Opening Article for Div 5! It’s about Damn Time!

Welcome back FPF’ers!

Yeah, it turns out taking on 3-4 separate FPF jobs makes it harder to pump out articles. That said, I was out in New York for work this past week, so do expect weekly articles from here on out!

Alright, the hardest and mot challenging of FPF seasons is in full swing. Yes, if you aren’t familiar with FPF, the Winter season is the toughest of them all with the tackle season on pause and so many quality teams battling it out week in and week out.

For those who don’t know me, a quick introduction. The name is Iggy Magnets. Been playing the game since Fall 2017 and can’t get enough of it. I’ll be facing off 10 opponents this year in 5A, so it will definitely be fun to cover the division while playing in it as well. In addition to playing in 5A, I have teams in Div 4 and Co-Ed 2, so if you don’t face off directly against my team, there are good chances you will catch me on a field! While the first 4 years were of course fun, I was finally able to reach the elusive FPF Finals and win a Championship in Winter 2022 in Co-Ed as a receiver/DB. With that, I couldn’t get enough and was able to, luckily get another championship, again in Co-Ed in the Spring season as a QB. Then this past Fall Cup, I was once again fortunate enough to get an FPF Bowl Cup in Tier 3, again as QB. Easy to say it was quite the year personally, but all I can say is that I hope you can play in a Finals game, because it’s quite the cool experience where you can challenge plays with our live play-by-play cameras catching all the action. Also, friends and family can watch remotely if they can’t make the game, as the games are aired live on Facebook with live Play-by-Play and color commentary from our in-house talent.

I also scorekeep games for FPF, but if it’s not a field you see me at, I also contribute to FPF’s hit podcast show, Calling The Audible, which airs Friday on FPF’s YouTube channel. We have a rotating cast between Alex “Eagle” D’Aquila, Peeze Della Reeze, Moe Khan, and myself as we dive into the FPF world and discuss the week that was, preview games, highlight the “wow” performances and constantly debate who’s the best player in the division, often contradicting our very selves.

The articles this year will look slightly different, with game recaps and power rankings coming out of the articles and will follow more of the storylines of the division.

Alright, enough about me, time to talk Division 5.

Division 5A

Week 2 chatterbox

We’ve got 6 undefeated teams left: Ice up, Red “Not” Skins, Ballers, Save The Turftles, Big Fat Bats and The Process
Ballers’ athleticism on D came through in Week 2 with a convincing 30-13 win over Clinkers, Marc-André, you gotta protect the ball! 5 INT’s gives you a 2% chance to win an FPF game.
With Skylar Bayliff already having racked up a 2-way player of the award, he’s the leading candidate after a short 2 weeks to run it back in Div 5A
Big Fat Bats absolutely wrecked No Friend Zone missing 2 key veteran leaders in Alex Laroche and Iggy Magnets. Mathew Zeppetelli torched the NFZ defense for 45 points and put up a ridiculous 145.1 QBR and 84.2 completion %. The guy is rapidly rising the FPF ranks at QB! Love to see that!
In their season debut in Week 2, The Process had a huge challenge, facing off against the West Island Boys. This was a potential playoff matchup down the line, and damn, a 26-25 crazy close game. Noah Groper, another FPF veteran giving the QB position a shot was alright in his debut. The 50% completion percentage will need to go up and 4 TDs on 8 completions means their was either blown coverage or bad tackling from WIB on Ariel Librati. While it can work here and there, it’s not a great recipe to win the majority of your FPF games.
With Travis Moses out for Week 2, Joey Notaro made his FPF debut at QB in a regular season game for Him University. While they lost by 1 point, he said he absolutely loved the QB position and agreed with a few things I’ve noticed myself: 1) That the game is a totally different when playing QB vs playing receiver, 2) that the highs of QB’ing are high, and the lows… well.. the lows are low. I’m glad he gave it a go and that he loved the position. I can see a Div E team in the spring with Joey tearing it up at QB.
For Menace II Sobriety, they aren’t the most menacing of teams, but their experience playing for many seasons gives them a big edge against teams that outmatch them athletically. Although tell Andrew Denis Lynch, Chris Williams and Shaquille D’Aguiar that they aren’t athletic (lol).
Save The Turftles were able to easily handle Practice Squad with a steady distribution across 6 receivers on their way to a 37-14 victory. Once you contain Alex Papineau and force him to make accurate throws, it leads to a 1 TD, 2 INT kind of night. While Papineau rushed for 45 yards and a rushing TD, Tony Vo‘s 2 sacks are just the beginning. I’m sure he forced Papineau with strong angles to prevent more runs from occurring and making sure passes were made with only half the field in the QB’s vision, as Papineau loves to roll out from the pocket.
Not because it’s my team, but Week 3’s game to watch is West Island Boys vs. No Friend Zone. This should be an offensive, close showdown between two highly skilled teams. Names like Skylar Bayliff, Felix Boutet, Alex Noel, and Julian McLaren-Thompson headline this potential playoff matchup.
Glory Boyz will look to get their first win of the season after dropping their week 1 matchup and being on a Bye in Week 2. They need to go up early on Clinkers and keep them their rear-view mirror the entire game.

