Inside the Redzone (D4) – Week 5 – FlagPlus Football League

Welcome division 4 to Inside the Redzone. Five grueling weeks have passed and I know most of you are very excited with your team’s progress while others wish some things turned out differently. Keep in mind that there are still 5 weeks left to be played and a lot can still happen. Eight teams will qualify from each conference so there is still hope for a lot of teams and now is the time to start turning things around. Usually I break down each conference in my article but this week I’ll try something new. I will look at some of the best games this past weekend along with other news. Then I’ll bring you a new segment in which each division 4 team is assigned to a category. This is better than the contenders/pretenders because it is more comprehensive. But before any of that, time to look at last week’s action.

Week 5 Review

Those Guys vs. Brew Crew: Those Guys won a very close game by a score of 20-18. This game saw a lot of great defense on both sides but the play of the game was probably the catch by Ryan Perry over the Brew Crew defender which resulted in a TD. Those Guys are 4-1 right now and knocking on the door step of the Cowboys. Brew Crew’s offense only had 5 completions which almost won them the game because their defense kept them in the game however that is going to work in the future, they are now 2-3.

Team Ditka vs. Trapstars: Just like Brew Crew, Trapstars defense did a good job but the offense has to start scoring points and that didn’t happen here as Team Ditka won 28-12. This is Team Ditka’s first win of the season and they did it by playing great football on both sides of the ball. Jonathan Makris had 4 interceptions on defense, one of which was returned for a touchdown. While the Trapstars’ defense had four interceptions as well, they only managed to convert them in touchdowns two times. Team Ditka is now 1-3-1 and the Trapstars fall to 2-3.

Dirty Birds vs. Triple Sixers: This game was a defensive battle. Karim Chaoual threw for a TD and was intercepted 4 times while Jon Young rushed for a TD and was intercepted 3 times. The difference was the Dirty Birds’ defense; Eric Bishara returned an interception for a touchdown. Triple Sixers got a dose of reality and now understand that even in division 4, any team can win on any weekend. Dirty Birds, formerly the Patriots, are a perfect 5-0 and are now the team to beat in division 4.

In other news, Denis Beauregard returned to action for the Marauders and they won 31-18 improving to 5-0. He threw for 4 TDs and had a “pick six” special on defense. Last week I mentioned that Chris Rivest liked his team’s (Gia Thang) chances when Alexandre Audet is in the line up. Well in week 5 that proved to be true because Alex Audet had 123 yards passing with 3 TDs and no interception while Chris Rivest had 61 yards receiving with 2 TDs. More impressive than that was Alexandre Audet had 3 tackles on defense and two interceptions, both returned for touchdowns. Gia Thang won 30-20 over the Bulldogs and is now 1-3-1 while the Bulldogs are 0-5. Eagles vs. Trojan Knights was suppose to be a great match up of great offense vs. great defense however it was a romp for the Eagles as they demolished the Trojan Knights 37-0 but there was a big factor in this game. Norman Weeks for the Trojan Knights was not in the line up and as a result the Trojan Knights offense suffered heavily. Not to take anything away from the Eagles whose defense came up big again led by Keaven Larose (1 tackle, 1 “pick six”) and Francois Imbeault (3 sacks) and their QB Danny Bellemare threw for 156 yards with 5 TDs.

And you’re now up to speed in division 4.

Three STARwars of the Week:

3rd star: Frank Grenier (Cobras) wanted to prove to the WEPL hosts that he should have been picked in the fantasy draft and he did exactly that: 8 receptions for 105 yards and 3 TDs, also helped out on defense with a tackle and an interception.

2nd star: Jonathan Makris (Team Ditka) had four interceptions on defense, one of which he returned for a touchdown, also giving his team their first win of the season.

1st star: Alexandre Audet (Gia Thang) is proving to be a superstar for his team. On offense he had 123 passing yards and 3 TDs; on defense he had 3 tackles and two “pick six” specials.

Now we come to the section that everyone has been waiting to read, my new segment which classifies each team into their deserving categories. I would like to name it “The Good, The Mediocre and The Moe Khan”. This list is not written in stone because I will update it every week so there is a chance for every team to move up to a higher category. Also for the teams who are in the lowest categories (some are new teams) FlagPlus Football has introduced a video segment called Chalk Talk with Moe Khan and Adi Sharma (it is posted every week on the main page of the FlagPlus Football website). You guys should try to use this to your advantage because there are a lot of helpful tips given.

Conference A

The Good – teams in this category are contenders.

VPC (5-0), Eagles (5-0), Cowboys (4-0-1), Those Guys (4-1), Gators (3-1)

The Mediocre – teams in this category are missing key pieces to become contenders.

Brew Crew (2-3), Trapstars (2-3), Centurions (1-2-2), Trojan Knights (1-3-1), Gia Thang (1-3-1) Green Machine (1-3-1), Team Ditka (1-3-1)

The Moe Khan – teams in this category are one step away from being mediocre. They are either new to the league or just aren’t as serious as some of the top tier teams. They will most probably not make playoffs.

Hulkamaniacs (1-4), Bulldogs (0-5)

Conference B

The Good – teams in this category are contenders.

Dirty Birds (5-0), Marauders (5-0), Triple Sixers (4-1), Cobras (4-1), Chaos (4-1), Snookers (3-1-1), Raiders (3-2)

The Mediocre – teams in this category are missing key pieces to become contenders.

Flying Weasels (2-2-1), Wonderslugs (2-3), Longhorns (1-4), Orangemen (1-4)

Dawgs (0-5), Love Cows (0-5), Pompei Roughriders (0-5)

As I said before, I want everyone to tell me what they think of the new segment. If you don’t agree with where you are placed, write to me and make a case for yourself. I am more than happy to read it. And that wraps up this week’s article. If you have comments/suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me on Facebook or via email at [email protected]. This is Rehan “J.J” Sarwar signing off and I wish you all luck in your week 6 match ups. I’ll catch you all next week but until then, Stay Classy Division Four!