Word from the Mouth: Goodbye 2022! edition

Tuesday, November 15th Kevin Kousaie

After having a great weekend for week 1 of the playoffs, week 2 was more of a slip and slide out there. When I arrived at 7:30 in the morning the field only looked bad in a few spots and luckily, I was able to get a hold of Jon before setting up the third field, since Jon wanted it on the baseball field that had at least an inch of water on it. I could only imagine how much Kris would have complained about having to play on that.

All week it was calling for rain and all we got was a light drizzle early in the first game, but after that it was only the mud players and refs had to deal with. At the end of the day, we were able to get all the games played and no one getting seriously hurt except maybe me, but I don’t go to doctors so I wouldn’t know.

Finals Recap

Division 1 Finals

Gros Coqs vs A-Team (27-26) OT

I wasn’t able to be there for this game, but from what I saw in the stats and heard, this game was close all the way through. From the stats, the one thing that was surprising was that Dom only had 6 yards rushing. Was that because Hinsley was on him all day or because Dom wanted to show his arm off? The only other thing that I saw about this game was on Facebook and was posted by Mike, which was a picture with the ball out of his hands that he says was called a sack. I can only tell you from the looks of it the ball was out of his hand. Also, nowadays when you see something on Facebook you never know if it is a real picture or not.

Division 2 Finals

Thunder Buddies vs Nice TDs (35-12)

I was only able to see a play or two of this game, but I do have a few things to say about this game. For starters, once Dave got hurt, Kris played QB the rest of the way until the finals where they brought Iggy in at QB. Why would you do that all season the team-built chemistry with you as a QB and you decided to change it up for the finals? Secondly, I heard a lot of whining coming from that field on almost every play.

Division 3

I was away for the Semifinals and Finals so I have no clue what happened, but Terry and Willie will fill you in this week on MFL Total Access.

Division 4

Semifinals

Pocket Rockets vs Revenants (37-0)

This game turned out how most people expected it to go. Pocket Rockets walked all over Revenants with ease from start to finish or at least until they called the game.

Mustard Tigers vs Bines Low Fat (32-26)

Bines jumped out to a huge 20-0 lead and it looked like it was going to be a runaway, then Mustard Tigers woke up and made a game out of it. At half it was 20-13 for Bines. Second half, the teams just trade scores, but Mustard Tigers did get a stop late in the game with a chance to go down and win the game, but Michael had other ideas and picked off the second pass Brian threw to seal the game and head off to the finals.

Finals

Pocket Rockets vs Bines Low Fat (8-32)

This was a game that most of us knew was coming for weeks and most were expecting Pocket Rockets to win with ease. I can tell you from seeing this game that I wasn’t impressed by Pocket Rockets at all. I think Pocket Rockets had two big plays, both coming in the first half and both being made by Alexis. I did notice that it seemed all PO wanted to do was go deep and to the same few players. I also saw that later in the game when plays needed to be made, PO was going to some of his weaker players instead of his studs. Bines on the other hand had no issue all game. JF was able to find an open receiver on almost every play and defensively they picked PO off 3 times. I said it after week 1, the Bines had the best defense in the division and this game just proved it.

Division 5

Semifinals

Fighting Armadillos vs TD Hunters (20-12)

I said it last week that it needed to be wet and sloppy for TD Hunters to have a chance and that’s what happened. PO struggled to find his receivers and was picked off 4 times and Goldrick was able to run scoring twice, but couldn’t get things going through the air. At the end of the day Fighting Armadillos showed why they were the number 1 team and pulled out a close victory.

Sour Peeps vs Phoenix (6-12)

This turned out to be a defensive game, but you might not have thought that if you saw how the game started. To open the game Phoenix was forced to punt and Sour Peeps didn’t take long to open the scoring, with their second possession Phoenix was able to punch it in to tie it at 6. The game stayed this way until Phoenix players ran the wrong route and somehow on the same play the Sour Peeps defense had a blown coverage. Instead of hitting a 2 yard drag on third and two for a first down, Brandon was wide open for a 44-yard TD. That play and the fact that I was able to run almost at will in this game was the difference.

