2nd-and-Short (Div 4) – Special Edition

As much as I’m sure you all would like a recap of the beat down Sea Assassins gave my team yesterday (long story short they played exceptionally well, Six Fast Guys Plus Ryan didn’t), it’s time for another joint article from Simon Dagenais and me. Simon came up with this week’s questions. His answers are in italics. Without further ado:

 

1. Healthy Scratches and Coyotes; Lucky or truly talented?

Healthy Scratches: It’s safe to say they’ve had their fair share of lucky bounces so far this season considering how close most of their wins have been. I wasn’t too impressed with what I saw when I watched their game against Longhorns, with receivers dropping passes left and right and QB Cedric Langevin relying heavily on his running ability. That being said, the game was his first as QB this season and since then he’s shown signs of improvement passing the ball, and it should be mentioned he’s got some serious wheels. Add to that the fact they’ve played some tough teams this season, and I’ll lean towards truly talented.

Coyotes: Week after week I pick against Coyotes. Week after week they prove me wrong. Sammy Feder’s the real deal at quarterback and with 15 touchdown receptions you can say the same about his brother Josh at receiver. I believe Coyotes are talented, but I can’t say for sure yet that they’re truly talented considering that none of their wins have come against teams currently holding winning records and the games they have won have mostly been tight. I think their game next week against Predators will allow for a better indication of how talented this group really is. 

 

Healthy Scratches: With very small margins in their wins, Healthy Scratches got away with a few wins this season. Needless to say, they’ve been strong competitors all around. My point’s been validated last week when they faced The Family and lost by a mere 6 points in a heartbreaker. They’re truly talented. 

Coyotes: I have to say, I didn’t expect Coyotes to be 5-1 at this point of the season. Nevertheless, they’ve been playing great and intelligent football. They got lucky a few times and I wouldn’t say they are as strong as other 5-1 teams, but they will upset you if you take them lightly and I believe we haven’t see the last of their upsets.

 

2. Among the following teams, which have surprised you and which are playing below expectations?

The Family: As expected—coming off a 6-4 season, a 4-2 record with two tight losses is about where I put them up to this point.  

Team Ethnik: Surprised—I didn’t think new QB Angelo Garofalo would have the success he’s had this soon considering it’s his first season with the team.    

Smokin’ Aces: Below expectations—It’s fair to say Anthony Bozzo isn’t yet on Daniele Gentile’s level at quarterback, but I expected far better considering this team’s receiving corps.

Primetime: Below expectations—I think the Daoust brothers are too talented for losing the games they have.

Fruit Loops: Below expectations—With Ryan Lelinowski and  Dave Chitayat leading the way, I thought they would be a sure contender.  

Knights: Surprised—3-3-1 may not be the most amazing of records, but it is in my book when you’re playing with a quarterback in his first season as full-time quarterback.   

Turf Toe Inc: As expected—making the jump from Division 5, a game off from .500 is about where I put them.  

Fun Boys: Below expectations—With a former D2 quarterback in Scott Mironowicz and most of the team having played in D3, I expected a lot more than one win through six games.

Mustangs: Below expectations—I certainly expected better from virtually the same team that went 7-3 last year.

Gotham Knights: Below expectations—One of the most talented rosters in all of D4 should have more than one win at this point in the season.  

Backyard Bullies: Surprised—Featuring new players and a quarterback relatively new to the league, they’ve been a pleasant surprise this season.

Les Maloudes: As expected—If you win the Division 5 championship the year before I expect you to be competitive in Division 4 the following year. At 4-3, they’ve been exactly that. 

Pickle Fiasco: Below expectations—With a roster featuring Edward Shoshan, Chris Niphakis and Avi Yayon, I honestly thought they would be a shoe-in for the playoffs.   

 

The Family: Below Expectations.

Team Ethnik: Surprised

Smokin’ Aces: As Expected

Primetime: Below Expectations

Fruit Loops: Below Expectations.

Knights: Below Expectations

Turf Toe Inc: As expected.

Fun Boys: Below Expectations.

