2022 NFL Thrills and Chills, Part I
By Ed Berro
Here’s a brief summary of the highlights and lowlights of Strat-O-Matic’s new football ratings:
ARIZONA
Offense:
Oh Yeah! QB Murray’s great end run and flat passing and Connor’s decent rushing card will keep the
team competitive
Oh No! Bad cards for the other QBs and bad run blocking (two 0s and three 4s plus 0s at TE) will
present a challenge for the offense
Defense:
Oh Yeah! Baker (SS 66) and J.J. Watt (DE 5-12-1*) will make plays
Oh No! Poor pass defense and all 4 or 0 pass and run defense ratings for all others on defense
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! PK Prater over 50% on 57-yard field goals, high touchback percentage on kickoffs
Oh No! XP miss on 11-12, blocked punt
ATLANTA
Offense:
Oh Yeah! All 4 HBs are very good with consistent yardage behind strong run blocking (two 6s, two 5s, and one 4)
Oh No! QBs are below average and 0 pass blocking center will be difficult to rely on
Defense:
Oh Yeah! This space left intentionally blank
Oh No! Poor run and very poor pass defense combined with little pass rush, few fumbles and interceptions forced,
and poor defensive ratings including six 0-rated starters = terribad
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! PK Koo over 90% on 49-yard field goals and over 50% on 53-yard field goals, TD KR and two gains of
over 30 yards each on punt returns
Oh No! Punt return coverage is poor
CAROLINA
Offense:
Oh Yeah! HBs Foreman and Hubbard have good rushing cards, FL D.J. Moore has a good card and SE T.Marshall
has good yardage
Oh No! QBs Darnold and Walker are poor, run blocking for the o-line is sub-par with four 4s and one 0, TEs are poor
Defense:
Oh Yeah! Good run defensive individual ratings, Brian Burns (6-12-1*) is a force at DE
Oh No! Poor pass defense with horrendous ratings of three 4s and four 0s at LB and DB
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! PK Pineiro over 90% on 49-yard field goals, KR1 Blackshear has good yardage
Oh No! Poor punt returning, 4th down decisions at the 33-39 yard line will be tricky due to poor 50+-yard field goals
CHICAGO
Offense:
Oh Yeah! QB Fields’ end run is very explosive, HB Khalil Herbert has a whole lot of short gains (including 7-out-of-36
guessed right) in addition to long gains on 2 and 12 guessed wrong
Oh No! Terrible pass blocking – three 0s and two 2s – will limit Fields’ “must run” effectiveness; WRs are very poor;
QB Fields has a high interception rate (3.5%) and is poor guessed wrong which means more guessed rights for the running game
Defense:
Oh Yeah! If you don’t have anything good to say, then say nothing at all
Oh No! All four defensive linemen have 0 ratings against the run for an overall poor run defense, very low pass rush ratings
hurt an otherwise average pass defense, 6 0-rated defensive starters and only one 5 (FS Eddie Jackson 54) means the defense
will mostly need to rely on hopefully sometimes bad offensive performances
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! PK Santos over 85% on 49-yard field goals, good kick returners
Oh No! Poor kickoff coverage including a long gain on 12, blocked punt, XP miss on 10-12
DALLAS
Offense:
Oh Yeah! Three 7-rated pass blockers, HB T.Pollard’s card is dangerous without being hit-or-miss, WR CeeDee Lamb
has max completions including on double-teams, three 7-rated pass blockers
Oh No! QB Prescott is sub-par short and long with a very high (3.8%) interception rate, HB E.Elliott’s rushing card is
significantly worse than average
Defense:
Oh Yeah! Stars shine with Parsons (OLB 66-12-9*), DeMarcus Lawrence (DE 6-8), and T.Diggs (CB 6), good pass rush
Oh No! Holes on defense with three 0s and four 4s, including a 0 at the other CB spot and two 0s on the defensive line
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! PK Maher over 85% on 49-yard field goals and over 70% on 60-yard field goals, above average punting and
punt coverage, a lot of touchbacks on kickoffs although …
Oh No! Bad kick return coverage
DETROIT
Offense:
Oh Yeah! QB Goff’s incredible short pass and good long pass columns with low interception chances combined
with three 7-rated pass blockers and good run blocking (two 6s and three 5s) comprise an offense which would be very
