There was a coaches poll sent out to a dozen active DLE coaches. Well it was actually sent out to more, but 12 is the number that participated. The average of those 12 polls makes up the coaches ranking. That is the number in parentheses after the coaches name.

The number after the Team name in the blurb is the rank (1-32) of the total TW of said team.

The Overall Ranking is based on those two things with a bit of strength of division and schedule mixed in.

Projected finish is based on Rankings and Schedule.

Without further ado... I give you the Pre-Season Rankings.


1.) Kemperbad Knights: One of the charter DLE franchises. Kemperbad(1st) has an overall record of 30/6/7. Being the Season 2 Champ and making it to the SHC final in season 3, these Knights know how to win, but they will be tested this season. They will meet 5 TOP 10 teams this season, but as strong as their roster is, and as successful as The_Demon(3rd-tie) has been we expect great things. Projected finish: Top Seed in SHC


2.) Flashfurt Universe: Sporting an even better record at 31/10/3, the Universe has sandwiched the Knights Championship with 2 of it’s own (Seasons 1 & 3). Wreckage (2nd) has worked together with his GM JackassRampant to put together the league’s 4th strongest roster. Like the Knights, expect the Universe to be challenged. They play in the toughest division in the DLE (no team ranked in the 20s or above) and will meet rivals Broekwater, and Kemperbad outside of their division. Projected finish: Top Seed in KFC


3.) Brionne Buccaneers: The Bucs are another charter team that has had great success. If history holds true though, the Bucs may not make the playoffs this season. They lost in championship in first season, lost in the 2nd round in the 2nd season, and lost in the first round last season. Pattern would say they don’t make playoffs this season. I don’t believe that. Meanandugl(6th) will have his Bucs(2nd) ready to face the DLE’s easiest schedule this season. Projected finish: 2nd Seed in SHC


4-T.) Erengrad Vikings: The Vikes(7th) are a charter franchise that hired coach spelledaren(3rd-T) to take over a floundering 1 win franchise at start of season 2. Instant success put them in the playoffs in both seasons 2 and 3. Only to lose in the second round to Kemperbad, 2-1, in both seasons. In order to get over the hump they must beat those pesky knights. Projected finish: 6th Seed in SHC

4-T.) Broekwater Patriots: Everyone knows who the Evil Empire is. Even some outside of the DLE may know. bghandras(1st) is the top coach in the league who has finished 3rd in all 3 previous seasons. And he is the biggest mover and shaker on the trading front. During the offseason he seemed to transform his team, but gained no overall TW dropping his Team Strength from 2nd at the end of season 3 to 9th at the start of season 4. His division has seemed to improve a bit but he is still clearly the favorite there. Projected finish: 2nd Seed in KFC


6-T.) Monte Castello Wreckers: Oly1987(7th) is another charter coach in the DLE. He is best personified by his quick on the trigger tilting that seems to happen whenever his Wreckers(6th) seems to have their first bad roll of the game. I’m not supposed to be “bigging him up” as he is trying to downplay this season. But as with all media outlets, I must keep that information confidential and just state the statistical facts. Projected finish: 5th Seed in SHC

6-T.) Norden Legion: Toward the end of Season 2 badpublicity(10th-T) was awarded a successful Legion franchise. He relocated from Drakenhof to Norden and began his quest to ball. In season 2 they lost in the Conference Championship. Season 3 saw them lose in the Super Bowl. If progression tells us anything, the Legion(3rd) should end this season holding the trophy high. We shall see. Projected finish: 3rd Seed in SHC


8.) Wolfenburg Wolfskins: In Season 1, we witnessed Grenzburg drafting lots of enhanced Strength players. It never amounted to much. Now Danish_Dan(9th), who I may describe as one of the streakiest coaches I’ve witnessed, seems to be following that model. Three ST4 Blitzers and 2 ST4 Linemen will cause issues for most opposing coaches. The Wolfskins(5th) are finally primed to challenge for the division. Projected finish: 4th Seed in SHC


9.) Averheim River Bandits: FRSHMN(10th-T) was unable to relive his season 2 magic in the season 3 post season. While his River Bandits(8th) took a step in the right direction, going from Wild Card to Division winner, he lost 2 rounds earlier than the previous season. In order to get back to the top of the KFC he will have to find a way to compete with the big boys. Projected finish:4th Seed in KFC


10.) Fort Solace Griffins: Upon his return to the DLE, Arcayn(14th) has been in the process of restructuring the Griffins(11th) roster to his image. Bringing in his former 1st round pick in a trade with his former franchise, and another former 1st rounder he seemed to use the power of trade rather than the draft to attempt to rebuild this former competitor to its previous state. Projected finish: 5th Seed in KFC


11.) Marienburg Foxes: The Foxes(18th) have had a bit of change since entering the league as an Expansion Franchise in season 2. Originally founded in Kutenholz, then later moving to Marienburg later that season. To start off season 3, they hired franchise coach #3 Misterlonestar(13th). MLS has taken the team to new heights. Taking the team to the playoffs in his first season, he now must look to get to the next level and win in the post-season. Projected finish: 6th Seed in KFC.


