Inside the Redzone (DC) – Week 6

 

Welcome to Inside The Redzone, a la week six! If anyone says that Division C is not competitive, tell them to take a look at the standings. With one win, a bottom cellar team can move into the middle. Similarly, a fourth ranked team can drop to 8th if they lose this Sunday. It is definitely nerve wracking for the teams but at the same time, this is what you call FOOTBALL! There are very few certainties and that keeps everyone on their toes. Chaos almost lost twice to two teams who are now 2-4 and Cobras lost to a team who is only .500. So let that be a lesson to every team in Division C; if you think you are out of the playoff race (top 8 teams in each conference qualify), think again! With 4 games left, there is a lot of movement that can occur in the standings so take every game as seriously as you possibly can because now it is crunch time. As promised, I am providing you with a brief look at every team’s progress until now:

 

Mid-Season Recap

 

Conference A

 

Triple Sixers (6-0)

Team MVP: Karim Chaoual

X-Factor: Patrick Jerome

Prediction: 10-0

Season successful if: Championship

 

They must find a way to win games comfortably and not blow leads. In the playoffs, that will be crucial.

 

Flying Weasels (6-0)

Team MVP: Martin Tougas

X-Factor: Dave Faucher

Prediction: 10-0

Season successful if: Championship

 

They currently have the number 1 ranked defense but haven’t faced a tough team and probably won’t for the rest of the season. Therefore they can’t get too comfortable because post-season is a whole new story.

 

Flight Of The Concords (4-2)

Team MVP: Marvin Renaud

X-Factor: Alexandre Girard

Prediction: 6-4

Season successful if: 2nd round of playoffs

 

They have to become more efficient on offense by incorporating a system based on open receivers rather than chucking it up and hoping someone comes down with it. On defense, they need better communication.

 

The Commission (3-2-1)

Team MVP: Thomas Zorko

X-Factor: Alex Russell

Prediction: 5-4-1

Season successful if: Make playoffs

 

They have a lot of talent on the team but so far it hasn’t reached its true potential. However with only four games left, they have to use Brent Bodkin and Peter Rose’s Division 1 experience to solidify this team. They need to work on getting more receivers involved in the offense; on defense they have to look at the game tape from the loss against the Flying Weasels to figure out what went wrong.

 

BOOM! Goes The Dynamite (3-2-1)

Team MVP: Chris St. Francois

X-Factor: Chris Niphakis

Prediction: 5-4-1

Season successful if: Make playoffs

 

They have a few player makers in Chris St. Francois and Tim Kraemer and they have a good rapport with Edward Shoshan. However on defense, they have to be more ball hawking because they allow too many easy plays at times.

 

Bandits (3-3)

Team MVP: Anthony Bozzo

X-Factor: Corey Belliveau

Prediction: 6-4

Season successful if: Semi-finals

 

I am perplexed as how this team is at .500. They have to go back to the beginning when things were working well and find a way to resurrect that magic. This team is full of talent and anything less than semis would be a disappointment.

 

For Teh Lulz (2-3-1)

Team MVP: Adam Bulow

X-Factor: John Patrick Mancini

Prediction: 3-6-1

Season successful if: Make playoffs or get five wins, or both.

 

They are definitely trying very hard to win games but they just don’t have the playmakers to get it done. They have to experiment different things as they are nearing the end of the season and my suggestion would be to pick John Patrick Mancini as the QB because of his past experience in this league.

 

Eagles (2-3-1)

Team MVP: Jonathan Goyette

X-Factor: Sebastien Landry

Prediction: 4-6-1

Season successful if: 2nd round of playoffs

 

They are still relying on their defense but it is not working out too well for them. They really have to start practicing offensive plays and pick one player as their QB. At this point, it seems that Danny Bellemare is doing a good enough job so they should stick with him and start building the rapport with receivers down the stretch.

 

Snookers (2-4)

Team MVP: Andre John

X-Factor: Michael Young

Prediction: 5-5

Season successful if: 2nd round of playoffs

 

I believed their main issue was the QB however their defense is not doing much better either. They need to take a step back and evaluate everything because they are definitely in every game they play but it is not enough to get the win. I would suggest a simple approach rather than trying to do things that are out of reach.

