Preseason (sort of) Predictions and Power Rankings Part II

Preseason (sort of) Predictions and Power Rankings Part II

Kevin Kousaie

Predictions

Last week we only had 3 games to pick from and like always I was right with all my picks. Making picks is something new for Terry and Will and everyone can remember how poor Jon was at it last season.

 

We have all put money into a pot this season and this will be the easiest money I’ll make all year. The only reason I really want to win is so I can be given the crown and scepter and have the peasants I just annihilated know how superior to them I am. (ed’s note: for someone so superior, I had to make a lot of spelling and grammar fixes in this paragraph)

 

Here are the standings after week 1:

 

Kevin 2-0

Terry 1-0

Will 1-1

Jon 1-2

 

This week we will have 5 games to choose from and just like always we won’t pick our own games. Now without wasting anymore of your time, here are my picks which are the right picks and in bold.

 

Division 1

 

Outlaws vs Centurions NA

 

I won’t pick my teams games.

 

Ninja Turtles vs Henchmen

 

This will be the first time that we will see Ninja Turtles being challenged in the MFL. They have played lower divisions in the past, but that was more of a co-ed team and now this team seems to be all guys. I have no clue who is throwing for Ninja Turtles, but it should be Wade or Tam and it will make a huge difference who does. Even with not knowing their QB I still feel they will win. Henchmen are a good solid team when they can keep it together, but I’m not sure how long that will last. I am picking Ninja Turtles to win because they have the Pilon brothers and they will be the best players out there on Saturday.

 

Division 3

 

Old School vs Deep Threats

 

For this game I thought long and hard as to who I would pick to win and this is how I ended up picking my winner. Svetna is probably the best player on the field, but since he has a weaker QB, Dahic should be able to slow him down. I also looked at the QB situation and it wasn’t hard for me to give Old School the advantage there. As for overall roster, I gave a slight edge to Old School as well. The big factor for me was the chemistry, both teams have some but, I have to say Old School has been more consistent over the years. From all the above you should have come to the same conclusion as I did and pick Old School to win the game.

 

Division 4

 

Improbables vs Les Beautes

 

I was very hesitant about picking Les Beautes to win this game, but I saw them play last week and they didn’t play badly. This week Simon will need his receivers to catch the ball better if they plan on winning. As for Improbables, I happened to catch them practicing a few weeks back and they didn’t look good. From what I saw, Charles was playing QB and a lot of balls were high. Should Charles keep the ball low where his team can catch it, then they might have a chance.

 

Airborne vs Thunder Buddies

 

I have to say that this is a game that Thunder Buddies should be licking their chops. Terry will have a chance to work on his passing as long as he doesn’t run every other play. If I’m Airborne they have to have Matt rush that will give them the best chance to contain Terry and force a few bad throws and get Guillaume a few extra possessions. I have to say that Thunder Buddies will win this game and it shouldn’t be close.

 

That is it for my picks this week and if you’re a betting man take my picks, I’m always right or at least I am so far this season.

 

Next week will be more difficult since we will have more games being played, but we will get to that next week.

 

Power Rankings

 

With only 3 games being played last week and only a few more this week things won’t change too drastically. I have had to make a few changes since a few teams have changed divisions and teams finally giving in a roster. Now here are my Power Rankings for this week.

 

Division 1

#1- Outlaws

#2- Ninja Turtles

#3- Zach Zwirn Team

 

Division 2

#1- Outlaws

#2- Joey’s Haters

#3- Honor Game

 

Division 3

#1- Les Tannantes

#2- Nice TDs

#3- Mustard Tigers

 

Division 4

#1- Sneaky Snakes

#2- Thunder Buddies

#3- Washington Foreskins

 

Division 5

#1- Gold Rush

#2- Phoenix

#3- The Flamboyant Flamingos

 

If you saw my rankings last week you see that a few changes were made. Once the season is in full swing most of these spots will change regularly or at least in the beginning while teams are jockeying for position. I know sometimes teams that are ranked get beat by teams that aren’t and everyone is like, ‘how are they not up in the rankings?’. Sometimes it’s a fluke or an injury or even players not being there, I take a look at that as well. If you want to make my list show up win and just keep doing that eventually someone will notice.

