Playing For Keeps: The Homestretch – FlagPlus Football League

We saw the powerhouses flex their might this week, as Royals, SMYTD and Impeccable D all made huge statements with their wins…Smash Bros continue to float under the radar with spectacular defense….Going Deep put up a gutty win for nothing but pride and officially knock MVE out of the race. Can they do it again this week to HFTH?…There are a glut of players still vying for defensive player of the year; this one’s up for grabs this week to whoever wants it most…Speaking of whoever wants it most, Red Wave or Nuggets, you win and you’re in, so who’s gonna step up?…Can the Blue Chips right their wrongs at the 11th hour and salvage their season vs Smash Bros?…One thing’s for certain, this is not the week to pack it in…

This is Playing For Keeps: Week 10 edition.

Highlights:

Jagerbomb Down the Bearskins

Jagerbomb showed up to the field with major determination and grit in a game that they needed to win to close out their position in the playoffs. They would do just that in a 41-32 victory over Bearskins. Simon Duchesne is a big game pitcher and he came up with a gem in this one, posting 256 combined yards and 6 TDs. Francois Hogue was the primary target on this night, with 67 yards and 2 TDs on 5 catches. Jeremie Lavoie-Patry supplied the big plays offensively, with 70 yards and 1 TD on 3 catches. Jagerbomb’s offense is a machine, as guys take turns rotating in the spotlight each week.

Bearskins needed some spares to fill out their roster this week, and it showed up in the final stats, as their offense seemed a little out of whack. Neil Etinson tried to keep up pace with Duchesne, with 187 pass yards and 5 TDs, but his 3 INTs were back breakers as he had no choice but no force feed Bertoldi and Papich in tight coverage. The pair had a solid day, combining for 121 yards and 4 TDs.

Defense was the key in this one, as Bearskins were unable to get consistent pressure on Duchesne and their makeshift defensive alignment couldn’t match up to a fine-tuned offense gearing towards the playoffs. Jagerbomb banded together to thwart the Bearskins, as Daloze, Doston and Cloutier all chipped in an INT on defense.

Jagerbomb close out the season with a well-balanced showdown with SMYTD, while Bearskins look to regain their momentum with a matchup vs a desperate FiLP team.

Winner winner, chicken dinner

NoName and Smash Bros faced off in a matchup that would secure a playoff spot for the winner, while pushing the loser to grind their teeth in week 10. As expected in a matchup between two gritty defenses, it was a low scoring affair with plenty of defensive plays and key stops. In the end Smash Bros would emerge victorious 25-18, and book their ticket to the first round of the playoffs.

Justin Lerner was the key difference maker in this game, matching the NoName offense on his own with 7 catches for 46 yards and 3 TDs. Jonathan Garfinkle added the rest for Smash Bros, with 5 catches for 39 yards and a TD. On the NoName side, Jonathan Grizzley and Hinsley Adams did their best, with a combined 8 catches for 117 yards and 2 TDs.

The NoName defense gave their offense more than enough opportunities to close out the game, with 3 INTs between Grizzley, White and Chabot. However, the Smash Bros defense were able to force multiple turnover on downs, backed by Vladimir Pirrus’s 3 sack performance and Garfinkle’s INT.

Smash Bros will try to squash the Blue Chips hopes of making the playoffs this week, and they’ll certainly look forward to competing in the playoffs and finally getting the attention they deserve. NoName have put themselves behind the 8 ball, as they’ll need to beat the powerhouse Commission team if they want a solid chance to retain the 6th and final playoff spot.

Playoff Scenario:

*Please consider this as a primer for playoff standings. Not all possible scenarios will be covered below and there are bound to be some missing scenarios for each team. It REMAINS SOLEY YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to study and understand the playoff scenarios for your particular team. If you have a particular question regarding your team’s playoff scenario, please message a league representative for further clarification.

Conference A

	EQUIPE	GP	W	L	PF	PA	PTS	+/-	DIV
1	The Commission	9	8	1	343	240	16	103	[6-1-0]
2	Backyard Bullies	9	6	3	256	209	12	47	[6-1-0]
3	Show Me Your TDs	9	6	3	248	213	12	35	[4-3-0]
4	Junkyard Dogs	9	5	4	268	204	10	64	[4-3-0]
5	Jagerbomb	9	5	4	259	286	10	-27	[4-3-0]
6	noname©	9	3	6	179	228	6	-49	[3-4-0]
7	Blue Chips	9	3	6	293	265	6	28	[2-6-0]
8	Home for the Hollandaise	9	3	6	214	270	6	-56	[2-5-0]
9	Going Deep	9	2	7	138	263	4	-125	[1-6-0]

Seeds 6 through 8 remain on the bubble right now, as there remains only a few scenarios that can play out this weekend for the final 6th seed.

