Here we go: D6 Divisional Round Preview

After 10 long weeks, the regular is over, and now the real fun begins. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all of ages, playoff time is here. All the games, practices, scrimmages, bumps and bruises you’ve endured have been for this.

Former Jets coach and current ESPN Analyst Herm Edwards had it half right when he said “You play to win the game.” He should’ve also said you play to win a championship.

Speaking of championship, that’s exactly why we are here. The marathon to anoint a new Division 6 champion begins next Saturday night with the Divisional Round.  In the first article I wrote this season, I spoke about change being in the air. Last year’s Div. 6 winners The Heisman’s are gone, so which ever team emerges victorious after everything is said and done, will be crowned the brand new champs.

New champs aren’t the only change taking place in Div. 6. As I mentioned at the top, the regular season is over, and with it, so are my popular lists. Saw goodbye to the High Five, Elite 8, and my personal favourite, Step It Up sections.

 For some people the subtraction of the last category is a welcome revelation, for others, the joy they take at other people’s poor performances is a void they now might find hard to fill. Not to worry, I will still mention the outings, plays (both good and bad), and overall things that catch my eye during the playoffs. So, if you put on a clinic, or you wet the bed, I’ll make sure to mention you. 

 With that being said, I will now get into the breakdown of each Divisional matchup. Before I do however, let me give you a quick reminder of the Div. 6 playoff format.  The top 8 teams per Conference qualify for the playoffs. The playoff matchups are straight (1) vs (8), (2) vs (7), (3) vs (6), and (4) vs (5).

Now that the explanations are out of the way, I will start with the breakdown of Conference A.

 

Conference A

(1) Flagrant Fouls vs (8) The Pocketwatch

Previous Matchup: Flagrant Fouls 36 – 18 (Week 6)

After looking unstoppable in the regular season, Flagrant Fouls are trying to pull a Kentucky Wildcats. FYI, I am writing this as I’m watching Kentucky manhandle Hampton. (Who do you have taking March Madness? Shoot me a tweet. I bleed blue and white so I’m rolling with my Blue Devils as always.) Anyways, armed with the best offense and arguably the best QB, Double F are clearly the class of the division.

The Pocketwatch who are filled with FPF veterans, qualified for the playoffs after a Week 9 win over TMNB.

For Flagrant Fouls to come out with the win, they will need to do two things. First, they will need QB Ross Olshansky to continue doing what he does best, and that’s beating teams with his arm and his legs. Secondly, they will need their ball-hawking defense lead by stalwarts Matt Leblanc and Jesse Castiel to make plays on that side of the ball, while also getting pressure from their under-rated rusher Alex Evangelidis.

When their defense is clicking, as it was the last time these squads met up, Flagrant Fouls are virtually impossible to beat. In their last meeting, Double F was able to pick off Pocketwatch QB Paolo Della Rocca a staggering 5 times (Sorry Peeze).

For The Pocketwatch to pull off the upset they will need to get after Olshansky and throw him off his rhythm as he is extremely dangerous when he is able to buy time behind the line of scrimmage and wait for his receivers to get open. The task will fall to rusher Stuart Fink who has recorded 7 sacks in his last 4 games.

How The Pocketwatch defenders decide to cover Flagrant Fouls’ dynamic receiving corps lead by the aforementioned Leblanc, Evagelidis, Anthony Palombo, and WR of the year candidate Marty Freedman is anyone’s guess.

Prediction: Flagrant Fouls are just too good, and have way too much talent and firepower for The Pocketwatch to contain.

Flagrant Fouls 40 – The Pocketwatch 12

 

(2) L.A’s Finest vs (7) Mountain Goats

Previous matchup: L.A’s Finest 37 – 7 (Week 1)

This is a matchup of two teams that have a lot of speed. Both teams met in Week 1 and L.A.F strolled to a 37-7 win.

Three things stood out from that contest. First, L.A’s Finest WR Andrew Grant played quarterback. He actually played extremely well as he threw for 4 TDs and had almost 200 yards passing.

Secondly, this is before the Mountain Goats found themselves as a team and started to play much better football.

