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Forum > North American Pro League > USA Conference > En Dee's Eastern Conference S24 Preview (Top 10)
Night Dragon
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Enough Bevo tipping and let’s get back to what everyone loves best….the East Side.

S21 Preview - http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=4536935
S22 Preview - http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=4613244
S23 Preview - http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=4668772

Last season’s final results and how badly I missed in parenthesis (another wards plusses means I disrespected you and negatives means you stink):

1.) Chocolate Blaze (0) – Promoted to World League
2.) Black Ops (+1)
3.) South Otto Fragile Porcelain Mice (+2)
4.) NY-CA Ground Pounders (-2) – Demoted to Rookie Leagues
5.) College Station Aggies (+2)
6.) Nashville Hounds (-2)
7.) Atlantic City Affliction (+1)
8.) Oakland Suppressors (-2)

Once again, it looks like USA Pro East will be very tough and competitive again. Last season only saw former All the King’s Men leave the playoff picture because of promotion, so it was difficult for new teams to crack into the top eight spots. The Blaze take on the roll this season, but sadly NY-CA pulled the eject handle and parachuted to the bottom. That leaves two openings for new teams to shoot for. One of those teams will most likely be Bling’s team again, but can ACA and the Suppressors hold onto their spots? I am sure it would be nice if some of these East side teams could stay in the World League for once as the Hounds, King’s, and South Otto have all failed to stay up there and are creating a logjam at the top of the East. As long as Dana let’s someone else take care of game planning, the East shouldn’t have to fear the Blaze coming back.

1.) All The King's Men (5-11 World League)
Strengths – Teams built by one or two agents that know how to make dots can be a huge advantage for obvious reasons. I also know that Bling has a competent support staff to take care of his dots (or at least he did in the past). When these guys are on their A game, they will exploit anybody… go ask the UFC President. Since the last time we saw them, they have a completely different backfield with the exception of Perry. Perry better get back to 70% completion percentage or there is a good chance they will be surpassed to the World League. Team MVP candidate Bo Diddley is back with extended life through advanced player development changes. I suggest teams double that guy.
Weaknesses – I don’t really pay attention to the World League other than my Survivor picks, so I don’t know why Bling’s team has mowed over USA Pro since season 19, but struggles at the top level. They had some close games, but all their wins were against the bad teams. Against the playoff teams they were tossed about like rag dolls. I don’t know if this is a product to an over-hyped USA league, or Bling’s coordinators get extremely busy with real life. That defense was a sieve giving up nearly 30 points a game. If the King’s Men want to take that next step, they will need to erase 10 points off that. I don’t know if that ranking number means anything at this point, but 63 is a glaring eye sore for a top USA team. I also found it interesting that their possession receiver Reggie Williams struggled to catch half the balls thrown his way. That tells me that if the QB wants to up his QB rating of 80 to stay away from Reggie.
Schedule – First four weeks look pretty easy then a test match-up with the Mice. Then they get to take a break until midway in the season when they need to wake up for College Station. That’s good as their chemistry is slightly low and need to get that beefed up. The one advantage others have is Bling’s team will be on the road for most of the tough games with the exception of College Station who already have a promotion up.

2.) College Station Aggies (12-4)
Strengths – The team I am secretly rooting for this season. I could be wrong, but I love the fact they that aren’t associated with a super sized network and are trying to do it ‘old school like.’ This was the year I pinpointed them to make a move. They were five points away from making Dpride59 rage quit for ten days with a five point loss in the playoffs. Last year was the first time they beat the teams they were supposed to beat and weren’t upset by someone they shouldn’t have. That means they are taking care of business and understand how tight the top group is. This team will try to pound you on the ground. They always tried to make two HB’s work and I thought that was a flaw. They have three now and if that new player is as good as the other two, then this in itself is a huge upgrade. Cyrus trying to play the dual role of scat and elusive runner will appreciate the extra rest on the bench. Monsieur Electra won’t beat you with his catching ability, but once he has the ball in his hands he will pop you for eight yards a carry. That is impressive at this level.
Weaknesses – I should probably have the Ops in second place because of scheduling, but I want to take a chance on the Aggies. Probably the biggest problem and something they must overcome is T-Roy Aikman horrible completion percentage. Floating around 60% will not even get you to the World League let alone compete up there. They must get this fixed. 70% is usually the line you need to get to and they are a million miles away from that right now. Their WR also exemplify that, so the problem lies here. Cyrus and TE Chester are far more reliable then everyone else in the receiver corps.
Schedule – Bort’s scheduling really hampered College Stations goals. With away games at Nashville, Black Ops, and All the King’s Men, they have a huge hurdle in front of them. Especially if helmet days start flying. They get one reprieve in getting South Otto to come to their place.


