The Thrilla of Flagzilla

The final week of the regular season was rough for many teams, including my own. A 56-18 loss ended my season with another 1-9 recorded. In my inaugural season as an FPF player, I also finished 1-9, with our only win being by forfeit (speaking of forfeits, stop forfeiting games people! Man up and play your games to keep the integrity of the league). In any case, as the playoffs commence, it brings me much displeasure to see how my season ended, but looking at the D6 teams, in which many of the players are in their first season’s, you can’t help but feel excited for them as they have an opportunity to compete in the post season. Congrats to the great effort by all the teams this season. Regardless of your record or statistics you all deserve to be commended on the effort and commitment you have had to help contribute to this fantastic league.  But before we got to the playoff preview, here’s a quick recap of the week 10 action as well as a preview of the playoffs.
 
Caption: ‘The Pack at 9-0-1 finish with an undefeated season and a staggering +167 point differential.
 
The Minge 20 – n.W.o 33
 
Big upset in the final week as n.W.o finished the season on a very positive note heading to the post-season. Michael Sanchez had a very impressive three touchdown passes. I really like the depth of this team and when they are on their game, they get contributions not just from Pietro Mignacca, but also from the ball-hawking Stephen Tirelli and Anthony Di Staulo. This three-headed monster combined for four touchdowns in-route to a big victory against The Minge, who been solid defensively over the last two weeks, and managed to ramp up their game on the offensive side. However against n.W.o, they got off to a slow start and were not able to get back into the game until it was too late. Still, the Minge have too many weapons with Matthew Young, who still managed to throw three touchdowns, as well as Henri Chelhot who caught two passes for touchdowns.
 
The Heismans 27 – Golden Girls 19
 
I made a challenge to Golden Girls in finally stopping Gautama Swaminadhan, who’s been on a big roll over the past five games. Alas, it didn’t happen and Swaminadhan had another big game. He completed 21 of 27 passes for 158 yards and four touchdowns. It’s business as usual for the Heismans as they have been nearly dominant from an offensive standpoint. It wasn’t their most impressive victory, but good teams find a way to win despite not bringing their best performances. Speaking of good performances though, Golden Girls’ Jason Rossie had another solid one with three touchdowns and 151 passing yards. Like n.W.o., Golden Girls has talent on offense and they have depth in their receiving corps with Jason Kokolakis, Julien Lefebvre and Scott Binns. If Rossie can find consistency, the GG’s can make a big upset in the playoffs.
 
Maccabi 31 – Venom 25
 
I made my little testimonial at the beginning of this article and I while doing it; I couldn’t help but feel for Venom. To go winless in any form of competition is an empty feeling. The good thing about the guys there, such as Rob Tessier and Trevin Choo-Foo is that their commitment to the team never wavered and they along with their teammates fought hard to get at least one win. Unfortunately, that win would not come to fruition and they will finish the season without a single victory. Their loss is Maccabi’s gain, as they will avoid limping into the playoffs by avoiding a fourth straight loss. Maccabi has looked over the last few weeks before week 8 and 9. What changed? Alexandre Bohbot, who’s been a solid receiver this season with five touchdowns, started at quarterback and had sparkling performances over his last two games. He threw for 183 yards and four touchdowns to three different receivers against Venom. He also completed 14 of 25 passes, which is solid for a player who didn’t throw one pass all season.  Emmanuel Cohen broke a three game streak of not scoring any touchdowns nor recording more than 12 receiving yards. He had nine touchdown receptions in his first six games. Where has the consistent production been? I think the change at quarterback was needed, as Maccabi has struggled offensively at times. As a playoff team, I cannot see them making any upsets, as their inconsistency is too much of a gamble for me. But anything can happen.
 
JeanGuy 21 – Orange Crush 0
 
Not a great game here for either team, but JeanGuy came away with the victory regardless. This one was actually tough to watch, I cannot hold back. Both teams combined for 51 passing yards, one passing touchdown and completion percentages in the mid-40’s. Hey, these types of games happen and the better team won, but there was nothing much to write home about in this one. Christophe Chartrand will need to have better games once the post-season begins, but thankfully his legs helped him as he ran for two scores on 30 combined yards. Orange Crush’s tough season comes to an end, with at least one victory. Nick Gagne had some solid games at quarterback, but this was his worst outing of the season. But I think he is definitely good enough to be an above average quarterback. This game was hopefully an aberration.
 
‘The Pack 40 – Run Levy Run 24
 
In a battle the pitted the two best offences in the division, ‘The Pack finished off their undefeated season with a victory over Run Levy Run. Their performance this season was nothing short of sparkling as Daniel Krebs closed out the campaign with yet another five touchdown performance, this sixth time this season he’s had five or more passing scores. On the other end, Jeff Rosenblatt, who’s been arguable the second best quarterback in D6 this season. ‘The Pack have found ways to win games by outscoring teams by wide margins, but they can also clamp down and play terrific defense, as evidenced by their 157 points allowed, which is second behind The Minge. The usual suspects of Andrew April, who scored two touchdowns and Corey Laxer have been big components for this team. For Run Levy Run, this is a great test before the playoffs. To face the best team in D6, from a mental preparation standpoint, provides a great springboard as the post-season commences.
 
