Word From The Mouth: The Penultimate Regular Season Week Edition

Word From The Mouth: The Penultimate Regular Season Week Edition

Kevin Kousaie

Here we are coming into the last week of the season. 8 out of 9 teams will be making the playoffs, which in my opinion kind of defeats the purpose of playing the season (Ed’s note: Rankings!). I think we should only have 6 teams in like in the NFL where top 2 teams are rewarded for finishing first, but I don’t make the rules. This past weekend we still have teams or players who feel that rules don’t apply to them. The bags of flags and pinnies that are at each field stay at those fields. I’m getting fed up of people not abiding by the rules and they should be punished, especially if it’s Francis. I’m not sure of what to write up for my recap of games from the past weekend since my team had to play 2 games and I didn’t do any division 1 games, but I’m smarter than Raph (Ed’s note: wut?) so I’ll figure it out.

 

Game Recap

 

Deep Threats vs Outlaws

 

I’m very shocked that this game was as close as it was. How can the Outlaws who are my number 2 team allow the Deep threats who almost everyone walks all over keep it that close? My reliable source at work let me know that it was a bad game for them and it was also their second game back to back. In all honestly that really isn’t an excuse but they were able to pull it off. I told my source that if they had lost I might have to drop them in the rankings. I’m not writing this to talk about the Outlaws, they will be fine and Steve knows what he is doing. I wrote about this game to talk about Deep threats. JC is finally realizing that you don’t need to throw it up on every play, work the field and you’ll be more successful. It also helps that Jon showed up for the first time in a few weeks but he won’t be there this week (Indianapolis). The truth is that Jon opens up the field for all the underneath stuff since we all know he is fast and is great at attacking the ball at the high point. I was surprised to hear Francis didn’t drop any balls this week, but I don’t believe it since I didn’t see if for myself. It’s like if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around does it make a noise? Same goes for Francis, no confirmation means it didn’t happen. Sorry Francis, maybe in another 5 years you’ll make your dream come true of no drops. I still think Stu should be center, better snapper and better hands also way better looking and plays through pain. Good job Deep Threats keep it up and you might surprise someone in the playoffs.

 

Game of the Week: Outlaws vs Gros Coqs

 

This is a great way to end the season. The 2 top teams meeting up and one has a chance to get the first perfect season in MFL history. Outlaws always play well against Gros Coqs, but I’m not sure that this will be a real test since I know guys will be missing and both teams have the 1 and 2 spots already locked up. Outlaws win they end up #1, they lose they stay where they are at #2, so not much of a difference. I think that this game will come down to not turning the ball over and I don’t think that Outlaws will win that stat. Dom has done a great job of not having too many errant throws this season and he only has 11 INTs, but also has a 70% completion rate. With the guys that are missing from Outlaws unless they get a few good subs this game, the Coqs have too many weapons that they won’t be able to stop. On Defense Kris will need to watch out for Tommy who is leading the league in sacks and also in passes defended. Have fun dealing with that all afternoon. I would love to see both teams play at full strength but I might have to wait until the finals if they both make it there. Good luck stay safe and have fun. 

 

Predictions

 

So the last week of the regular season is here and I have to make my final predictions. Last week I was 3 of 4 cause the Deep Threats decided to show up and play while crushing what little hope OG Panthers had at making the playoffs. So this week I need to be perfect if I want any shot at 75%. Right now I’m at 23 out of 31 or at 74.2% getting closer. So you are with my picks:

 

Krakens vs Revolucion                           Krakens

OG Panthers vs Krakens                        Krakens 

Outlaws vs Gros Coqs                           Gros Coqs

KOLB vs Deep Threats                          KOLB

Trollers vs Locomotion                           NA

 

Power Rankings

 

#1 Gros Coqs (9-0)

#2 Outlaws (8-1)

#3 Trollers (6-3)

 

Finally we have a new team up in the top 3. It was just a matter of time before the Trollers figured out what to do and how to win again. There is no better time to start playing well then right before the playoffs start. I’m just wondering if in the last week of the season it will stay like this. With 1 and 2 playing each other things can change pretty quickly. Stay and watch this one to find out.

