Weekly Extra Point (Div A & B) – Week 2

If you’re reading this, it means you survived the ridiculous length of my Week 1 article and were actually interested in reading more. I apologize for those of you with shorter attention spans and/or jobs and/or other things to do with their time. I’ll try and keep this one to a more manageable length. No promises though.

Before we get any further, it seems like I made at least one glaring error in my first column, stating that Anthony McComber would be a part of the Park Street Elite this season. Apparently, that is totally incorrect. I also alluded to my belief that most of the members of the Messengers of Happiness met for the first time during Week 1. While the comment was made partly in jest, allow me to clarify: they had met before, and even held practice games in the weeks leading up to the regular season. However, I still maintain that they are the most random collection of players we’ve seen in quite a while.

Apologies for the first of what I’m sure will be many factual errors throughout the season.

Back to the regularly scheduled article, as Week 2 is in the books and so are the first interdivisional matchups in FPF history.

DA vs DB: Round 1

This was a unique opportunity to gauge the abilities of 4 DB teams (Blazers, Big TDs, Maniax, Park Street Elite) against the big 4 of DA (Mercenaries, DA Finest, Rainmakers, Snookers). Would the DA teams assert their superiority, or would the DB teams prove they could hold their own against the big dogs? The answer, as it turns out, would be both.

The DA teams went 4-0, so their superiority would seem to be confirmed (for at least one week). That being said, 4-0 doesn’t tell the whole story. All four games were close at halftime, and two of them were decided on the game’s final play. All but one were decided by one score. The DB teams were by no means out of their league.

For the record, the difference was not talent. Each team had their assortment of exceptional athletes and wily veterans and all were led by QBs ranging from solid to spectacular. There weren’t any glaring match-up problems that I was able to observe. More than anything, what separated the DA teams from their DB counterparts was an ability to maintain focus in crunch time, and to make the big plays when it mattered.

On the surface, this points to a high level of parity amongst the teams in the top 2 divisions. A little more experience playing against stronger competition and quite a few of those DB teams could make a successful jump to DA.

However, I do feel the need to caution against drawing too many conclusions from the tight outcomes of these interdivisional match-ups. By digging a little deeper, certain patterns emerge.

In the first half, the DB teams actually outscored the DA teams 68-65. This can be partly explained by a combination of DA overconfidence and DB hunger. While that may seem like oversimplifying it, it’s impossible to deny that the general difference in attitude at the start of the games played a part in keeping the scores close.

But you don’t get to the top by being indifferent in the face of defeat, and the DA teams responded in the second half by outscoring the DB teams 79-52. Not surprisingly, that swing coincided with better execution by the DA teams, cutting down on the sloppy mistakes that prevented them from gaining traction in the first half.

The DA second-half dominance led to a sweep of the first 4 games in this battle between big brother and little brother, seemingly giving them the upper hand. And yet, I can’t help but feel that the overall closeness of the games allows a moral victory to be awarded to DB as well. So here we are, 400 words later and it’s still not clear which division came out on top in the grand scheme of things. Looks like we’ll have to revisit this in Week 4, when interdivisional match-ups resume. To be continued…

Excuses, excuses, excuses…

A few weeks ago, the FPF facebook wall was filled with criticism of the current state of Division A. And while most of the comments related to the division-dodging aspect of the problem, I believe that’s too narrow-minded a focus to have in dealing with this situation. There are multiple factors at play here, and each is worth a detailed look. We’ll spread this out over the next 3 weeks (1 excuse per week for 2 weeks, with the 3^rd week being dedicated to potential solutions to these problems).

N.B.: I will only be delving into what I consider “legitimate” excuses. Teams that dodge divisions because they want to beat up on weaker opponents are not my focus here.

Without further ado, the first (and most common) excuse given for not moving a team up to the highest division:

”We would lose key players because they are already committed to higher division teams.”

