The Thrilla of Flagzilla (Div 6)

The stretch run is here and the regular season is nearly complete in FlagPlus Football’s Division 6. I’ve mentioned margin of victory countless times this season and not only did last week’s games feature some lopsided victories, but the same applied in Week 9, where 3 of the 5 games had margins of victory of at least 20 points. It is a testament to the parity of the division, but in some ways to some inconsistency as well. From week-to-week, you just never sure which teams will fare well, fall short in a tough contest or get blown out of the field.

 

Alas, the playoffs will be commencing, which means tighter contests and teams playing much closer to the vest.

 

The Minge 32 – JeanGuy 12

 

Same script, same cast. I’m starting to think that the Minge are the best team in this division. Since I talk about margin of victory so much, I decided to do some number crunching and my findings show that Matthew Young and his boys are scoring, on average, 26.25 more points than their opponents over the course of the past four games. Conversely, Mr. Young has thrown for 15 touchdowns in that same period. Against JeanGuy, he threw for 5 scores, two of them to his best target Henri Chelhot. Christophe Chartrand had disappointing contests completing less than 50 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions. It’s been an up and down season for the JeanGuy quarterback, but I still believe he has the ability to be a solid quarterback going forward. Another victory for the Minge pretty much clinches the top spot in Conference B, which would pit them again JeanGuy for a rematch of this Week 9 tilt. On a positive note, Simon Laporte, who scored his 7th touchdown of the season, has failed to score in only two games. He makes the most out of his catches as in the seven games he has played, he’s caught two catches four times and one catch three times. That’s what I call efficiency (or useless stats on my end)

 

Run Levy Run 47 – n.W.o 6

 

So yeah, back to that margin of victory stat, there was no better indicator that Week 9 had some lopsided games than the near 50-burger the flying Rosenblatt’s put on n.W.o. As good as Run Levy Run has been this season, I’ve been impressed with the recent play of the new World orders. Michael Sanchez has quietly had a very nice season, Pietro Mignacca, has been one of the better receivers this season and Stephen Tirelli is always good for an interception or two. All those factors were fruitless (well, Mignacca did have a touchdown, but it was when the game was way out of reach) against RLR. Rosenblatt, who threw for six touchdowns. The regular cast of characters for RLR also caught touchdowns from Rosenblatt and Rob Bohbot and Yoni Lehrer had four touchdowns combined (3 and 1 respectively). Defensively, they picked off Mignacca and Sanchez a combined 5 times. Offensively, Run Levy Run are juggernauts and can easily lay claim as being the best offense, but their defense does not get enough credit. Their 17 interceptions are among the best in the division despite having one of the lowest sack totals of any team. Evan Manis is a player I rarely mention but his seven touchdowns (he had one against n.W.o.) and 3 interceptions are invaluable numbers for Run Levy Run.

 

The Heismans 38 – Venom 6

 

The only thing you ever want to hear being back-to-back-to-back is home runs. So far, for Week 9, we have blowouts instead of jacks. Such was the case of the matchup between Venom and The Heismans. Yet again, another sensational game by Gautama Swaminadhan, who completed 16 of 20 passes for 161 yards and 6 touchdowns. The performances keep getting better and better and Swaminadhan numbers to date are staggering. He’s thrown for 25 touchdowns, 1 interception and completed 76 percent of his passes. Quite frankly, I am sick of leading off with his performance every week during my weekly piece. I urge you, no I compel you D6 teams to please find a way to shut this guy down. He’s making defenses look bad and continues to creep up on Daniel Krebs’ ranking as the top quarterback this season.

 

As for the rest of the game, it was nice to see Trevin Choo-Foo get his first touchdown of the season last week and again against The Heismans. Venom has often used him solely as a pass rusher, despite his speed to possibly create from an offensive standpoint. He had an impressive 5-catch, 58-yard performance with a score and was the only bright spot for the team. Rob Tessier continues to struggle, as he threw four interceptions, both to Stefan Fennes and Nick Colasudro. For the Heismans, Kevin Boustany and David Trivisonno each had two touchdowns.

 

I keep saying it, this team is rounding into form from a defensive standpoint and their offense is as good as any in D6. The matchup is already set between the Heismans and Run Levy Run, as Jeff Rosenblatt and Gautama Swaminadhan will put on a flag football passing clinic.

 

The ‘Pack 34 – Orange Crush 28

 

If you lasted long enough to the fourth matchup of Week 9, then thank you, cause we did have some non-blowout games. Possibly one of the best performances this season was by Orange Crush, who entered this game being 1-7. Daniel Krebs still had a great game as he threw his customary 5 touchdowns, nearly in his sleep. He threw to five different receivers; among others was Andrew April who snagged his 11th score as well as Graeme Jones, a buddy of mine, who recorded his first touchdown catch since week 2 of the season.

 

The Pack defense did not have a great game, as Nick Gagne threw four touchdowns and completed a solid 14 of 26 passes for 146 yards. Matthew Tamilia, Nikolai Streiter and Fred Jamati were the recipients of Gagne’s best performance of the season. The game reached a boiling point in the second half, but The ‘Pack were able to make a few more plays to come out with the victory. A lot of credit goes to Orange Crush for turning out a terrific performance, while facing the best team in D6.