Finals

Fighting Armadillos vs Phoenix (18-7)

This game, just like the other games played in D5, wasn’t pretty. The game started with Phoenix on offense, and they were able to move the ball but were forced to punt because of dropped balls. Armadillos went and scored on their opening drive and on the convert, Nick picked it off and ran it back for 1 point. Phoenix was able to move the ball on multiple drives, but weren’t able to convert on third and fourth down with short yardage and anyone that was at the game could see I was hurt and hobbling around and wasn’t able to run. This played a factor on defense as well. When Ali caught a quick slant, I was in good position to make the tackle, but he ran and just got out of my reach and took the play 45 yards for a TD. Late in the game Phoenix was inside the redzone and looking to score, but Phil and his long arms had other plans as I tried to float the ball over his head and he went up and pulled it down with one hand. It was a great play, but Phoenix did score a few plays later with a pick 6 from Dave to make it a 18-7 game. That’s how the game ended, but if Phoenix had caught 2 passes that were in the receivers hands the game would have been 19-18 Phoenix, but that didn’t happen which meant that Mike and PO got 1 of 3 championships they played in on Saturday.

Congratulations to al the winners this season and better luck to everyone else next season.

Finals MVP

Normally you would get my player of the week here, but I figured that I would just go with Finals MVP to make it easier for myself. I also want to let you know that I have thrown out my rule for players only getting it in the highest division they play in since it’s the last week of the season and you shouldn’t be penalized for it at least not this week.

Division 1

This week Dom Lefort went 24 of 37 for 173 yards, 4 TDs, 3 1point converts and threw 1 pick. Dom also ran 5 times for 6 yards.

Division 2

Manu Allard caught 5 passes for 40 yards, 2 TDs and 1 2point convert. On defense Manu made 3 tackle and had 1 pick.

Division 3

Rory Kelly made 5 catches for 85 yards and 3 TDs as a receiver and on defense he made 3 tackles had 3 picks and took one of them back for 6 points.

Division 4

Thomas Cote-Parent made 7 catches for 71 yards, 3 TDs and 2 1point convert. Thomas also made 2 tackles on defense.

Division 5

Phil Charpentier made 6 catches for 101 yards and 2 TDs. Phil also made 1 tackle and had 1 pick on defense.

There you have it my Finals MVP for the fall season. I think it is funny how for once Jon and I have all the same players picked as MVPs. I guess great minds do think alike (ed’s note: and fools rarely differ) even if one of those is Jon’s.

Final Thoughts

This is my final article of 2022 and what a year it was. Outlaws didn’t win a title in Montreal, but did win one in Brossard. A-Team finally figured out how to play as a team, even with a few arguments here and there and went 1-1 in the finals. Thunder Buddies moved up a division and won another title, and now have 1 in D5, D4, D3 and D2.

D2 is almost 1B with how competitive it has become. D3 is probably the toughest division to judge because there are so many players in that division with so much athleticism still learning the game, but it can only get better as those players figure the game out and how to use their talent properly.

D4 was fun and very competitive again this season with multiple teams finishing at 6-4 once again.

D5 is where things get a little funky and there needs to be help with setting proper player ratings for new players in that division, bringing in new players who dominate the division and don’t have their ratings adjusted doesn’t make it fair for the rest of the division, especially if D5 is for lower rated players to come have some fun.

At the end of the day I hope everyone had fun this season, because that is all that really matters.

I want to remind everyone that we are having MFL Fall Season get together this Sunday, November 20th starting at 1 pm and we'll be having it at Champs sports bar located at 3956 St Laurent. Everyone is welcome and, in the past, it has been lots of fun.

One last thing before I let you all go until 2023. Winter season is almost, if not completely, full by now, but if you want to play or have a team you might want to message Jon ASAP to see if he has a place for you or your team. Don’t get left out in the cold.

Once again, thank you all for making the MFL season a successful one. We wouldn’t be around if it wasn’t for you players.

Word from the Mouth: Making Up Banana Fondues! edition

Thursday, November 10th Kevin Kousaie

Predictions

I looked over my picks from last week and saw that I was 5-5 which isn’t better than flipping a coin. I could only come to one conclusion and that would be that the teams I picked to win forgot to read my article last week.

Division 1 Finals

Gros Coqs vs A-Team

I would normally think that Gros Coqs, who have had difficulties in the past dealing with size, would lose. This week it looks like rain and that give Gros Coqs a huge advantage. I cant see how Gros Coqs lose this game. (ed’s note: by scoring fewer points than A-Team, that’s one way)

Division 2 Finals

Thunder Buddies vs Nice TDs

Last week Thunder Buddies had Willie at QB, but this week I expect it to be Steve and that gives them another weapon in Willie at receiver. How are Nice TDs going to slow down Thunder Buddies and will they be able to keep there cool enough to be able to and pull off an upset? Neither of those things will happen.

