Like it or Not (Div 3)

Time flies when you’re having fun; at least that’s what they say. I think time flies no matter what. Halfway through the season already and I am still writing this article, which means I have yet to rattle someone to the point where I find myself in a situation with both feet in cement. Ok, enough with the bad jokes. 

On a very serious note, what’s up with all the  ties? I don’t want to sound like a broken record since this topic has been subject to numerous conversations in the past, but ties SUCK! Not only do they make the standings look like a child product of incest, it makes every player part of those games feel empty. There is no sense of pride in a tie. A tie is comparable to that birthday where everyone forgot about you. Or when you did something amazing but you were ALONE, and no one believes you. Or that time you broke your leg during practice before a playoff game. Ultimately, it’s one of those things you have to take the blame for. I’ll never get used to a world with ties. As an athlete and a true competitor, you always play to win.

Whether you’re playing a video game, a flag game or a super bowl, you play to win. (Don’t give me this “I play for fun”) It is not fun to lose! Having no winner makes everyone a loser. So please I ask everyone, do what you have to do to get the win! Maybe it’s a lack of effort? A lack of will to win? I’m blaming all the players who took place in tie games for not doing more and now making me vent about ties. But I digress, lets move on.

 

Headlines:

• Two more teams fall victim to the intolerable pain associated to a tie. AJ’s Fight Club and Hoof Hearted both came close to a week 5 win but fell short. I’ve already expressed my feelings about ties so lets not dwell any longer on this topic.  Timothy Godber was targeted 7 times for 104 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Godber basically carried the team on his back.  Unfortunately, his back couldn’t support the weight. On the other side of the ball, you have one of my favorite receiver couplings, Vinny Gualano and James Floreani. I don’t know if it’s a lack of team gelling that is not allowing AJ’s Fight Club to be more successful or if it’s the overload of egos. Hinsley Adams is a nightmare at rush but has yet to find his comfort zone. If you don’t know who Adams is, watch last year’s final game. (The Incredibles vs VPC) Very rarely you will find a rusher who gets beat in the backfield, and then who chases the quarter back down to the one-yard line to make the stop.  A rusher is the most important position on a defense. If you have a solid rusher, it makes the defenders look better than they might be. If you ever want to truly test your coverage, put a bozo at rush and see what happens.

 

• Let’s get back to serious business. Les Eudistes continue their winning ways against Sandlot Saints. Any time you can hold premium receivers like Tim Kraemer and Louis Lafreniere-Dupont to a single score, you’re setting yourself up for success. I’m the proud fantasy owner of receiver Louis-Christophe Lafontaine who pulled in another pair of touchdowns, giving him 10 on the season. Les Eudistes started the season 0-2, and they’ve now got a chance to go 4-2 taking on the struggling team: the Bruizers. Sandlot Saints are still sitting in the middle of the pack. Eventually, the tie might bite them in the “behind”. Don’t lose sleep over that just yet, since I’d worry about B.D bandits coming into town for now.

 

• Another defeat served ice cold on a golden platter for the Eagles. Ocean’s Seven’s high-octane offense was in full throttle. I stood front row for this game and was very impressed with Ocean’s play. I honestly feel bad for any defender who lines up against Nareg Yassayan. He would not be denied in this one; had 7 receptions for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns. I have first hand experience trying to cover Yassayan, and it is not pleasant. Daniel Gentile was looking deep or was not looking at all. On 14 completions, he had 7 touchdowns. The Golden Eagles seemed to have no answer for Ocean’s play. A team I had high hopes for, they now look like they’ve had their wings clipped. Now 0-5 on the season and it’s going to be quite an uphill battle to make the playoffs. The chances of making the playoffs at 5-5 are very low with too many teams winning or tying.

 

• F.T.W with a big win! I consider this an upset, but let me explain why. I realize both teams have 3 wins combined. However, a loss against Full House would have put an end to playoff hopes for F.T.W. Beating a team like Full House at this point of the season will set you up for success. A relatively new group of guys to FPF taking the first couple games with little damage, is definitely an accomplishment. Now, that doesn’t mean I’m not going all in on these guys.  The back end of their schedule is deadly. As for Full House, I don’t know what is going on with these boys. They have a talented bunch of guys and a very good-looking roster. Not being able to gel in the first half of the season will not get you in the playoffs. Unfortunately at this point, gelling will no longer matter unless you’re setting things up for future seasons. F.T.W has finally started to put the ball in the end zone in a more proficient matter; they will need a lot more of that to finish strong.

