The Dance, Ejections, and Fraudulence – FlagPlus Football League

Peeze’s Playbook

Week 9

by Paolo Della Rocca

This week I focused on some recaps and my power rankings heading into the final stretch. I did a lot of playoff analysis with Alex Holowach while subbing for Moe Khan on Calling the Audible. So if you haven’t watched it yet, have a look to see what exactly is required for the teams fighting for the last few playoff spots.

On a personal note, it was an honour for me to sub for Mow Khan. I have an immense amount of respect for him and was happy to help him while he was pursuing advancement in his dream career. It may be hard to believe but Moe is one of the hardest working, most earnest, nicest people I have the pleasure to call friends. When the floods hit in Montreal, knowing that I live just off the water Moe was the only person in my life who texted to see how we were and to see if we needed any help and if we were affected by the flood. Moe, keep living the dream buddy! The world needs more Moe Khan.

ICU on Life Support

ICU had a moment where they looked as though they would surge to the top of the rankings. They are a team that seems to thrive on chaos and they come together as a team when they see success. However, after their 43-38 loss to KGP RA ICU have not seen success in two consecutive weeks. Chris Olson played a fine game throwing for 6 touchdowns on 20/27 passing. He did turn the ball over once, which can be expected when attempting throwing for 229 yards. The greater issue was on the defensive side where they faced a substitution laden but equally powerful KGP RA team.

Fred Saleh was far from perfect at quarterback but after interceptions to Domenic Benevento and Emile Amyot were thrown Saleh settled down and controlled the pace of this game. The second half saw KGP RA score 30 points and by the time the dust had cleared, Julien Paiment scored a touchdown while Phil Cutler and Justin Mclean scored 2 and 3 respectively. Yet the key in this game came down to the chaotic flair we’ve come to associate with ICU.

Starting the game 6 vs. 5 it looked like ICU would stroll to victory. However, this changed when the officials decided that ICU player Eddy Lee was too intoxicated to continue the game. It is stated in the rule book that if an official deems a player to be so intoxicated that he represents a danger to himself or other players, he may be ejected from the game. With Eddy Lee ejected it was now 5 on 5 and ICU looked rattled. Even when KGP RA’s Gabe D’Amico Mazza gave the advantage back by earning a UR for pushing ICU snapper Domenic Benevento to the ground, ICU were not fully able to recover. Even thought it was 4 on 5 KGP RA were able to score against a dissident defence and KGP RA went on to earn the win.

Les Affreux: Un Foutu de Cauchemar

Les Affreux are a difficult team to get a feel for. They come into every season red hot and look like world beaters every season. Then, inexplicably they hit a lull before returning to playoff form. This was true this past week as they took on Dreamville who have struggled mightily for most the season. Despite a slow start Jonathan Lemieux began firing passes all over the Dreamville defense. Former FPF media member Mathieu Domon was laying defenders out like furniture in a showroom as he ran all over the defence for 2 touchdowns and 55 receiving yards. He would be the second most effective Mathieu in this game as Affreux teammate Mathieu Dubois proved to his teammate that anything Domon could do, he could do better. Dubois caught 3 touchdowns and put up 79 yards along the way.

Dreamville’s season has been far from a dream. They have exactly 6 players that would qualify for the playoffs. This game saw them bring an interesting sub in Daniel Sananes who’s rookie season in division 6 was cut short in the winter as he suffered a finger injury on his throwing hand. While he did play primarily receiver in this game (where he caught a touchdown), he shared snaps with Eli Saleh and threw a touchdown as well as returned an interception for a score as well. Dreamville’s hopes are fading after a 31-18 loss against Les Affreux. However, they are not mathematically eliminated just yet.

Making Mountains out of Mole Hills

Les Montagnards have been a great story this season. Julien Fiset Cyr has been a revelation in FPF. He is an instinctive quarterback with the ability to release the ball quickly and take advantage of soft zones. Trinity however, does not play a soft zone. They are one of the most aggressive defences in the division and they have the least amount of points against by 29 points (Les Montagnards are in second place with 160 PA). Whether ir was Benjamin Danserault Leclerc or Ezechied Blouin rushing, they seemed to be getting at Julien Fiset Cyr all day and forced Cyr’s only interception of the day (that honour went to Guillaume Foucault).

Trinity quarterback Jean-Felix Marquis was not much better in this game as he also threw for 2 touchdowns as well and matched Julien Fiset Cyr’s touchdown run but Foucault’s interception was a defining pick 6 that would see the game end 26-20 in favour of Trinity. Vincent Gingras and Antoine Gagnon-Griffin scored in a losing effort for Les Montagnards but both teams look ready for the playoffs and a finals rematch for these teams may well be in the works.