Division 3 Semifinals

Idaho Udapimp vs Double Dippers

I’m not sure who will be throwing for Idaho this week and if Brady isn’t then that will be a huge loss and hurt them a bunch. I also think that this week Double Dippers come out and play like they did last week and that was very good.

Iron Wolves vs Master Chiefs

This was a hard choice to make, but after looking it all over a while I came to the conclusion that Master Chiefs have a stronger roster and the better QB in this game. I can see how Iron Wolves can win, but I’m not confident that it will play out that way.

Division 4 Semifinals

Pocket Rockets vs Revenants

I know Marvin and the rest of Revenants played good (ed’s note: ugh) last week, but this week I can’t see them being able to pull off another win. Pocket Rockets are just too strong of a team.

Mustard Tigers vs Bines Low Fat

I know Mustard Tigers won this game last week of the season, but its now the playoffs and the season is out the window. Bines are much more athletic and if they keep the pressure on Mustard Tigers I can’t see them keeping up.

Division 5 Semifinals

Fighting Armadillos vs TD Hunters

Armadillos are a really strong team from top to bottom and if they lose it would be a huge upset. The only way that I can see TD Hunters win is if Goldrick has a great day throwing the ball as well as running. If it’s raining hard in this game it might make it a even playing field.

Sour Peeps vs Phoenix NA

I don’t pick my team’s games.

There you have my picks for the last week of the season.

Final Thoughts

This past week in the NCAA we saw a few big upsets in the top 10. Alabama lost for the second time this season that all but knocked them out of the playoffs, you had Notre Dame dismantling Clemson and barring a miracle kicked them from the playoffs and in what should have been the best game of the year, Tennessee didn’t show up as Georgia walked all over them. With all that happening, the playoffs are up for grabs or at least 2 of those spots are as Georgia and the winner of Ohio State and Michigan will be locked in.

I’m a huge football fan, but as the years go by, I’m slowly finding it harder and harder to watch the NFL. The games are no longer good with all these soft potato rules, there are too many prime time games and then there are the refs that just make banana fondues up so the league gets who they want to win (ed’s note: this is pure nonsense. Even a basic understanding of NFL finances would make it clear that the teams that the NFL wants to win have not done so in a long time. If the last few Super Bowl champs were the Bengals, Lions, Jaguars, Bills, and Cardinals, then yeah, that would be suspicious, but if you think the league wanted Brady to win all those championships, man, you better get an accountant, because you don’t understand how money works. This is just some “old man yells at cloud” nonsense).

You want to know the difference between the NFL refs and the NHL refs? NFL refs allow players to play early in the game and don’t throw flags until the game matters and the NHL hands out penalties early and as the game progress allow players to play (ed’s note: this is actually statistically incorrect. The penalties in the NFL are extremely balanced in number through all quarters and also “letting them play” means deciding the game by not throwing flags. Does anyone actually think allowing PI in football or interference in hockey, aka “letting them play”, actually makes the game better or more fair?). To me they all need to call the game the same way no matter how the game is going (ed’s note: they do in the NFL. Though I agree that they do not in the NHL). Don’t tell me that the NFL didn’t want KC to win the other night when they allowed them to go for 2 and the tie 3 times because of penalties (ed’s note: I’m not a KC fan, but those were all blatant penalties. Would you rather just allow defenders to tackle receivers and not call it? That would be the referees deciding the game). I’m not arguing that there wasn’t a penalty, but they don’t call them on the offense (ed’s note: wait, so it was a penalty, and there was no offensive penalty on the play, but you felt they should have called one anyway?).

That’s all I have to say, but let me finish up by saying thank you to everyone for the fantastic season and good luck to everyone left playing this week. Even with it being the last week of the season and you will have time to heal,please remember that you are playing a game, so go have fun and don’t kill anyone. Oh, I also forgot to mention that this is your last chance to collect anything that you might have left behind. The season started with 1 ball from the league now we have 3 or 4 plus a pair or two of cleats and a set of keys (ed’s note: and 2 pairs of gloves!). If you think any of these are yours (ed’s note: or you just want some free stuff!), come see me Saturday. Thanks.

