Bombsquad’s Breakdown (D2) – Week 4

 

And then there was one. The lustre has been tarnished on the Gold Standard and the G-Men get Knighted by the Kingz as just another victim. Ruff Ryders remain undefeated due to a stingy defence and the All Blacks remain unbeaten but tie the Wildcats. You want to talk about parity? We have 2 winless teams, 5 teams with 1 win, 1 team with 2 wins and 5 teams with 3 wins in addition to the aforementioned 2 undefeated teams. These are exciting times and the only disappointment is there will be no games this weekend.

Let us journey back to last weekend and see what we can see, shall we?

Countdown to detonation.

7. First black mark on their record; the All Blacks tie the Wildcats 19-19. The offense in this game was not really on display, as both QB’s combine for 229 yards passing, 5 td’s and 3 int’s. Their combined completion rating was just over 50%. What does this mean? Are the All Blacks pretenders waiting to fall off the pedestal at the first real challenge or is this another case of the enigma that is the Wildcats? Granted if Jean-Francois Marquis (on loan from the Express) doesn’t make his pick 6 then this game is another W for the All Blacks. But we’ll get to a team by team breakdown later on, so we can hit that topic then. Moving on!

6. Hate to say I told you so, but the Wolfpack pounced all over the Triple Sixers 30-12, who once again were without Pat Jerome. This team is a different animal without Jerome, but we can’t take away from the Pack’s performance as Pascal Murray threw for 180 with 5 td’s and no turnovers. Alain Rousseau was a beast once again catching 6 for 75 yards and 2 td’s. Karim Chaoual seems to be having a rough go this season, after a strong start against the G-Men, losing by only 1 point. Their only win has come against the winless Wolverines. What does this mean for the Sixers, and is this the turnaround point for the Wolfpack?

s=”MsoNormal”>5. Mercenaries bronze the Gold Standard 33-12. No one was as surprised by the final score as I was. The Merc’s defence just seemed to come up with stop after stop. This game would have been much closer had it not been for some spectacular catches made by Jacques Void and Jean-Richard Verger. After a scorching start to the season, Jay Ulley was held to 43 yards passing and just 2 passing td’s after 14 td passes in the previous 2 weeks. Some ask “Have we overhyped the Gold Standard” (watch the WEPL)? And what about the Mercenaries? Talented team, but can they make it all the way?

4. One Night Stands double their fortune in two weeks with their second win, against the so far disappointing and dismal Wolverines 31-12. There are some positives for the Wolverines in this result, as they managed to pick off Craig O’Brien 2 times. The big problem for them seems to be putting points on the board. As for the O.N.S., O’Brien has seemed to develop some chemistry with Scott Payne, who put up 7 receptions for 91 yards and 3 touchdowns. So is this the beginning of a playoff run for the O.N.S. squad? What can the Wolverines do to turn things around?

3. In the battle of the basement dwellers, it was all smiles in the MOMO Nation as they garnered their first win, 30-20 against the Air Squad, who are taking their licks like men in their first season in division 2. Yannick Vanasse made the Squad pay for having an inexperienced rusher as he ran for 83 yards and a touchdown. Those yards were the big difference in this game, as the passing stats were very similar between the 2 Qb’s. It was also a tale of two halves for the MOMO offence. Snapper Sebastien Papineau was having trouble getting off consistent snaps to Vanasse in the first half, but came out after halftime completely corrected, earning his QB a few more seconds to scan the backfield, which made all the difference. So where does the runway end for the Air Squad? What results will MOMO Nation see at the end of their inaugural season?

2. Did I mention something about seeing holes in the G-Men’s defence? Something about Carmine Pollice exposing those holes? After a 39-21 victory, I think I’ll go buy a lottery ticket, because I could not have been more right. Pollice threw for 187 yards and 5 td’s against the boys in white, leaving them feeling blue after their first loss of the season. The first half ended with C—I mean, G-Men in the lead and the second half was just dominated by the Kingz, as they put up 26 points and held the opposition to only 7. Are the Kingz the team to beat? Should the G-Men be concerned after this loss?

1. Where is the love? Ruff Ryders pound the X’s and O’s even with Paul Lapierre throwing with a dislocated finger injured early on in the game 39-12. Lapierre spread the ball well and took no time to fit new addition Matt Norzil into the fold connecting with Norzil for 2 td’s. This team is going to be very hard to stop if Lapierre keeps improving from week to week. The defence is already strong. As for the X’s and O’s, this is a game best forgotten. Can anyone stop the Ryders? What can the X’s and O’s do to change their fortunes?

Boom Sha lock lock boom.

