Super Bowl Weekend.

As our official bye week since, well, forever, Super Bowl weekend isn’t just a very nice sporting event, but also a FPF tradition of giving teams a weekend off around midseason to refocus and figure out what’s working and what isn’t.

Hopefully, you guys used it properly and didn’t do what I did; eat way too much fried stuff, empty any beer leftovers you’ve had over the past few weeks and celebrate with friends.

Back to reality; there were games this week.

Let’s get started

Week 5

Week 5 was small, yes, but yet, impactful. We were blessed, once again, with great games, upsets (Aztec Sasquatches got their first win and it was a great one), Les Maloudes shined on the Game of the Week (which can be found HERE) and Frosty Bronsons bounced back in a huge way.

All in all, another great one for the books!

 

Thoughts of the Week

• Writing this article, I realised some of you may have expected my midseason breakdown this week; it’ll have to wait a few extra days. It’s a work in progress, sort of.
• Short weeks are fun; I got to play both my games and get days off. It’s like the ideal situation!
• James Goulet finally came out of the gates swinging with a great game. Did the roster changes provide him with the weapons he’s comfortable using?
• Regardless of who you were cheering for, that was a great Super Bowl ending.
• Very little movement in the Power Rankings after, well, not even half the teams played.
• In order to balance out the fact that this article was covering basically 10 teams, I’ve decided to extend my predictions into small previews. It’s a one time thing.
• After pondering whether or not I should jump the Gotham Knights bandwagon, they drop an egg against Aztec Sasquatches. I guess my hoppin’ will have to wait at least one more week.
• Julien Gingras is slowly making a name for himself in that Rancerz offense. It’s exactly what the team needed.
• STL Cougars and Get Off My D managed to tie.. a Tie… really.
• A-Squad remains undefeated and pulled the biggest upset of the week. These guys keep impressing me week-in and week-out.
• Is there any slowing down The Alpha T’s? Also, Bryan Mongeau, you need a new jersey.
• I don’t know who made this schedule, but Week 5 is ridiculous.

 

Recaps

Division 4A

• No Name decided to make a change offensively as they’ve been struggling this season (only two games with 20+ points this season) and had Jonathan Grizzley at QB for the night. Although Michael Roy played great at WR for his team (his made a pretty impressive catch on the sidelines when his team really needed a boost), their offense was going nowhere all night. Jonathan Grizzley adds a running aspect to their offense, but it simply wasn’t enough to get anything going against a gritty The Commission defense (who was without many featured playmakers on Monday). Sean Avraam had a rough time in the first half hitting turf more than hands, but he took control of the game in the 2^nd half and managed to put the game away before it got close. With 5 weeks remaining, No Name has very little time left to figure things out before they’re forced to call it quits.
• Junkyard Dogs were without the services of Jason Rossie on Monday night against Damps 25/8 and although Hugo Allamano has a great arm, his reads weren’t exactly on point and Damps’ defense fed for 60 minutes. After suffering a huge deficit early due to good throws by Andrew Treffeisen and a strong defense (Let’s not forget that beautiful catch by Michael Treffeisen in the back of the endzone there), Junkyard Dogs found solace in deep throws to Jacob Bernett who looked too good to be covered. Nonetheless, the lead was too much to overcome and Damps’ offense never slowed down one bit.
• Les Maloudes got a great win this week against Nobodies. I won’t recap the game, I’ll let you guys enjoy it yourselves. Here’s the link to the Game of the Week; it’s pretty nice.
• Frosty Bronsons looked to bounce back from their horrible week 4 performance and did exactly that against yours truly. In fact, James Nowakowski looked great in the pocket finding his receivers, making very few mistakes and moving the chains efficiently. With a strong game plan and slowing the game down to limit my opportunities offensively, Frosty Bronsons gained a lead via a nice interception by Alex Holowach in the endzone, and maintained the lead for the rest of the night. Although I managed to find an offense in the 2^nd half (it’s easy when Maxime Cote makes me look good), it was too little too late. Down 13 with very little time, I missed a wide open Vince Nardone on a post-corner route making Danny D’Amour look bad (a very difficult feat, must I add) and the referees whistled 5 plays ending our possible comeback. Although I found Maxime Cote in the endzone on the following play, up 7 with 4 plays left, Bronsons never touched the football again and simply called the game quits walking away with an impressive victory.

