The War Room (D3) – Week 8 – FlagPlus Football League

All hell is breaking lose in the division three rankings as the final playoff seeds and placings are being set. I clearly can’t tell how the final two weeks will play out as the unpredictable nature of this sport is claiming infamy once again. I can tell you that teams that might have been forgotten might have the final word come week ten. But before I get into my usual ramblings, let’s take a look at some of last week’s games.

Doggone Bawlclub 19 vs Ruff Ryders 15:

What this means…

The undefeated powerhouse has fallen, call all ye faithful. The rest of conference B can now breathe easy as slaying goliath has been accomplished and a possible blueprint has been set. With the troubles of being overly complacent the past couple weeks, the Ruff Ryders managed to achieve what most had predicted and lose a game down the stretch. They will learn from this loss but the stigma of the one loss season may be slightly annoying to handle. The Titans hope to put another dent in that loss column for the Ryders as they have a HUGE matchup for their division. The Doggone Bawlclub can use this win as a springboard and momentum builder for a charge at the playoffs. With Mega Manouk powering their offense, Daron Basmadjian showing some great defensive skills (okay, one play, but still) and Chief Shefteshy’s veteran experience (albeit on the sidelines as he is currently injured), the tools are there for a winning campaign.

Rage 27 Choppers 25

What this means…

Well the Choppers are playing better than I give them credit for, but their biggest problem may be their next couple games. It was a close game vs the surging Rage, and it should make them feel better about their chances vs G-men. Sean Avraam had one of his best days as a Chopper completing 17 passes and 4 tds. A. McDonald collected 9 passes for 88 yards in impressive consistency. This is a positive aspect to their offense which we often criticized for low completion percentages and a defunct passing attack. On the Rage side, Serge Brosseau is coming into his own in the last 3 games, averaging around 5 tds a game. There were a lot of expectations on this gentleman at the beginning of the season and while others doubted him as an over hyped outdoor player, he seems to be turning the tide on the flag gridiron. His supporting cast is chipping in nicely with VDiddy Chernyak sacking opponents in every division. Look for Rage to dominate the T. Studs this weekend and take ownership of the division.

In other D3 News:

– DIP beat TStuds and anoint themselves champions

– AMB Eagles barely hang on to beat Alliance

– Wildcats batter the Top Sauce

– Squad eek one out over a self imploding Walk on team

– Titans nuke the Bomb Squad,, and by nuke I’m talking 69 – 6…

If the Playoffs started today:

Division 3

Conference A

D3 Hybrid* (8-0): KGP Champs, VR6
Falcons* (7-1): Spartiates, The Squad
SWAT* (5-3): Doggone Bawlclub, Titans
Rage* (5-3): Tennessee Studs, Motrin Junkies
Walk Ons (5-3): Top Sauce, GPK
Tennessee Studs (5-3): Rage, G-Men
Red Rebels (4-3-1): Rude Bwoys, Ball or Fall
Top Sauce (4-4): Walk Ons, Ballerz
Bandits (4-4): Souljahs, Choppers
Doggone Bawclub (4-4): SWAT, AMB Eagles
Souljahs (4-4): Bandits, DIP
KGP Champs (3-4-1): D3 Hybrid, D-Boys
Rude Bwoys (3-5): Red Rebels, Football for Dummies
Alliance (2-6): Bomb Squad, Ruff Ryders

Conference B

Titans* (7-0-1): Ruff Ryders, SWAT
D-Boys* (6-1-1): Football for Dummies, KGP Champs
GPK* (5-3): Wildcats, Walk Ons
G-Men* (5-3): Choppers, Tennessee Studs
Ruff Ryders (7-1): Titans, Alliance
AMB Eagles (5-3): 89ers, Doggone Bawlclub
Wildcats (4-3-1): GPK, Spartiates
Ballerz (4-3-1): The Squad, Top Sauce
The Squad (4-3-1): Ballerz, Falcons
DIP (4-4): Motrin Junkies, Souljahs
Choppers (3-4-1): G-Men, Bandits

Power Rankings:

1. D3 Hybrids: Nothing new to report, they continue their success and undefeated is in sight.

2. Titans: A complete effort vs an unarmed Bomb Squad who didn’t get the note on which wire to cut (blue one).

3. Ruff Ryders: Complacency? Hiccup? Who knows? You guys are good, maybe now back to reality!

4. Rage: Streaky team, could be the giants of years past. I’d be afraid of any team that has risen from the dead like these guys.

5. Falcons: Good team, excellent short field defense. They might need to improve on their deep secondary to keep up with vertical offenses.

6. D-Boys: Might be pretenders due to an easy schedule, but I’m excited to see how they do in the playoffs. Should be a good challenge for them, but their tie this week didn’t look promising.

7. GPK: Good group, got what most expected by the falcons. It comes with experience men, keep your heads high!

8. G-Men: QB changes every week, back to basics and Kamel running the show. And to the playoffs and BEYOND!!!!

9. AMB Eagles: This team isn’t doing much since their Titans loss to make me feel confident about anything. Need to put up some big numbers soon and make us believers again.

10. Walk Ons: Lost a close one, but deserved to get their ass kicked. Team is in disarray and we will find out if they can glue it all back together against Top Sauce this week.

Castleton’s Random Thoughts of the week:

Runback rule: If you intercept the ball on a convert and run it back, and get fouled by the last man back, they should award you the points. It’s as simple as that…
Divisional Record: I agree with a lot of players in the league in stating that divisional record in tiebreaks between non divisional teams is irrelevant. Maybe need to tune this for next year to strength of schedule instead.
QB Sub: Why change Scott Mironowicz in the second half, Nixon’s Renegades? His stat line was pretty good, sometimes you just got to have faith.
D1: This division is very interesting in terms of playoff outcomes. It really seems up for grabs this year, unlike a previous Hurricanes vs Finest matchup guarantee.
Doggone Bawlclub: big shout out to these gentleman who slayed the dragon of division 3. Now VR6 must take care of D3 Hybrid to restore balance to the force.
Wolfpack: these guys are the quietest winning team in the history of flag I think. Nobody knows much about them, and this in itself is scary…
Summer Season: The summer season is coming in May and people are recruiting like mad. I suggest you start early to ensure your place on a good squad.

This tune is for you:

1. Conquest by White Stripes: dedicated to Mega Manouk and his Bawlclub on their conquest of the best team in division 3.

2. Rising son by Massive Attack dedicated to Rage for rising from the depths of playoff hopes and earning top spot in their division so far.

3. Can’t believe it by T-Pain dedicated to the Monarchs who to my surprise are not in this years playoffs. You guys are way too talented not to be represented there.

4. Higher love by Steve Winwood dedicated to the D3 “Highbrids” on their hold of the top spot in the league and the glory it entails.

5. All we got is us by Onyx dedicated to the DIP squad who firmly believe in themselves. Firmly being the understatement of the decade.

Quote of the week:

From two weeks ago, but worth the mention:

“How did I go from throwing a TD pass to holding a fricking camera?”

by Mike McNair after throwing a TD pass and being given the video camera while the Shockers were on defense.