Division C Week 3: Anthems, Football, and Elite 8 Changes.

 

Welcome to Week 3 of the FlagPlus Football Division C Spring Season. Before I get into the comings and goings of FPF, I just want to touch briefly, on the NFL’s new national anthem policy.

Unless you live under a rock, you have heard by now about the NFL’s decision to make standing for the American national anthem mandatory, for all players who are on the field during the singing of it, but allowing players who don’t want to stand, to stay in the lockeroom. Teams who have players, or personnel who don’t abide by the policy, are subject to fines, and the organization will have the right to fine the individuals, or individual too. It is important to note that the NFLPA, was not included in the vote. Not surprisningly none of the league’s 32 profit-driven owners, voted against the policy.

In doing this, not only is the league, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell, segregating the players who wish to protest (do you honestly think the league will allow cameras in the lockeroom to show players who are protesting?) I am sure it is a firm no, and even if they do, the few will not be given one-on-one interviews to explain exactly why they are doing it.

Goddell, is also showing the world, and his employees (specifically the players) that he, and the league only care about money I.E advertisers, who don’t like the protests (Papa John’s anyone?), and the fans who choose not to watch football becasue of them.

Personally, I think this is ridicuolous, as it impeaches on the rights and liberties of the players who choose to protest, which in and of itself, is exactly what the people who are protesting, and the soliders who have fought, and are currently fighting for overseas. The fact that people, say that the likes of Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid, Malcolm Jenkins, etc, are unpatriotic, because they protest, is idiotic.

Besides the point that it is within their rights to do so, what they are standing, or in this case taking a knee, or sitting for, is police brutality, racism, and social inequality, among other things. Sadly, all three of those things define America, but yet when a light is shined on to them, people get uncomfortable, and try to run around from the issues, as Kap did to opposing defenses, before he was black-balled from the league.

At the end of the day, football has been around forever, and it will continue to be, no matter how many people turn off the game due to the protests. Despite the league, and the gutless Roger Goddell’s attempts to silence the protesters, the players will still find a way to get their voices heard.

 

This past week saw a lot of action-packed games, the return of some familiar faces, and the start of a new rivalry. 

Looking for a team two weeks ago, FPF veteran Rick Cummins, found a home with Brocassion. His knowledge of the game is impeccable, and he still has enough juice in his legs to make plays, espcially on the defensive side of the ball. While his team lost (37-26) to Blue Chips in Week 2, they have a chance to turn things around Wednesday night versus the Strangers. 

The return of Jarryd Taylor at Quarterback, saw the TOPSZN offense, pick up where they left off in the winter seson, as they beat the Strangers (54-40) last Sunday night at Lachine. With the exception of a nice pick-six down the left sideline by Anthony Siggia, that made the final score look a little more respectable, Taylor, and his crew looked unstoppable, and also proved me wrong in my picks last week.

Speaking of TOPSZN, they have a huge match tomorrow night in Lachine, against Blue Chips. I honestly think this will be a fantastic game between two of the fastest, and more athletic teams in all of FPF.  

In another surprising blowout, The Alpha-T’s rolled over the Mountain Lions (36-19) last night in, on the shoulders of a monster game by two-way player Anthony Lapointe. The fifth-year veteran had 7 catches for 75 yards, and 3 touchdowns on offense, while recording 2 tackles, and a pick-six on defense.

Last week, I wrote about the matchup between Kevin Smuda (Mountain Lions), and Mathieu Houle (The Alpha-T’s), and how it would most likely play a big part in the outcome of the game. both receivers played a part, but it was a small one, as they combined for 4 receptions, and 80 yards, with neither reaching the endzone.

Although the final score was lopsided, The Alpha-T’s, were only up 14-13 at halftime. This is yet another example of how important it is to play an entire game.

This week, I got a text my friend, FPF family member, and Junkyard Dogs Defensive Back Rob “Blanco” White. He told me that I need to wake up, and stop picking against his team, or it was going to be a long season for me.