All Parties Must End Sometime

So it was fun while it lasted. I believe BFPM8 to be an absolute fraud. Their resume is weaker then their record would have you believe. Two of their wins came against teams that have since changed starting quarterback (Goofy Goobers and ETC). Norfolk and Chance were a mess to start the season (which accounts for another W). They tied weaker teams in Smoking on that Lalla and War Pigs. They lost to the only true contender they have played against this season (Les Montagnards) and week 8 saw them lose to a middle of the pack Buffalo Wild Wings by a score of 39-26.

Evan Ely Nolet has a great arm. However his play calling is stagnant and field vision is questionable at times. That said Darcy Cloherty was twice the recipient of two well place fired passes for touchdown while Zackary Alberts-Gill and Dylan Drake also scored in this game. The bigger concern than Nolet on offence was the Big Fun Party Mix 8 who had difficulty stopping Marc Alexandre Piette who threw 6 touchdowns in this game. Nicholas Belleau flexed his general manager muscle by enlisting the services of JD Chevalier who is one of the best receivers in FPF. However, if Big Fun Party Mix expects to have championship aspirations, what we have seen so far is simply not good enough. Marc Alexandre Piette has a great short delivery and a nice compact release. He thrived with Chevalier in the line up as he tossed 3 touchdowns to the division 1/2 stud. I mentioned some keys for Piette to improve on in the podcast this past week when I subbed for Moe Khan. If Buffalo wild Wings have not yet seen it, I suggest they do.

Elite 8

Every week Francois Martin and I break down the top teams in the division and I look at the teams that are worth mention but just aren’t in my top 8. Remember that this is a power ranking and talks about the path teams are on and teams are ranked by recent performance and not entirely by their full resume. Essentially we over react to everything!

While the power rankings for both Francois and I appear in my article, both of our picks appear in his article. Make sure you have a look at it to know who we think will win on a given week.

D-1

KGP RA (8-0): Winning with backups is impressive. This week’s matchup against Kiwi Island will require all hands on deck.
Kiwi Island (8-0): Anthony Lazzara wrestles his way to the top of the team’s receiving chart with 10 touchdowns on the season. I’d definitely take him in a fight!
Get off my D (7-1): GOMD have won 7 weeks in a row. They’d be in my top 2 if one of those two teams hadn’t won 8 in a row. They continue to be the ugliest hot girl at the dance.
Fun Boys (5-3): I don’t know if they are the fourth best team in the division but they have won 3 in a row and they are hot at the moment
Les Verges Aeriennes (4-4): The team is learning to work within the context of Chris Rivest’s flood heavy offence and they are starting to gear up just in time for the playoffs.
Straight Outta Breath (5-3): They have shown that they are flawed and beat TOPSZN with the partial absence of TOPSZN Quarterback Khalil Kerr. However, they managed the game well and still beat a very good defence.
TOPSZN (5-3): Top SZseven is where they rank after a loss to Straight Outta Breath. The is an asterisk on that game but they have two fairly easy games to help pad their record heading into the playoffs.
Green Lantern Corps (3-5): Remember that this is a power ranking not an amalgamated standings chart. Green Lantern Corps have been the best team in Division D over the past three weeks.

Other Teams Receiving Votes

Diablos (4-3-1): Diablos are still holding one of the top seeds despite losing two weeks in a row.
Badgers (4-4):The Badgers are 2-1 since the half way point of the season and when the best version of their roster is present they are impressive.
Les Affreux (4-4): Les Affreux looked good last week and play a struggling Bruh Mitzfah this week.
Zoo (2-6): As surprising as it is to see Zoo in the discussion it is even more discussing to speak of them in the playoff hunt. Still, it does appear that Zoo are giving everything they have to make one last push into the playoffs.

Francois’ Elite 8

1	KGP RA (8-0)	—	Depuis la deuxième semaine de la saison qu’ils trônent au sommet, mais je crois que leur règne tire à sa fin. Kiwi Island seront au sommet la semaine prochaine
2	Kiwi Island (8-0)	—	Ils sont deuxièmes, mais ils pourraient très bien se trouver en tête. En fait, ils y seront la semaine prochaine en battant KGP Ra.
3	Get Off my D (7-1)	—	Ils ont réussi à battre Diablos dans un duel serrer. Avec cette victoire ils se sont assurés de terminer au premier rang de la Conférence A.
4	Fun Boys (5-3)	+2	Ils sont sur une séquence de 3 victoires en inscrivant au moins 31 points. Ils auront tout un un défi contre Get off my D cette semaine.
5	Straigth Outta Breath (5-3)	+4	Une convaincante victoire contre TOPSZN. J’ai assisté à une partie de ce match et SOB dominait leurs adversaires. Ils recommencent à jouer du bon football au bon moment.
6	Diablos (4-3-1)	-1	La saison prend une tournure moins heureuse pour cette équipe depuis quelques semaines. Ils ont au moins tenu tête a Get off my D jusqu’aux derniers instants du match.
7	TOPSZN (5-3)	-3	J’avais beaucoup d’estime pour cette équipe, mais elle m’a franchement déçu face à SOB. J’espère pour eux que c’était seulement un faux pas.
8	Les Verges Aériennes (4-4)	+1	Ils ont éprouvé des difficultés lors des dernières semaines, mais avec leur dernière victoire ils reviennent dans la course pour le premier rang de la division nord de la conférence A.

