Don't know about expert opinion but I have followed the development and introduction of the -22. It is light years ahead of the -15 and -16 it replaced. The tasks it was assigned are also different in that it was to super-cruise (which nothing else does), be stealthy and be superior to anything the Chinese or Russians were fielding. That is rapidly changing and the latest Flanker is reportedly 'not your father's flanker'. The Chinese are being especially aggressive in fielding new fighters and in number. And the Chinese knock-off is being marketed world wide, a point which had angered the Russians to the point they are NOT offering the Chinese a look at the new Flanker, the SU-25.
This is their J-10 which reportedly has a lot of the Israeli Lavi design in it. The Lavi as I am sure you know never went into production.
The -22 has had problems. No highly sophisticated machine has entered service without problems. The B-1 is a prime example but we could go back to the early Century Series fighters to see the same thing repeated.
Follow the money. The USAF wants lots of new F-35s although the critique of it is short legs, underpowered, not very nimble. And to get the money for the -35, they have to kill the Raptor. And what we will wind up with is a -22 fleet too small to justify the maint and too small to meet the emerging threats.
I could be wrong.
Oh... I would never use the WashPost as the source for the truth on anything.