FPF to NFL Comparison Article: Final Edition

We are finally here. This has been an eight-week journey that has seen me compare some of our Quarterbacks, Receivers, Rushers, and Defensive Backs to NFL players both past and present. I love football, so even though there were a lot of names to cover, it was also a lot of fun for me. Any Madden player that ever created themselves or thought they could make it to the mountain top while playing tackle football, will hopefully be able to relate to this.

For the players who only have experience playing flag football, I hope this series of articles provided you with something that was interesting, and a change from the usual FPF articles that come out every week. As a media team, we came into this season looking to shake things up a little bit and give you the readers something a little different, hopefully this was it.

James Tyrell – Christian Kirk

Now, ideally the lone Grey Cup champion on the list doesn’t need an NFL comp, but I want to get as many players as possible on here, and who doesn’t like seeing their names in the articles.

Both Receivers are far from the tallest pass-catchers on their teams, but what they lack for in height they make up for in speed, toughness, and solid hands. Tyrell is capable of being the top Receiver on an FPF team and even in university football like he was at times with the Concordia Stingers. As a Winnipeg Blue Bomber, he proved that he also isn’t afraid of hard work and opening things up for his teammates.

With the Arizona Cardinals, Kirk was often overshadowed first by Larry Fitzgerald, and then by DeAndre Hopkins. Despite that, he was phenomenal out of the slot. After signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars last year, Kirk, proved that he can be the lead Receiver, as he led the team with 84 catches, 1,103 yards, and eight touchdowns. He also played a huge role in the development of Quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Quaid Johnson – Jamar Chase

Don’t let the height fool you, Johnson can fly. The veteran Receiver is also a sharp route runner with a big catch radius with soft hands, and the ability to use his size to box out and create separation. Johnson can lead an offense, or simply be a decoy to draw coverage and open things up for his teammates.

With the Cincinnati Bengals, Jamar Chase is the top Receiver, and he possess all the same attributes that Johnson displays. Chase’s connection with Quarterback Joe Burrow, goes all the way back to their time at LSU, like the one that Johnson has with the previous Receiver mentioned on the list.

Nicholas Groppini – Garrett Wilson

Both players are compact, but fast and strong as well, with the ability to do a lot of damage via yards after the catch. Groppini and Wilson rarely ever drop a pass and can run every route in the book. Armed with the best Quarterback in FPF in Kevin Wyeth, Groppini is showing teams what he really can do when given the ball. The same will hold true for Wilson, as even though he put up over 1,000 receiving yards catching passes from Zach Wilson, Mike White, and Joe Flacco, the addition of Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, could mean eye-popping numbers for Wilson.

Adam Rosen – Davante Adams

He is on a team with a lot of great Receivers in Andrew Blevings, Daniel Mancini, and Jack Antaki, but Rosen stands above them all, as he is the best of the group. With his precise route-running matched up with the top end speed to run past defenders, soft hands, and the ability to pick up chunks of yards after the catch, Rosen is always a threat to score no matter where he is lined up on the field. Both players almost never drop a pass, and open things up for the rest of their teammates.

Jason Rossie – Derek Carr

The new starting Quarterback for the Beer Belly Brigade after a season-ending injury to regular starter Alexandre Fafard. In three games since taking over the job, Rossie, has thrown nine touchdowns, six interceptions. His 50.6% completion percentage and seven sacks against are concerning, but just like Carr, Rossie has made several big throws to silence the critics.

When looking closer at their games, both passers can scramble to extend drives, have big arms to stretch defenses, and have a ton of experience as well. While they will occasionally make a questionable throw, both guys play with passion, and provide leadership on the field. The New Orleans Saints Are better with Carr than Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton, Taysom Hill. The same holds true for the Beer Belly Brigade with Rossie.

In three games since taking over the job, Rossie, has thrown nine touchdowns, six interceptions. His 50.6% completion percentage and seven sacks against are concerning. Just like Carr, Rossie, can scramble to extend drives, has a big arm to stretch defenses, and has a ton of experience under his belt. While they will occasionally make a questionable throw, both guys play with passion, and provide leadership on the field.

Brandon Vickers – Cordarrelle Paterson

Since I used Taysom Hill in the first comp article, I am going with the Atlanta Falcons Running Back, Receiver, and Kick Returner, in the speedy Patterson. Both he and Vickers have the speed to but defenders on skates, and they provide their respective teams with a weapon that very few others can boost.

Vickers is also a defensive specialist, as he plays Rush and Cornerback, while also serving as a deep-ball threat when he is on offense for the Silent Ticklers. In short, both players are Swiss army knifes that make an impact on more than just one phase of the game.  

Anthony Drysdale – Tre’Davious White

Quite possibly the quietest player in the entire league, Drysdale is like a silent assassin, as he goes about his business of being a standout Cornerback, and simply makes plays, while providing tough and rugged coverage.

Both defenders make the Receivers that they cover earn every yard that they get. Physicality is also not a problem with White, as he has routinely been one of the best at the position in NFL for the last several seasons. The same can be said of Drysdale.

Phil Roberts – AJ Terrell

Every team needs a player like Roberts. He is a dual-threat athlete that can play Rusher, Receiver, Cornerback, an even Quarterback. On defense, his coverage and confidence seem to be improving every game, as the sixth-year player is becoming more aggressive and learning from his mistakes.

The Atlanta Falcons Cornerback and Clemson alum is one of the NFL’s young rising stars at the position. The fact that he plays for the Falcons who finished (7-10) and only had one primetime game last season (Week 10 vs Panthers on TNF) means he is not a household name yet. The talent is there however, and it will be on full display this season as the team has added the playmakers to defense to help Terrell.