Who’s hot, who’s not

Hot: The touchy and sensitive team named Red ”Not” Skins have put up 72 points in just 2 games and lead all of Div 5A with a +48 point differential. The GM of the team built a masterpiece of a roster to fit in Div 5: With stars that have low cap hit ratings like Michael Pietrobon, Frankie Scalzo, and David St Jean who can compliment the studs like Craig Browning, and Riley Pincombe. While he’s taken a few seasons off from FPF, Mat Kieljan is starting the season hot with 10 TDs and just 1 INT, a 77.3 completion percentage and a whopping 129.9 QBR! Damn Mat! Save some of that for the playoffs!

Not only has the offense delivered on points, the defense has forced 7 turnovers in just 2 games. 3.5 turnovers (not including 4th down stops) per game is incredible, and makes Kieljan that much more relaxed in his offensive game. Who needs sacks when your forcing the QB to make errant throws that give you the ball back?

Ice Cold: The The Tokyo Sandblasters will need to turn things around in a hurry. They’ve only put up 13 points in 2 weeks and it starts with picking one Quarterback and sticking to them. They can’t do the “Ok, I’ll go in at QB” to then 6 attempts later say “nevermind, who’s next?”. Someone needs to step up and take the reigns and push through the lows until they find what works and repeatedly work on the plays. Having 3-4 QB’s rotate within the same game is definitely not the solution. The leadership of Rocco Christiano, Matthew Caponi and Joseph Chalhoub will be tested. The team has potential to grow, but it will take some time, perhaps past this season. My best bet is to go with Tyrone Hamilton. 2 pieces of early advice my dude: Don’t throw a baby passes (not that he did) and release the ball quickly.

Week 2 Players of the Week

QBs of the Week (2)

QB1 – Mathew Zeppetelli (Big Fat Bats): 16/19, 177 Passing Yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs, 3 Rushing Attempts, 33 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TD.

QB2 – Mathew Yanakoulias (Rico Ryders): 19/24, 212 Passing Yards, 7 TDs, 1 INT, 1 Rush Attempt, 8 Rushing Yards.

Receivers of the Week (3)

WR1 – Ariel Librati (The Process): 3 receptions, 5 targets, 66 yards, 3 TDs

WR2 – Gabriel Jobin (Les Petites Carottes): 3 receptions, 3 targets, 62 yards, 3 TDs

WR3 – Justin Lerner (Rico Ryders): 4 receptions, 5 targets, 79 yards, 2 TDs

Defensive Players of the Week (3)

DB1 – Danick Coulombe (Ballers): 2 tackles, 2 INTs, 2 PDs, 1 Def TD

DB2 – Luis Begin (Clinkers): 2 tackles, 2 INTs, 2 PDs

DB3 – Antoine Roger (Ballers): 2 tackles, 2 INTs, 2 PDs

———–

Division 5B

Week 2 roundtable discussions:

Killer Rays might just breeze through the regular season. Season record prediction: 10-0
Last year: Black Label; This year: Les Bleue Dry. These guys like their cheap beers, but damn, they are good! A 16-point victory over a decent Primetime team that is still trying to take the next step in their development. Fred Juneau in 5B is something to keep an eye on. If he can play in all 10 games, watch out for a QBOY candidate.
Both Jonah Burgess (Green Monster) and Jonathan McCall (HimU) had 3 INT performances in Week 2, bringing them in the Top 5 in with just 2 games played.
While El-Andre Abbey is flash (as seen on FPF’s Instgram page), 6 receptions on 12 targets isn’t great. From seeing HimU in week one, I’d say 3 of those missed targets are over-thrown by Pranav Sharma and the other 3 are drops. If they connect more often as the season goes along, this could be an electric and dynamic duo.
Keenan Alleyne kept Sharma in check with 3 sacks, 1 PD, and limited Sharma to 2 rushing yards. That was one of the key elements that lead to the Blues edging out HimU 19-18 in Week 2.
After struggling a bit while subbing in 5A at 9pm, PO Tremblay-Agelakos must have felt the difference between 5A and 5B when facing Wolf just 1 hour later. He threw for over 219 yards, but needs to complete more than 50% of his passes for Pocket Rockets to be competitive. That said, I’m sure Philip Charpentier was glad he lined up at receiver instead of under centre like he did in Week 1! 2/20 for 12 yards and 3 INTs while replacing PO… yikes.
Primal took care of business rather easily against the Bulldogs. It’s been a while since Jordan Schwartz took the field, and while his connection with his brother, Evan Schwartz is still there and he put up good number in Div E in the Spring of 2018, moving up to 5B five years later is quite the jump. Hence his 1:1 TD-to-INT ratio. That MUST improve if they wanna make the playoffs. I do like the roster though with Shimmy Cons, Daniel Goloff and Derek Sigler with either recent or long-term FPF experience.
It was just their first game, and against a tough opponent in What Could Have Beens, but Cover 3 needs to simplify their offensive playbook. Too many deep shots. Only late in the 2nd half did they drive the field and score a TD, but by then, it was 28-0.
Impressively, Tyler Gurberg leads 5B in TD’s (6) in just 2 games played. He’s becoming a top offensive receiver in the divisions he plays in.
The game to watch out for in 5B in Week 3? Green Monster vs. Primal. Can Mederic Lauzon shred apart the strong Green Monster defense? Tune in to find out.