 

Lockdown (1-5)

X-Factor: Peter Mignacca

Prediction: 1-9

Season successful if: Get two wins

 

It is their first season so they have a lot to learn but they have done a good job so far. They just need to watch some of the elite teams to see what can be done to improve their offense and defense but they are on the right track.

 

 

Affreux (0-6)

Team MVP: Daniel Feltham

X-Factor: Mathieu Domon

Prediction: 0-10

Season successful if: Get one win

 

This team definitely has the potential to do a lot of good things however they are not very disciplined, mainly on defense. If they can learn to play good defense and communicate with each other, I can see them winning 2-3 games easily.

 

Conference B

 

 

Chaos (6-0)

Team MVP: Eugene McLaren

X-Factor: Treldon James

Prediction: 10-0

Season successful if: Championship

 

Their biggest problem is slow starts. A couple of times they have had to fight back and the result was in their favor but it might not always happen. So they have to stop pushing their luck and get off to a good start.

 

KGP Champs (5-1)

Team MVP: Phil Cutler

X-Factor: Phil Clark

Prediction: 7-3

Season successful if: Semi finals

 

This team is finally finding some of its magic that we all thought had disappeared. The main problem is that they haven’t really faced a contender up till now but they definitely will this Sunday. Therefore the outcome of this weekend’s game will show us if they are a contender or a pretender.

 

Cobras (5-1)

Team MVP: Alex Lever

X-Factor: Jean-Francois Trudeau

Prediction: 8-2

Season successful if: Championship

 

Despite their one loss to Rude Bwoys, this team has all the elements to win the big one. They have chemistry, depth, talent and intensity that should take them far. They have a few strong match ups coming up and they have to be fully ready because this team thrives on confidence.

 

Green Machine (3-3)

Team MVP: Eric Forget

X-Factor: Rob White

Prediction: 6-4

Season successful if: 2nd round of playoffs

 

They are doing a decent job with the players on the roster however they just don’t have the firepower to keep up with the elite teams. Rob White has to use his football experience to make this team stronger on defense and with that, who knows; perhaps they can engineer a few upsets.

 

Rude Bwoys (3-3)

Team MVP: Vadim Chernyak

X-Factor: Doug Gelevan

Prediction: 6-4

Season successful if: 2nd round of playoffs

 

They are on a two game winning streak but will put that on the line when they face Chaos this weekend. Matt Clow is getting better every week and is running a simple offense which is one of the reasons, they defeated the Cobras; because they played a simple and mistake free game. If they continue to do that, I see them making some noise.

 

Cowboys (3-3)

Team MVP: Vince Mancini

X-Factor: Derek Soles

Prediction: 5-5

Season successful if: 2nd round of playoffs

 

They are definitely underachieving a little but it is mainly because they have had problems with the pass rush. Nonetheless, their offense is finally finding its rhythm so I seem them being a tough out for any team.

 

Terminators (2-4)

Team MVP: John Lyristis

X-Factor: Stephen Free

Prediction: 4-6

Season successful if: 2nd round of playoffs

 

I have said enough about this team. They have too much talent on their roster to not do well. I have no clue what is holding them back but let’s not forget that Terminators were finalists in Spring 2008 Division C.

 

Mongoose (2-4)

Team MVP: Alexandre Gaudet

X-Factor: Chris Rivest

Prediction: 4-6

Season successful if: 2nd round of playoffs

 

They have definitely improved their team from Winter (Gia Thang) and a 2-4 record is not truly indicative of this team’s true talents. They have lost some very close games so they should keep their heads up and continue to work because their main goal is to make playoffs and then it is anyone’s game.

 

Balls Deep (2-4)

Team MVP: Matthew Brethour

X-Factor: Danny Batten

Prediction: 4-6

Season successful if: Make playoffs

 

A few of the players played on GPK in Winter 2009 Division 3 however didn’t go far. This the perfect place for them to build a strong team. They have a lot of talent and can be much better than 2-4 however with four games left, I do see them winning a couple more games and clinching playoffs. If they are on, their offense can score on almost any team.