From Simon Dagenais:

No Name clinches with a win, OR Losses from HFTH AND Blue Chips.
Blue Chips clinches with a win and a loss from HFTH AND No Name.
HFTH clinches with a win AND a loss from No Name.

Non-Bubble Scenarios:

SMYTDs could clinch a bye with a win + Bullies loss.
If Jagerbomb wins week 10 vs SMYTDS, they’d steal the 3rd seed and SMYTDs falls to 4th.
Junkyard Dogs will remain 4th seed if Jagerbomb loses. Drops to 5th if Jagerbomb wins regardless of their own game.

Conference B

	EQUIPE	GP	W	L	PF	PA	PTS	+/-	DIV
1	Royals	9	9	0	297	160	18	137	[7-0-0]
2	BearSkins	9	7	2	270	237	14	33	[6-1-0]
3	Impeccable D	9	6	3	272	226	12	46	[5-2-0]
4	Smash Bros	9	5	4	215	194	10	21	[4-4-0]
5	Friends in Low Places	9	3	6	206	272	6	-66	[3-4-0]
6	Red Wave	9	3	6	221	242	6	-21	[2-5-0]
7	Nuggets	9	3	6	197	264	6	-67	[2-5-0]
8	Texas BareManz	9	2	7	201	254	4	-53	[2-5-0]
9	MVE	9	2	7	217	267	4	-50	[1-6-0]

A bit more complicated than Conference A, seeds 5 through 8 remain on the playoff bubble heading into the final week.
Winner of Red Wave vs Nuggets clinches playoffs.
Texas BareManz could still make the playoffs IF they win + FILP loses and they maintain a better PA than FILP and the loser of Red Wave/Nuggets.
If Red Wave wins, FILP could drop out if Texas Baremanz loses + FILP loses out.
If Nuggets win, FILP clinches even if they lose IF Texas BareManz loses also.

Non-Bubble Scenarios:

Royals clinched 1st seed and Bye.
BearSkins clinched 2nd seed and Bye.
FILP cannot go higher than 5th seed.
Smash Bros locked in as 4th seed.
Impeccable D locked in as 3rd seed.

Weekly Fantasy Football:

Week 9 (Final)

A nice bounce back week for my team, allowing me to tie the series and move within range for the overall score.

My receivers pulled through in a big way this week, headlined by Ryan Aridi with his 4 catch, 62 yard and 2 TD performance in the win vs JYD. Alexis Gaumont continued his recent excellent for SMYTD with 2 TDs of his own, netting me 50% of Jesse Dupuis’ TD output. Danny’s receivers were his downfall this week, as he lost the position battle by 22.1 points.

Both QBs had average games statistically, which was a bit of a letdown at this point of the season. Francois Hogue is the fantasy player of the week, narrowly edging out Ryan with a 5 catch, 67 yard and 2 TD game. Nice pick by Danny in that spot. Sash Papich had a solid game as well, but both 2WAY players failed to record any defensive stats.

On to week 10 for the win…

Alex Danny

QB: Gabriel Côté (21.56) QB: Jesse Dupuis (19.6)

WR: Ryan Aridi (22.2) WR: Jared Buck (7.1)

WR: Alexis Gaumont (18.3) WR: Julien Bellevance (5.8)

WR: Nicolas Saro (7) WR: Mathieu Rene (12.5)

2W: Sasha Papich (16.8) 2W: Francois Hogue (23.7)

DEF: MVE (21) DEF: Smash Bros (24)

Final Score: (106.86) Final Score: (92.7)

Record: 4-4

Overall Score: (860.92 – 840.4 Danny)

Week 10

Alex Danny

QB: Jordan Mitchell QB: Simon Dagenais

WR: Daniel O’Connor WR: Kevin Smuda

WR: Jacob Bernett WR: Nicolas Saro

WR: Justin Lerner WR: Vincent Lauzon

2W: Vinny Gualano 2W: Vince Nardone

DEF: The Commission DEF: Nuggets

***The standard scoring will apply as follows:

QB: 25 pass yards = 1 pt, 1 pass TD = 4 pts, 1 INT = -2 pts

Receiving/Rush: 10 yards = 1 pt, 1 TD = 6 pts, 1 REC = 1 pt

DEF: 1 TKL = 0.5 pt, 1 SK = 2 pts, 1 PD = 1 pt, 1 INT = 3 pts, 1 TD = 4 pts

Points Allowed (0): 15 points

Points Allowed (1-6): 11 points

Points Allowed (7-13): 9 points

Points Allowed (14-20): 7 points

Points Allowed (21-27): 5 points

Points Allowed (28-34): 3 points

Points Allowed (35-41): 0 points

Points Allowed (42+): -3 points

Power Ranking

Royals (9-0):

The offense has cooled off considerably in the second half, but the defense has ramped up their effort by several levels. As a team, they are beyond reproach. They’ve passed every test so far and look to wrap up the perfect regular season this week.