 

Final Thoughts

 

We are slowly inching closer to the season kicking off in full swing (ed’s note: “kicking off” in “full swing” makes no sense) and if you’re like me you’ve been waiting for this since last October when all sports were shut down. I’ve missed all the trash talking and the competition every week, but what I haven’t missed is players or teams trying to justify why they should be in a certain division at least that will all be coming to an end once we have our cap rating system up and running.

 

We had hoped that it would have been in place for the spring season, but it didn’t work out that way, but it should be good for the fall. Once this happens, teams will be forced to make a decision, do we go up and keep team together and possible struggle or do we lose a player, stay down and dominate.

 

I hope that you all choose to move up. Me personally I’d prefer to play better competition and have to work harder than stay down and not be challenged.

I just want everyone to remember that this is a game and we are playing for fun. No one is get a call from an NFL or even a CFL team saying that they need you on their roster. That ain’t going to happen. Go out have fun and be safe. We all have work on Monday.

Word from the Mouth: Recap from Week Z! edition

Word from the Mouth: Recap from Week Z! edition

Kevin Kousaie

Week 1 has come and gone and it was nice to get out and see some friends and play sports again. Ok, let's be honest, last week wasn’t really the beginning of the season. It was where we had a few teams come out to get a game in since they needed a week off during the season so they can have a bye week. 

It’s a really good thing that we did, as we had a chance to train a few new refs and let them get some game experience and a feel for the game, plus we learned that there was an issue with the app so some stats went missing and are irretrievable (ed's note: man, it happens one time in a decade and Kevin writes about it!). I know that sucks for some players, but it was better for a few as well (ed's note: we're working on reconstructing the missing stats!). I hope all that played had fun and didn’t get too banged up playing for the first time in a while.

This week will be more of the same as this Jon will have a little bit of room to play around with the schedule. The season is going to be tough to make everyone happy since we have a 48 teams in total and we will be playing on 4 fields in 6 different time slots, so if you haven’t put in your request for time preference its way too late and you will have to play where you are (ed's note: schedule is done, so yeah, too late for time requests!). You might not like all the times of your games, but it’s too bad now, just like team captains not putting in their rosters and a possibility of conflicting game times since so many people are playing on two teams this season. 

(ed's note: just a heads up that I really don't know who is playing on multiple teams, so if you didn't reply to the email requesting conflict information then we did not take that into account when making the schedule)

 

Week 1 Recap

 

This week we only had 3 games total, so this will be relatively short compared to once the season kicks off in full swing. (ed's note: "kicks off" in "full swing" makes no sense)

 

Division 1

Outlaws vs Henchmen (37-21)

 

This was a game that was a tale of 2 halves. The first half belonged to Henchmen as Jason Rossie took complete control of the game. He had them score drive after drive while eating up lots of time on the clock. Outlaws had no way of stopping them. At half it was 21-12 Henchmen and to me if felt like Outlaws were going to lose this game and it wasn’t even going to be close. 

At Half both teams made some adjustments and it only paid off for one team. Smuda talked to the defense for Outlaws and that was the real difference in the game. Outlaws defense started making Jason hold the ball for an extra second which allowed Terry to rack up 4 second half sacks and when Terry couldn’t get a sack on Jason he forced him to throw faster than he wanted to, which led to a few picks. The biggest mistake the Henchmen made in the second half was getting away from controlling the tempo of the game and were just looking for that big shot down the field. 

I only have 1 question to ask about this game: what happened to Andrew once the clock expired? He kind of looked like Cinderella running out of the ball when the clock struck 12. 

 

Division 2

Outlaws vs KOLB (52-44)

 

This was a game that was all about the offense. I can’t remember much from this game other than a few plays here and there. Steve kept putting up the points figuring that the defense couldn’t get any stops, so he’d do it all on his own. 

One play that stood out to me was where Outlaws were in trips, maybe even quads, to the left and Steve showed why he should be considered as a dual threat QB. The man took off hustling down the right side, made a guy miss, and looked like he was going in for the score, but he pulled a Daniel Jones and stumbled and was caught by KOLB. 

