(following CV's lead, a look at the Zeta Playoffs)
0-0 last week, 0-0 overall
Seven of the eight Season 12 Zeta playoff teams qualified for the WL playoffs in Season 11 as well, the 8th (New Jersey) was busy winning the USAPL title. Three of these teams reached the WL Final Four and one (HHW) made it the Championship Game before losing to Drygerian. Bottom line = lots of very good match-ups and lots of close games. Should be fun.
[1] Three Kingdom Warriors v. [8] Drinkin Hellraisers
….. Last season’s playoffs: 3KW = 1st round exit (SING 6-30); DH = loss in final four (HHW 13-19)
….. Earlier this season: 3KW 40 - DH 10
- The younger half of the Wang Dynasty began their World League career last season as relative unknowns but quickly proved they belonged. This season they kicked it up a couple more notches and cruised to a 15-1 record and grabbed the #1 seed in the Zeta playoffs. QB Song Yuanyuan gets the love from the media, but their defense, lead by LB’s Gary Keiaho and Evan Byron did the dirty work, allowing just 17 points per game and stuffing the run better than any other WL team.
- Drinkin had to come back against Cajun in their season finale to snap a four-game losing streak and sneak into the playoffs. Their 8-3 start gave them room to go all loldrinkin for a few weeks, but now it’s go time and we’ll see if Stobie and gang snap out of it in time to make another run. The Drinkin pass D was the stingiest in the league, so look for 3KW to go after their porous run D.
- 3KW’s 40-10 win a few weeks ago wasn’t even that close. Was Drinkin sandbagging and Not showing their true skills - saving it for the playoffs? Or is Three Kingdom just that good? Probably much more of the latter. With Drinkin’s O struggling to get anything going lately - even when they really needed it last week - I don’t see them having the firepower to put up the 30+ it will likely take to win this one. 3KW wins, 31-17.
[2] Bonn Dynamo v. [7] Santiago Benitos
….. Last season’s playoffs: BONN = loss in final four (DRYG 23-30) ; SB = 1st round exit (MEM 24-55)
….. Earlier this season: BONN 27 - SB 12
- Bonn trailed only Haliblack in both Most Points Scored and Fewest Points Allowed this season. Their 10-game win streak was snapped with a late-season loss to HHW, but they got to finish up with a garbage time 363-0 win over Tasmania to boost morale. Always one of the most dangerous teams in GLB, Bonn’s swarming D is still fun to watch. LB Manbeast McPhearson racked up over 100 tackles, DE’s RJ Washington and Scary Gary Coleman each finished with 25+ sacks, and CB Jay Figgs nabbed 7 picks.
- Santiago is one of GLB’s original powerhouses - maybe THE original GLB powerhouse. Though not as dominant as they once were, the Benitos can’t be taken lightly, especially come playoff time. They only managed wins against two of Zeta’s playoff teams this season - and lost their earlier H2H game with Bonn - but their famous coach-QB tandem of Havoc & Randall will be ready to give Bonn all they can handle.
- Late season losses by each team provided worthy film study and I’m sure it’s all been dissected by now. Getting into a battle of game prep with Havoc and Krille is never a good idea, but Kurieg and WOC will be up to the challenge and Bonn should have enough muscle to come away with the win. Don’t expect a blowout, Dynamo 24-20.
[3] New Jersey Blaze v. [6] Stewart Ballers
….. Last season’s playoffs: NJB = USAPL Champs; STEW = 1st round exit (LSP 12-16)
….. Earlier this season: NJB 20 - STEW 19
- Carrying their shiny new USAPL crown, New Jersey got off to an 8-0 start in the WL, highlighted by a win in week 1 over Haliblack. That run was followed by a 2-4 tailspin before they righted the ship and finished up with a pair of quality wins (over MPHD and Santiago) to end the regular season. RB duo Cooter Splitter and Mamadu Hawkins - who combined for over 50 TD’s on the ground - give the Blaze some legit punch. A lack of WL playoff experience won’t faze this team.
