D3 Stew: Hungry Dog Gets the Bone

D3 Stew: Hungry Dog Gets the Bone

Week 7 saw more scintillating action in division 3, with underdogs once again proving to be hungry dogs, and running faster than the favorites (assist to Jason Kelce).

With a slew of gritty, not so pretty wins filling up the scoreboard, we’re constantly reminded that it’s not about how fast or athletic you are, but about who hits who first. If you catch my drift.

With an eye now towards the playoff bracket, we’re all on the lookout for those teams that believed in themselves even when they could not yet see their path to greatness. A proper punch starts from the ground up, and some teams have been slowly but surely building their base under the radar each week.

We’ll start to see who the real cowboys of the division are when the heat turns up several notches down the stretch.

It’s half past the point of no return. The noodles are up for order div 3, time to come and get it.

 

 

 

 

Big Board

Z-score is the number of standard deviations from the mean a data point sits at. For our purposes, the Z-Score will measure how far a player ranks either above or below the divisional average at your position. The higher the Z-Score, the better you’ve ranked in comparison to your peers. These were introduced here: they aren’t perfect, but they’re fun.

For QBs, I attributed equal weight to each of the measurable statistical categories. That means Yards, TDs and INTs all have an equal impact on the final rating. The final player value (PV) is achieved by summing all the individual scores for each category.

Without further ado, here are your top 10 rankings at QB through week 7:

 

PLAYER	GP	YDS AV	Y-Score	TD AV	T-Score	INT AV	I-Score	PV
Mario Porreca	6	244	1,71	5,5	1,63	0,7	1,52	4,85
Alex Holowach	6	248	1,85	5,2	1,24	0,8	1,08	4,17
Phil Cutler	5	208	0,61	4,8	0,81	0,8	1,17	2,59
Dylan Taylor	7	208	0,64	5,1	1,21	1,1	0,27	2,11
Alex Lever	4	211	0,71	4,8	0,75	1,0	0,65	2,10
Erminio Iadeluca	6	207	0,58	5,0	1,04	1,2	0,21	1,83
Joey Taylor	6	198	0,33	4,7	0,65	1,0	0,65	1,62
Ryan Lelinowski	7	204	0,50	4,3	0,20	1,1	0,27	0,97
Vince Nardone	7	172	-0,48	4,6	0,54	1,0	0,65	0,70
Neil Etinson	7	213	0,79	4,0	-0,13	1,4	-0,48	0,18

 

Some Observations:

After a big week overall last article we witnessed a bit of a correction this week, as many of the top 10 experienced a reduction in PV…Phil Cutler & Alex Lever temporarily halted each other’s momentum, playing a low-scoring game that knocked them both down a rung…Erminio Iadeluca & Joey Taylor benefitted the most from opportunistic big weeks, getting within range of the top 5…Ryan Lelinowski dropped a few spots in a tough outing vs Top Sauce but remains entrenched on the list…Neil Etinson took a tough L vs JYD but did enough to position himself back in the top 10 after a multi-week absence. He belongs here more regularly.

 

Bigger Board

For WRs, I used a weighted average assigning Yards and TDs 4X as much value as REC in the final player value (PV).

Here are your week 7 rankings for the top 25 WRs:

 

