Reviews, Previews and a Bonus Mid-Season Recap

FPF has reached the halfway mark of the season. For tier 2 and 3 teams, that means that they have been reseeded into two brackets. Despite the fact that the teams have been reseeded, team’s records from the first half of the season still count. That means that a team that started 0-4 and finishes the season 4-0 will have a final record of 4-4. On the website, even though all records currently appear to be 0-0 for teams in tier 2 and 3, the first four games will count towards a team’s final seeding.

On est rendu au mi-chemin de la saison FPF Cup 2020 et cela veut dire que les équipes de tier 2 et 3 sont reclassées. Malgré ce reclassement, les fiches de la première moitié de la saison comptent encore vers le classement des équipes. En d’autres mots, une équipe qui a commencé la saison avec 0-4 et qui la termine avec 4-0 aura un record final de 4-4.

I will be keeping this week’s reviews and previews short and skipping the team of the week to be able to fit in a mid-season review. The way the schedule has played out so far, I feel like each division has a few teams which are much better than their record reflects and a few teams which have the potential to shake things up in the second half of the season despite a disappointing start. Stay tuned for my underrated/overrated mid-season review.

Week 4 Reviews:

Braves Noirs (41) vs Terror Squad (38), Tier 1

41, c’est le pire ennemi de Terror Squad. Dans trois de leurs quatre premiers matchs, cette équipe a accordé exactement 41 points. Lors du premier match de la saison, leur meilleure performance défensive s’est particulièrement distinguée lorsqu’ils ont « seulement » accordé 38 points à Khansequence. Cette équipe a clairement des lacunes en défensive qu’ils doivent corriger avant d’espérer gagner un match.  

À date, ce match contre les Braves Noirs démontre parfaitement la saison de Terror Squad. Ils ont remporté 38 points contre une des meilleures équipes de la division. Tam Vilaydeth a connu un fort match durant lequel il a accumulé presque 250 verges grâce à la passe. Malheureusement, ils n’ont rien créé en défensive. Ainsi, le seul highlight de la soirée pour Terror Squad n’a été que la passe défendue par Marc-Phillippe Roy. De plus, Terror Squad n’a pas intercepté les Braves et ils ne les ont pas forcés à punt. Ils n’ont même pas arrêté une seule convertie. En bref, Terror Squad a le talent offensif pour rivaliser dans cette division, mais s’ils espèrent gagner un match dans cette deuxième moitié de saison, ils vont devoir comprendre comment faire des jeux en défensive.

Los Banditos (32) Unknown Talent (33), Tier 2

These two teams are both plagued with the same issue. Neither really have a tier 2 level quarterback. Los Banditos have the experienced Francis Desrochers except he has never excelled outside of the lowest divisions of FPF. He is now facing off against some extremely experienced teams with phenomenal athletes. In his previous seasons, he has generally only had to confront experience or athleticism. Not the combination of both.

That was clearly on display in this game versus Unknown Talent. The talent on this team is very much known at this point and it is impressive. They gave Desrochers a tough time all game long and wound up intercepting him twice. Despite facing a more talented opposition, Desrochers needs to receive credit for still managing to pass for 174 yards and four touchdowns. A large part of that production came from Jérémie Gauthier who caught 7 passes for a mind boggling 129 yards and four scores. If I was making a team of the week this week, Gauthier would definitely be on it.

As for Unknown Talent, they just barely escaped this one with the win. They scored and converted the two point try with just two plays remaining to grab the very late lead in this one. The issue with Unknown Talent is the question mark at the quarterback position. We all know they have one of the best rosters in this division, except good receivers are useless without a quarterback. This team has tried five different players under center and none of them have really been successful. However, the thing that surprises me with this team is that they haven’t tried running the ball more. In fact, they are averaging just three rush attempts a game. I think Unknown Talent can win games without a true QB on the roster, but they need to simplify their play book and not hesitate to take off running.

Week 5 Previews:

Half-A-Stars (4-0) vs EZW (4-0), Tier 2

While most might look at these two teams and their 4-0 records and think that this will be a very close match, I don’t think it will be. Half-A-Stars dominated in their first four games, scoring the most points in the tier and conceding the least. On the other hand, EZW also scored at will except they are the only team in the top five of tier 2 to have conceded over 100 points. Put very simply, Half-A-Stars know what defence is while EZW do not.

Prediction: Half-A-Stars

Goblin Gang (2-2) vs Ballin 60’S (2-2), Tier 3

I think Goblin Gang are the perfect team for the lower half of tier 3. They have a mix of FPF veterans and experience. However, they are missing the elite quarterback play to excel in the top half of this tier. I can easily see them rolling through this second half of the season with four wins and that all starts this week versus Ballin 60’s. Troy Savain has scored over half the touchdowns for the 60’s. When you rely on a single player like that for much of your offensive production, it makes you predictable and easy to stop. Goblin Gang will shut Savain and the Ballin 60s’ down in this one and cruise to a comfortable win.