 

 

• NoRegard is sliding down the standings. They started the season averaging 30 points per game. In the past two weeks they averaged 13. Has the opposition figured out how to stop this offence? Or is Alex Holowach struggling with his reads? Six interceptions for Holowach in the two game losing skid. I don’t want to take any credit from the teams who have put these “woopings” on NoRegard. Les Buddays were flawless on this night. Again, quarterback Leandre Ethier put on a clinic with 7 passing touchdowns and 270 all-purpose yards. Marc-Antoine Bellini put the defense on his back with 6 tackles, 2 interceptions and 2 pass deflections. Les Buddays move to 3-1-1 going into the soft part of their schedule. On the other hand, NoRegard is now 3-2. Bad news is, if they continue to play the way they have been playing lately, I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t get another win on the season. They need to find their early-season form!

 

• The Bandits prove me wrong! It came right down to the wire. I love it! I had this game as my game of the week. I also had VPC winning. My reasoning was that I didn’t believe B.D.Bandits had the offensive power to keep up with VPC. What I neglected is how good the Bandits’ defense is.  Therefore they don’t need to score more then 26 points to win. Akked Moore continues to play for VPC, which takes up a lot of cap room. Keep in mind with the defenses in division 3; one offensive threat will never be enough. (Even if it’s Akked Moore, freak of all freaks!!!) B.D. Bandits is now one of two undefeated teams (however, one win was by forfeit). BANG!

 

• The Incredibles threw their roster in the blender this past week looking for answers. What came out of the blender and who cares you ask? Well if you haven’t noticed yet, David Stein is no longer playing for the Incredibles. Greg Stern has had shoulder issues, so the Incredibles turned to Terrance Morsink to lead the offense. Jacob Peterson won’t be at the next two games, which explains the presence of Liam Mahoney. I realize how bias my opinion is, but having Liam Mahoney, Marco Bertoldi, Kevin Libman and myself as targets should be a treat for any quarterback. The result? A 44-32 week five win over Rudebwoys. Rudebwoys are one of the many teams with a tie, which is going to be a huge 1-point for them when the fog settles. The Incredibles have showed no consistency this season; very concerning but they still sit among the top teams.

 

• Usual Suspects came close to getting their first win. Unfortunately, coming close will not get you anything. The only reason I am impressed is because their closest game was against Prestige World Wide. 0-5 on the season makes the hole almost impossible to climb out of. After five weeks of play, I’m starting to suspect we might have a winless season in the making. I’m not one to wish such fortunes to anyone who pays to play, but looking forward it’s going to get tougher for the Usual Suspects. Week seven might be the battle of the winless teams, which may be their only opportunity for a win in my opinion.

 

• Moose gets back to their winning ways! They started the season on the right foot going 2-0 but then hit a wall; receiving a beat down against B.D Bandits and then tying Certified Flyguyz. This week, Frederic Morissette had a stellar outing. He threw 6 touchdowns and 192 yards on 14 completions. Robbie Pecker had 3 touchdowns on five receptions in a losing cause. Up next for the Legends is Arkham.  Needless to say, Arkham has yet to put a “1” in the win column so they should be able to handle the challenge. As for Moose, a much harder task on hand. Hoof Hearted will be the home of their next road game. Hoof Hearted is currently sitting in third place in conference B with a record of 3-1-1.

 

Top Freaks of the Week:

QB-Daniele Gentile (OC7): 13/25 for 288 yards and 7 TDs… GET OFFFFF OF HIM!! It feels like Gentile is the QB freak every week… GO GO GADGET FREAK MODE!!

WR- Nareg Yessayan (OC7): 7 receptions for 153 yards and 2 Tds . Like a broken record Gentile and Yessayan turn eachothers’ switch ON before each game. FREAAAAAKY

DB-Marc-Antoine Bellini (BUD): 6 tackles, 2 interceptions and 2 PD. I don’t know why you would continue to throw his way. Welcome to the league of extraordinary FREAKS.

R-Julien Paiement (BUD) 3 sacks and a tackle!! Not a first time FREAK so welcome back!