PLAYER	GP	REC AV	R-Score	YDS AV	Y-Score	TD AV	T-Score	PV
Alex Pilon	4	5,8	2,27	105	4,24	2,8	4,02	11,78
Dave Chitayat	6	5,0	1,74	66	2,10	2,0	2,61	6,87
Marco Bertoldi	7	4,0	1,03	62	1,87	2,1	2,88	6,68
Daniel Mancini	6	4,3	1,27	66	2,07	1,8	2,30	6,26
Robbi Dejean	5	4,2	1,17	63	1,91	1,8	2,24	5,92
AJ Gomes	5	5,6	2,17	70	2,30	1,4	1,49	5,78
Danny D’Amour	6	5,0	1,74	56	1,51	1,8	2,30	5,67
Jonathan Garfinkle	6	5,5	2,10	55	1,46	1,7	1,99	5,30
James Crowe	5	4,4	1,31	74	2,51	1,2	1,11	5,27
Theo Bekelis	7	5,6	2,15	61	1,78	1,4	1,54	5,15
Matthew Rupcic	6	5,5	2,10	48	1,08	1,7	1,99	4,80
Shaq Lattimore	6	4,5	1,38	62	1,84	1,3	1,36	4,73
Joel Malkin	6	4,0	1,03	63	1,91	1,2	1,05	4,29
Zach Zwirn	7	4,3	1,23	46	0,99	1,4	1,54	3,79
Justin McLean	7	3,9	0,93	54	1,44	1,1	1,01	3,57
Adrien Kellman	6	2,0	-0,40	38	0,54	1,7	1,99	3,25
Justin Cerantola	6	4,3	1,27	53	1,35	1,0	0,74	3,21
Alexandre Noel	5	5,0	1,74	55	1,48	0,8	0,36	3,04
Chris Valentine	6	3,5	0,67	40	0,65	1,3	1,36	2,91
Mathieu Gratton	6	3,2	0,43	39	0,58	1,3	1,36	2,74
Ryan Aridi	7	4,0	1,03	47	1,05	1,0	0,74	2,73
Jordan Allard	6	3,3	0,55	43	0,82	1,2	1,05	2,68
Travis Moses	7	3,7	0,82	51	1,26	0,9	0,47	2,58
Anthony Lazzara	5	3,4	0,60	46	0,98	1,0	0,74	2,50
Sebastien Simon	6	3,2	0,43	50	1,18	0,8	0,43	2,28

 

Some Observations:

Alex Pilon was back in a big way and announced his return by ripping off 106 yards and 3 TDs. It’s scary how routine he makes these kinds of games look…His return meant a smaller target share for Daniel Mancini, who ceded the third spot to an always hungry Marco Bertoldi…Danny D’Amour was the odd man out in his team’s feeding frenzy, allowing the freaky talented Robbi Dejean to finally eclipse the top 5…AJ Gomes benefitted the most from a huge game this week, moving from 11th to 6th overall. He continues to trend up each week in a balanced offense…Joey Taylor likes to feed his dogs in pairs, as Matt Rupcic & Shaq Lattimore both scaled the rankings after an offensive bonanza against Purple Reign…Joel Malkin is just bubbling beneath the surface of the top 10 waiting for a big game…Mathieu Gratton is having an excellent season on both sides of the ball. He finally gets some deserved recognition with an appearance in the top 25…Welcome to the Bigger Board Travis Moses. Two strong games in a row have thrust him into the spotlight as the lead receiver for Darksiders…The same should be said for Anthony Lazzara, who’s flying under the radar with a stellar season for his team. Not all Heroes wear capes.

 

 

Highlights:

 

Lightweight find their recipe to avoid disaster

(2-3-1) Lightweight and (2-5) R4D squared off on Sunday night at Lachine in a game with early playoff implication in conference A. The loser would be sitting on the outside looking in entering the home stretch of the season.

Lightweight brought some subs to the game, with Jeremie Lavoie-Patry replacing the injured Francois Hogue at rusher, and Jean-Felix Daloze filling in for the offensive void left by the missing Cory kennedy and Hinsley Adams. Both players would have major impacts on the game on separate sides of the field. Lavoie-Patry terrorized Jake Applebaum with a blistering rush all night, finishing the game with 3 sacks. Daloze picked up his burgeoning chemistry with Simon where they left off in fall season, reeling in 67 yards and 3 TDs on 4 catches. Eddy Lee had a clutch 2WAY performance for his team, helping deliver the win with a score on offense and a pair of INTs on defense. Marc-André Lapointe combined with Lee to help shutdown R4D, getting an INT of his own along with a trio of PDs.

Highlights on the R4D side were few and far in between on a night where their offense fizzled to 12 points. However, Adam Rockman made a spectacular play on a beauty of a pass for his team’s first score, and finished the game with 5 catches for 51 yards along with the TD. Jad Aridi added the second TD midway through the second half, giving his team some temporarily momentum in their comeback bid. It wouldn’t be enough of a spark to light his team on this night, but he still finished with a decent receiving game of his own.

