Weekly Extra Point (Div A & B) – Week 4

DA vs DB, round 2

DA and DB split their games 2-2 in Week 4, and the winners were not who you would expect.

The Rainmakers and Snookers both won their games, against My Ditkas and the Gladiateurs, respectively. The Rainmakers-Ditkas game in particular was a barnburner, with the Ditkas having a chance to tie the game late (a chance that was missed when QB Nathan Thompson pulled a Jake Plummer and threw the ball from his left hand, resulting in an INT). The Snookers took control early and never looked back, handing the Gladiateurs their second loss of the season.

Let’s get back to the big 2. DA Finest and the Mercenaries are the first DA teams to ever lose against DB teams, a dubious achievement if there ever was one. As detailed in last week’s edition of the WEP, the presumptive top 2 have stumbled out of the gate in S12, and it’s starting to get worrisome.

DA Finest lost for the 2nd week in a row, this time against Darkside. This is the first time that this core group of players has lost 2 games in a row since W07 (against the Hurricanes and Gold Rush), which is saying something. Of course, this loss comes with a big asterisk: Kevin Wyeth wasn’t there. In addition to his absence, at least half the team showed up late, and Karim Binette was pressed into service despite an injury. Despite all this, DA Finest put together an impressive comeback in the 2nd half and had an opportunity to tie the game. This just goes to show you that the biggest thing stopping this team from getting back on track is consistency. And while both sides of the ball have been culpable, their defence has been the real head-scratcher. They are allowing an average of 36.25 ppg, almost 9 points more than their average over the past 5 seasons (27.5 ppg). Over those 5 seasons, they only allowed more than 30 ppg once, last season (30.4).

The Mercenaries’ loss was even more baffling. Paul Lapierre is an excellent QB, and his top 2 receivers (Jacques Void and Carmine Pollice) were there. But man did he underperform: 4/12, 57 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT. After a difficult 1st half, Pollice took his place, and did a bit better: 9/15, 62 yds, 1 TD. But 12 points will not cut it against most teams in FPF, and certainly not against a potent Triple Sixers offence that had Karim Chaoual spreading the ball around effectively (4 different receivers caught TDs). The Mercs are currently sitting dead last in points scored and points allowed. Things may look grim, but I’m convinced they have better games in store for the rest of the season.

I’m well aware I’ve spent a fair amount of time writing about the Mercenaries and DA Finest, and while I believe it’s justified, this will be the last time (aside from the Catching up with… segment) I focus on them until they get their acts together.

Big changes in store for DA

Here it is, straight from the keyboard of FPF President/Cult leader Robert Campana:

”We’ve mixed things up for the Division A playoffs.

Standing by the idea that allowing every team to qualify for the playoffs compromises the regular season, it will remain as the top three seeds qualify and the fourth is eliminated.

The change from the original format, where the first placed team gets a bye directly to the finals and two plays three in the semifinal, is different than anything we’ve ever done.

To avoid giving the first placed team a four week break (!) the following format will be used:

Week 2 of the playoff schedule: 1 seed plays 2 seed in the “quarterfinal”. The winner advances to the championship game, the loser plays the 3 seed the following week in the “semifinal”. The winner of that game will face the quarterfinal winner in the championship game the following week.

This gives the top two seeds the advantage of being able to lose a game and still win the championship, whereas the third seed does not have that option. This also makes the longest layover only two weeks.

We’re thinking outside the box here, folks.”

Does it seem gimmicky? Yes. Is it better than the alternative? I think so.

There’s still an advantage to finishing in the top 2, we avoid having a team wait 4 weeks to play the most important game of the season and quite frankly, it spices up what would probably be a boring playoff season for DA. The only possible downside is that we may end up seeing two teams play each other 4 times when it’s all said and done, which can get a bit repetitive. That being said, familiarity breeds contempt and we might see a rivalry spark up between those teams, which makes the Championship game more enjoyable for everyone (except the losing team, of course). I’m looking forward to covering it, and hopefully you guys will look forward to playing in it. Kudos to Moe Khan for proposing the idea and to Robert Campana for trying something different.

