Award rankings for Div E

I was waiting all season to write this article. I could have waited until the season was over to write about this, but it’s one of my favorite parts of FPF: who was the best at what they did? Who dominated and took their roster from good to great? Who had the biggest impact on their team?

All these questions are somewhat ambiguous to me, as I couldn’t possibly watch every single game with 22 different teams in the division. With analytics taking over the sports world, there has been hot debates about whether the eye-test or advanced stats are what determine how good a player is. In the NFL draft, many teams pick players based on how fast, strong, and athletic they are, but I’ve always believed that it doesn’t matter if you can play the game. As a Patriots fan, I grew up watching Wes Welker and Julian Edelman. Those two were undersized and never the fastest men on the field, but they knew how to play the game. They knew how to read defenses, find the zones and make it easy for their quarterbacks, and most important of all, they almost never dropped passes. Flag is even less dependent on athleticism as contact football, and all of the top players in FPF know how to play the game. Mike Pierrecin, who I had the pleasure of playing with in Winter when we won the Div 4 championship with Kiss My Inlaws is not the tallest to say the least, but he knows how to play the game and has mastered the art of the “dip”, the most efficient move in FPF. He’s a type of player that knows how to play the game, and I learned a lot playing alongside him. All of this to say, being a good player is more than being athletic. it’s about learning the game, understanding what the other team is doing, and making it easy for your quarterback and your fellow defenders.  All of that is what will translate to stats. There are some athletic freaks in every division, but they won’t necessarily be the best if they don’t know how to play the game. It doesn’t matter if you run a 4.4 and have a 40 inch vertical if you can’t catch the damn ball or know how to get open. 

Since I can’t watch every game, I unfortunately have to base a lot of what I’m gonna say in this article on the stats, but I won’t just be looking at counting stats, that would be too simple and boring. I’ll be looking at efficiency, the other players on the team, and how every player impacted games, and especially the ones that are close and competitive. How did these players play against the best teams in the division? 

QB of the year

My early season picks for this award were in order: Tom Gatehouse, Marty Freedman, Benoit Robidoux, Matthew Cadogan and Fabrice Tremblay. 

Tom Gatehouse: Miss

I had Tom as the best QB in this division, and while he hasn’t necessarily been bad, he doesn’t crack my top 5. With an 89 QBR, 25TDs and 9 picks, he just hasn’t put up enough yards and TDs. His offense was solid and efficient, but not powerful enough. He struggled to set the pace in some games, and that leaves WHO D’EH with a disappointing 4-3-1 record.

Marty Freedman: Hit

Marty Freedman is 3rd on my list. His team is 8-1 and he’s thrown at least 4TDs in 6 of his 7 starts at QB. He tops at 3rd due to Hail Marty’s easy schedule. In their biggest test, his 3TD, 4 interception stat-line in the loss against FSU prevented me from ranking him higher. 

Benoit Robidoux: Double miss

Ouch. Robidoux started the season very strong with 8TDs and 0 interceptions in his first two games. He’s thrown the same amount of touchdowns in his last 5 games combined, with an abysmal 12 interceptions. Les Habitations BR are now 2-6 and their team has gone downhill, just like Robidoux’s performances. 

Matthew Cadogan: Hit

Cadogan ranks 2nd in my rankings. He is extremely efficient, throwing less than 1 interception per game. His 104.5 QB rating is one of the best in the division, and his team has looked fantastic since Week 4. Primetime still has 3 games left, and honestly it might be enough for Cadogan to jump into 1st if all goes well. His next 3 games aren’t particularly easy, but if he continues this run, he could end with close to 40TDs and less than 10 interceptions. He almost never gets sacked, only once in 6 games, and that makes it way easier for his offense. 

Fabrice Tremblay: Hit

Tremblay is almost exactly where I ranked him at the beginning. I ranked him 5th and he jumped to 4th. He had a great run in the middle of the season as he threw 15TDs and 0 interceptions in 3 games. He also had a 56 yard, 0TDs, 4 interceptions and 2.8 QBR game against Pasta Arrabiat. He also just had a 2TD, 3 interception game in a loss against the average OnlyFlags. His inconsistency is worrisome, and Cover 3 Inches Long should really hope that he’ll find some come playoff time, because a bad performance, which he is capable of having, might mean an early exit for his 6-3 squad.

Now on the QBs I didn’t have in my early ranking is my current favorite for QB of the year, Antoine Meunier, as well as yards and TDs leader, Manny Bizogias.

