Peeze’s Playbook (Div 5) – Week 2

This past Thursday I was joined by FPF top brass and fellow podcast personalities as we toured our new home at Unclehood Studios.   The Uncles Mike and Dirty showed us where we would be setting up for the next 14 weeks to rave and rant about everyone’s favorite flag football league.

In addition to having an awesome audio set-up, the boys have three webcams that will be filming the shows live.  So, in addition to being able to download the podcasts shortly after they’ve been recorded keeners and stalkers alike may feel free to watch the podcast live. 

In an effort to push the boundaries as we do each season, we wanted to add a little something special.  In addition, to the typical interviews that we’ve had in the past we want to offer players the chance to be more interactive and make live Skype call-ins so that you can react to our call-outs in real time. The link for the live podcasts will be available on the FPF page and you can follow me @PeezeFPF as I will tweet out the address as soon as I have it.

This is your chance to be heard, get involved with the show.  However, because I know how you guys get I’ll have Eagle ready with a dump switch in case you get out of hand or start making more sense than me.

Gryphons Claws, Rusty on Week 1

The Gryphons, formerly Pap’n’Co, struggled in this opening week. Notably, their typical QB, Matt Connell, was not the quarterback taking snaps in this game. Instead, Kevin Paul stood behind centre on a cold night in Hebert.  Now, one look at the stat line and it would appear that Paul’s first career start was an unmitigated disaster.  In reality, the Gryphon offense did move the ball very well.  Once in the red zone however, Justin Melrose, the reigning defensive player of the year took over.

For the Centurions, it was a familiar cast of stars that led the team to a shutout victory (their 4^th in the last 2 seasons).  In addition to Melrose’s outstanding defensive performance, Jean-Francois Cloutier, added two offensive touchdowns and an interception on the other side of the ball.

During the game a debate arose on twitter about whether or not the Centurions should even be playing in division 5.  It is in fact an interesting case study.  While they did go 10-0 last season and suffered an early round exit from the playoffs, in this new, cap-era of Flag Plus Football, the Centurions are playing in the division that is suited to their player’s ratings. I am sure this discussion will continue throughout the season; for now however, it appears that their dominance continues as the Centurions win 26-0.

War Cry Unanswered

The Warriors are a franchise that has struggled in past seasons but they are experienced and athletic.  Captain and original member Cedric Sambour epitomized this as he was the sole bright spot on the offense. Cedric caught 5 balls for 67 yards and a touchdown.  The new Warrior in town had a rough outing with his new squad.  Mike Bagnato started his first game of the season and threw 1 touchdown and 5 interceptions.  In his free agent post this off-season, Bagnato clamoured for more weapons; hopefully he develops chemistry with his teammates quickly or this may turn out to be a long season.

Conversely, MMM started the season as everyone expected.  The Bishara brothers were too much to handle on both sides of the ball (4 of the 5 interceptions were made by a Bishara).  The FPF media team were also featured in this game as Terry Tam caught 4 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown and Daron Basmadjian caught 1, 27 yard touchdown pass (his 5^th career touchdown catch).  Mysterious and Magical Men are off to a 1-0 start.

Speed Demons Haunt Tomahawk Nightmare

Despite throwing 3 interceptions Sam Holden and the Speed Demons held on to a 28-19 lead to win their first game of the season over the Tomahawk Nightmare.  New acquisition Rob Salisbury made his mark on the game as he caught 2 touchdowns in this game.  As per their norm, the Speed Demons defense was stifling and they closed out the game regardless of their slow start.

Jean-Francois Marquis seemed to have a solid game, but the Tomahawk Nightmare offense did fail to convert on a couple of key possessions.  Nonetheless, they played hard and up to the level of an established division 5 team.  I think they will be trouble as the season goes on.  

J’s Make Los Banditos Walk the Plank

It was a tough night for the Purple Bucs.  I counted a minimum of 6 dropped passes in the second half alone (two of which resulted in interceptions).  Alex Guertin looked frustrated as this game went on and began to telegraph passes.  It honestly looked like he was trying to push the ball out and place it in his receiver’s hands.  This did not work against an aggressive, ball-hawking J’s defense however as they were lurking and contested almost every pass.  Defensively, the Banditos looked confused and there were many breakdowns in their coverage.  I expected Big Purple to be a defensive powerhouse like McDonald’s ‘The Grimace’, protecting his fries.  Instead, they looked like they consumed way too many litres of Purple Drank.

