Week 7’s recap and Week 8’s preview.

Seize the day.

The theme this week will be angled towards taking the moment to win it all when you still can. With only one team out of contention (see the standings below), 25 out of 26 teams can still take matters into their own hands and make a push to play in Week 11. Seize the day, don’t let it go to waste and regret it in a few weeks when you look back at what could have been.

In fact, Conference A is really up for grabs whereas Conference B is a bit tougher to sneak into, but both are actually very do-able. It all starts with your Week 8 game and how you play the next hour.

On a side note, the fun is over as our Commissioner returns to duty this week and trouble is on the horizon (for Daron, at least. Slacker.)

For those of you who either hate me, want to hear a different opinion or simply wants more FPF, tune in to the podcasts either live on Thursday nights at 8:00 (they always run late) or simply check them out afterwards on Youtube on the FlagPlus Football channels. Terry Tam and Moe Khan tend to go off topics on random rants and talk somewhat smack, but their opinions are close to valuable. I’m still the voice of truth and reason behind Division C, but you should check these two out, they aren’t bad.

 

Week 8

What have I learn this week?

• A tie feels like a loss for both teams.
• Predators Lite actually has a defense now.
• The real CREAM Team showed up this week, finally.
• So did Laval’s Finest.
• Don’t underestimate Les Blues Branleurs
• I’m a hater, yes, but I love to be proven wrong. Trust me; I’d rather see top teams lose than have winning streaks.
• The Brotherhood has more rushing yards than passing yards. Hrmmm.
• Canada Day isn’t as trashy as St-Jean. A few years back, I would’ve said the trashier the better, but I guess I’m growing up?
• I also learnt you can’t make a fire in someone else’s backyard without their permission
• Canadians are nicer than Americans when you trespass private property
• Moe Khan has bladder problems.
• Justin Blanchard has 4 picks and 4 TDs in 2 weeks. Talk about a game changing addition.
• Eagle had an Interception… Division C’s really going to Hell.
• My Power Rankings this week caused some headaches; it’s getting tough to rank from 1 to 10.
• Week 8 is bound to be a GREAT week in Div C. So many amazing matchups.
• The Standings table is ugly due to the way it formats on the website.
• I’m not a fan of the new formatting (paragraphs and spacing), but I’m also pretty tired of hearing Bird yell at me, so I guess…

 

Recaps

• Two and a half Dans took on TOPSZN this week as TOPSZN fields, yet another, QB under center. Don’t get me wrong, every QB they pick up is talented and clearly has played QB before somewhere, but FPF isn’t tackle football and you don’t adjust with a single game. The Dans’ offense kept marching up and down the field with ease, but for once, their offense seemed to have struggled a bit to move the ball in the 2nd half and could’ve been cause for trouble if their defense wasn’t so dominant. TOPSZN played well on defense, but their offense was going nowhere fast turning the ball over way too often, completing only 8 passes on 20 attempts and struggling to move the chains. At the end of the day, Two and a half Dans imposed their dominance on TOPSZN showing me, and everyone watching, why they are still undefeated.
• STL took on Predators Lite in what I expected to be a blowout, but I was actually surprised by the style of play that was present in Lachine on Sunday. In fact, Predators Lite’s defense showed up for the 2nd time this season (the addition of Simon Lahaie is really paying dividends on defense) and they kept STL to only 28 points, something I didn’t foresee. They limited Dylan Taylor’s ability to gain time and, although he looks great on the stat sheet, 28 points isn’t that much for such an offense. On the other hand, SBB keeps finding ways to move the chains, but scoring seems to be another puzzle all together. His legs are useful, but when you have 8 rushes and only 10 completions, you won’t win FPF games. Remember, you’re a QB not a RB. They struggle in the redzone and it’s costing them on extra points and in certain scenarios. They need to find ways to win games fast if they want to punch in a ticket to the playoffs, because at 2-5, their hopes are looking grim.
• Keyport Lock showed up with, yet another, patched up roster to face against another bottom dweller in Top Sauce and were quite surprised by what they found. In fact, Top Sauce showed up to play and Vince Nardone actually had a fantastic first half throwing 4 TDs for 28 points and looking brilliant. His chemistry with Maxime Giroux is kicking in and his deep threat is very present. With guys like Giroux, Mercille and Bertoldi, it’s hard to imagine that they won’t prevail. The second half saw the good ol’ Nardone we got use to seeing forcing throws and getting picked off. The game was already won, so it’s no biggie as Rosenblatt’s offense simply couldn’t pierce Top Sauce’s defense, but Nardone’s numbers suffered and his momemtum might have taken a hit after such an impressive first half. We’ll have to wait and see what’s in store for them week 8.
• CREAM Team finally got their roster together and looked like the team I predicted them to be preseason when they faced off against Longhorns. Both teams came out to ball, but CREAM Team had all their weapons loaded and simply fired away. Humphrey finished the night with only 6 incompletes, his best performance of the season and their defense was on-point as they totaled for 4 interceptions, 5 PDs and a pick-six. They couldn’t limit Rob Allen’s production (no one seems to), but they limited every other receiver to a single catch and forced so many hurries that Moodie looked way too uncomfortable out there to win a football game. If this CREAM Team squad could show up every week, they’ll be serious contenders, but that’s a big if.
• Laval’s Finest came in fired up, and a bit late, to their game against Hitmen Retro and seized the hour right off the bat. Hitmen Retro were without Jim Coupethwaite, one of their big receivers, and Moufrage’s offense suffered for it. Mashtoub’s offense looked like Week 1 and they walked all over their opponents as he finishes the night with his best game of the season and spreading the ball so that every receiver had at least a TD and 40’ish yards. Their defense was good enough, but offense really prevailed as Hitmen Retro’s only shining light was Carmine Pollice who kept drives alive, but wasn’t his usual self on defense. A much needed win for Laval’s Finest if they want to redeem their bad start.
• Team Ethnik pulled “an upset” over The Brotherhood on Monday night as Jamie Harry showed up a tad too late, once again. Without Jamal Gittens, Omar Jackson took snaps until Harry got to the field and their offense struggled, but got points on the board using many options-reads with Quaysie Gordon-Maule by his side. The game managed to be a pretty back-and-forth game for most of the night with Brotherhood looking a lot more athletic than Team Ethnik outjumping and speeding out their opponents and took the lead with 2 plays to go for what looked like a done deal. Wrong. Jonathan Brown didn’t lose hope and played the last two remaining plays brilliantly; uses the first play to split the field in half and give himself better positioning for his last play. With every receiver going deep, there was only Justin Blanchard left upfront. Brown chucks it, Blanchard, in-between Omar Jackson and Quaysie Gordon-Maule, came down with the ball, lands in the endzone; game’s over, Team Ethnik won 30-27 in a serious shocker of a performance.

