The Second Season is Around the Corner

Week 10 is finally here, the last week of the regular season. Excitement is in the air, as the second season is just around the corner.

For teams like TMNB, Goon Squad, The Minge, Orange Crush, Team Fourth and Twenty, and the Smokin’ Axolotls, thank you guys for coming out this year. This season should definitely be a learning experience. Spring season is around the corner, and with a bit more practice and a free agent addition or two, you guys could easily find yourselves in the playoff mix as well.

Speaking of playoffs, just in case some of you are wondering, here is the playoff formula for Division 6:

Division 6: top 8 teams per conference * (There is NO first round bye)

*a reminder that division winners are always automatically ranked as top seeds in their respective conferences, regardless of total points (think Carolina Panthers from this year’s NFL playoffs)

As it stands right now, here is how both stand if the playoffs starter today:

 

Conference A

1 Flagrant Fouls

2 L.A’s Finest

3 Woofpack

4 Obamacare

5 Jean Guy

6 N.W.O.

7 Mountain Goats

8 The Pocketwatch

 

Conference B

1 Pardon My Swag

2 The Mean Machine

3 The Sun Bros

4 Diablos

5 Wax On Wax Off

6 Beast Mode

7 Balls Deep

8 Tigerz

Once again, these playoff seedings are based off of last week, and DO NOT include Week 10 games. Obviously the games that have to be played tonight through Tuesday will have a huge impact on the placement of both Conferences’ top 8 teams.

I have been asked a lot over the last couple of weeks about tiebreakers, so here is a quick and easy explanation:

Tiebreaks

2-way tie: 1) wins, 2) head-to-head, 3) divisional record, 4) points allowed 5) point differential.

3-way tie: 1) wins, 2) divisional record, 3) points allowed 4) point differential.

Now with all the playoff stuff out of the way, I’ll quickly get into the lists.

 

High Five

Ross Olshansky (I got you) – His Flagrant Fouls team appeared to have a tough test Tuesday night as they took on an N.W.O team that had settled themselves after a mid-season slump that saw them lose 3 in a row.

As I said it appeared…the Flagrant Fouls pivot sliced and diced his way through the N.W.O defense with ease. His ability to buy time in the pocket gave his receivers plenty of time to get open. Play after play, after play, Olshansky was hitting open WR after open WR for either a TD, or a long gain. Simply put, he made it look too easy.

Frederico Alzamora – The Woofpack two-way player put on a clinic on both sides of the ball against the Smokin’ Axolotls. Alzamora recorded 3 interceptions, 1 of which he brought back to the house. On offense, the 2nd year FPF player had 3 catches for 41 yards and 2 TDs.

Putting on a strong performance at this point of the season is definitely not a bad thing with the playoffs about to begin.

Pardon My Swag WR Johnathan Grizzley – Speaking of strong performances, Grizzley had a whale of a game – I was going to say bear of a game to make the connection, but that would have been even lamer than my whale comment. Moving on – against Goon Squad. The FPF rookie put up a Week 9 high 110 yards and 3 TDs on 5 catches. Grizzley has a chance to match those totals tomorrow night as he takes on a generous Wax On Wax Off defense.

Brad Evans. Somebody had to throw Grizzley the ball, and Evans certainly did that and more against the Goon Squad, as he flirted with perfection going 14 for 18 for 182 yards and a season high 6 TDs.

I’ve had many battles with Evans’ Rude Bwoys teams in D3 and D4 over the years. Maybe putting him at QB would’ve been the difference for them…

Andrew Denis Lynch – In what has been basically a lost season for his team, the Orange Crush two-way player has still brought excitement and electricity to the field virtually every week.

Earlier in the season I wrote about Lynch was arguably the fastest player in all of FPF. That speed was on full display last Saturday against the Tigerz, as he burnt their defense for 2 TDS and came within 2 yards of cracking the century mark.

While this week he and his Orange Crush teammates will have a much tougher time as they take on the best defense in D6 and statistically in all of FPF in L.A’s Finest, getting the ball in Lynch’s hands as often as possible would be a good idea.

Orange Crush is an example of a team I was talking about earlier. They have talented players like Chris Mana, Nick Gagne, and the aforementioned Andrew Denis Lynch. If they can get just a bit more experience, and if captain Matthew Tamilia can add a couple of players via the free agency, they could make some noise come the Spring Season.

