Week 6’s recaps, awards, rants and some exciting Week 7’s previews.

The half-way point.

We’re at the point of the season where people start looking down the stretch and asking themselves if it’s possible for them to play a 11th week of FPF or will their season finish in a serious disappointment?

To be honest, it’s a bit late to consider playoffs, but for many of you, you’ve either dug yourself a serious hole or you’re set yourself up for an easy 2nd half of the season. Knowing FPF, 5 wins usually gets you in the playoffs so anyone with at least 3 of those 5 locked in, I can tell you that you’ve placed yourself in a very favorable position. For the others, well, step it up, even 0-5 teams still has a chance at turning tables and hoisting the fabulous Trophy by April.

Play spoilers, play for fun, but play your hearts out. We all pay to play and when it’s all said and done, we all look back to the games we truly enjoyed and they aren’t always wins, but the games we battled the hardest and gave it all we had.

Let’s get to it.

Week 6

It’s been 6 (5) weeks and D4 has turned into one of the, if not the best, division we have. With so many upsets, we have it all. Teams going undefeated, low seed upsetting and great football games. I couldn’t ask for a better division to cover, so, well, thank you for that.

Thoughts of the Week

I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such a cold Dome. This weekend’s games were tough on everyone. Loyola / Lachine were way too cold to play in. Props to everyone who showed up regardless and played their hearts out.
Isn’t THIS dude simply awesome or what? He makes me want to like February again. He’s awesome.
This guy’s bat flip is impressive. It’s straight up awesome. Gotta love the internet.
What’s up with these gas prices Montreal? I filled up at 88.6 on Tuesday night and I saw 105.9 the following morning? Is this a joke? Stop. Ain’t funny.
Table of Terror makes for great laughs on Thursday nights.
I see you, Laurent Dubreuil. That catch was ABSOLUTELY CRAZY. Proud to say our refs can ball.
The U gets it done without their QB in quite remarkable fashion. Well done, boys.
VNation’s new found QB is getting the job done. Kormendi is having a GREAT stretch going 12:1 in 3 games. Keep it up.
This week’s most impressive players were QBs. So many studs performances. Well done.
Kyle Lebofsky had a night on defense. He held the fort with only 5 man. You keep impressing.
Is there anything Rich Humes can’t do for his Bullies? Passing TDs, Rushing TDs, interceptions. He deserved this shoutout. Well, he does every week, but you know.
Don’t listen to the haters (Moe Khan) Jordan Moses, keep doing your thing. It’s working.
This season’s starting to take shape. It’s not over yet for anyone, but let’s be honest, some of you will have it tougher than others. Step up, it’s FPF, anyone can win at any given time.
I’m sharing the panel on the podcasts with two very serious chokers in Moe Khan and Brent Callender as both picked their own demises (Brent had to eat 12 doughnuts and Moe Khan had to eat 15 hot dogs) and neither finished their “meals”. I’m disappointed. Show some gluttony. C’mon. It’s delicious food.
For any hockey fans out there, Therrien needs to learn to handle a press conference. Throwing your star player under the bus will never, ever, earn you respect. It’s beyond absurd.
The ridiculous cold should now be over. Let’s get back to nice FPF weather, please.

Players of the Week

Division 4A

Kevin Smuda (Coyotes): 8 catches, 95 yards, 4 TDs and the only interception of the game. What a night for Smuda.
Jean-Felix Daloze (Jagerbomb): I was wondering when I’ll be giving this guy some love. Here it is. 4 receiving TDs, an interception and he spent some of the night rushing as well. Impressive Daloze. Keep it up.
Justin McLean (Still Teamless): 118 yards and 3 TDs with 2 different QBs. This guy can click with any given pivot and that’s a huge testament.

Division 4B

Chris Pinsonneault (Crimson Tide): He showed the previously high-ranked J’s what he’s all about with 7 passing TDs and 2 INTs on defense. Heck of a night.
Jonathan Lemieux (Les Affreux):His team needed to bounce back and he comes out of the gate with a 229 yards, 8 TD night. Wow.
Mike Addona (Show me Your TDs): Mike is posting record-breaking numbers. Flat out simple. Another monster night with 244 yards and 7 TDs. He’s our frontrunner for QB of the year.

