The Joint Article

Aaaaaand we’re back.

As many of you know, GM and myself tend to never see eye-to-eye on anything. Our arguments go from FPF players to who owes who a pitcher stopping by how the heck could Brent still be on podcasts after so many seasons.

 

That being said, this season, we’ve decided to put our arguments on paper for everyone’s eyes to see. The critics throughout previous years have been positive so we’ve decided to bring the Joint Article back (…please).

 

Every second week, we’ll be answering 5 different questions that either came from you, yes, you or ourselves. If you’d like to have us answer a question regarding a topic relevant to Division 4, please feel free to submit it to us prior to the Wednesday of every even week. We’ll do our best to filter and get your question on there. Best way would be via Twitter (@DagenaisFPF or @gmkole44) so others could also comment and complain.

 

I think we’ve done enough introduction for one article; this isn’t Peeze’s ranting.

 

**G.M. Kolethras’ answers will be in italic for better comprehension.

 

1. With only a handful of teams standing atop their division undefeated, do you believe it’s a fluke, a product of their schedule or are they truly talented ?

At the moment, looking at the 10 undefeated teams in Div4, I’d have to say some of them HAVE to be a fluke, but I can’t seem to put my finger on which one. By going through the list here quickly, we can see, in Conference A, Shmoney, TrapStars, Black Ice and 6Fast and 69ers. Now, most of you know my love for 6Fast so I’ll spare the details here, but Shmoney and 69ers are the real deal and I can’t go against TrapStars and Black Ice since they are bolstering a serious +/-, but they’ve defeated “weaker” teams. So IF I’d have to point, it’d be these two.

In conference B, we have Maloudes, Bruthers, Backyard Bullies, Grip n Rip, Playground. Playground’s offense has been on a roll and we’ve talked a lot about Backyard Bullies and Grip n’ Rip’s success and strength in the past articles so these 3 have to be considered power houses. As for Bruthers, They’ve put up serious numbers on two decent teams and their defense is looking sharp. This team IS NOT a fluke. Maloudes is a different story. They have won in the past, they’ve been successful and they know how to get stuff done when it’s needed, but I just don’t see it this winter. Prove me wrong.

 

As I alluded to on the podcast, there are teams that I feel that despite their undefeated record, still have to prove themselves. There are absolutely talented teams that currently boast a 2-0 record right now (Grip n Rip, 6FG+R, 69ers to name a few) but there are also indeed a few 2-0 teams that I would deem…untested. We’ll see in a few weeks time if we’re talking about the same teams.

 

 

2.  What can you say about the parity of Div 4 ? Do you believe in the rumors of the 3 Tiers ?

I am not known to circulate rumors, so ignore GM’s comments, but I’ll say I do believe in the 3 tiers. Division 4 is hosting such power houses that seem to be taking every team by storm and we’ve got the newcomers that are simply trying to get a grip of the whole thing. We’ve also have the middle of the pack teams that are winning here and there without making much noise. Everyone knows I love upsets, so I’d love to see a shuffle in the “tiers”, but in the first 2 weeks, it simply hasn’t happened.

 

Rumors? Who circulates these rumors? Those who likely believe in it. I think that at this point, it’s easy to see a divide. Essentially: 1) Teams new to the division, 2) Established teams that are struggling and 3) Powerhouses. However, as the new teams get more familiar and the struggling teams shake the rust off, it’ll become less and less apparent.

 

 

3. We all know Moe Khan has decided to jump onto ZOO’s bandwagon this season; if you had to jump on one, who’s would it be ?

I think I made it clear when I put 6 Fast Guys Plus Ryan at the top of my pre-season Power Ranking that I believed in them even without Justin Blanchard. My opinion hasn’t changed over the span of the first 2 weeks. With the dismantle of Crisp, 6Fast is simply proving they can ball with the best and still come out on top. I’m also buying stocks in Shmoney (46 points PER game, really?) and given their easier schedule than 6Fast I’d say my money’s safe.

 

I’m becoming more and more of a fan of Grip n Rip as they continue to dismantle established teams. They have no break in their schedule and will definitely be battle-tested come playoff time. I think, at least for now, it’s time for me to vacate the Shamrocks’ bandwagon.

 

 

4. Will we see an undefeated team this season ? A winless team ?

We’ll start by talking about the winless teams. I’d love to say there won’t be any because winless teams isn’t fun for anyone, but if one had to be I’d say it’d come from the Conference A East (Justice League, Local 89ers or Les Duck Dynasty). Seeing how they are all facing each other along the way, I’d say we will not have any winless teams in Division 4 this winter.