 

Players of the Week

Matt Monat (CREAM Team): Finishing the night with 58 receiving yards, 2 TDs and 2 Interceptions including a pick-six is mention-worthy. Congratulations.

Rod Mashtoub (Laval’s Finest): With his best game of the season, Mashtoub locks a player of the week mention by throwing 6 TDs, to 5 different receivers and no INT.

Justin Blanchard (Team Ethnik): 100 yards, 4 TDs and an interception on defense. ‘nuff said.

Joseph Cecere (PRIMETIME): 52 yards and a TD is decent, but when we add the 2 pass deflected and the interception hat-trick on defense, his performance becomes absurd.

Mathew Bourbonnière-Morin (The Punisher): Another amazing week for Bourbonnière-Morin who finishes 21/27, 240 yards, 6:0 and even nailed a sack on defense. Impressive.

 

Power Rankings

1. Grip n Rip (7-0-0): Another week, another win. A close call, but still another W.
2. Two and a half Dans (7-0-0): At this point, I’m not sure what’s left to say about how dominant the Dans have been this season.
3. The Punisher (6-1-0): Sitting 3rd this week in the Rankings, these guys are serious contenders this season.
4. STL (6-1-0): I expected a better performance from STL last week, but they still came out on top, which is all that matters.
5. Damps 25/8 (4-3-0): Damps played well once again, but got going too late. These guys are still the real deal though.
6. No Fly Zone (5-1-1): They locked up a much-needed win and they keep rolling.
7. PRIMETIME (5-2-0): PRIMETIME needed to dominate an opponent to come back from their slump and did just that this week.
8. Killer Instinct (5-1-1): It’s not the tie that worries me, but how it happened.
9. Game Changers (4-3-0): The way Game Changers have been playing has them back in my Rankings. Keep it up.
10. Team Ethnik (4-3-0): Their new addition is really making them shine bright.

 

Playoff Standings

Top 8 makes playoffs. Top 2 seeds are given to divisional leaders. 

