Peeze’s Playbook (Div 5) – Week 3 – FlagPlus Football League

The Superbowl is set and Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos is set to take on Seattle’s Russell Wilson. So for the next week we can continue to debate whether or not a running quarterback can win a championship.

If we extend the discussion to our league, as we have for years it does provide an interesting debate. The previous championship division 5/D quarterbacks have been: Alex Gaudet, Simon Lafortune, Alex Holowach, Francois Raymond, Tom Niketopoulos, JM Beaudin, Etienne Chauvin and Maxime Forget. Of the above list I consider Raymond and Forget (prior to his knee injury) to be mobile quarterbacks and Chauvin to be somewhat of a hybrid style quarterback. So, in this division’s history the pocket passers have had the edge.

The defense for pocket passers has always been that usually running quarterbacks run because they can’t throw. However, when I see a quarterback like Anton Sakiz who has thrown 13 touchdowns to 0 interceptions or Doug McKernan who always has his team in the hunt, I think a case can be made for this new breed of mobile quarterbacks. I dare anyone to tell Sebastien Thibault that he runs because he can’t throw or Jeremy Laporte that his style can’t be effective. The tide is changing in division 5 and that usually sets the tone for the league in future seasons. As proof I reference the above quarterbacks who are starting to make a name for themselves in the higher divisions. There is a lot of talent here and I look forward to seeing where these names end up in future seasons.

Cougars bring their A-Game

Adamo Iadeluca is off to a hot start. After throwing 5 touchdowns in this past game, he now has a stat line that reads, 9tds-1int. One of the Cougars new recruits, Jean-Jacques Janvier has been Mr. January indeed having caught 7 touchdown passes in the past two weeks. This game was just another day at the office for him as he put up yet another dominating performance. The Cougars take their second win by a final score of 31-20.

Conversely, the A-Squad did not have their best game. Cedric “Brass” Nuckle struggled in his second game behind the snapper as he converted less than 50% of his passes (41%) and he threw a pair of picks as well. Moreover, the A-squad defense led by Mondesir, Micourt and Co. deflected 6 passes. Were they able to turn PD’s into Int’s this game would have worked out quite differently.

Limetime Puts On a Clinic

In his first season as a quarterback, Anthony Bozzo had a very successful campaign. He threw 40 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions while leading his team to a 6-4 start. His numbers to start this season have been fairly consistent as well unfortunately that hasn’t translated to wins. Vincent Vincelli caught 3 touchdown passes this week and despite his efforts Clinique Physio Impact could not get by Limetime.

In a very, intense and close game, Limetime’s new quarterback Devin Daoust looks to be improving very quickly. Devin is an athlete and while he isn’t a natural quarterback he knows how to use his athleticism to make plays. Brothers David and Dilan contributed with 3 touchdown catches between them and two-way standout Mike Zenone caught a touchdown and hauled in an interception as well. Limetime inches past Clinique Physio Impact 27-20.

Cheeburger Cheeburger

Despite my misgivings regarding Cheeseburger Eddy, I must say that I am pleasantly surprised and impressed. With this 33-25 point victory, it is evident that this is a strong team. Billy Seretis is a very good athlete and a quarterback who has already seen a lot of success in this league. He and Jonathan Makris have great chemistry and they beat a team that was clicking in week 1. Chris Albanis and Tony Koumentakis are not familiar names in FPF but if they continue to play this well they will be soon. I’m still on the fence but I may not be for long as after two weeks, Cheeseburger Eddy has put up the second highest point total.

The J’s started off the season strong but it does seem that they continue to struggle with high powered offences who play a physical style. Hai Minh Luong was safe with the ball, as he always is. Unfortunately Luong’s efforts were not enough to pull out the victory this week. This leads me to my second concern with the J’s, do they have the fire power to come back from behind? It seems like they are a team that needs to play with a lead. If that should be the case, they need to score early and often. Let’s see if they can execute that game plan against the Loose Cannons in week 3.