Word from the Mouth: Playoffs! edition

Tuesday, November 8th Kevin Kousaie

What a beautiful weekend we had for round 1 of the playoffs. It was 22 degrees with plenty of sun and a little bit of a breeze all day long. At the end of last season when we were trying to figure out when to start the fall season there was talk of not having the extra week off between season and just jumping right in to have fewer November games, but the weather was great last week.

This week it’s looking like rain which is going to be bad for whoever is playing later in the day since the field will get all ripped up. I’m writing this on Monday and its calling for rain, but we all know that the meteorologists predict the weather as well as Willie makes his picks this season, so 50-50 on a good day. Sorry Willie, had to burn you on that one last time and I know I wasn’t much better, but 1.25% ahead is still a win.

I just got breaking news on my phone about the Colts firing the man who has the greatest playoff comeback in NFL history, Frank Reich, and replacing him with long time center Jeff Saturday. I know all you Tom Brady fans are thinking 28-3 in the Superbowl, come talk to me when you’re the backup QB and comeback from 35-3 to win the game 41-38 in OT. Most of you won’t remember that since you’re too young and don’t know the history of the game (ed’s note: whatever, grandpa). Right now, some of you have gone and google searched this and are amazed that Brady isn’t number 1, but Brady isn’t even number 2 on the Colts since Andrew Luck came back from 28 points down, so Brady is at 3 on the list. Looks like Brady who just broke 100 thousand yards in his career will have to stick around another few years just to get this record since he pretty much has all the other ones.

Playoff Round up

Division 1

Gros Coqs vs Iron Wolves (52-21)

Let me start by stating that Iron Wolves were down a few key players (Jon & Stanley) and maybe that would have made the difference, but I don’t think so. You’re called Iron Wolves and you showed up and played like paper pups in this one. Dom played his ass off like he always does in the playoffs, especially when Iron Wolves didn’t have Stanley there to rush him. I get it that in D1 you need to score points to win, but going for it to start the game on 4 & 5 on your 10-yard line isn’t the smart thing to do. That was the first play that stood out to me and the second was after Iron Wolves punted with 34 seconds left in the half and Dom hits Charles for a 45-yard TD to end the half. Gros Coqs started the second half with the ball and on the second play Dom ran 35 yards for a TD that gave them a 32-14 lead. At that point Iron Wolves were just trying to crawl back into the game and couldn’t.

Division 2

Thunder Buddies vs Red Raiders (41-36)

For some reason Steve sat on the bench and allowed Willie to take the snaps under center in this game. Red Raiders came out on fire, scoring on 3 straight drives and getting 2-point converts on them as well. Going into half the score was 24-19 Red Raiders with Thunders Buddies starting the second half with the ball. Second half both teams matched scores and with 4:05 left in the half and Red Raiders being up 1 after scoring on the convert it was picked off and looked like the defender was going to score, but Mike took a good angle and was able to flag him and keep the 1-point lead forcing Thunder Buddies to go down and score if they wanted to win, they were. Now being down 5 with limited time left this is where things got weird or stupid in my opinion. Mike threw a deep ball to Andrew which he caught, but was a good 3 or 4 yards out of bounds and they weren’t able to convert the drive to get the win.

Division 3

Bines vs Double Dippers (28-38)

I don’t know how we ended up with a score like this considering the score was 7-6 Bines at half time. Second half both teams figured it out a little more. Leon was able to use Alex going on deep post a few times, but Alex still dropped one that would have been 6. The big difference in this game was Rich making 2 huge picks early in the second half and scoring on 1 of them. Bines couldn’t stop Alex, but Dippers weren’t able to stop William either. Alex scored twice while William scored 3 times. What I really noticed in this game other than Double Dippers playing up to their potential was the ball placement from Leon. If his receiver had a defender inside, he threw it outside and vice versa. This had to be the best game I have seen Leon play all season by far. Dave didn’t play badly for Bines and even with him throwing 3 picks Rich made nice breaks on the ball and jumped the route.

