LFL Playoffs Preview

Posted 1/25/12 5:50 pm EST by Brett Smiley in Ladies, Music, TV

Credit: Joe Petro, LFL National Director of Photography

The table is set for the 2011-2012 LFL Playoffs: the Tampa Breeze (3-1) will face the Philadelphia Passion (4-0) for the Eastern Conference crown, and the defending champion Los Angeles Temptation (3-1) will knock cleats with the undefeated expansion franchise Las Vegas Sin (4-0). If both of these matchups look familiar it's because they are: Both contests are rematches of regular season contests.

Eastern Conference Championship--Jan. 29 at 4 p.m. ET on MTV2

Almost five months ago, on Sept. 9 of last year, the Passion and Breeze opened the season against each other, and the ladies from the City of Brotherly Love poured some haterade all over the Breeze to the tune of a 48-0 smackdown. Passion running back Marirose Roach ran for 103 yards and scored five touchdowns. But all that matters is how each squad is playing now. That said, the Passion are still awesome, and after falling in last year's Lingerie Bowl against the Temptation by just one point, they're damn hungry.

The Passion have dominated both sides of the ball: They've pitched two shutouts (Breeze, Triumph), allowed only 30 points in four games and tallied single game scores of 74, 60 and 48. All-world RB Roach leads the way on offensive (373 yards, 16 touchdowns, 54.3 percent of total the team's offense). The Passion defense has a formidable secondary with Roach (yes, she plays defense too) and All-Fantasy cornerback Jaleesa McCrary. Angela Perfetto and Shanae' Thomas compose one of the league's best defensive end tandems.

But the Breeze are no slouches. Defensive-minded Liz Gorman has stepped in at running back with the loss of rusher Saige Steinmetz, and QB K.K. Matheny has some weapons in wideout Bryn Renda and tight-end Adrian Purnell. Tampa's D is on the rise too. They held the high-scoring Orlando Fantasy to only 18 points in their last regular season contest.

Vegas Oddmakers have the Passion as 11.5 point favorites.

3 Reasons To Cheer For The Philadelphia Passion

3 Reasons To Cheer For The Tampa Bay Breeze

Western Conference Championship--Jan. 29 at 5:30 p.m. ET on MTV2

The expansion squad Las Vegas Sin defied the odds and rattled off an undefeated regular season. Along the way, they bested the Temptation 28-20, holding the Temptation scoreless in the second half, and won the turnover battle 2-0. Two-way standout Sunshine Uli (RB, DE) rushed for 43 yards and a touchdown, and recorded 1.5 tackles and an interception on D. She won game MVP honors. The Sin defense has allowed only 64 points all season, second best in the league. Quarterback Nikki Johnson leads the league in touchdowns, quarterback efficiency and passing yards, and hasn't turned the ball over once this year.

It's tough to beat a team twice though, and the Temptation are a veteran bunch with playoff experience. The Temptation have a tough run defense with defensive ends Amber Reed and Tessa Barrera and linebacker Monique Gaxiola, so expect the Sin to try and air it out a bit.

In their previous contest, Temptation QB Ashley Salerno completed only four of 11 passes and got picked twice. Amber Reed can run the ball too--she averaged more than eight yards a tote this season and scored nine touchdowns, which included three receiving.

Vegas Oddmakers have tabbed the Sin 4.5 favorites.

3 Reasons To Cheer For The Las Vegas Sin

3 Reasons To Cheer For The Los Angeles Temptation