2025 Week 8 Preview

Weekly predictions and previews from the 'experts'
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2025 Week 8 Preview

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FIFL, 2025 Season, Week 8 Preview HIBC First Edition

“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains must be the truth.” - Sherlock Homes

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Honolulu (4-3) at Bismarck (2-4-1)

@ Bismark Event Ct… nearest city, Calgary, Alberta Canada… Splash Screen Intro: Coach Jason Hein [vs] Coach Kevin Fillman
Hurricanes conservative PPPs feature bell cow HB Kenny Irons involved in both the running and passing game. QB Sherdrick Bonner expertly executes the OFF. He keeps veteran WR Rob Mager and TE John Cipot involved. Bismark looking sharp in their dark blue color rush unies! The Blaze counter with DT Charleston Hughes leading a surprisingly tight DEF. Expect the 1st half to be close [like baseball score close]. BIS OFF lead by QB Chris Dixon feeds off of HB Quentin Griffin ably complemented by WRs B.J. Sams, Marques [Festus] Hagans and Peter Warrick. The 2nd half should favor HON… it’ll be close, but expect the Hurricanes to douse the Blaze in the end. Probably no 100 yd rushing game for either team. FGs will be the order of the day @ the Event Center. Neither HON K Ton-Ton Luzayado nor BIS K Pior Czech are particularly reliable. TOs & TDs at a premium here… O/U for the game: 1.5 each!

HON offense 1st 136.7 rush - [1st] / 245.4 pass - [4th]
defense 4th 92.4 rush - [9th] / 199.3 pass - [3rd]
scoring 20.9 for - [5th] / 18.9 against - [10th]
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BIS offense 10th 82.3 rush - [13th] / 235.7 pass - [7th]
defense 13th 98.0 rush - [12th] / 235.7 pass - [9th]
scoring 17.0 for - [13th] / 20.4 against - [14th]

key matchups:
QB Chris Dixon (6 TDs/1877 yds) vs. Honolulu pass D
WR B.J. Sams (51 rec/684 yds/2 TDs) vs. CB Tracy Belton
QB Sherdrick Bonner (9 TDs/1888 yds) vs. Bismarck pass D
HB Kenny Irons (761 yds/5 TDs) vs. LB Ronnie Palmer (55 Tackles)
WR Rob Mager (41 rec/548 yds/3 TDs) vs. CB Robb Butler

prediction:
Honolulu 21, Bismarck 22 HIBC sez HON -3 [bet the under 43!]
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Minnesota (2-5) at Portland (1-6)

@ Portland Civic Center… nearest city Seattle… Splash Screen Intro: Coach Marco Lambert [vs] Coach Joe Scanella
Notable Injuries: MIN WR Schmidt, Jesse D-4 Hyper-extended knee (wk 7) OUT [Possible WR1,?WR3]
There was a TV commercial [need to visit MR. Peabody’s WAYBACK machine for this one] whose hook was ”Bardhal did it again”. [https://www.bardahl.com/ in Seattle!] This game has all the earmarks of the MIN win @ Fort Wayne. “Meanwhile, I was still thinkin’“ [Little Queenie… Chuck Berry’s 1959 rock’n’roll classic which is said to be the direct inspiration for the Beatles’ ‘Get Back’ as well as Humble Pie’s ‘Natural Born Bugie’… also rehashed by The Glimmer Twins] Here’s how HIBC sees this one going down… POR uses one of the FIFL’s consensus winning PPPs on OFF in the 1st half. Rookie QB Mike Reilly starts because Khari Jones was ineffective early. HB Darius Fudge will be effective receiving the ball. [in fact he will lead POR in receptions] Interesting note here: POR uses a direct snap to Fudge on one particular play! [OH, My] Reilly looks for clutch TE Tim Day often. FB Larry Ned gets almost as many carries as Fudge. The Prowlers much maligned DEF [hey, they’re young all over on D] will be aggressive and shut down the Fighting Pike OFF. MIN QB Shaun King is able to move the ball in the 2nd half vs the POR DEF, which backs off into balanced mode. King hooks up with HB Ray Kirkland in the flat and is unstoppable near the goal line. Sound familiar? It does to the Safari! POR switches to a more conservative OFF in the 2nd half and is unable keep up. Look for MIN LB Ezra Butler starring in this one.

