Word from the Mouth: I'm Running You Down If You're Running It Up! edition

Thursday, May 18th Kevin Kousaie

First week of the season is in the bags and only 11 more to go until playoffs. I want to start by saying sorry to whoever had to play on that wonderful field #5 this past weekend. I know, and so does everyone who has every played on it before, that it’s not the best. Okay, who am I kidding? Playing in the streets full of potholes would have been smoother than that.

Just so we are all clear, the fields were set up like that because we couldn’t get Arthur Therrien until this weekend, since the city wouldn’t give us the park. This week we are back to 2 locations so please check your schedule to know which park you are at.

With this being week 1 we had a bunch of close games and even a few blowouts. I’m not surprised by how some games went, but I was a little shocked at a few. There might even be a few changes made because of it. Now that most teams have a game played and banged off the rust, I can’t wait to see what happens the rest of the season.

Weekly Recap

Division 1

Gros Coqs vs Trollers (41-26)

A few things stuck out to me in this game. First let me mention that Gros Coqs got new jerseys and they are Cream and not white as I was told on multiple occasions. For the first time since the league was put together back in 2014 there is no original member of the Trollers on the roster. Now to what happened in the game. The game was close and both teams were going back and forth on the scoreboard and with the talking. Half way through the second half Gros Coqs scored and were up 10 when Trollers started to drive down and try to keep it close, until Charles Rousseau-Bélanger picked off a pass from Vinny and ran it back for 6. At this point the game was out of reach but both teams traded scores once more and the game ended with Gros Coqs winning by 15.

Division 2

Spritz Gang vs Jagerbomb (20-26)

This game was lots of fun to be able to watch. Mario was cheerful and wearing some flashy jewelry, JS looked fresh with zip on the ball, plus they added 2 new players Laurent and Dagher both who will help. Then there is Jagerbomb who came with the same team as last season and are solid from top to bottom. This game started out great for Spritz Gang they went up 12 to start the game with Pat getting both TDs. Then Simon woke up and got things going. Late in the first half after a TD by Jagerbomb JS made his worst throw of the game with a pass over the middle right into the hand of Loic who ran it in for 6 and that was what turned the game in favor of Jagerbomb. Very late in the game Spritz Gang scored and had 2 timeouts left which meant jagerbomb couldn’t end the game. They needed a first down to end it, but ended up punting giving Spritz Gang 1 shot at scoring, but the ball fell short and the game was over.

Division 3

Phoenix vs Bines (24-26)

This game had a few plays that made huge impacts in the game. Phoenix was able to march up and down early in the game and score. Bines on the other hand had a hard time because of the rush from Khalil at least to start the game. Late in the first half Bines had just scored and left 45 seconds on the clock I was thinking to just end the half, but figured see what happens on first down. We gained some yards so I figured we can get some more yards before taking a shot at the end zone. That was a mistake because on the very next play Bines picked the ball off and were in good position to score to take the lead before half. They managed to score and get their second convert to take a lead at half. Phoenix was down at half, but were getting the ball to start the second half. Nothing to worry about except on fourth and 2 the ball went through one receiver’s hands and into the chest of another and the ball fell incomplete giving great field position back to Bines. At this point Bines looked in control of the game and could have started to run away with it, except Nick picked off the ball in the endzone keeping it a 1 score game. Late in the game Phoenix was down 8 with 3 minutes left and need to score and get a 2-point convert. Phoenix scored quickly because of a big play down the sideline to Khalil followed by a quick pass to Riley for the TD. Convert failed and that meant defense needed a stop. They managed to get it and left time to drive down and try to win the game. After a few plays and use of timeouts Phoenix was left with 1 play the ball was thrown to the endzone where Bines were able to knock it away and prevent the score.

Division 4

Super Friends vs Raw Sauce (31-0)

Wow this game was never close and let me tell you why. Oliver started the game by completing his first 2 passes, one short to Alex N who took it the distance and his second was a deep bomb to Alex M for another TD. After that Oliver only took 1 more deep shot and that was in the second half and once again went to Alex M for his second score of the game. For RawSauce, Gabriel really struggled since this was his first time playing QB, his first 3 drives all resulted in picks. You could tell he was just trying to get the ball out of his hands as quickly as he could. Even when he did make the rusher miss and had time, he would get rid of the ball. This is what you expect from a new QB, but it also would have helped him if his team didn’t drop easy passes. The one bright spot for RawSauce was Jamilie Provencher, she caught every pass thrown her way, even when it was over her head she went up and pulled it down. Right now, RawSauce doesn’t look like a good team, but let’s give them a few weeks before we start nailing the coffin shut on them.

