5 Plays ‘Till Halftime – FlagPlus Football League

Peeze’s Playbook

5 Plays ‘Till Halftime

Each week, Gm Kolethras will send me 5 quick-fire topics that I will attempt to answer without the benefit of forethought. Luckily, I do not waste any time with that sort of nonsense in the first place. In any case this allows me to cover a wide array of topics that may be neglected in other articles or on Calling the Audible.If you’d like one of your questions to be featured in this column on any given week, please feel free to flood his twitter feed @gmkole44.

GM: What roster pickups and addition surprised you the most?

Peeze: I mentioned in my last article that I was happy to see Carmelo Bruna on the Bengals roster. Considering he doesn’t come with an FPF pedigree, this can be somewhat surprising. He is a great athlete and he will have an impact right away. Seeing Rochdi Benabdelkader on a div 3 roster is surprising. I like the idea of having Ed Shoshan and Rochdi in the huddle together. With that much brain power in one huddle you know one of them is going as Krang for Halloween. The biggest surprise for me was Brotherhood adding Gianni Settino. I was surprised that he could still throw in division 3. I was surprised that Brotherhood made a change after Jamal Gittens had such a great inaugural run at the quarterback position. I will no however, be surprised if it has a hugely positive impact on this team.

GM: Will we see an undefeated team?

Peeze: I realy do not think we will. This is a really deep division and we have already seen some upsets. My top contenders for perfect seasons have already lost (KGP Champs, and Prestige World Wide). Other championship contenders like BD Bandits or Los Luchadores lack the overall firepower despite having some pretty oppressive defences. If a team where to do it, I think it would be a team that people may figure to be strong but did not come into the season as a favorite. A team like Sea Assassins may be a team that runs the table in the regular season. Daniel Lazzara is a capable quarterback and they have shown that they can put up points with the best of them. That being said I think a perfect season unlikely as Birthday Cake Oreos being excepted as superior to the original recipe.

GM: I’m of the opinion that we may see a winless team or two; do you agree?

Peeze: I sure hope not. However, I did include in my previous article a section entitled. I just don’t see it (you can find it here: https://www.flagplusfootball.com/en/news/1080). Really, this could happen to any of these teams. This is in no way intended as a slight toward Texas BareManz, Les Blues Branleurs or Rudebwoys (who all lost their first games of the season in the first week). I actually applaud their competitive spirit. It takes a lot to take a shot in division 3. All the power to them.

GM: What do you think of the new rule requiring the visitors to wear pinnies when home teams used to wear them in regular season games where teams wore like-coloured jerseys?

Peeze-I think it’s a great idea. It seems counterintuitive for home teams to accommodate the visiting teams. Especially since we play at common facilities and the crowd is rarely a factor, the home team should be given an advantage. Also, the idea that this rule was different in the preseason than in the regular season is ridiculous. This is a great idea and I’m glad the league went in this division.

GM: What fictional character do I remind you of.

Peeze: George Michael Kolethras. That’s a name I have not heard in a long time. Ok, I mislead you all with that quote. GM does not remind me of Obi Wan Kenobe. In fact, the character he most reminds me of is Sam the Eagle. This bird like Muppet is something to behold. He has the most remarkable eyebrows and for those of you who have seen GM in person can attest, his eyebrows enter the room before the rest of his body. Also, Gm has always struck me as bird-like in his demeanour. I went to breakfast with him once and he was very protective of his eggs. So in conclusion, until I finish writing my comic book featuring the main character: Kollectyoass, based loosely on GM’s life and his life as a meteor, Sam the Eagle is as good as it’ll get.

Power Rankings

Week one power rankings are especially fun in a week like this. It has gone tops-turvy (yes I used that expression; damn I’m getting old). Lots of teams will slide up and down while I try not to overreact and decide which teams lost due to rust and which teams just do not look right. If you disagree with any of this or feel like you’ve been disrespected let the world know by tweeting me @PeezeFPF.

