Division A/B Season Preview

I know what you’re thinking: Who’s this Justin Blanchard guy, and why is he writing a Division A/B article? 

Well, to answer the first part of your question, I’ve been playing in FPF since 2012 and this year marks my third as part of the media team. Contrary to what my FPF picture might suggest (I had my game face on, okay), I’m generally a pretty easy-going guy. I should warn you though that my few attempts at humor may leave you scratching your head or shaking your head, sometimes both at the same time. I apologize in advance.

Most of my time playing for, and covering, FPF has taken place in the lower/mid-tier divisions (D/4, C/3), so admittedly I don’t personally know most of you or your teams. I look forward to changing that over the course of the summer.

Regarding the second part of your question, well, Rob asked me to take over the Div. A/B reigns for this season. So I am.

All that being said, here’s what you can expect from my weekly articles this season:

Recaps: The plan is to recap at least one game from each division every week.

Players of the Week: I see this is a thing in the top division articles. I’ll hop on the train.

Power Rankings: Because we all love to see where we stand compared to the competition. 

Picks of the Week: No competitor this season brings a tear to my eye.  

 

Preseason Power Rankings

I don’t need to tell you that these are based purely on my subjective views and biased in favor of the few players and teams I’ve seen play. Not that that’s going to stop some of you from taking it personally when you see your team towards the bottom (for those among you who take my opinion that seriously, you’ll have plenty of time to prove me wrong):  

Division A

1. Montreal’s Finest: Shocker, I know. The last time the Finest failed to win a championship, Google had just launched Google+, Fast 5 was still in theaters, and Cam Newton had yet to take his first NFL snap. All to say, it’s been a while. Opening with the same roster as this past winter season’s aside from essentially replacing Guillaume Ward for Rochdi Benabdelkader, they certainly plan on keeping it that way for a while longer.  

2. Roosters & Donkeys: They’re probably feeling pretty comfortable despite keeping their roster virtually unchanged from the Spring 2014 team, and rightfully so. This is a group that had a win against the Finest locked up until the penultimate play last winter – without the services of Randy Moss’s long-lost son Theo Ojeaha, mind you – and were a touchdown away from meeting them again in the final. We all know the road to the ‘ship runs through the Finest; if there’s a team with the athleticism, talent and chemistry needed to dethrone the kings, R&D are it.

3. Rainmakers: Rainmakers coming off a disappointing 4-6 spring campaign and an early playoff exit this past winter, but it wasn’t so long ago that they were fighting the Finest for the championship season after season. Maybe we’re beginning to see the early stages of other teams overtaking the established McGill crew. For now I prefer to believe their recent struggles to have been more the result of bad bounces. 

4. Gladiateurs: The Glads are turning the page on an underwhelming 2014 with a noticeable roster turnover this spring, as two-way cogs Matthew Bishara and Marc-André Lebeau along with Charles Baillargeon are all absent from the opening day roster this season. That leaves the Glads with just seven players officially on the team for Week 1. It’ll be interesting to see whether their addition by subtraction works as planned. 

5. Legends: Fresh off a Division B championship and a Division 2 final appearance last spring and winter respectively, Cory Pecker and the boys finally make the jump to Division A. The loss of receiver Vince Nardone, always a focal point for any offense he plays in, is a major blow at first glance. But it’s a loss that’s quickly forgotten when you see the first name on Legends’ spring roster sheet – Aleksander Papich, a guy who’s made an FPF career of taking the top off defenses. It brings an added dimension that may prove very useful to the Legends offense. 

6. Maniax: Last we saw the Maniax franchise, they crawled their way to a 3-7 record in Division 1 in Winter 2014. But the team is back together with high hopes this season, notably adding the underrated Vincent Alessandrini, formerly of Sandlot Saints, instantly improving the team on both sides of the ball. Even so, I think Maniax have a tough hill to climb this season.

 

Division B

1. Predators: Essentially a hybrid of Predators and #NoRegard, this experiment didn’t produce the expected result in Division 2 this past winter. But this season, at this point in time, compared to the competition in Division B, Predators simply look destructive on paper. The #NoRegard guys are usually known for their defensive prowess, while it’s pick your poison on offense between Jacob Bernett, Jordan Moses, Kendal Mayers, Simon Bosquet Beaudoin, Vinny Gualano, and James Floreani’s legs. As long as J-Flo can keep the roster from being the revolving door it was in the winter, it should be raining points for the Preds this season. 

2. BearSkins: BearSkins have come a long way in a short amount of time since turning to Neil Etinson at QB in Division 4 for Winter 2014, most recently going 10-0 in Division 3 last winter. But they still have yet to achieve what matters most: winning a championship. Between Aleksander Papich’s perfect blend of size and speed, Jacob Peterson’s cobra-like quickness and Marco Bertoldi’s magnet hands, you’ve gotta like their chances this spring.  

