Carmine’s Coffin Corner

 

Week 4 has come & gone. Time to take a look at what happened, see if we learned anything, and take a glance at what lies ahead for week 4 in this whacky division. A few random league-wide thoughts will also be shared.
I might just copy/paste my frustrations with attempting to decipher the possibilities due to all of the roster movement. Caught a few moments of the pod cast and, after hearing a few words from Alex Holowach, am glad to see that someone actually reads this elaborate ramble! Things continue to be crazy with the inter-division play as we have a handful of players who must choose which team they will play for.

Thoughts & random opinions (league wide)

-Kevin Wyeth continues to prove why he has all of the hardware. He continues his assault on defences this Spring. I am simply leaving this comment here for the rest of the season
-Phil Cutler proving that he can still get things done. “Now here’s a guy” who has proven himself at the pivot position throughout his career but has never pushed the D1/DA envelope. I would really like to see him give it a shot. He had a nice week going 25-31-252 yards with 7 TD.
Easy Jake Oven vs. POP was a barn burner as EJO won 59-40. Yup 99 points in this one. Yoni Loeub put on a show as he finished with 2 catches (both TDs) and lit it up on defence with 4 tackles, 3 INTs, and 2 PICK 6s. Hard to believe that in a game with 99 points scored that the POTG would be on defence!
-Is it just me or does anyone else find it weird to see the same names TWICE in the stat columns? Paul Lapierre is #1 (2 ½ Alkaholiks) and #5 (#NR) on the Receivers list. Another comment that I am simply leaving here until it no longer applies!
-Jeremy White (EZW) might have had the best game in FPF last week. 28-30-247 yards with 7 TDs and then threw in 2 INTs on defence. Awesome job.
DE saw two (2) teams pitch shut outs this week. Neve and easy job so hats off to the Bozy Boyz and Los Silte Amigos. LSA actually held their opponents to 40 total yards of offence. Think about that…
-Paul Lapierre probably had the worst last two minutes of football last week in his DA & DB games combined…

Division A/B Week #4 review

Outsiders edge out #NR 33-32

What I wrote: All things considered, this will probably be the top game this week. For #NR the team rides and falls with Cory Pecker. They are simply a different beast with him there and the offence is built around his strengths. Unfortunately, he missed a game (loss) and only played the first two drives (both TDs) of another game (loss). Will he be there and is he good to go? If he is ready to play, then I like #NR to take this game. The Outsiders have the TOP QB in DA/B right now, but this is still a team game and #NR will not allow Kevin to go 16/18 this week. I still think that he puts up 5-6 TDs but #NR takes it on converts.

What actually happened: This probably was the best game of the week. Both teams went head to head without blinking. Cory Pecker was there and played well (244 yards & 5 TDs / 0 INTs) so I got that right. Kevin did not go 16/18 but he did put up 5 TDs as I said he would. My misread on this game was who would win on the convert battle and the edge went to the Outsiders. Last minute heroics from Serge Pilon caused Paul Lapierre his first tummy-ache of the evening. Pat Jerome was the big man for the Outsiders finishing with 7 receptions and 2 TDs and 7 tackles on defence. For #NR Jeremy Anderson was busy with 10 receptions.

Alpha-T’s hold off the 2 ½ Alkaholiks 40-38

What I wrote: Jesse Dupuis is playing well right now. He is using both his arm and legs to gain yardage and score points (2 Rushing TDs). They boast the top offence in the division and have held their own defensively thus far. 3 receivers in double digits for receptions already shows they have some balance and opposing QBs must account for Alexis Gaumont at all times. For the Drinkers, the name of the game is ball control. 4 receivers already in double digits and Zach Zwirn is 1 away. While the season is still young their defence has struggled in the take away department. This game should come down to an interesting battle between Jesse Dupuis and Brandon Aylward (4 sacks).

