1(1) - East St. Louis Tire Fires(6-0) - Business as usual for the defending champs. This week will show us just how much all the new faces in ESL have help as they face Manila.
Next week vs Manila Hitmen ****GAME OF THE WEEK**** - Manila pulls the upset with a 3 point win
2(3) - Bandar Lampung Pigskin Pirates(6-0) - Not only did they beat Manila, they destroyed LeadUsNot's troops. The Pirates look more dangerous than ever this year, and Bandar's passing game looks unstoppable. Week 13 vs archrival ESL looks to be a battle for first place as normal.
Next week vs Chaiyaphum Gothic - Bandar
3(2) - Manila Hitmen(5-1) - This team only seems to lose to Bandar and ESL, and this season that trend has continued. Until they can defeat one of the two Superpowers, Manila plays the role of the 3rd wheel.
Next week at East St Louis Tire Fires ****GAME OF THE WEEK****- Manila heads to ESL for a war. Manila has never beaten ESL, and is due. Manila by 3
4(6) - Singapore Marauders(4-2) - 2 losses, I know, but they were to LSP and Manila, and have the reputation to back them up as well. Singapore is a very dangerous team as I have said for seasons, and playoff seeding will be very important to how far these guys can go this season.
Next week vs Lost City Idols - Marauders
5(10) - P-Funk Allstars(5-1) - By far the most impressive of the new teams. They played ESL tough for a half, and have beaten everyone else in there way, including a very good Katanas team. They face a talented Pa Dong team next week, and I expect the Allstars to keep on rolling. Don't disappoint me now that i'm showing you some rankings love.
Next week vs Pa Dong Dragons - Allstars by 10
6(4) - Kamakura Katanas(4-2) - Last year, these guys came in with a chip on there shoulder and earned there respect with avengenance. A year late and some of the teams that have followed them up have already jumped them. While they haven't come out firing like they did last season, they also seem a bit wiser and learned the hard way that the playoffs are when it counts. I expect these guys to flirt with a home playoff game while preparing for the real season.
Next week vs Portland Dirty Penguins -Katanas take a game that's much closer than expected
7(11) - Duluth Bulldogs(4-2) - A big loss to the Tweety's week one, and a loss to the red hot Allstars are the only speedbumps the Bulldogs have hit. They have a talented team, and have made the most of an easier starting schedule. They pick up 2 more victories before a showdown with the Dragons, and the start of a brutual second half.
Next week at Tokyo Whalers -Bulldogs
8(7) - Lost City Idols(4-2) - This team lost a heartbreaker to the Bulldogs, and played the Hitmen tough to start the season. Going to really hold off on talking about them this week, as they face Singapore, Bandar, and ESL the next 3 games, and we know exactly what they are made of after that stretch
Next week at Singapore Marauders -Singapore by 6
9(8) - Krungthep Garudas(3-3) - This team still has the majority of it's roster on the wrong side of 40 making it hard to take them seriously, but did pull out a great upset win over the Dragons. They played the Katanas and Bulldogs to the wire, but until they face Manila, we really won't know how they stand up. Either way, they can't afford to drop many more, as they end the season with Singapore, Bandar and ESL.
Next week vs Macau Gamblers - Garudas
10(9) - Pa Dong Dragons(2-4) - Very tough loss to the Garudas erases everything done by playing ESL/Singapore close and beating Kamakura. This is team has been playing out much like I expected them to, and they absolutely need to find that killer instinct. They have the talent to compete with anyone, they just need to put the rest of the pieces together soon.
Next week at P-Funk Allstars - Allstars are firing on all cylinders and pull out a close one
11(12) - Chaiyaphum Gothic(2-4) - Peter Pai has quietly developed into one of, if not the best wideout in SE Asia, and the Gothic are still in the playoff hunt after upsetting Bangkok. This team still has alot of work cut out for them, as the only other win they have is vs Phuket. They need to make it through the next few games, and come out firing hard in the second half if they want to make the playoffs.
Next week at Bandar Lampung Pigskin Pirates - Bandar by 3 scores
12(5) - Bangkok Seamen(1-5) - The surprise of the season so far is Bangkok. I never thought I'd say this, but it might be very hard for Bangkok to earn a playoff spot. They still have Bandar, ESL, Singapore and Kamakura - all playoff teams last season - to face, and they will be doing it with LOW chemistry. The additions of several NACJAC members might not pay off till next season. Where'd ES take his players too?
Next week at Phuket All - Bangkok in a blowout
13(13) - Portland Dirty Penguins(1-5) - This team has lost the close ones, been blown out by the elite, and only gained a victory over Phuket. It's been a rough start to the season for the Penguins, but they can find hope in the fact that they've faced most of the top teams. The remainder of there schedule only has Manila as a powerhouse, and if they can take care of buisness vs the others, could steal a bottom seed.