New recruit Pelerge Cleus had a monstrous game.  He intercepted the ball 3 times and returned one for a touchdown.  Prior to the game, Los Banditos captain David Della Rocca preached about how they needed to shut down Alexandre Chasse, yet Chasse was still able to get free twice and found himself standing alone in the endzone. Hai Minh Luong, had his usual productive outing and the division’s favorite son looks like he has his team ready to roll.  For the Banditos, fortunately, they have very little time to reflect upon this loss as their week two games comes one day later.

 

Game Changers Explode Expendables

When I started playing in FPF I felt as though the media treated the league as a good old boys club.  The teams and players that had been around since the beginning were given the status of living legend.  Conversely, new teams and exciting new players were easily dismissed.  I promised myself when I was hired that I would never be swayed in that fashion.  Today, I make good on that promise once again.

I had the privilege of watching one of the two brand new FPF franchises late Sunday night and I was thoroughly impressed. Anton Sakiz is an athletic, composed quarterback with one of the strongest cannons in the division.  His spin move will likely embarrass a lot of rushers this season and I saw him throw a ball on a frozen rope to his receiver while on the run. Moreover, he spread the ball around and kept his entire team involved in the game (4 players caught touchdowns).   This was not the look of a new team at all.  On the defensive side of the ball they were just as effective.  Justin Filteau is an explosive rusher and he recorded 4 sacks, and the team pitched a second half shut out in a game that was close until the half.

The Expendables had a rough outing.  This is an experienced team whom I expect will improve throughout the season. Allan Lester, is a good quarterback but he hasn’t started a game since Week 2 in the winter 2013 season.  In week 2 they face the First Downers and hope to vindicate this loss.  As for week one, the Game Changers beat the Expendables 44-12.

Hungover Visions of the World of Tomorrow

There really isn’t a good time to post picks.  I had initially thought, after a lengthily conversation with Math genius and Chucky Cheese enthusiast, the Eagle at Master Control (@EagleFPF), that the best day to do so would be Friday.  Given that only two games were played and that it’ll be difficult to trash talk Mat Domon without a final tally of wins and losses. So in addition to my typical Friday article I will be publishing my predictions on Monday morning.

This week, my wireless keyboard’s battery died. While that delayed me for about 12 minutes I decided that the moment was gone and to roll my Friday article and Monday article into one giant heaping mess.

So, given that the Tune Squad vs. Pardon My Swag matchup has been postponed until Tuesday January 28^th, we were only able to tally the results from 17 games. I decided to take it easy on Mat Domon and spot him a small lead.  I went 7-10 (.412) in week one while Mat went 7-8 (.467). Mat plays for the Lachine Squad Utopians and as such he couldn’t ethically make a prediction in that game (take notes Pete Rose).  Additionally, since he slacked off he entered his picks too late to make a prediction between the Dope Boys and the Midnight Bombers and thus, he did not make a pick for this game.  He has a slight edge and I hope he feels good about himself because it will be short lived.  Feel free to taunt him @MathieuDomonFPF.

Here are my week 2 picks:

Los Banditos vs. Midnight Bombers

Centurions vs. Tomahawk Nightmare

A-Squad vs. Cougars

Les Albatros vs. Gyphons

Mad Bears vs. Ghosts

Sphinx vs. Green Lantern Corps

Pardon my Swag vs. Warriors

Vikings vs. Mysterious and Magical Men

Tune Squad vs. Pick 6

Loose Cannons vs. Blue Balls of Destiny

Tyrants vs. Game Changers

Black Ice vs. Shamrocks

J’s vs. Cheeseburger Eddy

Lachine Squad Utopians vs. Ballz Deep

Expendables vs. First Downers

Montreal’s Junior Finest vs. Speed Demons

Limetime vs. Clinique Physio Impact

Hit Squad vs. Dope Boys

Reflections, Rants and Ravings

• How does one hold a funeral for dead batteries?  Consider philosophy dropped on all y’all.
• Game Changers quarterback Anton Sakiz threw 7 touchdowns in his FPF debut and went 10-12 for 190 yards. Have we ever seen a better start to an FPF career? That wasn’t a rhetorical question; I’m asking in earnest because I’m not G.M. Koletheras and do not know.
• Speaking of GM Koletheras, each week GM and I will bet on something fairly irrelevant to decide who pays the beer tab.  This week Lockdown’s Julien Paiment sacked Gotham Knight’s Bruce Candussi and as such the beer was on me.
• The new cap system suggests that there will be more parity, only time will tell.  I still believe that there will be a 10-0 team.  Moreover, a late night television psychic informed me that 1 team will also go 0-10.
• Shamrocks vs. Limetime may be one of the louder games this week.  The rivalry has been fun to follow and I expect this game to follow suit.
• Did anyone else ever wonder about the odd anatomical misconceptions a child could get from playing with Mr. Potato Head?
• In my preseason power rankings I mentioned that Francois Ethier had returned to throw for A-Squad.  In an email from co-captain Alexis Labonte, I was told that Cedric Nuckle would be the quarterback this season.  He picked up his first win this week.
• Two division 6 games were cut short because games got out of control.  I am happy to report no such shenanigans have taken place in our fine division as of yet. Keep it classy boys.
• So I’ve decided to make the plunge and celebrate the popularity of aviators by ordering a pair online, will they still be in style when they arrive?
• As expected the Shamrocks/Limetime game was, close, physical, entertaining and chirpy. With a renewed emphasis on removing physicality and trash talking from the game, I don’t think this will be a recipe for success in the new FPF.

Power Rankings

1. Mysterious and Magical Men (1-0)- They are a strong team and having a quarterback as good as Matthew Bishara in division 5 makes all the difference.

2. First Downers (1-0)-They won a tightly contested game.  I thought about dropping them but then I remembered that they usually win tightly contested games.
3. Centurions (1-0)-10-0 last season, 26-0 on week one.  Mean Green keep it rolling.
4. A-Squad (1-0)- They beat my favorite to win it all this season.  The A-Squad looks ready to play.
5. Shamrocks (1-0)- They beat Limetime, and they face another familiar face in division 5 this week when they take on Black Ice.
6. Cougars (1-0)- They beat a talented team this week when they faced Ghosts. I had them on the cusp of my top ten last week and I couldn’t keep them off the power rankings this time around.
7. Sphinx (0-1)- They still in my power rankings, despite losing to a very good A-Squad.  One more slip up and they’ll fall right off the list.
8. Mad Bears (1-0)- Sebatien Thibault is an exciting up-and-comer in our league. With him at the helm, Mad Bears are scarier than 8 month old cheesecake.
9. J’s (1-0)- I was very impressed with them this week.  Their chemistry is something to behold.  Moreover, they are strong on both sides of the ball.  They face Cheeseburger Eddy this week.
10. Game Changers (1-0)- I think I found my new man-crush.  It seems every season I swoon for a new team.  This season that team appears to be the Game Changers.

Other Teams Receiving Votes

I was tired this week, I let my mom vote on my behalf.

• Speed Demons (1-0)- Solid team and a big first win.  Hopefully this was a statement game that they can build off of.
• Tyrants (1-0)- I want to see how they fair against a younger faster team when they play the Game Changers this week.
• Cheeseburger Eddy (1-0)- As expected it was the Jonathan Makris show.  Everyone’s favorite Cheeseburgers will eventually play a team that can neutralize him.  Do they have another threat?
•  Loose Cannons (1-0)- The switch to Cody Hemsley seems to have paid off but I need a larger sample size.
• Montreal’s Junior Finest (1-0)- They are exciting but I still have my doubts.  Let’s see how Moe Khan handles a very strong Speed Demons defense.  Lest we forget, we called Moe Khan Moe Montana after his week 1 performance in Div.E this past summer.
• Midnight Bombers- I don’t know why they’re listed. As I said, my mom voted.

 Friday’s Finale

We’re only two games in and anticipation is building. Winter has indeed arrived for all of Westeros to behold. I am looking forward to the first FPF weekend of the season as a full slate of games await.

So far a handful of teams have already contacted me to tell me about their teams, to give me the inside track or to give me hell for picking against them.  If you have similar sentiments please send them to me at [email protected] or reach me @PeezeFPF via twitter.  Please note that all inappropriate language is tolerated and appreciated.

Additionally, for the more introverted captains you can expect an email from me this week as I poke and prod to get the skinny on your teams.  If you want to know all that we know about the division our official FPF podcast where Terry Tam (@TerryTamFPF) and I discuss a variety of topics, check in with the occasional contributor or guest and ramble about ridiculous things until the league suits threaten to fire us. The official Division 5 podcast is available via iTunes or at http://fpf.podomatic.com. 

See you on the fields, till then, thank you for letting me be myself.