12-T.) San Luis 49ers: Around mid-season last season the DLE lost another charter coach, he was replaced by neubau(16th). The new coach didn’t win lots of games (2/1/4) but he did cause 25 casualties in those 7 games. Used the draft to add some Guard, and a Top notch receiver to play opposite of ‘SuperFreak’ Alshon Jeffery. Those things all added up should make the Niners (16th) a contender this season. Projected finish: 3rd Seed in KFC.

12-T.) Emsk Red Cardinals: Calthor(23rd) is the 3rd coach of this charter franchise. Taking over 2 games into Season 3 and adding the “Red” part to the moniker he and GM Bazakastine have improved the quality of the Red Cardinals(9th). Will that be enough to compete in the toughest division in the DLE? We think not. He will have to prove his fellow coaches wrong and be better than the 23rd best coach in the league to make the post-season. Projected finish: 3rd in KFC North.


14-T.) Kislev White Wolves: After 2 seasons in the small village of Dunkelberg, the White Wolves move the team Northeast into Kislev. A team in the Western division moving to the NE seems a bit odd for alignment, but coach Doofr(17th) believes it will bring in more income. I wonder if he thought about those long expensive trips to Kemperbad, Skar Bay, and especially Los Cabos every season. A few good bounces, or particularly positive blessing from Nuffle could put the White Wolves(16th) in the playoff hunt. But I am putting them on the outside looking in. Projected finish: 2nd in SHC West

14-T.) Bilbali Rangers: The Vampires must not like humans playing Blood Bowl in Sylvania as Coach CroixFer(15th) is the 2nd coach to move his team out of that Province. He actually moved his Rangers(18th) across the map the whole way to Bilbali, giving Estalia it’s 4th DLE franchise. A team in the Eastern division moving to the far Southwest? Who is approving these re-locations? Is there a possible re-alignment in the future? ;) Anyway the only team to take advantage of the Restructure Option. It is yet to be seen if it is OP or not. Projected finish: 2nd in SHC East (.5 game out of Wild Card)

14-T.) Templehof Thunder: Brandishing one of my favorite logos in the DLE, the Thunder (12th) has gathered a fairly strong roster. The question is can grunth(21st) prove his peers wrong and out-coach enough of the coaches ranked about him in the 8 games he has versus those coaches. He will need to do that in order to be in the post-season. Projected Finish: 2nd in KFC East


17.) Carroburg Crimson Cascade: Günther and Hertha probably would not be happy with this ranking, and to be honest 3C(22nd) seemed to regress in the draft in comparison to what other teams did. Coach ttorvatn(12th) is one of the most entertaining individuals in the league, but in order to get anywhere with this roster he is going to have to channel his power of fluff into casualties and TDs on the pitch. If he is unable to do this in the SHC’s strongest division then he will be a spectator come playoff time. Projected finish: 3rd in SHC North.


18-T) Rotenbach Razorbacks: On paper there are only 2 teams worse than these Hogs(30th). However, they are coached by one of the DLE’s top coaches in SpecialOne(5th). Even with a sparse roster last season he found a way to rack up the victories. However, his division has new coaches, and his team just appears to be sub-par. It was tough to put this team in the bottom half of the league, but it is what it is. I do still believe they have a shot at a wild card berth this season. Projected finish: 2nd in KFC South.

18-T.) Remas Eagles: Youngblood Asteflix(21st) made some drastic moves to his roster this offseason, shipping Former first ever Eagle Derek Carr off for a few picks. He seems to assembled a team of Cripplers. On paper this nest definitely appears to be full of Birds of Prey. However, there may not be enough ballers on this ball team. Projected finish: 3rd in KFC South


20.) Hargendorf Unicorns: One of the more vocal coaches in the DLE, The_Murker(8th) seemed to not have much to say through the draft. He also lost lots of ground in the meantime with the rest of the league, dropping from a Top 20 team in roster strength to the Bottom 5. The Unicorns(28th) are going to have to pull off some magic this season to be participating come play-off time. Projected finish: 4th in KFC North


21.) Nuln Gunners: The departure of another DLE charter coach, pokrjax, leaves big question marks for this once proud franchise. And although it looks like he has had great success on fumbbl, Horekim(18th) comes into the DLE as mostly unknown by most and takes over a team with an average roster. This means the Gunners(20th-T) will only go as far as their new coach can take them. And since he doesn’t have extensive experience with humans on Fumbbl I have little to go on here, so they get this spot based on lack of info to put them higher or lower at this time. Projected finish: 3rd in KFC East


22.) Muckenhof Manticores: Unless things have changed during my hiatus, fischer(20th) is tough to rank. He is a quiet coach who schedules his games and plays them accordingly. Not a lot of chatter, no BS, just dependable play. With an DLE-lifetime record of 9/7/14. The Manticores(20th-T) don’t exactly strike fear into their opponents. However, being 2 points shy of a winning record last season shows that they might be headed in the right direction. Projected finish:3rd in SHC East


23.) Grenzburg Greenskins: The Greenskins(22nd-T) haven’t had a winning record since season 1, when they squeaked out a 3-3-2 record. AND Matthueycamo(19th) doesn’t appear to be as active as he once was. I believe that this spells disaster for the DLE’s original +ST monsters. Projected finish: 4th in SHC East