Division D-2

Trinity (7-1): A big win against Les Montagnards cannot be ignored.
Ravens (7-1): The Ravens’ Alex David has not misplaced his mullet and he seems to have located the team’s offense. Ravens have scored 87 points in the last two weeks.
Les Montagnards (6-1-1): Montagnards are looking a little vulnerable and th team seems far less dynamic when Fred Viens (FD) isn’t there. They need to find ways to win when the racetrack becomes a swampy mess.
Warriors (6-1-1): Managing games is an important key to success in FPF. The Warriors took a 101 class in such in their tie against Lobster Dinner. They will improve as they continue to learn that lesson.
Lobster Dinner (4-3-1): Jon Brown is more than just a charming smile. He is a ver good quarterback who uses his weapons well. We saw that this past week with 3 touchdowns going to Francois Hogue and two to Simon Duchesne.
Still Preaching (4-3-1): Still Preaching have won two weeks in a row and are getting better at the right time in the season. Kevin Felima only has 6 catches but 4 of them have been touchdowns. Lindor, get the man the ball!
Norfolk in Chance (4-4): .500 over the last few games. Yet, I still see them building something. Rocco Christiano is a nice centrepiece and this team can make noise in the playoffs given the right matchups.
All Hooks (5-3): I had trouble even placing them in the power rankings. They lost despite the return of C-O Lavigne. The excuse well is running dry. Let’s hope the last two weeks show us something positive for All Hooks.

Other Teams Receiving Votes

Vikings (3-2-3): Ties are almost like wins. Except they aren’t.
Big Fun Party Mix 8 (4-2-2): Still on my radar but at the moment they are F-R-A-U-D-S. Read above to find out why
Goofy Goobers : 2-0-1 in their last three games. Don’t look now but here come the Goofy Goobers!

Francois’ Elite 8

1	Trinity(7-1)	+1	Ils viennent de gagner le duel des premiers de classe. Le pointage était serré, mais ils auraient pu gagner plus facilement.
2	Les Montagnards (6-1-1)	-1	Perdre contre Trinity n’est pas une honte. Maintenant, il ne faut pas que cette défaite leur joue dans la tête.
3	Warriors (6-1-1)	—	Avec une victoire contre Lobster ils auraient passé devant les Montagnards, mais leur verdict me fait hésiter. Ils devront mieux jouer s’ils veulent éventuellement gagner contre les deux premiers.
4	Ravens (7-1)	—	Une autre belle victoire pour cette équipe, mais encore une fois contre une équipe qui éprouve des difficultés cette saison. J’ai hâte à leur duel contre Big fun party mix 8 lors de la semaine 10.
5	Big Fun Party Mix 8 (4-2-2)	—	Une défaite surprise contre un adversaire plus faible qu’eux. Toutefois, cela leur prouve qu’on doit toujours jouer a fond si on veut gagner dans cette division.
6	All Hooks (5-3)	—	Défaite difficile contre une équipe pratiquement éliminée. J’aime bien cette équipe, toutefois j’aimerais en voir davantage de leur part et dès cette semaine contre Les Montagnards
7	Lobster Dinner (4-3-1)	+1	Ils ont arraché un point inespéré contre les Warriors. De plus, cette partie devrait leur donner confiance surtout s’ils les affrontent à nouveau en série.
8	Still Preaching (4-3-1)	+1	Ils sont maintenant 3-0-1 à leurs 4 derniers matchs. Ils vont se battre avec Lobster Dinner pour la position #3 de la conférence A. Ils les affrontent justement cette semaine.

Sunday’s Symbolic Sorority

If you have some time to kill before your week 9 game have a listen to the Division D podcast where I subbed in for Moe Khan. Let me know what you thought of it, my weekly column and all of our media production by reaching out to me @PeezeFPF on Twitter or by messaging me @ Peeze Della Reeze on Facebook.

For further analysis, tune in to the official FPF Division D podcast “Calling the Audible,” where Moe Khan and Alex Holowach will discuss Montreal parking signs, 8 tipster wedding seasons and mini putt on RDS. Tune in to www.youtube.com/flagplus on Thursday nights at 7:30 p.m. or download the podcast on iTunes or Podomatic!