The War Room (D3) – Week 3 – FlagPlus Football League

As you probably all know, we tend to discuss the teams which have been around a long time and sometimes new teams and players may get missed. We at the WEPL HQ apologize for that, well at least I do. In order to rectify (that’s not a dirty word) the situation, I spent most of Saturday night (between my games) watching the newer Div 3 teams, and I was thoroughly impressed with some of the new talent this league has to offer.

GPK vs Motrin Junkies: I scouted this game to see what GPK was made of and if they were as competent as others in the league believe them to be. Well, they managed to destroy the MJ’s in very hearty fashion. I have taken the liberty of starting a team website for the Motrin Junkies called www.cantgrabtheflag.com (don’t click it, it’s a joke). M. Stagg was efficient throwing three td’s and no interceptions for the GPK, but what really stood out was the pickfest they had on defense. J. Doyle was obviously having a bad day behind center throwing 6 int’s, 3 of which were picked off by D. Batten. GPK’s defense contributed with two scores and completely mopped the floor with their opponents. In a division with little separating the talent, GPK seems to be holding its own. If it keeps playing like it did this weekend, with good defense and a mistake free offense, I see them making a name for themselves in this league.

Ruff Ryders vs VR6: Ruff Ryders are the buzz team right now, sort of like the GMEN of last summer. But with the numbers they are putting up, I’m sure some D2 teams are interested to see what occurs down the line. P. Lapierre completely obliterated the secondary of VR6, making it look like a game of pitch and toss with his receivers. The menu called for Fade, corner and post routes and they were served fast and hot ALL DAY. But this isn’t about them, VR6 needs some press too. They stood toe to toe with the Ryders and had they had any defense whatsoever, could have probably pulled off an unexpected win. J. Williams got 6 Td’s through the air, hooking up with CFL receiver K. Challenger for 3 scores (yes CFL, that’s fair). The defense had the night off as they allowed 55 points and 8 td passes. Anyone, hear of playing deep safety? I hope that their 0 – 3 start can be overcome, because it’s a shame to see such a good offense lose because of preschool defense.

WildCats vs DIP: I expected a much different outcome to this game; a game with a plethora of points and DIP ultimately losing (which we have somewhat become accustomed to), but much to my surprise it was a defensive, chippy battle. One with both defenses playing well and both Qb’s looking slightly sloppy. Dip’s defense was impressive shutting down the Regimbald brothers from breaking the game wide open. J. Hebert provided great rushing and the secondary managed to generate two turnovers and multiple deflected passes. On the Wildcat side, they seemed to have problems defending the seam routes and allow a couple big plays in their middle zone. I see other teams exploiting this in the near future. Nevertheless, DIP seems stronger than it did in previous seasons.

Top Ten Rankings:

Falcons (3-0): With an 85 point differential and a very good defense, these falcons seem legit. Perhaps…. too legit to quit? http://assets.mog.com/amg/pop/cov200/drc600/c617/c61735j13wm.jpg (that’s not a picture of Andre Knights by the way)

Ruff Ryders (3-0): Another week, another big win. If I hear P. Lapierre’s name again, I might puke. Oh Damn, need a new keyboard now…

D3 Hybrids (3-0): Scoring 6 points isn’t going to win you any MVP trophies unless you play on defense. Too bad Mike Roy can’t throw the ball to himself or maybe he can, hmmmmmmmmm?

Walk-Ons (3-0): The Walk-Ons have a secret weapon in Rob Nardulillo, not only does he wear short shorts to play football, the special shorts keep defenders from covering him.

D-Boys (3-0): Rick Cummins at 60% is better than 50% of defenders at 100%. But not the other 50% of defenders at 75%. Good at fractions? Neither is Moe Khan. In unrelated news, Pattyn was impressive at Qb…

G – Men (2-1): They dodged a bullet not playing against M. Tougas, not that I think it would have changed the outcome of the game though. Still, they aren’t saying much this year which is strange, or maybe my block feature on facebook is working after all (kidding).

Souljahs (2-1): Such a good offense was confused against the Top Sauce. So you could say that the souljah boys got “sauced”. Wow, I must be tired writing this.

WildCats (2-1): Might be a blessing in disguise to lose to DIP, since that’s the politically correct way to cover a loss but to be honest, if they play like that much longer they will soon find themselves off my prestigious list.

Top Sauce (2-1): Good Defense wins championships or so I’m told, might need to score a couple points to win though. Maybe you could hire a certain Wolverine as your offensive coordinator or cheerleader, whatever…

SWAT (2-1): S. Haney has over 65% of this team’s offense; some would say that’s an unofficial scouting report. ARE YOU LISTENING, AMB EAGLES?

