The Wrath of Khan (D2) – Round 1 Playoffs

Going into the playoffs, deep down in my peanut brain, I figured that regardless of seeding, that any team on any given night could defeat their opponent. That is how close the parity is in D2. Well, before I continue to give my “Nostradamus” predictions on who will win this upcoming weekend, I would like to note that last weekend’s slate of games was exciting from start to finish. We bid adieu to the Homosapiens, Nixon’s Renegades, Notre Dame, and Texas All-Stars who all had great seasons.

Now, onto the fresh batch of games. They present some intriguing battles between the so-called superpowers (Click Clack, Messengers of Happiness, Shockers, and Wolfpack) that had the bye week and the upstarts such as Phoenix, Pacmen, Thundering Herd, and Waterbuffaloes.

The game that will kickoff the D2 bash is the Conference A division champion Shockers taking on the “Cinderella” of the playoffs, Thundering Herd. The Shockers had a week off to rest up for their upcoming tilt against the Herd. Meanwhile, the Herd proved their skeptics (including yours truly) wrong in a methodical dismantling of the Nixon’s Renegades. It’s a testament to how small the margin for error can be in the playoffs that the Renegades paid dearly for coming out very sluggish against a hungrier Herd team.

For the Shockers, heading into this duel, the same question has come up on numerous occasions: can they win their first ever playoff game? For the amount of hype they’ve received, and talent they possess, the Shockers have always come up short. However, times have changed the team’s mentality because of one player. Mike McNair. He has single-handedly changed the fortunes of the Shockers franchise, as he has made everyone 19-percent better. For the Shockers to be successful, they will need to minimize their mistakes, as the Herd stole three interceptions from Nixon’s Renegades. McNair, in his last game against the Herd, had 12 incomplete passes. If he can minimize the incomplete passes, the Shockers can control the pace of the game and his offense will be successful.

For the Herd to triumph this weekend, they will need their defense to elevate their game to the next stratosphere. In last weekend’s victory over the Renegades, they successfully neutralized Mironowicz, Robbie Robinson, Mike Dwyer, and Jay Edwards. This week, it’s a bigger chore, as they now face D2 two-way player of the year, Andre Knights, Gary Bloomfield, and Mike Godyn. Team leader, David Cesari, who did a masterful job of play-calling against the Renegades, will need a repeat performance to be two steps ahead of the Shockers offense. With a secondary that includes Troy Jarrett, Matt Bond and Jazz Payne, this trio will have to be patient against a Shockers offense that will beat their opponent all over the field. All three players had a say in their win last weekend, and once again they will be called upon to continue their stifling ways in stopping the Shockers.

FPF is a quarterback-driven league and last weekend, Danny Donovan did a great job by managing the game as he passed for four touchdowns. Furthermore, he was able to control the emotions of his teammates as they were able to withstand the momentum swings by the Renegades.  But the Shockers, who have been tormented for not winning a playoff game, will overcome this obstacle, and will win this battle to shake that eight-ton gorilla off their backs.

The Wolfpack-Pacmen matchup will be a high scoring affair. Both of these squads have quarterbacks that will wear out the leather skin of the Reebok football. For these two teams, it will not be about the defense; the first team to 50 points will win the game.

For the Pacmen to be successful, they will need to continue the momentum of riding the magic carpet that they acquired in the form of Kevin Wyeth. Since the big acquisition of Wyeth, the team’s lowest output has been 25 points in a win against the Seminoles. Otherwise, this team has been scoring at a non-stop pace. The confidence of Gino Conforti, Nelson Yeboh and Ravi Mehta has gone through the roof as they combined for 5-touchdown catches in their playoff win over Notre Dame. Furthermore, their defense, which is not known to produce big plays, came up with a plethora of stops last weekend. Steve Hodhod had four sacks and the defense produced two interceptions. If the Pacmen want to have any chance, they will need to keep executing as they did last weekend with the big catches, if not, it will be a long day.

The Wolfpack have been a huge question mark. Many D2 pundits think the Wolfpack had an easy schedule as they glided their way to the first seed in Conference B. It is obvious that quarterback of the year Pascal Murray is the catalyst to the engine. If they want any chance to beat the Pacmen, Murray will need to maintain the chemistry he has developed with Mikhail Davidson and Alain Rousseau. These two players have combined for 21 touchdowns which accounted for 46.6 percent of Murray’s total touchdowns during the regular season. Furthermore, their defense has come through with big plays, as they have 19 interceptions, and 13 sacks. The Wolfpack has the ability to play some tough defense, but can they do it against a high-octane Pacmen offense?

As much as the Pacmen bandwagon is filling up with fans, the momentum they have garnered might not be enough as the Wolfpack has superior offense, defense and depth which might be too much for the Pacmen to handle. The Wolfpack win this game, albeit it in a high scoring affair.

