Midseason is officially here and with that, the divisions have been split in two. This divide is done to try and create parity within the Tiers. We have seen quite a few blowouts over the first few weeks of the season. While we all love playing this game, it is not very satisfying to beat a lesser team 30-6 and it feels even worse to be the team handed that shellacking.

Chocolate Thunder, Grim Reapers, Team Ethnik, Bruins, Arouch, Ravens, Tough Lungs, and the Unexpected Diablos. Have all made the top bracket in Tier 2. I expect this to be the most closely fought bracket this fall. There is no clear-cut favorite amongst this group. While every team has shown flashes of brilliance, each of these teams has a flaw. On the other hand, KGP Ra and Les Centaures both lucked out by being placed in the bottom bracket. They both have the experience and the talent to compete with any team in Tier 2. Both of these teams could easily win all four games in the second half of the season and sneak their way up the standings.

In Tier 3, things get really interesting. The top bracket is loaded with four undefeated teams. Save a Horse, The West Yard, Free Agent Squad, and the Warriors and four more 3-1 teams. I feel bad for the Killer Rays and the 7^th Rounders. Both of those teams squeaked into the top bracket with 2-2 records. Regardless of the schedule of these two teams, I doubt they will be able to win a game in the second half of the season. While the Rays and 7^th Rounders might have been unlucky, Save The Turftles must be licking their chops. They are head and shoulders above the rest of the competition in the bottom half of the bracket. Not only will they be able to pad their individual stats, but I also fully expect them to finish the season undefeated.

Both Coed and Tier 1 were too small to split into smaller brackets. They will play out the rest of their season against the same opponents. Here are your recaps from last week’s action.

Week 4 Recaps

Unexpected Diablos (20) vs KGP Ra (21) – Tier 2

It is not a secret that Francois Martin loves the deep ball. He has developed such a reputation that opposing defences have started to leave the shorts open and drop three deep. More often than not, playing a cover 3 versus Martin would result in him getting frustrated, chucking the ball deep and getting picked off. I am not sure if that is the strategy KGP Ra employed in this game, but whatever they did it worked. They held Martin to under 120 passing yards and picked him off once. The key to KGP’s success came on third and fourth down. They only allowed the Unexpected Diablos to convert on two third downs and KGP stepped up even bigger on fourth down, not allowing the Unexpected Diablos to convert a single time.

While KGP’s defence might have played a fantastic game, I cannot say the same about their offensive production. Even though they passed for over 200 yards, they just scored three touchdowns. What that tells me is Ryan Garber was able to move the ball up until the red zone with relative ease. He completed 23 of 28 passes for ten first downs so moving the ball was not an issue. However, as the endzone loomed nearer and the windows got smaller and smaller, things got more complicated for Garber. That being said, I am not overly worried. Garber is adjusting to the higher level of play, but he has the talent and receivers necessary to excel in the red zone. At this point, he needs to develop a few new concepts to overload zones and exploit high-lows in the red zone.

Free Agent Squad (32) vs Killer Rays (30) – Tier 3

Free Agent Squad kept their unlikely undefeated run alive with a dramatic win over the Killer Rays on Sunday night. Zach Graveson had been a non-factor on defence until the final few plays of the game. He had not recorded any defensive stats, not even a tackle, until he intercepted Tylar Vanderzweep. He handed his team the ball and gave them three plays to cover 40 yards for the score and the win. That is all Emile Skaf needed. After completing two passes for a total of 26 yards, Skaf had one play left to score a 14-yard touchdown to win. Of course, he looked the way of his favorite receiver, Manuel Allard-Roy, and connected for a 14-yard walk-off touchdown.

While the Free Agents might have escaped with the win in this one, their defence was exposed as a liability. The Killer Rays are by no means the scariest offence in Tier 3 and yet, FAS conceded over 200 yards of offence. Simply put, they did not have a solution to stop Curtis Ryan in this match. Ryan caught six of seven targets on his way to posting 125 receiving yards and three scores. While I have not seen Free Agent Squad play, I have a sneaking suspicion that they plan mostly man-to-man defence. In the past, they have been able to rely on their superior athletes to lock teams down. In this game, they had no one able to slow down Ryan and that very nearly cost them the game. Going forward, this team will need to diversify their defensive play calling if they hope to contend for the big honors in Tier 3.

Week 3 Team of the Week

Every week, I will name 12 players to the team of the week. If you make the offensive team of the week, you cannot be on the defensive one and vice versa. However, you can make the team of the week in multiple divisions. For the Coed division there will always be a minimum of two women on the offensive and defensive team of the week.

Tier 1

Quarterback: Charles-Olivier Lavigne (EZW) 21 completions, 180 passing yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiver: Jeremy White (EZW) 5 receptions, 88 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Quaid Johnson (The Apocalypse) 4 receptions, 63 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Thomas Coutu (Mangoose) 7 receptions, 64 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Emile Beaudoing (Urgence Medic) 6 receptions, 91 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Anthony Lapointe (Urgence Medic) 11 receptions, 92 yards, 2 TDs

Rusher: Terry Babalis (Blessed) 5 sacks

Defensive Back: Jesse Dupuis (Urgence Medic) 5 tackles, 2 INTs

Defensive Back: Darnell Kevis Riley (The Apocalypse) 7 tackles, 1 PD

Defensive Back: David Gutkovski (Blessed) 1 tackle, 2 PDs    

Defensive Back: Marvin Steinberg (Blessed) 6 tackles, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Samuel O’Connor Cassar (EZW) 2 tackles, 3 PDs

