Div 4A Mid-Season Report Card – FlagPlus Football League

Damn! We’ve already reached the mid-way point of the season, and that can only mean one thing (is it that hotline bling?) No, no late night booty call, instead, the mid-season report card! Let’s dive right in, cuz this will be a long one.

But first, the grading scheme explained:

A’s (A+, A, A-): Your team exceeded pre-season expectations and are shocking the FPF world. No one saw it coming, and you are atop the division.
B’s (B+, B, B-): Your team is right where I expected you should be. Your either doing really well and I expected it, average and sit in the middle of the standings, or having a tough season, but I saw it coming.
C’s (C+, C, C-): Your underachieving below expectations (mine and probably your own).
D’s (D+, D, D-): It’s been a reallllly tough season and will continue to be down the stretch. Take the experience and bring it to the next Spring season.

Division 4A Report Card

The Stoics (3-2)

Mid season Grade: B

Stoics are having a bit of an up and down season, as they haven’t won nor lost 2 games in a row so far. Adding Kevin Boustany was a big upgrade and it’s no surprise he is leading the teams in TDs and is second in yardage. Chris Rivest is having a decent season; not amazing, not bad. He is 9th out of 17 QBs in both Passing yards (645) and TDs (16), albeit in 1 less game than most QBs in the div. I also like that they have 2 receivers in the top 20 in both receiving yards and TDs in snapper Alexandre Provencher-Rivest and the aforementioned Kevin Boustany. Despite this, they are a .500 team and one of the reasons is that they have the 5th lowest 1st downs. Now this is a double-edged stat that can be misleading. A team can have very few 1st downs if they often hit the 40-bomb TD, but Rivest is not that type of Quarterback. He is more the methodical, drive-the-field-type-of-QB, so I’m surprised they aren’t in the TOP 5 teams in 1st downs. Defensively, they’ve only produced 6 turnovers in the form of of INTs, which is average, and are 8th in sacks with 4, which is low, considering they have Denzel Eadie-Lowe one of the premier rushers in the LEAGUE (although I know he’s only played in 3 games so far this year).

The Stoics actually have a tough start to the 2nd half of the season, facing Takeover, Centaures and Small Giants, so if they can go 1-2, that’s not bad, and going 2-1 would be fantastic news for Rivest‘s Stoics. In other words, it looks like they will be .500 on the season moving forward, and while he has been good so far, Vincent Cheung needs to take the next step in his FPF career if The Stoics want to be an upper-echelon team

Mid season MVP: Alexandre Provencher-Rivest

Hurley & Sons (2-3)

Mid season Grade: C+

So the last time Gordon Hogan was on the FPF field, his orbital bone was in critical condition, and I wasn’t sure how his return to FPF as a QB would be. Mike Knopp and the Bishara brothers are before my time in FPF, but have heard of their FPF prowess. That said, they are have been woeful in the defensive side of the ball. They’ve allowed the most third-most Points Against with 152, are tied for the 5th lowest INTs with 4, and have allowed the 7th most TDs against.

Offensively on the year, it hasn’t been great either, as they’ve only put up 70 points on the season, have the lowest yards per game (138 yards), they take the most plays to score a TD (14 plays), and have only converted on 37.5% on 4th down while they allow opposing offenses to convert 60% of their 4th down conversions.

That being said, they may have turned their season around, as they scored almost half of their 70 points in their last game, putting up 32 points on Spera’s Cougars and Hogan scored 5 of his 8 TDs on the season in that game. Looking ahead in their schedule, I can see them come out with another 2 wins and 3 losses in the back half of their division, and it will be interesting to see if the 4-6 record is enough to get them into a playoff position.

Mid season MVP: Colin Taylor

TOPSZN (4-1)

Mid season Grade: A

Shawn McGrath is atop the division in passing yards (992) and tied for 2nd in passing TDs (24). It takes TOPSZN the 2nd least plays to score touchdown, just under 5 plays to score, so that is clutch when the whistles blow the final 5 plays of the game. Their offense is running on all cylinders, as they have the 3rd highest Points per game (35) and are converting 47% on 3rd down and 57% on 4th down, so they keep the cones moving. Ryan McGrath is currently a top 5 receiver with his 300+ receiving yards and 9 TDs, while the Parent brothers both have 200+ yards and have combined for another 10 TDs. Oh and they added Charles Verreault to the roster too, who adds another 134 yards and 3 TDs to the mix.

