Peeze’s Playbook (Div 5) – Week 8 – FlagPlus Football League

Is it just me or did you also think that by this point in our world’s history we would have flying cars? Driving back and forth between games I began to realize how inefficient travelling on road is. It can’t be that hard to take the technology we already have: cars, planes, and flying carpets and use that knowledge to create the vehicular bliss promised in our youth. Other than training drivers to fly, worry about mid air automobile collisions and figuring out what exactly goes into a flux capacitor (3 parts moon sand, 1 part plutonium, 1 part coarse salt), what could be the delay?

Some teams have started to imagine their future already. For others the future is now, as one more loss would end their season. This is the most exciting part of the season. Memories are created and dreams fade but one thing is for certain Flag Football is hard to relate to 1980’s major motion pictures.

Weekly Overview

Team Ethink’s Playoff Parole Rejected?

Well, it isn’t yet. However, the road for Team Ethnik will be quite difficult. I would draw parallel’s to the Lord of the Rings movies but let’s get serious, those were three movies about walking through forests. This would be a real challenge.

Losing 24-18 against Lockdown does not help their cause. In reality, the game came down to the wire but it had begun so atrociously that they just seemed to run out of steam at one point. Trailing 18-0 in the first half, Team Ethnik really worked hard to pull themselves back into the game. To their credit, they never gave up even when Lockdown looked poised to walk away with it. Davide De Andrade had a big game on both sides of the ball (1 touchdown and 3 interceptions) and looked like he was going to come back to beat Lockdown almost singlehandedly.

That did not prove to be the case. Lockdown quarterback Gianfranco Ranaudo had started the game on fire. Then, about half way through he seemed to have lost his way. A great sign of maturity for Ranaudo in this game was that despite throwing 4 interceptions he was able to ‘shake it off’ and put together a final, winning drive. Geoffry Brown caught the game winner and Lockdown looks to be in top form.

Arkham: Not a Safe Haven for Roughnecks

Main bat Bruce Candussi looked great against the Roughnecks this week, putting up 7 touchdowns in a landslide victory (48-7). The team offence looked strong and the defense was stifling. Kendal Myers dropped what would have been a pick six but other than that one miscue they were picture-perfect.

Michael Sponza started at quarterback for the first time this season. Despite a rough outing he looked very good running the ball. While he would eventually need to be more successful passing the ball the Dark Knights did not seem to have an answer for his production on the ground. It was a tough go for the Roughnecks. Their schedule seems ever unrelenting as they face Lockdown and TCO (Total Carnage Orphanage) over the next two weeks.

Aces High

Aces smashed the Manatees 51-0 this week and Doug McKernan was on fire. Going 20/23 for 241 yards and scoring 8 touchdowns was, needless to say, a very impressive day at the office. Derek and Devin Daoust both caught multiple touchdowns while Brandon Taylor, Jordan Alexis and Evan Ely Nolet all added a touchdown of their own. Equally impressive was the Aces defense, which picked off the Manatees defense a NFL Blitz-like 8 times.

The Manatees are still adjusting in their first season. Having trouble adjusting to the league they have made roster moves and shifted the depth cart but answers have yet to reveal themselves. I do respect the fact that they keep trying week in and week out. While their post-season hopes have long since faded away I truly hope that they can play the role of the spoiler in the following weeks.

TCO Down for the Count

In a game that would decide who would win Conference B west, First Downers found a way to clinch it, beating TCO (38-32).

As Theberge appeared to be stuck in his own territory he heaved the ball over the middle on a post to Jonathan Legault. TCO defender and all around superstar Matthew Rupcic went up and swatted the ball down with two hands. A moment of joy turned to a moment of bewilderment as the yellow flag would soon indicate that defensive pass interference was called. It was a questionable call but this seemed to have a negative impact on the psyche of the boys in black. On the other side of the ball it seemed to re-invigorate the First Downers as Legault was able to run it in avoiding 3 would be de-flaggers on his way to the endzone.

This is a bad part of the season for TCO to have an identity crisis but it would appear to be the case. Who are they and are they really an elite team? An elite team typically does not blame the referees in a game where missed tackles and untimely sacks and turnovers were the norm. What is up with their personnel? With the game on the line is Akeem Hoyte Charles the go-to-guy or not? Who will step it up on defense when the team absolutely needs a stop? These are all questions they better answer before the playoffs.