Division 4

Phoenix vs Revenants (14-39)

I’m embarrassed for myself and my team to lose a game like this, and to Marvin of all people. If you can’t tell, I’m still a little bitter about this one. On the Phoenix side we were missing Khalil our rusher and Marvin was loving that. That wasn’t the only reason why we lost. Marvin came out and played the best game of his life, picking apart our defense like they weren’t even there (ed’s note: I think you’re mixing metaphors a little. How do you pick apart something that isn’t there?). Phoenix was flat from the start, missing tackles, not breaking up passes or picking balls off that they should have, and allowing Marvin to run whenever he wanted. For Revenants, they played a great game on defense. They didn’t allow yards after the catch and made every throw difficult for me and I can’t tell you how many times they knocked the ball out of my player’s hands when it looked like a catch. Marvin and Revenants came out to play and Phoenix didn’t. They thought it would be an easy game, but falling down 19-0 early, there wasn’t any coming back.

Division 5

Phoenix vs Lesniaks (18-12)

This was the last game of the day and both teams were missing key players. Lesniaks were missing Zack who finished the season with 13 TDs and an amazing 19 picks on defense, while Phoenix was missing Khalil the top rusher in the division with 19 sacks to go along with his 8 TDs. With both players missing you’d figured that offense would light it up. We had the complete opposite happen and neither team did much with the ball. Phoenix should had scored on their opening possession except for a player having pockets, it then took until the final minute of the first half for points to go up on the board and that was from Lesniak finding Josh on a 20-yard score. When second half rolled around Phoenix started with the ball and started to get things done scoring on 3 of 4 drives in the second half. Mike was only able to score on the last drive of the game and by then the game was over. The biggest difference in this game was the 4 picks Phoenix got compared to zero for Lesniaks. This game might have been different if Chris hadn’t picked off the pass on fourth down while Lesniaks were inside the redzone on their opening drive.

That’s my wrap up for round 1 of the playoffs. I’m sure Terry and Willie will have more to talk about this week on “The Jaf Show”. Hope you enjoyed.

Players of the Week

I would normally choose 2 players per division and it would be open to anyone who played, but now that it is the playoffs and we have less (ed’s note: sic) games played I have decided to go with 1 player per division. That just means that you either had to make an impact on both sides of the ball or do something remarkable on one side to make my list this week.

Division 1

Dominic Lefort went 23 of 27 for 248 yards, with 7 TDs and 2 1point convert. Dom also ran 6 times for 58 yards and 1 TD. On defense Dom made 3 tackles.

Division 2

Will Power was called upon to play QB and he went 33 of 40 for 249 yards, 6 TDs, 1 1point convert and 1 2point convert threw the air. Willie also ran 5 times for 10 yards and made 2 tackles on defense.

Division 3

Alex Szaplipski caught 6 passes for 140 yards 2 TDs and made 2 tackles on defense.

Division 4

Old man John Morris had a day to remember or at least one that someone will tell him about someday. John had 6 catches for 50 yards, 4 TDs and made 2 tackles on defense.

Division 5

Goldrick Noel was 12 of 21 for 149 yards, 4 TDs, 2 1point converts and threw a pick. Gold also ran 6 times for 59 yards and 1 TD. On defense he made 1 tackle and had 2 picks.

There you have it, this week’s top players. At least from what I saw.

Predictions and Power Rankings Week 11

Thursday, November 3rd Kevin Kousaie

Predictions

I know I have struggled all season long trying to make my picks. I also know I was under 60% on the season which isn’t even a pass in Quebec, but if we were anywhere else in Canada it’s a pass since the rest of the country has lower standards and 50% is a pass.

I can tell you one thing and that is I didn’t finish last as that went to Willie, who I beat by 1.25%. That’s not a big difference, but it’s still a win. Ok, maybe not a win, but it’s not a loss.

If you read my last article, I had the Packers winning so my picks are off, but I plan on getting them right this week.

Division 1

Gros Coqs vs Iron Wolves

The last few weeks Iron Wolves have had either Iggy or Willie throwing and I’m not sure who it will be for them this week, but it won’t matter because Gros Coqs always show up in the playoffs.

Outlaws vs A-Team

Last year A-Team knocked Outlaws out of the playoffs, this year that doesn’t happen. Steve puts up enough points so he won’t have to count on his defense getting a stop.

Division 2

Jagerbomb vs Nice TDs

If Jagerbomb can stop Marvin, then this game will become a blowout and the other factor in this game will be how calm Jagerbomb are compared to Nice TDs.

Thunder Buddies vs Red Raiders

I think this will be a close game, but I have to go with the team that had the better defense and offense in the regular season.