Lightweight took an early 2 score lead in the game and wouldn’t look back the entire time. Jad’s score made it 26-12 with 8 minutes to go in the second, with the pressure on Lightweight to reply. A quick 3-and-out gave the ball back to R4D with a late chance to make the game interesting. They marched the field with comfort, but the play ended in an interception when they needed a touchdown.

Lightweight killed the clock off and sealed the 26-12 victory, temporarily granting themselves some reprieve as they now sit in the playoff bracket. With 7 games already played, R4D are potentially a win away from getting back in, but with the way their offense has been playing in recent weeks wins are not easy to come by. They’ll look to get back on track against a suddenly hot ODB team this week, while Lightweight will host Sean Avraam’s anticipated return to Dad Bods.    

 

 

Hometown Heroes send Looney Goonz crashing

The Looney Goonz came into this game on a season high, fresh off their first victory of the year against Lightweight the week prior. With the playoff structure in div 3 the way it is a two week winning streak would take them from last to a playoff spot. However, they had a tall task ahead of them since the (5-1) Hometown Heroes were standing in their way.

The Looney Goonz are well known for being one of the most physically fit and intimidating teams in the division. In fact, it’s common to see them ripping off sets of push-ups before games, along with various other forms of calisthenics as they get their muscles warmed up for the game at hand. However, there’s much more nuance to the flag game than pure athleticism, as their zone defense has been a mess all year.

This game was no exception, as Erminio Iadeluca was able to pick them apart and march down field with ease. He had a remarkable game with over 300 combined yards and 7 touchdowns! He would certainly like to have his two INTs back which were forced passes into tight coverage, but overall he had a night to remember and continued his stellar season.

Anthony Lazzara had a breakout game for the Heroes at receiver, reeling in 7 catches for 84 yards and a trio of TDs. He displayed an arsenal of beautiful catches in this one, catching passes over defenders and scooping up balls that were mere inches from hitting the turf. Hs veteran leadership and solid 2WAY contribution have helped paved the way for the Heroes Cinderella season thus far. AJ Gomes thrust himself into the top 10 at receiver with a monster game well. He pulled down 9 catches for 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Michael Gattuso continued his hot streak on defense, nabbing his third INT in as many games.

The Looney Goonz reportedly got physical at the end of the game, once it was getting out of hand, forcing the referees to call the game early. Their frustration has now boiled over on multiple occasions of the end of games that haven’t gone their way. That intensity would be better directed at the beginning of the game rather than the end. Still, the bright spot on the night for them was once again the defensive tandem of Maxime De Falcis and Sebastien Simon, who compiled a pair of INTs and a trio of PDs. The Goonz now sit at 1-5 but all hope is not lost, as 2 more wins could very well be enough to secure them the final playoff spot.  

As for the Heroes, the whole division will be eagerly watching their play over the next 3 weeks against a trio of veteran opponents.

 

 

 

Power Rankings:

1) Laval’s Finest (6-1):

It wasn’t pretty but they escaped with the W against QB Movement. They’ve cleared the tougher games on their schedule and should semi-cruise the rest of the regular season.

2)Brotherhood (4-2):

The critical injuries are suddenly concerning for our number 2 headband. They’ll need to try to just hold on for the next few weeks while they get full. There’s some tough games on the back end coming up.

3) 2HD (4-2):

Brush their shoulders off. There’s nothing to be ashamed of from their recent loss. They played hard and came up just short. Great chance to get their swagger back in a huge game against Hometown Heroes.

4) Top Sauce (6-1):

This is it for them. LGM is officially a legit team, and this will be their second real test of the season. Brush off the dust because this one should be entertaining.

5) Hometown Heroes (5-1):

The team that continues to make statement wins, and continues to get passed up in the rankings, has the chance to make their third statement win of the year this week. I can guarantee that if they beat the Dans they’ll find themselves in a more favorable seating next week.

6) Darksiders (5-2) ↑1:

Feeling snubbed by being outside the top 5 despite a 5 win record, they have a chance to correct some early season blisters this week against a porous defense. The back end of their schedule is favorable so they should finish the season strong.

7) LGM (3-2-1) ↑1:

If beating KGP this week solidifies them as a real threat in division 3, then we’re all several weeks behind these guys, who’ve known they’ve had something special all along. This scrappy bunch will have another opportunity to put the league on notice this week against Top Sauce. Should be fun.  

