The Wrath of Khan (D2) – Quarterfinals

 

What did I learn from last weekend? Should Click Clack be scared of the Texas All-Stars? The Ruff Ryders look very angry; Wolfpack are putting their toothbrush in the suitcase for their trip to the finals.

Should Click Clack be afraid of the Texas All-Stars? Absolutely not! Even though the Monarchs lost a heartbreaker by a single point! They did not back down from one of the baddest, meanest, and gifted teams in D2.

Granted, the All-Stars had the first round playoff bye week. They looked a bit out of sync. But, it did not take them too long to find their groove! Although, the Monarchs did create a blueprint of what Click Clack can do this weekend against the All-Stars.

Essentially, Click Clack will have to be aggressive to the football. They really need to demonstrate to everyone that they will not back down, and will match the intensity of the All-Stars.

Aftermath

With a successful season in the books, what can the Monarchs do to improve for next season? It seems they are content with the quarterback play of Cory Johnson, who proved a lot of doubters wrong. They have a solid nucleus of receivers led by Renaldo Jordan and Stephane Chartrand, who have both carried this offense. It should also be noted that one of their top players, Troy Morren, missed the last part of the season with a leg injury.

The only question that I would have for this team, is they need to acquire one more game breaker on defense. Despite acquiring playmakers Jason Stephenson and Desmond Dorsnie this Winter, there were still times the Monarchs did not have the closing speed to minimize any gains by the opposition. If they can scour through the FPF market, maybe a player will bite on the idea of playing for a team that could rise from the dust.

As for the Kingz, Rehan Sarwar should be proud of his team’s accomplishments. His pipeline connection to the lower divisions helped tremendously, as he was able to acquire the likes of Pat Jerome, and Andre John that were instrumental in the team’s success.

The question that remains for Sarwar, can he keep this nucleus together? Most likely he will, but he will need to continue to add key parts to this team. Spring-only QB Francois Lebeau should be back next season as well. With him, they have the potential to be the early favourites for the upcoming spring season in Division A.

According to reports, O.N.S. will be back this spring. In the winter preview, the one question was their defense. They were not able to muster any game changing stops, and could not produce any significantly altering turnovers.

If they enter the spring season, they will have Kevin Wyeth back, and by default, Kishon Thompson will be with him. But, will Akked Moore follow suit and join the O.N.S.? Regardless of what happens, O.N.S. will have a prolific offense, but they need to address their defense first.

The Renegades have to be disappointed in themselves for the way the season ended. For as much hype this team received with the signing of Rick Ninchieri (which lasted two games). It seemed this team was destined for greatness. Then it looked like they would have the greatest offense in FPF history when Serge Brousseau took over the reigns. But to their demise, opposing defenses figured out the Renegades offense philosophy and shut them out (just ask the Ruff Ryders).

Team captain, Dale Williams will need to figure out if keeping the likes of Eugene Hall is worth it. At times he looked lost, and did not live up to expectations. This will be a long offseason for the Renegades.

Final Four Weekend

Ruff Ryders-Wolfpack

The hottest team (Wolfpack) against the angriest team (Ruff Ryders)! As I wrote in last week’s column, the Wolfpack can pack their bags to the April 18th finals.

Without a doubt, this team has peaked at the right time, and they could be on the verge of making their second consecutive finals appearance. This would be a huge accomplishment given how the new schedule formula the FPF instituted this season, was to make it difficult for the stronger teams to qualify for the playoffs.

Paul Lapierre will need to take his game-play to another level. Last weekend, against the Renegades, he managed the game very well with four touchdown passes. This weekend, he will be going up against arguably one of the premier D2 passers in Pascal Murray.

Lapierre will need to run a control paced offense. He will need to be confident that he can rely on check downs as his safety valves. Finally, he does not have to match the output of what Murray does. But he has to keep his offense rolling.

Marc Champagne-Mikhail Davidson duel will be a great show. They are the two best players in D2. They are identical in size, speed, and skill set. But Champagne will need to elevate his game. He will need to blanket Davidson. The last meeting between these two teams, Davidson was able to break loose on a few occasions. They will need rectify this scenario, and have Champagne be the cover corner mirroring every move he does.

Davidson has sneaky ability to find the hole in the defense. So it will be Champagne’s job to cover up all the holes Davidson will occupy.

Who can come up with the big turnover? The Ruff Ryders have the penchant in creating a momentum changing play. But against the Wolfpack, they need to be smart in trying to attack the football.

Meanwhile, the Wolfpack have come up with huge defensive stops throughout their winning streak. This has been the sole reason why they are in the conference title game.

The outcome of this game will be determined in the first two drives for each team. The Ryders feel strongly that this will not be the same outcome as their last meeting was. The key to this is Ryders’ rusher, Jason Prince being aggressive in his pursuit of Murray. He will need to upend Murray’s path of vision if the Ryders have any chance in this game.

Click Clack-Texas All-Stars

Yes, these two teams have a history dating back to the ‘08 spring season. They had a great midseason game in which the All-Stars prevailed. They finished as the top-two teams in Conference B. This is the ultimate dream matchup that FPF wanted for one side of the playoff bracket.

Which quarterback would you have more confidence in, Danny Gentile, or Benny Goodfriend? Gentile did not have one of his better performances against the All-Stars as he amassed a 42-percent passing completion. Keep in-mind, there was no Paul Kamel in the lineup, which would have certainly upped the percentages by a couple of notches.

But Gentile will need to mastermind a solid plan by really outthinking the quick, athletic, and strong All-Stars secondary. He will need to have a swift release against the All-Stars. He can ill-afford to have them react very hastily to any of his throws.

Is this the year that Benny Goodfriend can shrug off the monkey from his back? He won quarterback of the year in a very intense competition for the award. He has a supporting cast that can run for miles and never get tired.

But the question is, can Goodfriend be able to carry the team into the next round? Unfortunately, he was not able to win last spring with Messengers of Happiness. But can he do it now? Can he overcome all of critics and shed that Dan Marino label from his name?

Whatever the outcome is of this game, one of these two quarterbacks will get rid of a negative label, and elevate themselves into another upper echelon of FPF quarterbacks.

Who is the better receiver? The much heated debate has raged on for the last few weeks. But Matt Norzil (All-Stars), and Paul Kamel (Click Clack) have all put up incredible numbers this season. They both have excellent reasons why they’re the best receiver in D2.

In the first encounter, there was no Kamel. Now, we will see how he does against the speedy secondary. As proud as a player Kamel is, I am sure he will be locking horns with Nathan Taylor and co. throughout the entire game.

In Norzil’s case, it just won’t be one player covering him. I think Click Clack will use a rollover rotation on him. Clearly, he is a superior freak athlete that can change the momentum of a game in a split second. Click Clack knows very well they cannot give him an inch, otherwise, he will take it for a touchdown.

Keep an eye out for the supporting casts. Daniel Calla (Click Clack), and Stephan Osman (All-Stars). Both of these players should figure prominently in the game-plan. Osman had some critical catches in the last meeting. He might the player that Goodfriend relies upon for a third down conversion.

Meanwhile, Calla will need to use his elephant like arms to really force Goodfriend into a costly turnover. He will need to really make every passing attempt as uncomfortable for Goodfriend as possible.

Percentages%

15%, that Paul Kamel, and Matt Norzil will combine for four touchdown catches.

25%, that Wolfpack will be able to create two turnovers against the Ruff Ryders.

25%, that one of these games will go to overtime.

35%, that Pascal Murray will be pass for three touchdowns.