Division 5B Midseason Report
14-02-2019 12:00 AM
5B
Let’s dive right in!
As a reminder, it’s incredibly tough to find something new, creative and insightful for every single team, and I do my best to not repeat myself but ultimately when analyzing amateur football teams, there are a lot of similarities. Shoutout to the podcast crew for always keeping things interesting as much as possible.
Conference A
Bruins (4-0)
Grade: A+
If we’re talking about the Bruins of old, this would have surprised me. I’m still kind of used to seeing the Bruins struggle in Division 6, however this season they are new and improved and probably one of the most improved teams in all of FPF. Adding Gabriel Wiseman and Zach Zwirn helped boost this team to the top of Division 5B and it’s tough to imagine them slowing down. So much so that they are undefeated, beating up on teams like A-Town, The Punishers and the Black Knights, they hold the Division’s second best point differential ratio and the fewest points allowed in the whole Division. Not having to play EZW or The Process will be a huge reason why I think this team can go 10-0. Are they a target for a first round upset? Maybe, but I tend to lean on the side of them being the real deal.
Predicted Record: 10-0
Most Intriguing Player: Zach Zwirn
The Process (5-0)
Grade: A
If I felt like I was a part of any team in Division 5B, it would be these guys. I manage to score keep them almost every week and they often make my time at the field far more enjoyable. They are a solid contender this year, led by Andrew Langburt on both sides of the ball and some good depth behind Donndre Borden. Langburt has been able to overcome a few mistakes every game from the quarterback position with strong defensive play. They force opposing QBs to get the ball out early and follow up with blanket coverage. Langburt already has 5 interceptions in 5 games and a whopping 9 PDs. The only stat in my opinion that is more impressive and more telling of their defense are Justin “Philip Lindsay” Frankel’s 12 sacks. Jonathan Perez and Noah Groper are sneaky good and Jakob Boidman is probably the most underrated center in the Division. They can hit you in multiple ways and as I have said in years past, they will go as far as Langburt’s arm will take them.
Predicted Record: 10-0
Most Intriguing Player: DonnDre Borden
EZW (4-1)
Grade: B+
Coming into the season, most would have said that EZW and the Process were the two powerhouse teams in this Conference. While you can add the Bruins to the mix now, EZW has not disappointed. Since their week 2 loss against the Process, they have been the most explosive team in the Division, putting up an average of 48 points per week. 48. Let that sink in a little bit, that’s 7 to 8 touchdowns per week. They can find a way to beat you with a different weapon every week and Jeremy White continues to improve as a quarterback. We should almost just eliminate the Process game from our memory because they seem to be a different team since then. I don’t see any team coming close to beating them the rest of the way, except for maybe the Black Knights if they can figure out a way to match up well. They will have to tighten up a little bit on defense, but they’re offense has been more than making up for that. Anybody else excited for a potential rematch in the playoffs? I know EZW would welcome it.
Predicted Record: 9-1
Most Intriguing Player: Charles-Olivier Lavigne
Tough Lungs (2-1-1)
Grade: B-
This team falls towards the middle of the pack on paper, and they’ve held true on the field as well. They have beaten a few teams that they probably should have beat and then lost to tougher opponents, but they’re recent tie is a little bit disappointing. Matthew Lerner has been good enough and their trio of receivers including Daron Migdesyan, Justin Lerner and Justin Gray have been one of the better trios in the Division. They have a good combination of talent and experience and while they will never be the favorite to win it all, they could surprise a few teams. They play aggressive and make every pass difficult on defense and have a solid 9 interceptions in 4 games, mostly thanks to Migdesyan and Justin Lerner. Their remaining schedule isn’t easy, though, which might be the reason why they should finish the season around the middle of the pack.
Predicted Record: 5-4-1
Most Intriguing Player: Daron Migdesyan
A-Town (3-2)
Grade: B
I was really impressed with this group of guys when I saw them live. They have a QB with a strong arm and speedy receivers to get under the deep balls, they’ll just need to find some consistency. Emile Plante is playing lights out with 19 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions and their defense has been tough as well, giving up more than 25 points just once which is very respectable. Both losses came in close games to tough opponents which shows they can hang with anybody in the league, they’ll just need to close out games a little bit better. They share the ball on offense and do a good job covering all areas on defense and have no real weakness on either side of the ball, so it will be interesting to see their match ups in the playoffs. If they get a lucky break or two in a big game, they may surprise people. Can’t wait for their measuring stick game against the Process later in the season.
