The 4-1 Defense

The 4-1 Defense

Jon Evans

An article on the 4-1 defense was promised, so here it is!
 
As I mentioned in my previous article on defensive coverages, the 3-2 and 4-1 defenses are the most common defenses played in 6 on 6 flag football.
 
Teams do play man sometimes, but generally you only want to do that to mix things up, if you have a much stronger squad player to player, or if there is some specific strategic reason for it.
 
So, new teams, stop playing man so much!
 
Okay, on to the 4-1 defense!
 
The 4-1 Defense
 
The immediate differences you'll see in this defense are that there is only 1 safety (the 1 in 4-1) and 4 corners (I'm assuming you can figure out which part of the 4-1 that applies to. That's right, the hyphen).
 
At first you might think that this means this defense is much more aggressive against the short plays since you have 4 corners covering short areas, but if you look at those outside corners, you'll notice that they cover quite deep as well as the short.
 
This is because they are the "locks" in this defense. What that means is that if a player on their side of the field goes deep, then they lock on to that player and cover them deep.
 
Right away you can see that this is a difficult position to play as you need to be able to be relatively aggressive on the short passes (since part of your job is to cover short), while also being able to react to a player going deep.
 
Depending on how you want to play this defense, the locks can either be "soft", which means playing back a little more and respecting the deep ball more and essentially being there to make a quick tackle on a short play rather than actually defend the pass, or "tight" where the locks are aggressive on the short plays, but are vulnerable to stop and go and double moves or wheel routes.
 
The decision to play soft or tight generally comes down to the down and distance as well as the relative skill levels of the locking player and the receivers on their side of the field.
 
The single safety's job is to help out the locks, but also to take away the post routes down the middle of the field or late developing deep routes. Again, the aggressiveness of the single safety relies heavily on the relative skill levels of the locks.
 
In the end, the 4-1 defense can be very aggressive against the short play or the deep play, depending on how soft or tight you play it, making it a very flexible defense, though most feel it is more difficult to play than the 3-2 defense (where all players know where they will be defending during the play) and generally requires stronger defensive players to play it well.
 
But what makes both the 3-2 and 4-1 defenses stronger is mixing them up!
 
 
Mixing 3-2 and 4-1
 
The importance of changing defenses is as important as playing the defense well. If you're always in the same defense, the opposing team's QB will likely figure this out pretty quickly and take advantage of the holes that each defense opens up.
 
A good system is to always show one defense or the other and then drop into a different one each time. For example, it is very common for teams to line up in a 4-1 defense pre-snap so that a QB will feel that the short ball is going to be hard to hit, but the defense can easily shift into 3-2 from a 4-1 alignment simply by dropping one player as a safety at the snap and the safety in the 4-1 shifts over to the other side to be the second safety in the 3-2 defense. The short defenders simply spread out into the middle and corner positions as well and you go from 4-1 to 3-2 in just a second.
 
Team's should have a simple and easy way to communicate what defense they are playing on each play and who is dropping or staying short. For lower divisions, it's fine to have the same players always be the locks or safeties in the different alignments as this keeps things simple. The important thing is just to play more than one type of defense!
 
Combining this with movement in your defensive pre-snap positioning (try not to start where you plan to end up after the snap!) as well as not always covering exactly the same area, it will keep QBs guessing!

Predictions and Power Rankings Week 6

Predictions and Power Rankings Week 6

Kevin Kousaie

Predictions

 

Here we are again the part of my article that everyone wants to see. Did I pick your team to win or are my numbers too bad that you tend to go the opposite way? Last week none of us were great, but none of us were as bad a Will. The lead he built up is now gone and he sits in second place behind Terry. It is still up in the air for any of us to win, so Terry don’t start worrying about the crown fitting just yet. Here are last week’s results followed by my picks which are always in bold.

 

 

Division 1

 

Bitter Boys vs Outlaws

Too much size and speed for Bitter Boys to keep up with.

 

Outlaws vs Henchmen

I’m just not completely sold on Henchmen yet.

 

Ninja Turtles vs Centurions

I can’t see how Centurions will be able to stop them.

 

Moretti Crime Family vs Holy Trollers

I might have brain damage, but I’m not stupid (ed’s note: debatable), did you see what happened last time in the rain? This time will be worse.

 

Division 2

 

Red Zone vs Pettit Phoques

If the info I have is correct Dom will be there this week and that’s all I need to know.

 

Long Chefs vs Outlaws NA

I don’t pick my games.

 

OG Panthers vs D#Nasty

Not sure why I picked OG, but I feel that they have to win two in a row at some point right.

 

Lean Mean Machines vs Longs Chefs

After the way they played their last game I just think this time they pull out the win.

 

Honor Game vs KOLB

I have to go with Dave and his squad as I can’t see how they don’t pull this off.

