Cover Zero (Div 4) Special Edition

Once again, Justin Blanchard and I tried to put our heads together in hopes of writing what seems to be a joint article. It took us time, but we’ve made it through. This week, he came up with the five questions we both had to answer.

His answers are in italic.

 

1. Two teams are a game away from finishing 10-0. Do you think finishing the regular season undefeated hurts or helps their chances of winning the championship?

I haven’t been in the league very long, but from what I understand there’s been very few undefeated team that won an FPF championship. I know off the top of my head the last team to finish undefeated in the lower divisions, Checkmate a few years ago, lost in the first round. I’m not saying 10-0 necessarily means you’re losing the final, but the fact is at some point you’re gonna play a bad game—being perfect for 10-plus weeks in a row is near impossible. Heck, just this past week the undefeated Sea Assassins were losing at halftime to a winless team. They recovered in the second half, but are they going to be able to do it again if they find themselves in the same position against a top team in the final? Call me superstitious, but put me down among those that would rather go into the playoffs with a loss knowing I got it out of the way than going in undefeated and having the Patriots’ 2007 season in the back of my mind throughout the postseason.

 

Going slightly against what Justin Blanchard is saying, I wouldn’t say undefeated hurts your chances. I do agree with the idea that being undefeated is a weight on your shoulder you carry around with you and you’ve set a target on your back for everyone to hit. That being said, undefeated does mean something. If you’ve got the guts to pull an undefeated season, have the guts to walk into every game with your head high and know you’ll beat them; if you start questioning your actions, a little doubt could be the end to your wonderful season. This time around, there’s no such thing as time to recover; the playoffs aren’t long enough to allow you such grace. I do believe it’s a “case per case” kind of situation, but in FPF, most undefeated teams crumble and I do not foresee a perfect 14-0 season for the winner this season.

 

2. Your most surprising team of the season?

Lynx. While that early season shine has worn off a bit, the fact remains that they came in as a brand new team, with brand new players to the league and not only competed week in and week out but even dominated on some occasions while playing against some established FPF veterans. I can’t say the same about many other teams in the division.

 

Mid-season, I said Lynx. And I’ve got nothing but respect for that team, but I feel like they’ve struggled recently. Therefore, my vote changes to BearSkins. Why? BearSkins, although, led by very strong Incredibles’ players were a lot better than I anticipated. With the QB change to Neil Etinson, it gave new life and a new purpose to BearSkins and they managed to keep up, hell, beat, some of those teams that most of us reckon to face. They’ve had a wonderful season and it ain’t over yet. They mustered their way into the playoff brilliantly and it’s time to collect. I’m high on them since mid-season and I hope it won’t come crashing down next week.

 

3. Your most disappointing team of the season?

Playground takes the cake for me. I don’t know how it’s possible for a team to make the playoffs in Division D last season, improve their team at the most important position on the field with a top QB, and somehow finish not just out of this year’s playoffs, but as one of its worst teams.

 

Fruit Loops wins this one for me. Sure, there’s quite a few disappointment in this division for me, I’ve foreseen the outcome of these games completely differently, although I’ve wrecked JB in predictions. With their past success and their roster, I hardly see to whom they could lose, yet, they’ve lost back-to-back-to-back games. I haven’t got the chance to see why they were losing, but something had to go awfully wrong because that roster is too talented to be outplayed.

 

4. Did 57 do the right thing in making the late-season switch to Mongeon-Duby at quarterback?

A little context is necessary here. Jeremie Mongeon-Duby is a Concordia Stingers QB recruit who never looked to be the plan at quarterback for 57 this season. He played his first few games with the team almost exclusively as a db. Things started turning sour, they made the switch and haven’t looked back since.

This might be cause for uproar, and I get the argument: 57 already have two Division 1 players in Alex and Serge Pilon Jr. and clearly have a QB that should be closer to a 90 offensive rating than his current rating of 70. That being said, did they make the right decision? Morally, perhaps not. But there is no morality when you step on the football field. If there were, no one would be trying to get away with holding receivers, no one would be trying to convince a ref they made a catch that clearly wasn’t, and everyone would be playing five-a-side when one team is missing a sixth player.

You play to win the game. 57 didn’t do anything illegal. They had the opportunity to rate their own player and they did. They played within the rules and you can’t blame them for trying to salvage their season—blame the league for allowing them to get away with it.

 

I have to agree with Justin’s argument. All his saying, for once, is true. Jérémie Mongeon-Duby is Concordia’s next gunman and he’s very talented. Now, that being said, they still remain within roster limitations even if we give Mongeon-Duby a 90 offensive rating (let’s not exaggerate, he’s not Wyeth nor Nadeau-Piuze neither). Giving him a strong 86 for instance would still have 57 under the cap, thus, no one made a fuss about it.

That being said, I do believe 57 had no intention of using him as an active QB this season, but when it comes down to it, you do everything you can to legally win and that’s what they’ve done. This roster’s talented and I’ve been high on them all season. All they needed was a great QB to be a great team and they’ve found it. The only question is, who will be able to step them, but mostly, how will they do it now that their offense is possibly one of this division’s best? Their matchup with Fun Boys this weekend’s bound to be very, very entertaining.

 

5. Do you think backing into the playoffs vs. ending on a winning streak affects a team’s chances of winning the championship?

Up until the Saints’ recent Super Bowl run, no NFL team had ever won a championship having lost their last three regular season games. Comparatively, I’m sure no FPF team has ever done the same. Now, let me first say that on paper a loss in the beginning of the season is the exact same thing as a lost towards the end. But in reality it means so much more. If you started on a losing streak but are ending on a winning streak, it means you’ve solved any strategic-related issues you might’ve had, gotten the team chemistry just right, are peaking at the right time or a mix of all three. That’s a heck of a lot beter than doing the opposite.

 

Entering the playoffs on a winning streak is fantastic. It gives you high hopes and a lot of confidence in your first few games. In my opinion, it is necessary. Of course, losing your 10^th game is not what we’re calling backing into the playoffs. If you were one of those undefeated teams at the half and you’re looking at a 5-5, 6-4 record at this point of the season, if you’ve lost your last 3 games; you’re in for a hell of a ride. Not only will you need to win in the playoffs, you’ll have to get rid of your slump and win a playoff game. In my opinion, that’s asking a lot. Not too much, because we’ve seen it happen, but it’s like putting a chip on your shoulder when there’s no need to have one.

Focus solely on your game, get rid of your losing streak prior to the playoffs and start the real season with only one purpose; to win it all.

 

 

That’s all for our joint article. We hope you’ve enjoyed it, at least, a little. You can always reach us at either [email protected] or [email protected] respectively or via twitter at @JBlanchFPF or @DagenaisFPF. In hopes to see you on the fields this upcoming week.