Speaking of trying something different, I just received an e-mail from Presidente Campana informing me of another change, this one taking place in Week 5. And this one is a biggie:

”This weekend (Week 5) we will be experimenting with three-down football in Division A. At the end of the Winter Season, we began to explore the idea of how changing from four downs to three downs would positively impact the equilibrium between offence and defense in FPF’s highest division. We tried it out in the Division 1 All-Star game, and the feedback was great, consequently we decided to experiment with it for one week this Spring season. After this weekend’s games, I will contact all of you to get your feedback on the rule change.

This is something we may look to implement into our highest division(s) in the future.

I appreciate your open-mindedness, and I look forward to hearing back from you next week.

The referees have been notified, and will be implementing the three downs to get ten yards format in this weekend’s two Division A games.

Good luck.”

This change makes sense because offences in the higher divisions have become so potent that games often seem more like track meets than actual football games. Moving to 3-down football will level the playing field somewhat. The one thing that scares me about this change is that some teams might use it as an excuse to avoid moving up to a higher division, stating that their offences won’t be good enough to handle the change. Of course, this ignores the reality that while the offence might suffer a bit, the defence will probably improve by the same amount. We’ll have to keep an eye out on that, but if all goes well, we could conceivably see D1 being a 3-down football league in W13.

Excuses, excuses, excuses…

After two weeks of looking at a few of the excuses we at FPF management often hear from teams avoiding the move to the highest division, let’s take a look at some of the possible solutions.

There have been a ton of solutions proposed over the years, some ridiculous, some logical. But before we look at the future, let’s look at the past. Join me on a voyage through past rule changes FPF has implemented and we’ll go over if they’ve worked.

 

 

• FPF strongly suggests where some teams should play.

  • Why?: When the league expanded to two divisions, teams generally had an idea of what division they belonged in. It wasn’t until a third division was created that we started seeing problems, with teams needing FPF guidance to find out where they should sign up.

  • Has it worked?: At the beginning it did. However, this is a pay-to-play league, and being kind and gentle souls, when teams would tell us that they KNEW they couldn’t compete with the teams in the higher divisions, we believed them. And then we would receive approximately 175 000 e-mails (okay, I’m exagerating…I’m Armenian, it’s part of my cultural heritage) over the next 3 months telling us we were idiots. So we had to install formal rules.

 

 

• A player can play on a maximum of 2 teams, up to 2 divisions below.

  • Why?: This one was a no-brainer. It’s not like there were a ton of players playing in 3 divisions to begin with. And most players would know better than to play 3 divisions below their level.

  • Has it worked?: Sure. This rule exists because we needed some kind of framework. As mentioned, it’s not like it was totally necessary, but all the future rules built off this one, so it was a good place to start.

 

 

• A team can have 2 players from 1 division above OR 1 player from 2 divisions above.

  • Why?: This was the first rule that really levelled the playing field between the divisions. It still allows a guy from 2 divisions above to play, but at least it prevents the team from adding any other higher division players and further muddying the field.

  • Has it worked?: Absolutely. The only problem with this rule is that it ignored the QBs, who could have too great an impact 2 divisions lower. Imagine Kevin Wyeth or Carmine Pollice playing in D3. What defence could stop them?

 

 

• QBs can only throw in 2 divisions in Winter seasons, 1 division in Spring seasons.

  • Why?: In a game as offensively slanted as flag football, the QB is the most important player, by a significant margin. The more divisions in which a QB can play, the more likely there is to be disparity between teams.

  • Has it worked?: More or less. For most QBs, this rule is sufficient to create a level playing field. However, this still allows top QBs to play in a second division (in winter), in addition to a potential second higher division player. Sometimes that’s all it takes to put together a dominant offence.

 

 

• A QB counts as 2 players from a higher division

  • Why?: To close the loophole that allowed QBs to bring along another top receiver and exploit that chemistry and talent to run roughshod over lower division defences.

  • Has it worked?: Yes. Considering the impact a QB can have, he should count as two players. Adding a QB AND a top-flight two-way player totally changes the aspect of a team, to the detriment of league parity.

 

 

• A championship team that returns its QB and 4 other players from its roster in the following season must move up.

  • Why? To prevent championship teams from signing up for the same division they won with the same core roster.

  • Has it worked? Partially. The Ruff Ryders brought back the same core four (Paul Lapierre at QB, Mario Choueiri, Jamil Springer, Rochdi Benabdelkader) that won a D2 championship in W11 and won it again in W12. They have enough contacts in the football world that they could conceivably field a competitive D2 team with the same core guys, adding other players to fill out the roster without breaking the rule. Even worse, they could decide to bring back the W11 team in W13, then the W12 team in W14, etc. I know for a fact that they won’t do this, and I also know that even if they did, the league wouldn’t allow it, but it’s a pretty interesting loophole nonetheless.

