Categories: DivisionDivision 5ADivision 5BMen'sWinter

Week 1 Recap: Pleasant Surprises and Underwhelming Disappointments

No championship is won after the first week. Some teams are rusty, others are still working on their chemistry. It’s a long season, and at the end of the day a win or loss in Week 1 is no different than a win or loss in Week 10. 

These are all reasons I tell myself why I should never overreact to Week 1 results. But I do, and I did again this year.

Why? Because despite the fact one game is rarely enough to properly predict how a team or player’s season will play out (Jameis Winston vs. Marcus Mariota after Week 1, anyone?), first impressions are often lasting impressions. And boy did some teams leave their mark – for better or worse.   

 

Recap: 5A

X-Men: Days of Boustany Past

In what ended up being a surprisingly close battle, X-Men get the job done against a talented Flagrant Fouls team to start off the season on the right foot – by mere inches. Leading Flagrant Fouls late in the game, it looked as though X-Men were about to let victory slip through their hands when they allowed Ross Olshansky to march downfield with five plays left.

Flagrant Fouls ended up finding the endzone to cut X-Men’s lead to two with just one play left. a great rush by X-Factor Kevin Boustany (yeah, that was on purpose) on the ensuing two-point convert forced Olshansky to toss up a prayer. It was one answered momentarily when his receiver caught the ball at the one-yard line – only for him to be deflagged the instant he came down with the ball.

Aside from showing guts in pulling out that win, more impressive to me is how X-Men were able to do it all without the presence of top receiver Wade Williams. Of course, proving to be a big help was the return of stud two-way player Kevin Boustany to the X-Men lineup, who’s back with the team after spending a year trying out life as a free agent. Welcome home, K-Boost.

 

Team Rocket Knows When That Hotline Bling, That Can Only Mean One Thing

I must admit, I thought Team Rocket would come out on top in this rematch by a couple scores, but instead HBH fought right down to the last convert. 

On one side was new QB Danny Aylward pulling his best Joey Taylor impression, scrambling left and right and dumping the ball off to his receivers to go make plays. On the other side, Tom Gatehouse took deep shots as often as he could. Neither side’s offense could really get going for most of the night, making for a 19-12 Team Rocket lead with one drive left coming up for HBH. Gatehouse was fortunate enough to find receiver Jeremy Grauer for a short TD on the last play of the game, but on the ensuing two-point conversion (props for going for the win, boys) Gatehouse’s pass was batted away in the back of the end zone. 

A tough loss no doubt, and one that could foreshadow even tougher times ahead for HBH, as Alex D’Aquila was forced to replace the injured Malcom Archer at rusher for this game. Considering a blown out knee is what kept Archer out of this one, we might be seeing a lot of the Eagle at Master Control lining up to rush opposing QBs in the coming weeks. Scary times.  

 

Recap: 5B

Defense Sold Separately 

Recapping Ghosts’ narrow win over Les Guerriers de l’espace can be summed up pretty simply: Ghosts would march up the field efficiently, the Guerriers would respond with a 40-yard bomb. Rinse and repeat until the scoreboard read 46-44 in Ghosts’ favor.  

Aside from an interception by Ghost QB Gabriel Wiseman on a Hail Mary to end the half, and a Hail Mary by Guerriers QB Alex Rivet that fell incomplete on the last play of the game, there simply was no defense to be found on field 1 at Brossard Saturday night. 

Despite the fact they loss, apologies are clearly due to Les Guerriers de l’espace. I gave them some heat in my preseason article, openly questioning their decision not to replace three major players from a year ago with proven FPF talent. Obviously, they have all the talent they need and more behind the arm of rookie FPF QB Alex Rivet.

 

Jaguars Feast on Kittens

In my upset of the week, FPF newcomers Jaguars took down my preseason 5B champions Fuzzy-Kittens, and it wasn’t even close. Make no mistake, Simon Bosquet Beaudoin performed as expected in this one. The short speedster hauled in four underneath passes and took two the distance, while leading all receivers in yards with 82.