Prediction: Goblin Gang

Mid-Season Review:

For each division, I will label a few teams as either underrated or overrated. With each team facing a different schedule, some 4-0 teams are not all they are hyped up to be while some 0-4 teams have the potential to surprise.

Overrated:

Braves Noirs 3-1 (Tier 1): Cette équipe a perdu dans la première semaine. Leur match de la deuxième semaine n’est pas encore officiellement résolu. Il reste un jeu à jouer puisque les lumières du terrain synthétique du Collège Notre-Dame se sont éteintes avant la fin du match. Il est encore possible que ce match contres les Braves Verts termine en égalité. Entre autres, ils ont battu les deux pires équipes de la division, BYOB et Terror Squad. Je suis désolé, mais une équipe qui a de la difficulté à battre des équipes de bas niveau ne va jamais gagner les grands honneurs de cette division.

Outlaws 3-1 (Tier 2): Want to talk about an easy start to the season? The three teams that Outlaws beat have a combined record of 2-10 and all seeded into the bottom half of tier 2. This team got lucky and cruised through the first half of the season but things will be much tougher from here on out.

Pepperoni Boyz 4-0 (Tier 2): Here is another team that had life easy in the first half of the season. Luckily for Joseph Kano, his deep ball air raid system worked against some of the weaker teams. However, Kano and this underwhelming roster are going to see what a real tier 2 contender looks like when they face off against Half-A-Stars in a few weeks.

Lockdown 4-0 (Tier 3): This is the perfect example of a team that is lifted up by phenomenal quarterback play. Don’t get me wrong, Buck Aneer is the best passer in this division. It’s just the  rest of this roster that underwhelms me. This team just doesn’t have very many playmakers. Couple that with a devastating schedule and the end result will be four consecutive losses to close out the season for Lockdown.

Yin & Yang 2-2 (Coed): This is a team that is essentially riding the coattails of the Yin & Yang name. Unfortunately, the roster has been depleted and Gino di Fazio has been a mediocre QB at best in a division where you would expect him to excel.

Underrated:

BYOP 1-3 (Tier 1): BYOB viennent juste de gagner leur premier match de la saison, mais ils pourraient facilement être 3-1. Ils ont une très bonne défensive et une attaque qui leur permettra d’acquérir juste assez de points pour gagner.

Texass Shorthorns 2-2 (Tier 2) : How this team is in the lower half of tier is beyond me. They started off the season with a brutal schedule and still managed to escape with two wins. They have tier 2’s leading passer and leading receiver. Some of the top teams in the tier could barely contain this explosive group. Expect them to finish the season 4-0 with some BIG wins.

Triple P 3-1 (Tier 3): This team is one point away from being 4-0. Despite that, this team is receiving absolutely no love from the rest of the media. People are too concentrated on the fact that this team doesn’t have an established quarterback and they forget that this roster is absolutely stacked. Kevin Donnet is probably the best player in this division and Andel Thomas-Gordon and Stefano Spagnuolo are one of the best supporting casts in the division.

Les Semi-Croquants 1-3 (Co-ed):  Cette équipe a toutes les pièces nécessaires pour connaître un succès incroyable. Malheureusement, ils ne semblent pas être capable de les assembler à chaque match. Ils semblent avoir un roster différent à chaque match. Si cette équipe réussit à maintenir un roster constant, ils pourraient faire tourner quelques têtes dans la division coed.

Week 5 Picks:

Home Team	Away Team	Predicted Winner
Braves Verts	Sweat & Beers	Braves Verts
Braves Noirs	Terror Squad	Braves Noirs
BYOB	Khansequence	Khansequence
Urgence Medic	KGP	KGP
Unknown Talent	Texass Shorthorns	Texass Shorthorns
Outlaws	Warriors	Outlaws
Half-A-Stars	EZW	Half-A-Stars
Les Gros Coqs	Pepperoni Boyz	Pepperoni Boyz
Trojans	Pardon My Swag	Pardon My Swag
Tough Lungs	Mangoose	Mangoose
Voodoo	Bruins	Bruins
Les Centaures	Los Banditos	Les Centaures
Triple P	Rainmakers	Triple P
Honey Martin	Lockdown	Honey Martin
Lionhearts	Bada Bing	Lionhearts
Bud Knights	TuneSquad	TuneSquad
Goon Squad	Trapstars	Trapstars
Mean Girls	Les Nains Johanais	Mean Girls
Replacements	South Side Speedsters	South Side Speedsters
Goblin Gang	Ballin 60’s	Goblin Gang
Zone 6 Ballers	Le Speakeasy	Le Speakeasy
Les Semi-Croquants	Fightin’ Tigers	Fightin’ Tigers
Kiss My Endzone	Fightin’ Tigers	n/a
Yin & Yang	La Secte	Yin & Yang

The second half of the season should be even more closely fought then the first, especially in tier 2 and 3 where teams have been reseeded to have opponents who are closer to their play level. Nothing gets the blood pumping quite like a good football game that comes down to the wire. Even if you got off to a rough start this season, now is your chance to turn things around and maybe even make a bowl game.

I hope everyone enjoyed the article, as always feel free to contact me at [email protected] with any comments or critiques.