The Wrath of Khan (Div A) – Week 10

What did I learn from the last weekend of the regular season? The Rainmakers might be the most dangerous sixth seed imaginable. The Shockers are still the defending champions. Are the Mercenaries prohibitive favourites?

We have the final six DA teams set for the playoffs. The one common sentiment amongst the FPF community,  is that there is no actual favourite to win the DA title. 

With the Mercenaries getting first seed due to the bumbling loss by the Goodfellas, is anyone convinced they are the legitimate leaders to win the title? One has to consider the near loss to the Shockers, who were quarterbacked by Sean Haney, as a possible sign of weakness.

What about the Goodfellas? They have been on-top of the mountain from the get-go. But they lost to the pesky Kingz in week.10. They have a lot of talent, but will it translate to a championship?

As for the Kingz, no one has been able to get a pulse on them. They look like a serious contender when they sank Goodfellas, Mercenaries, and Shockers. But they left all the pundits scratching their heads with their loss to Rainmakers in week nine. So who are the real Kingz?

Who will the Shockers go with at quarterback? This question has been a thorn by their side. Is Kishon Thompson confident enough to manage the game? Their defense is ferocious, and can match any opponent’s offensive personnel. The defending champions want to keep their crown.

For the last two FPF seasons, the Triple Sixers were questioned for staying in a lower division. Initially, they took their lumps, and now have come out of the regular season as the fifth seed. Are they a serious darkhorse? Or will Karim Chaoual revert back to his old playoff shortcomings?

Could the Rainmakers be the best sixth seed in FPF history? Coming off three straight wins, they have peaked at the right time. Now, would it be an upset if they win their first round game against the Kingz?

Playoff Preview

Shockers-Triple Sixers

A four (Shockers) versus five (Triple Sixers) battle! The last time these two teams played each other, it set the tone for the rest of season.

For starters, the Sixers solidified their playoff chances when they defeated the Shockers. Whereas the defending champions were entering the black hole of their losing streak!

In order for the Sixers to be successful this weekend. Karim Chaoual cannot have any unforced errors. He must play a flawless game from start to finish. His offense must be in sync to have any chance.

His receivers must not shy away from the aggressive, attacking nature of the Shocker defenders. Everyone knows Chaoual’s strong rapport with Pat Jerome. Now, which receiver will be able to step-up and shoulder the secondary role?

The Sixers defense must be patient. They should not force the play knowing very well the Shockers do not have a dangerous quarterback throwing for them. But when an opportunity arises, they must pounce on potential mistakes.

For the Shockers to win this game, it will be their defense who needs to lead the way. Coming into the season, everyone knew their defense was the best in the league. Even without an authentic quarterback, they weathered the storm to finish in the fourth spot.

Their aggressive style of defense has proved to be overbearing for their opponents.  If no one believes this, just ask the Mercenaries how sore they are from their victory over them.

The Shockers must get into the heads of the Triple Sixers. The mouthpiece to this defense, Kishon Thompson must continue to mentally bully whoever enters his zone of play. If there is one thing the Shockers do very well, it’s toy with the opponents’ emotions.

The architect of the defense, Andre Knights must formulate a solid gameplan to force Chaoual to his fourth and fifth reads. Chaoual has a tendency to get flustered very easily when things are not going his way. So Knights will need whoever rushes Chaoual to really make it an uncomfortable night for him.

As for the offense, they have playmakers in Knights, Thompson and Akked Moore. The Sixers do not have an answer for Moore, so if Thompson is smart, he will use the (Moore) big body to his advantage.

The time is now for the Shockers, and they might be a team that no one wants to face in the DA playoffs.

Kingz-Rainmakers

The three (Kingz) versus six (Rainmakers) matchup! They are the hottest teams entering the playoffs. In fact, the last loss for the Rainmakers came against the Kingz in a 33-26 decision.

For the Rainmakers to be victorious, they will need to continue their success on offense. In his last three games, Ryan Kastner has thrown for 14-touchdown passes.  He has been the main reason why the Rainmakers are in the playoffs.

Furthermore, he has only been sacked four times during this winning streak, whereas in the first seven games, he was sacked 20 times.  If the Rainmakers are to be successful, they need Kastner to avoid the sacks. It seems he has developed a quiet swagger when he is unaffected by the pass rush.

Who will their lineup consist of? Last weekend, there was no Bobby Mikelberg due to injury. But C.A. Sinotte played, however, he is not playoff eligible. Is Michael Chitiyat healthy enough? If they can field a solid, healthy lineup, the Rainmakers have a very solid receiving core.