Predicted Record: 7-3
Most Intriguing Player: Jimmy Marneris
Punishers (2-4)
Grade: D
Are the Punishers becoming too predictable? Since starting the season 2-2, they have now lost two straight games. In my opinion, they had a great thing going using Ryan David to stretch the field and then feed Siggia and Junior Spera short, but they don’t seem to be using David lately and it’s been hurting them. Teams are locking in on Siggia and Spera and Adamo Iadeluca doesn’t seem to be able to adjust. That trio is usually as reliable as they come but something seems off this season. I’ve seen these guys make mistakes they don’t usually make, drop balls they don’t normally drop and overall just aren’t seem to be making big plays to get them any momentum. What isn’t helping is the fact that they aren’t causing a lot of turnovers which is adding tons of pressure on Iadeluca and they are often fighting from behind. This obviously forces throws a little bit and creates a lack of rhythm on offense when you are always believing that you need to score quickly. The tough part of their schedule is out of the way now, so we’ll see if they can bounce back.
Predicted Record: 5-5
Most Intriguing Player: Anthony Siggia
Sterdam (3-2)
Grade: B-
I’ve been impressed by Sterdam in the past but I am probably even more so this season. Getting to see them live and watching how quick and athletic they can be, they have so many guys that can hurt you. Massimo Manago is your usual dual-threat QB and he makes the opposing defense have to worry about a lot simultaneously. Gabriel Poisson, William Tremblay-Lacombe and Sidney Tremblay-Lacombe are arguably the best group of receivers in the Division, although Sidney has only played one game to date. Regardless, they help make Manago’s job easy. For this team to take the next step, they’ll need him to be more consistent as a pocket passer and have somebody else step up on defense besides just Poisson. Their toughest test starts right away as they’ll be blaying the Bruins and EZW back to back which should give us an idea as to how they match up with the top teams.
Predicted Record: 6-4
Most Intriguing Player: Gabriel Poisson
Le Speakeasy (3-2)
Grade: B+
The grade reflects how they have been playing, compared to expectations coming into the season.They finished last season 4-6 and made a few tweaks coming into the season and they already seem to be better because of it. Wins against Dope Boys and Les Barons are impressive and even when they’ve played tougher opponents, they haven’t seemed too far out of it. Vincent Richard has been good, not great, but he distributes the ball nicely with Felix Richard being his top target. They could use a few more turnovers on defense to help out the offense and 7 interceptions by Vincent in 4 games has been a little bit high. In the lower divisions, turnovers are often king and they are currently -5 on that scale, something that if they can improve upon, it should help their record drastically. Their remaining schedule definitely isn’t easy, so we’ll be able to really see what they’re made of down the stretch.
Predicted Record:
Most Intriguing Player:
Black Knights (3-3)
Grade: C
In my opinion, the Black Knights are the most bi-polar team in all of FPF. I’ve seen games where they look like they should be in Division 3 or 4, and then others where they have struggled to score and/or defend against a weaker team in the Division. They are the epitome of shooting themselves in the foot sometimes and can often be their own worst enemy. Stephane Larosiliere throws one of the nicest balls I’ve ever seen and often takes advantage of his tall, quick wide receivers like Dynell Pierre who leads the pack, Fabrice Thomas and Reginald Café who eat up the middle of the field and his deep threat of Valery Shelder. To prove my point early, a team that has picked off their opponents 15 times in 6 games shouldn’t be a .500 team, but they somehow manage to lose very close games or crumble in the final minutes, as they did against The Process. They should be able to make it to the dance and they have the ability to beat up on any team they face, that is if their first game forfeit doesn’t come back to bite them in the ass. Looking forward to their date with EZW to end the season.
Predicted Record: 5-5
Most Intriguing Player: Dynell Pierre
Les Barons (2-3)
Grade: D
After a disappointing loss on Monday night, they are now just under .500 and look to try and rebound ASAP. It might be a difficult stretch to end the season as they face only teams with better records than their own, including EZW and the Bruins. They have a good amount of athletic players and with Marc-Antoine Viens leading the charge, you know they’ll never be too far out of any game, but things just don’t seem to be clicking as much as one would hope. Viens relies a lot on his deep ball but he has his most success when he mixes in shorter routes and runs into the mix. They’re at their best when they possess the ball for longer periods of time and keep the defense off the field. They’re not necessarily built for a shootout and while they can get huge games from Laurent Hamel or Louis-Philippe Savard, Viens just doesn’t aim to complete a high enough percentage of his passes to play that way. On the plus side, they have never lost by more than 6 if you discount their first game, which most teams do. Who ever is ready to go week 1 after the Christmas break?
