Predictions and Power Rankings Week 1

Thursday, August 22nd Kevin Kousaie

Predictions

This week there are only 18 games for me to pick instead of the regular 28 games. Last week I managed to go 14-11 which means either I was way off, or a bunch of you players can’t read. I plan to get better, but I need some help from you folks if I picked you to win show up early and ball the banana out and if necessary, bribe a ref, we can all use a little extra walking around money. Now to my picks for week 2 and like always they are in bold.

D1

Iron Wolves vs Outlaws

Outlaws vs A-Team

D2

Thunder Buddies vs Bines

Bines vs RawSauce

Rejects vs Phoenix NA

D3

Turf Ninjas vs Blitzing Bastards

Tropic Thunder vs Ducks

D4

Witching Hour vs Binettes

Action Squad vs F.A.T. Players

Slot Machines vs Action Squad

D5

Titans vs Spartans

Budget Cats vs Bear Hood

Les Last Calls vs PickSixers

Wong Dynasty vs Ass-Been

Spartans vs 28-3

Women’s

Steeleuses vs Déesses du Drapeau

Déesses du Drapeau vs Tigres

Steeleuses vs Dirty Chai Latte

There you have it my picks for week 2. I know last week wasn’t great, but this week is guaranteed to be better and if not then maybe ill have to stop doing picks and see if anyone wants to do a weekly fantasy draft with me.

Power Rankings

Last week I did a ranking for everyone, now that we are 1 week in, I’m only doing a top 3 this way I can save on words and not get blasted from Terry or Jon.

D1

#1- A-Team

#2- Outlaws

#3- KOLB

D2

#1- Respect 2.0

#2- Double Dippers

#3- Tigres

D3

#1- Iron Wolves

#2- CIA

#3- Tropic Thunder

D4

#1- Witching Hour

#2- Blue Badgers

#3- Slot Machines

D5

#1- Les Last Calls

#2- Jungle Squad

#3- Slicks

Women’s

#1- Tigres

#2- Déesses du Drapeau

#3- Majestic Divas

I know my rankings aren’t perfect and work still needs to be done on it but as the weeks go on, I will get to know the teams better and who are real contenders and who are frauds. I know you might look at these rankings and wonder how your team isn’t up here it might have something to do with who you played. More games played makes for a better sample size and some new teams will get the benefit where some experienced teams need to prove they are for real.

Final Thoughts

This week all our games are being played at Leber so no need to wonder which field you’re at or having to move locations for a second game. This week it looks like no rain but who knows, there is still 2 more days before Saturday. If you didn’t already know this week Football kicks off with the NCAA week zero as they call it since there are only a few games on the docket. That means from this weekend until mid-February we get to watch real football not that European crap Jon took off to go see. I think he went to learn how to flop and get the call. I can tell you that won’t fly if I’m your official. I know it's not too late yet, but Fantasy football is huge, and we might want to set one up for the league along with a Survivor pool to see who comes out on top. I can tell you one person who won’t win either, and that’s Willie because he forgets to do his line and make his picks all the time with the media picks. I don’t have much more to say but before I go remember we are playing a game so have fun don’t take it too seriously and don’t kill anyone we all have places to be after our games.

Word from the Mouth: Jello Legs! edition

Tuesday, August 20th Kevin Kousaie

What a weekend it was for week one of the season. We only had rain for 10 minutes tops and that all happened in my game and the reason why Jason and I combined for ten picks, but other than that it was beautiful out. We also kicked Brossard off and from what I saw on Sunday might be the best it’s been so far. I also hope everyone is excited cause MFL Laval will be kicking off this week and looks like it could be exciting from the teams and players I’ve seen on rosters. Now that the MFL has two remote locations I think that the two champions should play each other at a remote location to see who the best non-Montreal team is. We can make a time slot and have it played finals weekend. Jon and Terry need to make this happen. I know it’s a Sunday league but put it out there I’m sure teams would be cool with it and it’s an extra game they get to play. After walking a total of 42000 steps and playing a game on top of that I’m beat after all those weeks off. My shoulder needs ice, my legs feel like Jello, I can't turn my neck and my back is killing me as well, so anyone still walking and not feeling like crap, good job to you. Don’t worry Dobbs I’ll be fine by next week and if not I’ll drug myself up just to play like I always have.

