Bombsquad’s Breakdown (D2) – Week 11

 

Bombsquad’s Breakdown Playoff Edition

Well it just goes to show you that you should never believe anything I say. Although if I say the All Blacks will win, rest assured they will lose. If I say the All Blacks will lose, rest assured they will win. It was a crazy weekend in all of FlagPlus and it carried through all divisions for the most part. So let us take a gander at what transpired this past weekend then look ahead at what is to come. Capiche?

Countdown to detonation

4. The All Blacks are victorious over the Air Squad 25-19. Yes, once again the All Blacks have defied prediction. But I would also say the Air Squad were not the same team we had seen in previous weeks. Matt René was not one with his receivers on game day. With a few over throws and under throws, the Air Squad were shooting themselves in the foot. Not to take anything away from the All Blacks, who looked closer to their old selves and took advantage of their opportunities. Chris Bridgeman used Rob Gouldson to move the chains and spread the ball in the end zone which is exactly what they needed to do. Congrats on proving me wrong once again.

3. The Wildcats lose to the Pat Jerome’s 47-26 — I mean the Triple Sixers! In about the only thing I got right last week, Pierre-Marc Chadi looked out of sync with his team, as he threw for 65 yards on only 9 completions, of which four were for touchdowns after a long layoff. The problem is 4 passes were also interceptions. One being on the last play of the half which was intercepted in the end zone by Pat Jerome and returned to the house. It was all Jerome, all the time on this day. Six catches for 156 yards and 5 touchdowns. No secret who this week’s golden boy will be. Karim Chaoual didn’t have to be perfect, he only needed Jerome.

2. The Wolfpack once again royally beat the Kingz 53-39. It was the defence of the Wolfpack making some key stops that was the difference in this game. I guess you could also say it was the 8 TD passes from Pascal Murray that lent a hand. Carmine Pollice had a much stronger showing than the last time these two teams met. throwing for 286 yards, 6 TD’s and 1 INT; but drops once again were a factor in this game. Murray threw TD’s to each member of his receiving core in this game. This team will be very hard to stop if the ball distribution continues in this fashion.

1. The Wolverines dismantle the Mercenaries and send them on their second consecutive early outing from the playoffs (Winter). Tony Tabet used his legs to buy time and find open receivers. Tabet had only three incompletions and 7 TD passes. Nice ratio wouldn’t you say? Things are not looking easy for the Wolverines as they now have to take on the giant of the division in the form of the Ruff Ryders.

(poof). Oh. Guess that one was a dud left behind by the Mercs.

For this week, we will combine Showstoppa and Golden Boy, as Pat Jerome seemed to single-handily defeat the Wildcats with an end to end pick-six to end the half and 5 TD’s on offence. Hats off and great game, kid!

Picks, picks, picks. What to do, do, do. Hopefully my picks won’t be do do. Let’s get to it.

Conference A

The 1st seed Gold Standard take on the smoking 5th seed Wolfpack, who are nipping at the heels of everyone for another shot at the title. But on this week I think the Standard are prepared. These teams met earlier this year in week 2. But the Wolfpack were definitely not the same team they are now so we will take this game at face value. That being said, I believe that the Gold Standard have the defence required to stop the Wolfpack. To match up with Cavanaugh, Paré, Davidson and Rousseau, you have Williams, Mironowicz, Prince and Deslauriers. Get your popcorn ready because this is going to be a great game. The two-headed monster at QB for the boys in Gold in the form of Jay Ulley and half-back Mike McNair is not an easy task to overcome. I very hesitantly take the Gold Standard to win, but this Wolfpack team would not shock anyone by winning.

The 2nd seed One Night Stands take on the 3rd seed All Blacks. Once again these two teams met in the second week. This was when the All Blacks were on fire and the O.N.S. squad were looking for an identity. Now fast forward to the end of the season where O.N.S. wins their last three and leap frog the All Blacks who were winless in that same span. The All Blacks looked much better this past weekend versus the Air Squad, however. QB Chris Bridgeman used his arm and his legs in unison to get the job done. But now they must take on a Kishon Thompson-led defence. This is not an enviable task. Throw in Ryan Brewster and Jeff Millar and you could be in for a few sleepless nights. I know the All Blacks are confident and looking forward to the challenge, but I just think that O.N.S. has the advantage on defence and the experience of Craig O’Brien on offence. Of course, who knows? Maybe the All Blacks will be yelling at me to write about another victory next week. I still take the One Night Stands.

Conference B

The 1st seed Ruff Ryders take on the 6th seed Wolverines. These two teams just met in week 10. The Ryders defeated the Wolverines fairly soundly. All that without Matt Norzil and Marc Champangnie. The Wolverines had a great victory last week, but I just can’t see them upsetting one of the strongest division 2 teams in the history of FPF. The Ryders have so many weapons and then they have the likes of Jamal Pierre and the mastermind of defence himself Rochdi Benabdelkader to defend against any offence. The Wolverines will not go quietly as they showed last week. They feel they can win and they will need that confidence. But in the end, I just think there is too many weapons on the Ruff Ryders to contain, and the rushing of Brandon Pierre will make Tony Tabet’s job much more difficult this week when trying to buy time and throw the ball. Add QB of the year Paul Lapierre to the mix, and you have a recipe for success. I take the team full of Pierres. Ruff Ryders.

And finally the match of the week as the 2nd seed G-Men take on the 4th seed Triple Sixers. These two teams met in the first game of the season where the G-Men left their mark winning by 1 point. The G-Men consistently found ways to win the whole season. The Triple Sixers, on the other hand, have told the league all year: “Here is my offence. Stop them.” And very few have been able to. I wonder if the bye was something that could hurt the G-Men, as the Sixers had a great game and seem to have built some momentum. In my opinion, I believe it will, and I believe the Triple Sixers will defeat the G-Men in a very close match. The G-Men have the defence to stop the Sixers, but I just feel this team is riding a high. I believe the inexperience of Gianni Settino as opposed to the experience of Karim Chaoual will be the difference. Both teams will score, but in the end I think the Sixers D will make the play that will decide this game. I take the Triple Sixers.

So now the season,

Gets closer to the end,

With just three weeks left,

Until the finals, my friend.

This is the time,

To step up and make you stand,

For upon you now,

The playoffs are at hand.

As per every other week you can feel free to register your complaints at [email protected]. All compliments and colourful anecdotes may be sent to [email protected]. Until then, another week has been defused.