Inside the Redzone (D4) – Divisional Round

 

AND THEN THERE WERE EIGHT! We have reached the Elite Eight in the Division 4 playoffs and so far six out of the eight favorites have advanced, so who were the two teams who pulled off the upset? One team was Marauders, but in all honesty they were the favorites going in and last week I did pick them to win, so there is no big surprise there. The biggest surprise of last weekend was the seventh seeded X-Men upsetting the number two-seeded BOOM! Goes The Dynamite. I can say with 110% certainty that no one saw this coming, but it is a rare occasion where I am happy to be proven wrong. X-Men came to play playoff football, had a plan and executed it to perfection. The real question is: Will their Cinderella run continue next week?

 

Les manchettes

Attention! Les…X-Men sont là???

 

Eh oui mesdames et messieurs, BOOM! Goes The Dynamite s’est fait évincer des séries hivernales 2010 de la D4! Les X-Men auront donc droit à une revanche face à la superpuissance de la Conférence A : les Triple Sixers. Après leur victoire, j’ai intercepté les joueurs des X-Men pour leur demander : « Mais pourquoi donc n’avez-vous pas joué ainsi durant la saison régulière? », question à laquelle ils répondirent bien vite : « On conservait cette performance pour les séries!». Leur défense était en effet méconnaissable alors qu’elle s’est empressée de réaliser 3 interceptions en retournant même une pour un touché! Je pensais que la qualification pour les séries de cette jeune équipe était un accomplissement intéressant mais réussir le tour de force de battre une équipe avec une fiche de 8-2, vraiment, je me dois de vous saluer bien bas. Félicitations X-Men, et bonne chance en 2e ronde!

Les Marauders sont venus pour jouer!

 

Les Marauders furent la seule équipe à atteindre le chiffre magique des 50 points marqués dans cette première semaine d’éliminatoires, exploit qu’il ont réussi face à une défensive qui n’a alloué que 21.1 points par match durant la saison régulière. Êtes-vous surpris? Pour ma part, je ne le suis point et je peux du même souffle vous affirmer que les principaux intéressés non plus! Ils savent qu’ils peuvent vaincre leur opposition peut importe la force de cette dernière. Cette année, plus que jamais auparavant, ils sont convaincus qu’ils se rendront jusqu’au bout. Pour ce faire, les hommes en bleu et blanc devront terrasser le monstre de confiance que forment les Warriors, eux qui sont invaincus en 10 matchs. Il y a un an, les Marauders ont trébuché en Demi-Finales face aux Dirty Birds qui ont remporté le championnat. Cette fois, ils sont prêt. Se transformeront-ils en X-Men? Nous le saurons bien assez vite!

 

 

ELITE EIGHT

 

Conference A

 

Triple Sixers vs. X-Men

Regular season: Triple Sixers won 56-7

 

Despite the upset win against BOOM! Goes They Dynamite, X-Men will have a tougher task this weekend. Triple Sixers are firing on all cylinders right now and have no intention of slowing down. X-Men were successful due to a lot of broken plays last weekend against BOOM, however that will not work against Triple Sixers because the latter have more playmakers, more experience and more firepower. It appears the Cinderella run will come to an end this weekend.

 

Key(s) to success:

 

Triple Sixers – They must get off to a great start because an early hole could prove troublesome. Defense has to set the tone early which will force X-Men to make poor decisions.

 

X-Men – They have to slow down the game and make smart decisions. They were patient against BOOM! defensively, so they must continue that scheme against Triple Sixers because easy points (long bombs) will kill them.

 

Winner: Triple Sixers

 

Snookers vs. Gators

Regular season: Gators won 27-6

 

After a season long criticism of the Snookers offense, they scored 40 points against a decent Trapstars defense. They were a bit under the radar all season long but it seems they are now ready to make some noise. Will they be able to stop Kevin Marlowe? I guess the proper question is: will Kevin Marlowe stop himself? Much has been said about his playoff performances in the past, but many believe he is ready to take the next step. As I said on the WEPL, I’ll believe it when I see it. If anything, I believe the Snookers squad are ready to take their game to the next level with consistent performances from many players.

 

Key(s) to success:

 

Snookers – Eliminate the deep ball and get to Kevin Marlowe early. On offense, players other than Andre John and Michael Young have to be involved because Gators defense are smart enough to contain two guys.

 

Gators – It has been said over and over and over, Kevin Marlowe has to play like a champion. The defense will make a few stops but he will have to lead this team.

