Peeze’s Playbook (Div D) – Week 1 – FlagPlus Football League

Week one reminds me of my golf swing. It is unpredictable and no matter how many times I think I’ve got it right I see my ball slice off into a nether region of shrubbery that clearly consumes nothing but my golf balls. At moments, it is infuriating. However, when you take a moment to gaze upon the beautiful surroundings, feel the sun caress your face and the wind blow through your hair, you can truly enjoy the serenity of the sport. Unless you’re a talented golfer and actually enjoy the game because you’re awesome at it, in which case I despise everything about you.

Opening week is a lot like this. You don’t know what to expect from anyone but when you take time to appreciate the competition and enjoy the atmosphere, it is truly something special. Without the benefit of seeing many of the rosters at this point, I walk into this as blind as anyone else.

Still, some questions do catch my attention as I glance upon the list of teams. The Vikings and Blue Mountain state return after a season-long hiatus. Lockdown, Project Mayhem, Checkmate, Black Ice, Limetime and Shamrocks (previously Aces) all tasted great regular season success in the winter; what improvements have they made during the off-season? These are some of the many questions I’ve asked myself. We’ll see how it unravels as the season begins.

Wednesday’s Recap

Lockdown Wreck Blue Man Group

Captain Sergio Sicoli was banging the drum the entire offseason about how strong Big Blue Wrecking Crew would be this season. QB Dean Demetriou had a decent start but did look somewhat rusty as this game wore on. The dependable and aptly named Lockdown defense seemed to be able to tighten the clamps on the big blue offense. There are some new faces on the Big Blue Wrecking Crew but I still expected this game to be closer. I think once the pieces start to fit together we will see Big Blue start to perform far better than they did in week 1.

As for Lockdown, they pick up right where they left off (minus a rough game against TCO in the playoffs). He has this offense rolling and with the re-acquisition of long time LD receiver Matthew Priess we can see this team put up a lot of points this season. Defensively, Alex D’Aquila had his team lined up and ready and this ball-hungry core look ready to try to match their offence’s output on any given game. They start off, as many expected, at 1-0.

Limetime Spin the Wheel

Coming off of a very successful season that ended with a heartbreaking playoff loss, Limetime seems focused on the task of maintaining their position at the top of the division. Patrick Manning was very effective going 20-30 and spreading 5 touchdown passes among 4 different receivers. Last season’s all-star David Daoust caught 2 of those touchdowns and hauled in a total of 7 passes.

Wheel of Fish quarterback Avi Yayon had a rough outing in his first start, throwing as many interceptions as he did touchdowns. With all of the weapons on the Wheel of Fish roster (Chris Niphakis and Jonathan Brown to name a few), it will just be a matter of time before this team gets the ball rolling. In the meantime however, they lose their week 1 game 36-25.

Black and Blue

I am happy to see everyone’s favorite overly muscular flag football team has returned, and they looked as good as ever, beating Black Ice 26-21. Last spring, it was safe to say that Kevin Gauthier was the most improved quarterback in the division. We now see that it appears to be no fluke. Gauthier was as effective in the air as he was on the ground as he put up 200 combined yards. New acquisition Jad Aridi had a minimal impact on the game but his mere presence on the field makes Blue Mountain State look even more threatening.

Black Ice’s defense led the way, as is typical with this franchise. Shane Blackwood starred with 6 tackles and an interception. Offensively, Black Ice looked stagnant. It seems odd to me that last season’s break out playmaker Nyle Anderson did not contribute on offense. In any case, this is the first game and Black Ice is a team that lost veterans Anthony Da Ponte, Omer Naek, J.P. Mancini and Ben Joseph in the offseason. It might take a few weeks, but I believe they have the leadership to right the course before too long.

Park-X gets Bombed

Ok so if this were a news article (or even a mildly serious or responsible one) this write-up would be far more somber in tone. But since it’s not: Jaggerbomb win, Park-X Streets lose, final score 45-30.

Park-X Streets seems to have some roster issues that they are sorting out. We see Dionssopoulos at quarterback, Billy Seretis at receiver and the lack of Niko Zermalias and John Makris. That being said they picked up two very capable replacements from last winter’s division 5 championship runner-up, Two and a Half Dans (Evangelista and Aylward). With the talent on this team it is just a matter of putting guys in the right places to succeed. I think we will see that in the coming weeks.

For Jaggerbomb, we see that this new up and coming franchise added a very capable veteran quarterback in Jérémie Gauthier who was able to hit Gabriel Moreau Paquette for 3 of his 5 touchdowns. Gauthier seems to have brought a big-play mindset with him to his new team as Jaggerbomb scored 5 touchdowns on only 11 completed passes. Moreover, this game would have been much closer if not for the two pick-sixes by the Jaggerbomb defense (one by Hotte and one by Lavoie-Patry). Last season Jaggerbomb were the surprising upstart. This season, they will get everyone’s best shot.

Reflections, Rants and Ravings

When the season ended last month I was happy to send off my final article. Almost instantly I began to miss writing them! How sad is that?
Les Maloudes defeated Two and a Half Dans in the division 5 winter championship. Neither team registered for the spring season. Perhaps a championship run does in fact take a toll on teams.
After careful deliberation I’ve come to terms with the fact that the taco is the best vessel for delivering food to one’s mouth.
Jaggerbomb were my favorite new team last year. Who will I crush on this season? Expect carnations; roses promise too much commitment.
Longhorns, Park X Streets, Mongoose, and Le Zoo have all dropped to division D. Is this the result of the lower divisions becoming more competitive?
Les Affreux’s Matt Domon has joined the FPF staff but rumor has it that he’s been replaced at QB. I don’t want to say that there is a correlation, so I won’t.
I try to call one person out each week, seeing as this is week one and I’ve missed you all so much, you will get a pass. Be warned, as of week 2, I’m coming for you. Yes, you.
An item was shipped to my office this week. Unfortunately, I’ve popped the entire sheet of bubble wrap and no longer remember what I ordered in the first place.

Thursday’s wrap-up

I know this article came out on Friday rather than Thursday. Einstein once said that time was relative (or he had a theory on such maters in any case). As such, my article is just in time. Please email your thoughts, ideas and complaints to [email protected]. If you feel more comfortable expressing yourself using 140 characters or less, you can hit me up on Twitter @PeezeFPF.

Let me know about you, and your team and I will do my best to cover you as impartially and completely as possible. Unless however, you’ve scarred me emotionally in the past in which case, it’s time for revenge.

Please tune into and subscribe to our podcast ‘Calling the Audible’, available via iTunes or at http://fpf.podomatic.com. This season, we have changed up our format a little as Terry Tam will host the Division D podcast and I will appear as the analyst for the show. Until next week, have fun, be safe and thank you for letting me be myself.