 

Joey’s Haters vs Outlaws NA

I don’t pick my games.

 

Division 3

 

Black Knights vs Nice TDs

I can’t see them being able to stop Andrew in this game.

 

Big Boys vs Deep Threats

JC should be back and I can’t see them losing two in a row.

 

Iron Wolves vs Washington Foreskins

They are playing too well at this point to lose to this team.

 

Average Joes vs Washington Foreskins

Average Joes are not so average anymore, Jason is going to ball out watch and see.

 

Les Tannates vs Chiefs

They are the better team and just need to show up and play.

 

Division 4

 

Les Bouchers vs Wolf Pack

They have the D4 player of the century on their team (ed’s note: out this week!) plus a good QB in Jason (ed’s note: out this week!).

 

RawSauce vs Cereal Killers

I just feel that their speed and athleticism will be too much for RawSauce.

 

ADED vs Panaches

They know the game so much better and will actually be organized. I was going to say that Robert will be there so ADED will lose, but I don’t have confirmation on that yet.

 

Titans vs Airborne

If this in under 30 point difference I’d be surprised, Ben is way too good.

 

Les Beautes vs Flamboyant Flamingos

I hate birds, but I’ll take a pretty Flamingo over them any day of the week, plus Thomas isn’t there.

 

Thunder Buddies vs Sneaky Snakes

They have a better QB by far.

 

Division 5

 

Los Pollitos vs Phoenix NA

I don’t pick my teams games.

 

Les Last Calls vs Mimosa Crew

They will have the best player on the field and he makes a huge impact.

 

Spin Doctor vs Gold Rush

Travis should be back and Spin Doctors had a hard time making tackles last week.

 

There you have it my picks for this week. Go out and make me proud and help me get into the lead.

 

Power Rankings

 

We had loads of huge games last week that made a huge impact on my rankings this week. I wonder how many new teams have cracked the top 3 and who fell off my list all together. Let’s see my picks and then I’ll try and explain my reasoning.

 

Division 1

#1- Outlaws

#2- Ninja Turtles

#3- Moretti Crime Family 

 

Division 2

#1- Honor Game

#2- Joey’s Haters

#3- Petits Phoques (with Dom)

 

Division 3

#1- Iron Wolves

#2- Deep Threats

#3- Les Tannates 

 

Division 4

#1- Flamboyant Flamingos

#2- Les Panaches

#3- RawSauce

 

Division 5

#1- Phoenix

#2- Gold Rush

#3- Mimosa Crew

 

Right now my top 3 in Division 1 can’t change as those are the best teams in the division and the rest are second tier teams. With the Outlaws losing it really made a huge impact in the division.

Haters haven’t been playing great, but they are winning and Petit Phoques have Dom back so how can I go wrong with those teams.

After seeing Iron Wolves beat Deep Threats I was trying to figure out how I could leave Deep Threats at one. I then decided that I’ll just flip their spots and leave three alone.

RawSauce had to make it back up after a week away they get back to three. Thunder Buddies got the boot again after losing to RawSauce this weekend.

After the way Spin Doctor spun out of control last week they are off the list and I put Mimosa Crew up there for the first time this season. I know Mimosa just beat Gold Rush, but it was by 1 point and Gold Rush was missing their best player. If Travis was there and that happened then Mimosa might have been placed at number two. These are my rankings and how I came to that decision.

 

Final Thoughts

 

I hope that all the captains have read the email Jon sent out the other day. I wonder how many of the teams are not going to get their sub requests in on time. I can see at least two coming in late. I can’t wait for us to have our sub system up and running properly so we can have teams stop trying to grab subs and players from higher divisions on Saturday morning to make their team better and give them a chance. Find out early if you’re going to have enough players, if not request a few players and see who is available and then pick who you want it’s so simple. The league is doing everything it can to help get you players so you won’t have to forfeit, but you have to do your part as well. That’s all I have to say on this topic and now to my next point.

Players and teams need to stop whining about every little thing that doesn’t go their way. If you think it’s so simple being a ref and having to know the rules and what you are supposed to be watching at all times why didn’t you come out before the season and become a ref yourself. It isn’t easy and you all need to shut up and play the game. This is a game we are all playing for fun. Go out enjoy yourself, be safe, and have fun (ed’s note: and shut up!).

 

Word from the Mouth: Never Run It Back For 1! edition

Word from the Mouth: Never Run It Back For 1! edition

Kevin Kousaie

Here we are, back after another scorching hot weekend. I hope that everyone had their soccer fix over the last month. Italy won the Euro Cup for the first time since 1968 and their fans couldn’t be happier.

