Two weeks.

It’s already been two weeks since the season officially started and it feels like yesterday we were all excited to see how week 1 will turn out. There’s ‘only’ 8 games left to be played before the real season begins, so let’s not waste any more time with these useless introductions that no one reads; I’m not Peeze.

Let’s get started.

Week 2

Sucks to say but the two new teams are a complete mess, Spitfire lacks a bit of firepower, #NR remained competitive even with a handful of guys missing, Ocean’s 12 is the real deal, I’d be scared to play MetaMayhem this season and Victory Royale! Escaped a close one.

Thoughts of the Week

All jokes aside, it sucks to see someone get hurt.
If 2HD had a 6^th defender not named Joey Taylor, they probably would’ve won that game.
I don’t know why our website keeps duplicating Dad Bods’ stats. Maybe the 10^th best QB paid someone at some point…!
No, Braves, you won’t get a mention for this week’s performance. C’mon now.
Seeing how competitive #NR has been so far, I’m not worried at all about their Div A status.
Monstars lost a close one to Outsiders; nothing to be ashamed of. Even less when you consider how it all went down.
Prospects Squad really need Francois Rocheleau and Jonathan Senecal to show up and start balling out.
Underachievers continue to look realllll good out there.
I’m not sure what’s the best game in Div A this week; Outsiders vs Khan Artists or Ocean’s 12 vs Braves. Hmm.
I know this isn’t Div A/B related, but Vinny Gualano’s 10 TD in Division C deserves a shout out. Also, I know he’s reading this.
I wonder how long Sean Avraam will remain mad at me. #10thbest.
Poches & Fils’ Dodgeball tournament looks legit. And it’s for a great cause. YOU should go.
Man that new Ville St-Laurent complex is pretty dope.
Without the usual 2 top dogs in Div A, it feels a lot “more open”. We’re bound to have a pretty exciting finish.

Players of the Week

Patrick Jerome (Outsiders): He continues his dominant two-way performance with yet another terrific week: 3 touchdowns and an interception (to seal the deal on top of it).
Julien Paiement (Braves): So the rest of the team had an easy going, but what he did at rusher (3 sacks in a row to create a safety. Finishing with 4 total) was quite the show.

Alex Holowach (Meta Mayhem): 280 passing yards and 8 TDs doesn’t get you a perfect passer rating? That shit’s broken man.
Marc-Antoine Viens (2HD): Really did all he could with 9 receptions for 96 yards and 4 TDs. Can’t blame him for this one.
Rod Mashtoub (Underachievers): 2 touchdowns (on two catches) and 2 interceptions. Prettyyyy good stuff.

Recaps

Ocean’s 12 vs #NR: With a few guys missing for #NR, facing Ocean’s 12 was a pretty tall task they couldn’t muster up to. In fact, Ocean’s 12 took control of this game early and only allowed #NR to score in garbage time when it was all said and done. Cory Pecker had his chances and this game was VERY competitive through and through, but Ryan Kastner finally has a defence to bail him out every now and then and we saw relief on his face when his team got a clutch 4^th down stop in the redzone allowing him to go back out there, score and take a dominant lead early in the 2^nd half. With a defence that remains us a lot more of Montreal’s Finest than any other team out there, it’s safe to say Ocean’s 12 is built to go all the way.
Khan Artists vs Spitfire: Some will say ‘it was a close game’, but I strongly disagree. Even with Daniel Lazzara going down with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder early, Spitfire still couldn’t stop the powerful offence of Khan Artists. Carmine Pollice continues to make good work of the weapons he has and he turn guys most of us would look away from into Div A talent, but it still feels like it’s not enough on both sides of the ball. Spitfire’s roster, as a whole, is lacking trying to compete with these Div A juggernauts and might not get any breather ‘till they get to face Freshmen. Khan Artists’ defensive woes continues to haunt them a bit as they allowed one too many guys to slip by them, but it was already looking a little better than it did the week before and their offence will carry them all the way if needs be. They continue to rise as other teams seem to stand still.
Freshmen vs Braves: In a game that was over pretty early in the 1^st half, Freshmen was NO match for the Braves. In all honesty, the Freshmen’ players individually aren’t bad and can compete against most individuals in the division, but their lack of chemistry, knowing what to do at certain times in the game and not having a QB is really killing them. It’s a matter of learning the nuances of FPF, but instead of doing it at a level at which they could excel and make mistakes, they’re forced to play the toughest opponents and fight battles where you can lose for making the smallest of mistakes. It’s a tough way to start a potentially prolific FPF career.
Spring Cleaning vs Victory Royale!: In Phil Cutler’s first game of the Spring season, there was definitely some rust there for him to shake off and a little of chemistry needed with his new offensive pieces. Victory Royale! Is a good team that might take a few weeks to really turn into a powerhouse in Division B, but Spring Cleaning feels like a mess out there. Pat Chenard struggled most of the night due to way too many drops from a bunch of receivers including Nicholas Lessard and Rochdi Benabdelkader, but I do feel like something is missing from Spring Cleaning to really push themselves to the upper echelon of the division and I can’t put my finger on it just yet. They made good plays (that one interception by Darnell Kevis Riley was pretty nice), but they lacked firepower in the 2^nd half to maintain their lead and strip that W away from VR!. Hopefully they’ll find their rhythm before it costs them one too many games to come back from.

