As usual, our star reporters will be assessing the potential in the divisions that affect the Crimson Cascade, and they start here with the SHC North.

Hertha: “So we are at that point, again, Gunther.”

Günther: “Yep. But this time I can ask you, who do we think will win the SHC North this year?”

Hertha: “Good one. Last time, at the start of season 3, we talked about the Wolfskins being the up and coming team in this division. I think this season they are no longer up and coming. They are right here! They managed to replace their lost strong lino Moseley with someone even better, Sheldon Richardson. They also managed to replace Green with an equally agile blitzer, but one with guard abilities instead of catch, and niggled strong guy Troutman with a similar, but undamaged strong guy named Tony Mumbay. And all their remaing strong blitzers and linemen have become more experienced. They surely must be the divisional winners this season!”

Günther: “Yep. Statistics are on their side as well. They are ranked #5, and the only team they will meet this season that is higher ranked is the Legion. And the only team that managed to beat them in the second half of last season was Crimson Cascade, while Vikings held them to a draw. Otherwise, it was all victories. And while their defense is an impressive wall of strength and guard, their offense is even more impressive, one of the best in the whole league in TDs, and with Cousins right up there at the top in completions and passing yards. And their first game vs Marauders was impressive as well. So yes, Wolfskins will be the winner this season. And they may even go all the way to the Superbowl if they can keep their cool in the play-offs. We can only see the Knigths and possibly the Legion standing up to this team in SHC.”

Hertha: “So can they lose? What are their weaknesses?”

Günther: “Of course they can lose. In single matches, anything is possible. And they do have weaknesses. While their blitzers and linemen have enough strength and guard to stand up to anything, they do not have enough tackle to handle dodgy, agile players. Thus, if you meet the Wolfskins, you have to stay away from their line, and succeed in dodging around and between them. Maybe hit players at the edge of their formation. If you can carry that off, and get through their line to their catchers and to Cousins, your chances are actually quite good. Also, they do not have Juggernaut or Grab, so if you have sufficient stand firm and/or sidestep you can shut down their chance of getting a one-turner. Thus, I can see them lose or draw some single matches but in general, they will be very strong. Only thing that can really wreck them is if they start losing some of their strength players.”

Hertha: “And we do not think that anyone else in the division can take them down?”

Günther: “No. Vikings probably have the best chance. They likely have the best coach in the division, but their team is not quite on par with the Wolfskins, and it didn’t get any better when star catcher Stephen Hill got permanently less mobile in their first match of the season against the Knights. I can see them managing a draw, but not consistently win against this Wolfskins team. Also they start the second part of the season behind the Wolfskins, as they managed only one point in their first two matches.”

Hertha: “Vikings are our guess for the second place, though. They will probably follow the Wolfskins to the door, and land one of the wild cards of the conference. The other probably goes to the SHC South, to Buccaneers or Wreckers. The White Wolves are also a candidate to a wildcard, of course.”

Günther: “Yeah. The Vikings have improved their team quite a lot with their 4 draft picks, getting strong lino Sharrif Floyd, sidestepping blitzer Steve Beauharnais, fast catcher Markus Wheaton and juggernaut lino Khaled Holmes. But their ranking stayed at 7th, as they were at the end of season 3, and they still carry several crippled players, like blitzers Sean Spence and Keenan Robinson and quarterback Jeff Tuel. And of course until recently the severely crippled but still useful catcher Davante Adams, who finally met his end in the second match against the Wreckers. Vikings are still second in ranking in the division though, so both the team and the coach are better than the Crimson Cascade and the Grizzlies.”

Hertha: “So, we do not expect much from the Crimson Cascade this year, do we?”

Günther: “Seriously; no. They started season 3 rated as #9 and got to the play-offs on a wildcard, but at the end of the season with the loss of Adams, Krukenberg, Althoff and Sternberg they were down to #15. Then, most other teams had a more successful draft. Zabel may be a good replacement for Sternberg and Rothmann is a good replacement for Mitchell, and they have some interesting new linos that in some ways have strengthened their defense, but overall Crimson Cascade has done nothing to improve their greatest weakness, their established offense. This has been clearly proven in the two matches so far in the season, as Crimson Cascade has a pitiful 7 running yards total in two matches, and is the only team not to have scored a touchdown so far in season 4. With a team rated #23, this will be a year of building for our favourite team. And they do not have very good picks for the next draft either. Thus, they must concentrate on slowly but surely improving their players and avoid losing anyone important if they can. They managed that in their first two matches, and even got a point from the draw against #2 Buccaneers, and several players are close to becoming more skilled, so maybe they can get something out of their later matches.”

Hertha: “And the final team in the division, the Grizzlies, where do they end up?”

Günther: “Well… I actually think the Crimson Cascade will have their hands full trying to fend off the Grizzlies. Mind you, I think they will manage in the end, but it will likely be a very close thing. Grizzlies had close to a 0.500 rating last season, and they have made the best draft improvement of all the teams in the division, slightly better than the Vikings, so they have a good team, only slightly lower rated than the Crimson Cascade. They have better star players, though, in pro bowl players Jace Amaro and Lee Roy Salmon, and they have convinced so far, with victories against the Sharks and the Bruisers. They are consistently underrated as well, so maybe this is the season where they will actually show the finger to all self-professed experts and take out their full potential?”

Hertha: “So, all in all, we think that there will be a power shift in this division this season?”

Günther: “That’s what we expect, yes. Wolfskins winning the division, with Vikings close behind and getting the wildcard. And then a gap down to Crimson Cascade closely followed by the Grizzlies.”

Hertha: “We have also looked at some interesting match-ups in the seven-game series vs. SHC East. Be sure to follow the intra-divisional games between Vikings and Wolfskins and between Crimson Cascade and Grizzlies. They will likely say a lot about who is strongest in the division. Two crucial inter-divisional matches will be the Vikings vs Legion and the Wolfskins vs Rangers games. And be back for our next part where we look at SHC East.”

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