Name Brand Association, Observers and Inside the QBs Mind

Peeze’s Playbook Week 10 (I think)

Musings, Ramblings, Lies and Other Assortments

• Ryan Kastner’s injury may be what finally undoes Rainmaker’s season.
• Incredible Thought: Maybe Fringe was a documentary brought back from the Future and Jeff Bezos was just the first observer.
• I came into the season loving Les Mythiques.  However, roster instability was the bane of their existence.
• Suicide Squad’s Sebastien Lamy is not spectacular but is really good at containing the QB. Think that isn’t important. Try living life without Ziplocs or Tupperware. Damn…I got snake bit by name-brand association
• When referring to an artist who’s passed on it feels bizarre to refer to their music in the present tense.
• Delectable word salad…with croutons
• Oscar’s Hockey School had a losing record to end the season and still made the playoffs. Way to hold on for dear life. 
• I can go for some Venison right about now.

Playoff Picture

1	Green Means Go!	9	8	1	0	289	154	16	135	[8-1-0]
2	Pincellos	9	7	2	0	232	154	14	78	[6-2-0]
3	Menace II Sobriety	9	5	4	0	210	247	10	-37	[5-3-0]
4	Suicide Squad	9	5	4	0	257	197	10	60	[5-4-0]
5	Rainmakers	10	5	5	0	232	213	10	19	[4-5-0]
6	Ball’s Deep	10	5	5	0	241	275	10	-34	[5-5-0]
7	V-Town	8	4	4	0	172	177	8	-5	[4-4-0]
8	Oscar’s Hockey School	10	4	6	0	239	226	8	13	[4-6-0]
9	Trailer Park Boys	8	4	4	0	150	173	8	-23	[3-4-0]
10	Brewers	9	1	8	0	106	279	2	-173	[1-8-0]
	TEAM	GP	W	L	T	PF	PA	PTS	+/-	DIV
1	Ravens	9	8	1	0	299	140	16	159	[8-1-0]
2	Dilly! Dilly!	9	8	1	0	281	122	16	159	[8-1-0]
3	Save The Turftles	10	7	3	0	285	182	14	103	[7-3-0]
4	Les Chevaliers Du Rohan	10	5	5	0	182	217	10	-35	[5-5-0]
5	Melons	9	4	5	0	243	176	8	67	[4-5-0]
6	Blast from the Past	10	4	6	0	241	244	8	-3	[4-5-0]
7	Oreos	10	4	6	0	272	274	8	-2	[3-6-0]
8	Quatrium FFC	10	3	6	1	192	306	7	-114	[3-6-1]
9	Les Mythiques	10	2	8	0	140	315	4	-175	[2-7-0]
10	The Bad Batch	10	0	9	1	101	293	1	-192	[0-8-1]

Memories, Hallucinations and Observations 

Week 10

Quoth The Raven: 5th?!?!?!?!?!

In last week’s article, I dropped Ravens in my power rankings.  The reasons were so complex that the English language may fail to explain exactly why.  I’ll give it a shot. They hadn’t played in something like 6431 days (give or take) and I was bored.  If this sounds like a ridiculous reason to move teams through my power rankings, remember, you read my work every week.  Now tell me who’s ridiculous.

I got a message from “Flag Jesus” before the game. He bemoaned this ranking and as if staring at a tablet in disbelief he took it upon himself to demolish his next opponent. He also personally guaranteed a pick and two tds in his upcoming game.  Did you ever get a guarantee for a really good product?  For years and years you use this product but you need servicing and it simply isn’t covered by the policy.  Annoying, but in the end you still love the product.  That was Mathieu Houle’s night.  He failed to deliver on the int but his 4tds reminded you of his skill, his charming smile and exceptional customer service.   Having such talent certainly served back-up QB Marc-Antoine Valle as he threw 7 touchdowns.  Justin Sarlabous would be the recipient of the other three touchdowns and would deliver upon Houle’s guarantee as he, Fustel Sumu and Donovan Martel would intercept passes.

This was a bizarre game from the get go.  While Ravens did not miss a beat with a back up QB in the fold the same could not be said for Blast From the Past. In the absence of Frank Grenier Blast From the Past were led by Cedric Gelins-Seguin. Now where MA Valle has had some experience throwing before and 23 touchdowns to 6 interceptions Gelins-Seguin is in his first FPF season. The game didn’t go well for him save for a 25 yard touchdown on the last play of the half to Marc-Andre Daigneault. Unfortunately this score would only serve to make it a two score game. Ravens made sure it would never get close again as the game would end 46-7 in favor of the Ravens. 

