GATORS VS ELITES
GATORS
The Gators lost an instant classic in OT to the Browns. It was a back and forth game, but Shu and the Browns avoided the upset. Let’s get one thing straight, the Gators are definitely contenders. We’ve said this once and we will say it again, we love being proved wrong! And the Gators are proving that they’re contenders. Last year they played the Browns very well, but struggled against the younger athletic teams. The Gators have a solid defense and a great QB. Their veteran guys Ramy and Nadeen have plenty of SAFL experience and it certainly showed. This week, they get what looks to be an easy game against the young Elites.
ELITES
What a difference a QB makes! As we said a million times, the QB is the most important position in the SAFL and in any sport. The Elites got off to a rough start, but put the Thunder away in the second half due to the Thunder’s poor and predictable offense. The Elites were disciplined in their zone defense and didn’t make many mistakes. What we saw is a team that improved and is finally understanding the game. Aldo had a game plan and executed it very well. The Elites should’ve had more scores, but unfortunately a few receivers dropped passes. They also added “the squirrel” to their team. He is a very young promising player that caught a TD for his team. Keep a look out for that youngster! He will be attacking your defense and you won’t see him coming!
MATCHUP
The Gators thought they would start the season 1-0…they came that close. They will be very determined to take out the Elites very quickly. With Aldo as QB, the Elites will be in the game until the 12 minute mark of the second half. The Gators experience supersedes the Elites’. If we look at matchups, right now, Ritchie is better than Aldo given the talent around him. The Gators offense and defense is better than the Elites’. We won’t even bother looking at the Elites’ #1 ranked defense in the power rankings! We all know the Gators have a much better defense. Gators are better in all facets of the game.
Elites 14 – Gators 44
COBRA KAI VS THUNDER
COBRA KAI
Welcome to the league gents! Our sources are telling us that this team has a few veteran players. It’s rumored that Adolfo, ex Bandit QB is on this team including a few others. We’re not sure who the QB is or who their primary players are, but from what we’re hearing, they will be a solid competitive team. As long as they have a solid QB and an average defense, this team will be successful in this league. They do have a fairly easy matchup against the Thunder – so this is a good start to the season. We will have more details on this team next week.
Thunder
The Thunder worries continue. The thing that disappoints us the most is the fact that they have some very good talent, but just can’t put things together. Their defense was ok, but gave up big plays during crunch time. They allowed the Elites to march up the field with seconds to go at the end of the first half. They gave up wide open touchdowns against a weaker Elites team. It’s a broken record with this team. They’re talented, but don’t play smart. They’re predictable and can’t score. We’re not gonna kill the new QB just yet…it was his first game. But there’s a lot of pressure on him to perform in the upcoming weeks as their schedule becomes a lot more difficult. The Thunder need to come out on the field with intense focus and determination to win. They looked more cohesive last week, but the outcome is the same. They face a brand new team that has never played together. This is a MUST win for the Thunder. If they go 0-2, they may very likely pull a 2017 Elites and go 0-10. The Thunder need this win in the worst way. There will be a big crowd during this game to take a glance at Cobra Kai’s talent. We are hoping the Thunder don’t lay an egg…AGAIN.
MATCHUP
We just don’t know enough about Cobra Kai. The Thunder have a lot more experience, but they’ve arguably been the worst team in the past 4 seasons. This is their game to lose. Cobra Kai will come out and look to make a massive statement and stamp their existence in this league. They need to come out and play loose and take advantage against one of the weaker teams in the league. We can’t assess matchups, but we expect the Thunder to win. We expect Cobra Kai to be a little unorganized and rusty which will cause them to make mistakes.
Thunder 21 – Cobra Kai 12
UNDERDOGS VS AK
The Underdogs narrowly defeated the Bandits 20-13. They’ve added some big free agent pickups and looked ok for most of the game. We expected them to score a lot more points, but Waqas was a bit rusty. Their abundance of athletes on defense closed the game for them. The team’s pedigree is their defense and we expect them to get even better as the season continues. This team has been together for 3 years now and this is their year to take off. The offense will need a few more weeks to click. They face a very tough matchup against AK.
