Top 10 Plays of the Week
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Word from the Mouth: Fall Preview edition!
Here we are start of the fall season. Normally in my first article I write up a little about every team in every division. I’m not doing that this time around. I’m going to write one article this week for the entire league. I dislocated my shoulder on Sunday so it is difficult to type. No one needs to worry, I will still be there telling everyone how it is and yes I’m still playing. If I was able to play the same day it happened, I will definitely play next week since my team has a bye.
For the fall season we have three divisions again. In the spring season we had Outlaws winning division one with a last play bat down by Smuda. Division two had Red Raiders winning on the last play of the game with a double half back pass. Division three was a blowout by the Ninja Turtles.
Division 1
This season we only have five division one teams, it is down from spring, but it should be more competitive since teams are closer is skill.
- Outlaws are back and have what looks to be the strongest roster in the division by far. It will be interesting to see who is able to give them a run for their money.
- Trollers are looking to fill out their roster with a few key guys leaving.
- Revolucion are back but they are always up in the air as to how they will finish.
- Bitter Boys are back with what looks like the same roster and will be able to compete with most if not all the teams.
- Henchmen are back with a few guys from last season and who knows who else.
Week 1 Picks & Why
Revolucion vs Outlaws
Outlaws have a top roster from top to bottom and unless Revolucion found someone else to throw it will be Raph and he isn’t the same guy as years ago. That is why Outlaws will walk all over Revolucion on the way to try and repeat.
Bitter Boys vs Henchmen
I picked Bitter Boys since they came on really strong at the end of last season. Jon will be throwing for Henchmen so there is no real need to worry about the deep ball. Bitter Boys also have Guilliaume who is one of the top players in the division.
Division 2
For the fall season we have a total of eleven teams with most of them coming back from last season.
- Raccoons are back with a solid defense. The bigger question is who is throwing for them.
- D#Nasty is back with the same roster looking to avenge last seasons early playoff loss.
- Old School is back with pretty much the same roster adding Adam which might mean Dahic can go back to playing receiver, which makes them that much better.
- Joey’s Haters has some really good division one players on it and depending on who else they get they could be very dangerous.
- Dawgs have four guys on the roster at the moment. One of them is a QB so they don’t have to worry like last season and they also have a stud in Max. (ed’s note: They are already at 7 players!)
- Space Apes are back with their same roster so they will be a solid team. It will come down to how Charles plays at QB. (ed’s note: It’s a very different roster! Mix of Space Apes and 7th Rounders. Very strong team!)
- Deep Threats are back after taking a season off. I just hope that they learned last time that you can’t win games just going deep even if you have Svetna there.
- Iron Wolves what can I say that won’t make the editor add some stuff to make his team look better. Jon is the greatest QB of all time (ed’s note: finally, some sense!). That should make him skip over this next part. Iron Wolves are an average team there is no one that stands out to me. (ed’s note: I sort of tuned out after the greatest QB of all time comment, but I’m sure everything else Kevin said was glowing admiration of me and the team)
- Petit Phoques is a team made up of a few Gros Coqs that couldn’t handle division one anymore so they decided to try division two. No really, with the few guys I do know they should have no problem winning a few games, it comes down to who will throw and how are all the new players they brought in to play with them. (ed’s note: I think Vince is throwing)
- Nice TDs are back with the exact same roster. From what I was hearing last weekend they have a new QB in Demario. I have never seen him throw, supposedly QB is his natural position. Guess we need to wait and see how that goes and if he shows up to games.
- Centurions are back and this time looking to win the title. Last season they had the best defense in the division and they look to improve on that. The offense got better every week and Guillaume will try to improve over last season.
This is going to be the best division in the league and anyone will be able to win any week.
Week 1 Picks & Why
Petit Phoques vs D#Nasty
D#Nasty will win this one since there are too many unknowns about Petit Phoques. Not saying it will be a blowout I just don’t know enough about Petit Phoques to put my reputation on the line. Plus Dom makes me think too much about how to spell his team names, next time pick something a little more simple.
Raccoons vs Iron Wolves
Iron wolves were picked because of the QB. You have Jon the great vs who knows. I really think the Raccoons have the better team, just not sure of QB situation.
Centurions vs Deep Threats
This was an easy one for me to pick. Defense Defense Defense. Deep Threats will have to work for everything they get and deep passes won’t work plus this will be their first game in a while. That is why I picked Centurions to win.
Nice TDs vs Dawgs
I loved Dawgs last season all they needed was a QB. This year they have one so things should be different. I still think Nice TDs will win since they have more Chemistry.
