Word from the Mouth: Just Spreading Out the Delays! edition

Tuesday, November 14th Kevin Kousaie

Let me start by pointing out that this week we had multiple people screw the pooch when it came to their ref or scorekeeping assignments, so not every game has stats (ed’s note: just one in the end).

I also want to point out that Jon, who made the schedule and runs the league, was chilling at home at 8:32am while games were supposed to being played. We ended up getting started late, but in the end didn’t matter since later in the day we needed to wait for teams to change parks anyway (ed’s note: see, I knew this would happen, so I was just spreading out the delays).

It was cold this weekend, but its looking nicer for this upcoming weekend (ed’s note: though predictions have gone from 9 degrees to 4 degrees, ugh), so we should be good to go with no issues.

I know the field is pretty bad at this point, but for all the years the league has been around the field conditions this year aren’t that bad relatively. Just imagine what would have happened if we hadn’t canceled that week due to rain.

Recap

Division 1

Iron Wolves vs Outlaws (36-60)

This game was back and forth in the first half and it looked like it was going to stay that way, but Outlaws made a switch at QB from Brady to Steve and that’s when Outlaws started to pull away. It also helps that Marvin and Smuda both balled their asses off combining for 15 catches, 131 yards, 5 TDs and 6 2-point converts. Remy subbed for Iron Wolves and made his presence felt with 2 TDs on 4 catches and 110 yards. I could go into more details, but I will let Willie talk about it on the podcast this week.

Division 2

KOLB vs Udaho Idapimp (25-26)

This was a fun game to watch and seeing these 2 QBs make some of the throws they did was remarkable. No team ever pulled away with this game and it ended up coming down to the last few plays of the game. Brady drove the field for a score and gave his team a 26 to 19 lead with just under 15 minutes left. Both teams had a possession that ended on downs. Now with under 8 minutes left Jon led a scoring drive, but on this drive was one of the nicest throws I’ve seen in a while. Jon rolled right and threw an out to the left about 20 yards down field at full sprint. It was a great throw. KOLB scored, but weren’t able to get convert. KOLB now needed a big stop and quickly, but Brady got 2 first downs for Idaho which ended the game and advanced them to the finals.

Division 3

Villains vs Red Cats (37-36)

This was a fun game to watch and now imagine how much better it could have been if Avery wasn’t hurt going into the game, but he was able to play through it. More than once in the game Avery went down and it looked like he wasn’t going to be able to finish, but he found a way to. Even with a bum leg, Avery was still able to keep his team in the game scoring 2 TDs and a 2-point convert on the ground. Jeremi is a beast no matter where he lines up. This week he was at QB, next week who knows if it will be him or Terry under center. With under 2 minutes left in the game, Red Cats scored on a 5 yard pass to Nick after driving the length of the field, they went for 2 and got it making it a 1 point game. Now Red Cats needed a stop and to use their timeouts to get the ball back. The defense held and on the first play Vincent stepped in front of Avery’s pass and picked it off to end the game and Red Cats season. I’m Sure Willie will talk more about this game on the Podcast.

Division 4

Drama Club vs Jagys and Chill (32-38)

I was only able to catch the last little bit of this game and saw Drama Club allow Jagys and Chill to tie it at 32 late. Drama Club had 2 possessions after that and the first one ended in a punt and the second ended with Yannick knocking the ball away on the last play of the game in the endzone. I was able to see JF chew up the last 3:30 of the game as he marched his team down the field for what turned out to be the game winning score on a pass from JF to Yavar.

Bines Low Fat vs Top Shooters (35-12)

Bines Low Fat was just way too much for Top Shooters in this game. Bines had a 28-0 lead at half, they also started with the ball in the second half and scored on that possession to take a 35-0 lead. Late in the game Top Shooter were able to get on the scoreboard with an 11-yard pass from Mike Jaz to Paul (ed’s note: is this accurate?). That was the highlight for both those players, but it was also a very rewarding for Top Shooters as a team. Paul might not have played a huge role for this team all season, but if it wasn’t for Paul stepping up and playing a few weeks ago they would have forfeited that game and missed the playoffs because of the forfeit.

Bines Low Fat vs Jagys and Chill (26-13)

This Bines team isn’t flashy, but makes very few if any mistakes at all. JF does a good job of protecting the ball and the combination of Thomas and Mathieu as receiver is fantastic since they don’t drop balls. Thomas scored on 3 of his 4 catches in this game. On defense is where Bines strive and they managed to get 2 sacks and 4 picks. This team flies to the ball. This defense proved to be too much for JF, he was constantly under pressure and when he was able to get a pass off the defenders were all over it and when he tried to run nothing was there.

Division 5

Mimosa Crew vs Grizzlies (46-26)

Who would have thought that Mimosa Crew would come out and play like this at 8:30 in the morning? Wait, I mean 9 (ed’s note: yeah, yeah, I get it). The game started with Mimosa punting then giving up a quick and easy score before they settled in and got rolling. By halftime Mimosa had picked off Grizzlies 2 or 3 times and scored on every possession and had a 31-12 lead. Mimosa played really good defense getting 4 picks from 4 different players and Dag ran his back for a TD. This was the first time I saw Grizzles play all season and the biggest takeaway is they don’t run plays, they just line up and everyone does whatever they want (ed’s note: not sure this is true). Yes, that will work sometimes, but not against an equally athletic team.

