Peeze’s Playbook (Div 5) – Week 3

I want to describe one man’s quest. Perhaps, it was more of a journey but definitely not an expedition. It was a trial of blood, sweat and tears… No wait, scratch that:

a trial of blood, sweat and tears

That’s better. Now, where was I? Oh yes, it was a trial of grease, cheese and potatoes. Our hero packed his spork and travelled across the city in a gastronomical conquest like no other. Doctor’s said he was foolish, family members cried and prepared for funeral arrangements but he has returned with his findings.

FPF Nation, our very own Terry Tam (@TerryFPF) scoured the city in search of the city’s best poutine.  In search of this gravy filled, squeaky chase laden holy grail Terry has compiled a list of the top ten poutines in the city. During his one year research project Terry ate 99 poutines and these are his findings:

10-Frites Alors

9-Belle Province (on Sources)

8-Ma’am Bolduc

7-Brochette.ca

6-Patari Patata

5-Poutineville

4-La Banquise

3-Mbrgr

2-Paulo & Suzanne

1-Chez Claudette 

I’m not certain about what makes a man qualified to pass judgement on poutine and other snacks/meals covered in gravy but Terry certainly has that quality.  Now that it has become apparent that FPF management should have never entrusted me with a bi-weekly column, we can proceed with my thoughts on week 3 thus far.

Green Lantern’s Flickering Light

For those who follow the NFL, which, I would assume is the great majority, you’ll know that only three teams have ever gone 0-3 and made the playoffs in that season.  If starting 3-0 in a 16 game schedule puts you in dire straits what can that say for a 10 game as in FPF.  Green Lantern Corps now find themselves in this position after Monday’s 34-24 loss to Tomahawk Nightmare.  However, with an experienced quarterback like Jerson Previllon and one of the best receivers in the division (Mendy Cardichon), if any team could turn it around it’s GLC.  The issue this past Monday was that Green Lantern Corps got behind the 8-ball early.  They trailed 27-12 at the end of the first half and were never able to fully recover.  The fact of the matter is if they continue to start games poorly, they may need Geoff Johns to revitalize their season (I’m not explaining that reference; that’s why Wikipedia exists).

Tomahawk Nightmare had a rough start to this season but seem to be righting the course. Marquis had his best start in division 5 as threw 5 touchdowns and posted a QB rating of 108.1.  Two of the typical Tomahawk threats showed why defences need to pay attention to them as Olivier Savage and Marc-Andre Bergeron combined for 11 catches, 104 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Tomahawk Nightmare seems to be ready to turn their season around but with 7 weeks remaining on their schedule, they will need to keep up the pace.

 

First Downers Tuning Up

 

Marc-Andre Theberge is one of the top quarterbacks in the division.  However, if I did have a concerns about him is that he does turn the ball over more than a quarterback caliber should. So far this hasn’t affected the First Downers as they seem to find ways to win despite their errors. Frederic Fortier did have his usual menacing game on offense as he caught two of his five touchdowns in this game. 

 

For Tune Squad, their typically strong team defense has been effective to start the season.  Omar Naek recorded 2 sacks, Jonathan Dextras intercepted two balls (and returned one for a touchdown) and the rest of the team did what they could to limit this potent First Downers offense.  On the other side of the ball, I do have my doubts about JP Mancini as a quarterback.  However, given his extensive experience and knowledge of the league he may be able to compensate with his lack of experience at the position with his football IQ. For this week however, Tune squad lose to the First Downers 29-19.

3M: Making Football Better

Prior to this season’s start Mysterious and Magical Men were one of the favorites to take it all.  They currently stand at 3-0 and are arguably the strongest team in the division.  That being said, star quarterback Matt Bishara has not looked sharp.  In fact if it wasn’t for Matt Bishara’s 3 defensive interceptions (of the team’s 6) MMM may not have made it past this game. Given that they play against the Centurions in one of the potential games of the week, Mysterious and Magical Men may need to step it up if they expect to stay atop the standings.

As for Ballz Deep, they stand at 1-2 and their quarterback Anthony Pistocsia has struggled.  In past seasons, when Ballz Deep would struggle, they would turn to FPF vet Vinny Gualano to turn the tide.  Without Gualano on the roster, who will they turn to in times of duress? Given that their roster card now indicates that JC Binette is on the team, he may be the answer.  MMM beat Ballz Deep 25-13.

 

5 Plays Till Halftime: 

Each week the Eagle at Master Control tries to trip me up and confuse me by sending over 5 quick fire questions.  I do my best to decipher them and return serve with the least amount of forethought as possible.  In any case, if you have some questions that you think should be addressed in the article please feel to tweet them to @EagleFPF (#5plays).

Eagle- Talk about a team that you’ve been avoiding on purpose.

Peeze- The team I haven’t really covered so far this season is Pardon My Swag.  As I haven’t watched them play this season I’m not sure whether or not their swag can in fact be exonerated.  It is my goal to watch every team by the end of the season and once I have seen this season’s PMS squad.

Eagle- What can you do if your offense has been struggling after the first 2-3 weeks?

Peeze- Alright guys, time to reset.  Keep it simple; you don’t need 46 plays in your playbook. Strip down your offense, keep it short, drive the field and start to build some consistency.  The teams that are most effective in this league are not the big strike offences but rather the consistent teams that have an offensive flow.

