I would have done week 1 but turkey day = busy. The below are my thoughts on these games as well as thoughts and predictions. Replies (good or bad) means people enjoy these, so keep that in mind. Also I am MUCH more familiar with Zeta this season, so predictions on the side of the bracket will maybe be more accurate. Who knows though amirite?
=================ZETA======================
Indy Gurupies vs Texas Militia
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams.pl?team1=4813&team2=563
Texas has the #1 run and #2 scoring offense, going against Indy's #1 run D and #2 scoring defense. This is actually what the shit legendary games are made of, and if you are going to watch one spoiler-free dotball playoff game this week, this should be it.
Add in that these teams have a ton of history. This season Texas won 42-38 with a last minute go-ahead TD. Their last match-up previously was S42 where Texas won 30-20 in the CCG. However in S41 Indy beat Texas 27-24 for a WL championship with a FG in the games last moments.
In the end, my own 'STOP BEING ME TEXAS' and 'REFGURU IS THE WORST' bias aside, I gotta go with the Gurupies here. The run O vs run D is clearly the match-up to watch, and Indy has shown the ability to shut it down in the past. However Indy also has a very strong #3 overall balanced offense, which should be able to score well on the Texas D. Should be a great game, but I'm giving Indy the edge here.
South Otto Fragile Porcelain Mice VS Honolulu Hurricane Wife Carriers
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams.pl?team1=1288&team2=1509
Jeez these teams have long names. For everything sexy about the Indy/Texas game, this is more like a game between Oprah and fat Val Kilmer. In their first match-up the Mice edged out 17-16 in a nail biter.
Both these teams have elite defenses. The Mice just play sound D overall, while HHWC focuses a bit more on turnovers. Both offenses are nothing special, and both were completely ineffective both running and passing in their regular season match-up.
The keys for a Mice victory, is keeping the ball on the ground, and sticking to short passes and screens. Obviously they need some better runs than the sub 3.0 ypc of the regular season, but ginding out a game is going to be the key to not lose it for their D. In my opinion their pass game isn't strong enough to light up a scoreboard on HHWC, and exposing the team to picks and sacks could make this ugly. The OC in me makes me want to vomit suggesting a "avoid mistakes" offense, but the Mice are gonna win playoff games by protecting and supplementing that D.
The keys for a HHWC victory is scoring some points... somehow... Get to like 20 points and you are probably good. Kinda tough though since HHWC only put up more than 21 points against 1 playoff team in the regular season (27 vs Texas).
Prediction. Gotta go with a Mice victory against one of the most successful franchises in GLB history, and I could see HHWC getting held to the single digits here.
========================ALPHA==============
Burnside Bandits VS Miami Red Hawks
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams.pl?team1=3036&team2=509
In their regular season match-up Burnside edge them out 31-24.
The Bandits hang their hat on their elite run Defense which shut down DoW in round 1. They also have the #3 scoring D in their conference along with a middling offense.
The Redhawks have a middling offense and defense (that's how you hit 9-7) however tomcic and sellars has been at this game for a long time with some solid WL playoff games under their belt. Their strengths are clearly passing the rock and stopping the pass.
Honestly here, I think the Redhawks win, and they win big. Miami's offense needs to focus on MORE passing as we all know they can let the rock fly vs Burnside and be successful, rather than playing into their strong run D. On D the redhawks showed a great pass D all season, but then in round 1 showed an elite run D out of nowhere to stop Dirty Sanchez.
In the end, this is the case of the Redhawks being a better team than their record indicates, and if they don't do something stupid like try to play power run football, I think they win this game comfortably. lol9-7
Odessa Mojo VS Morning Glory
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/game.pl?game_id=2675867
The Mojo as always have a scary big-play defense with sacks and picks galore. It's scary because their pass D always gives up nice yardage to attack, but I think we've all had a few too many 6-INT WL games to feel comfortable letting it fly again Odessa. Their offense has nice balance and is very productive.
Morning Glory has a good run based offense that can score effectively. This is paired up with a bad defense. The D is the worst of any remaining playoff team, and their pass D is almost the worst in all of world league. Run heavy offenses tend to protect D's a bit as well, so who knows how bad this defense would be without that run game...
On offense Morning Glory has the exact recipe to be productive vs Odessa. Pound the rock and hit high percentage protected throws. They should score enough to keep the game competitive unless they start slinging downfield for picks.
However I have to pick Odessa on their quest to 3-peat. The two-time defending WL champions simply have two much offense, and I honestly don't think Morning Glory has enough ammo on D to stop the run OR pass game from the Mojo. The game probably stays close in the 1st half, but once Odessa pulls away and Glory starts to put some air on the ball, it might get ugly.