Defensively, what can you say… Andel Thomas-Gordon is the defensive leader of the team and the division, with his 5 INTs, including 1 pick 6. Verrault and Bradley Parent have also contributed with pick 6’s of their own. As a unit, they are tied for 3rd with 11 INTs, and are in the top 5 with their 6 sacks. They have also allowed the 4th least points against per game (22.6), so it’s safe to say they are dynamic on D and compliment their offense very well. They have a couple of matchups in The Brotherhood, Takeover, and KGP Ra that will test just how good they are.

Mid season MVP: Shawn Mcgrath (This was hard to single out just 1 player; honorable mentions: Ryan McGrath and Andel Thomas-Gordon).

Spera’s Cougars (1-4)

Mid season Grade: B-

Spera’s Cougar have struggled moving up into Division 4, just that’s pretty much what I expected before the season began. It takes a full season before you get used to the speed and better caliber of play and wind up with a winning record to end a season.

The team has made a switch at QB as I announced last week, and they’ve been more competitive with Santino Sparagna at QB. They may have caught Takeover off guard, but now the division is on notice and they ended up losing to Hurley & Sons this past week. Despite the loss, 66 of their 98 points on the season have come in the last 2 weeks, so the offense is heating up and won’t be the reason week in and week out for why they lose games. Not to mention, Santino now gives them a dual threat that keeps defenses on their toes.

One of the issues is roster management. They’ve had 13 different receivers catch a ball for them. You will normally see the more successful teams with a consistent roster week in and week out.

Defensively, both Sparagna brothers have contributed with INTs. Without them, only Anthony Siggia and Vince Pisano would have 1 INT each. Nic Groppini is a wrecking ball, but needs to start contributing with more turnovers on D. He is however, doing his part on offense, leading the team with 149 yards and 2 TDs in 3 games.

Offensively so far, they are only averaging 149 yards per game and 19.6 points per game, both averages that I expect will increase in the 2nd half of the year.

Mid season MVP: Santino Sparagna

The BrotherHood (4-1)

Mid season Grade: A

Yes, yes, I won’t deny it. When Peeze asked for the 4 teams that are rated 40% on Rotten Tomatoes in 4A, yeah, I placed The BrotherHood as one of those teams. Granted, I had seen them lose 37-12 in Week 1 with Jeremy Ronsin at Quarterback and, well, I blame the high altitude in Denver for messing with the oxygen reaching my brain. Since then, they are on a 4-game winning streak, and next look to take down another 4-1 squad in TOPSZN. The only thing from an A+ is the 1 loss on the season on an otherwise spotless record.

On offense, The BrotherHood bring a fairly balanced attack on all fronts: throwing, receiving and running. Quaysie Gordon-Maule is playing at a QB-of-the-year pace, throwing 20 TDs to his 2 INTs, with, what I believe is the most impressive stat, a completion percentage of 75%. With the balls I saw Quaysie throw in Co-Ed, if you told me the very next season he would be completion 3/4’s of his passes, I’d say your crazy. On top of his improved arm play, he’s kept his leg churning as well, leading the div with 174 yards and 2 extra TDs on the ground. The balanced receiving core is headlined by Nick Cenacle and his 142 yards and 4 TDs, but team also has depth with the Majid brothers, Connor Lafferty and Ben Ohayon. Also, and I love this stat, is that all 8 receivers have all caught at least 1 TD. Makes it hard to defend when every player can catch it, make a play, and score a TD.

And then to compliment that offense, you have the league-leading defense in turnovers with 14 INTs and league leading 4 pick 6’s, so they are dangerous and can score whenever they set foot on the field. Oh, and if your a QB and decide not to throw it in that snatching D, league-leading sack-getter Rahman Khan will make you face 3rd and 11 and then 4th and 17.

