Inside the Red Zone (D1) – Week 2

 

This just in, Ex-Demon, Mike Harrington who currently plays for Montreal’s Finest, is very confident in his team for this week’s match up against his former team. If you Twitter lovers are following us on FlagPlus Football (@flagplus) , you would have read his remarks “Demons Suck WOO WOO” and “MTL’S FINEST will steam roll Carmine and the Demons Sunday Night at 9pm with easeeee WOO WOO.” I have to give it to Mikey H for trying to get the ball rolling on smack talk, but do all of his teammates feel the same way? Find out a little later in this column when I’ll be breaking this game down.

 

Congratulations to Express for entering the win column in 2011. I am sure it might be a relief and a big weight off their shoulders. What they will do from this point forward remains to be seen, but let’s focus on the other remaining winless football teams: Old Skool, Redhawks and CLR Forces. The state of these franchises and which team will be the first to get a win was discussed briefly ion the WEPL this week. However let’s take a deeper look at these teams and their upcoming schedule.

Old Skool (0-1-1; the tie came against Redhawks) are progressing and improving but still have some ways to go. Andy Peterkin showed massive improvement in week two and I believe he will continue to do well in the upcoming weeks. So far we have only mentioned his name and Shane Williams’, which is not fair to the rest of the team because there is lots of other talent on the squad. Louis Larouche, Jay Ulley, Robby Robinson, Brian Tock, Vinny Gualano, Kevin Wilson and the list goes on. A lot of these players have played together as Hurricanes and even outdoors on various teams.

Another advantage is the parity in receiving stats, which says two things about this offense. One, the ball is spread around and two, the QB feels all of his receivers can make plays when called upon, so expect big things from this team. Their upcoming games are: Expos, Demons and Montreal’s Finest. It is no secret that all three opponents are very strong, so it will not be easy for Old Skool to get their first win anytime soon, however I do feel that they’ll pull off a “fumble of the week”, so to speak, and should defeat at least one of these teams over the next month.

Redhawks (0-1-1) and not playing methodical football. Quarterback Jean-Daniel Chevalier is not playing the type of football he needs to be after two weeks. He is 17 of 43 for 200 yards and 6 TDs, not the kind of offensive stats you need to succeed in Division 1, and that was never clearer than when they lost to Montreal’s Finest by two scores this past week. Their offense has 44 points scored which is the second lowest in Division 1. So if the QB can’t improve on his passing efficiency, the receivers can’t help out the offense and thus no one benefits. Chevalier needs to set-up the pass by using his superior athleticism, much like a young Patric Chenard did in ’08 and ’09. On a positive note, the defense has three interceptions in three games, so that’s something to build on for this athletic squad. Their upcoming games are: Rainmakers, Expos and Express. I don’t see the next two games as wins so maybe their first win comes in week five.

 

CLR Forces (0-2) are a mystery to everyone. Some might say that Old Skool and Redhawks also would have been 0-2 had they faced off against other opponents (like CLR Forces did) in the first two weeks. In all honesty, I expected the CLR Forces to be at least 1-1 at this point in season, but I will not completely give up on them. We tend to forget that we have only played two weeks of football, so there is still a lot left. Gun slinger Frederic Dupuis has already attempted 64 passes after two games and has completed less than half of them. He has turned the ball over four times already and his rating is less than 80%. So it goes without saying that he MUST step up his game. All-star snapper Dominic Lemieux is picking up where he left off last season, but it is also good to see other receivers step up such as Ludovic Lacroix, J-M Laplante (formerly of Notre Dame), Frederic Calles and the usual suspect, Guillaume Ward.

Defensively, they have allowed 84 points which is the most in Division 1. They have only managed to create one turnover. Although their defense was never their strong point, with their offense continuing to struggle (46 points in two games), they will need to create more turnovers and play better defense to stand a chance in games. Their upcoming games are: Express, Montreal’s Finest and Rainmakers. I will not back down from my prediction on WEPL when I announced that CLR Forces will beat Express this week. However if they don’t, I don’t see it happening in the following two games.

 

World War III

So now on to the main event, Montreal’s Finest versus Demons. As mentioned before, there has been some smack talking on the part of Mike Harrington (who was part of the Demons in Winter 2009) of Montreal’s Finest. However, when I asked teammate Moe Khan, captain and “treasurer”, he said “Well that’s fine”. So it leads me to believe that Montreal’s Finest are very confident going in to their match up against Demons on Sunday. So let’s look at the two teams and what they’ve done so far in 2011.