- Stewart went 7-1 in the second half of the season - mostly against non-playoff teams, but none-the-less did what they had to do to get back to the playoffs. Stewart’s run defense was among the league’s best, they’ll surely be tested in this game. Mid-season acquisition, dual threat QB Larry Long Arm Bledsoe could be the wild card that sparks an upset.
- The early season match-up between these two was a hard-hitting battle - Stewart forced 6 New Jersey fumbles in that game, but could only recover two of them. They’ll need the bounces to go their way this time. Looking forward to see that NJ ground game against the stout Stewart run D. The Blaze takes another close one, 23-17.
[4] Machu Picchu Hidden Dragons v. [5] Honolulu Hurricane Warriors
….. Last season’s playoffs: MPHD = 1st round exit (DRYG 20-38); HHW = lost WL title game (DRYG 27-37)
….. Earlier this season: MPHD 29 - HHW 20
- Machu Picchu is built around Taut’s creative use of a super-utility FB and an all-around stingy defense. Fullback Duck Beard’s jersey sales are through the roof recently as the versatile runner/receiver fell just a hair short of a 1000yd/1000yd season and overshadowed long-time fan favorite HB Johnny Tso. MPHD’s balanced defense lead the WL with the fewest total yards allowed and trailed only Haliblack and Bonn in TD’s allowed.
- Honolulu is on a mission to return to the title game, but they’ll have an incredibly tough road to get through first, starting right here with MPHD. Unlike past seasons, HHW’s defense showed some cracks - mostly through the air - but the Wang’s always seem to come up big when they need to, so expect whatever issues they had during the season to be ironed out. QB Stuart Wang was again a steady and productive leader for the offense.
- The Machu win in their prior meeting was mainly a result of a successful ball-control attack. Look for MPHD to challenge the Honolulu D with more of the same this time. Dragons win again in a defensive battle, 17-13.
0-0 last week, 0-0 overall
Seven of the eight Season 12 Zeta playoff teams qualified for the WL playoffs in Season 11 as well, the 8th (New Jersey) was busy winning the USAPL title. Three of these teams reached the WL Final Four and one (HHW) made it the Championship Game before losing to Drygerian. Bottom line = lots of very good match-ups and lots of close games. Should be fun.
[1] Three Kingdom Warriors v. [8] Drinkin Hellraisers
….. Last season’s playoffs: 3KW = 1st round exit (SING 6-30); DH = loss in final four (HHW 13-19)
….. Earlier this season: 3KW 40 - DH 10
- The younger half of the Wang Dynasty began their World League career last season as relative unknowns but quickly proved they belonged. This season they kicked it up a couple more notches and cruised to a 15-1 record and grabbed the #1 seed in the Zeta playoffs. QB Song Yuanyuan gets the love from the media, but their defense, lead by LB’s Gary Keiaho and Evan Byron did the dirty work, allowing just 17 points per game and stuffing the run better than any other WL team.
- Drinkin had to come back against Cajun in their season finale to snap a four-game losing streak and sneak into the playoffs. Their 8-3 start gave them room to go all loldrinkin for a few weeks, but now it’s go time and we’ll see if Stobie and gang snap out of it in time to make another run. The Drinkin pass D was the stingiest in the league, so look for 3KW to go after their porous run D.
- 3KW’s 40-10 win a few weeks ago wasn’t even that close. Was Drinkin sandbagging and Not showing their true skills - saving it for the playoffs? Or is Three Kingdom just that good? Probably much more of the latter. With Drinkin’s O struggling to get anything going lately - even when they really needed it last week - I don’t see them having the firepower to put up the 30+ it will likely take to win this one. 3KW wins, 31-17.
