Peeze’s Playbook (Div D) – Week 4 – FlagPlus Football League

As we begin week 4, the media coverage for Division D has been quite thorough. This is the 17^th article for the division in a little over 3 weeks. For the first time ever, we included pre-season articles that broke down the division before the action ever started. We work continuously to try and improve on our product and as such the podcast team of Terry Tam (@TerryFPF), Mathieu Domon (@MathieuDomonFPF) and Eagle at Master Contol (@EagleFPF). In addition to the regular weekly coverage we strive to communicate with you regularly via twitter and by answering our emails promptly. Finally, in an attempt to push the envelope further, we added to our popular FPF player fantasy draft by filming it and releasing it albeit by unofficial channels.

In the end we all do this for you, the players, and you have responded by making us the ‘highest rated’ podcast as our listenership (I can’t believe that’s a word) grows every week. Our readers contact us regularly with their feedback and it is a great way for us to make sure that you are thoroughly enjoying the product. My point in all this is that on behalf of Justin Blanchard, Terry Tam, Mathieu Domon, the Eagle at Master Control and myself, thank you. You make all of this worthwhile.

…and now for something completely different

Wednesday’s Recap

Bleu Nuit

How is that inappropriate? They won and the game was played at night!

Ok, then the headline is:

Perfectly Blue

In a race to see which team would go 4-0 first, BMS found themselves to be kings of the mountain with a 21-13 win over Bearskins. Earlier this season, someone asked me “Is Gauthier really an elite QB?” To which, I answered in the affirmative. When you check the stat sheet Diesel’s numbers never look spectacular. To gauge his true ability is to see him play in person. He is quick, makes solid decisions and will run you over like a Mack truck to Wiley E. Coyote in a misconceived, overelaborate plot. Beyond that, he is the Blue Mountain State’s heart and soul. He is their emotional leader and with him behind the snapper, they are a tough team to beat. Hermes Zepeda had a solid game catching 4 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown as well as recording 2 sacks on defense.

For Bearskins, this is a tough loss albeit to a gritty and physical opponent. Souaid struggled, and the Bearskin offence never got going. Defensively, both Etinsons and Shawn Payne all recorded interceptions. However, when your offence cannot capitalize, 3 turnovers and a five-dollar bill will get you a medium cappuccino at Starbucks.

Mongoose Feast on Fish

When I mockingly asked Justin Blanchard what happened in his game after I learned that Wheel of Fish lost 51-32 to Mongoose. He answered, “The real Mongoose showed up; Cedrick Nuckle did that thing where he was just better than everyone else on the field.” There can be no more fitting a description for this game. Cedrick “Brass” Nuckle is one of my favorite players in the league. He has great hands, he is incredibly fast and his instincts are undeniable. All of these assets were on display as he caught 85 yards worth of passes and even threw a touchdown on one of his three attempts. Throwing 6 touchdowns in this game, Gaudet looked more like himself this week and it seems as though the Mongoose’s offense may just be ready to kick into gear.

On this week’s Calling the Audible, I was asked to buy or sell Avi Yayon as a candidate for quarterback of the year. Unfortunately I was a seller. This type of game was why. Avi is a very good FPF player but he is a new QB and he looked it this week. The game started with a pick 6, returned by opposing quarterback Alexandre Gaudet, and this ominous beginning would set the tone for the rest of the game. Yayon ended up throwing 3 interceptions in this game and were never able to get back into the game. Frédéric Viens has, on the other hand, had a noteworthy start with his new team; he’s caught 5 touchdowns in 2 weeks.

Demons Banished

The Speed Demons took amazing strides last season and looked to be a new exciting franchise that was ready to set its mark on FPF. However, thus far, this spring season has been a trying one for the Speed Demons. Taking a 39-6 spanking at the hands of Les Affreux is a rough game to endure. This season the Speed Demons have averaged 11 points scored per game. This will not lead to wins, no matter how strong their defense is. Wilson Phan took the majority of the snaps in this game in place of Samuel Holden. However, he faired no better than his predecessor as he threw 5 interceptions. When others tried to fill the void it was just as disastrous as Holden and Eric Pawlusiak combined for 1 completion in 6 attempts totaling 5 yards and having thrown an interception a piece.

Les Affreux on the other hand have been on fire. Jonathan Lemieux made it apparent as ever despite Domon’s excellent game in his stead last week, there is no quarterback controversy in Les Affreux’s camp. Mathieu Dubois had an impact on the offensive and defensive side of the balls he matched his 2 touchdowns with 2 interceptions on a night where they were plentyiful. Les Affreux move on to 4-0 and they now look to week 5 where they face another undefeated team in Jaggerbomb.

Power Rankings

Each week I take a look at the games that have passed us by and begin to weigh which teams are stronger and which teams do not quite make the top 10 list. Much like last week this list does consider Wednesday night’s games but not those that were played on Thursday. The idea is that it will generate more conversation, arguments and spirited debate. Also, prior to the season’s start, I had planned this segment for my ‘Thursday article’, so now I’m committed. Either way it has already caused some commotion. Being a fan of the chaotic, I’ve enjoyed it quite thoroughly.

