DLE is on speed. Wildcard week is allready over, and we look forward to the divisional round this week, where the 4 big teams enters the race after their byeweek.

I didn't do well last week, and am only 1/4, so this is where it matters. I must make a homerun with this round, or I am facing a slump like season 5 predictions.

First up is KFC.

First game on the block is Talabheim Sluggers (10/2/4) 2nd seed. vs Great Ogham Griffins (8/4/4) 5th seed.
Sluggers surpriced by getting the byeweek. They have had a season over expectations, and are doing great. Coach Datom is called the POW-man. So is it luck to be where is team is? I say no. It is hard work over a season. Sluggers enter this game with one player MNG, and not a big loss.
Sluggers got some players to watch out for. If you wonder who makes Sluggers TDs look no further. Kenny Stills(+ST/+AG/Block/Tackle/Leap) is the man. He made 13 TDs this season(5th most in the league). But who protects Kenny? Slugg Jnr.(+ST/+AG/Guard/MB/Tackle) does a stellar job, and has made 155 blocks this season(5th most). Looking at the Sluggers team it is a very complete team. Only 1 rookie, and several +ST players. They are ready for this game!
Griffins on the other side comes from a very close Wildcard game where they beat Razorbacks 2-1. They were huge favorites in the public, and did the job. Griffins is a passing happy team, and the have Carson Wentz(+MA/Leader/Block/Dodge/NoS) to do the job. He has an average of 3,4 yards pr pass(5th in the league). Mario Edwards, Jr.(+ST/+ST/+AG/Break Tackle) is a beast of his own. He will create trouble for Sluggers if they don't find a way to handle him as he runs around like an ogre without liabilities towards team RR. Griffins got roughed up by Razorbacks and are missing to guard players, so they only bring 14 players to the game. This could count for somthing in tipping the scale. Looking at the 2 teams, Sluggers won the last meeting 1-0.

Verdict!
Sluggers win as the team is better rounded, and I see the two coaches on level on several other measures. The 2 missing guards will be a problem for Griffins. Razorbacks sends their regards. ;)

The other KFC game is Broekwater Patriots(13/2/1) 1st seed vs Templehof Thunder (9/2/5) 6th seed.
This is a battle of titans. Two of the very best coaches with a long history facing eachother in DLE. Coach bghandras must have a wish for setting things straight, as they have lost the most to this enemy more than any other in the league.
Patriots bring a full squad and a wooping 1920 TV in skills. They have a series of great players, but those to watch out for the most are: Jason Taylor(Juggs/MB/Frenzy/Tackle/PO) killer blitzer with a crazy 22 cas in 14 games this season. He was brought on to the team with one purpose, and man did he live up to it. He is 1st in the league on block/cas ratio with 0,190. Another player to look out for is catcher David Johnson(+AG/+ST/+ST/Wrestle) with 14 TDs in the season(4th most). That is impressive as Patriots makes an effort to skill many players. But the team is not only carried by these 2 players. What makes Patriots good is the team. The team combined is well oiled machine.
On the other side we have Thunder with coach Wreckage at the helm. He has shown how to beat the Patrios on several occations, but not many has listened. Wreckage had a small break from the league, so he is new with Thunder this season. That could be a factor here as didn't mould his team himself, but tookover from someone else. Thunder got here from the wildcardround, where they beat the Unicorns with a secure 2-0. thunder also have some players to look out for. Here thay are. The first player is team captain and thrower Andrew Luck (+AG/+MA/Block/Dodge/Accurate/NoS). He is a top runner and has shown it this season(4th best - 276 yards). He not a selfish player as his teammate catcher Tavon Austin (+AG/+MA/+MA/Sprint/Leap) got most Tds of the 2 players, with 12 TDs(7th most) this season. But just as Pats, Thunder is more than these 2 players. Thunder got into the playoff through hardhitting Bloodbowl, just ask the Unicorns in the Wildcard round.

Verdict!
2 great coaches. 1 great team and 1 good team. only 1 will prevail. This is a cointoss. Can the Patriots keep their composure and grind down a 2-1 win? Or, can Thunder make some brutal takeout and shake the Patriots? Dice will tell. Patriots win. Team strenght will win this one, and bghandras wants this win almost more than the SuperBowl itself.

