Carmine’s Coffin Corner – Regular season wrap up

Can the Shenanigans erase their regular season misery with a W, or is Monster off to the finals?

Week 8 recap & Playoff Predictions

Welcome back and thanks for joining me.

Holy cow have we already reached the end??

Somehow, I blinked, and the regular season has already come to an end.

Watching the NFL drama this week really soured me. Is Deebo the new T.O.? I have been a NINERS fan longer than many of you reading this have been alive. Yes, he was the most valuable non-QB in the league last year, especially over the last 8 games. Does he deserve to be the top paid non-QB? Not for a minute. 8 games do not a payday make. He spent most of 2020 injured and was not a massive factor prior to that. He does not yet deserve Hill, Adams, Diggs, Kupp money. If that is what he wants…trade him and take the picks. I also cannot stand the Prima Donna social media antics. Not sure who is advising him, but he is being led astray.

Just a couple of quick thoughts from the action this past Wednesday evening in Baie d’Urfe. I must say that watching from the sideline’s sucks.

The powers that be were smiling down on the Pacemakers. Not a great game from them but they did enough to pull out a tough win and cap off a perfect regular season. Congrats.
Paul Lapierre is a match up nightmare. Yes, I get that this is an obvious statement. Still true.
Does Yoni Lehrer win the WROY in just 4 games? Compelling case could be made.
Old Age Outlaws get another strong game from sub, Kris Hope. Not sure I agree with this as he is not playoff eligible
Nice to see Jay Ulley back out for the Shenanigans.
Jonathan Williams making a surprise appearance as he subbed for both the Shenanigans and Pacemakers. Nice to see him having an impact in both games.

Random thoughts from around the league:

Nice to Jeff Rosenblatt and the Apocalypse on a bit of a roll. Always cool to see the 35+ guys having success against the “kids”. He finished 14-18 for 229 yards and 6 TDs. Always fun when you have Anthony Brisebois to fling the ball to. He went off, again, for 5-96-4 TDs (and a sack & PICK 6 on D).
Gryffindor with a busy week. Guess they annoyed the scheduling gods as they had THREE games this week. Braves, FMS, and All-Stars. Dan Lazarra got to face off against Jon Maheu, ANP, and Kevin Wyeth in the same week. In back-to-back games against the Braves and FMS they put up 13 and then 58??? Seriously? Jaylan Greaves is another name to pay attention to. 16 receptions (on 18 targets) for 225 yards and 7 TDs. Toss in 5 XPTs, 9 tackles, 2 INTs (Pick 6) and a PD and he had a very productive week.
All Stars quietly move into first place with a 2 Win Week. Much noise around the Braves and FMS this season but KW reminding people that he will have a say in how the season finishes.
Killa Bees continue to spread pollen everywhere behind Jeremie Mongeon-Duby. 13/18-285-8 TDs.
P.O.P. would be in a better spot this season if Scott Payne were present for every game. Difference maker indeed. 10-101-4 TDs in a losing cause.
JYD took out their frustrations on Mangoose. After somehow losing to POP last week, they dropped 50 points this week. Jason Rossie (35+) with an efficient 17/20-266-7 TD evening. Sean Semerjian leading the way with a 4-112-3 TD evening.
Lightweight took on the Oompa Loompas in the “Something Has To Give” Bowl. Justin Blanchard leading the way for Lightweight as they take this one 37-13.
Stats lie. I have said this forever. If you looked at the stat line from the Brotherhood QB, Quaysie Gordon-Maule, 5/11-83 yards with 3 TDs, you would be hard pressed to imagine them winning the game. They actually put up 48 points!!! 3 PICK6s from the D (2 by QGM), a rushing TD, and 6 XPTs making the rest of the difference. BTW this was a 48-21 victory over the previously undefeated KGP RA so it was not a mis-match game of any sort.
Love it when former teammates do well. Zach Zwirn from the Bruins with a 7-71-TD and 2 Tackle/INT/2 PD performance.
Stats lie Part 2. Mofos top Voodoo (who were missing QB Frank Kaye) 48-6. Tiemoko Sango finished 7/14/136 with 4 TDs and 3 INTs. Bailed out by the D with 2 PICK6s, a rushing TD and 6 big XPTs.

WEEK IN REVIEW

For those of you not familiar with my way of doing the review, I will include what I wrote the week prior and this way everyone can see if I was out to lunch or not.