Centurions vs Old School
I really like Centurions and what they did last season. Old School in the week off made a huge pick up in Adam. He is a solid defender and if he is playing QB then that means Dahic can go back to being a receiver. Even if he doesn’t that gives them another weapon on offense.
Those are my picks for the week.
Division 3
This season we only have five teams with four coming back and the fifth being a combination of a few players from different teams last season. This division will be more competitive than last season. There is still the chance of a few blowouts though.
- Guillaume & Lakshmi is the newly formed team. So not much is known about them except they might have the best rusher in the division in Matt. It will take a few games for them to get rolling, you have to crawl before you walk.
- Les Beatues. Last season they didn’t have a QB and kept trying new guys almost every week I hope that it isn’t more of the same this season. Last season they had a hard time as any team would without a QB. I am not sure who it will be this season so it could end up as more of the same like last season. (ed’s note: I believe Brian Tinning is taking the reins at QB)
- Thunder Buddies lost Dave their best receiver and defender. That is fine as he was too strong for the division anyways. They have brought in Charles from Space Apes to replace him and he should be a good fix for them.
- Gold Rush came back and should be sporting the Gold Pinnies again. They have a lot of solid players on this roster. I wonder if Nick will be throwing again this season. Last season they didn’t have problems on offense it was that they had no defense. Come see me before or after your game I have something that can help you with that. (ed’s note: Steroids. It’s going to be steroids)
- Mustard Tigers came back for another season. I hope Brian enjoyed his trip to Europe. This is a very good team from top to bottom and when the season ends I can see them playing for the title. What bothers me about this team is that I wasn’t asked to join, now I’m going to look like a liar to my family when we don’t go to Disney. Thanks a lot guys and girls I’m picking against you all season and that includes your bye week.
Week 1 Picks & Why
Guillaume & Lakshmi vs Beautes
I picked them because of Matt. Without knowing who will be playing QB for Beautes I have to figure Matt will do what he does and eat QBs for lunch.
Gold Rush vs Thunder Buddies
Thunder Buddies have way too much experience to lose this one. Terry will run whenever he wants to in this one. I just think that there are too many weapons for Gold Rush to stop.
Mustard Tigers vs The Bye
The Bye week is going to knock a few of the Mustard Tigers out so that they won’t be able to make it the following week where I will pick them to lose again.
Final Thoughts
So we are about to start another ten weeks of football which could turn into being twelve weeks if you happen to make it to the finals. So you all know, don’t do what I did and get hurt in a meaningless game on the day you have two finals and can only play in one of them. You aren’t me and probably can’t deal with the same amount of pain as I can, so play safe and try not to get hurt. I will do to you what my other league wouldn’t and drag you off to the sideline and keep playing. We are on a schedule and it needs to be kept. Just so you know we won’t drag you off that’s why we have extra cones you will become out of bounds. No I’m just joking we will take all precautions to make sure you are ok and not seriously hurt. Best of luck to everyone out there. Remember right now you are all undefeated after Saturday not all of you will be able to say that. So go ball out and have fun. (ed’s note from Kevin: Jon is the greatest QB of all time)
Word from the Mouth: Week 11 - Finals! edition!
It is final week and we have the top two teams from the season playing each other. I think this might be the first time in league history that number one is playing two in the finals. I’m glad about this matchup as it should be a good one. I’m fed up of seeing blowout in the finals. Between the two teams they have 5 titles, Trollers with four and Outlaws with one. I hope that everyone is as pumped about the matchup as I am. Now let’s see how both teams made it to the finals.
Semifinals recap
Outlaws vs Gros Coqs (33-32)
So I said last week that both teams have a hard time stopping the other teams best weapon and that stayed true again in this game. Dom was able to run all over the Outlaws defense and Remy only managed 1 sack, 2 if you count the one at the end of the game on the convert. Dom still ran for 80 yards on 11 carries and was able to score once. Smuda had 7 catches for 84 yards and 2 scores. The biggest factor in the game was Shyanne, the guy just balled out and was unstoppable: 9 grabs, 73 yards, 3 scores, 2 converts, and 1 passing TD as well. This game went back and forth all game long. The big turning point of the game had to be the TD pass from Shyanne to end the first half. Gros Coqs have been around and should have known a jump ball was going to happen, they should have had two guys on Smuda along with having Dom rush so that the QB wouldn't have time to throw it the length of the field. That pass gave Outlaws all the confidence in the world knowing they could beat Gros Coqs with a prayer. I don’t know exactly what happened at the end of the game, but Gros Coqs were stopped on fourth down except there was a penalty on the play that kept the drive going. Gros Coqs went on to score and make it a one point game. With a big decision Gros Coqs went for two and the lead. We all saw Dom running around buying time until Remy dove and came up with the flag to seal the game for them. That was it, Outlaws off to the finals.