Thirdly, as I mentioned before, it was Week 1. As any football fan or any sports fan for that matter will tell you, there is very little you can take from the first game of the season. If you don’t belief me, look how the New England Patriots started their championship campaign.

For L.A.F to get the win, they will need their Div.6 best defense to control the tempo of the game. They will need to force Mountain Goats QB Hazem Tawakol (little Tim Tebow) into low percentage throws, and jump on any inaccurate passes.

On offense, QB Theo Bekelis who since taking over the fulltime pivot duties Week 6 has thrown a remarkable 15 TDs to just 1 interception. He will need to get the ball into the hands of their game breakers Ricky Cobein and the aforementioned Andrew Grant, early and often.

For the Mountain Goats who come into this game having scored only 14 points combined in their last two contests, putting points on the board and keeping the L.A’s Finest defense on the field for long stretches will be key.

M.G will also need their two best players on both sides of the ball Jonathan Vreugdenhil and Pierre-Hugh Sainte-Marie to come up with huge games.

Prediction: While this has the potential to be a sneaky good game. L.A’s Finest is just too good of a team to let the Mountain Goats knock them off.

L.A’s Finest 21 – Mountain Goats 6

 

(3) Obamacare vs (6) N.W.O

Previous matchup: Obamacare 38-12 (Week 10)

These two clubs meet up for the second time in as many games. While Obamacare is certainly the better team, this will be an almost different team than the one N.W.O faced Monday night.

For starters, Obamacare was without their best two-way player Andrew Hopkins who earned himself a 10 game suspension for his actions in Week 9 against Team Fourth and Twenty.  Obamacare was also without playmakers Matthew Pisaturo and Mike Ambro as they were suspended 1 game each during the aforementioned Week 9 contest.

More importantly, in that game, Obamacare lost starting QB Jordan Mcinnis to an ankle injury that kept him out of the season finale.

When I spoke to Mcinnis on the sidelines Monday night, he looked and sounded like he was 50/50 on playing, but who is he kidding? This is playoff time. It’s do or die, win or go home. Bum ankle or not, I fully expect Mcinnis to play.

Speaking of Mcinnis, the N.W.O are catching a HUGE break that FPF requires a minimum of 6 games played to be eligible to play in the playoffs. Justin Mcinnis Jordan’s younger brother who made his season debut in grand fashion in Week 9, by catching 2 TDs and averaging 40 yards a reception, made an even bigger impact in Week 10 as he replaced his older brother at QB and went on to put on a clinic going 10 for 13 for 139 yards and 4TDs. He even added a TD scamper of 40 yards. The frustration on N.W.O rusher Andrea Riccio and the rest of the defenses’ faces was clearly evident after almost every play. He even added a touchdown as a WR. Here’s to hoping the younger Mcinnis plays fulltime this spring.

For Obamacare to get the second win in a row over their counterparts, they will need a productive Jordan Mcinnis. He is the key to their team on both sides of the ball.

They will also need to replace the production of the aforementioned Hopkins. His absence takes 14 TDs and 3 INTs out of the lineup. While the returns of Ambro and Pisaturo shouldn’t disrupt the chemistry and flow of the team, the subtraction of Hopkins will certainly be a factor.

On defense, they will need to shut down the N.W.O run game and intermediate throws, and force QB Michael Sanchez to throw deep often, which as I mentioned  recently has been a problem due to his WRs developing a case of the dropsies.

For the black and white to get the W, they will first and foremost need to catch the ball. Secondly, they will need to get after the Obamacare pivot, and force him to get rid of the ball early, as well as make him have to plant hard and throw off of his bad ankle.

Prediction: Despite the fact that it is extremely hard to beat a team back to back, I think the extra week off will be enough time for Mcinnis to get his ankle up to playing standards.

Obamacare 26 – N.W.O 13

 

(4) Woofpack vs (5) Jean Guy (My pick for Conference A Game of the Week)

Previous matchup Woofpack 39-13 (Week 8)

For Jean Guy, they will need to do 3 things to knock off the Woofpack. The first is to play with confidence. While QB Christophe Chartrand certainly doesn’t lack any, his team so far this season has fallen more than a little short on multiple occasions when they’ve had to take on the elite teams in D6.