Recap

D1

I didn’t have the honour to see the D1 game this week, but I know Willie was there and should know what happened in the game so expect the recap on the Podcast.

D2

Villains vs Nice TDs (38-27)

I won't sugar coat it at all and just tell you how it is. The Villains are a better team this season with Jeremi at QB he gives them the option to run and can throw the ball all over the field at any time. The issue for Nice TDs is that Simon only went to Andrew and Ben and most of Ben’s balls were in the second half. Simon tried to run the same play a few times with Andrew but the defenders on Thunder Buddies (ed’s note: maybe lay off those drugs…) did a wonderful job of limiting his YAC. The issue for Nice TDs will be their defense. They didn’t get much pressure on Jeremi and they were never able to get a pick, they were always a step late. Can Nice TDs turn it around of course they can, will they? I’m not sure but if the rumors are true then expect a stronger Nice TDs team moving forward.

Phoenix vs Average Joes (37-51)

This game wasn’t particularly good for Phoenix and the score makes it seem closer than it was. Joes dominated the first half when nothing went right for Phoenix and built a 32-12 lead. Second half more of the same bad balls from me (ed’s note: I’m glad you stopped referring to yourself in the third person) at QB leading to picks but the Defense stepped up getting four second half picks and making a game of it. If it wasn’t for the way the opening two drives started for Phoenix, it would have come down to converts. Joes are a good team, and we all knew that going in, the question mark is how good or bad will Phoenix be.

Thunder Buddies vs Double Dippers (35-37)

I won't talk much about this game since Both Terry and Will are Thunder Buddies. I will point out that they had no way of stopping Simon who dominated inside the red zone with 2 TDs and 2 2-point converts.

Respect vs Rejects (30-8)

The way this game started out it felt like Dobbs and his Rejects were going to hang around long enough to pull of the upset. Rejects had issues all day keep drives going with either drops or bad routes and the occasional bad ball, even with all those struggles they were only down 14-0 at half. In the first half you could see that Steve was having issues with the fresh (ed’s note: you mean rookies? freshmen?) players on his team and where they were supposed to be as to where they were. On his opening drive Steve got the ball all the way inside redzone but had three out of four passes dropped in the endzone and the other pass he threw away. After a slow start Steve got rolling and scored on his four next drives before turning the ball over on downs late in the game. The best play of the game for Rejects was a 40-yard run by Dobbs with one play left before half. With the lead in the second half Steve milked the clock and this limited the number of possessions and killed any chance Rejects had it coming back. Rejects scored late to end the game but if they can’t become more consistent then they might struggle all season long.

D3

Drama Club vs CIA Fusion (19-30)

This could have been a game to remember but Drama Club was missing players and then CIA made a change at QB from Jason to Alex. The change at QB made CIA a bit weaker of a team at both QB and WR. Drama Club needed to find a way to keep Alex in the pocket and force him to throw and Greg wasn’t the answer. On the offensive side of the ball Simon needed to do a better job of spreading the ball around and not just going to Nico who had ninety-seven of his 188 yards. As for CIA Alex did a wonderful job of keeping the defense guessing as to what was coming. Alex ran for seventy-five yards and a TD but when Alex did throw the ball it was mostly easy completions to players wide open. Conner was his number 1 target with six catches for eighty-nine yards and 2 TDs.

D4

Sorry Folks I missed seeing any of your teams play, but don’t worry I will get to see some of you play over the season and your games will get coverage.

D5

Wong Dynasty vs Spartans (0-38)

After Wong Dynasty won their first game they looked to keep on rolling. Then they faced a team that knew what they were doing on defense and all those lob passes got knocked away or were picked off. Spartans took control right from the start and only had a little hiccup of back-to-back picks after scoring on their opening two possessions. JF did an excellent job of spreading the ball and keeping the defense guessing where it was going. Devonte only had four catches for twenty-nine yards but three of his catches were for TDs. The best drive Wong Dynasty had was when they opened the second half with an 8-play drive before it ended in one of Ryan's 6 picks. This game was never close and if Spartans play like this every week don’t be surprised to see them challenge for the top spot in the division near the end of the season.

