Fantasy World League Forum

Ohio Glory (10-6) at Frankfurt Galaxy (11-5)
Friday 18th, Frankfurt, Germany

Ohio Glory

GM - Ross Mather came into this season as the lowest winning active GM of all time and some Glory fans wanted a change.  Instead Mathers masterplan finally blossomed and all the pieces of the team he has created finally came good to create an excellent all round team.  Mather had only won 18 games in 5 seasons before this season where he went 10-6 and a place in FWL Bowl XIV but Mather has improved as a GM the last few seasons and despite being 'traded' to Ohio from Austria he has assembled a great team.  He took many of the players he drafted in Austria to Ohio but Mather also took some big personnel decisions benching long time Glory players and bringing in new ones instead which has worked well.

Offense - rush (14), pass (4), overall (9)

For several seasons HB Jamal Robertson was regarded as a bust, Robertson had a nightmare year in his first season in Ohio with just 389 yards rushing (2.3 avg) and was regarded more as a WR.  Mather changed the offense last year to a more West coast feel and Robertson blossomed with 127 catches, a record in the FWL.  Mather again changed the offense during this season to give Robertson a chance to shine at running the ball as well and it paid off well as Robertson became a great rusher and narrowly missed being the first player to have 1000 yards rushing as well as receiving.

Robertson is just one of the 3 players the Galaxy will have to stop. The Ohio offense has many weapons, Robertson is a great all round RB/WR and there is also WR Adam Ziesel.  Ziesel is a very young WR who has been an excellent draft pick for Mather.  He led the team with nearly 1150 yards and despite not being a burner Ziesel can make the long grab as well.  The last of the Ohio trio is QB Mike Pawlawski.  This has been Mathers best trade, Pawlawski a career backup at Montreal longed for his shot to start and happily moved to Ohio.  Last year Pawlawski set Ohio records for passing with over 3,800 yards and this year he was even better with over 3,800 yards yet again, 21 td's and just 2 interceptions.  He is one of the best QB's in the league and last week in the duel with his former team Montreal, Pawlawski had a brilliant game with 25 of 31 passes.

The big loss is TE James Whalen who had a great AFC Championship with 5 catches for 85 yards and who was 3rd on the team with 46 catches.  Backup Kane Anderson will get the start, Anderson played well with 11 catches for over 200 yards this season but has never started a game before.

The offensive line has gelled well considering the amount of young talent the team have.  Veteran G Michael Edwards despite picking up an injury last week will start and there is great depth here as well.

Defense - rush (4), pass (16), overall (13)

Last year the team were last against the run but best against the pass !  This year is something different, the figures are misleading, Ohio are still good against the pass but many teams played catchup this year as Ohio won a lot of games. 

Former 1st round pick DE Michael Josiah finally has come good and led the team with 13 sacks.  His partner Rameel Connor who led the league in sacks two years ago had a poor year with just 4 sacks but can still be a force.  The two defensive tackles, Jucqua Thomas and rookie Derrick Crawford are no names to most people but the duo combined for 12 sacks.  2nd round pick Crawford has excelled himself as a rookie and should start for many many years to come.  DE Jared Tomich played very well in replace of an injured Connor and he actually led the d-line in tackles with 30 and added 5 sacks, his benching has been a surprise as he has been playing so well.

The LB's are led by young Drew Whalroos but he was injured last week but will get the start for the final.  Whalroos is a great young LB who had 74 tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery and an interception this season.  Maugaula Tuitele is another no name on this defense but the young LB has played very well and led the team in LB sacks. 

The secondary was led by another rookie, S Scott Connot.  Connot Ohios first round pick this year led the team with 86 tackles and is a hard hitter.  8 of the 9 secondary players are in their 5th year or less which shows the quality Ohio have for the future.  At CB Chris Brown and Tony Lukins are an excellent young 1-2, Lukins has excellent speed and hands and is one of the Glorys best DB's.

Special Teams

Mike Scifres is an excellent kicker for Ohio, he held his nerve and kicked a 45 yard FG on the final play of last weeks AFC Championship to upset Montreal and hit 26/35 FG's on the year and was the 5th leading scorer in the league.  Young Ryan Dutton is an excellent punter and was much improved this year finishing 5th overall.

Kick returner belongs to former 1st round pick Christopher Liess.  Liess a former 1st round pick so far has been a flop at WR and caught only one pass all year, as a KR however he finished 4th in the league.  At PR Jimmy Farris is excellent and returned one 73 yards for a touchdown in the regular season.

Overall

The Glory like Frankfurt started slowly out of the blocks but they did face a tough start to their season.  Gradually the offense fell into shape, the real turning point was Jamal Robertson getting yards on the ground as well as receiving. Once Robertson became a rushing force the offense opened up even more and defenses realised Robertson wouldnt catch 10 passes a game for 60 yards.  Ohio could be a sleeping giant, they have a lot of young talent, are excellent at the skill positions and if their defense does a good job against Frankfurt a potential upset is on the cards.  Against the AFC's top team the last 8 years in Montreal the Glory held them without a touchdown in the AFC Championship game.