FWL Season 14 Preview

Amsterdam

The Admirals coming off their first ever playoff season proved that last year wasnt a fluke and made it to the postseason again, this time with a 9-5 record in the tough EFC East division. A late 3 game winning surge in the season propelled them to a playoff spot where they lost in the first round to the eventual champions Frankfurt.

The Admirals had a very balanced team, their offense finished 2nd overall and their defense 2nd. However there are some problem areas on the team, who will start at QB ? Heath Rylance led the Admirals to their first ever playoff spot the year before but last season was struggling and with a record of 6-5 GM Niki van den Berg benched Rylance and bought in untested backup Joe Hamilton. Rylance had a great year throwing the ball but fumbles often and coughed up the ball an amazing 15 times in 10 games. Hamilton came in and played very well and threw 8 td's and just 2 ints in his appearances. The job appears that it could be Hamiltons to lose.

The other question mark is at HB. Mike Reed after becoming the first Admiral to gain 1000 yards was benched and in came Kim Kuchi. Kuchi had a great yaer rushing for just under 1000 yards and looked very good, still the Admirals drafted rookie HB Joe Smith in this years draft who should become the starter in the near future. At WR Trevor Insley is one of the best and TE Todd Winston became the first TE EVER to record 1000+ yards, Elijah Thurman is the deep threat at the other WR position.

Defensively the team are very strong, All-FWL CB Jordan Younger continues to dominate the game but because teams throw away from his side his interceptions arent many. At S Billy Gustin had a fine year leading the team in tackles and interceptions but because of his age he might be traded elsewhere. Amsterdam registered 45 sacks led by DE Emil Ekiyor with 9 and Kendrick Gholston who also had 9. Young DT Clint Mitchell is very underrated and made 5 sacks himself. The LB's are a good dominant set led by Tito Rodriguez and Mikhail Slutsky who had a great year with 75 tackles. Tony Ortiz is another great prospect at LB.

Overall the Admirals are in a very tough division, Berlin are getting older though and could collaspe at some point due to their age, Frankfurt appear to be the team to beat in the league but Amsterdam have a great chance to overtake Berlin and to challenge Frankfurt. They defeated Frankfurt in their last meeting in the regular season but were crushed in the playoffs.

Berlin

Berlin had an excellent season last year , one of their best ever with an 11-3 record but missed out on the EFC East title due to Frankfurts huge year. They have a chance to have another great year but age is appearing all over the squad and an injury here and there could knock the Thunder right down. Berlin had the 7th best offense thanks mainly due to their rushing attack, surprisingly the passing attack ranked only 13th in the league. Defensively the team were excellent against the run (1st) forcing teams to pass against them late in games (14th) but the late yardage was against mostly Berlin backups.

QB Pat Barnes did have a great year, over 3,600 yards passing, 18 td's and 3 ints and age doesnt seem to be showing but Barnes now in his 12th season could perhaps retire after this year as he holds practically every passing record there is. Backups are former 1st round pick Nate Hybl and Jarious Jackson, a talented QB who has always been in the wrong place.

At HB it was a welcome surprise to see Michael Black win the starting job back early in the season and perform very well. Black had a great year rushing and receiving, one of his best for many years but might find it hard this year to hold off former starter Omar Bacon. Bacon isnt as good a receiver as Black and was injury prone last year but does have great acceleration.

At WR Vance Blundin had another great year and owns all receiving records but despite another 1000 yard season this could be Blundins last appearance this year in the FWL due to his age. TE Christopher Fear had a great year but like Blundin he is a veteran who might not be able to repeat the same type of season.

Defensively the team are brilliant against the run and LB Brad Rekuc had a great year with 80 tackles to lead the team and 7 sacks. DE Teto Simpson had his best year ever with a superb 37 tackles and 8 sacks and should have another great year, veteran Jim Hoffman only had 6 sacks but should have another year left in him. Rookie first round DE Earl Cochran might need a season or two before he can challenge for a role.

The secondary is a young secondary featuring some very good players, S Sean Morey is the elder statesmen of the group but hes only in his 7th year. Starting CB's Teddy Gaines and Calvin Coleman are a good 1-2 who should get even better playing together this year.

Overall the Thunder have a very good squad but age is creeping up in the main skill positions. This could be the last hurrah for Barnes, Black and Blundin, the old 'B' triplets of the FWL.