Secondly, they will need to shut down Wide Receiver and Two-Way Player of the Year candidate Yacoub Telemaque, as he shredded their defense in their last meeting for 105 yards and 3 TDs on 9 catches. Obviously, that’s a lot easier said than done.

Lastly, and possibly most important, Jean Guy’s defensive backs will need to give time to the best rusher in D6, Simon Laporte to get to the quarterback.

Laporte will need to get after Woofpack pivot Terry Tam, and make him uncomfortable, and force him to get rid of the ball early. When Tam has time and is in rhythm, he can be as dangerous as any QB in D6. When he is rushed and his timing with his WRs is off, he will throw some should be picks.

For the Woofpack, getting the ball in the hands of Telemaque as much as possible is a good start.

They will also need to be sound defensively as Chartrand can beat teams with not just his arm, but his legs too. The Jean Guy captain leads all D6 players in both rushing yards (358) and rushing TDs (6). Needless to say, the Woofpack better respect the run.

Prediction: Chartrand will have to play nearly perfect ball for his team to pull off the upset. With the aforementioned Telemaque on the back end along with defensive playmakers Patrick Geffard (6 picks in 7 games played speaks volumes) and Michael Cafe (any ball that is overthrown in his general vicinity is likely to get picked off), I just don’t see that happening.

Woofpack 38 – Jean Guy 20

 

Conference B

(1)Pardon My Swag vs (8) Tigerz

Previous matchup: Pardon My Swag 25-20 (Week 7)

After months of being questioned due to the fact that they play in the weaker Conference, Pardon My Swag has a chance to quiet some of the critics by knocking off a team that gave them a run for money earlier this year.

 For Pardon My Swag to move onto the second round, they will need to maintain the offensive dominance they’ve showed all season. They have scored at least 25 points in 9 of 10 games this year. The only time they didn’t was in their 20 – 18 Week 1 victory over the Diablos.

QB Brad Evans has done his best to keep his name in consideration for the QB of the Year award, as he has thrown for an outstanding 24 TDs to only 3 interceptions in his last 5 games.

Expect a high percentage of his throws to go to WR of the Year leading candidate Jonathan Grizzley. When these two teams met a few weeks ago, Grizzley was held to only 2 catches for 22 yards. Unfortunately for the Tigerz, both grabs went for touchdowns.

The Tigerz are a scrappy team that usually plays up to their competition. They advanced to the second season curtesy of end of the season wins over the winless Orange Crush and Goon Squad.

On offense they are led by the dynamic WR duo of Jameel Greenidge and Akeem Gordon. They have a multi-quarterback system that seems to work best when Rahul Mohan is behind center.

While their defense doesn’t really have any ball-hawks, they do have rusher Raghav Mohan who has a more than respectable 10 sacks.

Prediction:  While the Tigerz have a chance to keep this one interesting, Pardon My Swag who is sure to have a chip on their shoulder, is too good to fall in Round 1.

Pardon My Swag 35 – Tigerz 20

 

(1) The Mean Machine vs  (7) Balls Deep

Previous meeting: The Mean Machine 31-24 (Week 8)

Losers of 3 out of their last 4 games, Balls Deep are backing into the playoffs after showing a lot of promise earlier this season. One of those 3 loses however, came to double M.

The Week 8 win by The Mean Machine however should come with an asterisk, as Balls Deep was missing 4 players from their lineup, most notably Chris Valentine and Andrew Farrell.

With players like Marc Belhomme Jr., Jordan Allard, Chris Valentine, Rohan Mayers, there’s no denying this is a talented team. In their last 3 games however, they’ve given up an average of just under 32 points. For Balls deep to see Round 2, they will need those players to step up in a big way on the defensive side of the ball as they take on my choice for mid-season QB of the year Daniel Goloff.

Balls Deep’s offense has struggled lately as well. Besides the 32 points they put up in Week 10 against Team Fourth and Twenty, they’ve failed to score more than 3 touchdowns since their 38-18 Week 6 win over the winless Goon Squad.