*Honourable mention to Flagrant Fouls WR Anthony Palombo (5 catches for 53 yards and 3 TDs)

 

Step It Up

Smokin’ Axoltls QBs – You definitely can’t blame Jad Aridi for his QB play, because he isn’t a quarterback and more importantly, he has been the one player on his team who has consistently played at a high level the entire season. I still can’t ignore his stats (3 for 18, 27 YDS, 0 TDs, and 4 INTs) in addition, incumbent QB, Stefan Fennes finished the game (vs the aforementioned Woofpack) 3 for 8 passing for 11 yards, 0 TDs, and 3 picks.

Marc Assaad – I feel bad writing this after talking so positively about the Orange Crush, but once again look at the stats. 3 for 17 for 37 yards, 1 TD (at least there was a positive) and 4 INTs. You know my rule about more interceptions than completions…

N.W.O WRs – Standing on the sideline for their huge test Tuesday night against Flagrant Fouls, I felt bad for N.W.O QB Michael Sanchez. I counted at least 5 dropped passes in their game. At least 3 of those passes were for touchdowns. I am not going to mention any names, but you guys know who you are.

In a game of such magnitude (let’s be honest, there’s a more than good chance the road to the championship in Conference A goes through Flagrant Fouls) and at this time of the year, things like bad routes and dropped passes shouldn’t be happening. While not every single one of Sanchez’s throws was pin-point accurate (he was under constant pressure all night long from Alex Evangelidis) when he needed to put a ball on a receiver, he did just that. Unfortunately for him, his WRs didn’t keep up their end of the bargain.

 

Elite 8

1. Flagrant Fouls – As if there was any doubt. (Last Week: 1st)
2. L.A’s Finest – Survived a tough scare against a Minge team that was loaded with ringers, but at the end of the day they got the W. (Last Week: 2nd)
3. Obamacare – Their defense came up huge in the second half as they gutted out a win over Team Fourth and Twenty. (Last Week: 3rd)
4. Woofpack – They took care of business as expected against the Smokin’ Axolotls, but they did struggle in the 2nd half offensively. Is this just a fluke, or a sign of things to come? Their Tuesday game against The Minge (especially if they show up with some extra help once again) will prove a lot. (Last Week: 4th)
5. Pardon My Swag – Besides their Week 7 thriller against the Tigerz, their Sunday night game against Wax On Wax Off is the first real test since they faced The Sun Bros in Week 5. Textbook statement game. (Last Week: 5th)
6. The Sun Bros – Speaking of them, they earned a hard fought W in a really good game Tuesday night against the aforementioned Wax On Wax Off. Watching that game from the sidelines, I can honestly say that the game just came down to a few plays. More importantly for T.S.B, it gave them the all-important tie breaker against their Conference B counterparts. Here’s to hoping two teams lock horns again come playoff time. (Last Week: 6th)
7. Diablos – They move up one spot curtesy of their win over Balls Deep (what’s happening with them?) and the already mentioned Wax loss to The Sun Bros. A big game against an always tough Beast Mode looms tonight. (Last Week: 8th)
8. The Mean Machine – A convincing 3 game winning streak puts Double M back in the Elite 8. Their Week 6 loss still leaves them behind the Diablos however. They have a huge opportunity to rise in my rankings with a win over The Sun Bros tonight. (Last Week: Unranked)

Picks

The Mean Machine – The Sun Bros – The Mean Machine

Team Fourth and Twenty – Balls Deep – Balls Deep

Wax On Wax Off – Pardon My Swag – Wax On Wax Off

Orange Crush – L.A’s Finest – L.A’s Finest

The Pocketwatch – Jean Guy – Jean Guy

Smokin’ Axolotls – Mountain Goats – Mountain Goats

The Minge – Woofpack – Woofpack

Flagrant Fouls – TMNB – Flagrant Fouls

Obamacare – N.W.O. – Obamacare

Tigerz – Goon Squad – Tigerz

Diablos – Beast Mode – Diablos (My pick for game of the week)

Last Week: 7 – 4

Season: 64 – 23

*Quick correction: In last week’s article, I realize that I didn’t choose a winner in the Balls Deep/Diablos and the Mean Machine/Beat Mode matchups. I was going to go with Balls Deep and The Mean Machine respectively, so I’ll still take the win and loss in my over-all record.

 

That’s it for this Week 10; I will be back next week with a preview for Round 1 of the playoffs.

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]