 

 My picks for week 6:

Les Eusdistes vs Bruizers

Golden Eagles vs Lazy But Talented

Rudebwoys vs The Commission

The Incredibles vs Certified Flyguyz

KGP Champs vs AJ’s Fight Club

B.D Bandits vs Sandlot Saints

Big TDs vs Full House

NoRegard vs VPC

F.T.W vs Les Buddays

Usual Suspects vs Mongoose

Legends vs Arkham

Prestige World Wide vs Les Monsieurs Chats

Clock Work vs Ocean’s Seven

Hoof Hearted vs Moose

 

32 and 22 SO FAR ON THE SEASON, WHICH PUTS ME AT 59%… IMPROVING BUT AGAIN, I NEED TO IMPROVE.

PLAYOFF RANKINGS:

Conference A

RANK	W/L	POINTS	+/-	DIV RECORD
1-LES MONSIEURS CHATS	5-0	10	+71	3-0
2-B.D. BANDITS	5-0	10	+91	2-0
3-A.J’s FIGHT CLUB	3-1-1	7	+11	2-1
4-MOOSE	3-1-1	7	-17	2-0
5-#NOREGARD	3-2	6	+12	3-0
6-THE INCREDIBLES	3-2	6	-5	2-1
7-LES EUDISTES	3-2	6	+21	1-2
8-OCEAN’S SEVEN	2-2-1	5	+29	1-2

 

On the Bubble

(The Commission, F.T.W, Big TDs, Lazy But Talented)

            You can see how close the race is from 3^rd to 8^th. You can even stretch the conversation all the way to 12^th place. The four teams mentioned before are sitting at 4 points, looking to get in the top 8. With one loss you could possibly go from 5^th to 12^th. Ladies and gentleman please do not forget what the tiebreakers are. (This can be found at the bottom of the Div 3 home page) Very important, there are numerous teams sitting at the same number of points!

Conference B

RANK	W/L	POINTS	+/-	DIV RECOD
1.PRESTIGE WORLD WIDE	4-1	8	+37	3-0
2.VPC	4-1	8	+57	2-0
3.HOOF HEARTED	3-1-1	7	+17	2-0
4.LES BUDDAYS	3-1-1	7	+87	1-1
5.CLOCKWORK	3-2	6	+38	1-2
6.RUDEBWOYS	2-2-1	5	+3	1-0-1
7.SANDLOT SAINTS	2-2-1	5	+4	1-1-1
8.CERTIFIED FLYGUYZ	2-2-1	5	+4	1-2

 

 (Basically everyone except for Golden eagles and Full House) Again, any team with 6 points or less is one loss away from dropping, possibly all the way to 12^th. The Eagles and Full House are mathematically still in, although the odds are now stacked against them.

 

My Game of the Week:

Prestige World Wide against Les Monsieur Chats is my game of the week. Nicola Centomo is having a phenomenal season; his offense is averaging 38.4 points per game. Compare that to Prestige’s 33, which is still impressive but P.W.W has yet to line up against a defense like the one they’re forced to face this week. Important match-ups in this game: Centomo vs Patrice Bluoin. Will Blouin be able to force Centomo to get rid of the ball before his reads get open? I doubt it. Anthony Comeau VS whomever has the balls to man him up. It is evident that Alex Lever has favorite targets in J-S Gradowski and Comeau. Unfortunately for P.W.W, the best defenders on the other side of the ball have played with Gradowski at ConU. Can Prestige’s defense stop Simon Provencher? This one will come down to preparation. You have to account for certain players on both sides of the ball at all times. Or, you believe in you teams’ ability to score and wait for your chance to force the game winning turnover. The defense that can make two stops will win this game. Bend but don’t brake. You have two quarterbacks willing to acquire what you give them. It’s going to take one defender with the ability to bait the QB into making a bad read! Most of you know I have Les Monsieur Chat as my only team going undefeated. My pick: Les Monsieurs Chats 32-28.