Division 5

Bear Hood vs Titans (39-13)

This game was one-sided as Simon had Bear Hood rolling from the start of the game and built up a 25-0 lead at half time. This should have been enough to coast until the final whistle for Bear Hood, but after giving up a score to open the second half they just continued to pour it on. Simon did complete passes to everyone on the team, but the one pass that really wasn’t cool was when he is taking deep shots at the end of a game being up 26 points. I get you want to get everyone the ball, but just go short. There were two bright point for Titans, Austin had a nice deep catch and run for a score and somehow Robert was looking like RG3 running around and even scored once.

Phoenix vs My Ball Zach Ertz (19-12)

Based on what the rosters looked like, I’m sure people were expecting it to be more lopsided than it was. I will say I was very surprised by how quick most of the players are on My Ball Zach Ertz are. Their rusher was on me all day long and never gave me a chance to run. Speaking of running, boy can Luca ever move. I will tell you that once Luca becomes a better passer this team will surprise a few teams. They do need to work on their play calling and their defensive alignment but that will come in time. Late in the game with a 13-12 lead Phoenix was driving and looking to seal the game and on second down a pass was headed towards James and when it left my hands, I thought it was too high and far out in front of him, but he turned on the jets, extended his arms and managed to pull it in with his fingertips for the score. This gave Phoenix a 19-12 lead. Luca now had 6:30 left to drive down score and get the convert for the tie or win. They moved the ball all the way inside the red zone where now Luca would have to use his arm to win the game and with an incomplete pass on fourth down Phoenix got the ball back and ended the game.

There you have this week’s recaps hope you enjoyed and if you want more MFL new check out Terry, Willie, and maybe sometimes Jaf on their Podcast Wednesday night. If you need more of you weekly football fix, don’t be shy and go check out Matt and his Podcast on MFL Brossard.

Studs & Duds

Man, its only been 1 week and it seems that a lot of you really stepped up your game just so you can make my list. Now let’s go over the rules. I’m only picking 1 payer per division, and it must be the highest division you play in at least to win Stud, you can win Dud for playing in a lower division. You are also able to make it in different divisions if you play a different position, but this is basically if you play QB in one division and receiver in another. You don’t have to win your game, but it does help especially if 2 players are close. Now let’s see who won and lost this week.

Studs

Division 1

- Jonathan Svetna grabbed 6 passes for 129 yards, 2 TDs and on defense made 5 tackles and had a pick.

Division 2

- Quentin Leduc made 5 catches for 76 yards and 2 TDs.

Division 3

- Thomas Znoj made 6 catches for 75 yards and 3 TDs.

Division 4

- Jason McAleer went 17 of 21 for 215 yards, 6 TDs, 3 1point converts, 1 2point convert, ran the ball 3 times for 7 yards and threw 1 pick.

Division 5

- Christopher Jovani Made 4 catches for 72 yards, 2 TDs. He also made 2 tackles, had 3 picks and ran 1 back for 6 points.

There you have it my week 1 Studs. Now it time to see my Duds list where no one wants to see their name, unless you’re really desperate to have your name in my article.

Duds

Division 1

- Jeremy Rooney for staying home and sleeping off the hangover from getting plastered the night before the season began.

Division 2

- Ignacio Valdes-Manzanedo for struggling how badly he did this week. After the way he played last season and how he’s been killing it in FPF. I mean we (MFL Committee) all expected him to light it up with ease.

Division 3

- Jason Armenti for not taking his foot off the gas and running up the score like he did.

Division 4

- Robert White for no other reason than throwing a pick to Jon Evans (ed’s note: a pick 6!), this is an automatic Dud win, so players be aware of this.

Division 5

- Simon Valiquette for putting in a team in D5 with players that you know are too strong for the division and on top of the running up the score by taking deep shots late in the game once the game is already locked up.

Once again you can see I’m not a fan of teams running up scores especially when it’s against a far weaker team. If you made my Dud list, I don’t want to see you up here again next week. If I do you might not like what is written this time around.

