League News Update 4-4

Here's the list of this week's games with some (very) brief analysis...

Edmonton Beavers (0-3) at Kentucky Stallions (2-0)
3 to 45
Nothing surprising here. Last year's NFC champion takes down a team that's been struggling for years.

Wyoming Wildcats (0-3) at Boise Bison (2-1)
17 to 6
Boise has gotten knocked off their game after their loss to the Yeti. Wyoming walks away with this one and the NFC West is up for grabs.

Hawaii Warriors (2-1) at Tiburon Sharks (2-1)
16 to 10
Not an unpredictable result. Hawaii is used to playing some fairly tough teams in its own AFC South and the NFC South is nothing in comparison.

Dover Deer (1-1) at Boston Liberty (3-0)
30 to 24
Boston turned the ball over 5 times. Dover played mistake free football. Other than that, this game should've gone to the Liberty. Props to Dover for outsmarting a more athletic team. The NFC East gets more interesting by the week.

Concord Hawks (2-1) at Atlantic Tide (2-1)
21 to 38
The Tide get revenge for their week 1 loss in Concord with this victory. Their offense cruised past that of the Hawks. The Tide are still the leading team in the AFC East.

Little Rock Crocs (1-2) at Madison Timberwolves (1-2)
32 to 27
No doubt Little Rock understands that the AFC West is attainable this year. This victory against a fairly decent team in Madison shows it. I'm surprised at the result here, but at least it was close.

Dakota Vipers (2-1) at Springfield Knights (3-0)
17 to 7
I've been waiting for the Knights to lose all year because their schedule to this point has been way too easy. If the Knights are serious about winning the NFC North, they have to do more than beat the struggling Edmonton Beavers. Dakota is looking the strongest in the NFC North so far with Madison and Springfield in close contention. The division could still go to any of these three teams.

Jackson Dragons (1-2) at Puerto Rico Piranhas (2-1)
16 to 10
I was not expecting this. Puerto Rico doesn't have much of an offense, usually relying on their defense to shut down opponents. It looks like the Dragons overcame it in a surprise victory. The Piranhas need to stay strong in order to compete in the AFC South and after Hawaii's win over Tiburon, this loss makes them look bad.

Santa Fe Bandits (1-1) at Yukon Yeti (3-0)
7 to 42
Yukon got the ball right away and put up 14 points on the board before the Bandits knew what hit them. The third play of the first drive was a deep 73 yard pass from Yukon QB Torry Mathis to Wideout Mack Pleasant. The Yeti continued last week's trend, emphasizing the running game more than usual. The Bandit's only TD came on a deep pass late in the first half, taking advantage of poor defensive play calling and the mismatches that resulted. Regardless, this was a Yeti show through and through. Yukon will certainly need to step it up for next week's game against division rival Bar Harbor, a team which is more than prepared coming off of a bye week.
Player of the game: Yeti Free Safety Jon Baker

Topeka Oilers (0-3) at Mexico Bulls (2-1)
14 to 24
If the NFC South has to go to someone, Mexico looks up to the task.

Salt Lake Scorpions (1-2) at Portland Flyers (1-2)
23 to 20
This was a good showing on the part of the Flyers, but a predictable result.

Hartford Lightning (1-2) at Iowa Rangers (1-2)
23 to 31
I was very surprised by this result. The Lightning look to be lagging behind in the AFC East after a promising start. On the flip side, Iowa won't be going anywhere soon in the competitive NFC East, but they're getting there.

Montana Grizzlies (2-1) at Tucson Kings (1-2)
14 to 26
The bottom two teams in the AFC North, Montana and Lincoln, look to be struggling this year in comparison to up and coming teams like the Kings who are hoping to compete with fellow NFC West rivals such as Boise, Wyoming, and Santa Fe.

Oklahoma Twisters (2-0) at Spokane Ospreys (1-2)
28 to 11
Oklahoma looks awfully good this year. They were a step ahead of Spokane all the way.

Next week features the first of two regular season Yeti and Captains matchups. These are always interesting games to watch so keep your eyes peeled for related features on the blog. In the meantime, my analyses for the next week or two will be shorter due to time constraints. I'll pick up the more detailed aspects again in my week 7 update.