Former Division 2 Teams Wreck Havoc in Week 1

After a much-anticipated start to the season, week 1 is now in the books. Only three games played in week 1 were within one score differential. In a division expected to have so much parity, is this a sign of things to come? It does seem as though there will be a bigger gap between middle of the pack teams and the bottom teams.

Recaps

Don’t mistake the Triple Sixers for the 76ers

In their first game in division 3, the Triple Sixers blew out the defending champion Les Buddays. In a game where Sixers QB Karim Chaoul threw seven touchdowns, three went to phenom Pat Jerome. He wasn’t the only contributor however as eight Sixers had at least one reception. Of course, throwing seven touchdowns is much easier when your defense is picking off the opposing quarterback FOUR times. Very convincing win for the Triple Sixers as they balled on both sides of the ball. They have a game they should win up next against an undermanned La Sauce squad.

For Les Buddays, this is a major red flag. Simon Vallee was terrible in his first outing replacing Frederic Dupuis. Throwing four interceptions in this league will not often lead to a win. The defense was exposed with the extra possessions conceded and the result was an ugly resounding 43-21 defeat. I had my concerns with the quarterback change and how it would affect this team. In week 1, those concerns proved to be warranted. Vallee needs to improve, and quick, or this will be a long season for the defending champs. Things won’t get easier as they face a stingy B.D. Bandits defense this week.

Two Pilons and a Viens

As my upset of the week, I picked the Two and a Half Dans to take care of business against Past Our Prime. Little did I know that the team that trotted out on the field looked nothing like the team I was expecting. With multiple guys missing the game, Joey Taylor brought in the likes of speedy Alex Pilon, Dan Pilon and big physical snapper Marc-Antoine Viens to help out. The result was a 2HD offense that looked pretty dominant. These guys would be great additions to the team. Too bad it was just a one-time thing. POP hung around but Danny Aylward’s two picks of Craig O’Brien were killers. The 2HD defense causes fits to whomever they play and that all starts with their rusher. He is the motor that gets them going: Half Dan aka Danny McFee. The dude is quick as hell and relentless each and every play. One thing Past Our Prime did pick up a W on is their jersey selection. If you ever see some Star Wars-themed jerseys on the field, you’ll know POP is playing! Awesome stuff.

Past Our Prime will look to rebound next week as they face a tough one vs. Wolfpack while Two and a Half Dans looks to go 2-0 as they face Ball Busters.

Return to the Win Column for Dark Moose

Dark Moose quarterback Fred Morisette completed his first pass of the game into the waiting arms of Wesley Joseph. One problem: Wesley Joseph is on the Westpark Boys. The pass was intended for Justin Blanchard but thrown behind him. And so Westpark Boys had the absolute perfect start to the game, exactly what they needed to pull off a shocking upset. Right?? Wrong. From that point on, it was all Dark Moose. They picked off Westpark QB Raymond Tonye twice and returned both of them for touchdowns. Former Predators corner Marc-Andre Lapointe had a field day at the office batting down four balls and finishing with eight tackles. Morissette found his groove after the opening miscue and Dark Moose ran away with this one 40-14. When Peeze scores a touchdown you know things are going really well! It’s fair to point out that the Westpark Boys may have a quarterback controversy as Samir Dahab came in and tossed the only two touchdowns his team scored in the second half.

Westpark Boys will look to show they belong in division 3 as they face the upstart Jumpmans in week 2 while Dark Moose Returns will face off against Les Eudistes.

 

FanDuel Fantasy:

My Week 1 Lineup Results:

QB – Frederic Morisette, Dark Moose Returns (vs. Westpark Boys) 184 yards, 4 TD’s, 1 interception, 1 sack = 28.4 points

Snapper – Anthony Da Silva, Grip N Rip (vs. Les Eudistes) 6 rec, 58 yards, 1 TD = 16.6 points

WR1 – Carmine Pollice, Ball Busters (vs. Snatchers) 6 rec, 60 yards, 1 TD =17 points

WR2 – Jamal Gittens, The Brotherhood (vs. La Sauce) 5 rec, 75 yards, 3 TD =30 points

WR3 – Zack Jauniaux, Sea Assassins (vs. B.D. Bandits) 4 rec, 35 yards, 1 TD =12 points

WR4 – Jonathan Lyristis, Dark Moose Returns (vs. Westpark Boys) 4 rec, 37 yards = 7.4 points

Defense – Dark Moose Returns (vs. Westpark Boys) 9 tackles, 7 PD’s, 2 sacks, 2 INT’s, 2 TD = 34.5 points

TOTAL = 145.9 points

 

My Week 2 Lineup:

QB – Shawn Mcgrath, Jumpmans (vs. Westpark Boys)