Living in Montreal most of my life you come to notice the differences in the fans from different sports. Yesterday after being in Brossard for the games there I headed over to my father’s house in St-Leonard to finish watching the game with them. As soon as the game was over you couldn’t even hear yourself think (it’s not as if I do that often anyways) (ed’s note: not that you… oh wait, he already said it…), all you could hear were cars driving up and down the street honking their horns in celebration. It’s good for them they won and had a good time letting everyone else know they won and let it be. Then you have these Canadiens fans that are flipping over police cars because we made it to the finals.

This brings me to the fans and players of the MFL. We might not get tons of fans to our games, but there are two teams that remind me of the old days over at Louis Cyr. That would have to be Old School and 28-3 as both of these teams stick around, hang out and have a good time after their games are over. You might even have noticed that Old School have fans even in the rain. I’d love to see more teams having fans like this. What would be great is to fill the bleacher and have the fans going crazy for the playoffs. Everyone let’s make this happen.

 

(ed’s note: all fan restrictions are now lifted and canopies and chairs and everything are allowed again! Just not between the fields, please!)

 

Week 7 Recap

 

Division 1

 

Moretti Crime Family vs Centurions (42-30)

What I remember about this game was the lack of adjustments made by Centurions on defense to take away the floods. This season has been hard for them, coming up a division and missing players a lot of the weeks. The score looks closer than the game actually was. Joey was nearly perfect on the day and even though a lot of the throws were short his receivers made large gains after the catch. Brandon was back this week for the first time in a while and made his present felt. I was a little shocked to see him snapping and not Alex. Both are team players, so there were no issues, plus both still got touches. I would also like to point out that between the two QBs we had 11 TDs and no picks, that is if you don’t count the 2 point convert that Dom picked off had me run the length of the field trying to keep up with him as he gets in with a defender right behind him. This was a great game to watch and what any QB in the league should strive for.

 

Henchmen vs Trollers (46-28)

Everyone this season has been giving me a hard time over the way I have treated the Trollers and think I’m doing it because I’m no longer on the team. Let me set the facts straight: I left, they didn’t kick me off. With that out of the way, let me get to the game. It seems as if the Trollers were missing players this week and, yes, Ben is good, but not 18 points good. Max is still recovering from an injury last season and can no longer run around which is when he makes most of his plays. Henchmen are a great team when they are winning, but once they are down it’s all over for them and the fighting starts and then it goes from a team game to a me game with them. That didn’t happen this week as they jumped up early and never looked back. Trollers if they want success needs to down size their roster so they can build chemistry and Max won’t have as many mouths to feed. 

 

Division 2

 

Outlaws vs Petits Phoques (31-35)

This was a game that Petits Phoques needed to show that they shouldn’t be over looked. Any time Dom is there they always have a chance to win, and he was there this week. In this game Petits Phoques got up early and ended up being up by 9 points at half. To me, there seemed to be a few questions that I would have liked answered from the refs, but it is their calls and we can’t blame a loss of the refs. I know from being on Outlaws that no one was happy with the way we played. Everyone dropped balls that would normally be caught and had they been caught it would have given us more time at the end of the game to score and win the game. I will tell you right now that Outlaws were outplayed. Defensively, instead of being in attack mode we were hesitant and allowed balls to be caught instead of contesting them. On offense we lost it because of converts and on both of them I was involved. The first 2 point convert I dropped, thinking that the rusher was lined up at the goal line and not rusher bag, the second one I was wide open and instead of a bullet pass it was lofted towards me where Bresse picked it off. I know next time we meet up it will be a different game.

 

Longs Chefs vs Joey’s Haters (6-8)

I’m glad that Longs Chefs played right up until the end. Haters took forever to score their TD in the first half, then followed that up with a safety and all their scoring for the day was done. Going into the season everyone was worried about the Haters and from the last few games they played you shouldn’t be. Longs Chefs are in need of a QB, but are a solid team otherwise. Who would have thought that a bunch of gym teachers would be in good shape, what happened to the old fat lazy gym teacher from in my days. As the game went on you could feel that Longs Chefs were still in it and on the last play of the game Max finds Marius for the score. They went for 2 since they needed that to tie and it went in and out of the hands of the receiver. That’s how the game ended. Haters have to stop allowing teams to stay in games, because it will bit them in the ass sooner or later.

 

Division 3

 

Average Joes vs Mustard Tigers (39-28)

I’m not sure how we are still waiting for this to happen, but are Mustard Tigers going to win a game this season? As I see it now there best chance would be their last two games of the season. Average Joes went out this week and won the game with some help from their sub Jared. To me this should never have been allowed, but Jon approved it so who am I to say anything (ed’s note: I didn’t know who he was!). Average Joes jumped out to such a big lead in the first half that after that they just coasted the rest of the way, it also helped that Mustard Tigers took their time and used up tons of time off the clock.