It doesn’t seem like there was any defense played by either team, but players did make a few good breaks on the ball to knock them away. With under 30 seconds left in the game KOLB still had a chance to make it a tie game and force OT. Jonathan made a few good throws that fell incomplete. On 4th down with 4 seconds left in the game he made a throw on a deep cross that hit his receiver in the hands and chest area and fell incomplete. That wasn’t for a TD, but it would have given them one last shot for a TD.

 

Division 4

Thunder Buddies vs Les Beautes (18-7)

 

You are really able to see the difference between the divisions. This game, unlike the division 2 game, had very little offense. Les Beautes went out on their opening drive and put up 7 points, which is a TD and a convert. I’m only pointing that out because Thunder Buddies have a really hard time getting them. 

Thunder Buddies were able to answer on their opening drive as well making it a 7-6 game. It was a long time before anyone was able to get back into the end zone, which isn’t surprising considering how both QBs were playing. Simon was getting a lot of drops from his receivers and Terry couldn’t make a good throw as it was either high or low. 

Manon who is the rusher for Les Beautes hard the hardest job of the day and that was trying to keep Terry from running and she did an amazing job. I think she had 3 or 4 sacks on him. With under 7 minutes left and Thunder Buddies being up 12-7, Les Beautes started driving for the go ahead TD the ball goes off a receivers arm and right into the hands of the defender. Terry would milk the clock down and score as the clock hits 0 to win the game.

 

Top Performance of the Week

 

This is normally where I would be picking an offensive and defensive player from each division and making them my player of the week. This week since we only had 3 games played and most of the stats aren’t accessible, I will just pick one player who made the biggest impact on their team. 

 

Division 1

I had two really good players that I could have picked and both dominated, just on different sides of the ball. One had 3 TDs and one had 3 picks, but what put my pick over the top was the adjustments that he made at half time to the Outlaws defense. Anyone who knows the Outlaws have probably figured out my player of the week for Division 1 goes to Kevin Smuda. 3 TDs and a pick that could have gone in for 6, but he lost a flag. 

 

Division 2

This one was really hard for me to pick since I didn’t see half the game and there were a few subs playing and guys who play in higher divisions. After asking a few people who were at the field about who was the most dominant player on Saturday they all came back with the same name and that was Julien Proulx, who is my pick for player of the week in division 2. I want to point out that this goes against what I said last week about giving the award to someone who plays in a higher division, and yes Julien did play on Outlaws in division 1, but he was a last second spare so this week it was allowed.

 

Division 4

The way this game played out I didn’t know if I was even going to get a player of the week, no one really stood out that was until Nick Kousaie made the interception with under 7 minutes lef tin the game. Without that pick Thunder Buddies are looking at an 0-1 record. For the first time in his young MFL career Nick Kousaie wins player of the week. (ed's note: is that one more time than his dad? If it isn't, it should be)

 

That is it for this week's top performances. Hope that next week there will be some stats that I can go back over and once we start playing more games that is when it will start to get interesting and remember don’t come and approach me about how well you played and how you deserve the award. 

Preseason (sort of) Predictions and Power Rankings

Preseason (sort of) Predictions and Power Rankings

Kevin Kousaie

Players of the Week

 

This is where I will be picking one player on offense and one on defense per division for my player of the week nominations. 

I want to point out that there are a few rules everyone needs to know about beforehand. If you play on multiple teams you can only win for your higher division unless you are playing a different position. 

Two, if you come see me to campaign for the nomination there is no way you will get it. This is 100% my choice and I won’t be influenced into picking you. 

Oh, and last thing, your team needs to win because how does the player of the week lose? I was going to do a Studs and Duds section instead, but I knew some of our players would cry when they won Dud of the week (ed’s note: that’s mean to say about your son). Let’s leave it at that and remember to ball out and show me why you should be up here.

 

Predictions 

 

(ed's note: these picks were made before the games and will normally come out before the weekend!)

 

In years past this is where I would tell you who I like to win this week and why I have picked them. I am still going to do that, but this year I will be picking against Jon, Terry, and Will with the winner having bragging rights and a pretty sweet crown and scepter awarded at the end of the season to the winner. The only rule that we have here is that none of us pick our own games. 

 

Here are my picks in bold. 

 

Division 1

Outlaws vs Henchmen NA

Just like I said up top I won’t be picking my teams games.

