Here we are coming to the last week of the playoffs. Congratulations to all the teams that have advanced and for all the teams that lost, better luck next season.

It was really hot out there this weekend and to everyone that was there all day, good for you and I hope you stayed hydrated and in the shade. I want to say a big thanks to Rob and Will for the 3:30 game and for me not having to play in it. I can tell you that if I had played, someone would have had to drag me to my car and drive me home, if I didn’t already have 3 chauffeurs there this week. I know this week is supposed to get cooler, but you never know.

I can tell you that with so many players on multiple teams that making the schedule has been a pain in Jon’s ass. I know we all want the playoffs to end this week, but that might mean a few players would be forced to pick between the two teams they are on and after playing all season to miss the playoff would really suck. I feel Jon should stipulate this at the beginning of the season that there is a chance that you have multiple games at the same time in playoffs, with Jon doing his best so that this happens as little as possible.

 

Playoff Week 1 Recap

 

Division 1

 

There was only one game played this week and it was between the Outlaws and Henchmen and with both Terry and Will being on these teams, I figured I’d allow them to cover this game since they were there and I wasn’t.

 

Division 2

 

Honor Game vs Joey’s Haters (43-24)

 

This game will get covered by Terry and Will since this is a team Will plays on. I want to point out that all season Will and Marvin haven’t been allowed to play in the same game, but this week they were allowed to each play a half.

 

OG Panthers vs KOLB (40-26)

 

Like the other game, Terry is on OG and will get into this game. I will say that going into this game KOLB had a few injuries and weren’t sure they were going to be able to play all game so an emergency sub was available, but not needed.

 

Outlaws vs D#Nasty (49-44)

 

This was the best matchup Outlaws could have asked for week 1 of playoffs and it was a rough one for them. Steve got beat up hard in this game, not sure if it was 3 or 4 times he was ran into and knocked down, but he kept getting up and putting points on the board. This was a game with very little defense even though there were a total of 5 picks in the game, it was all poor tackling and big plays. It looked like it was going to come down to whoever had the ball last. The smartest play of the game came early in the second half when Outlaws went for two and put them up by nine points. After that both teams went back and forth scoring and it seemed like Outlaws had it locked down, then Mathieu got a pick off Steve which went off the receiver’s hands and gave D#Nasty a little more hope. With a minute left it was Outlaws ball and all they had to do was get a first down and they could end the game. D#Nasty was smart and used all their timeouts got the ball back with time for two plays. Kevin took an intermediate pass this way he had a chance to get the ball to the end zone on the last play. Kevin got it there, but Gabe was able to get up and knock it away. That’s how the game ended.

 

Division 3

 

Les Tannantes vs Washington Foreskins (44-27)

 

For the first time in a while Tannantes had their team show up and they didn’t disappoint. Jasmin didn’t have a great game on offense, but he more than made up for it with his defense. Really with the way that Tannantes play defense their QB just needs to be smart with the ball and instead of forcing throws that lead to picks, he can just throw it away and punt the ball. Going into this game I felt that this was going to be a good match up and a super close game and it wasn’t. You must know its going to be a long day when your first pass gets picked off and walked in for 6 points. Both QBs struggled to start the game, but eventually got it somewhat under control. For Tannantes, Simon had the big plays and most of the yards, but Phillipe did the scoring getting into the end zone 3 times on his 6 catches. Washington Foreskins did a decent job getting everyone involved in the game, but Gabriel needed to have a bigger game if they wanted to win, and he didn’t. I can’t put all the blame on Gabriel, but with 6 picks some of them had to be on him.

 

Deep Threats vs Black Knights (40-6)

 

This was a game I wanted to see a few weeks back, but Deep Threats weren’t going to be able to field a team and Black Knights took the forfeit win. Before that game they had said they have a few guys on their roster that could lock down Svetna alone. I doubted them and then this week rolls around and I’m finally going to see this happen. Then before the game I’m speaking to Michael and he lets me know that they are missing JC who is hurt and Brendan who are their safeties as well as defensive play callers. I knew right then that they had no shot in this game. Wow, was I right or what? This was a one-sided game right from the start. No one on Deep Threats had to do much as with all the attention Svetna was getting it left everyone else open to make easy catches. I said this in the past Svetna is probably the best player in the division and with all the attention he gets someone else has to step up. In years past that hasn’t happened, but now it is and look at them roll. JC has improved on his reads and no longer just chucks it up deep and on the other hand Leon looks at his first read and seems to be stuck on that player thinking he can fit the ball in. I can tell you that I would have avoided Svetna all day on when I had the ball.

