Week 2: Weekend Recap and Monday Previews

Hey everyone,

Iggy here with this week’s Monday article. Before starting, I want to go over the format of these articles one last time (I promise, it’s the last time). In this article, you will be reading recaps of some great weekend games and then move on to reading previews for tonight’s games. In the recaps, I will try my best to give the pulse of the game; things that you could not get by reading the play-by-play and box score. But first, my opening thoughts of the week:

– Week 2 of the Winter season is in full swing, and it’s crazy to see some teams already with 2 wins and others with 2 losses, while other teams still await their fate in their second game. We are 1/5th into the season, how’s your team doing?

– What a crazy Houston-KC playoff game on Sunday afternoon! Can Atlanta officially pass the torch of blowing leads over to the Texans? A 24-0 comeback IN A SINGLE QUARTER?? Yup, torch passed down.

– FPF has some serious talent, across all divisions. Seriously, if you’re new to FPF, stick around to watch some games before and/or after your game… you’re sure to see a spectacular display of talent; one handed beauties, toe-drag swags, ankle-breaking TD runs. The entertainment value of this league is crazy high.

– If your captain hasn’t informed you already, week 2 means team picture week! Look your best out there for the ‘gram boys and girls.

– GB vs SF? Ten vs. KC? Give me GB… did you see vintage A-A-ron throwing darts out there?? As for the other game… man, the Titans might prove everyone wrong once again, but I say… Andy Reid, your going back to the Superbowl since you took my Eagles there in 2004. A KC-GB Superbowl prediction it is. Mahomes vs. Rodgers; a fantastic Superbowl matchup!

– All that being said, here are my Weekend recaps and Monday game previews.

Weekend Recaps

South Side Speedsters vs. Y$L (5B)

Wow. You want me to refer a game that fits the criteria I mentioned above about FPF talent?? Look no further than this game here. Quarterback vision, wide receiver Mossing, shifty moves, well-timed routes, Pick 6’s… this 11pm Sunday night game in Lachine had me getting up from my seat on several instances with my jaw-dropped. A true Sunday Night Football classic.

For the South Side Speedsters (SSS), Ben Reid was in a zone in this game. You might see 10 completions for the whole game and think “really?”. But yes, really, he was that efficient moving the ball, taking a mere 2-4 plays on average, to drive down the field and put up scores. I felt he started imposing his will after Noah Groper (Y$L) batted down back-to-back passes on a drive as the rusher. Reid used the pump fake to evade an aggressive Groper (ha. ha.) on 3rd down, and proceeded to throw a 40-bomb to #4 Dawson Pierre, who mossed 2 defenders in the back of the endzone and got both feet in. First time hearing the name Dawson Pierre? My god, it will surely not be the last. Dawson, you officially made it to the article and will from now on (or should be) the center of attention of opposing defences (that is, if I am able to capture his game presence in this recap). This guy simply BALLED out, with the Moss TD, to go along with 2 other TD’s and an incredible Pick 6, plus two other interceptions, giving him the following stat line: 3 receptions, 90 yards, 3 touchdowns, 3 INT’s, 1 PD, 1 Def TD. And he would do little dances to top it all off in between whistles with his teammates and even alone. The guy was obviously having a blast out there and loves the game. Just an incredible display of raw talent. He and Reid were the stars for the SSS’s.

On Y$L’s side, a team that is comprised mostly from the 2019 Winter Div 5B champs, The Process, they started off a tad slow in this one. They weren’t able to recover from it, always seeming to be 1 step behind SSS. Without Andrew Langburt at QB, the offense took some time to gel, but eventually Jonathan Perez was able to use his mobility to shift the SSS defense out of position, and hit his open receivers. While at first it seemed like Perez was forcing it to Groper, even in tight coverage for incompletions, I wondered if he would stick with that philosophy… and he did. It’s actually a good thing he did, as the Groper-Perez combo moved the ball upfield drive after drive by hitting Noah on some crisp routes. In particular, his favorite, a 10-yard smash out while Perez was on the move to his side. Man, that looked impossible to stop as Groper would get some serious separation from defenders, and would juke upfield for added yardage. Groper finished the night with 9 receptions for 104 yds, 2 TD’s and a PD.

This game had a moment which perfectly summarized the 1-on-1 battle going on in this game. The score was 25-24 for the Speedsters after Y$L had just scored a touchdown. Going for the 1-point convert for the tie, Perez hit Groper on a crossing route in the back of the endzone and got his 2 hands on it, but stride-for-stride with him was Dawson Pierre, who also had his 2 hands all over the ball. It was the true definition of a simultaneous catch; both Groper and Pierre trying to rip the ball out of each other’s hands. There was just enough time where both players had the ball, and ff course, a tie goes to the offence, so the XP was awarded to Y$L for the tie. That single play however, was a microcosm of the incredible battle going on between Groper and Dawson. It was clear to me then that one of these 2 studs were going to make a game-winning play for their respective teams.