3.) Black Ops 7 (14-2)
Strengths – These guys have stormed the league a couple of seasons ago and have been a menace. I know Nordoor is probably scratching his head on why I have his team ranked so low after being the highest rated team to come back from last season. Most probably have you second in their books and you could easily knock All the King’s Men from the top perch. I think there is a gap between the top three and South Otto. The Ops simply have South Otto’s number right now. Even Dana White said these guys are World League caliber and even claimed the Blaze actually tried for the first time in the conference championship game last season. That is high praise which is difficult to come by from Dana. Like I have said in earlier previews, I don’t typically follow defenses, but this is the Ops’ strength. Nine times did they keep teams below 10 points and in GLB where offenses rule that is quite an accomplishment. Their offense looks very efficient. Nothing to flashy, but TE Brady Camp looks to come through in the clutch with a 64% receiving percentage and a whopping 30 targets in the Redzone. Like I said previously, I have no idea if the Global Ranking number is accurate right now, but they are sitting at number 17 right now.
Weakness – I don’t see any major weaknesses which is probably another reason I misplaced you in the rankings. The offense is probably the biggest weakness. It seems that if defenses key on kimble anders, that could give them a chance to beat the Ops. He is responsible for 37% of the team’s offense. I also see the offense line struggles to keep Touch Pass protected with 76 sacks given up.
Schedule – Looks quite average. Easy cross over game and home games with College Station, Suppressors, and All the King’s Men. Will need to visit Nashville and South Otto though.


4.) South Otto Fragile Porcelain Mice (14-2)
Strengths – Are slowly making their move, but I am not sure they can catch the top teams. It’s a month away before playoffs start, so they have some time to clean up their problems and make a run at the Eastern Conference Championship. They just need to make sure they stay in front of Nashville. I know Wala Wala tried a scrambling QB, but didn’t find much success at this level. I have had a scrambling QB and realized they have limited use at the Pro level, but I have seen a few other Pro teams have success with it… including the Mice. That element always gives DC’s a headache because they have to plan for it which takes time most DC’s don’t want to waste on it. South Otto seems to be a running team as 55% of their total yards comes on the ground. I just remember these guys taking a chance on three DT’s. It looks like they have four now.
Weaknesses – Throwing the ball. Like College Station, they need to make monumental steps here if they want to make some noise. I know in the past that South Otto knew how to pass, so I am not so sure what the problem was last year. Yossarian has the effective level to play at an elite level so I hate to believe it is a tactics thing. Most teams increase the completion percentage by finding their HB and TE, but in South Otto’s case, it was trying to jam the ball to HB Bee West which dropped their completion percentage. I am not sure what is unique about their play calling or if it is simply Mr. West isn’t up to that type of play calling.
Schedule – They will know their playoff fate very early with a tough grind of games. ACA and the Groundhogs are no pushovers and sandwiched in between is two home games against Black Ops and All the King’s Men. Quite ironic they get their traditional foe in Week 16 which should be epic and determine who gets that first home playoff game.



5.) Atlantic City Afflition (9-7)
Strengths – It was difficult to put them ahead of Nashville even after Nashville smashed them in last season’s finale. I wanted to be different again and not go with the homer picks. First off, most people probably don’t know this, but ACA has been in the league longer than anybody in consecutive years. I know they were on deaths door step a few season back, but CoolChuck has revitalized this team. Another coincidence is I believe Monmouth is the longest standing Western team and Bort was nice enough to give these teams a first week showdown (which happened last season as well). That win over MEM really set the tone for ACA last season and they did have some close games against the Blaze and College Station. They looked to spread the ball around through the air to multiple players. I see a couple of new halfbacks that sorely needs to upgrade the running attack.
Weaknesses – I just don’t know how effective that offense will be. They did throw for nearly 5000 yards, but they were abysmal on the ground. They also need to rework that defense. Three of the teams ranked in front of them dropped no less that 48 points on them and Nashville gave them their biggest beating by running it up on the scoreboard by 65.
Schedule – Tough first round match-up that I am sure coachviking would like to erase. Then they get to lick their wounds next against South Otto at home. After that, the only promotional option I see on their schedule is Nashville.

