Like it or Not (Div 3)

Big win for Clockwork in week one vs. the Legends. They have one of the toughest schedules in Div3, and can’t afford any slip-ups! 

After two games played, everyone is starting to gain a feeling for their teams. Some may already be thinking they should have joined a soccer league instead, while others are feeling the effects of the FPF drug and can’t wait for their next match up! Nonetheless, everyone has had a taste and can now begin to fantasize about where they see their teams eight weeks from now. There are going to be winners and losers. But it’s the team who can learn from their shortcomings and build towards the future that will be most successful. Be realistic, get better every week, and let your play do the talking! Division 3 will defy your abilities; it will knock you down and kick you in the teeth. Let’s find out what teams are up for the challenge.

Headlines:

• There are a couple teams who sit at 2-0, but none had harder match ups than VPC. They won a close one against KGP Champs, where both quarterbacks were showing off their ability to shred a defence apart. Week two was a mirror image of week one and again they found a way to squeeze out the win. They looked strong behind their leader Robbie Robinson spreading the ball well and making nothing but good decisions. Lots of experience on this team; Louis Richard doesn’t seem to have lost a step in the off-season, in case you were worried. These boys won’t have it easy since they have a very tough schedule coming up.

 

• After taking a royal beat down from NoRegard in week one, The Incredibles came out swinging in week 2. It was evident that the men in red needed to make some adjustments after being exposed in week 1. Back to the drawing board they went and came out on top. Eudistes Quarterback Hugo Henderson showed amazing ability to find his big targets in L-C Lafontaine and Mathew Berthelet (who is my books a top tier receiver in this league). They scored on the last drive of the game and were faced with the toughest decision in flag: go for one and tie, or go for two and potentially win! Being the confident bunch that they are, they went for two and unfortunately for them, came up short.

 

• An 0 and 2 start for the Golden Eagles. They already have one more loss than last year’s season total. In the two losses, Kevin Lubin has spread the ball well and has only thrown 2 interceptions.  The issue at hand for the Golden Eagles is their defense; allowing 35 points per game won’t get you wins in this division. Better get it together quickly before you fall one game short of playoffs. I personally don’t think it’s time to dismiss the Golden Eagles just yet.

 

• FTW have only scored 14 points after two games. Luckily for them, they only needed 8 points to win their week two match up against Lazy But Talented. A lack of play making on the offensive side of the ball has led Raoul Baroudi to throw five interceptions so far this season. Daniel Mikolajcyk has put the team on his back with huge game changing interceptions that have kept his team in games. Unfortunately, if they keep this pace up the future doesn’t look good. If you take their top 6 players they are well under cap for division four, therefore I respect these guys for trying to compete in division 3.

 

• Last week my top headline was the implementation of the rating system. After two weeks played, the statistics argue the purpose of this system. There have been six games with a point differential of 20+ points. Being that this is the first year this system is being used we could have seen this coming. In reality, it is almost impossible to be 100% accurate for every players’ ratings, especially for players with no or little history in the league. I don’t want to be negative for I am sure time will fix this issue.

 

• I hate to give this team too much love but they’re not giving me a choice: NoRegard has started the season 2-0 with a point differential of +46. They have annihilated two top tier teams and are only heating up. They have all the elements to be successful. Deemy Feelgood has crafted the art of rushing and is making it very easy to play defense behind him. If Alex Holowach continues to manage the football as he has so far, look out! I hate to say this but, NoRegard is climbing up my top 10.

 

 

 

Top 3 Freaks of Week 1:

QB-MARCO MASCIOTRA (CLK): 14/17 for 277 yards and 7TDs. Slice and dice, FREAK !

WR-PHIL CLARK (KGP): 4 REC for 105 yards and 4TDs. Couldn’t keep him out of the end zone. FREAK!

DB-MARC TREMBLAY (COM): 3 INTs and 1TKL. It’s a no fly zone around this FREAK!

R-DAMIAN MASSEY (LBT): 5 SACs 4 TACKELS. The rusher is so key in flag, especially when he’s a FREAK!

Top 3 Freaks of Week 2:

QB-Alex Lessard (CFG): 18/22 for 221 yards and 6TDs. After and awful week one, Alex is my FREAK in week 2.

WR-Morgan Tajfel (FUH): 6 Rec for 120 yards and 3TDs. Welcome to the club of FREAKS!!

DB-Rob Robinson (VPC): 2 INTs 2 TKLs and 2 PDs. I think we already knew- you’re a FREAK!!

R-Deemy Feelgood (NRG): 2 SACs and 1 TKL. I expect more out of all you rushers! Step up the rushing game. Mini FREAK!

 

My picks for week 3:

KGP CHAMPS VS CLOCKWORK- CLOCKWORK

HOOF HEARTED VS LEGENDS- LEGENDS

SANDLOT SAINTS VS CERTIFIED FLY GUYS- CERTIFIED FLY GUYS

VPC VS FULL HOUSE- VPC

RUDEBWOYS VS BRUIZERS- BRUIZERS

MONGOOSE VS LES BUDDAYS- LES BUDDAYS

THE COMMISSION VS LES EUDISTES- LES EUDISTES

LES MONSIEURS CHATS VS LAZY BUT TALENTED- LES MONSIEURS CHAT

ARKHAM VS AJ’S FIGHT CLUB- AJ’S FIGHT CLUB

USUAL SUSPECTS VS OCEAN’S SEVEN- USUAL SUSPECTS

F.T.W VS NOREGARD- NOREGARD

BIG TDS VS THE INCREDIBLES- N/A

PRESTIGE WORLD WIDE VS GOLDEN EAGLES- PRESTIGE WORLD WIDE

B.D. BANDITS VS MOOSE- MOOSE

 

Game of the week:

KGP Champs vs Clockwork- Huge match up from conference East B. Phil Cutler vs Marco Masciotra, if you are not doing anything on Wednesday, I suggest you go watch this game. Ultimately these two rosters are sound on both sides of the ball. Phil needs to figure out how to avoid Omar Jackson. If not, KGP Champs could potentially be starting the season off 0-3. On the other side, Guillaume De Palma has to make sure Cutler doesn’t have all day to throw. You give Sean Brophy and Phil Clark time to beat you and they will. Don’t play with fire, contain Cutler and bracket their big receivers. Brendan Parm chirp and rattle Marco if you can and always have an eye on Omar. A win for either team would be huge before the super bowl black out!

Prediction- Clockwork 42-35

 

Last thing before you can all get back to work…. For all of you who feel like I’m not giving enough love to certain teams and or players, there are 28 teams in this division and over two hundred players. At the end of the day, if you want to be mentioned: be better.

Good luck to everyone! Don’t forget to check out the podcast by G.M kolethras and Daniele ‘Scoop’ Gentile ! You can stream it live as they record if you want to see their pretty faces! Follow me @VinceNardone for very little action on twitter or stop me at the field for debates concerning my opinion! Till next time…