Predicted Record: 4-6
Most Intriguing Player: Laurent Hamel
ORSA (1-3-1)
Grade:
I think ORSA is better than their record shows, they’ve just run into tough teams and it won’t get any easier this week. Matteo Marino is the real deal and he has a solid supporting cast. Out of their 3 losses, I think the Honey Martin one to start the season hurts most because that’s one that they could have done better in, but their two other losses are against Les Barons and EZW who both take them when it comes to skill and experience. This is a case of great athletes with a lot of football experience who may not have the most flag experience which often causes them to lose to teams with less skill but may know just how to beat them. Defensively, they need other guys to step up besides Marino and Barbusci and 7 interceptions is probably a little bit high for Anthony Spezia. They can burn you deep with Agostino Giagnacovo also and you need to respect their speed, so my advice is to definitely not take them lightly regardless of their record.
Predicted Record: 4-5-1
Most Intriguing Player: Matteo Marino
Dope Boys (1-4)
Grade: D-
For some reason, I caught wind of a few comments after I score kept them on Monday that they don’t seem to think I like them too much. I don’t know where they may have picked that up, but it’s quite the opposite. I’ve played a lot of Dope Boys teams in the past back to when Eric Lalonde was their QB and the games have always been a lot of fun. It’s one of those things where the better you know a team, the better your expectations become and I was disappointed to see their slow start. They have a ton of talent, I just think they have made a few too many mistakes in their games and they aren’t using their abilities to their potential. Godard has way too many interceptions to keep them in games, I believe that Felix Menard is under used and he could use some help making plays on defense. To set the record straight, they’re a great group of guys and I enjoy how much fun they have on the field. It’s too bad it hasn’t translated into wins more often this season.
Predicted Record: 3-7
Most Intriguing Player: Felix Menard
Les Carcajous (0-5)
Grade: D+
I finally got to see them play and my feelings are pretty split. They have talent and guys who look like they’ve balled before, but they have the case of “the new team” and don’t look too confident in trying to execute a game plan. To give you an example, they started last game with a wide receiver behind center, for the sole purpose to run on the first play. These are plays that need to be set up for later on in the game and then perhaps run a trick play off of it or something. I wouldn’t necessarily call it on the first play of the game. It delays the process for the QB to get involved and it looked extremely messy to be frank. These, along with many other concepts of FPF will come to them as they continue to play games, it just hasn’t been pretty this season. Benjamin Reid struggled to complete passes and they often telegraphed their plan on defense as well. They can only get better from here on out.
Predicted Record: 1-9
Most Intriguing Player: Simon Ryan-Plourde
Conference B
The U (4-0)
Grade: A
I am writing this today in anticipation of their game tonight against the Bruins as we see two powerhouses in the Division go at it. It will be a huge indicator as to the direction of the team as they have seemingly beat up on weaker teams and been in a few close ones against tougher opponents. They have proven that this recipe of players has been excellent in the past and this season has been no different. Evan Frank has a ton of weapons and it must actually be pretty difficult to make everybody happy. While most guys on the squad would tell you that they’re in it to win it, I’m sure they have a friendly competition going amongst each other to see who can put up the best numbers. With Kyle Pedvis, Nikola Papich and Joseph Kano, teams will have a lot to worry about.
Predicted Record: 9-1
Most Intriguing Player: Kyle Pedvis
Takeover (4-2)
Grade: C-
This definitely isn’t 2018 as Takeover have now lost 2 games just past the midpoint of the season. I’m not too worried as aside from their final game of the season, their schedule isn’t too difficult to close it out. Ian Einheiber is playing well with maybe a few too many interceptions and the addition of Chris Brockwell is a great move. William Power’s touches are down from previous years but overall they do not have many weaknesses. They are playing extremely well defensively and getting a ton of turnovers to make up for the extra few that Einheiber is throwing, totaling a whopping 14 picks in 6 games, over two per game, and two of which have been run back for a touchdown. Just like you can expect the occasional snowstorm in Montreal, you can expect Takeover to be contending at the end of the season.
