FPF Cup ’21: Week 2, Calling The Audible, a Quick Farewell and a Welcomed Return

Iggy Magnets back with your Week 2 article. A quick heads up that due to another work-related travel to St. Louis (those who read my Spring articles are asking themselves: Seriously? Another trip to St. Louis??) that next week, I will unlikely be available to push out an article. However, don’t fear, the great and completely different article-stylist, Peeze Della Reeze will be back to cover ground that I won’t. Due to Peeze‘s absence, I had the chance to express my voice through a different medium and loved the experience. Of course I am talking about Calling The Audible. I may be a bit green and need to work on some techniques, but I think overall, it wasn’t: a) Disastrous and was: b) Decent depth in replacing Peeze. It’s definitely not as easy as it looks, and the guys are pros. Hope you liked my takes, and if you hated it, that’s cool too; it comes with the territory. Alright, onto the article!

Division Headlines and other Shenanigans

I usually do this as my opening segment for those who haven’t read my material. I think it’s a quick, easy way to talk briefly about all 4 Tiers and talk what stood out during the week.

Damn, Blessed and EZW are here to show UM and KGP that they are here to compete and give them a run for their money (literally, there being money on the line).
Mangoose, on the other end, while beating KGP in Week 1, fell in a tough matchup against The Apocalypse, as recently nominated All-Star Quaid Johnson had a hat-trick of picks off of Nic Schaefer and a receiving TD to boot.
Ravens get their revenge against Pincellos, after losing to them in the Spring Div E Finals.
As their name would suggest, Unexpected Diablos unexpectedly had the most Points For after Week 2, scoring 73 points out of the gate.
Will Power was awesome in relief of Peeze at Quarterback, putting up 221 passing yards and 5 TDs, albeit in a loss to Team Ethnik, 33-32.
Have the Grim Repears pulled the plug on Rory Semerjian at QB? Dilan Daoust came in relief of their struggling Quarterback and put up 163 passing yards with 4 TDs to lead his team from behind to win their Week 2 matchup against KGP Ra, 36-19.
Glogang, without their stud QB, Arno Desjardins, have struggled to put up points. They have yet to score more than 18 points, which in FPF will not win you many games.
I made a super quick reference on Calling The Audible, but are Save a Horse perhaps named after BoJack Horseman? 🤔 Maybe they saw Save The Turftles and decided to save another animal instead? Either way, this group of athletic guys are coming in hot into FPF with back-to-back wins in convincing fashion. I mentioned that I scrimmaged against these guys in the pre-season and was impressed with their skill set. Definitely thought they could quickly adapt to the FPF gameplay, and they are proving me right so far. It will be fun to see how they fare in Week 4 against an FPF veteran team in Pardon My Swag.
What is up with the Trailer Park Boys?? They seem to be regressing the past 2 seasons as fast as they improved in the 2 seasons after their first.
7th Rounders come away with a shutout victory over Lockdown, 36-0.
Damn, Save the Turftles must be wondering “What the eff is going on??” after a 7-3 season last Spring. They have a Bye Week in Week 3 to mull things over.
Roster tampering from Y&Y did not go unnoticed. A reminder that if a player has multiple profile, contact the FPF staff (myself: [email protected]), Alexi, Eagle, Peeze, Moe, to get the incorrect one wiped out.
The Rock come away with their first victory of the season and Alex Laroche always puts up the best/funniest player profile pics. Click his name to see his latest classic.
Tough to say just yet, put the Week 3 matchup of EZFun vs. Kiss My End Zone might be the matchup that determines the #1 seed already!

Game Recaps – Week 2

Tier 1: Mangoose 8 – 27 The Apocalypse

Jeff Rosenblatt, Kendal Mayers and The Apocalypse came out strong, starting the game with a 32-yard pitch and catch between the 2 aforementioned names. One play later and Quaid Johnson punched it in from 8 yards out. Mangoose, just as effectively, but in an opposite way of marching down the field, also scored a TD, Dominic Perron on the receiving end of it for a 3-yard TD strike. Since The Apocalypse went for 1 and converted, Mangoose decided to go for 2 and went up 8-7 early in this game.

As the score indicates though, this is as far as Mangoose got to the endzone. It was more of a defensive game, as both teams turned the ball over on downs after driving the ball down the field. The Apocalypse then converted their next long offensive drive with a Travis Moses 1-yard TD. With Mangoose having the last possession before the end of the half, the speedy Ben McMahon came away with a big 6-yard sack on the last play of the half to prevent a Hail Mary from Nic Schaefer who can absolutely bomb it. The score at halftime was 13-8 for The Apocalypse, as Mangoose was absolutely still in this game, considering they would be starting the 2nd half on offense.