Phoenix vs Jungle Squad (13-19)

Jungle Squad did everything they could to pull off this playoff win and it’s their first one in team history. The first half of this game wasn’t very good. Phoenix opens the scoring on their first possession then nothing by either team until the second half. Phoenix struggled inside the redzone to score, being there 2 or 3 times and walking away with zero points. Jungle Squad at half made a few adjustments and they paid off. They switched rushers on defense and started to run more crossing routes on offense. Late in the game with it tied, Jungle Squad was able to march the field and punch one in with under a minute left. Phoenix tried to answer, but there was a drop or two plus a huge sack. With a last-ditch effort, the ball was thrown into the endzone, but was batted away and just like that Phoenix goes home and Jungle Squad advances.

That’s all I have for you in the way of recaps. Thanks for reading and see you next week.

Studs & Duds

I’m only doing Studs this week because anyone who lost already feels bad that they must wait until January just to get back out there and play again.

Studs

Division 1

I hate to do this and inflate his ego even more, but Marvin Steinberg went off this week with 8 catches for 72 yards, 3 TDs and 4 2point convert plus he also made 5 tackles and had 1 pick.

Division 2

Demario Cooper hauled in 8 balls for 105 yards, 1 TD and 1 1point convert. Demario also made 2 tackles on defense.

Division 3

Jeremi Thompson O'Reilly this guy was all over the place in this game. He threw for 205 yards while completing 26 of 37 passes, 5 TDs and 1 1point convert, He also ran 7 times for 39 yards and 1 TD. On defense Jeremi made 4 tackles.

Division 4

Thomas Cote-Parent in his 2 games made 11 catches for 130 yards, 6 TDs and 1 1point convert. On defense Thomas made 2 tackles and had 1 pick.

Division 5

David St Jean went off this week getting 5 sacks on 6 tackles on defense. With the ball in his hand David went 18 of 29 for 164 yards, 2 TDs, 1 1point convert and threw 1 pick. David also ran 11 times for 42 yards and 1 TD.

There you have it my studs for week 1 of the playoffs.

Predictions

My picks were great last week, but that doesn’t matter anymore because we have reached championship weekend and it’s the last games of the season. Here are my picks.

Division 1

Outlaws vs A-Team

The winner of this game is the team that goes in healthier and I have a feeling that in this case its Outlaws. I am also assuming that Steve is playing QB and looking to get back at A-Team for them winning it all against them a few seasons ago.

Division 2

Idaho Udapimp vs Nice TDs

Nice TDs have been the favorite all season and why would I think any different this week. Nice TDs just have a bit more Dawg in them and that’s why I feel they pull it out.

Division 3

Villains vs RawSauce

They are just more athletic, and I have to assume that Jeremi will be under center again this week.

Division 4

Bines Low Fat vs High on Audibles

I just have a feeling that their experience and chemistry pulls them through in this one. I’m also thinking Avery won’t be 100% and that should also play a factor late in the game.

Division 5

Mimosa Crew vs Legendaries

I give them the edge because of leadership and I can see Ben relying on Ben and Nick early when a play needs to be made and this will allow Gordon to stay under the radar and make plays late in the game.

Jungle Squad vs Bear Hood

David is a very good runner and at the end of the day with a possible sloppy field he goes off for 100 yards on the ground.

Those are my predictions for championship weekend.

Final Thoughts

In the pros, players walk off and retire after winning a championship, but I’m not sure it has every happened in the MFL (ed's note: Max Rosenfeld retired at QB after winning a championship!). The only players I can see doing this after winning are a few players on the Outlaws. Steve has been around since the beginning of the league has won more than enough championships along with numerous individual awards over the years and has nothing left to prove plus I think he likes having his weekends free (ed’s note: he did retire, but pulled a Brady!). I can also maybe see Smuda walking away as well for the same reasons, but also dealing with more and more injuries over the years. Realistically both will be back next spring because they both love the game and will miss it if they are away for too long. (ed’s note: yeah, why are you talking about retirement!)

Before last season playoffs were set up differently with games being played in between rounds in some divisions. The way the games are now has each division getting their own time slots and games played back-to-back. It is so much better. I’m glad it’s done like this now, as this way us old folks don’t have to worry as much about pulling muscles, because of getting hot and cold repeatedly.

That’s all I have for you this week. Hope you enjoyed the article and had fun this season. Even with this being the last week of the year, we are still playing a game, so go out, have fun, and try not to kill anyone. See you Saturday.

Predictions and Power Rankings Playoffs Week 1

Friday, November 10th Kevin Kousaie

Predictions

We have reached the playoffs and it’s sad to announce that Willie won the media picks for the first time getting 65% of his picks. With his win Willie had the largest margin of victory ever at 4.1%. I will only be picking the games that are already scheduled since we know those games are happening. (ed’s note: I didn’t realize that picking games that didn’t exist was an option! Otherwise I would’ve picked games like the Philadelphia Eagles over Phoenix or the NY Jets over Lockdown. Kidding! I would definitely pick Lockdown over the Jets. Easy money.)

Division 1

Iron Wolves vs Outlaws

I know that their team will be there to play.