Women’s

Sorry ladies, just like D4 I couldn’t catch any of your games, but I am planning on it so no need to panic (ed’s note: I’m sure some players lost sleep over this) I’ll be at a few of the division games before the season is over.

That is all I have in the way of recaps. Hope you enjoyed it and maybe you’ll see me on the sideline this week either taking notes as I scout or see how the game plays out.

Studs & Duds

Week 1 in the books and it seemed as if more players wanted to be Duds than Studs this week. I know it's week one and we are all rusty, but I was expecting more players to come and ball the jello out since they had all those weeks off. Instead of getting top performances we got the Australian breakdancer performance. I know I might not be able to do much better but I’m almost 44 years old and I can't bend that way, plus I’m white and I have no rhythm. I tried dancing in Mexico and it’s a No Bueno. If you need proof or want to see someone laugh their ass off ask my Sunshine about it.

Studs

D1

- Jérémi Riendeau-Demers 4 TDs.

D2

- Eric Schiocchet 10 catches 181 yards and 3 TDs in his first game back after a while away.

D3

- Mickael Jandala 4 catches for thirty-nine yards and 1 TD. On defense and why he won this week was his two sacks and a pick six as the rusher.

D4

- Vincent Marotte 3 TDs and four picks in his first game.

D5

- Sébastien Lucas Alzate 9 catches 139 yards and 3 TDs.

Women’s

- Angie Toporowski 7 catches eighty-three yard, 2 TDs on offense and she added a pick on defense as well.

Duds

D1

- Willie for his two picks.

D2

- Kevin for my six picks.

D3

- Alexandre Szaplipski for not understanding as a QB you need to throw the ball not run twenty times in two games.

D4

- Alec De Lafontaine-Jovani threw six picks four to the same player.

D5

- Kevin Gauthier 5 picks and only four completions.

Women’s

- Zuzana Sichova 6 picks in game number 1.

If you’re just expecting to show up and make my list, that isn’t going to happen, but I do take bribes so that one catch for one yard you got this week could make you my stud of the week for the right donation. No in all seriousness you want to make my list do something different, stand out, try and look as good as I do (ed’s note: we all know that’s impossible), and I might just give you a shout out even if you didn’t put up crazy numbers anyway. I go by what the numbers show me unless it's close then I look and see how those numbers were achieved.

Word from the Mouth: Preseason Edition!

Friday, August 16th Kevin Kousaie

Well, look what’s right around the corner, the new season. The off season just flew by. I guess while you’re away loving Mexico, eating tacos and drinking Mexican water all day the week flies by. While on vacation I had a few magical numbers pop up and figured I'd share and let you in on what those lucky numbers are and see if anyone can figure out what they are. The numbers were 33, 200 and 8. If you figure it out then you’re a creep. This past Saturday we held our competition committee meeting and made a few rule changes to the rules so captains, players and refs should look over the rulebook before the season starts this weekend, so they are up to date.

Division Breakdown

D1

Outlaws- With Steve under center this team will be fine but with three fresh players it will take time to see Steve scoring forty-five points a game.

A-Team- This roster is by far the best in the division and I’m not going to be surprised to see them go 9-1 and win it all.

Iron Wolves- This is my wild card team in the division. Willie is great and won’t let things bother him, but last season Manu missed a bunch of games and if he isn’t there Kris will be target # 1 and want every ball, so there could be issues.

KOLB- With them moving up from D2 they needed more weapons and they found them with Simon and Avery. With the addition of these two plus what they already had they should be able to hold their own and get a few wins.

Pocket Rockets- I think this team is missing a second big time player to go along with Alexis. They might have the best rusher in the division with Khalil and the defense is solid with Leo and Ali but it’s the offense I’m worried about.

D2

Respect 2.0- This is going to be another good team Steve has with him, but we will see how the fresh players work out for them.

Average Joes- This is a good group of guys that will need to manage their emotions if they want to be playing that last game of the season.