Mustangs: Below Expectations.

Gotham Knights: Below Expectations.

Backyard Bullies: Surprised

Les Maloudes: Surprised

Pickle Fiasco: Below expectations.

 

3. According to you, what’s the current problem with the following teams:

Gotham Knights: Ask anyone in the NFL and they’ll tell you, most times a game comes down to three to five plays. The team that makes those few plays is usually the one who comes out on top. Gotham made them last year in Division D, and for whatever reason they’re just not making them this season. Their roster is virtually the same from last season. They’re simply not making enough plays.

Mustangs: I don’t think Mustangs really have a “problem” per se. Are they playing as well as they did last year? No. Does that automatically mean they have a problem? Not necessarily. They were taken by surprise in Week 1 by a now 5-1 team, played the now 6-0 Sea Assassins down to the wire in Week 2 and lost by 10 points to a now 5-2 Outlaws team. They haven’t been upset by a weak team, Simon Vallée—while he may not be throwing the ball as mistake-free as he did last year—is still among the top tier QBs with 22 touchdown passes, and as a whole the team is generally improving from week to week having bounced back from an 0-2 start to hold a current 3-3 record. You couldn’t really ask for much more.

 

Gotham Knights: They’ve been unlucky. A few bad games got them on the losing side of the ball and now they’ve looking at a poor record. Bruce Candussi picked it up recently and his team looks a lot better offensively, but Lady Luck really isn’t into Gotham this season. Sadly, this Winter I believe they’ll fall short, again.

Mustangs: I believe Simon, Top Gun, Vallée is playing poorly this season. I’ve seen him play great in the past and fantastic last season. In 6 weeks, he threw more INTs than last season all-together and he’s not closed to his total offensive ratings. Mustangs are holding on and have been winning because he’s been picking it up. They’ll only go as far as he’ll carry them.

 

4. With the new schedule having teams play, pretty much, every day of the week and weekend, would you agree that it’s a nuisance to players and teams?

No, not really. I can’t speak for everyone else, but my team has played five out of six games on a weekend, which is what works best for us. I’m assuming most teams are playing generally at the same time and place they asked for (which, considering there are 52 teams in Division 4 alone, is pretty crazy), and really only a handful games have been moved due to the Baie D’Urfé dome debacle or other scheduling conflicts. If anything, the fact there are so many games on so many different days of the week is a nuisance to us in the media because we never get a break! (Which is equally great, because who doesn’t love having FPF 24/7?)

First of all, the schedule is this way because this league is way too big, which is awesome. Playing back-to-back games could be very beneficial for certain teams. For instance, you hit a hot streak, you don’t want to wait a week, maybe even a week and a half before your next game. That being said, when a key player suffers a temporary injury and you’ve been unlucky, playing back-to-back games can bite you in the ass and have you looking back at your record with a looming facial expression.

 

5. Which division, according to you, is the strongest and which would be the more competitive?

Strongest: If we’re going in terms of the division with the most amount of top teams, I have to say the South. La Sauce, Broccasion, KGP Lite, Backyard Bullies, BearSkins and Les Maloudes are all teams I would not want to face in the playoffs, and they all happen to be in the same division.

Most competitive: I’m going to say the North. It’s currently the only subdivision without an undefeated or six-win team, and it just seems like everyone is beating everybody up in the North. Seriously—the 1-6 Banana Republicans beat the 2-4 Longhorns who beat the 4-2 The Family, the 3-2-2 Team Ethnik beat the 2-4 Primetime who beat the 4-2 The Replacements, and the six ties in the North leads all subdivisions.

 

Strongest: I’d say South is the strongest at the moment. Having 6 very fierce playoff competitive teams, no other division can say they have that much strength.

Most competitive: West seems to be the more competitive division simply because .500 rating might not even get you into the playoffs. With plenty of teams at a very high record, the level of competition is the most equal.

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That’s all for today. As always, you can reach me by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @JBlanchFPF. Simon Dagenais’ email address is [email protected] while his Twitter handle is @SimonFPF. Good luck to all this weekend!