Lockdown vs A-Team

With this roster if they play their game and don’t get in their own heads they should be able to win convincingly.

Division 2

KOLB vs Idaho Udapimp

Somehow KOLB is always missing players when it comes to playoffs and that could happen again this week.

Thunder Buddies vs Nice TDs

This game will be a shootout and I just feel that Nice TDs will make 1 play on defense that will swing the game their way.

Division 3

RawSauce vs Double Dippers

They are too strong for RawSauce who are dealing with a bunch of injuries.

Villains vs Red Cats

I know Willie is going to be huge in this game, not only as a player, but as a leader and motivator.

Division 4

Drama Club vs Jagys and Chill

Their defense is solid and will cause Simon issues.

Udaho Idapimp vs Trolling Holers

I said it on the Podcast, Mason will be huge in this game. Watch and see.

Iron Wolves vs High on Audibles

There is too much fire power and experience on this team to crumble in round 1.

Top Shooters vs Bines Low Fat

Way more experience and their defense is hard to score on.

Division 5

Slot Machines vs Big Booties

Rob should be able to control the ball on offense and Max should end up getting a few picks on defense.

Low Expectations vs Les Last Calls

The connection between Guillaume and Seb will be too much for Low Expectations to stop.

Mimosa Crew vs Grizzlies

If this game was at 10 am I might go Mimosa, but since it’s at 8:30 and Mimosa isn’t a morning team, I cant see them pulling this one off.

Jungle Squad vs Phoenix NA

I don’t pick my team’s games, but I can tell you it won’t be a forfeit this weekend.

Power Rankings

Heading into the playoffs, rankings don’t matter anymore because if you lose you go home.

All-Star

Let me point out the criteria for making my All-Star team so you all know what’s what. You can only make it for the highest division you play in, unless you play a different position and you can only make it at 1 position on offense or defense. The defense I have picked to go with is a 3-2. Now let’s see who made my teams.

Division 1

Offense

QB- Brady Ohanessian

WR1- Alex Szalipszki

Slot1- Manu Allard-Roy

Center- JF Daloze

Slot2- Kevin Smuda

WR2- Avery Kilmas

Defense

Rusher- Tyler Znoj

CB1- Lazar Atanackovic

Middle- Leo Aubert

CB2- Ariel Librati

Safety1- Jeremy Rooney

Saftey2- Marvin Steinberg

Division 2

Offense

QB- Vinny Gualano

WR1- Jeremi Reindeau-Demers

Slot1- Remy Nguyen

Center- Rob White

Slot2- Josh Levine

WR2- Victor Okoro

Defense

Rusher- Khalil Agrebi

CB1- Alex Gonzalez

Middle- Nicolas Potevin

CB2- Geoffroy Vigneault

Safety1- Gabriel Boucher

Saftey2- Max Rosenfeld

Division 3

Offense

QB- Ludovic Goulet

WR1- Alec Gregoire

Slot1- Antoine Theroux

Center- Simon Valiquette

Slot2- Jeremi Thompson O’Reilly

WR2- Mason Miller

Defense

Rusher- Benoit Maynard

CB1- Sydney-Taylor Jordan

Middle- Jose Antonio Espinosa

CB2- William Plante

Safety1- Ali Issa

Saftey2- JF Lawrence

Division 4

Offense

QB- Robert Prud’homme

WR1- Kris Hope

Slot1- PO Tremblay-Agelakos

Center- Mathieu Roy-Caissy

Slot2- Erik Emond

WR2- Mathieu Gratton

Defense

Rusher- Andre Bertrand

CB1- Cooper Guay

Middle- Flavie Rivard

CB2- Yavar Ashrafi

Safety1- Connor McAleer

Saftey2- Zack Goldig

Division 5

Offense

QB- Benjamin Mallet

WR1- Sebastien Lucas Alzate

Slot1- Kordell Holness-Lightbody

Center- Jeremie Desrochers

Slot2- Jesse Haakman

WR2- Justin White

Defense

Rusher- Julie LeBlanc Goulet

CB1- Louis Britton

Middle- Gabriel Hernadez

CB2- Samuel Gernet

Safety1- Oliver Waiter

Saftey2- Guillaume Dubuc Lacombe

There you have your MFL All-Stars for the 2023 fall season. Congratulations to everyone who made the teams. I will say that this year making my picks was very difficult because there are so many of you that play in multiple divisions and sticking to my rules was hard, but I think I managed.

Final Thoughts

We are heading into the second weekend of November and up to now the weather has held up, but that looks to be changing. Over the next day or two they are calling for 2-4cm of snow. It should be gone by Saturday, but it looks like it might still be cold.

One thing I’m glad about for this weekend is that my game is early in the day, so the field conditions should still be good at that point, but using 2 locations and rotating fields at Le Ber should keep it good for most of the day.

Next week for the finals might be a different story, but that’s next week’s problem (ed’s note: and I heard next week is a jerk anyway).

I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but by now you understand we are playing a game, so go have fun while giving it your all. You don’t want to be that player that didn’t give their all and your team loses (ed’s note: I am always this player and I am 100% fine with it. Sleep like a baby).

Good luck to everyone playing this weekend and even if you’re not playing and are bored at home missing football, you can always come out and cheer for your favourite team or player and if you want to stir the pot you can come heckle anyone and everyone if that’s more your style.

