Word from the Mouth: Always go for 2! edition
Word from the Mouth
By Kevin Kousaie
Well round 1 of the playoffs are in the books only 2 more weeks of the spring season. This is just a reminder that you still have time to put a team in for the fall season (Email the league at MTLflagfootball@gmail.com). I prefer the fall season over summer just because the weather is better or at least cooler. I hate playing in the heat especially when my games are in the late afternoon, and I've been there all day. Last week we played at Leber and if you noticed there was actually grass on the field all day long, guess that happens when you only use it 3 or 4 times all season. Now we just need a few more years of using it this way before we have a full field of grass and no bald spots. If the city would get me a truck load of dirt in the first 2 weeks of October, I'd level the field off and put so much seed down that next June the grass would be so plush and soft that you wouldn't mind getting knocked down onto it. If any of you ever played tackle on a new grass field that’s the best but they won’t last long because the city doesn't maintain them properly.
Recap
D1
We had 4 vs 5 in round 1 and this game had loads of offense. Both Willie and Simon put up similar stats except Simon had 50 yards on the ground. With zeros on the clock Iron Wolves scored to go down 1 with the convert extending the half by 1 play. Now the choice was 1 for the tie or 2 for the win, Willie elected to go for the tie which is out of the norm for him and seems like they were settling. Right then you knew it was over for the Wolves.
D2
Man, were there ever some fireworks this past weekend in D2. You had Double Dippers who snuck into the playoffs beating Average Joes by a wide margin. I mean the game started off great for Double Dippers scoring then getting a safety on their first defensive snap before turning the change of possession into a score as well. It was a quick 17-0 lead. After a few more picks Jason hung it up and walked off to take a seat. At that point it was over for Average Joes and by half it was 50-0. The Nice TDs vs RawSauce ended up being a good game because the first half was all defense, with only 6 points being scored by RawSauce. At half both teams decided it was better to stop playing defense so we can get some excitement out of this game. Jerry-Pierre picked the ball off in the endzone for Nice TDs with no time left. This allowed Guillaume time to get 1 play and we all know he has a big arm. The only thing is will he have time and who's fast enough to get there if he doesn't. He had a bit of time and he had Damien barreling down the field where he out jumped the defense to come down with it for the win.
D3
I saw the Witching Hour vs Trench Babies game and if it wasn't for Vincent Marotte Trench Babies might have been moving on to round 2. Vincent had 2 huge picks on defense that would have been TDs. I heard that Simon choked against Horde, I mean getting sacked 5 times and getting picked off with it going back for 6. I don’t know how Drama Club let David do whatever he wanted to in this game. He threw 4 TDs, ran one in, and had a pick 6 as well. Terry relied on Willie to move the chains and Nick when they needed a big play. Was it a smart move having Nick score late in a 45-yard play.
D4
Underdogs won their playoff game but then needed to face the number 1 seed in the first round, and we all expected them to be done after this game. If it was for Simon and his 13 catches keeping drives going and Arnaud getting 4 sacks and preventing JF from running this could have gone the other way. Mustard Tigers should have taken control of the game after Victor took a 1 point convert attempt back for a 26-25 lead with 4 minutes left. They had the ball and just needed to get a few first downs. That never happened and they were forced to punt and gave DTS another shot at it. After marching the field, it came down to the last play of the game and Matt was able to connect with Justin on an out at the goal line where the defense backed off the line and allowed them the easy score and the win.
D5
Big Assets beat Hive because they weren't able to stop Justin from running, don’t worry Phoenix had the same issue in their second game. Titans were lucky Ben was there as he held down the defense getting 2 picks and making sure everyone was in the right position. Cessnas beat a 514 team that was missing players and it was an easy game for them. Mimosa moved on to round 2 because Booties had players missing as well. Phoenix was knocked out in round 1 once again but had nothing to do with the way they played, had to do with a few calls (ed’s note: excuses!) that weren't called the same for both teams and the fact that they couldn't contain Justin when he decided to run (ed’s note: so, it did have to do with the way they played then?). Slicks and Titans had lots of defense considering there were 66 points scored.
Studs & Duds
Well, it was week 1 of the playoffs and we got some great and some horrible performances. Now it’s time to see if you made my list.
Studs
D1
- Simon Duchesne 7 TDs in the air plus 50 yards on the ground.
D2
- Damien Balla game winning 45-yard TD with no time on the clock.
D3
- James Langshaw 20 of 23 with 5 TDs.
D4
- Yianni Mitsianis 1 TD and 2 picks but had all the attention of the defense on the final play.
D5
- Justin Salonga for using his legs and getting the job done to move on to round 3.
Women's
- Crazy Bs for coming out having a practice and watching a few games as well.
Duds
D1
- Willie for going for 1 at the end of the game.
D2
- Jason Armenti for walking off on his team and then coming back in a few drives later like nothing happened.
D3
- Guillaume Renaud-Dumoulin 1 tackle in a d3 playoff game, thought you were better than that but guess not.
D4
- Bouchers for getting beat by an inferior team missing their best player on top of it.
D5
- 514/Big Booties for them not having their team there for the playoffs.
Women's
- No duds for the ladies this week since they didn’t have any games.
There you have it my list for round 1 of the playoffs.
Predictions
There are only 10 games to pick this week so let's get right to it and see who I have going to the finals. Like always my picks are in bold.
D1
Unit vs Idaho Udapimp
KOLB vs Outlaws
D2
Double Dippers vs Fins Up
Nice TDs vs Rejects
D3
Horde vs Thunder Buddies
Witching Hour vs Him U
D4
Underdogs vs DTS
Alouettes vs Bandits
D5
Big Assets vs Slicks
Mimosa Crew vs MTL Cessnas
Those are my picks for the semifinals.
Final Thoughts
I know it’s that time of the year when people are taking vacations but it's playoffs time. You play all season just to fuck over your team when playoffs roll around. Do what JF and I did and booked our trip for the day after the finals. That was my plan the last 2 years and will do the same next season. The question is where am I going to go and who am I going to invite to come along with me. I made a joke that we should plan an MFL trip but who has time to organize all that when you know that 1 person is going to be upset about location or something like that. Then there is the fact that none of you will be able to tolerate me being my true self for an entire week. Only 2 games left to play this season well if you win this week. Go out play your ass off and have fun because at the end of the day we're playing a game for fun. Good luck to everyone this weekend.