The mid-point?

I usually start my articles with a somewhat affirmation, but I guess this week is a first.

Also a first this week, you guys will have TWO different articles in the same week (well, same 7 day span. Still counts as a week).

This week’s article will recap what happened in Week 4 and give you guys some thoughts whereas next week’s article will be more angled towards the mid-season point, a breakdown of every team’s current situation and my predictions for the week 6 games.

Let’s get started.

Week 4

The main thing this week? Monstars upset Montreal’s Finest 47-42.

#NR and STL gave us a hell of a Game of the Week.

Terror Squad, especially Pat Chenard, really wanted that W vs S Club Legion.

Thoughts of the Week

Just like the podcast, my article is a reflection of what I’m thinking. If you think I’m wrong, you can always send me a message; I answer everything.
Valiant effort by Carmine Pollice replacing Myles Gibbon on Wolverines against Waste Yout. It’s not always easy stepping in for a team you haven’t played with and even if the score wasn’t great, throwing for 258 yards is still remarkable.
Justene Edwards looked like a giant out there when Jordan Moses was covering him. Yet, that play only worked once.
Oh, hey, look at that, Finest lost! I, honestly, wasn’t expecting them to go 10-0 (as I predicted no one would preseason), but maybe Monstars have found something in there to really rattle Finest?
Who needs a win more; CLR Forces or Rainmakers?
I know I’ll have an earful for posting my votes here, but isn’t that what I’m supposed to do anyways? If I don’t rattle the cage a little, what’s the point of these articles?
Francois Lebeau is leading Division 2 in passing yards and he’s yet to win a game.
Matt Kirouac is leading D2 in receiving touchdowns? I guess I might need to stop making fun of him. Smh, who am I kidding.
There’s money on Waste Yout going 6-0 the rest of the way. Anyone cares to take that bet?
With the Super Bowl only hours away now, I’m actually nervous. Most of you know I’ve been an Eagles fan for the longest of time and I’m not sure I can witness another heart breaking moment like that 2004 game again.
In back-to-back weeks on the podcast, members of Clockwork took a stand and said CLR Forces suck. They play each other next week. Wouldn’t it be the sweetest first win of the season for CLR Forces?
I feel bad for not being able to give more details on Served With Ice’s first win of the season, but I wasn’t there and I hate to pretend like I was. Anyhow, they’re offence is finally back on track!

Recaps

STL vs #NR: I won’t break down this game as most of you have watched; it was our Game of the Week. If you haven’t, you definitely should. It was a real nice shoot out and it shows how talented both rosters really are. Cory Pecker is the right fit for this squad and #NR offence is rolling. Troy Trench had a very good game defensively and was able to take away Theo Ojeaha on key downs; something only a handful of players in FPF can do. Kendal Mayers is slowly making a name for himself as a top defensive player in Division 2 finishing the night with two interceptions. I can’t wait for this rematch in the playoffs, I have a feeling things will fall into place perfectly for these guys to face each other again this season.
CLR Forces vs We P.O.: Winning without your starting QB is a very difficult thing to do to begin with, but getting a guy who has never played FPF ontop of that makes it even tougher. Facing one of the best squad in D2 along with all of that? Well, now you get this 42-16 result. I’m not saying CLR Forces would’ve won if Frederic Dupuis would’ve been present for the game, but I’m pretty sure the game would’ve been much closer. This We P.O. roster is truly threatening and the defence finds a way to overshadow the very potent offence, somehow. Alex Blanchet now leads the team offensively in yards and touchdowns, kudos to him. It’s much more a testament to his ability to compete in D2 rather than the depth of his roster.
Flag Moi L’Sac vs Braves: After suffering a heart breaking loss to Finest by a single point last week, Braves are finally back looking like themselves again and faced a very difficult opponent in Flag Moi L’Sac this week. What Alex Nadeau-Piuze has been able to do on all 3 aspects of his game (passing, rushing, defence) is ground breaking and the fact that this was his lowest amount of rushing yards all season shows that Julien Paiement is a ridiculously talented rusher. Oh, and Braves forced his first interception of the season, that also happened. He is human after all. Both teams traded blows all night and the final score (37-32) indicates how closely contested this was the entire way. Samuel Nadeau-Piuze is looking like his former Winter 2017 self with an 112 receiving yards and 3 TD night and I have a feeling this might not be the last time these two teams face off in a closely contested game.
Monstars vs Montreal’s Finest: THE game of the week. Starting off early with a pick-six from Theo Bekelis, Monstars came ready to play. I’ve said it on the podcast a few nights ago and I’ll say it again; Montreal’s Finest wants to win every single game, but are a better team in the playoffs. I take nothing away from what Monstars were able to do and they should be drenched in praises for knocking out the previously undefeated Finest, but it’s just one milestone along the way. Rod Mashtoub has been having a ridiculous season so far (24:2 with a 128.7 QBR) and there’s no one even close for QB of the year in D1. If he keeps this up, he’s on a record-breaking pace. The new additions to Monstars were really intriguing on paper in the preseason, but it’s really paying off now. Maybe Jordan McLaren saw something there we all didn’t?
Clockwork vs You Can’t Sit With Us: There was a lot of talk recently about Marco Masciotra’s game not being up to par and how he wasn’t looking like himself, but many forgot they were undefeated in Division 2 (and still are). After this week’s performance, I’m pretty sure we can put the non-sense to bed; this was a very good outing for him. YCSWU went toe-to-toe with Clockwork the entire way and I witnessed a handful of big plays from afar (as I played on the field next to them at the same time) including a big PAT from Jermaine Parish-Lewis late in the game on a slant as he simply bullied the defender and one of the many touchdowns by Matt Kirouac who looked impossible to cover most of the night. Two of the best Qbs went at it Sunday night and we got the game we all expected. This takes nothing away from either, we can’t have two winners. It was a great game, but Clockwork’s early lead ended up being the little edge they needed.
Top Guns vs DK: On a night where Rochdi Benabdelkader was far from perfect, it really didn’t matter. He did throw 2 interceptions and some of them were mind boggling from what I heard, but when you’re up 33-6 at half, it doesn’t really matter. DK finished the night with 5 interceptions and it’s more testament to their defensive backs winning pretty much every matchup rather than Paul Lapierre’s QB ability. He was still able to put up some points on the board, but he needs one or two new weapons to really turn this roster into a truly competing D1 roster. Until then, it’ll be frustrating nights for the Top Guns’ crew when they’re stuck facing the top teams in all FPF.

