Inside the Redzone (D4) – Week 6

Welcome everyone to Inside The Redzone Week 6. There are only four weeks left before playoffs, so for those teams who will quite easily make it (you know who you are), this is the time to start solidifying your offense and defense because when the real dance starts, you don’t want to be flat footed. The other teams, who are either in the hunt for a playoff spot, or are currently holding on with dear life, have to treat each week left as if it was a playoff game. The last three weeks will be known as MARCH MADNESS because a lot of teams will be in situations in which one game will decide whether they’ll be moving forward or going home. I will get into the playoff picture more in next week’s article, but for now I will recap the week that was:

Week 6 Review

Gia Thang 26 – VPC 18: Some people will call this an upset, but I wouldn’t. I had mentioned a few weeks ago that Chris Rivest of Gia Thang said that if Alexandre Gaudet were in the line up for his team, they would compete in every game. That was clearly the case this past weekend. The duo of Chris and Alex took over this game and the rest of the team definitely contributed too. On offense Alexandre Gaudet went 10-16 for 150 yards and 4 TDs while being intercepted once; Chris Rivest caught two passes, both for TDs. The big story in this game was Gia Thang’s defense. They constructed multiple goal line stops against VPC and held Louis Richard in check when it counted, limiting him to only 84 yards passing, his lowest of the season. Gia Thang (2-3-1) currently are holding the last playoff spot in Conference A East. Don’t let that record fool you, they are really starting to pull it together and might be a team to look out for in the upcoming weeks. In the following weeks they play Green Machine, Cowboys, Team Ditka and the Trojan Knights. Although VPC (5-1) are currently in the 2nd spot in Conference A, their schedule isn’t getting any easier as they play Trojan Knights, Eagles, Cowboys and Brew Crew in the upcoming weeks. Holding onto that spot may prove to be difficult.

Dirty Birds 33 – Cobras 32: This game came down right to the last play. Dirty Birds QB Jon Young threw up a prayer from his own 10-yard line and it was answered as his receiver Matthew Bishara tipped the ball to Gordon Hogan, who caught it for a TD tying the game. Dirty Birds converted on the extra point to win the game and as a result, they have now defeated two good teams in as many weeks to stay a perfect 6-0. Before the last play, Cobras were in a 4th and 3 situation with two plays left at half field and elected to punt the ball giving Dirty Birds one last chance. I don’t agree with their decision, but by looking at a similar situation that took place in the NFL I can at least understand it. When rather than kicking the field goal for the tie, and subsequently failing a two-point conversion, losing the game, Herman Edwards (former NFL Coach) best describes the Cobras similar move, “You play to win the game”. I felt the Cobras should have gone for it simply because a 3-yard hook is all it would have taken to put this game on ice. Nonetheless I digress, the Cobras (4-2) will face Raiders, Triple Sixers, Chaos and Wonderslugs in the remaining four weeks. The Dirty Birds are perfect, thus far, and will play Chaos, Wonderslugs, Marauders and Dawgs.

In other news, Chaos lost to the Longhorns. Eugene McLaren wasn’t pleased with the team’s defensive efforts and rightly so because they allowed the Longhorns to march down the field quite easily on a few series. Not to mention, Longhorns had a long rush TD by QB John Lyristis, which no one Chaos defender could stop. But let me give credit where credit it is due, for the Longhorns played a great game and deserved to win. They are now one game behind the Raiders for the last playoff spot in the Conference B East with a record of 2-4. Chaos has fallen to 4th in Conference B West with a record of 4-2, tied with the Cobras. Also, Brew Crew kept their playoff hopes alive with a tie against the Cowboys. Quite a feat considering they did so while having only 6 players present the whole night. It was their quickness that allowed them to score against the Cowboys and even attributed to some key interceptions keeping them in the game. It all came down to the last play in which John Moodie threw the ball from his 10 yard line to the Brew Crew endzone where it was tipped away from two Cowboys receivers, as a result preserving the tie. Brew Crew are 2-3-1 in the Conference A West with the Green Machine right behind them holding the same record, who this week defeated the Centurions by a score of 30-20. Eric Forget of Green Machine didn’t have the best completion rate, however, he made it count by throwing for 178 yards and 5 TDs. Dany Gilbert had a great game on offense as he had 5 grabs for 136 yards and 3 TDs, also helping out on defense by intercepting Steve Roussel of the Centurions.

