--- BACK FROM THE BIG SHOW ---
Three Kingdom Warriors
Season 14: 3-13 World League
Overview: The most successful SEA Pro team ever in the World League, the Warriors racked up a 46-23 career record there with three playoff appearances in four seasons. Last season saw the Warriors pick up 13 of those 23 losses as it began its inevitable roster turnover. Now, for the first time since Season 10, the Warriors are back here to reload for another run.
Outlook: There are still about 10 spots to fill, but the Warriors have some serious recruiting cred and are sporting some impressive dots in the spots that are filled. Will they have it together and ready for Season 15? What about all those expiring contracts on Day 1? Will they be getting contracts? If so, TKW immediately become one of the favorites in the conference. I would expect that, at worst, this is a playoff team who will give the top dogs a run for their money.
Manila Warlords
Season 14: 1-15 World League
Overview: The Warlords' second trip to the World League ended much the same way the first trip did -- with relegation after one season. It has to be a frustrating cycle for Manila -- the high of making it to the big dance, the low of realizing you did it just when your dots are beginning to decline. Their 1-15 season was nothing to write home about, but they won't stay down for long.
Outlook: They've got all but seven spots filled as of this posting, and a very impressive effective level of 71 despite an average level of just 63. They've loaded up on some of the best young talent that might be a season away from popping -- and now if they can complement it with some veterans, they could easily be in line for a home playoff berth. A return to the World League in Season 16, though, seems like a longshot.
--- CONTENDERS ---
Bangalore Monsoon
Season 14: 15-1 SEA Pro Garuda, lost to Tet in second round of playoffs
Overview: Bangalore wasn't the flashiest team in SEA Pro last season, but they picked up wins when needed (including giving Krungthep its only loss of the season) to finish at the top of the heap in Garuda. They also notched a 1-point win over LSP and a three-point win over Tet before eventually losing by 8 to Tet in the playoffs.
Outlook: There is some decline going on here, but it's still a nice mix of old and young dots. Perhaps a bigger concern is what will happen to the offense when Quinn is no longer at the helm. But then again, offense wasn't Bangalore's strength last season -- a face-smashing defense was. I expect they'll be frustrating opposing offenses again this season en route to another home playoff game.
Tet Offensive
Season 14: 13-3 SEA Pro, Conference Runners-Up
Overview: The meme here last season was incredible offense, suspect defense. But when they were clicking, the Offensive was not only a tough team, they also gave the league three of its most memorable games last season -- a pair of last-second thrillers with Buffalo and a rousing upset win over Bangalore in the second round of the playoffs. Tet also gave Krungthep a bit of a scare in the Conference Championship.
Outlook: Tet has been hard at work making sure they were ready for a Season 15 push. The roster is loaded up, the defense looks to be slightly improved, and the GM staff has been surveying the competition. If they can get a couple of big defensive performances to match what we already know their offense can do, Tet is as good as or better than any team in the Conference.
Lucid D.R.E.A.M.
Season 14: 10-6 SEA Pro, 6th place
Overview: They were kings of the big plays and close wins last season, separating themselves from the pack by beating the teams they were supposed to and scaring the hell out of the teams that finished above them. Then, in the first round of the playoffs, the DREAM shocked and LSP team that had beat them by 33 in the regular season and forced Krungthep to turn the ball over six times in the second round despite the loss.
Outlook: The DREAM haven't been asleep at the wheel over the offseason. They game-planned the shit out of their schedule at the end of the season last year and showed that they know what it takes to win -- and now they bring in a bunch of fresh faces to load up for a run. The road to a Garuda title will probably depend on being able to get past Lucid.
--- LOOKING FOR REDEMPTION ---
Vietnamese Sweatshop
Season 14: 10-6 SEA Pro, 7th place
Overview: The surprising thing about the Sweatshop last season is that their record didn't match the team. They were solid second-tier competition who showed up strong in the big games and didn't fall to a team with a lesser record the entire season. Then a first-round seeding against Krungthep ended their season early.
Outlook: I think these guys are solid -- a very nice roster, good GM staff and a lot of dots who might've been a season too young last year. With a couple of good breaks, Vietnam could be in line for a home playoff spot this time around. At the very least, they should be a playoff team once again.
--- LOOKING BLEAK ---
Buffalo Rampage
Season 14: 11-5 SEA Pro, 5th place
Overview: They had two heart-breaking losses to Tet, another one to Lucid and almost beat Saigon to start the season. Yeah, they got bumped from the first round of the playoffs, but if the ball had bounced their way a couple of times last season, this could've been one of the elites.