Hungover Visions of the World of Tomorrow

Each week, I challenge myself by picking a winner in each of the 18 games scheduled on a weekly basis. Mat Domon (known to his Twitter followers as @MathieuDomonFPF) chooses a random amount of games and picks those. As someone with a vague understanding of mathematics I have no idea who would gain the upper hand in that circumstance. Either way, last week I went 13-5 to Mat Domon’s 10-3; this brings the season tally to 20-15 and 17-11 respectively. For the moment Mat holds a slight lead as his .607 winning percentage slightly eclipses my .571 winning percentage. Either way I’m not worried he will slip up soon.

Here are my week 3 picks:

Tomahawk Nightmare vs. Green Lantern Corps

Centurions vs. A-Squad

First Downers vs. Tune Squad

Balls Deep vs. Mysterious and Magical Men

Clinique Physio Impact vs. Midnight Bombers

Les Albatros vs. Cougars

Shamrocks vs. Hit Squad

J’s vs. Loose Cannons

Mad Bears vs. Speed Demons

Lachine Squad Utopians vs. Pardon my Swag

Los Banditos vs. Blue Balls of Destiny

Game Changers vs. Vikings

Tyrants vs. Warriors

Expendables vs. Pick 6

Ghosts vs. Montreal’s Junior Finest

Dope Boys vs. Black Ice

Sphinx vs. Gryphons

Cheeseburger Eddy vs. Limetime

Reflections, Rants and Ravings

Sergio Sicoli claims that the Gryphons offense is better with Aleksander Papich taking the snaps (read below). Papich took the helm, they’re 1-1 and Sicoli looks like a genius.
Why is it called a Spelling Bee? Are bees truly good spellers? Is it a specific species of Bee? Or, is it simply the a bee is a language puzzle that has never been solved to a satisfactory level? I think it’s the pollen-lovers because I fear their sting-y wrath should I suggest otherwise.
Stat keepers have been coming to me all season complaining about teams having players without numbers. Guys, it’s not that hard, get jerseys for your players. Their job is tough enough.
The Speed Demons are off to a hot start. Last time they started off this well was in the winter 2013 season where they went 6-3, made the playoffs and lost in the first round. I think this time around they plan to take this quick start and turn it into a special season.
Alexis Gaumont played really well in week 2 and with all the talent around him, the Ghosts may truly be a threat. If we can chalk week 1 up to rust, then the Ghosts look to become a front-runner in coming weeks.
I wonder if Cheeseburger Eddy is related to Eddy, the Iron Maiden mascot.
Tune Squad finally played their first game and their elite rusher Omar Naek recorded 3 sacks. This brings his career total to 59 sacks. I wis I had waited for him to get one more because 60 looks far nicer as a milestone.
I just took a quick look at the amount of UR’s and OC’s that have been given out this season and the list seems to be growing each week. It’s not easy to be a referee in this league and I want to applaud all they do to make it a safe environment for all of us.

Start ‘em/Sit ‘em Love ‘em/Hate’em

Each week I take four names and throw them at Sergio Sicoli and he decides which player he would start, who he would, who he loves and who he hates. As for the players that he loves, keep in mind that this is not intended to be a romantic gesture and Sergio has informed me that he does have a date for Valentine’s Day this year. For players who end up on his hate list, just remember, haters gonna hate.

The theme this week is qbs who didn’t start week 1.

Start’em – Aleksander Papich

The Gryphons picked up a loss week 1 with QB Kevin Paul running the offense and finishing with 132 yards, 0 TD’s and 3 INT on the day. Given that the Centurions defense is figuratively a no fly zone, I do understand Paul’s struggle, but having played against Aleksander Papich in Spring 2013 I believe he could have put up a better fight. Papich started at QB week 2 and brought the Gryphons to their first win on the season finishing with 125 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT and 61 rushing yards on just 6 attempts. Papich is a great 2-way threat QB and, with no disrespect to Paul, should be starting for this Gryphon team week in and week out.

Sit’em – JR Beausoleil

The Loose Cannons struggled last winter, finishing 2-8 with QB JR Beausoleil under center in his first ever FPF season. This year the Loose Cannons decided to add a more experienced QB in Cody Hemsley, switching Beausoleil to receiver in the process. The switch has proven to be more than great with the Loose Cannons off to a 2-0 start with Hemsley already throwing 7 TDs and rushing for another 3. Meanwhile the change has been beneficial for Beausoleil who leads the team in catches and yards.