 

I’m not going to be there this weekend so if anyone wants to fill in for me talking trash it would be greatly appreciated. Remember the more sh*t you talk the better. Just remember at the end of the year I’m still getting my award for it, this is just a one week rental. Stay safe have fun and play you’re a**es off to get ready for the playoffs. Oh, and Raph, you owe me a new pair of shorts for that holding penalty where you also prevented yourself from throwing 1 more TD pass even if it was to the wrong team.

Word From The Mouth: Two Weeks To Go Edition

Word From The Mouth: Two Weeks To Go Edition

Kevin Kousaie

Hi and welcome to another one of my articles. From the way this week went I can tell some of you can read and some of you can’t. Most of the flags were put back into the right bag along with the pinnies but I still ended up with 2 bags with more balls than they started with. This wasn’t the biggest problem of the day, we had sprinklers go off in the middle of the games and yes it might be refreshing but you can’t play with things sticking out of the ground. We could, but here in the MFL it’s all about player safety and Jon stacking his teams, but that’s a whole other story. This past week there weren’t any real close games unless 26 points is close in your books, but I still have a job to do so I will talk about them, but just not in much detail.

 

I actually didn’t have any division 1 games this week so I am forced to talk about my team, not by choice, but because I didn’t get to see any other gamers first hand. 

 

Game Recap

 

Trollers vs OG Panthers

 

Let me start by saying that this was OG Panthers second game of the day, so they could have been a little tired. OG Panthers had a new QB today in Louis who is normally one of the teams better receivers. Once we saw him at QB we knew that it was going to be a long day for them. New QBs tend to keep the ball short and when they do throw it deep it’s normally up for grabs, that was evident by his stat line 10 for 21 for 70 yards 1 TD and 5 INTs. One bright spot for OG was it seems as if Terry has come out of his funk and recorded 4 sacks. OG you still have 2 games left and it seems like you need both of them to make it into the playoffs. For the Trollers it was Ben, Josh, and Lesniak getting 19 out of 23 receptions and all 5 TDs for the Trollers and leading the way on offense. On Defense, the Trollers are a really solid squad that know what to do and when to do it. What worries me about them is their offense. If you look at the stats or watch a game or two you notice that they only use one side of the field, which is very easy to defend against. I hope for their sake if they expect to repeat as champions they start using the entire field or we might be in for a big surprise and a long afternoon just like last summers playoffs against KOLB. Do you guys want a repeat of that?

 

Saturday’s Game of the Week: Trollers vs Krakens

 

When I first wrote this section the schedule wasn’t out and I had put every game as GOTW but I needed to go back and actually pick a game and that game is one that has a lot of playoff seeding involved.

 

This game can solidify the Krakens in the top 3 for the rest of the season or it can bump them out. Krakens will need to be smart with the ball on offense and on defense they will need to stop Ben going deep as well as stopping Josh on his YAC. Rob, who doesn’t turn the ball over too often, seems to get away with 1 or 2 passes every game that the other team doesn’t take advantage of, he shouldn’t try it this week though. The one thing that worries me about the Krakens is who will show up and who won’t. Both teams have played each other enough to know what to expect, but then if half the team doesn’t show it can really screw your game plan. I hope that both teams show up in full so we can get a good feeling of where both teams really stand and how far they can each possible go in playoffs. Good luck see you guys on Saturday.

 

Predictions

 

Last week I went 3 out of 4. Raph you blew it for me or is it you can’t handle the pressure of being the favourite and you choked? If that is the case I should pick you more often this way my team can jump you in the standings. Overall for the season I’m sitting at 20 for 27 or 74% now if a few more of you guys would win when I predict you to I can get my number up to 75% which was my goal for the season. 