Love Cows Graze on Green Lantern Corps

So far Green Lantern Corps have done enough to avoid The Blackest Night as described in the forbidden chapter of the Book of Oa. They still lead their division but will need to play much better than they have in order to maintain their position in the playoff race. In a 40-31 loss to the Love Cows Previllon and Cardichon were doing all they could to keep up. Mendy Cardichon caught 8 passes for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the end it was there inability to stop the Love Cow offense that would be their unraveling.

I have been hard on Yannick Doston all season. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that given the offensive talent around him the Love Cows should be as explosive as they were this week on a more consistent basis. The second reason is that Doston has ability and if he were to play at that level every week he could be one of the division’s best. The Love Cows have an outside chance at making the playoffs but they will also need a lot of help.

X-Men find the Antidote

Gautama Swaminadhan shredded the Venom defense all evening as the beloved mutants won by a score of 33-13. Venom had no answers for Wade Williams and Suhael Brohi who dealt the majority of the damage. The two receivers combined for more than half of Swaminadhan’s completions.

Venom held it close in the first half but were unable to adjust as the X-Men offense kept exploiting zone maintained half-heartedly, missed de-flag attempts and the inability of Venom to match up against the X-Men receivers. The biggest issue that I noticed was the offensive miscues. Granted quarterback, Mitchell Muir did not have his best game, however, I saw many dropped balls, players giving up on underthrown balls and backside receivers ‘dogging it’ on occasion. Muirhead needs to start playing better but he also needs a little help from his teammates.

The Hangover

The way the Hangover’s season started was very reminiscent of Doug Billings ill-fated bachelor party in the first ‘The Hangover’ movie. Despite taking some Early loses the Hangovers seem to be back on track. That being said they won a game they could have easily lost to the Dolphins. Pelletier had his second worst game of the season (quarterback rating of 66.2 and he only completed a third of his passes). However, this experienced group found a way to earn the victory.

Papadimitriou has looked solid in his first few starts. This game was no different. For much of the game the Dolphins seemed as though they would find a way to win. The key disparity in this one was the Dolphins inability to convert on extra points (they lost 21-18 in a game where both teams scored the same amount of touchdowns) and a pick six by Hangovers Michel Vallères. In the end the Dolphins had a chance to win it with 5 plays left, but they were unable to find the end zone.

Power Rankings:

I have never been so glad to include a list of teams ‘on the cusp’ because there are some great teams that fall just beyond the top ten. Unlike David Letterman, I choose not to be as rigid with my list and allow my readers to see whom else I’ve considered on any given week. Let’s start off with the top ten, shall we:

Checkmate- Not their best performance in week 8. The best teams find ways to win when things don’t go their way.
Black Ice- They demanded love after beating the Moose. They’ve earned it and they move up to second place.
First Downers- Clinched their division by beating TCO. They seem to be in playoff form.
Turf Toe Inc.- On last week’s Podcast my co-host Alex David referred to them as one-dimensional. TTI seems intent on proving him wrong.
Les Affreux- Every season, Les Affreux are one of the most exciting teams to watch. This season is no exception.
Two and a Half Dans- It is uncommon for a new team to have such a dangerous offense. The Dans are learning and improving week after week.
Moose- They lost to Black Ice this past week who are a very strong team.
Cougars- You can call going 1-1 in the two weeks that the Cougars were without Matthew Priess damage control. They will be even more dangerous upon his impending return.
Aces- Doug McKernan (colloquially referred to as McDoug in FPF Analyst circles) has his team rolling.

10. Project Mayhem- Norman Bellemare has got his groove back; the dude looked more like himself this past week.

Other teams receiving votes (As always, they are my votes and mine alone. Letterman’s votes were atrocious and appeared in the form of a restraining order):

J’s- Leading their division and their only two losses have come against Black Ice and Checkmate.
Primes- Have performed steadily all season. Their -5 in the +/- column scares me, however.
Hangovers- They won despite having a rough night on Monday. It’s starting to look like Hangover’s will
TCO- Haven’t beaten a team with a winning record this season. How good are they?
Lockdown-Looking better every week. If they win out it would mean that they would have won their last 6 games.
Jaggerbomb- Simon Duchesne has not looked great the past few weeks. The only way for a young quarterback to develop is to get more snaps.
Centurions- They have a tough end of the schedule where they will face off against Les Maloudes and Les Affreux in the final 2 weeks. Winning these games would be key in helping define their character.