Word from the Mouth: 10 TDs and a Forfeit! edition

Tuesday, November 7th Kevin Kousaie

We have made it through the season and now we are on to the fun part of the year where we get to crown new champions (ed’s note: do you not have fun during the season?).

Let’s hope we can get 2 more weeks of good weather so we aren’t playing in the snow. I know that a few players think it might be cool and fun to play in snow, but I can tell you from experience that playing flag football in a blizzard isn’t good for anyone.

Right now, we are still trying to figure out what the plan is for this weekend and if we are going to be playing all games at Le Ber or if we are splitting the games up and having some at Arthur Therrien (ed’s note: we’re splitting).

We will plan better than last week, so teams don’t have to change locations in the middle of the game because the lights didn’t come on. See what happens when Jon is back and running one of the fields on his own? Fames can’t be finished on time, teams had to move locations, and you know or at least I do, that he bamboozled the field bag up for me completely like he always does (ed’s note: this is intentional).

I painted the lines last week and I know they aren’t perfect, but it was my first time doing it and I was drinking while doing it so that might be why they aren’t perfectly straight.

Recap

Division 1

A-Team vs Outlaws (18-54)

A-Team looked good on their opening drive when they scored with ease, but then hit a roadblock and weren’t able to score again until midway through the second half. It just seemed like every time A-Team needed short yardage, the ball ended up going deep and falling incomplete. Brady looked great in this game picking the A-Team defense apart with ease. A-Team seemed a step behind on defense and didn’t do a good job tackling. Ariel and Jerome both scored 3 TDs for Outlaws.

A-Team vs Jagerbomb (25-20)

After the way the first game turned out for A-Team there were talks that they would just forfeit the game, but Dave said gosh darn, let’s finish the season off strong and with a win. Jagerbomb wished they had forfeited the game, because they would have been in the playoffs. For a D1 game there were more drops than you like to see and way too many missed tackles as well. This game was close from the start and late in the game Jagerbomb made it a 5-point game when they scored and got their 2-point convert. They had timeouts and were set up for a chance to win if they got the ball back. After a few plays and 2 first downs, time was running out on Jagerbomb’s season. Then the one thing you don’t want to happen happens and it cost them the opportunity for a comeback. Kevin rushed and was on top of Dave preventing him from stepping up and following through on his pass. Flag was thrown for roughing the passer, first down given and game over.

Lockdown vs Centurions (45-24)

Centurions started the game going 3 and punt, but once they were on defense, Jon who was subbing picked off Simon’s first pass of the game and walked in for 6. After that there wasn’t much going on for Centurions. They dropped more balls than usual, they didn’t play good defense, and they knew going into it that their season was over. Lockdown was gearing up for the playoffs and needed to win to get in. Simon relied on Alex and Manu who combined for 202 yards and 4 TDs on 16 catches. Defensively Lockdown didn’t do anything other than watch Centurions drop passes.

Division 2

Thunder Buddies vs Nice TDs (54-63)

What an offensive game this was. 117 points. Guess teams forgot they are allowed to play defense. I guess I was mistaken as both teams combined for 6 picks, 4 for Nice TDs and 2 for Thunder Buddies. Andrew is trying to win his second straight triple crown but this time in D2. He finished the day with 8 catches for 151 yards and 5 TDs. Dilan had 4 for Thunder Buddies which is great unless someone gets 5. Very late in the game with Nice TDs being up 3, Nico jumped a pass from Steve and was able to walk in and seal the win for them.

Division 3

Phoenix vs RawSauce (62-39)

All week all I had to hear at home was how Nick was going to end my career and force me into retirement. Well that isn’t going to happen, at least not this time around. Once both teams settled in, they traded scores and it looked like whichever team made a mistake it would cost them. With 5 minutes left in the first half, RawSauce punted the ball giving Phoenix the chance to get the lead before half. They marched down and scored leaving 22 seconds on the clock. Now for the play that changed the game and blew it wide open. On first down Jose jumped a route and picked the ball off giving Phoenix back the ball 10 yards out. Alec scored 1 of his 5 TDs to end the half, the kicker here is Phoenix was getting the ball to start the second half. When the second half started Phoenix was able to score giving them a 3 TD lead. At this point the game is all but out of reach. Both teams kept pushin,g but each time one team scored the other answered right back. I want to point out that I’m against violence, especially when it’s with a child (ed’s note: it’s weird how often Kevin needs to state this), but in this case the ass whooping I handed down to Nick was well deserved. Oh, did I mention that the new all-time TD record in 1 game is now 10 set by me? All you haters can suck it. (ed’s note: I think for the greater good, we need to strike this game from the record books)

Division 4

I couldn’t see any D4 games this week since we were missing a bunch of refs and I was tasked with working the higher division games this week.

