So, I think we can all admit that cakes are overrated. I fully appreciate the artistry and how beautiful they look on snap chat and Instagram. Let’s face it, 4 days after any birthday party and/or any other variety of celebration that requires this traditional, yet overrated treated, we end up throwing the bulk of it away. They are rich and dry out quickly and are not something that keeps particularly well. At its best it’s too rich to enjoy and takes up too many calories that can be consumed easier in whiskey form.

Pie on the other hand is a well-balanced treat that when carried out properly has a firm and flakey texture. The various fruits and fillings that fill the pastry provide a wide range of flavors. Moreover they can be consumed cold, with whip cream or alternatively, warm with ice cream on the side. The warm pie/cold pie conundrum is one that has driven many to the point of madness.

It is said that it is the leading cause of hair recession. While there is no evidence that can truly prove or disprove that assertion, it does appear that we seem to consume everything we see through this binary, pie lens. In politics we need to decide who is best and why person A is awful while person B is best. The truth is often times both candidates are awful, or in some rare occasions, both candidates can be solid.

More than any other sphere of debate, we see sports in this myopic view where we feel it is best to take sides. The Patriots are either cheaters or geniuses. Very few of us think they can be both. We look at teams and week to week proclaim how they are great or a huge disappointment. In fact, the season is dynamic and can change from one moment to the next.

We often forget on our path to the roadshow, that we lost a week 2 game to a team we should have beaten. More importantly that emotional win on the 7^th week of the season will, in the end, not have any impact on deciding the champion after it is all said and done. The season is becoming this beautiful symphonic amalgam of talent, luck, circumstance and change. This is with any luck, one such reflection of that reality.

Simon challenged me to work in pie, hairlines and the Roadshow into an introduction. There we have it. Oh and I’ll save Bacon, air dusters and cappuccino for next week. Week 3 was great, these are Simon’s thoughts. Have a great week everyone!

-Paolo Della Rocca

Let’s get started!

Week 3

Every week is special in its own way either due to ridiculous upsets, astonishing performances or flat out terrible showings (include me in the latter), FPF leaves little wiggle room.

This week started off strong with a heck of a showdown between Coyotes and Broccasion that ended in an absolute thriller right before I turned around to see Jonesers nudge their first W of the season against the favored Prestige World Wide. 1 hour into the week and I was already satisfied.

It was bound to be a great one.

I know most of you aren’t used to my way of writing article, so I guess I’ll take half a second to explain myself; I like segments. I like to keep my articles in different parts; feels easier on the eyes and you guys can skim right through whatever thing makes you want to open up the article. This week will be no different.

 

Thoughts of the Week

• In my own defense, I wasn’t expecting to write a 3^rd article this week so most of my thoughts were, well, scattered. You can find most of them here in my D4 article.
• People often ask me how I do it. Well, you know, I just do.
• Because I know the first like on Facebook for my article will be by Mark Provost, here’s a shoutout to you: To take a slant from your QB and burn Shawn Steen to the corner for a TD is impressive. The way you did it, Oh my!
• I forced Peeze to write the introduction for this article (as you guys could’ve noticed for the few of you who actually read it). He loves writing those for some reason. 
• Some of these Pro Bowl videos are pretty awesome to be honest. Why isn’t this a thing all year long? (not the Pro Bowl, but to show athletes having fun)
• Sorry I didn’t take quotes from players this week at the fields; that’d require actually talking to people. Could you imagine? 
• Yes, I plugged my own article in my own article. Article-ception? 
• There was some great shots by Yannick Doston this week on Facebook. Maybe next week he’ll be nice enough to do your division too (if you’re reading this Yannick, make them beg for it)
• At this point, I’m not sure whether people take me seriously or not when I take shots at them. Oh well.
• Although I scorekept for over 20 hours this week (yeah, I was literally ALWAYS there), I still feel like I missed half the games. 
• Yes, I wrote these random comments for me. 
• Yes, this will be all for now. 

