Who Gets That All-Important First Win of The Season? EZW or Air Force 1?

Hey folks! Back at it this week with more previews, recaps, and all that good stuff. Already 2 weeks into the season and we can see things slowly starting to take shape. The games this week were a little more one-sided than I expected. Contrary to what we saw in the NFL this weekend. What a crazy slate of games! The Chargers Chargered and the Bills and Bengals narrowly escaped with victories. I think Mike McDaniel forgot there was such thing as a play clock. The Giants pull off the upset that I personally did not see coming. Solid performances by both the 49ers and the Cowboys to advance to the divisional round. This week I got the Giants and Bengals in upsets, and the Chiefs and 49ers to take care of business. Enjoy the games!

Now for some FPF talk! 

Greendale Human Beings come away with an impressive 33-14 win over Speed Academy and are 2-0 to begin the season. Brandon Aylward had 3 touchdowns in the game and now already has 5 in only 2 games. Another one of Danny Aylward’s top targets, Alex Joltopuf, had 12 catches on the day. The recipe to beating this team seems to be quite simple. Shutdown either Aylward or Joltopuf…Easier said than done

In 9 of the 10 games this week the winning team won by at least 2 possessions. I don’t expect this trend to continue as the parity appears to be very good in the division.  

I caught a bit of Free Smoke 1’s 28-19 victory over EZW. Lemme tell you, seeing Free Smoke 1’s defense firsthand I was very impressed. Every ball seemed to be contested and they were able to get 3 picks in the game. Jarryd Taylor getting 2 of those picks and returning one for a TD.

I also saw of bit of Les Gros Coqs’ 29 point victory versus Bearskins. Quarterback Neil Etinson was not at the game for Bearskins and it showed. Vince Nardone threw in replace of Etinson and did not seem to be on the same page as his receivers. In having Nardone throw you also lose one of your best receivers for Bearskins so I’ll give them a pass for this game. For Gros Coqs, It was their first game of the season and there was no rust to be found. Dom Lefort passed for 212 yards in the game, which was good for almost 20 yards a completion! Good stuff boys. 

Down 19-0 at the half and in danger of falling to 0-2, G.I.H.F. were somehow able to come away with the tie. After Juwan Edghill scored a TD to bring them within 8, G.I.H.F. went for an onside kick and scored a 40 yard bomb to cut the lead to 2! They then got their 2 point convert to tie the game at 26 and that would be your final score. Not the result they had hoped for but still important for G.I.H.F. to at least come away with the tie. They did not look impressive in their first game of the season, but now have a little momentum heading into their next game. Tough pill to swallow for the Backyard Bullies who were looking for their first win of the season. Their next opportunity to get that first win won’t come easy as it will be against That’s What She Said who currently sit at 2-0.  

Ok I know it’s very early in the season, but the 5-time All-Star Adam Rosen for the Silent Ticklers, is on pace for 40 receiving touchdowns this season! Yes, 40! That would break the FPF record of 35 touchdowns currently held by Adam Crystal. Rosen has 8 in 2 games and also has 187 receiving yards. Excited to see him live in action when Preach takes on Silent Ticklers on Sunday night. Boys, let’s get a defensive plan ready ASAP!   

The onside kick was implemented in the FPF Cup and I love it! It looks like less teams are using it, which may be the right call. The downside of not converting the attempt is much more severe now than it was in the FPF Cup. I like the rule change and feel like it was needed. Good teams were using it as a way to build a bigger lead on “weaker” teams. Having the onside kick attempt in your back pocket is a complete game changer. I always felt like coming back from a two score lead in the second half was almost impossible in previous seasons. I’ve seen a few teams forget that there is an onside kick because of how new it is. HERE IS YOUR FRIENDLY REMINDER… WE DO HAVE AN ONSIDE KICK SO DON’T LET IT GO TO WASTE. 

Ballers of the Week 

Quarterbacks

Dom Lefort Les Gros Coqs: As previously mentioned, Lefort went 11 of 17 with 212 yards, 7 TDS, and a pick.