The Peeze Awards

This week I’ve decided to offer my predictions regarding which players should win the FPF awards. I’ve named each award after the FPF analyst I least expect to win the award.

The Peeze awards are as useless as poorly translated idioms in intercontinental political affairs. They mean nothing, akin to the Lady Byng trophy, ridiculously grandiose statements, whether or not Morgan Freeman read your fan mail, or the quest to find out if an alternate version of yourself living in a parallel universe is more successful than you are. They are awards that are metaphorically given to people I think will win actual awards. In that way they are like pre-drinks at your buddies place. They are cheap, but man, are they awesome or what?

That being said they are the most significant honor one could receive. This week we pay tribute to those who has been ‘bringing the house down’ this season (avoir tomber la maison?) Morgan Freeman I know you’ll be checking your mailbox because for once Reeze Della Peeze’s news will pail in comparison. Roll out the red carpet and get welcome your Peeze award winners.

The Simon Dagenais Trophy

Awarded to the best performing quarterback this season– Doug McKernan Aces

McDoug has thrown for 1307 yards, 43 touchdowns and conversely, has only thrown 4 interceptions. His completion percentage is an astounding 68.6% and his QB rating is 120.8. These numbers are very similar to Frédéric Morissette of Moose. I give McKernan the edge due to the most underrated, hidden statistic in FPF: combined yardage. Given that most quarterbacks double as a team’s running back, in a situation where all else is equal, combined yardage is my tie breaker. While Morisette has nearly 200 more passing yards he has a total of 1,593. McKernan has a combined total of 1,639 and to me this was enough to sway my vote.

Joey Taylor is another notable nominee. As a rookie his 41 touchdowns, 4 interceptions and 1,267 yards are also worth a mention.

The Paolo Della Rocca Award

Receiver of the year– Geoffry Brown (Lockdown)

He is the forgotten one. Spurned by the four analysts who participated in this year’s fantasy draft, Geoff Brown has been on a tear. Brown has already put up career highs in receptions (42) yards (448) and touchdowns (16).

Jonathan Legault has had a very good season with 17 touchdowns but given that he only has 30 catches I do not believe he is in the running. I’m curious to see how Matthew Priess will make up for having missed two games. Prior to this he was a clear-cut favorite but will need to step it up upon his return.

The Alex D’Aquila Award

Defensive Player of the year- Justin Melrose (Centurions)

Justin has had a great season on multiple fronts. While he has intercepted as many passes as runner-up, Team Ethnik’s Davide De Andrade (9), he also has a remarkable amount of tackles (21) and PD’s (13). Black Ice’s Nyle Anderson is also in contention but the difference for me was that Melrose slightly eclipsed him on most categories, including touchdowns with 3.

The Daron Basmadjian Award

Best Two-way Player– David Daoust (Limetime)

David Daoust definitely made a case for himself so far this season. While catching 39 passes for 13 touchdowns, he has also sacked the opposing quarterback 14 times. While it is uncommon for rushers to win this award this is anything but a common season for a very talented FPF veteran.

Defending champion Michael Carbone is in strong contention for this award as well. Having caught 40 passes for 430 yards and 12 touchdowns all while having intercepted 6 passes is also impressive.

The GM Koletheras Award

Best General Manager (Team Builder)– Erminio Iadeluca

Technically, Erminio would not be eligible for this award as he also plays in division 4. However, this award is entirely made up so there are no rules. Erminio has done a great job of pooling the talent around him and creating a very threatening Cougars team. Seeing last winter’s Crooklyn Dodgers split up into three teams perplexed me. However, now that all three are solid, competitive teams I would suggest that this was the best move after all. All this taken into consideration Erminio’s Cougars have been the greatest benefactors.

New Faces

Shawn Lafortune – Les Maloudes

Shawn has had a very good first season throwing 25 touchdowns to 5 interceptions and 941 yards passing in only 6 games. This week, LaFortune played his best game of his rookie campaign. Completing 90.5% of his passes to go along with 6 touchdowns is a monster game. This week we saw his highest quarterback rating (141.6) which is saying a lot considering his QB ratings leading up to this game were 128.0, 123.0, 95.1 and 83.2. Les Maloudes will need to win and get some help to get into the playoffs. LaFortune has the ability to get them there.

