We have some great news! We made it through week 1 officially and, like always, there were a few things that we as a league need to improve on, as well as some of the players, but it was week 1 and if it was perfect, we would be better than every other professional league out there.
We had our largest number of games played in one day and from the looks of it everyone enjoyed themselves. I know that the field isn’t in the best shape, but that has nothing to do with us (ed’s note: nice deflection). Jon, Nick, and myself came out in May and filled in the holes, leveled it off, and added grass seed so that this season we would be playing on a plush field of grass. If you had been out here a few weeks ago you would have seen it like that. As you can tell we are kind of in a drought, so there has been very little rain and on top of that the city hasn’t turned on the sprinklers yet,, but it’s still better than a few years back when they went off in the middle of the game (ed’s note: at this point, I’d take that over no watering!).
With that being said, let’s all pray for a few days of good solid rain this week so we can play on a field that has a little give. I haven’t played on concrete since I was 12 or 13 and I’m much older and way fatter than then, and I’m not sure if all my joints will be able to take it much longer.
Week 1 Recap
Remember that I will only be picking 2 games per division this season as this way I leave games for Terry and Will to cover on their weekly podcast MFL Total Access. This way you can tune in to watch them after you have read my article and you will be completely up to date on what’s happening around the league.
Division 1
Moretti Crime Family vs Ninja Turtles (30-46)
Going into this one I picked Crime Family to win and I was shocked to see the final outcome. Wade had a great day playing against a very talented team, but he wasn’t the only one throwing TDs for them as Tam and Alex decided that they can do more than just catch balls and play defense. The biggest adjustment that Crime Family will need to do make is to get accustomed to the width of the field. It’s only 25 yards wide, not the 31 or 32 that most of them are used to. Joey is a really good QB, but flooding the zones doesn’t work as well on the smaller field. Crime Family will adjust and be fine. What Crime Family has going for them is that anyone on their roster can rush and that will be keep to stay fresh and keeping the pressure on opposing QB. I just want to see a game from Ninja Turtles where the Pilon brothers go off and how the defense tries to adjust, can’t be far off.
Outlaws vs Trollers (26-7)
In this game we had my new team vs my old team, a team that is organized vs a team that is all over the place, a well-oiled machine vs a jalopy (ed’s note: no bitter break-up here…). Enough of the comparisons, this was a close game at half with the score being 6-0 Outlaws. It should have been more, but Outlaws couldn’t capitalize before half. Second half was all Outlaws. They enforced their will and did as they pleased. Trollers had no answers and to me I can’t see how this team will survive. They have no one taking charge and running the team properly and with Max having a few new toys to play with there aren’t enough balls to go around. Trollers have added talent, but lost unity (ed’s note: Kevin = Unity). Before the game a few of my old teammates tried to get under my skin, but me being me I kept my cool and didn’t say shit (ed’s note: you not saying anything is literally the opposite of you being you) I just let it go in one ear and out the other. After all was said and done the team I’m on won and the start of my revenge tour 2021 couldn’t have gone any better.
Division 2
Joey’s Haters vs Honor Game (30-33)
Me, like most people, didn’t see this coming, but then none of us expect Dave to ball out the way he did. He outperformed Max who at one point was a top QB in division 1, how times have changed. I have been saying this to people for years Max, isn’t a top QB he picks his targets beforehand and doesn’t change what he wants to do from year to year (ed’s note: jeez, Kev…). Dave in past years was all over the place, this week he almost looked like Eli. A man on a mission to prove everyone wrong. Dave got the ball out fast and to multiple receivers and the Haters had no way to stop them. The funny thing is that the game was won by converts. I can bet you I knew what play Max went with and who he would throw it to on every attempt. I would tell everyone, but I will keep that to myself and use it in a few weeks. Keep it up Dave. And Haters, you bunch of whiners, you better watch out, everyone is coming for you.