Division 5

Jungle Squad vs Phoenix (0-25)

This game got turned to a forfeit because I used an illegal sub who was above the cap limit for 2 series while one of my players showed up late, so we were only 5 and had another player get hurt while we were only 5. It’s almost better this way. Gold was subbing at QB for Jungle Squad and he was able to use Julien to do most of their damage. Julien scored 2 TDs and had 92 yards on 5 catches. At half Jungle Squad was up 6-0. The first half was a half Phoenix wishes it could have back, they dropped 3 maybe 4 TDs and were shutout. Second half rolled around, and I knew someone needed to provide a spark for us. Kat stepped up making big catches and moving the chains. Twice she got the ball inside the 5-yard line where Vince was able to punch it in from. After Phoenix scored to make it 12-8 for Jungle Squad, Gold threw a pass that was picked off and returned for a TD, giving Phoenix their first lead of the game. On their next drive, Jungle Squad was put in a fourth and long and Gold made his best throw of the day, a deep crossing route that Julien caught and took to the house giving them a 19-15 lead. But then Vince scored his second TD of the game to give Phoenix back the lead. Late in the game Jungle Squad had a fourth down and 1 inside the red zone that they couldn’t capitalize on and gave Phoenix the ball back, needing one first down to end the game. Two plays later they had the first and the game was ended.

Studs & Duds

Last chance of the year to make my list unless your team made the playoffs. Now to this week’s winners and losers.

Studs

Division 1

- Simon Blais completed 28 of 44 passes for 299 yards, 7 TDs and 1 1-point and 1 2point convert.

Division 2

- Maxime Plourde made 14 catches for 153 yards, 4 TDs with 1 1point and 1 of 2points. On defense he made 3 tackles and had 1 pick.

Division 3

- Kevin Kousaie 10 TD passes. (ed’s note: Jesus…)

Division 4

- Ezra Barette caught 4 passes for 40 yards, 3 TDs and 1 2point convert. On defense he had 1 pick which he returned for a TD.

Division 5

- Justin White pulled in 9 balls for 122 yards, 3 TDs and picking off 4 passes and scoring on 2 of them.

Duds

Division 1

- Marvin Steinberg 2 catches for 23 yards, for someone who considers themselves one of the big dogs in the league these stats don’t show it.

Division 2

- Will Power 4 catches 8 yards. Those numbers earned your spot this week.

Division 3

- Pocket Rockets as a team for scoring a total of 36 points in 2 games with playoff spot on the line.

Division 4

- Trolling Holers for going 0-2 last week of the season and entering the playoffs cold.

Division 5

- Kevin Kousaie for using an illegal sub and having their game changed from a win to a loss.

With it being the last week of the season, some players really showed that they are that guy and, in some cases, it was a bit too late.

Predictions and Power Rankings Week 10

Friday, November 3rd Kevin Kousaie

Predictions

This season my picks have been horrible and I have no shot at winning this season and to have any shot at it (ed’s note: wat?), I need to get every game correct and hope that everyone else only get a few correct. Since I have no shot at it (ed’s note:…), I decided to just flip a coin to see if that works better for me.

These picks are from when we cancelled a week due to rain and I could have left my picks, but figured I’d try something different this week, so here goes nothing.

Division 1

Lockdown vs Centurions

Iron Wolves vs Lockdown

A-Team vs Outlaws

A-Team vs Jagerbomb

Division 2

Thunder Buddies vs Nice TDs

Nice TDs vs KOLB

Division 3

Mustard Tigers vs Double Dippers

RawSauce vs Phoenix NA

Villians vs Pocket Rockets

Pocket Rockets vs Villians

Double Dippers vs Red Cats

Division 4

Trolling Holers vs Iron Wolves

Drama Club vs Trolling Holers

Jagys and Chill vs Udaho Idapimp

Airborne vs Bines Low Fat

Jagys and Chill vs Top Shooters

Udaho Idapimp vs Sour Peeps

Royale with Cheese vs High on Audibles

Cyclones vs Royale with Cheese

Division 5

Nomades vs Dancing Zebras

Low Expectations vs Blue Badgers

Slot Machines vs TD Hunters

Mimosa Crew vs My Ball Zach Ertz

Grizzlies vs Bear Hood

Grizzlies vs Ledgendaries

Jungle Squad vs Phoenix NA

Los Politos vs Les Last Calls

Slot Machines vs Big Booties

Tropic Thunder vs Binettes

That is who the coin picked to win this week. If anyone wants to help out so Willie does win for the first time, just forfeit your game if I picked against you.

Power Rankings

Here we are, last week of the season before the playoffs and these are the rankings for the last time this season.

Division 1

1- Outlaws

2- A-Team

3- Iron Wolves

Division 2

1- Nice TDs

2- Idaho

3- KOLB

Division 3

1- Double Dippers

2- Red Cats

3- RawSauce

Division 4

1- High on Audibles

2- Bines Low Fat

3- Trolling Holers

4- Jagys and Chill

5- Drama Club

Division 5

1- Blue Badgers

2- Ledgendaries

3- Bear Hood

4- Phoenix

5- Grizzlies

There you go, your last week of rankings for this season.

Final Thought

I hope everyone enjoyed Halloween and had fun taking their kids out in the cold. This past weekend we had Chrissy dress up like the Podcast, Brian as Jon (but much better looking), and Jordana dressed up as me. I wish my kids were still little because dressing up and going out in a family costume used to be fun. (ed’s note: next year you should force Nick to dress up and go trick or treating with you. I will pay for video of that.)

This weekend it should be good weather, but you never know.

Before I let you go, I have to remind you that even though this is the last week of the season and teams are still fighting for their playoff spots, we are still playing a game and it should be fun, so go out enjoy yourself and don’t kill anyone. See you Saturday.