BD Bandits (1-0): It was hard to choose a number 1 this week. BD Bandits slide up kind of by default. They played a game against a team that is made up of mostly lower division talent (based on history, not potential) and their offensive output was not spectacular. However, it is still a solid win and they take the reins after their week one win over MetaMayhem.
VPC (1-0): VPC came charging up the charts. I thought they would win this one against the Brotherhood and they did. They also passed the eyeball test for me as they just seemed to look the part this week. Robbie Robinson threw 7 touchdowns and no interceptions against a very athletic defense. That simply cannot be ignored.
Les Buddays (1-0): This has more to do with how they won and who they beat than the mere victory in the W column. Fred Dupuis seems to have fit in well and they limited Jamil Springer to only two touchdowns in their season opener. A win against Zio e Fraté could do a lot to silence the doubters.
Sea Assassins (1-0): Daniel Lazzara had a perfect quarterback rating in his first game in division 3. That is astounding. They also beat KGP Champs in a shootout and this whole team is brimming with confidence. They may have jumped up the rankings quickly but they earned it with such a huge win.
Prestige World Wide (0-1): Let’s chalk that one up to rust. I think Lever and co. will be fine but this loss is still somewhat disconcerting. It`s definitely something to follow up on in weeks to come.
La Sauce(0-0-1): La Sauce tied the heavily favored Predators in the final few plays of the game in week 1. This level of resilience and calming poise is scary. No teams should take this unit lightly.
Predators (0-0-1): While I’m disappointed in the fact that Floreani et al could not close the deal, I think they will rebound quickly. One of the most notable absences this week was Nicholas Gendron-Valleé. However, those who make excuses re probably the same who don’t close the deal somewhere between the first and third date.
KGP Champs (0-1): They were in for a tough matchup with the high-powered Sea Assassin offence. I truly did not expect them to lose this game (while I did deliberate for quite a while before picking a winner in this game). They look to right the ship against Past Our Prime in week 2.
Solide (1-0): Perhaps I’m a little more sold on Solide after they took their first game home wrapped in winners linens despite having to start Paul Lapierre at safety. They faced Eudistes which could have been a tough matchup but, managed the game well. If they keep this up they will prove to be a top tier team in no time.
Eudistes (0-1): I was asked how I could have ranked them fourth and to lose against an unranked team all in one week. The reason for this is simply the matchup. GM Koletheras has never lost to Eudistes and I thought that Hugo Henderson would get frustrated and gamble at a few inopportune moments. They will learn from this and this is not the last we`ve heard from them.

Others receiving votes

There was one other vote, it was a psychic cat named The Letter H. Not H but rather The Letter H. That intuitive feline felt that the following teams may purr and cuddle their way into the power rankings in weeks to come (his words not mine).

Brotherhood (0-1): : They lost to VPC but I think this is a team that will get better as they develop a rapport with their new quarterback. As it stands I’m still a believer. Talent alone however, will not keep them on this list. Wins will need to sustain them as the season goes on.
Past Our Prime (1-0): They won in convincing fashion but against a team in transition (Moose) that many feel will not be one of the top teams in the division. They have officially made some noise. But only time will tell if they can compete nowadays in FPF or whether they are truly past their prime.
Monstars (1-0): I was impressed by what I saw this week. The bludgeoned Brocassion as quarterback Rod Mashtoub kept hitting passes over the top and team purple scored on many deep passes. On the other hand, they beat another team that I had my doubts on coming into the season. Nonetheless, this was an impressive win.
Wild Boys (1-0): I’m not ready to move them into the power rankings just yet. However, beating the top seed does grant you some recognition. They did it in the first weke so I am still skeptical but I’m a little more sold on them than I was in the preseason.
Still CRA (1-0): I think I found my favorite team in the division. I’m supposed to remain impartial but that`s boring. Instead I’ll come out and say it. Still CRA are my favorite team in the division and I’ll be actively cheering for them and that Still CRA’s season is entirely cray.

Thursday Whiskey Tumbler

My full weekly article is coming out in a few short days that will cover recaps and announce my pics for the upcoming week. Until then please remember to tune in tonight at 7:15 pm eastern standard time as Brent Callender and I will go over the first week of action. You can watch us live at www.unclemikeshow.com or download the podcasts via iTunes or at http://fpf.podomatic.com. If you’d like to live tweet the show you can do so by tweeting our producer @EagleFPF.

See you tonight!