Who’s hot, who’s not

Hot: Primal

They knocked out a strong What Could Have Beens squad in Week 1 by two possessions (9 points) and shred the Bulldogs apart. Mederic Lauzon is throwing a very decent 4 TD: 1 INT with a 108.2 QBR that puts him in the Top 3 of QB ratings. Antoine Chabot on his end is carrying the offense as the WR1 with 8 receptions for 129 yards in just 2 games, where half of those receptions are being caught for touchdowns (4). Those 4 TDs are good for 3rd best in the division so far. The defence has also gotten 4 turnovers, one of which the dangerous Valéry Shelder returned for 6. Plus, when Philippe Barbeau can get to the quarterback for negative yardage and setup 3rd/4th and long 1.5 times per game, you’re looking at a turnover on downs in addition to the 2 interceptions per game. Three defensive stops is more than enough for Lauzon to be comfortable and build on his leads in games. They have a good test in a Green Monster team that has historically limited offenses to 3-4 TDs Max. Let’s see if Primal can continue their hot streal and go 3-0 on the season.

Not: Ball So Hard U. The Lionhearts/BSHU franchise led by Carmelo Di Giovanni at QB has seen its ugly moments and its improvements. So far, a 20-point loss and a 15-point loss has seen them not be in the thick of things by the time there is 5 plays remaining in the game. Carm is trying to do the Jameis Winston and go for the 20 for 20 for 20. He’s on pace for 20 TDs, 20 INTs, and 20 sacks, which is not good. While he had steadily improved his QBR in 2 consecutive seasons, he’s back down below a 55 QBR. While he can run the ball effectively, the one thing I always say is that the ball (thrown) will always travel faster than when you run with the ball. Runs should take place when the coverage is tight, the defense is playing man and you have 3 or more receivers deep, or perhaps on a designed run on a 3rd/4th-and-1 situation for the “easy” first down (depending on who the rusher is). Too many times it appears he knows he’s running and calling a “run” play in the huddle, and/or is simply staring down the rusher and trying to beat them 1-on-1. He may have been able to get away with it in Div 6/E, but 5B will usually put a good enough rusher that will force him to throw the ball. Some advice: Release the ball quick and let your receivers do the work to move up field. That gets you into a rhythm in the game and setups up 3rd and 4th-and-manageable. It’s 10 yards for a first down. Nothing wrong with 2-yard hooks that turn into 5-7 yards! Okay, my QB rant is over. Of course, it’s a team game and Carm can’t hold all the load himself. When the defense produces 0 interceptions, and 30 points allowed per game, they aren’t helping him out. I love me some Joe Morgese, and while the 11 targets are a team-high, the 4 receptions in 2 games isn’t a good ratio. As you advance the ranks in FPF, teams know who your best players and favorite targets are, so get the others involved and then get Joe back in the game when defenses are off him. It’s a chess game out there. You gotta be able to adapt on the fly!

Week 2 Players of the Week

QBs of the Week (2)

QB1 – Mitch Fergenbaum (Warriors): 14/22, 160 Passing Yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT, 2 Rushing Attempts, 12 Rushing Yards.

QB2 – Frederic Juneau (Les Bleue Dry): 14/23, 156 Passing Yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT

Receivers of the Week (3)

WR1 – Jared Boidman (The Penetrators): 4 receptions, 6 targets, 101 yards, 3 TDs

WR2 – Jacob Salvail (Pocket Rocket): 5 receptions, 12 targets, 97 yards, 2 TDs

WR3 – Oumar Toure (Stomers): 6 receptions, 8 targets, 84 yards, 3 TDs

Defensive Players of the Week (3)

DB1 – Jonah Burgess (Green Monster): 1 tackle, 3 INTs

DB2 – Craig Browning (Vick in a Box): 4 tackles, 2 INTs, 2 PDs, 1 Def TD

DB3 – Jonathan McCall (HimU): 3 tackles, 3 INTs

Epilogue

Alright Div 5, that does it to recap Week 2, be sure to come back for Week 3 and see what’s happening in the division. If you want more content, there’s always more! Here’s our podcast, Calling The Audible, where you can catch a glimpse of Red Dragons vs. Vick in a Box so you can begin your scouting report!