Bines- On paper they look like an average team but what separates them is the chemistry they have together and that is what makes them a dangerous team.

Double Dippers- Richie Rich and his band of misfits lost Manu and replaced him with Alexis which we could argue but let’s call it an even pick up. What helps them is the return of Eric to the team; it provides David another target that he knows can and will make plays when needed.

Nice TDs- Simon will be under center for this team with a bunch of original members coming back. This season expect to see Andrew put up crazy numbers on offense and Guillaume getting double digit picks as teams avoid Andrew.

Phoenix- Last season this team took steps to improve and this time around we kept the team together with the addition of Zach who will rush and add some extra speed on offense.

RawSauce- This team will only go where Yvan and Gabriel take them. If they miss games expect them to struggle.

Rejects- This team should be particularly good based off the experience they have but they might struggle at times as chemistry and QB might need work.

Thunder Buddies- Terry should score loads of points but if teams take favorite target Willie away will Terry be able to do that using Simon and Victor.

Tigres- This team surprised a bunch of teams last season with their offense. I don't see the same thing happening again this season, but I can see they are doing well if Nestor can become a consistent passer.

Villains- They lost Will at QB and replaced him with Jeremi who is a very mobile QB and will make plays with his legs all game long. If his passing gets better, then they will be a team to look out for.

D3

Tropic Thunder- Not sure what this team is doing you win a title in D4 move up and switch QBs, not saying it can’t work I just don’t understand why.

Blitzing Bastards- This is a new team and with new teams it can go any which way and more often than not the team struggles at first and figures it out late in the year or in year two but there is a chance they are really athletic and win some games just off of that.

CIA Fusion- If the hammers arm can hold up all season, they could be dangerous with Conner and Alex leading the way on both sides of the ball.

Drama Club- Loads of experience but looks like they are missing speed and that’s going to be a big issue for them.

Ducks- This is a mix of experience and newbies, and a lot of pressure will be on Dave at QB after how he performed last season in D4.

Iron Wolves- Most experienced team in the division and with Jon throwing, don't be surprised to see one of the Js winning season MVP and the title when the season is over.

Sour Puss- New team I know nothing about.

Top Shooters- This will be a fun team to watch if they can keep their cool. Marvin is back under center which is surprising since I was hoping to see what the Jaz man can do using his arm.

Turf Ninjas- This team has a few players I know and a few I might know and if those are the players I think they are then they should be competing for a playoff spot late in the season. Mat the QB is my only concern.

D4

Slot Machines- I think that the success they had winning every game last season won’t last. This season they will face teams that all have experience, and they might get exposed or at least not get away with plays like last season.

Action Squad- This is a solid team that will go as far as Gold can take them. Gold has some good dependable receivers that he will need to find ways to get them the ball to the other players if they are going to win it all like they did in the winter season.

Binettes- This is a big roster with most players playing multiple teams. This season Albert looks to be playing QB. I haven’t seen him throw but he has experience playing the game and I figure by week 2 or 3 this team could be racking up the Ws.

Blue Badgers- This is a roster that is loaded on both sides of the ball and have always done well in the season but need to figure what it will take to get over the hump.

F.A.T. Players- Took me a while to figure out who theses guys are but I did, and this is the System Urban team from last season. I expect them to be a much better team this season now that they have experience. Vincent and Guillaume are two players to watch out for.

Hawks- Louis is out and Thomas is stepping in at QB. Thomas might struggle at times, but he has Rob who can help with play calling and a stud receiver in Elliot who will catch any ball he gets his hands on.

Mustard Tigers- If Brian plays well then, this team must be a favorite to win it all. They might lack speed but don’t count the old men out. You have players like old man John who always makes a big play when they need it.

Nothing But D- This is the same team that lost in the finals last season. They didn’t make any changes to their roster and should be fine. If Alec improves with his decision making and Marcel balls the fuck out again, they should make another run at it.

Sour Peeps- This is a different team from last season and without a QB on the roster it might be a long season for them.

Witching Hour- This is a new team with only one player having experience. My bet is they are young and athletic and get a bunch of big plays but also a bunch of turnovers on offense. On defense they will be lost for the first little while.