 

Iron Wolves vs Deep Threats (24-13)

This was the game that everyone wanted to see and would decide who the top team in the division was. Boy were we all disappointed. Yes, Iron Wolves won, but are they the best team in the division? They only won by eleven points to a team missing their QB and the player filling in for them is their best receiver. To me this doesn’t prove much. I will point out that on Defense, Svetna still wreaked havoc for Jon and the Iron Wolves offense. Will also ended the game with 3 picks and that’s great, but this just brings back the point on Deep Threats not having a QB. Iron Wolves get credit, but its only partial credit. Do it in the playoffs and then I’ll apologize from not believing in the Wolves, but until then I’ll leave it like that.

 

Division 4

 

Thunder Buddies vs RawSauce (19-20)

How bad did Thunder Buddies have to play to lose a game where they get 5 picks? I know QBs get all the blame and more often than not it’s true, not this time. Terry played his ass off. Ok, his completion percent was right around half, but 3 TDs to 2 picks and just under 250 yards and those numbers should win you games. This was a very close game and if it wasn’t for last plays before the halves ended the score would have been 7-20. Terry managed to score on the last play of the first half and then again on the last play of the second half. I know people hate ties (ed’s note: there are no ties in the MFL!), but instead of going for 1 and the tie, Thunder Buddies went for 2 and the win. On that play Terry takes the snap, Rob drops back behind him gets the pass and instead of throwing it Rob tries to avoid the rusher and gets sacked and the game is over. For me Rob needed to throw it up and hope for the best. At least give your team a chance to make a play and win the game. For Terry, all I have to say is winner always want the ball when the game’s on the line.

 

Les Improbables vs ADED (25-47)

Big shout out to ADED on getting their first win of the season. The first win is always the hardest. I will point out that ADED did have a sub QB plus a few other players from lower divisions since they were short players. This is the second time I’ve done one of ADED games where they were only 7 players and it was their best game of the season. This team has a huge roster and with very little experience they are all over the place, but with fewer players they all get a feeling for the game and are more focused. I also don’t want to start a family mutiny, but I heard it from two different family members that maybe Robert is the weak link. Robert left after the first game which was a loss and then they won without him. I spoke to Improbables after the game and they knew that this was going to happen. They had just played a game beforehand and some it was their third game of the day. They played a younger team that had played earlier in the day, but a game off in-between. I’m glad to see that ADED won, but if this was the first game for both teams it might have gone the other way around.

 

Division 5

 

Phoenix vs Spin Doctors (44-18)

I will make this short as I don’t want to talk much about my own team. Spin Doctors were missing players, but that’s not an excuse for a game like this (ed’s note: so Deep Threats missing players means the game proves nothing, but if a team is playing against you, then missing players doesn’t mean anything? Convenient…). On offense Raph needs to do a better job of spreading the ball and not depend on Rob so much. Defensively they need to do a better job tackling. Phoenix played good all around. Defensively we made one mistake that went for a long play and a score, but other than that we made them work for everything they got. I know Raph has been around for years, but what was he thinking on their first drive of the game by going for it on fourth and 3 on their 12-yard line? That was a huge play since they didn’t get it. The play of the game came from Yann and it was on the last play of the half as Spin Doctors were driving to score. Yann picked the ball off and kept Phoenix up by two scores. Since Spin Doctors were starting with the ball in the second half it could have been a tie game.

 

Mimosa Crew vs Gold Rush (25-24)

Mimosa Crew has made Will the happiest guy in the MFL with those Dolphin inspired jerseys, he might even try and sneak his way onto the team. I know Travis wasn’t there for Gold Rush due to injury and that is fine, better to rest up then push it and be hurt for longer. Being up 24-13 with just under 5 minutes left how can you lose? Let me tell you how, poor clock management. Who would have thought that the only extra point scored was going to seal the game and the funny thing is that the extra point was a return by the defense. I know everyone says that they would never run it all the way back unless it was for the game (ed’s note: I wouldn’t run it back even if it was for the win). Anjelica didn’t know that when the score was 24-12, but that point turned out to be what decided the game. Good job for Mimosa Crew, keep it up.

 

Top Performance of the Week

 

I’m going to keep this short and sweet so I can get back to relaxing in the pool. By now you know that you had to win your game to get your name up here or pull a D4 player of the century (ed’s note: Millennium) move and ask to get up here like he did last week and by doing that I find some way just to get under your skin so you won’t do it again. In two of the divisions I only had two games to pick from so it was really difficult to pick an offensive and defensive player, so I did the only thing I could do and just picked one player for those divisions that made a huge impact and got their team the win.

 

Division 1

 

After a few weeks away Brandon Aylward came back and tore it up. The man went off with 4 catches for 74 yards, 2 TDs, 1 tackle and a sack on defense. Now just imagine if he hadn’t take those weeks off the number he might have put up.