After going up by 8 points, the SSS’s needed to defend a Y$L drive with 5 plays remaining. It didn’t surprise me to see that Groper got them to the 15 yard line in 2 plays, but in the end, it was Dawson who made the last play in this game, going up over a WR, high pointing the ball, tipping it to himself, and catching it on his way down to the ground in the endzone to ice the game. What a game. What a win.

Final score: South Side Speedsters 39 – 31 Y$L

Inglorious Basterds vs. Believe The Hype (6D).

I was very curious to see the battle of the FPF junior teams now compete at the 6D level. I was curious mostly because I was taking a glimpse into the future of FPF, and wow, is the league ever in good hands. In case you were wondering, or new to the league, yes, there’s an FPF junior league, which is turning out to serve as a great developmental training ground for young players to enter the men’s division. Let me take a quick second to congratulate all those who serve their time to coach and train these young players, as they have clearly established a template for success.

The first half in this one was dominated by Inglorious Basterds, so much so, that my teammates and I (we were playing the following game) couldn’t believe that BTH were still hanging around in this game. Why do I say that? Inglorious Basterds had several chances to blow this game wide open, but perhaps due to their maturity, were unable to remain composed in this game. Where’s the evidence? There were 2 plays in particular that prevented Inglorious Basterds from taking command of this game. First, after BTH had a bad snap go for a safety, IGB scored on the very next play on a great connection between Malinoff (QB) and WR Dylan Hacker. However, a lack of composure by Hacker led to an excessive celebration OC penalty involving vulgarities spewed on the field. This gave BTH the ball on the 25 to start their next drive and Soles was able to hit Jackson Roy-Hebert who boxed out his man and high pointed the ball for his 3rd TD of the season and got the score to 20-13 by halftime.

In the 2nd half, IGB were able to drive the field to go up 2 scores, and then, a second blunder by IGB that kept BTH in this game that had me shaking my head once again. As BTH went on the field for their next offensive drive, Soles kept hitting his snapper with 5-7 yard hooks in the middle, until he did it one too many times, and was returned for a pick 6 by the IGB half-back…. Only if his IGB’s teammates didn’t run after him like Tyreek Hill does to catch up to Damien Williams. The ref (good call to be honest) flagged them for not staying put after the runner went upfield. This was a huge momentum swing in the game, as Inglorious Basterds would have been up by 19 points with 8 minutes left. Instead, BTH were able to stop them on 4 downs, score a TD on offence, stop IGB a 2nd time on 4 downs, and were able to tie the game with 2 minutes left in the game. Before getting to the exciting finish, I’ve down played it in this recap, but Adam Malinoff (IGB QB) was honestly SICK in this game. His ability to run and throw BULLETS out there, all while looking like he would insult you with a “You suck at Fortnite” line, had me really impressed. My quick thoughts on him was that he was a notch above his teammates and even his opponent. I mention all that because he showed great poised in the 2-minute drill, after all the turmoil his team had him go through. He stayed calm and led his team on a 6-play, Touchdown drive that sealed the win for his team.

Believe the Hype were completely dead in the water in this one, but that penalty where one guy chased down his teammate, erasing the pick 6 was a huge game changer. Hopefully this young bunch learned an almost painful lesson of keeping your cool and kept a mental note of how they almost pulled a Houston Texans, by letting their lead slip away. Sometimes games can get heated and emotions can get the best of us, but it’s critical to keep your composure in such games, especially as the stakes are higher with each passing week in FPF.

Final score: Inglorious Basterds 33 – 27 Believe The Hype

Air Force 1 vs Johnny Fireball (5B)

I will try and keep this recap shorter than the last 2, as I tend to analyze the details perhaps too in-depth (there’s just so many things to say and details I want to provide in such limited words!). Alright, since they felt like the FPF media crew has been sleeping on them, Johnny Fireball, here’s your shoutout. Very impressed to see this squad get the tie on a strong team like Air Force 1, the team that spawned the famous Division 6/6D playoff re-shuffling format that now exists since Spring 2018 (if your unsure what this means, this will surely be explained by Peeze and the crew in future CTA podcasts, as well as in his Saturday articles, so stay tuned.)

Both quarterbacks spread the ball to their receivers in this game, as there were 14 different receivers that caught a ball. I’ve seen both teams play in past seasons, and for Edouard Leroux (Johnny Fireball QB) to go stride-for-stride with Simon Blais (AF1 QB) is quite the feat. They play different styles, as Blais is the prototypical pocket passer, while Leroux is a mobile quarterback who can hit guys on the run, buy extra time by escaping the rusher, and has the explosion to tuck it in and take off on designed runs.

With the score at 25-25, AF1 went on an 11-play drive down the field in an attempt kill as much time on the clock, so JFB would have a limited amount of game clock to work with. AF1 eventually punched it in with a 4-yard pass to Chris Van Oordt to go up 31-25, but JFB was able to answer quickly, capped off with an 8-yard touchdown run by Leroux.