Preseason Predictions and Power Rankings

Friday, May 12th Kevin Kousaie

Predictions

Every year the media team makes their picks and the winner gets a prize. This season we now have 5 people picking games and it makes it even more interesting. Jon will cheat and bend the rules to make sure he finally wins one. Matthieu is allowing his 2-year-old to make his picks. Willie will always mention how he is a second half guy and wait for the comeback. I’m trying to get my title back and Terry is looking to repeat as champion.

At the end of the day we all have one goal and that is to not let Willie win and that might mean making a team forfeit a game last week of the season.

Now to my picks, and they are in bold as always.

Division 1

Outlaws vs Centurions

Outlaws are loaded and with Steve at QB I can’t see them losing week 1.

Gros Coqs vs Trollers

They have been playing all winter together and with all the new pieces on Trollers it will take a week or two to get rolling for them.

Division 2

Spritz Gang vs Jagerbomb

They are just the better team and have played more consistently in the past few seasons.

Marvels vs Pocket Rockets

Max is the better QB in this match up, but after that both teams are very close to one another.

Master Chiefs vs Thunder Buddies

This is a very close game to pick, but I think with Owie at QB Master Chiefs have the advantage with the stronger roster.

Division 3

Pocket Rockets vs Double Dippers

With the addition of Simon at QB this makes them a way better team than in the past.

Phoenix vs Bines NA

I don’t pick my team’s games.

Mustard Tigers vs Douilles Molasses

With Jie, David, Victor and Tom as weapons for Brian they should be able to score on most drives.

Red Cats vs RawSauce

I know both teams are solid, but after last season’s attendance from RawSauce I don’t know who will show up and play.

Average Joes vs Villians

This team is stacked and as long as Jason doesn’t throw a bunch of picks they should win a bunch of games.

Division 4

Drama Club vs Sooner 45

If Drama Club can stop the run, then they should be able to win this game.

Bines Low Fat vs Airborne

Can’t pick against last year’s champs at least until they lose.

Super Friends vs RawSauce

Oliver will be under pressure all game long and I see him struggling and for that reason alone RawSauce wins by 2 scores.

Black Diamonds vs Iron Wolves

This is a top up and because I have more confidence in Rob at QB over Jason and that’s why I picked them.

Udaho Idapimp vs Les Bouchers

They have more speed and that will be the big difference in this game.

Division 5

Tropic Thunder vs Improbables

The winner of this game will be whichever QB throws less (ed’s note: fewer. We’ve gone over this…) picks and because Eduardo can run that will be the difference.

Big Booties vs Los Pollitos

They have way more experience and it shouldn’t end up being close.

Jungle Squad vs Kiss My Pass

Lesniak will be the only player with flag experience in this game and he should get his team in the win column.

Bear Hood vs Titans

There is no one on Titans that will be able to stop or even slow down Quentin.

Mimosa Crew vs Legendries

There is just too much top talent to not win this game easily.

Big Booties vs Weekend Warriors

Better QB and way more experience since they are playing a free agent team.

Sour Peeps vs Chili Hotdogs

More experience and better Chemistry.

Phoenix vs My Ball Zack Ertz NA

I don’t pick my team’s games.

There you have it my picks for week 1. The start of the season is always the hardest to make picks since there are so many things we don’t know about the teams and things can change depending on who is there and who isn’t. Good luck to everyone this week.

Power Rankings

I was going to start the season by ranking the entire division, but decided to do what I am going to do all season and only do my top 3. I know some of the divisions have more teams, but if I expand from 3 it makes the picks weaker (ed’s note: is that possible?). Just like adding play in games in the NBA or extra playoff teams in the NFL. Since the season hasn’t started, doing my rankings is based solely on roster and if I feel two teams are close then I will look at the team’s history and go from there.

Division 1

1- Gros Coqs

2- Outlaws

3- Trollers

Division 2

1- Master Chiefs

2- Idaho Udapimp

3- Jagerbomb

Division 3

1- Double Dippers

2- Average Joes

3- Pocket Rockets

Division 4

1- Bines Low Fat

2- Udaho Idapimp

3- Airborne

Division 5

1- Big Booties

2- Sour Peeps

3- Legendries

Those are my rankings, but my bet would be that next week it looks totally different. Let’s see if any of my picks that started the season on top finish there.