D5

28-3- This is a good core of players that are still looking to fill out their roster. If you want to have a fun time and drink some beers this is your team.

514- This is a team that Lesniak will try to lead to the promised land, but they lack experience and will struggle at times against stronger teams.

Ass-Been- New team, new QB. It’s a real toss up ass to how this team will do. Based on the players on the roster they look like they are a mid-level team.

Bear Hood- They should be exceptionally good on defense with Carlos and Kevin leading the way, but the issue will be offense and not having a QB.

Big Booties- Lets see how long it takes for Jorge to throw it to Max on every play. After Max, this team is loaded with question marks and not sure how they will fill those holes.

Budget Cats- With Ben having a baby and not playing this season Gab is stepping up at QB and his first move was a new team name. Most new QBs struggle in year 1 and will need to ride it out and as the season goes on you learn.

Jungle Squad- With Gold becoming their QB this team just got better. Gold has loads of experience and will put players in a position to win some games.

Les Last Calls- This team is my favorite to win it all. They have a top 3 QB in Guillaume, top receiver in Seb and then how do you forget about Julie the top rusher in the division.

Phoenix- they have loads of experience but lack speed, so it could be a long season for them, but they will have fun.

PickSixers- With a name like that if you don’t get double digit pick sixes then you need to get a new name one more suited to what your team is.

Slicks- Hope all the rushers are well rested when they play Slicks because Luca has legs and knows how to use them.

Spartans- This is a very solid team and if JF keeps improving as a QB they will make some noise in the division.

Titans- When is Robert going to take the next step. This team has been around for a few seasons and on paper should be much better, but they struggle from time to time either moving the ball or playing defense.

Wong Dynasty- This might not be an incredibly good team, but they will have fun and compete. If Ryan figures playing QB out quickly then maybe they have a chance to win some games.

Women’s

Tigres- This team is loaded with players that know what they are doing and are surprisingly good athletes. They also are well coached and make great adjustments on the fly.

Crazy B’s- This team is a great bunch of women looking to have fun and hopefully win a few games. If they improve at QB then they should win at least 3 or 4 games this season.

Déesses du Drapeau- Last season they lost in the finals and most of the same players are back so expect to see them scoring a boat load of points.

Majestic Divas- Kayla at QB will be a learning curve for her but she is a smart girl and having played for years now should be able to figure out what works for her quickly.

Steeleuses- I know no one on this team and that makes it extremely hard to make a judgment on them, but I will guess they struggle early and get better as the season goes. They could also come out and dominate because they are all studs. Guess we wait and see.

That is all I have for this week. I hope you enjoyed it.

Predictions

This is where I get to tell you who is winning this week. I used to put a reason as to why I picked but we have expanded so much that I makes it difficult and much longer to do that so ill only be picking the winners and like always my picks are in bold.

D1

Iron Wolves vs KOLB

D2

Rejects vs Double Dippers

Villains vs Nice TDs

Phoenix vs Average Joes NA

Nice TDs vs Tigres

Villains vs RawSauce

Thunder Buddies vs Double Dippers

Rejects vs Respect 2.0

D3

Drama Club vs CIA

Top Shooters vs Drama Club

CIA vs Blitzing Bastards

Turf Ninjas vs Tropic Thunder

D4

Witching Hour vs Nothing But D

F.A.T. Players vs Blue Badgers

Sour Peeps vs Action Squad

Witching Hour vs F.A.T. Players

D5

Budget Cats vs Wong Dynasty

Jungle Squad vs Spartans

PickSixers vs Titans

Ass-Been vs Slicks

514 vs Bear Hood

Wong Dynasty vs Spartans

Titans vs Budget Cats

28-3 vs Last Calls

Women’s

Tigres vs Crazy B’s

Crazy B’s vs Majestic Divas

I know it’s week one and I know I don’t know all the teams or players yet but based on what I saw this is who I have winning week one.

Power Rankings

It's week one and it’s never too early for rankings is it. Considering the NFL and NCAA have their rankings out month in advance why can’t I do mine the week the season starts. I think for week one I’ll do every team in the division and after this week only do top three.

