Peeze’s Playbook Week 7/8

Peeze’s Playbook

By Paolo Della Rocca

 

Week 7-8

Snatchers Have Lost 2 in a Row.  Is Simon Dagenais to Blame?

For those of you who know me know that I am a light hearted and easy going person. I am fairly laid-back and don’t take much seriously. I feel as though the well-adjusted and mostly intelligent population of FPF players are comfortable with that. However, after reading several attacks toward some of my media brethren, I felt it was time that I address some of the highly talented, yet somewhat insecure players in our community.

 If you are even asking yourself whether or not I am referring to you, know that I am. If you feel insulted or attacked, know that I am voicing an opinion, just as many of you have been inclined to do on our various social media forums and for that matter, on the field. If you feel that this is inappropriate, remember that I have been employed by the league to voice my convictions and to be engaging and entertaining. Moreover, I have held this position for 6 seasons and the reason I have been retained is that the bulk of our players are comfortable with criticism, don’t mind it if I take a shot here or there and for the most part, enjoy my work.

 This week the disciplinary committee was asked to deal with several disgusting acts of violence that have no place in FPF. In one week 2 players were suspended and a third is facing a suspension for their involvement in physical altercations. As I was not present, I cannot say whether or not the parties who were assaulted (because throwing a punch is in fact assault and should be treated as such), should also face discipline. I will say however, that assaulting another human being is unacceptable. It doesn’t matter whether or not it is on the field or otherwise. If players cannot control their tempers like real grown men there should be no place for them in this league.

 I read the 50+ comments regarding one such violent outburst where a player who I will not dignify by writing his name, complained that Division 1&2 media members, Vince Nardone and G.M. Kolethras did not know what they were talking about and should not dare share their thoughts on the issue. It is interesting that, for the players involved it was appropriate for them to share their opinions but were dissatisfied when the aforementioned media members took a stand against their vile acts of violence. In their minds, it must be ok to act inappropriately, voice their opinions and try to gain support for their personal agendas so long as no one dared disagree with their sentiment.

 Perhaps those who criticize don’t realize the work that goes into writing weekly articles, producing podcasts, preparing for shows, covering games, and putting one’s thoughts in display for all of the league’s players on discuss and judge on a weekly basis. Our jobs are to entertain, provide content and make this league the most involved and gripping recreational league in North America. We put our soul into our work even though this is not a full-time job or a career for any of us because we love FPF. Either way, as I know the character of the media members who were scrutinized, I know that the criticism will not slow them down and will not give them pause before bringing such cases to light. They have true integrity and will not stand for things they feel are innately wrong. For this I admire and support them fully.

 Perhaps, the frail egos of the vocal minority, do gain more attention but I will say this: Physically attacking another person (note I did not say player), is dangerous, reckless and illegal. Players that received nothing more than a suspension should consider themselves lucky. If I need to explain to you why punching another human being is unacceptable, then you are just one of those people who will never “get it”. These violent acts should not be tolerated and I have a hard time taking the field with someone who would engage in this type of behaviour or condone it in others. I read in one of the posts that we are MEN after all. I agree, and I believe that we are. So let’s stop acting like boys and start being accountable for our actions, like real MEN.

 I’ve wasted enough time dealing with this issue. Let’s start talking football:

 I have decided to include some recaps from weeks 7 and 8 as I have not been able to put out as many articles as I would have liked to in the past few weeks.

 Week 7

 

 GOTW!

 So, the game itself turned out to b a total dud. In week 7, the players voted for the game between Predators and BD Bandits as game of the week. The Predators won the game 26-6 but I feel the real story here is a spotlight for 2 teams heading in opposite directions. The Predators are a team that are undefeated but were not playing up to standard up to this point. This game seems to have been a statement game for them. My criticism is that they are not scoring enough points for this brand of football to be effective in the playoffs. In reality, the Predators defence is probably as good as it gets in division 3. One player that I have not given enough press to is Maxime Giroux. He is a versatile defender and can be found making plays all over the field. Given that he finds himself with the likes of Nicholas Gendro-Vallee, Marc-Andre Lapointe, Yavar Ashrafi and Simon Bosquet-Beaudoin (who is possibly the fastest rusher in FPF), this is a defines without weaknesses. They did play against a flawed offence in BD Bandits. My questions still remain as to whether or not they will have the offence to put points up against the strongest offences and quarterbacks in this division, however, if any team can win it on the backs of their defence, it’s the Preds.

