Categories: Co-EdComplementaryDivisionFall

Lots Still to Play for with Playoffs Weeks Away

In case American Thanksgiving does not already have you in the mood for football, the FPF Cup playoffs are just around the corner! Before jumping into my usual recaps and previews, let’s take a look at how the playoff race is shaping up in each division.

In Tier 1, Blessed can lockup the top seed this week with a win against The Apocalypse. Blessed actually beat The Apocalypse in week 5, so they must be feeling pretty confident heading into the second game of this back-to-back matchup. Where things get more interesting is in the battle for the last playoff spot. Urgence Medic are currently holding onto the last playoff spot. Mangoose are just a win behind them, and they have a game in hand. However, UM beat Mangoose earlier this season and currently hold the tiebreaker. Essentially what that means is UM would need to lose their last game of the season and Mangoose would need to win-out in order for Mangoose to make the playoffs.

In Tier 2, Chocolate Thunder, Team Ethnik and Arouch are running away with the top three spots. This leaves only one berth left in the cash bracket. The Grim Reapers are currently holding onto that last spot, but they have a very difficult end to the season in front of them. There is a slew of teams with three wins just waiting for the Reapers to stumble and claim that last playoff spot. Talking about that mess of three win teams, there are currently four of them and figuring the tiebreakers for their seeding is a headache reserved for people above my paygrade. What I do know, is there is quite a battle brewing for the final playoff spot. KGP Ra are currently on the outside looking in, but they are facing Glogang and Pincellos, the two worst teams in the division, to close out the season. On the other hand, Tough Lungs have a much harder schedule. I fully expect KGP Ra to leapfrog Tough Lungs for the final berth.

In Tier 3, Save the Turftles have taken full advantage of being reseeded into the weaker half of the Tier. I expect them to finish the season with a 6-2 record and they have their sights set on a spot in the cash bracket. However, the Warriors are looking to poach that final spot. They will likely need two wins to make the top bracket, but with games left versus the lowly Lionhearts and Penetrators, that is an entirely realistic feat. The team I feel bad for in Tier 3 are 2-4 teams. Even if one of these teams manages to salvage their season and win their final two games to finish the season .500 their odds of making the playoffs are slim. Not only would they need to beat out another .500 teams in turns of tiebreakers, they would also need Killer Rays and Two Inch’s Gang to lose out.

While the playoff picture might be confusing to say the least in Tier 2 and 3, things are almost wrapped up in Coed. Presuming EZFun will beat the 0-6 La Secte, they would not even need to beat Kiss My End Zone in the final week to clinch the top seed. As long as that game versus KMEZ is not a blowout, the first seed will belong to EZFun based on points against. While Y&Y could theoretically fall into fourth spot, that would take them losing to both La Secte and The Rock which I don’t see happening. I fully expect the Coed standings to remain unchanged heading into the playoffs.

Week 6 Recaps

Los Siete Amigos (30) vs Les Centaures (27) – Tier 2

Los Siete Amigos shocked me with this win. After struggling all season and only beating bottom dwelling teams, they defeated Les Centaures, who are vying for a spot in the cash bracket. LSA exposed a weakness of Les Centaures in this one. While LSA quarterback Alexandre Fafard had a solid passing outing, he only totaled 118 passing yards. He completed the easy short throws and did not force the ball deep. The result was a perfect ratio of five scores and no interceptions. On the other hand, he made up for his lack of passing yards with his legs, and that is the weakness LSA exposed in Les Centaures. Fafard ran nine times for 82 yards and was only sacked once. Fortunately for Les Centaures, next week they are facing Hot Sauce Sports and Paolo Della Rocca who is one of the least mobile passers in FPF. There is a 0% chance Della Rocca exposes Les Centaures with his legs, but this is an issue Les Centaures will need to address heading into the playoffs.

Week 5 Team of the Week

Every week, I will name 12 players to the team of the week. If you make the offensive team of the week, you cannot be on the defensive one and vice versa. However, you can make the team of the week in multiple divisions. For the Coed division there will always be a minimum of two women on the offensive and defensive team of the week.

Tier 1

Offence

Quarterback: Nicolas Schaefer (Mangoose) 21 completions, 153 passing yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiver: William Power (Blessed) 5 receptions, 46 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Quaid Johnson (The Apocalypse) 8 receptions, 85 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Thomas Coutu (Mangoose) 8 receptions, 93 yards, 3 TDs

Receiver: Kendal Meyers (The Apocalypse) 7 receptions, 61 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Etienne Laurence-Gervais (EZW) 6 receptions, 51 yards

Defence

Rusher: Terry Babalis (Blessed) 1 tackle, 2 sacks

Defensive Back: Jonathan Garfinkle (KGP) 4 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD, 1 TD

Defensive Back: Mathieu Lepage (KGP) 3 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

Defensive Back: James Langshaw (Blessed) 1 tackle, 2 PDs, 1 INT   

Defensive Back: Quaysie Gordon-Maule (KGP) 1 tackle, 1 INT, 1 TD

Defensive Back: Darnell Kevis Riley (The Apocalyspe) 5 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