 

Division 2

Outlaws vs KOLB

I have to go with Outlaws here, they are just too good and have way too much talent. KOLB will learn that coming back to Montreal from Brossard isn’t all fun and games. KOLB could win, but they will need to play their best and with this being week 1 I just don’t see it.

 

Les Beautes vs Thunder Buddies 

These two teams have had a scrimmage or two against each other over the past few weeks and every time Les Beautes win. I want to mention that in these scrimmages they have rules that don’t allow Terry to do what he does best and that is run. I have also been hearing things around my house that no one in this division will be able to hold the kid down this season and no one better try him because 6 points will end up on the scoreboard going the other way. This is what I have heard and that is why I have to go Thunder Buddies to win. Also Les Beautes are going to be worn out by the time this game starts. 

 

That is it for this week’s picks. Hope you enjoyed and do what you have to do so that I look good and have made all the right picks. 

 

Power Rankings

 

I know the season hasn’t started yet, but just like in the NCAA and you will get preseason rankings. It makes it hard for me to pick my top 3 since I haven’t seen you play yet, so this is all based off of what I see on the rosters and how well that team has played in the past. 

 

Division 1

#1- Outlaws

#2- Henchmen

#3- Zach Zwirn Team

 

Division 2

#1- Ninja Turtles (ed’s note: bumped up to D1!)

#2- Outlaws

#3- Honor Game 

 

Division 3

#1- Les Tannantes

#2- Nice TDs

#3- Iron Wolves (ed’s note: this is optimistic, but I like it!)

 

Division 4

#1- Sneaky Snakes

#2- Thunder Buddies 

#3- Les Beautes

 

Division 5

#1- Gold Rush 

#2- Phoenix

#3- The Flamboyant Flamingos

This is how I see it at the start of the season or at least leading up to week 1. I know it’s not perfect and some teams might be upset they did make my top 3 or even where they are ranked in my top 3, but suck it up and show me where you belong. Let’s also remember that it’s not where you start the season, it’s where you end it. Things here are going to get filled around plenty of times before the season is over, so don’t worry about how I see your team, just keep winning and eventually your team will be up here.

 

Final Thoughts 

 

Looks like you made it all the way to the end. Good Job. I know that it has been a long while since most of us have been out seeing people that aren’t in our family bubbles, but that time is slowly but surely coming to an end. And boy am I glad. 

Not being able to go out play sports and see friends has been tough. We have made it all this far and it’s only a little more. Please remember to go get your vaccine if not for yourself, but for everyone around you. The faster we all get vaccinated, the faster life goes back to normal. 

 

With week 1 almost upon us please remember to stretch and loosen up before your game no one wants to get hurt the first week and be hampered by that injury all season. Let’s all take it easy and work our way back into game form. I want everyone to remember that this is a game we are all out here to have fun and get some exercise. Play safe, have fun, and enjoy yourself.  

Word from the Mouth: The Mouth Speaks Again!

Word from the Mouth: The Mouth Speaks Again!

Kevin Kousaie

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls people of all ages welcome back to another season here in the MFL. I know that the last year has sucked royally, but we are slowly but surely getting back to normal, let’s hope. 

This is going to be the largest season to date in the MFL as we have 48 teams in 5 separate divisions. I know right now that there might be a few spots still available for this season (ed’s note: for individual players, no room for teams, but we have a waiting list!), but it is never too early to get your spot for the fall season. 

This season I think I will be keeping to the same format that I have in the past, but I might end up making a few tweaks to spice it up a little. 

The season should be starting on June 5 for most teams, but a few will be played this weekend. Since everyone will be playing 10 games over 10 weeks there are no off weeks and every game matters. Division 1 has 7 teams, Division 2 has 12 teams, Division 3 has 10 teams, Division 4 has 12 teams and division 5 has 7 teams. That will be tons of games for me to cover alone so Terry and Will are planning to do a podcast to cover what I miss. I think that will be pretty cool. With them doing that I have decided that my weekly recaps will only cover 2 games per division, this way they will have plenty to cover as well.