They Tried To Make Me Go To Rehab 

But I said no, no, no

Yeah, the sentiment is problematic and I see that now.  Amy Winehouse’s song is an absolute banger. In a game between Menace II Sobriety and Brewers I simply can’t get the song out of my head.  The store of the game for Brewers was what it’s been for the entire season.  The team is not scoring and Jeffery Lefevbre is simply turning the ball over far too many times.  I sympathize playing QB in FPF is difficult and I myself have thrown far more interceptions in my career than I’m comfortable with.  For the uninitiated here’s the life of an FPF QB broken down___:

25 seconds on the clock  

• Take a quick peak at the defense and see if they’re giving me and information.
• Internalize the slightest thing you may have noticed and decide which play you’re running (it could simply be the rusher is on my right side, mid defender (the 3) is playing deep, Halfback looks the least athletic and is probably playing in the flats).
• Communicate the play to your team and ensure everyone understands the play.  IE:
  • 12 Hook
  • 12 Hook
  • Snapper quick out to the strong side, stay flat we need defender to sag or bit and not play in between.
  • Backside: skinny post, go upfield pull the safety DO NOT CROSS TO STRONG SIDE
  • Backside wide, short hook, be alive if they follow me.
• Get to the line, make a pre-snap read
• Deliver your cadence and catch the snap.

All of this needs to take place in one form or another in 25 seconds, miscommunications, bad depths, misunderstanding concepts all lead to errors which lead to turnovers.  Still 25 seconds is an eternity compared to what happens next.

Once the Ball is snapped

• Diagnose the zone. Read one (keeping the play from above) That three is dropping it looks like cover 3 or 4-1. Read 1: Weakside post is a no go
• Scanning the strong side, did the slot defender jump the snapper? No he’s floating. Read two: strongside hook isn’t there.  
• Continue scanning the strong side: Did the corner jump the snapper? No, it appears to be a corner lock. Read 3: Strong side wide is covered
• Continue scanning the strong side: No one has jumped the checkdown: Read 4: Snapper is open, deliver the checkdown.
  • Rusher closing in

• Pivot hips, point front foot, compact delivery, deliver an accurate ball. 
• Look quickly to the backside short hook to see if you were flushed to the weakside if the corner would have bailed off the short hook.

All of that took less than 3 seconds.

Processing information is key.  What I noticed in watching the previous GOTW that featured Brewers and Ball’s Deep I realized that the main processing error that Jeff Lefevbre seemed to be making when things didn’t go his way is that he didn’t go through his progressions in a manner that would have made the reads easier to execute.  I’m a similar quarterback. I don’t have a rifle and need to succeed by intelligently executing my designs.  Due to not having elite arm strength I make sure to read deep first.  This will ensure that I’m not throwing the deep ball late.  This is something that The Brewers QB did all too often in his game against Ball’s Deep and I suspect is plaguing him this season. Developing QBs know your playbook and know all of your progressions! Draw them out and number the reads if it helps!

I’m the division E writer and as there are a lot of new teams/players in the division, I thought a lot of QBs could benefit from this example.  So here’s the recap.

The game started about as well as Menace II Sobriety could have hoped for. On the second pass attempt of the game Wayne Burke would get in the path and intercept the pass. This would lead to Bobby Sepengetis’ 9 yard strike to Andrew Dennis Lynch. This would be a connection that Menace II Sobriety would look to often and it led to another score later in the game. Lefebvre would continue to struggle as he would also be picked off by Chris Williams twice and Bobby Sepengetis to add 4 more to his total.  James Moulton was the standout for Brewers in a 38-14 loss as he ended with 6 catches, 87 yards, two touchdowns and 2 PDs.

Where There’s Flag, There’s Bud

I must say, I’m impressed with a lot of the new teams in FPF this season.  This division sees the greatest proportion of them and the new influx of talent and this is likely the best season on record for new squads (tho I haven’t checked it). Teams come in with more information about how to succeed in FPF. Once they learn from others in FPF and apply it to their knowledge base, they hit the ground running.

Melons have been one of these teams.  Now, it’s clear watching them play against DIlly!Dilly1 it would not take a trained eye to see the miles on Ledoux and co. have them playing as well as a warm first baseman’s mitt.  This is why Dilly!Dilly! Would go on to win this game 32-14. Obviously the 4 interceptions of Matthew Goldenberg isn’t great. Riccardo Desrosiers had a feast with a hat trick of such treachery while Iggy “Magnets” Valdez Manzanedo would bring his offering back for a score. This was a game of inefficiency.  While neither team were great on third down (28.6% for Melons and 25% for Dilly!Dilly!). The difference would be big plays and converting in the red zone.