What actually happened: The Alpha-T’s come as advertised. A big team that plays to their strengths. This game was the GOTW, so you can watch the film for a few more details. Jesse Dupuis played a great game and spread the ball well. I said that this game would be decided between Jesse and Brandon Aylward. With the exception of their last drive, this battle was won big time by Jesse. 67 yards rushing at this level is a HUGE game. He also bought himself enough time to allow multiple crossing patterns by Anthony Lapointe & Mike Pierrecin to develop 10 yards down the field. Converts and big plays were made by the big man on the Alpha-T’s, Mathieu Houle. Rare to have someone make Paul Lapierre look small but Houle actually does that. Only had 3 catches (converts are not tracked) but 1 was a big TD, another was a MASSIVE 1st down after facing a 3rd down & 30! He also caught 2 key converts. Unfortunately for 2 1/2, in all of those instances, he was matched up against a much smaller defender who had no real opportunity to make a play as Jesse put the ball in perfect spots. 2 ½ were without their starting QB and yours truly was filling in. A tad rusty and it showed early as I was figuring out how to use the receivers. The team had some bad breaks early on but never stopped battling and fought back to put themselves to actually tie the game on the last play. We now come to Paul Lapierre’s second tummy-ache of the evening. 2 ½ were also facing a roster issue (common them on the week) and had to recruit a player at game time in order to field a defence. A knee injury has me relegated to the offensive side of the ball exclusively.

Braves bounce the Dream Killers 44-24

What I wrote: These cross over games do present challenges. The Braves remain the team to beat when they have their full squad. Maheu, Gariepy, Chevalier, Pierrecin, Paiement, Courchesne, et al are simply fun to watch. The Dream Killers looked good this past week with Mario Porreca at the helm. Unfortunately, he is not their QB. I have a bad feeling that this game will cause nightmares for the Dream Killers.

What actually happened: Mario Porreca was at the helm once more for the Dream Killers and looked really good on the opening drive of the game marching down for a score. This team has talent but is lacking consistency at this point in time. Mario finished with good yardage (227 yards) but only completed 16-30 attempts which means a lot of balls hit the ground. That is the inconsistent part of things and can lead to a lack of rhythm for an offence. On the flip side we had Jonathan Maheu looking more like his efficient self. After an unusual game where he threw 2 INTs he finished the evening 14-19-250 yards with 7 TDs. Yup 50 % of his completions were TDs. Of course, when the human X-Box that is Alex Pilon gets the ball things like that happen. AP finished 5-148 with 4 TDs. Averaging 30 yards a reception makes life easy for the QB.

Lightweight kennel the Dirty Dawgs 60-0

What I wrote: Can Simon Dagenais continue his Cinderella season or do the Dirty Dawgs finally get into the WIN column? A large part of the answer will depend on whom Simon mysteriously adds to his roster for the week. He has been effective in selecting his “mystery guests” thus far. All kidding aside, Simon Dagenais has been THE surprise of the young season thus far. #SIMONDAGENAIS has made the rounds of many a chat group, and he takes more abuse than any 3 other FPF individuals combined, but he has played some really good football. The Dirty Dawgs are the faster and more talented roster, but I am staying on the Boys in Blue Bandwagon for another week.
What actually happened: Facebook ads looking for players on game day is never a good sign. This was an issue for this squad in the Winter Season and it continues through the Spring. I grasp that people are talented and want to play two-ways, but a small roster almost always leads to issues like this. Default by the Dawgs.

YCSWU beat Jasmin N Sons 46-42

What I wrote : Ah. The Anthony Vendrame Bowl. Which team does he suit up for? Does he just play offence for both teams? Does he play half a game for each? So many silly questions because of this silly division!! IMHO it will make no difference who he plays for as the supporting cast for YCSWU is much stronger than that of JNS. I think that Alex Holowach finally puts together a 48-minute game and YCSWU take this by 3 scores.

What actually happened: I ran through several scenarios for AV. He surprised me completely by not playing at all! Roster challenges / surprises is truly driving me nuts in my rookie Spring Season as a writer! Alex Holowach did indeed put together his best of the season. Lights out play by the QB as he finished 21-26-325 yards & 7 TDs. Silly numbers indeed. Justin McLean began to turn some heads last year but is really making people pay attention in 2019. He had a great Winter and continues to build upon it. 7-158 with 5 TDs and he was the living embodiment of the team acronym. He also chipped in 7 tackles on defence, so he was big on both sides of the ball. Jasmin N Sons hung around in this game. The punched the ball in 6 times and added 6 BIG points on converts to make this a game. They actually out-scored YCSWU in the second half! Frederic Viens with a nice game but his INT was the difference maker in this one. Pat Jerome was the main target with 5-88 & 3 TDs on offence.