[2] Bonn Dynamo v. [7] Santiago Benitos
….. Last season’s playoffs: BONN = loss in final four (DRYG 23-30) ; SB = 1st round exit (MEM 24-55)
….. Earlier this season: BONN 27 - SB 12
- Bonn trailed only Haliblack in both Most Points Scored and Fewest Points Allowed this season. Their 10-game win streak was snapped with a late-season loss to HHW, but they got to finish up with a garbage time 363-0 win over Tasmania to boost morale. Always one of the most dangerous teams in GLB, Bonn’s swarming D is still fun to watch. LB Manbeast McPhearson racked up over 100 tackles, DE’s RJ Washington and Scary Gary Coleman each finished with 25+ sacks, and CB Jay Figgs nabbed 7 picks.
- Santiago is one of GLB’s original powerhouses - maybe THE original GLB powerhouse. Though not as dominant as they once were, the Benitos can’t be taken lightly, especially come playoff time. They only managed wins against two of Zeta’s playoff teams this season - and lost their earlier H2H game with Bonn - but their famous coach-QB tandem of Havoc & Randall will be ready to give Bonn all they can handle.
- Late season losses by each team provided worthy film study and I’m sure it’s all been dissected by now. Getting into a battle of game prep with Havoc and Krille is never a good idea, but Kurieg and WOC will be up to the challenge and Bonn should have enough muscle to come away with the win. Don’t expect a blowout, Dynamo 24-20.
[3] New Jersey Blaze v. [6] Stewart Ballers
….. Last season’s playoffs: NJB = USAPL Champs; STEW = 1st round exit (LSP 12-16)
….. Earlier this season: NJB 20 - STEW 19
- Carrying their shiny new USAPL crown, New Jersey got off to an 8-0 start in the WL, highlighted by a win in week 1 over Haliblack. That run was followed by a 2-4 tailspin before they righted the ship and finished up with a pair of quality wins (over MPHD and Santiago) to end the regular season. RB duo Cooter Splitter and Mamadu Hawkins - who combined for over 50 TD’s on the ground - give the Blaze some legit punch. A lack of WL playoff experience won’t faze this team.
- Stewart went 7-1 in the second half of the season - mostly against non-playoff teams, but none-the-less did what they had to do to get back to the playoffs. Stewart’s run defense was among the league’s best, they’ll surely be tested in this game. Mid-season acquisition, dual threat QB Larry Long Arm Bledsoe could be the wild card that sparks an upset.
- The early season match-up between these two was a hard-hitting battle - Stewart forced 6 New Jersey fumbles in that game, but could only recover two of them. They’ll need the bounces to go their way this time. Looking forward to see that NJ ground game against the stout Stewart run D. The Blaze takes another close one, 23-17.
[4] Machu Picchu Hidden Dragons v. [5] Honolulu Hurricane Warriors
….. Last season’s playoffs: MPHD = 1st round exit (DRYG 20-38); HHW = lost WL title game (DRYG 27-37)
….. Earlier this season: MPHD 29 - HHW 20
- Machu Picchu is built around Taut’s creative use of a super-utility FB and an all-around stingy defense. Fullback Duck Beard’s jersey sales are through the roof recently as the versatile runner/receiver fell just a hair short of a 1000yd/1000yd season and overshadowed long-time fan favorite HB Johnny Tso. MPHD’s balanced defense lead the WL with the fewest total yards allowed and trailed only Haliblack and Bonn in TD’s allowed.
- Honolulu is on a mission to return to the title game, but they’ll have an incredibly tough road to get through first, starting right here with MPHD. Unlike past seasons, HHW’s defense showed some cracks - mostly through the air - but the Wang’s always seem to come up big when they need to, so expect whatever issues they had during the season to be ironed out. QB Stuart Wang was again a steady and productive leader for the offense.
- The Machu win in their prior meeting was mainly a result of a successful ball-control attack. Look for MPHD to challenge the Honolulu D with more of the same this time. Dragons win again in a defensive battle, 17-13.
Edited by turnit643 on Nov 14, 2009 02:13:28