 BD Bandits fell to 3-3 after a loss in week 6. However, more importantly we have seen a team with a reputation for winning, losing against teams that are surging in this division. Despite, having an aggressive and intelligent defence, they’re offence seems to be struggling in keeping up with this explosive division. Marc Belvadere has come along way at quarterback. However, their greatest offensive strength seems to be their greatest flaw right now. While not having one, go-to receiver is often a blessing, it can often be a curse. Especially with the suspension that has Casey Cook missing for 2 weeks, they may find it difficult to put wins up. However, with their record at .500 they need to start winning games now!

 

Bearly Perfect

 The game that, in retrospect, really should have been featured as game of the week, two, then-perfect teams faced off as the BearSkins, took on Broccasion. This game featured and explosive offences in BearSkins that faced off against one of the most unpredictable quarterbacks in Kristian Cerantola. The game’s start was somewhat unpredictable as well as Broccasion took a 13-6 lead into halftime. Cerantola’s attack was continuous and steady. He passed the ball with confidence and sprinkled in some of his trademark runs as he had the BearSkins defence on the ropes. On defence, Cerantola and Dilan Daoust intercepted the ball and looked, momentarily, that Broccaison would hand BearSkins their first loss of the season. However, these moments would be fleeting.

 The second half showed just how explosive the BearSkins offence can be as they brought an onslaught on to the field. They scored 3 times in the second half to end the games 26-25. Neil Etinson was far from perfect but he threw the deep ball well in the second half and the game ended with 2 passing touchdowns to Jean Michel Laplante, another to Ryan Etinson and a 3 yard score to Marco Bertoldi. BearSkins, are starting to look the part as they won a game in week 7, that showed that they could win a tightly contested battle rather than just trade haymakers with the heavies. BearSkins remain perfect, only time will tell if they have what it takes to run the table.

 

Moose Snatch a Win  

In yet another game that had gained some early traction for game of the week before voting took off in favor of other games, Moose faced off against Snatchers and proved to be an interesting, if not the game that included the teams named with the greatest level of innuendo (are we still not doing phrasing??!?!?!). In discussing this game with FPF analyst and Snatchers quarterback Simon Dagenais, we decided that this game would be won by the team that did not make that one key mistake. Dagenais himself made the first such mistake has he threw a pass off of his back-foot that was intercepted by Steven Legault.

Moose then made two key mistakes themselves as Frederic Morissette under threw a wide open Valdy Aceus in what would have been a walk-in touchdown, instead it turned into a magnificent interception by Louis-Phiippe Paquette. On the next possession the ball was snapped well over Fred Morissette’s head and that turned into what seemed to be a damning safety. With 5 plays remaining and Snatchers showing a 28-26 lead on the scoreboard and in the Moose defensive redzone, the result looked like a forgone conclusion. Simon Dagenais looked left, and threw an out to Georges Elie Voyer that was undercut by Moose defender Vincent Lauzon. This set Moose up with a few plays remaining and Fred Morissette showed confidence in his snapper who was the would be goat had they not connected on the game winning touchdown. Moose have now won 3 in a row and Snatchers have not looked the same since the injury to Hugo Lalonde.

 

Week 8

 

You’ve Gotta Rub it the Right Way

 

Just a few short days after Génie 3D earned their first win, had it stripped for a roster violation, team Yellow took the field with the properly named Mathieu Bourbonniere-Morin at the helm (read aloud with your tongue firmly in cheek). I ad mad mention in my preseason article that I had doubts about Fred Malette as the QB as he had struggled in past seasons. However, I never doubted Malette’s athleticism as he earned 100 yards and 3 touchdowns in this game. Given the cache of the players on the Snatchers roster many thought this game would be a blow out. But the Génie 3D team fought hard and kept it close. They forced two interceptions as both Joshua Malyk Cenacle and fred Malette intercepted Simon Dagenais.

