Final Drive: DIvision 1 & 2 Recap

We have reached the mid point in the season and drama is stirring up in all divisions. As teams are prepping for their second half push towards the playoffs, others have lost all hope. Although no one should give up just yet, it is often the cold truth that slaps you so hard in the face it knocks you off your feet. Some people just don’t fight back when they get shoved. The top two divisions are where you will find the most physical style of play in this league. Often the difference between a good and a great team is their ability to fight their way out of a corner. I can assure you that curling up into a ball and waiting for help is not the way to a championship, because that help… is not coming.

The positive thing is that I personally don’t think we have those kinds of teams in division one. It shows every week in the level of play that guys, not only show up because they enjoy the game, but because they are passionate and competitors. The last very important ingredient that will also carry you through to the glory land is great leadership. You need a player who will demand respect through great play. One who will force everyone to fill their hole and who will not put themselves before their team. There is nothing more infectious then a bad attitude. A cancer on a team will always be a cancer until you surgically remove it. I’m talking about the guys who are happier leaving a game they lost but had good stats, then winning and having average stats. Where there is leadership there is no cancer, there is nothing but structure and a mission to greatness.

              Onto another subject, I will begin my weekly power rankings this week. They will be adjusted every week based on how wrong I may be or how genius my intuition is. I want everyone to keep in mind the power ranking is based on three things:

1. Your current record
2. How you got to your current record.
3. My personal assessment of why you sit where you currently sit and where will you be down the line.

 

              One more thing I feel I should mention since a lot of people and or teams seem to not have this information. The playoff format for division two goes as follows:

It’s top six from each conference; top two get a bye on each side. This basically means that some of you need to step up your game real quick!

 

Division 1 highlights:

– The return of James Crowe from the IR list lifted the D-Boys to their biggest win of the season. Tuesday night D-Boys served the Rainmakers a cold one. Rainmakers were near perfect all night long. Like a runner who trips and falls before the finish line, they just couldn’t finish on the final drive. To D-Boys’ credit, they wouldn’t allow the Rainmakers to finish. Defensively, D-Boys played an amazing game against what is a powerful offence. Matt Kirouac certified the victory with a huge sack on the last play to send the men in red packing. Although they fell short this week, I was truly impressed by Ryan Kastner’s ability to thread the needle with perfection. Jamil Springer looked like the guy who almost got into the HOF but didn’t, and should have. Jamil turned on his beast mode and finished the game with 8 receptions for 153 yards and 3 touchdowns. Now both teams need to elevate their play to a whole other level and take a swing at the Finest!

– Terror Squad finally gets their first win. If you haven’t heard yet, Patrick Jerome put the team on his back and marched up Mount Everest this week. I guess they had the team meeting I mentioned last week and came up with a solution; FEED THE BEAST!!! Pat finished with 10 receptions for 137 yards, 6 touchdowns, 7 tackles and an interception. Obviously a receiver is nothing without someone who can feed him the ball, which is just what Tam Vilaydeth did. Tam finished with 320 yards on 20 completions and 8 touchdowns: perhaps freakish? The game ultimately came down to extra points and a few tight calls that could have gone either way. Nonetheless, after 5 weeks played, we no longer have a winless team. Demons probably wish they could get this one back, but any team who allows a player to collect 6 touchdowns shouldn’t be granted a victory.

– Montreal’s Finest have steadily taken out all the top contenders in division one. Fortunately for Express, they are one of two teams who will only line up once against MF in regular season. Kevin Wyeth didn’t have to do anything more than the bare minimum with the field positioning his defense was giving him. When a quarterback only has to throw 159 yards to get 7 touchdowns, it’s because your defense showed up for real. Express may not have MF to face in the near future but they have by far the hardest back-end schedule in the division. Patrick Chenard and Simon Charbonneau-Campeau will have to grab the bull by the horns if they want to have a chance at making the playoffs.

– My favorite underdogs “Flag Moi L’Sac” take down DK. A game that should have been sealed by an easy interception was unfortunately dropped by DK and gave Flag Moi L’Sac two more opportunities at the end zone. We all know a game never comes down to a single play, which is why I must say DK needs to clean up their game fast if they don’t want to quickly be left behind. FML are above average on defense, and average but efficient on offense. They like that deep ball over the middle for a quick score, but it seems to be one of the few things they do. FML’s offence is often evident and they need to become less obvious. This game also came down to the final drive but more importantly, extra points. Both quarterbacks threw a pick, which obviously cancels each other out, but one team was able to get the two points that mattered. Leandre Pichette made a heads up play during DK’s last conversion attempt. Leandre never gave up on the play and was able to defend a tipped ball from landing into a DK receivers’ hands. I also must mention Alex Nadeau-Piuze’s ability to beat the rusher in key situations. He either keeps the play alive or runs for first downs. Note to all rushers: respect Nadeau’s football IQ…his reads are quick and his reactions are instantaneous.