I’ll give Rob, and his team, credit where credit is due, as he laid a (38-19) beating on the Dirty Dawgs, in a game that was essentially over at halftime, as JYDs were up by 19.  

Da Browns, underwent a name change this week, as they will now be called Moist. I am not really sure that the switch is an ugrade, but to each their own I guess.

No matter what they go by, the team needs to find a reliable deep threat, or their offense will look like the 2017 Cleveland Browns, or a wet paper bag (I tried). Terry Tam, Daryl Rankin, and G.M Kolethras, are all solid underneath pass-catchers, while both Giovanni, and Leonardo Lanni, have the wheels to work the second level, and occcasionally get deep, but in watching their game against Les Montagnards last Sunday in Lachine, it was obvious that the team is lacking that true explosive wide receiver, who can get past deep defenders, and cover 2 defenses, like Les Motagnards routinely played against Moist.

For Les Montagnards, they have speed to burn. Whether it be Julien Fiset-Cyr, Fred Viens, Mathieu Girard Provost, or Marc-Antoine Viens, this team likes to have their games turn into a track meet. Having played against these guys last winter, I can say first-hand, that they have the ability to score quickly, and often.

Last winter, they started off hot, winning 2 out of 3, and 3 out of their first 5 games, only to see them lose their last 4 regular season games, and miss the playoffs by 1 point. Let’s see if they learned their lesson this time around. 

Last week’s game between The Commssion, and the Backyard Bullies, was billed by yours truly, as the new Commission versus the old Commission, as two important members of their 2017 Spring Championship team in Quaterback Sean Avraam, and Wide Receiver Jordan Allard, (they both won Player of the Year in each respective category) were taking on their former teammates, as well as their replacements, in Jean-Francois Marquis, and Vincent Marquis.

As expected, this game was full of trash-talk, big plays, emotion, and some good old fashion rough play (we are playing football, and not soccer after all). Unfortunately, there was also a lot of whining during and after the game as well, mostly done by one side.  

I am not going to bore you with all the details. I will just say, that if you feel your team isn’t ready to play, because you just finished having your team picture taken, even though the photographer was well off the field before the first snap of the ball, the refs whistled the game to start, and the same officials also told your opponents to hurry up, and the majority of their players except for one, went to cover somebody on the snap of the ball, simply call a timeout, instead of bitching about it ALL game, and then using that as the only excuse as to why you lost (19-18). All the while, ignoring the fact that you had a ton of drops, got almost all the calls from the refs the entire game, and you had the ball inside The Commission’s 5-yard line with 3 plays left, and while the Bullies, did get a touchdown to bring them within one, they couldn’t get the two-point conversion to win the game. Look in the mirror, I am just saying…

Amid all the complaining, was some solid performances by a couple of key players on both sides.

Kenny Boutilier, of The Commission, was the game’s MVP, as he provided solid coverage as a Defensive Back, and then in the second half, switched over to Rusher, where he had two sacks, in place of Zackary Alberts-Gill, and provided constant pressure on Backyard Bullies QB Rich Humes.  

On the other side of the ball, he only had one reception, but it was huge, as he helped his team convert on a huge third and long, while falling one yard short of the endzone.

For the Bullies, Steve Sanner, surpringly had some of those aforementioned drops, but when his team really needed him, he came up big, as his two second half touchdowns, were made in blanket coverage, and helped his team come back, and even gave them a chance to take the lead in the game’s dying minutes.  

All in all, this was far from flawless, but it was an entertaining football game between two talented teams, who while some of them are friends off the field, are anything but, when the lights come on. This has all the makings of the next great FPF rivalry. 

 

 

Matchups

 

Jarryd Taylor versus Jordan Mitchell

If this was Madden, it would be like Baker Mayfield versus Lamar Jackson, or Jeff Garcia vs Michael Vick. Needless to say, both these passers can run, and with a combined 15 touchdown passes so far, they can obviously sling the rock as well.

