National League Predictions

National North

Clyde Valley Blackhawks vs. Glasgow Tigers

The Blackhawks would be flying high after their 26-0 demolition of the Edinburgh Wolves a few weeks ago was it not for the close defeat by the Gateshead Senators the week after.

However a close defeat by a team that by all accounts should be in the Premiership North this year (they requested to be lowered to the National Division) is nothing shameful and the Blackhawks should put the defeat behind them and bounce back.

The Tigers on the other hand set their mark with a dominating 36-19 opening game win over the Dundee Hurricanes. Quarterback Matt McCusker and receiver Dean Jardine will have to be closely marked as they teamed up for three touchdowns through the air on the day.

This has the potential to be a shootout in Scotland.

Clyde Valley Blackhawks to win by one score

Premiership Predictions

Premiership North

Coventry Jets vs. East Kilbride Pirates
An intriguing opener for East Kilbride, who quite rightly start the season as favorites to win the division. However, they’ve had problems in the West Midlands before – losing to Tamworth last season – and will face a tough proposition in Coventry.

With Stuart Franklin instantly upgrading the Jets offence, they look like they could be a play-off contender in 2013. With other signings rumored to be close, the improvements just keep on coming in Coventry.

On last year’s showings, this should be a comfortable win for the visitors, but the off-season changes may well have closed the gap.
Prediction: East Kilbride by two scores

Games in the PLFA this weekend

Saturday, May 4, 6PM CET (12:00 PM EST)

PLFAII: Archers Bydgoszcz vs Angels Toruń
Bydgoszcz-Toruń face off in a derby rivalry of two historically conflicting cities. The teams have competed in an exhibition game (in Inowroclaw September 2, 2012 Angels won 24-7 ), but this is first official PLFA league game. In their first game of the season the Archers won at Slupsk Griffons 22-7. The Angels are yet to play in a competitive game, however, in a preseason games the  Angels lost to the strong Lowlanders Bialystok 21-0 and won against the Warsaw Crusaders 50:6.

Sunday, May 5, 2PM CET (8:00 AM EST)

Topliga PLFA: Warsaw Eagles- Kozły Poznań
Eagles and Kozły (Goats) have the same record at 2-1 and desperately need wins. In the first game for both teams, Poznań Kozły lost to the Eagles 39-0, but after this game they bounced backed and won two games in a row against the Silesia Rebels and the Warsaw Spartans. Eagles other victory was versus the Zaglebie Steelers, but they lost a game versus the Seahawks Gdynia. In the history of Eagles-Kozły games, Warsaw have been consistent winners (8 times).

The Geno Smith Blame Game

When a player plummets down the draft boards like Geno Smith did last weekend, you can almost see the suspicious glances being thrown around Radio City Music Hall. How did it happen? Why did it happen? And - perhaps most importantly - who is to blame?

The first person the finger points at is Smith himself. He was savaged by several draft scouts for not having the leadership qualities that are required for an NFL quarterback. Reports emerged of him spending more time on his phone whilst on pre-draft visits than actually talking to staff. In other words, red flags kept popping up, and Smith didn't seem to be doing anything to dismiss them.

However, it was clear who Smith blamed - Select Sports Group, his agents. The dust had barely settled on the weekend's events when Geno fired his advisers ostensibly putting all the blame on them. At first glance, it seemed to be a petulant move by someone who didn't get his own way, but scratch the surface and there may be some truth in it.

SSG were pegged as the sole reason why Smith skipped the Senior Bowl, thus missing out on one of the best opportunities to impress scouts pre-Draft. Add to that the apparent lack of any obvious PR moves when Smith got some pretty bad rap from Pro Football Weekly's draft scouts, and you can maybe see why Smith was a bit miffed.

In reality, no one party can really take all of the blame, but what's important for Smith now is that he doesn't just surround himself with Yes men, but with a strong team who can deal with all of the flack he is currently getting and - more importantly - the mud flinging he will no doubt receive as starting quarterback of the New York Jets.

GB Junior Lions open practice announced

The GB Junior Lions Open Practice tour goes North and to Motherwell, Scotland on May 18th.  Over the past several months the Lions have held sessions in the South of England, Midlands and will now be hosted at the Ravenscraig Sports Centre.  After this key date, the 300+ players on the GB database will be cropped down to around 70 players for invitational camps held in July and Sept.

Whilst there’s no competitive game this year, the National program have been in talks with several countries and are hopefully to confirm a friendly game for the end of the year.  This would set the program up well for the 2014 qualification games, and a chance to better their recent 3rd place finish at the EJC2012 qualification tournament.

Head Coach Damien Anderson said “This is a great opportunity for players in the North to be recognized at the highest level of British football, and we hope to strengthen the program with this trip”.

The practice starts at 10am and will cost £10.

Players are asked to register by filling out the forms HERE

Any players under 18 will also require consent forms http://www.britishamericanfootball.org/downloads.aspx