As for undefeated, it will really come down to the schedules they each bolster. With only 10 undefeated teams after 2 weeks, I’d say we might only have one by the end of the season and it’d either be 6Fast or Shmoney. Knowing 6Fast, they’ll end up losing 1 or 2 along the way so I’d put my money on Shmoney, but I simply don’t see it. Too many upsets this year; Shmoney will lose one game and finish 9-1.

 

I think that there are enough good teams that it’ll be difficult to do in both cases. If I was forced to pick, I would definitely side with Shmoney as an undefeated team (their skill paired with their schedule.) As far as winless, even the new teams have been improving more and more with every coming week.

 

 

5. After 2 weeks in Div 4, if you’d have to pronounce yourself for the runner-ups for the prestigious awards, who would they be ?

At first, I wanted us to predict the winners of each award and then I realized that’s no fun so I’ve decided to request the runner-ups; we all know second place is first loser, but in FPF, runner-up for an award is still prestigious. The awards aren’t the finales. Without further ado.

 

Quarterback of the Year : Shea Harbour (69ers) : Because I think Shawn McGrath will take the award, this makes Harbour the best possible runner-up. After two weeks, he’s bolstering 11:0 ratio with a QB rating of 143.3. This is incredible. He took a dump on TCO, a franchise known for their defense, and there doesn’t seem to be any stopping to what he can do. Due to the strength of their schedule, I think he’ll hit a rough patch, but he’ll remain in the discussion for sure.

Receiver of the Year : Frank Boulard (Mustangs DG) : This was really tough to decide. I’m going with Frank Boulard because he’s the main receiver on the Mustangs and this kid can accomplish things on offense. He’s a serious baller. I have much love for him and he hasn’t disappointed me in the previous seasons. Going for 158 yards and 4 TDs on his season-opener is mind-blowing. If he can stick around for enough games, he’ll be in talks for receiver of the year, but I don’t think he’ll get it this winter.

Defensive player of the Year : Daniel Bellefeuille (Les Affreux) : Rushers are always snubbed out of most of the defensive player awards. This year won’t be any different. Bellefeuille is known to be a dominant rusher and part of a very strong defense. In fact, in my opinion, he’s the heart and soul of the defense. With 5 sacks in 2 games, he’s on a pace to break his own record of 19 sacks in a single season. He’ll probably end up the best rusher in the division, but still won’t get the award.

Two-way player of the year : Anthony Garant (6 Fast Guys Plus Ryan) : Garant is a monster on the field. Back from injury, he’s a scary dude to face. Knowing his quarterback, he might not have the stats to become the receiver of the year, nor the two-way player of the year, but he’ll probably be one of the most deserving player. If he’s back to 100% (which only himself truly knows), he’s a force to reckon with by himself.

 

By the wording of your question, you mean who I think WON’T win, but will come close. Essentially, you’re putting me in a position where I have to choose some of the best players in the division and focus on some minute detail that’ll prevent them from being considered “the best.” Thanks.

Quarterback of the Year: Gabriel Cote (Playground) – He has a high touchdown count, but I think that his incompletion count is going to come back to haunt him. Definitely top threee (at least thus far) but won’t be able to close out the award in my opinion.

Receiver of the Year: James Ohayon (Shmoney) – On any other team, Ohayon would win this award. Essentially, Shmoney have too much talent to be feeding the ball to just one receiver statistically. Because of how powerful and how good Shmoney are, Ohayon doesn’t really stand a good chance of winning receiver of the year.

Defensive Player of the Year: Mendy Cardichon (TrapStars) – I love Mendy, and think that he’s a phenomenal athlete. However, this is simply the case of thinking that Connor O’Brien is going to present more of a case for defensive player of the year. So it’s not why I think he’s doing something wrong, but more about the fact that compared to Mendy, Connor is more of an unknown to opposing QBs and he’s more likely to surprise them.

Two-Way Player of the Year: Anthony Garant (6 Fast Guys plus Ryan) – Garant is a beast offensively and defensively. However, his QB Fred Viens spreads the ball out a little too much (especially to his brother M-A) and on the defensive side of the ball, it’s always hard to side with a rusher when the other statistics such as interceptions tend to rule the votes.

 

 

Predictions

As many of you now know, we’ll be releasing our individual articles in the near future (with GM, that’s always an unknown) so we’ve decided to do Week 3’s predictions in the same article. Since there’s only 2 games for Week 3 in Division 4 (I do not know who made the schedule, but seriously, what is this?) we’ll get it done via this joint article.

**GM’s picks will be, once again, in italic

 

Crisp vs BMS Goats : Crisp

Mustangs DG vs Certified Flyguyz : Mustangs DG

 

 

 

That concludes our first Joint Article. I hope you guys enjoy the possible debate this provoked. For any complaints, please feel free to contact GM Kolethras on the field or via Twitter (@gmkole44). The praises go my way though (@DagenaisFPF).