Recaps

Division 4A

Tony’s Championships’ Orphans is looking worse with every passing week. Showing up late to their game on Saturday and starting off trailing 12-0 with only 5 guys, I was expecting this to be a lot worse than it actually ended up being. Rupcic showed poised in the pocket, delivered strikes and finished on a high note. If it wasn’t for the 12 point deficit, it would’ve been a much closer game and TCO might have been able to get their first W, but they dug themselves a hole they couldn’t climb out of. Still Teamless’ QB Jonathan Brown got some rest after the first half and the team kept driving against their opponents in what ended in a “blowout”. With Teamless not going full speed most of the night, I can only help but wonder what could’ve been if both teams went at it for the full duration without a deficit.
Recipe 4 Disaster were without Ryan Aridi who is out with an injury and didn’t quite seem to utilize his backup for the night Isiah Allard properly. Applebaum struggled to get the ball moving early and his offense actually strived due to their excellent defense and how it kept them in the game. With a very tight game at end, Boustany caught a ball in the back of the endzone and the Cerantola (Alec and Kristian) couldn’t keep their cool; URs came flying and Broccasion saw themselves fighting back with 5 man and short of a QB for a drive. Sadly, Birch couldn’t handle the pressure and took a bad sack in the endzone to help R4D increase their lead. The game looked like a done deal, but, somehow Broccasion stopped Applebaum with only 5 man as Lebofsky made his presence felt and Kristian came back firing late in the 2nd to take the lead which they’d hold for the rest of the game. Broccasion walked away with the W, but it was far from pretty.
Bruthers took the field against Coyotes and scored on the very first play that had Mikelberg show great arm strength and accuracy down field. Feder answered back by grinding the field slowly as they usually do and using Kevin Smuda in the endzone for points. It wasn’t Mikelberg’s offense the problem as they scored on most drives, but getting 2 safeties in a FPF game will kill your hopes most of the time. It’s a tough margin to overcome when the opposing QB seizes the opportunity and scores on the following possession. With a 28-12 lead at half, Coyotes were in a very comfortable position and played smart in the 2nd to maintain said lead. Bruthers are very talented, but they shot themselves in the foot once too many times Saturday.
Jagerbomb needed to bounce back from their bad stretch of games and they did just that against No Name this week by putting up a great performance all around. Sending Daloze rushing early put pressure on Grizzley and took some of the pressure off Jagerbomb’s defense’s shoulders to carry the load of the team and it gave Duchesne great field positioning to work with. Nuckle and Daloze finally emerged offensively the way we’ve been expecting them to and Duchesne finally had a night to build on. By pulling away in the first half, Jagerbomb sealed the deal early in the 2nd half and never looked back. A night to forget for No Name, but a serious momemtum builder for Jagerbomb.

Division 4B

Renegades turned back to Robert-Allard under center as he returned and his offense simply couldn’t get anything going against the Longhorns on Saturday. With a few inaccurate passes downfield, Renegades’ offense were looking at 3rd and long once too often to maintain a steady offense and move the chains. Jon Moodie feasted on a defense that looked lost for the most part of the game as he carved up his opponents for 251 yards and a 7:0 ratio. By spreading the ball to 8 different receivers, Moodie showed he can have chemistry with pretty much any given player and Longhorns cruised to a dominant 47-12 victory while embracing the brutal cold of Saturday night at Lachine.
Red Sharks took my criticism to heart and decided that showing me what they could really do was the best way to get on my good side. Well, destroying Smash Bros, who had Aleksander Papich helping, is a pretty fine way to do so. Luis Begin’ offense was unstoppable as he ran all over backup-rusher Eddy Rousseau and co. Posting 112 yards rushing and 69 yards passing could see silly to some, but why stop something that’s clearly working for you. Down by a point in the first half, Red Sharks turned the tables around in the 2nd half and got rolling hard as they posted 30 points in the last 22 minutes to take away the last 5 plays and seal the deal against a struggle Jonah Cohen.
Bromigos looked to bounce back on Sunday after a bad stretch of games, but Keyport Lock had others plans; very different plans, indeed. By shutting down most of Larose-Laurent’s throws in the first half, Keyport Lock took a 14-0 lead to halftime and the whole team looked quite poised. In fact, Gerville took away every read to his side of the field and Jeremy Cola did the rest as Rubin was a constant pain in Bromigos’ pivot’s side. Rosenblatt wasn’t perfect, but he did more than enough to secure a win; 27 points behind such a dominating defense will get you W’s most of the time. A great team win for Keyport who improve to 4-1 and remain in the chase for the Division Title.
In a game that the score doesn’t tell the whole story, Mud Dogs faced off against Sandlot Saints and, although the ending was 19-18, this game never really felt close. Sandlot Saints’ offense had trouble moving the ball around as Kraemer only completed 9 passes to 3 different receivers and they never seem to get anything going. Mud Dogs looked in control, but Mongeon-Duby simply couldn’t connect with his receivers on numerous occasions. With guys getting open down field often and being overthrown, the game felt like it should’ve been a blowout, but Mud Dogs kept it way too close for comfort. With studs all across the board, I’m still confused about how Mud Dogs lost 2 of their 5 games.

