Iggy’s Away, I Shall Play!

Iggy is back in St-Louis which means I am in charge of the Division C article for this week. Unfortunately for you all, that means you will not be getting anymore musings about the state of football in St-Louis.

For those of you who do not know me, I have been writing for Coed and FPF Junior for what feels like an eternity now. Most importantly I am not like Peeze or Iggy. I am not a fan of the long-winded introduction. I will skip Iggy’s usual point form ramblings and jump right into the game recaps for week.

Week 8 Game of the Week

EZW (39) vs BBALLERS (44)

While this might not have been the closest of the week, it was the game I scorekept. Since I have not written about division C yet this season, I will take the easy route and write about the game I saw.

This was the first time I had seen either of these teams play this season. I knew that EZW were near the bottom of the standings while BBALLERS were near the top and I expected this game to be a blowout. The fact that EZW were without JC Ferland did nothing to help increase my expectation of them in this game. While they did go on to lose this one 39-44, they played quite a bit better than I expected. We all know that this team’s issue has never been their offence. What makes Jeremy White’s offence so dangerous is that the system is more important than any one player. While having elite athletes like Charles-Olivier Lavigne always helps, White throws the ball where the coverage dictates. That was definitely the case in this game since the oldest player on the field, David De Andrade led EZW with 92 receiving yards. In short, White does not need elite receivers to have a great offence which begs the question, why is this team loaded with receivers and short on defensive backs? It is no secret that EZW’s liability is defence, so why does this team keep loading up on receivers while forsaking defence?  

Before seeing this game, I do not think I had ever seen BBALLERS in action or heard about any of their players. I now understand the hype surrounding them and why they are 6-2. For those of you who have never seen Gianni Casati play, the easiest way to describe him is an improved version of Dom Lefort. Unlike Lefort and other elusive passers Casati’s first instinct is not to scramble, buy time and wait for a bust in coverage. For the first few seconds of the play, he drops backs and lets the play develop like any other quarterback. When he does not like what he sees in the first few seconds. Instead of throwing the ball away or checking it down, he takes off running and buys time until someone eventually creates separation 15 yards down the field. Essentially, he perfectly combines the timing of a pocket passer and the improvisation skills of a scrambler. The only critique I would have for this team is their overreliance on the deep ball. Casati targeted William Paquette on 40-yard bombs at least three times. While they beat EZW with one of those deep balls, better defences will not only not get beat, but they will turn those deep attempts into interceptions.

Week 8 Team of the Week

Offence

Quarterback: Corey Walwaski (The Infantry) 23 completions, 278 passing yards, 7 TDs, 1 INT

Receiver: Mathieu Lepage (SHIT) 7 receptions, 9 targets, 104 receiving yards, 4 TDs

Receiver: David De Andrade (EZW) 7 receptions, 9 targets, 92 receiving yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Dominic Perron (Mangoose) 7 receptions, 9 targets, 119 receiving yards, 3 TDs

Receiver: Jordan Allard (The Infantry) 6 receptions, 7 targets, 82 receiving yards, 4 TDs

Receiver: Ryan Chalal (Les Centaures)5 receptions, 6 targets, 74 receiving yards, 4 TDs

Defence

Rusher: Sean Semerjian (The Infantry) 1 tackles, 4 sacks

Defensive Back: William Paquette (BBALLERS) 1 tackle, 1 INT, 1 defensive TD

Defensive Back: Jared Rockman (SHIT) 1 tackle, 1 INT, 1 defensive TD

Defensive Back: Mathieu Lepage (SHIT) 2 tackles, 2 INTs

Defensive Back: Charles Verreault (BBALLERS) 4 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Adam Rockman (SHIT) 5 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

Week 9 Game Previews

Mangoose (1-6) vs Top Sauce (2-5)

The first thing I look at when predicting a game is the quarterback matchup. In this case, I have absolutely no confidence on whoever Top Sauce will play at quarterback. I have seen Patrick Jazon struggle in division D at quarterback. I know Top Sauce lost their QB1 to injury, but as long as Jazon is at the helm I do not see this winning a game. While Mangoose might have their fair share of flaws, at least they a great quarterback in Nicolas Shefter

Prediction: Mangoose

Blue Dreamers (4-4) vs Blessed (7-1)

This game feels like a warmup for Blessed before they take on The Infantry next week in what we all expect to finals preview. That being said, Blessed cannot get too far ahead of themselves. The Blue Dreamers were within on score of beating The Infantry and I think this game will be just as close. Blue Dreamers main skill has been forcing the shot throw out of opposing quarterbacks and limiting yards after the catch with good tackling. Unfortunately for the Dreamers, that strategy will not work versus Stephen Harripersaud and Blessed. Harripersaud thrives on those short balls. I see him running triple slants all game long and I do not think the Dreamers will be able to stop it.

Prediction: Blessed

Ballz Deep (0-8) vs Les Gros Coqs (4-3-1)

After seven games of Justin Weir struggling at quarterback, Ballz Deep decided to bring in Gino Di Fazio to throw for a game. Somehow, Di Fazio managed the impossible and was even worse than Weir. In case you were wondering why there were so many SHIT defenders on the TOTW, it is because Di Fazio gifted them with five picks. In case you have not guessed it by now, I think that Les Gros Coqs will win this one handily.