Outlook: What has Buffalo been doing this offseason? Do they have a line on some players that we don't know about? There are 14 open slots on what should otherwise be a team that can contend for a title. Can they pull it together? Is there time?
--- OLD FACES RETURN ---
San Francisco Fire Horses
Season 14: 13-3 SEA AAA-1 ,2nd place
Overview: The Horses stumbled a bit at the end of the regular season, but a strong run through the middle of the schedule found them sitting in the No. 2 seed for the AAA-1 playoffs. Unfortunately for the Horses, Shiroyama was lurking in the second round of the playoffs for a bad beating.
Outlook: The roster still needs to be filled and the Fire Horses seem to be staring into the abyss of decline for the dots they do have. If San Francisco can mount a last-minute recruiting drive to fill their final slots, they should be a solid middle-of-the-pack Garuda team. If not, though, their stint back in Pro could be a short one.
--- FRESH MEAT ---
Munich Mayhem
Season 14: 16-0 SEA AAA-2, Champion
Overview: What an impressive season for Munich last year in AAA -- 25-0 including playoffs and scrimmages, no wins in the regular season that were closer than 41 points, and a pair of wins (including scrimmages) over SEA Pro returnee Cambodia and a current 40-game winning streak that includes back-to-back titles at AA and AAA. They are the cream of the crop from AAA-2.
Outlook: Let's see what we've got here ... what looks like a solid GM staff, a full roster, a smart distribution of depth and a whole lot of dots who haven't yet hit their decline. Their effective level isn't as strong as some of the other top teams, but the lack of decline will probably compensate for that. I doubt they're going to sneak into the league underneath anyone's radar, but they still seem to be positioned for a nice long run here and a potential run at the conference in Season 16.
The New York Empire
Season 14: 15-1 SEA AAA-1, Conference Champion
Overview: The Evil Empire is so vast that apparently it has its sights set on taking over the Pacific Rim as well. Yeah, they got crushed by Semarang in the championship game, but as black marks go, that one's not too bad all things considered. The Empire opened the season with a beatdown of SEA Pro newcomer Victoria and won 13 straight to finish the regular season. They also avenged their only loss by knocking down Shiroyama to advance to the title game.
Outlook: I have to admit that I don't know much about the GM staff aside from its CFO, but this looks on paper to be a very nice mix of young and older dots with very limited decline to worry about and a full roster with which to compete. They could make an immediate impact in the conference, but a more important point is that (with Munich and the Tackling Dummies) Garuda has picked up a few really nice-looking teams this season that should stick around for a while and help improve the quality of Garuda from top to bottom.
The Tackling Dummies
Season 14: 15-1 SEA AAA-2, Coference Runners-Up
Overview: Two big losses to Munich are the only real blemishes on this lower-leveled, but highly effective import. Aside from that, they pretty much rolled over the rest of the conference. Even their only close win of the season was avenged when the Dummies mauled Ruhr in the second round of the playoffs 65-3.
Outlook: Well this is an interesting-looking team. The offensive line is comprised of 19 players, including 12 centers (10 of whom are SSB creations by one agent), which means that 31 of the team's 55 slots are filled by offensive players. The GM staff sports a bunch of recognizable names and the team is simply loaded with lower-leveled guy with extremely high effective levels. Does the defense have enough depth for SEA Pro? Will the low levels be able to hang with higher-leveled teams all around it? This unique experimental-style team should be a very interesting one to watch -- and possibly an elite super-team in a couple of seasons.
Shiroyama Samurai
Season 14: 13-3 SEA AAA-1, Conference Runners-Up
Overview: The Samurai were a scrappy team in AAA last season, giving the Empire its only regular season loss, and picking up two close defeats by 1 to Buffalo; by 4 to Johor Bahru) to fall out of the No. 2 seed. The Samurai avenged a regular-season loss to the Fire Horses with a 60-point win over them in the second round of the playoffs.
Outlook: Things aren't looking very rosey for Shiroyama heading into its first Pro season -- the roster is still far from filled and their dots might be a half-season from reaching a Pro maturity level. This is a tough time to be looking to fill so many key positions, so unless they can make a strong late push, the Land of the Rising Sun might be looking at an early sunset.