There is an obvious correlation between a D2/DB team’s level of success and how many (if any) higher division players they have on their rosters. But don’t take my word for it, take a look at the numbers, season by season. The 4 D2/DB semi-finalists from each season since W09 are listed here, with their higher division players in the brackets:

W12: Victorious Secret (Rochdi Benabdelkader, Paul Lapierre), One Night Stands (Kevin Wyeth), Mercenaries (Adi Sharma, Teddy Frenette), Wolfpack (none)

S11: Snookers (Shane Paquette), Trojans (Vinny Gualano, Donald Shepherd), Big TDs (Ryan Brewster). SWAT (Carmine Pollice, Gino Di Fazio)

W11: Ruff Ryders (Marc Champagnie, Paul Lapierre), Gold Standard (Jay Ulley, Shane Williams), G-Men (Nathan Taylor, Garrett Taylor), One Night Stands (Kishon Thompson)

S10: G-Men (Nathan Taylor, Jon Young), Prestige Worldwide (Patrick Jerome, Alex Lever), Redemption (Andre Knights), Maniax (none)

W10: Texas All-Stars (Nathan Taylor), Wolfpack (Alain Rousseau), Ruff Ryders (Paul Lapierre, Rochdi Benabdelkader), Click Clack (none)

S09: Kings (Rochdi Benabdelkader), Mercenaries (Shawn Haney, Gino Di Fazio), Alkaholiks (Paul Lapierre, Jamal Pierre), G-Men (none)

W09: Waterbuffaloes (none), Wolfpack (none), Shockers (Andre Knights), Click Clack (Nareg Yessayan)

A few things jump out at you when you look at that list. Out of 28 teams, 22 had at least one player from a higher division. A little less than half (12 out of 28) had the maximum of two players from a higher division. Only two teams made the Finals without having at least one player from a higher division (the W09 D2 Finals opponents Waterbuffaloes and Wolfpack). Only one team without a player from a higher division – the W09 Waterbuffaloes – won a championship. Of course, that team had Chad Byers on the roster, in one of his only seasons not playing in D1.

The overall point I’m trying to get at is that it is extremely difficult to win a D2/DB championship without the help of at least one player from the premier divisions. In most of the cases mentioned, the contributions of the higher division player were vital to the team’s playoff run. The stats simply don’t lie.

A move to the highest division would probably cause many of those DB champions to lose some of their key players, which would make the already intimidating task of competing against the league’s best even more daunting.

So what are the solutions? Stay tuned…

Catching up with…

The FPF media machine is great for a lot of things, but one area in which I have to admit it can improve significantly is its lack of depth. What I mean by that is our tendency to skim the surface of a story instead of probing deeper and finding more interesting information. Doing this requires effort, attention to detail and, most critically, cooperation from the teams/players. None of that is necessarily easy to achieve on a regular basis.

Since I stopped appearing on the WEPL, my role in FPF was shifted from observing individual teams towards looking at the bigger picture. Due to this change in focus, I’ve had to rely on sometimes-shallow analysis and oft-repeated catchphrases to keep up with several of the teams I now find myself covering. And while that type of information can be useful in certain situations, I find that it generally paints a somewhat inaccurate portrait of a team.

As a result, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Every week, in this segment, I will delve into the dynamics of 2 teams, with the help of one of their key players (due to certain problems that were out of my control, I’ll only cover 1 team this week). The goal here is to provide a fuller picture of the team I’m writing about, while avoiding the clichés we’ve all become too accustomed to hearing/reading on a regular basis. So join me, as I catch up with…

Triple Sixers

Key losses: Patrick Jerome, Donald Shepherd, Kishon Thompson et Raphael Fradette (substitut).

Les plus grandes pertes pour les Triple Sixers ont été sur le côté offensif du ballon. De leurs 5 meilleurs receveurs en W12, seulement Jean-François Marcotte retourne comme joueur à temps plein. Selon son horaire de travail, Fradette pourrait être un substitut ou un joueur à temps plein.

