May 3, 2023
By Daniel Cohen
“Player Chatter” is a new series consisting entirely of player quotes, thoughts, and feelings from around the league. All current AUDL players were sent a handful of prompts earlier this week designed to be as open-ended as possible. Additionally, players were asked to vote in a single-question, multiple choice survey.
Week 2 Survey Results
Who's winning the Week 2 Game of the Week, the Colorado Summit or Los Angeles Aviators?
Colorado Summit: 83.0 percent of votes
Los Angeles Aviators: 17.0 percent of votes
Week 1 Reactions
“Atlanta is really damn good.” Travis Carpenter, Indianapolis AlleyCats
“Please keep testing Brett Hulsmeyer deep.” Atlanta Hustle player
“Atlanta's offense was smooth, but Brett Hulsmeyer showed why he is one of the best defensive players in the league.” Jeremiah Branson, Indianapolis AlleyCats
“You can really tell which teams have been putting in the work this offseason, and those who are only starting on their growth.” Mike Kobyra, Atlanta Hustle
“I was surprised by Atlanta's dominance and the Flyers’ collapse. Alex Gravatt was a new Radicals matchup with promise, I'll be curious to see how his season progresses.” Clint McSherry, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
“Looks windy in Houston.” San Diego Growlers player
“Seems like the Phoenix should focus more on playing and less on talking trash on Twitter.” Anonymous AUDL player
“Can Philly do anything other than go deep?” Boston Glory player
“East is still the best division.” Anonymous AUDL player
“Altitude’s got hands.” Salt Lake Shred player
“[Christian] Boxley and Khalif [El-Salaam] looking real top 25-ish. Even top 15. But I’m no ‘expert.’” Cameron Brock, Indianapolis AlleyCats
“Neither DC nor Carolina looked like championship teams. The rematch between those teams should look much more impressive.” Atlanta Hustle player
“Pittsburgh sure is lucky Matt Tucker isn't on Madison anymore.” Michael Lee, Carolina Flyers
“From what I saw, I think we played well against Sol, better than what everyone was expecting at least. Think we turned some heads, which is a good thing. Only gets better from here. On a bye this week, so I'm excited for our Week 3 matchup in Dallas.” Martin Cruz, Houston Havoc
“Joe White should be playing O!” Anonymous AUDL player
“DC's D-line isn't very good at defense.” Suraj Madiraju, Carolina Flyers
“Alex Davis has clearly lost a step. Madiraju on O-line is just embarrassing.” Anonymous AUDL player player
“Flyers’ O-line was basically a D-line the way they kept turning it.” Anonymous AUDL player player
Players and Matchups to Watch
“Brett Hulsmeyer vs. whatever schmuck has to guard him.” Tannon Hedges, Atlanta Hustle
“Abe Coffin indoors on offense.” Cameron Brock, Indianapolis AlleyCats
“I can’t wait to watch the Glory boys defend Hormel.” Eugene L’Heureux, Salt Lake Shred
“Don't sleep on the Portland rookies ready to make a splash game one!” Ryan Wolfe, Portland Nitro
“Glory had an underrated offseason improving the offensive cutters group compared to last year. The talent is just flat out better. Let’s see if we can make it click against a tired Toronto team.” Boston Glory player
“Carolina vs. Atlanta is a really interesting matchup. I think Atlanta's defense will challenge a lot of the Flyers' looks and this game will be really tight. Excited to see a ‘playoff’ game so early in the year.” Jeremiah Branson, Indianapolis AlleyCats
“Carolina vs. Atlanta. This is a crucial game for the Flyers since they dropped the first game of the season to DC, while Austin and Atlanta got wins in Week 1.” Martin Cruz, Houston Havoc
“I'm interested in the Flyers-Hustle, Wind Chill-Alleycats, and Colorado's road trip.” Clint McSherry, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
“Will Salt Lake stay hot and go 2-0 on their northwest road trip?” San Diego Growlers player
“Grant Lindsley. No explanation needed.” Salt Lake Shred player
“Spiders have an off week, so seems like a pretty irrelevant week for the league.” Ray Mendoza, Oakland Spiders
“I think Conner Ughetta from the Havoc looked really solid on his debut game against the Sol.” Dallas Legion player
“Joe White vs. Atlanta. Who is going to stop him, the Carolina coaching staff or Atlanta?” Anonymous AUDL player
“Suraj Madiraju vs. Hayden Austin-Knab. It's gonna be a battle.” Suraj Madiraju, Carolina Flyers
“Quinn Finer is always fun to watch. Excited to see Colorado's season opener.” Anonymous AUDL player
Thoughts on the Game of the Week: Colorado vs. Los Angeles
“I’m glad to only see Pawel [Janas] from a distance this year.” Cameron Brock, Indianapolis AlleyCats
“Pawel Janas will be a big-time problem!” Anonymous AUDL player
“We will be lucky to get within five of the Summit. They have so many top 25 players, POTYs, and club national champions—it will be very hard for us to compete with them. Hoping to keep it close, at least in the first half.” Pawel Janas, Los Angeles Aviators
“The Pawel [Janas] vs. [Jonathan] Nethercutt matchup will be electric.” Anonymous AUDL player
“Colorado blows LA out. Colorado is too good and will cause devastation on both sides of the disc […] Colorado by six.” Tannon Hedges, Atlanta Hustle
“Colorado wins, but I think it will be close.” Jeremiah Branson, Indianapolis AlleyCats
