Could only get through the top 8 this week. I'll do the east first for week 5.
Eastern Conference Week 4 Rankings
1)Akron Assassins: 4-0
Last Game: 34-3 win over Klamath Falls
Pros: After beating Tampa I thought maybe the Grizzlies would be tougher than this against the Assassins. Akron is just a good all around team throwing for 194 and rushing for 215. DaMan DaSchiz III with another great performance with 3 TDs and no INTs. The Assassins really utilized their TE as he caught 2 TD passes and had 130.5 yards receiving.
Cons: They gave up a lot of yards through the air, but only because Klamath Falls passed a ton. K Eduardo Neves was 0/2 from over 40 yards. They’ll need him to up his game as the season goes on
Next Game: at Tampa Vipers
2)Alpine Golfers: 4-0
Last Game: 37-0 win over ….whoever the hell they are this week
Pros: Held their opponents to under 100 yards and -12 rushing. Most of the time that happens when a team only has 3-6 rushing attempts but the Fishless/Scoregams/Ones tried 19 had 19 attempts. QB Wesley Simo played well as did HB Dominion Accelerato. DE Julius Dee had a HUGE game on defense, one of the best performances of this young season. He had 7 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 hurries and 2 tackles for loss
Cons: They were giving their backups some playing time, but in some positions they won’t cut it. QB Doug Davis threw 2 INTs and their WRs had a lot of drops. Really though, nothing bad came from this game as long as they don’t try to coast through the next 3, though I have faith that they won’t
Next Game: at Orlando Mambas
3)Chicago Bruins: 3-1
Last Game: 28-0 win over Richmond
Pros: I can’t remember ever seeing a team score 28 points on 7 FGs and a TD. K Fred O’Bannion deserves a shout out for going 7/8 on FGs and making his only XP try of the game. Chicago handled Richmond fairly easily, despite only being able to score 1 TD. A Big win for the Bruins as they continue to roll after their week 1 loss to Alpine. CB Benjamin Carson led the defense with 6 tackles, 1 FF, 1 PD, and 2 INTs.
Cons: Duke Hill didn’t have a great game and the rushing attack wasn’t spectacular. They did just enough to drive down the field and let O’Bannion kick some FGs.
Next Game: vs New Orleans Eagles
4)North Carolina Lighthouses: 4-0
Last Game: 19-13 win over Denver
Pros: League leading rusher Trucking OverYou had another huge game against the Stallions, rushing for 160 yards on 29 carries. CB Joe Rippa and DE Cross Jeff both had big games for the defense. Rippa finished with 11 tackles, a fumble recovery, 3 pass deflections, and 2 INTs. Jeff had 7 tackles, 5 for loss, 3 hurries, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 pass deflection
Cons: It took a big 4th quarter for NC to pull out a win in this game. They’ve had an easy start to the season, and their next game will be tougher but they should still pull it out. They’ll be tested in week 6 vs Akron.
Next Game: at Klamath Falls
5)Memphis Ghetto Dawgs: 3-1
Last Game: 68-9 win over Elk Rapids
Pros: Memphis crushed the Elks, scoring 44 points in the second half alone. QB Robert Hunt had a good game going 17/23 and throwing 2 TD passes. HB John Green had 3 TD runs. The defense only allowed 16.5 total rushing yards
Cons: They’ve proven they can destroy the weak teams in this conference, and now they have a 4 game stretch against some of the best as they face Richmond/New Orleans/Chicago/Tampa in the next 4 games. How they fare in those 4 will show a lot about this teams outlook for the future.
Next Game: vs Richmond Speed
6)New Orleans Eagles: 3-1
Last Game: 6-21 loss to Tampa
Pros: The Eagles offense just never got going in their 1st loss of the season. HBs RockRunner and McDeuce both averaged over 4 yards per carry, but neither got the ball enough to do any damage.
Cons: The O-line allowed QB Dillious Oreleus to be hurried 7 times. Coming off the win vs Richmond this team looked like a major player in this conference but like Memphis their upcoming schedule will prove a lot about this team. They get Chicago this week followed by Memphis.
Next Game: at Chicago Bruins
7)Richmond Speed: 2-2
Last Game: 0-28 loss to Chicago
Pros: They held Chicago to 7 field goals, so the defense bent but didn’t break, unfortunately they got no help from their offense. LB Pat Halko had 8 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 forced fumble, and a pass deflection.
Cons: Back to back losses for Richmond puts them in a tough spot. They were only able to get 21 rushing yards on 15 carries, and while QB Shane Falco Jr completed over 60 percent of his passes, he also threw 3 INTs. It doesn’t get any easier this week with a big game against Memphis.
Next Game: at Memphis Ghetto Dawgs
8)Tampa Vipers: 2-2
Last Game: 21-6 win over New Orleans
Pros: A huge win for the Vipers after the disappointing loss to Klamath Falls last week. This team has been very up and down in the 1st four games of the season but QB Ryan Farsight really led them to victory in this game with Scotty Thunder as his favorite target. K Billy Awesomeness also had a big game, though he did miss an extra point.
Cons: They weren’t able to get anything going on the ground, but thankfully made up for it. Hard to think of anything bad to say about this team as knocking off the previously undefeated Eagles shows that they didn’t give up after a tough loss.
Next Game: vs Akron Assassins
Games to Watch in Week 5
#6 New Orleans Eagles at #3 Chicago Bruins
Both teams sit at 3-1, both maybe heading in opposite directions. Chicago lost it’s first game but hasn’t looked back since, and New Orleans started off 3-0 before getting beat by Tampa. I’d put Chicago as the favorites to win this game, but the Eagles are a tough team and shouldn’t be taken lightly
#7 Richmond Speed at #5 Memphis Ghetto Dawgs
Richmond really needs to start winning again, but we all know Memphis doesn’t want to let that happen. Richmond has a big target on their chest and after almost falling to Tampa they’ve lost 2 in a row. It will be interesting to see if they can stick with the Ghetto Dawgs who in their 3 wins this season haven’t really been challenged.
#1 Akron Assassins at #8 Tampa Vipers
Akron looks to continue their undefeated season against Tampa. Tampa looks to get a winning streak going here after their big win against New Orleans. Akron has not faced a tough team yet this season so it’ll be interesting to see how they matchup against the Vipers.
