FWL Bowl XIX Preview - Birmingham at Amsterdam

It should be a great one, 10-4 Birmingham vs 14-0 Amsterdam !

The Admirals are looking to become the first team in history to go undefeated in a whole season. They were 14-0 in the regular season with some close wins, had a close win over Austria in the wildcard game before overcoming Scotland in the EFC Championship with a superb display.

OFFENSE - BIRMINGHAM

The Fire were only 13th on offense, 11th running the ball and 12th passing. They did have injuries at HB but Lee ReShard had a great wildcard game and played well this week in a tough game. QB Joe Hamilton led Amsterdam to the final just two seasons ago and the Admirals were looking good for a win before he was hit hard which made him woozy and he threw 2 late 4Q interceptions to give Montreal the win. He was angry at leaving Amsterdam as he had just led the team to the FWL Bowl but young BJ Symons has been sensational as a starter for the Admirals.

Hamilton will want revenge but will need help from his young WR's, they had a great year specially WR Andrew Boone who had 88 catches for over 1,100 yards and is one of the best in the leaague. Anthony Bright was a playoff hero a few years ago and now is a starter and nearly had 1000 yards on 75 catches. TE Joel Jacobs has played well since taking over from retired legend Vincens Rodriquez.

Running the ball is RB Lee Reshard who had a quiet year due to injuries but his touchdown run in the wildcard game which he ran over CB Mark Estelle was superb. His backup was Little John Flowers, a former FB, who played well when ReShard was out injured.

OFFENSE - AMSTERDAM

The Amsterdam offense ranks 7th, 4th running the ball and 13th passing. As they showed against Scotland if they get a quick lead they can pound the ball down your throat over and over.

QB BJ Symons must have been one of the greatest trades ever, originally drafted by London he was traded to Austria where he started a handful of games but eventually moved onto Amsterdam where the QB took over from Joe Hamilton who had just taken his team to the final. Symons plays superb football and hardly makes mistakes, hes quite happy handing it off or leading his team to late drives to win games. They call him Captain Comeback as he led his team to many late wins this year and Amsterdam became the first team to go 14-0.

At RB Joe Smith had an injury free year and was superb leading the league with nearly 1,200 yards and 11 td's on the ground. He can break runs for huge long gains and played well in both playoff games. His backups are impressive, Sha-Ron Edwards could start for many teams out there as could DeJuan Green. FB Joe Haro has been excellent the last few weeks and has scored several touchdowns recently. The team are stacked at HB and could easily interchange them without losing anything on offense. The offensive line played well but due to injuries they made some changes for the EFC Game and they worked out wonderful. The team allowed 0 sacks against Scotland and rushed for over 200 yards.

Their WR's have been excellent and are a great unit, Adam Herzing has been with Amsterdam his entire career and every one of his years he has been to the playoffs. His longest reception during the season was only 33 yards but Herzing is a great possesion WR. Marvin Allen has started for the first time this year and had 38 catches and made some key grabs. TE Teyo Johnson had a superb year and is fast becoming a favourite target of Symons, backup TE Kirk McMullen made some key grabs during the season, the former starter had only 13 receptions (for a 18.9 average) but caught a key 4th down pass in a late win this season to help keep the 14-0 dream alive. WR Skyler Fulton is a former first round pick who hasnt had a chance with Amsterdam, he had only 18 catches this year, he has potential but should perhaps try his trade elsewhere.

DEFENSE - BIRMINGHAM

The key to Birminghams season was their defense, ranked 4th overall, top against the run and 8th against the pass. They allowed the 3rd fewest points in the league and were superb at home. A telling stat is that Birmingham are just 4-3 on the road and because of their record compared to Amsterdam, they will travel to the ArenA for the final which will prove to be tough.

The defense had a superb 64 sacks led by DE Tim Bulman, a great young player and DE Charles Alston. The run stuffers are Durrand Roundtree and young Ahmad Childress who is one of the best young DT's in the game. The backups are impressive with speedy Anton Palapoi one of the quickest DE's in the game who had 4 sacks and 8 tackles in just a few appearances. Many teams should be after trading for Palapoi.

The LB's are a great veteran group led by Jerry Schumacher and Chris Brown who has moved to LB2. Marcus Reese and Derrick Ballard are quick LB's and they have potential with their young backups including former 1st round pick Guy Tuell. Schumacher led the team with 90 tackles and also had 2 sacks.

The secondary have the talented Derek Combs at S with tackling machine Charles Drake alongside. At CB Lyn Scott is a quality player and Ricky Sharpe makes plays.

DEFENSE - AMSTERDAM

The Adimrals had the best defense in the league, 2nd against the run (just 13 yards behind leader Birmingham), 2nd against the pass and 1st overall.

The key to Amsterdams 14-0 season is their defense, they intercepted 8 passes and had a healthy 62 sacks. The teams defensive line is outstanding, DE Clint Mitchell is one of the best in the league and had 13 sacks and his partner at DE Randy Garner had 13. At DT Bob Dzvonick is just in his 5th year and Lorenzo Alexander his 2nd. Dzvonick was outstanding with 13 sacks and helped the team become the best defense in the league. Young Alexander had 5 sacks. Backups are strong in former starter Davern Williams and talented Clifford Thornton. Jim Davis ias inactive but the unit is so strong he could start for many teams out there.

The LB's are a superb bunch made up of several ex-Monarchs. John Leake was the Monarchs best LB but came over in a huge trade and didnt disappoint with 79 tackles. Drew Whalroos is a dutch homegrown player and he had a great year with 78 tackles and 5 sacks and had 3 important sacks in the EFC Game. Richard Adjei is another former Monarch as is backup Derrick Ford, both are very talented and have great speed. Terrence Robinson just manages to hold off Ford for a starting spot but probably not for long.

The secondary is outstanding. S Eric Crouch is the leader and led the team with 87 tackles. His partner Robert Freeman had a great year and theres great depth. At CB Todd Franz moved over from S to CB once Jordan Younger retired and is exceptional. He has great skills and is rated as one of the best in the league. There is a dropoff to CB2 Oliver Celestin who Birmingham will try to exploit but Celestin is a very underrated player, he doesnt have great speed but has superb all round skills.

SPECIAL TEAMS - BIRMINGHAM

Derek Schorejs didnt have a great regular season but his late FG against New York have made him a fan favourite. P BJ Sander is the best in the league and led the league in gross average. The kick return game is poor however but at PR Anthony Bright was second in the leauge averaging 11.4 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS - AMSTERDAM

K Todd France is an Admirals favourite and he had a great year with 21 out of 29 FG's and is very dependable and kicked a lot of late winners this year. Young P Adam Anderson has fitted in well with the team and was the 5th rated punter this year. At KR Ben Nelson did an okay job but Marvin Allen had an average year at PR and needs to improve his quickness.

OUTCOME

Momentum is a huge thing in the FWL and Amsterdam have bags of it. Birmingham struggled late in the year but played well in the playoffs and with Mexico losing they then hosted the AFC game. They are however just 4-3 on the road and travel to a sold out ArenA where the fans will go crazy as Amsterdam look to make history. Birmingham have a fine defense and could keep it close, should be a great game but we say Amsterdam by 7