More than half way in.

Who would’ve guessed that Rare Bears are currently the “eliminated” team from the playoff race 6 weeks in? No one.

With FPF’s new “technology”, we’ve implemented a live playoff standings on the website for you guys to keep track of what’s going on. It also saves us the manual work, so there’s that too.

If the season ended today, Rare Bears would be on the outside looking in for Division A and DA Finest would hold the bye, whereas in Division B we’d have Kings, OTF, KGP and Broccasion out of the loop.

We’ve still got a good 4 weeks left of football to play and not a single team is safe. Maybe this will serve as a proper wake up call.

Let’s get started.

 

Week 6

Monstars pulled an incredible comeback on the Game of the Week. Watch it HERE. Braves won without their starting QB, STL lost to Coyotes, Six Fast dropped one against Incredibles and QUAN tied. What is up with the world?

 

Thoughts of the Week

• Kudos to Vince Nardone; he came up with a great catch on 4^th down in the redzone; it was a hell of a grab.
• JD Chevalier might not be a Div1 QB, but he was definitely good enough to help Braves beat Rainmakers this week. Played smart and safe. I was impressed.
• With very little time left in the 2^nd, Monstars didn’t give up and it paid off.
• I don’t know whether Jacques Void’s 1-hand touchdown was more impressive or Marco Masciotra’s redzone interception. Hmmm.
• Dan Dick made a superb TD grab against DA Finest. Now I know why he’s in DivA.
• Rod Mashtoub over Jamil Springer; wow.
• Can anyone stop Mathieu Lepage this season?
• Coyotes simply isn’t the same team with Sammy Feder.
• Props to Danny D’Amour for playing 3 games back-to-back-to-back and still having energy left in the tank to perform THIS well in his 3^rd.
• Incredibles are probably better off with Liam Mahoney out there.
• After dropping a touchdown, Kendal Mayers redeemed himself with a great grab to seal the deal for OTF; way to step up.
• There’s some nights where Mario Porreca looks like a top contender in Division B; last Tuesday was one of them.
• Rainmakers vs Rare Bears might actually be the most important game of the season; with a loss, Rare Bears could fall to 2-5 and not make it back. If Rainmakers lose, they could very well fall to 6^th seed after being 1^st not so long ago. Ouch.
• KGP vs Broccasion might determine Conference B’s 6^th seed. Loser may realistically be eliminated from playoff contention.
• Although OTF is only a win away from a playoff spot, this week’s game should be taken seriously.
• Drop The Mic’s brain fart could’ve costed them their season. I guess we’ll know in a few weeks how important that win ends up being.
• I’m wishing Steve Sanner a speedy recovery. Seeing anyone go down with an injury sucks.
• In a tie game, both Qbs threw for 140 QBR (Alex Holowach had 140.1. Mat Rene had 140.5). Talk about stepping up their games.

 

Recaps

Division A

• Rainmakers vs Braves: Not only did Braves have different uniforms this week, but they also had a different QB as Jonathan Maheu couldn’t make the game and JD Chevalier was forced to step in last minute to replace him. With only 6 players missing their QB and Guillaume Dagenais, the Braves roster was thin. Nonetheless, JD Chevalier played brilliantly under center keeping it safe and taking what the defence gave him rather than force anything and ran when needed. With a few key 4^th down completions to either Georges Gariepy or Vince Nardone, he moved the chains (or scored for that matter) and kept his team ahead for most of the night. His pick-six really gave his team momemtum and a distinctive lead they’d never look back from. Down 7 late, Ryan Kastner had a chance to get back into this game, but his pass intended for Bobby Mikelberg was a bit too high on a crossing route and Georges Gariepy ended up being the one who caught it to seal the deal for his team. Very impressive outing by Braves who, against all odds, got a much needed W.
• Monstars vs Rare Bears: This game is on film. It’s a fantastic game to watch and very exciting. Although Rare Bears were basically unstoppable for the first 40 minutes of this game, the ending was quite different. In the words of Marco Masciotra himself, a “bonehead throw” costed them to the game as Monstars came back from an 11 point deficit with about 4 minutes left in the game. Rod Mashtoub made plays as a QB finding the right zone to attack. He quickly turned away from attacking the left side where Theo Ojeaha was as he almost got picked off twice in the redzone and found success in checking down to Theo Bekelis on key downs. With a clutch win, Monstars improve to 3-3 and are now in the middle of the pack leaving Rare Bears behind at 2-4 and forced to fight for their lives if they want to remain relevant in their playoff race.

