July 14, 2022
By Adam Ruffner
25. Detroit Mechanix (Previously 25th)
Record: 0-9
Upward trend: Four straight games with 10 or more huck completions; had second fewest turnovers of the season against Pittsburgh, and tied a team-high for most break scores in 2022
Downward trend: Detroit is just 15-of-27 (55.6 percent) in their last two games on red zone opportunities after ranking in the top 10 for much of the season
24. Tampa Bay Cannons (Previously 24th)
Record: 0-8
Upward trend: Second year defender Sean Plunkett registered career highs in assists (4) and blocks (3) for a single game in Week 10 against the Flyers; Tampa Bay has 10 or more blocks in three of their last four games
Downward trend: Cannons are bottom five in the AUDL in break rate (17.5 percent) and defensive line efficiency (35.3 percent); Tampa Bay is just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) on break chances in their last two games
23. Portland Nitro (Previously 21st)
Record: 2-7
Upward trend: Rookie Austin Kelly finished with career highs in assists (4), completions (71), and throwing yards (624) against the Shred in Week 10; Kelly is 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) on hucks this year
Downward trend: During their six-game active losing streak, Portland is averaging just 17.8 goals per game while committing 24.8 turnovers per game
22. Dallas Legion (Previously 23rd)
Record: 0-8
Upward trend: Carson Wilder has come alive as a deep thrower in the past two games, going 5-for-5 on hucks while passing for seven assists and 409 throwing yards
Downward trend: In their last five losses, Dallas is just 8-for-37 (21.6 percent) on break opportunities
21. Seattle Cascades (Previously 22nd)
Record: 2-9
Upward trend: Rookie Declan Miller now has three games this season with at least five goals and 350 receiving yards; only Leandro Marx is averaging more receiving yards per game this season than Seattle’s teen phenom
Downward trend: Seattle has allowed 20 or more goals in four straight games; Cascades are now allowing 22 goals per game, tied with Boston for 17th in the league
20. Boston Glory (Previously 16th)
Record: 4-7
Upward trend: Willie Stewart was seven receiving yards away from a 400-400* game against the Empire in Week 10; Stewart has five straight games with four or more total scores; Stewart has six assists, 81 completions, and 764 throwing yards in his last two games
Downward trend: Boston secured their second straight losing season with a 14-goal loss to the Empire; the 32 goals NY scored ties a Glory franchise high for most goals allowed in a game
*400 throwing yards and 400 receiving yards
19. Pittsburgh Thunderbirds (Previously 19th)
Record: 4-6
Upward trend: Clint McSherry is sixth in the AUDL this season in throwing yards per game (429) among qualified throwers; the fourth year pro vet’s 27 assists this season for Pittsburgh more than doubles his previous career high of 13 with Charlotte in 2016
Downward trend: It took a second half comeback for the T-Birds to avoid losing to Detroit at home in Week 11; Pittsburgh is ranked 18th in breaks per game allowed (6.6)
18. Ottawa Outlaws (Previously 20th)
Record: 2-7
Upward trend: Alec Arsenault has doubled nearly every throwing production metric since last season—assists, completions, throwing yards, hockey assists—and has bumped up his completion rate to a career-best 93 percent; Ottawa committed a season-low 11 turnovers in Week 11
Downward trend: Opponents are converting the fourth-highest rate (59.8 percent) of offensive possessions against the Outlaws this season
17. Montreal Royal (Previously 17th)
Record: 4-7
Upward trend: After a somewhat slow start coming back from injury, Quentin Bonnaud now has 13 goals and 619 receiving yards in his last two games; in Week 11 the Royal tied a season-low with 13 turnovers while converting their most holds (17) in a game this season
Downward trend: Montreal has won one game since May 13; the Royal are allowing the sixth most breaks per game to opponents (7.2)
16. Indianapolis AlleyCats (Previously 12th)
Record: 5-4
Upward trend: Cameron Brock now has eight seasons with 40 or more goals in his career; Levi Jacobs has racked up nearly 9000 total yards of offense since the start of the 2021 season (20 games played)
Downward trend: Indy has 52 turnovers in their past two away games; AlleyCats had seven turnovers in the red zone alone against Chicago in Week 11
15. Oakland Spiders (Previously 18th)
Record: 3-5
Upward trend: Second year receiver Max Williams leads the team in goals (21) in just six games played this season; Williams is averaging 3.7 goals and 269 receiving yards in his last three games
Downward trend: Of the seven total Spiders wins since the beginning of the 2021 season, five have come against Seattle; Oakland plays LA twice in their final four games; Aviators have won 12 in a row against the Spiders dating back to May 2017
14. Toronto Rush (Previously 15th)
Record: 4-7
Upward trend: Rush are 3-2 in their last five games; Toronto is generating 11.8 blocks per game during that same five-game span; James Lewis is averaging 3.8 goals and 256 receiving yards ion his last five games compared to just four total throwaways
Downward trend: Toronto is averaging nearly 25 turnovers per game in their last four outings; Rush are one of just five teams this season—along with Portland, Dallas, Tampa Bay, and Detroit—allowing opponents to score eight or more break scores per game
13. Los Angeles Aviators (Previously 13th)
Record: 3-5
Upward trend: Since rejoining the team in June after an injury, Aaron Weaver is averaging 41 completions (95.4 percent) and 345 total yards of offense per game
Downward trend: LA has 16 red zone turnovers in their last three games; Aviators have the fourth worst red zone conversion percentage this season (72.3 percent) after finishing second to last in 2021