Final Thoughts

Only a few days until the season kicks off and I hope everyone is ready. This week all games are being played at Le Ber and this is how the fields will be setup. Field 1 is always closest to the bleacher, field 2 is beside that, 3 is perpendicular down by the scoreboard, field 4 is beside the baseball field and filed 5 is on the soccer field.

Now that you know where they are all located, I figure to still be asked at least 3 or 4 times. Don’t try and ask for your field to be changed because it’s not going to happen.

It’s looking to be a nice day on Saturday and that means drink plenty of water and put on your sunscreen, I know I will be doing that. I don’t have anything else to say except remember we are playing a game and a game is for fun so go out, have some, and try not to take it too seriously. Thanks, and see you all Saturday.

Word from the Mouth: Preseason! edition

Tuesday, May 9th Kevin Kousaie

We have just about made it to another wonderful season in the MFL and am I glad. No more sitting around on the weekend, time to get out and get a tan.

This season we have a total of 50 teams across 5 divisions and that can only mean lots of exciting games. This year we have both Le Ber and Arthur Therrien, so it will be just like last season with players maybe having to change locations if they are on multiple teams and that means the possibility of a few games starting a few minutes late.

We will be running the kids league once again and with that there is a new rule that I will bet gets at least 10 unsportsmanlike calls this season. I know it will be difficult at first, but we can’t have that language with children around. I will let you all know that with the kid’s league going on that there will be 4 to 6 Kousaie’s at the field this season (ed’s note: I broke the no swearing rule reading that) and you all know what that means it will be loud, so if you don’t want to hear us bring earplugs. That was your one and only warning about it.

I’m looking forward to getting out there, playing and seeing most of you.

Players to Watch & Season Predictions

Now I would normally jump into my recaps or the previous week, but since we are heading into week 1 there is nothing to talk about. Instead I will talk about 1 player on each team that you should watch out for, and I have excluded QBs and rushers since those are the easy picks to make since they impact the game the most.

Division 1

Iron Wolves

Demario Cooper. In past season he has balled out on both sides of the ball, but he also tends to miss a bunch of games.

Prediction: 3-7 with Jon at QB (ed’s note: ouch)

Centurions

I could have gone with Simon, but by now everyone knows what he can do and that’s why teams need to figure a way to stop Samuel Collette. Samuel is the guy that makes plays when they need to be made.

Prediction: 4-6

Les Gros Coqs

With so many good players to choose from I went with Boris Gagnier because he is coming back from an injury, and I have to see how his body holds up.

Prediction: 6-4

Outlaws

Ariel Librati. He isn’t a huge offensive guy but makes his plays on defense. Can he keep averaging over 1 pick a game this season?

Prediction: 7-3

Trollers

I’m going with the brothers Jeremy and Ashton as both are new to the team and that can only mean one of two things: either they get loads of balls or they get none (ed’s note: I’m assuming this is some sort of an example of a false dichotomy). Both can be considered number 1 targets, it’s just how they get used that I want to see.

Prediction: 5-5

Division 2

Thunder Buddies

Quentin Leduc. At only 15 years old, we will see how he handles playing against bigger opponents and how much Steve will trust him.

Prediction: 6-4

Spritz Gang

Laurent Foucault. How does he fit in with the team. We all know he can play, but can he play nice and fill a role for Spritz Gang?

Prediction: 2-8

Master Chiefs

Avery Klimas. With Willie out of the picture can Avery step up fill the void and lead the defense. Will he handle the pressure that will be put on him to do so?

Predictions: 6-4

Idaho Udapimp

Eric Schiocchet. This guy can play at least against lower division players, now he needs to show he can play up in the harder divisions and I think he will this season.

Prediction: 6-4

Jagerbomb

JF Daloze. A few seasons ago was an absolute stud last season he took a step back and this season lets see how he rebounds back to the player he was.

Prediction: 7-3

Nice TDs

I went with the young kid on Thunder Buddies and I will do the same here, except Kaiden Dewey will have his dad throwing him the ball and I saw over the winter some of the remarkable catches he made, and I can see a bunch more plays like that this season.

Prediction: 6-4

Marvels

Alexandre Szalipszki will need to do a lot for this team to win games. He will need to make big plays on offense and must get a bunch of picks on defense for this team to have much of a chance.

Predictions- 3-7

Pocket Rockets

Julien Proulx has coached and has years of knowledge and I want to see how he gets along with the way Leo calls his defense and how long it will last until he gets fed up or takes over the play calling.