D1

#1- A-Team

#2- Outlaws

#3- KOLB

#4- Pocket Rockets

#5- Iron Wolves (CAP)

D2

#1- Respect 2.0

#2- Double Dippers

#3- Average Joes

#4- Tigres

#5- Thunder Buddies

#6- Nice TDs

#7- Bines

#8- Villains

#9- Phoenix

#10- RawSauce

#11- Rejects (CAP)

D3

#1- Iron Wolves

#2- Turf Ninjas

#3- CIA

#4- Ducks

#5- Tropic Thunder

#6- Top Shooters

#7- Drama Club

#8- Blitzing Bastards

#9- Sour Puss

D4

#1- Blue Badgers

#2- Slot Machines

#3- Nothing But D

#4- Action Squad

#5- Hawks

#6- Mustard Tigers

#7- Binettes

#8- F.A.T Players

#9- Witching Hour

#10- Sour Peeps

D5

#1- Les Last Calls

#2- Jungle Squad

#3- Slicks

#4- Spartans

#5- Big Booties

#6- 28-3

#7- Phoenix

#8- Bear Hood

#9- 514

#10- Ass-Been

#11- Wong Dynasty

#12- Titans

#13- Budget Cats

#14- PickSixers

Women’s

#1- Tigres

#2- Déesses du Drapeau

#3- Majestic Divas

#4- Crazy B's

#5- Steeleuses

That's how I have rankings before week one is played. I know and you should know that these rankings will look different once week one is played. I based my rankings off the roster that is up online. You might have added a player or two after I wrote this and maybe it would change how I have things, but I can’t predict who you will add to the roster now since I’m not a mind reader.

Final Thoughts

Anyone who knows me knows that I never shut up well. That isn’t entirely true for reference. I was quiet twice on vacation last week, ok technically three times. It was twice on the plane and once while on a boat, it was the most peace and quiet my Sunshine had while away. I know my article is late and I know you were all expecting this on Tuesday, but I’ve been busy at work getting caught up and dealing with government audits all week, but I still managed to finish and get it in before the week is over. I’m still waiting on Terry to send the ref schedule out, so I know which games I’m working on. Now that the Olympics are over everyone is looking to 2028 in LA for flag Football to be a new sport. I want to know if NFL players are allowed to play. For me I'll take a semi pro flag team all day over a bunch of NFL players. Anyone who has played or been around both sports for years will tell you it’s 2 totally different games. I know NFL players are in better shape and they are bigger, faster and stronger, but it comes down to play calling and that’s the advantage flag players get. Would it be close yes maybe but is it going to be a blowout no way in hell. Only a few more weeks until we can watch football all weekend and I can’t wait to get home late Saturday night and tune in to watch the PAC 12 conference oh wait it's now only two teams with no late-night games to watch so that sucks balls for me. Before I ramble too long let me remind you that we are playing a game so go out have fun and don’t kill anyone. We all have places to be on Monday other than the ER. Thanks, and see you all Saturday.

Outlaws are the D1 MFL Spring 2024 Champions!

Sunday, August 4th Jon Evans

The MFL 2024 Spring season is over and we'd like to thank all of our players who made the season such a huge success!

Congratulations to all of our winning teams and Playoff MVP winners as well!

D1 Champions - Outlaws

D1 Playoff MVP - Max Rosenfeld

D2 Champions - Respect

D2 Playoff MVP - Stephen Harripersaud

D3 Champions - Bines

D3 Playoff MVP - Simon Beaudoin

D4 Champions - Tropic Thunder

D4 Playoff MVP - Rob White

D5 Champions - Slot Machine

D5 Playoff MVP - Eric Namts

Women's Champions - Tigres

Women's Playoff MVP - Paola Olivares

Thanks to everyone again and we hope to see you all in the fall season starting August 17th!

Word from the Mouth: The Penultimate Week! edition

Tuesday, July 30th Kevin Kousaie

We’re one step closer to the finals. This week we had some hot weather and no breeze for most of the day. The best thing about the season coming to an end is that I’ll finally be able to sleep in on a Saturday once again. Oh wait, I won’t, I’ll be on vacation and need to get my money’s worth so drinking will be starting at 9am. I’m just hoping that I don’t pass out on the beach and the sunshine does something stupid to me to teach me a lesson about day drinking and how it’s supposed to be done.

