read on Stockholm, except to say that I am probably under-ranking them.

----------------

In hind sight, I probably should have gone:

Offtopica, Death, Stockholm, GCMM, Boston.

Fortunately, OT plays GCMM, and Boston plays Stockholm this week, so it should all be clearer by tomorrow evening.

Originally posted by snakes22
Heavyweight fight this week
Devonport vs Cypriot

can't friggin wait!

Originally posted by snakes22
Heavyweight fight this week
Devonport vs Cypriot

Game of the regular season!!

I take issue with our ranking, Oberon should at least be 22, maybe 21...