2nd-and-Short (Div 4) – Week 7

Week 7 is already upon us. It’s that time of the season when it would take some teams a major collapse to miss the playoffs, others are facing a steep hill to climb if they hope to make the postseason at all, and then there’s everyone else. The only thing that’s guaranteed at this point is that it’s bound to be a frantic finish.

 

Recap

A Comedic Fiasco

In a game littered with inaccurate throws, dropped passes and poor tackling on both sides, it was fitting that Pickle Fiasco’s game versus Flying Comics finished in a tie on Sunday.  

Neither team seemed all that interested in winning the game in the first half, with both offences somehow managing to find the endzone twice. However, the Comics’ Jon Brown quickly brought some excitement to the game following halftime, jumping in front of a short pass by Avi Yayon and spinning his way into the endzone to give his side a 20-13 lead on the second half’s opening drive. 

Pickle Fiasco remained calm, however, answering with a touchdown of their own when Yayon found receiver Jean Campos in the back of the endzone who made a fingertip catch to tie the game back up at 20.

Both sides went on to score a touchdown each to make it 26-26 late in the game and each had one final chance to win. But the Comics were shut down on fourth and goal before Fiasco, with five plays left, weren’t able to connect on a final hail mary pass.  

 

Winless No More

Not all winless teams are the same. Playground proved as much when they took on Les Affreux over the weekend. While both teams entered the game 0-5, it quickly became clear one was far stronger than the other.

Everything seemed to go Playground’s way right off the bat, with first-half highlights including a one-handed touchdown grab by receiver Cliff Gerville, another score

when Scott Payne spun out of a sure tackle and waltzed into the endzone.

It was 27-6 at halftime.

Second-half highlights include a pick-six when Gabriel Côté ripped the ball out of an Affreux receiver’s hands and sped down the sideline untouched.

Final score: 49-24. 

Les Affreux started receiver Mathieu Dubois at quarterback before switching at some point to Philippe Kotrbaty at the position, but neither were able to do much aside from getting sacked and throwing wide of their targets.  

While the win comes against a clearly struggling team, there’s no question it’s a morale booster for Playground. Now the question is whether the win can fuel a late-season playoff push.

 

Batman is Assassinated

Though they entered the game with a 1-4 record, Gotham Knights showed early they weren’t about to lay down against the undefeated Sea Assassins, with QB Bruce Candussi throwing a 40-yard bomb into the lights and into his brother Mikey’s hands in the endzone for the quick score on the game’s first play.

Sea Assassins QB replied with a touchdown drive of his own, marching his offence upfield before capping it off with a pass to a wide-open Stephen Casey on a corner route.

From there the two teams went punch-for-punch, with only conversions making the difference as the score was 27-24 at the half. What appeared to be the game’s turning point came when Gotham were able to force an Assassins punt to open the second half, but the Knights weren’t able to capitalize, turning the ball over on fourth down on the ensuing drive.

In the end, Sea Assassins wound up getting back in their groove as they were able to score right before the five-play mark to make it 39-30, clinching the win and making any hope of a playoff appearance for Gotham all the slimmer.

 

Top 10

1. Sea Assassins (6-0): Another impressive win, another week atop the power rankings.
2. La Sauce (6-0): Hugo Ferland-Dionne is a bad, bad man.
3. Six Fast Guys Plus Ryan (6-0): A big win against a team fielding a back-up quarterback is nothing to boast about, but it counts nonetheless.
4. Predators (5-1): The fact they had a leading receiver not named Mathieu Brunet and dominated their opponents is actually a good sign—it makes them that much more dangerous.
5. Broccasion (5-1): While they didn’t play a complete game against the struggling Jaggerbomb, what matters most is that they came out on top.
6. The Family (4-2): I had doubts The Family could take care of an athletic team. They erased those doubts with this past week’s win.
7. The Replacements (4-2): Matthew Bishara reminded us this weekend that he can also win with his arm.
8. Healthy Scratches (5-1): A six-point loss to a top team is nothing to be ashamed of.
9. Lynx (3-2-1): Coming off a loss and a tie in their last two games, I can only assume Lynx are going through a midseason slump. It still doesn’t keep them from falling hard in my rankings.
10. Coyotes (5-1): I’m wary of the fact they’ve only beaten one team currently holding a winning record, but it’s hard to ignore 5-1.

 

Fantasy Football

 

This week’s results:

Peeze (153.8) vs. Simon (156.03): Simon

Justin (166) vs. Brent (111.36): Justin 

Eagle (228.7) vs. Domon (135.76): Eagle

GM (144.3) vs. Roger (116.3): GM

 

The standings after three weeks of play:

1. GM (3-0, +103.1)

2. Eagle (2-1, +103.04)

3. Justin (2-1, +70.68)

4. Roger (1-2, +2.44)

5. Peeze (1-2, -6.36)

6. Mat (1-2, -39.7)

7. Brent (1-2, -91.54)

8. Simon (1-2, -149.38)

 

Picks of the Week:

While I’m way ahead of Last Place Simon in fantasy (has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?), he bested me in picks once again this week, as I went 13-12 while he finished 17-8. It brings our totals to 84-65 and 95-55, respectively. I noticed that if you put it in percentages it doesn’t look so bad, with me at 56% and him at 63%. So there’s that.

Quack Attack vs. Banana Republicans

Jaggerbomb vs. Backyard Bullies

Angry Beavers vs. KGP Lite

Fools of the Country vs. Ball Busters

Eskimo Brothers vs. Kingdom

Dragons vs. X-Men

Playground vs. Outlaws

Pickle Fiasco vs. Les Maloudes

Team Ethnik vs. Two and a Half Dans

Coyotes vs. Knights

Six Fast Guys Plus Ryan vs. Sea Assassins (N/A)

T.C.O. vs. Healthy Scratches

The Family vs. Turf Toe Inc.

Checkmate vs. ZOO

57 vs. Monstars

Lockdown vs. The Junks

Fruit Loops vs. The Replacements

Primetime vs. Lynx

69ers vs. Mustangs

Gotham Knights vs. Les Affreux

La Sauce vs. Les Prédateurs

Predators vs. Channel 4 News Team

Fun Boys vs. Project Mayhem

Flying Comics vs. Broccasion

Trapstars vs. BearSkins

Longhorns vs. Smokin’ Aces

 

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That brings today’s article to an end. As always, you can reach me by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @JBlanchFPF. Be sure to check out the latest Division 4 podcast with Peeze and Brent Callendar at http://www.theunclehood.com/division-4-week-6-2/. Blanchard out.