Categories: DivisionDivision E-1Division E-2GeneralPublic

Playoff Previews, sports Debate Culture and Prayer

Peeze’s Playbook: Divisional Playoffs

Musings, Ramblings, Lies and Other Assortments

Playoff Preview

I previewed all of the first round games with some insight into the teams, previous matchups and how I think either of the teams involved in a game.  I want to get another article out before the next round but the timelines are really tight!  

On Calling the audible this week Moe Khan and I made fun of most sports talk debate formulas and adapted it to FPF.  In case you haven’t realized Calling the Audible is Moe and My insult/tribute to traditional sports media. Have a look:

2 Dilly! Dilly v. 7 Melons

  • Keys to success for Dilly!Dilly!
    • Jeremie Ledoux has been impressive with regards to protecting the ball.  He only threw 4 ints all season long.  However, He faces a team where Manny Bizogias alone has intercepted 5 passes.  If he takes the Melons lightly he may make an unwanted error.
    • With Stan Marino missing half of the season we’ve seen the emergence of Iggy “Magnets” Valdez Manzanedo and Michael Pietrobon as top receiving options for this team. It begs the question: Is Stan the Man or a system receiver? With two emerging threats I expect Riccardo Desrosiers to do damage from under the radar.
    • Opposing QB Matthew Goldenberg isn’t a run first guy.  So, Max Ledoux should focus on taking away a lane to an easy inside target.
  • Keys to success for Melons
    • Playing a static defense against Jeremie Ledoux won’t work.  They picked him off in the 31-12 loss they suffered earlier in the season Bizogias and Reece Miller need to be in position to jump routes aggressively and hope Ledoux isn’t hecking the backside of his reads.
    • A lot of time depth wins in the playoffs.  However, Leo Diakoumakos and Manny Bizogas need to find ways to get open in this game. I suggest moving them around in the formation.
    • Finally, Matthew Goldenberg needs to keep the pace of this game boring and slow. How do you beat a race horse?  Either with a whip (yeah poor-taste I know. Sorry to any offended anthropomorphic characters) or by muddying the track.  Melons don’t have a whip, maybe they’ve got the mud.  Sounded much cooler before I wrote it.

Prediction: Dilly!Dilly! 36-Melons 19 

1 Ravens v. 8 Quantrium FFC

  • Keys to success for Ravens:
    • Quantrium FFC may be the toughest matchup in this playoff run for Ravens. Preseason, they were my favorite and they remain so.  In this matchup for div. Dodgers abound they will need Mathieu “Flag Jesus” Houle or Kamba Katchelewa to take Vincent Benjamin away. 
    • Joel Houle has a feel for the game and is slinging it. Between Houle and Sarlabous there may just be too much for Q-Fnon to handle.
    • Lambert Chauvel just needs to trust his defense and not make mistakes against a new talented, yet inexperienced FPF QB.
  • Keys to success for Quantrium FFC
    • Felix Goulet is a very talented QB.  He is a little green by FPF standards but his time is coming.  That said he can still do damage.  He will need to be patient and I would suggest running a lot of plays that create traffic or use motion to get mismatches for Vincent Benjamin.  The dude is a beast but much like kids on Christmas eve, they all know Santa’s coming to town and the Ravens will be looking for him on every play.  Secondarily they need to plan for relying on secondary and tertiary options.
    • Gabriel Manseau is a lesser known player who can be dangerous. Perhaps this is who needs to step up on O and in the flats.  That said, his name is in print.  Now he is known. Sorry bro…
    • Prayer 

Prediction: Ravens 34-Quantrium FFC 12

4 Suicide Squad v. 5 Ball’s Deep

  • Keys to success for Suicide Squad
    • SS have played down to the level of competition. They can’t do that in this game. They are talented and experienced and need to show that in this matchup. They’ve already lost to Ball’s Deep 39-33 earlier in the season so a surprise is no longer acceptable.
    • Jamaal Roach is so great while throwing crossing routes while on the run.  I expect to see this early and often.  When they start jumping thos drags, hitting the intermediate levels will make SS unstoppable in this first round.
    • Yo…defense, you’ve got Alex Noel, Gab Wiseman and upstart Tahnyus Steer. ACT LIKE IT! In all seriousness Suicide’s Squad is impressive for what I consider to be a work in progress. This defense should be the stalwart unit for this team.
  • Keys to success for Ball’s Deep
    • For a new QB, Michael Hiotis is great at protecting the ball. Last time around Michael Hiotis threw 5 tds and he ran 7 times for 39 yards and added a rushing touchdown. The rushing is one of the ways Hiotis mitigates risk. He will need this kind of performance to win.
    • Last time they played they allowed SS to succeed on 5 of 6 fourth down attempts and let them score on all redzone trips.  They will need to be higher efficiency in order to ensure a second win against an experienced group.
    • I think the playoff is time for Mas “Dinero” Moniz to emerge as a legitimate threat.  His catch rate is excellent and the dude is great after the catch as well.