As of right now it’s looking pretty sub optimal for this weekend with rain, but it’s only Monday right now, so let’s cross our fingers and pray for it to change.

This weekend Simon will be on site doing a BBQ with his company La Licorne de Feu. Now that we know food will be available, who’s bringing the beer and who is acting as security to make sure things stay in order and people throw out their trash?

Aside from it being the finals this weekend, over at Arthur Therrien there is a softball or baseball tournament going on in support of the Make a Wish Foundation. You can go support a good cause or if you want to have a good laugh as Jason will be over there trying to swing the bat and not trip over his feet while running to first if he makes contact.

I have a question for everyone and I’ll be putting this up in the players group to see what you all think. You get 1000 swings of the bat against an MLB pitcher, and you need to get 1 hit in a game or you get 1000 swings of a golf club to get a hole in 1 on 150-yard par 3. Which are you picking for 1 million dollars? (ed’s note: I mean, obviously the MLB pitcher. Am I playing a defense? Like, I need to get on base or I just have to put the ball in play? I’m asking for others as it doesn’t matter for me; out the park first swing when I’m up at bat)

Round 2 Recap

Division 1

Iron Wolves vs Busch Boys (36-24)

All week it seemed like Iron Wolves were going to be short players and Jon was even going to pull a Jazman move and take himself out of the game to get a sub and make them a stronger team (ed’s note: I specifically said I wouldn’t do this!). Jon decided against it, plus Kris played when we all thought he was hurt and out. The first half of the game was controlled by Iron Wolves except they allowed Busch Boys to go down and score as the half expired. The second half started with Busch boys getting the ball and they were able to move downfield, but couldn’t punch it in and cut the lead from 12 to 6. Simon would fight back t get his team into the endzone to cut the lead to 1 score and Will took very little time to take it back up to 2 scores. This was a good game, but it was lost in the first half when Busch Boys started off slow.

Division 2

Top Shooters vs KOLB (35-47)

The first half flew by with everything going Top Shooters way. After the opening drive Avery settled in and started to move the ball and his go to guy was Marvin who ran drags most of the game, but turned his 11 catches into 127 yards and 3 TDs. From watching this game there were far too many times where Avery took off running when he had players open. Normally you’d tell Avery to run and get those yards, but when you run 10 times and only get 17 yards you need to use that spaghetti arm or yours. When the second half started, I was worried KOLB were just going to collapse and the game would get out of hand. Well, they made a few adjustments, and they were able to move the ball, but it was the defense that made the biggest change. Alex was able to sack Avery 3 times with 1 of them being a safety and Jeremi getting 2 picks and scoring on both of them. What a difference in the 2 halves. It looked like Top Shooters had the game, but it got away from them quickly in the second half.

Division 3

Sooners vs Tigres (15-7)

I want to say I was trying to learn Spanish for my trip to Mexico, but it was more just in case I was doing this game so I could understand what was being said amongst players. I did walk away knowing that rapido means fast or in this case no huddle. That was my word of the day. Now to the game. Tigres are one of those teams that are very good and will get better over time. The first play of the game, Nestor threw the ball to David 45 yards in the air, but he threw the ball when David was at half, and it just missed his fingertips. I point that out because Tigres were so close on multiple plays to get big gains or scores and the ball wasn’t caught, or it was just a bit too far. On the Sooners side Diego wasn’t there as he was away on vacation with the GFs family, so Elijah was forced to play QB and it might have helped win them the game. Elijah was smart with the ball and was fine with punting it away if the play wasn’t there. After watching the game and looking over the stats, I was most impressed by Sooners rusher Mathis getting 2 sacks and limiting Nestor to 27 yards on 11 runs. When you look at the stat sheet no one stood out. Yes, Jose had 2 TDs, but only had 56 yards total.