Broady Windsor vs. JMJ (JMJ win 33-30)

What I wrote: Important game. Winner takes 3^rd and loser gets tasked with the undefeated Pacemakers. For JMJ, Chris Olson is going to need to play lights out football and not make mistakes. For Broady Windsor, they will need to have Eugene be the Eugene that he can be. Brian Martin will also need to be the force that he can be. Wild card in this game will be G.M. Kolethras who has had a great second half to the season. Personally, I see BW taking this one in a nail-biter

What actually happened: Chris Olson was the difference maker in this one. Not quite the “lights out” game that I said would be needed but a very efficient game and he played very well on defence as well, although he did incur a couple of penalties. Chris Rosen made his return from injury, and it was a timely one as he led the receiving corps in this one. G.M. Kolethras also had an impact with his rushing of Eugene McLaren. For BW, they keep me scratching my head wondering what their game plan is. 33 yards from Brian Martin and Joel Watson is not going to win you many games. Also trying to figure out why Mario Choueri was not snapping? Yes, he had a big night. However, the snaps were definitely not what they could have been with him getting the ball to Eugene. Similar productivity from both QBs (165 yards, 5 TDs, and 2 INTs) but the JMJ offence was simply smoother overall.

FPF vs. Pacemakers (Pacemakers win 42-38)

What I wrote: Jeff Rosenblatt has no schedule conflicts. Somehow, I think that he will not skip this game. The real question now is will Yoni Lehrer be present. He has only played 3 games, all against JMJ for some reason. If he is absent, he does not qualify for the playoffs. Not that I think that it will matter if the Pacemakers show up with all of their pieces. Triple J and Brockwell/Ashrafi/Binns/Williams are going to be a real tough match. No one in the Tier has proven that they can rush Jason Rossie, so he always has the escape route. Regardless of who plays for FPF, if the Pacemakers are full staff, then they take this game

What actually happened: So, the Pacemakers are still missing Chris Brockwell, who might be done for the season due to an unfortunate incident. In steps Jonathan Williams to fill the void with a 6-95-1 TD performance. Jason Rossie seemed a bit uncomfortable in this one but was able to move around until he found the reads that he liked. No big mistakes in this one and the difference were the 6 XPTs put up by the Pacemakers. Yoni Lehrer finally showed up for a game that did not include JMJ. As usual he had an impact in this one, as did Adam Tock. FPF match the Pacemakers offence score for score, but those pesky converts played a huge part in this one. Wad Williams with a strong 2 ways game for the Pacemakers.

Monster vs. Montreal Spitfire (Monster win 34-18)

What I wrote: Roster questions in this one as well. Will Francois Deslauriers and Jimmy Coupethwaite be cleared to play or will Covid still be a factor. Gino Di Fazio will need to adjust from this past week, but he is a vet and I think that he will be just fine now that he had those two games to see what the lads can do. Monster has to feel confident coming into this one. Offence is spreading things around and the D had 5 INTs on Thursday. Winner gets a Shenanigans team with serious QB issues while the loser gets a streaking OAO. As always, but super carefully, picking MTL Spitfire to remain in the top spot with a W.

What actually happened: As I wrote earlier, watching games that you should be involved in truly bites. This game started off quite balanced by both teams. After twice trading TDs, Monster began to pull away. Some penalties against the MTL Spitfire providing momentum. As mentioned earlier, Paul Lapierre providing mismatches regardless of how tight the coverage was. Andy Peterkin through some great balls during this game. Turned back the clock on several plays as he placed balls into tight windows. An early post play to Darren Bicknell was awesome to watch. Stared down Paul Lapierre and then tossed a TD to the corner to Andrew Blevings. Absolutely amazing throws. For the Spitfire offence, things were rolling but then penalties and late decisions began to play a factor. Jimmy Coupethwaite, Don Shepherd, and Dave Mallais all absent from the offence did not make things easy for QB Gino DiFazio. Jeff Brown with a big game for the ‘Fire offence. Monster clinch first place in Tier 1 with the victory.

Old Age Outlaws vs. Shenanigans (Old Age Outlaws win 31-26)

What I wrote: The “let’s play a game but no one gets hurt” Bowl. Both teams are locked into their relative playoff positions, so nothing is on the line in this one. OAO got two big wins last week but mainly due to Kris Hope who is NOT playoff eligible. They are going to need their own players to step up in the playoffs. I understand that they wanted to avoid 4^th place but brining in “ringers” at the end does help long term. For the Shenanigans this game might give Wade Williams some more much needed reps at QB. Not sure that he will be the solution if Tock or Ulley are unable to go in the playoffs. Harripersaud is playing much better football than any of the QB options that the Shenanigans currently boast. OAO for the win

What actually happened: It was good to see Jay Ulley make a return to the field for the Shenanigans. I also like the fact that he made Shane Williams a larger part of the offence. Unfortunately, it was not enough to hold off the OAO in this one. Harripersaud with yet another steady performance and the “ageless wonder” that is Kevin Kousaie leading the receiving corps. Not sure that there is all that much to take from this game. It was Ulley’s first game in quite some time, and Jason Prince is still absent. The tone for this one was set on the first drive as Kris Hope knocked down a 4^th down attempt to force a T/O. OAO scored. Hope had another key PD in the half to force another T/O. OAO finished the half with a score and then got the ball to start the second half. A long drive, aided by a penalty, killed a tremendous amount of time, and made it a 5-2 game. At this point in time, OAO simply went into prevent mode. While the shenanigans did score twice to make the final score respectable, this one was not truly in doubt.

