|
[be6d54d8]Klemu's Games of the Week[/be6d54d8]
Guess what boys and girls? It's playoff time and Klemu is here to break down the games for you so that you can put your hard earned allowance down on the right teams. I don't need to tell anybody, because I'm sure you're all checking up on me, but Klemu once again went 4/4 last week with his predictions, including hitting on his upset special of the week. But nobody cares about the regular season anymore, so I'll move on to the first week of the playoffs. These games include three intra-division rivalries that will be fighting tooth and nail to get a chance to get pummelled by better teams next week. Here are the playoff games, and my analysis:
[be6d54d8]The Battle of Baton Rouge
New Orleans(8-8 ) at Shreveport(11-5)[/be6d54d8]
I dub this one the Battle of Baton Roughe because the game will be fought to see who owns the state of Louisiana . . . literally. I believe that the winner, in fact, gets deed to a small portion of the Louisiana purchase. I list this first, because I'm not sure this is going to be the best of games. Shreveport looks pretty strong in the second half of the season, but stumbled against non-playoff teams like Boston and Anchorage. But that is still above and beyond what the Breakers did. The breakers pretty much backed into a playoff spot by beating a 3-13 Memphis squad and relying on the 14-2 Bulldogs to beat Tampa Bay for them. The important thing, however is that they made it to the show.
Key Injuries: Shreveport will be missing 2005 2nd Team All-Pro Right Tackle, Loren Creekmore from their lineup and there is a chance that they will also be missing their star receiver, Pedro Lopez, who is listed as questionable with shin splints. New Orleans will be missing linebackers Teddy Yuan and Scott Forte. Also missing from the Breakers lineup will be slot receiver, Brent Miller who had the bad luck of tearing his patellar tendon.
Analysis: Expect Shreveport to run, run, then run some more. Shreveport is ranked #6 in yards per carry in the CFL and New Orleans' defense is rated #32. If New Orleans blitzes, Shreveport's Douglas Hartman will not be afraid to throw one over the top on the Breakers. On the other side of the ball, look for New Orleans to shove their 2nd ranked passing offense up Shreveport's tailpipe. But Shreveport's defense might be up to the task, as they themselves are ranked #7 against the pass. However, if Shreveport wants to win, they'll need to convert more than their season average of 38.4% on third downs.
Klemu's Kall: Vegas has New Orleans as 7-point underdogs. I put them at 4 point underdogs. I just hate giving out that many points in a divisional rivalry.
[be6d54d8]Hartford(10-6) at New York(10-6)[/be6d54d8]
This game will be interesting only to find out if Hartford really should have won the division. A mid-season injury to star quarterback James Oberg de-railed Hartford's dreams of winning a division championship, however, Oberg is back in the saddle and has been nothing less than amazing. Last week, Hartford dominated the New York Knights in Hartford, but this week the game will be played in New York. New York is 6-2 at home this season, but their home losses came at the hands of Las Vegas and Charleston. These weren't just losses, these were blowouts. The oddsmakers actually have New York as the underdog by 8 points, even though they are playing at home.
Key Injuries: New York has been without star wide receiver Douglas Cowley ever since the first week of the season. But guess what? He's probable to play in the game against Hartford, this could throw a wrench somebody's clockwork. New York will also be without the services of linebacker Jesse Reyes, but New York still has a great LB corps without Reyes. Hartford will be missing backup center, Craig Hamilton, which will force them to go to the wire and pickup a backup to keep the bench warm. My money's on journeyman Shane Ogden to take the role. At tackle, Chad Orumieh gets healthy, but Eloy Erdman tore a knee ligament early in last week's game against New York. Add to that list defensive tackle, Roger Clarke who was put on IR mid-season, and safety Sherman Lee, who was injured a couple weeks ago when he tore his MCL trying to avoid running into the Gatorade table after chasing a play out of bounds.
Analysis: The New York Knights aren't all that impressive as a team. They do however have a pretty good pass defense, even though they couldn't stop James Oberg last week. Somehow the Knights made it to the playoffs with a turnover margin of -8. How does that happen? Oh, that's right, they play in the Eastern Conference . . . I digress. Look for Hartford's #4 ranked pass offense (imagine where they'd be if Oberg were healthy all season) to eat up yardage against the Knights. Look for the Knights to direct their running attack to the right side and attack defensive end, Edward Bourchardt.
