The War Room (D3) – Week 2

Division three had many interesting games this week, most notably the G-Men vs Ruff Ryders game. Had you been reading the articles and listening to the WEPL, the hype machine was already churning for the GMEN. But after a mundane week 1, they got beaten by the newly formed Ruff Ryders. The Gmen were unable to stop the potent passing attack of Paul Lapierre which scored 4 total TD’s.  Kamel was relegated to running for yards but managed to score twice on the ground.  He gained more yards rushing (83) than passing (60), which will need to change if he hopes to repeat as champions.

 

The Rude Bwoys picked up a much-needed confidence boost this week with a win against the tough Top Sauce squad. Top Sauce played very well defensively. Armed with a wicked rush (Jerry Lombardi has 4 sacks) and athletic defensive backs (totaling 7 INTs so far), the strength of the “Sauce” is its ability to hold opposing offenses. However, the offense has yet to get its act together and back up its solid defense. The Rude Bwoys were able to score twice and lead a defensive stand of their own (with 4 interceptions) to pull out a tight 12 – 7 game.   It was a gut check type of game for both teams and I think it will do wonders for their maturation process.

 

Doggone Bawlclub was without some key players (who had a conflict with their sister ND team) and ultimately lost to a Tennessee Studs team who decided that running the football was the best solution. QB Guilbault managed 133 yards on the ground in 9 carries, which is outstanding considering the field is only 50 yards long. But most critics agree that had certain players been there, the outcome would have been much different.

 

In other D3 news:

 

–         The Falcons (insert inane blowout word here) the poor helpless KGP Champs.

–         D3 Hybrids smokes the Spartiates, should have a harder time against the Bawlclub this week.

–         Rage continues to find ways to lose with S. Haney putting on a Heisman campaign for the SWAT.

–         Walk On’s survive a tough battle with the tenacious Red Rebels, who had a chance to win it from ten yards out and one play left. But couldn’t connect in the back left of the endzone.

–         Souljahs are raising more than a few eyebrows this week as they continue a machine like performance.

–         Wildcats are looking good this year and may have a legitimate shot at their conference title.

–         Rage and VR6 continue to disappoint the pre season analysts (mainly myself).  

 

 

Top Ten Rankings:

 

1. Falcons: After demolishing the KGP Champs in impressive form and since the G-Men lost, the Falcons are now the “crème de la crème”. Time will tell if they are for real or just sour milk.
2. D3 Hybrids: Mike Roy and his “hybrids” have been impressive with pouring on the points, but lets be honest it was to the Spartiates who look more like a division 4 team every week. Still, a win is a win…
3. Ruff Ryders:  Beating up on the GMEN, like Philly did is always an impressive sight. I wonder if they will be mad not being seeded number 1. And if so please feel free to take it out on Moe Khan.
4. Souljahs:  Impressive offense this team has, win the title they may. Beat up on the Alliance they did.  Watch too much Star Wars I do. (Yoda ranks them 4th too) 
5. Walk-ons:  Not a very impressive second half last week, lacked enthusiasm and focus. Need to play more consistent on offense, but won nonetheless. On 4th down in your endzone, you BAT the ball down. Can you address that memo to Mr. Mancini, please sir?
6. Titans: Two games, two wins. Mathieu Rene is playing well and the offense is clicking. This could be the start of something beautiful (like Anthony Da Ponte’s family).
7. G – Men: The Kamel brothers will not be happy about the performance last week. And they will not be happy with their seeding either. They always played better with a chip on their shoulder. So this is my futile attempt at motivating them.
8. Wildcats: I have yet to watch them play in d3, but if they actually use the wildcat formation, I’ll seed them number one on style points. Where is Ronnie Brown when you need him?
9. D-Boys:  Rick Cummins and Co are using a dual QB threat system to barely win games. So far two wins, but only by a combined 10 points. Hopefully Rick’s knee improves, if not the D-Boys could be doing their own version of the “Stanky” Leg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czR1yxKfhUc
10. Rude Bwoys and Ballerz: Both teams have lost a game to worthy opponents, only to rebound with a win. Ballerz have 14 men on their roster, which must be economical but somewhat boring. Rude Bwoys are gellin’ as a unit (must be those new Dr. Scholl insoles), I wonder if the WEPL has hyped Buff Bloomfield just a smidgen too much.  