Lean Mean Machines vs D#Nasty (6-26)
D#Nasty did what I expected them to and that was play defense and not make many mistakes on offense. I don’t know what Lean Mean Machines were doing/ Kevin is a baller, get him involved. Last time I saw Kevin play he was a beast and not many could stop him and this week he gets 1 ball for 4 yards. Michael, I know it might have been your first week playing QB, but you need to step up and use your top player. Lean Mean Machines have a few other guys who can play, but they will need time to gel and get used to each other. Hopefully it happens fast or it might be a long season for them.
Division 3
Old School vs Average Joes (20-19)
This was a game of 2 halves. Old School started with Charles under center who got stepped on, so with under 3 minutes left in the half Dahic went in and the game started to change. Average Joes looked decent for a bunch of guys that haven’t played together before. Jason puts a lot of pressure on himself to be perfect, but he has guys that can make plays for him, so if he learns to relax a little his performances will go up and they will win games. Old School is a better team when Dahic is throwing, just wondering if this will be a permanent thing. Old School has been together for years so losing to them by 1 point is a good point to begin from. If Charles never got stepped on by Berson, Average Joes would have won the game. We all know what Average Joes did in Dodgeball, now can they do the same in the MFL this season?
ADED vs Les Tannantes (6-35)
ADED has the biggest roster that I have seen since I played junior football the only difference is that I was playing 12 vs 12 not 6 vs 6. ADED have a few players that are solid athletes, but it will take them a few weeks to learn the game. Oh, and Vaughn isn’t one of those athletes, but his cousin Robert is. At least there is one Steele man on the field that isn’t made out of putty. For a first time playing, Les Tannantes is not the team you want to face. They know the game, they are very athletic and more organized than their opponent was. I will give ADED some credit as they held the lead for a short while, but they were able to move the ball as the game progressed. If ADED can keep improving every week maybe by the end of the year they will have it figured out for the fall season.
Division 4
Les Bouchers vs Les Panaches
It might seem like Les Panaches make the right call in switching from Amelie to Felix at QB. Felix played well and I’m sure that they have been practicing the last few weeks. Les Bouchers didn’t play poorly for the first time against another team. I did notice that Lukas likes to throw deep and he will need to break that habit if they are to win games. There was one play that really bothered me. Lukas rolled to his left, had his center a few yards in front of him with no one around, and then he chucked it deep. It was a contested catch along the sideline, but why not take the easy yards and march down the field. I spoke with a few players from Les Bouchers after the game and gave them a few pointers. It shouldn’t take them long before they understand the game completely. Les Panaches looked as good as I can remember and if Felix can get out of buying time and just throw the ball on time, they can become a very dangerous team.
Les Beautes vs Washington Foreskins (6-38)
I said this before and I’ll say it again, Washington Foreskins have athletes and can play great defense. It also seems like they have learned to play a little offense over the winter. I’m not going to talk much about this game because Les Beautes were missing their best player Thomas who got hurt in their first game. I think if Thomas was there that a few of the big plays by Washington Foreskins might not have happened. When Simon throws 5 picks it just isn’t going to happen for your team. Les Beautes are sitting at 2-2 so it’s not the end of the world, but they will need to pick it up if they want to make the playoffs and that means everyone needs to play better.
Division 5
Team Levy vs Flamboyant Flamingos (0-62)
Raph, you left for a few years and this is what Jon does to you. Throws you to the wolves. At least you threw 2 TDs, just to the wrong team. Flamingos have been practicing for weeks now and are a very good team for this division. To me it’s upsetting how Flamingos ran the score up, I also know it’s sometimes hard not to. Everyone needs to realize that in a tiebreaker it’s points against. not point scored. Raph has a bunch of new players he is taking under his wing. Hopefully Team Raph gets better as the season goes along. I have some good news for the rest of the division, it seems like Flamingos will be moving up to division 4. This week they gave out the beating moving forward in division 4 they might be the 1s (ed’s note: I usually correct these incorrect uses of the numeric value, but this is a crime against God and I’m pretty sure the only way to fix this is to burn it with fire) to get smacked around. Good luck to both teams moving forward.