But all of his speed couldn’t make up for one big difference between his Fuzzy-Kittens and the Jaguars across the field – height. A big athletic squad, Jaguars took advantage of their size advantage with their receivers catching jump balls in the red zone all night long. It all proved too much for Fuzzy-Kittens to handle in the end, as they fall 41-27.

 

Power Rankings: 5A

Note that my Power Rankings are entirely subjective, and that means I’ll rank whichever team wherever I please, based on whatever reasoning I provide. Because I can.

  1. Sphinx (1-0): As the top returning Div 5 contender from a year ago to win this week, I kind of have no choice but to give them the no. 1 spot here. 
  1. Obamacare (1-0): Great, great move to bring in Jake Applebaum to allow Jordan Mcinnis to make good use of his size at the wideout position. 
  1. Top Sauce (1-0): It was only a matter of time for Vince Nardone to get truly comfortable at the quarterback position. I just didn’t think it would come this early.
  1. Dope Boys (1-0): The Eric Lalonde-to-Ridwan Abdur connection continues to toast defenses.
  1. Les Verges Folles/Tomahawk Nightmare (0-0-1): In my article I do what I want, and this week I leave LVF and Tomahawk tied at 5 absolutely convinced that their own tie was simply the result of two top defenses balling out. 
  1. Watch Me Whip (1-0): 5 TDs on 6 catches for James Nowakowski. I knew what damage this team could do with him on it, but wasn’t sure he’d actually play given the fact he appeared in just one game for the team last year. And now I’m left kicking myself for picking against them Week 1.
  1. Gators (0-1): A loss to a great team doesn’t mean Gators don’t deserve a spot in the top 10. However, I remain skeptical of Corey Walwaski’s ability to lead the offense as well as Steve Sanner did.
  1. Sticky Hands (1-0): Good teams find ways to win with their backs against the wall, and Alexis Labonté’s game-winning drive with five plays to go was a thing of beauty.
  1. X-Men (1-0): Kevin Boustany’s return to the team certainly changes things.

 

Power Rankings: 5B

  1. Ghosts (1-0): Most QBs would probably panic, lose confidence, or both when seeing their defense give up 40-bomb after 40-bomb for an hour. Gabriel Wiseman isn’t most QBs, and that makes Ghosts a dangerous team.
  1. Jaguars (1-0): To not only take down my preseason favorites to win the championship, but to do so in such ass-whooping fashion, means I have to give respect when respect is due.
  1. Les Guerriers de l’Espace (0-1): I look forward to telling all of those complaining about where I’ve ranked them despite their loss “I told you so” when their destructive offense leads them on a deep playoff run later this year. 
  1. DG Goons (1-0): I’ll chalk up their lackluster offensive showing to rust.
  1. Flying Weasels (1-0): 22 for 27, 197 total yards and 4 TDs for Jonathan Lemieux. Étienne who?
  1. Junkyard Dogs (1-0): I have a feeling I’ll be saying the name Hugo Allamanno a lot this season.
  1. Small Giants (1-0): I’m not sure where the small in their name comes from, because this team is gonna be yuuuuuuge.
  1. Sunshine Island (1-0): To win, and put up 38 points in the process, is certainly a good way to kick-start your FPF career. 
  1. St. Lunatics (1-0): Three touchdowns is rarely going to cut it in FPF, but it helps to have an absolutely rock solid defense like St. Lunatics do.
  1. Creamsicles (1-0): It comes as no surprise to see Anthony Da Silva light up the field in his first game as a member of the Creamsicles squad. I only wonder if his presence will be enough to sustain Creamsicles’ offense for an entire season.

 

FPF Fantasy Showdown: 5A

Last Week… 

QB: Jean-François Marquis’ stat-line (16-34, 134 yards passing, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) wasn’t exactly stellar, but it was better than Shawn Lafortune’s by virtue of the fact Lafortune ended up not throwing a single pass in Les Verges Folles’ tie vs. Tomahawk Nightmare.