Players of the Week
Offense: Andrew April (‘The Pack): 4 catches, 117 yards, 2 touchdowns
Defense: Stefan Fennes (The Heismans): 3 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 pass deflection
 
Playoff Preview
 
The Minge vs. JeanGuy
 
The Minge won the first meeting a couple of weeks ago, 32 to 12. JeanGuy has been inconsistent all season and their play is entirely dependent on the success of Christophe Chartrand. It will be imperative that he has a near flawless game as the Minge, have the best defense in the division. Matthew Young has been one of the better two-way players all season. Actually scratch that. His ability to find running lanes makes him a true three-way player and he’s steadily improved his passing numbers as the season has progressed. Add in the talented Henri Chelhot and his division leading 15 touchdown catches out wide, and you have the makings of a first round victory for The Minge. Ultimately, I can’t see the Minge faltering in this situation.
 
Prediction: Minge 35 – JeanGuy 12
 
n.W.o. vs. Golden Girls
 
Really looking forward to this one with two quarterbacks who have played much better as of late. During their first meeting early in the season, both pivots combined for 9 touchdowns apiece, as n.W.o won 31 to 26. Michael Sanchez has had a very solid season, throwing for 22 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Their defense has no reservations about picking it off and turning it into six from the likes of Stephen Tirelli. It is a little concerning that of the eight playoff teams, they are the only one’s with a negative point differential.  Conversely, Jason Rossie finished with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and as stated, has done a better job of protecting the ball and creating big plays. This is a very hard one to predict because both teams are very similar from an offensive standpoint. The New World Order’s have three very good receivers that can all beat you from the outside. Pietro Mignacca, Tirelli and Anthony Di Staulo  have caught 52, 41 and 29 passes respectively. On the other side, Jason Kokolakis has been the top receiver for the Golden Girls with 22 catches and 396 yards. Because of the depth at receiver for n.W.o, I can’t help but favour them to win, especially with Michael Sanchez having been more consistent overall this season.
 
Prediction: n.W.o 27 – Golden Girls 20
 
‘The Pack vs. Maccabi
 
‘The Pack won the first meeting 33 to 12 against Maccabi and it is really hard to not see a similar result after the first round of the playoffs. Daniel Krebs has ended the season with 46 touchdowns and led the best offense in D6. ‘The Pack had a whopping +167 point differential in route to a 9-0-1 record. Maccabi have struggled on offense, and may have a quarterback controversy between Ofir Levy and Alexandre Bohbot. Of course upsets do happen, and Maccabi will need to pressure and contain Krebs with Elya Chalom, who had nine sacks this season. Ultimately, this game is ‘The Pack’s to lose and I don’t see that coming to fruition. They’ve been by far the best team all season and I haven’t seen enough offensive consistency from Maccabi who have also allowed the most points of all the teams in the playoffs, with 279.
 
Prediction: ‘The Pack 38 – Maccabi 12
 
Run Levy Run vs. The Heismans
 
This is the premier game of the first round, without question. Gautama Swaminadhan and Jeff Rosenblatt have been awesome this season, putting up big numbers on a consistent basis. Swaminadhan had 29 touchdowns and only one interception, whereas Rosenblatt had 35 and 11. Big time numbers, but consider Swaminadhan, only started for half the season. When you have a matchup that pits two great offences, the key becomes how the opposing defense can create stops. RLR allowed 186 yards this season, while The Heismans allowed only 169. Rosenblatt, is also a little more prone to interceptions, and turnovers can be a big factor. Look for David Trivisonno and his 13 sacks to be a key component for The Heismans in stopping Rosenblatt, who aside from 58 yard rushing performance in week three, has not topped more than 16 yards in any of the following seven contests. I keep going back and forth on who wins this one, but I have to stick with the Flying Rosenblatts, who did come away victorious, 19-18, in the first matchup five weeks ago.
 
Prediction: Run Levy Run 45 – The Heismans 38
 
I also wanted to take the time to congratulate the award winners from this season. There were some terrific performances from players who, in my opinion, could easily play two or three divisions above. Anyone who went into this season think D6 would be barren of talent is absolutely kidding themselves. Here are the winners:

Division 6 – Quarterback of the Season

#22 Daniel Krebs – The ‘Pack

1488 YDS  46 TD  6 INT  107.4 QBR

Division 6 – Receiver of the Season

#33 Henri Chelhot – The Minge

30 REC  557 YDS  15 TD

Division 6 – Defensive Player of the Season

#22 Alexandre Bohbot – Maccabi

13 TKL  8 INT  4 PD  1 TD

Division 6 – Two–Way Player of the Season

#83 Andrew April – The ‘Pack

This will be my first time watching playoff games in FPF. I very much look forward to the intensity of the match ups. Throw away the regular season records as anything can happen in post-season play. I greatly look forward to the battles and heightened play that the playoffs will bring.

That does it for the Thrilla this week. As always, please check out The Unclehood podcast with Moe Khan (@MoeKhan19) and David Della Rocca (@DavesRepublic) which can be found at http://www.theunclehood.com. Of course, you can ‘@’ me, talk smack or laugh at my writing on Twitter at @52isthemike and follow my NFL blog at 52isthemike.com, with all the latest free agent news and happenings around the NFL. The shameless plugs do not end there, as you can also listen to my NFL-based podcast, Pick Six Live with my buddies Rob Grosso and Rick Dieudonné.

Look for my round one review of the first playoff match ups in Lachine on Saturday.

Until next time, asta la vista