Deuxième et Court (Div D) – Semaine 8 (English)

Yet another great week in Division D is in the books. We saw our fair share of blowouts, tight wins, upsets and even another tie as the playoff picture is slowly becoming clearer with just two weeks of regular season football left to play. Let’s take a look. 

 

Race to the playoffs

 

The updated conference-by-conference standings, copy-pasted from Mr. Media himself, Daron Basmadjian: 

 

 

 

Conference A

1. Centurions* (8-0, 16 pts, 3-0, 77 PA): Underdogs, Ballz Deep (11)
2. Les Affreux* (8-0, 16 pts, 2-0, 147 PA): Playground, Black Ice (13)
3. Limetime (5-3, 10 pts, 3-0, 207 PA): Tyrants, Mongoose (15)
4. Blue Mountain State (7-1, 14 pts, 2-1, 134 PA): Vikings, Playground (14)
5. Mongoose (5-3, 10 pts, 2-0, 188 PA): Lockdown, Limetime (19)
6. Wheel of Fish (5-3, 10 pts, 0-2, 226 PA): Big Blue Wrecking Crew, Lockdown (10)
7. Lockdown (3-2-3, 9 pts, 1-1, 233 PA): Mongoose, Wheel of Fish (20)
8. Bearskins (4-4, 8 pts, 1-2, 256 PA): Black Ice, X-Men (18)

On the bubble: 
9. Black Ice (3-4-1, 7 pts, 0-2, 271 PA): Bearskins, Les Affreux (24)
10. Shamrocks (3-5, 6 pts, 1-1, 215 PA): Pardon My Swag, Warriors (7)
11. Playground (3-5, 6 pts, 1-1, 238 PA): Les Affreux, Blue Mountain State (30)
12. Pardon My Swag (3-5, 6 pts, 1-1, 240 PA): Shamrocks, Underdogs (10)
13. Underdogs (2-6. 4 pts, 1-1, 252 PA): Centurions, Pardon My Swag (22)

Eliminated: 
14. Warriors (0-7-1, 1 pt, 0-3, 236 PA): Black Mambas, Shamrocks (8)
15. Big Blue Wrecking Crew (0-7-1, 1 pt, 0-3, 264 PA): Wheel of Fish, Park-X Streets (13)

Conference B

1. Longhorns* (7-1, 14 pts, 1-1, 120 PA): Park-X Streets, Jaggerbomb (13)
2. Le Zoo* (5-1-2, 12 pts, 1-0-1, 187 PA): Checkmate, Gotham Knights (20)
3. X-Men (5-2-1, 11 pts, 3-0, 202 PA): Ghosts, Bearskins (12)
4. Hostile Territory (6-2, 12 pts, 2-0, 173 PA): Jaggerbomb, Tyrants (15)
5. Gotham Knights (5-3, 10 pts, 2-0, 186 PA): Ballz Deep, Le Zoo (19)
6. Checkmate (5-3, 10 pts, 1-1, 243 PA): Le Zoo, Black Mambas (14)
7. Jaggerbomb (4-2-2, 10 pts, 1-0-1, 191 PA): Hostile Territory, Longhorns (26)
8. Vikings (4-4, 8 pts, 1-2, 166 PA): Blue Mountain State, Project Mayhem (21)

On the bubble: 
9. Ballz Deep (3-4-1, 7 pts, 1-1-1, 208 PA): Gotham Knights, Centurions (26)
10. Project Mayhem (3-4-1, 7 pts, 1-1, 284 PA): Speed Demons, Vikings (9)
11. Tyrants (2-5-1, 5 pts, 0-2-1, 205 PA): Limetime, Hostile Territory (22)
12. Ghosts (2-6, 4 pts, 1-1, 273 PA): X-Men, Speed Demons (12)

Eliminated: 
13. Park-X Streets (1-6-1, 3 pts, 1-2, 244 PA): Longhorns, Big Blue Wrecking Crew (15)
14. Black Mambas (1-7, 2 pts, 0-3, 265 PA): Warriors, Checkmate (11)
15. Speed Demons (0-7-1, 1 pt, 0-2, 224 PA): Project Mayhem, Ghosts (11)

*Indicates a team has clinched

**You may have noticed Mongoose and Limetime have swapped places since Saturday’s article despite neither of them having played Sunday. That was my mistake. The above are the real actual no doubt about it official standings. 