8) KGP (3-3) ↓2:

Tough loss to LGM this past week, considering they had a full roster for one of the first times this year. This, the idea of KGP “all-dressed” is very appealing, and they’re bound to strengthen down the stretch in time for playoffs.

9) DTM (2-2-2):

Getting Alex Pilon back was an instant shot of adrenaline, just in time for this team to make a run down the stretch. They leaned on him heavily in a narrow victory over Maloudes. Their defense is still a work in progress 8 weeks in, but their offense should get back to the high-octane ways from earlier in the season. A great test awaits them this week against the bruised Brotherhood.

10) Purple Reign (2-3-1)↑1:

Tentatively back on the list after an inspirational victory over 2HD this past week. The defense looked rejuvenated and played with gusto. Let’s hope they can transition that momentum into an encounter with a relentless QB Movement team this week.

 

 

 

 The Jamie Bowl

The final week of the Jamie Bowl regular season wrapped up with an exhilarating ending, as 4 of our challengers were battling for the remaining 3 playoff spots. It was a successful 1st season, as it added a little spice to the weekly article and created some heated rivalries in the process. We’ll look to bring it back next year and possibly expand on the pool of competitors.

As for the season that was, we tip our hats to our two eliminated teams, The Historians Hawks and Dr. Mantis Toboggan.

The Hawks came on strong throughout the season, finishing 3rd in overall points. But a rough start and some unlucky matchups left them on the outside looking in.

As for Mantis, they looked like favorites in week 1, but quickly lost their footing and could never re-establish it thereafter.

As we say ciao to our two eliminated competitors, we turn our attention to the four remaining contestants. Dropkick Terries, Commission Has Fallen, Panda Panda! and Bullet Club will compete in a 2 week tournament designed to test their fortitude.

They’ll need to reach deep to scavenge the remaining talent that was untapped in previous weeks, as many of the division’s household names are now off the board. The winner will be toasting with a glass of sweet nectar in 2 weeks’ time, while the rest of us will be left bone dry.

 

Week 5

Match 1

Mantis needed to win with a healthy score to have a chance at qualifying, but as has been the case all season he missed out on too many roster spots. Jamal Gittens mid game injury certainly didn’t help, but Mantis was far too soft at 2WAY all season. As I’ve said before, you can’t miss out on 2WAY and hope to win here.

Commish had a soft week overall, but it was still enough to deliver him the win and home field advantage in the first round. AJ Gomes big receiving night coupled with a stifling effort from the Dad Bods defense led the way for him. He’ll look to reload this week against the hungry Panda.  

Position	Dr. Mantis		Commish has Fallen
QB	Vince Nardone	29,7	Dylan Taylor	28
WR	Guillaume Bourassa	8,4	AJ Gomes	31,3
WR	James Crowe	23,3	Anthony Da Silva	11,1
2WAY	Jamal Gittens	2	Jamie Ojeaha	6,1
2WAY	Robbi Dejean	22,6	Ryan Aridi	9
DEF	Hometown Heroes	16,5	Dad Bods	29
		102,5		114,5

 

Match 2

As has been the case this season, the Hawks fell just short in his matchup but by no fault of his own. 143 points is good enough to win on most weeks, and would have beaten everyone else in the division. Finishing third in points scored overall but failing to make the top 4 will leave a sour taste in the Hawks mouth, and not the good kind, like a nice whisky sour on the rocks.

Unfortunately for the Hawks he ran into the red hot QB whisperer this week, who once again breathed life into a slumping passer and propelled himself to the front of the leaderboard overall. Not only did he nail QB, but he also timed Alex Pilon’s return perfectly and poured gravy over everything with a strong Jon Garfinkle performance. He looks intimidating heading into the playoffs with home field advantage throughout.