The League of Really Ordinary Gentlemen

So, the Eagle at Master Control is still up. This is all very disappointing. I have to start questioning my life choices. To be honest, I think I’ve done ok considering that Matthew Priess was MIA and given the apparent fact that Alex Lewis no longer plays offence.

In the end I’m just satisfied that Simon Dagenais (@DagenaisFPF) has such a horrendous team. This is not to take anything away from his players who are all individually talented; they just do not serve him well in the dominion of the fantastical. My favorite anecdote about his team is that he had made a selection out of turn, used that pick to choose Geoffry Brown (would have been second in fantasy points), and then given the opportunity to choose him again, he went with another player.

Here’s the breakdown:

Teams:

Pos.	G.M. Koletheras Dances with Love Cows	Peeze The Big Poppa Peezes	Simon Dagenais Dragonateurs	The Eagle Birds of Prey
QB.	(1)Doug McKernan (Aces)	(1) Mark Andre Theberge (First Downers)	(1)Frederic Morrissette (Moose)	(1)Joe Taylor (Two and a Half Dans)
QB.	(7)Mathieu Domon (Affreux)	(5)Simon Duchesne (Jaggerbomb)	(2) Shawn Lafortune (Les Maloudes)	(5) Brad Puklicz (Kingdom)
WR	(2)Tony Testa (Primes)	(2) Matthew Priess (Cougars)	(3)WR: Alexandre Chasse (Js)	(2)Michael Carbone (Checkmate)
WR	(3)Frederic Fortier (First Downers	(3)Dave Daoust (Limetime)	(5)Jonathan Frate (Big Blue Wrecking Crew)	(3)Jonathan Legault (First Downers
WR	(4)Anthony Da Ponte (Black Ice)	(6)Alex Haddad (Young Bloodz)	(6) Simon Lahaie (Love Cows)	(4)Derek Daoust (Aces)
WR	(5)Andre Frederick (Tyrants)	(7)Patrice Clement (The Hangovers)	(7)Niel Etinson (Bearskins)	(7) James Nowakowski (Prj. Mayhem)
WR	(6)Emilio Cecere (Kingdom)	(8) Alex Lewis (Speed Demons)	(8) Akeem Hoyte-Charles (TCO)	(8) Suhael Brohi (X-Men)
DEF	(8)Checkmate	(4) Defense: Kingdom	(4) Turf Toe Inc	(6)Jaggerbomb
Scoring	1263.9	1205.7	1032.0	1299.8

*For information bout scoring please refer to Week 5 of my article, Peeze’s Playbook.

Reflections Rants and Ravings

Doug McKernan took himself out of the game when Aces were beating up on the Manatees. I applaud him for keeping it classy.
The dudes from Big Blue Wrecking Crew are the biggest collection of guys I’ve ever seen. For some reason, I thought they would make a great Saturday morning cartoon series where they would party with MC Hammer and help keep the streets safe.
For weeks, X-Men looked to be out of it but they may still win their division. That would be the only way they could make the playoffs.
TCO can no longer claim the division. It is now firmly in the possession of First Downers.
The Roughnecks started to play a little rough and a little dirty once they were down big. Considering that the Dark Knights were not even running up the game intentionally, this was very inappropriate.
Imagine Shakespeare had Michael Bay’s access to special effects. It would be poetic, beautiful and explode-y all at once.

Predictions

So I tried to take more chances this past week as I was so far behind Simon Dagenais. That plan backfired dramatically. I went 17-7 to his 18-7 bringing our season totals to 89-55 to his 97-47. Much like Dylan Thomas, I will not go gentle into the good night; instead I intend to go down swinging. A little known fact about Dylan Thomas, he was a badass bare-fisted fighter. A little known fact about me: I love playing the part of the underdog. Here are my picks:

Young Bloodz vs Venom

BearSkins vs Crooklyn Dodgers

Ecurie Bar et Tables vs Project Mayhem

Kingdom vs Hamsterdam Cornerboys

Centurions vs Les Maloudes

The Hangovers vs Ballz Deep

Golden Girls vs Overthrowners

C Difficile vs Les Albatros

J’s vs Those Guys

Moose vs Limetime

Big Blue Wrecking Crew vs Speed Demons

Black Ice vs Fools of the Country

Lockdown vs Roughnecks

Two and a half Dans vs Warhawks

Les Affreux vs Jaggerbomb

Aces vs Dark Knights :

C’mon Man! Vs TCO

X-Men vs Green Lantern Corps

Pendant Publishing vs Dolphins

Manatees vs Turf Toe Inc

Loose Cannons vs Flying Comics

First Downers vs Team Ethnik

Love Cows vs Tyrants

Primes vs Cougars

Playoff Picture

Checkmate and First Downers have clinched their divisions and a playoff spot. The rest of the playoff picture is coming into form. While we see some names have been crossed off, for the most part the chairs to the big-boys table are still available.