Trollers vs Henchmen (20-0)
This was a very boring game there weren’t any big plays other than JCs pick 6. Henchmen had another hard time holding onto the ball this week. They had lots of drops that really hurt their team. I thought going in this was going to be a lot closer game, but that never happened. Trollers kept getting stops and had short fields all game long. I think the only time they started with the ball on their side of midfield was when they started with the ball in the second half. The score at half was 20-0. At halftime I told my team to look over at the Henchmen bench and you could see they knew the game was over they all had their heads down and they looked demoralized. Second half was more of the same boring slow football, there were only 3 drives in the second half. Both QBs couldn’t get over 100 yards throwing, guess when you play a great defense that could happen, it also doesn’t help that Trollers were always on the other side of half when they got the ball. So the Trollers are going back to a very familiar spot, the finals that is.
Finals
Trollers vs Outlaws
Previous Matchups Week 4 25-20 Trollers, Week 5 27-18 Outlaws
So you can see that these two teams have a history against each other. This will be just like the rest, a tight game that will come down to who makes less mistakes. The first game came down to a bad route run by Eric at center on last play of the game. The second game was decided by a pick in the end zone as Trollers were going in to score and take the lead. So you know it will come down to one or two plays that will decide the championship.
QB- This season Max is having a great year. He has been making all the right reads and throwing the ball on time. He hasn’t turned the ball over much this season. He is no longer that guy that only looks one way and if needed would take off and run. Don’t get me, wrong he can still run he just doesn’t do it as much anymore. Max has also improved as the season went along making the reads and finding open guys. Steve is still Steve. Very smart at running plays where someone will be open and getting the ball out of his hands quickly. Steve doesn’t throw many bad passes unless there is pressure in his face. Since Steve doesn’t run around a lot he needs to get rid of ball quick. I have played with both of these guys for years now and I love both of them, they both have a different skill set. Steve is calmer and Max at times can get a little flustered. This season Max has been the better QB so with that being said I’ll give the advantage to Trollers.
WR- Outlaws have tons of weapons that haven’t been used much this season. Yes, they might have the best receiver in the league in Smuda and Shyanne might be in top 5, but after that what have any of them done. Eric is used as a safety valve in case the play breaks down. So, unless the other guys get a bunch of targets it should be another heavy dose of Smuda and Shyanne with Eric underneath. Trollers have been a little more balanced this season. Ben and JC can both take the top off the defense with Josh being used as an intermediate guy. The ball seems to be spread better with the Trollers and that is what makes them harder to stop. In seasons past it was Just Ben and Josh, it is no longer like that and with that being said the advantage has to go to the Trollers.
Defense- In years past this was an easy one and it would have been Trollers all the way, but this season things seemed to change a bit. Trollers were without their top rusher Andre for most of the season, they weren’t getting picks like in years past and they gave up too many points to weaker teams. Trollers still managed to get 5 sacks, 20 picks, 1 pick 6 and batted 37 balls away. That was for the season, then they buckled down last week and gave up 0 points in a playoff game. Outlaws have had a great rush all season no matter who was doing it. I think the Outlaws finished with the best points against at season end. As a team they managed to get 17 sacks, 5 safeties, 14 picks, 1 pick 6 and batted 36 balls away. Both teams have similar numbers except for the sacks, but I will also point out that only two players on Outlaws have picks. Even with that last bit of information, I still have to give the advantage to Outlaws. If the two teams had similar sack numbers I would have gone with Trollers.
X-Factors
- For Outlaws the X-factor will be Remy. If he is able to get after Max all game and not let him get to his second and third reads then Outlaws have a very good chance at winning this game. Remy will also need to be more involved in the offense. Steve can’t depend on two players to win the game.
- Trollers X-factor will end up being Cano. With Andre most likely missing Cano will fill in at rush. He will need to do what he did last time against them and get constant pressure on Steve and make the passing lanes close quickly. Cano should also end up with a big part of the offense as he is replacing Lesniak.
Those are the two players that should determine the outcome of the game. It won’t end up being one of the stars on the team it will be a guy who shows up and plays his ass off every week.
Final Thoughts
We made it through another season. This week we will be crowning a new champion. I would like to say thank you to all the teams that tried really hard all season and better luck next year. Everyone should come out and watch the finals as it will be a good game. I have been thinking about bringing out the BBQ for a few weeks now and what a better time than at the finals. I will be bringing hotdogs, burgers, just your regular BBQ items. I might even get some veggie burgers for Jon and myself since we both don’t eat meat. So best of luck to both teams in the finals, you guys played hard all season and deserve to be there. Play hard have fun and have a beer and stick around after to watch the division 2 semifinals and finals. I’ll be back next season writing and since the fall season starts next week you won’t have to wait long.
