AEW Champion’s Preseason NFL POWER RANKINGS

[AEW Champion]

With the preseason over and the regular season less than two weeks away, it’s time for AEW Champion’s first batch of 2022 POWER RANKINGS.

1. Bills — They might have cut their alleged rapist punter, but they’ll be doing plenty of raping of opponents on the field this season.

2. Ravens — They were decimated by injuries last year. With Lamar Jackson playing for big money, I expect a big bounce-back year from the Ravens.

3. Bengals — The biggest issue (O line) has somewhat been fixed. Can the team get lucky with injuries again?

4. Chargers — Dangerous team ready to take a big step forward.

5. Packers — Aaron Rodgers and their running game should keep rolling.

6. Rams — It’s tough to repeat. Still a little top heavy.

7. Chiefs — There’s no way they can be as good without Tyreek Hill keeping defenses honest.

8. Broncos — Hard to imagine Russell Wilson won’t galvanize this team to a playoff berth.

9. Bucs — I don’t like the vibes here. I think losing Bruce Arians is a big deal and I get the impression Tom Brady is only halfway invested. Seems like he wanted to retire or go to Miami. O line a question mark now.

10. 49ers — Is Trey Lance ready? The rest of the team should be fine.

11. Cardinals — Need to see consistency.

12. Cowboys — O line is a concern now. But I like Dak.

13. Browns — How far can the defense and run game carry them?

14. Miami — Make or break time for Tua.

15. Colts — I think they’ll take the division from the Titans this year, but …

16. Titans — … it’ll be close. Losing A.J. Brown really hurts.

17. Vikings — I might be underrating them. Just don’t believe in Kirk Cousins ultimately. But I expect a pep in their step after moving on from Mike Zimmer.

18. Steelers — QB play should be improved. Bad O line keeps them from being ranked higher.

19. Eagles — Jalen Hurts is in the same place as Tua.

20. Raiders — Splashy moves in the offseason, but this team overachieved last year with a pretty bad roster overall.

21. Saints — Let’s see how they do without Sean Payton. Could be a sleeper division winner if things go poorly in Tampa.

22. Patriots — Underwhelming roster, mediocre QB, probably will win more games than they should.

23. Panthers — Baker will probably have a good year.

24. Commanders — Could be a sleeper team.

25. Jaguars — I expect a much more competitive outfit this season.

And now the dregs of the league …

26. Lions — They’ll play hard, but they’re still a ways away and have a limited QB.

27. Giants — Likely the end of the line for Daniel Jones as the franchise tries to dig out from the Dave Gettleman era.

28. Bears — Threadbare roster surrounding Fields.

29. Falcons — They’ll be fiestier than people think. But the roster sucks.

30. Jets — I don’t believe in Zack Wilson.

31. Texans — Lovie Smith, eh?

32. Seahawks — Geno Smith should not be a starting QB. With potential malcontents like Jamal Adams and DK Metcalf, this could get ugly when this team inevitably loses a ton. Feels like the end of the line for Pete Carroll leading up to a sale of the team.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

 

[Stirred not Shaken]

Not a bad prediction, Chiefs a little too low. Bengals it is all about Burrow more so than any other NFL team, Ravens too high - Jackson is not going to win games throwing the football.

 

[Crusaders]

Drop the Ravens to like 12th and it's pretty accurate

 

[AEW Champion]

I’m a good bit more bullish on Baltimore this year, presuming they stay mostly healthy. They’ve got a very good secondary, an elusive QB who’s in a prove-it year, a pretty solid OL when healthy, an under-the-radar WR group that should be pretty good, and perhaps the league’s best close-game weapon with Justin Tucker. And they’re always well coached.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

 

[Stirred not Shaken]

I’m a good bit more bullish on Baltimore this year, presuming they stay mostly healthy. They’ve got a very good secondary, an elusive QB who’s in a prove-it year, a pretty solid OL when healthy, an under-the-radar WR group that should be pretty good, and perhaps the league’s best close-game weapon with Justin Tucker. And they’re always well coached.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

Agree not sold on Jackson however the crows do have one of the best overall teams in the NFL.

 

[AEW Champion]

1. Bills — They might have cut their alleged rapist punter, but they’ll be doing plenty of raping of opponents on the field this season.

6. Rams — It’s tough to repeat. Still a little top heavy.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

The Bills are 1 for 1 on stripping an opponent of their dignity. Hopefully you followed AEW’s POWER RANKINGS and started off your 2022 NFL gambling season in winning fashion last night.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

 

[AEW Champion]

After three weeks, naturally there are some surprises from preseason expectations. There are also a lot of things playing out according to form.

I feel comfortable about the Bills being #1 in the league and the Seahawks being #32. I feel comfortable in having a trendy pick like the Raiders all the way down at #20, which is what they’re playing like. I feel comfortable that I identified all the dregs of the league except I’d have to remove Detroit from that group and put Washington there instead. I feel comfortable with the Ravens at #2 for now and the Packers in the top five.

Teams that have surprised in a good way:

Eagles — They should win the NFC East easily, but I think the hype train is getting a little strong when two of the wins were against the Lions and Commanders. But there’s no doubt A.J. Brown changes this team.

Jaguars — They have a legit shot to win the AFC South.

Lions — The offense has performed very well three weeks in a row. They’ll be a feisty home team.

Dolphins — They’re getting to be a bit too hyped, but they’re likely a Top 10 team. Big game at Cincy on TNF since both teams figure to be in the mix for AFC wildcard spots.

Teams that have surprised in a negative way:

Bengals — Offensive line is still troublesome, the run game hasn’t been great, Burrow hasn’t been great, and McPherson has actually missed some key kicks.

Broncos — The offense has looked abysmal and Nathaniel Hackett appears overmatched already.

Cardinals — Miracle win at Vegas aside, these guys just don’t look good and Kliff Kingsbury might not survive the season at this rate.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

 

[14Red]

As we've already seen in 3 weeks, there are ups and downs for everyone in the NFL. Buffalo looked like they may not lose a game all season as they pounded my Titans on MNF, only to look like they had two left feet in Miami Sunday. They possessed the ball for over 40 minutes, but could not score enough to beat Miami. The Chiefs - ditto with a perceived layup at the the struggling Colts.
Even though the NFL is perceived as a quarterback's league, we still see, year after year, examples that football is the true team game. I'm not sure if Daniel Jones is the answer with the Giants, but we may never know. He had no time to even get receivers in the pattern last night as he was running for his life. We think there is a shortage of good QB's? I think the shortage is with offensive lineman. A good to great offensive line can make even a mediocre QB look good, average running backs look great.

Still a long way to go. I think one thing the NFL really needs to address is playing starters more in the preseason. The product looks pretty bad the first few weeks because these guys simply are not ready to play football. Teams are so scared for players to get hurt they do nothing. Also, injures keep mounting because again, these guys are not ready for contact. Yes, you'll have some injuries if you play guys in the pre-season, but this version of pro football looks sloppy.