 

Season Preview & Expectations 

 

Division 1

 

Bitter Boys

I know that Mario is a very intense person who wants to win and hates losing so what did this season was start recruiting early. If Mario was able to get 1 or 2 stronger players this might be the year that they surprise a few teams. If they go 5-5 it wouldn’t surprise me at all, but is that enough to make the playoffs? I don’t know but we will see.

 

Henchmen

This is a roster that is stacked with talent, but will they be able to play together or will they butt heads all year. Talent wise they should be able to go 8-2, but realistically I can’t see them getting more than 6 wins. Talent will only get you so far. Football is a team game.

 

Holy Trollers

This one is tough. They have been together for years so the chemistry is there and they have the talent. The big thing about the Trollers is they haven’t evolved in years, so it is the same thing season after season. With the teams in this division, the lack of change, and them knowing it all, I can see a 4-6 in their future.

 

Les Centurions 

To me this is the wild card team in the division. Last spring they found their QB who helped them win the Division 2 crown and now they are up in Division 1, where the teams are a little better and know the game better. They have one of the best defenses and if they can score 25 points a game they will win most games. Moving up will be a learning curve for them, but they will be fine and should be able to go 5-5 in their first season in this division. 

 

Zack Zwirn Team

Hopefully they don’t stick to this name. Zack is a solid player and I know a few of the guys that will be on this team and they are all solid. The only thing that might throw these guys for a little bit of a loop is the smaller field then what they are used to. This team will finish the season at 7-3 and be in the playoffs.

 

Outlaws

This is a team that is led by Stephen Harripersaud. They might not have as much talent as some of the other teams in the division but Steve knows what to do and how to get it done. Outlaws will go 7-3 and try to defend their title. 

 

Ninja Turtles

 

This team has the best players in the league in the Pilon brothers and Tam. Everyone who has seen them play in the MFL and thinks they are just ok, wait until you see them play where they actually play hard. I’m going to say they end up 8-2, but that’s only because they have missed games in the past.

 

This is how I see the season turning out for most of the teams. I know everyone might not be happy with how I see it, but let’s just remember that I haven’t seen any of your teams play so anything can happen.

Predictions and Power Rankings Week 2

Predictions and Power Rankings Week 2

Kevin Kousaie

Predictions

This season I have been struggling to read my crystal ball properly, so I am now going with my gut and I should be able to do better. I mean, I can’t do much worse. Here is what my gut s telling me this week.

 

(ed’s note: I’m going to put my picks in as well to see who the real Nostradamus is!)

 

Division 2 (1-1 LW, 1-3 Overall)

 

D#Nasty vs OG Panthers (ed’s pick: OG Panthers)

The way that D#Nasty has started the season it will be difficult for OG to beat them. D#Nasty is playing great on both sides of the ball. This also happens to be a rematch of week 1 and I don’t think OG will get up big and blow it like the first week. Take OG to win and get revenge for a last second TD.

 

Outlaws vs OG Panthers NA (ed’s pick: Outlaws)

I hate to disappoint, but I don’t pick my team games.

 

Bitter Boys vs Centurions (ed’s pick: Bitter Boys)

I think Bitter Boys will have a harder time this week since Centurions have a better defense than the Haters and are a little more organized.

 

Outlaws vs Presidents Choice NA (ed’s pick: Outlaws)

I hate to disappoint, but I don’t pick my team games.

 

Dolphins vs Joey’s Haters (ed’s pick: Dolphins)

This was tough, but it’s a perfect game for the Dolphins to win as their strengths are the Haters weaknesses. Let’s go Fins.

 

Division 3 (4-2 LW, 6-4 Overall)

 

Les Tannantes vs Mustard Tigers (ed’s pick: Mustard Tigers)

I have a feeling that even with all the chemistry they have together that somehow Mustard Tigers let this one slip through their hands. I watched Les Tannantes play last week and they weren’t half bad.

 

Nice TDs vs Les Tannantes (ed’s pick: Tannantes)

I’m not sure why, but I just think the Nice TDs find a way to pull this one out. Les Tannantes are the better team and should be able to win, but after playing a tough game before I think they might be worn out.

 

Sriracha All Stars vs Old School (ed’s pick: Sriracha All Stars in the upset!)

Sriracha is a new team with a few new players and they really don’t match up well. I want to see Old School get beat in this division, but it won’t be this week by this team.

