Peeze’s Playbook (Div D) – Week 1

 

Peeze’s Playbook (Div D) – Week 1

 

Paolo Della Rocca

 

 

 

In the early twentieth century, Igor Stravinsky wrote the ill-received masterpiece “The Rite of Spring”.  In May 1913, a riot broke out just outside the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, in Paris, in response to this ballet.  It is a very uncomfortable piece as Stravinsky worked to capture the confusion, the angst and inner disharmony that many felt during this period of history. 

 

 

 

This is similar to the many Flag Plus Football players who were restlessly waiting (and in some cases, still waiting) for the season to begin.  There is a tension and nervousness that cannot be dispelled until the first snap as we all move on into the beautiful chaos that is the FPF season.  I am one of about half of the division D players who have yet to play a down this season and I cannot wait to get on the field.  Below is a recap of the action that did occur this past Thursday.  I am happy to report that the night ended free of riots or of any such anarchy.

 

 

 

Thursday’s Recap

 

 

 

Gotham Safe from Snakes

 

 

 

Bruce “The Bat-Man” Candussi took Division 5 by surprise last season when the then-Dark Knights quarterback seemed to come out of nowhere to put up very good numbers.  With the franchise now renamed as the Gotham Knights and rocking a spiffy new grey jersey, Candussi is one element that seems not to have changed.  Throwing 7 touchdowns in his first outing, he looks to have all the momentum carrying over from last season. Brother Mikey Candussi caught three of the touchdown passes and seemed to be a headache for the Black Mambas defense.  With no regard for his opponents on either side of the ball, Kendal Mayers proved to be a handful on defense as well.  He added an interception and two PD’s to his 3 offensive catches and 2 touchdowns.

 

 

 

The Black Mambas offence never got rolling.  Jerson Previllon, who took major strides in his development at quarterback last season, slipped up a little in this game.  He had difficulty reading the defense and wasn’t able to extend plays with his remarkable ability to scramble and buy time. Moreover, Mendi Cardichon caught only 2 passes for 11 yards.  He found himself unable to create room, which is very surprising for this incredibly explosive receiver.  The Black Mambas boast some of the most fun names to pronounce in all of FPF.  They also have a lot of playmakers.  However, they did get stomped in this one by a tune of 52-12.

 

 

 

Mayhem Breaks Out All Over the Playground

 

 

 

Alex ‘The Young Hollow’ Holowach looks great in a Project Mayhem jersey; he looks even better when he’s wearing orange and playing Quarterback.  The former Division D champion and finals MVP is back to help his new teammates make a run to the show.  The only drawback, and it’s the reason he isn’t quarterbacking #NoRegard, is that he will not be available for the playoffs.  In the meantime, spring hopes eternal and Holowach tore it up with his boys on Thursday.  The Nowakowski brothers were the greatest beneficiaries of their quarterback’s masterful performance as they were catching balls up and down the field.  James Nowakowski found himself with the ball and his flags in the endzone 3 times, as Project Mayhem held on for a 38-31 point win.

 

 

 

Playground needs to address some issues on their defense but they did look very strong on offence, as they were able to keep up with Project Mayhem all game. Gabriel Côté passed for 4 touchdowns and added another on the ground.  Former Vis Motus alum Scott Payne scored twice on 5 catches.  Members of the Playground squad were less than enthused about meeting me prior to the game, as they felt that I harshly criticized their division 4 team (Underrated) this past winter on Calling the Audible.  They get their chance at revenge as they play Checkmate in week 2.

 

 

 

5 Plays ‘till Halftime

 

 

 

This is a segment that used to appear weekly in the Division 5 edition of Calling the Audible.  In order to enable us to talk about more teams our producer, and expert knob-turner, the Eagle at Master Control, would prepare 5 quick-fire questions that would be handled by our guests/analysts.  We’ve decided to bring this concept to print as each week he will send me 5 questions for the weekend article.  Just as was the case in the podcast, feel free to blame him for the poor grammar as he wrote the questions.  In fact, you can blame him for the grammar throughout this and every other article as well.

 

 

 

1. Q: Is there a team that you hope will email you because you don’t know anything about them?

 

A: Pardon My Swag interests me.  It’s a new franchise name and as the roster has yet to be posted, I have no idea who they are.  If you’re reading this hit me up on twitter @PeezeFPF, or email me at [email protected]. 

 

 

 

2.    Q: What do you think the lowest and highest records will be for this season?

 

A: I think the best team will probably go 9-1.  Having gone 10-0 last season with Checkmate I can attest that going undefeated is remarkably difficult.  It is hard to focus week in and week out when you know that the target is on your back. The worst record will probably be 2-8.  I hope no one ends up being winless this season. Two teams suffered that fate in the winter and it sucks to see that happen.

