The Wrath of Khan (DA) – Week 5

Division A has arrived at the halfway point of the FPF season. The intriguing battle is not at the top of the division. Rather it is the race for the last playoff spot.

 

We can safely say the Ruff Ryders of Happiness and Shockers will qualify for the playoffs. The Rainmakers are in the driver’s seat to solidify the third spot. However, with the late news of their quarterback, Ryan Kastner being done for the regular season with a lower body injury, it might get interesting for the Rainmakers.

 

As for the remaining teams, the 49ers, Texas All-Stars, and Titans are all jousting for the last spot. These next couple of weeks will determine their fates, as they will all face each other.

 

Let’s take a look at the future games for all three teams.

 

49ers: Rainmakers, Texas All-Stars, Ruff Ryders of Happiness, Shockers, and Titans.

 

Texas All-Stars: Titans, 49ers, Rainmakers, Ruff Ryders of Happiness, and Shockers.

 

Titans: Texas All-Stars, Ruff Ryders of Happiness, Shockers, Rainmakers, and 49ers.

 

Yes, the schedules are identical, but it is the order of their opponents that will be the determining factor.

 

For starters, the Texas All-Stars put up a great fight against the Shockers. However, it was the lack of experience in DA combined with the heroics of Kevin Wyeth that led them to lose.

 

As of right now, the All-Stars are 0-1 in DA. If they are to move up the ladder, their next two games (Titans, 49ers) will determine if they will be playing football in August. However, these two games could have not have come at a better time for this club.

 

In their opening game loss to the Shockers, Nathan Taylor was neutralized by the pass rush of minor league call-up Jon Young who amassed three sacks. But this week, he will have the luxury of facing a Titans team whose pass rush has been nearly invisible with a mere three sacks.

 

If Taylor is successful by incorporating his running ability to complement his passing game, he will have a field day against an anemic Titans defense.

 

Moreover, their future game against the 49ers will be even bigger because Taylor can expose a team that lacks speed at the skill positions. These two games will be vital for Taylor and co. to prove they were worthy to move up to DA.

 

As for the 49ers, even with their win over the Titans, they will still face them in the last week of the season. But having that tiebreaker will prove to be a great poker chip, as the 49ers now control their destiny.

 

For the amount of criticism that Richard Shefteshy has received for his quarterback play, in last week’s win, it seemed he has found his confidence again, as he passed for 195 yards, five touchdowns, and had a 75-percent completion rate.

 

He can help the 49ers playoff cause with these next two weeks. With their upcoming matchup against the Ryan Kastner-less Rainmakers team, the 49ers have the opportunity to create a “void” for the fourth playoff spot.

 

The Titans with all due respect will have the toughest road to reach the playoffs. Unfortunately for them, in the next three weeks, they will face what are arguably the two best teams in DA (Happiness, Shockers). If they can create some miracle by taking two out of the next three games, they can potentially run the table.

 

Chapter.2

 

Welcome to round two of the Shockers-Ruff Ryders of Happiness. The last time they faced each other, the Happiness were victorious with an undermanned squad against a full Shockers team.

 

The Happiness is playing the best football amongst the two contenders. It seems no matter who is in the lineup; the Happiness will pound their opponents into submission.

 

As a result, the team’s success has been created by the franchise backbone, Benny Goodfriend, who is the lead horse to win quarterback of the year.

 

Goodfriend leads the division with 23 touchdowns passes, and 826 passing yards. Once again he will be in the spotlight to prove his worth against the epitome of FPF quarterbacks, Kevin Wyeth.

 

Wyeth, with all due respect, has not had the best of seasons. I have questioned whether or not he is comfortable with the supporting cast of the Shockers. Besides his enormous success with Karim Binette, Andre Knights, and Kishon Thompson, he has developed somewhat of a connection with Ross Castleton. But we have yet to see chemistry with the other members of the squad.

 

Furthermore, let’s say the Shockers decide on offense to line up Stephen Primeau, Mike Godyn, Shawn Haney, Knights, and Castleton. They are great players. However, the decided edge has to go with the Happiness whose lineup can consist of Marc Champagnie, Paul Lapierre, Ricky Martin, Rochdi Benabdelkaeder, and Jacques Void. 

 

Moreover, will the likes of Thompson, and Binette get the desired snaps on offense? Sure, the Shockers will tote the company line of “team play”. But will the “original” Shocker players be content in their pursuit of a championship if Binette, and Thompson steal reps?

 

Furthermore, will the Shockers solve their first half lulls? In their first five games, they have averaged 13 points in the first half, compared to the Happiness who have averaged 18.2 points. What’s more startling, in the second half of football games, the Shockers have only scored 20 points once. Meanwhile, the Happiness has scored at least 20-plus points twice. 

 

It is imperative for the Shockers to get off to a fast start, and finish off strong. Otherwise, with the offensive machine the Happiness possess, it will be tough to match scores if they are stuck in park. The overall advantage has to go in favour of the Happiness.

 

The end result, this will be the last time these two teams will face each other unless they cross paths in the playoffs.  For the Shockers, even though they are the prohibitive favourites to win DA, they have to send a stern message to the Happiness that they are no pushovers.

 

Percentages%

 

10%, that Marc Champagnie will have an interception against the Shockers.

 

12%, that Kishon Thompson, and Andre Knights will ever combine for only three catches like they did in last week’s win over the Texas All-Stars.

 

19%, that Richard Shefteshy will pass for five touchdowns this weekend.

 

25%, that Nathan Taylor will rush for 50-plus yards against the Titans.

 

34%, that Patrick Chenard will be below 50-percent in the passing department.