Div 5B: Groups A and B Mid-Season Report Card
Ignacio Valdes-Manzanedo
17-02-2023 04:50 PM
Alright, time for Groups A and B to get their mid-season report card since most of those teams have played 5 games.
Because the article is long, let’s keep the intro short and just introduce the grading scheme and get the reports in!
The Grading Scheme
Let’s break down how the grading scheme works since it might be a TAD different from your usual expectations of what you are used to when it comes to grades. First thing, the grades will be based off of pre-season expectations. If, for example, you are 5-0 and are expecting an automatic A, that’s not how to the grading scheme works. If I expected you to be 5-0 at this point you’ll likely get a C, maybe B-, but definitely not an A. Likewise, if I expected you to struggle and are 1-4 or 0-5, you won’t be getting an F. In fact, you might receive a B or C, depending on the second thing to look for: the quality of your opponents, and even, how you’ve held up in your games (Are you getting blown out or losing by 1 point?).
Each team will get a blurb on their season performance, their grade, the key players that have been involved so far, and a record prediction to close the year. Note: The key players are not the players I like best or who I believe are the best players on the team but rather it is based on their usage and how they are contributing this season. The letter grade reflects the following scoring system:
A – You’ve exceeded pre-season expectations. I never would have thought the team in question would have performed this well.
B – The team is surpassing the expectations that I placed on them ahead of the season, or perhaps you meeting expectations with your record, but have lost close matchups against tough opponents.
C – I was right, and the team is performing exactly as expected.
D – The team is underperforming, either in the division, or relative to expectations. Huddles are strained either because it’s been a season full of losses or things aren’t going according to plan. We’re a losing streak away from missing the playoffs or should be atop the standings and are middle-of-the-pack.
E – Evil, this team is full of people I consider evil. This is a socially constructed grade that no one gets and fills in the gap that the school system has failed to classify.
F – Your team is really underperforming. This is abject failure.
OK so let’s get started! Enjoy.
Division 5B
Warriors (4-1)
What? 4-1 and a D grade? Look, first off, this team should be 5-0. Obviously, without Mitch Fergenbaum in their only loss is a wash of a game, but their wins haven’t been without questions. A 1 point victory where Benji Ziegler ripped apart a good Penetrators team isn’t too meaningful as it is the only game that Ziegler has played so far this season and it doesn’t look like he is a full timer on the team. So if he doesn’t play that game, are they still winning? Then, and I get it, Ball So Hard U limited the number of possessions for them, but still, to only win by 6 points? Then, sure, to put up 47 is awesome, but to give up 32 points to a struggling Cover 3 offense that had only scored 28 points in 3 games combined? In each victory, there’s something to look at that makes you wonder. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a fan of this team since Winter 2018, but damn, camping out in 5B 5 years later!
In the absence of Benji, while Mitch has done a nice job getting 4 receivers with 100 yards (one of those being Ziegler in 1 game) it’s been Mano Manolopoulos who’s stepped up as the go-to receiver on the team, leading Warriors with 7 TD snags. I would have thought that Adam Rabinovitch would be that guy, but it’s strange that in their last 2 games he hasn’t recorded a single stat. While the Warriors defense doesn’t usually need to put up many turnovers, they are usually amongst the leaders in interceptions. Guys like Rabinovitch, Adam Lieblein and Mitch Fergenbaum are usually with 2-3 INTs each at the mid-way point of a season. To see the team with a combined 2 INTs is strange, but I guess they will need to find different ways to win closer ball games. It feels like the entire team is a little off, since Zak Sigler is usually a force at rushing the QB and only has 1 sack so far this season. He too is off his career averages. He’s usually just a shade under 1 sack per game, while right now he’s averaging 0.25 sacks/game.
Grade: D
Key Players: Mano Manolopoulos, Mitch Fergenbaum
Prediction Record: 8-2
Vick in a Box (3-1-1)
After a very disappointing start to the season, Vick in a Box have turned it around and rattled 3 wins off in a row. That said, the wins, like Warriors above, are suspect or have asterisks next to them. They beat a Warriors team without their QB and who looked like a hot mess. Seriously, even you guys know that was a joke of a game. Alright, they beat HimU convincingly 37-19. They finally met expectations and If were to rate that game alone, they would get a C grade for meeting expectations. Then, their last game against Wolf, they had to punt after a quick 4-and-out and make a defensive stop to win the game.