 

Division B

• STL vs Coyotes: A very intriguing game went down Sunday night in Lachine as Coyotes tried to fight off their recent slump and prove they can compete with the best of the best in the division. They started red hot as they led the game 24-12 at the half. They also proved they didn’t need Ryan Lelinowski to be competitive and, somehow, Danny D’Amour managed to play three back to back games and still have enough energy to burn Guillaume De Palma on deep patterns for big gains. Sammy Feder was spot on for most of the night (aside for a -20 yards sack early in the game) and managed to check down brilliantly, something he’s known from now. Snapper AJ Rashkovan made some plays for his QB to allow him to finish with great numbers, but the story of the night was the implosion of STL late in the second as they tried to generate a comeback. Down 8, Dylan Taylor went back at it and decided he wasn’t losing this one so fed Theo Ojeaha who was pretty much open all night and scored effortlessly. Down 34-32, going for two, Dylan simply couldn’t get the ball as a bad snap costed them their shot at tying up the game and anger flared on the field. With very little time left of the clock, Coyotes’ offence drove the field slowly and got a first down on 4^th to call the game in STL’s redzone before OC’s went flying for, well, dumb reasons.
• OTF vs Rich & Famous: In a game where Rich & Famous couldn’t seem to get their personnel on the field, they struggled to finish this one. In fact, to begin with, Rich Humes was absent due to a real life conflict and Steve Sanner went down early with an injury (wishing you the best man). Shawn Steen got kicked out of the game with his 2^nd OC and R&F were left thin. Nonetheless, they remained in the game due to a solid redzone defence and questionable throws by Justin Smolar. With many redzone trips and chances to put this one away, the frustration was felt throughout the entire venue. Down 5, RnF went back on offence, scored and got themselves a one-point lead with little time left. OTF went back on offence, drove the field and Justin Smolar was spot on with all his throws to really put this game away. After a costly drop by Kendal Mayers in the redzone, he made a great route on the goal line to catch the game winner and put this one to bed 24-19.
• Drop The Mic vs Broccasion: It was Mario Porreca’s night once again as he simply delivered strikes left and right and felt like he was playing all by himself on Tuesday night. In fact, his defence kept making plays and forcing turnover on downs against Joey Taylor who replaced Kristian Cerantola for the second straight week and Mario kept abusing the defence they gave him. With 8 touchdowns passes on 15 attempts, you’d think the stats showed the whole story, but in fact, it felt even worse standing on the sidelines. Timothy Godber was legit not covered for pretty much the entire night as he kept blazing right past the defence for 6 on deep patterns and David Centomo came up clutch on multiple redzone trips that won’t show on the scoresheet. All in all, this is the kind of outing we’ve come to expect out of DTM when they’re clicking, but it simply isn’t the case every given week.

 

Players of the Week

Division A

• Patrick Jerome (DA Finest): He made his presence felt this week with 2 touchdowns, some key grabs and an interception. He was dearly missed.
• Jean-Daniel Chevalier (Braves): Asked to sub in at QB in a last minute affair, he stepped up his game big time with no INT thrown and a pick-six early to give his team a lead. He was clutch.
• Theo Bekelis (Monstars): Although his stats aren’t the best impressive, that shake to end the game really was. He’s been there for Rod on key moments and deserves his mention this week.

 

Division B

• James Nowakowski (QUAN): 136 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns on 10 catches. Talk about a go-to receiver.
• Sammy Feder (Coyotes): Going 19/24 against this division’s best defence is no easy feat. Hell of a game Sammy.
• Anthony Vendrame (Lightweight): By now, most people know Vinny Gualano’s love affair for him, but he’s been a monster for Lightweight. With 3 touchdown grabs and an interception, there’s no doubt he’s the difference maker.
• Liam Mahoney (Incredibles): Although he threw 2 interceptions, he was able to keep his cool and remain in this game. A few clutch plays got his team up big and even Frederic Viens’ semi perfect outing wasn’t enough.
• Marco Masciotra (Rich & Famous): Two interceptions and a PD. He did all he could to keep his team in this game, but sometimes it’s out of your hands.
• Mario Porreca (Drop The Mic): How did he not finish with a perfect QBR is beyond me. (158.2; it’s ludicrous) Nonetheless, he threw for 8 Tds on 15 attempts and made it look so easy.

 

Power Rankings

Division A

1. DA Finest (4-2): Back at the top of their division, DA Finest is finally playing like, well, the Finest.
2. Braves (3-3): Gotta give love to these guys; they won with only 6 and missing their starting QB. Very impressive.
3. Monstars (3-3): The way they came back into Tuesday night’s game shows just how much of a contender Monstars truly is.
4. Top Guns (3-3): Falling to 4^th by default. They had a bad outing, but can very well bounce back next week.
5. Rainmakers (3-3): Formerly first seed, they’re falling fast. They need to get back up ASAP.
6. Rare Bears (2-4): I know they are just one win away from a playoff spot, but they are the 6^th seed nonetheless.

