Carmine’s Coffin Corner – We are done!!!

And that is a wrap on the 2022 Winter Season for 35+!!

Part of me is always a little bit disappointed when a season comes to a conclusion but, due to the injury, I am happy for this one to come to a conclusion. As I have mentioned on multiple occasions, watching other people play sucks!!

Before I delve into things, I just want to wish a speedy recovery to Jay Ulley from the Shenanigans. He suffered a torn Achilles tendon near the end of the Tier 1 Championship Game on Wednesday.

So Deebo remains a 49er for now. Whoever is advising this guy really needs to be fired. His value is as a multi-purpose player. Strictly as a receiver, he is not worth the drama and distraction. Niners should recall the Cap Crap they dealt with and simply move on from this situation quickly.

While I will definitely be going into detail for each game, here are a couple of quick thoughts from the action on Wednesday:

It might be just me, but I think that we saw a Rusher get the finals MVP for the first time. Yes Jason Rossie was the winning QB and put up great numbers. He was the difference maker for his defence as he finished with 4 sacks and shut down/pressured Chris Olson all night.
Great catch by Shane Williams to open things up but then he was ignored for most of the evening, despite Jeff Brown & myself yelling at Ulley to throw him the ball because he was almost always WIDE open. Weird strategy.
Whatever Scott Binns has been eating & drinking during these playoffs should be instantly bottle and marketed to the public. He was a difference maker during the absence of Chris Brockwell.
Anthony Siggia earned the MVP in a span of 4 plays in the first half. Completely turned the game around.
David De Andrade had 6 receptions in the regular season, not even close to being in the top 5 on the squad, and then leads the team in playoff receptions. WTF??

Random thoughts from around the league:

Nice to see Jeff Rosenblatt and the Apocalypse making a late season charge. They knocked off the previously top team in D2, the Terror Squad, 33-32. Anthony Brisebois got shut down but still finished 6-73-1 TD. I say “shut down” because he was targeted a ridiculous 16 times. Kevin Wyeth making an impact in this one finishing 7-52-2 TDs.
#NR put up 66 points this past week. Kendal Myers with a huge game 5-131-3 TDs and a Sack on D. Quaid Johnson was a busy name on the stat sheet as well. 1/1 with a TD as a QB, 4-32-2 TDs receiving, 2 XPTs, and then 4 Tackles / 2 INTs with a PICK 6 on D.
Speaking of Wyeth again. Heads up but the All-Stars finally made up all those games and now sit in first place in D1 with a decisive match up with FMS for the regular season title. Oh yeah, they are by 9 points in the head to head so FMS need a 10 point victory.
T.I.C.I. continued the hell that is the 2022 Winter Season for the Oompa Loompas (team is so well named because that is where they keep taking shots each week). Fred Mallette lead the way in this 61-19 victory finishing 23/28-280-8 TDs. Nicholas Gomes-Risso with another big game 9-110-1 TD and an INT. Former teammate M.A. Lapointe, normally known for his D, chipped in with 3-51-3 TDs on offence. M-A, you really need to speak to the league photographer and get your head shot redone.

Rosenblatt continued his fun week by finishing 15/18-275-7 TDs in D3 with Thor’s Hammer. Brisebois with a more normal night for him finishing 7-170-5 TDs.
Watched TOPSZN completely take over Takeover last Sunday 59-12. This one was hard to watch with 6 INTs thrown, 2 of them returned for 6 PTS
Brotherhood perplexes me. So much talent and potential but so much inconsistency. Being upset by Big Fun should not happen. Shout out to Zackary Alberts-Gill with 2 sacks of Quaysie Gordon Maule in this one.

WEEK IN REVIEW (last time for the season)

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.

Old Age Outlaws vs. Shenanigans (Old Age Outlaws win 30-19)

What I wrote: The OAO took the season series 2-1 and could easily have swept it had it not been for the `Louie Larouche Show” in Week 5. Having said that, Jay Ulley has yet to face the OAO this season and he was a difference maker against Monster. Questions abound in this one. Will the real Jay Ulley please stand up? On the other side I have a similar question for David De Andrade. I have played with him on several occasions. Normally a defensive minded player, he chose the right time to have an offensive explosion last week in defeating the Spitfire. I think that this game will come down to whoever rushes Jay Ulley. If they can make him uncomfortable then I have to give the advantage to Stephen Harripersaud and the OAO offence. While the Shenanigans definitely have more athletic ability, Harripersaud really is very good at finding holes in the defence. Kris Hope also gives him that mis-match potential should they attempt man-to-man coverage too often. By a slight margin, OAO for the championship.