6.) Nashville Hounds (10-6)
Strengths – They are still Nashville and they know what it takes to get to the big leagues. They will challenge people who sleep on them this season. I will just leave it at that. It seems like I am being harsh as I don’t have a lot of positives to say, but they will beat someone ahead of them in my rankings this season…if not more. I see they are going to a slightly more traditional offense then pass to WR and watch them break tackles down the field. They didn’t completely abandon that philosophy as I see newcomer Titts McGhee has that ability.
Weaknesses – All things being equal, they would be rated higher, but they have more things going against them then for them. They still look to be slowly transitioning their newer players onto the roster. It is tough to know who has and hasn’t boosted, but many of their dots currently are not L64 which puts them behind two upgrades on equipment to most of their opponents. A big part of their offense last year was HB Brent Carter (2297 yards and 9.22ypc) and he opted for retirement. Breaking Benjamin looks to possible fill that role, so hopefully they are as good if not better. I am always worried when I see three DT’s. They could struggle against physical running teams. Strangely they looked to be following South Otto’s pattern the past couple of season.
Schedule – They should win their first game, but they don’t get to sleep on their out of conference game like most top East teams get to. The perfect trap game. Good news is, they get College Station, Black Ops, Oakland Suppressors, and All the King’s Men at home. Bad news is, they go to South Otto and ACA which are teams they could be closely jockey with for playoff position.

7.) Wala Wala Drunken Shriners (7-9)
Strengths – They will probably move into a playoff position because I don’t think the promoted teams are quite ready for the lime light yet and one spot opened up with NY-CA rookie league demotion. They will have to work to stay here as dysfunctional team Alabama Slammers gave them a devastating loss last season. They can’t have that happen again. Probably the biggest positive thing that jumped out at me was LB Captain. Hero is a sack causing force fumbling machine that OC’s need to try and block. I think Oakland is in the middle of reloading for their future, so this could buy Wala Wala a season to get into the playoffs and hope to snag a couple of upsets along the way.
Weaknesses – They threw the ball 740 times last season. That is a lot. I would assume trying to play catch up was a big part of that, but floating around 50% completion rate with 700+ attempts is a very bad combo. They need to tighten that up if they want to strike fear in teams ranked ahead of them. Buddy Bizarre being a L63 and trying to replace a L72 player from last season isn’t going to help matters in the backfield either.
Schedule – I think they can win their cross game match-up, but that is another game that could be problematic. Punxsutawney Groundhogs is looking for respect and would love to be the next fast riser in this league, especially since advanced player development game them life to reach L72.

8.) Oakland Suppressors (9-7)
Strengths – I may regret having you guys too high, but I am basing this on your history mostly. I just don’t know if the next two teams can jump you yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see The Outlaws take your playoff spot. You were able to complete a high percentage of your passes, but both of those signal callers is gone. I believe it is the teams best interest two have one signal caller to open up a valuable roster spot and help better the odds in winning an endorsement deal for the QB. Other than that, it is tough to judge your strengths because of the major roster overhaul.
Weaknesses – Team chemistry plummeted to bring in low leveled dots. If these builds are similar to previous builds, then they will work their way back to strengthening their playoff spot again. If not, then their owner will begin to look like Al Davis. Replacing most of your skill positions from last year could be too much for them to overcome though. Losing JUICE SPRINGSTEEN! was a huge loss as he had 2000 yards rushing and nearly 1000 yards receiving.
Schedule – I don’t know a lot about your cross opponent, but they beat Wala Wala and you guys, so that doesn’t look very promising. Chicago Bears 85 are only a few more players from getting my attention, so another early trap game with your low chemistry. Luckily you get the Groundhogs and the Outlaws later in the season when your chemistry has healed.