Frankfurt

Sometimes in a season everything goes right for you and last year for Frankfurt it was amazing. The main reason was HB Joe Aska who had a career year and perhaps one of the best ever in the FWL. Aska was unstoppable all year long and the 8th year veteran rushed for a league record 1,721 yards and a league record 23 td's on the ground. Even FB Marvin Powell got in on the act with 10 td's !! Aska had a career year and surprised everyone because of his age. Aska now enters his 9th year but he hasnt shown any signs of slowing down yet, in the meantime despite his huge year Frankfurt have to find a new young back to take over the load when Aska does start to slow down.

At QB Rohan Davey was one of Marco Lamberts best ever draft picks, Davey hasnt missed a game in two seasons and has started every game. Last year he had a fine year with nearly 3,600 yards passing and 18 td's with just 3 ints to lead the team. At WR his favourite target Thabiti Davis has been offered the last few seasons as trade bait, Davis is Daveys favourite target and it will be interesting to see what happens if Davis does leave. Tony Simmons has been a 1st round disappointment so far as has Marcus Knight, both have potential but havent played well in appearances. At TE Justin Swift had a great year but young backup Gabe Reid could be the best TE on the roster, hes a big play TE who played well given his chances and he averaged a huge 28.3 yards on his 15 catches, could be a player to watch.

Frankfurt ranked 12th defensively and last against the pass but that was because they often had a 21 point 4Q lead and softened late in the game when the result was over. Vince Washington and Curtis Eason had great years with 21 sacks between them but one of the keys was LB Gary Stills. Stills who was a hardly used backup in Sacramento finished with 89 tackles, 9 sacks and an interception, he had his best ever year by far and should get even better. First overall pick LB Pisa Tinoisamoa should instantly start for the Galaxy. Former starting LB Junior Robinson and S Kyle Grove was sent packing to Sacramento but both shouldnt be missed but depth may be a problem.

The secondary features promising young S Abdual Howard who has great skills and should come in straight for Grove. Veteran S DeShone Mallard led the team in tackles with 93 and CB Dempsy Dees made a huge play in the FWL Bowl for Frankfurt and is a fan favourite.

If Aska can prove that last year wasnt a one-off this team could possibly repeat, Davey is one of the best QB's in football and the Galaxy are a very strong side indeed. For another year at least Frankfurt could rule the EFC again if they can hold off Amsterdam.

Rhein

It was a long year in Rhein. Fire fans hadnt suffered a losing season in Rhein in their first 9 seasons in the league but 2 out of the last 4 seasons have been a losing season. The main reason last year was the lack of a rushing attack which hurt the offense and a defense which couldnt stop the run well.

Rhein made a bold move of trading former All-FWL HB Rene Ignolia to Raleigh during last season and gave the job to Carl McCullough instead. McCullough didnt set the world on fire with just over 700 yards and a 3.5 average, Rhein have to find a rushing attack if they want to win a lot of games this year. At QB Dani Pegenaute was excellent completing 70% of his passes for nearly 3,800 yards and 19 td's, hes one of the most underrated QB's in the whole of the FWL.

At WR Scott McCready had a career year leading all WR's in the league with 117 receptions for nearly 1,500 yards. WR Jeff Ogden is another possession WR for Rhein who had 66 catches but the team misses a burner. Many of Peganautes passes were safe short throws. Rhein had just one pass play over 51 yards last year , if Rhein can find a WR who averages 14 yards this season it will give Pegenaute another weapon. Rhein had a great draft with CB Blue Adams landing in Round 1 who should instantly start and a young promising backup centre in Round 2.

Defensively the team hardly had a pass rush at all and this is an area they might have to make a move on. The team had just 34 sacks with the sack leader having 8 sacks. DE Riley Kleinhessel a former 1st rounder pick has looked good lately and had 8 sacks last year ,he should improve this season. The real surprise was young DE Clenton Ballard who was a first round rookie who came on late and finished his year with an impressive 37 tackles and 8 sacks. If Ballard continues to improve he could be one of the best defensive players in football.

The LB's are led by veterans James Francis and Donnie Spraghan who had 8 sacks between them but both players are getting old. The secondary had a great year lead by young S Don McGee who had 80 tackles to lead the team and S Will Hunter who led the team with 3 interceptions. These two young players are part of an impressive young quartet , CB Keith Davis started from Day 1 and was 2nd on the team in tackles with 74, had a sack, a fumble and 2 ints.

If the young secondary can get even better this year they could be one of the best in football, new LB's have to be found soon but there is promise in the d-line specially with DE Ballard one of the best kept secrets in football.

To win Rhein need to improve their rushing attack to stand any chance of winning, if a new LB can be found then the defense could be very good, the secondary is excellent. Rhein will struggle in the EFC East this year but have the makings of a very good team.