Word from the Mouth: Have You Ever Seen the Rain?! edition
We have made it this far and we just have the last week of the playoffs left. I can tell you I was super glad that I played early this weekend. I know people hate early games but at this time of the year it’s better to play when the fields are fresh and haven’t been torn up all day long.
This week it rained on and off all day, but nothing major until the last game of the day when it was bad. The three players I feel for the most when it’s like that are the QB, the rusher, and the snapper. It’s next to impossible to get a good snap off, especially when you are using a synthetic ball. The QB has the same issues with the ball, but he also must deal with bad footing and trying to avoid the rusher. For the rusher the biggest problem is running into the QB, well, really sliding into the QB, since even when you try to stop short you still have a chance of hitting him.
So far it seems like it will be decent weather next week, but we are looking into moving the games up the street in order to play on synthetic, but nothing is decided yet.
I want to give everyone some possible good news about next season. On Sunday, Jon and I went to Le Ber to fix up the field by putting down some seed and we were going to fill in some holes and level it out. George was there since the Pee-Wee Aces were playing their final game of the year for the championship. George let us know that the city has reached out to him about bringing in some dirt and leveling off the whole field early next year, which will keep the field good for years we hope. Even with the last few weeks off from playing at Le Ber the field looks way better and should be great when we start up next season, hopefully in April or May 2022. Also, in case you are looking to play in the winter, spots are filling up quickly for individuals and if you have a complete team you need to let Jon know ASAP or it might be too late. (ed’s note: we have space for 16 teams and we have 14 already!)
Playoff Recap
Division 1
I will be leaving D1 alone since both Terry and Will played in these games. I will just say one quick thing about each game and what I saw. (ed’s note: that is how Kevin defines “leaving a subject alone”, just not talking about it as much)
Outlaws vs Gros Coqs (35-34) OT
What I heard about this game was that Terry threw a dart to Jafar on a 2-point convert and Marvin who had been quiet all game made the play when it mattered.
Holy Trollers vs Henchmen (13-6)
This was a slow and very boring game to watch. Other than Lesniak looking like a young Ray Lewis making tackles all over the field, the biggest play of the game came when Phil picked the ball off towards the end of the game, it was bound to happen since Rossie started out working field, but then went back to trying to get the big plays.
Division 2
Tannantes vs OG Panthers (32-20)
This was a very good game to watch as it had some offense some defense and even a big play on a convert. OG started great scoring on their first possession then it got away from them. OG had a chance to tie it before half and couldn’t. Tannantes started with the ball in the second half and scored to make it a 2-score game. OG fought back to tie it at 20 on a pass from Simon to Gab for the two-point convert. Being down 6 points with 3:30 left in the game Charles was able to avoid the safety, but not the sack by Fabrice. Now sitting on their own 1-yard line, Charles drops back, throws a quick hook towards Terry, and out of nowhere Phil steps in front of it and is in the endzone for 6 and with that the game was over.
KOLB vs Joey’s Haters (40-33)
This game was a little wilder with big plays all over the place. In last week’s article I didn’t give Haters any shot at winning this one and they came out and tried to prove me wrong. After the game I not sure who exactly came up to see me from KOLB and asked me not to pick them to win so easily next time, because this game was a battle right up to the end. I just saw the stats and how does Max throw 5 picks and only lose by 1 score with a chance at the end to tie it or win it all with a 2-point convert? I wish I had seen this game. Both teams scored right away, and it looked like whoever was better on converts would win this game. The Haters defense stepped up in the first half, not with turnovers, but forcing a few punts. Max took advantage of this and built up a 27-13 halftime lead. At half KOLB made a few adjustments and made Max and the Haters pay. It took KOLB all of 6 minutes to tie the game at 27. After 3 straight turnovers from the Haters, they were finally able to punch one in and take a 33-27 lead that lasted a full 9 seconds, with Jon hitting Vince for the 45 yards score and with a successful convert KOLB were up 1 point. Down 1 with plenty of time on the clock, Max threw a deep pass that was picked off by Christian. With the lead and the ball, Jon led KOLB for their final score of the game and with a 7-point lead they missed the convert to seal the game. On a last-ditch effort Max heaves one up and it is picked off by Jon and just like that KOLB gets to move on.
Division 3
Jagerbomb vs Mustard Tigers (36-19)
I know nothing of this game other than what a few players from Mustard Tigers told me and that was that they got destroyed. I’m sure Terry will have some better info then I will since he is on a team with half of the guys from Jagerbomb. Yes, the score was 3 scores away from being tied, but it was closer than it looks at one point. The thing that gave the game away for Mustard Tigers was allowing Jagerbomb to score in under a minute after you made the score 18-12 them. This also happened to be right before half and Jagerbombs started with the ball in the second half and were able to score making it a 30-12 lead and at this point all Jagerbomb had to do was not screw up and the game was theirs. Really the score was 36-19, but Jagerbomb gave up a TD on the last play of the game.
RawSauce vs Panaches (21-20) OT
I’m not sure how this happens, but it did. Panaches dominated the first half and it looked like they were going to carry that all the way through, but at half RawSauce talked it over and figured it out. The play of the game, or I should say the mistake of the game, came with Panaches up 20-14 with 30 seconds left in. I heard this from the ref afterwards, that on third down Thomas had gone out of bounds and then came back in to play and was the first to touch the ball resulting in a penalty and the clock being stopped. This is where knowing the rules and the situation pays off. Felix should have just thrown the ball away and had one of his players stay on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage until the clock was at zero, then Panaches could have punted with no time left on the clock. Just so everyone is aware the ref can not blow the play in until everyone from the offense and the ball are behind the line of scrimmage. I know it seems like cheating, but at the end of the day a win is a win and who cares how you got it, use the rules to your advantage. In OT it took a few tries before Ludovic hit Antoine for the successful convert. Panaches had an opportunity to tie it but the ball fell incomplete.
