Congratulations Simon, An Offense that Needs Fibre and Assembly Line Issues
Paolo Della Rocca
18-06-2022 05:03 PM
I first met Simon Dagenais here, playing FPF. At the time I was just a player and he was the first ever French Language writer for the league. We became fast friends. We did podcasts together, finals broadcasts but also took opportunities to play golf, go fishing, have a pint or 9 and so on.
One of the coolest things about FPF is that it allows us, as adults, to make friends in adulthood. This is something we often take for granted. Once we’re done school, we begin our careers in most cases and often will make a friend or two at work. However, some of my best friendships were not formed in college or in the workplace. I’ve met some awesome people that make up this incredible community.
Simon is one such example. We all “play a role” as members of the media. We exaggerate our characters for effect but, they are based on who we are. We “bust each other’s chops” and so on as a part of the deranged way that dudes largely show affection for each other. Simon found himself, as we all do at the butt of jokes about his quarterback play, his analysis or whatever else was on display. The dude is a great sport, an insightful person and he is above all kind and generous. I’m very happy for you dude and am eternally grateful that I’m here to witness you beginning the latest part of this journey with the love of your life. If anyone who is reading is so inclined, have a drink, a smoke, or anything you do to celebrate in his honor.
Musings, Ramblings, Lies and Other Assortments
- Nobody likes the dude who’s good at golf. It’s obnoxious.
- Hugolin Jodoin-Michaud of Save the Turftles seemed only interested in provoking opponents. At least he had some impact on the game. Otherwise, he’d be all but forgotten.
- In the higher divisions we have ultra competitive people who are insanely talented. Yet they rarely use divisive and hate filled rhetoric on the field.
- Resort casinos need to have at least one poker table. Step it up Fairmont.
- Vince Rizzolo is starting to develop a rapport with quarterback Cooper Young.
- Killer Rays Tyler Gurberg was a receiving phenom in his first FPF final. However, this week he intercepted two passes.
- Ghosts offense needs to hit up a Fibre One Bar or something because right now, their offense seems constipated. They’re averaging 13 points per game.
- I don’t understand basketball fans feeling the need to deny greatness. You’re allowed to admit Steph Curry is great while also not changing your opinion on other great players.
- Wide Open Bar has had a Wide Open receiver in Louis Lussier. He’s tied for the season lead with 8 touchdown catches.
- Jeremy Augustin was solid for Dirty Dawgs but Lockdown seems to have lost this more than the Dawgs won it. Steve Alberico having a bad snap happens once a lifetime, drops and missed tackles were LD’s undoing.
- It may take a minute but after the last game I’m convinced that Undertakers QB Marc-Andre Desaulniers will get into form. He’s spent some time away but American Bad Ass Szn seems to be right around the corner.
- Primetime’s Adam Ouici has 11 touchdowns and has only thrown a single interception so far.
Memories, Hallucinations and Observations
Prime 112
Sometimes you catch a game and it’s beautiful. Other times you watch a game that is such a chaotic mess it feels like someone broke a gear on an assembly line and now Lucy and her friend need to eat as many of the chocolates as possible to make sure they don’t fall off the line. This game was the latter. A great example of this was a ball that was thrown into a crowd. It bounced off a defender’s chest floated in the air while the defender in question comically looked for the ball and before he could locate it it was snagged by a receiver who would scamper down field for a score. Yes, it was that kind of game.
After Ethan Adrian gave QB a try in week 1, Adam Ouici appeared in his first FPF game and he was quite good. He completed most of his passes despite looking deep a little more often than necessary but the athletes on Primetime were able to make it work. Leo Diakoumakos scored a touchdown and Ethan Adrian had an impact on both ends as he caught a pair of scores and also sacked quarterback William Sebag
Sebag looked pretty good throughout the game. He has a strong arm and places the ball decently well. Their were times where he moved out of the pocket unnecessarily. Don’t get me wrong, he made some hugely athletic plays but it did occur to me that he was looking to break the rusher rather than keeping his gaze downfield. This was particularly the case when he failed to beat Ethan Aidrian and lost 12 yards before running two more plays that would end the game in favor of Primetime over Selwyn Old Boys by a score of 38-33. Those last two attempts went to Harry Maurovich which was a good idea. Maurovich was a wrecking ball for Selwyn Old Boys. He scored three TDs and was targeted on 39% of the team’s pass attempts. He was relied upon heavily despite Colin Rolph’s eary score and following OC. These teams are far from perfect but the athleticism will keep them in games.
Red Not Yet Rising
Peerless Scarred is an interesting team. They come into the season with a lot of FPF experience as well as some experience from other leagues. I mentioned in my previous article that Danny D’Amour’s return in division D is noteworthy. Michael Timmins and Brenden Sabloff also will catch teams attention pretty quickly. Another name I would have picked despite him not being particularly well known in FPF circles is Mederic Lauzon. He was great as a receiver last season and he is one of the top QBs in division E this season. However, in the absence of Jared Buck this week Lauzon would take snaps behind center.
When Lauzon would catch his first snap the score was already 6-0 for La Cite des Jetons as Nathan Desjardins hauled in a 9 yard touchdown to kick off the festivities. His initial drive would end on a touchdown pass to Caleb Willms and early on it appeared as though we had a game on our hands. However, after the Peerless Scarred defense allowed two 4th down conversions and another score, things started to turn. The next drive ended abruptly as Gaspar Cernacek would pick off a pass and return it for a touchdown from the shadow of his own goal line. Two drives later, Arthur Doyon would intercept another pass and put up another score for the La Cite Des Jetons TD.
