Carmine’s Coffin Corner | Week 3

 

Week 2 is in the books and we now enter the first week of inter-tier play.  For those of you just tuning in there are 3 Tiers in the 35+ Division.  Tier 1 of the Set Teams have a CAP limit of 500.  Tier 2 of the Set Teams and the Draft Tier both have CAP limits of 420.  The odd twist, in the interests of parity, is that the Tier 2 & Draft teams are allowed to “boost” their CAP to 500 in weeks in which they play a Tier 1 team.

This gives teams two options; find older players willing to sub with them (probably for a free beer or three) and screw with the team chemistry OR most likely take a beating.  It will be interesting to see which of the two scenarios plays out this Thursday evening in Kirkland as we have 3 such match ups to kick off the night’s action.

What did we learn from Week #2?

• – Jon Moodie still likes those yellow gloves
• – Marco Ottoni is looking like a brilliant addition to the Monster Gym/Jim roster
• – Dave Allen took the time to measure the field this week
• – Kevin Wyeth is having fun getting me back (more on that later)
• – Stats do not tell the full story

 

What did we not learn?

• – Are Polvige going to build on their second half from LAST Thursday? Only 6 points scored in their first game and half of football.  That is simply not going to get it done.
• – Does the FPF team have a QB controversy or is the game plan to rotate the Johnson Brothers? Curious to see what Week 3 holds for this squad.

 

Let’s go into a quick recap of what happened before I try and give my delusional thoughts on what will happen this Thursday.

I mentioned that one of the advantages to covering this Division is that all of the games are on the same night.  It is only an advantage if you are NOT flying that day and are in the correct city when the games occur.  Thanks to Dave Allen for a multitude of text updates and other players for comments and thoughts.

 

JMJ defeat Polvige 30-26

I started off the evening on a high note calling the final result of this game correctly.  JMJ got off to a very hot start, jumping out to a 16-0 lead courtesy of 2 TDs and a defensive safety.  Mr. Mancini played like a monster (but not a Jim) defensively with 3 tackles, 3 PDs, and a clutch INT at the end of the first half.  Down 16-6 it was time for Polvige to cue the comeback, led by Ron Oquet.  Not a household name yet but he became the first receiver to record a 100-yard game this season to go along with his two TDs.  Polvige actually “stormed” back to take a brief lead but, after trading a few more scores, JMJ held on for the win.

 

Monster Jim/Gym defeat the Oldpack 34-19

Well Monster basically scored exactly what I thought they would.  Old Pack gets shut down and my prediction goes down the drain.  Andy Peterkin dispels the QB controversy and leads the squad with a convincing win using both his arm and legs, and with an “assist” from Craig O’Brien.  JF LeClair is showing why he was one of the top two-way threats in all of Quebec a few years/decades back and continues to make plays on both sides of the ball.  Another INT & TD for him have him being someone that you cannot ignore.  Glen Cooper also made his debut and showed up prominently with 7 tackles and 2 PDs on defence.  For the Old Pack it is a similar story as Pascal Murray continues to put up big yardage, but the scoreboard does not reflect his efforts.  Normally 248 yards would earn you more than 3 TDs.

 

Paramount defeats FPF 32-13

I was really expecting a much closer game.  Eugene McLaren continues to hold the hot hand finishing with 5 TD passes on the evening.  His counterpart, the other Johnson Brother Cory, had a decent night in terms of completion % but did not finish drives.  Both squads have players who can stretch the field but this game turned into a “dink & dunk” chess match with both QBs finishing with less than 8 yards per completion.  Dave Allen finds the end zone twice for Paramount to lead the way.