Comme j’ai mentionné la semaine passée, les Sixers ne peuvent pas espérer remplacer Patrick Jerome. Il est un athlète incroyable, et un des receveurs les plus difficiles à couvrir dans la FPF. Il présentait toujours des difficultés pour les défensives adverses, et il fallait souvent lui assigner une couverture double pour limiter sa production. On ne peut pas le remplacer.

Donald Shepherd est un des meilleurs joueurs de centre dans l’histoire de la FPF, mais il a présenté une de ses pires fiches en carrière avec les Sixers en W12. Kishon Thompson est reconnu pour sa défence, mais le Kishon qu’on a observé avec les Sixers n’est pas le même qu’on a vu avec Montreal’s Finest. L’ajout de ces 2 joueurs étoiles n’a pas eu l’impact espéré par les Sixers, et les perdre ne fera peut-être pas aussi mal qu’on aurait cru.

Key additions: Kevin Challenger, Nicolas Arsenault-Hum, Francis Imbeault, Alexandre Giroux

L’ajout de Challenger sera très important pour tenter de rebâtir la puissance de l’attaque des Sixers. Malheureusement, comme Fradette, sa participation sera dictée par son horaire de travail. Arsenault-Hum est un excellent joueur défensif, et il aura une belle complicité avec son ancien coéquiper de l’Express Mathieu Thuot. Imbeault a déjà été un rusher dominant, même si ça fait quelques saisons depuis qu’il a joué à cette position régulièrement.

Secret weapons: Alexandre Giroux

Giroux, de retour avec les Sixers pour la première fois depuis W10, risque d’être l’ajout le plus important pour cette équipe. Il connaît l’équipe bien et il a déjà connu du succès avec eux (27 rec, 645 yds, 16 TDs en W09). Durant ses 4 dernières saisons (tous jouées avec Terror Squad), il a posté une très belle fiche de 126 rec, 2046 yds, 48 TDs. Après avoir perdu 4 de ses meilleurs receveurs de W12, Karim Chaoual sera réconforté par la présence de Giroux, qui bénéficera de l’absence d’autres joueurs avec qui il aurait du partager les réceptions.

X-Factors: Jean-François Marcotte

Marcotte a connu sa pire saison depuis 4 ans en W12. Il avait pourtant bien commencé, ayant récolté 14 rec, 110 yds et 3 TDs dans ses 2 premiers matchs. Mais, après une blessure, les Sixers l’ont remplacé par Donald Shepherd. Suite à son retour, il a joué dans la position de receveur slot, mais il n’a pas pu reproduire ses statistiques des dernières saisons. Maintenant, avec Shepherd parti, il peut reprendre la position de laquelle il a offert une performance si dominante en W11 qu’il a été nommé le receveur par excellence de la D2.

HOFers: Aucun

Future HOFers: Mathieu Thuot

Thuot a été un des joueurs clés de l’Express, une équipe qui a remporté 2 championnats (D2 en W08, D1 en W10). Il est un joueur sous-estimé par plusieurs, parce qu’il a rarement des statistiques époustouflant. Mais ceux qui ont joué contre lui savent à quel point il a contribué aux succès de l’Express. Son jeu défensif constant et fiable a bien complété le dynamisme de Patrick Chenard. Comme middle linebacker de la défensive des Sixers, il va imposer le ton pour toute l’unité.

Controversy:

Il y a plusieurs qui questionnent la décision des Sixers de descendre dans la DB, après avoir accédé aux séries les 4 dernières saisons dans DA/D2. Ceci étant dit, si on regarde leur fiche pendant la saison, on voit qu’ils étaient une équipe très moyenne (un record de 20-18-2 au total) et tout cela avant de perdre un des meilleurs receveurs de la FPF. Je pense qu’ils ont le talent pour compétitionner avec les 4 autres équipes dans la DA. Par contre, étant donné tous les changements, je comprends leur décision.