In the end the extra possessions would be the poison pill for the Snatchers. By allowing Génie 3D to stick around in this game, Snatchers had to fight back to reclaim the lead by a score of 28-25. After Génie 3D methodically drove the field and scored on a 4th and goal play, Dagenais and the Snatchers were left with 3 plays. From about 15 yards away, Simon Dagenais looked to the endzone and aired out a ball to Kevin Lubin. Lubin leaped and was driven out of bounds by a defender. While critics of that play would say that the defender made no effort to play the ball, it can also be said that if you leave the referees the opportunity to cost you the game they invariably will. Génie 3D win this game 31-28 and the Snatchers need to win out to have a legitimate chance to make the post season.

 

Wild Night for Les Buddays

 

I ended up predicting that the Wild Boys would win this one but I thought that there was a serious possibility of an upset with Les Buddays coming out victorious in this game. It looked like this game may in fact have gone that way. I thought that given the dynamic of our league and the rules that we have in place that the quick and speedy Buddays would perform well against the big and powerful Wild Boys. Les Buddays were able to move the ball down the field consistently against the wild Boys defence and actually looked to give Wild Boys quarterback Mathieu René some trouble. Down the stretch, the absence of receiver Guillaume Paquette did affect Les Buddays as Frédéric Dupuis was forced to throw the ball into tiht windows that led to two tipped ball interceptions and final with 4 downs inside the Wild Boys 15, Les Buddays were not able to convert and score to pull ahead.

For Mathieu René this game came down to several clutch situations. As decisive as he was and as smartly and quickly he delivered the ball. What was most impressive was the two touchdown passes he delivered on 4th down. If not for his clutch play, this game could have had a completely different outcome. The size advantage was simply unaccounted for as Rashawn Perry pulled in 6 catches and a touchdown to help lead the Wild Boys to a 25-19 victory over Les Buddays.

 

Luchadores Covered in La Sauce

For weeks the story line surrounding La Sauce was that their defence seemed out of synch. For the weeks leading up to this game I had talked about how big a loss Phillpe Trudel had been. He made an impact for La Sauce’s defense as he making tackles all over the field. While Los Luchadores did take 20-20 tie into halftime, La Sauce made excellent adjustments to shut them down in the second half. With Benjamin Léger at quarterback, La Sauce’s offense seemed to be pretty much the just as big play centric as ever as 5 of his 8 completions went for touchdowns.

With Vince Nardone taking snaps at quarterback for Los Luchadores, it was obvious that the team chemistry, something Los Luchadores is known for. The La Sauce defence looked as tough as it always seems to and their aggressive play paid off as they forced several coverage sacks and tough throws. The absence of a quarterback as good as Edward Shoshan is a tough hurdle to climb. However it does not justify the poor display of defense in this game as Ben Léger caught Los Luchadores in bad coverages several times leading to 5 touchdowns and allowing 19 yards/completion. Los Luchadores dropped this game 33-20 to La Sauce.

 

Power Rankings

 There wasn’t a ton of movement on the power rankings this week. I think the top 5 is pretty much set but the coming weeks will see a lot of inter divisional play which is bound to lead to some upsets! Think I’m way of base? Did I hurt your feelings? If so remember to tweet Eagle @EagleFPF. If you want to tell me how awesome I am feel free to tweet me @PeezeFPF.

 

1. Wild Boys (7-0): Still perfect after 7 weeks. With their win over Les Buddays, I don’t see anyone who can end this run.
2. BearSkins (7-0):  The BearSkins are the real deal. They have great player but they are also strong at every position. That makes them terrifying.
3. Predators (6-0-1):  With each passing week they look stronger and stronger. The Predators are starting to look very good in recent weeks.
4. Les Buddays (5-2): Their only losses came against undefeated teams. They can beat anyone any given week but they will need to prove that they can run with the top dogs come playoff time.
5. Past Our Prime (5-2):  I thought they would struggle in the second half of the season and this may in fact come to pass. However, I think they will still head into the playoffs as one of the top seeds.
6. Moose (5-2):  The Moose are bizarrely atop Conference B with a +/- of -37. They have won their last 4 games and seem to be making clutch plays in key moments.
7. Sea Assassins (5-2): One of the best offences in the league and can use that explosiveness to win on any given week. Their head to head loss to Moose may cost them the 1 seed but I don’t think it will matter because when they are firing on all cylinders they’re offence is matchup proof.
8. Montstars (5-2): Whether it’s grinding out tough wins or putting up big numbers, Monstars are comfortable with going toe-to-toe with any team. I can see them winning out.
9. VPC (4-3): VPC are starting to get on the right track. We are starting to see traces of the VPC of old and this is the time in the season that you want to be clicking.
10. MetaMayhem (4-3): Everyone still seems surprised that Alex Holowach is good. I don’t know what else he has to do to earn the FPF community’s acceptance but if it pleases the court, he’ll just keep putting up W’s.