Prediction: Suicide Squad 26-Ball’s Deep 24

2 Pincellos vs. 7 Rainmakers 

  • Keys to success for Pincellos
    • Jokes aside, I’m impressed with what Pincellos have done. I thought they were a season or two away before being a legitimate threat but they have gotten there despite their flaws.  Rainmakers are a solid but static D. I don’t see them rolling coverage over to Jocelyn Calixte so I expect him to have a big game. 
    • The main criticism I have with Vince Romano is that he tends to float balls into an open area on deep throws over the middle of the field.  If you see that space you need to rip it in there.  Rainmakers have some higher division experience and they may be looking to bait him on some of those throws.
    • Mike Apa is a solid tackler but the next step for him would be to read the concept and undercut routes more regularly. He’s gotta be playing chess while the opposition is playing with themselves.
  • Keys to success for Rainmakers
    • Vince Romano is more mobile than he seems. If a read breaks down he won’t mind pulling the ball down and running toward the sideline or buying some time by rolling out a little. Rusher Gianmarco Zinno, this is on you. 
    • It’s unclear whether or not Derek Kastner will be able to play during these playoffs. The team hasn’t used the IR spot so there is hope.  However, in his absence we know Nick Prockow will have an impact on offence. After that Matt Parent and Zinno need to be more consistent as they haven’t converted on enough of their targets this season.
    • Rainmakers haven’t scored more than 5 TDs in any of their last 4 games this season. They went 0-4 in that time. You NEED to score 5 touchdowns a game to succeed in the FPF playoffs.

Prediction: Pincellos 20-Rainmakers 18 (unfortunately)

3 Save The Turftles v. 6 Oreos

  • Keys to success for Save the Turftles
    • I think the last time we saw a rookie QB do what Sebastien Noel has done in FPF was Anton Sakiz (I urge you to look that season up). He’s taken a few chances but he’s also scored a ton.  27 of his combined 41 touchdowns have come in the second half of the season.  He needs to recognize that there is some risk to what he does best and absolutely deliver even if things go sideways at times.
    • In order for that offensive philosophy to work, you need a defense that isn’t just strong, you need to force turnovers.  The rush of Harrison Huynh combined with a defense where everyone other than the rusher has multiple interceptions is how they’ll succeed.  It is perfectly complimentary football.
  • Keys to success for Oreo:
    • Their early season success was no indicator for how Oreos would go on to finish the season.  Their roster reads like a phone book (for those much younger than I, this was a reference guide that listed people’s names and phone numbers from your entire city…see it was marginally funny.) They’ve lost 5 straight to end the season and they’ve entered the playoffs ass backwards.
    • They played late in the season and got absolutely blown out by SFT in the final game of the season.  The roster inconsistency was an issue and Justin Charles recused himself from playing QB.  The team has not done themselves any favors.  However, I think if he slows down the game so a standstill it will change the margin of error for Sebastien Noel.  Essentially if they can make it so they score ⅘ possessions I think they can get a stop. Then the game will come down to converts 
    • I don’t even know who’ll be present for this game. I know that Jaeden Edghill won’t.  In that case they’ll need Ukiah Best and Luc Desjardins to be there and will need both of them to be superhuman in this game to compete.

