Playoff News, GIF Kingdom and Friday Night Lights

Iggy Magnets back here for your Week 4 article for Div C. We’ve got some exciting news to announce about the Div C playoff format, and you know I got you covered. Keep reading to get the insider info of how the post-season will go down. This week’s article will include some more punch, but also still contain the classics: the Week 4 Fantasy Roster of the Week, updated Division Power Rankings, the FPF analysts pick their favorites in the Game Picks of the week for the upcoming week, Week 4 Game Recaps, and we preview games for the next week in FPF. Let’s get ‘er started, but first, a few divisional thoughts, and some random one’s…

Division Headlines and other Shenanigans

• Ouch! EZW off to a dismal 0-4 start to their season😭😭. At a closer glance though, 2 of those losses are by a single point. They could easily be 2-2, but that’s the thin line between an FPF victory and defeat!
• Aaron Rodgers is a strange one. I get it, they made you “look bad” by drafting Jordan Love without telling you about it, and then you made GB management look silly by being the 2020 NFL MVP… if you don’t want to stay in Green Bay, then leave! I know it isn’t as simple as that, but still.
• In reading Peeze’s article from last week… he makes a good point with his “Incredible Thought”: A peeled banana is the world’s ice cream cone. The more I thought of this, I think he meant to say that a banana peel is Earth’s/nature’s version of an ice cream cone… The guy has some illuminating thoughts.
• Ummmm… Seattle Kraken? How did you come away with such a terrible team on your draft day? Maybe there’s more too it in the form of trades or maybe they offer sheet a RFA, but as of Wednesday night (when this is being written)… fire Ron Francis!!
• 2 undefeated teams (The Infantry, Blessed) and 3 winless teams (Silent Ticklers, Ballz Deep, EZW). Which winless team is most in trouble?
• SHIT’s Jake Applebaum threw for over 300 yards this past week… ummm… 200 passing yards in FPF is considered a really good game, and he did that in his first 2 games this season, and now 304? He was off by just 26 yards to be in the Top 10 of All-Time in Passing yards in a single game, WOW!
• I’m coming pretty damn close in game preview predictions… Predicted score: SHIT 32-EZW 31 Actual score: SHIT 33-EZW-32
• Anyone notice that Stephen Harripersaud hasn’t thrown a pick yet in 4 games? 24 TDs and 0 INTs with a 71% completion rate and a 131.9 QBR on the season. What is this guy’s ceiling in FPF???
• Blue Dreamers are often known for their offensive outputs, but 88 Points Against in 4 games in a very offensive division is pretty damn good.
• Time to make these articles feel a little more like 2021… more GIF inclusions.
• Notice anything different in the standings? 10 teams in green! 👀👀

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Week 4 Game Recaps

Mangoose 27 – 26 Silent Ticklers

First thing I see from this game is that Mangoose won without their starting pivot, Nic Schaefer, behind centre, so already there, Mangoose should be really happy with the win. But to do so in the comeback fashion that they did, down 13 at the half and down 26-14 with about 7-8 minutes left.. they were ecstatic. The FPF turning point in the game was Thomas Coutu’s consecutive sacks on Jordan Panneta on 3rd and 4th down, giving the ball back to his offense, and who else but Coutu stepping up once again, this time scoring an 8 yard TD on 4th down to tie the game. They followed it up by converting the huge 1-XP attempt that put Mangoose up for good in this game. I actually had the chance to speak to Chaz Presser, who ended the game with 3 receptions for 45 yards, when they were up 12 with 7 minutes left and he seemed to think they had the game all but wrapped up, and was at a loss for words when they didn’t come away with the win.

The Silent Ticklers started the game with a bang, as Panetta hooked up with the speedy Adam Rosen for a 40-bomb to quickly go up 7, after the ST’s converted their first point after attempt. Panetta actually started the game quite hot, scoring on his first three drives and going 5/9, which is not great, but for 81 yards and 3 TDs. Defensively, they did a great job defensively in terms of containing Coutu for about 38 minutes of this game (he ended up with 2 catches for 12 yards and 1 TD), but Felix-Antoine Lavigne did a great job himself of spreading the ball to his talented receivers, notably Dominic Perron and Christophe Lapointe, who between them racked up 9 receptions for 92 yards and 3 TDs.