Players of the Week

Theo Bekelis (Monstars): His two offensive touchdowns are nice, but his pick-six early in his game was, possibly, the play of the week and deserves credit.
Matt Bond (DK): One receiving TD and TWO pick-sixs, yes, TWO. Damn.
Samuel Nadeau-Piuze (Flag Moi L’Sac): 112 receiving yards and 3 Tds; he’s regaining form.

Patrick Chenard (Terror Squad): Playing against former teammates is always something special, but going off for 93 offensive yards and 3 Tds must have been especially satisfying.
Justene Edwards (STL): 133 receiving yards, 3 Tds and a pick on defence. They might have lost, but he balled out.
Marco Masciotra (Clockwork): He might have some issues in D1 recently, but those are non-existent here. 250 passing yards, 7 Tds and a whoppin’ 47 points.
Jarryd Taylor (Waste Yout): 72 receiving yards, 3 Tds, 2 interceptions (one for six). He was rather quiet in the last few weeks, I guess that is no longer the case!

Power Rankings

Monstars (3-1): You gotta beat the #1 to be the new #1 and that’s exactly what they did.
Montreal’s Finest (3–1): I won’t go crazy over one loss. They are still the Finest for a reason.
Flag Moi L’Sac (3-1): Another impressive performance by FMS keeps them in the Top 3.
D-Boys (3-1):Slowly creeping back up to their contender status, don’t sleep on D-Boys anymore.
DK (2-2): One of the best defence in D1 really showed us why I call them that way last week. Can they do it again next week?
Got-Skills (2-2): A clutch win over Rainmakers last week keeps them in the middle of the pack; nothing wrong with that. They’re just heating up.
MNX2.0 (2-2):Another troublesome loss for MNX2.0; can they end the slump this week?
Braves (1-3): Another close loss shows they truly belong in D1. Can they return to their winning ways?
Top Guns (1-3): With D-Boys and Finest up next, the schedule won’t get any easier.
Rainmakers (0-4): Every week, it’s another close game that can’t seem to turn in their favour. They won’t go 0-10, I can guarantee it.

