Action heats up as we head to the playoffs!

Peeze’s Playbook

Week 9

by Paolo Della Rocca

San Francisco is one of my favourite cities. People are interesting, drinks are flowing, they’ve got Football and Baseball and people legitimately wander around all day walking and enjoying life so much that you wonder if anyone works.

One interesting thing about the city is the alley ways. The city had an older, European style construction and many restaurants do not have a patio on which to dine. However, given that the terrace lifestyle of students and young travellers alike, restaurants worked together to develop the alleys as the foundation of their outdoor food and drink culture.

My favourite trip to the city was shortly after my brother’s 21st birthday. We arrived after having left Las Vegas where I excelled after a hot run of cards but my brother did not fair so well. I decided to cheer him up we would go on a food and beverage tour of the city. We started in the financialal district and walked from the first pier to the ever-touristy (yet still kinda cool) pier 39. We drank at every restaurant, dined on dungeonus crab and ended our trip at Hecho. This fresh Sushi/tequila bar remains open to this day and despite the haze it is one of my favorite spots to eat in North America. Before you accuse me of remembering it with beer googles, I assure you I returned sober and enjoyed It once more (I did not leave sober however). I urge you to give it a shot if you’re ever in America’s golden city.

…and now for FPF coverage

Wasted

Dan “Tacos” Lazarra must be feeling the loss of a Grand Theft Auto death as while he and his Dan & Co. Division 2 team beat Marco Masciotra’s Clockwork, he would fall in Division 1 to D-Boys. He would fall and be left in grey scale with red writing across his chest (to understand this reference please see this compilation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbQQMCo_Y7c) .

The game started quite close as the first half ended 20-13 in favor of D-Boys. The game was also particularly chippy as the game saw a couple of instances where the two teams got at each other and words were exchanged. After Theo Ojeaha scored a touchdown for D-Boys, Justin Julien turned to talk smack with the receiver. To which Ojeaha rightly responded “Dude, I just mossed you”. He also may not have said dude. Unless of course you also use the word dude as a vulgar reference to a female dog. Ojeaha of course would prove to be right with that sentiment as he ended the game with 11 catches, 160 yards and 4 touchdowns. That is, in fact, a mossing.

Theo Ojeaha would also be responsible for the game’s turning point as he tried to force a throw on an out pattern. Ojeaha cut under the route and intercepted the ball. Chirps were exchanged once again when Ojeaha returned the ball to the Waste Yout bench with a bowling form that may have been confused for “The Jesus” of Big Lebowski Fame. Several Waste Yout players complained but the frustration was truly one with their own performance.

Dan Lazzara was fairly good in this game while not entirely sharp. In addition to the aforementioned interception he did throw one to Leonardo Lanni as well. The highlight for Waste Yout was likely Jarryd Taylor catching a 40 bomb behind Justin Maclaren. That is definitely a statement for a guy who is just starting to make his name in this league. In the end, D-Boys were simply too much for Waste Your to handle.

Dark Knight Returns

So all season long, all references to DK has drawn on my favourite comic book (named in the heading above). Given their struggles after a tightly contested week one victory, we have been waiting for DK to return to form. That may have been the case after their week 8 matchup.

In a game that Loonatics quarterback Paul Lapierre could not get going, Rochdi Benabdelkader was seemingly unstoppable. Players just seemed to be open all day as his 6 touchdown passes were spread among Vince Nardone, Tam Vilaydeth, Matt Bond (2) and Alex Pilot (2). Benabdlekader seemed to like his matchups against Loonatics’ Jon Lyristis as he targeted that matchup all evening long.

As the game got out of hand early it did get chirpy between Tam Vilaydeth and Pat Chenard of DK as they got into it with Godfrey Abu. Amidst the mess was a great performance by Keeshon Mayers who’s 3 touchdowns were the bulk of the Loonatics’ offence. His last touchdown was on a great jump ball catch in the right corner of the endzone. Mayers did get hurt on that touchdown and would not return to the game. His return would not have done much as DK walked away with this one by a final score of 46-28. The game was capped off with an Alex Pilon pick 6 on the last play where no one even made an effort to chase him down. That was a fine ending to a game that DK would win running away.

Pop their Chernobyl for the Very First Time

This is why I shouldn’t listen to Madonna (amongst other 80’s titans) whilst crafting an article. Bobby Mikelberg suited up as a sub forChernobyl and he seemed to fit in perfectly in a six catch 86 yard and 3 touchdown performance. However, despite his play and Pat Chenard’s well placed passes there were drops all over the field by the typically sure handed Chernobyl receivers. One drive saw Chenard particularly frustrated as it went from first and 10 to fourth down and ten after three consecutive drops.

