Preview: BIG6 Europe – Germans & Austrians Clash Once Again!
The 6 time national champions, Berlin Adler, are 2-1 this season in the GFL and 1-0 in BIG6/EFL. Former NFL Europe player Kim Kuci, coming from the crosstown rival Berlin Rebels, is their new Head Coach. He brought with him American veteran dual threat #1 QB Darius Outlaw. His main two targets are American WR #4 Conrad Meadows (3rd season in Berlin) and national team WR #23 Danilo Naranjo-Gonzalez. RB #3 Björn Dreier is tough inside runner, but look for DB/RB #5 Talib Wise, who usually plays mostly safety on defense, to be more involved in the offensive game plan against his former team.
Defensively, the Berliners are led by one of the best middle linebackers in Europe, national team player #40 Mario Nowak. He plays behind two powerful imports on the defensive line, American DE #44 Rory Johnson and Frenchman DT #95 Mamadou Sy. Berlin’s defense is not overly talented but usually plays great as a team. They will have a tough challenge though to try to slow down the Raiders offense.
After a rough loss against the Raiffeisen Vienna Vikings (41-14) in the Austrian Football League (AFL) opener, the three time Eurobowl & Austrian champion Swarco Tirol Raiders have been on a roll with a six game winning streak. Nevertheless the club from Innsbruck has’t won a championship since 2011 and the pressure is on them this season.
American QB John Van Den Raadt and the Raider offense has been improving week after week. Their young Austrian wide receiver crew has been spectacular in the last few games with #3 Tarneller, #5 Platzhgummer, #83 Willi, #84 Erlsbacher and #85 Ebner. In the running game, we will have to see if star RB #29 Andreas Hofbauer had enough time to rest after carrying the ball with 33 times last Wednesday for Austria against France and 24 times again on Saturday against Germany in the Championship Final.
The defense of coach Fatah is young and has struggled at times, with 51 points allowed versus Graz Giants and 62 in their last game vs Prague Black Panthers (both wins). However, long time starters LB #2 Florian Hueter and DB #21 Markus Kraus are still productive.
The Raiders will bring in three additional American players for European games : WR #6 Kyle Callahan (former Adler and Raiders QB), ex-NFL DB/RB #1 DJ Wolfe and DT#99 Brandon Collier. Look for Wolfe to give Hofbauer a breather, but his main task may be to cover the Adler American WR.
After four weeks without a game due to the European Championship in Vienna, it will be interesting to see which team managed their break the best. The Raiders had seven players in Vienna and while the Alder only four. A win never comes easy in Tivoli. Berlin will be the underdog and will probably have to score a bunch of points offensively to have a chance.
RAIFFEISEN VIENNA VIKINGS V. DRESDEN MONARCHS
The Dresden Monarchs travel on Sunday to Vienna to play the reigning Eurobowl Champions, the Raiffeisen Vikings. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. CET, 9 a.m. EST at Hohe Warte Stadium.
With Braunschweig beating Dresden (17-10) and Vienna beating Braunschweig (14-13), Vikings control their destiny: if they win they are in and earn a chance to defend their Eurobowl title. However, if they lose they are out.