The battle between Phoenix, and Click-Clack has already gotten underway, as both of these teams were expressing their thoughts to each other during and after the Phoenix win over the Homosapiens. This has the makings of being a physical game between two teams who are primed to make it to the Conference B finals.

For the Phoenix to be successful this weekend, they will need their defense to go all out like they did against the Homosapiens in their game winning goal-line stand. Adi Sharma has been a calming influence for a highly emotional Phoenix defense. D2 defensive player of the year Jason Barr, who had 6 tackles in their victory over the Homosapiens, will have to continue his excellent work against an agile Click Clack team and to stop the “tower of pain” George Papachristopoulos. For starters, will Danielle Gentile risk throwing to his side, since Barr has made numerous stops for his squad? Will the quarterback pressure of Nick Raymond, who has come up with numerous sacks during the course of season, be too much for a finesse team like the Click Clack offense? Finally, will the health of Martin Tougas play a factor in the outcome of this game? With an apparent upper body injury, Tougas’s throwing motion might be altered somewhat because he will not have the optimal strength to throw his signature passes. Once again, if the Phoenix is going to make a serious push, it will be their defense that will lead to them to the next round.

For Click Clack, yes, they are controversial. They will not shy away from a candle-lit dinner conversation with their opposition and they will play hard until the whistle blows. But the one thing they do well, is win football games. This year is no different as they have an opportunity to shed away the title of losing the big game by beating an established team in the Phoenix. The key element for their success is not their defense but their offense. For the Click Clack to have a chance to win this game, it will go through the hands of Gentile. This year he threw a Peyton Manning like 42 touchdowns, but yet, he ended up with a Danny McManus like 14 interceptions. In their previous encounter with the Phoenix, Gentille threw two interceptions. He will need to be more efficient in distributing the football, and making the correct reads. He has the weapons to throw to, and the one player who might be the difference in this game is Nareg Yessayan. His ability to go up in the air and come down with the football might prove to be difficult for the Phoenix to defend, but will there be any situation that will present itself to have this scenario play out?   

As highly anticipated as this matchup will be, who will remain calm during the storm? From all indications in the post-game shouting match between these two clubs, it will be awfully hard for both teams to stay silent for even six seconds. But I give the slight edge to the Phoenix because of their defense and how they have been able to withstand all obstacles thrown at their way. Furthermore, the Phoenix will not make the same mistake when in their previous meeting they allowed Click Clack to score 18-second half points to squeak out a win. However, it will be a defensive stand that will win Phoenix this game.

 
The final matchup of the D2 playoffs features the Messengers of Happiness taking on the Waterbuffaloes. These teams had an early season tussle which the Buffaloes won 32-25. This upcoming battle will prove to be another classic as both teams are the two most dangerous clubs that are left in the D2 playoffs.

For the Happiness to be successful, they will need to play disciplined football. As everyone knows in D2, it starts off with their pass rusher, Stephane Cole. Cole has demonstrated why he is the sack master of D2. Throughout the season, he was able to manipulate the opposition’s style of play because of his pass rushing technique. However, at times, when the Happiness was able to make a positive play, it was negated due to roughing the passer. For Cole and co., they will need to stay disciplined against a tough Buffaloes football team. Quarterback Bennie Goodfriend, who has learned the skill of being a FPF quarterback, has played well, but against the upper tier teams (Shockers, Waterbuffaloes) he has only completed 45.2 percent of his passes. If Goodfriend can improve his passing numbers, the Happiness has a great chance to win this football game.

The Waterbuffaloes have displayed why they will be the toughest out in the D2 playoffs. In their dismantling of the far more athletic Texas All-Stars team, they were easily able to find the holes in their zone. Furthermore, they were able to slice through with out route passes which created huge yard gains after the catch. What is even more impressive, it was starting quarterback, Craig O’Brien who was dissecting the defense. Only once did they use Chad Byers in a backfield formation, but he did not factor into the play. The Buffaloes are a patient team that will wait for their opponent to show vulnerability. Once they do, they pounce on it, which creates their points. Moreover, in their last tilt with the Happiness, it was Byers who was quarterbacking the team, not O’Brien. So the added element of O’Brien to the mix, will force the Happiness to make adjustments.

This is by the far the toughest call; however, I am leaning with caution with the Happiness. The one thing they possess that the Texas All-Stars do not have, is the ability to combine their athleticism with their high football IQ. Therefore, they will be able to make the adjustments to what the Buffaloes do on offense; so, with caution, I like the Happiness in a very close game.

Percentages%

10%, that I will be 100% correct in my predictions.

20%, that Messengers of Happiness pass rusher Stephane Cole will have 2 sacks this weekend.

30%, that one of the four D2 games will go into overtime.

40%, that the Pacmen-Wolfpack will score 100 combined points this weekend.