The pick six against Goldenberg was one such example. Jeremie Ledoux’s 40 yard pass to Michael Pietrobon for a touchdown is another, as is Matthew Goldenberg’s 40 yard strike to Leo Diakoumas. Now, Dilly Dilly did put themselves in a better position than Melons all game long by forcing turnovers.  They would then capitalize despite their struggles on third down, Dilly!Dilly1 were 4/4 in the red zone where Melons were only 2/5. However, time travel would prove to be fortuitous for both of these teams would go on to win their week 11 games.

Week 11: 

Advanced Time Travel for Seeded Delights

Nothing is quite as exciting as the swing created by recovering from a terrible loss when you show up to your next game and everything feels right.  The late summer air is crisp,  the grass is as artificial as it gets and the Melons are ripe. My favourite two receivers on Melons are Leo Diakoumakos and Manny Bizogas and they did not disappoint.  The former recorded 3 touchdowns while the latter scored twice, all the while my latter judged me for a joke that I barely committed to keystroke.On defense Reece smasehd the offense to pieces with his three interceptions on route to an easy 44-0 win over The Bad Batch

Name recommendations for The Bad Batch For Next Season:

• The Sad Batch
• A New Hopeless
• The Empire Strikes Back (that one works without a pun)

So this season’s sweetheart went sour on me.  It happens.  FPF is a difficult league and traditionally, the first season is a season to learn.  I was actually disappointed to see that Frederic Dore did not play the whole game at QB. I know he’s been struggling and he was awful in this game. However, especially since they aren’t playing for anything he should have used the opportunity to get the boy some reps.  The Bad Batch needs to go back to the drawing board. Definitely come back but with a different plan of attack. Any questions on how to improve…please reach out. So many people in this league are willing to help!

Declarations of Bravado 

It’s been particularly interesting to write this section all season long because teams haven’t played the same amount of games.  I always take artistic freedoms but this allows me to use the “games in hand” argument.” There’s nothing better than a good “games in hand argument”.

1. Dilly!Dilly! (8-1): Friday night at midnight the only thing I expect to turn into a pumpkin is the regular season.  It;s hard not to consider DD as the favorite.    
2. Ravens (8-1): Marc-Antoine Valle all but closed out the season but Joel Houle will be back for the postseason.
3. Green Means Go (8-1): Beating Suicide Squad is a big deal. No matter how close a game it was, that was a big deal!. 
4. Save The Turfles (7-3): We’ve talked a ton about Vincent Cheng but Thomas Chausse also had double digit touchdowns this season.  I ranked them 4 because four rhymes with lore.
5. Pincellos (7-2): Let’s see; who didn’t catch a stray yet. Oliver Quinn more like Oliver WhyDon’tYouCatchMore Targets?
6. Chevaliers du Rohan (6-4): I’m very impressed with how they’ve shaped the season into an amazing run for a first time team. A rough outing for Kevin Hebert-Pedulla against the Ravens is nothing to scoff at. He’s been solid but CDR are clearly a matchup dependent team.
7. Menace II Sobriety (5-4): It’s been an up and down season for this bunch of spaghetti.  The true litmus test will come in the final game against GMG.
8. V-Town (4-4): Part of the charm is that they’re the only team to have two games left and that means a world of possibility for this bunch. I kinda love that the offense has a three headed monster that features Adam D’Avino, Joseph Battaglia, Gianni Caruso. 
9. Ball’s Deep (5-5): I’m worried about the -34 point differential.  However, I gotta give Lucas Crivello and his buddies their flowers.  
10. Quatrium (3-6-1): I know that their record isn’t pretty and they just lost but power rankings should be different from standings. WE ALREADY HAVE STANDINGS!  Felix Goulet is the truth! He’s coming; believe me!

Updated Playoff Picture

This has been updated as of last night. The rest is self-explanatory. Read it, or don’t either way it exists. 

Predictions for the World of Tomorrow

I’m bold, fruit molds; picks are in bold.  

			Les Chevaliers Du Rohan		Ravens
			The Bad Batch		Melons
			Quatrium FFC		Dilly! Dilly!
			Menace II Sobriety		Green Means Go!
			Suicide Squad		Trailer Park Boys
			Pincellos		Trailer Park Boys
			V-Town		Brewers
			Dilly! Dilly!		V-Town

Denouement

For those who have any thoughts, commentary or complaints, I am very easy to find.  I’m @peezehss on twitter, @pdellarocca and Peeze Della Reeze on facebook.  You can also take a chance by emailing me at [email protected] but I don’t check it because it’s a death trap of junk emails all trying to sell me hair and penis growth solutions.  I really need to use incognito mode.

Remember that each week you can join the party on our Facebook page or at www.youtube.com/flagplus on our weekly podcast: Calling the Audible.  We are still trying to figure out when the shows will be available and how to get it live on air.  

Till next week, I want to thank you falettineme be mice elf agin!