 

Division 2

 

Offense

Last week OG asked him to fill in at QB and then this week they asked him to score TDs. Louis-Mathieu Dufour is a beast when he wants to be. This week he was nearly unstoppable going off and getting 7 catches for 80 yards and 3 TDs. With numbers like that it wasn’t hard to pick him this time around.

Defense

In such a close game that went to OT Jimmy Maddoloni had no easy task trying to keep Jonathan from KOLB from running all over the place. He got constant pressure on him and even end the game with 3 sacks, but he also made him throw 5 picks. That is why I picked him as my defensive player this week.

 

Division 3

 

Offense

I told this player that if wanted some tips to stick around and watch me play and it looks like it paid off and then some. Leon Holder is a fabulous QB that is just getting to know his players. This week he went 18 of 34 for 209 yards with 5 TDs. Leon also ran 7 times for 43 yards. Can’t complain, those are some serious numbers.

Defense

All I had to do was look at one game to see that this person earned his spot up her on the list. Remi Roy from Nice TDs is someone most people don’t know and why would they when Andrew and Kris are on that team? People better know who he is now. Remi had 4 tackles and 3 picks. You don’t see players getting 3 picks in a game too often, but Remi did.

 

Division 4

 

Offense

Last season she was the QB and this season she is snapping for Panaches. Amelie Durocher can do it all and that includes catching a ball batted away from one of her teammates and walking in for the score. Amelie caught 4 passes this week for 82 yards and scored 2 TDs.

Defense

I don’t know how Antoine Theroux did it, but he kept Terry from running all game. On top of stopping the run Antoine also had 5 tackles and 3 sacks. He also sealed the game with a sack on a 2-point convert attempt that won’t show up on the stat sheet. (ed’s note: for those who don’t know, stats don’t count on converts! We only add the stat for the score itself (e.g. 1-Point Receptions) and not the yards, receptions, completions, etc)

 

Division 5

 

The player I went with is Angelica Sood. You won’t see her name appearing all over the score sheet as it’s only there once. I spoke to a lot of players from around the league and everyone says running back a convert in a regular season game they would never do it. Well, Angelica didn’t take that approach and took hers back for the point. It turns out that her return was the point that won the game for Mimosa Crew so I hope they picked up her tab that night. Congratulations on winning the game and doing what a lot of players wouldn’t have even tried.  

 

That is who I felt really stood out this week and half way through the season means that you only have 5 weeks left to get up here. Ball out, show me something and over the next few weeks you might be seeing your name up here.

Predictions and Power Rankings Week 5

Predictions and Power Rankings Week 5

Kevin Kousaie

Predictions

 

It has been tough to get all the games perfect in a week. Jon has been the closest, but he also sits in last place. I’ll take going two out of three all season because I know that eventually Will and Terry will have a bad week and I can just swoop in and take over the lead. 

In the past I have been able to see most teams play games so I have had a better feel of what each team really is, but with there being so many teams I can’t see everyone play. I’m trying to see every team at least once this season. Here are the standing after week 5. 

 

 

Now here are my picks this week and why I picked that team. Remember my picks are in bold.

 

Division 1

 

Moretti Crime Family vs Centurions 

Crime Family have been playing really well the last few weeks and it won’t stop now.

 

Henchmen vs Holy Trollers

This was easy Henchmen are the better team with better chemistry and Trollers are a complete mess.

 

Division 2

 

KOLB vs D#Nasty 

KOLB players are more explosive and D#Nasty will have a hard time keeping up with them.

 

Les Petit Phoques vs Outlaws NA

I don’t pick my own team games.

 

Red Zone vs Honor Game

Dave will have the honor of throwing to none other than D4 Player of the Century Marvin, that’s why they will win.

 

Longs chefs vs Joey’s Haters

I had to think long and hard about this game, but realistically Haters have the better roster and it’s not even close. 

 

Lean Mean Machine vs OG Panthers

After the way both teams played last week it was an easy choice to make.

 

Division 3

 

Les Tannantes vs Old School 

I have heard rumors of a possible forfeit and even if that doesn’t happen Tannantes are the better team.

 

Average Joes vs Mustard Tigers

Average Joes are just younger, faster and way more athletic than Mustard Tigers.

 

Chiefs vs Big Boys

Right now the Chiefs are all over the place with someone else throwing every week, at least with Big Boys I know Francois is going to ball out.

 

Washington Foreskins vs Nice TDs

From top to bottom they have the more complete roster.

 

Black Knights vs Chiefs

They have the better QB to start with plus they will be more organized.

 

Iron Wolves vs Deep Threats

I’m taking them because of Svetna, but I think it will be close and Jon will have a plan for him waiting. (ed's note: I do not)

 

Division 4

 

Thunder Buddies vs RawSauce

I’m just not sold on the Sauce yet. 