3. 6+R (written by Peeze): 6+R have become lazy in nomenclature while remaining aggressive on the recruiting path. Obviously, the addition of top-tier qb, Daniel Lazzara propels an already strong team toward the top of the division (it also affords Fred Viens the opportunity to play receiver, a position where he is even more dominant). Additionally, 6+R have acquired the services of 2 way stalwarts Omar Jackson, Francois Deslauriers and Dean Demetriou. This adds much needed depth and when mid season sees the return of former finals MVP and perennial all-star Justin Blanchard opposing teams may be scratching their heads trying to find 1 way to beat 6+R.

4. Wolverines: This past year proved a difficult one for Hall of Famer Tony Tabet and the storied Wolverines franchise: a ho-hum 4-5-1 spring campaign ended in a blowout loss in the Division B final, while this past winter they were bounced out in the first round of the Division 2 playoffs following a 5-5 season. Considering no new faces will be joining the team this spring, it seems clear Tabet believes whatever adjustments need to be made, if at all, must take place from within.  

5. Broccasion: Kristian Cerantola out, Phil Cutler in at QB. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same Broccasion core we’ve seen over the years. I applaud whoever suggested adding scorekeeper extraordinaire Johnathon Louis to the roster – Louis brings a welcome dose of two-way play-making ability to a team that rarely shows up to a game with more than six or seven players. 

6. Darksiders: Moose on…hiatus? That, or Peeze finally realized that a species of deer is pretty much the least intimidating thing you can name your team after. Too bad he took two steps back with about as unoriginal a moniker as you can get (plus, isn’t there already a Darkside franchise?) Kidding aside, Peeze has put together a great roster. QB Fred Morissette won’t be throwing up bombs to Gabriel Parent this spring, but he now has a nice collection of toys to play with in Marc-André Lapointe, Jean-Christophe Binette and Jonathan Lyristis. Don’t sleep on ’em. 

7. Raiders: Coming off an ugly 2-7-1 season in Division 2 this past winter and an even uglier 0-10 season in Division A the season before, Usual Suspects are entering this spring with a new name and renewed hopes. Fortunately the competition in Division B figures to be more to their level, although departing receiver Carmine Pollice will be missed. Ultimately, their success may hinge on consistency – not in terms of level of play, but in terms of the players that show up to the games. Start by giving Leon Holder a stable receiving corps and the rest should follow.  

8. Monstars: There’s no question Rod Mashtoub has come a long way as a QB and has a solid supporting cast on both sides of the ball, but going from Division D a year ago to Division B today is quite the ambitious leap. Then again, Ryan Aridi re-joining his brother Jad is notable. Not only is Ryan a game-changing rusher, but in the last two seasons that both Aridis have played together the pair ended up making the championship game, winning the Division C title last spring and losing the Division 4 final this past winter. What’s the saying, never two without three? 

9. Lightweight: They’re going by the name Lightweight, but I think “Dragon Sauce” fits better as this team is essentially a merger between, you guessed it, Dragons and La Sauce. It remains to be seen whether it’ll be François Raymond or Simon Dagenais taking the snaps, but in either case it will likely be up to the defense to carry the team. I’m not yet sold that will be a winning formula with all the firepower in this division.  

10. The Commission: TC introduced a new QB in Zan Symonds to replace Leon Holder in Division 2 this past winter. The result was disastrous to say the least – the offense managed just 28 total TDs through the air, culminating in a 1-8-1 record. Now with a season under his belt, Symonds will look to get this team back on track. That said, I think this turnaround will be a multi-season process.

 

Picks of the Week (picks are in bold)

Division A

Legends vs. Maniax: Maniax have the Div A experience, but I think Legends have the deeper squad. 

Montreal’s Finest vs. Roosters & Donkeys: Game of the Week right here. An R&D win wouldn’t surprise me given that I’m expecting this match-up to once again go down to the wire, but it’s hard to imagine the reigning champs opening the season at 0-1. 

Rainmakers vs. Gladiateurs: The Glads got the better of Rainmakers the last time these two teams faced off, but two of their three leading receivers from that season are no longer on the roster. I think that tips the scales just enough in Rainmakers’ favor. 

 

Division B

Wolverines vs. The Commission: Having not seen the Symonds-led Commission play, all I can base this pick on is what I’ve seen from Wolverines in person and what TC have done on paper. There’s a lot I love about the former and little I like about the latter.  

BearSkins vs. Broccasion: Broccasion have a tendency to play a lot of man-to-man coverage. That’s music to BearSkins’ ears. On the other side, a QB playing his first game with a new team leaves the door open to errors, and that’s often followed by turnovers in football, which is often followed by a loss, which gives me a reason to justify this pick. 

Raiders vs. Predators: If the Preds offense plays up to its potential, this one shouldn’t be close. On paper. 

Lightweight vs. Monstars: A toss-up in my book. I’m giving Monstars the edge though, because the other team has Simon Dagenais on the roster. 

Darksiders vs. 6+R (N/A)

 

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That concludes today’s article. This is usually the part where I wish you good luck on your season and say I’ll see you at the fields, but the second half of that would be kind of a lie considering I’m currently in Europe and won’t be back before Week 5. Until then, you can reach me by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @JBlanchFPF.  Here’s to a great Spring 2015 season!