 

Division B

1. Six Fast Guys Minus Ryan (5–1): A very close loss shows parity in the division more than anything. FD still finished with a quasi-perfect game.
2. STL (5–1):This week’s loss might show a bit more than just a slump night. I have no doubt they’ll bounce back hungry though.
3. Incredibles (4-2): Defeating the #1 seed seeds them rising through the ranks. Can they keep it up?
4. Lightweight (4-2): Objectively, missing the kill shot is worrisome.
5. Drop The Mic (3-3): There are nights where this team is a juggernaut. Last week was one of them.
6. Coyotes (3-3): With Sammy Feder out there, they look very much like the team I’ve envisioned them to be preseason.
7. Rich & Famous (3-3): Losing on the last play of the game without your starting QB wouldn’t worry me too much. They also lost a bunch of key players during the game.
8. QUAN (2-3-1): Their last two encounters gives us a much better picture of who this team can really be.
9. Kings (2-3-1): When they really want to ball, this offence is top notch. But their defence? Not so much.
10. OTF (2-4): The way they ended the game shows they can be clutch, but the rest of the game wasn’t quite as impressive.
11. KGP (1-5):They had a shot to seal the deal, but missed. Another week with a single score loss shows they’re the real deal, but.
12. Broccasion (1-5):Their defence isn’t always up to par with the division. How can they contain STL but not DTM? I’m not too sure.

 

Matchups to Watch

Division A

• Emile Piche vs Kevin Wyeth: There’s only a handful of rusher in FPF history that can be a thorn in Kevin Wyeth’s side and I believe Emile Piche to fit that description. With his speed and angles, he might just disrupt Kevin enough to slow down his offence and give the Dbs a chance to make a play on the ball.
• Ryan Kastner vs Marco Masciotra: This could very well be the game that decides the faith of their respective seasons. FPF is a QB-driven league so the matchup to watch’s gotta be QB vs QB. They can both be great or make small mistakes that costs them games. I can’t wait for this one.
• Danny D’Amour vs Quaysie Gordon-Maule: They’ll end up facing each other due to where they lineup on the field naturally, but this matchup is bound to be a great one. Rod Mashtoub depends a lot on Quaysie on key downs and Danny D’Amour tends to be that big play maker when his team needs him to.

 

Division B

• Theo Ojeaha vs Mario Porreca: Everyone knows Mario Porreca loves those deep throws and there’s no better safety in Division B than Theo Ojeaha. If he can find a way around him, DTM might find success. Otherwise, the rollercoaster may very well continue.
• Ryan Perry vs Frederic Viens: If one guy can take away the flats, it’s Ryan Perry. You can’t really throw over his head and his knack for the ball is impressive. Knowing how FD loves to play, he might need to gameplan around Ryan Perry this week.
• Dan Fawcett vs Phil Cutler: With time, Phil Cutler always finds a way to cut apart a defence. That’s where Dan Fawcett comes in. If he can put just enough pressure on Phil, there’s a chance he keeps his defence in this game long enough for them to win it.
• Yadel Meshesha vs Sammy Feder: Sammy Feder loves to buy time and has a very good ball placement on the sidelines. Yadel Meshesha will line up on Sammy’s favorite throwing side and will need to have an impactful game if he wants to restrain the Coyotes’ offence. Their defence starts with him on Monday.
• Anthony Vendrame vs Sasha Papich: Considering they both fit the profile, they’ll most likely line up against each other on Tuesday night. Can Anthony really win jumpballs against Sasha? Will Liam Mahoney’s ball placement be just enough to render the DB useless?
• Jonathan Lyristis vs Rich Humes: Rich Humes loves to roll out and throw on the run. He’s had great success doing so as he’s moved up divisions. Against a smart rusher like Jonathan Lyristis, it’s going to come down to whether or not he actually can roll out; his offence depends on it.

 

Picks of the Week

Division A

Braves vs DA Finest: DA Finest

Rainmakers vs Rare Bears: Rare Bears

Monstars vs Top Guns: Top Guns

 

Division B

Drop The Mic vs STL: STL

QUAN vs Six Fast Guys Minus Ryan: QUAN

Broccasion vs KGP: KGP

Coyotes vs OTF: Coyotes

Lightweight vs Incredibles: —-

Kings vs Rich & Famous: Kings

 

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.