Categories: DivisionDivision 3Men'sWinter

5 Plays ‘Till Halftime

5 Plays Till Halftime

Week 7

PWW Loses Another, Do They Slip From the Top Ten?

by Paolo Della Rocca

Each week GM Kolethras will send me 5, rapid-fire questions intended to entertain, disrupt and disturb.  I will answer without thinking and see what we’ve got in the kettle.  However, as GM was busy this week I delegated this task to Simon Dagenais who lost against me this week in Division 3 action as Moose beat Snatchers. I guess you can say this was his punishment. Feel free to contact GM at @GMKole44 to suggest questions and topics for next week’s article.

Simon- Will Either the BearSkins, Wild Boys or Predators be able to remain undefeated this season. What about Genié 3D, will they remain winless through the entire season?

Peeze- Consider this proof gentlemen, that Simon Dagenais does not read my article. That would explain the lack of insight in his own work. I did predict records in my midseason breakdown. Looking at the Wild Boys upcoming schedule, I see their toughest matchup being against Les Buddays in week 7. If they manage to get by this game unscathed they should be scathe free from now until the playoffs.

The BearSkins have a difficult second half schedule ahead of them to end the season. I see the games against the Brotherhood and Sea Assassins as possible traps. These are the only two teams that remain on the schedule that BearSkins will not be able to beat by sheer athletic, dominance.

The Predators are a team that I have loved to hate on. To be honest, I am on good terms with most of their roster and they are actually as nice as they are talented (which doesn’t say much about James Floreani`s character). I had initially thought that Predators would lose this past week to BD Bandits and I proved to be completely off base. However, I think the game in week 7 against Prestige World Wide will be somewhat of a coin flip and I can see the Predators taking either Past our Prime or MetaMayhem lightly and walking away with a disappointing loss.

Given that Genié 3D lost a game by forfeit this week, after QB Mathieu Bourbonniere-Morin had previously started for Solide, he made a second start for G3D (a second division 3 team). I had predicted that they would finish the season without a win. In fact I had a very Punch-Pandian (real word, don’t look it up) forecast of 0-9-1. I looked far and wide for a win on this schedule but, with games against experienced talented rosters on the horizon (Snatchers, OTF, Wild Boys, The Brotherhood) I just don’t see it.

Simon- Every team has one player who is indispensable. That being said, who is the ONE player in Div3 who`s team cannot live without?

Peeze-Given Moose’s record without Fred Morissette at the helm, this would probably be where people would expect me to start. However, by picking up one of the most versatile players in Angelo Garofalo, who has also quarterbacked in FPF, Moose seems to have a back-up plan in place. Broccaision’s Kristian Cerantola is another such player, however, as Broccaision has added a fleet of Daoust’s, a call to brother David Daoust can be in order should the Dreaded Red need a backup arm. No I think the team that is most affected by the loss of a player would be Solide.

We are starting to see weaknesses in this team now that Benny Goodfriend is injured. They were not playing great when he was playing and healthy, without him on Solide takes the field looking defeated before the first snap. Moreover, given the team`s structure, finding a back up to Goodfriend with such little room on the cap is a tall order. I had something for this…make Goodfellas reference relating to Goodfriend… Argh, I had something for this.

Simon- Should FPF allow trades? If so what would the guidelines be, deadlines rules etc.

Peeze- Ok so we al play with friends and you can’t trade them. Right? I will say that there are times when I considered it. This will never happen as this is a recreation league and no one would take a trade seriously and it would be unethical to endorse.

However, there were once two teams who completed a trade when they both released players who were then signed by the other team. The sands of time have passed and I no longer remember which players or teams were involved. If we did open the league up to trades, players would need to consent, it would have to be cap compliant, inter divisional trades would be too difficult to manage so players would need to be traded within the division and I would make the trade deadline week 4 so that players involved would still be eligible for the playoffs even if they did not play any games for their initial team. That being said, Doug, I will not trade for Brent Callender, he’s all yours!

Simon- This season, 8 teams per conference make the playoffs. How do you think it will be.

Peeze- I like this; it’s the equivalent of selection Sunday but for a recreational flag football league. In keeping with my opinions from my mid season breakdown (because I cannot imagine a universe where I would ever be wrong) I’ve decided to pull my rankings from there. Keep in mind it does not reflect the current rankings but rather how I see the playoff picture eventually shaping up:

Conference A

  1. Wildboys
  2. BearSkins
  3. Predators
  4. Les Buddays
  5. BD Bandits
  6. Past Our Prime
  7. Snatchers
  8. Monstars

Note that while I think the Buddays will finish ahead of the Preds, the Predators will have a higher ranking as I expect that they will win there division. The most exciting first round matchup would be between the Predator and Past Our Prime.

