Peeze’s Playbook (Div D) – Week 4

After a particularly bleak string of cloudy and rainy days, sun smiles upon the FPF universe on this beautiful Sunday morning.  Now let’s cram ourselves into a hot, muggy, Catalogna complex and ignore it altogether.  Before you do, you should definitely read this article.

 

Thursday’s Recap

 

Centurions Halt Warrior Assault

 

Having mentioned that Jeremy Laporte had been doing such a great job of quarterbacking the Centurions, I guess the time was right for the ‘Green Guard’ to throw us a curveball.  Phillipe Giguere started at quarterback for them this week and he was dominant.  He completed 20/28 passes for 239 yards and 5 touchdowns. Seeming to have no problem developing chemistry with his team he connected with Cedric Morin (twice), Yan Marter, Sebastien Morin and Olivier Hamilton for touchdowns. Paint me green and call me a Centurions fan because a team that has always been known as a stingy defensive club (and still are having given up only 38 points) is now also equally impressive on the offensive side of the ball.  They are averaging 38.5 points scored per game and do not look like they have any intention of slowing down.

 

The Warriors seem to lack the finesse and refinement of the Centurions in this one and I believe that we are starting to see some fundamental problems that need to be addressed.  The Warriors have now started 3 quarterbacks in 4 weeks. It looks to me that they are looking for a quick fix.  Unfortunately, such is not the path to success in FPF.  The only way for quarterbacks to improve in this league is through in game reps. If the quarterback of the future is not on the roster, than perhaps it is time to go shopping.  However, the only way to know if you have your guy is by letting him play.  Rory Parsaram scored once on his 3 catches in this game, but it wasn’t enough as the Centurions move to 4-0 with their 39-20 win over the Warriors.

 

  

Mambas are Now Ballz Deep in Trouble.

 

The Black Mambas made FPF headlines when they picked up Kevin Lubin a couple of weeks ago. With their record now standing at a subpar 0-4 and having lost this most recent game to Ballz Deep they find themselves marking the rest of the calendar as must win games.  Their big name free agent acquisition (Lubin) contributed mightily in this one as he caught 2 touchdowns and added an interception.

 

Conversely, Ballz Deep find themselves in an interesting position.  Having tied their first game of the season they stand at 3 points but trail the division leaders by 1.5 games.  Despite their slow start, they are still in the thick of things and given a strong latter 6 weeks Ballz Deep may make the playoffs despite their somewhat ominous start.  Especially given the output of the three DaSilvas who have been having strong individual seasons.  They combined for 5 catches and 64 yards in this game.  Vinny Gaulano was master of all trades in this particular game (as he usually is).  He caught a 40 yard touchdown pass, threw and completed another pass, made 4 tackles and ran once for 20 yards.  Armed with this ‘Swiss Army’ knife, Ballz Deep beat the Black Mambas 25-13.   

 

5 Plays ‘till Halftime

 

This week it was technically 6 plays ‘till halftime because the Eagle at Master Control asked the preemptive question: “Is it ok if the questions are draft themed?”  To which I responded, “Of course; I love themes.”  Thinking that the questions were related to mandatory military service in times of war I was confused to see these questions.  I know understand that they are in fact related to our division D FPF fantasy draft.

   

1.Q: Name a player that someone else drafted whom you would have otherwise wanted to take.

 

A: A player that I thought was the hidden gem in this draft was Kevin Boustany.  I had thought that he would slide under the radar until the I would to shock FPF nation by drafting him with my second round, 14^th overall pick.  When, to my amazement, the Eagle at Master Control swooped down and picked him on the selection prior to mine and chose him with his second rounder. 

 

In retrospect, it turned out as well as it could because I ended up with the X-Men defense.  In that way Kevin can still contribute to my team’s success.

 

2.Q: Who are some of the best, undrafted eligible players?

 

It was somewhat, if not entirely scandalous that Shamrocks quarterback Doug McKernan, last season’s first overall selection in the fantasy draft was not chosen.  Especially given that, Doug ads to his passing numbers with a healthy contribution of rushing yards.  However, it would seem that despite the fact that this draft clearly favors the running quarterback, our FPF analysts still prefer the pocket passers as most of the quarterbacks drafted are of this ilk.

 

Another player whose absence from the draft board surprises me is Longhorns QB Jon Moodie.  He has only played 2 games and has thrown 10 touchdowns, which puts him at par with some of the top quarterbacks chosen in this draft.  Combine that with the fact that he is the quarterback for a currently undefeated team and it really makes you wonder what our analysts are really looking at.

 

Another player who may not have gotten notice because he’s only played 2 games is Wheel of Fish’s (prounounced fishes…take that grade school grammar teachers) Frédéric Viens.  He has 8 catches, 5 of them resulting in touchdowns and he averages more than 22 yards per catch.  Moreover, he has produced 21.4 fantasy points per game.  His presence would definitely have helped someone’s fantasy roster.

 

3.Q: Who had the worst draft? 

 

Is this even a question?  It looks like we may have to rename the Sacko award and begin to call it, the Simon Dagenais award (alternate titles are the Dag, or the @DagenaisFPF award).  As horrible as I am at fantasy sports this milky Rubik’s Cube makes me look like a genius.

