Week 1 Preview

Ohio at Orlando

Should be an interesting match-up, last years AFC champions Ohio travel to Orlando who have a new GM and have made a fair few changes from last year. The offense should do well but Orlando need to get their defense sorted. Ohio are a talented team but HB Jarrett Payton who has been discussed in trades needs to rebound after a very 'un-Payton-like' season last year.

Birmingham at New York

Its a great opener of AFC East clashes, an important game here. Birmingham start their third different QB in three seasons, two years ago it was Seth Burford, last year Joe Hamilton who had a fine year but was traded surprisingly to Barcelona. QB Jason Gesser appears to be the starter, he has talent but not throw a pass last year. New York havent changed much from last year, they do have talent on both sides of the ball but Jason Campbell has to keep improving and the rushing game which had a ton of injuries last year has to stay healthy.

Raleigh-Durham at Montreal

Surely this is Danny Wuerrfels last season ? Montreal were disappointed last year in the playoffs and want to have a final great season for Wuerrfel before he retires. Raleigh are a tough team and made the playoffs last year but faltered late in the season. They have a lot of talent and the defense has really improved. Could be tough to win away in Montreal though.

Mexico at San Antonio

The injury last year to young Riders HB Deon Anderson was tough, his backup Casey Cramer played well but Anderson has to prove hes back to full strength. QB Clint Stoerner had a brilliant season last year with 19 td's and just 1 int despite a poor offensive line which allowed 68 sacks. The Aztecs had a great season offensively and HB Ian Smart had a great year with over 1,800 combined yards. Should be a close game between two very good sides, look for Mexico to improve a lot next year as they now have 3 1st round picks.

Sacramento at London

Tough opener for the Monarchs GM who was in charge of Sacramento for 15 seasons before moving to London. The Monarchs scraped into the playoffs last year just winning the EFC West, they have a new HB in Erik Brown who looks good but the team expected more from him in training camp. DE Mark Word is retired but they have filled the gap on the d-line with former Galaxy DE and english national Robert Flickinger. Sacramento have a lot of young talent on offense and could be a team to watch, they need to stop leaking so many sacks but with a talented young QB, a young 1000 yard rusher and 1000 yard receiver they could surprise some people this year.

Frankfurt at Paris

The Galaxy just made the playoffs last year but need to play better, QB Rohan Davey had a poor season and needs to get back to his best. Paris are a difficult team to scout, they started off well last year with their unique FB style offense but soon faltered. Ryan Dinwiddie was eractic last year and the fans want Brad Banks who impressed in limited action. Paris have the home advantage but Frankfurt are a quality side.

Rhein at Barcelona

The last few years this would look like an easy win for Rhein but Barcelona are a changed team. Former Admirals GM Niki van der Berg has done a huge job this offseason converting his squad from perrenial losers into winners. Last season Barcelona were just 2-12 but this is a different team, at HB is former Machine HB Quentin Grififn who is very talented but couldnt stay injury free at Montreal. At QB Joe Hamilton, his former QB at Amsterdam is the new starter. Hamilton did well at Birmingham last year but was surprisingly traded. Rhein have a lot of good young talent on offense in QB Ragone who threw for nearly 4000 yards, HB Tony Hollings who finally lived up to his 1st round status by rushing for over 1000 yards and just missing out on a double as his receiving yardage was 976 yards on 106 catches. One of the best seasons of a HB ever in FWL history. Add WR Scottie Vines and his 116 catches and Rhein can put up points. Should be a great one.

Amsterdam at Scotland

Tough game for the Admirals, the Claymores are a tough bunch at home. Their new HB for the opener is Vonta Leach, the former FB who impressed Scotland officials last year with the switch over to HB. The team are pretty much the same, GM Ronnie Munro is a loyal owner/GM but his team might need some new blood soon. Amsterdam fell to a miserable 7-7 season last year, they have a bagful of talent on offense with some great HB's but they dont seem to perform well week in week out. QB BJ Symons is a two time FWL Bowl champion and he had his best year last season with 20 td's and just 1 int. His rushing game was dire last year so Symons did a great job despite getting no help. DT Clint Mitchell is a monster on defense and should harrass Craig Nall. Nall is still a great QB and is highly rated but look for Bramlet or Zabransky to get some action later in the year. Zabransky has been the rumour of several trade offers so could move on later in the year perhaps ?

Berlin at Austria

Mario Kreiner is back ! A lot of trades, a lot of draft moves and FA signings ! He faces surprise FWL Bowl champions Berlin, just a year ago QB Jeff Rowe was benched for the Thunder, he won back his job the following year and won it all ! Berlin played great football but did surprise many people, HB Avon Cobourne had a great year but needs to make sure father time isnt catching up. The defense did a great job and the o-line only allowed 40 sacks. Austria have the home advantage but they are changed from last year, QB Curt Anes seems to be cut and wont be returning to the side, QB Matt Mauck is the new starter but look out for Brian St Piere who has talent. At HB Sultan McCullough looks to be the best HB in the league, great speed and strength yet he is injury prone and ran for just 499 yards last year. Despite 1000 yards, 8 td's and a great 18.1 average as a deep threat, WR Michael Jennings has been bumped to WR2 and isnt happy at all. Look for WR Jamel Broussard to get some action later in the year as hes a talent. Should be a great game