Weekday Quarterback (Div D) – Week 13

            Ten weeks of regular season and three weeks of playoffs have finally been completed and we have arrived at the FlagPlus Football Championship week. It is an extremely exciting time for all of us on the FPF staff, knowing that we will finally get to crown all the champions of each division. Division D has been a tremendous battle all season long, and last weekend just showed how competitive this division can be. Both the Mongoose and Patriotes played their best games of the season, and because of their ability to rise up to the occasion, they will get a chance to face off for the championship trophy.

Both teams competed against some very good opponents, and it is important that we give the Eagles and the X-Men their due for the great season that they both had. The Eagles were fantastic all throughout the season and playoffs but came up a bit short against a very good Patriotes team in the conference finals. Those two teams were at another level all season long, and it would not have been a surprise to see either one of them in the finals next weekend. As for the X-Men, they got off to a rough start in the game against the Mongoose and just could not recover from the horrific start. The X-Men deserve a lot of credit for how they finished that game, however. They fought hard until the end and never quit, even when they facing extremely tough odds. This is a team that may not have reached the Promised Land this season, but they have definitely proven that they are taking steps towards doing so, next season. Congratulations to all four teams, but unfortunately only two can play on the final weekend. This leaves us with the Division D matchup between the Patriotes and Mongoose.

(1)   Mongoose versus (3) Patriotes

The Mongoose may be the higher seed in this game, but I think it is fair to say that the Patriotes are the favorites. Playing in a much more difficult conference, and in the tougher division within that conference, made them a playoff-ready team. Every game is like a playoff game when you are playing for the top seed in your division, and even though the Patriotes come up a bit short during the regular season, they managed to knock off both teams that defeated them during their 10 game schedule. Mongoose managed to get the top seed in their conference after losing just once all season, to a team that they certainly did not expect to lose to, in Maximum Carnage. Every team has their strengths and weaknesses, and in this final we will see a very strong offense, led by Patriotes QB Etienne Chauvin, versus a very tough defense, that gets contributions from guys across the board. Let’s look at how each of these teams match up at each position and which team has the advantage.

QB: Etienne Chauvin versus Alexandre Gaudet

–          Chauvin passed for 580 yards and 17 touchdowns with just 3 interceptions in the playoffs

–          Gaudet passed for 251 yards and 7 touchdowns with just 1 interception in the playoffs

–          The most important stat for QB’s is wins and both of these players won 8 games this season and every game so far in the playoffs so there is no advantage or disadvantage there.

–          The overall QB edge has to go to Chauvin, due to the fact that he has been off the charts with his passing numbers this season. Gaudet is more of an all-around contributor, but has not been as unstoppable as Chauvin.

Receivers

–          The Patriotes possess the two top receivers in the playoffs right now, in terms of yardage gained: Mathieu Belanger has 202 yards and 5 touchdowns while Sebastien Pereda has 212 yards and 5 touchdowns. Both receivers are the beneficiaries of the deep passing game that the Patriotes love to use all game long.

–          The first Mongoose receiver to appear in the top 20 for playoff receiving is Frederic Charlebois, who has 90 yards and 4 touchowns. The next highest receiver on this team only has 55 yards and a touchdown and that goes to Maxime Theroux. The obvious advantage goes to the Patriotes here, but it is much closer than one would think. The numbers are a bit skewed because Mongoose has played only two playoff games while the Patriotes have played three. Do not forget that Mongoose’s best receiver is most likely Jason Lachapelle, who has only played in one of those games. He may be the best receiver out of the bunch but would be very close with Pereda and Belanger.

Defensive Backs:

–          The Patriotes’ weakness has to be their defense, which has not shown great amounts of toughness throughout the season. They are excellent at creating turnovers and getting points of those turnovers, but these plays usually come off of the other team’s mistakes. Mongoose is the kind of team that rarely makes mistakes and relies on its ability to play smart football rather than pure talent alone. Sebastien Pereda led his team in interceptions during the season with ten, and has three so far in the playoffs. Mongoose needs to keep the ball away from him as much as they can. The Patriotes defense will either create a turnover through an interception or get scored on, do not look for this team to lock an opposition down for four straight plays very often.

–          Mongoose have an extremely tough defense, that saw its stock rise last week after a great performance against the X-Men. Their first half game plan was absolutely outstanding and saw the X-Men have to keep the ball away from their best receiver in Nicholas Abelhauser. The key for them will be to do that again this weekend against either Belanger or Pereda, and to do it for an entire game. Is it possible to contain two receivers to that extent all game long? Not likely, but anything is possible. Jean Benoit Bourassa has 2 interceptions in 2 games for Mongoose and they will need him to stay hot in order to try and contain the explosive receivers of the Patriotes. Bourassa could be the key guy in this game. If Mongoose use Lachapelle and Gaudet to matchup against Belanger and Pereda, that leaves Bourrassa as the third guy to either help on the two top receivers or can be used to take away the third option. If Bourassa is playing against the third option then the Mongoose has a great matchup. I like the Mongoose defensive backs and give them the advantage at this position.

Rusher:

–          Patrick Trahan vs Alexandre Theroux and company

–          Trahan rushes almost every snap for the Patriotes and does an excellent job of containing the QB and forcing bad throws that turn into interceptions. Trahan has also excelled in the playoffs and has recorded four sacks to lead all rushers in that department. I do not expect to see a big game from Trahan this week because of the style of offense Mongoose uses. A short passing game that requires the ball to be out of Gaudet’s hands quickly means that Trahan will have a hard time getting to Gaudet consistently.

–          Alexandre Theroux will have a similar issue in this game getting to the QB. Chauvin gets the ball out of his hands so quickly that it is sometimes impossible to even get near him. The issue becomes can Theroux make sure to stay disciplined and rush hard every single play. When Chauvin does hold on to the ball in order to stretch the field, he has to wait that extra second before throwing. Theroux will get an opportunity to make a few big plays but will need to stay focused and not let up at all. Mongoose also has other options at rusher and can use different people to create pressure. This rush by committee gives the advantage to Mongoose.

Overall: On paper it looks as though the Patriotes are the clear favorite in this game. The Patriotes offense has looked too strong for any team to contain this season and it seems unlikely that they will be stopped this weekend. This is the best group of defensive backs that the Patriotes have faced all season, and they will have a tough time creating offense but I still expect them to put up a lot of points. Mongoose will rise to the occasion and we will once again see a great performance by them, but I expect them to come up just a little bit short in the final game of the season. Expect a classic championship game with the Patriotes coming out on top by a score.

I hope to see everyone come out this weekend and support the league as we have our championship Road Show. See you there!