The Wrath of Khan (Div A) – Week 3

What did I learn from the third week of games? Goodfellas continue to muscle their way to victory; Shockers are unraveling at the seams; The Rainmakers might be eliminated from playoff contention before the midway point; The Kingz style of football reminds me of the New Jersey Devils.

Goodfellas’ Muscle

The first place Goodfellas are receiving little attention for their undefeated start due to other storylines in DA. The Fellas are flying under the radar in hopes of clinching the first seed in DA.

The voice of this team, Jamal Pierre, prefers it be this way. He does not want any attention thrown onto this team. But how can anyone ignore what they have done so far? Their roster is chock filled with talented players at each position.

It seems for every spot on the field, they have depth. This was something that was lacking on the ’09 edition of the Ruff Ryders of Happiness.

Furthermore, they might have the most muscle on a team. With the likes of Pierre, Nathan Taylor, and Ricky Martin they would win the competition of the FPF fittest team.

They have one of the hottest quarterbacks in Benny Goodfriend. His confidence has skyrocketed through the roof since his D2 winter title. He has thrown for 15 touchdowns, and has amassed an astonishing 123.8 quarterback rating.

However, as one rival member mentioned to me, as well as Goodfriend is playing, he can get rattled very easily. Thus, from a mental standpoint it would throw him off his game.

They have arguably the best shutdown cornerback in Nathan Taylor. Who has done wonders to this defense, by eliminating one side of the football field! As a result, his teammates have been rewarded with key interceptions in the first few games of the season.

They have won by an average of 7.6 points per game. This is not a big margin of victory. But it might bode well for them down the road, knowing they have the confidence to win the tight games. Not to look ahead (they face the Rainmakers this weekend), they are licking their chops for their rematch ‘09 finals POW wow with the dysfunctional Shockers.

Shockers: Are They About to Explode?

Could Sunday night have been the beginning of the end for the Shockers hope to win another spring title? The Kingz, to the surprise of some pundits, “shocked” them 32-6.

Throughout the game, Ros Castleton did his best impression of tennis great John McEnroe after a controversial play. Furthermore, he might have a chance to be a penalty kick specialist for Italy at the World Cup in South Africa after his beautiful indentation of the garbage can.

Clearly, things are not right in the Shockers’ world. Once again, they were stood up. This time it was Rick Nincheri who informed the team that he will not continue on as their quarterback.

As a result, Kishon Thompson was thrust into the pivot position. A spot he is not too comfortable with. But he was voted in by his teammates. Thompson did the best he could, but clearly, the Shockers are eliminating his skills as a receiver by having him throw, instead of catching the football.

It was obvious some players did not give their 100-percent effort. Very rarely has this team shown frustration towards each other, but in the aftermath of their loss, there were some choice words amongst the Shockers hierarchy.

The next two games (O.N.S., and Goodfellas) will be highly emotional for this squad. Right now, they’re sitting in third place. But with the Kevin Wyeth Bowl now on the horizon, one has to ponder whether or not any of the Shocker players will have any words for Wyeth?

Once again, the mouthpiece and PR rep for the Shockers, Castleton did give Wyeth a look of disappointment at halftime as he walked into the Lachine Complex. He did mention to me, not all the Shocker players are content with Wyeth donning the O.N.S. colours.

What an Entrance

The “infamous entrance” is what is being dubbed by some, as O.N.S. quarterback, Kevin Wyeth walked in donning the navy and gold colours.

Instantly, O.N.S. will become a better team with him leading the charge. Even though they lost to the Goodfellas by seven points, the entire roster had an extra step in their pace, and there was a sense of new optimism in the air.

The fun only gets going this weekend when the most anticipated matchup so far in DA takes place between Wyeth’s current team and his old club.

Team captain, Ryan Brewster had some choice words for Castleton, after being told of the comments he (Castleton) made during the WEPL. To give the gist of what was said. Brewster politely mentioned that O.N.S. would smash the Shockers.

The battle lines are now set. This game will be highly emotional, intense, and physical. The Shocker players know Wyeth’s offense.  Meanwhile, Wyeth knows the tendencies of the Shockers defense. Who will make the first error? Whoever does might shift the momentum towards the other team.

Eliminated before the midseason?

The Rainmakers playoff hopes could be dashed by the time the last DA game is played on Sunday night. Sitting at 0-3, after a brutal 25-19 loss to the Triple Sixers! Now, they face the two best teams in DA in the Mercenaries and Goodfellas.

On paper, it seems that the Rainmakers have very little chance. Remember, in week one, they lost to the Goodfellas by a mere two-points. But that was the first week, where teams are slowly getting back into the groove of things.

This time around, they (Goodfellas) will not take them for granted.

Ryan Kastner has Michael Chitiyat back in the lineup. But once again, what has been the downfall of this team during the spring seasons is the revolving door that players come and go through. So far they have used 14 players, and that is excluding Charles Antoine-Sinotte.

The Rainmakers are going through a tough patch, but in order for them to rectify their problems, they need to have a more consistent lineup. They can ill-afford to throw out a makeshift roster on the field. Especially this Sunday!

Kastner and a few other Rainmaker players put their season in a nutshell:. They played the worst game in all facets in their loss to the Sixers. It seemed that Kastner was thoroughly disgusted with his play and with his team, to have such a pitiful performance against the Sixers.         

 Is Ken Daneyko Playing With the Kingz?

By the way, no one informed me that the New Jersey Devils are playing in DA this spring. From the looks of how the Kingz have played; boring, sleepy, trapping style of football, they are the Devils of the FPF.

They squeezed the life out of the Shockers, as Frank Lebeau was phenomenal passing the football, finding his teammates in the endzone for five touchdowns. It seems this team has not lost a step with the defections of Pat Jerome and Andre John.

It looks like this is the best ever Kingz edition, not because of their record or talent. It is the chemistry that Starwar has put together. These guys know each other very well. Unlike the Shockers, they’re having fun. That has been the key to their success this season. 

As I mentioned before, their preseason ranking has not been indicative of their game play. As a result, if there was a re-seeding of teams, they would be ranked a lot higher than they were before.    

Percentages%

10%, that the Rainmakers will both games this weekend.

15%, that Rostyn Castleton will give an evil stare to Kevin Wyeth.

20%, that Kevin Wyeth will pass for three touchdowns this weekend.

27%, that Carmine Pollice will throw for more touchdowns this weekend than Benny Goodfriend, and Kevin Wyeth.

28%, that Jamal Pierre will be angry at me for writing about the Goodfellas.