Klemu's Kall: Vegas has Hartford by 8. Klemu has Hartford by 10. Beware of the Attack!
[be6d54d8]Tucson(12-4) at Sacramento(10-6)[/be6d54d8]
Poor, poor Tucson. They get stuck in a division with the CFL Champion Honlulu Blue Pacific and look what happens. They go 12-4 and end up playing a wild card game on the road against a 10-6 team from the San Andreas division. Sacramento, however, has earned their spot in this game winning a tough game against Santa Cruz on the road in the last week of the season to get here. When these two teams met in week 8, Sacramento handed out a pretty damn good but kicking to Tucson in Sacramento. Tucson would like a little revenge for that game. It was pretty brutal. In fact, on the very first play from scrimmage, Tucson's Milan Hogan tossed the ball right into the hands of Sacramento's Rodrick Gonzalez, who took the ball back the full distance.
Key Injuries: Looking at Sacramento's roster is like looking at an admission list to a hospital ward. It will be tough for Sacramento to beat Tucson, missing the following starters: QB Seymour Barre, RB Alexis Rounds, C Darrel Smith, and RT David To. Tucson's offensive line looks to be in similar conditions. However, a few of them just have nagging injuries and should be good to go for the game. Missing from Tucson will be these players: C William Gregg, LT Thomas Perez, and P Kent Eyles. Star defensive end Isaiah Melo is also questionable for the game, but considering that it's the playoffs, I'll bet that he plays.
Analysis: This game will be simply about turnovers. Nothing more, nothing less. Tucson has a turnover ratio of -11. MINUS ELEVEN! Sacramento is at +15. PLUS FIFTEEN! Tucson does have an excellent offense, but a -11 turnover ratio is a hard thing to make up for. Based on my calculations, that will mean that Tucson will need to make up for at least 4 turnovers in this game. Can they do it? That is the big question.
Klemu's Kall: Vegas has Sacramento by 1. Klemu says Tucson by 4. I think that Tucson will be able to play well enough to get the ball into the endzone a couple of times. Even though Sacramento has the ability to take the ball away. They have a hard time getting it into the endzone once they do. This, my friends, is Klemu's upset special of the day.
[be6d54d8]Boise(11-5) at Oregon(11-5)[/be6d54d8]
The Ring of Ice Division has easily been the most fun to watch over the last couple of weeks. Boise pulled out enough wins to get to the playoffs and Oregon won key matchups down the line to secure their division championship. Throw in a 10-6 Seattle team that didn't make the playoffs and you have a recipe for good football. I don't think that anybody in the league scores second half points like Oregon does. They can just turn it on in the 3rd and 4th quarters. In the previous two matchups of the season, Oregon has won both of them. But those games were early in the season. Has Boise gotten better? Has Oregon gotten better? The answer to those two questions is YES, which makes this game THE game of the week.
Key Injuries: Oregon looks to be pretty healthy. Sure, they've got their share of injuries, but most are not to key players. The biggest injury in the Ice's clubhouse is RT Stephen Covey who will be missing the game. Boise's biggest injury is toDT John Butt. No, he did not sprain his glutious. Boise will be happy if CB Ibanez Foster can make it into the game to shore up the week side of their secondary. Foster is questionable for Sunday.
Analysis: Boise is a hell of a Juggernaut to play. They have a turnover ratio of +17, third down conversion rate of 47.9 (best in the league) and not to mention one of the best rushing attacks in the game. On defense, they can stop the run, but have a little trouble with the passing game. Oregon, just wins. They've beaten Boise twice already this season and it's hard to figure out how they did it. They aren't very good at running the ball, but they are pretty damn good at throwing the ball. Oregon could get themselves into trouble early if they turn the ball over. However, as I mentioned earlier, the Ice are the kings of the second half. Look for Boise to go up early, but then for Oregon to come back and make it a game.
Klemu's Kall: Vegas says Boise by 4. Klemu says Boise by 1. I can't wait to watch this game, it should be an instant classic.
Congratulations to those teams that made it this far. It's a new season now. See if you can do something with it.
_________________
Klemu Hakkinen
-Starting RW for the Semi-Pro Mooseport Mousse Hockey Club
-Beat Writer for the CFL
|
Login
FAQ