So much for a 40% rotten tomato rating…

Mid season MVP: Quaysie Gordon-Maule

Big Fun (1-4)

Mid season Grade: B-

So this was another team that was caught in my list of 4 teams when Peeze asked me to list 4 teams rated 40% on Rotten Tomatoes. Unlike The BrotherHood, I was more on point with this prediction. This is why they get a B- grade, since I felt the team would struggle in a tough 4A division.

Evan Ely Nolet is truggling with only 12 passing TD’s and 7 INTs in 5 games. He’s a good QB, but this is his first time throwing in Division 4, and while he’s not quite there yet, I can see Nolet thriving in a season or 2. Other than the QB play, and I said this in my game preview last week, but they need more offensively from Rico Tulino and Kenny Boutilier. These guys are game breakers, so to see both with under 90 yards and 1 TD is shocking. Conversely, when 1 target gets 39 targets, I can see why! But don’t get me wrong, I would probably throw Doug McKernan the ball 8 times per game if he were on my team too 😅. Him and Zack Alberts-Gill have lead the receiving core, combining for 8 TDs and 472 yards.

So if we break down their team stats, they are putting up the passing yard stats (6th most) but have the 4th least TDs. That means they are struggling in the RedZone and on 4th down. Not only that, they take the 2nd most plays to score a TD (13) and only score on 36% of their possessions. Combine these 3 stats and it leads to a measly 17.4 points per game, which as we all know, is not enough to win you FPF games. So they are moving the ball, but failing to score and turning the ball over (whether on downs or in the form of INTs).

Their in-season free agent acquisition in Alex Blais is a nice piece to move the chains, and he can hopefully help them score some more TDs.

Mid season MVP: Doug McKernan

Bruins (3-2)

Mid season Grade: B

While Gab Wiseman started the season a little shaky in the season opener, he’s been great since, throwing 19 TDs and 3 INTs in the 4 games after Week 1.

Wiseman is the leader on offense, as he can distribute the ball so well and also take off and use his legs to scamper down field and twist his hips in that deceivingly slipper fashion (IYKYK, amirite?) to prevent from getting deflagged. Receiving wise, he loves his new target in Rocco Christiano, as that’s good enough for 2nd in the division and 7th overall for receiving yards with 262. After that, his 2nd favorite target is none other than Mathieu Ouimet, who himself is very difficult to tackle as well. After that, it’s quite the balanced attack, with alternating subs coming in, in the form of Luis Begin, Zach Zwirn, Jocelyn Calixte, and Alex St. Arnaud, and add to the mix the reliable snapper Jerry Waskiw. With all these pieces, they have one of the more balanced attacks in the division, and while they lead the division in first downs (which is a trademark to Wiseman’s offense), but I’m surprised with the record given such a strong offensive unit. For this reason, they don’t get graded higher than a B.

Defensively, they are 6th out of 16 teams in both INTs and sacks, but opponents are converting on at 50% on both 3rd and 4th down conversions, so there’s room for improvement there. That being said, I see them finishing the next 5 games 4-1 to go 7-3 on the season.

Mid season MVP: Gab Wiseman

Nomads (1-3)

Mid season Grade: B–

I’ve already asked the league to look into their game against Backyard Bullies and officially register it as a 60-0 forfeit win. That being said, if the only win on your season is from a forfeited game, it doesn’t inspire much confidence.

Justin Lavallee is struggling with almost as many TDs (10) as INTs (7) in 3 games played. The team looks like it struggles to get a consistent lineup in, week in and week out, which doesn’t help the team to build any QB-WR chemistry. If you look at the roster, it’s quite simple you need to take away Tony Khoury and Jean-Richard Verger, which is easier said than done, but it’s literally where 64% of the offense is coming from.

It’s hard to evaluate them after 3 games played, as both the individual and team stats are skewed and have a smaller sample size than the others. Luckily the average stats give a more comparable picture to present. While they are right smack in the middle ion terms of yards per game, it takes them on average 10 plays to score a touchdown, 4th worst in the div. Converting at 41% on 3rd down isn’t great as an efficiency stat, but the 5 times they’ve gone for it on 4th, they’ve converted 4 times, so 80% ain’t too shabby when you’re not converting on 3rd, but it keeps the cones moving nonetheless. It also appears that they don’t do well in the convert game, which we know is huge in tight FPF games, converting on 17% of their 1-point attempts, especially when they are allowing opponents to convert at pretty much 50% on both 1-point and 2-point converts.