difficult to stop, except that …
Oh No! Starting HB Jamaal Williams’ bad rushing card will incentivize defenses to focus on calling pass, although
backup HB D.Swift has a good rushing card on 99 carries
Defense:
Oh Yeah! Rookie DE Aiden Hutchinson 5-10
Oh No! Another terrible defense, average to poor on runs and very poor on passes, with four 0s and six 4s on defense
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! Good kick return yardage, TD punt return
Oh No! Somewhat poor punt coverage, awkward 4th down decisions at the 33-39 yard line due to poor 50+-yard
field goals
GREEN BAY
Offense:
Oh Yeah! Starting HB Aaron Jones has a great rushing card while QB Rodgers’ card is a bit above average
Oh No! Three 0-rated run blocking offensive linemen, sub-par TEs
Defense:
Oh Yeah! CB Jaire Alexander returns from last season’s injury with a 6, OLB Preston Smith’s 12-4* pass rush rating
Oh No! Poor defense against the run, overall sub-par defensive ratings with four 0s and five 4s, including 0-1 DE Lowry
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! PK Crosby over 85% on 49-yard field goals, good KR with a TD
Oh No! Poor punting for nowadays, blocked punt, very few touchback kickoffs and sub-par kick return coverage
LOS ANGELES – NFC
Offense:
Oh Yeah! QB Stafford’s flat and short passing, WR Kupp’s max combo receiving
Oh No! Stafford’s long pass columns, backup QB B.Mayfield’s poor card, and a very weak offensive line
(5-3, 0-3, 4-0, 0-3, 4-5) will limit the offense
Defense:
Oh Yeah! Big stars in A.Donald (DE 6-6), B.Wagner (ILB 66-10), and J.Ramsey (CB 6) as well as OLB L.Floyd’s
pass rush 12-2* and three starting 5s on defense
Oh No! Three starting 0s in pass defense (OLB, ILB, and FS), very low forced fumble chance
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! PK M.Gay over 90% on 49-yard field goals and over 60% on 58-yard field goals
Oh No! Bad PR and KR as Brandon Powell had an off year
MINNESOTA
Offense:
Oh Yeah! HB Cook’s rushing card is mixed with breakaway runs on 2 and 12 and some short gain but does not
have much consistent yardage, superstar WR Justin Jefferson and TE Hockenson have double-teamed receptions,
two great 6-7 Ots in C.Darrisaw and B.O’Neill
Oh No! Vulnerable inside pass blocking (two 2s at G and a 3 at C)
Defense:
Oh Yeah! Danielle Hunter is versatile at OLB 45 and DE 5 with 12-2* pass rush, P.Peterson (CB 5) and
Harrison Phillips (NT 5-2) are solid, good run defensive card except for off tackle 0 LB in zone
Oh No! Very poor pass defensive card
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! PK G.Joseph over 85% on 49-yard field goals, KR K.Nwangwu TD and other good yardage
Oh No! Poor punt return with 25 as the longest; XP miss on 10-11
NEW ORLEANS
Offense:
Oh Yeah! Two 7-rated pass blockers at OT, QB Dalton’s card is decent, TE Juwan Johnson and rookie WR
Chris Olave are good
Oh No! G A.Peat 0-0, running game is weak, high fumble chances
Defense:
Oh Yeah! Three 6s in C.Jordan (DE 6-10), D.Davis (MLB 65-11), and T.Mathieu (SS 64) and four 5s,
above average pass defense
Oh No! Poor interior run defense (DTs S.Tuttle 4-4 and D.Onyemata 0-7), and P.Adebo (starting LCB 0)
is a liability for a second straight season
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! Good kick coverage
Oh No! Worst field goal chances in the league by far including only 50% on 40-yard field goals, bad
punt returning except for 42 yards on a roll of 2, longest KR is only 33 yards
NEW YORK GIANTS
Offense:
Oh Yeah! QB D.Jones’s great end run guessed wrong with 18/36 combinations of short gain or better and only
4/36 chances of less than 6 yards, Jones’s very good flat and okay short passing columns as well as infinitesimal
Interception chances, Andrew Thomas’ 6-7 at LT
Oh No! HB S.Barkley’s rushing card is average and somewhat hit-or-miss, other four offensive lineman are
horrendous (4-4, 4-2, 0-4, and RT Evan Neal 0-0), receiving is overall sub-par
Defense:
Oh Yeah! Breakout star Dexter Lawrence NT 6-8
Oh No! Average to poor defense against the run and pass, five starting 0s, not much pass rush other than NT,
very low interception chances
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! PK Gano over 90% on 49-yard field goals and over 66% on 57-yard field goals
