If you’re a baseball fan, the letters UCL have grim implications. When a pitcher has a UCL strain, it’s usually only a matter of time before the other scary initials come into play – TJ (as in Tommy John, the pitcher from the 70s who became synonymous with elbow ligament replacement surgeries). Rest can sometimes help, but you’re usually headed for a trip to Birmingham, Alabama to visit Dr. James Andrews (or LA to visit Dr. Neal ElAttrache) and taking a year away from throwing baseballs for a living. In football, UCL damage is less common, but to the Bills fans who are also baseball fans, there were likely more than a few shudders when those cursed letters started being attached to Josh Allen. The Bills are “still evaluating” the extent of Allen’s injury, which could be seen as relief or still cause for panic, depending on who you speak to. In the meantime, pool confidence picks will hinge on the diagnosis and Josh Allen’s return to play.
Midseason rankings:
As we have now officially reached the halfway point in the NFL season, the midseason rankings are being done by more or less anyone with a laptop, and of course we here at APY are no exception. The full piece comes out on Thursday, but here’s a look at one team in the rankings:
23. Indianapolis (3-5-1). One wonders what would’ve happened had the Indianapolis Colts defeated the NFL’s worst team in Week 18 last season. The Colts needed only to beat the Jaguars to earn a place in the playoffs. Instead, they embarrassingly lost to Jacksonville, creating a domino effect and, ultimately, to the firing of Frank Reich on November 7th. While Carson Wentz’s time with the team was obviously (and necessarily) up after that brutal loss, a playoff berth probably means the Colts keep Wentz at the job in 2022 and Reich likely gets some relief from the coaching hot seat this season. After acquiring turnover machine Matt Ryan, the Colts plummeted from playoff hopeful to bad. Jonathan Taylor’s injuries haven’t helped to be fair, though the Colts haven’t done much even in the games he’s been healthy for. Jim Irsay hired ESPN pundit Jeff Saturday to be their interim coach, which means the weird 2022 season is likely to continue well into the second half.
Biggest revelation: Parris Campbell, WR. Campbell or Alec Pierce could’ve been selected here, but the revelation goes to Campbell, a second round draft pick in 2019 who suffered through an injury-riddled first three seasons in Indy before becoming the Colts’ favoured slot option, with 32 catches so far this season. A 60-catch pace may not be something to go crazy over, but given the start to his career, this is a solid season for the former Buckeye.
Biggest disappointment: Certainly Matt Ryan deserves to be here, but his career was already running on fumes, his first half just extinguished those. The offensive line as a collective has been the biggest disappointment. In 2020, this unit was arguably the best front in the league, then LT Anthony Castonzo retired and the line hasn’t been the same since. In 2022, the LT spot has been a revolving door, with Matt Pryor, Bernhard Raimann, and Dennis Kelly all struggling to take the opportunity, but perhaps the biggest disappointment is to the right of that – 3-time first team All-Pro LG Quenton Nelson and 3-time Pro Bowl C Ryan Kelly have both been mediocre at best. The Colts have surrendered 35 sacks, the most in the league – Dallas, Jacksonville, and the Chargers haven’t allowed that many sacks combined.
APY FOOTBALL POOL RECAP
The pool was divided this week into two factions:
1. The successful one, the one that did NOT choose the Bills +1
2. The less successful one, the one that DID choose the Bills +1 over the Jets.
There is yet another growing faction: those that did not send a Thursday pick. It may not hurt you when a toss-up game is being played on TNF but when it’s the Eagles and Texans, people are leaving two points on the table. So make sure you get your picks in!
When talking about factions, Salvo was definitely in the first faction – he avoided the Bills confidence landmine, picked up 14 points and was out top scorer of the week! That 14 point week allowed Salvo to move into fourth place in the standings, with 97.
At the top Donna P maintains her chokehold over the rest of the league, with 106 points, a full six points over second place Randy, who is the only other poolie to crack the century mark. Fred, with 98 points, sits in third, followed closely by Salvo in fourth. Adam rounds out the top five with 96 points.
APY STANDINGS
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