Division 3

Master Chiefs vs RawSauce

Master Chiefs have the roster that is more complete plus I feel RawSauce used all they had last week just getting in and this week they will be facing a way better team.

Bines vs Double Dippers

I really wanted to go Double Dippers, but all season they have been up and down and with having the week off I think that will hurt them and the chemistry they have built this season.

Division 4

Randoms vs Bines Low Fat

Randoms had some help coming down the stretch and now that it’s the playoffs, if they need it they won’t be getting the same type of help and that’s why they lose this week.

Mustard Tigers vs Drama Club

The last time these two teams played they were both missing players and Mustard Tigers won convincingly with key players missing. This week I expect both teams to be full roster and the same thing will happen again.

Phoenix vs Revenants NA

I don’t pick my team’s games.

Division 5

Sour Peeps vs Les Last Calls

I have some inside info for this game, but don’t want to share because it will give Sour Peeps an advantage. I know they might not need it, but it would be very helpful.

TD Hunters vs Vultures

I can’t see them coming out and playing as poorly as they did last week, but it will be a close game since I also know something about this game as well that I won’t share.

Phoenix vs Lesniaks NA

I don’t pick my team’s games.

There you have it my picks for the week. Just so you all know I’m getting every game right and you can bet on that. Good luck to everyone this week.

Power Rankings

Now that we are in the playoffs, rankings no longer matter as it’s win and move on or lose and go home, so I won’t do this section and will replace it with my All-Star picks.

All-Stars

Let me make this very simple for everyone, I will only be picking players from their highest division with the exception of D1 and D2 since so many of you play both. You can only make it for 1 position and if you play in multiple divisions at different positions then you can make it there as well. I hope that makes it clear for everyone.

Division 1

Offense

QB- Stephen Harripersaud

WR 1- Yvan Desjardins

Slot 1- Kevin Smuda

Center- Vincent Granata

Slot 2- Marvin Stenberg

WR 2- Ashton Thibault

Defense

Rusher- Nicolas Paquin

Corner 1- James Langshaw

Middle- Dilan Daoust

Corner 2- Shawn Haney

Safety 1- Kris Hope

Safety 2- Will Power

Division 2

Offense

QB- Michael Roy

WR 1- Jeremy Rooney

Slot 1- Dilan Daoust

Center- Laurent Foucault

Slot 2- Rob White

WR 2- Marvin Stenberg

Defense

Rusher- Tyler Znoj

Corner 1- JF Daloze

Middle- Nicolas Poitevin

Corner 2- Kevin Marcil-Cardinal

Safety 1- Kris Hope

Safety 2- Vincent Anctil

Division 3

Offense

QB- Ignacio Valdes-Manzanedo

WR 1- Louis Mathieu-Dufour

Slot 1- Yvan Desjardins

Center- Kyle Daniels

Slot 1- Sean Kennedy

WR 2- Gabriel Boucher

Defense

Rusher- Antoine Theroux

Corner 1- Jason Edwards

Middle- Victor Okoro

Corner 2- Loic Sevigny-Seguin

Safety 1- Simon Beaudoin

Safety 2- Jeremy Trudel

Division 4

Offense

QB- PO Tremblay

WR 1- Benoit Maynard

Slot 1- David Brisson

Center- Thomas Znoj

Slot 1- Eric Emond

WR 2- Philip Charpentier

Defense

Rusher- Khalil Agrebi

Corner 1- Nick Kousaie

Middle- Diana-Janes Landry

Corner 2- Felix Begin

Safety 1- Oliver Waiter

Safety 2- Julian Sablowski

Division 5

Offense

QB- Guillaume Dubuc Lacombe

WR 1- Sébastien Lucas Alzate

Slot 1- Jorge Hernandez

Center- Riley Casey

Slot 1- Paul Liboi

WR 2- Anthony Drysdale

Defense

Rusher- Julie LeBlanc Goulet

Corner 1- Philip Roberts

Middle- Gabriel Hernandez

Corner 2- Ali Issa

Safety 1- Zack Goldig

Safety 2- Michael Halevy

I know you all might not think this is the way it should go, but this is how I see it and if you dig deep and look at the stats you will see I’m right. We have never done an All-Star game, but I really feel that we should one of these days. It could be fun to see everyone playing with different players and how the matchups would end up looking. If we ever did, I think that the QBs would have to be the captains and it would have to be done in a snake order with each captain having to pick 1 player from each position and not just the player they feel is the best, so you couldn’t take 2 WR1s on your team for example.