Flint Cobras
Season 14: 12-4, SEA AAA-2 5th place
Overview: Flint made some sparks in AAA last season by picking up a lot of key wins despite missing a home playoff game, and the Cobras upset Allied Sack Exchange in the first round of the playoffs to earn promotion in a big year of turnover for the Pro Gardua conference.
Outlook: Compared to some of the competition promoting with them, Flint looks to be slightly below the teams who are currently ready for the Pros -- Munich, The Empire, The Tackling Dummies. Slightly. That could be easily remedied, though, if Flint can fill its final 8 slots with a few premium dots to fill out a couple of suspect positions.
Hell's Reapers
Season 14: 11-5 SEA AAA-1 (Naga), 5th place,
Overview: There was so much turnover in Gardua that GLB needed to import a fifth-place Naga team just to fill the holes. But these guys weren't exactly pushovers no matter what their record was -- close losses to Shiroyama, the Teabaggers, Semarang show that these dots could hang with the big boys. And an upset win over Panay in the first round of the playoffs sent them here.
Outlook: Still got nine spots to fill, which could make all the difference, but as it looks right now, put the Reapers a notch below Flint. But once again, this looks like a fairly solid promotion that will help Garuda's overall competitive level if they stick around.
--- THE CELLAR ---
Johor Bahru Beach Bums
Season 14: 12-4 SEA AAA-1, 5th place
Overview: A solid, if not flashy, team in SEA AAA last season, the Bums picked up nice wins against Shiroyama, Buffalo and the Fire Horses.
Outlook: Uh-oh. Six days into the preseason and still 30 holes to fill on the roster. Is this the first official SEA Pro gut team?
Singapore Canes
Season 14: 5-11 SEA Pro, 12th place
Overview: The Canes had a rough season last year, managing just one winning streak of two games and losing four straight to end the year.
Outlook: 21 spots to fill and two CPU players on the roster. Unless something changes soon, the Canes are going to get flogged like Michael Fay's ass
-------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Hat-tip for Polor for his brief Garuda scouting report that helped me group the teams before I started this. If you feel your team has been short-changed, though, blame me and not him. My scouting and his differ in a few key places, and he probably thought your team was the best-est.
Three Kingdom Warriors
Season 14: 3-13 World League
Overview: The most successful SEA Pro team ever in the World League, the Warriors racked up a 46-23 career record there with three playoff appearances in four seasons. Last season saw the Warriors pick up 13 of those 23 losses as it began its inevitable roster turnover. Now, for the first time since Season 10, the Warriors are back here to reload for another run.
Outlook: There are still about 10 spots to fill, but the Warriors have some serious recruiting cred and are sporting some impressive dots in the spots that are filled. Will they have it together and ready for Season 15? What about all those expiring contracts on Day 1? Will they be getting contracts? If so, TKW immediately become one of the favorites in the conference. I would expect that, at worst, this is a playoff team who will give the top dogs a run for their money.
Manila Warlords
Season 14: 1-15 World League
Overview: The Warlords' second trip to the World League ended much the same way the first trip did -- with relegation after one season. It has to be a frustrating cycle for Manila -- the high of making it to the big dance, the low of realizing you did it just when your dots are beginning to decline. Their 1-15 season was nothing to write home about, but they won't stay down for long.
Outlook: They've got all but seven spots filled as of this posting, and a very impressive effective level of 71 despite an average level of just 63. They've loaded up on some of the best young talent that might be a season away from popping -- and now if they can complement it with some veterans, they could easily be in line for a home playoff berth. A return to the World League in Season 16, though, seems like a longshot.
--- CONTENDERS ---
Bangalore Monsoon
Season 14: 15-1 SEA Pro Garuda, lost to Tet in second round of playoffs
Overview: Bangalore wasn't the flashiest team in SEA Pro last season, but they picked up wins when needed (including giving Krungthep its only loss of the season) to finish at the top of the heap in Garuda. They also notched a 1-point win over LSP and a three-point win over Tet before eventually losing by 8 to Tet in the playoffs.
Outlook: There is some decline going on here, but it's still a nice mix of old and young dots. Perhaps a bigger concern is what will happen to the offense when Quinn is no longer at the helm. But then again, offense wasn't Bangalore's strength last season -- a face-smashing defense was. I expect they'll be frustrating opposing offenses again this season en route to another home playoff game.