What they will need to do to be successful:

La première priorité des Triple Sixers dans les dernières années a été de renforcer leur unité défensive. L’idée derrière cette philosophie est qu’une bonne attaque peut gagner des matchs pendant la saison, mais une bonne défence permet à cette équipe de gagner le championnat. Avec les ajouts de Arsenault-Hum et Imbeault, je pense que leur défence est maintenant d’un calibre de championnat. Malheureusement, c’est maintenant au tour de leur attaque de devoir prouver s’ils ont ce qu’il faut pour remporter la trophée de DB. Un retour en forme de Marcotte et des contributions importantes de Giroux et Challenger (s’il peut jouer) seront essentiels pour que les Triple Sixers puissent aspirer au championnat cette saison.

Sideline reporter

Now it’s time for a segment where I will blatantly rip off Alex Porras’s hard work on the FPF sidelines. As many of you know, Alex is going to be live-tweeting most of the DA/DB games this season from @Score_keeper on Twitter. Because I know not everyone has twitter (or they do and are just too lazy to look it up), I will post a transcript of Porras’ tweets every week, along with some of my thoughts.

Mercenaries 45, Blazers 44

INT by Derek Daoust + TD catch on a Leon Holder pass, Blazers lead 6-0
TD pass from Paul Lapierre to Adi Sharma, conv. (1) by Carmine Pollice, 7-6 Mercenaries lead
TD catch (2) Derek Daoust, 12-7 Blazers
TD catch by Jacques Void, conv. (1) by Pollice, 14-12 Mercenaries lead
TD catch Rob White, conv. (1) by Jerome Baker, 19-14 Blazers lead
TD catch (2) Jacques Void, 20-19 Mercenaries lead
TD catch Devin Daoust, 25-20 Blazers lead
HALFTIME
TD catch by Pollice, 26-25 Mercenaries lead
TD catch (3) Derek Daoust, 31-26 Blazers lead
Full field TD catch Void (3), 32-31 Mercenaries lead
Full field TD catch by Baker, he adds a conv. (1) to make it 38-32 Blazers
TD catch Void (4), conv. (1) by Pollice, 39-38 Mercenaries
Full field TD catch by Derek Daoust (4), 44-39 Blazers lead
TD catch Jon Lyristis, 45-44 Mercenaries lead
Mercenaries 45 – Blazers 44 FINAL

Thoughts:

We often say the difference between DA and DB is execution, and this game is the perfect example. The Blazers had 2 extra points, the Mercs had 3, and that was the ball game.
Great receiving battle between Jacques Void and Derek Daoust, each getting 4 TDs.
I have to admit I didn’t see this one being this close, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Impressive performance by Leon Holder, keeping up with a talented Mercs offensive unit.

My Ditkas 32, Darkside 31

Pick 6 by Adam Ciampini, 6-0 Ditkas
TD pass from Gino Di Fazio to Theo Ojeaha, conv. (1) by Rob Robinson, 7-6 Darkside lead
INT Robinson, Darkside has the ball
Rushing TD by Robinson, 13-6 Darkside
After a turnover on downs, INT by Vince Nardone, Ditkas have the ball
Full field TD catch by James Floreanis, conv. (1) Sean Avraam, 13-13 tied game
HALFTIME 13-13
TD catch A. Ciampini, conv. (1) Nardone, 20-13 Ditkas lead
TD catch Laurent Foucault, 20-19 Ditkas still lead
TD catch Don Shepherd, 26-19 Ditkas lead
TD catch Jacques Void, 26-25 Ditkas lead
TD catch Shepherd (2), 32-25 Ditkas
Ojeaha is hurt, he’s carried off the field by teammates… Probably an ankle…
TD catch Jon Lyristis, 32-31 Ditkas
Ditkas 32 – Darkside 31 FINAL

Thoughts:

Very tight game from two teams expected to be top competitors for the DB championship. No lead was ever higher than 7 points, and the outcome was still in doubt until the very last play.
Hopefully Ojeaha’s injury isn’t a significant one, he’s a key player on the Darkside roster. Even if he’s able to continue to play, most ankle injuries don’t heal up 100% until a month or two have passed. For a player like Daron Basmadjian, this doesn’t really matter. But for a player like Ojeaha, whose speed and athleticism are major components in his game, it could ruin a season.