Just before I wrap up this week’s review, I would like to congratulate the Love Cows squeaking out a 25-24 win over the Pompei Roughriders getting their first win. This game was clearly decided on the extra points with Love Cows converting a crucial one in the second half which gave them the win. Can the Love Cows build on this and possibly grab the last playoff spot? Probably not and they know it too. They are here to have fun and I am sure last week’s win was good enough for them. Eric Cleary of the Love Cows had an excellent game as he completed just a little less than 50% of his passes for 4 TDs with no INTs and had 6 tackles on defense along with an interception. The game ball definitely goes to him, well done Eric.

And now you’re up to speed in division 4.

The Three STARwars of the Week:

3rd star: Dany Gilbert (Green Machine) came through big for his team putting them back in the playoff race. He had 5 catches for 136 yards and 3 TDs while also intercepting the ball once on defense.

2nd star: Eric Bishara (Dirty Birds) had a huge game offensively. He had 5 catches for 80 yards and 3 TDs, helping his team stay a perfect 6-0.

1st star: John Lyristis (Longhorns) put on a show in Laval this past Saturday as he led his Longhorns to a win. As QB he was 14 out of 21 for 193 yards and 4 TDs, also had a dazzling 40 yard rush TD which had everyone going crazy on the sidelines.

It has come to my attention that my segment: The Good, The Mediocre and The Moe Khan might not have been the most efficient way of classifying teams. So I have decided to use a somewhat different system for the remaining four weeks. I will classify most of the teams into two categories. The first category is the STARwars, which will consist of teams who are in playoffs and are considered contenders. The second category is the Moe Khans, which will consist of teams who might or might not make playoffs, but are nevertheless aren’t considered a serious threat down the road. The teams that do not fall into either one of the aforementioned mentioned categories will most probably not make playoffs.

Conference A

STARwars:

Eagles (6-0), VPC (5-1), Cowboys (4-0-2), Those Guys (5-1), Gators (4-1-1), Gia Thang (2-3-1)*

*Gia Thang has a good defensive scheme, which is working great right now. Their offensive plan, which is going to win them games, might even surprise a team in playoffs.

Moe Khans:

Trojan Knights (2-3-1)*, Brew Crew (2-3-1), Green Machine (2-3-1), Trapstars (2-4)

*Trojan Knights have lacked consistency all season and it seems that trend will continue. Their defense is not making the necessary big stops against the better teams of the division and will impede on their forward progression.

Conference B

STARwars:

Marauders (6-0), Dirty Birds (6-0), Triple Sixers (5-1), Snookers (4-1-1), Cobras (4-2)*

*The Cobras barely made this list seeing as they haven’t defeated any big teams as of yet, however, they have the potential to go far, it’s just a matter of using the last four weeks to put it together.

Moe Khans:

Flying Weasels* (3-2-1), Chaos (4-2), Raiders* (3-3), Longhorns* (2-4)

*Raiders and Longhorns will play each other the last game of the season and probably deciding who will take the last playoff spot. Flying Weasels just aren’t the same without their roster from previous seasons, enough said!

You can also think of this system as Power Rankings of Division 4 after six weeks of football. I will continue to use this until the last week. Keep in mind that this is only my opinion. Try to prove me wrong, use this as motivation and go from being a Moe Khan to a STARwar. Because after all, who doesn’t want to be a STARwar! And that is it for this week’s edition of Inside The Redzone. If you have any comments/suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me on Facebook or via email at [email protected]. This is Rehan “J.J” Sarwar signing off and I wish you all luck in your week 7 match ups. I’ll catch you all next week, but until then, Stay Classy Division Four!