FPF Cup Reviews and Previews
Alexi Dubois
25-08-2020 12:44 AM
After a four-month hiatus, FPF finally kicked back off this week. For many of us, the weekly games are an important part of our routine and being away from the game for that long just felt unnatural. To finally get out and play my first game was a great feeling and I hope you all enjoyed it as well. With the games back on, that also means that your weekly articles are back. For this fall season, there are two writers. Myself and Ignacio Valdes-Manzanedo, baptized Iggy Magnets by the podcast. Between us, we will be covering all of the league. Iggy’s articles will be in English while mine will be bilingual. I will make an effort to write about your team in the language that you prefer. If you want to share your team’s language preference with me, please feel free to email me at [email protected]
Avant de rentrer dans le vif du sujet, je me présente. Je joue dans la ligue depuis 2016, surtout dans la division coed dont je couvre depuis quelques dernières saisons. En plus, j’ai aussi joué en divisions 4, 5 et 6. J’ai surtout hâte d’apprendre plus sur les équipes de tier 1 cette année puisque je connais un peu moins sur les divisions plus élevées de FPF. Au cours de la saison, si vous aviez des commentaires, questions ou recommandations, veuillez s’il vous plait m’envoyer un courriel à [email protected] .
Week 1 Reviews:
Urgence Médic (48) vs Sweat & Beers (31):
J’ai toujours eu l’impression qu’Urgence Médic pourront aller aussi loin que leur quart arrière Jesse Dupuis peux leur amener. Malheureusement, lors de la dernière campagne de UM en FPF cup 2019, Dupuis a manqué de nombreuses parties et UM se sont fait éliminer en première ronde des séries. Néanmoins, lors de leur match contre Sweat & Bears, Dupuis était présent et il était en feu. Malgré le fait qu’il a seulement complété 11 passes, Dupuis a accumulé 240 verges et six touchés. Oui, plus que la moitié de ses complétions étaient des passes que des touchés. Tandis que l’attaque de UM tournait bien de leur côté, leur défense a eu plus de misère. Ils ont seulement réussi une interception tout en allouant plus que 200 verges par la passe et cinq touchés. Même si les prouesses offensives de Dupuis ont gagné le match, la défense d’Urgence Médic va devoir s’améliorer s’ils espèrent battre Terror Squad la semaine prochaine.
You have to wonder if Sweat & Beers have the roster to compete in tier 1. They are going up against some of the very best in FPF and I just do not feel like they have the defensive playmakers to create turnovers against the league’s best quarterbacks. With Robbie Robinson under center, you know S&B will be able to score enough to keep things close, but unless they add a defensive playmaker, I do not see them competing in this division.
TuneSquad (25) vs Les Nains Johanais (19)
I was thrilled to see TuneSquad win their first game in the FPF adult division. This is a team that has been tearing it up in FPF Junior and they finally made the jump to the older league where they will face tougher competition. This is without a doubt one of the most athletic teams in the division. For all of you who do not yet know the name Chaz Presser, learn it before he waves goodbye to you on the way to the end zone. The key to success for this team will be staying on script. In FPF junior, they were used to having their coach call out their plays and defensive coverages. Without that veteran voice on the sidelines, this team could start start to get predictable late in games.
La première tâche pour Les Nains Johanais doit être de trouver un quart constant. Une rotation de trois quart arrières ne va jamais fonctionner à long terme en FPF. Surtout pour une équipe inexpérimentée comme Les Nains Johanais, c’est essentiel d’accorder le plus de série à un seul passeur pour qu’il puisse commencer à comprendre comment gagner dans la ligue. Malgré la difficulté de trois QB de l’équipe, Xavier Bourgeois-Giroux a connu tout un match. Offensivement, il a mené son équipe avec trois réceptions four 72 verges et un toucher tandis que défensivement, il a lassé sa marque avec une interception et une passe défendue.
Fightin’ Tigers (24) vs Yin & Yang (18):
Yin & Yang are an eternal heavyweight in the coed division and once again this year they were one of my preseason favorites. Y&Y’s most notable off-season acquisition was the uber talented Emma Racine. She may very well me the most talented player on this roster. Winning in coed is all about having the best girls in the division. In my mind, Racine is definitely the best woman in coed and I’d go as far as to say that she is a top 5 player in the division. To add to the acquisition of Racine, Y&Y also added FPF vet Ryan Dobbs-Garnett. As if those acquisitions weren’t enough, Gino Di Fazio’s QB rating was lowered so he can throw in coed. Long story short, I was expecting Y&Y to be much improved, so I was shocked to see them fall in week 1.
While Y&Y failed to live up to expectations, Fightin’ Tigers played a great game. Seth Galina has always been an average FPF quarterback. However, having Dylan Taylor in the huddle with him seems to have brought Galina’s game to another level. I guess having one of FPF’s best quarterbacks whisper in your ear before every play never hurts. Under Taylor’s guidance, Galina passed for 174 yards, four scores and most importantly, no interceptions. Another big question mark around this team was who was going to be their receiving threats. That question was answered quickly. Despite being best know as a passer, Taylor stepped up as a receiver and caught three passes for 55 yards. The Tigers also added the five-time all star Jamie Ojeaha to the mix. While he only caught two passes in this game, he has the potential to be an absolute game breaker. The Fightin’ Tigers got off to a great start this season, but I will need to see another convincing win or two before I consider them bona fide title contenders.