Division 2 Highlights:

– Jamal Gittens is back! Clockwork continues their dominance in division two taking down ONS 41-37. After a couple weeks of absence, Jamal caught 5 balls for 119 yards and 3 touchdowns. Tony Lalla is an impressive player, but to have Tony lead the ONS receivers is not the recipe for great success. Some of their super stars are going to have to step up on this squad or they are going to fall out of the playoff picture. Honestly at this point, it may be all they deserve. Marco Masciotra is quietly leading all quarterbacks in division 2 for completions, touchdowns and completions percentage. He’s the type of leader that’s needed for a division two team to have success. ONS is far from lacking leadership. What they are lacking is a defense and someone to step up and lend a hand to Kevin Wyeth. This loss tosses ONS out of the playoff picture and brings Clockwork up to second place in Conference A. If ONS doesn’t get their act together, Kevin Wyeth might not make playoffs for what, maybe the first time ever?

– Wolfpack takes advantage of a depleted roster in TMT who was missing their leader Tshitshi Bukasa. Tshitshi was absent due to his participation on team Canada; good enough reason for me. Wolfpack still struggled to match up defensively against TMT’s size advantage. This obviously should be a concern they need to address going forward if they want to beat the defensive teams like FFF or Clockwork. TMT has improved tremendously over the weeks and I am confident they’ll be a dark horse come Week 10.

– FFF against Chernobyl Circus was a bit of a write off. Benny Goodfriend was not present and this forced Nathan Taylor to throw for the first time in several years. Although Nathan didn’t do a bad job it was not a picture perfect outing. The negative flip side is that Nathan didn’t play defense, that’s where the problem lies for me. Patrick Chenard chased Nathan around for 60 minutes in hell. Nathan looked like a trainer determined to destroy his client’s will and force him to quit. Nonetheless, Chenard did just enough to squeeze through and win a much-needed victory. A loss by the Legends made the blow easier to absorb for FFF who will without question bounce back.

– Jean Daniel Chevalier continues to pick up the slack in the absence of Tony Desmond. JD caught 94 of the 173 yards thrown by Jordan Panetta and 4 of his 7 touchdowns. Served With Ice is now 3-2 after a 0-2 start. The Commission falls to 7th place in Conference B with a couple very winnable games left on their schedule. TC will need to win at least 3 out of the 5 games remaining if they want to give themselves a chance. One thing is certain, TC is getting an average 21 points per game, and that might not be good enough.

– James Floreani made an appearance in D2 and was sent back home! I respect James a lot more today for at least trying in the upper divisions. It’s no easy task to quarterback a team you don’t know, especially when you’re in a division that is ruthless on defense. Shakalooinz beat #Noregard to obtain their second win on the season. Ryne Bondy might not be a quarterback that will put up ridiculous numbers but he does one thing that is very important, he protects the ball. Bondy very rarely turns the ball over, which means he never affects the outcome of a game in a negative way. He might not be the guy to lean on for 7 touchdowns and 300 yards, but with a decent defense he’s the perfect quarterback. #Noregard’s offence has never been this awful. Granted we all knew they would have a shocking adjustment to make, but averaging 10 points per game is not what I imagined. Maybe we need to readjust our expectations. Seeing how they just made a quarterback switch halfway through the season, I don’t suspect things are going so well in house!

– Speaking of horrible offences, BC et Les McGonagals are the worst right now. They are currently sitting in last place with a 0-5 record and are averaging 7.6 points per game!!! That’s one score per game! Which means if you want to win, your defense can’t give up points…C’MON MAN! I’m not one to kick a man when he’s down but they are not even adjusting. My one problem is that I believed in these guys, and they let me down. This past week they lost 34-0 to CLR forces. I realize BLM didn’t have their quarterback but that’s no ones’ problem but theirs. Frederic Dupuis threw two interceptions, which means BML had two more possessions and still didn’t put up any points. CLR has a good defense, but it’s not above average. BLM has no games in the next five weeks that I think are winnable, especially with the way they are playing. Will they end up 0-10 by the end of the season? I hope not, but it is possible. I know it may feel like I’m discrediting CLR for this win but they have yet to impress me. This week they take on FFF, let’s see what they do against an elite team.

Division 1 Freaks of the Week:

QB: Tam Vilaydeth ~ 20/30 for 320 yards and 8 TDs, also had 4 runs for 30 yards~ If that’s not freakish then I don’t know what is!!! TAM TAM TAM, welcome my friend.

WR: Patrick Jerome ~10 REC for 137 yards and 6TD’s~ FREEAAKK MODE ON Ö

R: Matt Kirouac ~ 3 Sacks ~ to win your team the game on the last play with a sack is to me the ultimate FREAK effort!

