Food For Thought (D4) – Week 11

 

Ladies and gents, boys and girls, welcome to the quarter-finals! For all you FPF players still grinding it out, you can now sleep soundly with the satisfaction that your team is in the top eight!

If you take a quick peek at the last power rankings I issued (it was Week 9, if you need help remembering), six of the ten teams I featured have made it this far: The Family, Top Guns, Gators, X-Men, Hard Knocks and Jets. Joining them is the Spring season champions, your one and only Patriotes!

Ok, I know. These seven teams were all expected to get this far. But Lobster Dinner? Not many people thought they would actually enter the playoffs, let alone cruise to the second round. Perhaps their victory over The Family was not a fluke? They will need to handle the Jets before an adequate answer can be given to this riddle.

 

Jets (1) vs Lobster Dinner (7)

After scoring on the last play of the game to beat a dangerous Primetime team in the first round, the Jets will need to show some more offensive punch if they want to keep Lobster Dinner out of the semis. Three things bothered me in their performance last week: their inability to capitalize on converts, Carl Dugas’ 2 INTs and the fact no receiver accumulated over 40 yards. Against a crafty defence led by Matt Young, it will be of utmost importance that Dugas use the entire field. If his receivers get the ball quick and often in the first couple of drives, this will destabilize Lobster Dinner and they might start to take chances offensively. The key for the Jets will be to make a statement by having a strong start. Defensively, it is still unclear if Patrice Blouin will stick to his rushing duties or play safety against Jon Brown. I would personally opt for the rusher position since Mo Zerbo can do a decent job covering the deep ball.

After a fairly easy win against an offensively challenged team, Lobster Dinner will need to step their game up against a much stronger opponent in the Jets. While they are not the favourites to win this one, I still see them making the game extremely interesting, much like the last time these two teams faced each other. With Matt Young as their lead man and a supporting cast working in unison, this “all-star team” of role players has a very decent chance of pulling an upset if they minimize turnovers and show how opportunistic they can be.

Prediction: Jets 24 – Lobster Dinner 22

 

Gators (3) vs Top Guns (4)

With two sound defensive teams, the winning team will most likely be the one with the best QB. While many have questioned Kevin Marlowe’s ability to perform at a high level come playoff time, I still believe his performance in Winter 2010 in a semi-final loss against the heavily favoured Triple Sixers was far from disappointing. Marlowe, although he is not the flashiest or most exuberant player on the field, is a fairly consistent QB. With weapons such as Shawn Haney, Jeff Chabot and Eddy Martinez, he’s got all the tools he needs to score 30+ points. All he needs to do, is be mindful of Top Guns’ defense who picked off Andrew Funamoto a staggering six times last week! Defensively, Shawn Haney should be able to cover the deep balls that Jerry Charles loves to throw.

While we’re on the subject, I really must admit that Jerry Charles might have the best arm-strength out of all the D4 quarterbacks. The only problem is the failing accuracy of his passes. If he can concentrate on marching downfield instead of going for the 40 yard bomb on every other play, his offense will prove lethal against the Gators’ short roster. With talented receivers like David Caron, Yannick Clément (he can do more than coach!) and Maxime Lemay to complement the two-way dynamo Karl Lanteigne, the Top Guns can’t possibly score less than 20 points in a third straight week. On defense, rusher Maurice Kaddis will be the key to unraveling Kevin Marlowe and securing the win for his team.

Prediction: Gators 28 – Top Guns 24

 

The Family (1) vs Patriotes (6)

In a rematch of one of D4’s best games this season, The Family will try to extend their record against les Patriotes to 3-0, lifetime. There is not much that can be done against Maxime Forget when he is in top form. His accuracy, especially on off-balance throws, makes him one of the most lethal offensive weapons in the lower divisions of FPF. Coupled with a deceptively fast and agile receiver in Maxime Couture, as well as top offensive talents Jonathan Girard and Florian Bouer, Forget becomes the catalyst to an explosive and unforgiving offense. On defense, rusher Jean-Louis Bastien will have to limit Étienne Chauvin’s escape artist skills, and force him to make decisions he might regret. Samuel Bibeault and Nicolas McGraw will be waiting for some juicy floaters to intercept while Dominic Martin and Bruno Mathurin take care of tackling everyone in their vicinity.

For les Patriotes, the key to pulling off the upset resides in their ability to answer every Family TD with one of their own. As long as their offense stays afloat they will have a chance to get on top with a timely turnover. With less playmakers on both sides of the ball than The Family, les Patriotes will need a concerted effort from all their players. Nicolas Tardif, Alex Pereda and Cédric Charpentier will have to elevate their game in order to take some weight off the shoulders of all-star Sébastien Pereda. Once again, if Patrick Trahan can translate his intensity into some key sacks, his team can aspire to anything…

Prediction: The Family 33 – Patriotes 28

 

X-Men (2) vs Hard Knocks (4)

The “Generation Bowl” will be featuring 35+ X-Men veterans against young early twenties Hard Knocks players. Indeed, apart from Nicholas “Junior” Abelhauser, all of the X-Men squad is approaching the venerable age of 40. But do not let this fool you. Suhael Brohi still runs like someone 20 years younger and Gautama Swaminadhan can slice up a defense like a chicken ready to meet seasoning! My only concern would be for the X-Men defence. Can they keep up with explosive receivers such as Kris Bastien and Jon Mack who make their living off 40-yard catches? Can Suhael Brohi’s containment rush prove effective against a quarterback who, when given time, will surely find the unattended receiver? Wade Williams will have a chance to prove that he can still cover some of the best players in FPF.

For Hard Knocks, the recipe is always the same: score points like there is no tomorrow and pray for the opposing QB to throw passes to over-eager defenders. In a game that might see both teams score at will, Phil Arsenault and Dane Steele will need to stay alert defensively. If they can get their hands on an errant pass, they will be on their way to victory. I firmly believe rookie QB Philippe Podtetenev has what it takes to lead his team into the semi-finals.

Prediction: X-Men 28 – Hard Knocks 31

Once again, I hope you have enjoyed this article! Good luck to all for this weekend’s games. And remember, this could be your last game this season, so give it your all!

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