Moving on to SHC.
1st game is Kislev White Wolves (11/4/1) 1st seed vs Brionne Buccaneers (10/3/3) 4th seed.
KWW has a history of getting jellylegs when we hit the playoff. I truly hope they can change that this season. They have a powerfull squad, and coach Doofr has spend several seasons perfecting his team. (AND STILL MAKING PLAYOFF!) KWW brings a full team to first playoff game. Among those to watch we find killer blitzer Denis Brown MB/PO/Pro/Tackle/Dauntless/Frenzy. He got the 3rd best cas/block ratio (0,180), but he is not the one delivering the most blocks on the team. The other big blocker in the team is
Fletcher Cox (+ST/+ST/MB/Tackle/BreackTackle), who is 4th best blocker in the league (157 blocks).
Bucs come from a dominant win in the wildcard round with a 2-1 win over The Legion. This time they face a completely different teambuild. They must adjust. Bucs got 16 fresh and able players before this game, and with Denis Brown on the other side, they might need them. 3 of them are rookies, so the stars might live on. When we look at playerstats killer blitzer Michael Liedtke (MB/Frenzy/Juggs/PO/Tackle) jumps to mind. He is 4th best in cas/block ratio(4th) so he can hit back. Pixels will die in this one. Another big star of the Bucs is thrower Brad "J-Man" Johnson (+AG/+ST/Block/Leader/Tackle/+AG) who must step up and show the way as ballcarrier for his team. He is a player who can do all sorts of crazy, and the Bucs needs his genius.
The last 3 games between the 2 teams are very even. 1/1/1. But the Bucs last win is far away, as the White Wolves has gotten better they have slowly taken over. Game 3-2 Bucs. Game 2 a draw 2-2. Game 3 2-1 KWW. So by this KWW should win 2-0 now.

Verdict!
Kislev White Wolves win. Sorry Bucs. Last week I took the bet aganst you on a gamble. This time yuo are the gamble, so Bucs can really mess with my guessing. But I do think that KWW has learned from previous seasons errors in playoff, and will win this one at home.

The final game of the round is Bilbali Rangers (10/4/2) 2nd seed. vs Erengrad Vikings (11/2/3) 3rd seed.
The Rangers comes from a byeweek and they bring a full squad to their first playoff game this season. This is also the first playoff game for coach SzieberthAdam, who took over the team after round 9. He was able to keep up the good play with a 5/1/1 record, so he is very qualified for this playoff. When we talk about the Butchers of Bilbali I want to look at something different than killing. Lineman Kony Ealy (+AG/+ST/Dodge/Wrestle/Sure Hands/+MA) is runner if I ever saw one. he lead the league in TDs (17), and is 2nd in rushing yards.(357 yards). He picks it up and runs it all the way. Can Vikings stop him? The other player to look out for is lineman Mamadou Diamerra(DP). He is not highly skilled, but he fouls.(35 fouls - 2nd best) And he fouls a lot, and is good at it. Vikings must watch out for him if they are on the ground.
This is a nice crossover to the Vikings. They come from a thrilling 3-2 win over the Avalanche, where they scored the 3-2 on a 1turn try, and Avalanche failed their 1turn just after. Vikings bring 15 players to the game as a key player sits out. I bring 2 players in one for this one. Ranger foul, but Vikings foul more. They have 2 players in the top5 of fouling. IK Enemkpali is a master in this field with 34 fouls this season (3 best). His apprentice Ted McElroy sits on 31 fouls (5th best), but is missing this big game. A blow for the Vikings, but I am sure they will find others to help out with the fouling. Alvin "Bud" Dupree(+AG/Wrestle/Tackle/Dodge) is the other player to focus on in this team. He is a sneaky lineman who happens to be at the right spot and do the right thing a lot of the time. He got 1 Comp, 4 TD, 1 cas and 1 MVP this season. He does it all when his team needs him. One to foul for the Rangers.

Even though Rangers new owner only got the team for 7 games, the 2 teams happen to meet in week 16, where Rangers took home a 2-0 win. In that game the Rangers lived up to their nickname as the butchers. They butchered the Vikings beyond reconition. But this is Playoff and anything can happen. 1 question is. Will they both keep fouling? Numbers can be important.

Verdict!
Rangers wins. as they got the better team. Alvin "Bud" Dupree must work a new miracle if Vikings is to get past the Rangers here.

As Always dear reader. Feel free to point out how you feel about these games, and who wins them. This looks like a season where those I point to as winners need to fear their life in the tournament. I hope it will flip over now.

/Robbert Graaf out.