 

Recaps

• Broccasion started off their Week 3 game with 5 players for the first 2 and a half possessions. Not only did they score with only 4 receivers, but managed to play decent defense 1 less player and move the chains on their 2^nd offensive possession. I only realised they were missing a guy when I noticed Dylan Taylor and Jamie Ojeaha show up late and join in right away to retip the scales against Coyotes. The Bros were dominant in the first half, both offensively and defensively, but Coyotes re-adjusted at halftime, which Broccasion didn’t do. In fact, Sammy Feder came back from his short water break reinvigorated and started punching holes in the opposing defense using Kevin Smuda as ammunition. With a thriller on their hands, Broccasion had a very few plays left (after allowing a score by Coyotes to see their lead shredded) to punch it in and walk away victors. Sadly, Coyotes’ defense stood as tall as it gets to stop the Bros from pushing over .500 and remained undefeated for one more week.
• Laval’s Finest parted ways with their previous QB Phil Cutler and brought in last Winter’s Untouchables QB Justin Lavallée to replace him. Although chemistry wasn’t there with his receivers, he bought time in the pocket and managed to find someone (usually Jordan McLaren) open on a triple-move route for huge gains. It looked easy. On the flip side, Les Messieurs Chats were taken by storm by the presence of a different QB and David Centomo’s offense went nowhere fast. Although his connection with his brother remains succesful, it was pretty much the only thing they had going on as Laval’s Finest defense nudged 5 interceptions (4 from Centomo) and brought one back for six. It was an ol’ fashioned blowout. What I take from this game? Justin Lavallée is going to terrorize D3 and Les Messieurs Chats had one of those nights you just want to forget.
• 6+R’s QB Fred Viens can blame Justin Blanchard for his non-perfect QBR as he was the reason for his first 2 incompletes of the game (which occured in the 2^nd half). Although I love taking jabs at my fellow coworker, there’s very little 6+R did wrong as they breezed through OTF on Sunday night. Sure, Mario Porreca continues to improve under center and the addition of Kenny Baye to the roster bolsters their weakened rank with the loss of Kendal Mayers for a few weeks, but they looked outmatched on Sunday against Anthony Brisebois and co. Actually, the matchups were great all over the field, but they had no answer for Marc-Antoine Viens in the redzone nor Anthony Brisebois when he had field to work with. 6+R improves to 2-1 looking better every week (Moving Anthony Garant to rusher was probably the best move they’ve made in a long time) and OTF continues their losing streak.
• Darksiders’ roster troubles continues to ache as they fall to Show me your Tds (and past teammates) 30-18. In fact, Frederic Morrissette looked good when he had field to work, but his redzone performance was his downfall. With guys like Eric Cantin and Julien Bellavance who knew the playbook better than the man himself, it’s tough to try and punch in the same plays over and over again. Mike Addona had a good bounce back game as he fed Maxime Hurtubise for 115 yards and 2 Tds. For the first time this season, he didn’t need to rely so heavily on his brother Anthony and the future is suddenly looking brighter for the team with the best name in the league. Luckily for Darksiders, the rest of their schedule is slowing down a bit and have games against “weaker” teams whereas SMYTDs will need to build on this win if they want to keep themselves away from piling up losses.
• Lightweight was high on, well, something, after the last two weeks winning games “easily” and proceeding to exceed expectations. In the words of Justin Blanchard to players he couldn’t recall “yeaaahhh, that won’t last”. And it didn’t. I came crashing down against Mongoose who played brilliant defense and did just enough offensively to tip the scales and put this one to bed long before the final whistle was blown. Although, I must admit, it was a fun game to be part of it (it’s been a long time since I could just walk around the field, talking smack and see everyone all smiles regardless of the score; thanks for being good sports). Lightweight will attempt to bounce back as they face The Brotherhood next week (huh oh) and Mongoose will try to maintain their current ascension as they play Wolfpack on Sunday night.

 

Players of the Week

It’s my article, I get to do it the way I like.