 

The Wieners vs Iron Wolves (ed’s pick: Iron Wolves, I do pick my team!)

Iron Wolves are the better team on paper and will also prove they are better on the field. Iron Wolves will have a plan in place to stop Francois and then it will be an easy win for them.

 

Sriracha All Stars vs Good Vibes (ed’s pick: Good Vibes in the upset!)

I think Sriracha pull this one off. I just wonder who will be throwing for Good Vibes. Will it be JC or Jeremy? They will need both guys to slow down Marvin and Jason, if not expect it to be a long day for Good Vibes who will be walking away in a bad mood.

 

Underdogs vs Les Fraises Sauvages (ed’s pick: Underdogs)

I really didn’t know who to go with in this game. I went back and looked over both team’s stats and came to the decision that Underdogs are the better team, but not by much.

 

Division 4 (5-0 LW, 7-2 Overall)

 

Les Beautes vs Airborne (ed’s pick: Airborne starts catching the ball !)

I played Les Beautes last week and they are a very solid team and should win this one easily. If Airborne want to have any chance, they need to catch the ball.

 

Flamboyant Flamingos vs Les Last Calls (ed’s pick: Les Last Calls)

They are the better team. I’m not saying they will walk all over Les Last Calls, but they will be able to do enough to win the game.

 

Thunder Buddies vs Sneaky Snakes (ed’s pick: Sneaky Snakes)

This will be the best match up in the division. We have last season’s champs vs the new team that has arrived and has been wreaking sh**ck along the way. I just feel that Sneaky Snakes will be able to pull it off, especially if Andrew is throwing for them.

 

Rawsauce vs 909 Unicorns (ed’s pick: 909 Unicorns)

I was going to give 909 Unicorns their first win of the season, but then I realized that they don’t play much defense and even with Rawsauce not being a good offense they have a way better defense and should be able to stop Eric from running. This will be a close game, but give me Rawsauce.

 

Les Beautes vs Les Last Calls (ed’s pick: Les Beautes)

Les Beautes are going to be exhausted by the time this game rolls around so I will give Les Last Calls the win. That is unless they start drinking after their first game.

 

Washington Foreskins vs Phoenix NA (ed’s pick: Phoenix)

I don’t pick my games, so don’t ask.

 

There you have it, my picks for week 3. I figure that someone will mess it up for me, but if I can get 75% of the games correct it’s a step in the right direction.

 

Power Rankings

 

The last few days I have been looking at who should be on my list and who shouldn’t and these are the team that I came up with that have earned a spot on my list.

 

Division 2

#1- Outlaws

#2- D#Nasty

#3- Honor Game

 

Division 3

#1- Old School

#2- Mustard Tigers

#3- Les Tannantes

 

Division 4

#1- Sneaky Snakes

#2- Thunder Buddies

#3- Washington Foreskins

 

I’ve gone ahead and made a few minor changes to my list and I will bet you that after this next week I will be making a few more changes. There are a few teams that were on the cusp of making it, but got bumped because of the teams they played are a little weaker or they didn’t have convincing wins against certain teams that they should have easily won against. Look, these are my ranking and it is only week 2 things can change between now and the end of the season and if you keep winning then there is no chance that you won’t see your team up here sooner or later.

 

Final Thoughts

We have made it 2 weeks into the season and I hope that we will be able to finish it off. Montreal is into their (ed’s note: our, no?) second wave of Covid and if it gets bad like it did in March the city might shut everything down again. Last Saturday I went to watch Nick play football in Greenfield Park and the league has now made it mandatory to wear a mask it you are attending the game and they also won’t allow more than 250 people in to the stands.

I know that this is serious and we should consider ourselves lucky that we are playing outdoors as a lot of indoor facilities aren’t really open and if they are they have very strict guidelines to follow. I love playing football, but please be safe and should you have any symptoms please use your best judgement and figure out if it’s just a cold or not before come out. Everyone who does come out, let’s have some fun and be safe as we all have sh**fr*x to do the rest of the week.

 

(Ed’s note: Just a reminder that we are asking that only players come to the field for games until the city deems that things are safer again. So, please don’t bring friends or family to the games! And if you’re sick at all, please stay home!)

Leagues
Montreal Flag Football League