The Tickler’s were missing all-star snapper, all-time pest, but all-time teammate, Tony Khoury in the game, and were as well missing Jean-Richard Verger; two key pieces that they could have used to come away with the victory. One thing the Silent Ticklers are missing this season is a rusher, with just 1 sack on the season, and F-A Lavigne took full advantage, running 5 times for 32 yards, which isn’t a boat-load of yards, but if you think of it, it’s essentially it’s the length of 1 touchdown drive. Conversely, Coutu is one of the best rusher’s in FPF, and likely the best in Div C and showed it with those back-to-back sacks that really surged Mangoose’s comeback victory.

Mangoose Player of the Game: Christophe Lapointe – 6 receptions on 8 targets, 50 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 3 tackles, 2 PDs.

Silent Ticklers Player of the Game: Jordan Panetta – 16/30, 178 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 2 tackles, Defensive 1 INT

Top Sauce 26 – 13 Ballz Deep

Don’t get me wrong, Justin Weir is a great athlete and is accumulating his wealth of FPF experience, but my analysis is that Div C is a step above his pay-grade, yet he would likely be amongst the top QBs in Div D, so he does find himself in quite the predicament this season in terms of where he slots in. While Div C might be a notch too high for him, it will definitely get him that experience he needs to play against similar competition in future seasons. In this game, he had his best completion percentage of the season at 73%, going 16 for 22, but the problem is only putting up 99 yards and 2 TDs, not to mention the 2 INTs that came with the performance.

On the other side, while Pat Jazon had a sub-par 50% completion rate, but did a better job protecting the ball, not throwing a pick. He did however turn the ball over on downs, but DK Riley made a big interception on the very next play to give his QB the ball right away. Additionally, Jazon started the game by scoring on his first 3 drives, and scored on 4/5 drives overall. And honestly, this game came down to efficiency. Top Sauce was able to score a TD on every 8 plays while it took Ballz Deep 14 plays to score a TD. It’s tough to get the win when you only get 4 first downs and 2 trips to the redzone like Ballz Deep did.

Apart from highlighting Darnell Kevis Riley‘s outstanding performance, there wasn’t much more to this game than what was already mentioned. Riley’s 2 TD performance and pick got him the player of the game award for Top Sauce.

Top Sauce Player of the Game: Darnell Kevis Riley – 4 receptions on 6 targets, 52 yards, 2 TDs, 1 Defensive INT

Ballz Deep Player of the Game: Matthew Peacock: 4 receptions on 4 targets, 58 yards, 1 TD, 1 tackle, 2 PDs

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Week 5 Game Previews

Les Gros Coqs (1-3) vs. Les Centaures (1-2)

Strange to see that both teams have losing records, as these franchises are usually on the winning side of most football games, but that’s the stiff competition Div C has to offer, and honestly, what a Division it is! Week after week there are awesome matchups to look forward to, and this is surely one of them.

Tale of the Tape: Les Gros Coqs are averaging 20.5 points per game. That’s going to have to change that this week when facing Les Centaures, who themselves have been giving up an average of 36.67 points per game. Putting up 6 TDs is definitely a recipe for success in FPF, and this game will be won by the team who’s able to get to 6 TDs first. Usually Alex Bresse is the team’s leading receiver each year by quite a bit, but Dom Lefort is doing a very nice job of distributing the ball amongst Boris Gagnier and Thomas Lemay in particular, and a little less so, Vincent Granata.

Dom has focused slightly more on the passing game this year, averaging 2.67 runs per game compared to his average of 3.5. That might not seem like much, but in season’s past, where he’s averaged more than a first down per rushing attempt (13 yards per run), that’s 1 less time each game where they are gaining a critical first down. In fact, that is one area in which they are struggling this year, as they sit in 11th out 13 teams in first down department, with just 20 in their first 4 games. While we often hear that the higher you go up in FPF, the more you need a passing QB and the less effective a running QB is, but Dom can’t change who he is. He might be overthinking it a little, as he’s already in double-digit INTs (10) with a career-low 55.6 completion %. It might sound like I’m shitting on the guy, but what I’m getting at is that this offense is at its best when he has defenses on their toes, guessing what his next move is gonna be. Another possible reason for his early season struggles is an injury he suffered in the first game of FPF Cup 2020; he may be carrying a lingering injury there, but only he and his teammates would know.