Sit’em – Erminio Iadeluca

Erminio was better than great when he led the Cougars to a 6-4 Winter 2013 campaign and an early exit in the playoffs. That being said, Adamo Iadeluca is simply on fire and has led this year’s Cougar squad to a 2-0 start, throwing for 9 TD’s and 1 INT in the process. As captain of a team who struggles to find a quarterback every season, the Cougars should be thankful they have a team with 2 great quarterbacks. Both of these Iadeluca’s are great QB’s but I would continue riding the hot hand in Adamo Iadeluca.

Hate’em – Francois Martin

Last Winter Ghosts finished off the season with a 3-7 record with Francois Martin running the offense. Martin finished with less than average numbers throwing for under 1,000 yards and 15 interceptions. This year Ghosts have opted to bring in a more mobile QB in Alexis Gaumont who has done a good job filling in, throwing for 4 TD’s, rushing for 81 yards and 2 TD’s and bringing this group to a 1-1 start. Should this Ghosts squad revive Martin as quarterback? I think not.

Power Rankings

Mysterious and Magical Men (2-0)- Won a game without star quarterback Matt Bishara. This team is hitting their stride early.
Centurions (2-0)- Centurions defense has been stifling and the offense as been putting up points. In FPF that spells success. Try that in a Spelling Bee and your parents will be quite disappointed. Seriously, you’d most likely have to walk home.
First Downers (2-0)-I thought that they were one of the front runners of the division and so far I have been right. When he’s at his best few quarterbacks are as good as Marc-Andre Theberge.
Cougars (2-0)- They do not have an easy schedule, so far it looks like they do have what it takes.
Shamrocks (2-0)- They just keep rising to the occasion. I don’t know if they are in the top tier of the division but they do have that ‘team of destiny’ kind of feeling.
A-Squad (1-1)- My enthusiasm for this team has been somewhat tempered. They have a tough schedule and will be tested and a worthy opponent should they make the playoffs.
Sphinx (1-1)- They are back to their winning ways. If they can keep it rolling they can rise up back to the top of the rankings in no time.
Game Changers (2-0)- Here’s my bold prediction for this young group of speedsters, they will finish the season at 7-3. You heard it here first.
Cheeseburger Eddy (2-0)- On the last division 5 podcast I made the claim that Cheeseburger Eddy’s offense is a one trick pony. So far, no one has been able to stop that one trick and Jonathan Makris may be on his way toward earning a receiver of the year trophy.
Mad Bears (1-1)- They lost a tough game against a good Ghosts team. I still think Mad Bears have something special.

Other Teams Receiving Votes

I asked Mat Domon for his votes. He told me that he would never share anything with me. So as always, these are just my votes.

Speed Demons (2-0)- Let’s see how their staunch defense handles a Sebastien Thibault in week 3. Also, can they score enough points to beat the top teams in the division?
Ballz Deep (1-1)- They have a brutal schedule but if they can put up a big win or two it may make a statement to the rest of the division.
Loose Cannons (2-0)- Their first true challenge may in fact come this week when they face the J’s.
Midnight Bombers- I don’t know why they’re listed. As I said, my mom voted.
Dope Boys (1-1)- Had this team understood the rules on week 1, they would have punted and most likely would be standing at 2-0.

Monday’s Moment of Truth

With one week of podcasts in the book we are excited to get are hands wet and feet dirty (I really hope I got the order right) and deliver our second week of podcasts. Remember that you can watch live by visting www.theunclehood.com and FPF will be live streaming on the Division 4 and 5 podcasts back-to-back on Thursday nights as of 7:30. So remember, you can always PVR community and Parks and Recreation, don’t miss what happening in our division!

We want you all to be involved with this podcast and we wat Callng the Audible to be as interactive as possible. Let s know what you want us to talk about, ask how you can be invited on the show, or force us to test out live call-ins. For more information on how to do the any of that you can email me at [email protected] or you can reach me on Twitter @PeezeFPF. Terry Tam (@TerryTamFPF) will also be in studio and we will discuss a variety of topics that will interest most and most likely offend at least a few.

Please tune into and subscribe to ‘Calling the Audible’ our official division 5 podcast, available via iTunes or at http://fpf.podomatic.com. If you haven’t done so by now I assume you were to shy.

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