It sounds like I’m hating on the team, but trust me, I’m not. I liked what I saw from Jeff Tayeh last Spring season when he replaced Nick Richard outdoors at Loyola, but now that I look, it was against a BAD Mountain Goats team, so that’s probably what made him stand out. He struggled out of the gate, throwing 5 TDs and 3 INTs, but has started to get into a rhythm as of late, throwing 14 TDs and just 2 INTs in his last 3 games. Now THOSE are some good numbers! If Jeff can keep those numbers up, then kudos to him. The QB position is REALLY hard, so I’m glad in the last 3 games, something has seemed to click in his game. Overall, patience is required when working with a rookie QB.
With a new QB, receivers will tend to see a dip in their numbers. Compared to last spring, that’s been the case, except for the glitch that is Max Burah. Not surprisingly, he’s the WR1 with 28 catches, 312 yards, and 7 TD’s, leading the team in each category. The receiver that’s seen the biggest dip is Mikey Schwartz, although it was with Goofy Goobers where he had a great connection with brother Russell Schwartz. The 2 receivers that have dipped the most from playing in the spring though, are both Cody Burah and Nicolas Sanche who combined for 400 yards and 9 TD’s over the entire spring season. If you were to cut those numbers in half, they should be around 200 yards and around 4-5 TDs by Spring’s mid-way point. So far this season, they have now combined for 111 yards and a big 1 TD on the season. That utilization of the 3rd and 4th option at receiver is where Vick in a Box is missing the next step to be a legit contender in the divisions. Watch out for good defenses to clear out Max Burah and Craig Browning and have Jeff Tayeh beat them with their depth. C. Burah, Sanche and Wess Tayeh will need to be clutch in those games (and they can be, for good measure).
While the offense needs work still, the defense has been CLUTCH. 10 INTs (Although all 10 coming from just 2 players is a bit worrisome) from the D is a incredible help to the offense, and Seb Dufour‘s 8 sacks and 6 batted down passes have been a saving grace for Vick in a Box. That’s set up the offense in favorable positions on the field and they will need more of that in the 2nd half of the season.
Grade: D
Key Players: Max Burah, Craig Browning, Sebastian Dufour
Prediction Record: 6-2-1
Stormers (1-3)
There’s no other way to put it. Alec Richard-Nantel has struggled, throwing a 2:1 TD-to-INT ratio when last winter season, he was throwing close to an 8:1 ratio. Now playing in Div 5B compared to Div 6 last winter, he’s thrown the same number of picks in 4 games this year that he did in 9 games last year. Apart from Week 1, they’ve only scored a high of 21 points, which will not win you many games in FPF’s Division 5. The struggle to score points is supported by their lack of efficiency on 3rd and 4th down, converting 32% on 3rd and 29% on 4th.
When a sub receiver in Oumar Toure leads your team in TD’s after just playing in 1 game is not a recipe for success. After that, Lucas Nantel is the only receiver to eclipse 100-yards receiving and have more than 10 receptions. Defensively, I’ve seen Xavier Bourgeois-Giroux and he has great instincts on D, and while I am not surprised he leads the team in INTs, I’m surprised that number is only at 2. It’s 2 of the team’s 7 INTs, which is good. In fact, opponents are only scoring 43% of their drives, which is pretty damn good, but given the lack of offense, it hasn’t translated to wins.
Knowing this team from past seasons, they should have beat teams like HimU and Blues. Sure, they were 1 possession losses, but you can’t lose these games, or else you will be in trouble of not making the playoffs.
Grade: D
Key Players: Lucas Nantel, Xavier Bourgeois-Giroux, Matis Richard
Prediction Record: 3-7
Brewers (1-4)
Brewers started the season impressing me up until the 43-0 loss against Team Sexy. I hope that loss doesn’t set them back into their old habits, as there was a lot of good things going their way. There was a point in the season where Jeff Lefebvre was leading the division in passing yards, but the TD-to-INT ratio was never at a place where they could see much success in the win column. Their next 4 games actually are pretty favorable matchups, so if Jeff can clean up the INTs, which have notoriously plagued the team overall, they have a good shot at turning their season around.
