Weekday Quarterback (D5) – Week 10

 

Well, it seems we are at the end of the road for a few teams in the 2010 winter season, but for certain others, it may just be beginning. Nine weeks have been completed and with one game left for each team we still have a few things that need to be settled. In conference A, both divisions have a confirmed winner after 9 weeks. The Family won the South division with 7 wins but did not do it in the fashion they would have liked. Sphinx won the North division with an absolutely huge victory over the Family last week. Sphinx did not get as much credit as the Family all season long, which is partly my fault, but they now head into the playoffs as the most feared team in Division 5. I do not think anyone expected the Family to finish the season with two losses but a few hiccups along the way have knocked them off course. This team is by no means out of the race, of course, and could potentially get another shot at Sphinx in the playoffs.

In Conference B, the division races are a bit more complicated. We have yet to have a team clinch their division. In the South, we are going get a great game to close the season. You would think both the Park-X Streets and Run’N’Wild would have preferred to have their fate wrapped up by week 10. Instead, they will be playing each other for the South Division crown in their season finales. It’s simple for both those teams: win and the division is yours. The North Division (which has been complicated since week 1), continues to be confusing for everyone. Pendant Publishing leads the division based on their divisional record up to now, and controls their own destiny. If they beat the Love Cows this week, they will clinch their playoff spot and the division. The Wildkittens can win the division if they beat the Wonderslugs, who have been eliminated from playoff contention, and the Love Cows beat Pendant Publishing. The only way the Love Cows can win the North crown is if they beat Pendant Publishing and the Wonderslugs get their first win of the season and defeat the Wildkittens. It’s a bit of a crazy scenario in this division and we will have to wait and see where the results take us.

Week 9 Recap

We’ll start with the big game from last week. I already mentioned that Sphinx beat the Family 36-32 in what was the biggest game of the season for both teams (Game footage will be available online later this week). The Quaterbacks for these teams have been the two best for most of the season, but last weekend, Etienne Cloutier took over and had a great performance. He threw for almost 275 yards and 6 touchdowns. Cloutier did throw 2 interceptions for touchdowns that allowed the Family to stay in the game, but in the end, he was able to put up enough points to get the win for his team. When it comes to it, Quarterbacks getting the win is what matters most, and that is exactly what Cloutier did. Maxime Forget did not have a terrible game as he threw for 3 touchdowns and 100 yards, but he and the Family came up a little short in the end. Sphinx did a great job of taking away Maxime Couture, who could only muster 3 catches for 9 yards. Either way the Family could not muster enough points and will have to hope and wait for a chance to get their revenge.

Another big win last weekend came from the Love Cows who gave themselves a chance to get into the playoffs. They played Lockdown in a game where I think most people would have picked the Lockdown, who seemed to have found their game after being inconsistent early on. Inconsistency reared its ugly head again for Lockdown and they were unable to beat the 1-win Love Cows. John Roveto had one of his best games this season for Love Cows, as he threw for 4 touchdowns and 119 yards. Roveto also rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown. Gianfranco Renaudo had a tough game behind center for Lockdown as he was only able to complete 5 of 24 passes and he threw 3 interceptions. Lockdown is going to need a much better performance if they plan on seeing any good results in their first trip to the playoffs.

Finally, les Affreux were able to hit the brakes and stop sliding towards the bottom of the standings as they got a 28-18 win over the Dawgs. Les Affreux had been struggling recently after a strong start to the season but they were able to get back on the right track with a win over a fairly good Dawgs team. Affreux needed this win before the playoffs as their confidence could not have been very high after a couple of disappointing losses in a row. It was not a pretty win, and there were no individual standout performances, but Affreux found a way to come together as a team and get the victory. I think they will take it at this point.

In other news…

– Monstars put the celebration on hold, as they beat Pendant Publishing, who could not clinch their division just yet.

– Run’N’Wild continued their tear with a 33-13 win over the Wildkittens.

– Park-X Streets continued their undefeated season with a win over the Wonderslugs.

– Patriotes went to 7-2 and are now tied with the Family in terms of wins in Conference A…once again doing it very quietly.

– The Golden Eagles win a game; but unfortunately it’s too little too late, as their playoff push came up short.

 

Playoff Positioning

Conference A

1. Sphinx: Huge win for them and have now clinched this number 1 spot.

2. The Family: Won their division and keep the number 2 spot, but cannot be happy with that loss.

3. The Patriotes: Clinch the number 3 spot with their win last weekend. Could be very dangerous come playoff time.

4. The Recruits: Lost last weekend, but maintain their 4th spot over Affreux. Need a win to clinch this spot.

5. Affreux: Got a win that they needed badly and clinch a playoff spot. Where they will finish has yet to be decided.

6. Team USA: Clinched a playoff spot based on their tie breaker win over the Golden Eagles, who can tie them in terms of points. That win ends up being the biggest of the season for them.

Conference B

1. Park-X Streets: Stay in this top spot, but have not clinched yet. They face Run’N’Wild this weekend for division superiority.

2. Pendant Publishing: Can clinch this spot with a win over the Love Cows or they could drop out of the playoffs with a loss and a Wildkittens win. Better buckle up for this weekend.

3. Run’N’Wild: Can take over the top spot with a win over Park-X Streets. This should be an excellent game. Keep an eye on the Guerriero – Zarmalias matchup.

4. Monstars: Jump to number 4 with a win over Pendant Publishing and a Lockdown loss to the Love Cows. This team is coming around at the right time of the season. Will play Lockdown in week 10 and in the first round of the playoffs.

5. Lockdown: Inconsistency forces them to drop down to 5, but they play the same team either way. They get a chance to feel out the Monstars before the playoffs.

6. Wildkittens: Are in 6th right now, but could end up in second at the end of the weekend with a win and Pendant Publishing loss. These guys will be pulling for the Love Cows come the weekend.

 

Tip Drill: Playoff Edition

I only have two tips for teams heading into the playoffs in 2 weeks. Use this weekend to learn about the potential opponents in the playoffs. Find out what it is that the team you are playing does best and try and take it away. Most teams will not be trying to do new things in the playoffs and will most likely do what has worked best for them especially since the games will be getting much tougher. Secondly, make sure that you play within yourself in these big games. The playoffs can be an extremely emotional time for some teams and that can lead to uncharacteristic mistakes. Make sure that you know what you do well, and try and to do it to the best of your abilities. Trying to do too much may end up hurting your team more than it helps them.

 

That does it for the week 10 edition of Weekday Quarterback; I hope that week 11 gives us another great week of action and I wish all the teams battling for spots the best of luck. Have a great week and make sure to catch my hosting debut of “Breaking the Huddle” later in the week. The more views we get, the more likely it is that Ross Castleton gets fired! And I know how much all of you want that! See you this weekend.