Mid-Season Awards; Week 6 Preview

Now that we have officially arrived at the halfway point of the FlagPlus football season, I want to take a moment to reflect on the impressive performances and players we have seen so far this season. As I mentioned last week, this week’s article will serve as the Mid-Season Awards. It will consist of my choices for the best player and team in several categories. Those categories are Quarterback, Wide Receiver, and Two-Way Player of the year so far. I will also give my picks for the best team overall, and the best winless team. I tried this out in the Winter Season, and got a lot of positive feedback, so hopefully you guys like it too.

Since QB is the most important position in football, and arguably all of spports in general, I will start there first. Before I do however, I just want to be clear that for every category, each team and player is placed in random order. So, don’t get offended if your name or squad is last on a given list. Conversely, don’t assume you get the prize cause I put your name first.

Now that all of the explanations are out of the way, let’s do this:

Mid-Season QB

Sebastien Tardif (Been There Done That) – Despite a somewhat shaky FPF debut in his team’s Week 1 loss to the Bloodmachines (while 3 of his 4 completions were TDs, he still only had 4 completions) the rookie has thrown at least 4 TDs in half of his games this season. His near 10-yard average per run is also impressive. Tardif also isn’t afraid to spread the wealth, as 6 of his team’s WRs have at least 2 TDs.

Jordan Bellemare (One Man Show) – The former Wax On Wax Off signal caller brings a lot of talent to the table. His ability to beat teams with his arm and hs legs makes it extremely hard for defenses to slow him down. His deep ball has improved form the Winter campaign, which just makes him and his offense more dangerous.

Jonah Cohen (Smash Bros) – The Smash Bros’ pivot leads all Div. E passers with 27 TD passes and only 2 interceptions (for QBs that have thrown more than 50 passes). This past Sunday night, Cohen matched a season high with 7 TDs in his team’s 50-12 bowot victory over the Falcons. 

Dylan Garber (Falcons) – Simply put, last week’s aforementioned game against the Smash Bros was a disaster. If you could erase the game and Garber’s 5 picks from your memeory like I am sure pivot and the Falcons want to do, the third year player would have 17 TDs and 5 INTs. Since we can’t do that however, we’ll have to keep a close eye on his upcoming game agaisnt a Redmen team who for the most part, have played a pretty favourable schedule so far.

Jesse Racine (no name@) – The second year player and first year QB currently sits 4th in TD passes with 19. While his 11-yards per pass average is nice especially in Div E, Racine’s penchant for turnovers is a negative he must overcome if he and his team are to contend for the title. With a talented squad of WRs at his disposal, Racine should be able to straighten himself out. 

Winner: Jonah Cohen (Smash Bros) – As I mentioned earlier, he leads the entire division in TDs and INTs. He also leads all pivots in QB Rating (123.4), Completion Percentage (62.6), and Yards Per Pass (14.1).

Mid-Season Wide Receiver

In the Winter Season, this position was a little unique, as Div. 6 had more than a few WRs that played in higher divisions. In an effort to settle some internal arguments amongst the FPF staff, and more importnatly, to ensure that nobody felt slighted, I decided to create two categories for pass catchers.

The first one consisted of players who were either new to FPF, had little experience, or weren’t playing in a high division. The second category was made up of players who either played in a higher division at the time, or did so in the past…Needless to say, the level of competition and quality of football in Div E this season has led me to do the same thing this time around as well. 

Mid-Season Wide Receiver (Category 1)

Vincent Bastrash (Smash Bros) – 23 Catches/363 yards/12 TDs/ 15.8 YPCDaniel Lazzara (Royalty) – 11 Catches/227 yards/8 TDs/ 20.6 YPC 

Paul Santache (Smash Bros) – 32 Catches/445 yards/7 TDs/ 13.9 YPC

Jonathan Garfinkle (Falcons) – 27 Catches/244 yards/6 TDs/ 9,0 YPC

Alexandre Girard (Flight of the Conchords) – 12 Catches/187 yards/6 TDs/ 15.6 YPC

Phil Mercier (Been There Done That) –  12 Catches/262 yards/7 TDs/ 21.8 YPC

Winner: Vincent Bastrash (Smash Bros) – While all the WRs on this list have been great so far this season, Bastrash has been the best of the bunch. His 12 TDs nearly doubles the entire group, and while  Mercier, Girard, and Lazzara all have a better yards per catch average, their numbers are inflated due to the fact that they have caught fewer balls.  

