The Wrath of Khan (D2) – Week 4

What have I learned as we enter the Super Bowl break? The Mercenaries showed too much mercy to their opponent. The Renegades remind me of the classic Oakland/L.A. Raider teams, just throwing the football downfield. Paul Kamel might be the best receiver in D2. The Texas All-Stars almost have that killer instinct.

Do the Mercenaries have a legitimate grip about losing 43-39 to the Renegades? Absolutely! Yes, the game was a treat to watch. The Mercenaries were the better team for the first 45 minutes. However, in the last few minutes of the game, the Renegades showed why they were a preseason top-ten team as they pulled out a win from the jaws of defeat.

From the Mercenaries perspective, I can understand the examples of the some questionable calls by the officiating duo on Sunday night. For instance, Andrew Adams running backwards down the sideline. Now, I have seen a plethora of players pulling off the Michael Jackson moon walk in this league. But for those who witnessed this in the end zone stands, they were a bit confused by the penalty for running backwards.

Furthermore, there were some debatable push-off calls that were not flagged by the officiating crew. As a result, Renegades receiver, Dave Stala had a field day with eight receptions, 145 receiving yards, and four touchdowns.

He looked the like the player the Montreal Alouettes envisioned when they drafted him way back when. But guess what? He is now playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats team that is close to being irrelevant.

What makes this win important for the Renegades? This could potentially be the difference of them being a division winner, or a wild card seed in the playoffs. Moreover, if these two teams are tied with the same record at season’s end, the Renegades will own the tiebreaker.

As for the Mercenaries, there is not much they can do now, except to regroup, and look forward to the rest of the season. It was good to see that Carmine Pollice has not lost his touch throwing the ball, as he was perfect on his one passing attempt, which went for a touchdown.

Sid Gillman Theory of Football!!!

I am sure Oakland Raiders managing partner, Al Davis would be proud of the Renegades on how they threw the football downfield.

So far in two games, Serge Brousseau has passed for 14 touchdowns. Minus the two games he did not play, he is on pace for 56 touchdown passes. I wonder if Rick Nincheri wishes he was back on the team?

Just imagine a starting quartet that would consist of Liam Mahoney, Scot Mirnowicz, Robbie Robinson, and Dave Stala. So far (albeit they have not all played together) they have combined for 50 receptions, 758 receiving yards, and 23 touchdowns. That being said, are these four players, better than Paul Kamel, and Matt Norzil?

The Renegades will need to put up at least 35-plus points to win games. On the other hand, I wonder if the Renegades have it in them to be more consistent on defense. There are some holes on their defense that could be easily exposed by the opposition.

The New Matt Norzil?

Is Paul Kamel the new Matt Norzil? I would say he is more comparable to  the game breaking ability of Braylon Edwards, minus the questionable hands. From my observation, it seems the Click Clack’s first fifteen scripted plays on offense, twelve of them are deep balls to Kamel. So far, he has averaged 23.5 yards per catch, and has accumulated one touchdown catch for every 1.5 passes thrown to him.

However, with this type of production, the question that remains is, can he keep it up with his style of play on the field? Given the history of injuries that Kamel has sustained throughout his career, he will need to pace himself, if he wants to continue at this rate.

Right now, the debate could be settled by Valentine’s Day weekend on who the best receiver is. Get ready for another great battle between the Click Clack, and Texas All-Stars.

APB Alert

By the way, has anyone seen Richard Shefteshy? As good as a player he is, it is evident he has yet not comfortably fit into his role with the Click Clack. The Click Clack will defend him by saying he did have a key interception in their win over the All Blacks.

But, are they using him the right way? Granted, Shefteshy is coming off a wrist injury (maybe too much pointing). Clearly, if they want to reap the rewards, they need to incorporate him even more. I wonder if the Click Clack is missing Nareg Yessayan?

Killer Instinct

The Texas All-Stars are starting to learn how to put teams away. Early on during their infant stages in FPF, this team was too wild to finish off games.

Now, they have slowly learned to put teams away when they have the chance, as they won 39-12 over the Monarchs. By the way, the 2010 Monarchs looked like the same ‘09 Monarchs that resembled the ‘08 Monarchs of old.

The game was over when the All-Stars defense intercepted Cory Johnson twice on his first three passes attempts of the game.