Final Thoughts

This week we are only playing round 1 of the playoffs, which is good so that players won’t have to play 4, 5 or 6 games in the day and it made making the schedule a little bit easier. I want to remind everyone that the games are being played at Le Ber and not Arthur Therrien.

This is for the captains, please make sure you are aware of the roster and sub rules for playoffs or it can mean a forfeit.

Here is a quick rundown of those rules.

Every player needs to have played at least 5 games or get an exemption from the league to be allowed to play. Get it in writing so you can prove it. You can only have a sub to bring your team to 6 players unless your QB doesn’t play defense then it can be 7 players. I know we have a cap in place, and you might think you can use anyone you want to as long as you stay under your division cap, but that isn’t true for playoffs as each division has a set max cap for each division. I think it’s 60 for D5, 65 for D4, 70 for D3, 75 for D2 and 80 for D1, but you might want to check the email that was sent out just to be sure. By breaking any of these rules will result in an automatic forfeit and that means you won’t get to play next week.

I have said this all season, but I’ll say it again anyways: we are playing a game, so go out, have fun, and don’t try to kill anyone. Good luck to all playing this week and see you Saturday.

Word from the Mouth: Packers Over Bills, Guaranteed! edition

Tuesday, November 1st Kevin Kousaie

Let me start by saying thank you to everyone who played this season. Without you the league wouldn’t be what it has become.

This weekend there was so much on the line for so many teams which meant we had lots of great games to go along with the fantastic weather we had. Let’s hope that weather can hold up for 2 more weekends. As I write this article my weather app is telling me to expect rain and snow for the next two weekends, but who trusts an app two weeks in advance.

I missed all of the college games on Saturday, and I wasn’t able to catch the Notre Dame game where I was expecting to see Stu either in the stands or if he had a few too many maybe streaking across the field. At least Stu was able to see them win. It always sucks to travel to see a game and your team gets their Rumpelstiltskins handed to them.

On Sunday, I was only able to catch a little bit of the games. I was able to see Russel Wilson save his job in Denver because Trevor Lawrence threw a pick on the first play after going down with under 2 minutes left. I was also able to see Tua keeping the hope in Miami alive. One thing I really want to know is what is going on in the state of New York? Jets were winning, then lost to New England who looked to be in the middle of a possible QB controversy. Giants lost to Geno Smith who has been balling out this season and I’m calling it now, the Bills losing to GB on Sunday night (ed’s note: nailed it). The state of New York is going 0-3 this weekend after having a combined record of 16-4 coming into the weekend.

Weekly Recap

Division 1

I wasn’t able to catch any of the D1 games, but I can tell you that some of, if not all, the Trollers were pissed with Steve and Outlaws scoring 48 points on them since they lost out on a playoff spot because of points against. I thought it was closer, but after looking at the standings they gave up 41 more points than Iron Wolves, so Trollers need to look at the bigger picture. You started out strong when everyone showed up and then you fizzled out down the stretch.

Division 2

Thunder Buddies vs Jagerbomb (38-50)

This game was for first place in the division and a possible finals preview. I’m surprised the game was as close as it was right up to the end. Before half Steve threw a pick 6 and then Jagerbomb started the second half with the ball and it put them up by 14 points and the game looked like it was going to be a runaway. Thunder Buddies got a few stops and tied the game at 38 with 10:38 left in the half. No one did anything with the ball until Simon led Jagerbomb down for a score. Steve still had a chance to go down and score, but after getting some yards he started to go deep with a few of those passes falling threw his receivers hands before Kevin picked him off and ran it in to seal the game.

Division 3

It was a RawSauce weekend for me. I got to see them bring out new jerseys for the last week of the season and what they were hoping would turn into the playoffs as well.

RawSauce vs Panaches (31-22)

This game was supposed to be a very close and possible easy game for Panaches, but this week unlike many this season, RawSauce showed up with a complete roster. The difference in this game was Antoine eliminating the run from Felix. That meant Felix was going to be forced to win using his arm and with all the drops his team had, that didn’t happen. Panaches also wasn’t able to stop Gabriel from doing whatever he wanted once he got the ball.