Power Rankings

Division 4A

Les Maloudes (5-0-0): There’s no stopping these guys. At least, not yet.
David Hurley, Pet Detective (5-0-0): With Bishara officially injured, Hogan takes the snaps. Is it better? Time will tell.
Coyotes (4-1-0): A pretty impressive victory. Offense got the job done.
Broccasion (4-1-0): Although they won, their behavior during the game worries me and they drop a spot.
Backyard Bullies (4-1-0): The best team no one talks about.
Still Teamless (3-1-1): How are they at 3-1-1 without me noticing?
5-Star (3-1-1): Not the prettiest of wins, but who cares. Winning is all that matters.
Bruthers (3-2-0): If we take the two bad snaps for safety away, they had a real shot at taking down the #3 seed.
Warhawks (3-2-0): With these athletes and their past experience together, there’s no doubt Warhawks will continue to shake things up.
Recipe 4 Disaster (3-2-0): A tough loss as them dropping a few seeds.

Division 4B

The U (5-0-0): The last undefeated team in D4B. They’ve earned the spot and are keeping it.
Crimson Tide (4-1-0): Another impressive victory reminds us why Crimson Tide is top tier.
Friends with Benedicts (4-1-0): FWB looks great when the roster’s present.
Longhorns (4-1-0): Longhorns are finally playing the way I envisaged them to play all season.
A-Squad (4-1-0): They don’t always win with huge margins, but no one can deny their record.
Keyport Lock (4-1-0): With 4 wins, Keyport are showing everyone how talented they really are.
Sandlot Saints (4-1-0): I’ve had my doubts, but the Sandlot Saints have been winning, constantly.
Les Affreux (3-2-0): A nice way to bounce back after a few bad games.
Red Sharks (3-2-0): A steady offense behind a great defense.
J’s (3-2-0): A very tough loss for the J’s has them dropping quite a lot.

The Chase

Division 4A

Les Maloudes: Chasing past ZOO as Maloudes’ athletes will be more than able to shutdown Pat St-Amand and the injured Francois Raymond. Frank Kaye’s absence will really be felt this week and their season will take its final blow.

David Hurley, Pet Detective: Chasing past Team Ethnik is a game that will be much closer than most would expect. Team Ethnik will find flaws in DHPD’s defense and expose them, but Hogan will find ways to win and maintain his lead.

Division 4B

The U: Chasing past Golden Flashes and The U’s defense will be too much to handle for Yannick Doston and he’ll give away the kind of field positioning he’s been wishing for all season.