Prediction: Les Gros Coqs

Sheeeesh (4-3) vs EZW (2-6)

Yes, Sheeeesh have three losses and are barely over 5.00. However, take a look at who those loses came to: The Infantry, Blessed and BBALLERS. In other words, their three losses are against the top three teams in the division. Outside of the three aforementioned teams, they also have the most points for in the division. If you can score a lot of points versus a normal division C team, you can score a ton versus EZW. I think this will be an extremely high scoring game, but I see Sheeeesh’s defence getting one more stop an eventually winning them the game.

Prediction: Sheeeesh

BBALLERS (6-2) vs Les Centaures (2-4-1)

The BBALLERS offence can be resumed in one word: speed. They will run flies and posts at you all game long and all it takes is for the defender to be one step behind on a single route and BBALLERS will punish you with a 40-yard touchdown. Unfortunately for Les Centaures I think speed is their biggest weakness. This team is one of the most experienced in the division. I love the wealth of knowledge that the Rossie brothers bring, and I think Carmine Pollice is amongst the top players in the division. Unfortunately, none of them have the speed to keep up with BBALLERS

Prediction: BBALLERS

Silent Ticklers (3-4) vs SHIT (5-2)

My biggest issue with the Silent Ticklers is that you never know what roster they will have when game day comes around. Silent Ticklers have also lost Tony Khoury with a broken foot. SHIT have also been trending in the right direction ever since Jeff Rosenblatt took the reigns of the offence.If the Silent Ticklers show up with their best roster, this game would be nightmare to predict. However, the Ticklers roster instabilities and injury woes make this one an easy prediction.

Prediction: SHIT

The Infantry (8-0) vs SHIT (5-2)

What hasn’t been said already about The Infantry? They are averaging less then 15 points against a game while scoring nearly 40. This team is so good I could probably play quarterback for them, and they would still win by multiple scores, and I can barely throw. My favorite part about this team is their depth. They do not have a single weakness. They receivers are so skilled it is impossible to play man defence against then and Corey Walwaski can carve up a zone defence better then your father can carve a turkey on Thanksgiving. SHIT will need to play a near perfect to game keep this one close and I do not see that happening. Give me The Infantry by two scores or more.

Prediction: The Infantry

Top 8 After Week 8

1. The Infantry (8-0)

While the rest of my Power Rankings might be fairly different thenIggy’s I am not crazy enough to remove The Infantry from top spot. They have by far the best defence in the division and one of the top two offences. They have also had a consistent roster all season long, so their chemistry is only improving. The only team that has a chance of hanging with them is Blessed.

2. Blessed (7-1)

There is a very simple reason why Blessed are 7-1 and second in these rankings: Stephen Harripersaud has been playing mistake free football. No, he does not have the biggest arm and he is not stretching the field. However, he has also only thrown four picks in 212 attempts. As long as he keeps on protecting the ball, this team will keep winning.

3. BBALLERS (6-2)

BBALLERS are the fastest team in the division, and they have ridden that blistering pace to six wins so far. This team is such an issue for opposing defences because they force you to respect their deep ball and that it opens up intermediate throws for Gianni Casati. Defensively, they are nothing stellar but when you are scoring 35 points a game you can get away with that.

4. Sheeeesh (4-3)

This is where some people will start taking offence to my power rankings. Based on their record alone, this team is in the middle of the pack. However, how could I have them placed any lower in my power rankings? They crushed SHIT in week 6 and put the Dreamers to sleep the week after. Their only three losses came against the top three teams in the division. Until they lose to a team ranked below them, they are locked into the four spot.

5. SHIT (5-2)

Not to shit on SHIT, but this team has not done much to impress me. They barely scrapped out wins versus EZW and Mangoose to start the season. As I said before, they have got significantly better since Jeff Rosenblatt took the reins. However, if Rosenblatt misses one of SHIT’s final three games, he will not be playoff eligible. Without Rosenblatt, SHIT are not even in the top eight.

6. Silent Ticklers (3-4)

If we are ranking teams based of their potential, then the Silent Ticklers need to be in this power ranking. Depending on who shows up, this team is either one of the best or worst in the division. Remember, this is the team that hung 53 points on Blessed. They also accounted for 3 of Stephen Harripersaud’s four interceptions on the season. If the Ticklers can play like they did versus Blessed all season long, we would be talking about them in the same breadth as The Infantry.  

7. Blue Dreamers (4-4)

The Blue Dreamers need to be the most overlooked team in this division. Before sitting down to write this article, I had no clue who they even were. After looking at their roster, I understand why they are 4-4 and a playoff nightmare for the top teams. They have slipped behind the Silent Ticklers mainly because they did not play last week. While they are a significant underdog versus Blessed, a win could see them climb into the top three.

8. Les Gros Coqs (4-3-1)

I know Les Gros Coqs must not be thrilled with this ranking. They did beat the Silent Ticklers last week in a close game. However, the Ticklers were without Charles Presser in the lineout. I think Presser could easily have accounted for the two points the Ticklers were missing. LGC should win comfortably this week and if they manage to beat BBALLERS in their last game, they could crack the top 5.

There you have you week 8 Division C article. For all those of you that I offended, worry not. Iggy should be back next week.

Good luck everyone!