12. Philadelphia Phoenix (Previously 11th)
Record: 4-5
Upward trend: Jordan Rhyne is tied for third in the league this season in huck completions (21) despite playing in just seven games; Rhyne’s 80.8 percent huck completion rate is more than 10 percentage points better than any of the other three players with 21 or more huck completions this season
Downward trend: After having 10 or more blocks in each of their first seven games of the season, Philly has just 13 in their last two matchups, both against DC
11. Madison Radicals (Previously 14th)
Record: 5-4
Upward trend: Radicals snapped a five-game losing streak to Minnesota dating back to 2019; Victor Luo set a career high with 457 throwing yards against Minnesota’s top three defense in Week 11
Downward trend: Madison is just 28-for-47 (59.6 percent) on red zone opportunities in their last three games; Radicals got three of their five total breaks against Minnesota in the first four points of Sunday’s game
10. Atlanta Hustle (Previously 7th)
Record: 5-4
Upward trend: The Hustle committed just 34 turnovers total on their two-game Texas road trip despite the oppressive heat; Atlanta commits the fifth fewest turnovers per game (15.6), and the Hustle have just one game with 20-plus this season
Downward trend: The Hustle are 1-3 in their last four games; surrendering a four-goal lead to Austin in the fourth quarter of Week 11 may have ended Atlanta’s playoff hopes
9. San Diego Growlers (Previously 10th)
Record: 5-3
Upward trend: Sean McDougall is first on the team in goals (24) and second in receiving yards (1619) in his first season with San Diego; Growlers have 20 or fewer turnovers in three of their last four games
Downward trend: San Diego has the third lowest offensive conversion rate (54.4 percent) in 2022 for a team with a winning record; Growlers are bottom seven in break rate (18.8 percent) this season
8. Minnesota Wind Chill (Previously 5th)
Record: 7-2
Upward trend: Minnesota is averaging just 15.3 turnovers per game in their last three matchups; Quinn Snider has 16 goals during that same stretch
Downward trend: The Wind Chill had their fewest amount of break scores (4) in a game this season in Madison in Week 11
7. Chicago Union (Previously 8th)
Record: 7-1
Upward trend: The season debuts of Tim Schoch and Joe White give the Union a lot of midseason firepower; Union are averaging 23.3 goals per game this season, fifth best in the AUDL; Chicago is averaging the sixth most break scores per game (7.4)
Downward trend: Chicago has three straight games on the road at Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Madison; a loss this Saturday to the Wind Chill could forfeit the Union’s first place standing in the Central Division
6. Salt Lake Shred (Previously 9th)
Record: 7-2
Upward trend: Salt Lake tied an AUDL single-game season high this year with 15 break scores against Portland last Saturday night; tied single-game high for most blocks in a game (23) as well; Chad Yorgason is second on the team in assists (22) despite playing 92 percent of his total points on defense
Downward trend: Shred have 20 or more turnovers in four of their last six games; Salt Lake has 21 red zone turnovers in their last four games
5. Austin Sol (Previously 6th)
Record: 7-3
Upward trend: Austin is 4-0 at home this season with wins against Carolina and Atlanta; Evan Swiatek is one of just six players with 60 or more total scores so far this season
Downward trend: The Sol committed eight red zone turnovers against the Hustle in Week 11; Austin is averaging just 20.5 goals per game this season in six games against non-Legion opponents
4. DC Breeze (Previously 4th)
Record: 6-2
Upward trend: The Breeze defense (62.2 percent defensive efficiency) is converting at almost the same rate as their offense (62.6 percent), which are both top three in the league this season; Jacques Nissen has nine assists, six goals, and 1186 total yards of offense in his last two games
Downward trend: DC’s offense has three games of under 60 percent O-line conversion rate in their last four outings; DC defense is allowing the sixth highest opponent O-line conversion rate in the league this season
3. Colorado Summit (Previously 3rd)
Record: 9-0
Upward trend: Six-year AUDL vet Matt Jackson is having his best statistical season since his rookie campaign in 2016; Colorado is just the third team in league history to start their franchise with nine straight wins (Dallas, Toronto)
Downward trend: Colorado has just one game with 10 or more takeaways in their last five matchups; Summit have the second lowest red zone conversion rate (74.6 percent) among teams with a winning record, and rank 18th overall in the league
2. Carolina Flyers (Previously 2nd)
Record: 10-1
Upward trend: Since losing to Austin on June 4, Carolina is allowing 15 goals per game in their last five games, all wins; Flyers are averaging 10.8 takeaways per game over that stretch
Downward trend: Carolina is converting just 55.8 percent of their offensive possessions over their last four games, seven percentage points lower than their season average; Flyers are averaging almost 18 turnovers per game in their last four, well above their season average
1. New York Empire (Previously 1st)
Record: 11-0
Upward trend: New York has 61 goals over their last two games; since a four-goal win at Montreal on May 27, the Empire’s average margin of victory in their last six games is 11.3 goals; Jeff Babbitt has the second 40-plus goal season of his career, and the first since 2017
Downward trend: The Empire have just one game on their schedule in the next month; I spent a good 10 minutes looking for any kind of “declining” metric for this team and could not find one
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