Prediction: 4-6

Division 3

Iron Wolves

Michael Lesniak and his lowered rating fit into this team. Lesniak normally plays center, but they have Mauricio there and Lesniak is a solid tackler, but can become a liability on defense if put in the wrong place. Will he find his place or be an outcast all season?

Prediction: 4-6. Jon’s arm won’t hold up all season and Josh will be under center by week 6. (ed’s note: I’d be upset, but I think giving me 5 weeks is actually pretty generous)

RawSauce

With most team focusing on Yvan, Gabriel Boucher will need to continue to tear it up like he did last season by putting up big numbers on both sides of the ball.

Prediction: 3-7

Douilles Molasses

Jeremy Trudel. He is their best player based off stats and this season teams might try and focus on him more so how does he deal with the defense keying on him and will he still be able to make plays.

Prediction: 3-7

Double Dippers

Manuel Allard-Roy has chemistry with their new QB and should see his targets go up and get chances to make loads of plays in key situations.

Prediction: 7-3

Average Joes

The addition of Ryan McSweeny is huge for this team and should provide them a true safety on defense. The question is will Ryan step up with the pressure or fall flat.

Prediction: 8-2

Bines

Simon Beaudoin is a stud and can score from anywhere on the field at any time and yes, I am including on defense as well.

Prediction: 6-4

Mustard Tigers

Jie Ouyang took some time off to recover from injuries, but with him being back he should help by giving them anther weapon and a little more speed.

Prediction: 2-8

Phoenix

I could have left this blank since it my team, but I will let everyone know that I think Cory Sim-Robertson will end up playing a huge part of our team and no one knows him.

Prediction: NA

Red Cats

James Nguyen is back after taking last fall off and I think this season he is the key for this Red Cats team. He will need to win the jump balls in the redzone and on converts.

Prediction: 4-6

Villains

This team was tricky to pick someone, but I was able to do some digging around and decide that this season Samuel Thompson O’Reilly is going to be the player making plays for this team.

Prediction: 3-7

Pocket Rockets

Phillip Charpentier will be the player that needs to step up since most teams will be focusing on Willie. Phil is tall fast and has great body control expect to see him flying all over the place.

Prediction: 7-3

Division 4

Iron Wolves

I could have gone with Jon for this pick since I’m sure he will be calling the plays, but we won’t be in the huddle for that. I end up going with the player Jason will depend on to make plays for him and that is Conner McAleer. Conner might be young and just learning the game, but he has speed and won’t get tired.

Prediction: 2-8

RawSauce

Yvan Desjardins is going to tear up this division and do it easily. He will be this season’s version of Alexis and get every ball in key situations.

Prediction: 7-3

Sooners 45

Jose Luis Castro jr is a very good play and very shifty. Teams ill have a hard time tackling him in the open field.

Prediction: 4-6

Bines Low Fat

Thomas Cote-Parent if I remember correctly, he is their center and always finds the hole to sit in and I expect him to do the same, but make a few more players miss once he has the ball in his hands.

Prediction: 7-3

Airborne

I expect the father son connection to be on point and that means lots of balls for Benoit Maynard. Ben has developed into a very good defender that relies on his instinct and makes great breaks on the ball.

Prediction: 5-5

Les Bouchers

Felix Begin might be short, but he can play all over the field on defense and once he gets the ball in his hands is hard to grab those flags. I expect to see 500 plus yards and at least 10 TDs from him this season.

Prediction: 5-5

Super Friends

With everyone looking towards Alex Morin since he killed it last season and that will give Alex Noivo the chance to show not only is he a stud on defense, but he has moves on the offensive side of the ball as well.

Prediction: 3-7

Drama Club

Roxanne Roy will be the player that gets left alone every game, and she will make teams pay for it. She should end up as one of their top players at least on offense, but watch out when you see her line up as rusher as she is quicker than she looks and doesn’t miss many if any flags.

Prediction: 5-5

Udaho Idapimp

Mason Miller played well in the winter and I expect to see him getting better with more games played. He is still learning the game, but can do a bit of everything. Teams can’t overlook him or it will be a long day.

Prediction: 6-4

Cyclones

Stephen Biddle might not be fast and might not look like a football player and that is fine because Stephen has good hands, makes most of the catches when the ball is thrown to him and on defense just seems to always be in the right position. He should get an opportunity to make more plays this season and I see him making them.