FlagPlus Fantasy Football

Last Week’s Winners

Adam Rockman vs Kyle Lebofsky: Kyle Lebofsky

Simon Duchesne vs Jonathan Grizzley: Simon Duchesne

Dilan Daoust vs Tony Testa: Tony Testa

Mark Donohue vs Thomas Zorko: Mark Donohue

Julien Rivest vs Brian Larivière: Julien Rivest

Chris Pinsonneault vs Hai Ming Luong : Chris Pinsonneault

Rob Allen vs Jeffrey Lefebvre : Jeffrey Lefebvre

Neil Rubin vs Jean-Mathieu Vidal : Neil Rubin

Division 4A

The Head to Head

Jeremy Anderson (5-Star) vs Shawn Steen (Eskimo Brothers): The two best two-way players of their team and arguably the division are facing off to show us all what they can do. With a lot on the line for both teams, who’ll have the bigger impact?

Position Matchup

Fred Mallette (Warhawks) vs Kristian Cerantola (Broccasion): This week’s QB duel features two very mobile QBs that tend to use their legs to gain time. Who does it better? Who posts the biggest numbers when it all comes down to it?
Maxime Giroux (The Fellowship of the Ring) vs Dean Demetriou (69ers): We all know these two guys as two-way studs, but let’s see what they’ve got purely on offense this week. As their QB’s favorite target, who’ll pull through when their QB needs them the most? Both of their teams cannot afford a loss.
Michael Abiodun (TOPSZN) vs Jonathan Brown (Still Teamless): This week’s rusher duel involves two very different styles of rushing, but both are effective. Abidoun has been collecting sacks whereas Jonathan Brown keeps the QB in the pocket. I’m all about stats, so who you got?

Division 4B

The Head to Head

Mathieu Dubois (Les Affreux) vs Olivier Laberge (Mud Dogs): As possibly the best player on each team, Dubois and Laberge need to have a good night to help their team push towards 4-2 rather than fall to .500 again. As both will most likely end up facing off against each other on both sides of the ball, who ya’ got?

Position Matchup

Derek Sigler (Mean Machine) vs Dylan Catellier (Smash Bros): This week’s duel will involve #2s rather than #1s. When the game’s on the line and your QB’s favorite target is eating double coverage, which of these two players will step up and make the play his team needs him to?
Jeff Rosenblatt (Keyport Lock) vs Tibor Kormendi (Vnation): Both of these two QBs have been on a strong stretch as of late, but one’s stretch is about to hit a serious bump. With great recent numbers, they’ll have to step it up a notch and earn themselves another W. Who will be clutch when it matters most?
Charles Tremblay (War Pigs) vs Matt Brown (Hooligans): This week’s defensive duel features two tackling machines. In fact, both these players have been all over the field for their defense getting flags when it matters most. Who’ll end the night with the biggest stats, the biggest impact?

Previews

Division 4A

Cougars had a strong start of the season, but has been facing tough opponents as of late and still managed to keep most of their games really close. Tony Testa is emergin as a top tier player in D4A and he’s showing all the doubters how talented he really is. This week, they’ll be facing a fire-red hot Coyotes squad who can’t seem to slow down. Sammy Feder is having a career-year and he’s been spreading the ball a lot more than in previous years. Josh Feder remains his security blanket, but he’s been looking to Langburt or Smuda for points rather than his brother and his offense has reached new heights ever since. Can Cougars slow down Feder or will Iadeluca have to put up numbers with one of the division’s best? Either way, this will be a plateful for the talented Cougars.
Two underperforming team will face off in this weekend’s game as Recipe 4 Disaster will attempt to right the ship against BearSkins who are fighting to survive. In fact, Bearskins cannot afford a loss at the moment and fall to 1-5 as Recipe 4 Disaster desperately need the win to remain in the chase rather than fall to .500. Applebaum hasn’t been himself lately and Rockman has been unusually quiet in the last few games; look for that to change against a weaker defense. Etinson needs to get Bertoldi more involved in his offense as Peterson cannot be the only weapon this team displays week-in and week-out. We know they can get it done, but they simply haven’t so far this season. Step up, Bearskins. Don’t let this season go to waste.
This week’s game of the week features Backyard Bullies and the incredible Rich Humes against Jagerbomb and their attempt at a comeback. Jagerbomb destroyed No Name this week to build momemtum for their clash against the underrated Bullies, but they might hit another brick wall and fall flat back down to .500 if they allow Humes and co’ to do their thing. It’ll all start with the rusher for Jagerbomb and how much time he allows Humes to have with the football in hand as Daloze and Nuckle have more than enough talent to find holes in the Bullies’ defense and give Duchesne somewhere to throw the football. If Humes’ rushing yards are reduced and forced to sit the pocket, we could see the Jagerbomb emerge as contenders.

