2nd-and-Short (Div D) – Season Preview

It’s mid-May, and that means you can generally expect to see three things in Montreal: city road workers filling in potholes, the Habs in the playoffs, and FlagPlus Football.

But while it’s business as usual for the first two, the third has undergone a few changes over the past year, perhaps the biggest being the implementation of the ratings system and more specifically the QB ratings rule.

The result has been an almost brand new line-up of teams hoping to win Division D, and it only figures to make for an even more exciting season as a new team will be crowned champion this year.

You know what’s not new and not really exciting? A reminder of how I publish my articles:

Friday/Saturday article

–       Recap: recaps of Wednesday and Thursday Games

–       Sunday’s Forecast: an in-depth preview of the upcoming Sunday games

–       Random thoughts: sometimes I’ll have a lot, other times I might only have a few, but one thing you can be sure of is that I’ll always have them

 

Monday/Tuesday article

–       Recap: recaps of Sunday games

–       Power Rankings: I list my top 10 teams in the division

–       Quick Picks: I pick more winners a week than Mathieu Domon, your 2014 Division D French writer and my media rival for this season

 

Preseason Top 10

It’s tough to make a Top 10 list you can really be proud of without knowing the starting QB for most of the teams in the division, but these are more about letting you know who your competition is than anything else. If you’re unhappy your team didn’t make the list, don’t worry—start winning games and I’ll start noticing you sooner than later.

1. Les Rois Lions: Essentially the Spartans from Winter 2013 with the addition of a few new players to the league, this team has the pedigree of a 7-3 season in Division 4 that year to their name, and a 9-1 record in Division D the spring before that. However, they’ll also be without key receivers Simon Gauthier, Julien Bellavance and Alex David this season. Can the new recruits step up in their place?  

2. Les Affreux: Those who played Division 4 this past winter are probably wondering what I’m smoking to put a team coming off a winless season atop my list. But I’m not smoking anything: Les Affreux will be not only seeing the return of injured receiver Mat Domon this season, but also of Jonathan Lemieux at quarterback. That last part is especially important—the last time Lemieux QBed for this team, in Spring 2013, they made it all the way to the Division D semifinals.

3. T.C.O.: They have great reason to be confident heading into this season, and it’s not only because they’re coming off a better-than-expected 5-5 finish in Division 4 this past winter—they also added Shamrocks’ Doug McKernan at quarterback. The last time T.C.O. played in Division D as a team, in 2012, they finished 8-2 and lost in the opening round of the playoffs. With McKernan taking the snaps, don’t be surprised to see them improve on that this time around.

4. Fun Boys: Don’t be fooled by their 3-6-1 record in Division 4 this past winter. Look more closely, and you’ll notice five of their six losses were by a single score. You’ll also notice they were one of the few teams who could claim to have beaten the division champions. With a season under their belt and easier competition ahead, a solid finish awaits.

5. Loose Cannons: Of all the team names in the division this year, perhaps none represents its players as well as Loose Cannons. Reason being that most of the players on the roster were part of the Playground team that beat the top-seeded Centurions in the Division D playoffs last spring, but were also part of the same Playground team that finished 1-9 in Division 4 this past winter. To put it short, it’s hard to know what to expect from Loose Cannons this season. But I do know this: if they play up to their potential, they’ll be of the most dangerous teams in the division, hands down.

6. The BrotherHood: This is the first team on my list for whom I’m completely clueless as to who’ll be the starting quarterback or how good he’ll be, but I’m gonna go on a limb here and predict that it won’t really matter considering the athletic ability I know exists on their roster—namely, a former Champlain College St. Lambert running back and current amateur boxer in Shakeel Phinn, a current Bishop’s University linebacker in Omar Jackson, and a receiver with FPF Division 2 experience in Jamal Gittens.

7. The Dirty South: It’s a similar case for The Dirty South—no QB with FPF experience, but a roster featuring some seriously talented players: David Polynice is a rookie cornerback at McGill and played Division 2 last winter, as did receiver Stéphane Baganizi, while Simon Gauthier is a speedy wideout formerly of the college Division 1 Édouard-Montpetit Lynx. Whoever their QB ends up being should have little trouble finding the end zone throwing it to that group of guys.  

8. Big Blue Wrecking Crew: The loss of Dean Demetriou at QB should be quickly forgotten with Angelo Garofalo stepping in as his replacement this season. Just last winter, Garofalo led Team Ethnik to a deep playoff run this past Division 4 when few (myself included) expected the team to make the playoffs at all, and did the same for Hostile Territory in Division D last year. It’s safe to assume BBWC are expecting him to do so again in a blue uniform this time—I am, too.

9. Los Banditos: With the number of former Division 5/E teams competing in Division D this year, you have to expect at least one of them will be able to successfully make the jump. The team I predict to do just that is Los Banditos. This is a team with an experienced football coach at QB in Alex Guertin, one of the most underrated route runners in Simon Lahaie, and a tackling machine in David Della Rocca (just don’t ever ask him to intercept a pass). I like to think they can turn all of that into a winning season in Division D.
10. Longhorns: One of the oldest teams in FPF, Longhorns, like Les Affreux, are coming off a forgettable season of their own in Division 4. However, also like Les Affreux, they also had a semifinal appearance in last year’s playoffs. Unlike Les Affreux, however, it was virtually the same Longhorns team that took to the field in both seasons. That leads me to wonder: which season was the fluke, and which the true reflection of Longhorns? Put me down among those who believe in Longhorns.

 

Picks of the Week

Simon Dagenais showed me what’s up in Division 4 this past winter, blowing my picks out of the water. But that was last season. Today’s the start of a new season, and with it, a new competitor awaits—Mathieu Domon. If he picks winners like he picks fantasy teams, I should be alright. (Picks are in bold)

 

Show Me Your TDs vs. Recipe 4 Disaster

 

Big Blue Wrecking Crew vs. Fun Boys

 

Loose Cannons vs. Angry Birds

 

The BrotherHood vs. Jagerbomb

 

Monstars vs. Les Blues Branleurs

 

Speed Demons vs. Lobster Dinner (N/A)

 

The Dirty South vs. Les Affreux

 

Tyrants vs. Tomahawk Nightmare

 

Les Rois Lions vs. Warriors

 

Fools of the Country vs. Scared Hitless

 

T.C.O. vs. Trapstars

 

Ball Busters vs. Tune Squad

 

Primetime vs. Longhorns

 

Pardon My Swag vs. Los Banditos

 

Grip n Rip vs. Backyard Bullies

 

***

That’s all for me today. If you’ve got questions, criticism, or want to share your excitement over the Habs’ win last night, you can reach me by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @JBlanchFPF. If you’re a Bruins fan and you’re unhappy about last night’s result, you can vent your frustrations to Mat Domon at @MathieuDomonFPF. I hear he’s a huuuuuuuuge Bruins fan.

If this article didn’t satisfy your FPF thirst enough, have no fear: more FPF coverage awaits you in the form of Mat Domon’s own preview article (whenever he gets around to writing it), and the FPF Division D podcast Calling the Audible, hosted by Peeze Della Reeze and Brent Callender. You’ll be able to watch them live starting next week at www.theunclehood.com or tune in afterwards at http://fpf.podomatic.com/.

Here’s to a great season!