 

Krakens vs Trollers                                   NA

Locomotion vs Outlaws                           Outlaws

Outlaws vs Deep Threats                        Outlaws

Trollers vs Revolucion                              NA

OG Panthers vs Deep Threats                 OG Panthers

KOLB vs Gros Coqs                                 Gros Coqs

 

Power Rankings

 

#1 Gros Coqs (8-0)

#2 Outlaws (6-1)

#3 Krakens (5-2)

 

I know it has been the same for a while now but these are the 3 top teams. I know that there are a few matchups that still need to happen this season that can change the top 3. I want to see if these 3 can stay in the top 3 all season. I hope someone can knock them out of it but it will be tough. Right now I can only see one team possible doing it but they need to run the table. 

 

Thank you all for helping out last week and understanding the freaking sprinklers, I hope it doesn’t happen again this week. On another note it looks like we might be going back to one park only and I think it will be Le Ber Park which is a way nicer park then Saint Bernadette. Remember to check the schedule and ask your captain, he gets the heads up from Jon the commissioner who says it will be out Tuesday night (Ed’s note: Wednesday morning).   

Word From The Mouth: The Editor is Damn Slow Edition

Word From The Mouth: The Editor is Damn Slow Edition

Kevin Kousaie

Another week down and 3 left until playoffs. From what I know, 8 out of the 9 teams will be making it in (Ed’s note: this is accurate!). So some teams are already locked into playoffs, but seeding is still in play (Ed’s note: it’ll be 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, etc). Some teams need to start playing better if they expect to make a push for the playoffs and a title chance, some teams don’t need to make changes and some teams have decided to get hot at the right time. On another note it’s getting ridiculous how all the bags keep getting messed up every week. I have it set up so there are at least 10 of the same flags in each bag along with a set of pinnies plus 2 balls. Last weekend all the flags, pinnies and balls got f*cked up again. When you are done with your game put the pinnies, balls, and flags back where you got them. It shouldn’t be too difficult. We are all grown a** adults. Come on, guys. Last little bit of my ranting. Garbage being left on the field is also becoming a problem. There are 2 ways we can solve this: I can ask Jon to ban plastic bottles and you will be force to buy a reusable one or I can have Jon start charging teams to clean up after them. You guys can make it easy by just cleaning up after your game. 

 

Game Recaps

 

Deep Threats vs KOLB

 

I thought this game was going to be a little closer then it turned out to be for two reasons: KOLB had just played a game before and the other reason was the Deep Threats QB seems to learned that you don’t need to force the ball deep every play. I really like Jon playing QB for KOLB, he is very hard to defend against and more often than not he goes to his second or third read which makes it very hard to stay in your spot and not jump first look. KOLB is a very solid team, but they seem to have had some bad luck this season. I think they might squeak into the playoffs and if they do they will be a hard team to beat. As for Deep Threats, Francis had a few difficult catches he made look easy, who thought I would ever be writing that in an article (Ed’s note: literally no one). That didn’t last long ‘cause he also dropped 1 or 2 easy ones. Deep Threats just aren’t the same team without Svetna being there, he opens up so much field and can cover on the back end as well. Next week is going to be a tough one for them even if he is there.  As I was telling Stu during the game, Deep Threats should move on from Francis as center and have Stu do it. Lets start the Stu for center campaign right here right now. Stu if he can’t do it there is no way Francis can, should be his slogan. 

 

Trollers vs KOLB

 

I don’t like writing about my team so I will keep this short. This was a rematch from the week before which wasn’t a close game. Coming into the game the Trollers felt they they were going to do it again, but this wasn’t the same team as Josh was missing this time. Trollers jumped out to a 2 score game at half time and were getting the ball back. This is when and where the game changed in favour of KOLB. The Trollers QB was scrambling to the right when he saw a wide open receiver down the left sideline and when he threw the ball he says his arm was hit, but no call and the ball got picked off. That’s exactly when it all fell apart for them. KOLB was able to put up 20 straight points and get the lead with a little over 4 minutes. Could they hold off the Trollers like they had done all second half of would the Trollers finally be able to punch it in? Trollers score but left time for one last chance for KOLB who were able to get it all the way down to the 2 yard line on last play of the game. That would have been huge for KOLB if they had gotten it in and it would have caused for some concern for the Trollers. This one came down to a convert, remember they are important. Great game guys.