Triple Sixers 41, Gladiateurs 31

TD pass from Frank Lebeau to Charles Baillargeon, conv. (1) M-A Lebeau. 7-0 Gladiateurs
TD pass from Karim Chaoual to Alex Giroux, 7-6 Gladiateurs
TD catch Nick Guimier, 13-6 Gladiateurs
TD catch by Alex Giroux (2), conv. pass (1) from Alex Giroux caught by Mathieu Thuot, 13-13
HALFTIME 666ers 13 – Gladiateurs 13
Full field TD catch by Pat Jérome, 19-13
With Corey Greenaway injured, Alex Giroux takes all converts for 666ers
TD catch (2) Nick Guimier, 19-19 tie
TD catch Alex Giroux (3), 25-19 666ers
TD catch Alex Lever, 25-25 tie
TD run by Giroux on a reverse play, 31-25 666ers lead
Pick 6 + conv. (2) catch by Mathieu Thuot, 39-25 666ers lead
TD catch Guimier (3), conv. (2) is intercepted and brought back by Jérome.
FINAL 666ers 41 – Gladiateurs 31

Thoughts:

Finalement, l’absence de Pat Jerome aurait duré juste 1 semaine! S’il réussit à se qualifier pour les séries, les Sixers deviendront encore plus dangereux.
Avec 3 réceptions de touché chacun, Alex Giroux et Nicolas Guimier ont été les meilleurs receveurs de la partie.
Giroux en a rajouté 1 au sol. Comme mentionné plus tôt, il sera un des plus importants joueurs pour les Triple Sixers cette saison.
Guimier mène la DB en réceptions, il est classé en 3e en verges et 4e en touchés. Avec un quart-arrière qui distribue le ballon autant que Frank Lebeau, ce n’est pas facile d’avoir autant de succès.
On a vu Lebeau lancer 2 interceptions qui ont été retournés jusqu’au zone des buts (le premier pour un touché, le deuxième pour un converti). Je sais que c’était en fin de match (quand on joue le tout pour le tout pour essayer de marquer), mais l’attaque des Gladiateurs devra mieux protéger le ballon qu’ils l’ont fait dans les 2 premiers matchs.

DA’s Finest 25, Big Tds 24

TD pass from Kevin Wyeth to Rochdi Benabdelkader, 6-0 DA Finest
TD pass from Jamil Springer to Paul Lapierre, 6-6 tie
TD catch by Kishon Thompson, 12-6 Finest
Full field TD catch Jason Prince, 12-12 tie
Consecutive INTs by Lapierre, Delien Charles and Rashawn Perry. HALFTIME 12-12 tie
TD catch by Rashawn Perry, 18-12 Big TDs
TD catch (2) Benabdelkader, 18-18 tie
TD Prince (2), 24-18 Big TDs lead
TD catch + conv. (1) Akked Moore, 25-24 Finest lead

Thoughts:

Nobody on the sidelines could believe this game as it was happening. DA’s Finest isn’t supposed to look this vulnerable.
The Finest offence was off-key for much of the night, as evidenced by the 25 points. As a frame of reference, that’s the least amount of points a Kevin Wyeth-led Finest offence has scored since March 19, 2011 (a span of 23 games – all of which were played against DA/D1 teams). A number of drops killed any momentum they built.
There was a TON of trash talk (much of it from Jamil Springer, of course), which helped intensify an ordinary Week 2 match-up.
Jason Prince made a few Finest defenders look silly on two separate occasions, both of which resulted in TDs.
When it counted, Akked Moore took over, darting past a few defenders for a TD and then scoring the game-winning PAT in the front of the endzone. I’m always amazed by how good this guy is, and I’m always perplexed by how little we hear about him (comparatively to others) . One of the most talented players to play the WR position in FPF.