At receiver, they added free agents in Jonathan Guay and Simon Gauthier and they’ve combined for 391 yards of offense, which is great. We haven’t seen the Brewers have such a high-volume yardage 1-2 punch at receiver. That slides everyone else on the team into roles that suit them much better. Martin “Cayou” Cayouette and Chris Morin are great WR3/4 pieces and I would even suggest Chris is being underutilized. Not only have their WR1 and 2 options produced offensively, they’ve contributed with 5 INTs. The problem though, is that they account for 71% of the defensive turnovers. When they aren’t there, like against Team Sexy, they unfortunately get a blowout result. They have also not been able to find a suitable rusher, which is such an important position, especially in the lower divisions where QBs still like to run as part of their offense.
All things considered, the defense is doing its part, only allowing their opposition to score on 49% of their possession. They are even holding offenses to 28% conversions on 3rd down and 18% on 4th down, which are really good numbers. The problem is that the offense is only scoring on 24% of their possessions and converting at a 7% clip on 4th down. They’ve been competitive in their losses to Killer Rays and Pocket Rockets, so if they can hold those defensive numbers and up their offensive numbers closer to the average of 5B, they can go on a little win streak.
Grade: B
Key Players: Jonathan Guay, Martin Cayouette, Simon Gauthier
Prediction Record: 3-7
Wolf (1-4)
Wolf have had an interesting first half of the season. At a quick glance, you would say they are struggling hard at 1-4 and a -62 point differential. Taking a deeper dive shows a bit of a different story.
First, they”ve had a pretty tough schedule to start, facing 5B leaders Killer Rays and Primal in back-to-back weeks. Then they hit Vick in a Box once they started clicking. Had they faced VIB in weeks 1-2, maybe they could have squeaked out a win. Their biggest issue right now is who will be throwing the football. They’ve had 3 different QBs suit up for them, which Xavier Parent seeing the most success, with a VERY respectable 112.4 QBR while completing 70% of his passes. Of the 3, he’s the clear #1 QB, even though he does lead the team in receiving TD’s. Not every day you see a player leading the team in both passing and receiving TDs, but that speaks to the athleticism and abilities of Xavier Parent.
The receivers on Wolf are actually very well balanced. While no one is running away as the clear cut WR1, Simon Latrells would appear to be that guy, but 6 different receivers already have 82+ receiving yards. I love teams that have are a 5-receiver threat, and this team appears to be one of them. Having a consistent QB would help their cause in establishing more chemistry and putting up larger numbers. Having a steady QB would also help the convert situation. They’ve converted 2 of 15 convert attempts… not so great when you’re in a tight game and need to win on convert attempts.
All in all, my expectations were low, since, coming in as a new team in FPF is HARD. and 5B is a challenge. They should have gone in Division 6 to get a feel for the game instead of coming into an experienced division. All that said, I like the future of this team overall, but they need to stick with Parent at QB.
Grade: B
Key Players: Simon Latrells, Olivier Baulieu, Xavier Parent
Prediction Record: 4-6
Green Monster (4-0)
After a few seasons away from FPF, I wondered how Green Monster would fare in 5B. Seems like they are just fine. Their calling card has always been having a strong defense, and that is still the case in 2023. I would suggest they’ve only had 1 tough opponent so far in Primal, and they shut down a VERY good offense and held them only 18 points. Their defense alone can win them games. If I was rating the team with the defense alone, they would have gotten a B+, maybe even an A- grade. The offense though, from a glance at their game against Pocket Rockets, was, let’s just say I was happy seeing my game play out on the other field. While at times it looked alright, a lot of times it looked uncoordinated and slow like molasses. The one bright spot offensively has been the play of FPF rookie David Vlad. He is making the offense more dynamic than before, with his 234 yards and 6 TDs. Combined with some experience at QB in Patrick Jazon, they’ve got something gelling there. Overall though, completing 47% of your passes is not very good. Complete some easier passes, simplify the playbook and I’m convinced they could average 1 more TD per game, because the team is athletic and can play. The ball just isn’t getting where it needs to.