 

Winner: Snookers

Conference B

Warriors vs. Marauders

Regular season: Warriors won 42-30

 

Warriors and Marauders had convincing wins last weekend and outscored their opponents 98-45. As strong as the Warriors are, do the Marauders even have a chance? The answer is yes. Based on the fact Marauders have gone far in the playoffs in previous seasons, they will make this rematch quite interesting. Warriors know it is business as usual for them and they have to treat this game as just another one on the path to the promise land.

 

Key(s) to success:

 

Warriors – They have to stick to their usual game plan which has worked for them all year long.

 

Marauders – Denis Beauregard will need a perfect game, like the one he had against Time Bombs last week. Furthermore, they have to play smart football on defense by showing Normal Weekes different looks.

 

Winner: Warriors

 

Served With Ice vs. Flight Of The Concords

Regular season: Flight Of The Concords won 27-20

 

SWI just came off a thrilling victory against Guerillaz but do they have a complete enough team to battle against FOTC? I don’t think they do. Jordan Panetta will face a tough defensive system that held Garrett Taylor in check and limited Briscoe High Hawks to 7 points. So I don’t think Mr. Panetta is ready for such pressure and will have a rough night. Pascal Tshilambo and Gabriel Marcoux will need to have their A+ games if SWI stand a chance.

 

Key(s) to success:

 

Served With Ice – Play the patient game and take what is given to them rather than forcing plays. Also they cannot afford to be down early in the game.

 

Flight Of The Concords – The defense will need to set the tone early which means Vadim Chernyak must get to Jordan Panetta in the first two series. Offensively, FOTC must keep the ball away from Pascal Tshilambo.

 

Winner: Flight Of The Concords

 

 

What Now?

 

What can we expect from the teams who have gone home after last weekend? Let’s talk a brief look at all the teams who lost in the first week of playoffs and what they have to improve on.

 

Briscoe High Hawks – They came on strong in the second half of the season but were lacking consistency. I think this team has a lot of potential and talent but they need to believe in themselves a little more. Furthermore, they need a well-structured game plan and aggressiveness. I hope to see them in Spring and should be able to go 7-3.

 

Venom – For most of the players it was their first time playing in the league, so it is only normal they weren’t able to defeat the Triple Sixers. Their roster size is quite large and I am not sure if every player is being used properly. They will need to asses every player’s abilities and what they bring to the table. By doing so, they’ll have a stronger team with depth. Perhaps they can add Matt Young for the Spring season?

 

BOOM! Goes The Dynamite – I am still shocked that they lost in the first round and it was a mixture of bad plays and overconfidence. Captain Edward Shoshan realizes that they let one slip away but I have no doubt they’ll be back and be just as strong in Spring.

 

Trapstars – Well they had a great season based on their talent and made it as far as most had expected. I think the core of the team plays well together but perhaps they need a little more help from a player from higher division. They don’t seem to have a proper system and lack the right decision making in certain situations. From I understand they will not back in Spring however they have enough time till Winter 2011 to figure things out.

 

Gieuth – A rookie team who made the playoffs in their inaugural season however they need to learn the flag football game a bit more and only with time will they become more comfortable. I encourage them to play in Spring so they don’t lose the progress they have made this season.

 

Guerillaz – Well it is hard to analyze this team. They did not have a “natural” or “pure” quarterback so right off the bat, they are at a disadvantage because you lose John Lyristis as a snapper/receiver. If Mr. Lyristis works at being a QB and wants to stay in that role, they should return with him as QB. Either way, they need to find a QB who will be their QB full time. Knowing GDF, he always has a few tricks up his sleeve or in his back pocket if he is wearing a short T.

 

Sharks – It was a good season for the Sharks. I think they learned a lot about the ability to step up in different situations on their own rather than relying on All Star players such as Carmine Pollice, Erik Legarde and Anthony Mancuso (as they did in Winter 2009). They must continue playing with the same roster so they can get more used to each other and perfect their roles. Similar to Gieuth, I think Spring season will do them good, especially for new QB Matt Agozzino.

 

Time Bombs – Given the fact they were a team that was put together with mostly free agents, they went as far as they could. I am not sure if they are deciding to be back but two players (and possibly more), Matt Young and Chris Rivest, have already made it clear they won’t be back. Furthermore two of the players play with Cobras so their loyalty might be elsewhere. So we’ll have to wait and see the direction this team will take.

 

—

 

There are only three articles left. In two weeks’ time I’ll reveal my ALL-STARWAR SQUAD for Winter 2010 Division 4. In the last article I’ll reveal the winners of STAR-AWARDS. Next week we’ll have our semi-finalists so we are getting that close to crowning our champion. Good luck to the Elite Eight this weekend. That’s it for this week’s column. As usual if you have any comments/suggestions, email me at [email protected]. I leave you with the following quote:

 

“If it doesn’t matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?” – Vince Lombardi