Week 1 Preview

Its early days as theres still training camp to come but lets have an early prediction of the opening kickoff of the new FWL season...

Orlando at Ohio

Orlando showed signs of improvement last year and have talent on offense but after a good start they struggled in the second half of the year. Ohio managed to get a wildcard spot last year in a tough AFC. The Glory were 5-2 at home last year and the Thunder 1-6 on the road. Ohio should win this one as they need to get off to a quick start to try and win the division back.

Birmingham at New York

NY are aging but do have a lot of talent defensively and veteran stars on offense. They face a tough Fire squad who finished 10-4 last year and had a defense which allowed the 2nd fewest points in the league. NY should have the homefield advantage but Birmingham are a very good team on the road. Should be a great one.

Sacramento at Mexico

Mexico have a new GM and an excellent taem who were 12-2 last year but lost in an epic AFC Championship game to Birmingham. The Aztecs are aging but have a lot of talent all over the team but new GM Johnathan Munro has a lot of pressure to get to the FWL Bowl after last years great record. Sacramento have talent as young QB Drew Olsen had a superb year but this game will be too tough away on the road in Mexico.

San Antonio at Montreal

This great rivalry kicks off in Week 1 and Montreal want to bounce back after last years poor 5-9 record where they lost the last 4 games of the season. The Riders had a great year at 7-7 and just missed out on the playoffs as young HB Deon Anderson continues to become a great all purpose back. Montreal had a huge year from veteran Danny Wuerrfel and this could be his final season, he needs help from his RB and he should get it as theres a lot of talent there at RB after Ken Simonton retired. Should be a great game but Montreal (3-4 at home last year) need to make their homefield advantage pay off.

Raleigh-Durham at Barcelona

Tough opening game for the Skyhawks, Raleigh have had another great offseason with a good draft and some nice trades but they have to prove on the field that theyre a great team. Any holes (LB's, Secondary) have been filled and young HB Jackie Battle could be a star ahead of the leading rusher of all time - Curtis Alexander. Barcelona showed potential late last year and rookie QB Tee Martin had some good games. They badly need a RB as they struggled last year mightily but it could be because they were in the wrong style of offense. Barcelona are young and a team to watch in the future.

Berlin at London

London looked to trade some big name players in the offseason but it looks like they will stay with the team instead. Berlin after a super season two years ago were terrible last year and fell to a shocking 3-11 record after making the playoffs the year before. QB Jeff Rowe who was rookie of the year was so bad he was benched and lost his confidence. London won their final 4 games last year to make the playoffs again but retirements have left their depth very thin indeed. WR Dan Sheldon was a great pickup last year and the London offense should do well once again.

Frankfurt at Paris

For years Paris were the FWL's worst team, they showed potential two years ago but crashed last year to a 3-11 record and out went Andrew Battye, one of the longest serving GM's in league history and in came highly rated Jimmy Hanlon who promises to shake things up. Things should be interesting in Paris but it could take a while to get back to winning ways, there is talent but a lot of work to do also. Frankfurt fell to 6-8 last year after promising to bounce back to the playoffs. They have talent but are in a tough division and lost many close games.

Amsterdam at Austria

The Admirals became the only 17-0 team in league history and with Amsterdam on a 14 game regular season winning streak they wont want to get off to a 0-1 start here. After a slow start and a change of QB's Austria played well last year and made the playoffs. The DarkKnights have talent but the loss of their starting HB in the first month of last season really hurt them. Amsterdam dont have many changes and will look to repeat as champs.

Rhein at Scottish

A tough game for both teams, Rhein had a superb season last year under their young GM Joe Scanella and just missed out on the playoffs on the final week of the season. They have talent and had a good draft, look for Rhein to make the playoffs this year. Scotland were great last season with a 12-2 record and will want to get to the final this year, they need a fast start in a tough EFC West.