 

Other Teams Receiving Votes

 This week I asked the consenting professionals in every field. All those times that 4 out 5 dentists agree that a particular brand of chewing gum is beneficial, I sat an wondered what about the dissenting voice. It turns out, they arenèt more analytical, they’re just bad at their jobs.

 

• Broccasion (4-3): They have a tough slate of divisional games ahead of them. However, Broccasion has the ability to beat any of them on any given week. They are a streaky team and their winning streak can start now.
• OTF (4-3): They haven’t faced that many teams with a winning record, but when they have they’ve lost. Luckily for them, the only winning team on their slate is Wild Boys in week 10.
• BD Bandits(4-3): Wildy inconsistent. They play down to the level of their competition and that is worrisome. This is still a talented team but they need to start playing that way ASAP.

 

Hungover Visions of the World of Tomorrow

 

This week, Mat Domon and I have eerily similar picks. That being said, I believe that there are a ton of opportunities for upsets. Mat and I are playing this very close to the vest but this can very well be a week that we are completely off base and end up with a losing record. Remember to remind Mat Domon that he was completely wrong about your team by tweeting him @MathieuDomonFPF.

 

Game	Peeze	Mat Domon
Monstars vs. Past Our Prime	Monstars	Past Our Prime
Bengals vs. Wild Boys	Wild Boys	Wild Boys
La Sauce vs. Sea Assassins	Sea Assassins	Sea Assassins
Les Blues Branleurs vs. Mongoose	Mongoose	Mongoose
Texas BareManz vs. Snatchers	Snatchers	n/a
Predators vs. KGP Champs	Predators	Predators
OTF vs. Génie 3D	OTF	OTF
Still C.R.A vs. Rudebwoys	Rudebwoys	Still C.R.A
Prestige World Wide vs. Solide	Prestige World Wide	Prestige World Wide
Zio e Fraté vs. BearSkins	BearSkins	BearSkins
Los Luchadores vs. Da Regiment	Da Regiment	Da Regiment
Les Buddays vs. Les Eudistes	Les Buddays	Les Buddays
MetaMayhem vs. VPC	VPC	VPC
The Brotherhood vs. BD Bandits	BD Bandits	The Brotherhood
Moose vs. Broccasion	n/a	Moose
Last Week’s Record:	9-5	4-10
Record	60-37	58-39
Winning pct.	.619	.597

 

Friday’s Furious Fellowship

 

We are approaching the playoff push an most teams are still alive. It is almost time to start filling out our brackets and it seems apt that FPF just turns Mad when we get to March. Do you think you have what it takes to make it to the playoffs? Want to let me know what happened in your game so tht I can feature it in my article or on Calling The Audible? Tweet me @PeezeFPF and we’ll discuss whatever’s been keeping you up at night. For me, it’s clowns. I hate clowns.

 

For further analysis, tune in to the official FPF division 3 podcast Calling the Audible where GM Kolethras and I will discuss some flag football topics, the benefits of working for the Swiss Guard and 14 horrifying destinations you’re your next family vacation. You can watch us live Thursday nights at 7:15 at www.theunclemikeshow.com or download the show via iTunes or at http://fpf.podomatic.com.   You can always tweet the show live by tweeting @EagleFPF or feel free to tweet GM Kolethras @GMKole44 and remind him that Wyoming is not a real place (seriously, have YOU ever met anyone from there?).