Snapper – Anthony Da Silva, Grip N Rip (vs. Fun Boys)

WR1 – Jean-Daniel Chevalier, Wolfpack (vs. Past Our Prime)

WR2 – Pat Jerome, Triple Sixers (vs. La Sauce)

WR3 – James Ohayon, Jumpmans (vs. Westpark Boys)

WR4 – Dave Chitayat, Dirty Dawgs (vs. Game Changers)

Defense – Triple Sixers (vs. La Sauce) 

 

Survivor Pool Week 2 Picks: 

Is there anything more embarrassing than being knocked out week 1? Well that’s what happened to David Della Rocca as the Triple Sixers smoked Les Buddays. Everyone else remained alive as Dark Moose Returns, The Brotherhood, F.O.E and Ball Busters all took care of business. The picks are divided between two teams: four writers (including myself) are on Triple Sixers, while two are on Jumpmans.

 *Not permitted to pick team we play on

*Once you pick a team, you cannot pick them again

James Floreani: Triple Sixers

Paolo Della Rocca: Triple Sixers

G.M. Kolethras: Jumpmans

Vince Nardone: Jumpmans

Simon Dagenais: Triple Sixers

Justin Blanchard: Triple Sixers

David Della Rocca: Eliminated

 

James’ lock of the week: Triple Sixers

No, I don’t have anything against La Sauce although I picked against them in this spot last week and will do the same this week. They had The Brotherhood last week and now face a squad that just blew out last year’s division 3 champs. The team’s two best players Francois Raymond and Cory Kennedy were not on the field last week and rumors are that at least Raymond may in fact be missing again this week. If that’s the case, look for another blowout. Even if Raymond is there, Triple Sixers will win this game.

Prediction: Triple Sixers 33, La Sauce 13

Lock of the Week Record: 1-0

 

Week 2 Game Predictions (Against the Spread & Straight Up)

To my dismay, I did not beat Peeze last week in ATS as we both went 8-5. I did however get the best of him picking games straight up as I went 10-3 compared to his 8-5. My best pick of the week was Two and a Half Dans who not only covered the game but won straight up! My worst pick of week 1 had to be Dirty Dawgs. They got absolutely annihilated by the upstart Jumpmans 53-18.

In week 2, Peeze and I actually agree on most of our picks. It’s just about the only thing we’ll ever agree on. We both see Les Buddays falling to 0-2 and Fun Boys taking care of business over Grip N Rip in what is surely going to be one of the better games on the slate this week. The one game I couldn’t agree with him on is the THD vs. Ball Busters game. I think THD wins this game and covers the 3.5 points. Ball Busters, please do not bust my balls. Nothing is worse than when Peeze is right. Below are the rest of Peeze and I’s picks for week 2:

Matchups	James’ Picks ATS	Peeze’s Picks ATS	James’ Picks Straight Up	Peeze’s Picks Straight Up
Les Buddays (-2.5) vs. B.D. Bandits	B.D. Bandits	B.D. Bandits	B.D. Bandits	B.D. Bandits
Fun Boys (-0.5) vs. Grip N Rip	Fun Boys	Fun Boys	Fun Boys	Fun Boys
Sea Assassins (-7.5) vs. Killer Instinct	Sea Assassins	Sea Assassins	Sea Assassins	Sea Assassins
Wolfpack (-8.5) vs. Past Our Prime	Wolfpack	Wolfpack	Wolfpack	Wolfpack
Metamayhem (-7.5) vs. Laval’s Finest	Laval’s Finest	Laval’s Finest	Metamayhem	Metamayhem
Two and a Half Dans (-3.5) vs. Ball Busters	Two and a Half Dans	Ball Busters	Two and a Half Dans	Ball Busters
The Brotherhood (-3.5) vs. Predators	N/A	The Brotherhood	N/A	The Brotherhood
F.O.E. (-1.5) vs. OTF	OTF	OTF	OTF	OTF
Dirty Dawgs (-1.5) vs. Game Changers	Game Changers	Game Changers	Game Changers	Game Changers
Dark Moose Returns (-6.5) vs. Les Eudistes	Dark Moose Returns	N/A	Dark Moose Returns	N/A
Jumpmans (-9.5) vs. Westpark Boys	Jumpmans	Jumpmans	Jumpmans	Jumpmans
Mongoose (-8.5) vs. Nuggets	Mongoose	Nuggets	Mongoose	Mongoose
Triple Sixers (-10.5) vs. La Sauce	Triple Sixers	Triple Sixers	Triple Sixers	Triple Sixers
Mercenaries (-5.5) vs. Snatchers	Mercenaries	Mercenaries	Mercenaries	Mercenaries
Last Week’s Record	8-5	8-5	10-3	8-5
SEASON TOTALS	8-5	8-5	10-3	8-5

 

Power Rankings:

1. Dark Moose Returns – Great teams blow out weak competition. That’s exactly what Dark Moose did.

2. The Brotherhood – Beating a La Sauce team without their QB was to be expected. But make no mistake, this team is really good and their defense will keep them in every game. Jamal Gittens had 3 TD’s in game 1. No surprise there. Big test in week 2 vs. the Predators.