AK
AK lost their first regular season game in almost 2 years. The Savages came out with a deep TD practically on the first play of the game. AK QB Ken came back and threw a few picks which helped the Savages jump to a big lead within the first few minutes of the game. AK made a quick QB change and almost completed an epic comeback. There was one glaring issue with AK – what happened to Sims and Richie?? According to rumors, Sims may only play a few games this season due to off the field commitments. We’re also not sure of Richie’s status. If this team is going to make a deep championship playoff run, they will need Sims. Without Sims, there is no championship! They also understand that the regular season doesn’t count and it’s all about playoffs. We have to admit – AK played very well against a loaded Savages team without their 2 best players. That’s very impressive!
MATCHUP
This is a very intriguing game. There are a few variables here that will determine the outcome of this game. If Sims doesn’t play again, AK will have a very tough time defeating the Underdogs. It would also shock us if AK started the season 0-2. They’re just too talented. This further signifies the importance of a QB. Sims is an MVP and champion in this league. If he doesn’t play, the Underdogs will likely win this game by a small margin. If Richie shows up, with no Sims, AK has a decent shot winning this game. Regardless of who shows up, this is a bigger game for AK. They don’t want to go 0-2. Underdogs are looking to make a statement and go 2-0. If we look at matchups – AK has the better QB, offense and defense. This is a toss up game. We will base our predictions on Sims return as AK QB.
AK 38 – Underdogs 26
BROWNS VS SAVAGES
BROWNS
The Browns narrowly defeated the Gators in OT. Shu played like the MVP and delivered a win in crunch time. Their defensive linemen Omar had a hell of a day. He finished the day with 6 sacks! That must be a record. Either Ritchie was immobile or Omar is the best d-linemen in the league. The Browns were missing some key guys, but still beat the Gators. So according to our sources, a few of the Browns players are calling out the writers. Normally, we don’t respond to critics, but now we are compelled to do so. We’ve been called boring…we’ve been somewhat insulted…and now it’s time to respond. We’ve been praising the Browns practically every week. Have we questioned the Browns defense in the past? Yes- we have…the Browns defense a few years ago was below average. Have we praised the legendary Shu? Yes – we practically do this every week. We were told the Browns don’t receive the respect and praise they deserve from the predictions. A message to the critics – please go back and re-read all the predictions. We’ve chosen the Browns in practically every matchup. There are a few players that we would love to call out, but that’s just not our style. We challenge those critics to write better predictions! We also welcome and accept monetary contributions to further glorify Browns. If you want more praise, PAY US!! The Browns will be tested this week against a retooled Savages squad.
SAVAGES
The Savages are coming off a thrilling victory against AK. Although AK was missing their 2 best players, they came out determined to beat AK. They added a couple of new players which provided speed and quickness. They were up by double digits within a few minutes due to AK’s mistakes. They capitalized on the mistakes and beat them. There are no excuses to make here. The Savages looked good. Anwar was accurate and was able to hit his open receivers. The Savages were a little bit sloppy at times, but overall they played a solid game. Unfortunately with the Savages, we can’t just come out and say they’re contenders just yet. We believe they’re very close. If they beat AK with Sims – we would say they’re contenders for sure. Therefore the jury is still out there on whether they’re pretenders or contenders. This game against the Browns will help answer that question.
MATCHUP
The Savages are younger and more athletic than the Browns. They have a very good QB and a solid defense. There’s no reason why the Savages shouldn’t beat the Browns. If the Gators gave them a run for their money, then the Savages should be able to come up with the win. Supposedly, Nafi is expected to make an appearance for this big game. The Savages have the toughest schedule to start the season. They proved they can defeat AK and now they have to knock off the defending champs. The Browns will look to tighten up some holes on defense that the Gators exposed. Shu is the better QB, but Anwar is not that far behind. The Browns have a better offense and the Savages are better defensively. It’s a fairly even matchup. We like the Savages to upset the Browns in a statement game!
Savages 37 – Browns 30