WR: Vadim Chernyak’s 8 catch, 57-yard performance underwhelmed, but was also good enough for the win with Billy Makris failing to even show up for Team Rocket’s win over Hot Boys Hotline.

Defense: Obamacare: 13 tackles, 1 sack, 3 INTs, 2 PDs, 22 points allowed = 21 points; Blackshirts: 8 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 PD, 35 points allowed = 10. In short, Obamacare’s defense took care of business.

 

That makes me 2-1 in 5A fantasy showdown picks after one week. Time to improve on that record this week: 

QB: Etienne Cloutier (Sphinx) vs. Jake Applebaum (Obamacare): I feel like this has the makings of the QB duel I was expecting to see from J-F Marquis and Shawn Lafortune in Week 1. Please let me be right.   

WR: Etienne Vaillancourt (Voo-Zoo) vs. Christopher Williams (Fat And The Furious): Williams is the deep ball threat, but if Kevin Marcil plays and rushes for Voo-Zoo, there will be little time for QB Bobby Sepentgis to get him the ball on long-developing plays. On the other side, I foresee the speedy Vaillancourt having little problem slicing his way through the FnF defense.

Defense: Woofpack vs. Pardon My Swag: Woofpack’s D allowed just 154 points all year in Div 6 last winter, and I think they have the talent to finish around that mark this season, too. On the other side, PMS’ D is coming off a 4-INT performance against Fat and the Furious. I don’t think they’ll be able to do the same against Terry Tam this week.

 

FPF Fantasy Showdown: 5B

Last Week:

QB: No need to tally up the stats, it’s pretty clear Anthony Pitoscia scored more fantasy points than Nicolas Belleau last week.

WR: Yavar Ashrafi didn’t end up playing any snaps at receiver this past week, so Martin Normandeau gets the win automatically.

Defense: DG Goons: 16 tackles, 3 INTs, 5 PDs, 6 points allowed = 26 points; GLC: 13 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 3 PDs, 19 points allowed = 20 points. Surprisingly close, but DG Goons made more plays on the ball and get the deserved win.  

 

That puts me at 2-1 in 5B fantasy showdown picks thus far. Here’s how I’ll go 3-0 this week:

QB: Jimmy-Lee Janvier (Jaguars) vs. Gabriel Wiseman (Ghosts): I think that a lot of Jimmy-Lee Janvier’s success this past week was great plays by his receivers more than solid QBing on his part. Gab Wiseman’s offense, meanwhile, doesn’t run through athleticism as much as pinpoint accuracy. And with Ghosts’ defense sure to provide a tougher challenge than Fuzzy-Kittens’ did, I think Gab Wiseman gets the edge fantasy-wise. Prove me wrong, Jimmy-Lee.  

WR: Jake Rashkovan (Les Pitriotes) vs. Mosha Moreau Côté (Siths): Former Coyotes receiver Jake Rashkovan hasn’t caught that many passes in his FPF career, but one thing he’s always been good for is catching the long ball. It’ll be interesting to see him matchup vs DB Steph Chartrand. On the other side, FPF rookie but a solid athlete in Mosha Moreau Côté could easily repeat his strong performance from a week ago. My heart lies with the proven FPF receiver in this matchup though.

Defense: Weapon X vs. Small Giants: Not the best of matchups at first glance, but I this game has a potential to be a very defensive battle. Weapon X’s core gave up the sixth-fewest points in a 42-team Division 5 last winter under the TOPSZN name, and didn’t luck their way to that ranking. This is a defense that flies around, doesn’t shy away from making plays on the ball and figures to bring Small Giants’ offense back down to earth after their 40-point showing this past week. Weapon X may lose the game, but I think they win the defensive head-to-head matchup.

 

Random Thoughts

-I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that Alex Rivet’s performance on Saturday (9-for-14 passing for 266 yards, 7 TDs and 0 INTs) is without a doubt the best Week 1 performance by a rookie FPF QB in the league’s history. I challenge chief FPF historian GM Kolethras to find me a better one.