Unfortunately for Mangoose, the 2nd half was the Quaid Johnson show on defense, as just 3 plays in, he got his first interception of the night on Schaefer and almost had a pick 6, but got tackled at the 1. Rosenblatt would not waste any time to score, as he connected with Mayers for another 1-yard TD and they converted the 1 point convert to go ahead 20-8. The next 2 Mangoose drives ended the same as the opening half, with 2 more Johnson picks. The game really came down to those 3 interceptions to the 0 thrown by Rosenblatt, as well as the 100% Red Zone conversion for The Apocalypse to Mangoose’s 33% rate. Another under-the-radar story here was that all-star rusher Thomas Coutu was a non-factor, as Jeff Rosenblatt got rid of the ball so quickly that Coutu never had a chance to make an impact in this game.

Players of the game

Mangoose Player of the Game: Thomas Coutu – 7 rec, 8 targets, 67 yards, 1 tackle, 1 PD

The Apocalypse Player of the Game: Quaid Johnson – 4 receptions, 6 targets, 39 yards, 1 TD, 2 tackles, 3 INTs, 1 PD.

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Tier 3: The Stormers 12 – 38 Save a Horse

The Stomers had no idea what they were in for in playing Save a Horse. Usually I would pick the team that has some FPF experience, but I first-hand saw what Save a Horse had to offer. Kyle Daniel, the Save a Horse Quarterback did not show any first-FPF-game-ever jitters. as he went 12 for 15, 166 yards and 4 TDs and most impressive, 0 INTs for a whopping QB rating of 152.4, nearly a perfect game. Oh, and he can boogy too; taking his 5 rushing attempts for 57 yards and a score.

On the opposite side, Alec Richard-Nantel giving it his 2nd run at QB, last playing in 2020’s Fall Cup also ran the ball well, going 4/40, but didn’t have as much success in the air, going 17/28 for 107 yards, with 2 TDs and 2 INTs.

As for the actual game play, Daniel did what most new quarterbacks do on 3rd and 4th down, and that is run the ball early. On their first drive of the game, he ran on their first 3rd down play for 11 yards, and took their first ever Touchdown on the ground once again, for another 11 yards. While they didn’t convert on their 1 point attempt, their first defensive series went very well, as Tyler Stewart picked off Richard-Nantel on the very first pass attempt, and returned it to the house for 6. After missing their 2 point attempt, Save a Horse was up 13. And how does one keep up their defensive prowess? How about Stewart coming up with a 9-yard sack on the 2nd pass attempt. After gaining 10 yards, The Stomers went for it on 4th and 9 early in the game (right call since they were already down 2 scores), and converted big time with a 23-yard reception by Félix Gosselin Pétrin. Richard-Nantel actually composed himself after that 4th down conversion and ended up hitting Poirier Verreault for a 6-yard TD.

Daniel also showed off his big arm in this game, with clearly his deep threat as Tye Middleton, as they connected twice, one a 40 yard TD, the other Middleton actually first was called for a false start, moved back 5 yards, just to he could get another 5 yards on the receiving stats, catching his 2nd TD for 45 yards. Sandwiched between those 2 TDs was another Stewart interception on defense, as a lot was going right for Save a Horse and not so much for The Stormers. The only other TD for The Stomers went to brother, Lucas Nantel.

For The Stormers, they need to find a way to get Xavier Bourgeois-Giroux more involved in the offensive game, as he is quietly one of their better athletes and overall football players. Defensively, I’ve seen him make great plays on the ball, and needs to make a bigger mark on D.

I think we can all recall our first FPF game played, and For Save a Horse, this one is one they won’t soon forget.

Players of the game

The Stormers Player of the Game: Jeremy Poirier Verreault – 4 receptions, 4 targets, 31 yards, 1 TD

Save a Horse Player of the Game: Tyler Stewart – 7 receptions, 7 targets, 64 yards, 1 TD, 1 sack, 2 INTS, 1 Defensive TD

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Game previews – Week 3

Tier 2 preview: Los Siete Amigos (1-1) vs. Chocolate Thunder (1-1)

Both teams are coming off Week 2 wins, as Los Siete Amigos are coming off a close one, a 19-18 victory over Glogang, while Chocolate Thunder are coming off a thunderous beatdown, a 46-12 win over Mean Machine.

This version of Los Siete Amigos is a blend of Alex Fafard‘s Trojans and Ben Reid‘s South Side Speedsters. Basically, expect a lot of rushing this season from Fafard (103 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD last game) and big catches from Nicolas-Emmanuel Pierre (8 receptions, 11 targets, 81 yards, and 2 TDs on the season). Defensively, it looks like they have added a strong rusher in Xavier Tran-Khanh (Moe Khan‘s long lost cousin?) as he has 3 sacks so far this season (and 2 sacks when he played 2 games this past Spring).

