Two weeks in.

The FPF Cup format seems to bring a different atmosphere to our FPF Fields; sure, it’s a bit more laid back for now as everyone knows they’ll make it to the next round, but the spread seems to keep every game competitive the whole way; even in blowouts, teams still feel the need to play their best and not give away free points. It’s fun, it’s good, it’s a nice change of pace.

I’m genuinely curious to see who will continue to impress and be placed higher than their original grouping and who’ll fall lower than we’ve anticipated them to; your placement in the Qualifying Rounds will only depend on how you performed in the Preliminaries.

Let’s get started

Week 2

Another week, another upset for Friends in Low Places. Fine Wine, DK and Urgence Medic made a statement, X-Men squeezed away another close one, a lot of controversy in Tier 2, Lockdown hasn’t looked this good in a long time and Voodoo is now officially 2-0.

Thoughts of the Week

• Daniel Lazarra was basically ecstatic after his second drive with his new team; he might never get over himself.
• Yes, that comment in the recap was a shot intentionally at you Pat Chenard.
• Interestingly, both of Anthony Vendrame’s interceptions came on 4^th downs.
• It was good to see Donald Shepherd back out there and, once he was moved back to snapper, his impact on the game was instant.
• If you’ve missed this week’s podcast, here it is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zciT6LvljTA I might not be as good looking as Robert Campana, but eh.
• It’s really weird to write an article without having picks or predictions in it; it’s a new thing for all of us I guess.
• I’m working on finding a new segment for this article; it feels a bit blend.
• Is Freshii Superfoods the best team that won’t make the top bowl?
• Will we see any of the top ranked team lose one of their preliminary rounds?
• How has the format been so far? Give us feedback!
• Seeing the nickname “The Red Rifle” transform into the “The Beige Water Pistol” is brutal, but so damn spot on.
• I truly feel bad for everyone who drafted David Johnson first overall pick. Luckily, I wasn’t one of them.
• Seeing how the Prelims are going, we’re bound to have VERY exciting Qualifiers.
• Seeing the Daousts on Top Guns had me worried initially, but they held their own more than fine.
• #NR needs Cory Pecker back ASAP.
• OH MY, speaking of #NR. Kendal Mayers absolutely MOSSED Karim Binette. The video is great, but it was even better in person.
• Take notes though, Kevin Wyeth won’t be victimized the same way.

