Can anyone stop the Flagrant Fouls? – FlagPlus Football League

Ladies and gentlemen, I am back once again to give you my thoughts, opinions, and predictions for Division 6. Sorry for the article delay this week. I promise you guys will get next week’s article a lot sooner. I started writing this article before Saturday, and I have avoided looking at the results from last night’s games so that there would be no bias in my writing.

Week 7 was definitely entertaining. We saw a lot of points scored, but even more impressive was the defensive performances put on by a couple of teams, most notably L.A Finest, the Smokin’ Axolotls, Balls Deep, Wax On Wax Off, and the Mountain Goats.

Before I get into my lists, let me tell you what else caught my eye this past week. Flagrant Fouls just keep the ball rolling. In facing a Diablos team that has scored at least 25 points a game in every game except one this season (Week 1) F.F was able to go toe to toe with them in a much anticipated shootout. Double F was able to get stops when they needed it, and the walked out with the victory. There’s many reason why these guys are the team to beat in D6. They just showed one of them right there.

What’s happening to the N.W.O? Three straight losses, anemic play on offense, and poor execution on both sides of the ball. Though the first four weeks of the season, the black and white looked like contenders that had a great chance of winning the whole. Over the last 3 weeks they’ve morphed into an average team who has all the makings of 1 and done come playoff time. Since their WEEK 5 loss to l.A’s Finset, (more on that later) their offense has looked lost and totally out of synched. While L.A.F finally found the formula to shutting down the heart of N.W.O’s offense (the run game and play action pass) the black and white are a talented team who should be playing A LOT better than what they are right now. After a game against The Pocketwatch this Wednesday at Stade Hebert, the schedule makers did the black and white no favours as they have the unenviable task of taking on Flagrant Fouls and Obamacare to close out the regular season. Talk about bad timing.

Are The Mean Machine back, or did they just look so good last Saturday because Team Fourth and Twenty pivot Vince Menniti was in such a giving mood? Games against Balls Deep, Beast Mode and The Sun Bros to finish off the schedule will show answer the question.

Balls Deep’s defense did a great job shutting down Dangerous Danny D’Armour and the high powered Wax On Wax Off offense. Unfortunately for B.D, their own offense was also M.I.A, and they went on to lose the game 14-12.

Although they came out on the losing end once again, you have to love the effort by TMNB in their game against the Woofpack. With nothing left to play for this season but pride, they showed a lot fighting spirit, and played their best football this year as they came so closed to pulling off the massive upset. This team has a respectable defense. If they are able to settle on a QB (he might not be on their roster right now), gt just a bit more game experience, and a little bit more production from their offense as a whole, this can be a team that will make some noise in the Spring season.

Speaking of the Woofpack, am I the only one that noticed they almost got knocked off by the ever dangerous trap game? Me thinks W.P was looking down the road a little too far at their upcoming game against Jean Guy. With a softer schedule to finish the regular season in the Smokin’ Axoltls and The Minge, let’s hope Terry Tam’s team learned their lesson.

High Five

Ross Oshansky. The Flagrant Fouls QB put on an amazing display as he threw for 6 TDs and ran for another against a good Diablos’ team.

The game was really exciting as both teams delivered offensively. Oshansky was mistake free turnover-free, and that was the difference-maker as Flagrant Fouls got the win.

Matt Leblanc. The Flagrant Fouls Receiver was on the receiving end of three of Oshansky’s TD passes. His 8 catches for 169 yards were enough to get him Receiver of the week honors. It was enough to make this list as well.

Samuel Saumure. When you only complete 8 passes in a game usually your chances of winning aren’t that high. However, when 5 of those passes go for touchdowns, you change your odds dramatically.

That’s exactly what Saumure did last Saturday night as he single-handedly demolished Goon Squad’s defense for 5 TDs on 8 for 13 passing for 123 yards.

Kevin Gauthier. The Smokin’ Axolotls rusher had a big performance to help guide his team to a much needed 13-6 victory over The Minge. The 4 sacks he had were a season high for the five year FPF vet.

With a team that has been woeful to watch all season long on the defensive side of the ball, a performance like Gauthier’s definitely stands out.

We’ll see if the aforementioned Gauthier and his team can keep the good times rolling this Monday against the heavily favoured L.A’s Finest.