=================ZETA======================
Indy Gurupies vs Texas Militia
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams.pl?team1=4813&team2=563
Texas has the #1 run and #2 scoring offense, going against Indy's #1 run D and #2 scoring defense. This is actually what the shit legendary games are made of, and if you are going to watch one spoiler-free dotball playoff game this week, this should be it.
Add in that these teams have a ton of history. This season Texas won 42-38 with a last minute go-ahead TD. Their last match-up previously was S42 where Texas won 30-20 in the CCG. However in S41 Indy beat Texas 27-24 for a WL championship with a FG in the games last moments.
In the end, my own 'STOP BEING ME TEXAS' and 'REFGURU IS THE WORST' bias aside, I gotta go with the Gurupies here. The run O vs run D is clearly the match-up to watch, and Indy has shown the ability to shut it down in the past. However Indy also has a very strong #3 overall balanced offense, which should be able to score well on the Texas D. Should be a great game, but I'm giving Indy the edge here.
South Otto Fragile Porcelain Mice VS Honolulu Hurricane Wife Carriers
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams.pl?team1=1288&team2=1509
Jeez these teams have long names. For everything sexy about the Indy/Texas game, this is more like a game between Oprah and fat Val Kilmer. In their first match-up the Mice edged out 17-16 in a nail biter.
Both these teams have elite defenses. The Mice just play sound D overall, while HHWC focuses a bit more on turnovers. Both offenses are nothing special, and both were completely ineffective both running and passing in their regular season match-up.
The keys for a Mice victory, is keeping the ball on the ground, and sticking to short passes and screens. Obviously they need some better runs than the sub 3.0 ypc of the regular season, but ginding out a game is going to be the key to not lose it for their D. In my opinion their pass game isn't strong enough to light up a scoreboard on HHWC, and exposing the team to picks and sacks could make this ugly. The OC in me makes me want to vomit suggesting a "avoid mistakes" offense, but the Mice are gonna win playoff games by protecting and supplementing that D.
The keys for a HHWC victory is scoring some points... somehow... Get to like 20 points and you are probably good. Kinda tough though since HHWC only put up more than 21 points against 1 playoff team in the regular season (27 vs Texas).
Prediction. Gotta go with a Mice victory against one of the most successful franchises in GLB history, and I could see HHWC getting held to the single digits here.
========================ALPHA==============
Burnside Bandits VS Miami Red Hawks
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/compare_teams.pl?team1=3036&team2=509
In their regular season match-up Burnside edge them out 31-24.
The Bandits hang their hat on their elite run Defense which shut down DoW in round 1. They also have the #3 scoring D in their conference along with a middling offense.
The Redhawks have a middling offense and defense (that's how you hit 9-7) however tomcic and sellars has been at this game for a long time with some solid WL playoff games under their belt. Their strengths are clearly passing the rock and stopping the pass.
Honestly here, I think the Redhawks win, and they win big. Miami's offense needs to focus on MORE passing as we all know they can let the rock fly vs Burnside and be successful, rather than playing into their strong run D. On D the redhawks showed a great pass D all season, but then in round 1 showed an elite run D out of nowhere to stop Dirty Sanchez.
In the end, this is the case of the Redhawks being a better team than their record indicates, and if they don't do something stupid like try to play power run football, I think they win this game comfortably. lol9-7
Odessa Mojo VS Morning Glory
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/game.pl?game_id=2675867
The Mojo as always have a scary big-play defense with sacks and picks galore. It's scary because their pass D always gives up nice yardage to attack, but I think we've all had a few too many 6-INT WL games to feel comfortable letting it fly again Odessa. Their offense has nice balance and is very productive.
Morning Glory has a good run based offense that can score effectively. This is paired up with a bad defense. The D is the worst of any remaining playoff team, and their pass D is almost the worst in all of world league. Run heavy offenses tend to protect D's a bit as well, so who knows how bad this defense would be without that run game...
On offense Morning Glory has the exact recipe to be productive vs Odessa. Pound the rock and hit high percentage protected throws. They should score enough to keep the game competitive unless they start slinging downfield for picks.
However I have to pick Odessa on their quest to 3-peat. The two-time defending WL champions simply have two much offense, and I honestly don't think Morning Glory has enough ammo on D to stop the run OR pass game from the Mojo. The game probably stays close in the 1st half, but once Odessa pulls away and Glory starts to put some air on the ball, it might get ugly.
ouch