Word from the Mouth: Walk the Lines! edition

Tuesday, October 31st Kevin Kousaie

Let me start by saying tootin’ kids and never send a child to do a grownup’s job (ed’s note: tell that to Nike).

This week both locations were smelly pants. Arthur Therrien lines were completely wacky and Le Ber had no lines all together (ed’s note: false!). That will all be fixed for this weekend. I have ordered paint and will be doing the lines myself on Friday along with filling in holes and trying to level it as best as I can so that we are good for playoffs.

In case you haven’t stepped outside yet this week, it has started to snow, it might not stick around, but you never know (ed’s note: Yes, you do know). That means 2 things are possible playing the playoffs in a blizzard and me wearing a shirt to set up at 8am on Saturday (ed’s note: this is another thing we also know. No, you won’t). Which is more likely to happen?

Recap

Division 1

Outlaws vs Lockdown (30-26)

Ariel showed that he is more than just an elite defender this week scoring 3 TDs including the game winner with 26 seconds left. When you look at the stats you have to wonder how you lose a game where you throw 0 picks and the other team throws 3. That very rarely happens, but for it to happen in D1 is even more surprising.

Jagerbomb vs Centurions (32-38)

Gabriel was finally able to get his team into the win column throwing 6 TDs to 0 picks. Yvan had a great day scoring 2 TDs and amassing 170 yards on 13 catches, while Ludovic subbed and scored 3 TDs. This was a game that Jagerbomb should have won and because of it there is a slight chance they don’t make the playoffs, plus you never want to be that team that gets beat by a winless team this late in the season.

Outlaws vs A-Team (26-40)

Both QBs seemed to forget which team they were playing for as they combined for 9 total picks. 5 by Brady and 4 by Dave. After 2 weeks of struggles, A-Team didn’t play close to their best game, but did enough to get the win. Jeremy led the way for A-Team with 3 picks with 1 being returned for 6. Jeremy also scored 1 TD off 6 catches and had 36 yards. A few seasons ago Ariel picked Dave off 5 times in a game, this week it was only 3 times, but at the end of the day the W is what really matters and A-Team got back into that column after a few tough games.

Division 2

KOLB vs Pocket Rockets (21-20) OT

I couldn’t speak to Jonathan after his game and see how it felt like having a rusher like Khalil who end the day with 6 sacks and I’m sure a bunch more pressures. PO seems to be off this season throwing 4 more picks this week. After KOLB scored to tie it at 20, both teams had 3 possessions with the ball and neither team could score. We went to OT where Jon found Stan for what turned out to be the game winner in round 3 of OT. PO had a chance to tie it, but the ball landed incomplete.

Pocket Rockets vs Nice TDs (2-51)

PO threw 7 picks in this game with Andrew getting 4 of them and Flash took every one of them back for 6 which must be a record, if not for the season it definitely is for 1 game. Vinny’s stats are a bit stupid when you look at them. 10 of 15 for 97 yards, 4 TDs and 2 picks thrown. I guess when you have a short field all day your stats are going to look subpar. Khalil scored their only points on a safety, so at least it wasn’t a shutout.

Idaho Udapimp vs Average Joes (32-20)

This was the last game of the day with the sun setting and the wind coming out it was getting chilly and everyone wanted to go home. Idaho jumped out to an 18-0 halftime lead. Joes started to make a comeback to start the second half, but after making it an 18-14 game, Jeremy scored on a 21 yard TD and had the 2-point convert on top of that. Iggy started to drive down late to score, but having to use his timeouts he knew they weren’t going to comeback but wanted to end the game with a score, but Jeremy had other plans and finished the game off with a pick.

Division 3

Phoenix vs Mustard Tigers (33-12)

Rob filled in at QB and did a very nice job of spreading the ball and not turning it over. Mustard Tigers were missing players like they have been most of the season, so they struggled to move the ball and to be competitive all season. Mustard Tigers are looking for the season to be over with and Phoenix is wishing it could have back one of those games earlier in the season, that way they might have had a shot at the playoffs.

RawSauce vs Red Cats (38-34)

I don’t know how this could happen with RawSauce missing half their team due to injuries. RawSauce had a sub to make them 7 players, but Ludovic played defense and this game should be a forfeit because of that. Yvan and Simon killed it for RawSauce getting 185 yards, 4 TDs on 9 catches between them. I asked Avery what happened and all he could say was it was the Armenti cursed that did them in.

Double Dippers vs Pocket Rockets (46-33)

Brisson killed it at QB throwing 7 TDs and only 2 picks. David relied on Simon and Maxime who scored 5 TDs on 10 catches for 157 yards. On defense Manu picked PO off 3 times and Nicolas had 1 sack that was a safety. With under 5 minutes left Pocket Rockets scored to make it a 1 score game and now needed a defensive stop to have a chance to complete the comeback. David took 7 plays and over 3 minutes to score and go back up by 2 scores. Pocket Rockets ended the game after that.

Division 4

Trolling Holers vs Cyclones (12-6)

Worst offensive game all season. Alex completed 5 passes, had 1 TD and 2 picks while only getting 51 yards of offense for Cyclones. Josh didn’t do much better going 20 of 36 for 126 yards, 2 TDs and 2 picks. The key to this game was Andre and his 5 sacks for Trolling Holers.