Mid season MVP: Jean-Richard Verger

KGP Ra (5-0)

Mid season Grade: A-

A Ryan Garber throwing 24 TDs and 2 INTs for 836 yards, 75% completion percentage and 127 QBR? In Division 4A? in 5 games? That’s an A+ performance.

Why the team gets an A- then? I mean they have three Division 2 talent-level players in Phil Cutler, Dylan Garber and Jonathan Garfinkle that makes me want to lower the grade to a B+, but the sparkling 5-0 record brings it back up to an A-.

The receiving core is led by a 3-headed monster in Garfinkle, Young, and D. Garber, all of which have 150+ receiving yards and 4+ TDs. Between the 3 of them, they have 595 yards and 17 TDs.

Not surprisingly, the Division 2 talent is leading the way defensively, with Garfinkle, Cutler, and D. Garber notching 4, 3 and 4 INTs respectively. Not to mention that when Young gets his hands on a pick, he can take it back for 6. Then add to the mix, a young stud rusher in the making in Jonathan Steinberg, and you’ve got a nice D core; one of the division’s best.

I see only 1, maybe 2, max 3 matchups that pose a threat to their perfect season. It’s a championship-or-bust kind of season for KGP Ra, as they try to get Ryan Garber and the young guys in on the FPF Championships.

Mid season MVP: Ryan Garber

Backyard Bullies (2-3)

Mid season Grade: B-

I have a hard time evaluating this team. They obviously have talent from FPF years past, but I see another 2-3 record in their last 5 games of the season to end with a 4-6 record. Let’s see if that will be enough to crack the top 6 in the Conference by season’s end.

Otherwise, Jordan Allard is having a decent season at QB. Not outstanding, not garbage. For sure though, the 3.5 TDs per game and 2.3 TD-to-INT ratio will not win you many games, but his ability to scramble up field is a nice added component that opposing defenses need to constantly consider in their huddle. The offense is a balanced one at receiver in terms of both targets and the yardage they get with those targets. Derrick Fontana, Steve Sanner and Rich Humes lead in the yardage and TD categories, with Daniel O’Connor and Brennan Burke with the needed depth at WR. That said, they are in the bottom 5 in terms of team TDs, passing yards and 1st downs.

I believe it’s defensively where the stats suggest this team is struggling. They are allowing teams to convert 75% on 3rd down and 100% on 4th down. This is the absolute key to losing FPF games, not to mention that opposing offenses are scoring on 72% of their possessions.

What scares me most is their latest loss to TOPSZN, a 40-19 score which could be seen as FPF veterans losing big to the up-and-coming FPF stars. The team has talented players, so perhaps coming up with a new playbook and new defensive assignments is in order.

Mid season MVP: Rich Humes

Takeover (2-3)

Mid season Grade: C-

Oh no… What happened? I would have thought this team would be 5-0 or 4-1 at this point during the season! As been mentioned in several FPF channels, this team roster is STACKED, so to see them with a 2-3 record absolutely stunned me. Ian Einheiber came back strong in Week 3, but he has struggled in his last 2 outings. It seems like teams are quickly picking up his playbook, and he might need a few new plays that stretch the field. Not to knock the guy, but Will Power has more passing TDs in his 2 games at QB than him in 3😱😦.

The receiving core is a stud lineup, but I’ve identified the issue. They have put up great season stats so far, but outside of Vincent Benjamin, the names of Will Power, Ryan Dobbs-Garnett and then less so, Julien Wilson, they have had 1 huge game (80-100 yards, 2-4 TD performances) and then very average games (15-30 yards, 0-1 scores) after that. The offensive team stats are a little misleading so far as well, as they have the 2nd most passing yards and have the 6th most TDs. A lot of that offense came with Power at Quarterback, where teams were much less knowledgeable about what kind of offense is run. The telling stat though, is that despite the yardage, they are now middle of the pack in terms of average points per game (27.2). I wonder if Einheiber keeps struggling for their next 2-3 games, whether they turn Will, or they stay the course with Ian under center.