 

Run’n’Wild (1-5)

Team MVP: Mark Guerriero

X-Factor: Steve Rigassio

Prediction: 2-8

Season successful if: Get two wins

 

They are amongst the teams who are somewhat new to this league. They do have talent to make the playoffs but have to run a simple offense. As they get used to the league and the rules, they are creative enough to be a middle-of-the-pack team.

 

Monstars (0-6)

Team MVP: Mohamed Azab

X-Factor: Garabed Mardigyan

Prediction: 0-10

Season successful if: Get one win

 

One of their biggest problems is that they don’t know how to control their emotions. There are talented players on the roster but they are not focused and don’t have a game plan. However if they fix all of that, I like their tenacity and aggressiveness to do much better in the future.

 

Top Guns – Part IV (Rushers)

 

 

Francois Imbeault (Eagles) – He is just remarkable to watch because he has explosive speed off the snap. His technique is not to push the QB to a corner but to just rush him head on and if the QB cuts one way, he adjusts and stays after him. Nickname: Speedy Gonzalez

 

Chris St. Francois (BOOM! Goes The Dynamite) – He is leading the league with 14 sacks in 6 games, stats definitely don’t lie. If you watch him rush, you can tell that he is a smart rusher who watches the QB for a few plays to see his tendencies and then, corners him well. Nickname: The Fantastic Francois

 

Anthony Bozzo (Bandits) – He has the ability to break games wide open. Against the Snookers earlier in the year, he sacked the QB twice and both were safeties. If you need a big time play, he will get it done. Nickname: The Blazing Bozzo (from my previous column)

 

Dave Faucher (Flying Weasels) – He has been known to rush well season after season, winning a few awards along the way. He is very aggressive but rarely lets the QB pass him because he uses his agility to stay with the QB. Nickname: The Flying Faucher

 

Brian Eudoxie (Chaos) – He rushes in an unorthodox fashion but it seems to work. In the beginning he had a problem controlling his speed as he would get burnt fast but even with that and the adjustment time, he has managed to accumulate 11 sacks in 5 games. He continues to get better so watch out for him in the future. Nickname – The Flash

 

 

Tip Of The Week

 

 

Have you ever noticed a lot of players use creams and ointments before the game? Or listening to music? This is all part of their pre game routine. It is very important to have a pre-game routine because it gets you focused mentally. There are so many things that can be done such as watching a football movie (The Program is my favorite), a YouTube video that hypes you up (perhaps a Ray Lewis special), chanting in a circle with your teammates (this might be borderline psychotic but if it works, why not!) among many others.

 

Over the years, I have seen a lot of weird pre-game routines but at the same time the players in question performed exceptionally well. You have to do what gets you going but please make sure it is with in the rules and regulations of our FlagPlus Football and Catalogna Soccerplexe.

 

 

Week 7 Review

 

With four weeks left, a lot of games will hold great value in terms of playoffs implications and allow me to present a few good ones to watch this Sunday:

 

Eagles vs. The Commission (6pm on field 1) – Eagles hold the 8th playoff spot but by no means is it safe and similarly, The Commission (currently 4th) have to stay on top because one loss to the Eagles and they drop in standings.

 

For Teh Lulz vs. Affreux (7pm on field 1) – FTL is 7th right now and MUST WIN this game because their next three games are extremely tough. Affreux are now playing the role of spoilers.

 

Lockdown vs. Snookers (5pm on field 1) – With a win, Lockdown will be tied with Snookers and thus will spring ahead in standings and that will bring Snookers one step closer to being out of the playoffs.

 

Terminators vs. Run’n’Wild (4pm on field 3) – Terminators are currently 8th and Run’n’Wild are 10th (only separated by one win) so Run’n’Wild can jump ahead in standings and take the last playoff spot.

 

In general, there is still a lot of movement in the standings that can occur so almost all the games have playoff implications but the above-stated ones should be the most fun to watch.

 

 

That’s it for this week’s column, hope you enjoyed my column. 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 this weekend and catch you all next week!