Speaking of L.A’s Finest, is there a better defense in all of D6 right now? In the last month alone, they have given up a total of 24 points…I will say that again, 24 points. As we are well aware, there are teams who can give up that many points in 5 minutes. With games against the Smokin’ Axolotls, The Minge, and Orange Crush to close out the regular season, there’s a really good chance L.A.F might keep that number exactly where it is.

Step It Up

Michael Sanchez. As mentioned above, this entire team is really struggling right now. Part of the reason has been the play of their QB. Monday night against an underdog Mountain Goats team, Sanchez looked lost and frustrated, (the same could be said about the rest of his team) as he only completed an un-Sanchez like 34.5% of his passes. (9 for 26 for 107 yards 2TDS and 1 INT)

His QB Rating was a disastrous 57.7. That was his worst performance since the aforementioned Week 5 (32-6) blowout suffered by his team at the hands of L.A’s Finest.

For Sanchez and more importantly his team to snap out of their funk, they will need a strong performance against The Pocketwatch Wednesday night. Step it up Sanchez and the crew.

Chiristophe Chartrand. After playing less than stellar football in his team’s Week 6 game versus The Minge, the Jean Guy pivot struggled once again this past week against a much better L.A’s Finest squad going an anemic 4 for 19 for 19 yards and two interceptions. Chartrand finished with as many rushing attempts (4) as completed passes.

Snapping the slump won’t be easy for Chartrand won’t be easy for Chartrand as Jean Guy have the Woofpack coming up this Tuesday night.

Vince Menniti. I was really trying to go somewhere else here, but as you guys have been noticing this season, when you have almost as many completions (5) as interceptions (3), you give me no choice but to put you on the list… Don’t get mad at me, just go out there and improve.

Elite 8

Flagrant Fouls – Another impressive performance in their win versus the Diablos. Two huge games against Obamacare and the N.W.O (depending on which N.W.O team shows up) in the next two weeks. Will we see an upset? (Last Week: 1)
L.A’s Finest – 24 points…Ok I’ll stop. No disrespect at all to Conference B, but the Conference A playoffs are going to be a bloodbath. It’ll be extremely interesting to see where the team with the best defense in all of D6 ends up. (Last Week: 2)
Obamacare – They face their toughest game to date, when they take on Flagrant Fouls. This has game of the week written all over it. Will they pull off the upset? Will they fall flat on their face like L.A’s Finest did against the team currently in the #1 spot? This is why we play the game. (Last Week: 3)
Pardon My Swag – Their win against the Tigerz was a little close for comfort, but not enough to knock them off their spot. At the end of the day, a win is a win. They should get their confidence back as they take on Orange Crush. (Last Week: 4)
Woofpack – They move up a spot curtesy of their win over TMNB and a loss by Jean Guy. As I mentioned earlier, both teams will meet up this Tuesday night in a game that will have a direct impact on the ranking (Last Week: 6)
Wax On Wax Off – Huge defensive win over a Balls Deep team that was nipping at their heels in both the standings and the rankings. The importance of extra points can never be overstated. They finish off the season against Beast Mode, The Sun Bros, and Pardon My Swag. A win against any of the three will maintain their presence in the standings, a loss to either of them would have the opposite effect. (Last Week: 7)
The Sun Bros – After narrowly missing out on the rankings last week, their impressive win over Orange Crush, coupled with Balls Deep’s loss to Wax On Wax Off, has this team back amongst the elite…Sorry for the pun. After a game against the Goon Squad, The Sun Bros will take on the aforementioned Wax in a highly anticipated matchup March 1th. (Last Week: Not Ranked)
The Mean Machine – A blowout win over Team Fourth and Twenty. A win over a much tougher Balls Deep will solidify their spot on this list. (Last Week: Not Ranked)

Picks

The Mean Machine – Balls Deep – Balls Deep

The Sun Bros – Goon Squad – The Sun Bros

Wax On Wax Off – Beast Mode – Wax On Wax Off

Tigerz – The Minge – Tigerz

Pardon My Swag – Orange Crush – Pardon My Swag

Flagrant Fouls – Obamacare – Flagrant Fouls (My pick for game of the week)

Diablos – Team Fourth and Twenty – Diablos

Smokin’ Axolotls – L.A’s Finest – L.A.’s Finest

Mountain Goats – TMNB – Mountain Goats

Jean Guy – Woofpack – Woofpack

The Pocketwatch – N.W.O – N.W.O

Last Week: 8 – 3

Season: 49 – 17

That’s it for Week 7. I’ll be back next week with my Week 8 re-cap.