24.) Wolfsbach Scimitars: Kaiowas(29th) is our prime example that Blood Bowl success or even Human Blood Bowl success does not equate to DLE success. He has a 63% win rate (136-40-70) with humans in ranked play, but he has not found success here in the DLE. While his Scimitars(13th) started off with a 5-1-1 record in season 2, they are 4-2-17 since that time. He improved the team lots during the offseason, but will that equate to wins? Projected finish: 4th in KFC South


25.) Talabheim Sluggers: I wonder if c9805222(31st) has any meaning to Ben or if it’s just a “c” with a bunch of random numbers following it. Since he took over this charter franchise toward the latter part of Season 2, the Sluggers(14th) have been a symbol of mediocrity (9-3-9) with a 4th place finish last season… Projected finish: 4th in the KFC East (again)


26.) Irrana Avalanche: Irrana, Iranna, Irana, I have seen this Mountain Range spelled differently on almost every map I look at. Although the spelling is not consistent there are two things are consistent in those mountains. #1: CaptainRhino(24th) will be coaching the Avalanche(25th) and #2 the Avalanche will finish the same. Projected finish: 3rd in SHC South (just like previous 2 seasons)


27.) Praag Grizzlies: sonrises(26th) is one of my favorite coaches on fumbbl. He is great to chat with both in game and out. He is a pleasure to try to trade with and seems to be an all around great guy. His Grizzlies(26th) are thin. They lack depth. They lack enough statistical enhancements to be true ballers or true killers. I am not sure the team has a real direction at this point. And that is particularly bad in the division they live in. Projected finish: 4th in SHC North


28.) Los Cabos Marauders: Time for a DLE history lesson regarding this charter franchise. In Season 1, a fluffy_bunny assembled a team of killers in Marienburg and took the SHC by storm. During that short season the Marauders(27th) had a league high 38 Cas caused (2 MORE than Broekwater!!!) and the best record in the SHC. They would lose to Brionne in the first round of the playoffs. However, for reasons unknown (or forgotten because I’m old) the bunny left the league. The next coach decided to move the franchise to Barboza, and the Barboza Marauders were born. In Season 2 the Barboza Bruisers went 0-0-14. Yes, from first to worst in one season. Surprisingly the coach sticks with it and is rewarded in the first game of season 3 he breaks the losing streak with a 0-0 match vs the other franchise from Barboza. After 4 more losses coach #2 departs with an overall record of 0-1-18. Next coach moves the team to Aarnau and his first game… a 4-0 loss to Dead Wood in which he gets a Niggle on a 1st round Blitzer and a -MA to all-World WR Sammy Watkins. I guess CroixFer gave too warm of a welcome to this poor coach.. After 1 game he was out. In comes chimp2010(25th). He finishes out 2.2 with 3 straight victories. And so far has a 5-3-2 record in the DLE. Can he keep up that kind of record in the DLE? I’m not sure he can. I think he needs to build the team up a bit before returning the team to its original glory and being truly competitive long term. Projected finish: 3rd in SHC West


29.) Altdorf Thunderbolts: Another much more brief history lesson. In the Thunderbolts(22nd-T) first ever DLE game, Franchise Player Jerry “The Rev” Harris was slaughtered by a blatant Stomp from a group of Patriots. It was the Pats only foul of that game, but it was quite effective and left a lasting mark. As fate would have it in season 2 when Divisions were set up, Altdorf and Broekwater were both assigned to the KFC West, and our first divisional rivalry was made. Now Seventyone(32nd) has drafted a monster created in the college system by his nemesis bghandras. Can he use this new weapon to do enough damage to the Pats to satisfy the Altdorf faithful? Projected finish: 3rd in KFC West


30.) Barboza Bruisers: Life in the SHC South can be rough. kummo(28th) can attest to that. Playing two TOP 6 coaches twice every season doesn’t happen anywhere else in the DLE. So if we are realistic, that is PROBABLY 4 losses right off the bat for the Bruisers(28th) before they even get into any other part of their schedule. With his own 1st and FOUR 2nd Round picks as well as his 3rd in the upcoming draft he could be looking to the future. As for me, I am looking to their future because their present looks bleak. Projected finish: 4th in the SHC South


31.) Skar Bay Sharks: Does anyone remember that the Sharks(31st) were in the Season 2 post season? I am sure darkwing2k6(27th) does. And I am sure he plans to get back there someday. I just don’t believe that someday will be season 4. He has to recover from the trauma that was season 3. Projected finish: 4th in SHC West


32.) Middenheim Classics: To use a little old school terminology, it looks like bigf(30th) is “pulling an Arcayn” The Classics(32nd) may have the DLE’s weakest roster but they have FOUR 1sts, THREE 2nds, & a pair of 3rds in the next draft. They also have a couple of decent players to help build that team into a force. Like them, the rest of that division seems to be improving, just at a more immediate rate. Hang in there Fab, Draft 5 will reward your dilligence. Projected finish: DEAD LAST! ;)