Tier 1 Mid-Season Review Part 2

Last week I gave you guys part one of my mid-season Tier 1 review. Now that each team has played at least four games, I can officially say welcome to Part 2 of the Tier 1 mid-season Review.

Blessed (4-0)

They are the only undefeated squad left in Tier 1, but they currently sit in second place due to the (41-41) tie between Terror Squad and Royaume Luminaire, which left the latter one point up on Blessed, and in sole possession of first overall.

It appears as if Blessed will have to wait for their regular season finale showdown with Royaume Luminaire to decide who will finish in the top spot in Tier 1. Having that become a reality will depend on what the former does against another heavyweight, as they take on the 450 Ballers in Week 8, as well as matchups against Mangoose and the Cap Friendly Braves.

Cap Friendly Braves (3-1)

Their one loss came to the 450 Ballers back in Week 1. Since then, they have three dominant victories over Maroons 2.0, Terror Squad, and Never Overtime. Only time will tell if they get an opportunity to avenge the one blemish on their record.

In the meantime, the second half of their schedule sees them play Mangoose tomorrow night, followed by games against Run It Once, #NR, and Blessed.

This team is deep and is blessed with playmakers at all levels on both sides of the ball, with core players in Mike Pierrecin, William Trottier, Jean-Daniel Chevalier, and Jonathan Maheu, as well as recent additions over the last few seasons in Phil Pharand, James Drysdale, Emile Chateauvert, and Kristopher Verreault. Even with all that talent, they can’t replace the loss of Guillaume Beland, Georges Gariépy, and the Pilon brothers. Can this team win the ultimate prize without those four pillars? We will find out soon enough.

KGP (2-2)

After starting off the season (0-2) KGP got back in the win column by beating the Maroons 2.0 by nine. The momentum of the victory was short-lived, as they were blown out (50-13) by Blessed, although the loss deserves an asterisk beside it as they were without their starting Quarterback in Phil Cutler.  

When they have their regular QB, this team is simply loaded, as it has speed and a variety of weapons in Matt Kirouac, Gabe D’Amico-Mazza, Dylan Garber, Jonathan Garfinkle, James Acker, and Mathieu Lepage, who leads the team in catches, targets, yards, and touchdowns.

This team is deeper and more talented than the version we saw last summer. The addition of Kirouac has had the expected effect, as the Hall of Famer has added another level of intelligence and execution on both sides of the ball.

The second half of the season starts on Tuesday for KGP as they take on Never Overtime, followed by matchups against Run It Once, Terror Squad, and #NR. Can this veteran team go undefeated the rest of the way?

Mangoose (1-3)

This team was looking like the opposite of the Minnesota Vikings, who went (11-0) in one-score games last year, as Mangoose is currently (0-3) in that category. While they are still searching for their first close victory of the season, they did manage to checkoff securing a blowout win off their list of things to do, as they beat Run It Once (56-24) this past Tuesday in Laval.

In that contest, Quarterback Nicolas Schaefer had an un-Kirk Cousins like performance in primetime, as he went 19 of 23 for 235 yards and a season-high seven touchdowns. The question now of course is can Mangoose ride that huge victory and wave of positivity into the second half of the season?

We are about to find out as Mangoose has arguably the toughest remaining schedule that begins with a showdown with the Cap Friendly Braves tomorrow, then sees them play #NR, Blessed, and the 450 Ballers. That might not be a murderer’s row, but it is definitely not a walk in the park. This team has talent, and when they are firing on all cylinders, they have now proven that they can beat anyone. Let’s see how far can they go

Run It Once (2-2-1)

This team has the third highest scoring offense behind only Royaume Luminaire and Maroons 2.0. Up until recently, their defense was solid, as they had allowed an average of 17 points per game. The last two weeks however the unit has been anything but, as they have given up 41 and 56 points in losses to Royaume Luminaire and Mangoose respectively.

Both losses came on back-to-back nights. Were they just a bad 24 hours for this talented team, or was it a sign that they can’t compete with the top squads in Tier 1? With upcoming games against KGP, Cap Friendly Braves, and Maroons 2.0, to close out the regular season, we are about to find out.

Terror Squad (0-4-1)

This team is not stacked with Hall of Fame talent like Patrick Jérome and the Pilon brothers like it usually is, but it is still surprising that they are winless past the halfway mark of the season. Inconsistency appears to be their biggest issue, as one week their offense struggles to score points and then the next game the defense can’t get off the field.

Terror Squad wraps up the regular season with games against 450 Ballers, KGP, and Never Overtime. They should beat the last team on the list, but can they muster up enough consistency and execution on both sides of the ball to beat the two other teams?

Picks (favorites in bold)

Cap Friendly Braves vs Mangoose – Cap Friendly Braves

Never Overtime vs KGP – KGP

Mangoose vs #NR – Mangoose (Upset Special #1)

Terror Squad vs 450 Ballers – 450 Ballers

Run It Once vs KGP – KGP (Upset Special #2)

Last Week: (3-2-1)

Regular Season: (12-7-2)

Upset Special: (4-2)

That is it for this week. Good luck to everyone in their games tonight and this week. Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy the long weekend!

If you liked the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], or on the FPF Facebook page.