Weekday Quarterback (D5) – Week 4

 

I would like to thank all of those people who donated to the Haiti Fund this past weekend. I think it is a credit to members of this league that we tried to make a difference in whatever way we possibly could. It is important that we remember how fortunate we are to get to enjoy recreational luxuries such as this FlagPlus Football League, amongst other activities that we care so much about. I hope that the caring and generosity of the players continues if ever we are called upon again in the future.

Now let’s get to what you all came here to read. What a great week of action in D5 as it seems I may have hurt some feelings last week with my power rankings. Some teams took those rankings as an insult and it seems as though they were out to prove me wrong. If it leads to more exciting game action then I have no issue with being wrong and I hope that we continue to see some great games as we did in week 4. It was a week where another team got their first win of the season, which is always nice to see, and we had a team continue its absolute domination of D5. Hopefully we can begin to get clearer picture of who is where in the standings, as we head into the bye week. We will rework the weekly power rankings and see who I can upset this week! Let’s get to the action, and see where we stand after week 4.

Week 4 Recap

I will start by my favorite story of the week, which is the Dawgs getting their first win of the season. We all know how tough it can be losing the first 3 games of the season. We begin to get discouraged and sometimes it feels as though the hole just keeps getting deeper. The Dawgs did not allow that mentality to set in and if it did then they did not show it to the rest of us as they defeated Pendant Publishing 19-6. Not a bad output on either side of the ball for the Dawgs as they will try to continue to build on this success after the bye week. For Pendant Publishing, they may have taken a step back but I am sure that they will go back to the drawing board and find out what made them successful in week 3. The Dawgs were led by their Quarterback-Receiver Duo of Timothy O’Hara (3 TD’s and 162 yards) and Robert Moores (60 yards and 2 TD’s). If those to can keep it up then this team may see some continued success down the road.

Les Affreux continued to show they are for real this season with 32-18 victory over The Monstars. This was a matchup of two teams that really struggled last year and it seems as though les Affreux have come just a bit further at this point. According to Monstars’ WR/DB Moh Azab, this game was closer than the score indicates, but he applauded Affreux for their great game. I really wish both these teams great success because of the character they have shown over the past two seasons. It looks as though les Affreux are going to keep winning and hopefully the Monstars can take the week off to rethink their strategy and get back in the win column.

 

 

 

In the game of week in D5, two 3-0 teams faced off and one of them left the field with a lot of confidence, which was well deserved. It was another game of the week that was not even close in terms of the final score. The Family continued to obliterate teams with their high scoring offense as they defeated Run’n’Wild 50-18. I mentioned the QB/WR duo of the Dawgs earlier, but how about the effort put forth by Maxime Forget and Maxime Couture of The Family. Forget was almost perfect as he went 12 for 14 with 163 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. The remarkable stat is that all 4 touchdowns went to Couture. Couture should expect to get a bit more double coverage in the coming weeks if he continues to play like that. I will have to call it a tie this week in terms of the Primetime Player of the Week, as the honor will have to be shared between the two Maximes! It was not a complete wash on the part of Run’n’Wild however as they did show some signs of life especially from Wide Receiver Mark Guerriero who had 5 catches for 42 yards and 3 TD’s. Guerriero also made 5 tackles on defense and is a definite bright spot for them.

The final headline this week was the game between the Golden Eagles and the Love Cows. There were some a few people who thought that the Golden Eagles were not getting enough respect and that the Love Cows were getting too much respect from me in my previous article. When you’re wrong you’re wrong and last week I placed the Love Cows ahead of the Golden Eagles in the Power Rankings. The Golden Eagles came out like they had something to prove and they did with a statement victory, 34-18 over the Love Cows. The Golden Eagles have the biggest test on their schedule in 2 weeks as they go head to head with the first place Family. Obviously, they can muster a lot more respect with a win in that game, don’t expect the Family to roll over for them.

 

Meet the Golden Eagles

This week we take a look at a team made up of some new players and a few veterans who have decided to start from scratch and build a winner on their own. It takes a lot of patience and character to go through that process but so far the Golden Eagles are off to a good start. It has not been perfect but they are well on their way to building a solid team. I spoke to Alexandre David this week and he told that certain players on this team have had experience with such teams as the Triple Sixers and Mercenaries who are both excellent teams in higher divisions. Alexandre spoke highly of his teammates and was very adamant about how this team was built on solid chemistry and good friendships. Alexandre mentioned that three players on this team, including himself, have experience with the Packers of Greenfield Park. This is a team that has a very high football IQ and could be on its way up from Division 5. The Golden Eagles felt that they were not given then respect they deserved in the power rankings last week (Let’s not blame anyone for that) and used this week as a chance to gain some respect by knocking off the number eight, Love Cows. We look forward to seeing more from this team in the future and I wish them all the best of luck.

Tip Drill

Offensive Tip of the Week: Give your Snapper an option route

Based on the new rules, the person rushing the QB must choose a side prior to the snap of the ball and cannot move once the ball has been set down by the snapper. Tell your snapper to run away from the pressure of the rusher. This allows the Quarterback to have an easier check down option. If you get a lot of pressure from the rusher then you can dump it off to the snapper running a quick out to the opposite side of the rusher. This may also force the defense to bring their middle man in the defense to step and cover the snapper in close which will in turn open up more space for your slot backs and receivers. Picking up 3-4 yards per play is always a good way of forcing the defense to play tighter.

Defensive Tip of the Week: Lanes Defense in the Redzone

This tip is for using a specific type of defense in the red zone and during conversion plays. In this defense everybody covers a lane of the field. You stand in a straight line across the field and each person is responsible for whatever is directly in front of you and behind you. Often times, teams will try and use plays where players run across the back of the endzone to break this defense and that is why it is extremely important to communicate and let your teammates know when someone is coming across the back of the field.

Power Rankings

1. The Family (4-0) – Continue to dominate the division.

2. Sphinx (4-0) – Another win for a very solid win. Most underrated team in my opinion.

3. Park X Streets (4-0) – A tough week for them but they pull out another close win.

4. Run’n’Wild (3-1) – A tough loss for them this week against an excellent team. They will bounce back.

5. Affreux (3-1) – Another win for them against a top 10 team. They will continue to climb.

6. Patriotes (3-1) – This team continues to impress without getting much recognition. Expect the same tough games against them each week.

7. Recruits (2-1-1) – Lost a game they should not have lost this week. Hopefully they get back in the win column and continue to improve.

8. Team USA (1-2-1) – Team USA gave the Park X Streets all they could handle. Mark my words, USA will win next game.

9. Golden Eagles (1-3) – Had to continue giving them respect this week since they beat a top 10 team. They talked the talk and then walked the walk. Keep it up.

10. Lockdown (2-2) – I like the chances of this team getting better as the season goes on. Watch out if you’re expecting an easy victory.

 

Unfortunately, I have to finish this week’s article on sad note. My good friend and colleague Rostyn Castleton lost his mother, Paula Hassani, early Monday morning. Ross has been like an older brother to me over the past few years and I just want let him know that everyone at FlagPlus Football is thinking about him and we will be here for him if he needs us. It is times like these that we must remember how important the people we care about are in our lives. All the best Ross and we will all be praying for you.