The weather for Sunday looks a bit dodgy. Well, we do live in Belgium after all. But it shouldn’t have any unusual effects on the games, because I think the teams in each game are a bit of a mirror image of their opponents. Let’s have a look.
Game previews
Brussels Tigers vs Brussels Black Angels
So this is going to be hard to preview as I haven’t seen the Tigers this season, all I really know is that they’re tough, and that they beat the Turtles twice this season. Given I saw the Turtles last week and saw how good they were, I’d say that the Tigers must be at least as good as the Bulls.
But I’m not sure how often the Tigers have to face an opponent that’s at least as hard as they themselves are, and this could play to the hand of the Angels, who have to deal with the big boys of the Bulls and Diamonds regularly. I’d say that we can expect a large portion of HB Banza for the Angels, grinding out the hard yards on short yardage or around the goal line.
However you’d be wrong if you thought that that’s all the Angels bring, as they’ve got speed on the outside and a quarterback who can connect on a long pass. Not to forget their lighting return game as well. Oh yeah, they can still play defense (but you know, saying that the Angels can play defense is like saying tomorrow will be a day that ends in a ‘y’).
The Tigers will certainly want to avoid third and long situations. The less chances you give to DE Vrancken and LB Dosunmu to sack your quarterback, the better.
So I expect a tough old game, and I don’t really know who will win.
Brussels Bulls vs Corbais Fighting Turtles
This time last year, the Bulls were expected by everyone (including me) to walk all over the Diamonds on the way to the Belgian Bowl. But a funny thing happened on the way to Ostend, and the Bulls could only watch the Bowl from the stands.
So the question is : have they learnt from this experience? Going undefeated in the regular season means nothing if you don’t go undefeated in the playoffs, and that starts here.
I think that this is an excellent matchup, it should be a nice game to watch. In fact, the way the Turtles play reminds me a lot of the Bulls, in that they can run inside and outside, pass, play defense, play special teams and have good speed. Where I think the teams are different is that the Bulls are more physical inside, and this a crucial difference for me.
The Bulls hogs have been excellent all year, both on offense and defense. The Turtles had enough time to pass last week, but they’ll have to hurry a little more this time around with the Bulls defensive ends coming around the corner to put pressure on.
I like the physicality of the Bulls offensive line to open enough holes for RB Acheson to get loose into the second level of the Turtles defense, and if that happens, watch out.
But don’t count out the Turtles, they’re a well coached, organised team, and they won’t let themselves just get pushed out of the contest.
Predictions
This is pretty tough. I think that the Bulls are going to win, and I think maybe the Tigers, but this is only based on the fact that I’ve seen the Turtles and the Tigers beat them twice. But I would not be surprised at all if the Black Angels won, I think that game will go right down to the wire.
Brussels Bulls 28 – Corbais Fighting Turtles 13
Brussels Tigers 14 – Brussels Black Angels 10
Top 3 things to do at the Belgian Bowl
3 – Check out, errrr, be entertained by the cheerleaders.
2 – The best way to watch a football game is with a hamburger in one hand, a brewski in the other, with your mates, yelling your lungs out for one or other team. Choose a team and cheer them on to victory!
1 – If you want to have a good time while watching the game, find where the Gent Gators are sitting and join them.
Oh, and the first person to say “Yeah, it might be fun, but it’s too far away”, will have earned themselves a lecture from me about the size of this country.
A word on kickoffs
Apparently there’s been some confusion about where the coverage guys have to stand on kickoffs. According to the rules, the coverage guys only need to have one foot over the 30 yard line, and not both feet.
A little Angels vs Monarchs
Thanks to Coach Bouron, here’s a little of what went down last weekend when the Black Angels beat the Monarchs :
- Touchdowns : FB #32 Loupeda, HB #21 Hong, WR #84 Alloun, WR #86 Davies, DE #66 Vrancken
- Interceptions : WR #84 Alloun, CB #23 Delaisse
- Runaway Offensive MVP leader HB Banza didn’t score, but he did gain a whole heap of yards.
- The Angels defense spent a hell of a lot of time in the Monarchs offensive backfield.
Outro
OK, I think I’ve gotten everything cleaned up that I wanted to. Don’t forget to vote for the MVPs if you haven’t already on the facebook page, and the winners will be announced in the Monday blog. The week after that is the All-FFL team, and the week after that is the Belgian Bowl. Can’t believe that the season is almost over already! Someone should organise a flag football season over the summer to keep us all amused! But I digress, I’m going to check out Black Angels vs Tigers on Sunday, so let’s go Angels! Until next time