High on Audibles vs Airborne (34-33) OT

PO is making a name for himself as a receiver this season leading Airborne once again with 11 catches for 70 yards and 2 TDs, while also making 3 tackles on defense. Since Benoit took over at QB Airborne has been in every game even when they shouldn’t be. This week Hassan went off for 3 TDs and Ben kept taking what the defense gave him and that is how Airborne stayed in this game. In OT both teams scored on their first attempt and missed on their second in round 3 HOA got theirs to start the round and when Airborne attempted their convert, the ball fell incomplete and HOA snuck through with the win.

Bines Low Fat vs Royale with Cheese (32-0)

It took Bines a long time to get going, but once they did it was on. At half it was just 6-0 with that score happening right before half. JF has come along ways since week 1, now having the confidence to take his time and make multiple reads before throwing the ball. This week Thomas scored 3 times on 3 catches. Mathieu had 3 sacks on defense. This Bines team is peaking at the right time and is a team to watch out for in the playoffs.

Drama Club vs Sour Peeps (24-12)

We all knew Sour Peeps were going to have their ups and downs this season and this is one of those games where they were in the game for the most part, but with players missing it was going to be hard. Simon did a nice job of taking what the defense gave him and he tried to avoid Lambert as much as possible, but he still ended the day with 1 pick. Simon could have done a better job getting the rest of his players an opportunity to get the ball on offense, but I don’t know that he didn’t and maybe they just didn’t catch the ball.

High on Audibles vs Iron Wolves (27-6)

The only score of the game for Iron Wolves came on a pick 6 from Cooper on the opening drive of the game, but after that it was all downhill. Jason threw 5 picks in this game, and we all know you’re not going to win many games that way. Kris is the best player on the team and wants to win, but sulking after every bad play or when the ball isn’t thrown your way isn’t the way to help mentor the young players and help build Jason confidence up. Kris you’re a great player and I get that you want to win, but sometimes you just need to show up and be the decoy. Avery had a monster game on defense with 3 picks and scoring on 1 of them.

Mustard Cubs vs Trolling Holers (7-25)

Max dominated this game scoring twice on offense as well as having 2 picks on defense and scoring on 1 of them. Josh did enough to win the game with the help of the defense. For Mustard Cubs, when Tyler is your number 1 receiver you know that there are problems. I’m not saying Tyler can’t play receiver, but when you think Tyler, you think rusher and that his father is one heck of a center and good-looking guy. Jungsoo sacked Josh 3 times which I’m surprised about because I expect Josh to run around and buy time. Trolling Holers are only as good as Max is on that day and if Josh stays calm and cool.

Drama Club vs Jagys and Chill (12-40)

Simon wasn’t there at QB and they had Ian as a sub, which didn’t help them at all. Ian threw 6 picks and only 2 TDs. The Drama Club defense tried their best to keep them in the game with their 3 picks, but when JF had short fields most of the game scoring was easy for them. This defense for Jagys and Chill is good and are hard to score and move the ball on. Joris had 3 picks and scored once on defense that is on top of his 5 catches for 38 yards and 1 TD. Other than him no one on the Jagys teams’ stats jump off the page at me.

Division 5

Binettes vs Slot Machines (25-26)

Both teams have come a long way since week 1, the big difference is that Slot Machines have stuck with the same person at QB all season and Binettes have played musical chairs all season. With under 2 minutes left Slot Machines scored on a TD to Hugo and that put them up 5 so they went for 2 and were successful with Jeremy pulling down the pass. Albert now needed to go 45 yards and get the convert to tie it up or go for 2 and get the win. Albert started the drive with a 30-yard completion to Mark. After an incompletion, Mathieu gained 18 yards on the next play before Thomas scored from 2 yards out. After getting Binettes down the field Albert had no luck left on his side and the convert was no good.

Low Expectations vs Drama Club (7-0)

If you wanted offense, this was not the game for you. Nico couldn’t even get 50 yards passing and Marie was their leading receiver with 23 yards. Nico did have 2 picks on defense that made up for the 2 he threw. Alec had his only TD pass to Basil from 6 yards out with just under 12 minutes left in the first half. Chris had 2 picks for them on defense to keep the game low scoring.

Mimosa Crew vs Los Politos (46-26)

Sam is doing everything for Los Politos and they really need to find a second stud if they want to compete with the stronger teams in the division. I thought Mimosa was going to struggle since I thought Dag was playing QB, but instead they had Rob fill in and he did a great job spreading the ball going 16 of 23 with 6 TDs. Justin led the way on offense with 5 catches, 91 yards and 3 TDs. On defense Dag had 2 picks.

Blue Badgers vs Grizzlies (30-13)

Going into this game these teams were ranked 1 and 2 and it didn’t disappoint. Blue Badgers are led by their top tier defense and it all rolls through Oliver who had 3 picks and returned 1 for a TD. Whenever a play needed to be made Oliver looked for Jeremie who ended the day with 7 catches for 71 yards and 1 TD. Grizzlies approach things differently and need the big plays to win and when plays need to be made they look to Jesse to make them. Jesse only had 3 catches for 40 yards in this game plus a pick on defense.