 

 

Next week, in the final installment of this series, we’ll look at some of the ideas that are being proposed behind the scenes, and whether they might work or not.

 

 

 

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. 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 the…

 

N.B.: The Future HOFers part refers to players who will be HOFers as soon as they are eligible, first or second ballot guys. We all know there are a lot of players that will get in eventually, and they will certainly be as deserving as the others, but for the purposes of this segment, I’m just talking about surefire HOFers, slam-dunk choices.

 

 

Rainmakers

Key losses: Bobby Mikelberg

 

Mikelberg was a big piece of the offensive puzzle for the Rainmakers. He had 3 seasons with at least 30 rec., 300 yds and 8 TDs, which are good numbers with a QB who spreads the ball as much as Ryan Kastner. Like most Rainmakers not named Kastner, Kastner and Chitayat, he’s missed his fair share of FPF games over the years, and I’m sure the offence will find a way to adjust in his absence.

Key additions: Teddy Frenette, Addley Dufour

 

Both Frenette and Dufour are former Rainmakers who specialize on the defensive side of the ball. They bring talent and (most importantly against offences as strong as the Rainmakers will face) experience to the table.

Secret weapons: Francis Toupin

 

Toupin is the key for the defence. He has great speed, and he’s been impressive in spurts for this team. In 21 games played over 3 seasons with the Rainmakers, he’s notched 6 sacks (0.29 sacks/game), which isn’t too different from the Rainmaker average over the past 7 seasons (21 sacks in 70 games, or 0.3 sacks/game). The Rainmakers defence has always had less sacks than other teams in D1/DA, for two reasons above all others. First, they don’t get to play against Ryan Kastner, who is every rusher’s dream (151 sacks in 66 games, or 2.29 sacks/game). Second (and most important), they never really had a defensive backfield that could maintain coverage long enough for the rusher to consistently get sacks. With the new emphasis on defence, Toupin might be a name you hear a lot more often in S12.

 

X-Factors: Teddy Frenette

 

Frenette’s receiving numbers through 3 games this season: 16 rec., 250 yds, 7 TDs. Those are already better than his receiving statistics for any other season. As mentioned previously, he was brought in to bolster the defence, but so far it’s been on offence that he’s made his biggest contributions. As Ryan Kastner told me, Frenette brings that element of speed the offence had lacked in the past. In addition to his own personal achievements, he’s been forcing defences to pay more attention to him, opening things up for the other receivers.

HOFers: none

Future HOFers: Michael Chitayat

 

Chitayat is one of the most underrated players in FPF. While he’s never truly dominated a season, he has been the best player on the Rainmakers since their debut. A dependable two-way player, he has been consistently excellent and has improved from season to season. He gets no press, but by the time he has enough seasons under his belt, Chitayat will have done enough to get the recognition he richly deserves.

Controversy: None whatsoever.

The Rainmakers make so few waves, it’s almost as if they don’t exist. They don’t argue with referees, they don’t start fights and they don’t play dirty. They just show up and play the games. And maybe that’s hurt them. Sometimes a team needs a certain edge, a certain never-say-die attitude to win the big one. While I don’t doubt their desire to win, I do believe they could probably take their intensity level up a notch or two without stepping over the line.

What they will need to do to be successful:

 

The Rainmakers have consistently had the same Achilles’ heel: defence. The phrase ”a bunch of offensive players trying (and failing) to play defence” has been used a number of times to describe their efforts. But this season may provide a turning point in the history of the franchise. With Frenette, Chitayat, C.-A. Sinotte, Tim Kraemer and Derek Kastner on offence, they have as much talent as they ever have. Their defence is definitely the best it’s ever been, with a good mix of two-way players and defensive specialists, all of whom have considerable experience in this league. They just need to believe in themselves and develop some consistency to take that final step. Unfortunately, the Rainmakers’ attempts to do so in the past have often been derailed by constant roster turnover. Players come and go, never staying long enough to build a rapport with their teammates. They’ll need everybody to buy into the same ideal of consistency if they want to make it further than they have in the 4 years since their last Finals appearance in S08.

