Division 6: Winless, But Not Out and NFL Picks

Last week I talked about a few teams that have stood out to me so far. Out of the ones that I mentioned, six remain undefeated in Show Me Dem TDies, Salt’s n a Pepper, Les Super Turbo Navets, Meat Fiddlers, Free Agent Squad, and SKOL. The last two squads on that list have only played one game, but they don’t make the schedule, and at the end of the day, a win is a win.

Looking at the other side of the equation, there are seven teams who are winless. As we reach the quarter point of the season, let’s look at how each of them can get better.

Nard Dogs (0-2)

I love the team’s name. I am assuming you are fans of The Office, one of the funniest shows in the history of television. I’ve had this argument before, but I think it MIGHT be funnier than Seinfeld. Just for the record, I think Curb Your Enthusiasm is the funniest show of all time.

Looking at the team and not Andy Bernard, this squad needs to score points. One touchdown over two games won’t beat anyone, even if you had a combination of the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers defense.

The team also needs to protect the ball, as Quarterback Simon Leblanc has six interceptions while completing less than 34% of his passes. When looking at the whole unit, they are 0 for 6 on fourth down, and have just three trips to the redzone. None of that is a recipe for success.

The Nard Dogs are a young team, as nine out of their ten players are rookies. Their one veteran in Simon Imbach, has played QB before, so he should be able to help Leblanc, along with the rest of the offense find their footing. This will be crucial as they move forward.

Texas Whales (0-1)

It is only one game, so this may be a bit premature, but the fact that they have only scored two touchdowns (all in the first half) of their (20-14) loss to Show Me Dem TDies is still concerning. No scores in a half is not a good look, especially when they had drives of five, six, and eight plays. Drops, errant passes, and missed opportunities are fixable things. The question is how long will it take the Texas Whales to fix their mistakes?

On defense, this team shows promise, as they were able to produce three turnovers on downs. The one area they must fix is their deep ball coverage, as they allowed touchdown passes of 34 and 46 yards.

Finishing drives and defending the long ball better will help this team stack some wins.

Winded Warriors (0-3)

I can’t lie, I really like the name. What’s not to like is their offense, as the unit has scored 13, 0, and 6 points respectively. This is another young team with a rookie Quarterback in John Emmanouelides, who has struggled with turnovers, as he has thrown eight interceptions, which averages to about two per game.

This team needs to catch their breathe on offense (see what I did there) and settle things down. The key to doing that is to make high percentage throws, and call plays that beat man-to-man coverage like drags, deep in patterns, slants, and double move routes. The same things apply for zone defense, where you can run seam routes, as well as deep hooks and corners.

On defense the Winded Warriors have shown signs of improvement. After giving up a combined 62 points their first two games, they only surrendered two touchdowns to Towers FT. Let’s see if this team can build on that.

DG Shootas (0-3)

Scoring doesn’t appear to be a big issue for this team, as they have upped their points total every week. Stopping teams however has been problem, as they given up 46 and 34 respectively the last two games.

What surprises me on that side of the ball for this team is the fact that have some ballhawks in Marco Forlini, Dimitri Christopoulos, and Matthew Clausen, who all have at least one interception, with Christopolus running one of his back to the house.

The unit also has a promising Rusher in Lucca Simondi, who has already produced three sacks. His solid play will be key to this defense turning things around. Let’s see what happens.

McGill Swim Team (0-1)

The team’s defense has seemingly swum up stream, as they couldn’t stop the ALLBALL offense in the second half. The McGill Swim Team needs has a chance to get back on track with a matchup against the Nard Dogs later tonight.

On offense, the MST will need to continue to feed Receiver Marcus Kulczycki, who has underrated speed and athleticism, in addition to leading his team with six catchers for 53 yards and a touchdown in the loss to ALLBALL.

Becoming more diverse with the short and long passing game will go a long way to helping this offense extend more drives and get the ball into the endzone.

Pigeons (0-1)

Quarterback Anthony Del Peschio struggled in the season opener as he tossed two interceptions and completed less than half of his passes in the team’s (25-19) loss to the Meat Fiddlers. On the positive side, the pivot did throw three touchdown passes, so it isn’t like he was abysmal.

Cutting down on the INTs and producing more than just two trips to the redzone will be the key to this team’s success and confidence on offense.

 This squad is led by their best player in Manny Bizogias. In my time as a scorekeeper the last few seasons, I have seen him play more than a few games, and I will say that he can ball. Despite his respectable numbers as a Receiver and QB, his biggest impact will be on defense, where the veteran has 19 career interceptions and eight touchdowns.

Les Flag Daddies (0-2)

They have had a tough start to the season, as they already played Mutation and No Fly Zone. The schedule doesn’t get any easier as they take on ALLBALL, before things settled down a bit as they will then have games versus two teams on this list in the Nard Dogs and Pigeons.

When looking at the team’s defense, Les Flag Daddies have been putting a good product on the field, as they have yet to allow more than 20 points in two games so far, and the unit has recorded five interceptions, with Cédric Rotari leading the way with two.

On offense, no disrespect to Alexandre Doucet, but this team needs to go with Justin Caisse at Quarterback. In limited action against No Fly Zone, the second-year player was accurate and efficient, as he completed 6 of 9 passes for 67 yards for two touchdowns and one interception while completing 67% of his throws. No one is questioning Doucet’s effort, but six interceptions over two games is too many.

