Food For Thought (D4) – Week 14

With the winter 2011 season rapidly fading into memory, let’s take a moment to reflect on the finals that took place a week ago.

First off, not many had predicted les Patriotes and the Jets to finish the regular season where they did, much less to be facing off in the finals.

Their presence was a testament to the heart of these two teams who simply never stopped beating all season.

The season finale’s first half was the defensive matchup many had anticipated. Carl Dugas struggled to find his receivers and Patrice Blouin was single-handedly stopping Étienne Chauvin’s offence. It seemed like the first QB to adjust to the defence that was presented to him would eventually triumph. And adjust is exactly what Chauvin did. After getting sacked 4 times in the first few drives, he decided to challenge Blouin’s closing speed by running every second play to slow down the rush. With this strategy, he gave his team the momentum they needed to advance on the field and score more TDs than their counterparts.

For his part, Carl Dugas kept struggling with his throws, not being able to muster a single point in the first half. When he finally connected with Billy Havik for a second half TD, it seemed like they still had some life in them. However, like the final score indicates, they were never able to duplicate this last ditch effort.

With his 2 INTs and one receving TD to add to his playoff totals, Sébastien Pereda was the acclaimed winner of the Playoff MVP title. His dominating defensive play and clutch INTs are exactly what the Patriotes needed to upgrade their Div D trophy to the bigger and more prestigious Div 4 one.

When reflecting over the entire D4 season, one can’t help but notice that defensive play seemed to have been a key component of most teams’ game plans. Indeed, most QB’s showed flavourless numbers (except for maybe Max Forget, the indispensible patriarch of The Family). With this in mind, no one should be surprised that a defensive player was the difference maker in earning his team a championship.

Nevertheless, one cannot forget about the tremendous offensive efforts of Mathieu Bélanger who, after some average regular season performances, showed his true colors in the playoffs leading all receiving categories with 24 catches 244 yards and 4 TD. While his yards per game average stayed the same, his 6 receptions per game average (48% of his team’s completions) showed how vital he was to the Pats offence.

 

So what will happen in the not so distant future? Which teams will decide to move up and which teams will fall back down? Here is a quick look at what paths playoff teams should be looking at:

 

Patriotes (champions): After two consecutive championships (Div D and Div 4) the time has come to face some real adversity. While Div C would be an upgrade from last spring, Div B could provide a good challenge if they feel like testing themselves. Next winter, expect them to be in Div 3.

Jets (runner-up): This team looks like it will need another tuning up year before it can gain access to the competitive Division 3. Everything revolves around the potential QB for this franchise. Div C and Div 3 or 4, depending on their spring season, is what they should be looking at.

X-Men (semi-finalist): With some minor tweaks to their line-up, these aging superheroes have a good chance at pulling some upsets if they go up. Div C and Div 3 seem appropriate.

Top Guns (semi-finalists): Many questions will be surrounding the Top Guns. If they decide to try out for Spring, Div C is a must. Regarding next winter, they could go back up to Div 3 depending on how Jerry Charles can cope with the augmented pressure.

Hard Knocks (quarter-finalists): A revelation among rookie teams, Hard Knocks simply needs to add some depth players to their short roster. If they do, Div C in spring and perhaps a jump to Div 3 could be envisaged.

Lobster Dinner (quarter-finalists): With two solid seasons under their belts, the seafood lovers will most likely continue their adventures in Div C and Div 4.

The Family (quarter-finalists): Despite a heart-breaking elimination following an injury to their QB Max Forget, The Family will be looking for a new challenge in Div 3 next winter. As for next spring, I wouldn’t say no to a Div B tryout if I were them.

Gators (quarter-finalists): Once again, the Gators will most likely keep the status quo as they look to break that curse hanging over their heads.

Primetime (1st round exit): After a fairly successful season, this happy band of hooligans will most likely be disbanding. Good luck to all its members with their new teams.

Maximum Carnage (1st round exit): With notable improvements in their game this season, look for this band of young veterans to have a strong season in Div C this spring and most likely Div 4 again next winter.

Park-X Streets (1st round exit): 22-5-1 in regular season play but 0-3 in the playoffs… The streets will need to rethink their approach if they eventually want to graduate. Div C in spring but still Div 4 next season would be my recommendation.

Monstars (1sr round exit): Another team with QB problems. The Monstars, if they decide to play this spring, will have a tough time deciding between Div D and C. They are what some call “in-betweeners”. To good for the lower calibre but not strong enough for the higher one…

Longhorns (1st round exit): After arguably their best season collectively, the Longhorns still need to find a way to prolong their playoff outings. Div C and D4 looks like a good fit.

Barbarianz Squad (1st round exit): If they can get their act together from an organisational point of view, they could show some promise. For now, Div D and D4 look like a fix.

Sphinx (1st round exit): This Jekyll and Hyde team will need to lose its ugly side if they want to progress further in the playoffs. A good Div C spring season could work wonders for their D4 championship dreams of next year.

Kludgies (1st round exit): They are definitely progressing nicely. Another spring season as the Kludgies 2.0 could help them have a solid D4 season next winter.

 

That’s it for winter 2011!

 

I hope you all enjoyed my weekly column as I have tried my best to offer you a quality and entertaining read.

For those of you who will be enjoying some spring FPF action, I will be assigned to the Div B coverage and scorekeeping. Feel free to write to me anyways or talk to me at games if you have any comments or questions!

 

For now, I wish you all a happy Easter and a great offseason.

 

See you in the spring!