Defensively, Jonah Burgess is a (Green) MONSTER. He’s been amongst the leaders in INTs in the division since the start of the season and the team is benefiting largely from his defensive prowess. That said, if he were to miss a game or go down to injury, the team would suffer a major blow to when stopping offenses. Only 2 other players have interceptions, and they each have 1, although Darnell Kevis Riley is a player with much experience and between him, Pat Jazon, and a 3-way rushing attack combining for 7 sacks, I wouldn’t be too too worried. This is the strength of the team for a reason.
Grade: B–
Key Players: Patrick Jazon, David Vlad, Jonah Burgess
Prediction Record: 9-1
Primal (4-1)
No Jared Buck, Ben Bourque and Michael Timmis? No problem for “The Wizard” Mederic Lauzon. This Primal team is the 2nd highest scoring offense, and if you know me, I love me some offense! He’s been very good this season, throwing a very nice 4:1 TD-to-INT ratio and averaging 166 passing yards per game. This is very good, however, this is the regular season and they’ve faced a mix of below average to very good defenses and Lauzon has thrown an INT in every game. Come playoff time, he will either need to make sure to hit 5 TDs or make sure he doesn’t throw that one critical INT.
This is no secret: Antoine Chabot is the clear cut WR1 and if you are playing Primal, you need to concentrate your full efforts and put your best defender across from Chabot. If there was a rookie of the year award, Chabot would be the clear-cut winner as he is currently 1st in receiving yards (430) and TDs (10) and 2nd in receptions (24). The team then has nice complementary pieces to round out of the receiving crew, with Jean-Philippe Régnier, Vincent Sabourin and Valéry Shelder combining for 318 yards and 10 TDs, which makes Chabot‘s stats even more impressive.
The defensive unit has been equally strong, averaging 18 points against per game (5th best in the division) and are tied for the most interceptions as a team with 12. Not only is Philippe Barbeau pressuring QB’s into throwing bad balls into tight windows that are ripe for the picking, he is barreling down on QBs and is tied for the 2nd most sacks with 9.
Aside from knowing Lauzon and his success at QB in Div E, the rest of the team was a bit of a question mark, not knowing many of the players outside of Valéry Shelder, who we know is very talented. Overall, the team looks like a candidate to go on a deep playoff run, but they do play some stiff competition in the back half of their season, so a couple of losses might be on the horizon.
Grade: B
Key Players: Mederic Lauzon, Antoine Chabot, Philippe Barbeau
Prediction Record: 7-3
Bulldogs (2-4)
After taking a few seasons off, I am not surprised the Bulldogs are 2-4. FPF is hard and teams have been rising the ranks like Red Dragons and The Penetrators, 2 teams that Bulldogs struggled mightily against this season. The struggles begin with Jordan Schwartz. It isn’t a shocking to say that 9 TDs and 12 INTs in 5 games is terrible. While he does have some flashes of good play, even in Divisions 6/E where he has thrown around a 4:1 / 3:1 TD-to-INT ratio, it’s clear that Div 5 is a big step up for him personally. The defenses are much more competent and while I’m sure he’s already getting advice from Daniel Goloff, he needs to sit him down and go through the play concepts and what to see on the field. It’s hard to transfer that knowledge and takes time, but that will need to happen sooner than later for things to click for Jordan.
While the personal QB stats aren’t great, what Jordan is doing very well is spreading the rock. 5 receivers have 10+ receptions so far and 95+ yards and 6 different receivers have caught at least 1 TD. So the receiver depth is absolutely there, which makes it really hard for defenses to cover every blade of turf. I think the most important thing for Jordan is to make easier completions and raise the 46% of passes he’s currently completing. If that number can be raised 10-14 points, I think the receivers can do even more damage, but they need the ball in their hands more often and more consistently. Daniel Goloff is their deep threat while Cory Dankner is the one you want to keep an eye out in the redzone.
Defensively, Danker is leading the team in both sacks (5) and INTs (4). Is he perhaps the next Isiah Allard? Are you serious? Are these INTs coming as a rusher?? If yes, this is a dynamic and sick weapon to have on defense. The disruption this causes for opposing quarterbacks is REAL and DANGEROUS. Between him and Michael Grosz, the D has piled up 7 INTs. The problem though, is that without them, they drop to just 1 total INT, but nothing wrong with having 2 DB’s that are ballhawks.