Picks

DG Shootas vs WYD Step Bro’s? – WYD Step Bro’s?

Show Me Dem TDies vs Tex4s Chooches – Show Me Dem TDies

The Mortadel’s vs Les Super Turbo Navets – The Mortadel’s

Chomedey Chodes vs Cheat Squad -Cheat Squad

McGill Swim Team vs Nard Dogs (My pick for Game of the Week)

Royals vs Free Agent Squad – Royals

Cavaliers du Rohan vs Flag Dealers – Cavaliers du Rohan

ALLBALL vs Les Flags Daddies – ALLBALL

QUEENS vs Demons – Demons

SKOL vs Salt’s n a Pepper – SKOL

Mutation vs Meat Fiddlers – Mutation

No Fly Zone vs Pigeons – No Fly Zone

Winded Warriors vs Texas Whales – Winded Warriors

Towers FT vs Le Speakeasy – Le Speakeasy

Last Week: (2-2)

Record: (11-4)

NFL Picks

Kansas City Chiefs vs Baltimore Ravens – Ravens  

The Ravens have the soon to be named NFL MVP, in Lamar Jackson. The team is also getting Tight End Mark Andrews back, after the former Pro Bowler missed the past nine weeks due to a left ankle injury. He is the Ravens best pass-catchers, and his Quarterback’s top redzone threat, as he leads the team with six touchdowns in that area of the field. His presence along with the electric Zay Flowers, Andrews’ replacement in the long and athletic Isaiah Likely, and Odell Beckham Jr (he’s been quiet, but I think he makes a big play or two) gives Jackson the most weapons he has ever had.

The Chiefs are missing a huge piece in Guard Joe Thuney, who will miss the game with a pectoral injury. Defensive Tackles Justin Madubuike, Broderick Washington, and Michael Pierce will get pressure up the middle, and limit stud Running Back Isiah Pacheco between the tackles.

Speaking of Defensive Tackles, the Chiefs will also be without one of theirs in Derrick Nnamdi. His absence is big, as he and future Hall-of-Famer Chris Jones, are one of the top DTs duos in the NFL, as they can both collapse the pocket and stuff the run.

Going back to the Ravens on that side of the ball, both Middle Linebackers in Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen can hit and cover, so it won’t be an easy day for Travis Kelce who will also have to deal with dynamic Safety Kyle Hamilton. Kansas City Receiver Rashee Rice has stepped it up the last few weeks, as he has become the team’s best player at the position, but even if Cornerback Marlon Humphrey doesn’t play, I can’t see Rice shredding the Baltimore secondary all game.

The Chiefs are the defending champs, and they have the best QB in the game, and possibly of this generation in Patrick Mahomes. They will put up points, and betting against them and Head Coach Andy Reid is never a smart thing, especially since Mahomes is (3-1) against Jackson.

Despite being the higher seed and finishing with the better record, the Ravens are the underdog here. They are already feeding off that, which could be a dangerous thing KC. If someone is going to knock off the Chiefs, why wouldn’t it be the Ravens?

I think this will be an epic showdown with the Ravens pulling out the win.

Detroit Lions vs San Francisco 49ers – 49ers

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Brock Purdy played like hot garbage the first 55 minutes of the Divisional Round game between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers. During the game’s final five minutes, the second-year Quarterback woke up, found his rhythm, and looked like the MVP caliber QB we have seen all season. Make no mistake about it though, the 9ers were lucy to beat the Pack, and if their pivot comes out and plays the same way tomorrow, San Fran will be heading home in the NFC Championship game once again.

If you look at this matchup, you see two teams who play smash-mouth football. The Lions are the epitome of their Head Coach Dan Campbell, and the city of Detroit, both are tough and resilient. The 49ers can bludgeon you with the run game, and with their ability to pick up yards after the catch.

The Lions are a solid team with explosive playmakers in Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, and David Montgomery. Despite that, San Fran has the more talented roster with game-breakers in Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Jauan Jennings, and Deebo Samuel.

I have been a Niners fan for a long time. While I think Head Coach Kyle Shanahan is a phenomenal play-caller, I don’t trust him as a coach. He is stubborn to adjust his gameplan, (his refusal to run the ball more when Purdy was clearly struggling) and he has a habit of choking in the 4th quarter (See: Super Bowl LI Falcons vs Patriots and Super Bowl LIV 49ers vs Chiefs) It looks like he wants to beat teams his way, and his way only.

I am hoping he has finally learned his lesson, and does what the 49ers do best, establish the run game, and then use it to open up the pass. The weather is supposed to be good tomorrow night, so the latter should be a bit easier to do his time around. 

I am going with San Fran in a game I think will be a shootout. The Niners pass rush won’t be able to get home on the edges as the Lions’ Offensive Tackles are elite, but Detroit has injuries on the interior, and I think the 49ers who have stud Defensive Tackles in Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave will disrupt things up the middle. I think the duo pressure QB Jared Goff into a turnover that could decided the game.

Last Week: (2-2)

Playoffs: (9-5)

That is it for this week. Good luck to everyone in their games tonight and this week.

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