Fantasy Week 4 Results

Vince										Brent
Quarterbacks	Yards Passing	Passing TDs	INTs	Sacks	Yards Rushing	Rushing TDs		Total		Quarterbacks	Yards Passing	Passing TDs	INTs	Sacks	Yards Rushing	Rushing TDs		Total
Phil Cutler	160	4	0	1	45	1		40		Rob Robinson	169	4	0	0	33	2		45.5
Alex Holowach	95	0	4	0	20	1		14.5		Alex Lessard	190	6	1	1	12	0		36.4
Flex	Yards	TDs	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	PDs	TDs	Total		Flex	Yards	TDs	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	PDs	TDs	Total
Andrew Macdonald	73	1	2	0	0	2	0	20.3536231884058		Omar Jackson	11	1	1					7.53333333333333
Vinny Gualano	54	2	4	0	0	2	0	22.2202898550725		Emilio Pampena								0
Wide Receivers	Yards	TDs						Total		Wide Receivers	Yards	TDs						Total
Louis-Christopne Lafontaine	41	2						18.2		Phil Clark								0
Louis Richard	99	3						34.8		Jordan Moses	28	0						5.6
Chris Niphakis	29	0						5.8		Nicholas Gendron-Vallee	13	1						7.6
Defense	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	PDs	TDs	Points Allowed		Total		Defense	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	PDs	TDs	Points Allowed		Total
Les Buddays	15	0	0	2	0	45		8		#NoRegard	7	0	2	4	0	33		14.3333333333333
Total								163.87										116.97

 

My Week 5 Fantasy Match-up

Me VS Scoop

Quarterbacks	Quarterbacks
Phil Cutler	Nicolas Centomo
Alex Holowach	Eugene Maclaren
Flex	Flex
Andrew Macdonald	Timothy Godber
Vinny Gualano	Cedric Nuckle
Wide Receivers	Wide Receivers
Louis-Christopne Lafontaine	Raphal Ducas-Lapalme
Louis Richard	Eric Rapps
Chris Niphakis	Terrence Morsink
Defense	Defense
Les Buddays	BD Bandits

 

Ranking

1. Blanchard (1-0, +55.04) BUTTTTT had an illegal roster (two players on the same team)

2. Nardone (1-0, +46.9)

3. Daniele (1-0, +23.37)

4. Peeze (1-0, +10.37)

5. Dagenais (0-1, -10.37)

6. GM (0-1, -23.37)

7. Brent (0-1, -46.9)

8. Terry (0-1, -55.04)

 

Week one of fantasy could not have been better. Keep up the good play guys. Scoop is going down! Unfortunately for anyone paying attention, the fantasy results come out very late. Eagle is in charge of the number crunching, and as some of us know, Eagle has a full plate of work. So, be patient or do the math ; ) !! That was for anyone that’s not on my team! For the studs on my team, do not worry about the numbers! JUST DO YOU!!

Random thoughts that I would like to share if you haven’t seen some posts on Facebook:

1. Phill Din asks “Why don’t conversion plays qualify for stats? Passing, receptions, sacks, etc..”

• This has been dragged through the mud its fair share. Ultimately, we can all agree that the extra point is where big players make big plays. Like ‪Robert Campana said, the plays you feel are “big” here in flag, are “Massive” in professional sports. They don’t keep it in their stats for purposes other then those pointed out by Dave Daoust-Kyle. I understand all that. So why should flag football go against the norm?!… With that said, I don’t personally care what everyone else is doing. I too believe these plays merit acknowledgement. I’m not a software programmer but I don’t think it would be that hard to add it. Since this is the best recreational sports league, why not continue to adapt and evolve?

 

1. JS from team #NoRegard stated “So… to the 400ish ppl that view my ‪#‎NoRegard‬ game posts I won’t be doin em anymore. After that L… I gotta keep yal away from spygating our tricks! If anyone wants to download em do it now I’ll probably only delete em tomorrow. Salute to Scoop on praising the vid. Funny enough if we won that game I wasnt gonna edit it. But cuz we lost I thought it would be cool to do a game with a different theme being the L. It’s allllllll in the name of entertainment and has always been. But ya… We’re going 4-1 #NoRegard”

• JS, if by now we don’t already have all the information needed to prepare for any game against #NoRegard I don’t think 5 more entertaining video will do the trick. I’m not going lie, although we can’t see the routes being run we definitely see tendencies. As a defensive play caller, I’d rather be aware of tendencies in certain situations then routes on certain downs. It doesn’t matter to me how you allocate your time running around. The tendencies shown by your quarterback and defense is not going to change. You have too much history doing the same things; doing the things that brought you W’s is what you will persist on doing. I loved watching your videos. Like some others said, they are entertaining and give us another way to see the games that we may have missed. I’m sure I will not make you change your mind. Just know that any information needed to game plan against #NoRegard has already been acquired.

 

 Once again good luck to everyone! Don’t forget to check out the podcast by G.M Kolethras and Daniele The Scoop Gentile! You can stream it live as they record if you want to see their pretty faces! Follow me @VinceNardone for very little action on twitter or stop me at the field to chat. Till next time… Get in the gym.