 

Division 4

 

Panaches vs Cereal Killers (41-26)

 

I was hoping to see an upset this weekend and I thought that this might be the game. This was also the first game that I did of Cereal Killers and I wanted to see what all the hype was about them from the beginning of the season. Yes, they are young, fast and athletic, but they don’t know the game and that’s what they need to improve. Panaches jumped up early and never looked back. With Felix playing QB for Panaches it has made this team a real competitor. Felix might not look great throwing and he always seems to jump while throwing the ball, but it gets the job done and that’s all that matters. I think that this was the hottest time of the day and both teams were really dying out there. They were using timeouts just to get a quick break and a sip of water. On a day like that you need to have 8 or 9 players not 7 but its playoffs and you play with who you got. One thing I will say is both teams did a good job of spreading the ball and get everyone involved. Cereal Killers lost the game, but gained some much need experience over the season and should they come back next season, they will be a better team for it.

 

RawSauce vs Wolf Pack (27-6)

 

This game didn’t last long. Wolf Pack were in need of subs and got a few to bring them to 6 players. It was hot, everyone was tired, and the subs they got couldn’t finish out the game. The subs made it to half time where Wolf Pack called the game. It was already out of reach and being down on the score and players, it was only going to get worse and a chance for more injuries, so why not end it and go home and relax?

 

Division 5

 

Phoenix vs Les Last Calls (34-25)

 

Going into this game I wasn’t worried, we got a stop on the opening drive and followed that up by throwing a pick. I’m thinking to myself this is going to a very defensive game, then Les Last Calls had the ball for their second drive and were forced to punt again. Phoenix was able to march down the field and put the first points on the board on a long drive. Les Last Calls answered that score quickly with a big deep ball to Seb who went for 34 yards and the score. The first half, a few bad throws by Kevin (ed’s note: is “The Mouth” like a separate entity to Kevin?) led to picks and points for Les Last Calls. With the last play of the half, Phoenix threw up a prayer hoping to tie the game at 19, but the ball was knocked away. Second half Phoenix made an adjustment on defense and stopped throwing the deep ball. Phoenix controlled the clock and the ball in the second half. The play of the game was made on defense by Gab. Phoenix was up seven and with Les Last Calls starting on their five-yard line, Gab goes in and gets the sack and the safety putting Phoenix up 9 points with 7:30 or so left in the game. Phoenix took their time using five plus minutes to score and make it a fifteen-point game with under two minutes left. Les Last Calls were able to score, but missed the convert and Phoenix ended the game and bought their ticket to the championship game next week.

 

Top Performances of the Week

 

I would normally be picking an offensive and Defensive player per division here, but with not a lot of games plus it being playoffs, I’m only picking one player per division who balled out and helped their team win their game.

 

Division 1

 

This week there was only one game played so picking my player of the week was relatively easy. I hate to agree with Jon, but for once he got it right when he picked Marvin Steinberg. Marvin caught 6 balls for 57 yards and 3 TDs on offense. For his defense he only had 6 tackles. It wasn’t his defense that got him picked it was his 3 TDs.

 

Division 2

 

I had it narrowed down to 3 very good performances this week, but one of those players won it for D1 and the other player also happens to play in D1 as well, so that left me with one player. This player did earn it this week, so it’s not like he wouldn’t have won either way. Louis-Mathieu Dufour balled out on both sides of the ball. Offensively Louis had 5 catches for 109 yards, 2 TDs and a 1point convert. Louis also had 6 tackles and a pick he took back for 6 points.

 

Division 3

 

I had a harder time picking my winner for this division. I wanted to go with the QB who had a huge upset this week, but after looking at the stats I really couldn’t do it. Out of everyone to pick from I went with Jasmin Henri from Les Tannantes. Jasmin was 17 of 36 for 183 yards, 5 TDs, 2 1point converts and threw 3 picks, oh and he ran twice for 12 yards. I know those are some very mediocre numbers, but I didn’t pick him because of that I picked him for his 1 tackle, 3 picks and his pick 6 on defense.

 

Division 4

 

This is the third and final time I’m making my pick for the winner, I wrote it once and was like ya but, then again and finally I went with Felix Gerin-Lajoie from Panaches (ed’s note: did you have a stroke while you were writing that sentence?). This is the first season Felix has thrown and he did a very good job of it. Felix went 17 of 25 for 193 yards, 6 TDs, 3 1point convert and threw an interception. He was also able to run for 32 yards on 8 carries. On defense Felix picked off a pass as well as record 3 tackles.

 

Division 5

 

I almost went with a QB here, but then realized I wasn’t allowed to give myself my pick for player of the week. No, really, I never even consider myself. I had 2 players in mind and then the player I picked just jumped off the stat sheet and there was no way I couldn’t give it to him this week. This week’s winner is Orenzo Porporino. Orenzo had 4 catches for 101 yards and 1 TD, he also had 2 tackles and a sack on defense.

 

There you have it my players of the week. Next weekend is where it all counts and the one week you don’t want to screw the pooch.