Word from the Mouth: Week 10 - Playoffs! edition!
As a reminder to all of our playoff teams, you are limited to 6 players in a game if you have any subs playing. 7 players if your QB only plays offense. You are also allowed to have an additional player available in case of injury, but note that the injured player is out for the game if they are replaced.
Now that the warmup season is out of the way and all the pretenders have been eliminated we can get to the real season. We have the three best teams in the playoffs, which we all saw at the beginning of the year. Then we end up with what people were thinking was a stacked team or super team crawl in with a 5-5 record and needed to win their last game to get in. The playoffs could be interesting.
Week 10 Recap
Trollers vs Henchmen (32-13)
So this was a game that had a little playoff implication when it started. Henchmen were able to march down the field and score on the opening possession. Trollers then did the same on a play that deserved a flag for PI. Jon told me the night before that Francis was going to light us up and he did on me with the no call. Jon was asking how do you not turn around a yard or two from the back of the end zone line. After that Trollers took over the game not allowing another point until Henchmen’s last drive of the game. I will say that Henchmen did a horrible job of catching the ball consistently. Svetna did make a ridiculous one handed catch on a ball thrown behind him and in between two defenders. These two teams will play again this week. Will we see more of the same, we will have to wait and see.
Outlaws vs Revolucion (56-18)
Was this even a game at any point? Raph and Revolucion needed this win to get some momentum for their second game. As you can see from the score and the video that didn’t happen. Outlaws look to be rolling after a huge loss last week to Bitter Boys. Here is a link to the video of this game. https://www.facebook.com/montrealflagfootball/videos/215173286070074/
Watch the video you can tell for yourself also Smuda makes a great one handed catch.
Les Gros Coqs vs 4Simbas (37-24)
This was a game between two teams that get really fired up really fast, there was bound to be some fireworks in this one. There wasn’t so don’t expect to hear any except a player getting bumped in the nose and having to come off and get a band aid. On 4Simbas first possession they scored, so I asked Dom what was going on and he looks at me and goes maybe we will lose on purpose so we can play the Trollers in round one. I knew in my head that there is no way they would lose on purpose especially since they already lost to them once before. This game was back and forth most of the game. Both QBs did a good job of spreading the ball around and they each had a few nice runs. Charles had a big game on offense for Gros Coqs. After watching this game and seeing what was the video game of the week this game was way more exciting.
Trollers vs Bitter Boys (45-18)
So after these two teams played last time Trollers wanted to show how dominating they can be. Last week Bitter Boys helped the Trollers out by beating Outlaws, they weren’t going to beat the top two teams to end their season. I knew this was going to happen and didn’t want any part of it. Trollers had all but locked up the first seed even if they lost as long as they gave up less than 42 points. I was trying to convince my team to just take the forfeit and finish at 8-2 instead of 9-1 or still losing the game and giving up more points. Plus someone could have gotten hurt and been lost for playoffs. I will say Bitter Boys are a good team and no one should over look them moving into the fall season.
Revolucion vs Henchmen (12-19)
This game was for the fourth and final playoff spot. You would have expected a more offensive game with so much on the line. Maybe both teams had a case of the dropsies. This game ended up being long and slow. Both teams had a few long drives and ate up the clock. I know that is the way Jon plays, Raph is a little more up tempo. I will say that ,ost of the Henchmen had just played in a division two game and all of Revolucion just finished getting smacked around by Outlaws, so everyone was tired and could have used a break in between the most important game of the season. I will say that Henchmen did bring in a sub to put them at 7 players for the game since most it was their third game of the day. I want to know how Jon was able to complete a pass for 50 yards and out of those 50 yards how many were in the air. My guess is 5 and Marvin ran the rest of the way. It would have been nice to see this be a more exciting game with so much on the line for both teams. Next time we should do what NFL does near end of season and move games to primetime. It wouldn’t be last minute they would know from the Saturday before. Just a suggestion.
Playoff Match ups
#1 Trollers vs #4 Henchmen
This game is a rematch of one that just happened this past week. I think it will be a better game this time around. I just want to remind Henchmen that it is customary to go out the night before and drink all night long. This is what teams do in division one. This week Trollers will have Max back under center and should be able to generate more points than last week. I also can’t see Henchmen dropping all those balls again. So this game is going to come down to a few plays and who makes more of them. Both teams have a tone of talent. I can see that the top players still being able to make plays. This game will be decided by one of the teams role players. So for Henchmen I can see Francis or maybe Ian being that guy that needs to come up big (ed’s note: both out…). For the Trollers it could end up being Dave, Kevin or Andre with the pass rush. Those are the guys that I can see making a huge impact since everyone else will be getting all the attention.