Recaps

• Top Secret vs DK: Facing, arguably, the best roster in the tournament (at least the highest rated if anything), Top Secret were in for a difficult matchup on Tuesday night. Starting the game with Nirosh Suresh at QB, they gave him plenty of time before subbing him out and putting Alexis Labonté back in; I mean, after 4 interceptions, the game was basically over. Alexis Labonté managed to connect with Nicolas Saro for two scores and redeem themselves for, at least, scoring on DK, but the game was never close as the halftime score indicated 34-0. DK is loaded with talent on every position as even Rochdi could take a break and allow Rod Mashtoub to throw for them if needs be (apparently using Pat Chenard hasn’t been successful as his only attempt aside from converts was intercepted). If I took anything from this game is the DK’s defence is absolutely ridiculous and I’m happy they aren’t on my schedule.
• Dad Bods vs Diablos: Still trying to get accustomed to his new receiver, Francois Martin faced a very stingy defence in Dad Bods on their opening night that ended up in a very unfavourable matchup for his team. Sean Avraam toyed with the opposing defence as he delivered 7 passing Tds and finished with only 2 incompletes doing so. To be fair, Francois Martin’s lone interception was a nice strike down field to Gabriel Wiseman who simply couldn’t hang on to the ball and safety Eddy Lee managed to catch the ball after the fact and run it back for decent field positioning. If we’ve learnt anything from this matchup is that Dad Bods are the real deal this season and Diablos still got plenty of time to work in timing routes and shack off the possible dust before the next round; there’s a very probable chance these two teams end up with nice records in the Qualifying rounds.
• Top Guns vs BearSkins: In what I expected to be a serious blowout from the get-go, BearSkins showed up big early to put pressure on Top Guns and managed to keep this game much closer than most anticipated. Distributing deep throws to both Marco Bertoldi and Kyle Lebofsky early, Neil Etinson looked poised and comfortable in the pocket facing top end defenders and an upset was brewing. I take nothing away from Paul Lapierre who played superb pretty much the entire game and wasn’t stopped; it isn’t always the easiest feat when you’ve got a handful of new receivers, but he managed to spread the ball around, get everyone familiar with his type of offence and put his team in a favourable situation. Down 5, late in the game, BearSkins were marching past midfield with favourable field positioning to go up by at least a point and put the pressure on the opposing QB to break their defence one more time, but as he scrambled trying to buy time, Neil Etinson fired a pass right into Robbie Robinson’s chest which he managed to bring back a good 10-15 yards before being tackled. As you can imagine, Top Guns’ offence went back out there, marched the rest of the way and put this game away. With only a few plays left, BearSkins could only attempt to contest the spread, but couldn’t make it happen.
• Prime Time vs Trigger Happy Bunnies: I’d like to open this recap by pointing out how I’ve underestimated Trigger Happy Bunnies coming into this season. Sure, they’ve got a hell of a roster, but I’ve had my reserves about Jonathan Lemieux as a QB recently (constantly battling through injuries and a moving roster is far from a successful position to be in), but they came out swinging and hammered down a “new” team who had a good Week 1 game. If their offence can continue to play THIS well, they have the defence to soar all the way to the top ranks and finish atop their Tier. On the flip side, there’s some good pieces on Prime Time, but I feel like there’s still trying to find themselves and what really works for them; it’s still the preliminary rounds and there’s plenty of time to grow. Both of these teams are now on my radar.
• Lockdown vs Sons of Mitches: Steering away from the controversy that occured during this game to simply recap the actual football-related action, Sons of Mitches managed to play time properly and get one last drive before the half to even things out after being intercepted on their opening drive. Seeing how the game was tied at 20, it shows how far Sons of Mitches have grown since their most recent seasons. Going no huddle, when down by two scores in the second half, was a solid adjustment and SoM did all they possibly could to claw back into this game, but Lockdown killed clock on their last possession and walked away with a 6-point victory. Props out to Pat Riot for playing superb in back-to-back weeks; this could turn out to be his best season ever.

Players of the Week

• Daniel Lazzara (Fine Wine): The infamous perfect QBR might have slipped away once again, but his performance was as close to dominant as it gets; 7 passing Tds and only 3 incompletions. Nice way to introduce your team to the tournament.
• Alexis Gaumont (Urgence Medic): With 3 receiving Tds and a pick-six defensively, he’s putting his name out there as a two-way beast.
• Sean Avraam (Dad Bods): Making it look easy, he tossed 7 Tds and only 2 incompletions in his opening game. I guess he’s still high from that recent Championship.
• Adam Rockman (Keyport Lock): Although they lost, he did as much as humanly possible finishing the game with 2 receiving touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Way to ball out Adam.
• Mathieu Lepage (Freshii Superfoods): Can someone PLEASE cover him? 150 receiving yards and 4 Tds. DAYUM.

• Jonathan Lemieux (Trigger Happy Bunnies): 20/25, 238 yards and 6 Tds. Do I have to say more?
• Tristan Grenon (North Shore Finners): Although his QB numbers aren’t the greatest, he still managed to throw for 3 touchdowns, but his defensive performance was out of this world as he completed the hat trick with 3 interceptions and managed a pick-six on top of that.
• Alex David (Lockdown): Subbing for a team isn’t always easy, but he made it look like it as he finished with 3 touchdowns over 6 catches. Well done.

That’s it for me this week. Hopefully this is what you’ve all grown to love and expect out of me for your weekly readings. If it isn’t, you can send any sort of formal complaint to Paolo Della Rocca via twitter (@PeezeFPF) so I can keep tab and act like I didn’t know about it. Otherwise, if you have any comments, feel free to hit me up either via emails ([email protected]) or twitter (@DagenaisFPF). Until next time.