“I expect Colorado to win, but it will be interesting to see if LA is given a slight advantage as Colorado will be playing their second game of the weekend on the road […] Colorado by five.” San Diego Growlers player
“Colorado wins. I don't really know anything about LA besides [Pawel] Janas, but Colorado is kind of stacked.” Martin Cruz, Houston Havoc
“Colorado.” Dylan Hall, Detroit Mechanix
“Colorado wins and it’s not close. Colorado wins by six.” Salt Lake Shred player
“I'm curious to see how Colorado approaches such a big game as the second of a road trip. The story of their game vs. the Growlers might dictate how they fare against the Aviators, and unfortunately I can only see it adding challenges for the Summit. However, I *expect* they'll mostly have answers to LA's questions despite the added difficulty and will win by a few.” Clint McSherry, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
“LA public transportation is well known to be terrible, but Denver public transportation is low-key pretty bad also. So it sets up kind of an interesting matchup. I don't think it's a coincidence that DC and New York have some of the best public transit in the United States and are at the top of the league.” Ray Mendoza, Oakland Spiders
Week 2 Predictions
“No West game has less than 35 turns.” Cameron Brock, Indianapolis AlleyCats
“Cats are about to bounce back strong after some important lessons learned in ATL and surprise people with the W over the Wind Chill.” Travis Carpenter, Indianapolis AlleyCats
“Alleycats get back on track by beating Minnesota in a close game in Indy.” Jeremiah Branson, Indianapolis AlleyCats
“Flyers-Hustle comes down to the wire, Austin makes it clear they're Texas' best team, and the AlleyCats get their season back on track with a win at an indoor game.” Clint McSherry, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
“Carolina bounces back and gets a dub against Atlanta.” Martin Cruz, Houston Havoc
“Atlanta beats Carolina.” Anonymous AUDL player
“Someone on the Shred will throw another Callahan.” Salt Lake Shred player
“Spiders stay undefeated.” Ray Mendoza, Oakland Spiders
“New York Empire will win.” Anonymous AUDL player
“Toronto 0-2. Colorado 2-0. Salt Lake 2-0." Dylan Hall, Detroit Mechanix
“Philly doesn't score 10 again.” Suraj Madiraju, Carolina Flyers
Water Cooler
“CJ Colicchio is like a mini James Pollard. Can’t imagine Philly having success with both of them on offense.” Anonymous AUDL player
“Salt Lake needs to take that next step of improving decision-making and maintaining the disc if they want to compete with Colorado.” Cameron Brock, Indianapolis AlleyCats
“Atlanta Hustle has the strongest non-active roster any given week. The backups are better than most people on other teams. Liam Haberfield is also the best import player in the AUDL.” Tannon Hedges, Atlanta Hustle
“Flyers have the best team celebrations in the league.” Suraj Madiraju, Carolina Flyers
“Joe White is a ‘reverse clutch’ player. He is totally dominant when there is nothing on the line, but as soon as it matters he crumbles.” Mike Kobyra, Atlanta Hustle
“The goal is clear for the Legion, to make the South Division playoffs. The dismissal of this team by commentators and in the power rankings has not affected the team's commitment towards building chemistry and culture. The South Division better be ready for a completely different mindset from the Legion because it is not a team of the past.” Dallas Legion player
“Happy to call myself Detroit Mechanix, No one can tell me otherwise.” Dylan Hall, Detroit Mechanix
“Keep sleeping on Atlanta and making excuses why they are successful!!” Anonymous AUDL player
Bonus Submission
“As I trudged through the rain and sleet, I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. The conditions were abysmal, with the wind whipping my flowing locks into my eyes - the rain soaking me to the bone. But I was an all-star player. An MVP. I couldn't let a little bit of bad weather get in the way of my game.
As the game began, I could tell that my opponents were no match for me. They fumbled with the disc, tripped over themselves, and struggled to keep up with our plays. The referees were in better shape than our opponents. But as the game went on, I couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment. This wasn't the challenge that I had been hoping for. I wanted to face opponents who could match my skills, who could push me to my limits, who could make me a better player. My intramural team had put up bigger fights than this.
Instead, I was stuck in this cold, miserable game, playing against a team that couldn't even throw a flick more than 10 yards. I longed for a true challenge, a game where my opponents would force me to bring my A-game and rise to the occasion.
Eventually the final buzzer sounded, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. I de-cleated, dried off, and got ready for a night on the town. I had made it through this miserable game, and I had come out victorious. But deep down, I knew that this wasn't the kind of game that would help me grow as a player. I needed more, and I hoped that my next opponent would give me the challenge that I craved." Anonymous AUDL player, impersonating Ryan Osgar