 

Wolf Pack vs Les Beautes

I’m not sure who will be throwing, but you can bet that the D4 Player of the Century (ed's note: I'm thinking D4 Player of the Millenium) will show up. 

 

Les Panaches vs Les Beautes

Panaches is a very good team this season and the same can’t be said about Les Beautes after losing Thomas.

 

Cereal Killers vs ADED

I’m not sure of either team, but I know Cereal Killers will be organized and that alone will be enough to win the game.

 

Les Bouchers vs Les Improbables

They have the better QB and the better roster as well. 

 

Les Improbables vs ADED 

ADED have to win at least one game this season and this is it, they are more athletic and this will also be Improbables second game of the day.

 

Titans vs Sneaky Snakes 

They will be out to avenge last weeks lose, plus Sneaky Snakes have no QB.

 

Les Bouchers vs Airborne

I cant see how Airborne is going to win, when they cant seem to score.

 

Division 5

 

Mimosa Crew vs Gold Rush

Travis is going to run all over them.

 

Spin Doctor vs Phoenix NA

I don’t pick my teams games sorry.

 

That is who I having winning this week, so please everyone do your best to make me look good even if that means dropping a few balls while you are wide open or even miss a few tackles and allow a player to score. I know I couldn’t make everyone happy with my picks, but at least half the league is glad to see I picked them to win.

 

 

Power Rankings

 

I haven’t looked at the standing after last week, but you know that there has to be some teams that are moving up, down, off the list or in some teams cases to a completely different list where teams go to die. I show my list then explain what went on with my process to get there.

 

Division 1

#1- Outlaws

#2- Ninja Turtles

#3- Moretti Crime Family  

 

Division 2

#1- Honor Game

#2- Outlaws

#3- Red Zone  

 

Division 3

#1- Deep Threats

#2- Iron Wolves

#3- Les Tannates  

 

Division 4

#1- Flamboyant Flamingos

#2- Les Panaches

#3- Thunder Buddies 

 

Division 5

#1- Phoenix

#2- Gold Rush

#3- Spin Doctors

 

The Crime Family have been balling out the last few weeks they are finally used to the smaller field and have a fantastic roster. In Division 2 it was hard to pick spot 3 as Phoques have been without Dom and Haters looked bad last week and narrowly won. After the week 1 hiccup to OG Red Zone has come out and beat two quality opponents and that is why they cracked my top 3.  I didn’t switch up division 3, but it was hard not to. Washington Foreskins are sitting at 4-0, but that isn’t a real 4-0 and they haven’t beat anyone yet. Les Tannantes have 2 loses, but to the top 2 teams and those games were close. With RawSauce losing to Panaches that left an opening for Thunder Buddies to get back in my rankings. Division 5 stayed the same as all those teams won their games.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Only a few days left until my vacation starts and I can’t wait to just relax and lounge by the pool. I will also be going to get a few new tattoos while I’m off. By now you all know I’m the guy without a shirt and I have been told that once I have the ref lines tattooed on me I can be shirtless the entire day then no more tan lines. That’s what I’ll be doing next week. Think about all that money I’ll save on shirts. It looks to be another great weekend for football and I can’t wait. There are so many big games to watch in every division, so if you have nothing better to do on Saturday you should stick around and watch a few. I hope by now you have all figured out that we are playing a game and its just for fun. Go out play hard have fun and be safe. See you all Saturday.

Word from the Mouth: D4 Player of the Century! edition

Word from the Mouth: D4 Player of the Century! edition

Kevin Kousaie

This past weekend had to be the best weather so far this season. It was warm, but not extremely hot. We had clouds, but no rain and we also had a breeze. Being at the field all day from 7:30 am it was nice.

At this point of the season we shouldn’t have to keep telling people what field is where. Let me say this one last time: Field 1 is where the bleachers are, field 2 is beside it still on the football field, field 3 is on the baseball field and, if you haven’t figured it out, field 4 is running horizontally to the field near the end zone.

Now that you know where the fields are located let’s go over a few thinks you need to know. We do not want anyone in-between any of the fields. If you have people that want to watch the games, they must be on the sideline of field 1, 3 or 4, for field 2 they must be behind the end zone and this goes for players as well.

Here is another thing people need to know: smoking is not allowed anywhere on the grass area. If you want to smoke go to the concrete and smoke away.

 

Week 6 Recap

 

Division 1

 

Henchmen vs Bitter Boys (58-6)

I saw this game if you want to call it a game. Henchmen showed up with a full roster of nine players and completely dominated from start to finish. I will point out that when Henchmen are winning, Andrew doesn’t shut up and the rest of the team is all smiles. I’ll let the rest get covered by Will and Terry since Will played in this game and Terry was reffing with me.