Position	Historian’s Hawks		Dropkick Terries
QB	Joey Taylor	32,5	Alex Holowach	40,56
WR	Shaq Lattimore	31,5	Jon Garfinkle	23
WR	Dragan Mallette	11,6	Rob Allen	14,9
2WAY	Chris Milard	24,4	Alex Pilon	38,6
2WAY	AJ Gomes	31,3	Ryan Aridi	9
DEF	R4D	12	Purple Reign	19,5
		143,3		145,56

 

Match 3

The Panda has been up and down this season, but picked the most opportune time to come through with a clutch performance, blowing away his competitor and sealing his playoff ticket. The Porreca-Pilon combo proved once again to be a winning formula. He also boldly picked Chris Milard to bounce back after a quiet couple of weeks, which he did with gusto, reeling off 5 sacks and picking up a TD on offense to boot.

Bullet Club was firing out blanks this week, as he tumbled from 1st to 4th in the standings with the worst scoring week of the season. Gittens injury was devastating, but so was Valentine’s milk carton on the stat sheet and the Bearskins defensive dud against JYD. He looked strong all season but now backs into the playoffs and has the most question marks entering the ring against the might Dropkick.

Position	Panda Panda!		Bullet Club
QB	Mario Porreca	27,12	Phil Cutler	20,6
WR	sahar Cohen	11,1	Jon Garfinkle	23
WR	Jimmy Marneris	4,6	Chris Valentine	0
2WAY	Alex Pilon	38,6	Jamal Gittens	2
2WAY	Chris Milard	24,4	Marco Bertoldi	21,9
DEF	Dad Bods	29	Bearskins	8,5
		134,82		76

 

Final Standings

Standings	Wins	Loss	PF
The Dropkick Terries	3	2	654,28
Commission Has Fallen	3	2	641,08
Panada Panda!	3	2	585,16
Bullet Club	3	2	570,76
Historian’s Hawks	2	3	608,24
Dr. Mantis Tobbogan	1	4	579,1

 

Quarter Finals

Match 1

Position	Commish has Fallen		Panda Panda!
QB	Sean Avraam		Fred Morissette
WR	Dave Chitayat		James Crowe
WR	Jordan Allard		Jad Aridi
2WAY	Justin McLean		Theo Bekelis
2WAY	Jeremy Anderson		Leo Lanni
DEF	Laval’s Finest		Darksiders

 

Match 2

Position	Dropkick Terries		Bullet Club
QB	Vince Nardone		Dylan Taylor
WR	Jeremy Anderson		Rod Mashtoub
WR	Nicolas Desjardins		Ryan Aridi
2WAY	Matt Kirouac		Travis Moses
2WAY	Danny Damour		Justin McLean
DEF	Laval’s Finest		Darksiders

 

 

 

Weekly Awards

 

QB:

Erminio Iadeluca – Hometown Heroes:

28/37 – 278 yards – 6 TD/2 INT – 113.5 QBR

2 Rush – 32 yards – 1 TD

It was like shooting fish in a bucket against Loony Goonz this week. Whether man or zone he tore them up with dagger after dagger. Erminio is just trailing the league leaders at QB in stats, but if we could measure an individual’s impact on his team’s success he would likely be the frontrunner for MVP at this point in the season.

 

WR:

Shaq Lattimore – 2HD:

7 catches – 125 yards – 2 TDs

He was the leading receiver for 2HD in the fireworks show versus Purple Reign this week. He and Frank Deslauriers put on a clinic of how to punish the zone defense, exchanging score for score, especially in the second half. His burst from the outside makes him a key weapon in the Dans offense. Defenders are frequently drawn into his pull on deep routes, leaving the underneath open for his QB to exploit. But as soon as the defense jumps up and gives him a step deep…fahgettaboudit

 

DEF:

Chris Milard – Top Sauce:

5 Sacks

Stopping Ryan Lelinowski is a tall task, given that he’s one of the most agile QBs in all of FPF. Last week I witnessed the JYD rusher just give up mid rush and stand at the line of scrimmage, because Ryan was whipping him so badly. However, when you’re a special talent at rusher like Chris Milard you’re up for the challenge. Imagine that Milard did most of his damage in the second half alone. Had he made quicker adjustments at the beginning we may have seen a double digit sack performance. Amazing effort by one of the very best in the league.

