1. Prague vs 8. Cincinnati
This is actually the team that I wanted to play again, so I am glad that they landed at 8. Anyhow, Cincinnati is a solid team, they just have issues with turning the ball over. -2 TO margin against Budapest in a 2 point loss, -4 against Sarajevo in an 11 point loss, but then beat Dubai by 1 point with a +3 TO margin .. They are a strange team and I think that they fiddle with their tactics too much. I am interested in playing them again just because they and Chernobyl played us closest this season and I am interested in seeing if they were legit, or if it was just a Week 4 bug (week 4 is when Bort gave out FPs because of buggy games).
I predict that Prague will win this game, I think it wont be by lack of quality competition, but by the fact that Cincinnati will shoot themselves in the feet again with turnovers.
4. Budapest vs 5. Chernobyl
Budapest is on a roll, they rolled up pretty big offensive numbers versus Washington in a surprise victory and a huge shot of respect for Zeta conference. Chernobyl on the other hand has been getting shut down on offense and not playing very good defense against elite opponents. Chernobyl is one of the two teams that came within 7 points of Prague this season, so they can handle tough teams. Also Chernobyl was in the Zeta CCG last season from the #1 seed, so they have been here before. Budapest got beat badly by Prague to start the season and would like nothing more than to face them again in round 2 and show that their 32 point week 2 loss was just a fluke and that they have improved a lot since then. I believe that Budapest is on a roll, they have their game together and they will beat Chernobyl to get their rematch.
2. Rome vs 7. Novosibirsk
Both of these teams can play some football, they both beat Alpha playoff teams in Week 16, but what about playing each other? The first thing one notices is that they have complimentary chemistry, so when the Rome offense is on the field, it matches up against a high chemistry Novosibirsk defense and then the weak chemistry units also play against each other. However, when it comes to playing tight games, keeping the score low and suffocating their opponents, clearly the advantage is on Rome's side. The talent is of similar levels, but Hazy has his own players at key positions where they contribute heavily to his team and Tpat and his 6 team GM run system seems not to work that well, even with the HUGE improvements in Novosibirsk over last season. Rome wins this one with their usual gameplan, defense and running the ball.
3. Silesia vs 6. Rockford
The first time around Rockford won this game by 2 points with a +3 TO margin. Since then most of Silesia has been banned (even though they have won 5 straight since most of their team was banned), and Rockford has taken some chemistry hits. History and chemistry would suggest that Silesia wins the game, the headless, ownerless playoff team will ride on to round 2 to face Rome in a rematch of Rome's tightest loss of the season.
This is actually the team that I wanted to play again, so I am glad that they landed at 8. Anyhow, Cincinnati is a solid team, they just have issues with turning the ball over. -2 TO margin against Budapest in a 2 point loss, -4 against Sarajevo in an 11 point loss, but then beat Dubai by 1 point with a +3 TO margin .. They are a strange team and I think that they fiddle with their tactics too much. I am interested in playing them again just because they and Chernobyl played us closest this season and I am interested in seeing if they were legit, or if it was just a Week 4 bug (week 4 is when Bort gave out FPs because of buggy games).
I predict that Prague will win this game, I think it wont be by lack of quality competition, but by the fact that Cincinnati will shoot themselves in the feet again with turnovers.
4. Budapest vs 5. Chernobyl
Budapest is on a roll, they rolled up pretty big offensive numbers versus Washington in a surprise victory and a huge shot of respect for Zeta conference. Chernobyl on the other hand has been getting shut down on offense and not playing very good defense against elite opponents. Chernobyl is one of the two teams that came within 7 points of Prague this season, so they can handle tough teams. Also Chernobyl was in the Zeta CCG last season from the #1 seed, so they have been here before. Budapest got beat badly by Prague to start the season and would like nothing more than to face them again in round 2 and show that their 32 point week 2 loss was just a fluke and that they have improved a lot since then. I believe that Budapest is on a roll, they have their game together and they will beat Chernobyl to get their rematch.
2. Rome vs 7. Novosibirsk
Both of these teams can play some football, they both beat Alpha playoff teams in Week 16, but what about playing each other? The first thing one notices is that they have complimentary chemistry, so when the Rome offense is on the field, it matches up against a high chemistry Novosibirsk defense and then the weak chemistry units also play against each other. However, when it comes to playing tight games, keeping the score low and suffocating their opponents, clearly the advantage is on Rome's side. The talent is of similar levels, but Hazy has his own players at key positions where they contribute heavily to his team and Tpat and his 6 team GM run system seems not to work that well, even with the HUGE improvements in Novosibirsk over last season. Rome wins this one with their usual gameplan, defense and running the ball.
3. Silesia vs 6. Rockford
The first time around Rockford won this game by 2 points with a +3 TO margin. Since then most of Silesia has been banned (even though they have won 5 straight since most of their team was banned), and Rockford has taken some chemistry hits. History and chemistry would suggest that Silesia wins the game, the headless, ownerless playoff team will ride on to round 2 to face Rome in a rematch of Rome's tightest loss of the season.
YOU CAN DO IT!