Phoenix vs Avengers (37-12)
This was a game that saw a bunch of new players playing their first game. The big difference in this game was the fact that Phoenix have a few players with experience and can teach the new players. Ilias is the best player on Avengers and Curren should figure a way to get him the ball and not run as much. At one point in the game everyone on my team knew that Curren was going to run and it was always to the right. Avengers threw 4 picks and on all but the first one they didn’t even try to stop the defender with the ball. Avengers could become a decent team if they learn the game better. My suggestion to them would be come early to warm up, stick around after your game to watch a higher division team play, and if you can ask as many questionz to players from other teams in higher division. Everyone is friendly in the league and no one will bite your head off, we all want to see the lower teams grow and move up the divisions.
Top Performance of the Week
We made it through a week with a lot more games than in the past few weeks and now instead of just picking 1 player who balled out from the division I’m going to be picking 2. I should go 3 and have an offensive, defensive player, and a two-way player, but spaghetti-o’s to that, just offense and defense. I do agree that kickers are football players too, but we don’t kick and there are no returns, so you get two chances to make my list.
Let me point out that if you play in multiple divisions you can only win for the highest division you play in unless it’s a different position, oh and your team must win. I’m not putting and losers up here. Now that you know what I’m looking for here are this week’s winners.
Division 1
Offensive player
This week I have picked Tam Vilaydeth from Ninja Turtles. In his 2 games this week he went 19 of 30 for 278 yards and 5 td passing. He also caught 7 passes for 35 yards and 1 TD.
Defensive player
Alex Pilon who also happens to be from Ninja Turtles got my pick for defensive player this week he had 5 tackles and 2 picks with 1 going back for 6.
Division 2
Offensive player
I really hate to do this, but I have chosen to give my pick this week to Dave Daoust from Honor Games he was this weeks top dog. He managed to go 23 0f 40 for 276 yards and 5 TDs, he was also able to run in a 2 point convert.
Defensive player
I had narrowed it down to 2 players from the came team and it was a hard choice, but I had to go with the Rusher and that means this week’s winner is Charlie Briere-Couture. She managed to make 4 tackles and had 2 sacks.
Division 3
Offensive player
Well this was an easy pick to make, Congratulations to Francois Rochette. This guy had some Madden like numbers going 6 of 9 for 160 yards, 4 TDs, a 2point convert to go along with 1 catch for 45 yards and a TD. He took it easy running this week only managing 6 yards on 2 carries.
Defensive player
In what appears to be his first game ever, Jonathon Lavoie wins my player of the week with 3 tackles for 3 sacks.
Division 4
Offensive player
Terry Babalis is a player that has made it up here a few times in the past, but never with numbers like this. Terry completed 20 of 29 passes for 5 TDs and 2 picks, also a 1pont convertas well. He also managed to run for 105 yards on 8 carries and scored 2 TDs.
Defensive player
This is the first time that Rosalie Gareau has made my list, but if she keeps playing like this it might become a regular thing. Rosalie had 6 tackles for 6 sacks and managed to get a safety on top of it all.
Division 5
Div 5 is going to get 1 player this week since a team has been moved to a different division and that game doesn’t exist to me anymore. I have gone ahead and made this week’s division 5 award as a two-way player.
Two-way player
In his first game ever in the MFL the division 5 two-way player goes to Trenton Porter. Trenton pulled in 3 catches for 58 yards and 1 TD. On defense all he did was pick off 1 ball and take it back for 6.
This week we had a lot of first timers to the league as well as a few veterans making it up here for their first time, I like to see new blood making a difference for their teams. It’s not fun seeing the same player getting all the recognition every week. I hope that this trend continues all season long. Remember. if you want to make my list bust your ass, ball out and show mw you deserve to make my list.