Power Rankings

Outsiders (2-0): Gotta beat the best to be the best and they did just that. Welcome back at #1 Kevin Wyeth.
Braves (2-0): Whatever that was this week doesn’t count. They remain #2.
Monstars (1-1): Losing to Kevin Wyeth on the final drive isn’t exactly what I’d call “a drop”. Let’s not overreact here.
Ocean’s 12 (2-0): Week 1 didn’t count, but this week’s game was impressive. Let’s see if they can continue the trend. This weekend’s game will be a pretty good measuring stick.
Khan Artists (1-1): Maybe the best offence in the division, but their defensive woes continue to worry me a bit. Time will tell.
#NR (0-2): They’ve remained VERY competitive throughout their 2 losses. I’m not worried whatsoever for these guys.
Spitfire (0-2): They’re a good team, but Division A is not an easy division to play in.
Freshmen (0-2): I’ve seen them play and they won’t compete until they solve the QB issue. As simple as that.

Meta Mayhem (2-0): The more I look at it, the scarier it gets.
2HD (1-1): Their loss is due to roster inconsistency more than their actual ability. I won’t overreact to a single loss. Not yet.
Underachievers (2-0): They were the most dominant team last Winter and they’re slowly building up that pedigree once again. I’d hate to be on their path in the upcoming weeks.
Victory Royale! (2-0): A close win is still a win. Wasn’t the prettiest of outing, but their defence is the real deal.
Dad Bods (1-1): Impressive victory; you play who’s in front of you. Sean Avraam was able to exploit the right matchups, maybe he should’ve been ranked 9^th. Who knows.
Drop The Mic (1-1): Losing to the #1 ranked team isn’t too shabby. They’ll bounce back.
Le Sport Campus (0-2): Somehow winless after two weeks, I have a feeling Mat René is poised for a BIG game any moment now.
LGM (0-1): Freebies are always welcome to build confidence. Next week’s a good measuring stick for these guys.
Spring Cleaning (0-2): They were in control for a while, but played flat in the end. Doesn’t bode well.
Prospects Squad (0-2): They won’t win games until they start showing up on time and with a QB.

Predictions

Freshmen vs #NR: #NR
Outsiders vs Khan Artists: Outsiders
Ocean’s 12 vs Braves: Ocean’s 12
Monstars vs Spitfire: Monstars

Spring Cleaning vs Le Sport Campus: Le Sport Campus
Prospects Squad vs Drop The Mic: Drop The Mic
Meta Mayhem vs 2HD: Meta Mayhem
Victory Royale! vs Underachievers: Underachievers
LGM vs Dad Bods: Dad Bods

That’s it for me this week. I know it might not have been the longest of articles, but, to be fair, you guys haven’t even started playing yet! I’m looking forward to Sunday and the season’s kickoff. I’ll be scorekeeping Tuesdays in Brossard, feel free to stop by and say hi! Until next time…! Eagle, I heard about the stats gone missing. It was me.

Week 2: The rich getting richer