Week 2 Preview

[Paul-London]

Raleigh-Durham 0-1 at Orlando 1-0

Orlando could get off to a great start with another home game and a great showing in Week 1.  Can QB Tony Romo be the starter for a full season or like last year will he start to fade away and get replaced in Week 2 or 3 ?  Raleigh had a great showing but their rushing game faltered, look for changes this week.  QB Travis Brown had one of the performances of the week but Raleigh are still looking for a great starting RB.  Early days yet but this game has the #1 offense (Orlando) versus the #2 offense (Raleigh).  Expect points a plenty specially when Orlando so far have the worst passing defense (Only because they allowed a lot of mop up yards late against the Fire).  HB Ken Simonton could have a huge year after some down years recently.

Orlando by 3

Scottish 0-1 at New York 1-0

Tough start for the Claymores, losing a home game against Rhein was tough but going away to New York to take on one of the best teams in the league could put them in a 0-2 hole.  Scotland need to find a HB as Ken Shelby is just too slow now.  New York werent even firing on all cylinders last weekend but had a great effective game all round and won easily.  New York could be scary once they are firing all over.  But as London showed this week anything can happen in the FWL.

New York by 10

Sacramento 1-0 at San Antonio 0-1

Bad start by Michael Bishop and the Riders but they could bounce back against Sacramento.  The Surge had a good win but new starters HB BJ Askew and WR Travis Anglin all bombed last week.  It would be a real shock if San Antonio started 0-2 however, they have the worst rushing defense in the league but should do better playing at home facing Surge HB BJ Askew rather than Corey Walker of Montreal.  The Riders are too good a team to start off 0-2

San Antonio by 7

Birmingham 0-1 at Mexico 1-0

The young Aztecs could have a great 2-0 start this season, they often start well, last year they were 2-1 before falling finally to a 5-9 record however.  Birmingham arent that bad a team under QB Seth Burford but were dire last week and need to find a RB.  Mexico had a great away win but could struggle against better defenses.  Nice showing by young QB JT O'Sullivan with no interceptions compared to last year with Robey Williams throwing 14 in the season.  The only downside to the win was DT Bastian Lanos injury , he'll be out the whole year and might even have his career ended.  We shall see after the season.

Mexico by 4

London 1-0 at Amsterdam 1-0

Could be a great test for London and Amsterdam, were London a Week 1 surprise or were they for real ?  QB Matt Lytle appears rejuvenated and against his old team it could inspire him to do well again.  Amsterdam had a good Week 1 showing despite not much of a passing attack. London HB Rashon Spikes looks to hold off Jarett Payton (who scored with a classic Payton dive) for one more week at least with a good game.  Should be a good close encounter, Amsterdam with the edge as they are at home.

Amsterdam by 3

Rhein 1-0 at Frankfurt 0-1

Surely Frankfurt wont fall to 0-2 ?  Important game for the Galaxy , doesnt matter what their records are when these two teams meet however.  Rhein played very well last week away at Scotland whilst Frankfurt were upset by the Monarchs.  The Galaxy couldnt stop the rush last week but the stats were a bit padded with Lytles one off fluke touchdown run.  If Frankfurt get an early lead and pound the ball with Aska they should win easily but Rhein wont be a pushover.

Frankfurt by 7

Montreal 1-0 at Berlin 0-1

Was Week 1 just a one off for Berlin ?  All 3 veteran stars were poor, QB Pat Barnes had a terrible game, HB Michael Black had over 100 yards combined but fumbled twice and WR Vance Blundin was non existant as he had one catch then was injured.  Montreal were excellent last week but must show the same form away from home.  Berlin could surprisingly start this season off 0-2.  Berlin will play better than last weeks disaster but is age finally catching up with the Thunder ?

Montreal by 7

Paris 0-1 at Barcelona 0-1

Important game for both teams as no one wants to start off 0-2 in this division.  QB Kevin Kreinhagen linked up well with WR Chris Coleman but in his first start for Paris was a bit hit and miss.  Quiet game for Barcelona at home, Chad Dukes needs to pick up the pace more as Barcelona will be in for a long year if they start 0-2 with two home games.  Very similar teams, both defenses did well but both offenses were bad in Week 1.

Paris by 3

Ohio 0-1 at Austria 1-0

Ohio did look bad in Week 1 but they do have a lot of good talent on the team and QB Mike Pawlawski is very good.  However they will be facing a tough Austrian side at home who were brilliant last week in a demolition job of Berlin.  With a huge homefield advantage it could be a long day for Austria, watch for HB/WR Jamal Robertson to catch a ton more passes as Ohio play catchup.  Big game for ex Austrian GM Ross Mather who was traded to Ohio where he took many DarkKnights with him.  Battle of the last two Austrian GM's !

Austria by 10

[Mario ADK]

My picks:


Raleigh-Durham 0-1 at Orlando 1-0

Orlando seems to become one of the best teams in the AFC and might be the team to watch this season. RAL improved with draft but is not yet good enough to beat Orlando

Orlando by 10

Scottish 0-1 at New York 1-0

Sad to say that i rank the Claymores among the lowest teams in the FWL. NY will stampede over Ronnies squad.

