Preseason Power Ratings with John
John Hoh
Thursday January 27, 2005
 San Jose Gets the Call as the #1 team coming into the season Image courtesy of Scott Tyrcha |
Here, then, are my "guesses" for week 1. In a few weeks we’ll see how things shake out. Of course, over the course of a season some teams improve and some teams fade. But for now I will start with this ranking and you can tape it to your fridge and hold me to my bad choices later in the season.
| Rank | Team | 2004 Record | Previous Rank | Next Up |
| 1 | San Jose SaberCats (SJ) | 11-5 | - | TB |
| Arena's version of the Patriots, winning two of last three ArenaBowls (including last year's ArenaBowl). Have to go with them until someone proves otherwise. | ||||
| 2 | Chicago Rush (CHI) | 11-5 | - | DAL |
| Normally this cheesehead doesn't rate Chicago teams highly, but the franchise has been growing steadily since inception. | ||||
| 3 | Colorado Crush (COL) | 11-5 | - | ORL |
| Elway's team-the one he owns-looking good. Time will tell is off-season moves take the Crush over the top. | ||||
| 4 | Orlando Predators (ORL) | 10-6 | - | COL |
| Never count the Preds out. | ||||
| 5 | Tampa Bay Storm (TB) | 9-7 | - | SJ |
| Also never count the Storm out with Marcum coaching. | ||||
| 6 | New York Dragons (NY) | 9-7 | - | DAL(2/6) |
| Will additions to the defense assist the explosive offense? Dragons should have been in playoffs last year, won't be denied this year. | ||||
| 7 | Philadelphia Soul (PHI) | 5-11 | - | AUS |
| I don't like Bon Jovi's music. However, he wasn't hesitant to spend for talent. QB Graziana a big pick-up. | ||||
| 8 | New Orleans VooDoo (NO) | 11-5 | - | GA |
| One year wonder? Sophomore jinx? I'm putting my reputation on the line here. The VooDoo could make me eat crow if they repeat last year's performance. | ||||
| 9 | Los Angeles Avengers (LA) | 9-7 | - | LV |
| The big question in LA is if the Avengers can live without Graziani. If so, they could do better. | ||||
| 10 | Arizona Rattlers (AZ) | 11-5 | - | GR |
| Yes, I know. The Rattlers appeared in three straight ArenaBowls. However, Danny White no longer coaches and new ownership may not commit beyond this season. | ||||
| 11 | Georgia Force (GA) | 7-9 | - | NO |
| Georgians need something to relieve them of their woes. The Force won't be with them. | ||||
| 12 | Austin Wranglers (AUS) | 8-8 | - | PHI |
| Still unsettled about home field, which again this year will be shorter than Arena regulation. Good news for visiting teams. | ||||
| 13 | Las Vegas Gladiators (LV) | 8-8 | - | LA |
| Good news: Glads to host ArenaBowl. Bad news: It is now a "neutral site" affair and the Glads won't be playing in it. | ||||
| 14 | Dallas Desperados (DAL) | 6-10 | - | CHI |
| How long will Jerry stay with the Desperados? | ||||
| 15 | Nashville Kats (NAS) | - | - | CLB |
| The Kats return. Their return to the ArenaBowl could take longer. Bright spot is the owner-Bud Adams, who also owns Tennessee's Titans (NFL) | ||||
| 16 | Columbus Destroyers (CLB) | 6-10 | - | NAS |
| I can't recall any earth-shattering off-season news with the Destroyers. Which means a) they landed no impact player and/or b) they didn't lose anyone of significance. | ||||
| 17 | Grand Rapids Rampage (GR) | 1-15 | - | AZ |
| It wasn't that long ago that the Rampage won the ArenaBowl and compared it to the small-town Lombardi Packers. Now they are closer to being the small-town Bart Starr (as in Coach Starr) Packers. | ||||
John L. Hoh, Jr., is a free-lance writer from Milwaukee who grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, as an avid Dolphins fan. He followed Arena Football since its inception, at one point watching tape-delayed games on low-powered WAV-TV in Waukesha. His happiest day was when Milwaukee was awarded the Mustangs franchise; his saddest when the Mustangs were contracted out of the league. John is married to his wife Maija (13+ years) and has a young son, Matthew. John pines for the return of the Arena Football League to Milwaukee.