Blackout vs Thunder Buddies (20-38)
Ok, I will start by saying that Blackout came late and were down 12 points with the clock running before they had 5 players to take the field. Once Blackout were there and the game was being played it was a close game. I will point out that Steve was playing QB this week and not Terry. After the game Blackout complained about it, but it was too late to do anything about it. I will let Terry go into more details since he was playing in this game.
Division 4
Phoenix vs Airborne (27-12)
From playing in this game, I will tell you the score makes it seem closer than it really was (ed’s note: Jeez…). I will tell you that Guillaume started out great and made me a little nervous. Guillaume marched just past midfield before stalling. With my first possession I had a receiver wide open behind the defense and when I went to throw the ball it started to slip from my hand and it looked like I was shot putting the ball, which ended up getting picked off. After that I was able to settle in and start moving the ball, but so was Guillaume who came close a few times to scoring on drives, but with dropped balls of passes just out of reach couldn’t keep drives going. On both of Airborne TDs they were short plays that the defense just missed tackles multiple times. I would like to know what the defense on Airborne were thinking when I was inside the red zone where I can’t run, but was coming to the line they allowed Gab to get behind them for a score that some people were amazed that she was able to turn around and keep her feet in bounds (ed’s note: it’s on the highlight video!). I also have to give a shout out to Nick who played fantastic defense and was able to knock down 4 passes with a few of them on fourth down and 1 was in the end zone for a score.
Manitoboys vs Spin Doctors (38-21)
I know I give Ralp (ed’s note: I’m leaving this in. That’s not even close to his name, Kevin) a hard time and a lot of shit, but since he left Spin Doctors this team just hasn’t been the same. This week they decided to have Avery play QB instead of Rob and it made no difference, it might have even hurt them more by doing that. Knowing what I knew before the game I knew this wasn’t going to be close, but deep down I wanted to see Spin Doctors pull it off. Other than Rob and Ryan no one did much in the game. For Manitoboys it was just another day for them on the field. Adam did what he does and puts up points and the defense made their presence felt with 5 picks and returned 1 for a score.
Idaho Udapimps vs Sneaky Snakes (38-0)
This game was called with time still left in the game. I want to know how a team like Sneaky Snakes who people thought would win it all in this division after starting out the season 5-0 went 1-5 after starting down the stretch and were blown out in 4 of those games. Idaho is a good team, but they lacked experience coming into the season and now know the game a little. In this game Brady balled out and showed that even in the rain the deep ball is his go to. Even throwing 6 TDs and picking off 2 balls Brady was still out done by his own teammate who, like Madonna and Prince, only has one name and that name is Harris. This just shows you that when Harris is there you better know where he is on the field at all times.
Top Performances of the Week
With only 10 games being played last week I feel like picking 2 players per division is just a waste and not really cool, so I am going with 1 player per division. This will mean that the player I picked made an impact on both sides of the ball or maybe the key play of the game. When I was thinking about who I should put up here I had a few good players for each division and had to really go in and look at those stats to figure out who earned it the most.
Division 1
I hate to do this and it will make his head even bigger, but this week I have to give Marvin Steinberg a little bit of respect. Big Marv went out and put up below average numbers for him, but was still able to make some plays. Marvin caught 9 passes for a total of 35 yards, yes 35 yards, 3 TDs and the game winning extra point in OT. On defense he managed 3 tackles and 1 pick. Not bad for a guy we all hate, LOL Marvin you know we all love and want you on our team.
Division 2
I hate having to give this award to a QB because normally all they do is play offense and they still need their receivers to make plays. This week Jonathan Plourde made plays in every aspect of the game, with his arm, legs and defense. This wasn’t Jonathan’s best week on the stat sheet and with the weather you can’t blame him. All Jon did was go 16 of 30 for 183 yards, 5 TDs, 2 1point converts as well as 1 2point convert. With his legs he had 37 yards on 6 carries and 1 TD. When he was on for defense, he only made 1 tackle but picked off 2 passes.
Division 3
The best rusher in the division this week showed up and wanted to show everyone he can be a stud on offense as well. Antoine Theroux came this week to play. He grabbed 4 balls for 60 yards, 2 TDs, and a 1point convert. For defense he managed to get 2 tackles and only 1 sack. You probably are wondering why I picked him this week, right. Antoine hauled in the game tying 45-yard TD with 19 seconds left in the game and then in OT caught the convert to win the game for RawSauce. If that isn’t making an impact, then I don’t know what is.
Division 4
This was a relatively easy pick to make. I gave it to a player with no last name. If you read above you know that I’m talking about Harris. He balled out and made huge plays all game or at least until the game was called with 5:18 left. Harris made 5 catches for 123 yard and 4 TDs. The man made not a single tackle on defense this weekend, I guess when you pick off all 3 passes that comes your way you really can’t make any tackles.
There you have it, my top ballers of the week. Next week is the final week of the season, so if your team is still playing and you want to see your name up here you better ball out and win your last game of the season. Good luck to everyone this championship weekend.