Despite giving up 26 points per game, which really is probably the average in Div 5B, the defense has held up their end of the bargain. When the offense is only scoring on 34% of their possessions, that’s a problem. I say keep it simple and get the ball into your talented receivers.
Grade: C
Key Players: Cory Dankner, Daniel Goloff, Michael Grosz
Prediction Record: 3-7
What Could Have Beens (1-3)
So this is a team I was super high on after seeing them in Division 6 in W20 and 5B last Winter. They ran the table in Division 6 until Covid shut them down, and went 5-5 last winter, which is not bad since FPF gets harder even when moving up 1 division. Sean Brown has put up good stats this season, but would argue that 515 yards in 4 games (129 yards per game) plus an additional 23 rushing yards in each game is about 30-40 yards short of getting a A grade at QB. Those 30-40 yards though, are the length of the field, meaning he’s about 1 TD short per game. He’s averaging 3 TDs per game, and both him and the receiving core is too good to not be getting at least 4 per game. That said, as a lot of the division is aware of by now (and up some people are raising their hands in the air), yours truly is coming in to both play, but more importantly, coach up Sean Brown on plays and game management in FPF, which are both very specific to our game. There’s a game in the schedule in which I cannot attend, so it will be interesting to see his progression with a few tips under his belt. This will be the 4th team I’m on, so I don’t really NEED it for more reps, so if ever he wants to take over the reigns, he knows the position is his.
Like some of the teams already mentioned, the What Could Have Beens receiving core is top notch. They have 4 receivers that have 100+ receiving yards and those 4 receivers have all caught 3 TDs. Good luck covering these guys who have a mix of athleticism, speed, size, range and that “IT” factor. While the offense has been average-to-good, they should be great. So those 86 points in 4 games should go up in the back half of the season.
The defense has allowed as much yards per game and points per game as the offense has put up. So to have said the offense has been average, means the defense has been very good, since the league is tailor-made for offenses to succeed. Adam Leroy is the leader on this team and while the team only has 4 INTs, they are clearly getting 4th down stops that limits offenses from scoring since they are averaging 21 points against per game. If the D could get a couple more interceptions, they would be in the B range.
Ultimately, I had WCHB as one of the divisions best and should be at worst, 2-2, and at best 4-0, although the game against Les Bleue Dry was a tough opponent, so I think they should be 3-1. Instead they are 1-3, so I have to say definitely below expectations.
Grade: D
Key Players: Sean Brown, Mik Araujo, Adam Leroy
Prediction Record: 6-4
Ball So Hard U (0-5)
Hard to imagine me saying that this team has improved over the course of their FPF tenure when you see an 0-5 record, but their games have been close against good teams as of late. Keeping the scores to a 1 possession game against Les Bleue Dry (even if they didn’t have their starting QB Fred Juneau) and against Warriors (who did have their starting QB) is actually impressive.
The receivers and defense have been improving at a steady rate, but the progression of Carmelo Di Giovanni has been slower. While we’ve seen improvement in his game since Winter 2020, the INT count is simply too high and too close to the TD numbers. He is more of a running QB, and is good at it, but running so often limits the reads you make on defenses and if there’s something I learned early as QB is that throwing the ball will always travel faster than running with it. I also can’t stress enough that ignoring the rusher and just reading where the DBs are moving in and out of is the key to becoming a better passer of the football. When you are worried if you can beat the rusher or not, you lose sight of defenders and your own receivers, and leads to errant throws, sacks and other poor decisions that ultimately hurt the team.
Between 64 points for and 130 points against, honestly 130 points against in 5 games is not bad, that’s about the average of what defenses are giving up in 5A and 5B. The problem is 13 points per game. The game is suited for the offenses and scoring TDs with an XP1 convert will win you 3-5% of your FPF games. My suggestion? Get the ball in your receivers hands early and often, and by that I don’t mean 20-30 yard post and corner routes, I’m talking about 2 yard outs and 1-2 yard hooks. Anthony Iannancronz and Joe Morgese are both targets and Morgese has deceiving speed for his size. Hit Matthew Vertullo and let him do the damage with his speed and shiftiness. The weapons are there, let them gain first downs that lead to sustained drives and touchdowns.
Grade: C
Key Players: Matthew Vertullo, Joe Morgese
Prediction Record: 1-9