Defensively, they lack a strong rusher, with only 1 sack on the season (before they look at me funny, yes, no one on the team has a sack, but it may have been a sub or a player not wearing a number who did not get his stats registered, but it went under the team stats).

Look, the season has been difficult and I think there’s more of the same upcoming. I see them finishing with a 5-5 record, which in general for Div 4A is a decent record, but not when I think Takeover and the usual 8-2 / 9-1 record they produce.

Mid season MVP: Vincent Benjamin

Small Giants (3-1)

Mid season Grade: B-

So I expected this type of season so far from Small Giants, as they have notoriously been atop of the standings in past seasons, which gives them a B rating. The minus comes from the shellacking they received at the hands of TOPSZN, after they dropped 52 points on the Small Giants defense. That said, I can see them finishing the season from at worst 7-3 to at best 9-1.

Justin Lerner is a freak athlete, and he started the season swinging for the fences, throwing 11 TDs and 2 INts in his first 2 games, but in his last 2 games, he hasn’t been as strong, throwing 8 TDs and 5 INTs. Perhaps the score in the last game forced Lerner to throw a few more desperate balls to try and get back in the game, leading to more INTs than he’s used to. I don’t expect too many games to get out of hand for the Small Giants. Personally, I am a fan of the balanced attack vs 1 guy with 400 yards, and the balanced approach is what Small Giants have. 4 players all with 118 yards or more and at least 3 TDs. It shows Lerner trusts all his guys in Daron “The Wrangler” Migdesyan, Theo Bekelis, Greg Kritselas, and John Madimenos. And then the depth continues with Nick Madimenos and Emmanuel Sarikakis who can pick up key first downs just as well as any of the other top receivers. As a team though, they are middle of the pack in terms of TDs, yards and 1st downs, but of course, having 1 game less is a factor here, so when looking at the averages, they tend to be in the Top 5-7 in yards per game and points per game, which is why they get the B-. I would have expected Top 3 out of this team, and they might get there by the end of the year, but they aren’t an A-graded team so far.

Defensively, they are in the Top 5 in turnovers, with 10 INTs, so I guess you don’t need the sacks when you get the ball an extra 10 times, but the 1 sack on the season is something they can improve on, or not; maybe they just don’t have the rusher required for Div 4. That, or QBs are releasing risky passes that they are getting picking off by their D instead of taking the sack. If the latter is true, then they are getting great pressure from their rusher and the sacks will come. If however, this is team is similar enough to Tough Lungs in terms of the rusher position, and couldn’t get Oliver Doleyres on Small Giants, then I’d go with the former opinion, that they lack a natural rusher. That said, they are stingy in the backfield, as they are decent at not allowing teams to convert on 3rd down, and are the #1 team in stopping teams from converting on 4th down (20%).

Mid season MVP: Daron Migdesyan (was between the Wrangler and Justin Lerner, but the consistent TDs each game gave him the slight edge for his QB, which has struggled a bit in his last 2 games).

Mongoose (2-2)

Mid season Grade: B

Are Mongoose good? The stats and the record paint different stories. Alexandre Gaudet is a Top 8 QB statistically, which puts him exactly at the 50% mark, but remind yourselves, him and his team have played 1 less game than most in the div, so with that extra game, he’s likely a Top 5 QB. Jonathan Chevalier has emerged from the pack of great receivers at the clear WR1, rounding out the Top 10 receivers in the div. After that, there’s 3, almost 4 receivers with 100 yards+ yards to give this team very nice depth at receiver. François Deslauriers, Wade Jr. Shallcross and Marc-Antoine Bigué are the depth names that bring a ton of FPF experience.

Because of that missing game, we’ve got to look at the average stats, and yes, they are a top 5 offense in the division, 4th in yards per game with 189 and in the top half, averaging 30 points a game (definitely enough to win FPF games). They are not only able to score with relative ease, they are an efficient offense as well: scoring on 2/3’s of their possessions (3rd best), converting on 54% of their 3rd downs (also 3rd best), and 67% on 4th down (4th best). They also translate their efficiency from anywhere on the field to the most important part of the field: near and inside the RedZone, as they are the most efficient team converting on 1-point attempts (67%) and 2nd best on 2-point converts (50% success rate).