Next week at Kamakura Katanas -Katanas by 7
14(14) - Macau Gamblers(1-5) - Not much to say about Macau. They just aren't on the same level as any of the elite teams, and that's all they've faced(minus the bye week)
Next week at Krungthep Garudas - Garudas
15(15) - Tokyo Whalers(0-6)
16(16) - Phuket All(0-6)
Next week vs Manila Hitmen ****GAME OF THE WEEK**** - Manila pulls the upset with a 3 point win
2(3) - Bandar Lampung Pigskin Pirates(6-0) - Not only did they beat Manila, they destroyed LeadUsNot's troops. The Pirates look more dangerous than ever this year, and Bandar's passing game looks unstoppable. Week 13 vs archrival ESL looks to be a battle for first place as normal.
Next week vs Chaiyaphum Gothic - Bandar
3(2) - Manila Hitmen(5-1) - This team only seems to lose to Bandar and ESL, and this season that trend has continued. Until they can defeat one of the two Superpowers, Manila plays the role of the 3rd wheel.
Next week at East St Louis Tire Fires ****GAME OF THE WEEK****- Manila heads to ESL for a war. Manila has never beaten ESL, and is due. Manila by 3
4(6) - Singapore Marauders(4-2) - 2 losses, I know, but they were to LSP and Manila, and have the reputation to back them up as well. Singapore is a very dangerous team as I have said for seasons, and playoff seeding will be very important to how far these guys can go this season.
Next week vs Lost City Idols - Marauders
5(10) - P-Funk Allstars(5-1) - By far the most impressive of the new teams. They played ESL tough for a half, and have beaten everyone else in there way, including a very good Katanas team. They face a talented Pa Dong team next week, and I expect the Allstars to keep on rolling. Don't disappoint me now that i'm showing you some rankings love.
Next week vs Pa Dong Dragons - Allstars by 10
6(4) - Kamakura Katanas(4-2) - Last year, these guys came in with a chip on there shoulder and earned there respect with avengenance. A year late and some of the teams that have followed them up have already jumped them. While they haven't come out firing like they did last season, they also seem a bit wiser and learned the hard way that the playoffs are when it counts. I expect these guys to flirt with a home playoff game while preparing for the real season.
Next week vs Portland Dirty Penguins -Katanas take a game that's much closer than expected
7(11) - Duluth Bulldogs(4-2) - A big loss to the Tweety's week one, and a loss to the red hot Allstars are the only speedbumps the Bulldogs have hit. They have a talented team, and have made the most of an easier starting schedule. They pick up 2 more victories before a showdown with the Dragons, and the start of a brutual second half.
Next week at Tokyo Whalers -Bulldogs
8(7) - Lost City Idols(4-2) - This team lost a heartbreaker to the Bulldogs, and played the Hitmen tough to start the season. Going to really hold off on talking about them this week, as they face Singapore, Bandar, and ESL the next 3 games, and we know exactly what they are made of after that stretch
Next week at Singapore Marauders -Singapore by 6
9(8) - Krungthep Garudas(3-3) - This team still has the majority of it's roster on the wrong side of 40 making it hard to take them seriously, but did pull out a great upset win over the Dragons. They played the Katanas and Bulldogs to the wire, but until they face Manila, we really won't know how they stand up. Either way, they can't afford to drop many more, as they end the season with Singapore, Bandar and ESL.
Next week vs Macau Gamblers - Garudas
10(9) - Pa Dong Dragons(2-4) - Very tough loss to the Garudas erases everything done by playing ESL/Singapore close and beating Kamakura. This is team has been playing out much like I expected them to, and they absolutely need to find that killer instinct. They have the talent to compete with anyone, they just need to put the rest of the pieces together soon.
Next week at P-Funk Allstars - Allstars are firing on all cylinders and pull out a close one
11(12) - Chaiyaphum Gothic(2-4) - Peter Pai has quietly developed into one of, if not the best wideout in SE Asia, and the Gothic are still in the playoff hunt after upsetting Bangkok. This team still has alot of work cut out for them, as the only other win they have is vs Phuket. They need to make it through the next few games, and come out firing hard in the second half if they want to make the playoffs.
Next week at Bandar Lampung Pigskin Pirates - Bandar by 3 scores
12(5) - Bangkok Seamen(1-5) - The surprise of the season so far is Bangkok. I never thought I'd say this, but it might be very hard for Bangkok to earn a playoff spot. They still have Bandar, ESL, Singapore and Kamakura - all playoff teams last season - to face, and they will be doing it with LOW chemistry. The additions of several NACJAC members might not pay off till next season. Where'd ES take his players too?
Next week at Phuket All - Bangkok in a blowout
13(13) - Portland Dirty Penguins(1-5) - This team has lost the close ones, been blown out by the elite, and only gained a victory over Phuket. It's been a rough start to the season for the Penguins, but they can find hope in the fact that they've faced most of the top teams. The remainder of there schedule only has Manila as a powerhouse, and if they can take care of buisness vs the others, could steal a bottom seed.
Next week at Kamakura Katanas -Katanas by 7
14(14) - Macau Gamblers(1-5) - Not much to say about Macau. They just aren't on the same level as any of the elite teams, and that's all they've faced(minus the bye week)
Next week at Krungthep Garudas - Garudas
15(15) - Tokyo Whalers(0-6)
16(16) - Phuket All(0-6)
i throw them in more to just list who's playing who than for actually making picks