For Les Centaures, this game will be their 2nd of the night, as they face off against The Infantry, which FYI, has been selected as FPF’s official Game of the Week, to be filmed by the great Chris Rivest, captain and QB of The Stoics in Div D. The season stats for Les Centaures are funny, because their top 2 leading receivers in yards in Carmine Pollice (9 grabs for 155 yards) and Chris Brockwell (16 catches for 134) aren’t on the receiving stats of the team page 🤔. It’s like they don’t want the FPF world knowing their top receiving threats! They will obvious play a large role in beating LGC, but they need more from Armand Balla offensively. Since his 60 yard, 4 TD performance in week 1, Balla has followed it up with two 1-reception games for 8 and 6 yards and 1 TD total. He’s gotta step it up and Les Centaures receivers definitely have the height advantage over LGC (with the exception of Bresse). But Bresse can only defend 1 guy, and with additional weapons like Ben Nolette (very underrated and not-talked about player), Hugo Allamanno and Jason Rossie, Les Centaures have a great combination of size and speed that need to be exploited.

I normally don’t take many rushers going against Lefort, but I recall Chris Brockwell containing Lefort during a Winter 2019 playoff game as a part of a thrilling Takeover 40-39 Quarterfinal victory over these same Gros Coqs. Looking at the matchup visually, you would think Lefort would run all over Brockwell, but Chris is much faster than he looks/what you would expect. He’s also quick with his feet and takes great angles when rushing, so Lefort often found himself throwing off his back foot instead of getting his feet firmly planted in the ground for a good throw. If Chris can take away Lefort’s ability to buy time and run either upfield or laterally, I like Les Centaures’ chances. It will be interesting since Les Centaures might be gassed from their first game against The Infantry, so maybe Lefort will have an advantage over playing a fresh Brockwell. This QB-Rusher matchup though will determine a large part of this game.

Keys to Victory:

Les Gros Coqs will win if:

1. Lefort can beat Brockwell and either buy time and get his feet set for good throws, or run upfield.
2. Lefort can limit the turnovers. He’s allowed 1 mistake; he can’t throw more than 1 INT.
3. Thomas Lemay needs to disrupt Jordan Rossie. When Rossie gets in the flow of a game, he can score in bunches and quickly. Lemay needs to disrupt Rossie’s flow.

Les Centaures will win if:

1. Jordan Rossie continues to distribute the ball the way he has this season, but perhaps get Armand Balla more involved.
2. Brockwell can cause Lefort to throw off-balance leading to INTs.
3. They utilize their size advantage on both sides of the ball: boxing out the smaller GC players for contested balls in the air.

Both teams average 8 possessions per game and I expect Les Centaures to score on at least 5 of those drives to LGC’s 3. I’m predicting a Centaures victory by 11 points.

Final Score prediction: Les Gros Coqs 19 – Les Centaures 31

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Power Rankings – Top 8 (Note: Team records shown are from the conclusion of Week 4)

1. Blessed (4-0) (This week: #1, Last week: #1): In my pre-season rankings when running through the team schedules, I thought this week is where Blessed would lose a game playing BBALLERS. Nope! Instead Blessed has staked their claim as the THE team to beat in Div C.
2. The Infantry (4-0): (This week: #2, Last week: #2): The Infantry will have something to say to Blessed when they meet in Week 10’s regular-season finale. That game may end up determining who the #1 seed is going into the playoffs.
3. Blue Dreamers: (3-1) (This week: #3, Last week: #4): Well all know AJ Gomes, but enter the equation Nic Groppini. They might make one of the best WR duo’s in the division.
4. BBALLERS (3-1) (This week: #4, Last week: #3):  Damn, you lose 1 game and you drop to the #4 Power Ranking slot. This goes to show you how good the division is.
5. Sheeeesh (2-1) (This week: #5, Last week: #5): Les Gros Coqs gave Sheeeesh everything they could. I expected a larger margin of victory for Sheeeesh, so they stay slotted at #5.
6. South Harmon Institute of Technology (2-1) (This week: #6, Last week: #7): Watch out! SHIT has strung together 2 wins in a row and Jake Applebaum is no joke.
7. Top Sauce (2-1) (This week: #7, Last week: #8): Nice 2-score victory over Ballz Deep. Their defense will need to be the reason why they win FPF games. I’m worried down the stretch if they need to put up 40 points against Blessed, The Infantry, BBALLERS, etc, which is why I have them in the #7 spot.
8. Les Centaures (1-2) (This week: #7, Last week: #6): Sucks when you drop 2 spots in the Power Rankings after a bye week, but that what happens when other teams win and you have a losing record after 4 weeks 🤷‍♂️. They need at least a split in their Week 5 double-header.

