Weekday Quarterback (D5) – Week 1

A new season and a new beginning for many kicked off this weekend as the 2010 FPF season is now underway. There is nothing like that feeling we all shared this weekend, believing that perhaps we could take home our division championship. For those of you who do not know me, my name is John Patrick Mancini and I am the newest member of the FPF staff. The league was beginning to worry about the sanity of Daron Basmadjian and this is their first step at slowly fazing him out. I may not have experienced as much success as some of the other staff members in this league but I have been lucky enough to play with some very talented and knowledgeable players in this league and hopefully I can pass on some of the wisdom that they have shared with me. I have been asked by the league to cover the newest division in FPF and I think we are in for an exciting year. We have some new teams and some new faces in the league and we never know what to expect. Hopefully we will have some competitive games and we will get to see some new players have a great amount of success. Each week we will take a look at some of the new teams in division 5 to try and better understand their achievements and also just to get a better idea of who we play with or against in this league. Like the other articles we will also recap games from the previous week and get an idea of what the division will offer in the upcoming weeks. Week 1 was most likely a little hectic for some of the teams in division 5, as I am sure it was for many teams in the other divisions as well, so for those of you who had tough week 1, keep your head up because it’s a long season.

We’ll start by looking at what appeared to be the game of the week in division 5 which took place Sunday night between the Monstars and Love Cows. This was the primetime Sunday night game and it lived up to its spot on schedule (although it was likely placed there randomly). The Monstars have played in the league before with little success but their experience was evident in this one as their offense got off to a good start. 19 points scored in the first half gave them the halftime lead however the second-year Love Cows were not off by much scoring 14 points of their own. The second half was just as close thanks to the rushing ability of Kenton Lowe. Lowe put on a Vince Young type performance with 109 rushing yards and only 76 passing yards with 4 total touchdowns. Lowe gave his team and chance to win and was the “Primetime Player of the Week” for Week 1. The Monstars were able to hold him off long enough in the second half to win it 31-29. A good start for two teams that are poised for success this season.

The Monstars helped me look as if I knew this would be the game of the week by letting me know a bit about themselves prior to the season. I spoke with Monstars receiver and defensive back Moh Azab who finished week 1 with 2 receiving touchdowns and an interception. Moh told me that his team has had little success in recent seasons but that it’s a team with a great amount of intensity and drive and they sure showed us that in week 1. Moh was quick to discuss the fact that his team has only made the playoffs once since joining FlagPlus, but that the great thing about his team is that they are not willing to jeopardize their chemistry just to make the playoffs or win a championship. The Monstars continue to build their team with friends so that when they do win, it will be that much sweeter. The Monstars, named after the team of mutants from Space Jam, had a Monstar…I mean monster week and look like they may have found the right mix of players. Hopefully they can continue to succeed as the season progresses.

Play of the Week: I will try and keep this play reserved for division 5 but week 1 had such an important play that it was necessary that I mention it. Division 1 had a great game featuring MTL’s Finest and the Express. All the talented DB’s you could ever ask for but the play of the game came from the one and only Moe Khan who is now tied for the team lead in interceptions. Self proclaimed ladies man, Ben Joseph, said that Moe still failed to impress any women. Moe dropped back from his rusher position to make a touchdown saving interception that would make Darrelle Revis proud.

Tip Drill

After discussing ideas for this article with some D5 players, they have asked that I add a tip or two that leads to success. Each week I will try and give the new teams a helpful hand by writing an offensive tip to succeed and a defensive tip to succeed. Hopefully some veteran players in the league will give me their input so that the knowledge they have gained over the years can be passed on to the new teams in division 5. This segment will be called Tip Drill.

Offensive Tip: Managing the Field

After watching a game this weekend in Division 5, I was surprised to see that some teams often forget that they have 3 or 4 downs to pick up 10 yards for the first down. In this league it is easy to get caught up in the idea of going for the big play every down but it is not always the best way of scoring points and ultimately, winning games. If you watch any of the successful teams in this league, whether it’s D1 or D4, they know how to manage the field in a way that gets them points and allows them to control the pace of the game. Make sure to use your possessions wisely. Throwing short passes are not only efficient but they have a much higher rate of success. Use these short passes to pick up 3-4 yards per play and then let the receivers use their legs to get the extra yards. This kind of strategy will most likely lead to more points and more victories.

Defensive Tip: Disguising Coverage

When you are up against a Quarterback who seems to be making all the throws look easy, you need to find a way to slow him down. One of the best ways you can do this is to disguise the coverage you are using. When you are using a Cover 2 defense, which means two safeties covering deep and 3 guys playing across the field at about 5 yards, you can line up all together so the QB does not know who is covering what area of the field. Then just before the ball is snapped, you can all run to your positions on the field. It will create a different look for the QB and hopefully can lead to some bad decisions on his part.

Hopefully all of this has been helpful if not entertaining and I wish you all the best of luck in coming weeks. We had an excellent week of competition to start the season and it will surely get better as teams start to get into a groove. Have a good week and I look forward to seeing you all on the weekend.