Mid-Season WR (Category 2)

Danny D’Amour (One Man Show) – 25 Catches/369 yards/12 TDs/ 14.8 YPC

Isiah Allard (TDs and Beer) – 20 Catches/387 yards/11 TDs/ 19.4 YPC

Patrice Lindor (Bloodmachines) – 16 Catches/190 yards/5 TDs/ 11.9 YPC

Zach Zwirn (Redmen) – 13 Catches/156 yards/5TDs/ 12.0 YPC

Winner: Isiah Allard (TDs and Beer) – While Lindor and Zwirn have been essential for their respective teams, this one really came down to Allard and D’Amour. I am going with the former for two reasons. The first is because despite having 1 less TD than D’Amour, Allard has more yards and a better YPC on 5 less receptions than his counterpart.

The second, is because of the head-to-head matchup. These two guys locked horns this past Sunday night in Lachine. While Allard’s TDs and Beer squad took their foot off the gas and almost surrendered their 24-13 haltime lead, they were still able to escape with a 32-25 win. More importantly, Allardshredded the One Man Show Defensse to the tune of 4 cathches for 101 yards and two scores. Dangerous Danny D’Amour on the otherhand was held in check as he was only able to register 3 grabs for 35 yards and a TD.

Last week wasn’t the only time this season that Allard got the best of D’Amour. Their Div. B teams the Monstars (Allard) and the Predators (D’Amour) met up in Week 2. The former outplayed the latter there as well, as the Monstars won the contest 31-25. Fortunately, we might not have to wait long for Round 3. If the playoffs started today, One Man Showwould be taking on TDs and Beer. Obviously a lot can and most likely will change between now and the start of the second season, I still have a feeling that we’ll still get the pleasure of watching one more go around between these two.

Mid-Season Rusher

Simon Laporte (JeanGuy) – 11 Sacks

Naim Goulanhoussan (#Baton) – 5 sacks

Kevin Choo-Foo (Los Guapos) – 6 Sacks

Mathieu Kieljan (TDs and Beer) – 7 Sacks

Anthony Lucarino (Royalty) – 10 Sacks

Winner: Simon Laporte (JeanGuy) – Going into the season. I had this award going to Laporte hands down. Much to my surprise, and to the delight of the league and especially Royalty, Anthony Lucarino has made the discussion a lot more interesting. While his 4 sack game against the Looney Goons was impressive, his 5 sack outburst versus #Baton was CRAZY!!!!

Unfortunately for the rookie, I am going with the king of pass rushers this time around, as he stil leads the division in sacks. The battle between these two will definitely be worth watching during the second half of the season. Will Lucarino make me change my mind for the Rusher of the Year Award at the end of the regular season and in the process knock the crown off of Laporte’s head? Only time will tell… 

Mid-Season Two-Way Player

Isiah Allard (TDs and Beer)

John Papadimitriou (Redmen)

Rob White (no name@)

Jonathan Garfinkle (Falcons)

Danny D’Amour (One Man Show)

Winner: John Papadimitriou (Redmen) – Not only is the Redmen two-way threat tied for the division lead in picks with 6, he has also run one back to the house for the always exciting pick 6, which is something that only Garfinkle can claim. What made me give the nod to Papadimitriou, is the fact that as his team’s QB, he has also thrown for 16 TDs and ran for two other scores. Simply put, not only has he denied the most points, he has generated the most for his squad as well.

Mid-Season Best Team

Bloodmachines

No Name@

Been There Done That

Flight of the Conchords

Smash Bros

Winner: (Bloodmachines) – So, maybe not as much surprise in this category as there has been in some others. The Bloodmachines are the only undefeated team remeaining, so I have to go with them. While 2 out of their last 3 opponents have been easy, they did show they can pull out a win even when they don’t play their best football as they did Monday night against JeanGuy.