Players of the Week (according to me & the stats)

Kris Hope (OAO) – 6-88-1 TD and 3 PDs on defence

Kevin Kousaie (OAO) – 10-68-2 TDs and 3 Tackles on D

Shane Williams (Shenanigans) – 68-83-3 TDs and 3 Tackles and a PD on D

Andy Peterkin (Monster) – 16/25-204-5 TDs

Jason Rossie (Pacemakers) – 16/23-227-5 TDs passing & 1-12-1 TD rushing

Wade Williams (Pacemakers) – 5-80-2 TDs & 2 XPTs, 5 Tackles 1 INT & 1 PD

G.M. Kolethras (JMJ) – 5-64-2 TDs and 1 Sack & 1 PD on D

Chasing the Hardware

Here are my top contenders for the 4 individual awards. I have no real say, but I always have an opinion. Players are listed in no particular order. Injuries and absences have definitely altered some choices

2 Way Player

Shane Williams (Shenanigans)

James Acker (Pacemakers)

Jason Rossie (Pacemakers)

G.M Kolethras (JMJ)

QB of the Year

Jason Rossie (Pacemakers)

Stephen Harripersaud (Old Age Outlaws)

Chris Olson (JMJ)

Receiver of the year

Paul Lapierre (Monster)

Yoni Lehrer (FPF)

Brian Martin (Broady Windsor)

Defensive player of the year

Shane Williams (Shenanigans)

Jason Rossie (Pacemakers)

G.M. Kolethras (JMJ)

James Acker (Pacemakers)

The Week Ahead

Monster vs. Shenanigans

While I was happy to see Jason Ulley take back the field this past week, I am not sure that it is going to be enough for the Shenanigans to upset Monster, especially if Karl De Nie is present to rush. Considering the talent on their roster, 1-7 is not where I saw the Shenanigans finishing the season. Injuries have played a factor, but they struggled early in the season when they actually had their full squad. As for Monster, Andy Peterkin seems to be as comfortable right now as I have seen him this season. This does not bode well for the Shenanigans defence. Monster also had a full roster last week, which always makes a difference. Lapierre and Blevings provide 2 massive targets, and the Monster defence plays smart enough to not be fooled by misdirection. While I would love nothing more than an upset, I don’t see it happening in this one.

Pacemakers vs. Broady Windsor

The Pacemakers swept all 3 games this season and will more than likely make it 4 straight over Broady Windsor. I could copy/paste previous editions of the preview as my opinion has not changed. No one on BW can rush Jason Rossie effectively and Jason Rossie can contain his counter-part Eugene McLaren. Even with his favorite target, Chris Brockwell, out indefinitely, Rossie has not really missed a beat. Chris Acker has stepped up considerably as has Wade Williams. BW have threats in Brian Martin, Joel Watson, and Mario Choueri, but I really do not think that it will be enough. The perfect season for the Pacemakers continues.

FPF vs. JMJ

Jeff Rosenblatt and Yoni Lehrer vs. Chris Olson and Chris Rosen. Pocket passer vs. anything but. Routes/hands vs. speed/hands. Yes, there are 16 other players involved in this game but these 4 will decide it, IMO. Unless G.M. has the game of his life rushing, I think that the FPF offence will simply put up too many points for JMJ to match. Alex Moreau is a wildcard for the JMJ squad, so I am not expecting a blow out by any stretch. This should be a fun game to watch.

Montreal Spitfire vs. Old Age Outlaws

Which MTL Spitfire squad will show up? After 5 weeks of roster consistency, everything has gone to he77 in the past couple of weeks. Covid, travel, and injuries have wreaked havoc on the Spitfire roster. OAO have also been juggling things in recent weeks. Recent addition, Kris Hope, has been a stand-out for OAO on both sides of the ball and will be a huge factor. For the Spitfire, they need to play more disciplined football. Penalties and poor execution have been their biggest enemies recently. Don Shepherd and Jimmy Coupethwaite should both return this week to give the offence a boost. As always, Spitfire for the W.

That’s all for today! Thanks for taking the time to read along.