 

Golden Girls 38 – Maccabi 33

 

Shutout last week while giving up 40 points, score 38 points the following week. That is life of a team in D6. The ups and downs, roller coaster rides and ebbs and flows are what make this division riveting to watch. Golden Girls looked awful last week. Jason Rossie completed 4 of 18 passes for -3 yards and 3 interceptions. Folks, you cannot make those numbers up. That is bad. Rossie turned the corner in a big way with a monster performance with 5 touchdowns, while completing 22 of 31 passes for 180 yards. There are times this season that Rossie has been a gunslinger, as evidenced by his 5-touchdown performance in Week 5 against Venom. There are times where he has struggled such as the aforementioned debacle against The Minge. Scott Binns was the greatest beneficiary, catching 3 touchdowns from Rossie, while Julien Lefebvre caught his first touchdowns since week 3 of the season. 

 

On the other wide, Maccabi continues its slide as they’ve lost three games in a row. Ofir Levy had a solid game with three touchdowns to three different receivers (Bohbot, Seltzer and Guindi). Unfortunately, their defense has allowed 36 points per game and they have not been able to corral anyone. At this stage, Maccabi is entrenched in the fourth position of Conference A and will have a tough matchup in round one of the playoffs against The ‘Pack.

 

Players of the Week

 

Offense: Jason Rossie (Golden Girls): He’s been up and down all season, but his Week 9 stat line is as good as it gets. 22 of 31, 180 yards and 5 touchdowns. Those are Madden-like numbers, folks.

 

Defense: Stefan Fennes and Nick Colasudro (Heismans): Had to put both of these guys as a pairing as they both picked off two passes a combined five tackles and a pass deflection a piece.

 

Power Rankings

1. ‘The Pack: 8-0. Had a scare against Orange Crush, but great teams find ways to close out ball games.

2. The Minge: Matthew Young has been on fire lately and has 32 total touchdowns this season.

3. Run Levy Run: Offense finally came back to life after subpar (to their standards) performances

4. The Heismans: I keep waiting for Swaminadhan to have a bad game and he keeps getting better. (That’s what I wrote last week about The Heismans, I am still waiting)

5. n.W.o. Really bad game against Run Levy Run, but still keeping them above the team that is next in the rankings…

6. Golden Girls: Great game by Rossie and Binns to keep the GG’s afloat.

7. JeanGuy: Up and down season for Chartrand continues

8. Maccabi: Three losses in a row makes this the most underwhelming playoff team

9. Orange Crush: Tremendous game against the best team in the Division. Nearly pulled off a huge upset losing by 6 to The ‘Pack.

10. Venom. Still winless, but are fighting hard every game

 

Fantasy Results

 

Duke vs. Brent

Duke
Quarterbacks	Yards Passing	Passing TDs	INTs	Sacks	Yards Rushing	Rushing TDs		Total
Daniel Krebs	195	5	0	0	22	0		38.90
Flex	Yards	TDs	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	PDs	TDs	Total
Ryan Palmer	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ryan Tereskewitz	39	1	4	0	0	0	0	14.13
Wide Receivers	Yards	TDs						Total
Anthony DiStaulo	36	0						7.20
Henri Chelhot	30	2						16.00
Defense	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	PDs	TDs	Points Allowed		Total
The Minge	9	1	2	1	0	12		19.50
Total							15.43	95.73

 

Brent
Quarterbacks	Yards Passing	Passing TDs	INTs	Sacks	Yards Rushing	Rushing TDs		Total
Matt Young	130	5	0	3	22	0		26.40
Flex	Yards	TDs	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	PDs	TDs	Total
Dave Saintizaire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Simon Laporte	40	1	1	3	0	0	0	19.33
Wide Receivers	Yards	TDs						Total
Jason Kokolakis	27	0						5.40
Yoni Lehrer	50	1						15.00
Defense	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	PDs	TDs	Points Allowed		Total
JeanGuy	11	3	0	1	0	32		14.17
Total							-15.43	80.30

 

Moe vs. Roger

Moe
Quarterbacks	Yards Passing	Passing TDs	INTs	Sacks	Yards Rushing	Rushing TDs		Total
Ofir Levy	112	3	0	1	53	1		33.80
Flex	Yards	TDs	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	PDs	TDs	Total
Rob Bohbot	37	3	1	0	1	0	0	25.73
Carl Doyon	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Wide Receivers	Yards	TDs						Total
Andrew April	65	1						18.00
Joe Stock	21	2						14.20
Defense	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	PDs	TDs	Points Allowed		Total
The Pack	12	1	0	2	0	28		13.00
Total							25.37	104.73

 

Roger
Quarterbacks	Yards Passing	Passing TDs	INTs	Sacks	Yards Rushing	Rushing TDs		Total
Jeff Rosenblatt	167	6	0	0	0	0		34.70
Flex	Yards	TDs	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	PDs	TDs	Total
Darcy Ferreira	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	1.67
Jason Rossie	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.33
Wide Receivers	Yards	TDs						Total
Emmanuel Cohen	0	0						0.00
Ryan Lefcort	10	1						7.00
Defense	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	PDs	TDs	Points Allowed		Total
Run Levy Run	14	0	5	2	1	6		35.67
Total							-25.37	79.37

 

 

Pick ‘Em

 

Venom vs. Maccabi

Orange Crush vs. JeanGuy

Run Levy Run vs. ‘The Pack

 

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. 

 

Next week I will be posting my regular season wrap up and playoff preview with my predictions on who will win it all. 

 

Until next time, asta la vista