The Breeze finished #15 in the final 2015 AUDL Power Rankings. They begin 2016 at #5. That’s a pretty nice offseason jump! Here are the rankings of all the East Division teams compared to the final rankings last year:
Preseason 2016
- #3 Toronto Rush (-2)
- #5 DC Breeze (+10)
- #9 NY Empire (+1)
- #17 Ottawa Outlaws (-1)
- #18 Montréal Royal (-5)
- #25 Philadelphia Phoenix (-2)
- [Avg Ranking: #12.8]
Week 15 (Final) 2015
- #1 Toronto Rush
- #10 NY Empire
- #13 Montréal Royal
- #15 DC Breeze
- #16 Ottawa Outlaws
- #23 Philadelphia Phoenix
- #24 Rochester Dragons
- [Avg Ranking: 13.0 not counting Rochester]
So the overall average hasn’t changed much, but the East has gone from 2 teams in the Top 10 to 2 teams in the Top 5 and 3 in the Top 9. These Power Rankings certainly point to one of the most highly anticipated games of the entire season being April 23rd, when #3 Toronto visit #5 Breeze here at Gallaudet University and on ESPN3.
Here’s what the AUDL has to say about the Breeze… “The individual talents of DC’s lines are elite—and they’re going to be brilliant together. Almost every player has a complementary “sidekick” teammate that meshes and elevates their skills, whether it’s the thunder/lightning handling duo of Shofner/Kolick, or the downfield utility of Helton/Spiva, or the defensive switching of Castine/Cranston. With Coach Dutchy at the helm, Breeze players aren’t just great at finding and filling respective roles, but understanding the importance of developing their individual responsibilities in unison.”