Antoine Meunier (1st)

Meunier’s Trailer Park Boys have finished all of their games, and they sit at 5-4-1, with 2 games forfeited. Their actual record is 5-2-1, and Antoine Meunier has been the best QB since Week 5. In his past 6 games, he’s thrown 27TDs and only 4 interceptions. He has also ran for 179 yards and a TD on the season. Their record would be more impressive if TPB’s defense was better, but their offense has been nothing short of great. The 2 missed games might hurt him down the line, as Freedman and Cadogan both have shots at overtaking him if they finish very strong, especially Cadogan with 3 games left. 

Manny Bizogias (5th)

Bizogias has a fast-pace and aggressive style. He leads the division with 36TD passes and 1307 yards. He also has 238 yards rushing and 3 rushing TDs. Unfortunately, those stats are too overshadowed by his 15 interceptions (3rd worse) and 9 sacks conceded. His 88 QB rating is not great and his struggles protecting the ball have me concerned about Meat Lovers’ contending hopes. He also struggled against FSU, Bend Don’t Break, WHO D’EH and Minchia FT. He is being helped by his great receiving core, and Meat Lovers’ great defense (which to be fair, he is a big part of, and we’ll get back to that).

I also would like to give a shoutout to Nic Delisi, who has taken over at QB for Pasta Arrabiat. He has the best QBR of anyone who qualifies for the award, but won’t have played enough to get a spot in my top 5. Regardless, he has a great future at the position, and would have been a favorite if he played every game. Justin Schwartz also deserves a mention, as he’s been leading FSU to many wins, both passing and running. Similarly to Delisi, he hasn’t played enough to sneak into the top 5.

Rankings:

Antoine Meunier

Matthew Cadogan

Marty Freedman

Fabrice Tremblay

Manny Bizogias

Nic Delisi

Justin Schwartz

Receiver of the year 

My picks were William Seguin, Brandon Vickers, Michael Binette McDougall, Willie Habimana and Peter Abandonnato.

William Seguin: Miss

As much as it hurts to say, it was a miss. William Seguin has been really good, but he has slowed down a lot offensively since I wrote my article. 312 yards and 8TDs in 8 games is great, but simply not enough to be anywhere near 1st, and not even good enough to crack my top 7. Although, we’ll get back to Seguin later on.

Brandon Vickers: Double hit

Vickers is exactly where I had him ranked, 2nd. He’s 2nd in TDs with 16, and 4th in yards with 421 yards. He’s efficient, with a 79% completion rate when the ball is headed to him, and considering his 12.4 yards per reception, that is extremely impressive. He and Marty Freedman have a connection like no other in the division and I can’t wait to see it in the postseason.

Michael Binette McDougall: Double miss

Similarly to Seguin, McDougall has slowed down. He hasn’t had over 50 yards in a game since week 1, and only has 2 TDs since week 2. Having to share targets with Simon Viens, and Benoit Robidoux’s struggles at quarterback surely haven’t helped.

Willie Habimana: Triple Miss

Umm, he’s played two games. I have nothing else to say.

Peter Abbandonato: Double miss 

Only 5 games played for Abbandonato, and 160 yards and 3TDs. He missed some games, and wasn’t particularly great on offense. He’s been great defensively though, but won’t make another appearance in this article due to his amount of games played. 

Now, the players that weren’t on this list.

Joe Morgese (1st)

Okay, so Morgese is also a favorite for 2-way player and I will talk about his defense later. Offensively, Joe has been the best receiver in the division by far. He’s averaging 3TDs per game and he’s done so against some of the best defenses (C3IL, Not You Too?, FSU). He can do everything, he’s tall, a big body, and also fast. He has great hands and a huge catch radius. I’m not saying he would have had 30TDs had he played every game (and without TPB’s forfeit), but he would have been really close. He’s always a matchup nightmare and teams have to adjust their defense to him if they want to slow him down.

William Leclerc (3rd)

Here’s the case of a player I would have put in my first article but didn’t, because he was a front-runner for 2-way player (which he still is). Offensively, he’s 2nd in yards with 475, and 5th in TDs with 12, in only 7 games. Unfortunately for him, Kaiden Dewey-Hull stopped playing and he didn’t have the best quarterbacks the last few games, but it didn’t matter to him. His 83% completion rate is ridiculous considering he’s averaging almost 16 yards per reception. This guy is an athletic freak and should be a player every higher division team is looking at. 