Now, this season’s Chocolate Thunder is very much like most seasons, with the crew with probably the best athletes and best hands-team of Tier 2, with the like of Justin Peress, Kyle Pedvis, Dylan Catellier and the towering receivers/defenders in Tim Horner and Nikki Papich. What’s been funny with this core, is that while the roster has remained consistent, their play has not. Case in point: their Week 1 and Week 2 scores, a 13-12 loss to Arouch, and the aforementioned 46-12 victory. Im not sure where the inconsistency lies, but it’s clear that when Kano is rolling on all cylinders, and the defense can come away with takeaways as were the cases in Week 2, the team is putting up big numbers and winning football games.

This game will test the Thunder defense in a way that limits the best of Horner and Papich; when they are down field picking off or batting balls away from receivers. This will be more a game of strong tackling and the speedier defenders stepping up like Kyle Pedvis, with the most important defensive player(s) being their alternate rushers, Justin Peress and Dylan Catellier stopping Fafard from getting extra yards on the ground. They will also need to be strong in the short game against guys with strong hands like Nic Pierre and Christian Tinsley.

As for LSA, they will need to make sure what is easier said than done: defend the deep ball from Joe Kano and the fast, rangy receivers in Horner and Papich. There are not many defenders in Tier 2 that can stop those 2, so I see Matthieu Pilotte as the player that needs to step up deep. And what better way to defend the deep ball by not letting the ball get down the field in the first place. If Xavier Tran-Khanh can frustrate Kano with a couple of early sacks, that will be a key for The 7 friends to come away with the victory.

Prediction score: Los Siete Amigos 25 – 38 Chocolate Thunder

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Co-Ed Cup preview: EZFun (2-0) vs. Kiss My Endzone (1-0)

This, like I mentioned before, might already be the biggest game of the year for both teams. It really sucks and I’m truly disappointed that I won’t be able to play against one of FPF’s rising Quarterback stars and a teammate of mine last Spring in Jeremy White. It’s an intriguing matchup because it has 2 Quarterbacks making their debuts in FPF’s Co-Ed division/Tier in Jeremy White (now 2 games in) but also Paolo Della Rocca, who will truly be making his Co-Ed debut after a 2-week bender in Atlanta, doing his best Jehovah Witness role-play.

Both quarterbacks have a ton of FPF experience and have much depth in their receiving cores. One critical difference however, is that Paolo has less team chemistry with his receivers than the rapport Jeremy has built with his. I am of course speaking beyond these 2 games Jeremy has played with EZFun and am referring to his 10+ seasons with the All Hooks/EZW franchise. On the other end, I don’t believe Della Rocca has ever played an entire season with his male counterparts in Alexi Dubois, Jonathan Hared, Kenny Boutilier and Kevin Lubin. Obviously, since it’s his first season playing Co-Ed, it goes without saying that he hasn’t played with his female teammates, at least not in FPF. That being said, I think Paolo will have fun with all the receivers, male and female alike, as they all have different skill sets and can run a variety of routes from the route tree.

While EZFun has a lot of firepower, defensively, I believe Kiss My Endzone can (although it will be difficult) to keep up and contain the EZFun talent. Enough so that it can give Paolo the chance to win the game with the last possession of the game. The one thing that KMEZ will have to game plan against will be containing White’s ability to both run the ball and to buy time in the backfield.

As for EZFun, they need to simply play their game, and more the Week 1 version than the Week 2 version. While EZFun ended up with the 30-0 win, the actual game played on the field ended in a 26-26 tie. White only has 115 yards and 2 TDs passing, and relied more on his legs, gaining 78 yards and a rushing touchdown on 4 running attempts. From the boxscore, you can tell that EZFun had trouble defending the snapper, and if there’s something Paolo loves using in his offense, its the consistent targets to his snapper.

What might write the story in this game will be EZFun’s defense against the KMEZ offense… with Della Rocca under centre for the first time as KMEZ’s quarterback, how long will it take to shake off the bourbon and how quick will he gel with his new teammates. He can’t afford the famous Pick-6’s he’s been guilty of, so he needs to simply throw it away when he’s under pressure or when someone doesn’t run the route at the right depth he’s normally used to.

This was a tough game to write about, given I play on KMEZ and didn’t want to give away any strengths and/or weaknesses. I see why now we writers often shy away from writing about their own teams! Then there’s the next part… prediction time…

In the end, this one will be tight, but EZFun will squeak one out over KMEZ. C’mon KMEZ! Prove me wrong!!