Oh No! Bad PR with a longest of only 23 and a bit below average KR
PHILADELPHIA
Offense:
Oh Yeah! QB Hurts has a solid passing card with average end runs, HB M.Sanders has a good card with
consistent yardage, fantastic run blocking with three 6s and two 5s, very good receiving with WRs A.Brown and
D.Smith as well as versatile BB/TE D.Goedert
Oh No! No real negatives
Defense:
Oh Yeah! Three 6s (starting DE J.Sweat and starting CBs D.Slay and J.Bradberry), amazing pass rush (DE J.Sweat
and DT J.Hargrave are 12-1*, OLB H.Reddick is 12-9*, and DE F.Cox is 8), above average run and pass defensive cards
Oh No! DTs are weak against the run (L.Joseph 4 and J.Hargrave 0)
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! KR1 B.Scott has a good card
Oh No! PK J.Elliott is only 67% on 40+ yard field goals, kick return coverage is horrendous although a high
kickoff touchback percentage mitigates much of that, blocked punt
SAN FRANCISCO
Offense:
Oh Yeah! QBs Garoppolo and Purdy have good cards, HB C.McCaffrey’s rushing card is decent with consistent
yardage guessed wrong and right, five starters at HB, FB, TE, and WR are eligible to receive long passes
Oh No! OGs are weak (S.Buford 0-3 and A.Banks 4-4), receivers are all weak on long passes
Defense:
Oh Yeah! Supreme run defense (against the run it’s “Stop! In the name of love”), five 6s on defense including
one-player pass rush team N.Bosa (DE 6-12-10*)
Oh No! Not much pass rush other than Bosa, below average pass defense including starting RCB 0 D.Lenoir
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! Nothing to list here
Oh No! PK Gould is only 61% on 40+ yard field goals and bad on 50+, longest KR is only 39 yards
SEATTLE
Offense:
Oh Yeah! QB G.Smith’s very good flat passing and decent short and long passing is greatly enhanced by
his amazing must run column averaging over 10 yards per carry occurring 1/4 of the time on Smith’s guessed right
short and long pass columns, two almost max completion star WRs and three okay TEs to vary receiving targets
Oh No! G.Jackson (G 0-2) and A.Blythe (C 0-3) lessen an average running game
Defense:
Oh Yeah! Q.Diggs (FS 64) and U.Nwosu’s pass rush (OLB 45-12-5*)
Oh No! Poor run defense especially off tackle 0 LB in zone, throwing a pass against Michael Jackson Sr. (LCB 0)
is a thriller
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! Good punting and punt coverage
Oh No! Bad PR with almost all fair catches and a longest of only 20 yards
TAMPA BAY
Offense:
Oh Yeah! For the first year in a very long time QB T.Brady will not have a good card … in 2023 (probably); now for
2022 his card is one of the very best in the set with very low interception chances and misses on only 2, 11, and 12
short pass wrong, a whopping four 7-rated pass blockers should mean a whole lot of passing mostly safe from sacks
Oh No! Running game is atrocious as expected, and even with the rare-for-the-2022-set boost of inside runs due to
terrible end runs HB L.Fournette’s inside runs are mostly bad and other HB R.White’s rushing card is similarly bad
Defense:
Oh Yeah! Good run defense, Lavonte David (ILB 65-4)
Oh No! Very poor pass defense with very low interception chances, M.Edwards (SS 00) makes the team vulnerable
to good opposing TEs
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! PK Succop over 90% on 49-yard field goals
Oh No! Poor punt return coverage; 4th down decisions at the 33-39 yard line will be tricky due to poor 50+-yard field goals
WASHINGTON
Offense:
Oh Yeah! WR T.McLaurin with a good number of long gains and double-team completions
Oh No! QB C.Wentz is bad short and long with a high (3.3%) interception rate, sub-par rushing game, 0-rated pass blocking C
Defense:
Oh Yeah! Good run defense with two 6s on the defensive line (DE M.Sweat and DT J.Allen), very good defensive line pass rush
(DT D.Payne 12-1*, DE M.Sweat 9, DT J.Allen 8, J.Smith-Williams 5)
Oh No! J.Bostic (MLB 04-0) you are the weakest link goodbye as the only starting 0 on the defense
Special Teams:
Oh Yeah! Very good punt return coverage, very high percentage of touchbacks on kickoffs
Oh No! PR longest is only 19 yards, XP miss on 10-11
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