 

I don’t mean this to criticize any of his players.  Individually, they are all good players and I am a friend to many of them but I just don’t like how all the parts come together as a whole.  While Mat Domon’s team is currently in last, I have faith that Simon Dagenais will find a way to finish last.

 

4.Q: Which other type of roster spots would you like to see in future drafts?

 

A: To be honest, I really like the addition of the Flex player and I like that the draft is simple enough for fantasy noobs like me to understand.  Personally, I would find it more interesting if we could/would have to set a line-up each week.  So, I’d like to see the roster extended to include 3 quarterbacks, 7 receivers, 2 flex players and 2 defenses. I think it would add an interesting element to our fantasy game.

 

5.Q: What is wrong with your brother (aka, David Della Rocca, Duke, Deeze)?

 

A: As far as I know, my parents were compiling a list.  It has become an epic volume and it is ever expanding.  That would be their opinion of course, as well as that of many medical professionals.  However, I don’t agree.

 

Duke is the next step in the evolution of our family’s exciting, if somewhat unpredictable brand of delirium. When FPF made the questionable decision to hire me they introduced an odd sort of madness that I thought was lacking in FPF coverage.  Duke, is simply the next step in that progression. To ask what I think is wrong with my brother is to ask Venom what is up with Carnage.  

 

Tuesday’s Headlines Today

 

• A Slice of Lime  

 

Considering that I was accused of hating Limetime, they have received a lot of positive press this season.  That being said, my opinion of this team is still unchanged.  They are a strong team that will beat the teams that they are expected to beat.  In this matchup, I like Limetime’s aggressive, and domineering defense against Big Blue Wrecking Crew.  This is particularly because between Mike Zenone, David Daoust and James Keating (to name a few) there is enough speed to neutralize Dean Demetriou’s ability to run the ball.  Since Demetriou has been struggling with his passing, I think this game has the opportunity to get ugly and do so fairly early on.

 

• Vikings Were No Match For Mutants

  

The Vikings picked up their first win of the season and did so with Rick Cummins at quarterback.  I don’t think he will be as successful against the X-Men.  Swaminadhan’s mutant power has been the ability to avoid turnovers.  I don’t think that the Vikings have enough firepower to score every drive and they may need to in a game where interceptions may come at a premium.

 

• Jaggerbomb Could Not Be Locked Down  

  

While I did and still do believe in Lockdown this season, last week’s loss to Les Affreux did show that the boys in grey need to fix a few things as they continue toward the midpoint of the season.  I’ve said in the past that the team’s success relates entirely to the success of Gianfranco Ranaudo.  If he is not playing at top form Lockdown does not stand a chance.  Last week proved to me that their defense, while built to be devastating with the lead, might not be strong enough to take over a game.  Jaggerbomb score a lot of points and whether or not Alex D’Aquila rushes I don’t think they have anyone on the team that can contain Jérémie Gauthier.  Expect this one to be a high scoring affair. Expect Jaggerbomb to walk away with a tight win.

 

Going for 1/Going for 2

 

Ok it’s bubbling inside of me.  I can’t hold it in any longer.  I’ve got something on my mind and I’ve got to get it off my chest.  Luckily this is the segment where I get to do so.  Just because I’m a cautious person, I’ve decided to go for one.

 

The topic of my rant this week is fantasy sports.  Truth be told, I hate it and I’m not particularly good at it.  Having said that I had a great time with my FPF colleagues as we debated, celebrated, and goaded one another until the early morning hours this past Tuesday/Wednesday.

 

Here is my issue with fantasy sports.  Just like in fantasy football, I find myself incapable (as a lifetime Dolphins fan…I know it’s been a long life already) of cheering for the vile, decrepit, villainous, potentially insidious and certainly ass-faced Tom Brady.  The idea of cheering for a guy, whom you otherwise loath, because he will help you win a fantasy league is asinine. So the equivalent in FPF is telling my defense to let Chris Rivest score in today’s game because he’s on my team.  The idea is ridiculous.

 

Except of course, it’s really not ridiculous, because it’s a lot of fun to bash Simon Dagenais and my newfound rival Justin Blanchard (remember to bash his team @JBlanch6).  To be honest, players love the fantasy draft, so I will put aside my feelings on the subject and embrace this competition (much like how Dagenais perma-embraces the Sacko). 

 

Just to be clear.  Rivest, we’re coming for you!  I’ll get my points from somewhere else this week.

   

Weekend Wrap-up

 

Who will be this week’s weekend warriors.  Let me know how you or your team measure up against the division’s finest by contacting me at [email protected]or on Twitter @PeezeFPF. If you want to swa recipes for cookies know that I’m a terrible baker but will accept your pity and baked goods.

 

After 3 weeks, the division D edition of ‘Calling the Audible’ is by far the highest rated podcast.  Join  Terry Tam (@TerryTamFPF) and I as we combine in-depth analysis with ridiculous, chaotic, conversation by subscribing via iTunes or at http://fpf.podomatic.com.  Have fun; see you at the fields, and thank you for letting me be myself.