Things Start to get Interesting in Week 3 of Coed

The title of my last article was something to the effect of week 2 looking a lot like week 1. Well, things definitely got turned on their head in this third week of co-ed action. One of the most surprising turn of events was the game between Party Mix and 3rd Down For What. Maybe its because of their goofy name or my inexperience with the co-ed teams but I was expecting 3DW to be destroyed this week. While scrolling through the scores I was surprised to see that it was instead 3DW who laid a licking to Party Mix. I know I’m asking you to remember a lot here but after week 1, I was quite critical of Sarah Parker and wondered whether her poor showing was an uncharacteristic outing for Parker. With a flawless week 3 performance, that question has clearly been answered. Another game that was much closer than I expected was the one between Black Mamba and Tigers. While I did expect Mamba to win, I thought that win would have come by a larger margin than three points. However, from the few minutes I saw of this game, it is clear that Mamba have not moved on from their run first mentality. If they won’t take my word for it, they should turn to FPFs 200 other teams for advice. I have never seen a team be successful with an offence focused on the run game. In the long term, I believe Black Mamba would be a much better team if they tried passing the ball more. If they spent these next 5 weeks learning from their mistakes and improving their passing game, they could be a force in the playoffs. If Mamba looks back on this game, they should realize they are better athletes than the Tigers and that the only thing that kept Tigers in this game was the flawed tactics of their opponents.

Bargains of the Week:

Christophe Normand (Savage): Week after week, receivers seem to shine in co-ed and this week was no exception. Christophe Normand obliterated the competition with a herculean 149 receiving yards. To put that number into context, I have never tallied more than 149 receiving yards in a single season. Granted, I am not much of a receiver, but Normand still managed to put up more yards in a single game than many will in an entire season. Oh, and did I mention that his offensive cap is only a 57.8? Even if Normand had a cap 10 or 15 points higher, he would still be featured here as a bargain of the week.

Jeremy Murphy (3DW): While Jeremy Murphy may not have accumulated 149 receiving yards, he still had a dominant game as receiver. He led his team in receptions with five, in receiving yards with 66 and he also managed a touchdown. However, those offensive numbers alone are not enough to land someone in this segment. It was Murphy’s defensive performance that really grabbed my eye. He played a massive part in leading his team to victory with his three tackles, 2 defended passes and most importantly: 2 interceptions. Oh, and he also ran one of those picks back for a score. Murphy’s rating is currently at 55 for offence and defence since this is his first season in the league. If he keeps putting in performances like this one, we can expect that rating to climb steeply at the end of the season.

Cap Waste of the Week:

Jeremie Mongeon-Duby (ATH Squad): While very few of us expected ATH to defeat Power Ranger, I still expected them to put up a fight. Disappointingly, ATH offered next to no resistance to the mighty Power Rangers. The struggles of ATH started with the inability of Jeremie Mongeon-Duby to move the ball with any consistency. Out of his 22 attempts he completed exactly half, and he was not able to surpass the 75 yards passing mark. While he did throw for one score, he also threw three interceptions. While this was Mongeon-Duby’s first game of the season, he still has a lot more to do if he is going to live up to his 73.2 QB rating.

Week 3 Game of the Week:

It’s a Match (31) vs Savage (26): While the score line of this game may not indicate a shootout, the passing totals definitely do. The ageless wonder, Benoit Lawlor was only three yards shy of 200 passing yards. He attempted 25 passes and completed 60% of them. As is Lawlor’s style, he averaged over 10 yards a completion and threw the deep and intermediary passes he loves so much. He also boasted a terrific 5-1 touchdown to interception ratio. However, the single most impressive stat from Lawlor’s performance has to be his two rushes for 13 yards! Having played with him in the past, I can’t remember the last time Lawlor ran twice in the same game. Out of those 197 passing yards, nearly three quarters were to the extremely talented Alexis Labonté. Over his eight receptions, Labonté somehow managed to accumulate 140 receiving yards. What is even crazier than his 140 yards is the fact Labonté wasn’t even the leading receiver from this game. That honor went to Christophe Normand of Savage. While Labonté accounted for 4 of his team’s 5 scores, Charbel El- Sayah recorded the missing fifth score. On the other side of the ball it was Jean-Francois Renaud who had the biggest impact. He recorded a tackle and a defended pass, but those stats aren’t the reason he’s being mentioned. It is his interception that makes him noteworthy.

Savage: I just mentioned that Lawlor loved the deep passes. Well, Savage’s QB, Charles-Antoine Gaudet lived and died by that deep ball. Despite only completing 10 passes, Gaudet still managed to accumulate a very respectable 185 passing yards. The clear target favorite for Gaudet  was Christophe Normand. Unfathomably, Normand accounted for just over 80% of his team’s total receiving yards. While it is great that Normand was able to move the chains and score points last week, counting on a single receiver for 80% of your yards is not a feasible long-term solution. Luckily for Savage, they have other talented receivers like Philipe Aussant who are more than ready to take on a bigger role. In fact, Aussant caught two passes in this game, both for touchdowns. Rounding out Savage’s receiving corps was Nicolas Belleau with two catches of his own and 16 yards. It was a familiar name who made the biggest impact on defence. The talented Philipe Aussant did his best to lead his team to victory with an interception that he returned for a touchdown. To go along with that pick-six, he also registered a tackle and a defended pass.

Misinformed Predictions:

3DW vs Power Rangers: While 3DW surprised me by beating Party Mix, I don’t think there is a second upset in the cards for this week. To keep these predictions shorter, you can just go ahead and pencil in Power Rangers to run the table and win the rest of their games. They have proved they are a superior team to everyone else in this division and that is why they’re going to win this week and every week for that matter.

Yin&Yang vs It’s a Match:  For the first time this season, Y&Y will be facing off against another established co-ed team. It’s a Match has the experience to create a proper game plan and the talent to execute it. However, Y&Y have the evil mastermind Gino Di Fazio on their side. There is nothing It’s a Match can throw at Y&Y that Di Fazio has not seen before. While It’s a Match are experienced, Y&Y are even more experienced and that is exactly why they will win.

ATH Squad vs Savage: A duel between the bottom placed teams with a combined total of one win. While I can’t wait to see Savage secure their first victory, I don’t think this is the week it is going to happen. ATH has excelled at keeping their opponents out of the endzone while Savage have struggled to score.

Tigers vs Michael Scott’s Tots: While the Tigers may be a team of really great individuals who are a pleasure to play against, they are not the most talented team in the co-ed division. On the other hand, MST are just as nice except with the talent to back it up. In what could very well be one of the friendliest games of the season, I see MST winning big.

Party Mix vs A-Town: While Party Mix have had a disappointing start to the season to say the least, I do not see them falling to division 2 opponents. A-Town are a solid team for the lower division, but they do not have the firepower to compete with Party Mix. Party Mix will get back to their winning ways in this match.

Black-Mamba vs Hot-Dawgz: In this article and the past one, I have talked quite a bit about the unsustainability of the way Mamba plays. This week, they better realize they need to get away from the RPO (run pass option) otherwise they will lose big to Hot-Dawgz.

These upcoming games in week 4 are our final set of games before a well-deserved Super Bowl break. I hope the action and the unexpected outcomes keep on coming this week because that is what makes the division and these articles interesting. By this point, you all know the speech. I am playing in Brossard and if you have anything to say about the article or the division, come drop by!