  

2WAY:

Francois Deslauriers – Purple Reign:

5 catches – 137 yards – 3 TDs

4 TK – 1 INT

He was a baaaddddd man on Monday night at Hebert. Stepping up when his team needed it most and delivering them a potentially season saving win against a tough 2HD team. His touchdown catches were spectacular, twice catching a routine out-route along the sidelines before faking his defender with a nasty spin move and taking it 40 yards to the house. He also made the game winning INT in his own endzone with under 30 seconds left in the game. This week’s overall baller of the week, hands down.

 

 

Predictions

 

Dirty Dawgs                                      KGP      

The Dawgs’ heater finally cooled off last week against Top Sauce. Don’t expect any reprieve against an angry KGP team, who lost a shocker to LGM. Expect KGP’s offense to get back on track in this one. Fun matchup looming between mobile QB Ryan Lelinowski and rusher Gabe D’Amico-Mazza.

Laval’s Finest                                   JYD        

JYD are trending after a big win against Bearskins, but it falls at the worst time as they enter they walk into a buzz saw against the 450. Laval nearly let one slip last week against QB Movement in the second half, so I expect them to be more cautious in this one and try to close it out early.

Drop the Mic                                    Brotherhood

So many questions surrounding the Brotherhood injury list right now. Last report had Theo Ojeaha walking around with a cane and Jamal Gittens a near sure DNP this week with a nasty ankle injury. Mario Porreca and Alex Pilon will use that as a chance to feast, and make Brotherhood seem like mere mortals for a second consecutive week.

Darksiders                                         Looney Goonz

The Darksiders are hungry to prove themselves worthy of a top 5 ranking in the division. They’ve narrowly beaten some quality opponents but also got hammered in some key matchups. At 5-2 the only thing holding them back right now is a negative differential and a low scoring offensive average. That can all change this week with a trip the Looney Goon land, who’ve allowed a conference leading 220 points against. If Darksiders can hang 40 on them like everyone else we’ll talk about booking them a top 5 appearance next week.

QB Movement                                  Purple Reign

ODBs                                                  R4D

This is the most interesting game of the week in my opinion. With what ODB has shown us by now we should consider them a legit team in div 3. R4D definitely hasn’t proved as much at this point in the season. Still, with QB questions surrounding ODBs and R4D with their backs against the wall for a playoff spot, give me the R4D to find the secret recipe and live to see at least another week.

Hometown Heroes                         2HD

This is the most exciting game of the week in my opinion. Two legitimate heavyweights of conference A square off for the conference title. I would normally like the Dans savvy know-how in a bounce back spot after dropping a barn-burner last week. But the Heroes are just an extremely hungry team looking to make another statement win. Last time I picked against them they came out drooling and smashed the Dad Bods.

Lightweight                                       Dad Bods

Sean Avraam unchained. He returns from his training in the Himalayas just in time to rescue Dad Bods season against the Sheriff Simon Dagenais. This should be an entertaining showdown between two wily coyotes at the QB position. I think a recharged Dad Bods look to gear up for an extended stretch run beginning this week.

Les Maloudes                                  Bearksins

A showdown between two struggling teams. Hopefully the winner uses this game as a springboard for a stretch run. Maloudes may have very likely beat DTM last week if it wasn’t for an unnecessary penalty late in the game by their receiver when they were at the opponent’s doorstep. They’re finding a tad more success in recent weeks running the pitch offense. I think their QB’s agility will give the Bearskins defense some fits. There’s just too much pressure on the Skins O right now to be perfect with a lack of stops from their D.

Top sauce                                          LGM     

Shocker Special of the week. It’s been a while since anyone stood with Top Sauce and exchanged blows with them without backing away. They’ll get shades of their Laval’s Finest match this week against a tough LGM team who know how to execute on offense. This one should go down to the wire and will come down to who avoids the critical mistake. Don’t sleep on the LGM defense, they have a way of tightening up in the redzone.  

 

 

 

That’s it for this week! Week 7 of FPF is officially in the books, and week 8 is set to start up soon. If you have any feedback, concerns, comments or just want a shoulder to lean on you can reach out to me @alexholowach1 on Twitter, or hit me up on Facebook. If you’re craving more div 3 content please check out the Calling the Audible podcast featuring Moe Khan, Peeze and Simom, it’s a healthy dose of absurdity to get you through the week. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and make sure to check back next week to find out how week 8 shook out!