 

Next Week’s GotW: Revolucion vs KOLB

 

This one will come down to a few things. First and foremost can KOLB stop JC from running all day long? This is no easy task, I don’t think anyone has been able to slow him down. Can JC get enough pressure on Jon to not allow him to get through his read? On the other side of that is can Revolucion and their defense stay put and not jump on Jon’s first look? KOLB will need to get after Raph fast and all day long. From games I’ve played against and watched that is what rattles him especially when you take his first read away, but remember he has the top receiver in the league and might just throw it as far as he can so keep someone deep at all times. 

 

Predictions

 

This is where everyone want to know do I have them as the favourite or not. Last week I was 2 for 2 since the schedule was changed after I wrote my article. Total for the season is 17 for 23 73.9% it keeps going up. Now for this week should schedule not change after this is done. 

 

Deep Threats vs Krakens                              Krakens

Locomotion vs Gros Coqs                            Gros Coqs

Outlaws vs OG Panthers                               Outlaws

KOLB vs Revolucion                                     Revolucion

Trollers vs OG Panthers                                NA

 

Power Ranking

 

#1 Gros Coqs 

#2 Outlaws 

#3 Krakens 

 

It’s got to stay the same but is becoming a lot closer for that second spot, and a lot further for that top spot. Will a new team make it into top 3 before season is out? My guess would be no, but if a team starts to struggle then anything is possible. 

 

Now that is it for another week and please remember to clean up after you are done or else new regulations are going to be enforced. Lets go out have some fun get some exercise be safe.

Word From The Mouth: Hall of Fame Weekend Games

Word From The Mouth: Hall of Fame Weekend Games

Kevin Kousaie

Welcome back and I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend. We have some good news and some bad news. I’ll start with the good news, the league is moving to Le Ber Park. We played there a few times last season and it’s a nice park that has field lines on it. The bad news is the new field doesn’t have any dips or big gullies in it so now when you stumble it’s all on you. I want to congratulate Simon for making the HOF, even though there are rumours going around which I’m starting that the voting numbers don’t add up. How does Francis not get in? He leads the league in all time dropped passes. LOL. Now moving on to the games.

 

Game Recaps

 

Outlaws vs Krakens

 

This was a battle of 2 top teams, only problem was players were missing and they were players that make a difference. Come on Silvio and Smuda you got to show up and help out your team. Take vacations after the season. This was a very slow pace type of game with each team only getting a few possessions each. Whichever team made fewer mistakes was going to walk away with the win. Outlaws jumped out to a 13 point lead with 5:30 left in the half which was just enough time for Rob to get the Krakens into the end zone and leave 0’s on the clock. Outlaws started the second half by moving the ball towards the end zone before being stopped on 4th down. I thought this is where the Krakens were going to make their move and take control. That wasn’t the case and they too were stopped on a 4th down attempt. Steve and the Outlaws needed to take advantage of this opportunity and score to go up 2 scores and that is exactly what they did. This puts The Krakens in an unfamiliar spot of being down 2 scores with 5:45 remaining in the game. This is where the one and only mistake in the game happened, Rob threw a hook on the outside and Vince made a great jump on the ball and was able to pick it off with no chance to be caught before returning it. That was the game. Yes, the Krakens did go down and score on second to last play of the game but it was already over by then and the Outlaws knew it. Guys this was a slow but very well-played game. Will it be the same this week in the rematch? Let’s hope so.