Division 4B

Suicide Squad gave me a hard time last week in our duel and will be looking to comeback from their loss against streaky Longhorns. Suicide Squad bolster a very deep roster with talented players all across the board which might take Longhorns by surprise in the first few minutes of game time. With a strong athletic defense, Longhorns will need to grind the field and look for Rob Allen to create plays as Jon Moodie might be uncomfortable in the pocket and feel more pressure than he’s used to in the past few weeks. If Kevin Lubin can keep his play calls simple and have his receivers actually catch the football when he desperately needs first downs, this offense can put up monster numbers in a minute’s notice. Fear the Squad.
In this week’s Game of the Week, we have Crimson Tide facing off Show Me Your TDs. After last week’s article, I mentioned the QB of the year would be decided amongst their previous duel. Well, I lied. It’s this week’s duel that will, most likely, decide who wins as our current 2 and only frontrunners are facing off. Unless both these guys go 7:0 and win via PATs, this is the game they’ll remember when they hoist the trophy. Both defenses aren’t the grittiest and tend to allow big plays and a lot of points, so the pressure is on the QB’s shoulders to make their receivers look good (which they have been doing all season). If Pinsonneault uses his legs a bit more this week, he’ll have A NIGHT. I look forward to it.
Les Affreux bounced back in quite the fashion last week, but they’ll be facing a much tougher opponent this week in the highly underrated Mud Dogs. In fact, Mud Dogs are doing everything well except putting points on the board. Mongeon-Duby needs a bit more time to familiarize himself with his receivers and have timing down, but you can see the potential and talent that shines through this team’s performances. Their defense will give Lemieux a lot of headaches and Les Affreux’ top receivers in Jackson, Dubois and Domon will need to step up and create separation if they want to take this one home. Expect Dubois to earn the game ball this week unless Laberge has something to say about it.

Picks of the week

Either teams started to listen to our picks and play along or you guys were incredibly predictable. Either way, thank you. I posted a season high 17 / 23 (10/12 D4A, 7/11 D4B), but I still got edged by Doston’s ridiculous 19/23 (11/12 D4A, 8/11 D4B). I must say, he’s either paying you guys or he’s shitting 4-leaf clovers. Either way, I want in. In that being said, he’s now edging me by 6 points and I need THE BEST week to bounce back before it’s too late.

May the prediction Gods help me and curse Doston.

Division 4A

Warhawks vs Broccasion: Broccasion

Playground vs Tony’s Championship Orphans: Playground

Coyotes vs Cougars: Coyotes

Team Ethnik vs David Hurley, Pet Detective: David Hurley, Pet Detective

5-Star vs Eskimo Brothers: 5-Star

Bruthers vs D’s Nuts!: Bruthers

The Fellowship of the Ring vs 69ers: The Fellowship of the Ring

ZOO vs Les Maloudes: Les Maloudes

TOPSZN vs Still Teamless : Still Teamless

BearSkins vs Recipe 4 Disaster: Recipe 4 Disaster

Backyard Bullies vs Jagerbomb: Backyard Bullies

Frosty Bronsons vs No Name: Frosty Bronsons

Division 4B

Keyport Lock vs VNation: Keyport Lock

Hooligans vs War Pigs: Hooligans

J’s vs All Black: J’s

Suicide Squad vs Longhorns: Suicide Squad

The U vs Golden Flashes: The U

Balls Deep vs Sandlot Saints: Sandlot Saints

Crimson Tide vs Show me your TDs: Crimson Tide

Red Sharks vs A-Squad: Red Sharks

Friends with Benedicts vs Renegades: —-

Bromigos vs Local 89ers: Bromigos

Smash Bros vs Mean Machine: Smash Bros

Les Affreux vs Mud Dogs: Les Affreux

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 Saturday night scorekeeping so you can stop by and chat. Don’t hesitate. Until next time…!