The GM`s Scouting Report (Div C) – Week 7

After how well received the last joint article was, Simon and I decided to undergo a few more joint ventures/articles. This time, it was Simon who came up with the topics that we would both answer. As usual, his responses are in italics, with my responses following his as usual. Aside from the topics, we’re also formulating a top 25 players of Division C that we’ll be proud to release in the coming weeks.

 

Listing one per conference, go through teams that have surprised you for the good and for the bad.

 

Conference A

Surprised for the Good : KGP Champs
KGP Champs have really amazed me so far. I’ve known them for a while, but there was always a little something missing. Phil Cutler has strived hard to push his team to achieve this and I believe this year, he could be really proud of himself and his team. The chemistry is at its best and their record shows it. I’m wishing them the best of luck, they’ve earned it.

Since I can’t piggyback on Simon’s answer, although I do agree, I’m going to have to go with

 

Surprised for the Good: First Downers

I believe in giving credit where credit is due. There is no team in C that deserves it more than the First Downers. Of the 18 teams from last winter’s Division 5 that re-registered this spring, First Downers are the only team to have challenged themselves and played in C. Not only have they not been blown out of any games this season, they’ve also upset one of the heavy-hitters in Darkside. 

 

Surprised for the Bad : Formerly Formerly Teamless
I’m gonna have to best honest; after seeing their roster, I expected more from their first half of the season. They didn’t have an easy schedule, nor did they underperform (giving ONS their first tie was huge), but I believe they’ve underachieved. Some of their defeats should’ve turned into wins and their record is simply not what it should be. They’ve played good, but it simply wasn’t good enough. They’re getting back on track, but it might be a little too late seeing how rough Conference A is.

 

Again, I couldn’t agree more. However, there are better places for me to lodge my sadness. So…

 

Surprised for the Bad: Monstars

The sole problem with the Monstars is that they can’t close out games. But that’s a pretty big problem. Considering that their plus/minus ratio is much more befitting of a 4 or even 5 win team, they’ve been close in every single game they’ve played. How can they get themselves out of this pickle, especially with rusher Ryan Aridi possibly injured for the coming weeks. While they’ve been thinking outside of the box at the quarterback position, it might just be the playbook more than anything else.

 

Conference B

Surprised for the Good : The Commission
This franchise has seen it all. Season after season, they perform up to their opponents, but also down to them. With Nathan Thompson in the lineup, I believe The Commission has everything weapon they need to go far, very far. Loaded with talent and experience, I feel confident about putting money on The Commission this year. Definitely stronger than their record suggests.

 

Surprised for the Good:

Surprised for the Bad : Backyard Bullies
The dilemma at QB most certainly caused struggle, but with their current talent pool, I expected better than a 1-7 record at this point of the season. Sort of like Formerly Formerly Teamless they’ve played good football, and at times they look amazing, but it seems their inconsistency was simply too much for the strength of the division. Simply put, good enough wasn’t good enough for Division C this spring.

 

Surprised for the Bad: Broccasion

Going from back-to-back finals appearances with a championship to dwelling at the bottom of a weaker Conference B, Broccasion have been hurting this season. Some have argued (with good reason) that they’re not the same due to the fact that Marco isn’t throwing is the reason for their downfall. However, I’m not convinced; largely due to the fact that this core was competitive in Division 3 some winters ago and made playoffs as well.

 

Who do you see on top of the Division of Death at the end of the regular season; will they win Conf A ?

With this week’s tie from Golden Eagles and having the head-to-head with them, The Incredibles took a serious lead in week 8 on their opponents. Even if GE goes undefeated from this point on, I believe The Incredibles also will. Legends has to defeat KGP Champs and Backyard Bullies and pray for an upset from the Incredibles in the next two weeks. Honestly, there’s a lot of ways the cookie could crumble, but I feel confident enough to say that The Incredibles will go 9-1 this season and take their division title to the playoffs. Golden Eagles will fall short behind alongside Legends. I’m not saying The Incredibles will have a better playoff run, but I believe they’ll win the Division of Death this year.

 

Agreed. Aside from the Legends, there’s been no real answer for The Incredibles. Having added Morsink has given them height and football awareness. In all honesty, if the Legends were to play The Incredibles with their current roster, I don’t know if the result would still be the same. They’ve got a rough one coming up against the red-hot KGP Champs, but are still the likeliest to finish on top of the Division of Death.

 

Now that there are no undefeated teams, do you still believe in the separation between the top and the bottom tier teams like before?

 

Seeing how everyone seems to fall against everyone, my argument about the parity in the division strengthens. I’m proud of Division C this year and very happy to be one of the analysts to be able to talk about how no one is safe week in and week out. I believe we’ll see many upsets in the last two weeks (We’ve already witnessed a few, 8) and that it’s only a glimpse of what the playoffs holds for us this year.)

 

Absolutely. Just because there are no undefeated teams left doesn’t mean that there isn’t a separation of skill (especially roster-wise.) That being said, we’ve been seeing a lot of the “bottom-tier” teams playing up to the competition of their opposition. An example (which we’ll touch on in a little bit)is how the playoff tree is for the most part has already been established for Conference A. We knew who the top dogs were, and they certainly didn’t disappoint.

 

Looking at Real Deal’s schedule, do you think a 5-0 team could fall out of the playoffs ?

Seeing how everyone’s been playing recently, I could see Real Deal go 5-5 by the end of the season if they don’t fix their current issues and 5-5 could be on the outside looking in within two weeks’ time. It’s insane to think 5-5 could be knocked off, mostly if they were 5-0 in week 5, but everything’s possible this year.

 

The ONLY way for Conference A’s 6 playoff teams to change would be if Real Deal were to lose-out from here. If Real Deal were to go 5-5, Special Delivery and Formerly Formerly Teamless would both have shots at making playoffs, but the second that Real Deal get that 6^th win, it would be game over for the other two (largely due to the tiebreaking criteria that Real Deal have over Special Delivery)

 

I’d like to thank Simon for collaborating with me, and I’m especially excited for our top 25 to be released next week. We’ll discuss the criteria in the selections as well. Before I leave you for this week, I’ll shoot you my predictions on the remaining games.

 

Broccasion vs. Ball Busters: Broccasion

The Commission vs. Dragons: The Commission

Darkside vs. Patriotes: Darkside

Wolverines vs. Real Deal: Wolverines