Predicted Record: 7-3
Most Intriguing Player: William Power
La Brume (3-2)
Grade: B-
After a tough loss to the Process, I don’t see that affecting them too much and they should continue to put up tons of points. Their issue hasn’t really been the offense, run by Jimmy-Lee Janvier, but in the games they have lossed they just haven’t done a great job tackling and often over commit to the opposing quarterbacks first read. On both sides of the ball, they tend to go for broke. While it can work very well for them, they can get exposed when the whiff on the big plays. Dave Gordy Lang and Valentin Chartier have been great for them and Janvier has the ability to win a championship, so it will be interesting to keep an eye on these guys down the stretch. One thing is for sure, they’re explosive and everybody is capable of contributing, which can be scary if you’re on the other side of the field.
Predicted Record: 6-4
Most Intriguing Player: Valentin Chartier
Honey Martin (4-1)
Grade: B+
It’s amazing that I never see these guys at the field as I’ve been dying to watch them play. Dave Roaldi is an old friend of mine and we were QB1 and QB1A back in highschool, bringing our team to the championship. We were always at our best when he was slinging it and I was playing receiver and I’d love to see him tear it up in FPF as he and his squad seem to be doing. For all those still reading, I was about 70 pounds lighter and my hands were just as reliable, actually made the All-Star team as a receiver back in the day. Sorry, this isn’t about me. Dave has used Jason Hervieux’s size and Enzo Bellini’s speed to a 4-1 record and recently an impressive 1 point win over Takeover. They can spread the ball on offense and they share the responbilities as a team on defense and seem to have figured out this FPF thing. Their schedule isn’t too difficult in the second half and should be a pretty high seed going into the playoffs.
Predicted Record: 8-2
Most Intriguing Player: Dave Roaldi
Les Gros Coqs (3-1)
Grade: A-
I don’t know what’s better, their name or their jerseys but either way, props to these guys. On top of that, they have assembled a pretty decent squad and may be taking a few teams by surprise. They have an impressive win against Fighting Flamingos and played The U extremely well and only lost by 4. I was pretty impressed watching Dom Lefort at QB as he may not win games, but he doesn’t put his guys in a position to lose games either a la Mitch Trubisky. I was most impressed with Boris Gagnier who wears number 6, with the name tag reading “Pick” which I’m sure most of you can figure out. He’s their rock on defense and is all over the field, with 5 interceptions on the season so far and is very reliable on offense as well on a team where nobody really stands out. They’re the Division 5B version of the Jagerbombs in my opinion where they all kind of look alike and play similarly. No real weakness and play very well as a team – usually a great formula.
Predicted Record: 7-3
Most Intriguing Player: Boris Gagnier
Mo Bamba (2-2-1)
Grade: C
It’s almost as if they’re trying to keep an even record, I would argue that their most impressive game this season is actually their tie this past week against Finessers. It wasn’t spectacular by any means but they fought hard and scored when needed to keep the game close. Andrew Vanslet did not turn the ball over, which has been a sore spot for him this season, and they got a timely turnover. It’s been an up and down season overall but they have enough talent to win the games they should, they just might struggle against the top teams. Zach Jauniaux is one of the more underrated players in the Division and does it all for this team on both sides of the ball. His 7 interceptions are among the league leaders and Mo Bamba has done a great job overall at getting turnovers, causing 12 in 5 games. They may not do a lot of damage come playoffs, but they have the ability to ruin playoff hopes that’s for sure.
Predicted Record: 4-5-1
Most Intriguing Player: Zach Jauniaux
Player Recognition (2-3)
Grade: C-
You have to give Player Recognition credit for winning the games they were probably favored to win and not faltering. They lost by a few extra points this week and they hopefully learned just how crucial those are. The Black Knights are a strong team and they matched them step for step. The knock against this team will be their inconsistency at the quarterback position. Seriously, you might want to go check out their roster, you may have thrown passes for these guys and not know it. Their leaders on offense are Dawson Spooner and Joshua Malyk Cenacle and besides Joshua and Trenton Matuzewiski, they can use somebody else to step up on defense. Overall, it’s tough to put a strong team on the field when the pieces of the puzzle are constantly changing and unless they can get some consistency, it will be tough to make the playoffs.
Predicted Record: 3-7
Most Intriguing Player: Joshua Malyk Cenacle
Threat Level Midnight (1-3-1)
Grade: C-
After a pretty good start to the season, things seem to be falling apart. They won and tied the first two, but have now lost 3 straight games including a heart breaker to Takeover, which should actually be seen as something positive. As I’ve mentioned several times in this article, it’s tough to win when your quarterback is turning the ball over and Jonathan Lemieux hasn’t shied away from taking chances. While there have been some bright spots, overall it’s been short of spectacular and hasn’t been working at all lately. Landslide losses to Sterdam and Player Recognition are low points and even the talent of Simon Richard has not been able to help them. They’ve given up an average of 30 points in the last 3 games and it’s tough to see them finishing in a playoff spot. I’d put them in solely based on the name choice if I could, though.