Tier 2

Quarterback: Joel Houle (Ravens) 16 completions, 149 passing yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiver: Justin Lerner (Tough Lungs) 6 receptions, 61 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Thomas Legault (Arouch) 5 receptions, 73 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Simon Losier (Arouch) 5 receptions, 85 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Jeremy Augustin (Team Ethnik) 5 receptions, 92 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Olivier Suri (Glogang) 4 receptions, 57 yards, 1 TD

Rusher: Sean Semerjian (Grim Reapers) 2 tackles, 3 sacks

Defensive Back: Mathieu Houle (Ravens) 3 tackles, 2 INTs, 2 PDs, 1 TD

Defensive Back: James Langshaw (Hot Sauce Sports) 1 tackle, 1 INT, 3 PDs, 1 TD

Defensive Back: Antoine Prefontaine (Arouch) 2 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PDs

Defensive Back: Felix Menard (Arouch) 1 tackle, 1 INT, 2 PDs

Defensive Back: Zachary Lachance (Grim Reapers) 4 tackles, 3 PDs

Tier 3

Quarterback: Antoine Meunier (Trailer Park Boys) 15 completions, 206 passing yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiver: Vincent Birnbaum-Charbonneau (7^th Rounders) 6 receptions, 148 yards, 4 TDs

Receiver: Jeremie Ledoux (Post Malone’s Knights) 11 receptions, 100 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Curtis Ryan (Killer Rays) 6 receptions, 125 yards, 3 TDs

Receiver: Vicardi Vieux (Fighting Cones) 3 receptions, 91 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Matthew Caponi (The Penetrators) 6 receptions, 85 yards, 2 TDs

Rusher: Jonathan Steinberg (The West Yard) 2 sacks, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Justin Goodman (The Penetrators) 2 tackles, 2 INTs

Defensive Back: Dom Romero (The Penetrators) 1 tackles, 2 INTs

Defensive Back: Thomas Chausse (Save the Turftles) 5 tackles, 2 INTs, 3 PDs

Defensive Back: Owen LaValliere (Save a Horse) 6 tackles, 2 INTs

Defensive Back: Roovany Ferus (Fighting Cones) 2 tackles, 1 INT, 3 PDs

Coed

Quarterback: Paolo Della Rocca (Kiss My End Zone) 17 completions, 198 passing yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiver: Jessica Gosselin (The Rock) 5 receptions, 70 yards

Receiver: Veronique Beaudoin (EZFun) 5 receptions, 65 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Jonathan Hared (Kiss My End Zone) 4 receptions, 42 yards, 4 TDs

Receiver: Ignacio Valdez Manzanedo (Kiss My End Zone) 4 receptions, 55 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Kevin Lubin (Kiss My End Zone) 5 receptions, 50 yards, 1 TD

Rusher: Anne Riopel (The Rock) 1 tackle, 2 sacks

Defensive Back: Charles-Olivier Lavigne (EZFun) 1 tackles, 2 INTs, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Alexi Dubois (Kiss My End Zone) 3 tackles, 3 INTs

Defensive Back: Raphaelle Pelland (Kiss My End Zone) 1 tackle, 3 PDs

Defensive Back: Jean-Christophe Ferland (EZFun) 1 tackle, 1 INT, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Gino Di Fazio (Y&Y) 1 INT, 1 PD

Week 5 Previews

Yin & Yang (2-2) vs EZFun (4-0) – Coed

We all know what happened the last time these two teams met. Yin & Yang busted their cap. The punishment for exceeding the cap is a 30-0 loss, which is what we saw posted. However, that game was still played, and the actual result was much closer. Had Y&Y not busted the cap, the game would have been a tie.

When these two teams face off in week 5, it will all come down to Quaysie Gordon-Maule. Y&Y learnt their lesson last time. If Gino Di Fazio throws they will forfeit. That means Gordon-Maule will be quarterbacking. Gordon-Maule does not throw his receivers open and is not really reading the defence. Instead, he relies on his abilities as a scrambler to extend the play until one of his receivers springs open. While his improvisation skills are phenomenal, Y&Y would benefit if he sat in the pocket just a second longer. While I may have my doubts about Gordon-Maule as a passer, I have known about him as a rusher. Last time he rushed Jeremy White he sacked him four times and did not let him rush for a single yard.

Ultimately, I do not think Gordon-Maule’s ability as a rusher will make up for his shortcomings as a passer. While Jeremy White might not have his best outing of the season, I expect him to be able to do just enough to win in this one.

Prediction: EZFun

KGP (1-2-1) vs The Apocalypse (3-1) 

These two teams might have opposite records, but I expect the outcome to be a lot closer than their records indicate. The Apocalypse dropped their first game of the season to Urgence Medic but have been undefeated since. However, their schedule in the second half of the season gets a whole lot harder. They face Blessed twice and UM once so this game might be their only winnable game left.

The Apocalypse will need their star, Quaid Johnson, to step up in this one. So far this season he has been a touchdown magnet, accounting for over a third of all of his teams touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball, Johnson has been good for nearly an interception a game. I am not sure if KGP have an athlete who can match Johnson’s speed and size. The strength of KGP comes from Phil Cutler’s offensive scheme more than the star power of any one player. Unfortunately, for KGP, I think that Apocalypse have the experience to see through that scheme and the athletes to man-up if that doesn’t work.

Prediction: The Apocalypse

The schedule for the second half of the season was released overnight so be sure to check out who you are playing in the second half of the season.

Good luck to everyone in week 5!