2nd-and-Short (Div D) – Midseason Breakdown II
18-06-2014 12:00 AM
Here’s Part II of my midseason breakdown. Last week I looked at Conference A. This week, Conference B is in the spotlight:
15.Warriors (0-5): Brent Callender said pretty much all there is to be said about Warriors on Monday’s podcast, so I’ll keep it brief. The main point I’d like to emphasize is that any doubt that Warriors are in the wrong division is now completely erased. When your quarterback is throwing ducks, your receivers aren’t running routes properly, and your team is coming off a shutout in flag football, it’s time to go back to square 1. Interestingly enough, they scored 38 points in Week 1 with Cedric Sambour throwing the ball. My suggestion to Warriors: put Sambour back at QB and see what he can do. You have nothing to lose.
Prediction: 0-10
14.Tyrants (1-4): If they lose two or more of their last five games, this season will mark Tyrants’ fourth straight losing season. You have to go back to Winter 2012 for their last winning season—a 6-3-1 finish in Division 5. When you’re that bad for that long, you have to change something. Anything. Draw up new plays, bring in new players, go down a division. I like Andre Frederick and Karl Belafi, who in my opinion are receivers that don’t get the recognition they deserve. Phil de Kovachich is one of the best rushers in the lower divisions. But with three of Tyrants’ four losses this season coming in blowout fashion, and their only win of the season having more to do with the opposing teams’ errors than their own performance, it’s clear that whatever Tyrants are doing it isn’t working.
Prediction: 1-9
13. Speed Demons (1-3-1): I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Speed Demons have perhaps the best defence in all of Division D. But as their record shows, it means little if their offence isn’t scoring points. You won’t win games consistently scoring just three touchdowns a game. I think at some point Speed Demons are going to have to sit down and decide whether to keep Holden as long-term QB. Since he first joined the team a few years ago, Holden doesn’t appear to have developed as hoped, although he can’t be held solely responsible for Speed Demons’ lack of offence this season—when your leading receiver is a first-year FPF player, chances are you’re not going to be getting into the endzone too often. Especially not when your remaining schedule consists of Grip n Rip, Les Rois Lions, Monstars, Show Me Your TDs and The BrotherHood.
Prediction: 1-8-1
12. Trapstars (1-4): I feel for Trapstars, I really do. Looking back at their past seasons, I’m not sure they’ve ever had so much as a winning season. Regardless of whether its Pedro Pana leading the team or Vincent Richard, Trapstars simply haven’t been able to find what it takes to be successful in FPF. And that’s truly a shame. But some old guy, who discovered some theory involving an E and an mc squared, apparently once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Looking at Trapstars’ roster through the years, it looks virtually the same from one season to another. Looking at Trapstars on the field, it doesn’t look like the players on that roster have developed much from one season to another. At this point, either these players need to step up or top talent needs to be added to the team. Either way, improvement is sorely needed.
Prediction: 2-8
11. Fools of the Country (3-2): I’m going to be brutally honest: I don’t think FOTC will ever be true contenders in Division D and higher if Étienne Guilmain doesn’t develop as a quarterback. Too often does he receive the snap and, either out of impatience, a lack of confidence, or something else, pulls the ball down after his first read isn’t there and tries to run it downfield. There’s no doubt he’s a gifted athlete who can take off with the acceleration of a Bugatti, but FPF is a passing league. If you can’t pass, you won’t win on a consistent basis, and especially not against top competition, as evidenced by FOTC’s blowout losses to Primetime and Grip n Rip. Guilmain has the receivers to win—Alexandre Girard has already caught 16 touchdowns in a season, David Girard is a proven redzone threat, and I’ve seen Philippe Kattan take the top off a defence. But that talent can only be tapped into if Guilmain uses it.