The Commission (8-1):

Showed championship grit in their ability to battle back from an early deficit vs FiLP and calmly seal the victory down the stretch. They are a tough team to beat and should be gearing up for a deep playoff run, with their sights set on the Royals in the finals.

Bearskins (7-2):

Showed some vulnerability for the first time in several weeks in the loss to Jager. Their Achilles heel, as always, is their lack of roster depth. Etinson will need to limit the turnovers to 1 per game in the playoffs for them to push for the finals.

Backyard Bullies (6-3):

Three straight losses against the top 3 teams on this list. I’d like to think they will shake it off and fine tune for playoffs…but part of me believes that these losses have to hurt their confidence somewhat. A nice bounce back win this week will go a long way to getting their swagger back.

Impeccable D (6-3):

Did what they needed to do and edged out JYD in the hottest contested game this week. You may say that not much separates teams in a 1 point victory, but finding a way to edge out that victory makes all the difference in this game of inches. They’re looking to make some noise in the second round of the playoffs.

Show Me Your TDs (6-3):

They’re a wrecking ball, smashing their way through the division over the past 5 games. The dark horse for conference A, they should be getting the Commission and the Bullies a bit worried heading into the tournament.

Junkyard Dogs (5-4):

Battled admirably vs Big D this past week…but as has been the storyline for their season so far, they continue to just flirt with success, falling just short each time they make another inspired attempt. Hopefully they’ve saved their best for last, and will go on the ultimate run to The Road Show.

Jagerbomb (5-4):

They’re hot, they’re cold, they’re up, they’re down…but yet, here they are…in the top 8 and ready for yet another Cinderella playoff run that defies all logic and expectations. I’d be worried if I drew them in the first round of the playoffs, they become a different beast this time of the season.

Weekly Awards

QB:

Jordan Mitchell – Blue Chips:

14/27 – 145 yards – 5 TD/0 INT – 107.3 QBR

7 rush – 59 yards – 1 TD

The leader of the Blue Chips stepped up BIG when his team needed it the most; breaking the month and a half losing streak and keeping their playoff hopes alive for another week. These are the types of games that demonstrate his potential at the position. An offseason of further development will go a long way to making these performances more common in 2018.

WR:

Guillaume Fontaine – Nuggets:

5 catches – 86 yards – 3 TDs

Former Warhawks weapon subbed in for the first time this season and put on his best Sam Phaneuf impression in the defeat. His return presence in week 10, paired with Phaneuf and Ladouceur, would be monumental in helping Nuggets defeat Red Wave and clinch a final playoff spot.

DEF:

G.M. Kolethras – Royals:

10 Tackles

It must have been something he ate. The long time FPF veteran put on a clinic this week in short zone coverage, flying around the field and making key yardage stopping plays. He was a major contributor in the defensive clamp down put on the Bullies in the win. To prove it was no fluke, he also added another 7 tackles in his div E game. I’ll have an order of whatever he’s having, please.

2WAY:

Jesse Dupuis – SMYTD:

12/16 – 140 yards – 4 TD/2 INT – 101 QBR

1 TK – 3 INT – 1 TD

Since his arrival, SMYTD are 5-0 and have yielded under 20 PA per game. There could be an argument made that he should be considered for the 2WAY award, even with 3 games less than his competition. The QB stats in this game were solid, if unspectacular, but were enough to seal the win. His greatest contribution was on defense, however, where he single-handedly took the game over with his zone-crashing interceptions. If he misses out on seasonal awards, he should surely contend for the playoff award if he continues to guide SMYTD on this undefeated path.