Tet Offensive
Season 14: 13-3 SEA Pro, Conference Runners-Up
Overview: The meme here last season was incredible offense, suspect defense. But when they were clicking, the Offensive was not only a tough team, they also gave the league three of its most memorable games last season -- a pair of last-second thrillers with Buffalo and a rousing upset win over Bangalore in the second round of the playoffs. Tet also gave Krungthep a bit of a scare in the Conference Championship.
Outlook: Tet has been hard at work making sure they were ready for a Season 15 push. The roster is loaded up, the defense looks to be slightly improved, and the GM staff has been surveying the competition. If they can get a couple of big defensive performances to match what we already know their offense can do, Tet is as good as or better than any team in the Conference.
Lucid D.R.E.A.M.
Season 14: 10-6 SEA Pro, 6th place
Overview: They were kings of the big plays and close wins last season, separating themselves from the pack by beating the teams they were supposed to and scaring the hell out of the teams that finished above them. Then, in the first round of the playoffs, the DREAM shocked and LSP team that had beat them by 33 in the regular season and forced Krungthep to turn the ball over six times in the second round despite the loss.
Outlook: The DREAM haven't been asleep at the wheel over the offseason. They game-planned the shit out of their schedule at the end of the season last year and showed that they know what it takes to win -- and now they bring in a bunch of fresh faces to load up for a run. The road to a Garuda title will probably depend on being able to get past Lucid.
--- LOOKING FOR REDEMPTION ---
Vietnamese Sweatshop
Season 14: 10-6 SEA Pro, 7th place
Overview: The surprising thing about the Sweatshop last season is that their record didn't match the team. They were solid second-tier competition who showed up strong in the big games and didn't fall to a team with a lesser record the entire season. Then a first-round seeding against Krungthep ended their season early.
Outlook: I think these guys are solid -- a very nice roster, good GM staff and a lot of dots who might've been a season too young last year. With a couple of good breaks, Vietnam could be in line for a home playoff spot this time around. At the very least, they should be a playoff team once again.
--- LOOKING BLEAK ---
Buffalo Rampage
Season 14: 11-5 SEA Pro, 5th place
Overview: They had two heart-breaking losses to Tet, another one to Lucid and almost beat Saigon to start the season. Yeah, they got bumped from the first round of the playoffs, but if the ball had bounced their way a couple of times last season, this could've been one of the elites.
Outlook: What has Buffalo been doing this offseason? Do they have a line on some players that we don't know about? There are 14 open slots on what should otherwise be a team that can contend for a title. Can they pull it together? Is there time?
--- OLD FACES RETURN ---
San Francisco Fire Horses
Season 14: 13-3 SEA AAA-1 ,2nd place
Overview: The Horses stumbled a bit at the end of the regular season, but a strong run through the middle of the schedule found them sitting in the No. 2 seed for the AAA-1 playoffs. Unfortunately for the Horses, Shiroyama was lurking in the second round of the playoffs for a bad beating.
Outlook: The roster still needs to be filled and the Fire Horses seem to be staring into the abyss of decline for the dots they do have. If San Francisco can mount a last-minute recruiting drive to fill their final slots, they should be a solid middle-of-the-pack Garuda team. If not, though, their stint back in Pro could be a short one.
--- FRESH MEAT ---
Munich Mayhem
Season 14: 16-0 SEA AAA-2, Champion
Overview: What an impressive season for Munich last year in AAA -- 25-0 including playoffs and scrimmages, no wins in the regular season that were closer than 41 points, and a pair of wins (including scrimmages) over SEA Pro returnee Cambodia and a current 40-game winning streak that includes back-to-back titles at AA and AAA. They are the cream of the crop from AAA-2.
Outlook: Let's see what we've got here ... what looks like a solid GM staff, a full roster, a smart distribution of depth and a whole lot of dots who haven't yet hit their decline. Their effective level isn't as strong as some of the other top teams, but the lack of decline will probably compensate for that. I doubt they're going to sneak into the league underneath anyone's radar, but they still seem to be positioned for a nice long run here and a potential run at the conference in Season 16.
The New York Empire
Season 14: 15-1 SEA AAA-1, Conference Champion
Overview: The Evil Empire is so vast that apparently it has its sights set on taking over the Pacific Rim as well. Yeah, they got crushed by Semarang in the championship game, but as black marks go, that one's not too bad all things considered. The Empire opened the season with a beatdown of SEA Pro newcomer Victoria and won 13 straight to finish the regular season. They also avenged their only loss by knocking down Shiroyama to advance to the title game.