 

Division 2 Freaks of the Week

QB: Jordan Panetta ~ 18/23 for 173 yards and 7 TDs~ For a QB who doesn’t throw in Div 1 that’s an impressive completion percentage…welcome back Jordan!

WR: Jamal Gittens ~ 5 RECs for 119 yards and 3 TDs ~ this should be of no surprise to anyone. When Jamal laces them up, it’s instant FREAK mode.

DB: Jourdain Alexis ~ 3 Tackles and 3 Interceptions ~ that’s an impressive and eminent day in the office for any DB. Alexis, you have been invited to join the FREAK show!

 

The KISH Award for Week 5: You want this award? You need to step up your two-way game!

 

My Picks Division 1:

Terror Squad (-2) VS Express

D-Boys (-8.5) VS Demons

Montreals Finest (-12.5) VS Flag Moi L’Sac

DK (+8.5) VS Rainmakers

 

Last week I was 2 for 4, which now makes me 7 for 14 on the season. Pretty sad I must say.

 

Game of The Week:

Clockwork (4-1) VS Cold Fusion (5-0)

This is the battle for first place in Conference A. If Clockwork brings home the win, they will hold the advantage because of their win over Cold Fusion. Needless to say, this is going to be a great game to watch. Unfortunately for me, I can’t be in Lachine Saturday night because in work in Brossard until 12pm. So for Valentine’s I’ll need all you kind souls to send me as many updates as possible.

In this match up we have the #2 offence going up against the #3 offence of division 2. Both quarterbacks have a ton of football experience but one in particular has more flag experience. Both Justin Lavallee and Marco Mascioatra are explosive athletes on a football field. If you compare them head to head, I would say the following: in terms of arm strength, Marco wins. If we compare flag IQ: Marco wins. Their ability to beat a rush and run: Justin wins. Accuracy from the pocket: Marco again. Short game: Justin.

Advantage: Marco Masciotra

We also have two of the best receiver groups this Division has to offer. Clockwork’s line up at wide:

(Jamal Gittens, Matt Kirouac, Rich Humes, Matt Petrone, Theo Ojeaha, Alex Apostolakis)

Cold Fusion this weekend will have:

(Nigel Thomas, Frank Bruno, Jamil Springer, Godfrey Abu, Treldon James, Tony Khoury, Alexis Jourdain, Jordan McLaren)

I am not even going to try to break this down for you. They are extremely similar in terms of talent. Both teams have tremendous speed on the outside and the ability to control the short game if need be. Both teams are aggressive to the football and they also both love to make it rain. The only thing here that makes me lean towards CF is their ability to get real big on you if they want. If they choose to put size on the field, they can and they will.

Advantage: Cold Fusion

 

Defensive comparison:

This is more of the same again since they both have extremely similar styles of play. Both teams have ball hawks and are not afraid to make their presence known. Both teams have 11 interceptions on the season and are now going up against quarterbacks who don’t throw any. A huge advantage Clockwork holds over Cold Fusion is Matt Kirouac. Keeping in mind Justin Likes to run, and that’s part of his game, Kirouac will not allow that. From the games I have seen of Cold Fusion, it really depends on who shows up to the game. It’s hard for Jason Prince to find any kind of rhythm on defense when the pieces are always changing.

Advantage: Clockwork

 

My picks Division 2:

Clockwork (-2.5) VS Cold Fusion

Gladiateurs (-3.5) VS ONS

Chernobyl Circus (-4) VS Les Messieurs Chats

BC et Les McGonagals (+14.5) VS Served With Ice

Usual Suspects (+4.5) VS TMT

Legends (-8.5) VS #Noragard

Flag Football Fantasy (-9.5) VS CLR Forces

Wolverines (-4.5) VS Wolfpack

Shakalooinz (+12) VS The Commission

Last week I was 5-4, which makes me 24 of 36 on the season. Things are getting worse for me!

 

Power Rankings Div 1:

1- Montreals Finest 4-0

2- D-Boys 3-1

3- Rainmakers 3-1

4- Flag Moi L’Sac 3-1

5- DK 1-3

6- Terror Squad 1-3

7- Demons 1-3

8- Express 0-4

 

Power Rankings Div 2:

1- Cold Fusion 5-0

2- Clockwork 4-1

3- CLR Forces 3-1-1

4- Flag Football Fantasy 3-2

5- Chernobyl Circus 3-2

6- Served With Ice 3-2

7- Gladiateurs 3-2

8- Legends 3-2

9- Wolverines 3-2

10- ONS 2-3

11- TMT 2-3

12- Les Monsieur Chats 2-3

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. Once again good luck to everyone! Don’t forget to check out the podcast by G.M Kolethras and I, Thursday night around 10:15! Follow me @VinceNardone for very little action on twitter or stop me at the field to chat. Till next time… Get better, make adjustments, learn and move forward.