Inside the Redzone (D4) – Week 10

Welcome to Inside The Redzone a la week dix! The 2009 Division C Spring regular season has come to an end. One team was flawless, another winless and many others in between. The league now focuses on what I like to call the REAL season, which will last a total of four weeks starting this Sunday. Out of the 22 teams that were there in the beginning, we are now down to 16 and as such, I would like to congratulate all the teams who have reached the post season. All of your hard work during the season has brought you here but the past means nothing. Nonetheless this upcoming weekend shall be known as “Sweet Sixteen”. So keep in mind that every team’s record is now 0-0 and hence, every team needs four wins to take home the championship. So without further ado, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

 

Week 10 Headlines

 

Flawless Victory

 

Congratulations to the Flying Weasels for accomplishing a perfect season, finishing 10-0. They have joined an exclusive club with the names of Young Guns, Wolverines and Dirty Birds. Looking at their stats, they were a dominant team all season long. They had the second best offense and the number one ranked defense in Division C. It is odd that not one player from the team won an individual award but they’ll be the first to tell you that it is not ONE individual who makes this team strong but rather all players contributing equally. A job well done!

 

Movin’ On Up

 

In the 2009 Spring season, there were a couple of new teams who weren’t up to par with the elite however they put in a solid effort each week and progressed. They are Lockdown, Affreux, Run’n’Wild and Monstars. They combined for 3 wins and 37 losses however watching all four teams throughout the course of the season I can honestly say that they took steps in the right direction in terms of improving and getting adjusted to the game. I hope to see all four teams in the 2010 Winter season and expect them to perform better.

 

Also I would like to congratulate rookie teams such as For Teh Lulz and The Commission on having successful season as they reached playoffs. It is good to see teams enter this league and attain success so quickly.

 

And the award goes to…

 

A couple of weeks ago, I named a few candidates for Spring 2009 Division C Individual awards. Well the results are in and I would like to congratulate Karim Chaoual (QB – Triple Sixers), Fred Searle (Receiver – Cobras), Olivier Saleh (Defense – KGP Champs) and Andre John (Two Way – Snookers) on their great accomplishment. You all worked throughout the season and have made a great contribution to your team and FPF, keep up the good work!

 

The Fallen Cowboys

 

Well the Cowboys cleaned out their locker room this past Sunday. It is probably a shocker to most people that they didn’t even make the playoffs. They finished the season with a record of 3-7 and will have a long off season to ponder on what went wrong! I personally believe that the absence of Karl De Nie and the injury to Kory De Nie was a big loss but I am fully confident that Cowboys will be back with a vengeance in the Winter 2010 season.

 

A Look Back

 

When the season first started, a lot of people in FlagPlus Football were quick to dismiss the talent in Division C however it turned out that Division C delivered more entertainment than the other two divisions on most nights. How can this be, you ask? There are a lot of quality teams in Division C, which raises the talent level. Simply put, on any given Sunday, you are going to play a good team and a win isn’t always guaranteed. If we look at the standings, 11 out of 22 teams finished above .500 and two teams finished at .500; both stats are impressive. There are three teams that scored over 300 points and ten teams that allowed less than 200 points (less than 20 points allowed per game) throughout the season. Therefore it was an amazing regular season and it will be an amazing playoffs!

 

Three STARwars of the Game

 

3rd star: Martin Jackson (Affreux) had solid numbers against the Eagles this past Sunday and his team won their first game of the season. He was 13 of 24 for 163 yards and 4 TDs.

 

2nd star: Geoff Comeau (Balls Deep) played like his life depended on it and helped his team make the playoffs by clinching the last spot. He was 19 of 29 for 159 yards with 6 TDs and 1 INT. He also rushed for 18 yards.

 

1st star: Alex Lever (Cobras) had one of his best games of the season. He was 24 of 32 for 251 yards and 6 TDs but more important, he brought the Cobras back on top.

 

 

Playoff Preview (Round 1)

 

This week I will take a brief look at the first round of playoffs rather than giving an in depth analysis (you can catch that on the WEPL) because I believe for the most part, the teams who should win will end up winning. However in next week’s column, I’ll break down the Quarter Finals with in depth analysis.