Eagle- Which undefeated team is a surprise? Which winless team surprises you?

Peeze- The Loose Cannons surprise me with their current 2-0 record.  Cody Hemsley has been a great acquisition.  He is an experienced quarterback and it allows JR Beausoliel to excel as a receiver.  My concern is that they have not been tested yet, however, with some challenges on the horizon, they will have a chance to prove their worth.

Standing at 0-3, Clinique Physio Impact (formerly Ecurie Bar et Tables) surprises me.  Anthony Bozzo had a great first season as a quarterback last winter.  This season we have seen him struggle and other than Vincent Vincelli (12 catches, 144 yards and 5 touchdowns), few other players scare me, given their performance. For that matter, he’s the only one caught any touchdowns on his team.  If they can’t get anyone else to elevate their game quickly, this will be a long season for Clinique Physio Impact.

Eagle- Have extra points become more or less important this season?

Peeze- Given that only 6 games have been decided by 4 points or less, it would appear that they have become less important.  That being said, once we move on later into the season and teams begin to lose close games it may affect playoff seating.  You never want to lose games where you scored as many or more touchdowns than the opposing team.

Eagle- Give me a reason to draft you in this season’s fantasy draft.

Peeze- Because I’m awesome! I have the speed of a windmill and the moves of a wild mailbox.

That being said, while I don’t expect to be drafted in this coming FPF fantasy draft, everyone’s favourite fantasy league is back and for the first time ever there will be a fantasy draft for every division.  Additionally, the division 4 and 5 drafts will be filmed and posted much like we did last season.  Moreover, the weekly results for the division 5 fantasy league will be posted in my article. Stay tuned for more info!!!

 

Tuesday Mid-Afternoon Running Back

Let’s review a couple of last week’s picks.  We will take a look at the result of the game, my initial thought process and we will see if it panned out the way I expected or if I was completely wrong.

Lachine Squad Utopians 6-Ballz Deep 18

Last Week’s Pick: Ballz Deep

The Thought Proccess: I have always been a fan of Bruno Pierre Pelletier but I have always had one major concern.  His style is very rhythmic and he tends to put the ball in a spot and expects for his receiver to be there.  When this works it is a fluid, high powered attack; when it doesn’t work it looks like that odd, funky-colored, waste infused liquid that the garbage truck leaves behind on a weekly basis.  In essence he has always run an offense that relies on timing and chemistry.  Pelletier seems to be missing his top targets from past seasons and it looks like he can’t get comfortable.

As for Ballz Deep, you know that you can expect a strong defensive outing week after week.  I wouldn’t say that they are an offensive juggernaut but I will say that they will put up a consistent number of points each week.  Consistency is underrated in this league but it does in fact equate success.

The Result: Pelltier struggled and LSU lost. On the other side of the ball Pitoscia was far from perfect but Ballz Deep did just enough to earn the win in this game.

Montreal’s Junior Finest 0-Speed Demons 7

Last week’s Pick: Montreal’s Junior Finest

The Thought Process: MJrF are actually a pretty solid team top to bottom.  I like Alex Russell and Brent Callender in particular and I thought that the Russell’s size and Eric Thomas quickness my pose a problem for the Speed Demons. 

The Speed Demons have a staunch defense but have struggled to find a consistent offense since their inception. Holden has had some good moments coupled with some tough times and they’ve never truly established a number 1 receiver.

The Result: I keep falling for Moe Khan.  He seems to systematically have an excellent week followed by a horrible one.  I can’t keep letting him play with my heart unless he promises that it’ll end like an Adam Sandler movie.  On a serious note, the Speed Demons defense took away any extra yards and made huge plays on many would be sure touchdowns. They weren’t great on offense but it was enough to win.  

Hit Squad 18-Dope Boys 26

Last week’s Pick: Hit Squad

The Thought Process: So I watched the Dope Boys week 1 game and while I was impressed with their raw ability I do think they have a lot to learn about how to be successful in this league.  They are still unfamiliar with the rules and offensively they aren’t running schemes to capitalize on the typical defenses that they’ll see in FPF.

I thought Hit Squad had enough experience to win this game on that alone.  Jared Humphrey is a rookie quarterback but my thinking was that he was surrounded with enough veteran leadership that he would develop quickly.

The Result:  The Dope Boys looked dope. They did not turn over the ball; Lalonde was effective and picked his way through the Hit Squad defense and in turn they held their ground on defence. In this game the raw athleticism of the Dope Boys reigned supreme.

Thursday’s Throw Away

If all goes well this article will go up on Thursday and it should remind everyone that you could tune in to the division 5 podcast live by visiting www.theunclehood.comat 8:00 pm EST.  Interact with us by tweet @EagleFPF and getting involved in the conversation.

Let me know what’s up [email protected] or you can reach me on Twitter @PeezeFPF.  For all poutine related inquiries you can hit up Terry Tam @TerryTamFPF.

For those who are more pleased aurally than visually please tune into and subscribe to Calling the Audible, available via iTunes or athttp://fpf.podomatic.com. This week, join me, and my usual co-host, Terry Tam as we discuss new-aged cap-related division dodging, the 5 best players that you’ve never heard of and we preview some upcoming games!

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