Demons (2-0) pulled off an exciting win this past weekend against the Rainmakers (minus Benny Goodfriend) and although some might say, they were lucky to win, they said, “We’re a team who finds ways to win.” Not sure what the Rainmakers will have to say about that, but I digress. Carmine Pollice has posted excellent stats after two weeks, 37-52 for 421 yards and 11 TDs with a rating of 118.7. Paul Lapierre, Dominic and Nick Raymond, and Benny Goodfriend are the main targets. It was rumored that they had acquired Jamil Springer (who helped Mercenaries in 2010 Spring to win a championship) and Shayne Stinson however, the former is playing Div 2 and 3, while the latter is busy with non-football related activities.

One thing is for sure, their defense has improved from Winter 2009. I believe the biggest difference is their rush, attributed to Karl De Nie. He also helped the Empire (Mercenaries, 2010 Spring) win a championship and as we all know, a strong pass rush is the backbone of a solid defense. He already has seven sacks in two games and will continue his domination, sans exception. Adi Sharma is doing what he does best, and while some people around the league thought he might have lost a step, Adi definitely put those voices to rest with a game winning interception last weekend (that’s two in two games). So with his strong play and Karl De Nie’s rush, it appears Demons are ready to challenge the top offenses in Division 1.

 

Montreal’s Finest (2-0) have the strongest roster that I have ever seen to date. Should I go down the list? Akked Moore, Kevin Wyeth, Garrett Taylor, Mike Harrington, Marc Champagnie, Nathan Taylor, Karim Binette, Kishon Thompson… is this an All-Star ballot? My God! Moe Khan has assembled the best of the best, to ensure that a repeat of 2010 doesn’t happen. They have won their first two games comfortably. Even though some might say that the games were too close, I beg to differ. Kevin Wyeth’s numbers are also impressive: 35-57 for 325 yards and 8 TDs with a rating of 109.3; he also has one rushing TD. Four receivers have two receiving TDs, but more important than the supporting cast, is the person who throws to them. Kevin Wyeth has always been a QB who was strong in distributing the ball and now opposing defenses should beware, because at anytime, any receiver can be open and will get the ball. You can hold them off for a play or two but that’s pretty much it.

 

On the defensive side of things, they have Garrett Taylor, Kishon Thompson, Nathan Taylor, Karim Binette and Marc Champagne, with Moe Khan rushing. Although it’s obvious to note the weakest link on this defense, it is a deadly group of athletes to go up against. The proof? They have surrendered only 31 points so far, which is the best in Division 1. There isn’t much else that needs to be said.

 

So who will win? You have the number one offense (Demons) facing a number one defense (Montreal’s Finest). Donald Shepherd said that Montreal’s Finest will win and so did Moe Khan (by agreeing with Mike Harrington) but I will disagree. I think as strong as the Finest are (and they’re VERY strong), they haven’t had a true test yet, so they might be a little complacent. Whereas the Demons had a scare last weekend, but pulled out a win and will be riding that momentum.

Also, Division 1 is all about offense and Montreal’s Finest have the tools but have only put up 58 points in two games, against opponents that they should have destroyed. So look for Karl De Nie to have a strong game which will help the Demons’ defense make a stop or two, and that will be the difference. Last, you can’t forget that Carmine Pollice has never lost to Kevin Wyeth as a starting QB in FlagPlus Football, so I am sure he’ll work extra hard to keep this streak alive.

Anyway you look at it, this match up will be intense, hard fought and a nail biter till the end.

 

The Eight Ball

This is a new segment in which I’ll ask one question to the Eight Ball. This week’s question is:

“Will Moe Khan get 10 sacks this season?”

Answer: Don’t count on it.

So there you have it, the eight ball has spoken.

**Please submit your questions and I’ll be sure to pick the best one for my column**

That’s it for this week’s column, hope it kept you entertained while you were doing whatever it is that you do. As usual, if you have comments/suggestions, please email me at [email protected]. Good luck to all teams and I will leave you with the following quote:

“Demons Suck WOO WOO” – Mike Harrington of Montreal’s Finest