Europe’s Top 20 – Week of August 28th, 2014

| American Football | 08/28/2014

This is the Top 20 for August 27, 2014

[su_dropcap]W[/su_dropcap]e only have a few changes this week as playoffs loom. Read the Europe-wide wrap on Around the Continent!

There have been very few surprises as the elite teams in each country continue to prove that they belong high in the rankings. Each league seems to have one team totally dominant, although that might no longer be the case in Finland as the Helsinki Roosters have proven to be vulnerable. Nevertheless they have not dropped in the rankings.

How many different ways can you describe the season that the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions are having? They have beaten their toughest opponents in Germany by staggering scores. It seems that they will walk right into the German Bowl. They lead the German league in scoring and overall defense and are second in scoring offense behind Schwabisch Hall by the slimmest of margins. Unless someone derails this train, they will race all the way to the German Bowl. They remain at No. 1. Were Vienna playing, this would be a matchup to see. Cologne continues to fade and has dropped another couple of spots. The Schwabisch Hall Unicorns are also, like the Lions, sweeping away all opposition in the South. The Marburg Mercenaries dropped down again after being run over by the Unicorns. Stuttgart clings to the top 10 but each week they struggle to get by lesser teams. Nevertheless they keep finding ways to win.

Likewise in Sweden, the Carlstad Crusaders are in a class of their own and are getting ready for the playoffs in less than two weeks. Their game against rivals the Orebro Black Knights will be a treat to watch this week and will give us some indication on how the playoffs will go.

In the United Kingdom, the London Warriors, who we have at Number 20, are gearing up for the playoffs this weekend so we will be keeping a close watch there.

Hey! Write and tell us what you think. We are always listening. We welcome your opinions and suggestions. You may not like the changes and have a different idea. Or you don’t agree at all. But let us know. Send us an email.  If coaches wish to contribute, by all means do so.

In brackets, we have added each team’s overall record, including IFAF, EFAF and transcontinental play.

If you have more information, along with comments or criticism, we welcome it. Please email me at [email protected] or [email protected].

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Roger Kelly is an editor and a writer for AFI. A former PR Director the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League for 7 years, he now lives in Sweden writing about and scouting American Football throughout the world.