 

This tune is for you (Rap Edition):

 

–          Mama said knock you out by LL COOL J, dedicated to C.Pollice who participated in quite the intense game vs. the Rainmakers this weekend, with a parental subplot thrown in.

–         Lights, Camera, Action by Mr. Cheeks dedicated to the Monarchs and Shockers who put on a hell of show on Sunday night. A Classic D2 Match-up and a rivalry renewed. 

–         Keep Ya head up by 2Pac dedicated to all members of the Express who took a “Welcome to D1” beating by the Hurricanes

–         Shook ones by Mobb Deep dedicated to KGP Champs for looking lost out there with an injured QB while getting whooped by the Falcons.

–         I’m so hood by DJ Khaled dedicated to Ben “Big Bruiser” Joseph for playing physical defense and ball hawking in two consecutive games.  

 

 

Castleton’s Ten Random Thoughts of the Week:

 

1. No Parity in D1: There seems to be a huge gap between the elite D1 teams and the bottom half teams. It’s almost hard to watch the Hurricanes or Demons beat up on the weaker less complete teams. 

 

2. Rushing/WR: I know a few people who do this as well, but playing rusher and wide receiver can really test your cardiovascular system. I was ready to order the oxygen tanks on the sidelines after a half of football last week.

 

3. Wolverines:  Although I firmly believe the Wolverines are in way over their head in D1 right now (having lost to Demons and Hurricanes), I appreciate their style of play and to be honest, I was surprised by their offense against the Demons with Ara (my newfound cheerleader) contributing to the scoring efforts, right in front of the Professor himself.

 

4. Click Clack: Impressive defense but I just don’t feel comfortable with their offense yet. Everyone knows they are good, I guess we are all waiting to see them play a quality opponent to find out just how good.

 

5. The Bus: It’s easy to allow my co-hosts to rip a player and not defend him. However, Moe Khan did take a shot at my teammate Shawn Haney and I do feel the need to clear that up. I personally have dropped more balls than him this season, and secondly if a QB as good as Rick Nincheri decides he wants to pick on a defender (one he has played with before) it will be downright difficult to stop him. Haney is a proven all star in this league who was singled out unnecessarily.

 

6. WEPL: I’m thoroughly impressed at the progress and effort put into the WEPL show this season. It looks very professional, and we have our producer Mike Anthony Paolozza to thank for that. I’d give credit to our floor director too but Daron (my editor) would just edit it out (rightly so, in fact). {Note from Daron: Yes, I would}

 

7. Gino Di Fazio: I’m going to start calling this man Mr. FlagPlus. He is playing in three divisions and coaching in another. He is relentless in his pursuits of recruiting, training and assembling competitive teams with whatever talents available. This league needs more men like him.

 

8. Leaving D1 for D2?:  Dear Benny Goodfriend and Rochdi B., why would you leave in the middle of a closely disputed division 1 game to engage in a division 2 battle? I mean PRIORITIES?

 

9. Penalties: I’ll be very interested to see which players will be suspended by the new 5 ejection rule, I saw many players getting thrown out of the game for three plays last weekend and to my amazement, upon their return didn’t change their attitude.

 

10. Play Count: So let me get this straight ref, if a player gets kicked out of a game for three plays, and the opposition scores, the convert counts as a suspended play. But if there are 5 plays and someone scores, the convert doesn’t count as a play? Seems like both situations should follow the same logic.

Don’t like what I wrote? Write me an e-mail and state your case. I might even put you on my block list if it’s a good enough e-mail! Contact me on Facebook or via email [email protected]