MIN offense 11th 90.0 rush - [11th] / 219.9 pass - [13th]
defense 2nd 88.4 rush - [7th] / 188.0 pass - [2nd]
scoring 16.6 for - [16th] / 16.4 against - [4th]
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POR offense 9th 82.7 rush - [12th] / 236.0 pass - [6th]
defense 18th 101.0 rush - [15th] / 278.1 pass - [18th]
scoring 17.3 for - [11th] / 25.1 against - [18th]

key matchups:
WR Arlan Bruce (50 rec/618 yds/1 TDs) vs. CB Atcheson Conway (1 INT)

prediction:
Minnesota 21, Portland 20 HIBC sez MIN -3.5 HIBC sez MIN wins outright
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Reno (3-3-1) at Wichita (3-4)

@ Tampa Stadium… nearest city Tampa… Splash Screen Intro: Coach Jim Scanella [vs] Coach Bryan Higgins
REN: OFF uses some shotgun for passing, prefers to use I formation [Pro-I, Offset I, (strong and weak)] DEF base 43 multi-set (eagle and strong). WCH: OFF uses a lot of formations including some of the more unusual ones such as tackle eligible plays. Likes to pass a majority of time from the shotgun formation. DEF base 34. WCH look for crafty vet QB James McNear to Cowboy up vs 8th ranked REN DEF. QB Timmy Chang may be vulnerable to INTs slowing the Express shotgun based passing game. Team Passing WCH #1. WCH at home creates just enough edge here.



REN offense 4th 76.1 rush - [14th] / 256.3 pass - [2nd]
defense 8th 104.4 rush - [17th] / 209.0 pass - [6th]
scoring 17.0 for - [12th] / 18.3 against - [8th]
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WCH offense 3rd 100.1 rush - [6th] / 233.3 pass - [8th]
defense 16th 103.7 rush - [16th] / 259.0 pass - [17th]
scoring 23.0 for - [1st] / 21.1 against - [15th]

key matchups:
QB James McNear (12 TDs/1859 yds) vs. Reno pass D
WR Billy McMullen (52 rec/632 yds/4 TDs) vs. CB Armagedon Draughn (1 INT)
QB Timmy Chang (7 TDs/2102 yds) vs. Wichita pass D
WR Yo Murphy (46 rec/533 yds/1 TDs) vs. CB Rod Babers

prediction:
Reno 19, Wichita 24 HIBC sez WCH -2.5
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Fort Wayne (3-4) at Springfield (4-3)

@ Carver Arena… nearest city Cleveland… Splash Screen Intro: Coach Mike Blank vs Coach TC Finney
FWS OFF uses former Cleveland Browns formations that shift the HB or FB to the strong side. DEF 4-3 Strong. SPR OFF uses 3 formations Ace, Offset I (weak), K-gun DEF 4-3 Eagle. SPR too strong at home for the struggling Safari.


FWS offense 12th 97.6 rush - [9th] / 210.9 pass - [14th]
defense 5th 90.0 rush - [8th] / 202.7 pass - [5th]
scoring 16.7 for - [15th] / 19.0 against - [12th]
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SPR offense 8th 100.0 rush - [7th] / 221.9 pass - [11th]
defense 9th 76.7 rush - [3rd] / 239.4 pass - [12th]
scoring 18.0 for - [8th] / 17.3 against - [6th]

key matchups:
DT Rob Schroeder (8 sacks) vs. G Cameron Stephenson

prediction:
Fort Wayne 17, Springfield 22 HIBC sez SPR -4
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Colorado (3-4) at Green Bay (5-2)

@ Green Bay Civic Center… nearest city Green Bay… Splash Screen Intro: Coach Christain Arndt vs Jimmy Hanlon
Notable Injuries: HB Booker, Lorenzo Q-2 Hyper-extended knee (wk 7) OUT… Notes: QB Michna showed well enough pre 2024 season to start… Coaching staff took note ‘If he gets here next season, he starts’ [77 85 85 92 81 79 94 92]… got close enough, given benefit of the doubt!
Traded for HB Tony Hunt starting at HB1. COL always gives GBY fits. It’ll be close, but expect GBY to eek this one out.