Les Affreux (4-0) – Having beaten Lockdown last week Les Affreux climbed the charts. They beat up on a struggling Speed Demons but did so impressively. They snatch the 1 seed.
Jaggerbomb (3-0) – They won a close one against Pardon My Swag. The fall a notch below last week but are still to be feared.
Blue Mountain State (4-0) – It isn’t always pretty but BMS are getting it done. They have put themselves in closer battles than I think they would have liked but it has allowed them to show that they can be clutch.
Hostile Territory (3-0) – I’ll finally give them the credit they are due. Beating three championship contenders in your first three weeks will catch anyone’s eye.
Lockdown (2-1) – Their only loss has come against Les Affreux; they face Jaggerbomb this week in another key matchup. Let’s see if they’ve been able to sure up the defense, because right now, it looks like the shoreline trying to hold off the tide.
Centurions (3-0) – They are a savy, intelligent, veteran group. The switch to Jeremy Laporte at quarterback seems to be paying off in spades.
Longhorns (3-0) – I’m really impressed with the Longhorns so far. However, they have yet to face a quarterback with a quarterback rating higher than 75. This week’s matchup against Hostile Territory will go a long way toward showing us who the Longhorns really are.
X-Men (3-0) – X-Men have been dominant on both sides of the ball. However, the opponents that they’ve beaten have a combined record of 0-9-1. In fact, they only play a team with a winning record in week 5 when they face the Centurions. This will be a good litmus test for the friendly mutants.
Checkmate- Taking down a solid opponent in the Game of the Week is worthy of notice. Last season’s top defense does have some work to do but the new additions have transformed Checkmate into a high-flying, vertical offence.
Bearskins (2-2)- In week 4 they lost to one of the top teams in division D (Blue Mountain State); I don’t think it’s a huge cause for concern, let’s see how they fair heading into the mid-way point of the season.

Other Teams Receiving Votes: As always, it’s just my vote. I tried to get the Eagle’s but as it turns out he is quite irritable at 3:25 AM.

Limetime (2-1) – I am still perturbed by the fact that, as I had predicted Limetime lost their first true challenge of the season. However, any team with 13 takeaways in their first three weeks is worth noting.
Mongoose (2-2) – After having picked up a big win this week, Mongoose is back on the radar. If they can shake off the inconsistency they will be in the power rankings in no time.
Gotham Knights (2-1)- My enthusiasm has tempered since week 1. Since then Gotham are 1-1 with a +/- of +6. I’ll need a larger sample size to get a true feeling of who they really are.
Wheel of Fish (2-2)- -30 in their losses, +38 in their wins. I’m having trouble getting a hand on who they are.

Reflections, Rants and Ravings

The Bearskins changed their team name from BearSkins; my spell check thanks them.
I’ve been begging for the Mongoose to look to Cédrick Nuckle more often on offense. They clearly read my article. Thanks guys!
I have a wedding to go to this weekend. I’m hoping it is still acceptable to tie one’s tie around one’s head and do the ‘Jump On It’ dance when the song Apache comes on. Who am I kidding; I’ll do it either way!
As I’m writing this I see that the Maccabi of Div.E have won their first game in their 14^th week of existence. It’s a tough climb for a new team in FPF and I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate them.
Daron Basmadjian didn’t think it would be a good idea to post the Div.D draft on you tube or publicize it to FPF nation. I did so through unofficial channels and we got 60 hits in less than 24 hours. Daron may be the VP of Media Relations, but my I’m the VP of the People. Wear it like a cape Daron!
I finally met FPF Hall of Famer Carmine Pollice. It was a pleasure; the dude is a really nice guy. Also caught a bit of the Mercenaries/AAA game. I highly recommend that div. D players take some time to check out some Division A/B action. You’ll learn a lot just from watching these incredible athletes.
48 hours after the draft and I’m still picking up beer bottles. I’m finding them everywhere. Why one ended up in the windowsill between two windowpanes, I will never know.
Why do fiddleheads cost a fortune? They grow like weeds all around Quebec. I’m on the hunt. If you see me in your back yard, I’m just looking for vegetables.
I got into a twitter war with Limetime’s Brad Demers last weekend. It was good times.

Thursday’s wrap-up

As always, please feel free to let me know what you think, Please email your thoughts and ideas to [email protected]. I will always listen and claim ideas as my own. If you feel more comfortable expressing yourself using 140 characters or less, you can hit me up on Twitter @PeezeFPF. If you have any complaints please address them to @TerryTamFPF.

Please tune into and subscribe to our podcast ‘Calling the Audible’, available via iTunes or at http://fpf.podomatic.com. Yet another great reason to contact us would be if you are interested in appearing on the podcast. The show is for you and it is much more fulfilling with input from the players. See you this weekend, until then, have fun, be safe and thank you for letting me be myself.