**Stars next to team’s name : Clinched playoff berth

**Ruled-out : Mathematically ruled-out of the playoffs.

**Name in bold : Clinched division.

Conf A	Team	PTS	W(P-F)	DIV	PA		Conf B	Team	PTS	W(P-F)	DIV	PA
1	Two and a half Dans*	14	7	[4-0-0]	142		1	Grip n Rip*	14	7	[4-0-0]	122
2	Killer Instinct	11	5	[3-1-0]	127		2	PRIMETIME*	10	5	[4-0-0]	157
3	The Punisher*	12	6	[3-1-0]	198		3	STL*	12	6	[3-1-0]	150
4	No Fly Zone	11	5	[2-1-0]	156		4	Game Changers	8	4	[3-1-0]	194
5	Served With Heat	8	4	[3-1-0]	189		5	Damps 25/8	8	4	[2-2-0]	153
6	ZOO	8	4	[3-1-0]	194		6	Team Ethnik	8	4	[1-3-0]	150
7	Longhorns	6	3	[2-1-0]	240		7	Snatchers	7	3	[2-1-0]	156
8	Hitmen Retro	6	3	[2-2-0]	242		8	The Brotherhood	6	3	[1-2-0]	169
9	Westpark Boys	6	3	[0-3-0]	191		9	Top Sauce	4	2	[1-3-0]	194
10	Laval’s Finest	5	2	[1-3-0]	199		10	Les Blues Branleurs	4	2	[1-2-0]	215
11	CREAM Team	4	2	[1-3-0]	185		11	Predators Lite	4	2	[1-3-0]	229
12	TOPSZN	4	2	[0-3-0]	209		12	Keyport Lock	2	1	[1-3-0]	298
13	Patriotes	0	0	[0-4-0]	243		13	KGP Champs	0	0	[0-3-0]	238

 

The Famous 5 Questions

This week’s 5 Questions came from none other than the Famous George Michael Kolethras (yes, that’s what GM stands for). Expect questions to be more relevant than Peeze’s delirious rants.

1. Grip n Rip and Two and a half Dans are both currently undefeated and do not play each other. Do you see a) neither team b) one of the two (if so which team) or c) both teams going 10-0 this season?

It’s a tough one. In my mid-season article, I predicted the Dans to finish 10-0, but GnR to drop one due to the absence of Mike Zenobi. His replacement, Nick Impellezzeri has really stepped up and played well, but their schedule is tricky and not really relevant to their playoff hopes. On the other hand, the Dans are facing a tougher opponent than projected in Damps 25/8 and the matchup isn’t favorable for ‘em Dans… I’m torn.

My guts say that one of the two will lose a game, but I’ll stick to what works and say C). Grip n Rip AND Two and a half Dans will finish 10-0.

2. What team (or teams) with a .500 record or less do you see sneaking into the playoffs?

Well, according to the way you’ve asked the question, I’d have to name teams that are CURRENTLY out of the playoff picture or that are below .500 rating (because with 7 weeks, it’s tough to be .500), so I’ll give the edge to Laval’s Finest and CREAM Team simply because I believe they are MUCH better than what their record shows. If they can step up and play as well as we know they could, they’ll finish strong and take the last seeds.

In conference B, Brotherhood is the team below .500 that’ll force its way into the playoffs.

3. Will KGP Champs or Patriotes come out with a win before the season is done? Why or why not?

KGP Champs have a very winnable game vs Keyport Lock this week, but they seem to have given up hope on their season and aren’t even battling out there anymore, so I’d give the edge to Patriotes although their schedule isn’t favorable. I’d hate to see Patriotes finish 0-10 and I’d love an upset for their sake, but I don’t see it happening against any of the three remaining opponents.

4. Do you feel that, as a whole, Division C is actually a stronger division than Division B this season?

No I do not. Division C feels a lot like Division 4 did last Winter with major powerhouses and certain teams blowing others out of the water. Some teams are pure juggernaut facing off against weaker opponents and I feel that weakens a division rather than strengthens one. Division B sees the weakest team (The Commission) tie the first place seed (6+R) and battle their way against any given opponents week-in and week-out. The parity in Division B is much stronger, almost absurd and makes for a better, stronger division. Also, the skill level is much steeper.

5. As usual, I don’t have a fifth question, so I’m going to turn this in a more serious direction. I’d like to send my sincerest condolences to Dave and Rob Allen of the Longhorns on the passing of their father. The thoughts of the FPF community are with you.

 

Previews

• If we learnt anything last week, it’s that Game Changers are finally starting to look like the team we expected them to be preseason and that Top Sauce is starting to get things in motion, although none of the two are flawless. That being said, you’ll understand why a matchup between the two at such a crucial time of the season is bound to be a GREAT game. Game Changers’ offense relies on speed and size which is something Top Sauce takes away from their opponents. Without boasting the best defense in the division, Top Sauce has the playmakers to shutdown their opponents and force QBs to create plays for themselves. Sakiz will face a much tougher threat than he’d expect. The key to this game will be, once again, in Vince Nardone’s hands, well, hand as he attempts to keep up with Sakiz’ numbers for 44 minutes. If he starts the night like week 7, Top Sauce has a good shot at this, but if he plays anything like what he’s been doing from any other given weeks, it’ll be over by halftime. I expect a barnburner.

