Hertha: “OK, Günther. We have chosen to say something about the situation in the SHC and KFC after the SoS games. And maybe you would like to start with the KFC North?”

Günther: “I’ll be happy to do so, Hertha. Looking at the teams at the start of the season, we had placed hem with Unicorns first, then Universe, then Foxes and then for the last place Cardinals. Incidentally, this was also the order according to the teams’ TV rating. Cardinals was perhaps the easiest to place. Starting with only 1330 in tw they were one of the lowest value teams in the DLE. In addition, they had a brand new coach who did not know neither the league nor the team very well. Experience show that it takes half a season or so for a new coach to get on top of his game, so we were comfortable with placing Cardinals at the bottom. Unicorns on the top was perhaps more controversial. With 1690 in tw, they were only 30tw higher than Universe and not more than 100tw ahead of Foxes. However, Unicorns qualified for play-offs last season, and the coach has an undeniable efficiency in his games that gives the team the small extra needed to win where other teams pull a draw. Finally, Universe has a more complete team than the Foxes. We need to acknowledge the impressive job the Foxes management have done in pulling together this new team after last season’s catastrophic losses, but there are many raw players in the team and the coach have not yet found out what they can do. So until he does, we believed that Universe would come out slightly better.”

Hertha: “And now, with two games under their belts, have you changed your view on the situation in KFC North, Günther?”

Günther: “No. Not really. Unicorns lost a point against the ever tenacious Razorbacks, despite starting with a 370tw advantage, but they played well both against the Razorbacks and the Sluggers, and got away with 3 points to lead the division. The loss of star receiver Micah Hyde was a tough one though. The pressure will be on the remaining receiver Leon McFadden now, but he has come through so far with 2 TDs. Universe has played solidly, but has not managed to create wins. With two draws they are second, and they have preserved their players and is now at a higher tw than the Unicorns. I think they are a serious contender for one of the wild card spots, but I still don’t think they will beat the Unicorns for the divisional leadership. Foxes only got one point, and against weaker opponents than the Universe. They have also lost two players, killer blitzer Mason Taylor and their back-up quarterback Christian Heckenberg. They should probably look back towards the Cardinals, rather than up towards the Universe and the Unicorns. Preservation and development of a core of players for next season should probably be a priority. And then, the Cardinals also got one point only, and their superstar receiver Zach Johnson got hit by a rock and now suffer a permanent loss of strength. Not that he needs it for his role, but he is probably looking at retirement, at the end of the season at the latest. So our starting evaluation has been confirmed and possibly strengthened. Unicorns as divisional winner, Universe as a strong contender for one of the wild card spots, Foxes as third and Cardinals as fourth in the division.”

Günther: “And you have looked at SHC East, Hertha!”

Hertha: “I have. This is a division with two strong teams in terms of tw, Thunder and Sluggers. The other two are far behind, and Gunners with 1310 in starting tw was the second lowest tw of all the DLE teams with Bandits a little higher at 1480tw. We judged Thunder as the better of the two strong teams, mainly due to the return to DLE of coach Wreckage who brought the Thunder to a surprising wild card spot last season. We think he can do even better with a draft and a whole season to work with. Sluggers should be number two, but will have a tough time qualifying for the wild card. Then we believed that Gunners would have a chance against the Bandits in the fight for the third place. Despite the Bandits having a better rating, the Gunners still have better and more unique star players, and coach Crimson_Lithium have had some time to discover how to use them. IT should be a tough match, though.”

Günther: “Right. And what have we learned from the SoS matches?”

Hertha: “Well. Last year’s divisional champ Sluggers got two losses, but that were not surprising, as Unicorns and Patriots are likely to be the two teams with a bye this season. Their squad is intact, though, so we still expect that they will start winning games on their way to the second spot. Thunder was perhaps more of a surprise. Two draws was a little less than we had expected against Universe and Griffins, so now they have something to prove. They also lost their great defensive catcher Catharina Jung. Gunners, on the other hand, was a positive surprise, with 3 points and a strong blocking game. They lost Wolf Hanisch, though, and their blitzer lineup looks a bit wobbly, with one rookie and two near-rookies. These blitzers have to learn the ropes quickly, or Gunners will be struggling, particularly on the defense when they meet stronger teams than the Classics and the Cardinals. Bandits got away with one point after the draw against the Foxes, but confirmed that they have work to do this season to up their game to be a play-off candidate. So the SoS games have confirmed our guess from the start of the season, but now with a small question mark after the Thunder. How good are they really? Divisional winners still seems a good guess, but will they be able to get somewhere in the play-offs?”

Hertha: “Your turn again, Günther, with the KFC South.”

Günther: “Yeah. I think this is the hardest one. When we originally looked at tw situation, this division had three teams neck to neck, with Eagles (1670) ahead of 49ers (1620) and Scimitars (1600), and with Razorbacks far behind at 1320. I don’t feel comfortable with that though, so I will take some chances here and call this division for the Scimitars, with 49ers on second and possibly a wild card spot, then Eagles and Razorbacks. I certainly feel that Razorbacks has a better coach but I think the team difference is to big for them to overcome this season. They need to build and snatch a point here, a cas there and sometimes a TD, just like our home team CCC did in season 5.”

Hertha: “And has the SOS matches changed your initial guesses in any way?”

Günther: “Well. Everyone has 3 points, except for the Razorbacks. Possibly, that says the most about the 49ers, who had the toughest opponents. Eagles will ceartainly not be helped by the massive loss of personnel in their second SoS match against the Foxes. That match got 5 players out of the league, either retired or dead, and three of them were Eagles. I also must admit that Scimitars “only” getting a draw against the Classics is a bit disappointing, Razorbacks’ draw against Unicorns, show what coach Special can do even with a weak team. All in all, I will stand with my guess, though. Scimitars on the top, 49ers second with the other KFC wild card spot, Eagles third and Razorbacks fourth.”

Günther: “And then it’s up to you to finish our summary of the KFC, Hertha!”

Hertha: “Ah, Yes. The KFC West. TW rank at the start of the season put Patriots at first, then Thunderbolts, Classics and Griffins. I think Patriots as divisional winners is a safe assumption. I think it will be close between the other three, though. For once, I go for Thunderbolts as #2. They have the better team, and have been quite lethal in their bashing game lately. Griffins as #3 and Classics as #4 is also mostly a guess, I think, as these three can end up in any order.”

Günther: “SoS has not been nice to these teams?”

Hertha: “No. All teams have lost players. Worst case out is Classics, who lost their killer blitzer Porter and stalwart lino Erving against the Gunners in week 2. Griffins has also lost their killer blitzer Cook, and Thunderbolts their new quarterback Tommy Gunn, who only got two games for his new team. And as for points, Thunderbolts got 3 so far while the other two have 1 each. This all strengthens my original assumptions. So, Patriots #1, Thunderbolts #2, Griffins #3 and Classics #4.”

Günther: “Right. So, all in all we have Unicorns, Thunder, Scimitars and Patriots as divisional winners and Universe and 49es as the wild cards.”

Hertha: “I guess so. And tomorrow we will analyse the SHC. Until then, enjoy!”


Brought to you by Hertha Wendlinger and Günther Schiele, Carroburg Tageszeitung