Week 2 Previews:
Mangoose (1-0) vs Les Centaures (0-1) : I know Les Centaures lost their opening game, but I am not ready to write them off yet. Jordan Rossie struggled mightily in week 1 but I think this team has a solution already on their roster in the form of Corey Walwaski. Les Centaures have all the talent you could hope for, they just need someone under center making the right decisions. I think this team’s best chances of winning are with Walwaski as QB. That being said, I don’t think that change is coming quite yet and that’s too bad because they are facing a formidable Mangoose team in week 2. While Mangoose may not really know the meaning of the word defence, boy can they score points. I see Centaures’ QB struggles continuing and Mangoose winning this one in a high scoring affair.
Le Speakeasy (1-0) vs South Side Speedsters (1-0) :
Le Speakeasy m’ont surpris avec une victoire contre les Trapstars lors de leur première semaine. C’est vraiment leur défense qui a gagné le match en forçant deux revirements. À l’attaque, Speakeasy ont seulement complété sept passes. Ils étaient dépendants des courses de leur quart arrière Mathieu Ouimet pour avancer le ballon. Cette semaine, Ouimet ne devrait pas avoir autant de faciliter à courir. Il va affronter Simon-Karl Pilotte, le rusher surdoué des South Side Speedsters. Pillotte a accumulé trois sacs du quart lors sa première partie. Je crois que Pillotte va réussir à neutraliser les courses de Ouimet et cela devrait être assez pour mener les Speedsters à leur deuxième victoire de la saison.
Week 1 Team of the Week:
Every week, I will name 12 players to the team of the week. If you make the offensive team of the week, you cannot be on the defensive on and vice versa. When choosing the players for the team of the week, I do not consider the tier that the players are in. I only consider their achievements.
Offence:
Quarterback: Phil Cutler (KGP, Tier 1) 18 completions, 249 passing yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT, 143.2 QB Rating
Receiver: Jaylan Greaves (Kiss My End Zone, Coed) 4 receptions, 103 receiving yards, 3 TDs
Receiver: Franco Ciccocioppo (Texas Shorthorns, Tier 2) 11 receptions, 86 receiving yards, 1 TD
Receiver: Alex Pilon (Braves Verts, Tier 1) 6 receptions, 102 receiving yards, 3 TDs
Receiver: Mathieu Lepage (BYOB, Tier 1) 8 receptions, 102 receiving yards, 3 TDs
Receiver: AJ Gomes (Khansequence, Tier 1) 10 receptions, 86 receiving yards, 3 TDs
Defense:
Rusher: Noah Groper (Half-A-Stars, Tier 2) 3 tackles, 4 sacks
Defensive Back: Brad Beare (Replacements, Tier 3) 5 tackles, 2 INTs
Defensive Back: James Langshaw (Hot Sauce Sports, Tier 2) 1 tackle, 2 INTs
Defensive Back: James Colizza (Goon Squad, Tier 3) 3 tackles, 1 INT, 1 defensive TD
Defensive Back: Isiah Allard (Khansequence, Tier 1) 4 PDs
Defensive Back: Derek Kastner (Rainmakers, Tier 3) 2 tackles, 2 INTs, 1 PD
Week 2 Picks :
| Home | Away | Prediction |
| Sweat & Beers | Khansequence | Khansequence |
| KGP | BYOB | KGP |
| Terror Squad | Urgence Medic | Urgence Medic |
| Braves Verts | Braves Noirs | Braves Verts |
| Les Centaures | Mangoose | Mangoose |
| EZW | Tough Lungs | EZW |
| Les Gros Coqs | Unknown Talent | Unknown Talent |
| Voodoo | Outlaws | Outlaws |
| Bruins | Trojans | Bruins |
| Warriors | Half-A-Stars | Half-A-Stars |
| Hot Sauce Sports | Bruins | Bruins |
| Pardon My Swag | Los Banditos | Los Banditos |
| Texass Shorthorns | Pepperoni Boyz | Pepperoni Boyz |
| Bada Bing | TuneSquad | TuneSquad |
| Lionhearts | Honey Martin | Honey Martin |
| Triple P | Replacements | Triple P |
| Lockdown | Zone 6 Ballers | Lockdown |
| Les Nains Johanais | Bud Knights | Bud Knights |
| Le Speakeasy | South Side Speedsters | South Side Speedsters |
| Mean Girls | Trapstars | Trapstars |
| Rainmakers | Goblin Gang | Goblin Gang |
| Goon Squad | Ballin 60’s | Goon Squad |
| Yin & Yang | Les Semi-Croquants | Y&Y |
| Fightin’ Tigers | La Secte | Fightin Tigers |
Iggy, Peeze, Moe and myself will be going head to head throughout the season with our predictions so stay tuned to the weekly articles to see who has the best FPF knowledge. With that, the first week of FPF cup action is on the books. See you all next week.