Winner- NA
#2 Outlaws vs #3 Gros Coqs (GOTW)
QB- So Steve is your prototypical passer; sit in the pocket, make a quick read and get the ball out of his hands. Every now and then he will evade the rusher and maybe even another player as he scrambles for a few yards and 9 out of 10 times a first down. Dom on the other hand is a guy who uses his legs and forces the defense to adjust to him and where he is running. If the defense sits in their zones he will take off and kill you that way if you come up to make a play on him he will find the open guy. These two couldn’t be any different. I have played with Steve on other teams for a few years now and I love the guy, but I have to give the advantage to running ability of Dom. I have seen him beat teams too many times just by running.
WR- Gros Coqs have a great bunch of receivers that anyone of them could beat you. Bresse is the guy for Gros Coqs, Vincent is a good center and Dom will check it down to him quite often. After those two they still have Charles, Boris and Etienne who are all solid and missed games so their numbers don’t pop off the page at you. Outlaws are stacked with Smuda, Shyanne and Remy outside along with Eric manning the middle. They have a lot of speed on the roster that just needs to get used properly. Smuda is top 3 receiver if not the best in the league. I know Shyanne is reading this and has a stupid look on his face like “what about me?” Now if I was given choice to pick either group to be on my team I would easily take Outlaws. They are fast enough and have way more size, so Outlaws are given my advantage in this one.
Defense- So Remy was my choice as the top rusher in the division and defense starts up front. If you can pressure the QB constantly and fast you won’t have to cover as long. The question is will Remy be able to contain Dom from running wild. In the secondary the Outlaws are pretty weak, that is after Smuda and Shyanne. The team has 14 picks by those two guys only. How does everyone else bat 28 balls away and not end up with 1 pick? Gros Coqs have a different problem, their defense is weak all over. They have only managed to get 5 sacks as a team, 11 picks, and batted 43 balls away. Their defense isn’t bad, but it isn’t great either. If they settle down and play like they can they are very solid it just hasn’t happened much this season. I have to go with Remy and give the Outlaws the advantage. He is the best rusher and can change a game on his own.
X Factor
So this is something new I figured I try it and see how it goes.
Outlaws- Stopping Dom from running if they can do that and force him to throw then they will win the game.
Gros Coqs- Smuda, stopping him. That is what needs to be done if they want any chance in winning this game.
I know it might seem obvious what my X Factors are. These two teams have played many game against each other and they are normally good games. Outlaws have always had trouble eliminating the run from Dom and Gros Coqs can’t match up with the size of Smuda. So this will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Winner – Outlaws
Final Thoughts
So we are here, Madden has come out or will be by the time this is posted. So you know someone is going to be up all night playing it trying out new plays and seeing if they work. I have played madden and football my whole life and yes you can run some of the same concepts or even plays, but will they work ya? Of course, you’ll just need the right players to run the plays. I will be one of those people up for the next few nights mastering the game, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be ready Saturday 9:30am to dominate in my game. Now that it is the playoffs you have to give it your all if you want any chance in playing in the finals. So no more go out have fun play safe, leave it all out on the field don’t let one of your teammates down dig deep and suck it up we’re all men out there. That’s it for this week see all you teams that made the playoffs on Saturday.
MFL Spring 2019 Awards Voting
* ENGLISH FOLLOWS *
Les nominés sont inscrits et le vote pour les MFL Spring 2019 Awards est ouvert!
Le vote est ouvert à tous les joueurs de la MFL et nous permettons à chaque joueur de voter lors d’un vote par division.
Comme je l'ai déjà mentionné, nous annoncerons les gagnants lors de notre rassemblement de printemps, dimanche 11 août (le lendemain des finales) à partir de 19h au McKibbons Irish Pub sur St Laurent. L'adresse est le 3515 St Laurent Blvd.
Voici les bulletins de vote:
Merci tout le monde!
* ENGLISH *
The nominees are in and the voting for the MFL Spring 2019 Awards are open!
The voting is open to all players in the MFL and we allow each player to vote in any or all of the divisional voting.
As I've mentioned before, we'll be announcing the winners at our Spring Get Together on Sunday, August 11th (the day after the finals) starting at 7 pm at McKibbons Irish Pub on St Laurent. The address is 3515 St Laurent Blvd.
Here are the ballots:
Thanks everyone!