Prediction: 4-6
10.Pardon My Swag (2-3): Off the field, PMS have done their part to improve. They brought in Gianfranco Ranaudo to replace Shawn Mudrowsky as QB, gave him a big weapon in former Rudebwoy Bryan Joseph, and have seen the addition of FPF newcomer Patrick Pilotte result in big tackles on his part. Unfortunately, it just hasn’t added up to a wins on the field. The problem with Pardon My Swag is you never really know which PMS you’re going to get. One week, everyone’s on the same page, with Gianfranco Ranaudo making all his throws, his receivers catching everything, and the defence making few mistakes. The next week, Ranaudo is making bad reads, his receivers can’t catch a cold, and the defence is getting burned on blown coverages. If they can string together a few complete performances over the next few weeks, they may have a shot to turn their season around. I don’t see it happening, however.
Prediction: 4-6
9. Loose Cannons (3-2): Loose Cannons have certainly lived up to their name so far this season, as they have sorely lacked consistency. They haven’t been overly great, but they haven’t been terribly bad, either. At the moment, they’re leaning towards good with a 3-2 record, although a two-score loss against their only true test of the season coupled with just a two-point win over Trapstars is worrisome. Gabriel Côté has one of the best arms in the division, while Johnny Paradis-Wilson, JR Beausoleil, Carl Doyon and Tafari Williams have proven to be dependable receivers. Defensively Loose Cannons have performed well, holding all of their opponents to 24 points or fewer. The Cannons don’t have a particularly difficult remaining schedule, but they’ll need to get on the same page offensively if they hope to make the postseason and make some noise once they get there.
Prediction: 5-5
8. Big Blue Wrecking Crew (2-2-1): I had BBWC in my preseason top 10, but they’ve yet to play like a top 10 team so far, not when they’ve yet to beat a clear playoff contender. The addition of QB Angelo Garofalo was a big pick-up—especially with Garofalo bringing his former Hostile Territory teammate Benoit Demchuck with him—while getting Rino Nappi on the team full-time has been a big help. It seems as though all of these pieces have yet to mesh together as expected. When the defence is playing well, the offence struggles and vice versa. If and when BBWC can get both sides are clicking, however, this team has the potential to go far.
Prediction: 5-4-1
7. Ball Busters (2-1-2): Dylan Taylor: Perhaps a better receiver than quarterback. Jeff Brown: veteran FPF player who can do it all. Alex Lewis: one of the most underrated receivers in Division D. Hai Minh Luong: excellent playcaller who’s money on short passes. With a roster like that, their two wins shouldn’t be as close as they were, their loss shouldn’t have been a blowout, and they shouldn’t have two ties to their name. Simply put, this team is underachieving for the talent they have. They show flashes of how dangerous they can be, but have yet to put it all together for a complete game. I believe a playoff spot awaits them. But how well they’ll do if and when they get there remains a complete mystery to me.
Prediction: 5-3-2
6. The Dirty South (2-3): Having put The Dirty South in my preseason top 10, they may not be meeting my expectations yet. But as a new team with a first-time QB, 2-3 is definitely an accomplishment considering the competition they’ve already had to face. All of their three losses were by a single score, and one of their two wins was against a championship front-runner in Primetime. QB David Polynice’s arm is better than I expected, although there’s still great room for improvement in regards to his decision-making, as he still has a tendency to try to force some throws. The team’s roster is one filled with real-football talent, featuring former Édouard-Montpetit receiver Simon Gauthier as well as ex-Vanier players Junior Luke and Stéphane Baganizi, while second-year FPF player Maxime Giroux has distinguished himself as a go-to receiver. If they can continue to improve, Dirty South can surprise come playoff time.
Prediction: 6-4
5. Show Me Your TDs (3-1-1): In May 2013, Mike Addona threw his very first pass in FPF. In the year since, his progression as a QB is evident. He’s making good reads, throwing perfect spirals, and has a good feel for when to make a move to avoid the rusher. Making his life even easier is an excellent receiving corps featuring his brothers Danio and Anthony as well as former Golden Eagles Alex David and Georges Élie-Voyer, all of whom have excellent hands and speed. That being said, I’m not 100% sold on this team, if only because Addona still struggles with accuracy, especially with intermediate and deep throws. His lack of consistency in that department resulted in two ugly picks against The Dirty South and almost cost SMYTDs that game, while it certainly played a role in their loss to Monstars this past week. If Addona can keep the overthrows and floaters to a minimum, SMYTDs will be perfectly fine. If not, they won’t be winning many more games this season.