Prediction score: EZFun 28 – 25 KMEZ

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Game Picks Week 3

Home	Away	Peeze Pick	Moe Pick	Iggy Pick	Alexi Pick
The Apocalypse	EZW	EZW	The Apocalypse	The Apocalypse	EZW
Blessed	KGP	Blessed	Blessed	Blessed	Blessed
Urgence Medic	Mangoose	Urgence Medic	Urgence Medic	Urgence Medic	Urgence Medic
Team Ethnik	Glogang	Team Ethnik	Team Ethnik	Team Ethnik	Team Ethnik
Ravens	Bruins	Ravens	Ravens	Bruins	Bruins
Team Ethnik	Pincellos	Team Ethnik	Pincellos	Team Ethnik	Team Ethnik
Mean Machine	Tough Lungs	Tough Lungs	Tough Lungs	Tough Lungs	Tough Lungs
Hot Sauce Sports	Grim Reapers		Hot Sauce Sports	Hot Sauce Sports	Hot Sauce Sports
KGP Ra	Centaures	Centaures	KGP Ra	Centaures	Centaures
Arouch	Unexpected Diablos	Arouch	Arouch	Unexpected Diablos	Unexpected Diablos
Los Siete Amigos	Chocolate Thunder	Los Siete Amigos	Chocolate Thunder	Chocolate Thunder	Chocolate Thunder
7th Rounders	Pardon My Swag	Pardon My Swag	Pardon My Swag	Pardon My Swag	Pardon My Swag
TuneSquad	Tim Brandy	Tim Brandy	TuneSquad	TuneSquad	TuneSquad
Trailer Park Boys	The West Yard	The West Yard	Trailer Park Boys	The West Yard	The West Yard
The Stormers	Free Agent Squad	Free Agent Squad	Free Agent Squad	Free Agent Squad	Free Agent Squad
Save a Horse	Lockdown	Lockdown	Save a Horse	Save a Horse	Save a Horse
The Penetrators	FSU	The Penetrators	FSU	The Penetrators	The Penetrators
Lionhearts	Post Malone’s Knights	Post Malone’s Knights	Post Malone’s Knights
Demons	Killer Rays	Killer Rays	Killer Rays	Killer Rays	Demons
Warriors	Two Inch’s Gang	Warriors	Warriors	Warriors	Warriors
EZFun	Kiss My End Zone		EZFun
La Secte	Y&Y	Y&Y	Y&Y	Y&Y	Y&Y

Of course, above are the individual media Game Picks, but as revealed on Calling The Audible and as seen on Instagram live now, the FPF community can now make their own picks that go against the FPF media!

In Week 2, the Community went 2 up and 2 down, while the FPF staff went 3-1. Don’t fret though, you have another 6 weeks to try and make a comeback!

For those who missed it last week, here’s it works:

1 game from each Tier played on Sunday nights will be selected for the FPF community to vote on against the FPF staff, for a total of 4 games per week.
The 4 games will, from Week 2 onwards, appear on Instagram as of 6:45pm on Saturdays, 24 hours in advance of the Sunday night start-times, 7pm, so that members of the FPF community can vote on which team they believe will win the game that is posted.
While individuals will vote, it will be a single community vote, (determined by the team with most votes, per game posted) that will be selected as the FPF community selection.
The FPF staff, comprised of Alexi Dubois, Iggy Magnets, Peeze Della Reeze, Moe Khan and Eagle, will also have 1 single vote that goes up against the FPF community.
If at the end of the 8-week regular season, the FPF community has more correct game picks than the FPF staff, then a $50 FPF credit will be awarded to 2 unique member(s) of the FPF community who participated in the voting process. The winners will be determined by a random, live draw on Calling The Audible, FPF’s podcast show. More details on the draw date will come later during the season.
*To be eligible for one the two $50 FPF credits, a player must have voted in at least 4 different weeks of the FPF Cup season. So make sure you vote throughout the season to be eligible for the FPF credit!! Note: A player can only win one of the two $50 credits available, and not both.
Remember to follow @flagplus on IG and vote for the games posted on Saturday evening into Sunday!

Well that does it this week for my Week 1 article, but make sure you read my fellow article writers, Peeze Della Reeze‘s and Alexi Dubois‘ article and catch me on Calling The Audible as it was my last week replacing Peeze. Peeze, I’m gunning for your job XD.. nah, the guy is honestly a comedian and I much prefer watching him and having him make me laugh for an hour over me.

That’s it for my Week 2 article, and a reminder that I will be out in St. Louis next week, so good luck out there on the turf!

Cheers,

Iggy Magnets