 

Relics defeat the GOXM 26-25

This game came down to the wire.  It was a lot of fun to watch as both teams made plays and those pesky converts came back to make the difference.  Yoni Lehrer made the difference in this match as he hits the Century mark in receiving yards in addition to finding the end zone 3 times.  It was fun to see some of the new/old faces that the Relics brought out for this one.  I must admit that this might have been the first time that I have ever seen Jeff Rosenblatt play defence!!  For the GOXM it was another night of looking into a quickly emptying beer glass in an attempt to find answers.  Wade Williams had a great game finishing 7 for 83 yards with 2 TDs and an INT & PD on defence.  He also combined with Guatama on a beautiful “Double 20” throw & catch in the back of the end zone early one.  I swear that I could hear the British commentators raving in the background.

 

O.A.S. defeat the Spitfire 45-33

The final match of the night gave us a great first half with back and forth action.  The second half saw much more forth than back however.  Both QBs put up decent yardage and definitely spread the ball around as 13 different players had receptions.  The difference on the evening were the back-to-back Pick 6s by Kevin Wyeth in the second half.  Same route, same defence, same throw, same result.  Great job by Kevin and I found myself joining the GOXM in looking at that same damn beer glass for answers.  Jason Prince did most of the offensive damage for O.A.S with 3 more TDs which gives him 7 through the first 2 weeks.  Heads up…you may wish to cover him.  After being held without a reception in Week 1, Jimmy Coupethwaite bounced back with 5 catches and a TD.  Adi Sharma was king of the end zone for the Spitfire with 3 TDs in his season debut.

Let’s take a quick glimpse and what awaits in Week #3

O.A.S. vs. Relics

The origin faces the next generation.  O.A.S originally began in the 35+ Division as the Relics so it should be fun to see this one unfolds.  Jeff Rosenblatt had Corey Pecker replace him at the QB spot when he was injured and they squad has not really looked back.  Unfortunately for the Relics, unless they do some heavy recruiting for this game, I have the feeling that this will not be much fun for them.  O.A.S. look like the top team at this point in time so this might get ugly.  The Relics have some great players and a very high football IQ but so do O.A.S. and they have the speed to go along with that.

O.A.S. takes this one.

 

Spitfire vs. Paramount

Paramount really look like the team to beat in the Draft Division and the Spitfire squad is winless to this point.  Chemistry remains a bit of a challenge still for the Spitfire squad and this could be an advantage for Paramount who look to be in full control.  I really think that this will come down to Andrew Adams and Eugene McLaren, as a QB.  If Andrew can control things, then the Spitfire should prevail.  As mentioned last week I will always pick my team, so Andrew does his thing and the Spitfire put a straight line in the Win column.

 

FPF vs. Monster Gym/Jim

So, who is the QB for FPF?  Will we see a Johnson Brother rotation or, after 2 losses, do we see Domenic Tosi get the ball?  In any case I do not think that it will make a huge difference this week against the MGJ defence.  This comes down to a match up game and FPF does not have anyone, after two weeks, who looks like they can win the one on one match up.  This allows MGJ to play tight and clog the lanes, which they do VERY well.

Unless FPF does recruiting for this match I will give the nod to MGJ

 

Polvige vs. GOXM

Something must give in this win.  Both teams are winless to this point.  Polvige showed life in the second half last week and the GOXM have lost back-to-back heart breakers.  Curious to know if Guatama has called PAT practice for this past weekend after the 2 losses by a single dreaded PAT?  Ron Oquet looked great this past week and Vince Mancini is always solid.  Having said that, the GOXM have looked more consistent and I think this is the week that they enjoy their post-game libations.

 

JMJ vs. Pacemakers

I am really not sure where to go with this one.  Betting against Rob “I can do everything” Allen on the small Kirkland turf is never a smart move.  Having said that, if Jordan Rossie returns, it gives the Pacemakers another dangerous receiver to join Chris Brockwell.  How will Jason Rossie use them remains the question to ask.  I also am not sure that anyone on the JMJ roster can slow down Jason Rossie if he uses his legs to gain yards.

Very carefully I am going with the Pacemakers to move to 2-0 on the season (they had the BYE last week).