 

Recap 

 

Cows fry fish 

 

In a game pegged to be a sizzling matchup between two of the top teams in the division, one side fizzled while the other shined in the Longhorns’ 32-13 drubbing of Wheel of Fish. Simply put, Wheel of Fish were off their game this past Sunday, with dropped passes, missed tackles and numerous inaccurate passes leading to a 19-6 halftime deficit. 

 

It was much of the same in the second half, with Wheel of Fish turning to the long ball to try to get back in the game, but with no success, as the team’s only highlight of the night was a short hook taken to the house by receiver Fred Viens to make it 25-13. That’s as close as they would get, however, as Jon Moodie, who finished a solid 15-for-26 for 170 yards and five total touchdowns, would lead one final touchdown drive to effectively put the game out of reach. 

It marked the first time all season Wheel of Fish didn’t record a single interception on defence, and proved to be Avi Yayon’s worst showing as a quarterback this season, as he finished with a measly 35.5 completion percentage and a 64.3 quarterback rating overall. 

 

If anyone ever thought raw athleticism always beats out veteran intelligence in flag football, this game proved otherwise.  

 

Jaggerbleh

 

That was the feeling spectators of Jaggerbomb’s game versus the Tyrants were left with by the night’s end, with the two teams playing to an ugly 12-12 tie. It was a game that appeared to be Jaggerbomb’s to lose, what with the Tyrants’ struggles this season. But what started as a sure win ended up being a dogfight all the way to the final whistle, as both teams simply never found their groove. On the Tyrants’ side, quarterback John Kaliotzakis was near-flawless when starting from his own side of the field, moving his offence into Jaggerbomb territory with ease. It usually consisted of him throwing a quick slant pattern to receiver Andre Frederick, who would then do the rest to move the chains. 

 

But once past midfield, the Tyrants offence was like trying to use a pencil to knock down a concrete wall–good enough to make a dent, but nothing more, with most of their trips to the redzone ending with an interception or a turnover on downs. 

 

It was still better than the Jaggerbomb offence, which was mostly unable to move the ball at all. Quarterback Jeremie Gauthier found little time to throw the ball and even less room to run thanks to superb rushing by Frederick, who held him to 10-for-20 passing for 105 yards and two touchdowns with an interception passing, and just three rushing attempts for 26 yards while sacking him four times.

 

It all made for a big missed opportunity for Jaggerbomb who, with Hostile Territory and the Longhorns left on their schedule, may very well find themselves on the outside looking in come playoff time. 

 

Tyler Durden no match for mutants

In FPF fantasy football, quarterbacks score one point for every 10 passing yards and just three for every touchdown. I’ve told my colleagues I think there should be more points given for big plays–like touchdowns or interceptions–to make up for how easy it is to gain yards in this league. Why? Simple: yards mean nothing if they don’t come with points. Project Mayhem’s game versus X-Men this past week proved that to be true once again, as each team’s starting quarterback threw for 201 yards, but only one found the endzone six times. That one was X-Men’s Gautama Swaminadhan, who led his team to a much-needed 38-25 victory over Mayhem. 

 

It was a game that can be described just like virtually all of Mayhem’s other losses this season: a great showing by quarterback Alex Holowach thrown to waste due to a poor performance by his defence. Mayhem allowed their opponents to score over 30 points for the eighth consecutive week, letting the chance to take over the top spot in their subdivision slip through their hands in the process as they now fall to 3-4-1 on the season. 

 

As for X-Men, their first win in four weeks couldn’t have come at a better time as they are now one win away from clinching Conference B’s central division. 

 

 

Power Rankings

1. Les Affreux (8-0): Only one big test in Playground and one potential trap game in Black Ice stand between Les Affreux and a 10-0 record.  

 

2. Centurions (8-0): Critics thought their undefeated record was the result of an easy schedule. Those critics will have to find something else to argue about after a big win over Shamrocks. 