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Week 4 Fantasy Roster of the Week

Without further ado, here are your stud performers in Div C who danced their way into the Week 4 Fantasy Roster!

Top 2 QB’s:

1. Jake Applebaum (SHIT): 23/31, 74.2% completion, 304 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs, 144.4 QBR
2. Stephen Harripersaud (Blessed): 22/29, 75.9% completion, 236 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs, 138.8 QBR, 2 rushing attempts, 15 rushing yards.

Top 3 receivers

1. Noah Groper (SHIT): 7 targets, 6 receptions, 121 yards, 2 TDs
2. Mathieu Lepage (SHIT): 9 targets, 6 receptions, 96 yards, 2 TDs
3. Alexandre Bresse (Les Gros Coqs): 6 targets, 5 receptions, 77 yards, 2 TDs

Top 3 Defenders (The Sack show this week)

1. Noah Groper (SHIT): 4 sacks
2. Raffaele Morelli (Blue Dreamers): 1 tackle, 3 sacks
3. Thomas Coutu (Mangoose): 2 sacks, 1 PD

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Week 5 Game Picks – All Analysts

Season Prediction Standings

HOME	AWAY	Peeze Pick	Moe Pick	Iggy Pick	Alexi Pick	Brent Pick	Frank Pick
EZW	Blue Dreamers	Blue Dreamers	EZW	Blue Dreamers	Blue Dreamers	Blue Dreamers	Blue Dreamers
Mangoose	South Harmon Institute	South Harmon Institute	South Harmon Institute	Mangoose	South Harmon Institute	South Harmon Institute	South Harmon Institute
Sheeeesh	Blessed	Blessed	Blessed	Blessed	Blessed	Blessed	Blessed
BBALLERS	Top Sauce	BBALLERS	BBALLERS	BBALLERS	BBALLERS	BBALLERS	BBallers
The Infantry	Les Centaures	The Infantry	The Infantry	The Infantry	The Infantry	The Infantry	The Infantry
Ballz Deep	Silent Ticklers	Silent Ticklers	Ballz Deep	Silent Ticklers	Silent Ticklers	Ballz Deep	Ballz Deep
Les Gros Coqs	Les Centaures	Les Gros Coqs	Les Centaures	Les Centaures	Les Gros Coqs	Les Centaures	Les Gros Coqs

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Okay, so you made it to the end of the article, and I promised Playoff News at the very beginning.. so here it is, directly from FPF Commissioner, Rob Campana:

Division C originally had 8 out of 13 teams qualify, which was very strict considering most divisions had 85% of teams and above qualify for playoffs. I bumped it up to 10 teams. We’ll now have a first round where 7 plays 10 and 8 plays 9, the winners advance to the Quarterfinals.

– Rob Campana

Essentially, Div C will have a play-in round before the playoffs begin, very much like what the NBA did this past season! As of Saturday July 24th, Les Gros Coqs and Mangoose have been given new life for their playoff aspirations. This also breathes new life and hope for teams like EZW, Silent Ticklers and Ballz Deep, who may have thought their season was over after 4 weeks. Goodluck to all teams fighting for a shot to make it into the play-in round!

Well that does it for the this week’s article for Div C, hope you enjoyed, and wishing all the teams and players a great Week 5. If you have anything you want to see in these articles, or think the article could use improvement on, hit me up on socials IG @iggymanz and Ignacio Valdes-Manzanedo (see why Iggy is easier?) on FB, and for those still using email: [email protected].

Remember to catch the weekly FPF Podcast, Calling The Audible. Episode 4 was released on Thursday so catch up with Moe, Peeze and Eagle as they deep dive into the week that was! Also, Chris Rivest is now in mid-season form and is pumping out Game of the Week content at an incredible rate! Don’t forget too, while on the sidelines, to pull out your phone and catch a video of the stellar league play and tag @flagplus in all your on-field Instagram videos! The league is huge, and we need the help of the community more than ever to be our eyes and ears to display all the incredible talent and jaw-dropping moments.

Here’s an Eagle GIF for you:

Cheers,

Iggy