Categories: DivisionDivision ADivision BMen'sSpring

Week 4 Recap: Are You Not Entertained?

Looking over the Div A results from this past week, I couldn’t help but notice just how ridiculously high the final scores have been this year. Right now, Div A teams are scoring about 40 points per game on average. That’s a lot even by top division standards – teams in D1 averaged just 35 points per game this past winter.

To put things in perspective: Div A teams are averaging a full 11 points more per game than Div B this season. Meanwhile, the Div B average of 29 points per game is just three more than what Div C teams are putting up.

Is it a fluke? The signs of FPF’s best QBs getting… better? Has marching down the field simply gone out of style? Or have defenders merely forgotten how to tackle?

Who knows. The only thing we can be sure of is that there are more TDs to go around this season, and I for one am not complaining.

 

Recap

Tyson Meets Floyd

Yes yes I know Floyd is a welterweight now and has been for a while but you get the idea: Predators faced off against Lightweight this past week, and the result was as you would expect – a 40-19 pummeling. It was close in the first half, if only because receiver Cory Kennedy was absolutely lighting up the field with big catches left and right. But that came to an end when the Preds finally woke up, scoring to open up the second half, forcing a turnover on downs, and then scoring again to force Simon Dagenais to play catch-up and try some desperation plays. Clearly, they didn’t work.

The Preds, meanwhile, were led by a balanced attack that got everyone involved and kept the chains moving on third downs. They got some big contributions on defense notably from DB Danny D’Amour, who was on lockdown mode in the second half, as well as Simon Bosquet Bodoin, who sacked Dagenais twice on the night – quite a feat considering Dagenais gets sacked almost as rarely as Peeze scores touchdowns.

 

Win? Gladly.

Finally, the one week Maniax get their offense back on track, their defense completely lets them down. Glads QB Frank Lebeau had little trouble absolutely carving up the Maniax defense with a mix of precise deep passes and timely short throws. There was no Pat Jerome for Lebeau to toss the ball up to, but he did have Paul Lapierre for a second straight week, who looked plenty comfortable himself in the offense.

On the other side of the ball, the absence of Alex Nadeau-Piuze was a notable one for the Glads. Maniax QB Rapha Beladjat tried to make the most of it by repeatedly attempting to force the ball to J.R. Verger but it just didn’t work as hoped.

In the end it was just another frustrating loss for Maniax, and yet another impressive showing by the Glads.

 

Players of the Week

Division A:

QB – Kevin Wyeth (Montreal’s Finest): 18 for 22, 252 yards, 7 TDs, 0 INTs. What is there to say. I mean really.  

WR – Mike Harrington (Montreal’s Finest): 4 catches for 110 yards and 3 TDs. I want to know who on the Legends’ defense was tasked with covering Harrington this past week, and I want to ask them what the heck they were doing all game long. 

D – Jamal Gittens (Roosters & Donkeys): 1 tackle, 1 INT, 1 TD. Shout-out to Nic Guimier for scoring a pick 6 of his own this past week. But Gittens takes the cake, if only because he apparently told his teammates right before the game that he would take one to the house—and of course he went out and did just that.   

 

Division B:

QB – Rod Mashtoub (Monstars): 21 for 30, 181 yards, 7 TDs, 0 INTs. Yes, Phil Cutler threw for more yards on fewer attempts while having the same numbers in the TD/INT columns. But while Cutler played his game on All-Pro mode, Mashtoub went out and lit up the field on All-Madden, absolutely torching one of the div’s best defenses.    

WR – Dean Demetriou (6+R): 6 catches for 73 yards, 4 TDS. Four touchdowns on four different routes. You’ll be seeing this kind of performance from Dean again this season. Trust me.

D – Marc-André Lapointe (Darksiders): 3 tackles, 2 INTs, 1 TD. That’s a pretty amazing day at the office, regardless of whether it came against a team’s no. 2 QB.

 

Power Rankings

Division A:

  1. Roosters & Donkeys (4-0) /–/: You have teams that start fast and finish slow, and teams that start slow and finish fast. With 33 first-half points last week, and 33 second-half points this week, it’s clear you can’t fit R&D in either of those boxes.
  2. Montreal’s Finest (3-1) /–/: Another week, another destructive performance by the Finest offense.
  3. Gladiateurs (3-1) /–/: 92 points accorded these past two weeks is a bit high for my taste, but they have little to worry about as long as Lebeau keeps slinging it like he is.
  4. Legends (2-2) /–/: Look at the bright side: at least Part 1 of your two weeks of death is over.
  5. Rainmakers (0-4) /–/: Every game they played thus far they were seemingly one step behind. Finally last week they go into the half up by a score… and they allow five second-half TDs. Rainmakers need a complete team effort if they hope to win, this week more than any other.
  6. Maniax (0-4) /–/: Bad gets worse with Rapha Beladjat now apparently injured, and this week may be make-or-break for them.