What actually happened: I left this game with the impression that the Shenanigans lost more than that the Old Age Outlaws won. As mentioned earlier, Shane Williams with a nice TD grab to open the scoring for the Shenanigans. Two plays later he intercepted Stephen Harripersaud which led to a quick score by Darren Costello to put them up 13-0 after the XPT. Here is where the game changed, in my mind. Both QBs avoided Shane Williams for the rest of the game. On the next drive Harripersaud definitely tried to force a ball and Brian Tock stepped in front of it beautifully, setting up the Shenanigans to go up 3-0. At this point Ulley seemed determined to get the ball to Tony Khoury. Enter Anthony Siggia who was patrolling the short middle and knocked down 2 passes forcing a turnover on downs. Kris Hope found the end zone on the next play for the OAO, Siggia followed with a 2 Point convert and then Siggia stepped in front of yet another short throw for an INT. Kris Hope scored yet again followed by Kevin Kousaie connecting on another 2 point convert. Rather than being up 3 scores to none, or 3 to 1, the Shenanigans now found themselves on the short end of a 16-13 score. The next drive for the Shenanigans came to an end as the ball was still being targeted to Khoury on short hooks and slants and the OAO defence was sitting on them; with Josh Levine getting the 4^th down know down. If anyone knows how to slow a game down, it is Stephen Harripersaud. While they did not score on the opening drive of the first half, a 4^th down end zone drop ended the drive; they did use 7 plays and a tremendous amount of time. Siggia came up big once again with another INT off of Jay Ulley setting up some controversy. After a nice gain by Levine, Harripersaud dropped the snap and the Shenanigans completely stopped. The ball bounced right back to him and he strolled into the end zone from 14 yards out. Evident frustration from the Shenanigans afterwards, including a roughing penalty. The ZEBRAs got this one correct:

8.8 If a snap touches the ground in close vicinity to the quarterback, as a result of a bad snap or mishandling, the ball will remain live provided that the quarterback can safely retrieve the ball before the rusher is in close proximity to the play. Any plays deemed dangerous will be blown dead by the referee.

With a 22-13 lead, this one was pretty much over. The teams exchanged TDs but the damage was already done. Little surprise with Anthony Siggia as the MVP. Congrats gents

Pacemakers vs. JMJ (Pacemakers win 48-20)

What I wrote: The return of Chris Rosen has made a huge impact on the JMJ squad. As mentioned earlier, it has also allowed them to add Alex Moreau to the roster. For the Pacemakers, it is possible that they will get Chris Brockwell back for the finals. My thoughts on this season for T2 have not changed. No one has shown that they can rush Jason Rossie. Until someone does, he has too much time and can gain yards whenever he decides to. While Chris Olson did an amazing job of slowing things down las week, I truly did not grasp the logic behind the FPF rushing strategy. While Christian Ackad did yeomen`s work, he was not a great match up. Enter the Pacemakers who have multiple talented rushers at their disposal. Olson will not have the same time this week as he did last week. I think that the Pacemakers will cap off their perfect season with a big victory.

What actually happened: The summary of this game is fairly simple. No one could stop Jason Rossie from moving around and Jason Rossie was the MVP for his job as the rusher for the Pacemakers. The Pacemakers offence was not in tempo to start the evening. After an opening drive score by Mario Martello, who would also find the end zone later in the game on a BEAUTIFUL throw by Rossie to the back corner. You have to understand that Mario might be the shortest player in 35+. Lobbing a ball over the defence to find him straddling the back line requires touch and accuracy indeed. JMJ responded with a TD by Chris Rosen and we had an 8-8 ball game. JMJ game up big forcing a turnover on downs but then brother Jason came up with a big sack on 2^nd down and brother Jordan knocked down the 3^rd down attempt which forced JMJ to punt. 2 plays later had Yavar Ashrafi strolling into the end zone, followed by yet another JMJ punt with 2 plays left in the half. A huge 20 yard catch and run by Scott Binns set up brother Jason to brother Jordan for a 20 yard TD on the final play. The Pacemakers then opened the second half with a 40 yard TD catch & run by Scott Binns. If Jason Rossie not finished with 4 Sacks then my MVP vote would have been Scott Binns. 6 receptions, on 6 targets, for 98 yards and that TD. He also led the defence with 4 tackles. At this point in time the score was now 30-8 for the Pacemakers and the result was no longer in question. Congratulations to the Pacemakers for their perfect season and Jason Rossie was a very deserving choice for playoff MVP

Thanks for taking the time to follow along this season. The numbered divisions enter the final week of action so there is still a tremendous amount of football to be played.

Until next time…