Division 6D: Divisional Round Preview

Welcome to the Division 6D Divisional Round playoff preview. If you read my Division 6 article, you know that I am not a fan of the playoff format. While I agree that 6D is now arguably tougher than Div. 6 when it comes to crowning a champion, I think that the best teams should play the best. It is the post-season after all.

(11) Cheat Squad versus (18) Royals

Previous Meeting: Cheat Squad (38-6) Week 3

As you can tell by the score, the first meeting was ugly. A contributing factor in the loss was the Quarterback play of the Royals, as the dual of Ryan McGrath and Eric Pawlusiak threw for nine completions and five interceptions. Ouch.

For the Royals to have any chance of avoiding a repeat of the previous matchup, they will have to avoid the turnovers that killed them last time, and they will need to put up more than one touchdown. Technically they put up a second TD, but that was a pick-six to Defensive Back Jonah Lazarovitz.

Cheat Squad is a team that some view as a championship contender. One of the biggest catalysts behind their play, has been their defense. The unit has held four straight opponents to under 25 points and have forced 10 interceptions.

The Royals come into the post-season on a three-game losing streak, while Cheat Squad comes into the rematch winners of three of their last four contests. I think both teams continue their recent trends.

Prediction: Cheat Squad (30-12)

(13) WYD Step Bro’s? versus (16) Mutation

Previous Meeting: N/A

Mutation comes into the playoffs with a (2-2) mark over their last four games. Their style of play has been all over he place, as they pitched a shutout, got blanked themselves, lost a 1-point heartbreaker to the Pigeons, and knocked off Free Agent Squad (28-16) in a massive upset.

WYD Step Bro’s? enter the dance on a two-game losing streak. Prior to that, they had won three straight, with victories over Salt’s n a Pepper, Texas Whales, and the Winded Warriors.

To get the win tonight, Mutation Quarterback Simon Girard will need to complete more than 50% of his passes and get the ball into the hands of his top three playmakers in Émile Skaf, Cédrik Gingras-Dubé, and Rodney Alcime on high percentage throws, and let them take care of the rest.

For WYD Step Bro’s? to continue their season, they will need to step up and make plays while attempting to silence the critics at the same time. This team is talented without a doubt, but in big matchups, they seem to shrink under the pressure. Look no further than the last two weeks. They get shutout by SKOL in a statement game, and one week later they get held to 12 points by Le Speakeasy in another contest that held a lot of weight and could have potentially changed the narrative surrounding this squad.

This has all the looks of a flip a coin matchup. Both teams have playmakers, but they also possess serious questions about whether they can go all the way. I am going to go with the higher seed in this contest, as their two recent losses came against tougher teams than that of Mutation.

Prediction: WYD Step Bro’s? (24-20)

(14) Tex4s Chooches versus (15) Chomedey Chodes

Previous Meeting: N/A

In my Contender, Pretender, and We’re Not Sure Yet article, I placed the Tex4s Chooches in the latter category. That appears to have been a mistake, as they proceeded to get smoked (38-6) by SKOL to finish their regular season.

Part of my reasoning for putting them where I did was because this team had some impressive wins over Show Me Dem TDies, WYD Step Bro’s?, and Le Speakeasy, despite the fact that they were held to two touchdowns in their (30-12) loss to the Meat Fiddlers. I figured this team still had another gear.

The Chomedey Chodes come into tonight with a (4-2) record over the last six games. That total looks impressive, as they beat three teams they should have in the Royals, Flag Dealers, and QUEENS, and they even pulled off an upset with a (25-24) victory over Free Agent Squad in Week 12. It’s the losses for CC that are hard to ignore. They nearly got doubled-up by Fire & Blood (39-21), and they lost in an upset to the Nard Dogs, where their defense allowed Rookie opposing Quarterback Renaud Hamet-Belisle to have the game of his life, as he threw four touchdown passes and zero interceptions. To put that into context, he finished the season with 13 TD passes and 14 INTs. If you’re a true contender that simply does not happen.

To get the win tonight, Tex4s Chooches will need to stop the lethal brother connection of Receiver Jonathan Bottazzi and Quarterback Matthew Bottazzi. I know it’s coming, they know it’s coming, and anyone that has watched them play this year knows it’s coming, as the duo have connected for 23 touchdowns, resulting in the former the Bottazzi being the leading candidate for Receiver of the Year Award. Can they prevent it, or at least slow it down? I gave the Tex4s Chooches the benefit of the doubt last time. I am not making the same mistake twice.

Prediction: Chomedey Chodes (28-14)

(12) Show Me Dem TDies versus (17) Jurassic Park Rangers

Previous Meeting: N/A

The Jurassic Park Rangers finished off the regular season with a (19-0) shutout win over Les Flag Daddies. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak that was headlined by offensive struggles of their own as they scored 18 total points during that span and were held off the scoreboard themselves in a (38-0) loss to Mutation.

To get the win, the question that must be answered of course, is which Jurassic Park Rangers offense is going to show up tonight?  This team has some weapons in Deshawn Collins, Rémy Paré, Philippe Nicolas, and Kendell Copeland, but can those players avoid drops, and can Quarterback Cam Chaput not turnover the ball, as he leads all playoff QBs in interceptions with 19? To get the win, they must show up and offense, and not shoot themselves in the foot.

Show Me Dem TDies come into the post-season playing their best ball of the year, as they have won three of their last four games, and earned one point in their (13-13) tie versus The Mortadel’s

Looking at their wins, they are noteworthy, as they blew out both the Cavaliers du Rohan and Towers FT, with the latter being a (39-0) shutout. Their biggest accomplishment of that stretch however was their (19-6) victory over SKOL, as they have been the only team to knock off the top seed in all of Division 6.

To keep the good times rolling, the Show Me Dem TDies defense, which is led by balhawks in Denis Koutavas and Greg Kritselas, as well as Rusher Lucas Diamantopoulos who has 14 sacks, must continuously stay aggressive and attack the Jurassic Park Rangers offense. If they can do that, they will force turnovers and take control of the contest.  

Show Me Dem TDies have been playing like a team on a mission the last few weeks. If they can continue their hot play, the mission might end up being the Division 6D championship.

Prediction: Show Me Dem TDies (32-12)

Picks

Cheat Squad vs Royals – Cheat Squad

WYD Step Bro’s? vs Mutation – WYD Step Bro’s?

Tex4s Chooches vs Chomedey Chodes – Chomedey Chodes

Show Me Dem TDies vs Jurassic Park Rangers – Show Me Dem TDies

Last Week: (11-2)

Regular Season: (72-31-1)

 That is it for this week. Congrats to all the teams that qualified for the playoffs. My apologies for the late article. The late playoff schedule and studying for Finals while also trying to finish papers and projects, played a big part in delaying this.

I got home tonight while the games were going on, so I purposely stayed away from the results while writing the article.

Good luck to everyone in their game tonight!

If you liked the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], or on the FPF Facebook page.