The one historic knock on the Rainmakers is their ineptitudes to make a play on defense. In their midseason loss to the Kingz, they had zeroes across the board in sacks and interceptions. This clearly has to change this weekend.

Yes, they like to match their athletes up, but they need to create some breaks, thus, allowing themselves a chance to win this game. 

Who can come up with the game changing play? Is it Lee Kiley, Ben Leger, or Michael Samman? The supporting cast must bring their game to another level to have a chance to win this contest.

In the preseason rankings, the Kingz were ranked very low.  But they proved their skeptics wrong as they finished in third place with a respectable 6-3-1 record.

One key element to their success has been the team first concept. Clearly, team captain, Rey Starwar has made sure this team has fun.

On offense, Frank Lebeau had a silent successful season. To date, there is no mention of him in the quarterback of the year race. Even though he passed for 46-touchdowns, and he defeated the Goodfellas, Mercenaries, and Shockers.

Alex Lever is the catalyst of this offense. When he is on his game, it is awfully tough to stop.  Even his teammates have benefitted from his presence on the football field. Four Kingz players (including Starwar) have at least 24 receptions or more. The one player, who had a great season with 54-catches, was Nicolas Guimer.

The Kingz have a lethal offense that can score points. The best aspect to their game is they can slow down the tempo, and really force the hand of their opponent.

The one decided advantage they have over the Rainmakers, is on defense. The x-factor to their defense is Charles Baillargeon and his 11-sacks.  He will need to make it a long day for Kastner in the pocket. If there is one thing Kastner is not a big fan of, it is getting sacked.

Their defense must be aggressive to the football. For as patient as they are, they can ill-afford to allow the bigger, quicker, and to an extent, faster Rainmaker receivers be the first to touch the football.  That means Lever, and Lebeau will be relied upon to create the turnovers.

Kingz have gotten to this point, because they have played the “Us Against the World” card. No one thought they could survive with no Pat Jerome, or Andre John. But they weathered the storm, and as three seed, they know they can beat any team(s) in DA.  

O.N.S. Aftermath

As predicted by this scribe, the downfall of the O.N.S. was the inability to catch the football on Sunday night.  I must have counted at least four drops by the O.N.S., half of those incompletions occurred in the endzone. The worst was on the last play, when Ryan Brewster had a blatant drop to win the game.

This team started off the season with a dud loss to the Kingz, and it is poetic that they finished off their year with a dropped pass. 

Where do they go? Well, for starters, they need to establish their roster. Clearly, there was too much influx on the game day alignment to develop any rapport amongst the players.

Team captain, Ryan Brewster will have to look for more established players, and create a winning environment. To do so, he will need to keep the likes of Sean Kennedy on-board.  But O.N.S. is nothing more than a D2 team at best. But keep in-mind with the potential new rules looming, there might be some restrictions placed on the lower divisions, stay tuned.

Goodfellas Don’t Want the Kingz?

On Sunday night, I could not decipher the post-game reaction of the Goodfellas. Were they angry that they lost to the Kingz? Or, were they happy they might not have to play them in the semi-finals.

It seems in the minds of the Goodfellas, they will not be surprised if the Kingz lose to the Rainmakers. If this is case, it will allow them to take on the Triple Sixers, or Shockers who they both defeated easily this season.

But in the case of this team, the much needed time off will do them well, as they prepare for the playoffs. However, they should not rest on their laurels too much, because whoever they play will be a tough out.

Daron Basmadjian The Matt Barnes of FPF!

Just like Matt Barnes of the NBA, who will be on his eighth team since 2003. Daron Basmadjian has played on his second team in as many weeks.

Basmadjian signed with Goodfellas minutes prior to their game. He even donned the famous Marc Champagnie (who did not play) thirteen jersey.

But once again, just like with the Sixers, Basmadjian’s presence did no wonders for the Goodfellas who lost. Furthermore, Basmadjian dropped a critical touchdown catch. But he did make up for his error with his second sack of the season. For those keeping track, his two sacks are tied with the likes of Ross Castleton, Jason Prince, and Karl De Nie.

Just imagine if he played a full season? His sack celebration would consist of the Shocker shimmy mixed in with the Mark Gastineau dance.

Percentages%

12%, no one will be surprised if the Rainmakers defeat the Kingz.

20%, that one of the two games will go to overtime.

20%, that everyone was surprised the Kingz swept their two game weekend series over the Triple Sixers, and Goodfellas.

23%, that is was a small bump in the road for the Goodfellas to lose to the Kingz.

25%, that Carmine Pollice will win the Quaterback of the Year Award.