COL offense 2nd 114.1 rush - [2nd] / 243.1 pass - [5th]
defense 12th 86.6 rush - [6th] / 239.6 pass - [13th]
scoring 18.3 for - [7th] / 19.0 against - [11th]
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GBY offense 15th 66.7 rush - [17th] / 232.0 pass - [9th]
defense 3rd 81.9 rush - [4th] / 209.4 pass - [7th]
scoring 15.9 for - [18th] / 12.7 against - [2nd]

key matchups:
QB Russ Michna (8 TDs/1793 yds) vs. Colorado pass D
WR Rod Miller (44 rec/623 yds/4 TDs) vs. CB Jerome Carter
TE Kori Dickerson (33 rec/446 yds/0 TDs) vs. LB Dan Cody
QB Nick Davila (6 TDs/1817 yds) vs. Green Bay pass D
HB Danny Woodhead (575 yds/5 TDs) vs. LB Terry Pierce (42 Tackles)
WR Donovan Morgan (44 rec/560 yds/1 TDs) vs. CB Adam Austin
TE Johnny Mitchel (35 rec/550 yds/1 TDs) vs. LB Terry Pierce

prediction:
Colorado 16, Green Bay 20 HIBC sez GBY -1.5
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Pittsburgh (3-4) at Nashville (2-5)

@ Kellog Arena… nearest city Chicago… Splash Screen Intro:
NAS LB Hunnicutt, Jesse (IR) O-5 Knee-cartilage injury (wk 3) PIT LB Noga, George (IR) O-6 Ruptured tendon (wk 3)
Special Teams player extraordinaire S1 Rashad Faison [#34] is nearly impossible to block as gunner on the Kats #1 Team Punt Returns - Opponents squad. NAS PPPs OFF pass balanced profiles, run plans DEF run balanced profiles pass aggressive plans. PIT OFF Ace, K-gun DEF 3-4 base zone blitz. PIT runs 846TRAP which is a direct snap to HB Bam Morris… there are others. One would think PIT would be able to run on the Kats 18th ranked rush defense, but such is not the case here. This will be a tight low scoring game. Give the nod to NAS at home.

PIT offense 17th 93.7 rush - [10th] / 195.3 pass - [17th]
defense 7th 63.1 rush - [1st] / 238.7 pass - [11th]
scoring 16.7 for - [14th] / 17.7 against - [7th]
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NAS offense 5th 67.9 rush - [16th] / 263.6 pass - [1st]
defense 17th 129.1 rush - [18th] / 244.7 pass - [15th]
scoring 20.7 for - [6th] / 23.1 against - [17th]

key matchups:
HB Eric McCoo (323 yds/5 TDs) vs. Pittsburgh run D (2.5 rush avg)
DE Lauvale Sape (10 sacks) vs. T Sam Gutekunst

prediction:
Pittsburgh 20, Nashville 22 HIBC sez NAS -1.5
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Tennessee (5-2) at Lexington (3-4)

@ Rupp Arena… nearest city Indianapolis… Splash Screen Intro:
Expect a blowout in favor of TEN… possible shutout.

TEN offense 16th 107.4 rush - [5th] / 184.6 pass - [18th]
defense 1st 73.7 rush - [2nd] / 186.7 pass - [1st]
scoring 17.4 for - [10th] / 11.9 against - [1st]
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LEX offense 18th 52.3 rush - [18th] / 230.3 pass - [10th]
defense 10th 100.7 rush - [14th] / 221.7 pass - [8th]
scoring 15.9 for - [17th] / 21.6 against - [16th]

key matchups:
WR Darius Watts (61 rec/697 yds/2 TDs) vs. CB Reggie Durden (1 INT)
HB LaBrandon Toefield (534 yds/3 TDs) vs. LB Bryant Cornell (51 Tackles)

prediction:
Tennessee 20, Lexington 17 HIBC sez TEN -13.5
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Chesapeake (6-1) at Connecticut (5-2) GAME OF THE WEEK!