It isn’t all smooth sailing for the Bloodmachines. They have a tough game this coming Monday night against Los Guapos. After two two easier games in Week 7 and 8, they finsh off the regular season with strong opponents in the Smash Bros and FOTC in Week 9 and 10. The result of their upcoming game will speak volumes.

Mid-Season Winless Team

#Baton

Mile Public House

Looney Goons

Winner: (Looney Goons) – These guys already have a point curtesy of theri 19-19 tie with a good Falcons team in Week 3. However, due to their 0 in the win column, they still qualify for this list. The Looney Goons have been a mixture of youth and bad bounces. They have been competitive in 4 out of their 5 games this year, as QB Brian Zenobi tries to break in a group of young receivers who are mostly new to not only FPF, but to the game itself. They came within a point of beating the aforementioned Falcons, as well Royalty and TDs and Beer.

They have 2 winnable games left out of their remaining 5. Whether they can pull out a W remains to be seen. What they should be able pull out the rest of the way howeer is experience and confidence heading into next season.Leaning on their best player Matthew Da Silva would be a good idea.

That’s it for the awards. I got a lot of positive feedback in the Winter Season from players in DIV. 6 when I wrote last season’s Mid-Season Awards article. I hope you guys in Div E and all of FPF like this article just as much. If you don’t find your name or your team on the list, don’t get mad. I decided to go with only 5 entrants for most categories, so some names were sure to be left out. More importantly, just get better and force me to put you on at the end of the regualr season version of this article.

Picks

One Man Show vs no name@ – While no name@’s offense will do its thing, their defense lead by savy FPF vet Rob White will force One Man Show’s WRs not named Danny D’Amour to beat them. I don’t think OMS can do it.

Falcons vs Redmen – While the Redmen have been pretty much consistent, its hard to say which Falcons team will show up.

TDs and Beer vs The Fat and the Furious – Double won’t be able to slow down the Brandon Keiller to Isiah Allard combo.

#Baton vs Been There Done That – “Insert Moe Khan quote here”. In all seriousness though the QB switch to Loic Savoiz-Seguin was a smart one for #Baton that alomst saw them pull off the upset over Royalty. They will need more than a change at the pivot position however to knock off Been There Done That.

Smokin’ Axolotls vs Fuzzy-Kittens – I think that Smokin’ Axolotls make it 3 in a row. The stellar play of QB Json Rossie is really steadying this squad.

Los Guapos vs Bloodmachines – My upset special right here! Los Guapos usually plays up to their competition. They also have to mad after losing a tight one to FOTC. This is also my pick for Game of the Week.

Flight of the Conchords vs JeanGuy – FOTC should be able to weather the storm that is Simon Laporte and pull out the win. I have a feeling this will be a close one.

Smash Bros vs Mile Public House – I am sorry, but I just don’t see how Mile Public House can slow down Jonah Cohen.

Royalty vs Big Blue Wrecking Crew – This is the battle of two struggling offenses. I am doing with Royalty simply becasue their O has looked less inept recently.

Looney Goons vs Tigers – The Looney Goons are improving, but the Tigers are just too talented for me to believe in an upset.

Last Week: 7-3

Season: 29-10-1

That’s it for this week. I promised you guys at the begining of the season that it would be back, and next week it will be here. The Elite 8 will be making it’s highly anticipated return. For those of you that are new to FPF, the Elite 8 will consist of rankings of the top eight teams in Div E each week. For the most part, the more you win and how well you do it, the higher you go in the raking. As you might imagine, losing will have the opposite effect. It should be fun. Stay tuned next week!

I’ve been checking my e-mail and twitter account regularly for feedback and suggestions from you guys. Thanks for everything so far, and please keep it coming.

If you loved the article, hated it, or just felt like I left soemthing out, don’t be shy. You can shoot me a tweet on twitter at @BADNEWS51, or do it the semi-old fashioned way and e-mail me at [email protected]

5 more weeks left until the real season begins!!!!