For La Cite des Jetons Gaspar Cernacek leads a team of great athletes by simply having an extra gear. The consensus is that this dude is destined for higher divisions very soon. Jules Regimbald also drew some attention by launching a pass from deep in his own territory to the back of the opposing endzone with a flick of a wrist. There are some game management issues that they will need to focus on before the playoffs roll around. An example of this was before halftime. On first down, Regimbald took a sack and then hit a short hook and set up a final play that would not result in points. By and large those are not winning decisions but, for the meantime, it didn’t affect La Cite Des Jetons as they would go on to win this game by a score of 37-18 against Peerless Scarred.
She Said See You L8er Boi
When I started playing FPF (Spring 2011 to be precise), teams that were chalk full of veterans had a massive advantage. In some respects there are still advantages. However, given the ubiquitous nature of flag football (largely thanks to the success of FPF), teams tend to come in with not only youthful exuberance but also institutional knowledge. This, in recent history hast just meant that experienced teams are old.
I’m hoping this isn;’t the case for L8. Wade Williams took snaps for the second time this season and for the second time L8 were not able to find the endzone often. In the two games they’ve actually played L8 have scored a combined 20 points. There are some dynamic options on the team and my hope is that they’ll get more involved. Samuel Aerts had a nasty one hand grab in his division E game this week. I also noticed Joey Notaro on this roster (he didn’t play in this game). I described Joey Notaro to Stephen Harripersaud this week. I said, “he’s fast af, has insane vertical and will fight for every ball.”
The most disconcerting sign for me was Wade Williams only completing single digit passes in this game. If L8’s strength is going to be their experience, the offense NEEDS to move the ball. This wasn’t the case in the game. Hall of famer Shane Williams had the most impactful game as he led the team in yards and scored one of the two touchdowns but he only caught two passes. He also intercepted Sebastien Noel in the 19-14 losing effort.
Scott Binns of L8 was sent off for 10 plays after receiving an OC where he was angered by the deplorable display of sportsmanship by the equally pathetic offense of Save the Turftles Hugolin Jodoin-Michaud. For a team who’s offensive efforts were pretty remedial (I’m being kind), HJM made up for his lack of impact with xenophobia and by taunting his opponent. Having heard enough, Binns retaliated and the officials, predictably, seemingly only caught the retaliation. This would spill into post-game festivities when the irrelevant player of note refused to shake hands with his opponent because he is a coward who rode the backs of his teammates to success.
Save the Turftles, otherwise are a solid team. I’ve been singing the praises of Vincent Cheung since he arrived in FPF and his touchdown early in the second half set the tone for the Turftles. Sebastien Noel has had some unbalanced play since his initial, impressive offering in FPF. However, his q3 yard touchdown scamper would end the game in STT’s favor.
Declarations of Bravado
Let’s overreact folks. As many as four games are done and here we are with an updated version of the power rankings. Please feel offended if you’re not here. For those who are, enjoy the false sense of security.
- Glory Boyz (3-0): They beat an experienced team and the resume grows stronger.
- Kiss My Vultures (3-0): No Dave DeAndrade, no problem. Iggy Magnets stepped in and KMV didn’t miss a beat. THat was hugely impressive.
- La Cite Des Jetons (2-0-1): They put up 43 points in their opener against a team who just competed in the finals. Something tells me that Jules Regimbald ato Justin Tremblay is a connection we’ll need to keep an eye on.
- Dirty Dawgs (2-0): Eagle described them as “a tough matchup for anyone”. Charles Verrault scored thrice en route to a 39-0 win over Centaures.
- Killer Rays (2-1): We don’t often talk about Killer rays defense but Lucas Szekely looked great with two sacks this week.
- Mad Dogs(1-1-1): Jordan Murphy may end the season with a billion receiving yards.
- Trap Stars (2-1): Having the game on the line, a broken play was not the best decision. Cooper Young and Co. take an early unexpected loss.
- Bandits (2-1): They’re 2-0 when QB Cecil Belanger starts. Bandits may have the best roster when at full strength.
- Lockdown (1-1): The early season loss is surprising but luckily the team is much better than Eagle’s golf game.
- Big Dracos (1-0-1): Phil Hacla did his best to make the Malfoy’s proud. He caught two touchdowns and threw another. Big Dracos have had a solid start to the season.
Visions of the World of Tomorrow
These are my picks for the week. I didn’t make picks on Calling the Audible this week because I wasn’t on the show. So these are as official as it gets. My picks are in bold because fortune favors the bold.
Saturday’s Soaring Stapler
For those who have any thoughts, commentary or complaints, I am very easy to find. I’m @peezehss on twitter, @pdellarocca and Peeze Della Reeze on facebook. You can also take a chance by emailing me at [email protected] but I don’t check it because it’s a death trap of junk emails all trying to sell bulletproof vests and videos promising to correct my slice. I really need to use incognito mode.
Folks, if your team is struggling, Eagle, Moe, (any of the media guys really), and I love talking flag. Let us know how we can help, let us know if you have any questions. Hey, even if you have some incredible thoughts, I’m always down for an ethereal descent into introspection.
Remember that each week you can join the party on our Facebook page or at www.youtube.com/flagplus on our weekly podcast: Calling the Audible. The show is released every Friday morning.
Till next week, I want to thank you falettineme be mice elf agin!