Tam Vilaydeth and Terror Squad have not been amazing all season long but, in this game, the seized the opportunity. Carpe Diem may be less shoefilled than Scarpe Diem but it is what is necessary for a big late season win. Tam Vilaydeth was safe and efficient as his 25/33 226 yard and 6 touchdown perfomance was enough to move the ball and take advantage of a self destructing Chernobyl team.

Pat Jerome was out once again due to a nagging injury but the underrated Eric Deschambault provided a huge offensive boost. He had 7 catches and 3 touchdowns as Terror Squad beat Chernobyl by a final score of 47-27.

Shut ‘em Down Without Regard!

You can’t expect to win a game with your quarterback missing for his Division 2 game. Fred Dupuis was absent and Carl Denis took the snaps at the pivot. Denis did not lead his team into the endzone once and he posted a merger 11.7 quarter back rating.

Conversely, Corey Pecker did not waste an opportunity to flex his P…arm…I was gonna say arm. Pecker continued to put the ball in play and allow his amazingly quick players make plays in space. Travis Moses has benefitted greatly from this system as there are few quicker with the ball in his hands. Both of his catches went for touchdowns and yet, his performance was simply outmatched by teammate Troy Trench. He had a beautiful touchdown catch in this games, shut down receivers and intercepted a ball as well. Not to be outdone, defensive extraordinaire, Darius Golebiowski intercepted 2 balls and knocked another one away.

This game was never close as #NR blew out CLR Forces by a score of 43-0. CLR Forces had an excellent show of camaraderie as the team allowed as many players as were willing take snaps in this shutout, blowout, knock ‘em out victory.

News and Notes:

EMPS earned their first win after a forfeit by Wild Boys.
A player cannot play on more than 3 teams.
Andrew Carruthers was unstoppable in the Usual Suspects 42-39 win over Grip N’Rip. He had 9 catches 85 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Guys, wear a numbered jersey. These missing stats are making the box scores very difficult to analyze.
Waste Your has a allowed a Division high 285 points. I wonder if we brought advanced analytics into FPF if we would see that many of this was accounted for by pace. Given their 2-5 record, I think it’s safe to say they may simply not be a good enough defence in their first season in Division 1.
Theo Ojeaha had a nasty back juke in the Division 2 Game of the Week that featured ONS v. STL: https://vimeo.com/206083392
Kevin Wyeth’s most precise pass came on a convert in the GOTW loss. He threw a corner on a line between 2 defenders. His field vision is unreal.
Dylan Taylor tried to angrily punch the ball into the sky when it was thrown in his direction af the end of the first half. The swing and miss looked like a failed Happy Gilmore swing on a golf course.
Flag Moi L’Sac put up 40 points against Montreal’s Finest in a valiant effort. The issue, of course, was that they allowed 50.
Monstars Isiah Allard will henceforth be known as “the despised”

Power Rankings

Division 1

Montreal’s Finest (8-0): Adam Bailey is leading the team in touchdown receptions (he has 9, tied with Pat Jerome) and is averaging 20.5 yards per catch. I think he fits in!
D-Boys (5-2): The boys are on a 5 game winning streak. That is second to only the undefeated Montreal’s inest. That’s why they’re second on these power rankings.
Flag Moi L’Sac (3-4): Samuel Nadeau-Piuze is having the most impressive season I can remember as his 21 touchdowns leads the division.
Got Skills (4-4): Their only 2 losses in the last five games have come to D-Boys and Montreal’s Finest. They are on the outside looking in of the elite teams in the division.
Rainmakers (3-4): I’m always happy to announce that Rainmakers are performing better than expected. You will see me cheering for them from this point onward.
Waste Yout (2-5-1): Ties are stupid. Tying Loonatics is very concerning to me but I do not want to over react to one game
DK (2-5): Last time we saw them play they had impressively beat Loonatics. Let’s see if the momentum will stay with them as they face D-Boys, Flag Moi L’Sac and Got Skills in the last three weeks of the season.
Loonatics (2-5-1): The tie against Waste You shows that Paul Lapierre and his scrappy bunch will not give up on the season but they have an uphill battle from this point onward.