With a solid receiving corps led by Khalil Kerr, Justene Edwards, and Hasani Worrell for TOPSZN, and Sanders Armand, Marcus Mitchell, and Travis Moses, among others for Blue Chips, I fully expect both Quarterbacks to shine.

Both teams also employ a fast, and aggressive defense, which leads me to think that whichever QB makes the most, or possibly the only mistake, will have his team come out on the losing end. 

 

Vinny Gualano versus The Braves U Defense

Through the first two weeks of the season, there has been no better receiver than Vinny Gualano, who has put up a jaw-dropping 14 receptions, for 231 yards, and 10 touchdowns.

After shredding the defenses of Omlette You Finish, and Game Changers, up next to try and stop the 2017 Hall-of-Famer, is Braves U.

The task should fall on the shoulders of Jonathan Maheu, Mike Pierrecin, and Gabriel Pare. Good luck boys.

 

Kevin Boustany versus Jamal Gittens

The last time these two hooked up, was this past Winter Season, where Boustany, played for Recipe 4 Dsaster, and Gittens, was with The Brotherhood.

Gittens, was dominant as he had 4 catches, and a game-high 61 yards and two TDs, to go along with 2 interceptions on defense, as his team breezed to a (31-13) victory.  

Boustany, had a 40-yard TD, and a game-high 3 pass defenses.

This time around, the matchup will be a little different, as Boustany plays on the better team, and will have the Quarterback advantage in his favour, as Jeff Rosenblatt, is a 4-time All-Star, and has played in nearly 250 career FPF games, compared to 5 for rookie Drew Keiller.

Boustany, is also coming off of a monster perfromance against Fiends in Low Places, that saw him look like a one man show (pun intended), as he picked off FILP Quarterback Danny D’Amour twice, one of which he ran back to the house, to go along with a game-high 3 pass defenses (again), and a 25-yard TD on offense.

If you have watched Gittens play over the years, you know that he is a great receiver, who is fully capable of taking over a game. So far this year, he leads his team in receptions (11), and is tied for the lead in touchdowns with 2. He will need to bring his A-game, and then some however, if he wants to give him and his team a victory this week.

Let’s see how this plays out.

 

Elite 8

 

1. The Alpha-T’s (Last Week: 1)

 

2. TOPSZN (Last Week: 4)

 

3. The Commission (Last Week: 5)

 

4. Blue Chips (Last Week: 7)

 

5. Jagerbomb (Las Week: 8)

 

6. Mountain Lions (Last Week: 2)

 

7. Junkyard Dogs (Last Week: Not Ranked)

 

8. Dirty Dawgs (Last Week: 3)

 

Picks

 

Keyport Lock vs Lights Out – Keyport Lock

 

TOPSZN vs Blue Chips – Blue Chips (My Pick for Game of the Week)

 

BearSkins vs Braves U – BearSkins

 

Friends in Low Places vs Jagerbomb – Friends in Low Places (Upset Special #1)

 

Junkyard Dogs vs Lobster Dinner – Junkyard Dogs

 

The Commission vs Dirty Dawgs – N/A

 

Moist vs Backyard Bullies – Backyard Bullies

 

Les Montagnards vs Mountain Lions – Les Montagnards (Upset Special #2)

 

Strangers vs Brocassion – Strangers  

 

Game Changers vs Omlette You Finish – Game Changers (Upset Special #3)

 

Vikings vs The Alpha-T’s – The Alpha-T’s

 

Last Week: 6-4

 

Season: 6-4

 

 

That’s it for this week. I will be back next time, with a Week 3 re-cap, and a Week 4 preview. Good luck to everybody this week!

 

If you liked the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, feel free to contact me on Twitter @BADNEWSB51 or by e-mail at [email protected]