-I just noticed Tomahawk Nightmare have a Savage, a Bull and two Cauchons on their team. How have they not incorporated the word “wild” into their team name yet? 

-Jon Brown is leading all of Division 5 in catches and yards with 9 and 88, respectively, to go along with 3 TDs after just one week of play. I can’t say I saw that coming. I don’t even think Jon saw it coming himself.

-The beauty of covering 48 teams: every week is sure to bring surprises. The downside of covering 48 teams: having to cover 48 freaking teams. I haven’t yet decided whether the upside outweighs the downside.

-Is it me or does it seem like there are a heck of a lot new faces in old places at QB this year? In 5A alone, there’s Les Verges Folles going with Vincent Morissette in place of Shawn Lafortune, Blackshirts replacing Seth Galina with Emilio Pampena, Obamacare doing the same with Jake Applebaum stepping in for Jordan Mcinnis, Space Pirates testing out two QBs in one game, and Les Albatros returning to FPF with Jeremi Durand-Tremblay in place of Sebastien Thibault. It will be interesting to see which teams these switches work out for in the end.

-If you haven’t noticed yet, I’m a big fan of abbreviating team names whenever I can. But something just doesn’t feel right about abbreviating Get On Deck to GOD.

-Speaking of Get On Deck, apparently 18 of their 20-man preseason roster showed up for Week 1. 12 got on the stats sheet. Their rotation remains a mystery.  

-Reminder: Week 2 is picture week. So don’t forget to brush your hair and do some push ups beforehand.

-I have no shame in taking solace that Nicolas Belleau’s QB debut went worse than mine.

-A quick shout-out to Yavar Ashrafi for not only playing, but actually putting in a solid defensive effort in Junkyard Dogs’ win this past week, not even a month since tearing his calf muscle. The things we do for FPF.  

-11 of Simon Dagenais’ 12 incomplete passes in his Div 3 game were deflected. That’s gotta be a record.

-“C’est pas facile hien, jouer QB?” – Kevin Gauthier. Nominee for understatement of the week.  

 

Predictions: 5A

6-5 in 5A and 8-4 in 5B makes for a record of 14-9 after one week. Not the best, but still ahead of Nicolas Belleau’s 12-11 (7-5 in 5A, 5-6 in 5B) record. Nine more weeks to victory, baby.

Watch Me Whip vs. Hot Boys Hotline

Voo-Zoo vs. Fat and The Furious

BMS Goats vs. Team Rocket

Les Albatros vs. Sticky Hands

Space Pirates vs. X-Men 

Les Verges Folles vs. Trapstars

Dope Boys vs. Supply and Command (N/A)

Woofpack vs. Pardon My Swag 

Get On Deck vs. Flagrant Fouls

Sphinx vs. Obamacare

Tomahawk Nightmare vs. Top Sauce 

Gators vs. Blackshirts

  

Predictions: 5B

Fuzzy-Kittens vs. Les Guerriers de L’espace

Flying Weasels vs. DG Goons

Junkyard Dogs vs. Creamsicles

Rednecks vs. Green Lantern Corps

Les Pitriotes vs. Siths 

Been There Done That vs. Les Huards

Blue Devils vs. Bruins

Sunshine Island vs. GÉNIE

Weapon X vs. Small Giants

The PACK vs. Takeover

I Rep That West vs. St.Lunatics 

Jaguars vs. Ghosts 

 

***

Week 1 down, Week 2 officially just hours away. In the meantime, be sure to tune in to the first episode of the Division 5 podcast, hosted by GM Kolethras and Terry Tam and produced by Simon Dagenais, at https://www.youtube.com/user/flagplus. You can watch the podcast live every Thursday night from 8:45 to 9:30 pm. Once you’ve watched that, be sure to check out Nicolas Belleau’s own Div 5 article when it gets published. I hear he writes articles much better than he throws a football.