Imagine the playoff picture as a portrait of Dorian Gray, while some teams can live in the realm of possibility others must stay behind, grounded in the reality of their own circumstance.

Conference A		Points	Wins	+/-	Divisional
1	First Downers (X,Y)	14	7	103	2-0
2	Cougars	12	6	91	3-0
3	Les Affreux	12	6	23	3-0
4	Green Lantern Corps	8	4	28	1-2
5	Project Mayhem	12	6	85	3-0
6	Primes	11	5	-5	2-1
7	TCO	10	5	80	2-1
8	Jaggerbomb	10	5	-10	2-1
9	Centurions	10	5	24	1-2
10	Ecurie Bar Et Tables	10	5	9	1-2
11	Lockdown	10	5	-16	1-2
12	Dark Knights	10	4	26	2-1
13	Les Maloudes	8	4	30	1-2
14	Les Albatros	8	4	9	1-2
14	C Difficile	8	4	9	1-2
16	C’Mon Man!	7	3	-20	2-0
17	Crooklyn Dodgers	7	3	-88	0-3
18	Tyrants	6	3	0	2-1
19	Young Bloodz	6	3	21	2-1
20	Love Cows	5	2	-24	2-1
21	X-Men	4	2	-49	2-1
22	Team Ethnik	4	2	22	1-3
23	Venom	3	1	-136	0-3
24	BearSkins	2	1	-88	0-3
25	Roughnecks	0	0	-200	0-3

Conference B		Points	Wins	+/-	Divisional
1	Checkmate (X,Y)	16	8	117	3-0
2	Black Ice (X)	14	7	61	3-0
3	Turf Toe Inc (X)	13	6	86	3-0
4	J’s	11	5	22	2-0-1
5	Two and a Half Dans (X)	14	7	116	2-1
6	Aces	12	6	106	2-1
7	Limetime	12	6	129	1-2
8	Moose	12	6	119	1-2
9	Speed Demons	9	4	43	2-1
10	Those Guys	9	4	41	1-2
11	The Hangovers	8	4	23	2-0
12	Kingdom	8	4	3	2-1
13	Big Blue Wrecking Crew	8	4	-15	1-2
14	Overthrowners	7	3	-37	1-1-1
15	Flying Comics	7	3	9	1-2
16	Golden Girls	6	3	5	2-1
17	Warhawks	6	3	-38	2-1
18	Ballz Deep	6	3	-65	1-2
19	Warriors	6	3	-40	0-3
20	Pendant Publishing	5	2	-29	1-1
21	Loose Cannons	4	2	-80	2-1
22	Dolphins	4	2	-68	1-2
23	Fools of the Country	2	1	-86	0-3
24	Manatees	2	1	-201	0-4
25	Hamsterdam Cornerboys	0	0	-148	0-3

*X denotes having clinched a playoff spot.

**Y denotes having one division

***Having this chart denotes the hard labor of one Eagle at Master Control. May his flight always be safe and under control.

The Weekly Wrap-Up

Let us know what you think of the articles, the podcast or pre-Newtonian physics by emailing me at [email protected] or hit me up on twitter @PeezeFPF. If you hate the show or my article then maybe you need to look within and look for peace.

Last week’s Calling the Audible was hosted by a future Hall of Famer Alex David, this week we see current hall of famer, Daron Basmadjian suit up and talk about the comings and goings of division 5. Subscribe via iTunes or at listen in at: http://fpf.podomatic.com, to see what the fuss is about. This week we will be guests from Project Mayhem, including Justin Occhionero and this week’s call-in will be Ermionio and Adamo Iadeluca of Cougars and Primes (respectively). This week’s musical theme is: West Coast Rap Pale Ale.