From there, they did not look back as Benny Goodfriend passed for six touchdowns. I noticed that written on some of the All-Stars flag belts is, “Too Fast”, I wonder if the Monarchs were driving CL Mercedes, would they have caught up with them?

For the remaining opponents on their schedule, the All-Stars have learnt what opposing blood tastes like, and will be a tough animal to stop.

First Wins Anybody?

When will the first wins for 416, Black Knights, Byrdgang, and Wildcats come? When the league resumes schedule after the Super Bowl bye week. The Knights will take on the Wildcats. So hopefully someone will win that game, unless they tie.

As for 416, their first win could come against the Monarchs. Team Ontario has the tools to win games, but they have yet been able to stay onside before the snap of the football. If 416, can come out of the bye with a strong second half of the season, they could pull off an upset. Just imagine, they almost defeated the Click Clack, but tied them back in week two.

For the Byrdgang, their best chance to win a game will come against the Wildcats. In fact, for those who remember my preview article, the Byrdgang-Wildcats game was on my top-10 list of games this season.

As for the Wildcats, they could defeat the Black Knights, or Byrdgang. But will they do so?

So maybe D2 will have no winless teams, then again who knows?

Food For Thought:

If anyone has noticed, the 3-1 Ruff Ryders are sitting atop of the West division. Their lone defeat came in a one-point loss against O.N.S. However, their season could be well determined in the next three weeks as they will face Mercenaries, Renegades, and Wolverines who have a combined record of eight wins, and four losses.

But in typical Ruff Ryder fashion will they continue to pull their usual early playoff exit? I cannot pinpoint what it is with this team in the playoffs, but rather than rough riding to wins, they look soft, and confused. Maybe this year will be different, they are flying under the radar, and might pull off a shocking victory.   

Quote of the Week:

A prominent D2 player said, “It won’t surprise me to see Carmine (Pollice) take over as quarterback for the Mercenaries by the end of the season”.

This is in reference to Mercenaries quarterback Gino Di Fazio being the current pivot man. But with Pollice on-board it might make things more interesting. Oh yeah, for those who skipped the first three paragraphs, the Mercenaries lost to the Renegades.

Power Rankings:

1)      Shockers (4-0): The best defense, and the fourth ranked offense in D2. Shockers are off to a great start. I have them at number one for now, but who have they beaten? The overall record of their four opponents (Byrdgang, Monarchs, Kingz, and Red Ballers) three wins, 11 losses, and one tie. Key win(s): None. Next Game: Waterbuffaloes

2)      Texas All-Stars (4-0): On defense, they have snagged nine interceptions. Arguably, they have the most explosive offense in D2, led by a rejuvenated Benny Goodfriend. They have defeated the two finalists from the winter’09 season (Waterbuffaloes, Wolfpack). If they convincingly beat the Click Clack, they might leapfrog their division rival Shockers. Key win(s): Waterbuffaloes. Next Game: Click Clack

3)      Click Clack (2-0-2): No one in the D2 circle talks about this team being undefeated. Sure, they were disappointed with their two ties to start off the season. But they have a great quarterback in Danny Gentile, and the new “Matt Norzil” in Paul Kamel. Heck, if they convincingly defeat the All-Stars, who says they cannot jump to the number one spot. Key win(s): Tomahawks. Next Game: Texas All-Stars

4)      Wolverines (3-1): The team was questioned for self-demoting themselves back to D2. But they have won 16 out of the last 17 D2 games. They came up huge in their win over O.N.S. The question that remains, can they keep on winning? Key win(s): O.N.S. Next Game: Phoenix

5)      O.N.S. (3-1): Have they been lucky? I think to an extent they have. They have won their three games by a combined total of nine points. They lost to a gritty Wolverines team. But yet, they’re first in their division. The next big test will come against the Renegades. First team to 40-points will win. Key win(s): Phoenix. Next game: Renegades  

Percentages%

100%, I must salute Ross Castleton, and Matt Young for their hard work raising money for the earthquake victims of Haiti. 

Next week, find out which conference is the so-called power conference of D2

Our Thoughts and Prayers

On behalf of the FPF, and WEPL I would like to send my condolences to Ross and his entire family for their loss of a great wife, and hardworking mother in Paula Hassani. It is awfully tough for any family to lose a parent or a loved one. But Ross you have an entire FPF brotherhood to lean on whenever you need too. Our thoughts, and prayers go out to you and your family. Stay strong brother!!!