For all the accolades thrown to their offense, their defensive efforts is where opposing teams are making a game against them. If on offense they were mostly a top 5 team, on defense they tend to fall in the bottom half of the same stats presented above. And most importantly, only 2 turnovers coming off interceptions when they’ve only stopped teams 5 times on 4th down means they have only prevented opponents from scoring 7 times. Remember they’ve scored on 67% of their possession, but have allowed opponents to score on 63% of theirs. It’s a bit of a funny stat, because it would suggest they have been tight battles in every game. But they’ve either blown out teams, or been blown out by teams, with the exception of 1 game against Backyard Bullies, which was a close game.

So, are Mangoose good? I think the answer is that they are on offense and have much room to improve on D, but damn, it’s FPF flag football! Stopping offenses is HARD!

Mid season MVP: Jonathan Chevalier

Centaures (2-3)

Mid season Grade: C

Sorry for the lower grade guys, but you guys are loaded with talent, and to have a losing record after 5 games, I’m sure you are disappointed like I am. With studs like Rory Semerjian, Hugo Allamanno, Riley Pincombe, Chris Brockwell and Rayan Chalal, they have tall, rangy, ball-hawks with speed. Oh and then add free agent Tyler Stewart, which, according to FPF’s GOTW guru, Chris Rivest, Stewart was an addition by Rossie after they caught a glimpse of his moves in a GOTW from Fall Cup. Speaking of Rossie, he is playing some great football. Only 2 quarterbacks have thrown less INTs than his 3, and those Quarterbacks played against the Centaures defense, who have the 3rd most interceptions in the division.

I love the way this team plays offense. They have the ability to work the field slowly, but can (and they know when to kick it into 2nd gear and do it as well as any team I have seen as of late) score in 2-3 plays in under 1 minute. In fact 6/7 of their receivers average a first down or more. Part of this is Rossie’s play calling and execution, and sometimes its the receivers gaining those YAC yards, mostly in the form of Semerjian speed and the Brockwell spin. Also, of their main 6 receivers, 5 of them have at least 3 TDs. That is a sign of having great weapons and smart ball distribution which tests the depth of defenses.

Okay, so they are putting up offensive stats (6th most TDs (20), 2nd in 1st downs (36), 6th fastest team to score (they average 6 plays to score 6pts) and average the 6th most points per game (30.8) and covert roughly on 1/2 of their 3rd and 4th down conversions, and are the 4th best and best team in converting 1-point attempts and 2 point attempts. So it must be their defense, right?

Well, they are tied with the 3rd most INTs and tied for the 5th most sacks, so they are getting stops and making opponents face 3rd/4th-and-long. Ah, but they’ve allowed the most 1st down conversions in the div (42) and allow opponents to convert on 53% and 67% on 3rd and 4th down. So while they’ve been a tough defense in the open field, snatching away balls, where they are failing to put teams away is by allowing them to convert on 3rd and 4th down (especially 4th, where they are allowing teams to convert 8 times out of 12 opportunities.

To be fair, their last 3 games have been close, yes, the 39-27 loss to the Bruins was a close game (Bruins chewed the last 5 minutes of the clock and scored on 4th down in the RedZone). Those games could have gone either way, but they didn’t, and they sit with a 2-3 record, and thus the C grade.

Mid season MVP: Jason Rossie (a very close 2nd is Rory Semerjian but the 3 INTs thrown are impressive in a division with monsters on D).

Blackouts (3-2)

Mid season Grade: C+

Adam Sinagra was a question mark for me going into the season since W2015 and 2014 are before my time in FPF, but he’s shown he is completely capable of being a top QB in this division (and with #NR too, damn!). Prior to his last game vs. KGP Ra, he had thrown only 2 INTs, and left the KGP Ra game with 7 on the season. He probably didn’t realize there was Division 2 talent there to pick him off. The receivers are led by 2 MONSTERS in Anthony Mungiovi and Ryan Vanslet, the latter which is a known FPF commodity, but the former recently joined the Blackouts franchise in Spring 2021. He has already doubled his touchdowns from that season and is just shy of doubling his yardage too. In fact, the 2 receivers are #1 and 3 in Touchdowns, respectively and #4 and #2 in yards, respectively.