Blais and AF1 still had 4 plays to put together a game-winning drive, something I’ve seen them do on more than one occasion, so my hopes were high for them to come away with the win. But of course, FPF is a league where your expectations are constantly challenged, so of course, uncharacteristically, Blais threw an interception to Johnny Fireball’s Philippe Leroux, preventing a prolific offence from scoring on the final 4 plays and coming away with the 31-31 tie.

Final score: Air Force One 31 – 31 Johnny Fireball

Monday Night Previews

Les Voyous vs. Glogang (5A)

This is an interesting matchup, as Les Voyous want to get back on that horse and seek redemption for their season-opening loss to the Bruins, a game in which they let a 19-6 lead slip away (has the Texans lead-blowing theme for this article passed through?), while Glogang participated in the first “Administrative” Forfeit of the season, which was controversially discussed on FPF’s Calling The Audible podcast show (live on Facebook on Thursday nights @ 7:30pm). There’s nothing worse than waiting 2 months to play in the first FPF game of the season, a game that is built up in your head as a statement game for you and your team, to set a tempo to your season, only to find out the other team hasn’t shown up, and you’ve won 30-0 without putting up a single touchdown.

That being said, Glogang is surely eager than most teams to play in week 2. Their usual quarterback however, Arno Desjardins, now sports an outstanding 80.4 QB rating and can’t throw in Div 5A, so I’m curious to see who they have calling the offence this season. As long as it’s not Oliver Suri throwing, count on him to run his famous deep routes with precision and for his quick reflexes to kick in when adjusting his body to an incoming deep ball. These usually go the distance, and I see 2 scores going to him tonight.

As for the Les Voyous, watch for the ballhawks on defence, as last game they had 6 PD’s, and a pick that went the distance for a score. A lot of this game rides on who quarterbacks for Glogang, but give me at least 1 INT from this stingy defence. On offence, Les Voyous can’t get over zealous with the deep ball, as Glogang has their own set of DB’s in the Kaced brothers and Suri who can make it difficult to complete balls down field. If Les Voyous can body punch Glogang and score while taking valuable time off the clock, this will be their key to victory, as Glogang is known as a quick-strike offence.

This one might come down to whoever can play the possession game best, and manage to work the clock to their advantage in an attempt to have the ball last. A lot of this game rides on the question mark at QB for Glogang, so for that reason, give me Les Voyous in this one, a close game, 28-26.

Diablos vs. 89.9ers (6D)

Diablos are coming off a tough outing vs. Stiffy Arm in week 1, a 26-7 loss that saw Michael Deguire throw for 5 INT’s… ouch! While Andrew April is a nice addition to this team, even his 1 TD, 1 INT performance was of little value in the grand scheme of things. As discussed on the FPF podcast, Francois Martin needs to adapt his offence to Michael Deguire’s strengths, which in my opinion, will have to be a “take what the defence gives you” approach. And before we give him a tough time with his 27 interception to 16 touchdown season from last winter, Deguire has shown flashes that he can play the position and is capable of winning ball games. He managed to beat last year’s Replacements squad and in shocking fashion, was able to pull of the miracle tie against the 2019 Winter Div 6 #1 seed – Dirty Landry.

As for the 89.9ers, a brand-new team to FPF, they had a tough opponent in week 1: the #1 ranked team in the 6D Week 1 Power Rankings – the Trojans. The Diablos are an opponent where the 9ers can gauge themselves and potentially gain some confidence moving forward. Quarterback Elhadad struggled in week 1, going 6 for 14 for a mere 43 yards for 1 TD and 1 INT. On defence, they let Fafard run wild for 58 yards last game, but should not have the same concern with Deguire under center, so let’s see those defensive skills come through. They came away with 0 sacks and 0 INT’s. Time to see who your defensive studs are! My best advice for a beginning team: stick to your strengths, but don’t be afraid to try new concepts like flooding zones on the offensive side of the ball, masking your defences off the line, sending a rare double blitz, things of this nature.

In terms of the game itself…Here are my 3 keys to victory for each team.

Diablos will win if:

Deguire can stay poised and confident in the pocket.
The WR’s use their size to their advantage. Francois Martin, Alex Levesque, and Andrew April are not small guys and can box out receivers to gain on edge on offence.
The Diablos can build an early lead and deject a new FPF team’s offence by stopping them early on Defence.

89.9ers will win if:

They keep it simple on offence.
Stifle Deguire early and shoot his confidence down.
They use their speed to their advantage, on both sides of the ball.

Prediction: Diablos experience will lead them to victory in a low scoring game, 18-12.

If you made it ’till the end, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the analysis as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’m always open for new ideas, suggestions, or shoutouts, so feel free to email me @ [email protected], or message me on Facebook (I’m pretty sure it’s not hard to find another Ignacio Valdes-Manzanedo living in Montreal on FB). If you feel like you prefer a more personal touch, I sometimes host trivia at NDG’s own local pub, Honey Martin on Tuesday nights. Come for a pint and we’ll talk FPF!

Cheers,