 Dawroll Guillaume Antoine – Jaylon Johnson

The Chicago Bears Cornerback and the EZW defender might have people saying who, but be rest assured, both players can play. While surrounded by bigger names on their own team, each player has been tasked with covering the other team’s best Receivers game after game, and the pair have shown they are up for the task. Speed, instincts, and length are the keys to success for the duo. While they might get beat in coverage a few times per game, the resiliency that they show is noteworthy.

Felix Fortier – Emmanuel Moseley

Both players are sound tacklers, who don’t give up much of anything after the catch. Fortier is tied for the team lead in that department with 22 takedowns with Jonathan Benoit. Their coverage skills are solid, as they make Receivers fight to get open with solid positioning.

News and Notes

For those of you who were in Laval last night, the rain, thunder, and lightning made scorekeeping and playing a little challenging, but fun as well. The final game of the night on Field #2 was the Allstars versus Star City. It seemed like the flag football Gods wanted to see this matchup, as the 9 PM game between two Division E teams was canceled after five minutes due to the weather.

Star City, already short-handed due to the suspension of AJ Gomes, started the game with five players. They found themselves in an early hole, as a bad snap near the shadow of their own endzone led to a safety.

The Allstars would add to their lead when Matt Bond who was filling in for a missing Matt Kirouac at Snapper, would find the endzone. The pain would continue for Star City, as their Quarterback Dan Lazzara was intercepted by Fritzgerald Cenatus. Pat Jérome would score his first touchdown of the game to put his team up (10-0) four plays later.

Star City would finally get on the board two plays later, on a bomb from Lazzara to Jeanslee Alexis, but the momentum was short-lived as Allstars QB Kevin Wyeth would connect on a 20-yard laser to Nicholas Groppini.

The second half was much of the same as the Allstars’ offense was too strong to be stopped. The subs for Star City, were able to help keep the game close as Jeff Carpentier, Hassane Ait Yala, and Younes Marzouki made plays especially on offense, but the hill was too high to climb for the team as they lost (54-40).

The win for the Allstars gave them the regular season sweep over Star City, and their second win against them in less than a week, as they also knocked them off (42-39) last Monday at Stade de Montreal.

For Star City, last night was their second loss in a row and fifth out of their last six games overall. The one bright spot for them, is that they will be getting back the services of AJ Gomes, who is making his return after a 2-game suspension. The team will need him as they get set to take on the Braves tonight at Complexe Marie-Victorin in a big contest for both teams.

Before the torrential rain hit us in Laval, I had a chance to also score-keep the game between Poseidon’s Kiss and Mangoose. This contest had a few subs to, as PK was missing a few regulars from their lineup, and were waiting on Dom Benevento who was running late. Luckily for Rocco Christiano’s squad, they were able to get three players from the Bandits d’Ahuntsic of Division D in François Rochette, Lou-Félix Roy-Lachapelle, and Xavier Parent who had just finished playing right before them. The trio would more than hold their own in Div. B, as they all made plays for their “new” team.

This was an exciting affair that saw each team exhibit their potent offenses with both long and quick strike scoring drives. Unfortunately, some questionable calls and missed calls impacted the game, as both touchdowns and interceptions were wiped off the board due to officiating.

This contest would come down to the wire, as Posieden’s Kiss would punch the ball into the endzone on a touchdown by Benevento with one play remaining in the game. The Receiver appeared to be stopped inches from the goaline, but after the officials talked it over, the TD stood. Mangoose had a chance to win it on a Hail Mary pass, but it was intercepted by Corey Williams. This was an exciting game between two good teams who have the talent to go all the way.

Congrats to Jaime Drysdale, Mike Pierrecin, Jonathan Maheu, Anthony Brisebois, Guillaume Beland, Wiliam Trottier, Serge Pilon, Jean-Daniel Chevalier, Georges Gariépy, Francois Rocheleau, and Jean-Sébastien Bélisle for representing Team Canada at IFAF Americas Flag Football Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina. The squad ended up losing the 3^rd place game to Panama, but had a very strong showing, as they also took on Team USA, Argentina, and Brazil.

Congrats to Subzero on winning the Finals of the 2023 Women’s Senior Flag Nationals, as they beat Les Bleues to capture the championship. Led by the likes of Sara Parker, Tamara Journeau, Jessica Bositampen, and Sabrina Gervais, among others, along their coaches in FPF Hall-of-Fame members Pat Jérome and Jacques Void, this team rolled through their competition with great play on both sides of the ball. I had a chance to score-keep their game yesterday morning against WOS, where the champs didn’t miss a beat, as they rode to a (26-6) win. Great job ladies!

Picks

Braves vs Royaume Luminaire – Royaume Luminaire

Allstars vs Star City – Allstars

Bless Up vs KGP – KGP (My pick for Game of the Week in Div. A)

Star City vs Braves – Star City

Party Crashers vs The Jamesons – The Jamesons

 Beer Belly Brigade vs Ambush – Ambush (My pick for Game of the Week in Div. B)

Poseidon’s Kiss vs Mangoose – Mangoose

B-Raves vs Beers and Brownies – Beers and Brownies

Silent Ticklers vs Mangoose – Silent Ticklers (Upset Special)

Blessed vs Poseidon’s Kiss – Poseidon’s Kiss

EZW vs Run It Once – Run It Once

Blessed vs Silent Ticklers – Blessed

Last Week: (2-3)

As promised, the FPF-NFL comp articles are done. I hope you enjoyed it. With the playoffs just around the corner, in this weekend’s article, I will look at the contenders and pretenders in both divisions.

Good luck to everyone in their games tonight and this week. Enjoy the rest of your week!

If you liked the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], or reach out to me on the FPF Facebook page.