Conference B

  1. Prestige World Wide
  2. Sea Assassins
  3. Mongoose
  4. Broccaision
  5. Moose
  6. VPC
  7. Da Regiment
  8. MetaMayhem

Interestingly, I have PWW leading the pack in conference B and I didn’t even have them in my power rankings this week (as seen below). I Guess I should have revised these rankings. The most interesting matchup in these imaginary brackets would have to be Mongoose vs. VPC.   Both teams play a style of offence that can really attack the opposing defenses. The most intriguing team in here is MetaMayhem.  Given their talented roster, and the lack of a true number 1 in this conference, MetaMayhem may surprise teams. 

Simon- What fictional character would you attribute to each division.

Peeze- I like this one! Here we go:

Conference A

  • East: Gandalf: Two teams have been simply magical. Either of the top two teams from this division could only be defeated as a result of some serious magic. Moreover, the rest of the division have tremendously talented yet enigmatic rosters. What else would you expect from a Wizard?
  • West: Starscream: As Decepticons, these teams show a lot of potential but are not living up to expectation. Perhaps Megatron thought yo higly of them to begin with but, still, a lot of promise and not much has been delivered.
  • Central: Garfield: This division is thick in its midsection as 3 teams are lumped in there. Sure the Wild Boys look like hot piping lasagna but Genie 3D are living an everlasting Monday.

Conference B

  • East: Tweety Bird: Tweety had a remarkably large head and for this top-heavy division, it seems like the perfect likeness. 3 teams stand a 4-2 in a three way tie for the lead. However, the bottom end of the division has two struggling teams that do not look like a solid foundation for the division.
  • West: Random Storm Trooper: This division is fairly faceless as every team in this division seems fundamentally flawed and lacking individuality. That being said, if you were locked in a room with a Storm Trooper you would be terrified.
  • Central: Daenerys Targaryen, I see this division as the Queen of Dragons, enough big names to be sexy but still entering the ring as the underdog. They are amassing their forces so watchout for whichever of these teams makes the playoffs this season.

Power Rankings

There were some shakeups in the power rankings this week, however, there were few teams that fell out of the power rankings or climbed up.  This had to do with a lot of the top 10 teams facing up against each other.  What a week!  @PeezeFPF.

  1. Wild Boys (6-0):They haven’t played against a team with a starting quarterback in 2 weeks. Now having to face Frédéric Dupuis, Wild Boys will really have to work hard to defend their undefeated record.
  2. BearSkins (6-0): They won a 1 point game on a final play, failed 2 point convert. This may look like an ugly win but it showed that the BearSkins do have some teeth.
  3. Les Buddays (5-1): They’ve averaged 41.67 points since their only loss this season. Les Buddays are the real deal
  4. Predators (5-0-1): Definitely starting to look the part, their ranking at 4th is more a statement of the strength of the other teams than it is about the Predators. They are playing some great flag football.
  5. Past Our Prime (5-1): I’m done being stubborn; POP is good! The heart of their schedule is ahead of them but they look ready.
  6. Moose (4-2): Moose’s offense seems to be on track and tis somewhat no-name roster is starting to make some noise. With 3 wins in a row, Moose are on a roll.
  7. Sea Assassins (4-2): Sea Assassins two losses have come in close games against high-powered offences; few can score with the Sea Assassins. They look deadly!
  1. Brotherhood (3-3): Brotherhood are starting to make noise. They have won 3 straight games and look better and better each week.
  2. VPC (3-3): VPC, has had a tough run this season; that being said they picked up a big win against Da Regiment this week. Time will tell if this is a sign of things to come but I
  3. Snatchers (3-3)- this team has all the pieces to be a top tier contender. However, with Hugo Lalonde missing (he’s injured, no need to look to the side of milk containers), they may lack the top threat that could propel them to the next level. However, they have a strong enough core that this may not matter in the end.

Others receiving votes

This time around, I asked the Ladies of FPF to choose who they thought were not attractive enough to be in the top ten. Personally I think you all have wonderful personalities:

  • Prestige World Wide (3-3):  I cannot make any more excuses for this group. Lever and Co. can start the comeback but it needs to happen now!
  • BD Bandits (3-3): BD Bandits lost on a big stage in the division 3 game of the week this week. Moreover, they just did not look good. They slide significantly.
  • Da Regiment (3-3): This is a very talented roster, without a lot of wins. It has me asking a lot of questions about this group.
  • OTF (3-3): They have lost 3 in a row. This kind of slide looks like it may be indicative of greater issues.
  • Monstars (3-3): This is a team that I believe in. However, they just don’t have it all put together. For the moment it’s more of an “after” Humpty Dumpty than a “before”. 

My full weekly article is coming out in a few short days that will cover recaps and announce my picks for the upcoming week. Until then please remember to tune in Thursday night at 7:15 pm eastern standard time, as Brent Callender and I will go head-to head and discuss the past week of action. He’s insecure and needs encouragement; feel free to provide it 144 characters at a time on twitter @DatPrettyBoyBC.

You can watch us live at www.theunclemikeshow.com or download the podcasts via iTunes or at http://fpf.podomatic.com. If you’d like to live tweet the show you can do so by tweeting our producer @EagleFPF.

See you then!