Kevin Scalia (4th)

Scalia was also in my 2-way list, and will remain there. He leads the division with 505 yards in 9 games. I hate to have him 4th, honestly. He’s so close to number 2 and if only he had a couple more TDs, he probably would be in that spot. 1TD per game is unfortunately not enough in my eyes to win receiver of the year. 6 of his TDs came against Texas Whales and Tex4s Chooches, some of the worst teams in the division. He does have to share targets with player number 5 on my list. His efficiency is also a bit lower than the top guys, with a 73% completion rate. A TD outburst in his next game could mean a jump, but I can’t see him overtaking Morgese or Vickers. 

Dante Gonsalves (5th)

Another Meat Lovers’ receiver gets in my top 5. Gonsalves doesn’t have the yards Scalia has, but bests him in TDs with 13. He also had a stretch of 5 games in a row with 2TDs, and those didn’t come against the worst teams. His efficiency also isn’t the greatest (72%), but he sneaks in due to having to share targets with Scalia. I think Gonsalves is good enough to be a main guy, and will have a great FPF career if he sticks to the game.

Simon Viens also deserves a mention. His 82% catch rate is elite, especially considering he had 57 targets, but his 7.9 yards per reception and 9TDs leave him out of my top 5. Perhaps with a better QB, he would have done a bit better. Chad Dumeignil also joins the talk due to having almost 400 yards and a crazy 89% catch rate.

Rankings:

Joe Morgese

Brandon Vickers

William Leclerc

Kevin Scalia

Dante Gonsalves

Simon Viens

Chad Dumeignil

Defensive player of the year

I had Anthony Mirarchi, Maxime Potvin, Joey Poce, Lucas Diamantopoulos and Jack Tessari. 

I would like to save myself the embarrassment, but I must admit every single one of my picks for DPOY was a miss. Anthony Mirarchi was good, being an above average rusher. Maxime Potvin only had 1 interception after his 4 pick game. Joey Poce was my best pick, as he sits at 6 picks and 4 PDs, but not enough to crack my top 8. Lucas Diamantopoulos still had 10 sacks, but only 2 in his last 3 games, and 0 PDs on the season. Jack Tessari only had 2 sacks in his last 8 games after having 3 in his first.

DPOY is a weird one. How much do you value a great rusher versus a great defender? I truly believe we should have 2 separate awards for defense, especially because rushers are a vital, yet undervalued piece to any championship team. Rushers are also tough to evaluate based solely on stats, because a great pressing rusher can lead to QBs throwing more interceptions, but it won’t ever show up in the score sheet. 

DBs

Jesse Dumeignil (1st)

10 interceptions in 8 games, 4PDs and a pick 6. Those are just great stats, and extremely hard to produce. His picks came against good teams as well, and it was an amazing submergence as he racked all of them in his past 6 games. He’s the main reason Ramphins have been on the run they’ve been.

William Seguin (2nd)

Yes, Seguin slowed down on offense, but he really picked it up on the defensive end. 7 interceptions and 2 pick 6s in 8 games is phenomenal. He picked off Matthew Cadogan twice in the same game, who as I remind you, only threw 5 all season. 

Denis Koutavas (3rd)

The leader in pick 6s with 3 has 5 picks and 6PDs in 7 games. Having one pick 6 in a season is impressive enough, having 3 is ridiculous. Unfortunately, they didn’t come against the best teams, but they counted for 6 nonetheless and I couldn’t leave him out of this list.

Kevin Scalia (4th)

Scalia makes another appearance in this article, now due to his defensive prowess. If you’re clever enough, you’ll know what this means. 5 interceptions is very good, but adding 11 PDs as well makes his season even more ridiculous. PDs aren’t as valuable as picks, obviously, but they can mean even more when it’s 4th down or when it stops a sure touchdown. 

Rushers

Raff Morelli (1st)

Morelli is one of the best rushers in the whole league, and him playing in Div E almost seems unfair. His 13 sacks, 6PDs and 2 interceptions (as a rusher?) are absurd. Obviously, it hasn’t translated into much success for Satriales, but Morelli has undeniably done his part. 

Will Richard (2nd)

His 14 sacks and 4PDs in 8 games have him as the leader in sacks in Div E. His 10 tackles also tell me he has great catchup speed and he’ll get to the quarterback even if the latter passes by him at first. He is the anchor of Trailer Park Boys’ defense and the main reason the team gets stops.

Massimo Rosati (3rd)

Primetime’s rusher still has 3 more games to play and will definitely make a push for defensive player of the year. He should end the season as the sacks leader. He only has 1 other tackle and 1 less PD than Richard (3). If he finishes strong, he could end up with 20 sacks, and that would really help his chances at winning the award. 