Prediction: Save the Turtles 34-Oreos 19

1 Green Means Go v. 8 Trailer Park Boys

  • Keys to success for Green Means Go
    • This is a little counterintuitive. You know when you’re going on a date and friends tell you, “just be yourself”.  This is the opposite.  GMG needs to play differently. I don’t think Dave Allen can get his offense going to set up the deep ball.  He just needs to let it rip early.  Trailer Park Boys are better than perceived and they love to attack the flats on defense. 
    • The emergence of Zachary Young has turned this offense from a smart, efficient one to one that can score at any point.  Additionally, He leads the team on defense in interceptions with 5.
    • Trailer Park Boys are most efficient when the read is clear and the ball comes out immediately.  The longer Antoine Meunier waits the more likely he is to throw off his back foot.
  • Keys to success for Trailer Park Boys
    • TPB’s record is not quite telling of their season. Antoine Meunier was injured. He came out early from one game, missed the next and wasn’t fully healed for the one after that.  The team also forfeited their first game (that was against GMG).
    • I’m not saying to inflict contact. FPF is a non-contact sport. However, Trailer Park Boys need to disrupt receivers on their cuts. A lot of Dave Allen’s concepts are timing concepts and we saw how he struggled when his receivers didn’t have clean releases against Pincellos. I would even suggest playing a little more man than usual as TPB have most of the matchups across the board.
    • On offence, I preach patience. Antoine Meunier has a tendency to get happy feet.  If he remains calm Fred Meunier, Mathieu Gascon and Alex Meunier are as good a trio as there are when it comes to receivers in Div E. They have the horses, no need to panic when the first read isn’t there.

Prediction: Trailer Park Boys 26-Green Means Go 13

3 V-Town v. 6 Menace II Sobriety 

  • Keys to success for V-Town: 
    • I’ve recently realized that when you say something is underrated it’s code for: I like that thing. Likewise saying something is overrated is code for: I don’t like that thing.  So, when I’m saying Jonathan Velasco is underrated it means: I like that thing.  He’s had a solid season in a way that hasn’t garnered a lot of attention but he’s been consistent at the pivot and solid on defense. 
    • Jason Cassandra is the pillar of this defense.  He’s going to have to make some plays in this game to put some distance between them and M2S.
    • Cassandra, Adam D’Avino, Joseph Battaglia, and Gianni Caruso all finished the season with 6+ touchdown receptions. Spreading it around is key and if they can do so efficiently, they could be golden.
  • Keys to success for : 
    • Bobby Spaghettis has come a long way since I was drunkenly texting him about how hard it is to play QB in FPF.  Sepengetis has learned to execute his concepts better and I’m thrilled to see them in the postseason. 
    • This defense is solid in all positions.  However, Chris Williams is the Mary Kate and Ashley of this unit. The defense runs through him. He and Andrew Dennis-Lynch are an absolute terror for QB’s in this division.
    • They cannot take V-Town lightly. They can be one of the top teams in this division but tend to play “down” to the level of their competition. I know that V-town is higher ranked but, the last time around, M2S did win that game.

Prediction: Menace II Society 34-V-Town 24

4 Les Chevaliers Du Rohan v. 5 Blast from the Past

  • Keys to success for Les Chevaliers Du Rohan
    • The last time they played CDR was playing their first game and were completely lost.  It was a blowout but also Les Chevaliers du Rohan are not the same team they were at the beginning of the season.  Frank Cardinal has emerged as the main threat but this won’t work against an experienced team. I actually think they need to use him as a decoy and use the overall athletic advantage of his team to attack the are between 3-7 yards and get lots of YAC.
    • When I started in this league, I had a mobile QB. He went through a short phase where he was trying to be a pocket guy.  I told him “just go be an athlete”. I offer the same advice to Kevin Hebert-Pedulla.  This gives CDR a different dimension offensively. 
  • Keys to success for Blast from The Past
    • Frank Grenier needs to just get the ball out a fraction of a second faster than he has in out breaking routes. The division has only gotten more athletic during his hiatus. He’s had a whole season to adjust, let’s see if he can implement it in the playoffs.
    • Maurice Dykmans and “La Boeuf Français “Adrien Dusautois. Need to make sure they use their size to make for excellent throwing windows for their veteran QB

Prediction: Blast From the Past 27-Les Chevaliers du Rohan 24

Denouement

For those who have any thoughts, commentary or complaints, I am very easy to find.  I’m @peezehss on twitter, @pdellarocca and Peeze Della Reeze on facebook.  You can also take a chance by emailing me at [email protected] but I don’t check it because it’s a death trap of junk emails all trying to sell me hair and penis growth solutions.  I really need to use incognito mode.

Remember that each week you can join the party on our Facebook page or at www.youtube.com/flagplus on our weekly podcast: Calling the Audible.  We are still trying to figure out when the shows will be available and how to get it live on air.  

Till next week, I want to thank you falettineme be mice elf agin!