RawSauce vs Invictus G (37-20)

Invictus G didn’t have their QB and that was going to be an issue for them. Louis went off for close to 100 yards and 3 TDs, but no one else on the offense stepped up. Ludovic threw for over 300 yards and had Antoine get over 100 yards with 2 TDs and Yvan had just under 100 yards and 4 TDs. Gabriel helped put an end to a few drives with his 2 picks. This game was never in doubt for RawSauce as they jumped up early and never looked back.

With RawSauce balling out in their two games this week, it meant they secured their spot in the playoffs, where its one game at a time. Teams might not remember, but this same RawSauce team can play when they need to, so no one should overlook them.

Division 4

Phoenix vs Idaho Udapimp (25-6)

To start the game Phoenix was only 5 players as a player was running late, we lost the coin toss and Idaho took ball in the second half. I ask if they would be willing to play 5 until I player showed up and at first, they said yes, but then changed their mind and we started 5 vs 6 and it took all of 2 plays for Phoenix to score. After that the defense took over the game. If it wasn’t for Eric getting 3 picks this game it could have been a lot different. Idaho went with David at QB since they plan on using him during the winter season and he didn’t have a good day. Khalil sacked him 6 times and forced him to throw early which led to 6 picks and a lot of short fields for Phoenix. Later in the game David did lead a nice drive where he found Eric tapping his toes inbounds before going out. The game ended on 3 straight picks, two from Nick and Eric getting his third of the day.

Division 5

Phoenix vs Les Last Calls (32-26)

I knew going into this game that if Phoenix was going to have a chance and maybe even win this game they would need to stop or at least close down Seb. We couldn’t though, as Seb lit us up for 136 yards and 3 TDs on 6 catches. Knowing that we couldn’t slow down their offense I had to start slowing the game down and, in the end, it paid off. There were a few plays that ended up being big in the game. The first one came late in the first half with the score tied and Last Calls having the ball, I was able to pick a pass off and prevent them from scoring and keeping it tied at 20 heading into halftime. The second one was on the opening drive of the second half where on fourth down inside the red zone, Guillaume threw a TD pass, but after a ref discussion it was determined that he took the snap with his knee on the ground which meant he was down, and it was a turnover. After each team scored and the game still being tied, Nick under cut a route and picked a pass off leaving 4:21 in the half. I knew I had to be smart with the ball so I used the clock and Les Last Calls didn’t use their timeouts to stop the clock. With time running down and it being third down I took off running from the 10-yard line and got the ball in. This left Les Last Calls 1 play and with Phoenix playing 4 deep they went short and without thinking, Seb lateraled the ball back which isn’t allowed and ended the game.

There you have it, this week’s recaps, hope you enjoyed. If you want more MFL news stay tuned for MFL Total Access with Terry and Willie on Wednesday night.

Players of the Week

This was your last chance to show me you deserve to make my list and a lot of you did and a few dominated and really helped their team get into the playoffs. This week I had to make a few picks that I wasn’t completely sold on at first, but after looking over the numbers again I felt fine with the picks.

Division 1

Offense- Meis Ngarane made 4 catches for 46 yards and 3 TDs.

Defense- Hinsley Adams made 7 tackles and had 4 sacks in his 2 games.

Division 2

Offense- Felix Fontaine-Larouche caught 6 passes for 88 yards, 3 TDs and 1 2point convert.

Defense- Jose Antonio Espinosa made 1 tackle, had 2 picks and ran one in for a TD.

Division 3

Offense- Ludovic Goulet was 46 of 77 for 493 yards, 11 TDs, 2 1point converts, threw 2 picks and ran 2 times for 17 yards in his two games played.

Defense- Antoine Theroux made 8 tackles with 5 of them being sacks, also in his 2 games played.

Division 4

Offense- David Brisson caught 17 passes for 198 yards, 2 TDs and 1 1point convert, while helping his team win two big games.

Defense- Khalil Agrebi made 6 tackles all 6 were sacks.

Division 5

Offense- Justin Wainberg made 2 catches for 83 yards and 2 TDs.

Defense- Paul Liboi made 4 tackles and all 4 were sacks.

There you have it, the last group of players making my list for 2022. I know not everyone was able to make my list and a lot of you did try hard, but so did everyone else. Maybe next season or if your team has made the playoffs. Good luck to everyone next week.