Outlook: I have to admit that I don't know much about the GM staff aside from its CFO, but this looks on paper to be a very nice mix of young and older dots with very limited decline to worry about and a full roster with which to compete. They could make an immediate impact in the conference, but a more important point is that (with Munich and the Tackling Dummies) Garuda has picked up a few really nice-looking teams this season that should stick around for a while and help improve the quality of Garuda from top to bottom.
The Tackling Dummies
Season 14: 15-1 SEA AAA-2, Coference Runners-Up
Overview: Two big losses to Munich are the only real blemishes on this lower-leveled, but highly effective import. Aside from that, they pretty much rolled over the rest of the conference. Even their only close win of the season was avenged when the Dummies mauled Ruhr in the second round of the playoffs 65-3.
Outlook: Well this is an interesting-looking team. The offensive line is comprised of 19 players, including 12 centers (10 of whom are SSB creations by one agent), which means that 31 of the team's 55 slots are filled by offensive players. The GM staff sports a bunch of recognizable names and the team is simply loaded with lower-leveled guy with extremely high effective levels. Does the defense have enough depth for SEA Pro? Will the low levels be able to hang with higher-leveled teams all around it? This unique experimental-style team should be a very interesting one to watch -- and possibly an elite super-team in a couple of seasons.
Shiroyama Samurai
Season 14: 13-3 SEA AAA-1, Conference Runners-Up
Overview: The Samurai were a scrappy team in AAA last season, giving the Empire its only regular season loss, and picking up two close defeats by 1 to Buffalo; by 4 to Johor Bahru) to fall out of the No. 2 seed. The Samurai avenged a regular-season loss to the Fire Horses with a 60-point win over them in the second round of the playoffs.
Outlook: Things aren't looking very rosey for Shiroyama heading into its first Pro season -- the roster is still far from filled and their dots might be a half-season from reaching a Pro maturity level. This is a tough time to be looking to fill so many key positions, so unless they can make a strong late push, the Land of the Rising Sun might be looking at an early sunset.
Flint Cobras
Season 14: 12-4, SEA AAA-2 5th place
Overview: Flint made some sparks in AAA last season by picking up a lot of key wins despite missing a home playoff game, and the Cobras upset Allied Sack Exchange in the first round of the playoffs to earn promotion in a big year of turnover for the Pro Gardua conference.
Outlook: Compared to some of the competition promoting with them, Flint looks to be slightly below the teams who are currently ready for the Pros -- Munich, The Empire, The Tackling Dummies. Slightly. That could be easily remedied, though, if Flint can fill its final 8 slots with a few premium dots to fill out a couple of suspect positions.
Hell's Reapers
Season 14: 11-5 SEA AAA-1 (Naga), 5th place,
Overview: There was so much turnover in Gardua that GLB needed to import a fifth-place Naga team just to fill the holes. But these guys weren't exactly pushovers no matter what their record was -- close losses to Shiroyama, the Teabaggers, Semarang show that these dots could hang with the big boys. And an upset win over Panay in the first round of the playoffs sent them here.
Outlook: Still got nine spots to fill, which could make all the difference, but as it looks right now, put the Reapers a notch below Flint. But once again, this looks like a fairly solid promotion that will help Garuda's overall competitive level if they stick around.
--- THE CELLAR ---
Johor Bahru Beach Bums
Season 14: 12-4 SEA AAA-1, 5th place
Overview: A solid, if not flashy, team in SEA AAA last season, the Bums picked up nice wins against Shiroyama, Buffalo and the Fire Horses.
Outlook: Uh-oh. Six days into the preseason and still 30 holes to fill on the roster. Is this the first official SEA Pro gut team?
Singapore Canes
Season 14: 5-11 SEA Pro, 12th place
Overview: The Canes had a rough season last year, managing just one winning streak of two games and losing four straight to end the year.
Outlook: 21 spots to fill and two CPU players on the roster. Unless something changes soon, the Canes are going to get flogged like Michael Fay's ass
-------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Hat-tip for Polor for his brief Garuda scouting report that helped me group the teams before I started this. If you feel your team has been short-changed, though, blame me and not him. My scouting and his differ in a few key places, and he probably thought your team was the best-est.
Edited by haole on Mar 25, 2010 04:55:21
Edited by haole on Mar 25, 2010 03:11:15
Edited by haole on Mar 25, 2010 03:07:47
Edited by haole on Mar 25, 2010 03:07:21
Edited by haole on Mar 25, 2010 03:06:45