 

Henchmen vs Moretti Crime Family (20-27)

This game started ugly for Henchmen going down two scores at half. It almost seemed as if they used all their energy in their first game. Second half was a different story as Henchmen started to get it close and Andrew became vocal. Andrew almost single handedly made Henchmen win the game. Defensively, Henchmen couldn’t stop the flood plays all game long and you could tell it was eating away at Kris. He even told everyone what was coming and Henchmen just sat there and watched it happen play after play. Henchmen tied it up with over 5 minutes left in the game, but after doing that Crime family marched the field and sealed the game.

 

Division 2

 

Joey’s Haters vs Lean Mean Machines (26-20)

Never in a million years would I have predicted this score. All I have been hearing is Lean Mean Machines are a weak team and there is no way they can compete with the top teams, but it looks like they just proved everyone wrong. I was very impressed by Lean Mean Machines. Their QB Michael was solid and has a good arm and, yes, he threw a few picks, but he also made a few great throws. Haters relied on Haney and Max to do all the work on offense for them. The one thing I did notice about Haters is their rusher is super tall, but not very mobile. The question mark play of the day has to be when the rusher is chasing the QB from behind with his arms up in the air like he was going to deflect the pass. I understand that Haters might have been missing a few players and Haney tweaked his groin, but as a top team you should have walked all over them. Does Francis make that much of a difference? (ed’s note: if Kevin can make that big a difference to the Trollers, I have no doubt that Francis makes that big a difference for the Haters)

 

OG Panthers vs KOLB (8-45)

OG started out great going up 8-0 early in the game and I was hoping that they would keep it up. That didn’t happen and it all went downhill from about the fifteen minute mark in the first half. When you see such a one-sided game like this, the first thing that pops into your head are turnovers, but that wasn’t the case here. OG only had two. It was a lot of drops and bad balls all game long. KOLB looked like they did a few seasons ago in Brossard and everything seemed to be working out for them. KOLB played better than I have ever seen them play. By the end of the game you can see that OG was demoralized and just wanted the game to end. OG need to keep plugging away and right the ship, it’s not too late yet.

 

Division 3

 

Average Joes vs Deep Threats (12-36)

Jason shows up thinking he is Broadway Joe and not an average Joe with the glasses on trying to look good. Deion Sanders says if you look good, you feel good, if you feel good, you play good. That wasn’t the case this week. Jason was so predictable that Svetna was calling the plays out loud as to where the ball was going. I think it was two or three times he baited Jason to throw him a pick. I don’t know how a team would even throw anywhere near Svetna. I’m not sure this has happened before in MFL, but Svetna caught more passes from Jason then a player on his own team. It would have been five if Edwards didn’t go up and make a sick catch in the middle of the field right in front of Svetna. This week it was the Svetna Show and it was fun to watch.

 

Black Knights vs Old School (21-48)

Black Knights were missing a few players to say the least and you could tell that their defense wasn’t used to playing with each other. I was joking with Leon and Rich during their game that Leon should stick around and watch me throw so he could learn a thing or two. I then told him if he was going to do that than they are in trouble. Leon is a very good QB and just needs the team to run proper routes and to catch the ball when it is thrown to them. Defensively, they have lots of work that needs to be done. Dahic went out and looked like he did a few season ago when Old School won the title. He didn’t run much, but he forced the line and made the defense choose between him running and him passing and, judging from the stats, they made the wrong choice. Dahic was almost perfect on offense and managed to get 3 picks on defense as well.

 

Division 4

 

AirBorne vs Cereal Killers (0-29)

What do I say about a game that was one-sided right from the start? Guillaume is having a really tough season. No matter how hard he tries, he just can’t maintain success. To me, Airborne needs to find that one stud player to help them compete with the rest of the division. I still haven’t gotten to see a full game of Cereal Killers yet, but I can see them all the way from the other field in those bright pink shirts. I want to see Samer use more than just Julian and stop going deep. The lowest average catch yards from Cereal Killers is 9.3 yards a catch. I know they are fast and athletic, but Cereal killers have also played the easy part of their schedule and face at least four good teams in the next six weeks. I want to see them become a complete team and challenge for a playoff spot if not for the title.

 

Sneaky Snakes vs Flamboyant Flamingos (0-52)

It seems as if week in and week out Flamingos are destroying a team and making it look easy. They might be the best Team in the division, but everyone is playing for fun and is it fun to be blowing every team out? Don’t you want to be challenged? I know that it’s not fun for the team get blown out like this or knowing that they have no chance to win even before the games starts. Last season, Sneaky Snakes had Andrew at QB and this season they have Dave and the drop off is huge. If Sneaky Snakes had a better QB then this would have been a closer game. I’m sick and tired of teams blowing out weaker opponents! Just move up to the next division and if you’re blowing teams out in division 1, then they need to get better, but in division 4 it’s not cool. (ed’s note: the Flamingos started in D5, so they already moved up!)