• Kevin Smuda (Coyotes): 103 receiving yards, 3 Tds and a monster 2^nd half performance. He made Sammy Feder look good with ridiculous catches that could’ve been interception if the intended receiver wasn’t Kevin Smuda.
• Dave Chitayat (Jonesers): It was only a matter of time before he’d emerge as a top receiver in D3. We all know the talent is there, but I guess his QB finally decided to feed him the ball and collect Ws.
• Theo Bekelis (Laval’s Finest): Whether it was catching Tds, moving the chains or picking off the opposing QB (and return one for six), Theo Bekelis did it all on Sunday night.
• Anthony Brisebois (6+R): Blazing through Kenny Baye and the Meshesha brothers is no easy feat, yet, he made it look SO easy on Sunday night. 137 yards and 2 Tds is huge, yet, doesn’t come close to how dominant he was this week.
• Khalil Kerr (The Brotherhood): He almost took a lateral endzone to endzone on the last play of the half, got 3 receiving Tds, a handful of sacks and was basically all over the place all game long.

 

Power Rankings

This week’s Power Rankings will be completely different from last week’s (not only is what because the writer is different, but I’m also one of the guys playing in the division and I have my own bias). To try and accomodate as many of you as possible because, let’s face it, who am I to dictate firsts and lasts, I’ve also outsourced some of my work to Justin Blanchard (Host of the D3 podcast and player on 6+R) to get him to chime in and give us his very own Power Rankings.

You’ll be able to compare our selection and choose which voice you prefer.

Simon’s Top 10	Justin’s Top 10
1. The Brotherhood (3-0)	1. The Brotherhood (3-0)
2. Two and a half Dans (3-0)	2. Dad Bod Squad (3-0)
3. Dad Bod Squad (3-0)	3. Coyotes (3-0)
4. Coyotes (3-0)	4. F.O.E. (3-0)
5. Laval’s Finest (2-1)	5. Two and a half Dans (3-0)
6. 6+R (2-1)	6. 6+R (2-1)
7. F.O.E. (3-0)	7. Top Sauce (2-1)
8. Top Sauce (2-1)	8. Laval’s Finest (2-1)
9. Broccasion (2-1)	9. Broccasion (2-1)
10. Lightweight (2-1)	10. BearSkins (2-1)

**Quick notes

• Justin hates me, that’s no news.
• We both agree The Brotherhood belongs at the top.
• No one should ever sleep on 2.5Dans
• Sean Avraam is having a fantastic season so far (D4 included)
• Will Coyotes lose a game this season?
• Laval’s Finest adding of Justin Lavallée pushes them up in my Top 10.
• The new D3 writer showed he was new when he ranked Lightweight 2^nd last week.
• Don’t sleep on Top Sauce simply because they’re on the bottom half of the rankings.
• BearSkins would’ve been my 11^th ranked team.

 

Picks of the week

Sadly, I can’t tally and keep track of previous predictions, nor do I care about someone else’s; I mean, I’m always right anyways. This is how Week 4 will turn out:

• The Heisman vs Jonesers: Theorically, Jonesers shouldn’t even be 1-2 at this point with such talent on the roster, but they’ve been downplaying to their opponents and I see this week’s game be no different. I expect Ryan Lelinowski to make just enough plays to squeeze out a tight one. Jonesers by a score.
• B.D. Bandits vs Laval’s Finest: Justin Lavallée was playing like a man possessed last week as LF tore right through their opponents. Unless BD Bandits can force him to sit in the pocket and make timely throws with receivers he’s not too familiar with yet, Laval’s Finest will breeze through yet another game and improve to 3-1. Laval’s Finest by 3 scores.
• OTF vs Les Buddays: OTF continues to struggle to finish games although they’ve been consistently into contention. Mario Porreca has improved greatly since last Winter and the Meshesha brothers are no jokes. Unless Leon Holder has his best game of the season this Saturday, Alexandre Doucet will be the only bright light for Les Buddays and OTF will bag their first win of the season with a 2 score lead.
• Prestige World Wide vs Show Me Your Tds: Alex Lever and co. have been struggling recently to move the ball and get any sort of stops defensively. Luckily for Mike Addona, he’ll be able to continue to progress and improve his chemistry with his new found gems. Expect SMYTDs to give PWW no quarters this week. SMYTDs by 2 scores. 
• Mongoose vs Wolfpack: Mongoose’s defense had a field day last week against yours truly and I see no reason why jumping routes wouldn’t work against Pascal Murray next week. Unless Wolfpack emerges defensively, Mongoose wins by 2 scores.
• Coyotes vs Les Messieurs Chats: There’s no stopping Sammy Feder this season and LMC doesn’t have the pieces to take away this prolific offense entirely. Unless David Centomo had a revelation since last week’s performance, it’ll be a better game than his latest outing, but it won’t be close. Coyotes by 3 scores.
• BearSkins vs Top Sauce: First thing that came to mind here is friendly faces playing each other. Although Vince Nardone has improved greatly since last Winter’s catastrophe (Yes, it’s been a year, no I do not care), this will not be the week where he repeats Week 1’s miracle. Top Sauce will squeeze out a win, but it won’t be pretty; by less than a score.
• 6+R vs Red Raiders: Fred Viens is as good as it gets in Division 3 this season. His numbers speak for themselves. Although Justin Blanchard is the reason Fred Viens will never have a perfect game, Red Raiders won’t have an answer for the Brisebois/Blanchard/Viens trifecta. Without Serge Pilon Jr, Red Raiders’ offense will hit a brick wall. 6+R by 4 scores.
• F.O.E. vs Two and a half Dans: Alex Holowach knows how the Dans function. He also doesn’t call the defense and can only so much offensively. Although I see this game being much closer than most anticipate, Adam Bailey will tear it up defensively and take away most of Holowach’s favorite schemes. Two and a half Dans by a score.
• 8 Boys 1 Cup vs Broccasion: Broccasion have kept every game close, but their offensive style is exactly what 8B1C like to play against and this might be just the one opponent Kristian Cerantola doesn’t have a trick for. If Jesse Dupuis can play mistake-free football offensively, they’ll bag this one early. 8 Boys 1 Cup by 2 scores.
• Gros Chef Bandits vs Dad Bod Squad: Sean Avraam has been playing lights out so far for his boys and I don’t think Gros Chef Bandits are there just yet to keep up with this high-octane offense. Sure, their defense will give DBS headaches, but they simply won’t be able to put up enough points to keep it relevant. Dad Bod Squad by 2 scores.
• Les Eudistes vs Darksiders: Two rosters with a very similar problem: roster inconsistency. When Les Eudistes show up to play ball, they are one of the best team in the division, sadly, they very rarely do. Darksiders are now without James Floreani for a few weeks at least and Jamil Springer’s presence remains unknown for Week 4; if they can field a complete roster, this might be this week’s best game. Otherwise, Les Eudistes win by 2 scores.
• Lightweight vs The Brotherhood: The Brotherhood are as good as advertised; there’s very little, if any, stopping Theo Ojeaha this year under center with weapons like Quaysie Gordon-Maule, Khalil Kerr and Jamal Gittens. Defensively, they probably bolster the best secondary in the division. Oh, and on top of that, Jamal Gittens played with me last season and knows how I run my offense; hopefully this won’t be as bad as last week’s outing.

 

That’s it for me this week. It’s been a pleasure serving the FPF nation once again in a different form and hopefully it won’t be the last. If you have any comments, compliments or just wanna talk, hit me up via twitter @DagenaisFPF or via email ([email protected]). If you’ve got any complaints regarding what I said, think or when this article came out, redirect said messages to Paolo Della Rocca via twitter @PeezeFPF. Don’t use his email, I heard he lost the password. Eagle, this is your third shoutout this week, I have 0 idea what to say, so, Hi Eagle.