Jordan Panetta Silent Ticklers: Jordan went 14 of 25, added 228 yards, 7 TDS and no picks.    

Receivers 

Adam Rosen Silent Ticklers: Against Blue Chips, Rosen had 7 receptions, 132 receiving yards, and 5 TDs. Bruh…. 

Carl Bernola Les Verges Folles: Bernola had 5 receptions for 95 yards and all 3 of his team’s touchdowns against That’s What She Said.   

Defenders 

Jarryd Taylor Free Smoke 1: Taylor had 4 tackles, 2 picks, 2 passes defended, and a TD in his team’s win against EZW. Talk about being all over the field! 

James Drysdale Mangoose: James had 2 tackles, 2 picks, and 2 passes defended to secure Mangoose’s victory over Arouch.    

Game Previews 

That’s What She Said vs Mongoose 

Mongoose are coming off a tie game against Speed Academy. That’s What She Said are sitting at 2-0. This promises to be a good game. That’s What She Said are filled with household names like Mike Pierrecin, Jesse Dupuis, and Julien Paiement. Guys who have played and won championships in higher divisions. Mongoose do not have a division 1 player but play incredibly well as a team. Coming off a Winter championship in division 4 just a season ago, I’m not sure people take them as seriously as they should. Alexandre Gaudet is an intelligent quarterback that knows how to pick apart any defense. Any team in division 3 with receivers like François Deslauriers and Johnathan Chevalier will be able to put up points. 

For That’s What She Said, their QB, Leandre Ether, has made his return to FPF after not having played since Spring 2018. He is having a solid season with 7 touchdowns and 3 picks, and a completion percentage of 65%. He is distributing the ball fairly well with 5 of his receivers having at least one touchdown. If they want to win this game their defense will need to continue to do its thing. They already have 6 picks on the year. The thing is, Gaudet doesn’t make mistakes and I don’t think he will in this game either. 

Final Score: Mongoose wins 39-33 

EZW vs Air Force 1 

Both teams are looking for their first win of the season. I like both these teams. They are actually quite similar. They are young, athletic, and high energy. In order for Air Force 1 to come away with the W they will need to play close attention to Jean-Christophe Ferland, who has already been targeted 18 times in 2 games. While QB for EZW, Etienne-Laurence Gervais, has only rushed for 54 yards on the season, he is capable of taking any ordinary looking run to the house. Whoever rushes for Air Force 1 will need to have a big game.    

Simon Blais is looking to bounce back from his tough outing in week 1 where he threw for only 89 yards. With the weapons he has I fully expect him to have a much better game than the did in week 1. Will that be enough to get them their first win on the season though? Well, Blais is gonna need to get in a rhythm early in this game. The last thing you want is to feel the need to start taking premature deep shots down field against EZW’s defense.  I expect this game to be tight throughout, but I see EZW doing just enough to fluster Blais and get the W. 

Final Score: EZW wins 26-19

Week 3 Picks!!! (Winners are in bold) 

Speed Academy vs Green Munchs 

Greendale Human Beings vs Beer Belly Brigade 

Blackouts vs Blue Chips 

Les Verges Folles vs Free Smoke 1 

Une Phrase Bien Fournie vs Mangoose 

Blue’s Clues vs The Stoics 

The Infantry vs BearSkins

Preach vs Silent Ticklers N/A

Never Overtime vs Les Gros Coqs 

EZW vs Air Force 1 

Les Maloudes vs Junkyard Dogs 

Arouch vs G.I.H.F. 

That’s What She Said vs Mongoose  

Week 2 picks: 7-1-1  Season: 7-1-1 

Bold Prediction: Arouch will beat G.I.H.F. on a 40 bomb Hail Mary on the last play of the game! 

Hope you enjoyed this week’s article! Excited to see you all on the fields! Don’t forget to tune into this week’s episode of Calling the Audible to listen to Peeze and Iggy talk outta their you know whats!! Nah for real they got a good thing going. Keep it up boys. Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts on the article! Until we meet again…

Stay Blessed