@ McNutt… nearest city Raleigh… Splash Screen Intro: Coach Jason H vs Coach Rob Gordy
PPPs CON OFF likes to pass a majority of time from the shotgun formation, power rush DEF 4-3 Strong CHE OFF 1st half diverse offensive sets 2nd half run aggressive DEF 3-4 Base. You’d have to see it to believe it: FB Brian Shay disciplined enough to dance in the backfield to allow his blocking form in front in front of him side step slightly to the left and bounce in from 2 yds out untouched for the score! [33GAP VS 44-Z-PG] This has all the makings of the Chris Rainey Show… boy has some giddyup… don’t let this guy get around the corner! The Tide defense may be gassed by the middle of the 4th Q. Coyotees game, but even erstwhile QB McPherson doesn’t appear capable enough to pull this one out.
CHE offense 6th 109.3 rush - [4th] / 220.9 pass - [12th]
defense 6th 93.0 rush - [10th] / 202.0 pass - [4th]
scoring 21.4 for - [4th] / 16.1 against - [3rd]

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CON offense 13th 111.4 rush - [3rd] / 195.9 pass - [16th]
defense 15th 100.3 rush - [13th] / 247.0 pass - [16th]
scoring 22.9 for - [2nd] / 20.4 against - [13th]

key matchups:
HB Kenneth Darby (515 yds/4 TDs) vs. LB Ryan Palmer (40 Tackles)
WR Mike Hass (40 rec/529 yds/2 TDs) vs. CB Jeff Overton

prediction:
Chesapeake 21, Connecticut 23 HIBC sez CHE -2.5
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Rochester (4-3) at Marion (4-3)

@ Ohara Arena nearest city Cleveland… Splash Screen Intro: Coach Paul J vs Coach Josh Stein
PPPs ROC OFF tried and true versatile power DEF 3-4 Base [Steel Curtain] MAR OFF almost exclusively uses three sets: Pro-I, Pro (split backs), Shotgun (ranging from 2 to 4 receiver formations) DEF 4-3 Strong. Notable Injuries: ROC S Bierria, Terreal P-2 Sore knee (wk 7) [S1-game time decision] MAR DE Fitch, Zarnell Q-3 Sprained ankle (wk 7) [OUT]. Raiders pound it on the ground, efficient through the air.
ROC 100% on multiple FGs. MAR airs it out, can’t keep pace.


ROC offense 14th 99.3 rush - [8th] / 206.6 pass - [15th]
defense 14th 93.9 rush - [11th] / 244.3 pass - [14th]
scoring 21.7 for - [3rd] / 17.1 against - [5th]
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MAR offense 7th 75.4 rush - [15th] / 251.3 pass - [3rd]
defense 11th 86.1 rush - [5th] / 237.3 pass - [10th]
scoring 17.6 for - [9th] / 18.6 against - [9th]

key matchups:
QB David Greene (8 TDs/1902 yds) vs. Rochester pass D
DE Erasmus James (9 sacks) vs. T Cecil Sapp
WR Raul Vijil (58 rec/711 yds/3 TDs) vs. CB Jimmy Williams (1 INT)
HB Mell Holliday (505 yds/5 TDs) vs. Marion run D (3.4 rush avg)
WR Bethel B Johnson (50 rec/703 yds/2 TDs) vs. CB Tyrone Sanders

prediction:
Rochester 20, Marion 21 HIBC sez ROC wins outright
the only time we fail is when we stop trying

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TC
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Re: 2025 Week 8 Preview

Post by TC »

Thanks for the write-up, Jimmy! And, for picking the Slayers in Week 8 - unfortunately, our kicker didn't get the memo! That's the second game we've lost due to a missed PAT :x
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