New York by 10

Sacramento 1-0 at San Antonio 0-1

In my opinion, SAC is not an especially good team and San Antonio is playoff-bound. Given the home-advantage it should be an easy game for the Riderrs.


San Antonio by 10

Birmingham 0-1 at Mexico 1-0

I like Mexico as Birmingham lacks potential. Will be a close game, though.

Mexico by 3

London 1-0 at Amsterdam 1-0

Amsterdam is not as strong as Niki thinks they are, i go for Jason here as he deserves a good start into the season. Remember: LON had some ugly last-minute losses over the last couple of seasons. They are a good team!

London by 3

Rhein 1-0 at Frankfurt 0-1

Frankfurt made some crucial changes offseason but nevertheless they are clear favourite to go to the FWL-bowl. Rhein is a "sleeping lion" and will have a good season but Frankfurt ist too strong for them.

Frankfurt by 6

Montreal 1-0 at Berlin 0-1

Berlin disappointed in week 1 and they will have a hard time to get to the playoffs. Montreal is my FWL-Bowl-favourite and the Thunder might be destroyed yet another time.

Montreal by 7

Paris 0-1 at Barcelona 0-1

Interesting game. Paris faded away last season after a good start, maybe a sign of the times? Barcelona on the other hand does not keep things moving forward and is running into aging-problems. I go for Paris. Will be a close game.

Paris by 3

Ohio 0-1 at Austria 1-0

Big game for me. Actually it is "former ADK vs. current ADK" but hey i changed almost all starters on every position since i came. Ohio is strong an will battle for the playoffs, even if they might have a tough start to the season. I think ADK improved a lot offseason due to trades, draft and TC. Will be a tough game but i think i will have the edge.

Austria by 6

[Niki]

London 1-0 at Amsterdam 1-0

Amsterdam is not as strong as Niki thinks they are, i go for Jason here as he deserves a good start into the season. Remember: LON had some ugly last-minute losses over the last couple of seasons. They are a good team!

London by 3

sorry Mario, I never said I have a strong team, not even the year my team made it to the FWL bowl, it was Paul who did it in his review http://fwl.pocketplane.net/index.php?topic=174.0

never the less before the season I expected that barcelona was a better team then London, we will see on Monday who is the stronger London or Amsterdam

[Paul-London]

The Monday games will probably be simulated as soon as i get up before i start work so i wouldnt send any last minute changes, people have all week to send changes so if any you send on Monday dont get done dont moan !!

This goes to everyone !

[Mario ADK]

i know that nobody will read this before the games but i have a little time and here are my findings for the AUS-OHIO-matchup.

When i took a deeper look at Ohios roster i started to get scared a lot as this team (especially the defense) is awesome. It will be a very tough battle and i would not be surprised if Ohio wins it.

QBs:
Pawlowski is a good QB with similar ratings as Anes, but Anes seems to "click" a little more. Aus by 3

RBs:
A big point for the Glory, as Robertson and Sikyala are far better than the Austrian combination of Jackson/Witherspoon. Austria could have a hard day if they are overrun. Ohio by 14

WR/TE:
Hatchette is one of the most reliable WRs in the league, and Austrias WRs 2 and 3 (Moore, Bell) seem to be far more impressive than Ohios sqad. Ohio wins the battle of TEs, but nevertheless the passing game sees Austria in advantage.
Aus by 7

OL:
Ohio has some good players but all in all it seems that the DarkKnights own the more balanced ammunition.
Aus by 3

DL:
Austrias poor running-game might have a nightmare-game against a top-DL, featuring DE Josiah. Austrias DL disappointed last week and GM Kreiner is concerned about the poor play of his high-paid-star Rasmussen. Clear adavantage for Ohio. Ohio by 7

LBs:
The LBs are Austrias defensive core, but Ohio has a hell of an LB-coprs as well. Nevertheless: Barr and Ishida could make a differnce and will have a lot to defend against the run... Aus by 3

DBs:
Austria has better safeties, Ohio got better CBs.... Hard to say. No score...

Special Teams:
With 5/5, Austrias K Anderson seems to have overcome his last seasons slump. Ohios Scifres has shown weaknesses last week, so.... ....Aus by 6

FINAL SCORE:
AUS 22 - OHIO 21
Ough! That will be a close game!!!!!

I am waiting for the game-game already....... 36hrs to go :-(

[Paul-London]

I wouldnt say Rasmussan is playing badly.  Because to me hes the star of your defense then hes often double teamed or maybe even triple teamed.  Because hes so good and teams offensive lines concentrate on him it opens it up for the rest of your d-line.

Still think hes an excellent DE with the right size and speed etc

[Mario ADK]

he has got very poor stats.

look at last week: he made the very first scrimmage-play-tackle of the game and did not add ANYTHING ELSE afterwards..... Just ONE tackle in 60 min. boy, oh boy.....

i hope he starts playing to his abilities this week.....