Tier 2

Offence

Quarterback: Francois Martin (Unexpected Diablos) 13 completions, 213 passing yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiver: Alexis Gaumont (Unexpected Diablos) 4 receptions, 120 yards, 3 TDs

Receiver: Charles Olivier Vachon (Grim Reapers) 7 receptions, 146 yards, 3 TDs

Receiver: Tim Horner (Chocolate Thunder) 3 receptions, 103 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Daron Migdesyan (Tough Lungs) 6 receptions, 95 yards, 3 TDs

Receiver: Hugo Allamanno (Centaures) 4 receptions, 85 yards, 2 TDs

Defence

Rusher: Joel Houle (Ravens) 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Timothé Pichet (Glogang) 2 tackles, 1 INT, 3 PDs

Defensive Back: Armand Balla (Unexpected Diablos) 1 INT, 1 TD

Defensive Back: Julien Nelson (Glogang) 2 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PDs

Defensive Back: Olivier Suri (Glogang) 1 tackle, 1 INT, 2 PDs

Defensive Back: Charles Verreault (Team Ethnik) 4 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

Tier 3

Offence

Quarterback: Samuel Granger (Two Inch’s Gang) 12 completions, 177 passing yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiver: James Nguyen (Two Inch’s Gang) 5 receptions, 97 yards, 3 TDs

Receiver: Nicolas Fon (The Penetrators) 5 receptions, 80 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Justin Santillo (Tim Brandy) 4 receptions, 86 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Joe Morgese (Lionhearts) 6 receptions, 90 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Myles Keiller (Pardon My Swag) 4 receptions, 83 yards, 2 TDs

Defence

Rusher: Zak Sigler (Warriors) 3 sacks

Defensive Back: Matthew Caponi (The Penetrators) 10 tackles, 1 INT, 1 TD

Defensive Back: Alexi Dubois (Post Malone Knight’s) 6 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD, 1 TD

Defensive Back: Alex Wilhelm (Trailer Park Boys) 1 sack, 2 INTs

Defensive Back: Thomas Chaussé (Save the Turftles) 1 tackle, 3 INTs, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Manuel Allard-Roy (Free Agent Squad) 2 INTs

Coed

Offence

Quarterback: Kevin Lubin (Kiss My End Zone) 18 completions, 165 passing yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiver: Jonathan Hared (Kiss My End Zone) 6 receptions, 93 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Amelie Durocher (The Rock) 4 receptions, 43 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Erica Dubois (Kiss My End Zone) 5 receptions, 50 yards

Receiver: Abigail Cockerton (Kiss My End Zone) 6 receptions, 45 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Maxime Boucher-Cyr (EZFun) 5 receptions, 52 yards, 1 TD

Defence

Rusher: Anne Riopel (The Rock) 2 tackles, 1 sack

Defensive Back: Alexi Dubois (Kiss My End Zone) 2 tackles, 2 INTs, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Alyson Francillon (La Secte) 4 tackles, 1 INT

Defensive Back: Justine Geoffrey-Papineau (The Rock) 5 tackles, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Kenny Boutilier (Kiss My End Zone) 1 tackle, 3 PDs

Defensive Back: Maxime Boucher-Cyr (EZFun) 1 INT, 3 PDs, 1 TD

Week 6 Predictions 

Post Malone’s Knights (2-4) vs TuneSquad (2-4) – Tier 3

Most of the time I avoid talking about my own team in the feature segment, but I figured that since I already named myself to two different teams of the week, I might as well break another rule and talk about my own team. This is definitely a game I am looking forward to. I have known TuneSquad ever since they joined the league as an FPF Junior team in 2019. I have talked about them and critiqued Garner Ross’ wonky throwing motion in countless FPF Junior articles. I also recruited Charles Presser to the adult leagues. He has repaid the favor by forming his own team, so this is definitely a team I am looking forward to beating.

To TuneSquad’s credit, they have taken a step up this season and that all started with the improved play of Ross. He has only thrown two interceptions all season, which is impressive since there were games where I saw him do that in a half. He has finally learnt to play to his strengths. He does a great job of dissecting short zones and taking the easy completions. There is a reason that snapper Jesse Dym leads this team in targets with over 40. As long as Ross sticks to his game plan and does not try to force the ball deep, he will excel. The unfortunate flip side of not throwing the ball deep is that Charles Presser, one of the best jump-ball catchers in Tier 3, has not been as involved in this offence as he would have liked. If TuneSquad want to take the next step, they will need to find ways to get Presser involved with something other than jump-balls.

As for Post Malone’s Knights, they are finally getting their quarterback, Ignacio Valdes-Manzanedo, back from his countless trips to St-Louis. Ultimately, TuneSquad’s defence is predictable. There are only select players they trust to drop deep and that will allow Valdes-Manzanedo to do most of his reads pre-snap. Unless TuneSquad find a way to mask their coverages, I expect Valdes-Manzanedo to pick them apart on his way to a victory.

Prediction: Post Malone’s Knights (Obviously)

Good luck to everyone in Week 7! Feel free to email me at [email protected] with any questions, comments or critiques about the article.