Chad Dumeignil (4th)

9 sacks, 3 interceptions, 4 PDs and a pick 6. It’s criminal that he ends 4th on my list, but might not be here come season end. With one remaining game against Timberwolves, I expect him to dominate. A huge game could propel him to 2nd or 3rd, but I think Morelli has too big a lead to be dethroned at the moment. 

Now how do I rank these 8 guys? I have to show love to the rushers. This is their award, it’s how the league shows the respect rushers are due.

Raff Morelli

Jesse Dumeignil

Will Richard

Massimo Rosati

Chad Dumeignil

William Seguin

Denis Koutavas

Kevin Scalia

Now on to my favorite award, of which I was robbed last winter (just kidding, Guillaume Ranger fully deserved it). This is the most valued award other than maybe QB of the year. There were over 250 players who played in Div E this season, and over 200 of them caught at least one pass. Winning this award means you were the best player this season, and that’s why it’s the toughest to win. I had Kaiden Dewey-Hull, William Leclerc, Kevin Scalia, Massimo Rosati and Zachary Mastromonaco in my top 5. 

Kaiden Dewey-Hull: Miss

Only 4 games played, was on an amazing pace and probably would have won had he played all season.

William Leclerc: Double hit

Leclerc ranks 3rd on my current 2-way rankings. The Not You Too receiver and rusher has been the only consistent piece on the squad. His defensive versatility is what helps him finish top 3, as he had 3 interceptions (1 pick 6), 6 sacks and 4PDs. Despite being one of the most complete players in the division, none of his defensive stats are necessarily close to being atop the division.

Kevin Scalia: Hit

Scalia did more than I expected him to do. I actually have him as my winner for this award. We know he’s not my favorite for receiver of the year due to his lower amount of touchdowns than the fellow guys, but he has the most yards of anyone. Not only that, his defensive stats are elite. His 5 interceptions are very solid, and him also adding 11PDs to those numbers really boosts his odds for winning the award. Scalia is the only player who lands in the rankings for both defensive player of the year and receiver of the year, which is why he should win the 2-way award.

Massimo Rosati: Miss

While his defensive numbers are good enough to have him 4th in my defensive player of the year ballot, his offensive stats are nowhere close to what is needed to win this award. His 137 yards, 4TDs are okay, but nothing amazing.

Zachary Mastromonaco: Hit

I have him 8th for the award, and while it’s pretty far from 5th, he fully deserves consideration for this award, considering how close the race is. His 7 interceptions are good for 2nd in the division. His 8TDs and 338 yards are also very impressive. Unfortunately, all the guys above him have done more on the offensive side of the ball.

Joe Morgese (2nd)

Morgese has been so dominant offensively that it might just be enough for him to win 2 way player of the year with “only” 6 interceptions and 5PDs on defense. But, I feel like his dominance and impact on games has been way more about his offense than his defense (though he’s also been incredible on defense). There’s a strong possibility that Morgese wins 2 way instead of best receiver since it’s a more valued award. That means Vickers, Leclerc or Scalia could all win receiver of the year instead. 

Chad Dumeignil (4th)

Now here’s a guy who would have more chances to win if the decision relied on defensive impact more. His impact defensively has him in my top 5 for defensive player of the year, and he hasn’t been a slouch on offense either. His 398 yards and 7TDs are very respectable, but not impressive enough for him to win the 2 way award.

Manny Bizogias (5th)

The passing TDs and passing yards leader has also been a monster on defense with 5 interceptions and 2 pick 6s. Unfortunately, I don’t really see this as a QB award, and although he’s been very good on defense, he’s only the 3rd most impactful defender on his own team. 

Dante Gonsalves (6th)

Three Meat Lovers players end up in my top 6 for the 2-way award. Gonsalves has 6 interceptions and 5PDs, and his 13TDs on offense are near the top. Splitting targets with Scalia hasn’t helped him rack up that many yards on offense.

Rankings:

Kevin Scalia

Joe Morgese

William Leclerc

Chad Dumeignil

Manny Bizogias

Dante Gonsalves

Zachary Mastromonaco

There we have it for this week’s article. Many of the best offensive players were also great on defense, and it is a very close race for almost every award. With a couple games remaining for some of these players, one or two great performances might change these rankings drastically. 

Next week, I will be giving my final power rankings. Every team will have played at least 9 games and the playoff picture will be shaping up nicely. 

See you next week!