 

Division B:

  1. Monstars (4-0) /–/: I’m glad I got on this bandwagon a week early, because now I can say I saw their win over BearSkins coming from a mile away.
  2. 6+R (4-0) /–/: Blowing out a winless team isn’t something to overhype, but it’s certainly a morale booster for what had been a struggling 6+R offense up to this point.
  3. Predators (3-1) /–/: At least one pass completed to seven different receivers. Not a single rush attempt. If that’s not the sign of a true QB, Peeze, then I’m not sure what is. J-Flo’s development into a dangerous pocket passer continues to impress me.
  4. Darksiders (3-1) /–/: Food for thought: Darksiders, along with 6+R and Monstars, are the only Div B teams yet to have allowed 30 or more points in a single game this season. Offense may be king in Div A this year, but it’s just the opposite in Div B.
  5. Broccasion (2-2) /+3/: A big jump, but that has more to do with ugly performances from the next three teams.
  6. BearSkins (1-3) /-1/: A team with names such as Papich, Peterson, Bertoldi and Nardone on the roster should not be blown out like that. Ever.
  7. Wolverines (1-3) /-1/: If you ever wondered how much Tony Tabet means to this team, their ugly loss this past week without him tells you all you need to know.
  8. Lightweight (1-3) /-1/: Calling all playmakers: Simon Dagenais needs you. Badly.
  9. Raiders (1-3) /–/: With 99 points for on the season, the Raiders aren’t even averaging 25 points per game. This offense is in desperate need of a spark.
  10. The Commission (0-4) /–/: One win, Commission. Just get one, and the rest will follow.

 

Random Thoughts

  • Don’t look now, but Ryan Aridi is making a nice little case for himself for receiver of the year, currently sitting second in receptions and yards behind Brophy and ahead of him in TDs with 10.
  • Even if he doesn’t get the title, at the very least a career year is coming from Aridi. Compared with last season, the sackmaster has already eclipsed his receptions total with 18, matched his TDs total with 10, and is just 50 yards away from hitting his yards total – and that was in D4. Ryan, what the hell have you been waiting for to play receiver full-time?!  
  • Monstars altogether are looking pretty fly right now: In Div B, Aridi and Isiah Allard are the only two receivers on the same team with 6 or more TDs, while Jad Aridi and Mashtoub are tied for first in INTs (4) on defense.
  • All away teams won last week in Div B, and all home teams won this week. Am I the only one who’s curious as to what the odds of that happening are? Yes? Alrighty then.
  • It seems clear for now at least that the Div A race to the bottom will take place between the 0-4 Rainmakers and the 0-4 Maniax. Both face off this week. At least one of them is guaranteed a playoff spot. Which means that in theory, a one-win team could not only qualify for the playoffs, but actually potentially win it all. How crazy is that?
  • I’ve seen more men in jean shorts this past week alone than a born and bred Canadian will see in their lifetime. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
  • Romania, get your priorities right. Yeah, you got rid of all the stray dogs of Bucharest in the three years since I last roamed your streets. Congrats. Now, how about you get your restaurants to stop charging me for ketchup on my fries?

 

Picks of the Week

7-0 this past week. That puts me at 19-9 (67%) on the season. I feel like that percentage rate should be higher after a week like that. No matter. 7 and freakin’ 0 baby. Suck it. Everyone. Eeeeeeveryone.  

Division A:

Roosters & Donkeys vs. Legends: Legends actually competed well against the Finest this past week, but Iet’s not get crazy here.

Maniax vs. Rainmakers: Both teams may be winless, but there’s a huge difference between these two 0-4 teams. Rainmakers have the better QB and the deeper squad. They get my vote.  

Montreal’s Finest vs. Gladiateurs: If the Glads want to prove they belong in the discussion for the Div A championship, this week would be a good one to make that case. Still, I can’t bring myself to call this upset. The Finest are simply on fire right now.   

 

Division B:

Broccasion vs. Predators: Phil Cutler’s run-and-chuck may have led to TD after TD last week, but it’s hard to see him repeating that feat against the Preds’ secondary.

BearSkins vs. Raiders: This game will either be the easy win Neil Etinson and company need to get their morale and their season back on track, or the loss that will break their back. If the BearSkins offense plays up to its potential, there’s no reason why the former shouldn’t happen.

Lightweight vs. Darksiders: Peeze vs. Dagenais. I wish I was back in time to see this game live, because the trash talking will be non-stop. Mostly from Peeze. Almost entirely from Peeze.

Wolverines vs. 6+R: N/A

The Commission vs. Monstars: 6+R last week, Monstars this week… yeah. Good luck, Commission.  

 

***

Boom. As always, be sure to catch the Div A/B podcast “The Sack Exchange” with Moe Khan and Matt Kirouac on the FPF YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/flagplus every Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. or on demand at the same link afterwards. Don’t forget that you can always reach me on Twitter @JBlanchFPF or by email at [email protected]. And I’m happy to finally be able to say: see you at the fields.