For The Mean Machine, It will come down to offense. Double M comes into the playoffs averaging 34 points over their last 3 games. Goloff has a variety of weapons to choose from in WRs Michael Ziegler, Oren Ben-Brith, Adam Smolar, and Stephen Sayegh. Each receiver has at least 7 TDs, and they all average at least 10 yards a catch. There are some teams that would settle for one pass catcher with those numbers. This offense has four.

Prediction: As I said, Balls Deep is talented. They’ll make it close, but they won’t have enough fire power on either side of the ball to keep up with The Mean Machine.

Mean Machine 28 – Balls Deep 20

 

(3)The Sun Bros vs (6) Beast Mode (My pick for Conference B Game of the Week)

Previous matchup: The Sun Bros 28-26 (Week 3)

This game is an offensive fan’s dream. Both teams have highly efficient QBs, big play receivers, and each offense averages nearly 30 points a game.

The difference in their first meeting came down to the all-important extra point conversion. The Sun Bros simply got more than Beast Mode did.

For Beast Mode to emerge victorious yes they’ll have to score, but more importantly, they will need a much better performance out of QB Samuel Saumure who only completed 6 of 19 passes for 81 yards and 3 INTS.

 Beast Mode will also need their aggressive D to make some plays. Last week against a very good as of late Diablos’ offense, B.M’s defense spear-headed by the ever-dangerous Maxime Turpin-Lalonde, and ball-magnet extraordinaire Jimmy Bourque who recorded an impressive 6 picks in 7 games this year, knocked down a D6 season high 12 passes. Martin Beaudry led the way with an impressive 5 passes defended.

For The Sun Bros who have averaged just over 32 points since the midway point of the regular season, they’ll need to maintain that average to send Beast Mode home for good.

For S.B quarterback Justin Lerner, it’ll start with getting to the ball play makers to Emmanuel Sarikakis and Daron Migdesyan. Both receivers can stretch the field vertically and horizontally, and they can take it to the house at any moment, as evidenced by their combined 18 TDs.

While Sarikakis and Migdesyan get most of the attention, Beast Mode would be wise not to overlook receivers Dominic Meffe and John Madimenos. The latter Sun Bros’ receiving duo takes advantage of their matchups, and have been making teams pay all season.

Prediction: This is the one first round contest that I honestly feel could go either way. I fully expect another classic meeting between both squads. I also expect a much better performance out of Saumure, which should be enough to give his team win.

Beast Mode 30 – The Sun Bros 28

 

(4)Diablos vs (5) Wax On Wax Off

Previous matchup: Wax On Wax Off 48-14

Despite Wax winning the head to head meeting in dominating fashion, and having as many points as the Diablos (12), the latter team gets the 4th seed due to the fact that they have one more win (6) to Wax’s (5).

Wax comes into the playoffs as arguably the coldest team in all of Div. 6 as they have gone winless in their last 3 games.

The Diablos come in the second season fresh off of a 25-6 beat down at the hands of Beast Mode. In the 3 games prior to the aforementioned Week 10 matchup however, they scored at least 30 points.

Both of these teams are identical, not just with the 12 points, but in terms of how they play. From week to week you never really sure of what team is going to show up.  For the Diablos, they didn’t show up last week. For the Wax On Wax Off, they basically no showed an important game Sunday night vs Pardon My Swag.

This game is going to come down to who wants it more, and Dangerous Danny D’Amour. Can the Diablos shut down D’Amour again like they did last time?  I don’t think they can.

Prediction: Wax On Wax Off 21 – Diablos 19

That’s it for my Divisional Round preview. Since there are no Division 6 games this weekend, I will be back next week with my End of the Year Awards. There will be definitely be some changes from my mid-season Award winners. Just how many changes will there be? You’ll have to read it to find out.

To the teams that have qualified for the second season, enjoy the time off. Heal up the battle wounds, and try to get some practice and prep work done, because you guys are back at it next Saturday night.

Once again, if you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt I left something out, don’t be shy. You can shoot me a tweet at @BADNEWS51, or do it the semi-old fashioned way and e-mail me at [email protected]

I’ll see you guys next week!