 

 

 

3.    Q: Are all the subdivisions balanced or is there one that stands out as the strongest?

 

A: Conference A North looks to be the strongest to me. Lockdown and Limetime are two very strong teams who made improvements this past winter.  Mongoose are the former Division C champions, and Big Blue Wrecking Crew are one of the best up and coming teams in Division 5/D.  Even Wheel of Fish has a great cast (plenty of veterans, including two key members of the 10-0 Toute Garnie team in div.4 this past winter).  Once they cut ‘Mr. Dead Weight’ Justin Blanchard they’ll begin to see their true potential.

 

 

 

4.    Q: Will the champion come from Conference A or B?

 

A : Considering I play in Conference B, I’ll go with Conference B.  To be honest I found this question fairly difficult to answer because I see a lot of parity in Division D this spring.  As far as I can tell, any team can take it.

 

 

 

5.    Q: Who would win in a league sanctioned game between Pirates and Ninjas?

 

A: Ninjas, obviously.  Pirates have ships and cannons but since FPF is land based and weapons are obviously outlawed the Pirates will just wander around the field like a bunch of drunken peg-legged fools.  Ninjas have the natural grace and quickness to succeed in this game.  Not to mention that a Pirate’s eye patch does not exactly do wonders for depth perception.  Ninjas win in a landslide.

 

 

 

Tuesday’s Headlines Today

 

 

 

• Ghosts Scare Vikings:  The Vikings are a veteran team and have had their ups and downs in FPF.  While I don’t think they will win this game, I think they should stay confident moving forward.  On the other hand, Ghosts may be one of the surprises of the Division this year.  Gabriel Wiseman is an exceptional player and has been in FPF long enough to have established solid contacts.  I expect the Ghosts to terrify a lot of teams on their schedule.

 

 

 

• Underdogs Overachieve:  With dependable veteran Chris Olson quarterbacking the team and with the return of his very explosive target Michael Malinaric, we can expect the Underdogs to have one of the stronger offences this season.  The Warriors improved a great deal last season and I do expect them to keep moving in that direction.  They should bounce back quickly after what I expect to be a week one loss.

 

 

 

• Sound the Longhorn: The Tyrants were one of the most disappointing experienced franchises this past winter.  With a fairly stable roster you would imagine that this is a team that would improve each season.  However, that hasn’t been the case; the Tyrants seem to have slipped after competing for the division title in the winter 2012 season. I think they have enough leadership to right the course.  However, the Longhorns are also an experienced team and they play the game ‘the right way’.  Their intelligent brand of Flag Football ensures that they beat the teams that they are expected to.

 

 

 

Going for 1/Going for 2

 

 

 

For those who listened to Calling the Audible last season, this segment should be familiar.  For those of you who haven’t or for those who perpetually lose their memory, this is a segment where a decide whether to take a topic, or two (depending if I go for one or two) and rant about it ad nauseam.  This week I will be going for 1.

 

 

 

In previous seasons +/- was the fourth tiebreaker in a two-team tie to decide playoff seeding.  In past seasons, teams would run up the score on others suggesting that they did so to ensure that they would not miss out come playoff time.  This season, in an attempt to avoid having teams pile on each other, that tiebreak has been changed to points against.  The idea behind this is that teams that are up by a large margin may be inclined to hold on to the ball rather than run up the score.  Perhaps I am a pessimist but I don’t think we will see any real change.

 

 

 

The fact is, this league is successful for the same reasons that make it quite frustrating at times.  It caters to the egos and competitive nature of its players.  Teams will keep running up scores because the reason they did it in the first place was not genuine.  They will keep doing it because, as flawed humans, we all like to pound our chests and claim to be king of the mountain.  

 

 

 

It does suck to be beaten badly.  However, my stance has always been that it isn’t an offence’s job to stop itself.  Secondly, the truth of the matter, as ugly and cruel as it seems, the way that teams learn in this league is for them to take their lumps.  Losing big impacts the aforementioned ego and sense of pride; it makes teams want to come out and play well the next week.

 

 

 

Weekend Wrap-up

 

 

 

What are your thoughts on this issue? Let me know by writing to me at my FPF sanctioned email: [email protected] or on twitter @PeezeFPF.  If, on the other hand, you wanted to know what would happen if you placed a bunch of marshmallows on a slice of pizza and then microwaved it for 90 seconds or so, stop wondering.  It becomes a seemingly ever-expanding mess. 

 

 

 

For extended coverage on the division, your one stop shop should be Calling the Audible. Please tune into and subscribe to via iTunes or at http://fpf.podomatic.com.