• In one of my favorite matchup of the week, PRIMETIME takes on The Brotherhood in what could happen to be a fantastic game if The Brotherhood shows up on time and ready to play. Jamie Harry will face a tough rusher in Devin Daoust and will need to be at the top of his game, but PRIMETIME doesn’t have the players to rival with The Brotherhood’s speed and jumpball ability so they’ll have to get creative; something they’ve grown pretty good at. I actually expect both offenses to be pretty prolific on Sunday night as Brotherhood will score on PRIMETIME and so will PRIMETIME on Brotherhood. A mistake-free David Daoust will win the night, but he hasn’t played that way in a few weeks. Facing particular athletism, Daoust will need to run rather than force throws; Brotherhood’s players can be quite vicious when the ball floats a tad too long.

• Initially, Served with Heat vs Laval’s Finest was my pick for game of the week, but I recently learnt that Karl Lavallée will be missing for a second week in a row and JD Chevalier is taking over, which also means he won’t be playing receiver. Knowing that, I feel the game won’t be as interesting to watch as planned and that it’ll come down to a handful of big plays or, rather, defensive mistakes that’ll define the outcome. Laval’s Finest has the players and the squad to put up against SWH’s monstruous roster and vice versa but it’ll come down to which QB manages to feed his receivers the best and make plays. Mashtoub is the most talented QB, but he hasn’t been playing great this year (aside from Week 1 and 7) so I’m tempted to give the edge to SWH even with Chevalier at the helm. To be honest, this is a pure coin flip for me.

• Another great matchup (yes, this week is awesome) features TOPSZN vs CREAM Team. The rosters are poised to battle it out in fashion, but TOPSZN’s lack of quarterback is really their main issue and the reason why I’d have to side with Humphrey on this one. Yes, we’ll see great man-to-man coverage and yes, we’ll see amazing plays happen on both sides of the ball, but I feel like tempers will flare as both sides are very emotional and CREAM Team’s chemistry will prevail. I feel like TOPSZN will get flustered, CREAM Team will reply, tempers will flare, flags will be thrown and CREAM Team will use it as an advantage and pull away on the scoreboard. Both teams are battling with their season on the line; there’s a lot to lose at stake.

• In the official Game of the Week filmed by Ryan Aridi and also my pick for GOTW, The Punisher will face off against No Fly Zone in a proper battle. Although NFZ has the deeper roster, The Punisher’s greatest strength and advantage is at the QB position. In fact, I’d take Bourbonnière-Morin over most in this division and The Punisher are favored in this matchup because of him. He’s been playing great recently, but I believe it’s a trend that won’t stick this week and will hit a rough patch against amazing defenders in Martinez, Bishara, Sanner and Humes, but his defense will prevail against a weaker offensive and will give him enough opportunities to pull away late in the 2nd and win by two scores.

• This week’s runner-up for GOTW (in Div C) sees ZOO face off against Killer Instinct in what could be a preview to Week 11’s (first round of the playoffs) rematch. Killer Instinct has been keeping scores fairly low all season long and that’s exactly in what ZOO excels. In fact, ZOO has issues scoring 40+ points on their opponents, but shine bright when the scores are maintained fairly low and it’ll come down to that one drive at the end. Pat St-Amand is a matchup nightmare and Kaye knows how to use him properly while using other receivers to key in at the right moment. Killer Instinct’s offense might not strive so well against a gritty ZOO defense and this could end up being a trap game for the #2 seed that could drop quite a few spot after this week’s game if their offense doesn’t pick up the pace. 19 points won’t avoid losses forever.

 

Predictions

Another great week in the books for me finishing 10/12. I’m starting to get the feels for this division. On the other hand, GM is clearly losing his mojo and I’m quickly catching up. We all knew he was simply being lucky for a few weeks, it couldn’t last. He finished the week with a poor 7/12. Keep failing GM, we’ve got ourselves a game now.

Here’s a reminder of our totals:

Simon : 52 / 84

GM : 53 / 84

As usual, his picks are in italic, mine in bold.

Game Changers vs Top Sauce : Game Changers

Predators Lite vs Snatchers : —-

Damps 25/8 vs Les Blues Branleurs : Damps 25/8

PRIMETIME vs The Brotherhood : PRIMETIME

Longhorns vs STL : STL

Hitmen Retro vs Patriotes : Hitmen Retro

Served With Heat vs Laval’s Finest : Served With Heat

TOPSZN vs CREAM Team : CREAM Team

Team Ethnik vs Grip n Rip : Grip n Rip

No Fly Zone vs The Punisher : The Punisher

Westpark Boys vs Two and a half Dans : Two and a half Dans

Keyport Lock vs KGP Champs : Keyport Lock

ZOO vs Killer Instinct : Killer Instinct

 

That is it for me for this week. If you have any comments regarding the article, don’t hesitate to hit me up on twitter @DagenaisFPF or at the fields. I’ll be scorekeeping games on Sunday and Tuesday nights, so I’ll get to see most of you guys. My official FPF email [email protected] also works, but get with the times, Twitter is where it’s at. Feel free to yell at me if you see me walking around, always glad to talk some football. I tried to tune off the rants… I simply can’t.