3. Fun Boys – Their defense was impressive in giving up only 15 points to Mercenaries. Is that a sign of things to come? Liam Mahoney has a lot of weapons. They have a huge game vs. Grip N Rip this week.

4. Predators – Missing top receiver and rusher Simon Bosquet Beaudoin, snapper Alexandre Noel, and giant Darnell Lovelace (who casually strolled in near halftime), the Preds played a slow tempo ball control offense and limited each team’s possessions to 5 a piece. A goal line stand at the end preserved a Preds victory. The Preds should be at full strength when they face The Brotherhood this week…and they will need to be.

5. Grip ‘N’ Rip – To the surprise of most including myself, Sean Avraam was the one taking the snaps for Grip N Rip and not Vinny Gualano. Avraam had an okay game and Grip N Rip pulled out a close one against a Hugo Henderson-less Les Eudistes squad. It’ll be interesting to see whether they stick to Avraam or if they will use a two-quarterback system as they have done in the past. Big game vs. Fun Boys this week.

6. Triple Sixers – Absolute domination of last year’s champs gets them all the way to number 6. They picked off Simon Vallee four times and quarterback Karim Chaoul played a flawless game.

7. Wolfpack – Another former division 2 team that blew out their opponent. Game Changers aren’t exactly world-beaters but Wolfpack put other teams on notice by completely dismantling them. Any time your quarterback throws for 7 touchdowns with no turnovers, that usually results in a victory.

8. Sea Assassins – Their up-tempo offense got going against what should be a top defense in this league. Quaid Johnson looks to be a huge addition for this team that may be ready to take the next step.

9. Metamayhem – Good teams find a way to overcome mistakes and win close games. That’s exactly what Metamayhem did against OTF. Alex Holowach took a critical sack in the end zone for a safety with two minutes left to play in the game to fall behind 22-20. With the help of their timeouts and a stout defensive stand, they got the ball back and Holowach tossed the game winner with three plays left.

10. Jumpmans – I don’t care who you’re playing; scoring 53 points is very impressive. Giving up 18 is also really impressive. They even got a touchdown from their defense. They should win rather easily this week but the real test will be week 3 vs. Les Eudistes to see if they are for real.

 

Just missed the cut….

OTF – Losing a close game to a top 10 team isn’t the end of the world. With a new QB, I expected them to lose that game. They will get better as the season rolls along.

Laval’s Finest – Impressive first win against my previous #6 team Killer Instinct. You are now on my radar.

Mongoose – Having played these guys this past week, they have a good defense. That will keep them in games. As an opposing offense, you have to make the most of your possessions against them because you won’t get many. Their offense just isn’t explosive enough right now.

Killer Instinct – The defense was strong as expected. The offense is the problem right now. Taylor’s play at quarterback will determine whether they get back into the top 10.

 

Things We Learned

•   Did I take Jumpmans too lightly? I knew they’d be a tough out but I wasn’t expecting this.
•   It’s almost impossible to win without a quarterback in division 3. La Sauce found that out the hard way this week.
•   B.D. Bandits gave up 38 points in week 1. The most they gave up in a game all of last season: 33
•   Dan Lazarra has already matched his interception total from all of last winter season: 2
•   Two and a Half Dans looked great. However, the roster they sent out in week 1 wasn’t their actual team. M-A Viens and Alex Pilon aren’t there to catch four touchdowns every week. Let’s see    how their actual roster fares in week 2 vs. Ball Busters.
•   Killer Instinct gave up their usual 18-point average in week 1 but lost. Keep doing that and you will win more often than not in this league.
•   Is Fun Boys’ defense that good? Or is Mercenaries’ offense that bad?
•   Can Simon Vallee step up for Les Buddays? Or is this team in for a long season?
•   Advice to Mongoose rusher: Never give up on a play. Especially when it is filmed! That won’t go over too well with your teammates.
•   Hate hearing about guys getting injured in this league. All the best to Omar Jackson. The Brotherhood and FPF will miss you.
•   Many NFL teams have gone to a running back by committee approach. In FPF, can Grip N Rip make a QUARTERBACK by committee work?

 

Best of luck to all teams for week 2! If you want to reach me for any inquiries or to disagree with me, feel free to hit me up at [email protected] or DM me @JFloMusicMTL on Twitter.