The Unheralded:

These guys may not get their names enshrined on the individual awards this season, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t take a moment to recognize their game. Read below for a list of some of the most impressive individual performers to grace the field in div C this spring:

Ryan Aridi – Impeccable D

35 Rec – 444 YDS – 12 TDs

22 TKL – 1 INT – 6 SK – 2 PD

Ryan has long been known in FPF circles as one of the elite pass rushers in the history of the game, and arguably the best ever. Over the past few seasons, however, he’s been diversifying his game and shaping himself into a legitimate offensive weapon. With 35 yards and 2 TDs in week 10 he would produce his all-around best statistical season at receiver. He’s the top receiving threat for an Impeccable D team loaded with offensive depth, and commands the sort of defensive attention on the outside that frees up space underneath for Jad and Farag. There are very few in this division that can take the top off the defense like him. His versatility on defense is also huge for Big D, as he patrols the secondary like a sheriff, but can unleash his lethal pass rush at a moment’s notice whenever called upon.

Jonathan Garfinkle – Smash Bros

14 REC – 162 YDS – 4 TDs

28 TKL – 2 INTs – 3 PDs

Smash Bros are perhaps the most criminally underrated team in this division. Not given much of a chance preseason, they’ve defied everyone’s expectations so far on route to a respectable 5-4 record in an incredibly tough division. It’s easy to overlook them because their offense is stagnant at times, but to do so would be a horrible injustice to this phenomenal defense. On a team headlined by a rapidly rising star in Justin Lerner, the defensive pulse of this team is an equally rising star in FPF, Jonathan Garfinkle. He and Patrice Lindor have teamed up to impose their will on opposing offenses, and carry Smash Bros to a playoff spot. Garfinkle is a rangy safety with underrated athleticism, who can take away large zones of the field and close gaps in a hurry. It’s no surprise to see him excelling in this division.

Zackary Alberts-Gill – The Commission

2 TKL – 13 SKs – 1 PD

This is his first foray into the higher divisions in FPF, after a monster winter season in div 6 where he registered a mind altering 29 sacks! It’s safe to say at this point that the gamble paid off handsomely for the Commission, as his constant pressure has forced opposing QBs to rush throws into the teeth of their dangerous secondary. He’s gotten his sacks in bunches this season, with 5 vs Home For the Hollandaise and 3 vs Going Deep, but his ability to keep QBs infront of him and take away key passing lanes is indicative of an intelligent rusher that understands the nuances of the position. With playoff showdowns against mobile QBs like Rich Humes and Jesse Dupuis ahead, it will be imperative for him to transition his momentum into the playoffs if Commission hope to cash out their phenomenal season with a finals appearance.

Maxime Giroux – Royals

22 REC – 149 YDS – 8 TDs

10 TKL – 1 INT – 2 PD

Max was a meteorically rising offensive star in FPF, posting 734 yards in winter 2016 with Fellowship and 17 TDs with the Predators. Then misfortune struck, as a knee injury cut short his strong spring 2016 season with Top Sauce, and forced him to miss Winter 2017 in recovery mode. He worked himself back into better shape than ever and now finds himself as a key offensive contributor on the best team in the division. He’s playing the role of finisher this year, Cory Johnson’s favorite go-to around the redzone. While guys like Chris Milard and Justin Maclean move the chains downfield, Giroux picks his spots and uses his silky route running and effortless speed to get open in the back of the endzone. If the Royals will complete their destiny this spring and get to the championship game, it will be in large part due to the playoff contributions of this field assassin.

Predictions

Danny and I are neck and neck as we go down to the wire in week 10 for the crown. With so much on the line, this week will essentially come down to 4 games that we disagree on. Who will fortune favor as the victor of the sweet tasting pitcher of beer?

Alex (52-27)

Danny (52-27)

Alex Danny

Bearskins FiLP

Red Wave Red Wave

Royals Royals

SMYTD Jagerbomb

Smash Bros Blue Chips

HFTH HFTH

Impeccable D Impeccable D

Commission Commission

JYD Backyard Bullies

That’s it for this week! Week 9 of FPF is officially in the books, and week 10 is set to start up soon. See how fast it goes! I’ve truly enjoyed covering your division this season and I hope that I’ve done it justice each week. For all of those who’ve been eliminated from the playoffs, I hope that you continue to tune in to the league because the playoffs will definitely be intense this season. With the FPF Cup on the way, it’s a great opportunity to watch some high caliber ball and gain some insights for the fall season. As always, if you have any feedback, concerns, comments or just want a shoulder to lean on you can reach out to me @alexholowach1 on Twitter, or hit me up on Facebook. If you’re craving more div C content please check out the Calling the Audible podcast featuring GM and Justin, it’s a healthy dose of sophisticated silliness to get you through the week. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and make sure to check back next week to find out how week 10 shook out!