Rainmakers 40, Maniax 26

TD pass from Rapha Beladjat to J-F Charles, 6-0 Maniax
TD pass from Ryan Kastner to Mike Chitayat, 6-6 tie
Full field TD catch by J-R Verger, 12-6 Maniax
Full field TD catch J-F Charles (2), 18-6 Maniax lead
TD catch @CASinotte , 18-12 Maniax lead. HALFTIME
TD catch Derek Kastner, conv. (1) Tim Kraemer, 19-18 Rainmakers
After a Brian Tock INT TD catch by Victor Soltendieck, conv. (1) Mike Chitayat, 26-18 Rainmakers
After a turnover on downs, TD catch by Derek Kastner (2), conv. (2) by Brian Tock, 34-18 Rainmakers lead
Full field TD catch JR Verger (2), conv. (2) by Scott Charles, 34-26 Rainmakers FINAL

Thoughts:

The Maniax led by as many as two scores in this game, but let the Rainmakers back into it by playing too agressive. Their gameplan on offence seems to be either Rapha Beladjat running for yards, or Rapha Beladjat chucking the ball deep.
The crazy thing is that this actually works very well, for two reasons: he is an incredible runner and he has exceptional jump-ball receivers. J.-R. Verger in particular is a match-up nightmare. That being said, I’d like to see them incorporate more short and medium length passes into their game. Then they’ll be really hard to stop.
The Rainmakers, to their credit, kept their composure and just kept playing their game, waiting for the Maniax to shoot themselves in the foot.
The addition of Brian Tock will be a major boost to an already-upgraded Rainmakers defence, should he play enough games to qualify for the playoffs.
The last play of the game was a 2-point conversion thrown by Tony Khoury and caught by Scott Charles. I can’t really do the ridiculousness of this play justice in print, but suffice to say, you’ve never seen a convert like it. Hopefully we’ll see it again this season.

Snookers 40, Park Street Elite 26

TD pass from Tony Tabet to Raffi Kozanian, conv. (1) Raffi Bastadjian, 7-0 Snookers
After a turnover on downs, rushing TD by Tabet, 14-0 Snookers
conv. (1) by Shane Paquette
TD pass from Scott Kelly to Nathan Taylor, conv. (1) Danny Guarna, 14-7 Snookers
TD catch by Sevag Kaloussian, conv. (1) Paquette, 21-7 Snookers
TD catch Guarna, 21-13 Snookers. HALFTIME
TD catch Eric Kavaldjian, 27-13 Snookers
TD catch Kozanian, 33-13 Snookers
TD catch Guarna, 33-19 Snookers
TD pass from Sevag Kaloussian (sub for Tabet) to Eric Kavaldjian (2), after conv. 40-19 Snookers
TD catch Guarna (3), conv. (1) from Alex Grace to Jelani McLaren, Snookers 40 – PSE 26 FINAL

Thoughts:

This was the first game of the weekend where I felt the DA team totally outclassed the DB team.
The Snookers took control early and, to be quite honest, the result was never really in doubt. Tony Tabet had an answer for everything the PSE threw at him.
The PSE had some moments, specifically on offence. They have a solid if unspectacular core, and Scott Kelly has a cannon for an arm. They have the potential to do well in DB, especially if Kelly gets on a roll.
The big question will be consistency, as far as the PSE roster is concerned. They have a few guys who will be there regularly, and some kind of rotating cast of subs. If I’m not mistaken, Danny Guarna was one of those subs, but after his performance on Sunday night, PSE should do what it can to make him a regular.

And that’s it for this week.

Special thanks to:

Alex Porras, for letting me use your hard work for my gain.
Karim Chaoual, for the information about the Triple Sixers.
Everyone who waited patiently for me to get this article up.
aaaaaand last but not least, the Daron Basmadjian Fan Club, for your impeccable taste in team names.

Think I’m wrong? Think I suck? Think I’m great? Think anything? Drop me a line at [email protected] and let me know how you feel. Whether it be interesting topics for the column, game facts I may have missed in my coverage or just some good old-fashioned hate mail, I welcome any and all comments.

Good luck in Week 3…