NEW RANKINGS AFTER THE REG SEASON

The Elimination Teams:

1)Netherlands - 6-0 in a very tough division, dominant offense and a few close wins, but wins nonetheless. With manager serrie coming off a triple, the fates may be with Holland

2)Russia - Well they finally suffered an... almost loss. Down 21-0 in the 3rd and it took nothing short of a miracle for them to go on a 35-7 run and win it. It would be no miracle if they went and won the entire competition though.

3)USA - Well we were jue messing around in our last game, still won 35-3 Vs Ukraine with only 3 linemen on offense and 5 on D. Nevertheless, the sky is the limit for this talented roster.

4)United Kingdon - Well, surprising loss to France. But other than that they played as expected, ridiculous offense and are a huge threat going into the knockout stage.

5)Denmark - Cut it close Vs Prtugal today.. Doesn't really matter though. They were 5-0 with a human line-up, have a stellar offense and if they're posting human line-ups are very well a dark horse to win it all.

6)Germany - Rebounded well from a loss to Italy, finished first in the division. Have plenty of talent and could go far. No chance they beat USA though. Their QB is from buckeye's roster and kicker from Merc's. It is understood that they will throw the game should USA arise as an opponent.

7)Austria - Played 2 bot formations, but collected two wins vs a none too shabby Portugal squad, beat Slovenia by two scores, and put up a fight Vs Denmark. Clearly poised to make a splash in the WC stages.

8)France - 4-0 Vs Australia and Norway, two good squads, although the games were rather close. Very nice road win Vs the UK, but UK exacted their revenge in a big way. Nevermind that, France has proved they can beat top talents, and don't be surprised if they repeat the feat.

9)Mexico - Couldn't beat the USA in two tries, but held them to 28 both times. They've got what may be the best pass d in the competition, and that's the biggest asset you can have. That alone may carry them to a final 4 appearance with some luck.

10)Poland - Manhandled Brazil twice, split with a dynamic Sweden squad, and even forced Netherlands to OT. They would have one that game had the engine taken into account the fact that the half was ending and they were 12 yards out. 29 yard FG=31-28 win. Anyway, they bounced back in a formidable way and are in reality capable of beating any team in the cup.

11)Serbia - Four wins Vs Belgium and Czech Republic are nice. But Russia handled them with ease when they played with a human line-up vs them. Granted, Russia also handled them when they played a bot formation. Point is, they don't seem to be a huge threat, but one upset is within the realm of possibility.

12)Canada - I was convinced you guys were good. But then you could only muster 14 Vs Spain and got obliterated my the Swiss. So, the future looks bleak for the eskimos, canucks, habs or whatever Canadians are.

13)Romania - Well, they won their group and an OT loss was the only thing that got between them and an undefeated campaign. They may have gotten lucky in today's victory over Hungary, who had drives ended by the clock at the 12 and 13 yard line of Romania. Ah well, it's hard to judge them based off of 4 games Vs Finland and Hungary.

14)Italy - CRAP. I COULD'VE SWORN I RANKED THEM. Just pretend they're 7th or so. They can beat top teams. We'll see if they can manage to flop their way to a championship in American football.

15)Switzerland - Finished 2-2 after 4 games Vs Spain and Canada. Very inconsistent. They fell down 24-0 in the first Vs Spain week 3. That comeback, after today's 28-27 loss, was the difference between promotion and couch potatoing.

16)Finland - 3-1, but in a rather week division. They may have a shot if they put in my very own Matti Kovanen, but they seem adamant about using Rich Steuer.

Best of the rest:

1)Portugal - Put up 3 very good fights Vs Denmark and Austria as well as sweeping Serbia. Switch them out with a few certain teams and they win the division easy.

2)Sweden - Had they won today they may have advanced. Doesn't matter though, lost to Brazil stunningly, and are going to sit at home. Shame, because their offense can hang with the best of them.

3)Norway - They set a smurf formation Vs Australia. That's the only game in which they didn't scare (or beat) their opponent. They're really a good team, shame the draw did them in like that.

4)Belgium - On one hand, they were the only team to suffer a loss to the Czechs, had a bad loss to Serbia and a crushing at the hands of Rossiya. On the other, they manhandled the Czechs, put up an enormous struggle Vs Serbia, and gave Russia a hell of a fight. They lacked the most important thing in the game, which is spice on their side.

5)New Zealand - Italy and Germany are both dark horses to win the cup. They still managed to hand Italy a loss, and their worst offensive output was 35, twice.

6)Australia - Weren't too impressive until the last week when they gave France a run for their money. Benefited from a Norwegian bot line-up, but un-benefited from being paired with France, UK, and Norway.

7)Brazil - If not for a 55 yard TD pass on the last play in regulation, they would have swept Sweden. Pair that with a mere four point loss Vs the Netherlands, and it's clear that the GI gods were mocking Brazil. Perhaps because Argentina couldn't have a team.

8)Spain - Welp, blow 24 point first quarter leads and have it result in missing promotion. With the best teams, the difference between knockout stages and going home early can just be one play. Spain learned the hard way.

9)Czech Republic - They beat Slovenia. And it was either them or Slovenia, Ukraine, or Hungary. And they had more wins then those three combined.

10)Slovenia - THEY MAY HAVE BEEN WINLESS, BUT THEIR WINLESS WAS BETTER THAN UKRAINE AND HUNGARY'S WINLESS.

11)Hungary - They at least improved in the second half. Both of their games were closer.

12)Ukraine - Had to throw together a team willy nilly, got paired with two great teams, and welp... The rest is history. If it's of any consolation they rebounded from a dismal first half consisting of two shutouts by scoring 17 points. They can say they scored on USA and Mexico!!!!!!!!!!!!

BTW, these aren't blind rankings. I look at the scores and stats and such.

My point being, I'm not completely convinced home advantage is all there in the NT games. Group F is a prime example. 12 matches were played. In every match, the road team kept it closer than they did in their game at home.

iwillneverforgetthis wrote: leafs are 4-0

Could you have picked a worse thread to post that in? A worse forum even?

iwillneverforgetthis wrote: croverja wrote: iwillneverforgetthis wrote: leafs are 4-0 Could you have picked a worse thread to post that in? A worse forum even? Just thought I'd let you know that 88% of Canadians hate the Habs and that 76% of Canadians say Leafs are there favourite team

Not the Colorado Avalanche?

I'd like to go to Toronto someday.