Big Booties vs Les Last Calls (18-0)

This wasn’t the type of game you see from Les Last Calls often. Seb had no catches and Guillaume threw 5 picks and only completed 7 passes. Rob mentioned to me that he was on Seb all game long and didn’t allow him any space to breath. It was the Max show for Big Booties as he scored all 18 points for them while also picking off 3 passes.

Jungle Squad vs Slot Machines (20-32)

Jungle Squad is a shell of the team they were a few weeks ago. They have lost multiple players for the season and are having a hard time replacing those players. This week Matt joined them as a QB and this late in the season it will be tough for him to learn and get on the same page as his new teammates. Slot Machines needed this game to keep playoff alive. Slot Machine jumped out to a 20-0 lead and once Matt got going it was too little to late to get back into the game.

Mimosa Crew vs Tropic Thunder (14-7)

Tropic Thunder is a mess at this point. They pulled Eduardo after he threw 3 picks early, but they were only down 7 at this point. Connor went in and he didn’t do much better. Connor did lead them on a scoring drive halfway through the second half. Late in the game Tropic Thunder had a chance to go down and tie it up or take the lead, but on fourth down and nine Connors pass was incomplete. And the game ended with Mimosa Crew walking away with the W. It wasn’t as if Mimosa Crew out played them Rob was just able to find the endzone twice while also throwing 4 picks instead of 5 combined from Tropic Thunder.

My Ball Zach Ertz vs Dancing Zebras (7-13)

I don’t get My Ball Zach Ertz. You have a runner like Luca, and he only gets 3 catches for 9 yards? You need to find a way to get him the ball in open space. Guillaume was able to score late in the first half and couldn’t do much in the second half. Where Ian struggled in the first half, but settled down in the second half. Late in the game Ian hit Devantie for an 11-yard score. They failed on the convert, but this left under a minute in the game and gave them the lead as well. After getting the ball past midfield the defense for Dancing Zebras stepped up and forced a few incomplete passes allowed a run for 2 yards and the game was sealed when Guillaume was sacked by Guillaume on fourth down.

Phoenix vs TD Hunters (18-13)

This wasn’t a pretty game for either team. It started with Vince scoring a deep bomb while Justin was on the bench. After that the game both teams settled in, and it was a slow game with neither team taking many shots. TD Hunters did a good job on defense with Shermika leading the way with her 3 sacks and who knows how many she was just a second late or missed the flag on, but it didn’t matter to her she kept coming all game long. They also didn’t allow any yards running. They did have one big weakness that I could have exploited all game, but never did (ed’s note: he’s like a superhero!). Late in the game TD Hunters had a chance to win it, but on the last 2 plays of the game Jordana and Chrissy made huge pass defenses to stop what would have been game winning TDs for them.

Ledgendaries vs Nomades (30-18)

The Ben-to-Ben connection is strong with them hooking up 11 times this game for 73 yards and 4 TDs. Both QBs threw 3 picks, the difference was when those picks were thrown and where they were on the field. Nomades opened the scoring quickly to start the game before giving up 24 straight points. When the second half started Legendaries knew if they didn’t do anything stupid the game was theirs. What Nomades needed to do was capitalized on the picks they got early in the second half, but instead they just gave it right back.

That’s all I have for recaps this week. I did cover every team even a little so they would have some coverage. Terry just got married this weekend and won’t be back until the finals weekend, and with Willie you never know if he will hit the record button while trying to film the Podcast. I figured it was easier to just cover everything myself and if he does the podcast, it’s a bonus.

Studs & Duds

It’s that time of the week where you get to see if you did enough to get on my list. I want to remind everyone you can only win for the highest division you play in unless you play a different position (ed’s note: or if Kevin forgets this rule), but you can be named Dud for any division you play in.

Studs

Division 1

- Gabriel Archambault for balling out and getting his teams first win of the season.

Division 2

- Khalil Agrébi 6 sacks in 1 game, 7 in his 2 games played plus he broke the shutout with a safety.

Division 3

- Robert White filling in at QB throwing 5 TDs and 0 picks, while completing 18 of 28 passes for 183 yards.

Division 4

- Mathieu Dupuis in his 2 games had 4 catches for 110 yards, 1 TD, 2 1point converts. He also made 4 tackles and had 1 pick on defense.

Division 5

- Dag Wiesbrok in 2 games made 13 catches for 105 yards, 1 TD, 3 1point converts. Dag also made 5 tackles and had 5 picks on defense.

Duds

Division 1

- Kyle Daniels 2 catches for 7 yards just won’t cut it.

Division 2

- PO and his 11 picks in 2 games.

Division 3

- Ludovic Goulet for playing a play on defense and possibly forfeiting the game that they won.

Division 4

- Alexandre Szalipszki you were sacked as many times as you had completions (5), and you had no rushing yards either.

Division 5

- Tropic Thunder for being a complete mess at the QB position.

If you’re expecting to make my lists before the season ends this upcoming week is your last chance. You know what to do to make my list, ball your rump off or stink the place up. Congratulations to all of this week’s winners and good luck to everyone this weekend.

	Teams	GP	W	L	D	PTS
1	OUT	0	0	0	0	0
2	IW	0	0	0	0	0
3	LOK	0	0	0	0	0