 

Division 4B

• Pat Lefebvre faced a much faster defense than what he’s grown used to and The Alpha T’s feasted with 5 interceptions in one night. Although the Marquis brothers made plays defensively (both ended the night with an interception), it simply wasn’t enough to get the offense going. Mathieu Houle was an absolute wrecking force on both sides of the ball in week 5 and Falcons looked outmatched from start to finish. Nonetheless, Falcons have been playing great recently and it’s only a bump in the road; they did force the first interceptions of the season out of Jesse Dupuis and managed to improve in the 2^nd half. With big games on the docket for both teams, there’s very little room left for mistakes.
• Rancerz’ offense has yet another very successful week (35+ points in back to back weeks) and finally worked out the small kinks that were holding them back. Mean Machine continues to struggle down the stretch when facing top tier defenses as Daniel Goloff’s absolute bullets look uncatchable out there. When things go wrong for Mean Machine, they seem to go way wrong as their QB throws more interceptions than touchdowns and tend to force balls in double/triple coverage. With 5 weeks left in the season, nothing is played out for neither of these teams, but they’ll have to play their best football yet if they want to make the playoffs in a very difficult 4B.
• Sadly, I wasn’t able to witness the best game of the week as A-Squad managed to upset Mud Dogs and remain undefeated as Mud Dogs fall to 4-1. A-Squad have had one of the, if not the best defense in the division behind great plays from their rusher (Kerdley Micourt has been an absolute force at rusher these past 2 weeks) and every individual on defense. Yacoub Telemaque has been making plays either with his arm or legs and his offense is looking better and better every week. Carried by their defense, A-Squad are looking like a top tier contender this season as they kept one of the best offenses to a mere 27 points and outscored them late in the 2^nd half.

 

Players of the Week

Division 4A

• Alex Holowach (Frosty Bronsons): Over 100 yards receiving, 2 Tds, a lot of seperation and the sole interception of the night. He does love to make me look bad.
• Sebastien Thibault (Les Maloudes): Way too fast for his competition, he finished with 3 sacks, a lot of hurries and a receiving TD. Great week all in all.
• James Goulet (Aztec Sasquatches): Great bounce back game from him to get out of their slump and back into the race. 242 passing yards, 6:1 ratio and a nice W to top it off.

 

Division 4B

• Mathieu Houle (The Alpha T’s): Going off once again, he had a very impressive week with 4 receiving Tds and an interception. There’s no stopping Mathieu Houle this season.
• Marc-André Paradis (Rancerz): A defensive hat trick (3 interceptions) will get you noticed any given week.
• Yacoub Telemaque (A-Squad): Minimizing the risks, making plays and getting the W. He’s playing at the top of his game and his team couldn’t be more excited about it.

 

Power Rankings

Division 4A

1. Still Still Teamless (4-0):
2. The Tide (4-0):
3. Backyard Bullies (4-0):
4. Les Maloudes (4-1): Man handled their competition on the GOTW nonetheless.
5. The Commission (4–1): Great way to bounce back.
6. Flying Weasels (3-1):
7. TOPSZN (3–1):
8. 69ers (3-1):
9. 5-Star (2-2):
10. Frosty Bronsons (3-2): Broke the slump and back in our rankings.

 

Division 4B

1. A-Squad (5-0): Took down the previous #1 seed, undefeated and have been flat out impressive this season.
2. The U (4-0):
3. The Alpha T’s (4-0): Another dominant win for the men in orange.
4. Mud Dogs (4–1): This week’s loss is just a bump in the road. I won’t read too much into it.
5. Get Off My D (4-0-1): A tie, really?
6. Blue Chips (3-1):
7. Game Changers (3-1):
8. Team Ethnik (3-1):
9. Obamacare (2-2):
10. Rancerz (2-2-1): Two straight weeks with impressive offensive displays.

 

FlagPlus Fantasy Football

Last Week’s Winners:

• Danny D’Amour vs Maxime Cote: Maxime Cote
• Steven Legault vs Louis-Philippe Paquette: Steven Legault
• Johnny Symonds vs Domenic Benevento: Domenic Benevento
• Jon Moodie vs Erminio Iadeluca: Erminio Iadeluca
• Michael Zegler vs Louis-Christophe Lafontaine: Louis-Christophe Lafontaine
• Jeremie Mongeon-Duby vs Richie Mondesir: Richie Mondesir

 

Division 4A

The Head to Head

• Jacob Bernett (Junkyard Dogs) vs Joel Malkin (Nonna’s Sauce): Two known athletes will play each other this week in an attempt to right the ship and save their seasons. Who will have the biggest impact on Saturday?

 

Position Matchup

• Dilan Daoust (5-Star) vs Alexandre Guertin (Golden Flashes): Two great and underrated receivers will face each other this week. With similar skill sets, who’ll bail their QB out the most?
• Justin McLean (Still Still Teamless) vs Shawn Steen (Eskimo Brothers): Both Dbs are leading their teams in interceptions. Both can make plays at will. With a big upset looming, can either of these guys turn the tide?
• Alexandre Provencher-Rivest (Gotham Knights) vs Kevin Marcil (ZOO): This week’s rusher duel features two highly talented players who have made plays for the past few seasons. Can either elevate their game enough this week to be the difference maker?

 

Division 4B

The Head to Head

• Greg Grant (Gators) vs Jordan McInnis (Obamacare): Both players have insane vertical, both players have been playmakers for their team this season on both sides of the ball and this week will be no different.