Prediction: 4-6

Black Diamonds

David Ferron is going to be the player Rob depends on to make plays. David is a decent player, but needs to make sure he shows up and if that happens, he should be able to have success on both sides of the ball.

Prediction: 3-7

Division 5

Phoenix

David Brebant has played with me from the very beginning of Phoenix and every year he has improved, and I expect to see him becoming a bigger part of the team.

Prediction: NA

Improbables

I went with the only other person allowed to go shirtless at the field and that is Alex Laroche. With the team having a new QB and most of the time they rely on their center, expect Alex to get a bunch of balls and don’t be fooled by his appearance, he does have moves and makes players miss all the time.

Prediction: 4-6

Titans

Austin McMahon has been a beast for this team and with the improvement of other players this should get him some softer coverages and he will definitely take advantage of that.

Prediction: 5-5

Los Pollitos

Guillaume Mayer. This guy is tall, fast and has good hands. If the ball is thrown high to him, he should come down with it all day long.

Prediction: 1-9

Sour Peeps

Benjamin Poitras will need to play like he did last season in order to help Jocelyn keep improving. Ben is solid on both sides of the ball and always seems to make a play a the right time.

Prediction: 6-4

Mimosa Crew

Nikhil Sharma is a very reliable receiver and someone Curren depends on to make plays. Last season he was able to do all that will he be able to do it again this season.

Prediction: 5-5

Bear Hood

Albert Nguyen is just a role player in D3 and D4 but in D5 he should be a main target for Simon and show his other teams what he can do on both sides of the ball.

Prediction: 4-6

The Legendaries

I feel that on this team that Marianela Read-Rainville will get the opportunity to show what she can do. She was new to the league last spring and with the team around her she should find herself open often.

Prediction: 6-4

Tropic Thunder

Brody Vaincourt is a decent player, but what he will have to do is show his skills as a play caller on defense. Stu might give some insight, but it will be up to Brody to make sure it gets done.

Prediction: 6-4

Big Booties

Barbara Donais needs to show Josh she is a reliable receiver and force teams to account for her and by doing that it will get other players open.

Prediction: 6-4

My Ball Zack Ertz

Scott Fulton needs to step up and be the leader for the team and getting them set in position. Once he has the team knowing what to do, he can concentrate on putting up stats.

Prediction: 3-7

Jungle Squad NA no roster has been posted yet.

Free Agents 1, 2, and 3 I will skip because they are new teams with no one other than their QBs that I know, and I don’t feel its fair to judge a team or players that I have never seen before. I do feel that all 3 Free Agent teams will struggle at the start of the season, but should improve as the season goes on (ed’s note: what brave insight!). They will have to listen to what the players with experience are telling them.

I have more I could have said about every team, but I don’t want to give to much insight into what I know about each team. When I picked my players, I tried to pick players that should be able to show what they can do as well as a few that might be in new situations and have to prove themselves.

Studs & Duds

I feel this is way more fun for everyone than picking a player of the week. I’m still going to pick a player who balled out which is expected, but I will also be picking a player that disappointed and just didn’t show up. I know everyone will be trying to be the Stud of the week but what you really don’t want to be is my Dud. I’m going to start off by telling you who is Stud & Dud of the offseason.

Stud

Matthieu Demers for joining the Media team and starting a Podcast exclusively for Brossard and by doing this will save Terry & Will a minute of their show and it will also give the players from Brossard something to look forward to each week.

Dud

Willie will earn this if Terry and him do a podcast prior to week 1. I can already see the look on Terry’s face being like what are you talking about? (ed’s note: that is what my face is like. If they “do” a podcast? Not “don’t do”?) It happens every week, but since they have been off for so long, I expect to see more of them this week.

I know they aren’t flashy picks, but who else could I have gone with? Jon as the Stud for getting the season started, like we need him walking around like he is a star or something. I could have put me as the Dud for not fixing up the field, but I was told the city was handling it. (ed’s note: Dud of the Week: The city of Montreal!) Week 1 will be interesting to see who ends up winning after having so long off.

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.

	Teams	GP	W	L	D	PTS
1	OUT	0	0	0	0	0
2	IW	0	0	0	0	0
3	BSH	0	0	0	0	0
4	ATM	0	0	0	0	0
5	CHF	0	0	0	0	0