The offense is Top 5 in the div in terms of yards per game, points per game, and impressively rank 2nd in terms of scoring on 71% of their offensive possessions. They are dangerous for defenses looking to get off the field as they convert 50% of their 3rd down attempts (9/18), and 100% (8/8) on 4th down. That last stat is obvious the #1 team in terms of 4th down efficiency. a

While defensively I thought they would have more than 6 picks, they’ve gotten their hands on 14 balls to pad their pass defended stats. In terms of team stats, they are as stingy a defense as they come, allowing the 3rd least points against, and the 4th least yards per game. But these stingy stats are probably inflated from the 2 dominant wins against Big Fun. Hurley & Sons, and TOPSZN (although TOPSZN has since emerged as one of the best offenses in the div, so it is saying something).

The team is definitely a playoff team, but they’ve always been atop the standings every season they’ve played, so I expected either a 5-0 or 4-1 record, which explains the C+ rating (see rating explanations in article intro). I can see them finishing 6-4 or 7-3, so again, definitely a playoff team and one that can do some serious damage.

Mid season MVP: Ryan Vanslet (They had 3 MVP candidates, all deserving: Adam Sinagra, Anthony Mungiovi and Ryan Vanslet. The yards, the TDs, and the 2 INTs and pick 6 were just extra squeeze over the others.)

Les Blues Branleurs (0-4)

Mid season Grade: B–

Ouf, it’s been a tough season for LBB. I think their biggest mistake came in the off-season, when they put Phil Angers on the roster. He has yet to play a game, and his offensive and defensive rating, the highest on the team is probably why they are in 4A and not in 4B, as when it was time to calculate team ratings, his was definitely included in the calculation and when splitting all 32 teams, LBB fell in the top 16 teams. Now they are 0-4 and Angers has yet to play a game.

I won’t go over all their stats, because, well, they are in the bottom 2, bottom 3 of almost every category, both on O and D. Surpringly though, their defense on converts has been fairly strong, as they are in the middle of the pack when opposing offenses go for 1 or 2.

So if it’s true that Minh Ton-That isn’t playing defense, well it’s time he step on the field on D, as Peeze mentioned on Calling The Audible that the guy can take away half the field for opposing offenses. There’s that and Jeremie L’Allier who has had a good statistical season, putting up 179 yards and 5 receiving TDs, 1 defensive INT, and two 1-point conversions. So he’s done it all for this team, but he’s going to need help on offense from Alex Phung, Jonathan Coursimault and Guillaume Hamelin if they are going to win some games before the end of the season.

Mid season MVP: Jeremie L’Allier

Week 6 Game Picks

4A Games (My Picks are in Bold Green)

Les Blues Branleurs vs. Big Fun

TOPSZN vs. The BrotherHood

The Stoics vs. Takeover

Hurley & Sons vs. Bruins

Spera’s Cougars vs. Mongoose

Backyard Bullies vs. Blackouts

Nomads vs. KGP Ra

Centaures vs. Small Giants

4B Games (My Picks are in Bold Green)

The U vs. Vultures

Golden Eagles vs. Finessers

Beer Belly Brigade vs. Bandits

Ballers vs. Honey Martin – NA

Voodoo vs. Sphinx

Arouch vs. Les Montagnards

Hot Sauce Sports vs. Los Locos

Eastside Boys vs. Mofos – TIE

Team Ethnik vs. Les Verges Folles

Epilogue

Hot Damn, that was LONNNGGG to write. I hope you can appreciate writing about so many teams, but damn it, I love talking FPF. And while the word count per team isn’t crazy, the number of clicks to research done on all of your teams, players and stats was a crazy high number! Well, if you liked it, loved it, hated it, tell me I got something wrong, feel free to reach out to me on socials @iggymanz or Ignacio Valdes-Manzanedo on FB messenger. Time to get pumped for Week 6 and leave it all out on the field! May the luck of the Irish be bestowed upon your teams. LET’S GOOOO!