In other D3 news:

– Souljahs lose to the staunch defense of Top Sauce, with Toke hooking up with J. Jones for 2 Td’s and a well earned win.

– Walk On’s beat the Bandits with Anthony Da Ponte scoring multiple Td’s in a Heath Miller like performance.

– D-Boys, Falcons, D3 Hybrids continue to roll or dance into the win column.

– Ballerz lose due to their QB going to the wrong field.

– And Gino Di Fazio has yet to find a receiver other than S. Haney to throw to, in a Swat win.

– Bomb Squad win their first game which brings a single tear to my eye.

Castleton’s Ten Random Things I Think:

1. M. Godyn: Most players wouldn’t be able to make the transition from starting Qb to Wr or MLB. Godyn has done it seamlessly. Just to show he is a team player, he stepped up with McNair missing last week and threw for a plethora of TD’s. Another Matt Cassel anyone?

2. Rainmakers: Congrats on your big win, enjoy it, revel in it. Take a mental snapshot of the winning feeling, cuz I have a feeling you just pissed off the D1 Juggernaut Hurricanes and now they are gunning for you.

3. Express vs CLR forces: Well someone had to win this game, so I guess a congrats is in order for F. Dupuis and his crew. Can’t wait to see Wolverines play Express…. Zzzzz…..zzzzzz….zzzzzz….

4. Monarch Nation: It’s a real shame, such a prolific passing attack marred by an inconsistent and downright silly defense at times. I wonder if R. Nincheri is questioning his free agent signing after turning down other more attractive offers in previous seasons.

5. Texas All-Stars: These guys might not be everything they are hyped up to be and I’m sure this statement will piss someone off. I expect big things from you gentlemen. I know Nathan is reading this and saying “WTF….” As for Oliver, I’m not sure he can read (I know he can’t write) so Ill make sure to make him a comic book edition of this article later in the week (joking).

6. Cobras: Frank Frank Frank, such a heart warming letter last week. It reminded me of William Wallace in Braveheart, I almost wanted to put on a kilt and come play for you. Watching your game, I’m kinda glad I didn’t though.

7. D. Basmadjian: A FlagPlus legend, writer, editor, host. Deserves his own talk show in my opinion, where he can ask Flag guests question, consult the audience and then shut them down, when he deems their question or answers irrelevant. It could work NBC, I swear! (Note from Daron: we kicked around a concept like this in the past, but had to forget about it when we realized that it would probably result in the loss of every sponsor the league has ever had, including Ralph and Lina Broccoli).

8. Lachine and Laval: We need some sort of Police escort to get between both fields because the hour in between those games is still tight. I think we need a shuttle bus service between both fields too; maybe that Leslie Neilson look-a-like ref could drive it.

9. Defensive Pass Interference: Saw two defenders on the Bandits run into each other and both fall onto the ground while the ball was in the air, and got flagged for defensive pass interference. Which was later reversed when the ref realized it was two defenders, funny nonetheless.

10. Super Bowl: Being a Ravens fan, I’d hate to see the Steelers win another Super Bowl, but I’m not sure if the Cardinals have what it takes physically to matchup with their defense. Maybe Arizona could call in Rod Tidwell http://images.art.com/images/-/Cuba-Goodung-Jr—Jerry-Maguire–C10052453.jpeg (this is not a photo of Gary Bloomfield) and see what he can do.

This Tune is for You (80’s edition):

1. Against all Odds by Phil Collins dedicated to Rainmakers and Nixon’s Renegades for defying the odds and beating the Hurricanes and Texas All-Stars.

2. Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston dedicated to Moe Khan, who let’s face it, has no problem loving himself. However, with 7 sacks in D1, his team loves him too.

3. How am I supposed to live without you by Micheal Bolton dedicated to Rehan Starwar for missing Martin Tougas in his Ballerz game this week. They lost without their franchise Qb’s talent and Rehan needed to ring the tears from his beard.

4. All night long by Lionel Richie dedicated to M. Godyn of the Shockers for throwing up 7 Td’s and 0 Ints as a backup for his Division 2 team against the helpless Seminoles.

5. Let’s hear it for the Boys by Deniece Williams dedicated to the DBoys for another win, potential dance of the week is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhuCiJZz8c4

Quote of the week:

Facebook chat between Vadim Chernyak and I following our game.

“I heard you won 52- 5!” says Vadim

“Yes, we allowed a safety and almost blocked their field goal” says I

“We have field goals now? Cool, How do you do that?” replies Vadim, earnestly