 

Deep Threat vs Locomotion

 

This game ended up being closer then I figured it would be, but like the last game one team had their players and the other team had a few subs. Alex was the star for Locomotion, not in the air but the on the ground. The guy ran in 2 scores to help his team win by two. I will say I like the way JC has gotten away from just throwing it deep all day. Is that a sign of growth or is that only because Jon wasn’t there to catch everything. Each QB needs to get a better handle on when and where to throw the ball, 3 picks each isn’t going to help your team. Get that number down and the more wins will come your way. Good luck moving forward guys.

 

Gros Coqs vs OG Panthers

 

This wasn’t even close right from the start. OG Panthers were missing Charles at QB so they had a friend come sub in. Don’t get me wrong, the guy was decent but is unfamiliar with this team and it takes time to get on same page. Dom put up very good numbers and was able to pick the OG Panthers defense apart. Dom had 6 different guys catch multiple balls. You can’t stop a team when the QB can go whereever he wants when he wants. I will say that the defense for Gros Coqs isn’t one you want to mess with. They are solid all around. Gros Coqs might get mad at one another from time to time, but the best was this past week between Tommy and Vince arguing over a sack or pick 6. Tommy feels he got the sack and is trying to see why he doesn’t get credit for it and on that play Vince picks it off and takes it for six. Neither one says good job to each other for their part in the play. I know they are just playing around, but if you ask Tommy he got the sack and the pick 6 shouldn’t count. I know neither of them really got mad, it’s just the competetiveness amongst teammates. Keep it up. Love to see that fire and desire to be the best. 

 

Predictions

 

Last week I went 3 out of 4 which was not as good as the week before when I went 100%. I sit at 71.4% for the season.

 

Krakens vs Outlaws                              Krakens

Deep Threat vs KOLB                           KOLB

OG Panthers vs Trollers                        NA   

Revolucion vs Locomotion                    Revolucion

Gros Coqs vs OG Panthers                   Gros Coqs

 

Power Rankings

 

#1 Gros Coqs 

#2 Outlaws 

#3 Krakens 

Top 2 spots are pretty secure right now 2 teams are battling for 3rd spot. I had to choose Krakens over Revolucion due to points given up, but if Krakens lose a 3rd in a row I wouldn’t expect to see them on here next week.

 

I wanted to say that are shaping up to be a very fun ride to the playoffs. Some teams have 4 games left some have 5. Who is going to lose first: the Outlaws or Gros Coqs, or can both go undefeated? That would be a first in this league having two undefeated teams. How much better would it be if they meet in the finals? Let’s hope that this doesn’t happen. Good luck everyone remember to be safe and have fun. 

Word From The Mouth: Hall of Fame Special Edition

Word From The Mouth: Hall of Fame Special Edition

Kevin Kousaie

Hello everyone and welcome to a Hall of Fame edition of Word from the Mouth. In this article I will be covering the tournament between Canada, Quebec, and The World, Who I think will win and a breakdown by positions. I will also talk about each person that has a chance to be inducted into the HoF. I have decided to start with the games so that you will read all the way to the bottom to see who I think will get in. Game will be played on Sunday at Ignace-Bourget Park in LaSalle. Come on out watch the games and have fun with the rest of us.

 

Team Canada

 

This is a very solid roster from top to bottom, but I can see a few weak spots. They have 2 QBs in Max and Raph. Who is going to start and who rides the pine or does one of them move to play receiver? Wait and see on that one. Another dilemma is that they have two very good snappers in Eric and Lesniak. I assume that Lesniak will snap to Max and Eric to Raph, should they go with the 2 QBs. The 2 top receivers on this roster are JC and Arthur (Ed’s note: Arthur is out!), both come with a different skill set. Arthur will beat you all day on the long ball or jump ball where JC will use his quickness in and out of the breaks to make you miss. Don’t worry the rest of you guys, I haven’t forgotten about you. Brian, Ian and Rithy are all solid pieces that are dependable and can make a play here or there. For defense, other than JC rushing and maybe Arthur playing safety not sure what to expect.