BYOB edged by Dad Bod 34-32

What I wrote: So which Sean Avraam shows up? The one who played well last night or the one who really did not on Tuesday. As Avraam goes, so does this team. It was nice to see Alex Moreau get involved in the action on Thursday and Jordan Allard has carried his share of the load thus far. Unfortunately, they are not Vinny Gualano and AJ Gomes. If you want to win at the upper levels then your big boys need to come out and play, which has not happened yet. BYOB need more consistency than Mathieu Rene has given them thus far. He joins Sean Avraam in that search for the spark that their team needs right now. Hopefully the underperforming Dad Bod defence gives him the opportunity to find it because this might be their most winnable game between now and Week 10. That will make for a long season indeed.
What actually happened: I challenged both QBs in the article. I did not watch this game so can only go by what I have heard and the stat pages. A combined 27 for 52 with 310 yards? Sorry gents but that is not going to get things done. Cory Pecker had more completions on his own and Alex Holowach had more passing yards in his game. We did have a couple of players who put up great offensive numbers. Sebastien Crisi-Lauzon went 5-88 & 3 TDs for BYOB and Marco Bertoldi found the end zone on 4 of his 5 receptions. Both defences stepped up and forced 2 INTs each so hats off for giving your offences a boost. This is still an offensive game and both QBs need to step things up.

Carmine’s Players of the Week (Div A/B)
Mike Pierrecin (Alpha-T’s) -> 5 rec for 56 yards & 2 TDs / 2 tackles, 2 INTs & a PICK 6
Paul Lapierre (2 ½ Alkaholiks) -> 10 Rec for 100 yards & 2 TDs
Jonathan Maheu (Braves) -> 14/19 for 250 yards & 7 TDs
Alex Pilon (Braves) -> 5 rec for 148 yards & 4 TDs / 2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 PD
Kevin Wyeth (Outsiders) -> 19/25 for 235 yards & 5 TDs
Pat Jerome (Outsiders) -> 7 rec for 69 yards & 2 TDs / 7 tackles
Alex Holowach (YCSWU) -> 21/26 for 325 Yards & 7 TDs
Justin McLean (YCSWU) -> 7 Rec for 158 yards & 5 TDs / 7 tackles

The week ahead

#NR host the Braves
A tough loss last week for #NR has them anxious to get back on the field, but their task is not an easy one as they face the Braves. Cory Pecker looked good last week but the Braves boast the top defence in the division. Roster variables make this hard to pick but if the Braves are complete then they are going to win this game, especially if Alex Pilon is present.

Jasmin N Sons take on the Dirty Dawgs
Speaking of those roster variables…hopefully the Dirty Dawgs have the spent the week ensuring they can field a team. I like Ryan Lelinowski and Dave Chityat a lot. They are both amazingly talented players and good human beings off the field. However, their GM skills need some work! For Jasmin N Sons I think this is the week that they right their listing ship. Frederic Viens is playing well, and I think this game matches up well for them. JNS with the win

Dream Killers vs. the Outsiders
Which QB tosses for the Dream Killers? Jeff Rosenblatt & Mario Porreca have both started 2 games and actually have similar numbers thus far. Unfortunately, they also have identical won/lost records at 0-2. One of them will fall to 0-3 as the Outsiders boast the top QB at this moment in Kevin Wyeth. Look for this one to be over by the half.

2 ½ Alkaholiks host YCSWU

Both teams moved the ball up & down the field last week. Both teams gave up a ton of points/yardage as well. Two veteran QBs will be facing two very fast rushers (Chris Milard & Brandon Aylward) so that should also be fun. This game also poses another roster challenge as Danny D’Amour must decide who to suit up for as he plays for both teams…unless he pulls a disappearing act ala Vendrame in order to avoid hurting anyone’s feelings!! Hard to pick against YCSWU the way they are playing but I have never walked onto a field expecting to lose. My prediction for this game is offensive fireworks…

Dad Bod vs. Lightweight

I feel bad about the number of times I say this but, unfortunately, it is a reality. For the Dad Bod to win this game Sean Avraam needs to play better football and he needs to start making his best players win games for him. Vinny Gualano and AJ Gomes are averaging 2 receptions/game COMBINED. After a week off, Lightweight take the field as the only team in DA/B with a perfect record. Simon Dagenais remains my pick for top story of S2019 so far. Dad Bod have more talent but have not really put it together yet this season. If they ever do, then they have the potential to be a really good team. Just not happening yet so I will stay on the Lightweight bandwagon.

Alpha-T’s take on BYOB

Two teams headed in opposite directions. Mathieu Rene needs to step things up. A more consistent offensive roster would help him enormously as only 2 players have hit double digits for receptions thus far. This is a BIG team, so they can/should be doing a better job on defence. Unfortunately, they run into the hottest team in DB right now in the Alpha-T’s. Jesse Dupuis is playing some really good football and I keep waiting for Alexis Gaumont to explode. Give me the men in orange for the W

Thanks for reading