Prediction: 6-3-1
4. The BrotherHood (3-1-1): With Jamal Gittens, Omar Jackson and Shakeel Phinn on the roster, they’re perhaps the most athletic team in all of Division D. For the most part, that athleticism has made up for Gittens’ lack of FPF experience as a QB and for the team’s chemistry as a whole with this being their first season together. But after seeing their tie against Ball Busters and their ugly loss to Grip n Rip, I’m not so sure anymore that their athleticism will be able to guide them to a deep playoff run as I originally thought. There’s work to be done on both sides of the ball, namely better playcalling on offence and better discipline on defence, but regardless I think they’ll be able to improve in those aspects in time for the postseason.
Prediction: 6-3-1
3. Primetime (4-1): Though I put them no. 1 in my latest power rankings, I nonetheless had my doubts about Primetime. It turns out I was right to have them. As much as I like how well David Daoust has been distributing the ball evenly and keeping mistakes to a minimum all season long, the fact Primetime lost in their first true test of the season concerns me. More concerning than the loss itself how they lost it: with tempers flaring, resulting in penalties and a suspension. If Primetime can’t keep their cool when the going gets tough, I think they’re going to have a hard time going deep in the playoffs, where the competition will be even tougher than what they struggled with last week.
Prediction: 8-2
2. Monstars (5-0): No team has surprised me more at this point than Monstars. Deep threat Hermes Zepeda is gone, Mr. 200 career sacks Ryan Aridi is gone, and Rehan Sarwar is on the team. With that kind of roster turnover, 5-0 is perhaps the last record I was expecting from them at this point, and yet here they are, having achieved it following the defeat of a top playoff contender. It doesn’t make any sense on paper, but on the field it certainly does: first-year FPF player Jeffrey Lefebvre has taken over Zepeda’s deep threat role, Kevin Gauthier already has more sacks than Aridi had all last season, and Rehan scored a touchdown, with video evidence to prove it. They’ve had the luxury of a rather easy schedule to start the season, but you don’t fluke your way to a 5-0 record, no matter what Peeze says.
Prediction: 8-2
1. Grip n Rip (4-1): Do they have the best record in the conference? No. Are they the best team in the conference? I certainly believe so. An ugly Week 1 aside, Grip n Rip have cruised to three victories and held on a goalline stand for another. Wins against Fun Boys and The BrotherHood told me they’re for real, and honestly, how can you think otherwise with the way Vinny Gualano has been playing? Both Matthew and Anthony Da Silva have been monsters on both sides of the ball, while James Donald has emerged as a dependable no. 3. Grip n Rip are strong and fast on offence and have a shutdown defence. I both love and hate how good they are.
Prediction: 9-1
Quick Picks
It took a while, but the deciding week finally took place, as Mat Domon and I picked different winners in five games, all of them looking like coinflip games, even though few actually ended up being as tight as expected. Unfortunately for me, I was the loser in most of those games, going 6-8 while Domon shined again with a 9-5 record. It puts him at 45-24 on the season, well ahead of my 41-28 record. It’ll be tough to get back in the race, but time is on my side.
Trapstars vs. Los Banditos
Tyrants vs. Lobster Dinner (N/A)
Loose Cannons vs. The Dirty South
Tune Squad vs. Fun Boys
Show Me Your TDs vs. Les Rois Lions
Backyard Bullies vs. Jagerbomb
Les Blues Branleurs vs. Recipe 4 Disaster
Scared Hitless vs. Tomahawk Nightmare
Primetime vs. Warriors
Fools of the Country vs. Ball Busters
Les Affreux vs. Longhorns
Speed Demons vs. Grip n Rip
Monstars vs. The BrotherHood
Pardon My Swag vs. Big Blue Wrecking Crew
Angry Birds vs. T.C.O.
***
That brings my two weeks of hell to an end. I’ll be back to my usual format in my next article later this week. Until then, you can give me a shout by email or on Twitter at [email protected] and @JBlanchFPF, respectively. Be sure to check out this week’s Calling the Audible podcast for a chance to see Peeze and Brent butcher your name at www.theunclehood.com/flag-plus-football. See you at the fields!