My Ditkas

Key losses: Carmine Pollice, Jimmy Coupethwaite, Dan Hilton

 

The revolving door continues to turn for the Trojans/Ditkas at QB, snapper and rusher. Pollice is a HOFer, and will go down as one of the best QBs to ever play in FPF. Coupethwaite is a very good snapper, and has always had fantastic chemistry with Pollice. Hilton put together a very respectable season, finishing 2nd in D2 with 9 sacks.

Key additions: Nathan Thompson, Donald Shepherd, Brian Eudoxie, Vince Nardone, James Floreani

Nathan Thompson replaces Carmine Pollice, who replaced Rick Nincheri. Donald Shepherd replaces Jimmy Coupethwaite, who replaced Donald Shepherd. Brian Eudoxie replaces Dan Hilton, who replaced Yves Thomas. All are defensible replacements, with the exception of Thompson, who still has a long way to go before we talk about him in the same breath as guys like Pollice and Nincheri. Eudoxie is a relentless rusher, who has collected 93 sacks in 7 seasons playing the position (most of them playing in lower divisions, although he did have 11 sacks playing in DB with Prestige World Wide in S11).

 

Secret weapons: James Floreani, Vince Nardone

Floreani provides the sizzle, Nardone provides the steak. They have been great depth additions to the Ditkas. Floreani has great speed and athleticism, and he’s used both often this season to catch footballs nobody else thought he could. Nardone is a guy the Ditkas are very high on, because of his athleticism and his football IQ. He’s become a solid contributor wherever he’s needed, on both sides of the ball.

 

X-Factors: Nathan Thompson, Adam Ciampini

 

Thompson has had his moments in this league, never more than this past Winter season, when he led SWAT to a D3 championship, earning Playoff MVP honors in the process. He also had one of the best playoff performances we’ve ever seen from a pivot in FPF; in the first round, against the Big TDS, he went 27/28, throwing for 329 yards, 8 TDs and no INTs. That was good Nathan. Bad Nathan showed up a few too many times during the regular season in W12, as he was second in D3 with 20 INTs. If the Ditkas see more of good Nathan and less of bad Nathan, they will be a force to be reckoned with. He has excellent arm strength and reads the field fairly well. As Thompson goes, so goes the Ditkas’ season.

 

Adam Ciampini is the definition of an X-Factor. He’s their defensive captain and playcaller. When he’s on his game, he makes everyone on that defense better. He can also be an impact player on offence, when called upon. The problem with Ciampini is, and has always been, his temper. He plays on the edge, and that has been the cause for a lot of his success. But unfortunately, playing that way can often get you into trouble, via URs, OCs and any other acronyms you can think of. More than that, when your defensive captain loses his cool, it throws the whole team’s game off, to a certain extent.

HOFers: none

Future HOFers: Don Shepherd

 

Whether your preferred moniker is Bombsquad, Uncle Donald or something else, everyone knows what Don Shepherd brings to the field. Aside from his size advantage, he has a knack for making tough catches look easy, and his one-handers are a thing of beauty.

Controversy:

 

If anything, the controversy here is that the Ditkas have too much talent. Last week against the Rainmakers, Sean Avraam and Vinny Gualano didn’t play on offence. In W12, those two combined for 101 receptions, 966 yards and 27 TDs. I’m sure they’re thinking that the added depth will provide them with an advantage if injuries/vacations/other issues should ever prevent some players from taking part in a game, and they’re not wrong. Depth is an asset, if everyone accepts their reduced roles. For now, despite their 1-3 record, everything seemed fine on the Ditkas’ sideline. We’ll have to see how long it stays that way.

What they will need to do to be successful:

The Ditkas’ season will depend on how well Nathan Thompson gels with his teammates and how well many of the more talented players (who would play both ways on most other teams) can accept being forced to play one role. If Thompson returns to his MVP form and everyone buys in to the team philosophy, then the Ditkas will be a top contender by season’s end. If one of those two happens, they will be a playoff team. If neither happens, they will be one of the most talented teams to miss the playoffs in recent memory.

That’s it for this week.

Special thanks to:

• Ryan Kastner, for the information about the Rainmakers

• Mitch Chiba, for the information about My Ditkas.

• aaaaaand last AND least, the Daron Basmadjian Fan Club. A tie? Daron Basmadjian is displeased. Step it up.

   

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 5…