Predicted Record: 3-6-1
Most Intriguing Player: Jean-Daniel Joly
Fighting Flamingos (2-2-1)
Grade: B-
This has been the team that has been the most difficult to figure out in the Conference in my opinion. When they win, they win big and their losses have been by a total point difference of 6 points to Les Gros Coqs and The U which is nothing to hang your head over. Their tie against Threat Level Midnight is the biggest head scratcher, but again, that was the first game of the season. They have received excellent quarterback play from Alexandre Delisle who has distributed the ball around nicely, favoring Brandon Keiller and Troy Lendvay ever so slightly. Michael Khazaka has been as solid on ever on defense and I truly think their goal is to blind opposing teams with their bright pink jerseys. Either way, keep an eye on these guys. It could be nothing, but I have a hunch we’ll be talking about them one way or another at the end of the season.
Predicted Record: 6-3-1
Most Intriguing Player: Troy Lendvay
Finessers (1-3-1)
Grade: D-
Definitely a disappointing season to say the least, it’s surprising to see Ryan Kharouf’s group struggle this much. You would never expect Kharouf to be completing less than 50% of his passes and have less than 3 touchdown passes per game, but that’s exactly what we’re seeing. He has relied heavily upon Alex Bachaalani which is nothing new, but perhaps they are becoming a little bit too predictable? They have gotten blown out by solid teams and even in their wins, they haven’t looked like themselves. It’s too bad, because when they’re on point, they’re one of the most entertaining teams in the division. This season has almost been like watching the Rams in the SuperBowl. So much potential and for some reason, we’re left scratching our heads. That said, it would be a mistake to ever take them lightly.
Predicted Record: 4-5-1
Most Intriguing Player: Ryan Kharouf
Thundercats (1-5)
Grade: D
A team I don’t know much about, there are 3 reasons why I still have hope for this team. Not necessarily for this season, but moving forward in their FPF careers. The first two are Sylvain Paquette and Julien Schinck, and the third are their jerseys. They are only scoring 2-3 touchdowns per game and giving up a lot more, only getting 3 turnovers in 6 games, the lowest in the Conference. Their quarterback, Felix Vaillancourt-Tremblay has struggled spreading the ball around and it’s easy to figure out how to stop them after a few plays. Creativity can be king in FPF, but finding a niche and perfecting it can be even better. They’ll need to get back to the drawing board quickly to save this season but in my eyes, they should take tons of risks and see what works for future seasons instead.
Predicted Record: 2-8
Most Intriguing Player: Sylvain Paquette
Tropic Thunder (2-3)
Grade: C+
It’s too bad that Yacoub Telemaque can’t throw in the division because I think he would help out this team a lot. He’s doing what he can from the receiver position and is having success with quick catch and runs, however the problem is that his opponents are finding ways to stop it and nobody else is stepping up and making plays. Telemaque, Richie Mondesir and Nim Jenikovszky provide a good amount of speed and experience, but they lack a big bodied sure handed receiver to get them tough first downs and short yardage touchdowns. It’s also a little surprising that Kerdley Micourt has not gotten more involved. Whatever they did against the Thundercats this past week seemed to work well, but Telemaque can’t always shoulder that much of a load, putting up Julien Edelman type numbers. If Tyler Grondin can learn to spread the ball around more and use the talent on this team properly, I can see them turning the season around.
Predicted Record: 4-6
Most Intriguing Player: Yacoub Telemaque
Kneed Help (0-5)
Grade: D
If there was ever a more fitting name for a team, I’d challenge you to find it for me. I feel for these guys, giving up 100 more points in 5 games than they have scored. The Yossi Cohen experiment at QB isn’t going as planned and as a result, the studs on the team aren’t producing at their usual pace. Ryan Lelinowski is having trouble trying to do it all and the team just isn’t gelling together well. They ultimately may have a chance at winning a game or two and they have been scoring more lately than when the season started, but overall this will be a season to forget for this group. Any time this happens, it can be a good learning experience at how to put a roster together and an indicator of what kind of pieces you need for a team to be successful. Individually there has been some positive, but when they’ve come together as a team, they need some help. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Predicted Record: 1-9
Most Intriguing Player: Ryan Lelinowski