 

Conference A

 

(1) Flying Weasels vs. (8) Snookers – It will be the battle of David vs. Goliath. Snookers had a mediocre season and finished with a 4-6 record. If they can play a mistake free game, they will have a chance in this game. Eric Kavaldjian will have to make good reads and keep it simple but more important, convert on every opportunity possible.

Season Series: Flying Weasels 18, Snookers 12

Prediction: Flying Weasels

 

(2) Triple Sixers vs. (7) For Teh Lulz – Quarterback of the year Karim Chaoual will have to score early and often because if FTL finds a way to stay in the game, they can make it very interesting. I must admit that the Triple Sixers defense has come up big when they needed a play so Triple Sixers will be firing on all cylinders. It should be an easy win for the Sixers.

Season Series: Triple Sixers 28, For Teh Lulz 19

Prediction: Triple Sixers

 

(3) Flight Of The Concords vs. (6) The Commission – Marvin Renaud has been talking a lot of smack on the Facebook walls and now it is time for him to back it up. Jonathan Lemieux won’t be facing a great defense however he might need a solid game plan that doesn’t ONLY use Marvin Renaud but other players as well. On the flipside, Michael Mendell had a pretty bad loss at the hands of FOTC last Sunday so he needs to adjust his game plan and play much better.

Season Series: Flight Of The Concords 25, The Commission 6

Prediction: Flight Of The Concords

 

(4) BOOM! vs. (5) Bandits – BOOM had a great season led by QB Edward Shoshan and a solid supporting cast of Tim Kraemer, Chris St-Francois and Chris Niphakis. However they are facing a strong team in Bandits who have a few weapons of their own. This game promises to be the best game of the weekend. Bandits will need contribution from every member if they plan on winning this game.

Season Series: BOOM! 20, Bandits 15

Prediction: Bandits

 

Conference B

 

(1) KGP Champs vs. (8) Balls Deep – I give a lot of credit to KGP Champs because they have had a spectacular season (finished with a record of 9-1) however if there is one team who can give them a lot of problems, it is Balls Deep. I know that the latter just snuck into playoffs at the last moment however I believe they are a dangerous team (with past experience from 2009 Winter Division 3 season) when they are on and are much better than their 4-6 record. It will not be a blowout by any stretch of the imagination.

Season Series: KGP Champs 32, Balls Deep 30

Prediction: Balls Deep

 

(2) Cobras vs. (7) Green Machine – Cobras are peaking at the right time (especially with the new G.I. Joe movie being released soon) and they have too much depth at this point to have an early exit in the playoffs.

Season Series: Cobras 26, Green Machine 18

Prediction: Cobras

 

(3) Chaos vs. (6) Mongoose – Chaos has struggled as of late and will have to find the spark that engineered their strong start earlier in the season. Alternatively, Mongoose aren’t pretenders as they have gone toe-to-toe with the top contenders in the league and were oh so close to coming out with a victory. It will come down to which team wants it most rather than which team is stronger on paper.

Season Series: Chaos 27, Mongoose 18

Prediction: Team who scores the most points

 

(4) Terminators vs. (5) Rude Bwoys – This is an interesting match to dissect. On one hand, Rude Bwoys are one of the hottest teams in the league without marquee names (except Vadim C) and on the other, Terminators have nothing BUT marquee players on the roster. Logically speaking, with the amount of experience present on the Terminators squad, they should be able to pull out the win but it will come down to Kevin Marlowe and his ability to overcome the “choke artist” label.

Season Series: Terminators 22, Rude Bwoys 7

Prediction: Terminators

 

 

That’s it for this week’s column. Next week, I’ll break down the quarter finals match ups with an in depth analysis. I will also announce the ALL-STARWAR Squad for the 2009 Spring Division C season. Don’t forget the presentation of the STAR-AWARDS© which are a few weeks away but I’ll get into the categories in the next couple of weeks. As always, I welcome your feedback and welcome any suggestions you might have for my column. Please contact me at [email protected] or via Facebook. Good luck to all the sixteen teams this weekend and catch you all next week!