9.) The Outlaw Assassins (5-11)
Strengths – The more and more I look at this team, the more I think they can knock Oakland out of the playoffs. It will be tough of course. Otherwise they have a lot of work to do before they can start to make dents into the top teams. It is nice to see teams that fall out of the playoffs spots can now field 55 men. So slowly the competition is creeping up. This should help them stay in playoff contention alone.
Weaknesses – Not able to complete 40% of your passes and the new QB struggled in this area means their OC needs to completely revamp what they are doing. HB’s low average yards per carry doesn’t help either and they are all back. They did change their OL personal around which will hopefully jump start this struggling offense.
Schedule – Their first four games will most likely end up in losses. The next game is against Punxsutawney Groundhogs who would love nothing more to move up closer to the playoff picture. Then South Otto waits for them on the other side of that game. That could make them 0-6 and sometimes coordinators get frustrated and quit. Hopefully they won’t.

10.) Punxsutawney Groundhogs (6-10)
Strengths – This team is in the weird. I cannot figure it out as their age would suggest they were near plateau but didn’t reach L72. That’s not a huge deal if they are expert tacticians, but it certainly will not help as they will become stuck and their opponents will slowly keep getting better. I see some potential in QB Vampire Lord, but assuming phearfactor runs the offense he has a tough task ahead of him to bring out the best in his QB. DE Can O Whoop Ass is certainly a bad ass when it comes to dominating the guy lined up in front of him. 39 sacks from one player is certainly a good thing to build a defense around.
Weaknesses – Their best offensive weapon from last year, HB Subaru Impreza WRX STI, has lost their agent for nearly a month. I don’t really understand the role of QB Demon Boar as he is some super slash player that will run the ball and return kicks. Seems like a loss of a roster spot, but maybe they have some tricks up their sleeve with Mr. Boar this season.
Schedule – They need to go 3-3 if they want any hope of surviving in the playoff hunt. That cross over game looks like a loss and they really needed some easy in conference games early in the season as they keep their effective level an advantage. Their schedule is primarily why I have them ranked 10th and not higher.

Sorry, I was too lazy to proof read, plus I was hungry.
Edited by Night Dragon on Sep 1, 2011 18:38:56
 
NorDoor
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Thanks for the write up.
 
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Wow, you know more about my team than I do
Seriously, that was killer!!!
 
RayRay99
Bastion of Truth
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Good stuff
 
Aggie_Outlaw
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Thanks for doing this. Awesome work.

Originally posted by Night Dragon

5.) College Station Aggies (+2)


I was a little off last year but i knew you had us low.

Originally posted by Aggie_Outlaw
As always, thanks for this. Great job.

Also, College Station too low. Get ready for a minimum of a (+4) on your score card next year.


 
oaklandraider
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Nice write up .... Oakland too high though ... we are in a reloading year ... just hanging on in there .....
 
QB Eater
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Very thoughtful write up. I know it is going to be tough for Groundhogs but I can tell you that Phear and I will be working hard to get into playoffs this year. The East is so good AND deep.
 
suske127
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Originally posted by QB Eater
Very thoughtful write up. I know it is going to be tough for Groundhogs but I can tell you that Phear and I will be working hard to get into playoffs this year. The East is so good AND deep.


 
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Originally posted by Night Dragon


1.) All The King's Men (5-11 World League)
Strengths – Teams built by one or two agents that know how to make dots can be a huge advantage for obvious reasons.


We've got dots from 25 different agents on our team so hardly a 1 agent team
 
RayRay99
Bastion of Truth
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Originally posted by King of Bling
We've got dots from 25 different agents on our team so hardly a 1 agent team


Multi(s) reported
 
coachviking
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Originally posted by RayRay99
Originally posted by King of Bling

We've got dots from 25 different agents on our team so hardly a 1 agent team


Multi(s) reported


Yeah Cause it seems like KOB needs to scam the Free Flex and Bogus Referrals
 
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Originally posted by coachviking
Yeah Cause it seems like KOB needs to scam the Free Flex and Bogus Referrals


LOL, the sad thing is I retired my Free player about 5 days ago (Truth) because I didn't like his build...how stupid was that
 


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