 

Position Matchup

• Josh White (The U) vs Laurent Dubreuil (Mud Dogs): Probably two of the best receivers in the division going off in the biggest game of their schedule; the final’s rematch. Expect great things.
• Marcus Mitchell (Blue Chips) vs Kerdley Micourt (A-Squad): This week’s rusher duel is going to determine which defensive will have a shot at making plays as both rushers face very mobile Qbs. Who can will out on top?
• Alexis Gaumont (Green Lantern Corps) vs Anton Sakiz (Game Changers): Both Qbs are coming off impressive performances, but are still slowly working off the rust. Can they finally emerge this week as a top tier player?

 

Picks of the week

I finally did it guys! My horrible 4/8 bested Doston’s 4/9 (We basically had the same picks, but was foolish enough to pick me over Bronsons. There goes them trust issues again). All I need to do now is capitalize on this Week 11 and I’ll reseize my throne. What a great time to be alive!

Division 4A

• Junkyard Dogs vs Nonna’s Sauce: With Jason Rossie back at QB, Hugo Allamano and Jacob Bernett will light up the scoreboard this week.
• No Name vs TOPSZN: TOPSZN have been more than impressive this season; they move to 4-1 after this week’s game.
• The Commission vs 69ers: In probably the best game of the week in 4A, Shea Harbour will have to limit his mistakes if he wants to maintain the lead. Both defenses will have interceptions.
• 5-Star vs Golden Flashes: Jordan Moses turned things around in week 3 and haven’t looked back since. Golden Flashes suffered an embarassing loss last week and week 5 won’t be any different.
• Bad Case vs Backyard Bullies: I hate to pick my own games. I also hate to play Rich Humes, but I love to play spoilers to perfectly nice streaks.
• Still Still Teamless vs Eskimo Brothers: Lonnie Johnson has been way too good to pick against him in recent weeks. Is there any stopping to the Justin tandem?
• Damps 25/8 vs Big Tds: Damps 25/8 showed up huge in week 5 and destroyed their opposition. Although this week will be much closer than people expect, the streak continues.
• Les Maloudes vs Past Our Prime: Les Maloudes put on a show on this week’s game of the week. POP has had trouble at the quarterback position and Les Maloudes will give them no quarters this week.
• Gotham Knights vs ZOO: Gotham Knights dropped an egg last week. They won’t do it twice.
• Aztec Sasquatches vs The Tide: The Tide have been true contenders from day 1. This week won’t be no different.
• Frosty Bronsons vs Flying Weasels: Frosty Bronsons came out with a perfect game plan last week. Although this week’s opponent is different, they have the playmakers to take the schemes away.
• MVE vs Nobodies: Vincent Lauzon keeps flying under the radar, but he’ll make Nobodies pay for underestimating him. This is also the week MVE’s defense rise up.

 

Division 4B

• Gators vs Obamacare: Although the result of this game will depend on who shows up for both teams, there’s no stopping Gators’ offense whereas Obamacare is still trying to work the kinks.
• The U vs Mud Dogs: In the rematch of last Winter’s finale, The U takes it home once again proving me just how good they really are.
• Sandlot Saints vs Sphinx: Sandlot Saints have been keeping games close, but can’t seem to finish ontop. Sphinx seems to suffer a very similar faith. Look for Lenny Dion to go off once again offensively and emerge victorious.
• The Expendables vs Mean Machine: Mean Machine’s slump ends this week; Goloff will have a very impressive night.
• Blue Chips vs A-Squad: After coming off a very impressive week, A-Squad will look to repeat the feat against a very different team. If Kerdley Micourt shows up ready to compete, Blue Chips’ offense will struggle.
• Jagerbomb vs Vikings: Jagerbomb have been on and off this season. They’ll be on this week. Very on indeed.
• V-Cieux vs Les Blues Branleurs: V-Cieux will celebrate their second win of the season in week 5.
• The Alpha T’s vs Get Off My D: Jon Moodie is slowly learning how to use his new weapons. Although both defenses are top-notch, it’ll come down to which QB commits the less mistakes; I picked Dupuis here.
• Small Giants vs J’s: Hai Minh Luong doesn’t get enough credit for what he’s doing with this offense. Small Giants will fall to a slow and methodical offense this week.
• Team Ethnik vs Rancerz: Rancerz’ defense have had its praises sung over and over again. Now that their offense can post numbers, is there any stopping them?
• Falcons vs STL Cougars: STL Cougars have been impressing me every week keeping every single game close. This one will be no different, but they’ll find a way to triumph late in the 2^nd.
• Green Lantern Corps vs Game Changers: Anton Sakiz has been shaking off the rust slowly and the return of Justin Filteau has turned Game Changers into solid contenders once again. Unless Alexis Gaumont has another ridiculous week for GLC, they might suffer a heartbreaker this week.

 

That sums it for this week’s article. It’s always a pleasure to write and hear back from you guys. After all, the content is meant 99% for you. I keep a percent for me; ranting here and there is fun after all. You can always reach me via twitter @DagenaisFPF or via email ([email protected]). I’ll be at Lachine every Sunday night and Hebert every Wednesday night scorekeeping so you can stop by and chat. Don’t hesitate. Until next time…! A week without me is a week without fun. I’m sorry Eagle, good luck surviving this week’s blues.