Weekday Quarterback (D3) – Week 3

 

I know most of you are probably rubbing your hands together, in front of your monitor, as you anxiously await the D3 article! So I figured I would try and get this one out quickly. It is the perfect weather for sitting inside and reading about your team and I know some of you are probably just regaining the feeling in your hands from being inside the dome at Lachine or Loyola this weekend. Speaking of regaining feeling, how about the big wins a few teams got this week, after desperately needing to get one before all hope was lost? We will get to that later in the headlines. It was another exciting week as there are clearly a few teams beginning to establish themselves as the top contenders while others are beginning to make a name for themselves after getting lost in the shuffle during the first two weeks.

Headlines

KGP Champs get the all-important first victory of the season

Was there a team that needed a win more than the KGP Champs? You would be hard pressed to find one, as this team was beginning to slide and it was starting to look like it would be hard to stop. Enter Phil Cutler, who once again saved his team from falling into obscurity. Cutler threw for a remarkable 6 touchdown passes and 243 yards as well as an interception on defense, for good measure, in a 40-31 victory. It was just a great performance from a guy who needed to get his team back on the right track. What makes the victory more impressive is that KGP beat a team full of veterans who were probably licking their chops when they saw a struggling team on their schedule. Sweet Tangerine Dream is led by proven QB Ed Shoshan and has a bunch of guys who have played in this league for many years. Shoshan played a great game in his own right, throwing for 5 touchdowns and 229 yards. You can be sure that the stats won’t be enough for Shoshan however, who is looking for wins and not accolades.

Served with Ice moves to 2-1 with a victory over a Cobras team that seems to have lost its way

Served with Ice picked up their second win of the season (38-20) over an experienced Cobras team that looked like they could be a contender early in the season. Perhaps we jumped the gun on the Cobras, after their opening week victory over DIP. DIP has yet to win a game and the Cobras have not won since. Alex Lever is going to need to improve if this team is going to have a chance to do some damage. Lever is a much better QB than what he showed this weekend, throwing three interceptions, which is very uncharacteristic. I would expect to see Lever bounce back next week. Served with Ice was able to win the game without their regular QB Jordan Panetta. It did not look like they lost a step with Vince Nardone taking the snaps. Nardone is a guy who rarely gets mentioned (when not playing for Ross Castleton) but is a much better player than he gets credit for. He is an excellent defensive player and showed this week that he can be an excellent option when called upon to play Quarterback. Served with Ice also has some playmakers who are quietly going about their business so far. Pascal Tshilambo and Gabriel Marcoux are both big time players as receivers and defensive backs, and can hurt you in an instant. It is about time that people start looking at Served with Ice as a dark horse in division 3.

Is the Quarterback position becoming an issue for the Dirty Birds?

The Dirty Birds were flying high in the first two weeks but it looks as though an injury to Jon Young may have hurt this team more than we expected. DK went head to head with the Dirty Birds this weekend and gave them more than they could handle. Rochdi Benabdelkader was fantastic as he threw for 6 touchdowns and 263 yards. We all knew about Rochdi’s ability to run an offense, but this was far and above what anyone expected against what looked like a strong Dirty Bird team. Jamal Pierre was his usual self, scoring two touchdowns and remains one of the biggest red zone threats in FlagPlus Football. The real question is where do the Dirty Birds go from here? Will Jon Young be back? Will Matthew Bishara get back to his Spring Season form? Those are questions that need to be answered and the Dirty Birds will not get very long to answer those questions as they take on a very tough Trojans team next weekend.

Maniax grind out a victory against Flight of the Conchords

Justin Lavellee was on fire for the Maniax and Tony Khoury returned with a bang as he scored two touchdowns in a huge 35-21 victory over FOTC who looked great after two weeks. I have mentioned this to a few people in passing over the first couple of weeks and I think it is important to restate it. If the Maniax get decent production out of their Quarterback, in this case Justin Lavellee, they can beat any team in division 3. They have fantastic athletes and make it very tough on any offense with their man to man defensive schemes. Their athletic ability may have been just too much for a Flight of the Conchords team that relies on their preparation and chemistry. Martin Tougas was on pace for 50 touchdown passes prior to this game, but completed only 9 passes this weekend. He needs to be better for FOTC and as a team they cannot afford to turn the ball over multiple times. Give the Maniax plenty of credit, they continue to battle though whatever is put on their plate and so far they have passed the most difficult tests. I expect to see them put up huge numbers against weaker opponents in the next two weeks. They will be 4-1 by midseason.

Quick Hits

– VPC defeats D-Boys in a rematch of last winter’s division 3 final. Are the D-Boys as good as we though they were after two weeks? Their defense looks like it may have some holes in it.

– F.A.N picks up their first win of the season versus a struggling Rangers team. Can F.A.N make some more noise as the season goes on? It will be tough with their next three games versus Darkhorses, Maniax and Monarchs.

– Briscoe High Hawks win again as Scott Kelly continues his hot start with 15 touchdown passes and only two interceptions in his first three games. On defense, BHH gave up only 6 points last weekend as Theo Ojeaha, Chris Smith, Anthony Thompson, Oliver Philip and Ben Joseph played great team defense.

– Broccasion slows down the Souljahs who were off to a very quick start thanks to Angelo Garafalo. Souljahs have the toughest part of their schedule coming in the following weeks and we should learn more about them.

– GPK wins a nail biter versus the Sandlot Saints who are yet to pick up a victory. Both these teams really needed this one and it came down to less than a score. The Saints will need some magic now if they want to get back in the hunt.

 

Power Rankings

1. SWAT (3-0) – Had a tough game against Terror Squad but I believe this team has what it takes to win it all.

2. Monarchs (3-0) – If they continue to play the way they are playing right now, they will breeze through the regular season. Stephane Chartrand and Renaldo Jordan are both playing great football.

3. D-Boyz (2-1) – That win over the Misfits is looking less and less impressive but they are still playing good football.

4. Maniax (2-1) – It is a simple equation for this team. If they get good QB play they will win games and that’s what happened this week.

5. Rude Bwoys (3-0) – Have won every game so far, but it is hard to tell how good they really are based on the teams they’ve beaten. They could rise or fall very quickly.

6. Briscoe High Hawks (2-1) – Scott Kelly continues to put massive points on the board for this team. If they can continue to play good defense they will win games.

7. Trojans (3-0) – Exposed the Bandits for the team many people expected them to be. This team is a strong dark horse. Expect their stock to rise.

8. Flight of the Conchords (2-1) – Very unimpressive in week 3 after playing so well through two weeks. Can they bounce back?

9. Dirty Birds (2-1) – This one kills me. I was very high on the Dirty Birds last week but injury to Jon Young looks like it may hurt more than expected. They should be able to bounce back quickly upon his return.

10. DK (2-1) – It was either DK or VPC in this spot and I gave it to DK based on their better point differential. This team has more to offer and will probably get stronger as the season goes along, thanks to their veteran presence.