Division 2

STL (6-1-1): It can<t be denied any longer, STL may be the most complete team in Division 2. A group of up and comers with some known ballers seem to have found a way to stack a team full of talent.
Grip N’ Rip (5-2): I don’t ant to overreact to one loss. Usual Suspects are better than advertised but, the best teams do not lose to underdogs. If this happens again Vinny and co. will slide down this power ranking.
Braves (6-1-1): Braves are seemingly scoring 40 points against everyone. They will be hard to beat moving forward.
Dan & Co (5-1-2): Dan Lazarra tying twice in one night is like sneaking into the fridge and eating the whole wheel of cheese. I’m not even mad, I’m impressed!
ONS (6-2): ONS, had a lot to lose by being game of the week. The weaknesses are on video but, it will take a top tier quarterback to go head to head with Kevin Wyeth nonetheless.
Clockwork (5-3): The loss total is padded by a game where Marco Masciotra was not in attendance. He played poorly this week but his team helped bail him out against the Incredibles.
#NR (5-3): I love the way Corey Pecker is fitting in and I love how Jordan and Travis Moses are profiting from being in a wide open system.
Chronic Pain (4-4): They have sneakily climbed up the ranks. They have won their last three games and Rob Robinson has thrown 16 touchdowns and only 1 interception in that time.
Incredibles (4-3-1): Every time I start to buy in they do something stupid like this. Loosing a game to Clockwork is not the end of the world. However, heading toward a playoff stretch you need to be scoring more points than this. Sasha Papich has scored 15 touchdowns but secondary scoring needs to be a little more consistent. East-ender Chris Miliard, Vince Nardone, Alex Pilon…I’m looking at you!
The Usual Suspects (4-4): I was completely wrong about this group. They have roster inconsistencies and Rick Nincheri was largely dominant in a different era in FPF. However, Nincheri has looked great and they get the most out of every different player who marches onto the field.

Others Receiving Votes

As always the other votes are from my girlfriend. I asked her for her top ten and she said “Oh my God, I keep telling you that I don’t care!”

Monstars (4-3): I’ve cooled on the Monsters recently. I expected great things out of this team but they’ve gone .500 down the stretch (last 4 games). Let’s hope it’s no more than a mid season lull and a budding rivalry between myself and Isiah “The Despised” Allard.
Gladiateurs (4-4): They are heating up at the right time and are poised to make a late season run. Alex Lever shouldered the load in a 53-52 win over Monsters as he converted 3 of his 7 catches for touchdowns.
Chernobyl (3-3-1): Their tie came against the Braves and they have been up and down all season long. Pat Chenard needs to get his guys focused because they seem to be limping in to the playoffs with the feel as though they will make the playoffs anyway. This is a good way to get upset in the first round or miss the show altogether.

Standings

Division 1

Conference A Team GP PTS Wins PA

1 *Montreal’s Finest 8 16 8 224

2 D-Boys 7 10 5 179

3 Got-Skills 8 8 4 243

4 Flag Moi l’Sac 7 6 3 264

5 Rainmakers 7 6 3 262

6 Loonatics 8 5 2 283

7 Waste Yout 8 5 2 285

8 DK 7 4 2 237

*Playoff berth clinched

Division 2

Conference A GP PTS Wins PA Div Record

1 *STL 8 13 6 203 [6-1-1]

2 *ONS 8 12 6 206 [6-2-0]

3 *Dan & Co. 8 12 5 261 [5-1-2]

4 *Clockwork 8 10 5 182 [5-3-0]

5 *Incredibles 8 9 4 221 [4-3-1]

6 *Chronic Pain 8 8 4 250 [4-4-0]

7 Wolverines 8 6 3 285 [3-5-0]

8 Points R’ Us 8 6 2 237 [3-5-0]

9 EMPS 8 2 1 398 [1-7-0]

10 Wild Boys 8 2 1 241 [1-7-0]

Conference B GP PTS Wins PA Div Record

1 Braves 8 13 6 229 [6-1-0]

2 Grip n Rip 7 10 5 243 [5-2-0]

3 #NR 8 10 5 223 [5-3-0]

4 Monstars 7 8 4 233 [4-3-0]

5 Gladiateurs 8 8 4 300 [4-4-0]

6 Usual Suspects 8 8 4 303 [4-4-0]

7 Chernobyl 7 7 3 224 [3-3-1]

8 Served with Ice 8 6 3 265 [3-5-0]

9 Terror Squad 7 4 2 205 [2-5-0]

10 CLR Forces 8 2 1 298 [1-7-0]

Hungover Visions of the World of Tomorrow

While Division 1 yielded few results, division 2 was absolutely crazy and while Simon and I have both gone 4-1 so far this week in Division 2 (thanks for nothing Tacos!), we went 3-7 and 2-8 respectively. What else can you expect from the height of FPF competition. These playoff races are gonna get nasty.

Sunday’s Sassy Stool

Each week form henceforth, I will be including the playoff standings so teams know where they stand vis-a-vis the Division1 and 2 power structure and whether they are playing for keeps, or, to keep others away from glory.

For further analysis, tune in to the official FPF Division 1/2 podcast Calling the Audible, where Simon Dagenais and Terry Tam discuss cats in costume, the healing effect of Rubix Cubes, and one beaver’s reaction to nut punches. Remember that you can catch the Division 1/2 podcast as well as all episodes of calling the audible by visiting www.youtube.com/flagplus (alternatively, you can return to this article and click the link provided). Feel free to criticize me by reaching me on Twitter @PeezeFPF (as I am on most social media) or by messaging me on Facebook @Peeze Della Reeze. Also, tell Simon he sucks at @DagenaisFPF (it’s worked wonders with my Div 6 followers).

Have a great and safe week of action. See you at the fields!