Clockwork (4-0): Big offensive performance against a contender keeps their seat nice and warm at the top.
#NR (4-0): What they were able to display on the GOTW last week was truly impressive. They haven’t disappointed since I joined the bandwagon week 1.
BYOB (4-0): Only third due to who the other two faced recently. Possibly the best 3^rd seed I’ve seen in a very long time.
We P.O (3-1):Last week’s beatdown really shows they belong among the top teams in D2.
Waste Yout (2-2): I was guaranteed that they’ll go undefeated the rest of the way. Can they deliver?
STL (2–2): Don’t overlook STL. They’re better than their current record.
You Can’t Sit With Us (2–2): A good outing against the top team won’t see you drop down oh-so much. They are still one of the best team in the division.
Terror Squad (1-1-2): Their first win was quite the show. Probably the sweetest one of the season too.
S Club Legion (2-2): A troublesome offensive performance sees them drop a few spots. Can they regain their former glory?
Served With Ice (1-3): The real upset this week; SWI’ offence finally decided to show up and ball out.
Wolverines (1-3): Regardless who is subbing at QB, having a sub at QB is always tough. They’ll need to bounce back in the upcoming weeks.
Gladiateurs (0-3-1): Their QB is leading the division in passing yards. Yet, here they are.
Braves 2.0 (0-3-1): This week’s game gave me hope in these guys again. There’s still plenty of time to turn things around.
CLR Forces (0-4):I know they’re a play or two away from being 2-2, but that’s also how FPF is. They’ll need to turn things around rather quickly if they want to avoid last Winter’s fate again.

Hall of Fame

With the votings coming to a close yesterday, I must say, it has a special connotation in D1&2. We can’t really have the HoF discussion when covering Division 5 or 6 because they haven’t been around long enough to really understand what it means to be nominated AND to make it.

With a serious amount of players in Division 1 and 2 already in the Hall of Fame and, possibly, even more in the upcoming days, I felt like something needed to be said on the subject.

Many of you took the time to vote, I hope most of you did. No, I do not have the final results and I will learn them at the same time as most of you will so it’s useless to message me asking “did my boy get in?” I legit don’t know. What I do know is who I voted for and I won’t shy away from naming my votes.

All 43 nominees have their own merits and we can make a case for every single one of them to make it into the HoF this year (yes, including Joey Taylor. We’ve made that clear over the last few weeks), but sadly we didn’t have 43 votes so here’s who I believe should be inducted in Winter 2018:

Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze: His former tackle career aside, what he managed to do in FPF is remarkable. His teams are never as stacked as Montreal’s Finest’s (at least, not in recent years), but he manages to elevate all the guys around him and even this season he’s got a bunch of guys who played D5B last season and are putting up numbers in D1. Winning QB of the year last Winter really solidified his status here for me. Oh, and let’s not forget he’s got about 10 pick-six’s in Division 1? Yaok.
Serge Pilon Jr: It writes itself. He’s been one of the most dominant player in FPF since his entry in the league and he’s remained that way even in the highest division. His ability to break open any play really makes him a troublesome matchup and he could finish his career being FPF’s best ever snapper. He’s, somehow, underrated defensively as possibly one of the best defenders this league has to offer. Just look up his stats and you’ll understand why he should be nominated this year.
Alex Pilon: Alongside his twin brother, Alex Pilon has taken the league by storm since they started in 2009. Having played a few games with him myself, I can attest personally to how truly dominant he is as an offensive weapon. His ability to turn any route; a slant, drag, hitch into a 40-yard TD is absurd and you constantly need to keep a guy over top just for him even in the highest division or he’ll make you pay for it. Known previously as a ridiculously difficult rusher to beat, he’s been developing as a true two-way monster with a few seasons playing defence too and there’s no doubting he deserves his name up in our Hall of Fame this year.
Adi Sharma: Considered by many the grandfather of defences, what Adi Sharma has done over the years in FPF is truly formidable. His numbers might not be the greatest out there, but you can’t understand his real impact until you either play against or with him. His ability to understand the game and move guys around defensively to confuse quarterbacks is unpaired and he deploys probably the toughest 2^nd half defences to face in all FPF. He’s been doing it at the highest level for what feels like an eternity and he’s still a perennial defensive player to this day.
Frédéric Viens: What he was able to do in his FPF tenure is truly special. Being a receiver throughout his tackle career, there’s no doubt he’d be able to succeed in FPF and he displayed his talents time and again in multiple divisions (including Division A with Monstars), but what really sticks out for me was his ability to convert into a QB, move up with every season all the way up to Division B and continue to succeed and be, arguably, the best QB in the division every single time. To this day, he holds the record for highest completion % in a season with 72.7%, won a handful of awards and did win a Championship. His career might not have been all D1-D2 football, but he truly belongs with the best of the best.

Predictions

Braves vs Rainmakers: Braves

You Can’t Sit With Us vs We P.O.: We P.O.

That’s it for me this week. Hopefully this will trigger you just enough to drop me a message either via email ([email protected]), twitter (@DagenaisFPF) or in person. Remember, I didn’t do this to you, YOU did this to you. Until next time…! You might wanna pay more attention Eags, having to say your name 3x in a row makes for bad radio. Also, who’s Alex?

Week 4: Recaps and Hall of Fame votes