 

Team Quebec

 

This is the roster that has the most question marks in my opinion. It has 5 Old School players on it, so one thing for sure they should have some chemistry to start off with. I’d have to guess that Dahic is playing QB for this team. He is a top 3 QB in Division 2, now we will see how he holds up against some very good players. Ben and Antione should be the top targets on this team and both can go long and attack the ball at the high point where very few defender can reach. Catherine is solid, but I can see her being more affective on defense rushing the QB. I see Mathieu L being the team snapper as he’ll catch almost anything short when he is focused, but I wouldn’t send him deep. Gabriel is a strong 3rd receiver who isn’t flashy but gets it done when needed, watch out for him. Mathieu D, Charles, Roxane and Stephane are good complimentary pieces who all have played with Dahic so it wouldn’t surprise me to see any of them have big games. On defense is where it could be fun for these guys. Ben, Antoine and Dahic will probably end up as safeties. Catherine and maybe Mathieu L will possibly switch up at rush to stay fresh and keep pressure on the other QB. The rest will fill out the front line with a rotation to stay fresh.

 

Team World

 

This roster should have been split into 2 teams, they are loaded from top to bottom. I’m pretty sure that a division 2 QB will be playing for them in either Jon or Kris, both are great at what they do. Francisco, it looks like you are the only snapper on the roster so no going deep for you on Sunday, which is good with the extreme heat they are predicting. Who is this teams number 1 receiver? You have the choice of Shyanne, Smuda or Josh. Come on who is going to stop that. Oh wait, I forgot about Kris also. All 4 of those guys can get it done from anywhere on the field. I want to implement a rule when they play 4 downs the whole field, give everyone else a chance. Richie Rich is coming back and I guess he left his boy Siva at home. Rich I have to assume they will put you to rush, so good luck with that after taking a season off. Don’t worry you’re still better than Francis. Goldrick will help this team with his hustle on defense. He can do a few things on offense, but it will come down to if he has the chance. Chrissy is still relatively new to the game but this is a great time to learn from some of the guys around you and remember as long as your stats are better than Brian’s you’ll have bragging rights. Don’t worry, Jon or Kris will get you the ball. As for their defense I don’t really see any hole to attack. Opposing offenses better have a good plan of attack.

 

 

Now here are my position favourites and my pick to win it all.

 

QB

Canada

 

Snapper 

World 

 

Receivers 

World

 

Defense 

World 

 

Team Chemistry 

My money to win it all is Team World, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Team Canada win it. 

 

 

HOF Inductees

 

Players (2 are being inducted)

 

Jon - Great numbers with 2 titles, but knock on him will be Division 2 (Ed’s note: 3 titles, 2 of which are Div 1)

 

Kevin - Doesn’t have offensive numbers but defense is top notch plus 3 titles

 

Josh - Has the stats plus 3 titles and everyone likes him (4 titles)

 

Raph - Great stats with weaker teams, but no titles

 

Francis- Has good numbers both sides of the ball plus 1 title, but come on its Francis

 

Steve- Great numbers and 1 title, but big knock is that he has lost 2 or 3 titles also

 

I can see Steve and Josh getting in from this group

 

 

Contributors (1 makes it)

 

Jon- Started this league from scratch (Refs, makes schedules, puts individuals onto teams, along with everything else the Commissioner does)

 

Kevin- Does everything for the league to make sure it runs smoothly (set up, take down, brings bags, plus he refs & writes weekly articles) 

 

Simon- Head Ref, plus he is the guy that wrote the rule book up

 

Out of this group Jon should make it in cause without him none of this is happening.

 

 

That concludes my HoF article and we should all thank Jon for giving us the opportunity to play a game we all love each and every Saturday for the past 5 years. Thanks Jon. If you somehow can finagle the vote to get me in as a first ballot Hall of Famer then you might get a bottle of wine as well. LOL

 

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Montreal Flag Football League