SHOWSTOPPA!!! This week I have to give the title to Jean-Francois Marquis of the Wildcats, without his interception for a touchdown, the Wildcsts would have suffered a loss instead of a tie against the undefeated All Blacks. That, and his key pass defended and 5 tackles make him this week’s SHOWSTOPPA!!

The Golden Boy this week has to be the big man himself, Paul Lapierre, who dislocated his finger and still went 16-24 for 182 yards and 5 td’s with only one interception, thrown on his first pass after the dislocation. Perseverance is what was on display in this game as the big man went to work regardless of his injury. Congrats Golden Boy.

Well since there are no games this weekend, instead of picks let’s see if we can predict where our division’s teams are headed and pose some questions they might want to ask themselves.

Let’s start from the bottom and work our way up.

Air Squad is new to division 2 and unfortunately for them it shows. Still having problems grasping why Matt René is quarterbacking a team and Jacques Void is not there as his right hand man. I won’t complain as Mr. Void is on my Mercenaries roster. Boys, just play the season and hope to get better which will happen playing against the high calibre of this division.

Wolverines. Where are the Wolverines of old? What’s happened? Time to look back and see what has gone wrong and take this break to re-evaluate yourselves and hopefully make some adjustments or this is going to be a long season. Patrice Machabee will only get better with more time under center.

MOMO Nation and X’s and O’s, I recommend the same prescription as the Air Squad. Just try to get better and set your sights on that lower rung on the ladder that gets you into the playoffs. There is still hope, don’t give up!

The Triple Sixers need to go to Pat Jerome’s house and kidnap him before every game to make sure he shows up. Besides that, this team has been together a long time and I really think you need to just take a breath and see where you are lacking. A surprising record, but it would be more surprising to see you continue down this track.

The enigma that is the Wildcats. You have tied an undefeated team. Just work on your consistency and you can make a run at this. You have proven you can run with the top tier, now just do it week to week. Granted that you have palyed against the G-Men and Ruff Ryders so maybe you are much better than your record reflects. Show us!

The Wolfpack get their first win and dare I say begin the turnaround which seems to happen each year? You guys remind me of my San Diego Chargers. Let’s just hope that your fate is not the same as theirs was this past season, missing the playoffs. You have been together for a long time boys, and there is no time like the present to turn things around.

One Night Stands have been going hard for these past two weeks and are trying to regain their wedding crashers swagger. After a very frustrating start you have started winning. Nice momentum heading into the bye week. Enjoy the Super Bowl and come back with the same attitude as the past two weeks.

I know you sit atop your conference All Blacks, but I regret to inform you I believe the two teams below you are better. That might as well have been a loss when you tied the Wildcats. You have two weeks of easier games before the real challenges come so get your practice in. You’ll need it. Congrats on a great start but you need to really prove your mettle against the teams with winning records.

Until last week, Gold Standard had set the standard around the league. Should a more experienced QB take the helm like Mike McNair or Scott Mironowicz? I don’t think so. Your loss came to a very talented team and Jay Ulley has put up great numbers before that game so a little early to consider the panic switch. This team is still gelling.

The Mercenaries dismantle the Gold Standard at the break with some very talented offensive players. All I can say is hopefully you/we can just get some consistency with the roster and really gel. Only time will tell, but things seem good so far.

What can I say about the G-Men? They get the job done. But would these games be this close had they still had Danny Gentile holding the reins? You are winning, there is no doubt about that. But Gentile seemed to have real chemistry with Paul Kamel and Click Clack as he tossed him over 20 td’s last winter. Settino is doing a good job but what could have been? No one will know so Gianni, get ready to lead your team into the next level after the break.

Kingz of the castle. Big win against the G-Men heading into the bye. The only loss you have suffered has come at the hands of the Ruff Ryders, who are the only remaining undefeated team and it was a close game at that. You guys have chemistry and know how. Not much to worry about here.

And finally I have no concerns with the Ruff Ryders at this point. Only, Paul Lapierre should have maybe dislocated his finger sooner if his numbers were going to spike like this. They have the best defence in the league and they shut things down when their whole squad is there. So just keep getting the boys out and you have a clear path to the playoffs.

 

The commish won’t be happy,

As my pick is in.

It is with all my heart,

I hope the Packers win.

 

Then back to our fields,

We return in week 5.

Finally we’ll be weeding out,

Who’s playoff hopes are alive.

 

All in all, I truly wish every one of the teams in division 2 the best of luck in the coming weeks and I really look forward to some of the upcoming matches. As always, you can email me with links to random youtube videos and cake boss recipes at [email protected], but until then another week has been defused.