 

Division 5

 

Los Pollitos vs Gold Rush (26-36)

This was a game of nonstop turnovers with a total of 10. Yes, you read that correctly, but here is the shocker: Johnathan Clarke had 5 of them. With all those picks I am surprised to see this many point being scored. I know Gold Rush is winning, but if Travis wants to be taken seriously as a QB he better start throwing it more and running less. Los Pollitos keep improving every week and that is a good thing. To me Samuel might be the best player in the division, but you need to leave him in one position and stop shifting him around if you want to find success.

 

Spin Doctors vs Mimosa Crew (34-24)

Mimosa Crew were without one of their better players and were still able to keep the game close. Raph has too much experience not to be able to pick them apart. Spin Doctors have a good one two punch on offense with Meliza and Steve, but after that the drop off is huge. On defense, Benjamin had a huge day with 3 sacks. The turnovers this week killed Mimosa Crew, when you give a team a short field you will lose more often than not. I’ll say that if Omar was there it would have been a closer game and might have gone the other way.

 

That’s it for my recaps. I know I missed a few games, and Terry and Will should cover most of them, but it’s hard to pick and choose which games we will all be talking about each week. Since Terry, Will, and myself are all refs and players we try to get the games we were involved in, but this week was hard since we reffed each other’s games or were playing. I personally prefer to not talk about my games since I might see it one-sidedly.

 

Top Performance of the Week

 

This week we had so many people balling out that I almost considered making it two players for offense and defense. I then realized that I might have to put a certain and former D1 player up here except now he is in D4. This person will now be banned from winning the award for the next two weeks and I will poke fun at his expense until he is out of the dog house. Don’t ask why you can’t be player of the week, you have to ball out and show me something in the top division you play. You must be on the winning team or teams if you played a double header, I don’t big up guys who lose, it’s just not my style.

 

Division 1

 

Offense

After looking over the stats this person might not of had the best numbers, but he came up big when he needed to. This week I’m giving the nod to Danny Aylward. He had 8 catches for 64 yards, 2 TDs, a 1point convert as well as a 2point convert and I can’t tell you how many big fourth down conversions.

Defense  

I had to pick between two brothers for this one. One had 2 picks and the other only had 1, but I looked over the stats and getting a pick on the last play in a two score game does nothing for your case. That’s why I went with Alex Pilon. Alex had 2 tackles and 1 pick which he took back for 6 points.

 

Division 2

 

Offense

I went with a player that help his team get their first win of the season and that was Eliott from Long Chefs. Eliott had 4 catches for 84 yards and 2 TDs.

Defense 

I went back and forth on who I was going to go with for this spot, but I kept seeing a name pop off the stat sheet and know very little about this player. I feel that Tameem Riman will become a player other teams start to watch out for. Tameem made 1 tackle, but had 2 picks in this game.

 

Division 3

Offense

After all my calculations were completed I came up with Aleksander Blostien from Deep Threats. This season Alex has really picked it up. He grabbed 9 balls for 84 yards and 3 TDs.

Defense 

There were so many players that would have won it this week, but you all played in higher divisions. This week’s winner plays only in this division and more than deserves to win. Mathieu Laforest had 3 tackles for 3 sacks. Rushing is hard, but to get numbers like this Mathieu makes it look easy.

 

Division 4

 

Offense

A lot of big plays from this week’s WR, but none did it better than Julian Kris from Cereal Killers. Julian had 4 catches for 110 yards 1 TD and 2 1point converts.

Defense 

I really don’t like give this to a player that is on a team that completed obliterated their opponent. This week I didn’t have much of a choice. Alex Morin from Flamingos balled the Fruity Pebbles out with 1 tackle, 3 picks and 1 he took to the house for 6 points.

 

Division 5

 

Offense

I think this is the second time I’m giving this award to Raph from Spin Doctors. Raph completed 16 of 32 passes for 160 yards, 4 TDs and 4 1point converts.

Defense 

I mention this guy in a recap of his game and this should be an obvious choice, but in case you didn’t know this week award goes to Johnathan Clarke. Jon had 1 tackle and 5 picks. Yes that is correct 5 picks in a game some players need all season for numbers like that.

 

There are my picks for this week’s top performers. You might not agree with them, and you might feel you should be up here, but you need to show me why I should. Next week try harder and show me why you should make my list. Oh, and remember you all can’t be a boss and ball out like D4 Player of the Century, Marvin Steinberg.

Leagues
Montreal Flag Football League
Division 1
Division 2
Division 3
Division 4
Division 5
Women's Division
Brossard Div 1
Brossard Div 2
Laval
Winter Div 1
Winter Div 2
Winter Div 3
Aces Flag Football