Division 4

Bouchers vs Sour Peeps (25-20)

This was not a very good game to watch and I’ll tell you why and then you can try and argue with me about it. Sour Peeps made the mistake of having Lambert rush which worked for them last week, but the difference was this week he wasn’t effective at all and when they switched to Jocelyn it still didn’t matter. By having their better defenders rush, it was leaving baby Maynard open, who needs to be called big man Maynard now, who hauled in 17 balls for 109 yards and 2 TDs. All game long Ben was open on a short hook and made the first defender miss. Sour Peeps should have bracketed him with an over under or at least have the short defender jump that hook all game long. Lukas was able to build a 18-6 lead scoring on their first 3 possession, before hitting a few snags and not finding the endzone until there was less than 9 minutes in the second half. It took Sour Peeps a while to get the offense rolling and once, they did they weren’t able to capitalize on turnovers in the middle of the game to take the lead. Late in the game Jocelyn had a chance to drive the field and win the game being down 5 points. The issue was they needed big yards since time was against them. Sour Peeps managed to get 1 first down, but after that there was a drop, a bad pass, a run, and great play by Big Man Maynard.

Division 5

Binettes vs Slot Machines (0-20)

This was a typical D5 game, both QBs struggled to get drives going and keep the drive rolling, teams played decent defense, but both got lucky with bad drops, and the biggest difference was Slot Machines got the lead early on a turnover on downs to be in the driver’s seat. Both offenses had less than 115 total yards and dealt with drops and inaccurate passes most of the game. One thing I was expecting was Mathieu to depend on Thomas way more than he did. I know he tried to get him the ball a few times, but sometimes you got to go to your dog until they stop it, especially if you are down.

Women’s

Tigres vs Drama Queen (20-6)

The game started out with Kayla getting her first of two picks on the day and Drama Queens couldn’t have asked for a better start. Then Drama Queen got on offense and you just knew it wasn’t their day. After a completion to Marie for 7 yards on first down, Roxanne struggled to get the ball to one of her receivers as her next 3 passes were all knocked away by a defender. With the turnover, Tigres had a very short field and took no time to punch it in and get the lead. Most of the game both teams couldn’t move the ball as neither QB went over 100 yards. The difference in the game was Tigres are very prepared, take the game very seriously, and have very good coaching on the sidelines telling them what to do.

That’s all I have for you this week.

Studs & Duds

This weekend everyone played their bums off knowing they would be heading home and not playing in the finals this weekend if they lost. You would think with a shot at the title people would want to come out and play their rumps off, well we had a few players that decided they weren’t needed so they showed up and just goofed the goof off and did nothing. Now let’s see who helped their team to the finals and those that might be getting cut after that performance.

Studs

Division 1

- William Power 6 TDs no picks.

Division 2

- Jérémi Riendeau-Demers 8 catches 125 yards, 2 TDs. On defense he made 2 picks and scored on both to go along with his 2 tackles.

Division 3

- Thomas Cote-Parent 8 catches 94 yards, 3 TDs and 2 1-point converts, he also made 2 tackles on defense.

Division 4

- Benoit Maynard 17 catches 109 yards and 2 TDs.

Division 5

- Marcel Jovani 6 catches 53 yards, 1 TDs and on defense he made 7 tackles had 2 picks and scored on 1 of them.

Women’s

- Viviane Plourde 13 of 22 for 185 yards, 4 TDs and 5 1-point converts. She also made 3 tackles and had 1 pick which she returned for a TD on defense.

Duds

Division 1

- Busch Boys defense 0 picks, 0 sacks.

Division 2

- Sekure Top Shooters for letting the game get away from them in the second half.

Division 3

- Elijah Hicks for not using his center who was open all game on 5 hooks with no defender in sight. Ya, you won the game, but it was closer than it should have been if you used Mike.

Division 4

- Jocelyn Ouellette under 50% completion along with 3 picks thrown.

Division 5

- Mathieu Roy-Caissy 8 of 31 under 100 yards with no TDs, can’t be putting up numbers like this in the semifinals.

Women’s

- Roxanne Roy for going 17 of 42 and less than 100 yards.

There you have it my Studs & Duds following round 2 of the playoffs.