 

3. Longhorns (7-1): Their football experience more than makes up for their lack of youth, and they proved it once again in a dominating win over Wheel of Fish. 

 

4. Blue Mountain State (7-1): When their defence has an off-day, will they have a quarterback that can save them? So far, they’re 0-1 in those situations. 

 

5. Mongoose (5-3): A tight win over a winless team isn’t very impressive, but is a win nonetheless. 

 

6. Checkmate (5-3): When they’re at their best, Checkmate have perhaps the most dangerous offense in the Division. The only question is whether they can be at their best the rest of the season.  

 

7. Hostile Territory (6-2): How do you get past two tight losses to two great teams? By beating up on a struggling one. 

 

8. Le Zoo (5-1-2): It may have been against a one-win team, but Le Zoo’s third straight win has them peaking at the right time. 

 

9. Limetime (5-3): A vital win over Lockdown has this team back in the top 10. The only question is whether they can they be consistent enough to stay.  

 

10. Wheel of Fish (5-3): Three losses, all blowouts against playoff contenders. If this team doesn’t start showing up in games against top teams, its potential postseason run may be a short one. 

 

Fantasy Football 

Here I was thinking Wheel of Fish’s terrible showing against the Longhorns would at least make up for our loss by helping me take over the top spot in the fantasy standings this week. Instead, I somehow ended up dropping down a spot while Terry Tam is still in first. What a cruel, cruel world we live in. 

 

For those too lazy to check the chart below, Eagle came out on top with the most points this week. Fortunately, we’re saved from hearing his voice this week as he’ll be doing his rant next week when he gets back from his trip.  

 

Team	QB	WR	Def	Flex	Total	Last Week	Difference
Terry	442.40	600.60	188.33	117.57	1348.90	1274.97	73.93
Eagle	494.70	551.80	153.83	118.33	1318.67	1142.63	176.03
Justin	476.30	520.00	225.33	82.10	1303.73	1200.23	103.50
GM	498.70	417.60	154.67	143.43	1214.40	1076.20	138.20
Peeze	487.70	427.00	136.33	131.07	1182.10	1055.97	126.13
Simon	408.90	452.40	148.17	124.53	1134.00	971.83	162.17
Mat	382.70	375.20	126.83	192.10	1076.83	934.23	142.60

 

Quick Picks

Yours truly bounced back from last week’s terrible 7-7 record with a respectable 9-5 one this week, while Peeze went… 0-0 after forgetting to make his picks of the week before high-tailing it to Europe on July 4. I guess that puts me ahead with a 71-41 record on the season while he stays at 60-38? Or perhaps he goes down with a 0-14 record for the week and drops to 60-52? In any case, here are my picks for this week’s games. 

 

Bearskins vs. Black Ice: Black Ice

Speed Demons vs. Project Mayhem: Project Mayhem

Big Blue Wrecking Crew vs. Wheel of Fish: N/A

Lockdown vs. Mongoose: Mongoose

Centurions vs. Underdogs: Centurions

Tyrants vs. Limetime: Limetime

Black Mambas vs. Warriors: Warriors

Vikings vs. Blue Mountain State: Blue Mountain State 

X-Men vs. Ghosts: X-Men

Pardon My Swag vs. Shamrocks: Shamrocks

Le Zoo vs. Checkmate: Checkmate

Jaggerbomb vs. Hostile Territory: Hostile Territory

Park-X Streets vs. Longhorns: Longhorns

Les Affreux vs. Playground: Les Affreux

Ballz Deep vs. Gotham Knights: Gotham Knights 

 

***

Well, that’s it for today. As always, you can reach me by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @JBlanch6. Be sure to tune in to this week’s Division D version of the “Calling the Audible” podcast at http://fpf.podomatic.com, in which I take over for Peeze (who?) alongside Terry Tam in the studio. An interview with Gotham Knights’ Chris Rivest, a Mongoose lovefest and a short clip of perhaps the world’s first-ever techno song, “Sandstorm” by Darude, awaits you. You don’t want to miss it.